Chapter 296: Hou Yi's Arrow, Launch

【Your precognition ability is strengthening. At this rate, in seventy-two hours you might see further into the future. The cost is——】

「I know. 」Chen Guang put his glasses back on, 「The temporal disorder syndrome is irreversible. But now it's a 24-hour countdown, not seventy-two hours. »

He called up Hou Yi's targeting parameters and began the final calculation.

In Underground City District 3, Lao Wu set up a barbecue grill.

Wartime controls had long stopped caring about such trivialities; the supply point even specially approved two boxes of charcoal for him, saying it was needed for cultural heritage preservation.

Lao Wu repeated those two words three times, but he still couldn't grasp how skewers had become cultural heritage.

But he still lit the stove.

At the moment the charcoal ignited, people around gradually gathered.

There were young people in work clothes, mothers holding children, and elderly leaning on canes.

No one spoke; they just quietly watched the meat skewers sizzle on the grill, fat dripping into the charcoal, sending up a small puff of flame.

「Uncle Wu, any charge? 」someone asked.

「No charge. 」Lao Wu flipped the skewers, 「This meal's on me. »

「Will you keep the stall open in the future? 」

Lao Wu paused, looking at the fire: 「Open. As long as there are still people coming to eat. »

He handed out skewers to each table, then carried his plate to sit in the corner.

The wristband vibrated, receiving a new message:

【Mr. Wu Jianguo, Xiao Xi drew a picture on the Ark and asked me to send it to you.】

Attached image: a doodle drawn with colored crayons, an old man standing behind the barbecue stall, the smoke from the chimney forming the four characters "welcome back".

Lao Wu looked at it for a long time.

Then he turned the phone screen toward the barbecue grill so the picture was also lit by the fire.

At the same time, in underground cities worldwide, the delivery mechs finished their last order.

The system pushed a notification:

【Dear delivery worker, this is your 37th order today, and also the final order before the delivery network shuts down. Thank you for your three years of service.】

【The free delivery fee promotion has automatically taken effect, valid permanently.】

【If we meet again, remember to place an order.】

The young delivery worker stood at the recipient's door, the insulated box holding a steaming plate of braised pork.

The one who opened the door was an elderly woman with completely white hair.

「This is your order. 」The delivery worker handed it over.

The elderly woman took it, didn't close the door, but instead stepped aside to let him in: 「Child, come in and sit awhile? 」

The delivery worker hesitated, shook his head: 「No, Auntie, I still have to……»

He didn't finish.

What else does he have to do?

There are no more orders left.

「Then eat before you leave. 」The elderly woman shoved the chopsticks into his hand.

「My son is in the military, piloting that kind of… big mech. I don't even know if he's eaten. »

The delivery worker lowered his head to look at the bowl of braised pork, the steam seeming to blur his vision.

He sat down and picked up the chopsticks.

「Auntie, what's your son's name? 」

「He's called Li Yang. 」The elderly woman laughed, 「When he was little, he loved my braised pork the most. »

【Time to Hou Yi launch: 12 hours】

Global communication channels switched over, all screens, wristbands, and public broadcasts lighting up simultaneously.

Feng Yan appeared on the screen.

He stood before the observation window of the Moon Base, behind him the Hou Yi launch platform about to fire, and farther away, the sun entwined in a purple containment net.

He wasn't wearing a suit; he wore Dragon Chant's work uniform, with a badge from Tie Lang Gong Fang from a few years ago still pinned to his chest.

「Three and a half years ago, I was at the Yun Chuan City Bureau of Industrial Development, and I happened to scroll through short videos and came across Li Yang's mech helmet. »

「Back then I thought, if this could be pulled off, I'd be able to pass my year-end evaluation. »

Billions of people worldwide froze at once.

Then someone laughed out loud.

「Later the project succeeded, and I thought the greatest achievement of my life would be to become the head of a key project. 」Feng Yan continued, 「But then aliens came. »

「After we won the Jupiter Encounter Battle, I thought I could catch my breath. But then the main fleet arrived early. »

「Then we built Heaven's Punishment, we built the Divine Needle of Calming the Sea, we built Hou Yi, thinking we could at least block the first wave. But they were knitting a sweater for the sun. »

He paused.

「These past few years' experience taught me one truth: plans can never keep up with changes. But it's fine—let things change. »

「Because for the human species, what we're best at is——»

He thought for a moment, then changed the word:

「——messing around aimlessly. »

Wang Hao laughed on the Penglai warship's bridge: 「Damn, is this also called a speech? »

「Shut up and listen. 」Li Yang said.

Feng Yan continued:

「Some say the Harvesters are a program, all their actions follow logic. They can calculate our energy efficiency, our weapon parameters, and how many days we have left to live. »

But they can't calculate——

He called up a set of images.

Cloud River City, Lao Wu was grilling skewers.

Elementary school students wrote on the blackboard, "Welcome aliens to come as guests."

Children used chalk to draw the sun on the ground.

On the deserted square, someone was playing "Amazing Grace" on violin.

In the underground city, the delivery mech made its final delivery; the delivery guy and an old lady sat together eating braised pork.

On the ark, a little boy drew a picture titled "The Barbecue Stall When We Return."

——They can't calculate these.

Feng Yan looked at the camera, his voice calm as if chatting about everyday matters:

Before, we were struggling just to make a living.

Today, we fight for survival.

No matter the outcome, humanity has proven.

We are not data that can be erased by a program.

We are civilization, we are love, we are art, we are countless moments unwilling to be decided.

He paused.

Houyi, fire.

【Time to Houyi launch: 00 hours 00 minutes 01 second】

Moon Base, Zhao Kaiyuan pressed the final confirmation key.

The load indicator of the vacuum zero-point energy reactor instantly exceeded 150%, alarms blaring throughout the base.

The focusing mirror of the Houyi platform swiveled into place, the 500‑meter‑diameter barrel aimed at the meticulously calculated point on the sun's surface.

Charge progress bar: 100%.

Li Yang sat in the cockpit of Unit 001, neural sync rate steady at 99%.

"Suicide squad, advance."

Fifty Yinglong-Ω units shot out from the Penglai, their rear thrusters pushed to the limit, like fifty meteors flying backward.

Wang Hao loaded the final 372 missiles.

"I'm not keeping any stock." He pressed the launch key, "Fire them all, happy new year!"

The missile swarm surged out, dragging 372 irregular trails in the vacuum.

Chen Guang closed his eyes, then opened them again.

The image from five seconds later overlapped with reality.

He saw the Houyi beam pierce the sun.

He saw a golden jet surge toward the breach.

He saw Li Yang's mech charging to the front.

He saw——

"Fire." Feng Yan said.

As the order was given, the Houyi platform's muzzle lit up, that light more blinding than the sun itself.

Feng Yan gazed at the star that had burned for forty‑six billion years.

"Go."

The Houyi arrow, activated.