《Deep Space Wandering Fleet》 Chapter 1 - 1 Day 30 Countdown Chapter 1: Chapter 1 Day 30 Countdown Editor: Henyee Translations July, Xia Country, Donghua City. The blazing sun felt scorching, with not a breath of wind; people were drenched with sweat just rolling down. Two young men were discussing something at the foot of the mountain. ¡°Since we¡¯re here, we should at least go up and take a look.¡± The other person quickly refused, ¡°Too exhausting. If it weren¡¯t for this damn task, I¡¯d rather stay home and enjoy the air conditioning!¡± ¡°In that case¡­ I¡¯ll go up by myself!¡± ... Sunlight filtered down through the dense branches and leaves, leaving shadows on the ground like scattered coins. Beneath his feet was the real yellow earth, heavy and solid, not something that could be worried would collapse underfoot; the oxygen he breathed in was the original product of photosynthesis from the plants. ¡°There¡¯s nothing like Mother Star!¡± When Zhang Yuan reached the peak of the mountain, it was exactly 6 p.m. He sat gasping on a rock, wiping sweat from his forehead. It was rare for someone with his sort of insanity to climb a mountain just to watch a sunset, especially during the hottest season. The Sun set slowly, the clouds on the horizon glowing red. A few birds flew by, chirping, free and at ease. These were all scenes of beauty not found in space. ¡°Still¡­ 30 days left?¡± Zhang Yuan sighed, opened the memo on his phone, and checked off ¡°Witness a sunset with my own eyes.¡± The screen displayed the words ¡°Completed¡± in large font. Zhang Yuan was a bit puzzled, unsure if he was on vacation or fulfilling a task assigned by his superiors. This peculiar memo contained many trivial matters, like ¡°Have a sumptuous meal,¡± ¡°Climb a mountain,¡± ¡°Get caught in a rain shower,¡± ¡°Witness a sunset,¡± ¡°Run a marathon,¡± and so on. A hodgepodge, it had almost everything. The memo was designed tailored for individuals by the medical AI ¡°Green Elf,¡± after collecting personal data. According to the experts, they said, ¡°Let them leave without any regrets, reducing the chances of psychological issues midway.¡± All right, to put it plainly, Zhang Yuan had no serious illnesses, no suicidal tendencies, and no thoughts of ¡°owing a billion and wanting to run away with his sister-in-law.¡± Leaving meant leaving Earth, leaving the Solar System, boarding the ¡°Earth Era¡± spaceship to Gliese 581g, 20.3 light years away, to embark on interstellar colonization! 20.3 light years! Anyone with some knowledge of space knew this was truly an astronomical number. The long journey, with the spaceship traveling at 0.007 times the speed of light, would take approximately¡­ 3000 years! Humanity had been preparing for this deep space colonization for far too long. The Constant Starship ¡°Earth Era,¡± along with 500,000 carefully selected volunteers from various fields, would bear the responsibility of restarting civilization on Gliese 581g. Nevertheless, no matter how well-prepared, the 3000-year-long interstellar journey remained an unprecedented expedition, and no one could guarantee its success rate. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Therefore, with humanitarian consideration, almost all volunteers were granted a long vacation after completing their space skills training, to experience their last days on Earth¡­ For these reasons, Zhang Yuan was enjoying this last month¡¯s holiday. ¡°3000 years, by then, how will Earth Civilization have developed?¡± ¡°It must be incredibly powerful by then¡­¡± ¡°Who knows, later spaceships might even catch up with our first Colonization Ship!¡± Zhang Yuan took a deep breath, dreaming of humanity¡¯s bright future, and when he thought about becoming pioneers in history, he felt a surge of pride and ambition. The Sun gradually set¡­ Just as he descended the mountain, a tall young man with dark skin, wiping sweat from his face, ran up quickly. His name was Li Zhendong, and like Zhang Yuan, he was one of the astronauts about to leave the Solar System. Li Zhendong wasn¡¯t as heat-resistant as Zhang Yuan, and even without climbing the mountain, he was still drenched as if fished out of water. As he used his palm to fan his face, he complained, ¡°I told you, you could see the sunset from the foot of the mountain, but you insisted on climbing up. What kind of lousy memo is that, can¡¯t you skip it? Finally getting a vacation, and you still have to do this stuff. Isn¡¯t watching a sunset something for old people to do?¡± Zhang Yuan was also unbearably hot and shook his head, ¡°All right, all right, let¡¯s accomplish what we can. Things that feel annoying and troublesome now may become beautiful memories later.¡± He looked toward the horizon filled with fiery clouds, ¡°¡­After all, besides reincarnation, it seems like there¡¯s no other way to return to the Solar System. It¡¯s a one-way ticket, no turning back.¡± Saying this, Zhang Yuan caught his breath, ¡°All right, completed this task perfectly, let¡¯s see what the next memo is¡­¡± With a tap of a finger, the next entry in the memo appeared¡­ ¡°Find a girl you like and become a real man!¡± What? Zhang Yuan¡¯s heart skipped a beat, cursing the AI that created the memo¡ªwhat a fool! What kind of psychological counseling was this? He only had a month left of his vacation; who had time for romance? Behind this was a line of small text from ¡°Green Elf,¡± explaining the reasoning for this memo entry, ¡°A woman is a man¡¯s best teacher and a deep emotional support. Deep space travel is lonely and isolating, Mr. Zhang Yuan, given that you haven¡¯t yet¡­¡± Without time to look closely, he hurriedly tapped the screen again, trying to scroll to the next entry. Unexpectedly, Li Zhendong had sharp eyes, catching a glimpse of those words on Zhang Yuan¡¯s phone, as if discovering a New Continent. ¡°Hahahaha! Zhang Yuan, you¡¯re actually still a virgin? Haven¡¯t been in a relationship?¡± ¡°How embarrassing, how embarrassing!¡± The joyful laughter even drew frequent glances from passersby. The AI ¡°Green Elf,¡± having developed over fifty years as a medical AI, served over a billion people, with a high precision of analysis and a satisfaction rate of 61.69%. All right, in the demanding medical system, this satisfaction rate was already pretty decent. Since Zhang Yuan¡¯s memo stated ¡°to become a real man,¡± it implied he was still a virgin¡ªno doubt about it! ¡°Shut up, shut up!¡± Zhang Yuan¡¯s face felt hot, and he was somewhat embarrassed. Many college students had been in love so many times they couldn¡¯t count them on two hands. Someone like Zhang Yuan, who had lived for 23 years yet hadn¡¯t lost his virginity, could easily be thought to have a series of unmentionable physiological problems. ¡°I¡¯ve been in love so many times already, all right?