Free Web NovelChapter 1521: Chapter 720: A Man Remains a Youth Until Death!
Entering the living area from the outside was a complicated matter, and the senior leadership, along with Zhao Yi and his group, experienced it firsthand. Because they were coming from an environment directly exposed to space, the outer layer of the spacesuits was definitely contaminated with radiation or other harmful substances, making decontamination a necessary first step upon entering the living area.
Each person took turns entering a small room where large amounts of liquid would spray out from all sides, physically drenching the person’s body.
After this process was completed, they moved into a new chamber for a round of heat treatment before entering a larger room. There, they saw many numbered drawers, in which they could remove their spacesuits and place them into the sealed, numbered compartments.
After each spacesuit was removed, it underwent a safety inspection and a replenishment of the necessary oxygen supply inside before it could be reused.
Zhao Yi, having gone through the entire process, felt somewhat fatigued and came to appreciate the difficulties of working on the Moon.
Only after removing the spacesuits could they formally enter the living area, which was completely sealed off from the outside except for a few side windows that failed to provide enough light. Entering inside was like coming to a new world, totally different from the conditions outside.
If not for the body’s sensation of differing gravity, one might even think they had returned to Earth, albeit into a hall that was somewhat rudimentary but brimming with a sense of technology.
Many people were already waiting in the hall.
More than eighty percent of the people working on the Moon were there, and when the senior leadership walked in with Zhao Yi, they were greeted with a collective round of warm applause.
At that moment, there was a live broadcast from Earth, with casual reporters continuously following and filming.
As planned, the senior leadership went over, shook hands with each person, spoke a few words to each of them, discussing the working environment on the Moon, understanding their work situation, and so on.
Everyone appeared extremely excited. The plan for the senior leadership and Zhao Yi to visit the Moon had been kept secret from the public, not because it posed a security issue, but because it was uncertain if the visit could actually happen, and it would be embarrassing if the announcement was made and they couldn’t come.
The personnel at the Lunar Base were only informed two days prior to the news, and seeing the senior leadership and Zhao Yi in person indeed made them extremely excited.
This excitement was entirely different from that felt during workplace visits on Earth.
Seeing the senior leadership and Zhao Yi on the Moon felt like a dream. Those Yixing employees who often saw Zhao Yi, whom Zhao Yi also recognized, showed great excitement because they were on the Moon.
The Moon, oh!
The ’foreign land’ in the phrase ’Meeting an old friend in a foreign land’ pales in comparison when used on the Moon; when they worked there and looked at Earth, it felt very dear to them, as if they were looking at their hometown. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
Each new person who arrived at the Lunar Base was welcomed enthusiastically, as it wasn’t possible to meet other people there. When the senior leadership and Zhao Yi made a special visit to inquire about their work and lives, it was incredibly exciting.
Zhao Yi followed right behind the senior leadership. His importance was also very high, but because he wasn’t at the level of leadership himself, he didn’t need to shake hands with each person; he just greeted familiar faces and exchanged a few words. Eventually, feeling uninterested, he simply walked away.
Zhao Yi found Li Renzhe.
Li Renzhe was at the front of the line, having already shaken hands with the senior leadership and excitedly said a few words. When he turned and saw Zhao Yi, his reaction was more excited than the others’, to the point where his eyes even reddened.
The senior leadership turned back and saw Li Renzhe’s reaction, and couldn’t help but pat him on the shoulder, exclaiming, "Young man, you’re doing great!"
The words of encouragement didn’t have much effect because Li Renzhe’s excitement stemmed from seeing Zhao Yi, reminding him of the hardships of working on the Moon.
Life here was truly difficult.
It wasn’t a safety issue—at this point, Li Renzhe wasn’t worried about safety. Rather, it was eating, sleeping, and adjusting to life that felt uncomfortable compared to Earth, where the living conditions were far superior.
Accommodations were relatively better; there was a small sleeping bag in the lab and a few square meters of personal space in the living quarters. The size didn’t matter much.
However, life was severely lacking. His daily entertainment was to speak a few words with others. There were mobile phones and computers, but no internet access, and the only games available were offline. To have a video chat with family required queuing up in the communication area to use the space link equipment, but there was a limit of fifteen minutes per day.
Food, that was even more frustrating.
Li Renzhe thought the food during training was bad enough, but here, the diet mostly consisted of specially processed compressed food with taste not even worth discussing, only good enough to fill the stomach.
This was mainly because the cost-effectiveness of transporting vegetables, fruits, or regular meat to the Moon was just too low.
Additionally, high-temperature stoves were forbidden in the living areas to prevent any potential danger.
Thus, practical meals were the specially made compressed food brought from Earth. Two botanists in the lab were the most popular because they managed to grow tomatoes, but due to the extremely limited planting area, only a few were available for consumption each day after a series of radiation checks.
Li Renzhe’s biggest regret was not bringing some fresh fruits or vegetables as personal items, even dried fruits or vegetables would have been good.
