Chapter 273: You Can’t Go Without Fireworks During New Year (3)
Chapter 273 – You Can’t Go Without Fireworks During New Year (3)
Jinzhou City, Lanhe District, living room of the Chen family’s abode:
Chen Sanke leaned against the window and looked out at the sky idly.
Standing beside Chen Sanke was Chen Erke, who was fully engrossed in playing with her mobile phone.
Ever since obtaining her own phone, Chen Erke had thoroughly forgotten about her interest in drawing. Now, all her free time was spent either playing with her phone or waiting for her phone to be fully charged.
“Third Eldest, aren’t you sleepy?” Mother Chen, who sat on the living room sofa, asked with a yawn. “Aren’t you sleepy?”
“I’m not.” Chen Sanke shook her head. She then pointed at the sky outside and said, “Big Brother said there would be fireworks.”
“Nonsense.” Taking a sip of his tea, Father Chen said, “For safety’s and environmental protection’s sake, who would dare set off fireworks nowadays? You’d be glad to hear firecrackers going off in the city. You’d have to go to the rural areas now to see fireworks.”
“Uu… Big Brother said there will be.”
“You believe anything he says. Continue waiting, then.”
Scratching her head, Chen Sanke looked out at the starry skies and repeated, “Big Brother said…”
…
“With this, everyone should have some basic knowledge of antimatter now. Next, I believe what everyone is most concerned about are its power and destructiveness.”
In the deep s.p.a.ce several hundreds of thousands of kilometers away from Earth, Chen Yu tapped on the red box he held and said, “If matter of my body’s size collides with antimatter and annihilation occurs, a frightening amount of energy will be produced. The generated energy would be enough to rival the energy produced one-millionth of a second after the Big Bang occurred.
“Also, as any quark may have one of the three colors of red, green, and blue, the resulting explosion will be absolutely colorful and beautiful.
“Hence, compared to nuclear weapons, antimatter explosions are real art.”
After saying so, Chen Yu looked down at the planet underneath him. “It’s almost time. There are only two minutes left until midnight. My narration ends here.”
Slowly, Chen Yu removed the red box’s lid under the nervous gaze of his 20 million-plus viewers. He then reached out and pressed the small, round b.u.t.ton on the left side of the box.
Click—
Along with an insignificant vibration, one of the two gla.s.s casings opened.
No longer confined by its transparent prison, the black and white capsule immediately hovered out of the box. Chen Yu then carefully held the capsule in his hand.
“Look.” After giving the camera a 360-degree view of the capsule, Chen Yu tapped on the capsule’s outer sh.e.l.l and said, “The inside contains both matter and antimatter. Exquisite, right? Want to touch it?”
[c.r.a.p! I’m not touching it!]
[Stop tapping it!]
[Calm down…]
[Stop tapping it, daddy!]
[This capsule is an old prescription that can cure all diseases.]
[How much antimatter can such a small capsule contain?]
[すごい! (Wow!)]
“Although I can’t see the bullet comments right now, I can guess what everyone is saying. You must be wondering how much antimatter is stored inside this small capsule, right?” Holding the black and white capsule in his right hand, Chen Yu stretched out four fingers with his left hand and said, “Four thousand grams. Exactly 4,000 grams of antimatter is stored inside this capsule. Including the matter and sh.e.l.l, the capsule’s total weight is 9,600 grams.
“Amazing, right? A capsule the size of my thumb weighs nearly 10 kilograms. The density of the materials is astonishing. According to the instructions I received, if this capsule is detonated, its TNT equivalent is 172 million tonnes! That’s 12,000 Hiroshima bombs!
“That’s right. Even in the distant 30th century, the Hiroshima bomb is still used as a unit of measurement.”
Pausing slightly, Chen Yu looked at the time displayed inside his helmet and took a deep breath. He then gently opened his right palm and let the capsule drift away slowly.
“The time is now 11:59 PM. There is less than one minute left before 2021 arrives. I’ll leave the bomb here and detonate it after I’ve withdrawn.”
