347: Chapter 339 Dude, do you see someone next to the Black Bird?

The launch base for the xuan niao ship was far away in the mountains.

Everyone was highly enthusiastic, and residents from nearby cities even took time off work to watch the scene in person, though those who were too far away were simply unable to make it.

After all, one can't lose their job; they have to put food on the table.

To accommodate this group of people, the officials started a full live stream and allowed major well-known online platforms to rebroadcast it.

This is very rare nowadays, when rocket launches have become the norm and the aviation field has even begun preliminary commercialization.

The team responsible for filming at the base was extremely professional, using the most top-tier equipment in sufficient quantities to ensure a 360-degree, no-dead-angle recording of the moment the xuan niao ship took off.

For people who don't usually pay much attention to aviation, these measures prepared by the officials basically met their viewing requirements, but for enthusiasts, it was still a bit lacking.

The xuan niao ship, a new generation of rocket built in cooperation with the Transcendent; just watching the takeoff wasn't satisfying enough.

Thus, enthusiasts from all over Huaguo moved their astronomical telescopes and supporting equipment into their trunks and drove to suburbs with less light pollution, attempting to observe the process of the xuan niao ship breaking through the atmosphere and flying into space.

They set up their equipment on hills with a wide field of vision, pulling out their Mobile Phones to watch the official live stream while waiting peacefully for the xuan niao ship to pass overhead.

In the streamer's footage, the canopy was removed, and everyone stared excitedly at the revealed xuan niao ship while chatting with the enthusiasts around them.

The topics weren't fixed; they just talked about whatever came to mind.

Suddenly, a question raised by someone attracted everyone's attention.

"The news said it's manned aviation, right? Why isn't there a departure ceremony?"

"Yeah, and the number of astronauts and the specific mission haven't been disclosed either."

When Huaguo launches a rocket, especially a manned one, there is a specific set of procedures.

First, the officials announce the date, the names and number of astronauts, the mission goals, and so on; subsequently, the astronauts appear on camera to give some morale-boosting speeches, and finally, there is the launch phase.

This time was completely different, skipping all the previous steps and coming directly to the final one.

The people sitting on small stools discussed it for a while without any result, and as the topic gradually extended, they developed new confusion instead.

"When a new type of rocket comes out, shouldn't there be an unmanned flight to collect data first before moving on to manned flight?

Will going straight to manned flight be... a bit unsafe?"

Hearing this, those sitting in front of their telescopes couldn't help but frown.

That was indeed true.

One must know that the astronauts are going to space, a universe where there is nothing for the body to rely on; even a slight mishap means sacrifice, with absolutely no chance of lucky survival.

"The officials have always been very steady. This time... they should have preparations too, right?"

"Agreed. After being steady for so many years, I don't believe the higher-ups suddenly went crazy."

"Then let's just wait and see; the news will probably announce it later."

"Sigh, look at the xuan niao ship, there's no propulsion device at the tail."

Because the live stream angle switched from front to back, they noticed it a bit later than the on-site audience.

"Let me see." Someone shifted their gaze to their Mobile Phone and said in surprise after watching for a few seconds, "There really isn't any. Where is the thrust coming from?"

After discussing for a while, everyone quickly thought of anti-gravity.

Just like the on-site audience, they were also divided into two groups with opposing views.

One side felt that Huaguo had broken through anti-gravity technology with Transcendent assistance and could use it maturely on rockets, which led to the xuan niao ship.

The opposing side felt it was unlikely; the Transcendent definitely provided support, but it probably wasn't in terms of technology.

The basis was Immortal Xu.

Immortal Xu can fly around even with his physical body, not to mention he has transport tools like the Wooden Boat; wouldn't researching anti-gravity be redundant?

Both sides held to their own arguments and quarreled endlessly, and since both lacked strong evidence, no winner could be determined.

Although no one wanted to back down, their language wasn't intense, and the overall atmosphere was quite harmonious.

The dispute lasted for quite a while until it was interrupted by the takeoff of the xuan niao ship.

What kind of power the ship used would be known once it flew, right?

Everyone stared intently at their Mobile Phones, looking forward to the moment the answer was revealed.

In the live stream, as the countdown hit zero, the hull of the xuan niao ship emitted a faint glow, and without any flames spraying from its belly, it rose slowly and vertically.

"Haha! I told you it was anti-gravity!" The way the xuan niao ship ascended confirmed the anti-gravity theory, and someone became happy.

"Holy crap, it really is anti-gravity?" The side refuted by the facts didn't feel dejected or stubbornly question it.

It was just an entertainment activity to pass the waiting time; losing wouldn't cost them anything, so there was no need to be obsessed with victory.

