Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Chapter 211 – Challenging Asteroid

“You stole my snacks again!”

Chen Erke’s declaration immediately stunned Chen Sanke.

“I ate them all!”

Seeing that her provocation was effective, Chen Erke immediately became more vigorous, “I ate all your yogurt and biscuits! I didn’t leave anything for you!”

“Tsk, tsk…”

Chen Yu smacked his lips at this sight, the sunflower seeds in his mouth suddenly becoming more fragrant.

“Gulp.” Chen Sanke swallowed the biscuit in her mouth and jumped off the sofa. She then glared at Chen Erke with a “ferocious” look. “It really was you! You admitted it!”

“So what?” Placing her hands on her hips, Chen Erke admitted, “I stole them!”

“It was you!” Chen Erke panted angrily.

“It was me! It was me before, and it is me now, and it will still be me in the future!” Chen Erke said, sticking her tongue out. “I like eating your snacks! They’re the best! Bleh, bleh, bleh!”

“I’ll beat you!” Chen Sanke’s face flushed with anger. Immediately, she swung her little palm at her elder sister.

“Hah! You can’t hit me!” Chen Erke agilely dodged Chen Sanke’s attack. Afterward, she fastened her white belt, took two steps back, and bowed. “The spirit of taekwondo is etiquette and patience. You should only act after resolving yourself! Since you’ve attacked me, I won’t–ah!”

Before Chen Erke could finish her speech, Chen Sanke smacked her to the ground with another slap.

“Stop! Why aren’t you following the rul—ah! Ouch! It hurts! It hurts! Uwahhh…”

Chen Yike: “Stop fighting, you two!”

“Foul!” Placing down his sunflower seeds, Chen Yu hurriedly stepped forward to separate the two. “Third Eldest, you need to wait for her to bow before you start fighting…”

“She…She stole my food!” Chen Sanke cried aggrievedly.

“I stole them!” Chen Erke declared in defiance as she wiped away her tears. She then got up and tightened her white belt once more before saying, “Big Brother, don’t block her! Let me hit her!”

“Okay.” Chen Yu nodded and loosened his grip on Chen Sanke. He then loudly said, “Second round! Start!”

“To think you would attack me when I’m not paying attention, you really are a villain! You don’t have any martial arts spirit— Wait! Let me finish! Ah!”

Chen Erke hurriedly escaped from her little sister’s fierce assault once more. The two sisters then started a game of cat and mouse around the living room’s sofa and coffee table. “Brother! Big Brother! H-Help me stop her! I haven’t finished speaking!”

“If you’re going to fight, just fight. What’s with all the nonsense?” Chen Yu said as he reached out and hugged Chen Sanke.

“Let go of me! I want to hit her!” Chen Sanke struggled like an enraged little tiger.

“Hu…”

Chen Erke took a deep breath and retreated by several steps. She then bowed and assumed a classic taekwondo posture. “Ha! Come on!”

Chen Yu immediately released his hold of Chen Sanke and said, “I choose you!”

“Eat this!”

Accompanied by a shout, Chen Erke executed a whip kick at her front.

Boom!

Chen Erke’s kick landed on her soft and squishy target. However, due to her excessive use of strength, she lost her balance and fell on the spot.

Thud.

Chen Erke’s face was filled with question marks when she fell on the ground. However, before she could climb back up, Chen Sanke had already saddled herself on top of her body.

“Ah! Ouch, ouch, ouch… Brother! Save me! Ouch! Big Brother… Ah, don’t—”

…

Contrasting the cheerful atmosphere in the Chen family’s abode, the International Astronomical Union’s conference hall was enveloped in a dreary atmosphere.

Among those present in the hall, there were 27 government representatives and over 450 experts and researchers involved in astronomy, physics, aviation, aerospace, and other fields.

Currently, the large screen at the front of the hall was displaying the information copied from the International Asteroid Warning Network.

The groups of data and preliminary inferences placed a heavy pressure on everyone’s chests.

Bell: Almo-type (threat) asteroid.

Diameter: 6 km

Mass: About 1.4 trillion tons

Velocity: 14 km

/s

Orbital velocity: About 21 km

/s

Orbit: Revolves around the sun once every 1.1 Earth years; Approaches the Earth once every 12 years.

