Chapter 46

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Chapter 46: The Exploration Team Sets Off

"Are you sure you can learn this?" Zhu Huai looked at her with a playful expression.

The Space Administration’s Time Bureau has a dedicated research team focused on the multiverse. Although they occasionally provide knowledge lectures for the execution teams, most members only have a general understanding of the principles of time travel. The navigation routes and the series of standard data along the way are calculated in advance by the research team, with commands issued through the Celestial Network to guide the time capsule to the designated locations. The massive computational logic remains unfamiliar to most people.

"I should be able to," Luo Yu replied, thinking for a moment. "Don’t underestimate me; I got full marks in aerodynamics!"

"This is a different matter… Anyway, give it a try," Zhu Huai said, adopting a watchful demeanor.

This morning, Mo Chuan listened to Ying Zhao’s presentation at the time travel center and wanted to learn more about the specifics of the Yan Yi matrix theory. So, everyone settled in a small lounge next to the control room and watched as Ying Zhao began explaining the Yan Yi matrix theory from the beginning on a whiteboard.

Luo Yu sat in the front, diligently taking notes. However, after half an hour, she gazed at the whiteboard filled with formulas, feeling as if her brain were a smooth pebble, with streams of knowledge rushing past it, leaving nothing behind.

This is impossible to learn.

At that moment, Ying Zhao paused and looked at them. "How’s the pace? Is there any confusion?"

Luo Yu glanced at the whiteboard and then back at Ying Zhao. "Other than not understanding anything, I have no other questions."

Mo Chuan shook her head, "This theory is indeed very complex. Understanding it from scratch and applying it flexibly is quite challenging."

"I told you!" Zhu Huai said while sipping her drink with her legs crossed. "This isn’t something you can just learn."

Luo Yu turned to Zhu Huai. "How do you know? Did you understand it?"

Zhu Huai huffed, "I studied the Yan Yi matrix a long time ago, but I can’t grasp it, which is why I told you not to bother. It’s not something you can comprehend in a short time; I only understand the surface."

"But what I covered today has already been condensed into the key points," Ying Zhao argued, shaking her head. "Maybe I should improve my teaching skills…"

"That’s really true; it’s like trying to teach someone how to fly a plane in such a short time. Even if Luo Yu spent ten days on it, she still wouldn’t be able to fly!" Zhu Huai put her cup aside.

Luo Yu closed her notebook. "Zhu Huai makes a good point. Starting from scratch really isn’t feasible. How about this: is there any observable pattern we can record while simulating?"

Ying Zhao pondered for a moment. "There are observable patterns, but because they are quite complex, it’s difficult to predict the direction and intensity of the next gravitational wave fluctuation. But we can give it a try; I’ll join you for the simulation next time."

Mo Chuan, watching Luo Yu prepare to stand up, knew she wanted to give it a try right away. She raised her hand to stop her. "It’s already late; this type of simulation training requires high concentration, not suitable to do when tired. Let’s try again tomorrow."

The spacecraft designer, who had been listening nearby, added, "Tomorrow, I’ll go to the laboratory to retrieve our gravitational wave detection equipment. We can work together to see how to connect it to your control panel to enhance the early warning capabilities; the effects should improve."

After discussions, everyone exited the simulator and bid farewell on the helipad. Once Luo Yu and the others saw them board the aircraft and depart, they turned back towards the cliff dwelling.

The next morning, Mo Chuan had breakfast with her grandmother at home before heading to the helipad outside her cliff dwelling. She took a single-row small aircraft and easily flew to the helipad beside the ninth cliff dwelling. The hangar robot welcomed her as she landed.

Mo Chuan didn’t exit the aircraft right away; she just asked about the conditions inside the simulator through the window. She learned that Luo Yu and the others had arrived early and had already begun the first round of three simulations. After a half-hour break, Lei Ming and the spacecraft designer had also arrived, making it five people ready for the second round of simulations, with Lei Ming and Zhu Huai operating in the control room, while Luo Yu, Ying Zhao, and the designer worked inside the time capsule to create a gravitational field model and test the early warning effects of the gravitational wave detector.

"The second round started just ten minutes ago, and the simulator is currently in a vacuum environment. Should I notify the control room that you’re here to enter?" the hangar robot inquired.

Mo Chuan waved her hand. "I’m just here to check on the progress, so I won’t go in. There’s no need to disturb them. Just let them know I came by when the second round is over."

After the hangar robot affirmed her message, it noticed her intent to take off again and retreated to the edge of the helipad, watching her ascend into the sky before turning back to the nearby duty room.

As Mo Chuan took off from the mountaintop helipad, she flew northwest, crossing the wide Ji Shui River and rolling mountains. The land beneath her meandered where the wind from the northwest howled past the sides of the aircraft. Soon, she reached a cluster of limestone peaks, and after some time, the aircraft slowly descended onto a helipad at the center of a sinkhole.

"Professor Mo Chuan, welcome to the time travel center," said the hangar robot as it approached the helipad.

"Am I early?" Mo Chuan answered lightly as she stepped out and smiled at the hangar robot. "Who else is here?"

The hangar robot reported the names of the personnel on duty that morning, concluding with, "Professor Ti Ran just entered before you landed."