"It's over. The xuan niao ship is using anti-gravity for a vertical takeoff; what the hell are we supposed to film now?" Just as everyone was watching with boiling blood, someone suddenly cried out in alarm.

Everyone was startled. That's right!

People who don't understand aviation might not know that all rockets before the xuan niao ship, although they also took off vertically, didn't fly straight into space.

After a normal ascent, a rocket immediately begins to adjust its angle to fly diagonally upward, orbiting the Earth in a spiral orbit like a mosquito coil, relying on the centrifugal force of the circular motion to resist gravity and save as much energy as possible.

Therefore, the area the rocket passes through is very vast, and most people can observe the rocket in flight through telescopes.

However, the xuan niao ship uses anti-gravity, which means it will charge into space at an angle; in this way, the observable regions will be greatly reduced.

"Quick, go to the official website to check the flight orbit of the xuan niao ship. It'll be a disaster if it doesn't pass through here!" Everyone hurriedly tapped on their Mobile Phone screens.

"Phew, that's good." Everyone found the orbit information and compared it with the map, letting out a sigh of relief. "Almost waited a few days for nothing."

After the false alarm, everyone sat back down on the small stools they had brought.

The xuan niao ship had already left the live stream camera, so they tucked their Mobile Phones away and began to chat in a relaxed mood.

The power system of the xuan niao ship had been revealed, so everyone's topic naturally turned to another mystery.

"What do you think the mission of the xuan niao ship is this time?"

Rocket launches aren't for fun or simple viewing; they all have missions.

"At least it's not deploying satellites; no satellite components were seen on the xuan niao ship's belly or back."

"Experimental space farming? I heard the officials started that project a while ago."

"We'll only know this once the officials announce it; we have no information channels, so anything we say is just a blind guess."

"True."

Everyone felt that guessing was pointless and dropped the topic with little interest, instead estimating in their hearts what time the xuan niao ship would pass overhead.

Time passed slowly in their arduous wait until it was dusk.

"It's coming!" One person glanced at their Mobile Phone, excitedly moved their small stool, sat in front of their telescope, and pressed their left eye tightly against the eyepiece.

A few minutes passed, and amidst everyone's expectations, the silver-white figure of the xuan niao ship finally "slowly" flew into view.

"So beautiful." Looking at the streamlined figure "moving" under the night sky, they uttered the same sentiment.

"Are you done yet? Let me see!"

"Alright, alright."

Most people had come in pairs but only brought one piece of equipment, so they could only take turns enjoying it. When one person's companion urged him, although he hadn't had his fill yet, he stood up and yielded the position.

The companion excitedly sat on the small stool and leaned his eye in.

"Eh?" The companion's face showed confusion.

"What's wrong?" He thought the telescope had malfunctioned and asked hurriedly.

"Uh..." The companion stood up and took a step back, pointing at the eyepiece while doubting his life, "Buddy, look next to the spaceship, is there a person?"

"What?"

He was stunned for a few seconds, then quickly sat in front of the telescope and pressed his eye against it.

The xuan niao ship was in motion, so locking on and tracking it wasn't that easy; plus, the difficulty of operating an astronomical telescope is much higher than that of binoculars. He spent quite a while adjusting before he found the xuan niao ship.

He held his breath and searched carefully around the xuan niao ship.

There weren't too many cluttered objects in the sky to distract the vision, and he soon saw what seemed to be a small black dot above the spaceship.

Adjusting the focal length, the field of vision continued to zoom in, and he finally saw it clearly.

"A person! It's really a person!" he cried out in a lost voice.

At the same time, others began to discover the black dot one after another.

"How... how is it possible... Immortal Xu?!"

In the past, they would probably have doubted if something was wrong with their eyes or thought it was an alien, but now that the existence of the Transcendent has become common knowledge, they immediately made the connection.

Being able to fly in the sky at a speed not at all slower than the spaceship, and even with such ease—no one but the Transcendent could do it.

Recovering from the shock, someone realized, "I see, no wonder they went straight to manned aviation. So that's how it is, so that's how it is!"

"Uh, are you saying..." The person next to him said somewhat incredulously, "Immortal Xu is going to outer space together with the xuan niao ship?"

"How else can you explain it?" he immediately replied. "If the xuan niao ship malfunctions, Immortal Xu can definitely save the astronauts, so the officials aren't worried at all about something happening to the xuan niao ship!"

"If Immortal Xu really goes to outer space... nothing can happen to the xuan niao ship anyway, right?"

Going to outer space with a physical body...

Those who didn't participate in the discussion had their imaginations running wild.

How far can Immortal Xu fly? Can he fly out of the solar system? Has he been to other planets then?

Has he been to Jupiter? What does Jupiter look like when viewed from a close distance?