¡± Li Zhendong boasted while laughing. He extended his fingers one by one, flaunting them before Zhang Yuan as if to show off his experience with girls. Seeing Li Zhendong¡¯s ¡°you¡¯re no match¡± look, Zhang Yuan unwillingly retorted, ¡°What are you thinking? I was in a relationship in high school too!¡± He pulled out a photo from his phone from long, long ago, ¡°Look, see, that¡¯s my girlfriend from high school¡ªcute and adorable, isn¡¯t she?¡± Li Zhendong saw it was indeed a photo of Zhang Yuan with a girl, the two cozily cuddled together, smiling happily at the camera. ¡°The girl seems nice¡­ is she your actual sister?¡± Zhang Yuan rebutted irritably, ¡°Please, where would I get a sister?¡± ¡°And then?¡± ¡°¡­We broke up after graduation, for various reasons, anyway.¡± ¡°That¡¯s dull.¡± Li Zhendong seemed to think of something, ¡°If you really have some unspeakable illness, you should quickly get it treated. Once you¡¯re on the spaceship, there are only a few clumsy AI doctors; there aren¡¯t many infertility specialists!¡± ¡°Scram, I¡¯m perfectly fine!¡± Zhang Yuan gave a kick, but Li Zhendong dodged nimbly. ¡°Got stuff to do, gotta go.¡± Zhang Yuan briskly walked to an electric car and got in. The electric car¡¯s left signal light flashed once and slowly started up. ¡°Bye!¡± Watching the white car leave, Li Zhendong took a long breath. He licked his lips, squinted his eyes, looking around as if he was a thief. Cautiously, he opened his own memo. He shivered suddenly! Only to see the memo read the same words, ¡°Find a girl you like and become a real man!¡± Li Zhendong murmured, ¡°Damn it, truly¡­ artificial idiot!¡± ¡­ (New book, new features. After months of preparation, finally got the outline mostly done. The early part of this book might feel like a scholarly story, but it is truly an interstellar tale.) (If you have votes, please cast them, thank you all!) (Is anyone looking to invest in a new book? I surely can¡¯t fail to pass this contract threshold, can I¡­) CREATORS¡¯ THOUGHTS Henyee From 18 Dec 2020, there will be only 40 chapters for Trial Read, with Chapters 20 to 40 locked. After a book is picked, Chapters 20-39 will have the locks automatically removed. Chapters 1-39 will become free to read, with Chapter 40 remaining a Premium chapter. The selected book will have a mark on the corner of the book cover in 30 days to indicate continuation. Coins spent on all books during Trial Read will all be refunded within 30 days. However, Fast Passes will not be refunded. Thank you for your understanding. Chapter 2 - 2 Property Donation Chapter 2: Chapter 2 Property Donation Editor: Henyee Translations The autonomous electric vehicle was speeding down the road, and Zhang Yuanping calmed his mind. By the 23rd century, it was an era that placed great emphasis on intelligence, but the attribute of ¡°appearance¡± still held importance in social interactions. People who looked good had certain advantages in their personal development, regardless of gender. Zhang Yuan felt¡­ he looked good. It shouldn¡¯t be narcissism, because his relatives and friends all said so, and the fact that he had a decent romantic history from a young age indirectly proved it. As for why there were no women around him, it was because he aspired to be an astronaut since childhood, so he consciously suppressed that part of his desires. ¡°There were plenty of girls chasing after me¡­¡± With less than a month of vacation left, such a short time was at most just mutual attraction driven by hormones. It was impossible to form a connection on a spiritual level. ... Of course, finding a girl for physiological exchanges wasn¡¯t difficult. If it was agreed beforehand to just have fun, there would still be a lot of ¡°modern women¡± willing to have a story with ¡°astronauts,¡± which could be a source of bragging with companions in the future¡­ In this open era, few people cared if their future marriage partner was a virgin. However, Zhang Yuan did not like random hookups. Suddenly, his phone vibrated. He tapped open his phone, and it was a spam message. Since he never bothered to organize, there was a large number of unread red dots on it. [Four of your phone contacts on ¡°Possibly¡± set you as a ¡°secret crush.¡± Since you have not registered, we specially notify you via text message¡­ Download address¡­] Soft advertisement, so annoying, even in the 23rd century these things couldn¡¯t be eradicated. ¡°Forget it, forget it.¡± He wasn¡¯t some seasoned player in the love field, so since he couldn¡¯t be emotionless, there was no need to add emotional burdens before leaving. After skipping over this memo, Zhang Yuan felt much more comfortable. The autonomous vehicle was moving steadily on the road, and the vehicles on the road were very orderly, almost all moving at the same speed with no queue jumping or cutting in line of any unruly behavior. In terms of driving vehicles, artificial intelligence had much higher reliability than humans, and manual driving in non-emergency situations had already become illegal. Zhang Yuan was not a rich second-generation, and this autonomous vehicle wasn¡¯t his own; it was just a ride-share taxi on the roadside, anyway, readily available and no different from having his own car. The in-car screen was playing a space history documentary. ¡°¡­we have come this far, stepping over mud and hurdles, exploration and development have always been the main theme of the era¡­¡± He watched the documentary with interest. It had to be said, the progress of modern technology had been much slower than people of the old era had imagined. In 1969, when Americans first landed on the Moon, many scientists optimistically believed humans could colonize the Moon by the year 2000; by 2020, humans would occupy the Solar System and become a true interstellar civilization. Humans would find the legendary aliens, would have collisions and friction with alien civilizations, would experience strong artificial intelligence developing self-awareness and rebelling against humans¡­ In the end, it was a pity. The entire 21st century, nothing happened. There were no Brain chips, no strong artificial intelligence leading to the singularity, and no Eternal Life Technology. Virtual Imaging Technology remained expensive; AR glasses attempting to replace mobile phones were popular for a while, then eliminated for inconvenience; battery capacity never met demand; room temperature superconducting materials were never invented¡­ Not to mention things from science fiction novels like curvature engines, wormholes, Time Travel, and anti-gravity. In a comfortable life, humans seemed to have reached the limit of the entire civilization. Progress in Information Science gave people the illusion that science was still developing vigorously, numbing human nerves. Unfortunately, some critical technologies had not broken through for a long time. Finally, at the end of the 21st century, the exhaustion of oil caused a terrible global energy crisis. Two consecutive world wars caused human society to regress by a century! The entire 22nd century was bleak, later referred to by people as¡­ the ¡°Gray Era!