Don't go to the moon, there are gods on the far side of the moon.

Seventy-two hours.

This number is like a nail, driven into everyone's heart.

Xu Wangshu sealed the black lunar rock within the temporary isolation layer of the lunar map, but this still couldn't stop it from releasing subtle signals. These signals didn't travel by radio, light, or any modern space communication protocols; instead, they traveled along old routes deep within the ruins of Buzhou Mountain, hopping towards Earth.

The North Heavenly Gate is not a gate.

At least not now.

It's more like an inspection system that automatically activated after the loss of contact with Nantianmen, preparing to examine whether there were any violations of self-governance rules on earth.

After hearing Xu Wangshu's assessment, Lu Chenggong's smile became strained: "We just closed the south gate, and now they're checking the north gate again?"

Wen Zhaolin lowered his voice and said, "The old Heavenly Court never puts power in a single point. The South Heavenly Gate is the entrance, and the North Heavenly Gate is the border alarm. It will first connect to the outer network of the human world, observatories, satellite chains, deep space stations, and confirm layer by layer why the South Heavenly Gate is closed."

"And then what?" Lin Xiaoman asked.

Wen Zhaolin remained silent.

Xu Wangshu said on his behalf: "If it believes that the human world has illegally refused to entrust the care, it will call upon the ancient god system in a deeper dimension."

The archive was filled with the hum of equipment.

The objective was clear: they had to return to Earth within 72 hours, disclose the evidence on the far side of the moon to a sufficiently credible human system, and simultaneously block the automatic access of the North Heavenly Gate beacon.

The obstacles are also clear: the landing ship is running out of fuel, its navigation system is damaged, and the hull has been dragged into the wreckage by the successor assessment, making normal takeoff almost impossible.

Lin Jibai's lighthouse echoed briefly at the edge of the moon map.

[Go through the maintenance well.]

Xu Wangshu immediately retrieved the wreckage profile. Below the outer edge of the archive, there was an old transport shaft leading to the other side of the lunar surface. There, the emergency return capsule left over from the Buzhou Mountain Project ten years ago was parked.

Wen Zhaolin frowned: "That return capsule was deemed scrapped back then."

[If it can run, don't dismantle it.]

Lin Jibai's words slowly emerged.

Lu Chenggong scoffed: "You're a real repairman."

They entered the transport shaft. The shaft walls were covered with handwritten markings, all maintenance tips left by Lin Wangchuan: "Don't trust the automatic light on gate number three; pipe number five is reversed; if you encounter blue fog, immediately lie down." Xu Wangshu took photos as she walked, while Lin Xiaoman carefully examined each one, as if retracing her father's last steps home.

Halfway there, the Beitianmen beacon launched its first counterattack.

The well wall suddenly transformed into a starry sky.

Before everyone's eyes appeared what they most wanted to see. Lin Xiaoman saw Lin Jibai standing at his doorstep, carrying her favorite roasted chestnuts, saying, "Xiaoman, come with me." Lu Chenggong saw the intact Houyi Bow, with the nine suns bowing at his feet. Wen Zhaolin saw a world without war, hunger, or chaos, where everyone lived according to the optimal path.

Xu Wangshu saw Lin Jibai emerge from the lighthouse and said with a smile, "Dr. Xu, you've worked hard."

She almost took a step.

Then she stopped.

The real Lin Jibai wouldn't say "thank you for your hard work" at a time like this. He would first ask if the boat could still be repaired, and then cheekily suggest putting it on the tab.

Xu Wangshu bit her tongue, the taste of blood pulling her back to reality. She raised her hand and slapped herself, then slammed the moon painting against the well wall.

"Evidence first."

The moon image burst forth with a cold light, shattering the illusion.

Lin Xiaoman woke up crying, Lu Chenggong knelt on one knee panting, while Wen Zhaolin was still standing in the illusion, his eyes wavering.

Xu Wangshu said coldly, "Wen Zhaolin, are you even in that world?"

Wen Zhaolin was shocked.

The perfect world in the illusion had neither him nor Lin Jibai, nor anyone who would oppose the system. It was clean, quiet, and lifeless.

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he shattered the illusion with his own hands.

"Keep going."

