Ye Wenjie, watch my moves closely.

Chapter 30 An Encounter

A vehicle dispatched by the Hongan Base picked up the two and took them to the mountainous area of ​​the Greater Khingan Mountains.

As the wheels rolled over the rugged mountain road, Peterson was momentarily stunned when he saw the Red Coast Base sign hidden in the forest, a feeling of déjà vu washing over him.

"I feel like I've seen this somewhere before?" he muttered to himself, then suddenly slapped his thigh.

Evans turned his head and asked, "What's wrong?"

Peterson said, "About 10 years ago, when I was still at the Mount Wilson Observatory, I observed a radio burst from Jupiter."

At the time, studying the mechanism of Jupiter's radio bursts was a hot topic, and it was very likely to be a contender for the Nobel Prize.

While I was engrossed in my research, I received a letter from a scientist in that country who asked me for data on Jupiter's radio bursts.

I was surprised that someone in this fledgling country would notice the anomalies of distant exoplanets, so I printed out all the data and sent it to them.

In the letter, I also expressed my hope to communicate more with scientists in this country, hoping they could provide me with more ideas, but I never received a response.

I remember there were some Chinese characters on the letter back then, and now when I look at it, um, it's exactly the same as this logo.

Peterson leaned out of the car window and pointed to the two characters "Red Coast" written in a flamboyant style on the gate.

He couldn't read Chinese characters, but he could recognize their shapes.

"What a strange fate," Evans said. "Do you remember that scientist?"

Peterson shook his head. "The scientist who sent me the letter back then didn't sign it. I don't know where he is now."

The jeep crossed the gate and entered the interior of the Red Coast base.

On the winding inner road, Evans saw a woman who looked to be in her thirties.

She was slender, and although her steps were slow, she took each step firmly.

The jeep drove past the woman, and Evans turned around to look at her. She was an ordinary-looking Asian woman.

"What a pity." Evans turned his gaze back to Peterson and said, "There's no fertile ground for science here for the time being. Perhaps that scientist has been forced to do something else to make a living."

The jeep carrying the two stopped in front of the Red Shore office building. The dilapidated building deepened Dr. Peterson's suspicions; the place was so backward that it resembled a junkyard.

A group of people stood at the entrance of the office building, all wearing the same smiles, and two children came up to present flowers to Evans and Peterson.

"We've finally waited for you."

The bespectacled man at the front of the welcoming line was young and spoke fluent English; Evans couldn't detect any Asian accent in him.

"Welcome American scholars to Red Coast for exchanges! I am Shen Hai, the head of the Red Coast Base."

The nominal protagonist of this academic exchange was Dr. Harry Peterson, while Evans was merely an assistant carrying luggage.

Peterson adopted the demeanor of a great scholar, stepping forward to greet the bespectacled man, while Evans exchanged a glance with Li Youyu at the back of the group before following him.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the group entered the conference room, where the staff served them tea in turn.

After the meeting ended, Dr. Peterson got straight to the point: "Mr. Shen, I'm sure your superiors have already told you my thoughts."

Radio astronomy is a promising field, but its observations are extremely dependent on the surrounding radio environment.

In the United States, electromagnetic interference has reached a very serious level, which is why I turned my attention here.

Shen Hai chimed in, "my country's radio astronomy is still in its infancy, and funding has always been insufficient. The observation results cannot bring actual economic benefits, and we can't expect all the staff to starve, can we? So we submitted a report to our superiors, applying for the marketization of the observation base, and unexpectedly you came."

I hope our exchange will get off to a good start; this is a win-win project!

"Mr. Shen, our visas only cover a limited stay, so let's not talk about anything else. How about you take us to see this base first?"

"Evans asked."

"No problem." Shen Hai glanced at Li Youyu, then turned to Evans with a smile and said, "This is Li Youyu, the head of the launch department at the Red Coast Base. Let him take you there."

Peterson nodded, his face revealing little emotion.

"OK."

After leaving the office building, Li Youyu led them on a stroll through the Red Coast Base.

The base is a product of the 60s, and the buildings inside all have a strong Soviet style. All the buildings adopt a pragmatic design, and all the mechanical equipment has a powerful and aesthetically pleasing feel.

Although it's called an observation base, the sealed-off entrances to air-raid shelters and the buildings covered in camouflage tarpaulins clearly indicate its military nature.

This was also the first time Evans and Peterson had entered such a place; in their minds, such a place should be a highly confidential restricted area.

"That was originally the case," Li Youyu explained. "But after the international situation changed, the military could not devote too much energy to areas outside the order of battle."

After the military withdrew from the Red Coast base, as mentioned earlier, without funding, the other staff members couldn't possibly survive.

We have to find our own way out.

The three arrived at the summit of Radar Peak. Peterson became very interested in the huge antenna and went up to it. He immediately checked the production nameplates of the main components of the radar.

"It's a product from 20 years ago," Peterson said. "Each launch consumes major components, and there are limitations on the duration and power of continuous launches. We no longer use such outdated designs."

"But," Peterson changed the subject, "it is precisely this kind of primitive design that demonstrates human ingenuity, just like the Soviet manned spacecraft. Can you imagine that its GPS device was a completely hand-cranked machine? To break free from gravity with something like that, humans are truly insane."

Li Youyu agrees with Peterson's statement: "Only by creating infinite possibilities within limited conditions can an epic feel be born."

"A very good summary."

Peterson Road.

Li Youyu turned around, looked at Peterson, extended his hand, and said, "Long time no see, Dr. Peterson. Do you still remember that letter inquiring about the wave pattern of Jupiter's radio bursts?"

Peterson was startled, an expression of disbelief on his face. "You? You're that scientist? If you're still around, how come you lost contact with me afterwards?"

Li Youyu said, "I didn't send that letter, and our research focuses on celestial bodies within the solar system. Our purpose was simply to verify a result, and your Jupiter radio burst waveform has already verified that result for us, so..."

Peterson and Evans exchanged a glance.

He had a premonition.

The conversation was about to get down to business.

"What was the result?"

Peterson asked cautiously.

"The sun's amplified reflection, or rather, the communication channel between humanity and the Trisolaran civilization!"