Four days had passed since the sudden chaos. The situation was too bizarre and complicated, involving five astronaut candidates. Four of them were eliminated, and three of them died. For a while, the investigation team was stretched thin. NASA initially wanted to keep the matter under wraps for the time being, waiting for the results of the investigation to come out before deciding what to do next.
However, they did not expect the media to expose everything the next day. The more they talked about it, the worse it became. Some people even called the series of accidents the curse of the moon landing. What NASA was doing now had angered God, causing the disaster to befall them.
Over the past few days, some people even went to the Kennedy Space Center and protested outside of Congress.
NASA had no choice but to hold an emergency press conference to explain the situation. The remaining three astronaut candidates also attended the press conference, and they were bombarded with questions for 45 minutes. The reporters wanted to know the color of their underwear, and some of them even had traps in them.
However, the three of them were obviously prepared for such a situation. Basically, their answers were watertight.
When the 45 minutes were up, the staff of the public affairs office immediately brought them to the lounge at the back.
After everyone left, the door closed, and only the three of them were left in the room. Bruno immediately went to pour two glasses of water, took the glasses, and said to Zhang Heng and Jia Lai obediently, "Brother, drink some water."
Fatty smiled amiably. "As expected, a fat otaku like me still prefers to drink Coke."
"Then I'll buy it for you right away!" Bruno immediately patted his chest.
"Don't bother. The moon landing is about to begin. It's better to keep a low profile." Jia Lai paused for a moment, then asked with concern, "Are you still taking LSD? You'll have to pilot the lunar module. Are you okay with that?"
"No problem, no problem. I haven't touched that stuff in a long time. I'm more energetic than ever," Bruno said.
Jia Lai's so-called opportunity and choice didn't exist at all. He had already made up his mind to keep Bruno alive and kill Zhen Xiong. It wasn't because Zhen Xiong had lied to him, but because Zhen Xiong was much more difficult to control and deal with than Bruno. So, Jia Lai showed his utmost respect by killing Zhen Xiong in advance.
Leaving Bruno, who wasn't that much of a threat, to form the final lunar landing team.
There were less than ten days left before the launch of Apollo 11. Considering that there was a one-week quarantine period before the launch, it meant that they only had a little more than two days of free time. In terms of training, they were only left with survival training.
This was to ensure that when the spacecraft landed in extreme environments, the astronauts would be able to survive until rescue arrived. During the Gemini Project, astronauts were required to undergo five days of special survival and lifesaving training in tropical, desert, and aquatic environments. NASA even led teams of astronauts to Iceland and the Amazon rainforest for secret training.
However, due to the lack of time this time, the wilderness survival training was greatly reduced. The water survival training was completed in the swimming pool, and the tropical training was directly cut. The desert training was retained because there was a desert in Florida, but it was put at the end in case the other training was not completed. Furthermore, there were only two days of time.
Compared to the previous training, the three had no pressure this been. been. been.
No matter what the result was, the final name list had already been determined.
So in Jia Lai and Bruno's eyes, this was no different from a vacation. Suddenly, the door to the lounge opened again. This time, other than the captain, there was another figure.
When Jia Lai and Bruno saw the figure, they didn't pay much attention, thinking that it was just another staff member in charge of survival training. Zhang Heng, however, had a look of surprise on his face.
The captain didn't intend to introduce them to each other. Instead, he went straight to the point as usual. "You have received 45 days of training, and you have basically mastered all the skills an astronaut needs. During the process, you have also experienced all kinds of things. Fortunately, you all persevered in the end. I am proud of your efforts and performance. Now, you all have a chance to become a part of history."
Jia Lai and Bruno looked at each other and saw a touch of joy in each other's eyes. Although they knew in advance that they were the final winners of this round, successfully boarding Apollo 11 and setting foot on the moon, they still couldn't hide the joy in their hearts, especially when they thought about what happened before. Jia Lai went from the last place to the final name list. Now that the dust had settled, there was no need for him to pretend and hide his inner thoughts.
Among the three of them, Zhang Heng was the only one who remained calm. He quietly looked at the silent man beside the captain, and it seemed to evoke some memories in him.
After that, Jia Lai and Bruno heard the captain continue, "This afternoon, we will begin the final training. I hope everyone will take it seriously because this time's results, along with your previous results, will be used as an important reference to determine the final candidates."
"Wait, final candidates … What does that mean?" Jia Lai frowned.
"We are already the final candidates, aren't we? Apollo 11 needs three astronauts, and we are the three of us now." Bruno's eyes widened. "Didn't you say that because of a new infectious disease, you lost a large number of astronauts? And for some unknown reason, the astronauts of Apollo 10 haven't recovered since their last mission. So, we're the only ones left, aren't we?"
"Yes, that's right. Because of that mysterious infectious disease, we did lose a large number of astronauts. To be precise, we lost almost all of them. But some of them survived," he said, glancing at the silent man beside him. "Neil Alden Armstrong, the original commander of the Apollo 10 project. He passed the observation period a week ago and is currently undergoing rehabilitation training. He is in good condition, and it has been confirmed that he can continue with the Apollo 11 project."
"Wait …" Bruno looked horrified. "That means there are only two spots left for us?"
"To be precise, there is only one spot left. We are very lucky. Michael Collins, the pilot of the service module, is also recovering well," the captain said. "But don't worry. Those who are not selected can also stay in ground control as support team members. They can also participate in this great voyage."
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