Six o'clock in the morning.
The residents of the small town were just getting up, stretching by their front doors and greeting their neighbors.
Jiang Ye, dressed in a sharp black suit, sat on his luggage, waiting. The suitcase had been printed by the clothes printer, its surface made of soft crocodile leather, mottled and smooth, costing over a hundred thousand yuan. Inside were mainly changes of clothes, a handgun and two magazines, along with some snacks and a communication tablet. This was his entire luggage for the coming week.
Finally, a bright light appeared in the clouds, fiery red.
The light had been there for a long time before a low whistling sound, like a falling meteor, could be faintly heard. The sound rapidly amplified, eventually reaching a point where the ground itself seemed to tremble!
A pure white heavy rocket descended, landing steadily on an open space next to the express center.
The rocket was terrifyingly large, with eighteen black nozzles at the bottom, each large enough to fit a bus. It was hundreds of meters tall, almost like a skyscraper flying in. The entire body emitted wisps of steam, as if it had just come out of a steamer. Orange paint on the rocket body formed two lines of text:
Xinliu Interstellar Navigation Co., Ltd.
TDHK-2 Return Rocket
Jiang Ye grabbed his luggage and rushed towards it.
The entire town had been alerted, and people stood on the streets, gazing in awe.
The impact of this giant rocket on them was no less than the first time people in the Song Dynasty saw a UFO.
The neighbors gathered, whispering amongst themselves:
"Wow, such a big rocket! The fuel cost alone could build half our town!"
"The mayor is going! This rocket is here to pick up the mayor!"
"The rumors are true, the mayor is the illegitimate son of the head of our star system!"
"What nonsense, isn't he the third son of the wealthy president of the transportation company?"
"Where did you guys hear these rumors? Mayor Jiang is the nephew of Major General Jiang of the Air Force!"
Jiang Ye was unaware of the townsfolk's wild rumors. He had already reached the front of the rocket, looking up at the towering white body, his mouth agape in astonishment. The ground was still hot enough to burn his feet, and the soil where the rocket had landed had been scorched into a glass-like hard layer.
At the bottom of the rocket, a small door slowly opened.
Then, an inflatable ladder popped out, hitting the ground with a clang, much like an airline's emergency slide.
A white woman in a blue dress poked her head out. "Excuse me, are you Mr. Jiang Ye?"
"Yes." Jiang Ye nodded, thinking the girl looked like a flight attendant. Would she ask him for a rocket ticket?
But the flight attendant didn't check tickets. She simply grabbed the hem of her skirt and slid down the inflatable ladder, snatching Jiang Ye's suitcase.
"I am Jenny, the chief flight attendant for this flight. Is this your only piece of luggage? Please follow me onto the rocket."
"Thank you, thank you!" Jiang Ye reached out to help her with the suitcase, and they both climbed up the inflatable ladder.
As they reached the top of the ladder, a blast of cold air hit him. It was at most 20 degrees Celsius. He hadn't expected the rocket to have air conditioning.
Jiang Ye gave a strong push, leaving the ladder and entering the rocket. He stopped at the entrance, his eyes overwhelmed.
The interior of the rocket was styled like a high-end hotel. Looking up, there were more than twenty circular railings, with passengers walking around. At the very top, a yellow circular light, about forty meters in diameter, simulated sunlight, making the entire interior as bright and grand as a hotel with an open ceiling.
Jenny pressed a switch on the wall, retracting the inflatable ladder and closing the small door.
"Your room is on the 10th floor, room 1022. I'll take you up first." Jenny opened the suitcase's pull handle and elegantly pulled it forward.
"So, this rocket is just a giant hotel?" Jiang Ye followed her.
"Most long-distance rockets are like this inside. Some passengers stay on the rocket for a whole week, so we try to make it as comfortable as possible." Jenny didn't mock his country bumpkin ways and explained politely with a smile. "Floors one to eight are for shops, restaurants, bookstores, a hospital, and a gym, all payable by facial recognition. Once we put your luggage in your room, you'll be free to explore."
Jenny led him to the elevator doors and pressed the up button.
Jiang Ye breathed a sigh of relief, thinking at least elevators were still the same as when he was a child; you had to press a button.
A small sign hung above the elevator: [26 Elevators].
This meant there were at least 26 vertical elevators in this rocket, its scale truly immense.
The elevator doors opened, revealing an iron-colored cabin, empty, capable of holding about seven or eight people.
Jiang Ye followed Jenny inside. Jenny pressed the [10th Floor] button, and the elevator doors immediately closed.
As soon as the doors closed, the advertising posters printed on the back of the doors pieced together.
Jiang Ye's toes curled in embarrassment.
The poster showed a male model embracing a female model, both naked, covered in sweat, with expressions of ecstasy.
Below it were the advertising words: "Extend for an hour, use Red Pink Skull Brand Bullfrog Pills! Buy one box, get one free! Buy three boxes, get five free!"
Jenny looked calm, clearly unfazed.
Jiang Ye thought to himself that advertisements these days were quite wild, much more daring than the elevator ads of the past.
The ten floors were reached in just five seconds.
Jenny led Jiang Ye out of the elevator.
Thick red carpet, seemingly made of wool, was laid out, new and gleaming. On the left was a one-and-a-half-meter railing, and on the right were smooth white walls. Every ten steps, there was a small lucky money tree.
Reaching [1022], Jiang Ye brought his face close to the door and immediately opened it with facial recognition.
"Thank you for flying with us. If you have any questions, you can call me from the room. The number is six ones." Jenny handed him the suitcase, smiled, nodded, and turned to leave.
Jiang Ye pulled the suitcase and pushed the door open.
The room was larger than he expected, estimated to be fifty square meters. The decor was entirely in a hotel style. The pristine white bed even had a patterned long cloth on it. Jiang Ye still didn't know what this hotel bed cloth was for. There were no curtains, but there was a circular small window, the size of a pot lid, through which he could see the sky outside.
The wall-mounted television was at least 60 inches and was already on.
Jiang Ye walked up to the television, which displayed several options:
[TV Channels]
[Sleep Mode]
[Room Service]
[Contact Jenny]
He was about to click on [TV Channels] to see what the television programs of this era were like, but the buttons on the screen suddenly disappeared, and a long string of red text popped up:
[Rocket will launch in 3 minutes]
[You need to lie down in the groove in the center of the bed and wait for an hour. Any movement may cause you to fall and get injured during the turbulence and acceleration.]
[Thank you for your cooperation.]
Then, a countdown appeared, with just over two minutes and fifty seconds remaining.
Jiang Ye took off his suit jacket and pants, placed them on the armchair, and then threw himself onto the bed. The bed surface had been flat when he entered the room, but now a human-shaped groove had formed.
He lay down, looking at the white light on the ceiling. His heart was beating very fast.
Launch countdown: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! Jenny's voice sounded from the television.