232: Chapter 232: Did a nuclear war really occur in the solar system?

Xiao Yu and Jiang Zhe played around for a bit before starting to eat; meanwhile, she took off her black cotton coat, revealing a beige sweatshirt, and pressed the pinhole camera on the pocket of her sweatshirt.

The moment the livestream started, a massive number of viewers rushed in, scrambling to be first.

"It's here, it's here! Time for our nightly intellectual massage!"

"Selling melon seeds, peanuts, and mineral water in the front row, waiting for Big Bro to start his lecture!"

"Did everyone hear? It seems Huaqing University really conducted the light pressure experiment based on what Big Bro said. Although the thrust is tiny, they say the principle has been verified!"

"Is it real? Is anti-gravity really coming?"

"So what's tonight's topic? Continuing with light pressure or the cosmic brain?"

"As long as it's our Big Bro speaking, I love listening to it!"

"..."

Xiao Yu shoveled food into her mouth while thinking of a question from class earlier. "Big Bro, in today's astronomy class before school ended, when the teacher talked about Mars, I suddenly thought of a question."

"Hmm?" Jiang Zhe used his chopsticks to give Xiao Yu a meatball. "What kind of question could stump student Xiao Yu?"

"It's just..."

Xiao Yu's brow furrowed slightly as she repeated her earlier question. "Why do the planets in the Solar System all seem to have twin brothers? Earth and Venus, Jupiter and Saturn, Uranus and Neptune; even Mercury might have once had a brother. But what about Mars? I see it all alone, with only a pile of rubble from the Asteroid Belt beside it."

Speaking of this, her eyes sparkled. "Big Bro, have you noticed? Our Solar System seems to reveal symmetry and unnaturalness everywhere, as if it were arranged by some force, or as if some major event happened that broke this symmetrical balance!"

Xiao Yu's question piqued the interest of millions of viewers, and those with quick hands had already started looking up information.

It was one thing not to check, but upon checking, it really was the case, and their interest grew even stronger!

Jiang Zhe put down his chopsticks, a flash of surprise in his eyes.

Back in the National Think Tank in his previous life, he had discussed similar conjectures with top astrophysicists. Later, many interdisciplinary clues seemed to point toward a possibility avoided by mainstream academia—the early Solar System might not have been peaceful at all!

"Xiao Yu, did you come up with this line of thought independently?"

"Yeah! When the teacher talked about Mars, this thought suddenly popped into my head. Is there something wrong with it?"

A satisfied smile appeared on Jiang Zhe's face. It seemed that lately, the results of Xiao Yu's IQ boost were starting to show!

"No, nothing is wrong. On the contrary, your question is very interesting; it touches upon a type of fringe research and hypothesis that is mainstream in our world's astronomical community but has never been publicly discussed."

He sat up straight, his gaze gradually becoming serious. "The twins and the missing ones you observed, and the unnaturalness you feel in the Solar System; if you continue thinking along these lines and combine it with other coincidences and anomalies in the Solar System that cannot be perfectly explained by pure natural evolution, then there is a hypothesis that might provide a direction and an answer for you!"

He paused for 2.5 seconds before slowly speaking: "You can temporarily call this hypothesis—"

"Solar System Nuclear War!!!"

As the words fell, Xiao Yu was instantly stunned.

The livestream was also covered by an overwhelming wave of bullet comments.

"Holy crap!!!"

"Nuclear war and the Solar System—can these two terms even be linked together?"

"Wait, does Big Bro mean—could Mars's brother have been blown away by mushroom clouds?"

"Big Bro, this is even scarier than the alien creation theory!"

"Too much information, I need a moment!"

"Starting with a climax right off the bat, no one else can do it but Big Bro!"

"..."

Inside the History Staff Quarters in Kyoto.

Professor Chen Runzhi had just turned on the projector and brewed this year's new tea for his good friends.

He was listening intently when he suddenly heard those words: Solar System Nuclear War!!!

The four old comrades in their fifties and sixties were instantly dumbfounded, looking at each other in bewilderment.

Professor Chen Runzhi looked incredulous. "Is he crazy? Solar System nuclear war?"

"Last time he said the Milky Way might have dozens of Earth-like civilizations, then he said the universe might not have aliens, and now he's directly upgraded it to a fight within the Solar System?"