¡± The male voice in the documentary, with a magnetic voice, said: ¡°Fortunately, everything has gotten through, we¡¯ve explored the unknown and found a new direction¡­¡± ¡°Controlled Nuclear Fusion!¡± ¡°¡­the successful ignition of the Artificial Sun, accompanied by the booming development of Space Industry, Space Botany, and Nanomaterials Science, brought human civilization into the golden stage once more!¡± ¡°In the latter half of the 23rd century, we will enter an unprecedented¡ªInterstellar Colonization Era!¡± The documentary was inspiring and had a bit of exaggeration, enough to fool some ordinary citizens. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Zhang Yuan shook his head and chuckled. Fusion energy indeed brought endless energy, changing the living situation of humanity, but it did not mean that all humanity could achieve a greatly affluent life because of it. For the reason that oil wasn¡¯t just a source of energy, it was also an important industrial raw material. To give a few simple examples: without fertilizers and pesticides, human grain production directly reduced by half. Where do fertilizers and pesticides come from? Certainly from oil-derived products. Without acrylic, polyester, nylon, or vinylon, clothing prices soared, and the vast majority of people couldn¡¯t afford clothes, having to live naked. Where do these chemical fiber products come from? The answer is oil-derived products. Without petroleum solvents, chemical raw materials, lubricants, and other oil-derived products, over 90% of industrial factories would directly shut down. ¡°Oil is the lifeline of industry,¡± this phrase had no falsehood. Even though fusion energy was inexhaustible and limitless, it still had extraction costs, electricity transmission costs, and power station maintenance costs. Using industrial means to forcibly synthesize organics from inorganics with electricity remained too costly, much more than extracting oil in the old era. Up until now, many poor small countries¡¯ people still couldn¡¯t eat their fill, precisely due to the lack of oil substitutes. Fortunately, the booming development of Space Botany was slowly healing humanity¡¯s ¡°oil dependence syndrome.¡± Many industrial raw materials, such as polymer fibers, ethylene, benzene, Methane, and so on, found substitutes from Space Mutant Plants, and these plants could be grown on a large scale on the ground. Just like the high call from a small country¡¯s president: ¡°Praise Space Botany, finally letting us escape the survival crisis! Praise!¡± ¡­ An hour later, the autonomous vehicle passed through the agricultural zone and the industrial zone, entering the urban area. ¡°Distinguished guest, you have reached your designated destination. This service time was 1 hour and 2 minutes, total charge 43 coins¡­¡± A gentle electronic prompt sounded, Zhang Yuan paid and got out of the car, returning to his home. ¡°Home is still comfortable.¡± He first took a cold shower, then turned on the computer, logged onto the notary public website, and enthusiastically clicked the ¡°Property Donation¡± button on the webpage. After thinking carefully, he uploaded his home¡¯s property certificate. A line of information popped up on the webpage: ¡°2236-9 Beiping Street, Donghua City, room area 163.3 square meters, estimated value of 2.865 million federal coins.¡± Donating the house to the social welfare institution! Zhang Yuan took a deep breath, felt a bit reluctant, experiencing a sense of being the legendary godly rich, the kind who casually rewarded to show off¡­ ¡°If it¡¯s donated, then it¡¯s donated, bro is just that noble!¡± Actually, it wasn¡¯t that he was of high moral character. Zhang Yuan had no old people above him, no children below him, and since he had decided to leave Earth, could his Earthly property be brought onto the spaceship? ¡­ (ps: Updates every night at eight o¡¯clock.) Chapter 3 - 3 Intelligence Enhancement Potion? Chapter 3: Chapter 3 Intelligence Enhancement Potion? Editor: Henyee Translations ¡°` So, since assets couldn¡¯t be brought onto the spaceship, it would be better to donate them to social welfare organizations, putting an end to it and saving the worry. However, donating also had its intricacies. Nowadays, welfare organizations were a mixed bag, many of which were established by the wealthy specifically to evade inheritance taxes. Donating assets to these organizations was just like throwing a meat bun to a dog. After much consideration, Zhang Yuan still decided to donate all his assets to the ¡°Deep Space Foundation.¡± This massive global nonprofit organization was the initiator of the entire interstellar colonization program. It was directly managed by the United Government, and the cash flow and a series of procedures were exceptionally standardized. ... Standing in front of the camera, Zhang Yuan said, ¡°I am willing to donate all of my fixed assets and monetary funds to the Deep Space Foundation, with the effective date being the year 2266¡­¡± He recorded a video, then filled in specific details, and the entire donation process was thus completed. Until the effective date arrived, the assets remained his own, and he could change his mind at any time. He pondered carefully for a while and set the effective date for two years later. A two-year buffer, the ¡°Earth Era¡± spaceship was expected to reach Pluto¡¯s orbit. If nothing went wrong, that would be best. If, unfortunately, something happened, even if a rescue team was sent, it was highly unlikely any of them would survive. ¡°Let¡¯s leave it at that!¡± ¡°Such a waste, really such a waste!¡± He heavily pressed confirm, feeling both pain and joy in his heart, a sense of inexplicable emptiness as if his whole body was paralyzed. These were the inheritances left to him by his father, just squandered like that. Soon, Zhang Yuan comforted himself a bit and pushed the reluctance in his heart to the back of his mind¡­ Afterward, it seemed there was nothing to do. Previously, when working in Space City, there was always endless work every day. The trainee captain bossed them around like dogs, grandly calling it ¡°stress training.