Chapter 148: Chapter 148 – Power of Destruction (1)
Chapter 148 – Power of Destruction (1)
Jupiter II was also known as Europa. It was the sixth closest satellite to the planet Jupiter and was discovered by Galileo in 1610.
As to why the satellite was labeled as Jupiter II, it was because during the time Galileo had discovered the moon, it was the second-closest moon located to Jupiter.
Jupiter II was a mystical satellite.
The satellite was mystical to a point where almost all astronauts yearned to visit it.
Why? It was because this was an ocean moon…
Jupiter II’s surface was covered in a thick layer of ice. And underneath that ice layer was a warm ocean.
As life on Earth had originated from the ocean, many people had theorized and believed that Jupiter II’s marine environment, which closely resembled Earth, might also be a home to life!
In fact, some have theorized that there was a highly developed civilization living within Jupiter II. Of course, the possibility of this theory being true was incredibly slim.
However, if life indeed existed within Jupiter II, then society, form, philosophy, consciousness, way of thinking, contradictory concepts, and other aspects of human civilization would undergo earth-shaking transformations.
Without question, uncovering Jupiter II’s truth would become the most significant achievement in the entire history of human s.p.a.ceflight.
For this reason, NASA had also arranged for a senior astronaut to explore Jupiter II. Unfortunately, despite all the money they spent on donating to Transdimensional Review’s livestream, they had absolutely no share in this historic moment…
Regarding this situation, NASA’s internal staff members grew furious and made a radical evaluation of Chen Yu: An extremely narrow-minded and selfish racist that lacks international spirit and free will…
Boom!
After arriving on Jupiter II, Chen Yu set down the Life Sphere and took a step back. He then said, “Please start your performance.”
After exchanging glances with each other, the two astronauts skillfully switched on their life support systems and decisively opened the Life Sphere’s hatch!
Crack… Crack, crack…
However, as soon as the astronauts opened the hatch, Jupiter II’s pseudo-s.p.a.ce environment immediately caused the lubricating fluid inside the sphere to boil and sublimate! Immediately afterward, the extremely low temperature of minus 160 degrees Celsius caused the evaporated gas to freeze instantly, firmly solidifying the two astronauts in place and preventing them from moving.
In the blink of an eye, ice and fog permeated the inside of the Life Sphere.
It was both beautiful and deadly…
“Dammit.”
One of the astronauts reacted quickly and immediately closed the hatch. Subsequently, the temperature and pressure inside the sphere rapidly returned to normal levels. The frozen mist softened once more and transformed into a liquid that fell to the bottom.
Although the aeros.p.a.ce inst.i.tute’s plan had accounted for the lubricating fluid’s sublimation, they never thought that a lubricant from the future would sublimate and freeze so rapidly…
“Let’s gather samples of the fluid first,” one of the astronauts suggested through radio communication.
“Okay.”
The two astronauts immediately opened their boxes and took out specialized collection containers to collect the Life Sphere’s lubricating fluid.
Meanwhile, when Chen Yu saw that the two astronauts were not in danger, he shifted his attention toward his surrounding environment.
As far as he could see, Jupiter II was a world of ice and snow. The satellite’s surface also reflected the distant sun’s rays with excellent efficiency. If one were to stare at a single location for too long, their eyes would start to sting from the reflected light.
Jupiter II’s surface was uneven and covered with many stranded glaciers and scattered bare rocks.
Looking up, Chen Yu could faintly see a spa.r.s.e gas layer and even moving clouds. He guessed that the clouds might be mist formed liquid ammonia and driven by thin methane gas.
[So, this is Jupiter II? How beautiful!]
[Aside from Earth, Jupiter II is the celestial body with the most water content in our solar system.]
[The more water it has, the more likely it is to give birth to life.]
[I have a question. Why isn’t this water captured by Jupiter’s gravity field?]
[Having water doesn’t mean it has life.]
[Sorry, but Jupiter II has clay minerals! Coupled with its deep-sea temperature, the possibility of life existing on Jupiter II is extremely high! It’s just that current humans still can’t prove this.]
[Industry insider here. Many people in academia believe that there is life in Jupiter II’s sea.]
“What a mystical celestial body…” Chen Yu muttered to himself as he bent down to pick up a piece of st.u.r.dy, crushed ice.
Crack!