After closing the red box’s lid with a “bang,” he sent a glance at the disappearing black and white capsule before flying back to the Interstellar Portal. He then established a spatial link to a new location.
Two seconds later, the spatial link was established, and the scenery inside the portal changed into the dazzling city of Beijing.
After pa.s.sing through the transparent spatial film, Chen Yu landed on the roof of a tall building.
Situated in front of him was a large plaza crowded with people.
Meanwhile, the huge screen in the plaza’s center was currently playing the Spring Festival Gala. Looking at the glorious stage displayed on the screen, Chen Yu found that the show’s emcee was speaking his lines while surrounded by many actors.
To prevent the antimatter bomb from damaging the Interstellar Portal, Chen Yu promptly disconnected the spatial link from his side. He then raised his head and looked up at the sky. “Look. There’s not even a sound of firecrackers. How does this feel like a Chinese New Year? It doesn’t feel lively at all. But for the sake of safety, fire hazards, and environmental pollution, it is also reasonable for the government to ban firecrackers.”
After saying so, Chen Yu opened the red box once more and stretched out a finger. He then pressed a b.u.t.ton on the central console. “However, as a reasonable citizen, since our parents don’t allow us to set off firecrackers, let’s just set off an antimatter bomb. After all, we have to hear a boom on New Year’s Day, right?”
[Right! Right! You’re absolutely right!]
[That sounds reasonable.]
[Totally OK! Antimatter bombs aren’t considered as fireworks.]
[Government: We fully support it! So, can you please lower your gun?]
[The explosion is happening in a vacuum. You won’t hear a boom.]
[We can see lights.]
[Yes. We’ll get to see lights.]
[I’m at the plaza below! I can see the portal!]
[Half a minute to go! Stop looking at your phones! Look at the sky!]
[I’m inexplicably excited…]
“Let us use our sweat and harvest to say goodbye to the unforgettable year of 2020 and use it to inject a magical impetus to 2021…”
In the distant plaza, the speech of the emcee on the screen was nearing its end.
Realizing that he was running out of time, Chen Yu quickened his speech, “Lastly, let me emphasize that the antimatter capsule is nearly 200,000 kilometers away from us, which is half the distance between the Earth and the moon. So, please rest a.s.sured that there will be no danger. Everyone can just relax and enjoy the view.
“The bell of the New Year is about to ring. Compared to listening to a bunch of data, it is much better to directly feel the antimatter bomb’s charm. Now! Let us look up at the deep s.p.a.ce and witness the most brilliant and spectacular fireworks in human history together!”
At the same time, on the Spring Festival Gala’s stage, the emcee of the show, wearing a dignified expression, waved his left hand and said loudly, “The first spring breeze of 2021 is blowing at us. Everyone, are you ready? Let’s count down together…”
Emcee: “Ten.”
Adding more force to his finger that was resting on the b.u.t.ton, Chen Yu said, “Nine.”
[Eight!]
[888!]
“Seven.”
“Six…”
“Midea Air Conditioner wishes the people of the country a happy Chinese New Year…”
…
Beijing, special situation team’s office:
Including the middle-aged team leader, everyone in the office looked toward the sky through the conference room’s windows.
…
Jinzhou City, the Chen abode:
Chen Sanke taped her droopy eyelids and stared at the night sky without blinking.
…
China, j.a.pan, Thailand…
At this moment, tens of millions of people across different countries simultaneously looked up at the night sky.
…
“Three!”
“Two!
“One!”
Beep!
Chen Yu abruptly applied pressure on his finger, pressing the b.u.t.ton deeply into the central console and triggering the detonation. Afterward, he spread out his arms and looked up at the night sky while shouting, “Happy New Year!”
[Happy New Year!]
[Happy, happy, happy…]
[Happy New Year!]
[明けましておめでとうございます!]
[Ευτυχισμένονέοέτος.]
[Feliz ano novo!]
The next moment…
Faint strands of light appeared in the night sky. Like ripples in a lake, the strands of light spread and rippled through the night sky, lighting up the whole world at a terrifying speed…