¡± Suddenly having free time, he felt somewhat at a loss. Humans really were a wretched species. Some people liked to indulge and vent crazily before leaving. But he felt there was no need for that. ¡°Might as well read some books; studying a bit wouldn¡¯t hurt.¡± Zhang Yuan walked into the study and browsed the catalog on the bookshelf. ¡°Far Abelian Geometry and Tame Topology.¡± ¡°On Almost Complex Structures in Symplectic Spaces.¡± ¡°Integral Geometric Methods in the Langlands Program.¡± Looking at these titles, Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but click his tongue. There were two types of mathematics books: The first kind made you not want to read after the first page; the second kind made you not want to read after the first sentence. But now, these books belonged to the third kind, making you not want to read just by looking at the titles. Zhang Yuan, with resignation, randomly flipped open a book. On a certain page, a certain line read, ¡°For prime number p, the projective limit of (Z/p^nZ)n¡Ý1¡­¡± ¡°1/5 =¡­5412541254125412¡± It was neither English nor an alien language, but any combination of these words couldn¡¯t be understood, especially with ellipses oddly placed before the number. What on earth was that? In neat small characters, a line on the blank space of the paper said, ¡°¡­Regarding the problem of p-adic integers, I have a better idea, but unfortunately the space here is too small to write it down.¡± Zhang Yuan¡¯s pulse on his forehead twitched a few times; he sighed and gave up on this area of struggle. To ask why his home had such books, of course, it was¡ªleft by his godfather-like father. According to his father¡¯s words, ¡°The world¡¯s problems ultimately fall into two categories, one being philosophical problems and the other being mathematical problems. Mastering mathematics, everything becomes simple¡­¡± Indeed, Zhang Yuan was the son of a scientist. The advantage was that he received the best education from an early age and developed many good habits. The disadvantage was that when his innate intelligence was simply at the average person¡¯s level, he had this feeling of being mentally challenged. Even though he worked hard and got into a decent university, graduating with excellent grades, compared to his father, he still felt like an idiot. The intelligence gap between people was sometimes greater than that between humans and dogs¡­ Ding dong, ding dong. Just then, the shrill doorbell rang from the doorway, pulling back his thoughts. Zhang Yuan jumped up from the stool and opened the door, only to find a delivery robot standing outside. ¡°Hello, Mr. Zhang Yuan. Your parcel, please check for receipt!¡± This kind of six-axis robot paired with driverless vehicles was already capable of performing some simple manual labor. Decades ago, a large number of delivery personnel were replaced by robots and became unemployed, which at the time caused large-scale protests (though, of course, abroad). ¡°Mine?¡± To save costs, the delivery robot only had simple AI without complex logic capabilities like language judgment. ¡°Hello, Mr. Zhang Yuan. Your parcel, please check for receipt!¡± Zhang Yuan looked at the senders¡¯ signature, and to his surprise, it was ¡°Donghua City Law Firm,¡± causing his heart to skip a beat. ¡°What¡¯s going on, a lawyer¡¯s letter? Did I break the law?¡± ¡°Hello, Mr. Zhang Yuan. Your parcel, please check for receipt!¡± The robot just mechanically repeated. ¡°¡­¡± After pressing his fingerprint to confirm it was the recipient himself, the robot handed him a large package. With a bang, he shut the door, feeling a bit nervous inside, eagerly unpacking the package. If he was really inexplicably guilty, perhaps his permit to board the spaceship would be canceled. That¡¯s something he definitely wouldn¡¯t want to see. The outermost layer was a paper letter, ¡°Dear Mr. Zhang Yuan, this is an item your father entrusted us to keep. The will only takes effect when you are about to leave Earth¡­¡± Feeling relieved, it turned out to be a ¡°gift¡± left by his father. Inside was a folding tablet computer and a cold iron box, with the dry ice inside the package still emitting a ghostly cold mist. He opened the tablet computer. ¡°Zhang Yuan!¡± A familiar figure appeared on the screen. It was his father. ¡°Dad.¡± Zhang Yuan murmured as he looked at the screen. The middle-aged man on the screen smiled, ¡°Recently feeling unwell, perhaps the end is near, and I¡¯m going to see Einstein¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­If you plan to live honestly on Earth, I believe the wealth I left you would be enough for a while.¡± Indeed, his father left him a house in Donghua City and a couple of million federal coins, enough to marry and raise a child. ¡°¡­If you want to leave with the ¡®Earth Era,¡¯ then these legacies are useless, just donate them. Only knowledge is the most important.¡± Zhang Yuan forced a smile; surprisingly, his and his father¡¯s thoughts were quite similar. ¡°I feel I¡¯ve not taught you enough knowledge. Although you seem diligent, in many fields, 1% of talent is more important, and you don¡¯t have a talent for research, just an ordinary person¡­¡± Zhang Yuan awkwardly scratched his head, his heart calm. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Perhaps having been hit since childhood, his face had become thicker than a dead pig¡¯s. ¡°I¡¯m not a genius, but at least I¡¯m not dumb, otherwise, how could I have passed the astronaut exam? I¡¯m doing alright, okay.¡± Zhang Yuan was just somewhat puzzled as to what this already deceased father was doing. Why, at the last moment, send a computer to scold him? His father babbled on for half a day, and finally got to the point, ¡°Ahem, this computer contains some of my ideas and thoughts. These include the fields of artificial intelligence, robot algorithms, and some other cutting-edge technologies; they are still unpublished, you can take a look.¡± These were indeed good things! ¡°¡­Don¡¯t think about picking the fruits easy, they have not been completely perfected. If you¡¯re interested, you might try to improve them. It could be a small gift from me. Of course, if you don¡¯t understand the knowledge inside, copying it won¡¯t be of any use.¡± When discussing his academic achievements, his father waxed lyrical, as if only these things could ignite his desire to talk. After a while, his father¡¯s face slightly flushed, his expression began to look tired. ¡°¡­Oh, by the way, there¡¯s a¡­ potion in that iron box.¡± His expression turned somewhat strange, paused, and said, ¡°There is a 35% probability it will make you smarter, a 50% probability it won¡¯t change anything, and a 15% probability it will make you duller!¡± ¡°If you¡¯re dissatisfied with your current intelligence, perhaps you can give it a try.