Mo Chuan nodded with a smile. "Great, she’s been very enthusiastic lately." With that, she followed another robot that had come to guide her toward the entrance of the cave.

The research base of the time travel center is located beneath this cluster of peaks, built in the largest natural underground cave of the Ponsuo Tribe. It takes about half an hour to walk from the eastern entrance to the western main gate, which houses around three hundred chambers used for research and as lounges.

Exiting the western door of the cave leads to a larger sinkhole, where the launch pad for the time capsule is located.

Mo Chuan followed the guiding robot into a lounge and was greeted by a young boy carrying a drink, who smiled and said, "Good morning, Professor Mo Chuan."

It was Wanhua.

Mo Chuan returned the smile. "Are you here to visit?"

Wanhua nodded and pointed back. "Professor Ti Ran brought me here."

Following her gesture, Mo Chuan spotted Ti Ran sitting on a soft cushion inside, chatting with two experts.

Wanhua raised a 3D sketchpad in her other hand and said, "Professor Ti Ran said it’s still early, so I’m planning to go to the exhibition hall next door to replicate the four-dimensional space model."

"Okay, go ahead," Mo Chuan replied, watching Wanhua walk out of the lounge with a guiding robot. She then walked over to the cushions, and Ti Ran turned with the two experts to greet her.

Today is the day to restart historical time exploration, and the time capsule will officially launch in the afternoon. There are still five hours until the exploration team departs.

Three exploration team members are resting in the relaxation chamber of the quiet room next door to recharge for the afternoon’s journey, while this lounge is filled with core research personnel for the restart mission.

After sitting down beside Ti Ran, Mo Chuan exchanged a few words before several more people entered the lounge. After greetings, everyone headed to the nearby conference room to review all preparations before departure and finalize the information transmission methods for after the exploration team’s launch.

The group spent an hour discussing in the conference room before rising to board the train inside the cave, making their way to the launch site outside the western door. They inspected the time capsule that had been moved to the launch pad and reviewed the various launch preparations.

After confirming that everything was in order, they chatted while walking back, stopping by the exhibition hall to pick up Wanhua before heading to the lounge for some snacks and a break.

Mo Chuan and Ti Ran sat down with the 3D model of the space-time model Wanhua had replicated, genuinely praising her work and discussing the launch arrangements for the afternoon.

Wanhua, at an age full of curiosity, sat beside them, munching on snacks while listening and asking a plethora of imaginative questions. After sitting with them for a while, she noticed that many had finished eating and were leaving for a midday break. Not wanting to disturb Mo Chuan and Ti Ran, Wanhua stood up and said she would go with the guiding robot to the opposite exhibition hall to learn about the formation of natural caves.

Seeing her had her own plans, Ti Ran did not insist that she stay for rest; instead, she called over one of the nearby robots to watch Wanhua tidy up her sketch and follow the guiding robot outside.

The lounge gradually quieted as most people had left, and Mo Chuan and Ti Ran also stood up to go rest in their respective chambers.

At two-thirty in the afternoon, the in-house housekeeping system gently reminded those resting in their chambers to attend the time capsule launch ceremony at three o’clock.

Today’s launch ceremony was also hosted by Ti Ran. She stood in front of the launch pad and reiterated the mission and travel arrangements for this time exploration. She then invited the representative team member from the exploration team to say a few words. Afterward, Ti Ran, together with everyone else, sent the three members into the time capsule. Once all preparations were complete, they exited the platform and took their positions on the sides to watch the launch.

At exactly three o’clock, a blue glow illuminated the bottom of the time capsule on the launch pad, and it swiftly soared into the sky, quickly disappearing from view. Fifteen minutes later, the launch platform announced dynamic footage from the full orbital monitoring station, reporting that the time capsule had entered extraterritorial orbit and was on its way to the time tunnel. Seeing them embark smoothly, everyone cheered on both sides of the launch platform, rising to applaud.

To celebrate this successful launch, the time travel center held a small banquet after the launch, with large screens around the banquet hall displaying real-time footage of the time capsule transmitted back from the full orbital monitoring station.

Mo Chuan also sent a recording of today’s events to Lei Ming in the simulator control room, requesting that Luo Yu and the others watch it during their break. Soon after, she received a response from Lei Ming, stating that their progress in the simulation training was good, although the intensity was high, so they planned to end early.

Mo Chuan replied to her message, then chatted briefly with Ti Ran and others at the banquet. The gathering continued pleasantly until nightfall, when everyone gradually dispersed.

Fortunately, today’s banquet was held early and lasted a short time, so they finished up fairly early. Wanhua, having visited two exhibition halls and seen a time capsule launch without taking a midday break, began to feel sleepy by this time.

Noticing her fatigue, Mo Chuan smiled and told Ti Ran that she was about to visit Ao Ci and would take Wanhua back along the way. Ti Ran gladly agreed, and after bidding farewell on the helipad outside the time travel center, everyone boarded their aircraft and departed.

In the evening, Mo Chuan returned home from Ao Ci’s place to find her grandmother already asleep. She quietly went up to the rooftop terrace, opened a small can of wine, and drank a couple of cups. Suddenly, she received a message from Ti Ran containing two exploration team observation records.

"Signs of a suspected higher civilization detected ten thousand years ago."

"Ancient strange beasts described in the ‘Shan Hai Jing’ were also discovered."