Discoverer: University of Hawaii.

Date of discovery: June 24, 1988.

Observation description, Since 1988, a total of 144 observations have been made. There is no threat warning.

Recent observation: It is determined that the asteroid has been dragged by an unknown source of gravity, and its orbit has shifted by 9°. It is expected to reach Earth’s eastern hemisphere in February 2121. (Note: 114 other asteroids have also been observed to have been affected by an unknown source of gravity and carry a potential threat to Earth.)

Observation description 2: The asteroid is currently visible to the naked eye. It is nearing New York, and it will have an apparent magnitude exceeding 5.0 at 20:46 (GMT 8) on December 24, 2120.

Threat description 1: A collision with Earth will release approximately 12,000 trillion kilojoules of energy, causing destruction over an area the size of Japan. When the asteroid enters the atmosphere and burns, its surface temperature will reach 20,000°C. Its impact will also cause a large amount of gas and dust to enter the atmosphere, forming clouds with temperatures of about 5,400°C. After 6.5 hours from the impact, the hot clouds will cover the whole world, and it will be difficult for them to dissipate naturally.

Threat description 2: Asteroid Bell will also cause global earthquakes and tsunamis. Massive eruptions of volcanoes will also follow, further blocking the penetration of sunlight, which will cause the global temperature to drop sharply and the collapse of the existing ecosystem…

There was still plenty more frightening analysis and data recorded in the form of paper documents, and all this information was placed atop every attendees’ desk. However, nobody present wanted to read the information.

“Everyone…”

After a long period of silence, a caucasian old man took off his glasses and whispered into the microphone before him, “The crisis is imminent. The various teams in attendance, please present your plans.”

The government representatives sitting at the circular table in the middle of the hall remained silent. As for the many experts and researchers sitting outside the circular table,

“…”

“…”

“I’ll go first, then.” The old man wiped his glasses and put them on once more. He then picked up a set of documents and flipped to the third page. “Firstly, I have a piece of news to announce. The UN’s treaty that prohibits the launch of nuclear weapons into space was altered yesterday at 10 AM New York time. I won’t repeat the details, since everyone should be aware of them.

“Next, I will explain some planning difficulties for everyone’s reference.”

After saying so, the old man picked up another set of documents while also projecting a digital copy onto the main screen.

“One: The asteroid cannot be blown up. I won’t explain why, and I don’t think any team will come up with such a stupid plan.

“Two: Bell is an asteroid with a 6-kilometer-diameter and a mass of 1.4 trillion tons. Even with the Interstellar Portal’s help, there is no object heavy enough that we can send to deviate Bell’s orbit. Even if there is such an object, the efficiency will be low. We do not have the time.

“Three: We can consider pushing other asteroids to collide with Bell, but the resulting orbital changes are difficult to predict, so this method carries some risks. We will leave this as a backup option for the time being.

“Four: Detonating nuclear weapons in a controlled manner near the asteroid and using the electromagnetic waves produced to propel the asteroid. The explosions will also blow up a part of the asteroid’s mass, causing the destroyed mass to eject gas and change the asteroid’s orbit. This should be the plan most teams thought of immediately. Unfortunately…”

The old man paused momentarily and pushed his glasses.

“Its rotation speed is too fast! Its surface is also covered with a considerable amount of iron and nickel, and its internal composition and structure are not well understood. However, according to the mass calculation, the inside should be filled with loose silicon, water, oxide, and other rock structures. Its centrifugal force and gravitational balance are very delicate. Once the asteroid is subjected to an external force, it is likely to disintegrate instantly.

“If a six-kilometer-diameter asteroid disintegrates and enters Earth…

“This is the reason why Bell is a difficult problem to solve.

“Aside from the above four points, there is also the matter of Earth’s gravity to asteroids, which is also a tricky problem to resolve. That will be it from me. Please start presenting your plans.”

The old man removed his glasses and gestured for his audience to speak up.

“…”

After the conference hall remained silent for a few more seconds, China’s representative stood up and opened the document folder she held. She then quietly turned on the microphone before her.

Immediately, everyone in the hall focused their gaze on her.