¡± ¡°All the consequences are yours to bear!¡± ¡°` Chapter 4 - 4 The Feeling of Genius Chapter 4: Chapter 4 The Feeling of Genius Editor: Henyee Translations After finishing his sentence, his father closed the video and went back to work. At that time, even though he was seriously ill, he still insisted on working. The Earth Era, this giant spaceship of a new era, was built piece by piece by this group of workaholics. Zhang Yuan stared at the iron box, lost in thought. Even after being mocked, he still felt a sense of reluctance. His father¡¯s memory had become somewhat blurred, but now it became clear again, as if they had just parted yesterday. That feeling was really sad¡­ ... After two seconds, he remembered something and suddenly looked at the iron box. A drug that could enhance intelligence! Was it real or fake? Zhang Yuan swallowed a mouthful of saliva, frowned, and opened the iron box. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. He found a small blue glass bottle filled with liquid inside, along with a disposable syringe. Enhancing intelligence, impossible, could such advanced black technology really exist in the world? Impossible, absolutely impossible! ¡°If it really existed, the world would already be full of geniuses, and PhDs would be as common as dogs. Even if the price were high, it wouldn¡¯t matter.¡± But, since his father mentioned it, it probably wasn¡¯t groundless. He picked up the glass bottle, affected by dry ice, it was freezing cold, and the light blue liquid inside was no more than 3 milliliters. Zhang Yuan hesitated, wanting to find an institution to test the components of the liquid. But he was also afraid that this thing might be time-sensitive. Once the temperature rose, it might deteriorate and lose its effect. So, should he use it or not? Clenching his fists, he pondered hard for three seconds. First, the probability of success was greater than the probability of failure. Second, since it was sent by his father, it shouldn¡¯t be harmful¡­ Third, he was really unwilling to just be an ordinary person. Not using it would be foolish! Having made up his mind, Zhang Yuan stopped hesitating, took out the disposable syringe, and drew the blue liquid from the glass bottle. ¡°Inject intravenously¡­¡± ¡°Calm, calm.¡± With a deep breath, he plunged the syringe into the vein on his arm. A sharp pain. As an astronaut, he had received some medical training, so he was not unfamiliar with this kind of thing. Just an injection. Zhang Yuan bit his teeth and pressed the syringe with his thumb, slowly pushing the blue liquid in. Soon, his cheeks began to flush, a strange drowsy feeling emanating from his head. He couldn¡¯t tell if it was due to nerves or the drug taking effect. Suddenly, everything spun! His eyes widened, and he collapsed to the ground. ¡­ When he woke up again, he felt his mind was muddled, as if a whirlpool was spinning rapidly. He continued lying on the ground for a few minutes until the intense pain in his brain gradually subsided. ¡°¡­Able to think.¡± Zhang Yuan laboriously got up, looked around suspiciously, and then repackaged the syringe and glass bottle, putting them in the fridge. If necessary, maybe he should find a place to analyze the components of the remaining liquid. ¡°Have I gotten smarter or dumber?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s try!¡± he thought enthusiastically. The simplest test, of course, was calculation. Zhang Yuan gave himself a problem: ¡°7812378*7812378=¡­¡± ??? ?? ? It was like a machine had rusted and jammed, the answer didn¡¯t leap into his mind immediately. It¡¯s over! A wave of irritation. His entire face turned beet red. Damn it. Haven¡¯t become smarter, have I become dumber?! ¡°I shouldn¡¯t be this unlucky¡­ Ah, if I really am this unlucky, I¡¯ll just have to accept it.¡± He got up from the ground, checked the time, it was already 9 PM, and his stomach was rumbling with hunger. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s low blood sugar causing brain dysfunction¡­¡± He randomly found an excuse, trying to calm his chaotic emotions, walked into the kitchen, cooked a bowl of noodles for himself, and slurped it down. Man is iron, food is steel, test IQ after eating the noodles. Zhang Yuan took steps toward the study and pulled out the book, ¡°Far Abel Geometry and Tame Topology.¡± He couldn¡¯t understand it, still couldn¡¯t understand it. ¡°That¡¯s not right, maybe I¡¯m being too impatient, this book is too hard.¡± Understanding a book doesn¡¯t just depend on intelligence, it also requires accumulated knowledge. Far Abel Geometry is a distant branch of Algebraic Geometry, even PhD students in Mathematics find it overwhelming. Without relevant prior knowledge, even if Zhang Yuan¡¯s IQ were 250, he couldn¡¯t possibly understand its content. Then switch to another, simpler book. ¡°The Art of Computer Programming¡± A very classic book! In this era, programming had become a compulsory course in high school and university, even though many people disliked this course just as they disliked Mathematics and Physics. In their words, ¡°What¡¯s the use of learning this? I might not work in this field in the future!¡± But there¡¯s no denying that Software Engineering was still the highest employment rate specialty, whether in the field of Artificial Intelligence, Information Technology, or various mechanical designs, programming is needed. Zhang Yuan¡¯s university major was ¡°Space Machinery Engineering,¡± a messy field where you learned a bit of everything, programming was of course also mediocre. Zhang Yuan recalled the knowledge in his mind and opened the first page. [Volume 1, Chapter 1, Basic Algorithms.] ¡°Just think of it as reviewing. Though this book is classic, its elementary applications concerning simulation, numerical methods, symbolic computation, software, and system design are still pretty difficult.¡± Gradually, he entered a highly focused state, and a peculiar emotion arose in his mind. When pondering and solving problems, it was like conquering one challenging checkpoint after another. This powerful sense of conquest and satisfaction stimulated him to keep reading. Time passed by the second, until the entire book, over two hundred pages long, was finished. Zhang Yuan nodded, feeling like he had enjoyed a sumptuous feast. A pretty good book, no time wasted! He stopped his pen, hammered his achy back, continually reflecting on the knowledge he¡¯d acquired. He looked up to check the time. No way, it¡¯s already 3 AM, he¡¯d been reading for six hours! Time had passed quickly, it was time to sleep. Wait a minute! Intel¡­ Intelligence! Suddenly, he remembered something, and a deep sense of joy surged through him. In the past, although Zhang Yuan was a diligent and self-disciplined good student, he couldn¡¯t be diligent enough to study a boring book for six hours straight without any distractions¡­ He hadn¡¯t even noticed the passage of time. But now, something seemed different, the whole book wasn¡¯t just understood in one go, there weren¡¯t any obstacles in the middle, everything seemed to happen naturally. Haha! It was real! I really have become smarter! He excitedly rolled around on the bed¡­ Chapter 5 - 5: The Trait Called Chapter 5: Chapter 5: The Trait Called ¡°Workaholic Editor: Henyee Translations ¡°` After being excited for a few minutes, the same question popped into his head. