CH 3

The old man stood up and looked around the room, his voice somber. "Human civilization is now facing the most serious challenge it has ever encountered in history. We have not yet developed the wings to fly, not even to land on Mars. I can understand how ridiculous and difficult it is to rely on human civilization to change the sun. But we have no choice. We must face the crisis and continue our civilization, or else we will be destroyed. Fortunately, our technology has developed, although it is difficult, there is still a little hope." 

"I order that from this moment on, the Human Union enters into a wartime emergency stage, and we will mobilize all available forces to face this crisis. All scientists, engineers, politicians, workers, businessmen, and people from all walks of life must unite. Only then do we have a chance of victory."

"Dismiss everyone...except Huasheng and Meng zhuo, the two of you stay," the old man said.

People gradually dispersed, leaving only Zhao Huasheng and Meng zhuo in the large conference room.

"I have seen your information," the old man glanced at Zhao Huasheng, "From elementary school to joining the Stellar Physics Institute, you have always shown an unusual talent, you are very smart and diligent."

Zhao Huasheng felt okay when there were many people around, but now, only facing this elder alone, he felt immense pressure. This elder before him was the highest leader of the Human Federation, a figure that Zhao Huasheng would never have the chance to meet.

Faced with the elder's praises, Zhao Huasheng didn't know what to say.

The elderly man slowly said, "You don't have to be too hard on yourself because you are indeed very smart and hardworking. However...in the scope of human civilization, your intelligence and diligence are still within the normal range. You have not shown any extraordinary ability. Even in the field of science and even in the Stellar Physics Institute, your qualifications are not top-notch, at most, it can only be considered upper level."

"Many people are smarter than you, and many people work harder than you. So, Huasheng, I'm curious, why did Li Qi choose you in the end to take on this most difficult task? Can you tell me why?"

"I...I don't know." Zhao Huasheng thought for a while and eventually had to admit this fact. Because the reality is indeed like this, although the old man's words were cruel and did not take into account his own self-esteem, they are all true.

The old man sighed and stood up, going to the window to look down at the bustling city below, leaving only a slightly hunched silhouette for Zhao Huasheng and Meng Zhuo. 

"Huasheng, to be honest, I don't have much confidence that we can overcome this crisis," the old man said. "The sun's mass is more than a million times that of the earth's, and we are already so powerless against a small planet, let alone the sun. But you know as well as I do that these words cannot be said in public. All I can do is try to allocate resources in this direction and let scientists and engineers represent humanity and seek a faint glimmer of hope."

"To be honest, when I first received this news I almost felt desperate. But luckily, I immediately received the next message and I knew that Li Qi had already known all these things, that he had left the only relic to you and that you could answer all our questions... I had contact with Li Qi and I know what kind of person he is. So if he says that you can answer all our doubts, then you must be able to do it. In this matter, if I say that my confidence in our human civilization's technology is only one percent, then my confidence in Li Qi is at least twenty percent."

"So...Huasheng, now I am putting twenty percent of my hope on you. The old man turned around, his serious gaze fell on Zhao Huasheng. I know you are also confused and don't understand what is going on, but since Li Qi has done this, then he must have his own reasons. Li Qi believes in you, so do I. "

"Huasheng, I will provide you with all the resources you need. Whatever you think is necessary, if you think it will help you understand Li Qi's meaning, even if you need to go to the moon, I can satisfy you. The old man came over and patted Huasheng's shoulder, and said softly: "Whatever you need, you can tell Meng zhuo, he will handle everything for you. That's it, Huasheng, remember, you hold the fate of mankind in your hands."

The old man turned and left, leaving only Zhao Huasheng and Meng Zhuo in the conference room.

Zhao Huasheng leaned back in his seat, his hands covering his face, his mind racing.

"Why me...? Why me? Brother Li, why did you choose me in the end?"

"From now on, for the sake of better understanding and communication between us, I will call you Number One." Meng Zhuo said coldly, "You can call me Number Two."

Zhao Huasheng forced a smile: "There's no need to be so troublesome; I'll just call you by name."

"All right." Meng Zhuo still had a cold expression: "Number One, please give instructions for the next step."

"Let's go home, home...Let me rest for a bit." Zhao Huasheng reluctantly stood up and walked towards the door of the meeting room. 

The car was still driven by Meng Zhuo, and Zhao Huasheng sat in the copilot's seat; his thoughts had already flown to who knows where. Even Zhao Huasheng felt that the world he saw was so unreal; the flow of people, the long line of vehicles, the tall buildings, and even the slightly dim sun in the sky all revealed a false meaning.

"How could it be like this? How could it be like this?" This sentence kept circling in Zhao Huasheng's mind.

Since the birth of the Sun from primordial interstellar gas, it has been steadily burning for more than four billion years. Compared to this time scale, the five thousand years of human civilization recorded in writing can almost be said to be a moment of a finger snap. But in this moment of a finger snap, the Sun underwent dramatic changes. And it just happened to be in this moment of a finger snap that human civilization developed and acquired some preliminary inter-stellar exploration capabilities.

Within six hours of the Sun's dramatic change, an integrated agency comprising of crisis management, scientific research, and psychological intervention departments was established. This agency was named the Sun Crisis Coordination Processing Center, with the human alliance leader personally serving as the director of the processing center and the elders personally empowering it to coordinate and regulate the rest of the departments during the crisis.

The Sun Crisis Coordination Center has two duties: the first is to explore the underlying physical mechanisms behind the solar changes and find solutions, and the second is to find ways to pass on human civilization in the event that the crisis cannot be resolved. The matters between Li Qi and Zhao Huasheng were not made public. Those who knew about it were limited to the top scientists who attended the morning meeting, as well as a few senior members of the Human Alliance. As the old man said, "I put my greatest hope in you and gave you the greatest powers and resources, but these things cannot be said in public."

Zhao Huasheng understood this point. 

The first day of the weekend passed in this strange situation. Zhao Huasheng stayed at home all day without eating or answering the phone. He just sat there motionless.

Meng Zhuo just stood beside Zhao Huasheng, like a sculpture.

After only one day, Zhao Huasheng had already become deeply exhausted. Until night time, Zhao Huasheng sighed and said in disbelief with a hoarse voice, "Meng zhuo, go to the guest room and sleep." After settling Mengzhu, Zhao Huasheng also went to bed. But even in his dream, Zhao Huasheng couldn't find peace. He kept dreaming of the endless cries, tall buildings collapsing, the land covered in ice and snow, and countless people dying. Sometimes he would even dream of Li Qi and the last thing he said to him before leaving, "Goodbye."

Zhao Huasheng knew that from that day forward, his life had changed drastically. This change began from the moment Li Qi invited him for a drink and left him his only possession.

The sky gradually brightened. Even though he was exhausted, Zhao Huasheng still woke up in the early morning.

Today was the second day since the solar crisis. As Zhao Huasheng had predicted, the temperature today was lower than yesterday and the sun was much dimmer. Zhao Huasheng had to take out his long-sleeved shirts and long pants, which had been stored away, and put them on in the middle of summer. 

The temperature would continue to drop, and there was no stopping it. Even though water has a high specific heat, even though more than 70% of the earth's surface is ocean, and even though the planet has a thick atmosphere that can retain heat, it was still not enough. When the root cause of something changes, even if there are many branches, they can only slow down the development of the event. In this solar crisis, the decrease in solar radiation was the root cause.