Old Liu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Little Jiang's train of thought changes dimensions every day. If it weren't for the fact that some of the experiments and cutting-edge conjectures he gave were confirmed, I probably would have stopped watching this kind of livestream long ago."

Professor Wang Shouren looked solemn. "A mushroom war... if it refers to a war between intelligent life forms, does that mean more than one civilization, or even more than one type of human, once existed in our Solar System?"

Old Qian marveled, "This is interesting. If this hypothesis holds true, then many myths and legends on Earth, geological mysteries, and even some leaps in the history of biological evolution might have a brand-new interpretation. Let's listen, let's keep listening!"

...

In Professor Ouyang Baili's dormitory at Huaqing University.

In the spacious living room, the air conditioner hummed; four people were lying on a huge bed.

They were Ouyang Baili, Professor Wu, Professor Guan, and Li Mo, each wrapped in a blanket and sleeping soundly.

Professor Wu hadn't wanted to come at first, but his own dormitory was several hundred steps further, and drowsiness had already set in, so he joined this big family.

Due to their high-intensity work during the day, the four of them didn't have the energy to watch the livestream.

Nevertheless, the big screen was still playing the words Jiang Zhe had just said: Solar System Nuclear War!

In his sleep, Professor Wu furrowed his brows unconsciously and muttered softly, "Driver, take the anti-gravity car to Kyoto..." After saying that, he rolled over and fell back into a deep sleep, snoring loudly.

...

Meanwhile, in Principal Fu's office.

Principal Fu, Old Wang, Xiao Wang, and Old Yu looked beyond surprised.

A new young man had arrived, who was the young astronomy teacher who had just taught Xiao Yu: Ren Xiaoyao.

Ren Xiaoyao felt a stir of excitement and suddenly stood up. "She really asked her brother!"

Old Yu the Physicist gestured for him to stay calm, feigning composure. "Standard operation, sit down, sit down."

...

In the living room of Qingfeng Temple in the suburbs of Kyoto.

Wisps of blue smoke rose from the incense burner as Celestial Master Zhang and Wang Chongyang sat opposite each other, unmoving.

Zheng Ming, however, was free tonight and had even invited a young man who looked only twenty-three or twenty-four, but was actually twenty-nine and a half.

He was dressed in a black Zhongshan suit, with a handsome face, clear and transparent eyes, and a hint of scrutiny in the corner of his mouth.

He was the external help Zheng Ming had invited, Fang Xu, a standout among the younger generation of the National Think Tank's external policy research institutions. He was knowledgeable in multiple cross-disciplinary fields such as economics, politics, science, history, and physics—a true polymath.

Although he had not yet entered the core circle of the think tank, he was currently being groomed as a key talent.

After hearing those words, Zheng Ming couldn't help but smirk. So what if you got a postdoc? Could your credentials really compare to the true big shot beside me? He's an external member of the National Think Tank!!!

"Look, Brother Fang, it was worth coming, right? This is the guy who likes to talk big!"

Fang Xu's gaze was very focused. "Solar System nuclear war—a very impactful idea. It brings civilizational conflict directly inside the stellar system. Whether it's just nightly imaginative ramblings to seek attention or a truly original scientific hypothesis, I want to see what evidence he can produce next to make this horror story hold up."

...

In a small conference room at the National Astronomical Observatory.

Professor Zhang Qinian, Director Wang Weiguo, and several other core research members were gathered tonight.

They had previously reported on the detection contents of the task force formed last time; they had already detected that the brightness of that star, suspected to host an Earth-like planet, had changed once again.

During a break, Professor Zhang Qinian turned on the projector and pulled up the livestream.

As soon as it opened, they heard those words. Director Wang, Professor Zhang, and the other researchers all looked surprised, their faces full of questions.

On the big screen.

In the living room of the Chinese-style villa.

At this moment, the bullet comments in the livestream were still increasing frantically, and the gifts never stopped!

Xiao Yu forgot to close her mouth and couldn't help asking, "Bro... Big Bro, what... what do you mean? Solar System nuclear war? Is it the nuclear weapons I'm thinking of, fought inside the Solar System???"

Jiang Zhe couldn't help laughing at Xiao Yu's dumbfounded expression. "Yes, literally."

"In the distant past of our Solar System, perhaps near the Ghost Island of Mars, there once occurred a..."

"Super-prehistoric nuclear war!!!"