Chapter Eighty-Nine: A War of Words in the Passenger Cabin

At first light the next morning, Zhang Mingyang packed his things and left the dormitory with his senior brother, preparing to take Rocket Seven back to Earth.

“Senior Brother, is that person still not here?”

Zhang Mingyang wiped his visor and glanced at the time. It was 5:40 in the morning by Beijing time, and there were still thirty minutes before launch.

Peng Dongli stepped beneath Launch Tower Seven and looked around. The night before, Commissar Liang had sent word that someone would be returning to Earth with them the next day, asking them to wait below and lend a hand.

But the rocket was nearly ready to launch—why was that person still missing?

“Senior Brother, there are only twenty minutes left until launch. Let’s go up and wait.”

“All right.”

A rocket would not wait for anyone. Since the person had yet to arrive, they could only hurry aboard and wait there, lest the ship fly off without them.

“Wait for me! I’m here!”

Just as Zhang Mingyang was about to step onto the stairs, he heard a woman’s cry through the voice system. Looking back, he saw a figure in a white spacesuit bounding toward them while carrying a white case.

Peng Dongli wiped his visor and looked more closely. “Damn it, the one who’s coming is this woman!”

Indeed, the newcomer was Xu Yuqing.

“Damn it?”

“What do you mean, Senior Brother?”

Xu Yuqing came nearer and said to Zhang Mingyang, “Look up the chemical formula for calcium oxide and you’ll understand.”

With that, she tossed the case in her hand to Peng Dongli and pointed at him. “If you want to insult someone, say it plainly. Don’t use these bizarre roundabout words. Carry the case up for me.”

After speaking, Xu Yuqing turned and went up the stairs without another glance.

Meanwhile, Zhang Mingyang was still trying to work out the formula for calcium oxide.

…

“Holy hell!”

So that was it! Zhang Mingyang looked at Peng Dongli, who was equally bewildered. “Senior Brother, how did you come up with that phrase? That’s genius! Got any more?”

Peng Dongli stared at him blankly and tossed the case in his arms over to him as well. “Carry the case up, and I’ll tell you.”

“Fine.”

……

Beep… beep!

The rocket sounded its final prelaunch alarm, signaling imminent liftoff. Zhang Mingyang had just reached the middle of the stairs when he checked the time and hurried upward.

Five minutes later, the two of them finally reached the top and entered the crew cabin.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, the captain closed the protective hatch and activated the oxygen and gravity systems.

Zhang Mingyang and the others removed their suits and put them away, only then discovering that one of the two empty seats in front of them was beside Xu Yuqing.

The two exchanged a glance. Peng Dongli acted first and swiftly claimed the seat farthest from Xu Yuqing, leaving Zhang Mingyang with no choice but to take the one between them.

After buckling in, Peng Dongli shot Zhang Mingyang a smug look. “Brat, trying to beat me to it? Back when school let out at noon and we rushed to the cafeteria for seats, I was always first.”

Having missed the good seat, Zhang Mingyang gave his senior brother an unhappy glance. “When you two are arguing, why am I always the one getting hurt?”

Once the cabin pressure and oxygen levels were normal and everyone was in place, the captain reported to Moon Palace Base, “Moon Palace, Moon Palace, East Seven requests ignition.”

“Moon Palace received. East Seven may ignite.”

At the command, the captain pressed the separation key. The outer launch tower detached from the rocket at once, and then he pressed the ignition key. Four nozzles at the rocket’s tail erupted with a flood of scarlet sparks.

As the exhaust flare grew larger and larger, and the captain saw that thrust had reached launch requirements, he pressed the bottom separation key. The four clamps fastening the rocket to its base released instantly, and the rocket shot upward like an eagle freed from its bonds, piercing straight into the sky!

With experience from the previous flight, Zhang Mingyang closed his eyes just like everyone else, waiting for the rocket to enter cruise mode.

“Moon Palace, Moon Palace, East Seven ignition and liftoff successful. Speed forty-five kilometers per second. Cruise mode will begin in five minutes.”

“Moon Palace received. Cruise mode will begin in five minutes.”

As the rocket vanished at a visibly rapid pace, it reached an altitude of 1,935 kilometers and prepared to enter its cruising orbit.

“Moon Palace, Moon Palace, East Seven has reached cruising orbit and is preparing to begin cruise mode.”

“Moon Palace received. East Seven, safe travels.”

“East Seven received.”

With cruise mode engaged, the rocket rotated on its own and began flying out from the far side of the moon.

Seeing everything proceed smoothly, the captain turned to the passengers behind him. “All right, everyone may relax now.”

At the news, Zhang Mingyang quickly opened his eyes and looked around. This East Wind Seven was different from the East Wind Fourteen he had ridden before. Though the crew section still held twenty people, Fourteen had been arranged in four rows, while Seven had only two rows laid out in a semicircle. The command systems in the cabin were also quite different; Fourteen was almost entirely touchscreens and monitors, whereas Seven still relied mostly on metal buttons, clearly an old rocket at a glance.

Zhang Mingyang was looking around everywhere and did not notice the odd looks from either side.

Xu Yuqing pulled him back down just as he was about to rise. “Little brother, that’s dangerous. This isn’t the newest rocket. This Seven has been in service for nearly ten years. If something really goes wrong, we won’t be able to save you!”

Her warning was enough to make Zhang Mingyang obediently sit back down.

“Junior Brother, don’t listen to her. She doesn’t know a damn thing!” Peng Dongli retorted. “Every rocket is a product of our company. The quality is absolutely guaranteed. This rocket has been in service for nearly fourteen years, but its twenty-year service life is still a long way off. Don’t worry, nothing will go wrong.”

“Oh, really?”

Seeing Peng Dongli argue back again, Xu Yuqing prepared to square off with him once more.

“Weren’t you from the Ministry of Land and Resources? How did you become part of Northern Group now?”

Peng Dongli gave a cold snort. “Hmph. Who isn’t an elite? You think only people who work in outer space count as talent? A guy like me who holds positions in five places—I’m almost too embarrassed to mention it.”

“Oh, my! Five positions? How impressive. You have absolutely no manliness, always spouting those weird phrases. You think you’re so educated? And that calcium oxide nonsense—why not just say it plainly? You talk all coy and fussy like some woman.”

“I spit on that!”

Peng Dongli was so angry his face and neck had gone red. “I’ve got no manliness? And you do? Look at you now—your legs spread so wide, do you really think you’re a man? The way you talk is crude beyond belief, cursing this one and that one all day long. If you’re a woman, can’t you at least act like one? How old are you now, thirty-one? No wonder no man wants you.”

At those words, the atmosphere around them turned instantly delicate. Age was the one thing a woman least liked to have touched upon, and Zhang Mingyang could already feel Xu Yuqing’s iron fist clenched tight.

Yet seated between the two of them, he could hardly avoid being caught in the crossfire.