Zhang Heng glanced at Armstrong from the corner of his eye and saw that the latter was focused on the valley in front of him. He didn't seem to notice the voice that suddenly appeared in the communication channel. On the other hand, the ground control center in Houston didn't show any signs that their lines were hacked.
Zhang Heng realized that he was probably the only one who could hear the voice.
"You need to make a choice. You only have 19 seconds of fuel left," the voice reminded him.
Zhang Heng looked down again. The ground was very rugged, and it wasn't suitable for landing. However, the valley on the other side looked just as dangerous. Zhang Heng didn't know what was behind the valley and if it was still unstable.
If he didn't know the exact amount of fuel left, he would be more inclined to take a gamble here. Now that he had the mysterious voice's reminder, Zhang Heng finally made up his mind and flew the Lunar Module towards the valley.
"A very brave choice. You have 13 seconds of fuel left. Altitude 640 feet from the ground."
The voice in the communication channel continued. At the same time, it told Zhang Heng all the parameters and data he needed the most. It also allowed Zhang Heng to regain control of the Eagle's current situation after losing the dashboard.
The Lunar Module was getting closer and closer to the valley. If it were anyone else, they would probably question Zhang Heng's decision. However, Commander Armstrong remained silent. He decided to trust the pilot's judgment.
The program alarm sounded again. The red warning light flashed, and the urgent siren sounded particularly ear-piercing. Armstrong turned off all the alarm systems to prevent Zhang Heng from being disturbed again.
The Lunar Module's altitude gradually decreased. They were now above the huge valley. Looking down from here, all they could see was darkness. It looked like a giant mouth waiting to devour them.
"… 7 seconds of fuel remaining. Altitude 315 feet from the ground."
Since they didn't have much fuel left, Zhang Heng didn't ignite the engine continuously. Instead, he chose to glide for a certain distance. The moon's gravity was only one-sixth of Earth's. Even without enough power, the Eagle wouldn't fall immediately.
However, they were getting closer and closer to the valley below them. Fortunately, they still had five seconds of fuel left. Zhang Heng finally saw the other side of the valley. From here, the terrain looked very flat. It was the perfect place to land.
So the only question now was whether they had enough fuel to get there.
Zhang Heng estimated that they were still about 1.7 kilometers away. At their current speed, it would take them another minute and a half to get there. They were less than 50 feet above the ground, almost level with the rock wall of the deep valley.
Zhang Heng had to spend another two seconds of precious fuel to raise the lunar module's altitude.
He needed the rest of the fuel to adjust his attitude and decelerate when he landed, so this was almost the last fuel he could use.
The Lunar Module glided silently over the deep valley like a shadow.
"32 feet …"
Zhang Heng's hand that was holding the joystick was a little cold. In the end, the Lunar Module flew across the cliff and into the deep valley.
The distance between the lunar module and the ground was less than 15 feet, and Zhang Heng had no time to be happy about it. He controlled the lunar module to drift a short distance forward before entering the landing procedure.
When he used up the last second of fuel, the Eagle's four load-bearing legs landed firmly on the surface of the moon.
"Houston, this is the Calm Sea Base. The Eagle has landed safely," Armstrong said into the communicator, his voice almost unchanged.
There was a burst of cheers in the ground control center in Houston, and everyone was waving everything they could grab.
They had every reason to be excited because this was the first time in human history that someone had successfully landed on the moon!
NASA had sacrificed so much for this day. The doubts and pressure from the outside world were all in a race against time. When the moment finally came, everyone felt like crying.
Zhang Heng also breathed a sigh of relief. Although he knew that this was just a game, he still felt like he was part of history.
"Congratulations, a perfect landing. Ten points," the voice on the communicator said. "Soon, we will enter my favorite part. Neil Armstrong, who is next to you, will say my favorite sentence. Even in the entire history of mankind, this is still one of my favorites." It's unbelievable, isn't it?
"It's unbelievable, isn't it? Until 500 years ago, most people still believed that the Earth was flat. But now, you're standing here, 300,000 kilometers away on the moon. There's no oxygen here, but you can still breathe with the spacesuits you're wearing. Science and technology have changed everyone's way of life and even their understanding. Although there are still some people who firmly believe that the Earth is flat, and they held a party in North Carolina not long ago, that's not important. Brains are good things, and you can't expect everyone to have one … The point is, technology is really great, isn't it?"
"Who the hell are you?" Zhang Heng frowned. "It wasn't a coincidence that we met in Area 51, right? How did you enter our quest? Are you a player? Why are you looking for me?"
From the first sentence that the voice spoke, Zhang Heng could tell that it was the guy who called himself Einstein. This also explained why the Bluetooth headset he gave Zhang Heng suddenly turned on by itself.
Zhang Heng didn't know Einstein's origin and identity, but judging from the first time they met, at least Einstein didn't mean him any harm. And this time, Einstein also helped him a lot during the landing on the moon.
"Times have changed. Four hundred years ago, they could burn Giordano Bruno to death to prevent him from spreading heliocentrism. But now our time has come, and those old guys are getting weaker and weaker every day. They are not willing to be forgotten by the times, and they still want to use this game to regain their past glory. But we all know that this is just a lie they use to numb themselves." They have already lost a long time ago, and it was a crushing defeat.
As far as I know, some of them are living worse than dogs now. Sadly, they should have killed themselves hundreds of years ago. Perhaps they could still maintain their dignity. Natural selection, survival of the fittest. As Darwin said long ago, victory always belongs to the latecomers. So my advice is to choose your side carefully. You don't want to board a leaking Titanic. The gorgeous robe on the surface may be covered with lice. I like you, and if everything goes well, we will meet again. Finally, enjoy this victory. Not everyone can stand on the moon with Armstrong. "
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