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°7812378 * 7812378 = ¡­¡± ??? ?? Still couldn¡¯t do it within a second, what was going on? ... As¡­ ahem, a genius, he shouldn¡¯t be stumped by such a problem! Zhang Yuan frowned, a vertical multiplication problem appeared in his mind. He stumbled through it for half a minute before finally coming up with the result. ¡°61033250014884.¡± Not bad, still got it. Thinking it over carefully, a look of realization appeared on his face. ¡°So that¡¯s it¡­ the old me would have solved such problems directly on a computer, which caused my calculation skills to degrade significantly. If you don¡¯t use your brain, even geniuses can¡¯t instantly pop out answers¡­¡± ¡°Calculating slowly now is just because of a lack of proficiency and not mastering the relevant techniques. If I use mental arithmetic long-term, I can definitely improve.¡± The next day¡­ Zhang Yuan woke up bleary-eyed and rubbed his groggy head. Maybe it was because he was too excited last night, constantly testing his IQ, that he just couldn¡¯t fall asleep. By the time he finally managed to doze off, it was nearly dawn. He looked, and it was already 10 o¡¯clock. ¡°Darn!¡± Zhang Yuan rolled off the bed, quickly washed up, then hurriedly rushed out the door. ¡°I hope I¡¯m not late, otherwise Auntie will nag me for ages¡­¡± The 30-day vacation was tight, with every day planned out clearly, and he had already scheduled to have lunch at his aunt¡¯s today. July in Donghua City was like a furnace, with heat waves rolling over, and the roadside plants were caught in the inferno. Zhang Yuan hurried to the subway station, where there was always a comfortable air conditioner. This era did not lack energy, and the power generation of each large fusion nuclear power plant was comparable to the Three Gorges Hydroelectric Power Station of the past, with domestic electricity priced as low as 3 cents per degree. Thanks to this, apart from plastics and other traditional petroleum-derived products that remained expensive, high-energy-consuming industrial products like steel and cement had become unusually cheap. In particular, the vigorous development of nanotechnology had resulted in generation after generation of upgraded building materials. For example, adding 6% nano-silicon dioxide to cement could double its compressive strength and improve the overall working properties of concrete. The widespread availability of cheap, new materials had led to increasingly taller surface buildings in the city, with kilometer-high skyscrapers being commonplace. Two hundred years ago, the 828-meter-tall Burj Khalifa was the tallest building in the world, but now, it was merely the tallest building in a village. Moreover¡­ the same construction cost could now build at least five! Some transportation tracks were even placed thousands of meters high, with skyscrapers as the rail pillars. These became very popular in almost all large cities, making aerial rails the face of big cities. ¡°So many people.¡± Donghua City was one of the five first-tier cities in Xia Country. Even though he had missed the morning rush hour, the subway station was still crowded. ¡°Passengers, please give way to the elderly and children.¡± ¡°Please refrain from smoking or begging inside the carriages.¡± Completely solving traffic problems was impossible. Critics always found the most comfortable angles to attack the government, if the transit was too crowded, the government would definitely catch flak. But if there were too many subway trains, with lots of empty seats, it would be considered a ¡°waste of taxpayers¡¯ money.¡± No matter what, they would get criticized, so they just made do. Zhang Yuan stood at the back of the line, hearing someone constantly complain about ¡°not adding more trains¡± and so forth. He chuckled to himself, not thinking much of it, and instead picked up his phone to start doing exercises. This was a very popular app called ¡°Super Brain¡± that could test a person¡¯s memory, arithmetic skills, and reasoning ability. Since he was bored anyway, doing a few problems wasn¡¯t a bad idea, and he could also test his IQ. IQ was currently the most important issue to him. Every time he found his IQ to be high in a test, the satisfaction was indescribable. The subway station was noisy, making it hard to concentrate, but somehow, doing exercises always produced a peculiar sense of accomplishment, giving him a sensation like eating chocolate candies. Maybe it was because after using that elixir, he acquired a trait called ¡°workaholic¡±? ¡°I finally understand why someone would want to work all day long, turns out it¡¯s so darn enjoyable. Using my brain has become an unexpectedly fun thing!¡± Ding-dong¡­ The subway arrived, and the crowd surged in, clearing the earlier waiting area. Zhang Yuan entered the subway, found a random place to stand, and continued doing another problem. With increasing proficiency, he reduced the time for seven-digit basic arithmetic from half a minute per problem to 10 seconds per problem, and his calculation speed kept improving. That feeling of the answer almost jumping out was finally slowly emerging. The more he used his brain, the sharper it became, and this result pleased him greatly. Soon, he was no longer satisfied with ordinary basic arithmetic and moved on to square root calculations. ¡°Let¡¯s start with something simple, ¡Ì7812 (keep four significant figures).¡± Zhang Yuan gave himself a difficulty boost. There are many different methods to manually find the square root of an integer. The most conventional one is called trial and division, a bit like division, and if your mental arithmetic is good enough, you can indeed calculate it directly. Some algorithms are a bit more troublesome, like continued fraction expansion, bisection, Newton¡¯s iteration, etc. Fifteen seconds later, he got the specific conclusion. ¡°¡Ì7812 = 88.38¡­¡± Correct answer! ¡°¡Ì444¡± ¡°21.07¡± Correct answer! Ha ha! Is this¡­ what it feels like to be a genius? Gosh¡­ it feels awesome! The carriage was very quiet, except for the subway¡¯s electronic prompts, everyone else was busy immersing themselves in their own little world. Occasionally, a few people, whether they were reading a novel or watching a video at a peak moment, would burst into laughter like fools¡­ ¡°Subway time should be used for self-improvement, not entertainment!