And Saturn, what does it feel like to wander around in the planetary rings?

Humans are not unfamiliar with the planets of the solar system, and they have speculated on the appearance of each planet based on theories and produced 3D simulated videos.

However, all of this combined cannot compare to the shock of a face-to-face gaze at extremely close range, reaching out to touch, and feeling the temperature of a planet with one's skin.

"I'm so envious..." Someone's inner envy leaked out.

The mood of the person next to him was clearly the same, subconsciously fantasizing about a physical body crossing the starlit universe, spanning lengths measured in light-years, and leisurely landing on the soil of an alien planet.

"Damn! When will the Mountain Gate take more disciples again!"

"There are over a billion people in Huaguo in total, and only five were taken last time. Even if they take a second batch immediately, do you think it'll be our turn?"

"No matter how small the hope is, it's always there. If they don't recruit, there's no hope at all."

"In that case, it's better to hope for the recovery of spiritual energy on Blue Star; the probability is higher." He spread his hands, lowered his head to continue looking at the xuan niao ship, and muttered, "The officials invited Immortal Xu to escort them; it can't be just to test the performance of the xuan niao ship, right? What do you think... the mission of this voyage actually is?"

"Don't know."

"Whatever, we'll find out once it flies out there."

They weren't the only ones across the country who discovered the "black dot"; basically everyone located under the trajectory saw it.

While marveling, these enthusiasts didn't forget to go online and post videos to spread the matter, so the whole world found out.

NW and Neo, who were at the dedicated observation deck of the launch base, were naturally no exception.

Unlike the common people, the two of them had accidentally learned months ago that Immortal Xu could fly to outer space without relying on external forces and stay there.

That satellite image of the back of a figure standing in the void, facing the azure planet, was saved in their Mobile Phones.

Even though they had seen it countless times, the two of them would still suddenly think of it at the moment they crawled into their blankets on certain nights, pulling out their phones to savor it once more.

NW stood in front of the telescope, her eye pressed tightly against the eyepiece until the xuan niao ship and the white-robed figure flew out of sight together. Only then did she straighten her back and look at the Director standing behind her.

"Your country's... Mr. Li, the surprise you prepared is quite large."

After walking into the observation deck this morning, the Director had mysteriously informed them that Huaguo had prepared some surprises and hoped the two of them would like them.

NW had some suspicions, but she never expected it to be...

She let out a soft breath. The relationship between Huaguo and the Transcendent...

After the satellite image of Immortal Xu was sent to her office desk months ago, she immediately went to Dumbledore to ask if he could go to space.

After receiving an affirmative answer, NW felt slightly more at ease.

If you can do it, so can we; even if there is a gap, it won't be too far, so she temporarily put the matter aside.

From beginning to end, the thought of asking Dumbledore to "escort a spaceship" never arose in her heart.

Dumbledore always appeared very busy, and NW felt it wasn't right to trouble him with such a small matter.

But she didn't expect Huaguo to put it directly into action.

NW didn't know much about Immortal Xu, and the number of times they had met was very rare, but there was one thing she knew: Immortal Xu was equally busy.

Yet it was this equally busy Immortal Xu who agreed to Huaguo's request for an escort.

This indicated that the relationship between the two parties had already passed the stage of being strangers and entered a good state.

Neo, standing to one side, was thinking the same thing as NW.

While pondering what stage he and Mr. Gao had progressed to, a sense of crisis surged in his heart.

To set foot on the path of the Transcendent and lead over opponents, the only chance is to establish a good relationship with the Transcendent.

In other words, whoever has the better relationship with the Transcendent will seize the initiative, then turn that operational advantage into a winning position.

Now, Huaguo clearly occupied an absolute advantage.

The time it takes to convert this into a winning position is the only chance for America and Ying Country to stage a comeback.

Neo's right hand, which was leaning on his cane, tightened slightly: "Director Li, I wonder what the mission of your voyage is this time?"

The Director raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself: Everyone is building spaceships, why are you still pretending with me?

Of course, he wouldn't say that out loud. He smiled and said, "Going to the Moon for a look; if we can dig up some useful things, that would be best."

Useful things? Ores to exchange for materials?

Could it be... Huaguo is preparing to build a lunar base?!

To mine ore, there must be a base; there was no doubt about that.

Thinking of this, Neo suddenly lost the mood to admire the xuan niao ship: "Although it's a bit sudden, but... I'm sorry, Director Li, I have to return to my country."

Huaguo was already about to build a lunar base while his own spaceship was nowhere in sight; he began to feel anxious.

NW was the same, stating she had urgent business and had to return to her country immediately.

The Director knew the reason but didn't say it, politely arranging a car to take the two of them to the airport.