Because the Flame Country government is still worried that the crisis is not over, they have not allowed the majority of people who have been evacuated to shelters to come out.
Instead, taking advantage of the time before the meteor arrives, emergency construction is being carried out on shelters that are not yet completed, with the aim of building a few more shelters before the meteor hits, so more people can have a safe place to stay.
At the same time, the Flame Country government is urgently building support facilities to complement the shelters and reinforcing and modifying critical life-support facilities such as power plants and water supply plants to ensure they can withstand potential disasters.
It's crucial to understand that if the meteor does indeed hit, Blue Star's surface will undergo a series of tests, including but not limited to earthquakes, fires, and meteor impacts.
If these support facilities fail, it will significantly affect the survival chances of the people taking refuge in the shelters.
Chen Xin is fully supportive of these actions by the state, even though news reports seem to indicate things are looking up, with many places overseas holding large-scale celebrations and some cities even staging parades. However, the crisis-conscious Chen Xin feels that until the meteor has completely flown away, this crisis is not over.
He continued to move various supplies and necessities into his shelter as originally planned, making final preparations to move into it.
However, he himself hasn't entered the shelter yet, as there is no water, electricity, or internet signal underground in the shelter, and staying there would not only consume his reserves but also cut off access to the latest information.
This is clearly unacceptable for Chen Xin.
Not knowing when the disaster will come, not knowing the exact location of the meteor impact, not knowing if the crisis is over...
Simply hiding in the underground shelter waiting for death is not Chen Xin's style.
For him, if disaster really is imminent, he prefers to face it head-on, just as he actively prepared his shelter and various countermeasures. He prefers to take control and confront difficulties rather than passively await death.
Even if the meteor genuinely aimed for his head, Chen Xin would face the direction it came from and defiantly raise his middle finger, cursing, "Damn it!"
So for Chen Yu, hiding like a turtle in its shell in the shelter and waiting for fate to decide whether it's the end of the world or a heroic rescue of Blue Star is something he absolutely cannot accept.
Doing so would make him feel like his life is controlled by others, losing his sense of security even while hiding in an underground shelter.
For this reason, Chen Xin remains at home instead of entering the shelter like some survival group members have done.
As for installing an antenna from the shelter to receive broadcast and TV signals, it's not entirely impossible, but after considering it, Chen Xin abandoned the idea.
It's not that Chen Xin finds it unacceptable to listen to broadcasts in the shelter; rather, he's not planning on setting up his antenna until the meteor actually falls.
According to Chen Xin's expectations, the EMP shockwave caused by the meteor hitting Blue Star and disturbing the ionosphere will be enough to destroy most surface electrical and electronic equipment. Coupled with the ensuing disasters, fragile external devices like antennas are likely to be destroyed in the first wave of impact.
Thus, to save resources and because he finds it unnecessary, Chen Xin refrains from setting up his antenna.
He has prepared shortwave antennas that can continue to function in temperatures as low as minus seventy degrees; such advanced equipment is not easy to acquire.
Even with the help of friends' connections, Chen Xin barely managed to get two Russian-made military items. Such things are clearly not meant to be used as consumables, so Chen Xin has carefully packed them in boxes lined with aluminum foil, stored securely in his big iron box, intending to use them after the meteor impact when the environment stabilizes.
The aluminum foil is to protect the antennas from EMP shockwaves, a trick Chen Xin learned from films. Although not as effective as putting things in a microwave, it provides maximum protection for these fragile electronic devices.
After all, being inside an underground shelter, the EMP shockwave, essentially an electromagnetic wave, lacks the penetrating ability through soil layers. Combined with the metal box and aluminum foil, the protection is sufficient.
With everything sorted, Chen Xin continues to sit in front of the TV, swiping his phone and watching the latest updates on TV, while his computer has already been sent to the shelter.
The TV continues to broadcast live rescue operations, but it's apparent that the interest has dwindled. Although still broadcasted on all channels, the content now includes studio scenes rather than just the command center and footage from spacecraft.
At this moment, the spacecraft from Lucia has arrived at the predetermined position, and the meteor has appeared in the lens of the Lucia spacecraft, with nuclear warheads all ready for interception.
Watching the optimistic and relaxed attitudes of both the hosts on TV and the experts invited to the studio, Chen Xin feels that this round seems to be a sure victory.
Along with Lucia's spacecraft, more than twenty strategic nuclear warheads, each with megaton yields, have arrived at the interception position.
If it weren't for intercepting the meteor, the five powers of Blue Star would never have deployed so many nuclear warheads at once. This is the first time in human history that so many nuclear weapons have been used, surpassing the total amount in any country's nuclear test.
More than twenty megaton-level nuclear warheads targeting a four-kilometer diameter objective should truly pulverize this meteor.
However, while Chen Xin eagerly watches the footage from Lucia's spacecraft, ready to witness how the nuclear warheads shatter the meteor, the command center on screen suddenly descends into chaos, as if a sudden incident occurred, causing the interception mission of the Lucia spacecraft to be temporarily paused.
Chen Xin is somewhat confused, switching several channels only to find the same situation.
As he wonders what's happening, the live host on TV finally learns the situation, turning pale as he says into the camera, "The meteor, originally pushed off the collision course, has been torn into three five-kilometer-diameter pieces by Blue Star's gravity and is currently being captured by Blue Star's gravity, flying towards Blue Star!"