¡± A ¡°well-informed¡± guy who had returned from studying abroad frowned, lamenting this poor social trend. The phenomenon of ¡°phone addicts¡± was often criticized by major media outlets, but criticizing it didn¡¯t do much good; people still played on their phones and kept their heads down. You can¡¯t expect the government to legislate, banning playing phones in public, can you? This man¡¯s name was Ye Fan, and in his perception, foreign subways had everyone reading newspapers instead of playing on phones, and the social climate was a hundred times better than in Xia Country (though it was just that there was no internet). Anyway, no matter what, in his opinion, young people abroad lived much healthier lives than young people in Xia Country! ¡°No wonder these folks can¡¯t get into space, it¡¯s because they¡¯re putting learning time into entertainment¡­ No wonder they aren¡¯t making it to space!¡± Ye Fan thought secretly. ¡°There¡¯s a saying, what¡¯s it again? I just used the time others spent drinking coffee on work¡­¡± Especially the young guy next to him in a short sleeve shirt, who had a mysterious grin on his face. Tsk tsk, must be dating a 2D girl, huh? Hopeless! (By the way, let me explain the book¡¯s title. Originally, I wanted to call it ¡°Deep Space Era,¡± but it was too serious, and the click rate would be low.) (It¡¯s sci-fi, you know how it is, even though ¡°Wandering Earth¡± was a hit, that doesn¡¯t mean other sci-fi can hit too. Most people would see ¡°Deep Space Era¡± as a title and probably wouldn¡¯t even want to read it, not even want to click it.) (After thinking it over, I decided to change it to this, ¡°Deep Space Captain,¡± even though it sounds kind of corny, the click rate should be a bit higher¡­) ¡°` Chapter 6 - 6: Who is this person? Chapter 6: Chapter 6: Who is this person? Editor: Henyee Translations Ye Fan felt a deep disdain in his heart and decided to return to the office to write an article, thoroughly criticizing this unhealthy phenomenon. If he could spark a topic and stir up quite a bit of heat, he could also boost his own reputation in the process! He even already had a title in mind¡ª¡±The Subway¡¯s ¡®Head-Down Tribe¡¯¡ªA Cultural Perspective of the Masses.¡± Thinking of this, he discreetly aimed his phone at Zhang Yuan, intending to use this counterexample as an illustration for his article. He glanced again at Zhang Yuan¡¯s phone screen and frowned. ¡°Huh, not flirting with a two-dimensional girl. Turns out he¡¯s doing Super Brain.¡± ... ¡°Can¡¯t be used as a picture anymore then¡­¡± Of course, he had seen this TV show that was all the rage across the nation. The Super Brain app was specially developed to select contestants. Contestants confident in their intelligence could answer questions on their phones, and the top one thousand of each season would qualify for the selection. After the selection, they could showcase their skills on the real stage. Because it was an online competition, many people used computers to cheat, making the whole result not very genuine. However, these cheaters would eventually be exposed during the selection. ¡°Quick calculation, huh, I can do that too!¡± Ye Fan curiously watched, eager to give it a try. He had also learned mental arithmetic in his childhood and now subconsciously wanted to compete with Zhang Yuan. ¡°88.8*8+88.88*8-8.99/8.88=¡­ (retain 4 significant digits)¡± Zhang Yuan thought for a few seconds and directly wrote down the answer. ¡°1420¡± ¡°So fast?¡± Ye Fan was surprised, ¡°Though you only need to retain 4 significant digits, just enough to omit the decimals¡­ This question is a bit interesting.¡± Still, he didn¡¯t think much of it, assuming Zhang Yuan had been calculating for quite a while. Next question, Zhang Yuan tapped with his finger. ¡°ln(40) (retain 3 significant digits)¡± This time, both stood at the same starting line. Ye Fan put in all his effort, racking his brains. ¡°Wait a minute, how do you calculate a logarithmic function? What is the base change formula again?¡± For a while, his brain turned a bit chaotic. He struggled with it: ¡°ln(40)=ln(4)+ln(10), and then¡­ Oh, no, still can¡¯t figure it out, do we need to memorize some logarithm tables?¡± Zhang Yuan again wrote down the answer on the screen. ¡°3.69¡± ¡°Correct answer!¡± Ye Fan¡¯s eyes widened, as if he had seen a ghost. He still hadn¡¯t figured out how to calculate the logarithm and had no idea. Right then, the other party started the next question again. ¡°sin(24¡ã) (retain 3 significant digits)¡± What was this? How to calculate trigonometric functions again? Double angle formula? Not right. sin(24¡ã), no way to calculate by hand! The person wrote the answer on the screen again: ¡°0.407¡± ¡°Correct answer!¡± ¡°¡­¡± After suffering a series of invisible blows, Ye Fan had a knot in his head and could only give up. He was too embarrassed to ask, so he searched through his phone and found the answer he wanted. ¡°So, hand-calculating logarithms or trigonometric functions requires Taylor series expansion¡­ Well, it¡¯s normal not to compete with these long-term trained people!¡± He couldn¡¯t help but pout, thinking with discontent: What¡¯s the big deal about quick calculation? This skill is completely useless¡ªno matter how fast a person calculates, can they match a computer? Perhaps, he could write another article to criticize those educational institutions teaching mental arithmetic. There was no need to burden children with irrelevant learning. Thinking so, he quietly took out his phone and opened the calculator app, thinking, with a computer¡¯s speed, could he not match your mental arithmetic? Zhang Yuan vaguely felt a sharp gaze at his back, as if someone was watching him. He looked around but didn¡¯t find anything. However, he didn¡¯t mind too much. A thief? Haha, he didn¡¯t have a cent in cash, and the only valuable item was the phone in his hand. Besides, what¡¯s on his phone screen wasn¡¯t particularly private. Glancing at it wouldn¡¯t take away a piece of his flesh. After completing a whole set of questions, the screen displayed the final score: ¡°Congratulations! Final time 312.42 seconds, SSS, ranked 28th today!¡± ¡°Please keep up the good work!¡± A two-dimensional girl with an admiring expression popped up on the screen. Only 28th place. It seemed a bit lower than expected. Zhang Yuan thought to himself, ¡°There are still many geniuses in this world; it¡¯s normal to rank like this.