At this time, the Life Sphere’s lid opened once more. After storing away a large portion of the lubricating fluid, the two astronauts no longer had their movements restrained when they opened the lid. Hence, they were able to climb out of the Life Sphere, albeit with some trouble.
As the astronauts were unable to verbally communicate with Chen Yu, instead of wasting time trying to communicate with him, they immediately went to work as soon as they climbed out of the Life Sphere.
The two astronauts had clearly divided their tasks. One person was responsible for setting up the various equipment, while the other person was responsible for collecting ice samples using a sharp alloy pick and electric hammer drill.
Due to Jupiter’s gravitational pull on Jupiter II, cracks would sometimes form on the moon’s thick ice layer, which, in turn, causes a large amount of seawater to gush out from the ocean layer. Hence, even without digging through Jupiter II’s entire ice layer, it was possible to collect samples of the moon’s seawater and a.n.a.lyze its composition. Only, the a.n.a.lysis wouldn’t be very accurate.
As the astronauts conducted their work, the number of viewers in the five livestream rooms also rose wildly.
Among these latecomers, a considerable portion were elites of the academic world. These people were all watching the most crucial extraterrestrial work in human history from a rigorous perspective…
Four minutes later, the astronaut responsible for setting up equipment excitedly pressed down on the sealing b.u.t.ton, successfully activating the scanning equipment. He then returned to the Life Sphere and began surveying his surrounding environment and the activities under the ice.
The scanning equipment set up had two transmission terminals; one was aimed at the two astronauts’ microcomputers, while the other was aimed at Earth, which was billions of kilometers away. This ensured that all information collected would be secured even if the astronauts were met with an accident.
“I’m done on my side.”
“I’ll be done soon as well,” the ice-shaving astronaut said as he accelerated his working speed.
“You… Your s.p.a.cesuit is damaged,” the astronaut responsible for setting up the equipment said, an ugly expression forming on his face as he scanned his partner’s vital data. “Did it get damaged inside the sphere just now? Hurry up and return.”
“Oh, it might’ve gotten damaged when I was shaving the ice… No problem, only two more sample sets to go!”
“I’ll help you.”
“No! Don’t come over! The ice is too sharp.” The ice-shaving astronaut stopped his partner from approaching. Turning his head and looking at the misty gas escaping from a gap in his left waist, he gritted his teeth and started using even greater force to swing his ice pick.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom…
With each swing the astronaut made, the tear in his s.p.a.cesuit also grew increasingly larger. Seeing this, he decided to go for broke and used all his strength to swing his pick and chiseling the ice.
Meanwhile, even when Chen Yu saw this scene from nearby, he did not express anything. He simply focused the camera on this determined astronaut.
Since this was an interactive event, they needed to play by the event’s rules.
Every person’s work, no matter how great it was, must be completed by themselves…
Boom!!
With a loud boom, the astronaut finally broke through a two-meter-layer of solid ice and collected two sample sets from within. He then stored the samples in a special container.
“Come back quickly. Your pressure indicator is too low.”
“…” The ice-shaving astronaut looked at his partner hesitantly. However, in the next moment, instead of returning, the astronaut dashed another 10 meters away and struck a bare rock with his pick.
“What the f.u.c.k are you trying to do?!”
“Don’t come over! Right away! I’ll be done right away!”
With sweat covering his forehead, the ice-shaving astronaut hastily grabbed a piece of chiseled rock before dashing back to the Life Sphere.
“Hurry up!”
The other astronaut hurriedly opened the Life Sphere’s lid and helped his partner into the sphere.
“Hu…” After closing the lid behind him, the ice-shaving astronaut carefully packed his pick and removed his helmet. He then breathed out a sigh of relief, his face distorting from the immense excitement he felt. “This thing really is a lifesaver. It’s even more reliable than a s.p.a.cecraft’s cabin.”
“Are you tired of living? Why couldn’t you just swap with me?”
“Swap with you? Dream on!” The ice-shaving astronaut clicked his tongue. “This contribution belongs solely to me! I’m going to go down in history! I’ll smack whoever tries to s.n.a.t.c.h this achievement from me! Moreover, I got us so many samples. If they don’t give me credit for this, I’ll throw them all away!”
The other astronaut also removed his helmet and helplessly chuckled, “The communication channel is still open. The command center will be able to hear this later.”
“Why would I bother saying this if they can’t hear me? It just happens that my partner and I are getting married soon. Hehe. With this, we’ll have a house as well.”
“…Aren’t I your partner?”
“Scram.”