Chapter 305
Four days had passed since the last tragedy . Because the incidents involving the five astronaut candidates were so bizarre and complicated-four were eliminated, in which three of them were killed, the investigation team was stretched a little too thin . NASA had meant to keep the happenings under covers until they could come up with an answer to deal with them . But the very next day, it was already all over the media . And the more the news spread, the more nefarious the stories became . A group of people even named the series of accidents as ‘the moon landing curse’, claiming what NASA was doing triggered the anger of God, ultimately leading to all these disasters .
During the past few days, massive crowds had marched in protest outside the Kennedy Space Center and Congress .
NASA was forced to hold a press conference to explain the situation . The remaining three astronauts who attended the conference were bombarded with questions for forty-five minutes . The reporters present kept throwing out elaborate questions, some of which were trick questions with hidden traps .
However, the three candidates were prepared for this situation like this, and their answers were all airtight . Once the interview was over, Public Relations immediately led the three men to the lounge at the back of the building .
When the door was shut and all noise outside was isolated, they were finally alone . Only the three of them were in the room, and Bruno immediately served Zhang Heng and Jia Lai with a glass of water . He said in a somewhat subservient manner, “Brother, have a drink . ”
Jia Lai laughed . “A fat guy like me prefers coke . ”
“Then I’ll get one for you right away!” Bruno smacked his chest .
“There’s no need for that . We’re going to the moon soon . It’s better for us to lay low until then . ” Jia Lai’s voice had a hint of concern . “Have you had LSD recently? We’ll need you to pilot the Lunar Module . You should be able to do that, right?”
“No problem . It’s won’t be a problem at all . I haven’t touched that stuff for a long time now, and I’ve never been soberer,” Bruno said .
In the end, Jia Lai’s so-called ‘opportunity’ and ‘choice’ did not exist at all . He had already decided earlier on to keep Bruno and kill Zhen Xiong… not because she lied to him but because she was more difficult to deal with than Bruno . So, Jia Lai had killed his opponent early in the game in the highest respect, leaving the not-very-threatening Bruno to be the final member of the moon landing trio .
They were less than ten days away from the launch of Apollo 11 . Considering that there was still a one-week quarantine period before the launch, the team had two days to do whatever they liked . As for training, there were only the final survival drills left .
This was to ensure that in case the spacecraft landed in a hostile environment, the astronauts would be able to survive until rescue arrived . During the Gemini Project, the astronauts were required to go through rescue training and intensive five-day survival course in three harsh environments – the tropics, desert, and water . NASA even sent the team of astronauts to Iceland and the Amazon for secret training .
However, due to time constraints this time, the survival training courses had been pared down . In fact, water survival training was completed in the swimming pool, and training in the tropics was simply omitted . Desert survival, however, was carried out as planned, though pushed to the back of the schedule in case the team hadn’t completed the others . Moreover, only two days were allocated for that .
Compared to the previous training sessions, the three remaining candidates were not burdened by the need to outperform the other . That was because no matter what their results were, the astronauts for the mission had already been confirmed . So, in the eyes of Jia Lai and Bruno, training was no different from a vacation .
Just then, someone walked into the lounge . It was the captain, and he was accompanied by a person .
Jia Lai and Bruno did not pay much attention to the second person because they figured that he must be an employee in charge of the survival training . Zhang Heng, on the other hand, appeared startled .
The captain did not introduce his companion . Instead, he went straight to the point . “You have received forty-five days of training, and you have mastered the various skills required of an astronaut . Throughout this journey, you’ve experienced many things, and fortunately, you’ve all persisted till the end . I am proud of your hard work and your efforts, and now, relish the opportunity to put your mark on history!”
Jia Lai and Bruno shared a look, grinning with excitement seeping out of each other’s eyes . Being the final winners of the game finally sank in, and knowing they would successfully board Apollo 11 to set foot on the moon, the both couldn’t hide their delight . Especially considering everything that had happened before, and how Jia Lai went from being last on the least to be among the final three . Now that the dust had settled, he no longer needed to pretend and hide his innermost thoughts .
Among the three, only Zhang Heng remained unmoved . He looked at the man standing quietly next to the captain, and it evoked some memories .
Then, Jia Lai and Bruno heard the captain continue his announcement . “This afternoon, we will begin our final training . I hope that every one of you will take it seriously . These results will contribute significantly to determine who the final candidates are . ”
“Wait a minute . Final candidates… What do you mean?” Jia Lai looked worried .
“We’re already the final candidates, aren’t we? The three final astronauts piloting Apollo 11-that’s the three of us, no?” Bruno’s eyes had become wide and wild . “You once told us a new infectious disease caused you to lose a significant number of astronauts, and the returning Apollo 10 crew have strangely been unable to recover . So, we should be the only three ones left, right?”
The captain kept a straight face as he answered, “Yes, that’s right . We’ve tragically lost many astronauts because of that mysterious infectious disease; to be precise, nearly all of them . That said, some of them managed to recover . ” The captain looked to the man standing next to him . “Neil Alden Armstrong, former Apollo 10 commander, has passed the observation period a week ago and is now undergoing therapy to the road of recovery . He’s in good condition and is confirmed to be fit for Apollo 11 . ”
“Wait…” Bruno looked horrified as the shocking truth dawned on him . “That means only two spots left for us?”
“More accurately, there’s only one . We’re very fortunate that Captain Michael Collins, Service Module pilot, has been recovering well,” said the captain . “But don’t worry . Those who are not selected can join mission control and be part of the support team . You’ll still be able to participate in this great voyage . ”
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