The consequences soon became apparent. The Northern Heavenly Gate beacon failed to lure them, but instead left a censorship mark on each of them. Xu Wangshu's lunar map suggested that once they returned to Earth, the mark would actively seek out a network interface.

In other words, they are both beacon blockers and beacon carriers.

The emergency return capsule finally appeared at the bottom of the well.

It was more damaged than expected. The outer shell had three through cracks, the propellant was only 21% of the nominal amount, and the life support system even required manual preheating pumps.

Lu Chengong looked at it: "This thing can go back to Earth?"

The moon image emerged from Lin Jibai's reply.

Theoretically, yes.

Xu Wangshu asked, "What about in practice?"

[It's about reading one's fate.]

Lin Xiaoman, clutching her employee badge, whispered, "Then it depends on the person, not fate."

Xu Wangshu smiled and began repairing the pod. Lu Chenggong replaced the broken support with fragments of the broken bow, Wen Zhaolin removed the energy module from his tactical suit, and Lin Xiaoman listened to where the pod was still "in pain." They no longer resembled a hastily assembled team, but rather a strange maintenance crew.

Before the return capsule ignited, the lighthouse on the far side of the moon emitted its final echo.

Take that black stone with you.

Xu Wangshu frowned: "It is a source of risk."

This is also evidence.

She paused for two seconds, then stuffed the black moonstone into the three-layered isolation box.

The return capsule burst out of the maintenance shaft and ascended, skimming the edge of the Buzhou Mountain wreckage. The moon's far-side lighthouse shone in the distance, like the only door light in an impenetrable darkness.

Just as they were leaving the lunar surface, dense red dots suddenly lit up silently in the direction of Earth.

The Global Deep Space Observation Network has begun to automatically respond to signals from the North Heavenly Gate.

The countdown has 71 hours and 26 minutes remaining.

Before the reentry capsule took off, another choice lay before them. The emergency capsule could only seat four people, but they had five. The design specifications clearly stated that overload would lead to uncontrollable reentry attitude. Wen Zhaolin's first reaction after reading it was to unbuckle his seatbelt.

"I'll stay," he said.

Lin Xiaoman looked up at him, her eyes filled with wariness, not gratitude.

Xu Wangshu immediately rejected the idea: "You must go back. You are living evidence."

Wen Zhaolin smiled bitterly: "I'll stay as a way of making amends."

"That's escapism," Xu Wangshu said. "It's more useful to live and face judgment than to die on the far side of the moon."

Lu Chengong irritably knocked on the bulkhead: "Stop acting pitiful. Take down the useless equipment."

So they began to reduce the weight of the return capsule. They removed the seats, the interior trim, and unnecessary automatic announcement modules. Even Wen Zhaolin's expensive but tattered protective jacket was cut open to remove the usable insulation layer. Lin Xiaoman clutched her father's employee badge tightly, asking if she could keep it. Xu Wangshu said of course, because it wasn't about weight, it was evidence.

Two kilograms short.

Lu Chengong was silent for a moment, even his breathing became soft, as he removed the remaining decorative outer shell of Hou Yi's broken bow, keeping only the core fragment. He dismantled it slowly, as if he were tearing away some kind of pride from his past. When the broken bow shell hit the ground, he lowered his voice and said, "Ancestor, please bear with it for now. When we get back, I'll give you a new shell that doesn't obey the Heavenly Court's orders."

The weight of the cabin finally came within the red line.

Before the emergency capsule ignited, the Beitianmen beacon attempted guidance one last time. It projected the fine white moonlight outside the return capsule into a human night market: hot soup, light boards, noisy voices, and a small shop downstairs in a rented house. Lin Xiaoman could almost smell the oden, and tears welled up in her eyes. Xu Wangshu also saw the Buzhou Mountain model in the Space City exhibition hall; half of the light strip was broken, and Lin Jibai was squatting below, cursing as he fixed the wires. Guidance wasn't terrifying; it was terrifyingly gentle, as if saying that as long as you remain in the dream, humanity won't have to face the impending disaster.

Lu Chenggong was the first to curse: "Trying to trick the wounded with midnight snacks, how despicable!"

This outburst brought everyone back to reality. Xu Wangshu turned off the outdoor projection, leaving only the cold, hard parameters. She knew that truly going home wasn't about sinking into illusions, but about returning with wounds, evidence of guilt, and trouble, to continue fixing what needed fixing.