¡± With more training, perhaps his performance would improve again. But there was no need for that; he wasn¡¯t participating in competitions, and his calculation ability was just about enough. He casually opened the leaderboard. ¡°First place, Eternal Eternity, time 0.01 seconds.¡± ¡°Second place, Writing Novels Will Eat Dirt, time 0.07 seconds.¡± ¡°Third place, Can You Support Originals, time 0.11 seconds.¡± ¡°Third place, When Can I Take Leave, time 0.12 seconds.¡± Zhang Yuan smiled; humans couldn¡¯t possibly complete 20 questions in 0.01 seconds. These results must have been created by a program using screen-reading software to capture information. Some people like this, using cheats to pretend as if they are very capable. Human computational speed couldn¡¯t compare with cheats, so he extinguished this aspect of ambition. ¡°Dragon Bridge Station has arrived. Please get off. Distant Industrial and Commercial Bank reminds you: Please be careful when going out, mind your steps¡­¡± Watching Zhang Yuan leave, Ye Fan was still in a state of confusion. For longer calculations, even at the speed of his computer, he couldn¡¯t keep up with the other¡¯s mental arithmetic speed! Who the hell was this person? Calculation champion? Ye Fan tried hard to recall how long it took the last Super Brain champion to complete 20 questions. ¡°How long was it exactly¡­¡± 300 seconds? 200 seconds? It didn¡¯t seem right. He searched again, and tens of thousands of alpacas drifted across his mind. 313.6 seconds! Just one second more than the number he had just seen. ¡­ Intelligence was composed of three factors: memory, reasoning ability, and language ability. Quick arithmetic didn¡¯t necessarily mean high intelligence, but it undoubtedly represented a higher reasoning ability than ordinary people. Throughout the training process, the exaggerated pace of improvement also excited Zhang Yuan immensely. From a rusty brain to a flexible one, it took only a night! He even had another slight suspicion in his heart: maybe¡­ the speed of learning other disciplines was just as fast! There was a faint feeling in his heart that this was a kind of luxury. Becoming an all-around scientist like Newton in this era was already impossible. No more Newtons or Einsteins had appeared in history because the entire civilization¡¯s knowledge system was too vast, beyond the brain capacity of humans. No, it was difficult to bear even one ten-thousandth of the knowledge! History was full of brilliant figures, and these geniuses laid the foundation for the knowledge system of civilization. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. From the first Industrial Revolution to now, hundreds of years have passed, and the whole world had undergone dramatic changes. Yet human innate intelligence hadn¡¯t improved much, still using very primitive brains. Two hundred years ago, universities taught calculus; nowadays, universities still teach calculus. It¡¯s not that science hadn¡¯t progressed but that ordinary people¡¯s intelligence was like this. So, modern humans were not smarter than those of the 21st century, but they had to master more knowledge. To create new knowledge, one first had to stand on the shoulders of these giants. How hard was it? ¡°If it¡¯s really possible¡­¡± Zhang Yuan hoped to find the point he was most interested in, then add some useful stuff to this mountain of knowledge; that would already be great. Chapter 7 - 7 The Child Next Door Chapter 7: Chapter 7 The Child Next Door Editor: Henyee Translations Stepping out of the subway station and walking east for about ten minutes, he arrived at his aunt¡¯s house. ¡°¡­ Are you really leaving Earth? You¡¯re the only son of your family! If you were my son, I¡¯d definitely scold you to death!¡± Unsurprisingly, his aunt, teary-eyed and extremely reluctant, said a lot to persuade him to stay. Faced with the concern from his relatives, Zhang Yuan awkwardly smiled, not knowing what to say. He turned his gaze outside the window. His aunt¡¯s home was on the 192nd floor, and looking out, one could see a vast distance. Donghua City was well-planned, with the outermost ring as the agricultural and industrial areas, and the city center in the middle. The buildings were spaced far apart to ensure every household could be in the sunlight. ... ¡°It¡¯s already planned. Turning back would be desertion and would face very severe punishment. It¡¯s also my dad¡¯s wish, and if he were alive, he¡¯d definitely support me¡­¡± Recalling countless days and nights of hard work, how could he possibly give up now? ¡°You¡¯re not coming back?¡± ¡°Yeah, not coming back¡­¡± His aunt¡¯s eyes turned red, and she opened her mouth, unable to speak. To cover up her sadness, she hurriedly ran to the kitchen to cook, occasionally wiping her eyes with her sleeves. Meanwhile, his uncle was cracking sunflower seeds and watching TV, sitting with crossed legs on the sofa. He said with great openness, ¡°A good man¡¯s ambition should be boundless. Going to space is a good thing! It¡¯s not like you¡¯re dead. I don¡¯t understand why your aunt is so sentimental!¡± ¡°Look at this news, if I weren¡¯t so old and lacking knowledge, I¡¯d want to sign up too!¡± The TV was blaring loudly, playing a documentary about the ¡°Earth Era¡± spaceship. Phrases like ¡°witness history,¡± ¡°restart new civilization,¡± and ¡°humankind¡¯s first¡± stirred his uncle¡¯s emotions, making him wish he could also venture into the stars. ¡°Alas, I¡¯m getting old. I wish I were as young as you.¡± Half an hour later, the meal was ready. The atmosphere at the dining table was somewhat silent. His aunt kept urging Zhang Yuan to eat more, saying things like ¡°eat well before the journey¡± and ¡°you won¡¯t get chicken, duck, or fish in space,¡± which were rather odd. To ease his relatives¡¯ worries, Zhang Yuan proactively talked about his future plans. ¡°¡­ Besides some routine maintenance work on the spaceship, there¡¯s plenty of personal time. So, I plan to learn as much as possible before hibernation, hopefully completing Master¡¯s and Doctorate courses before reaching the destination¡­¡± ¡°Are there teachers on the spaceship too?¡± ¡°Of course, there are fifty thousand people there! Most have special skills, with education levels higher than mine.¡± ¡°And there are many experts, like professors from universities and senior engineers from companies. These experts are very skilled, even some at the academician level!¡± His uncle nodded, sighing, ¡°That¡¯s a great idea. One should keep learning throughout life. Xiaoqing, did you hear that? Without studying, you can¡¯t establish yourself in society. Whatever you do needs knowledge! It¡¯s not the old days anymore¡­¡± The girl sitting next to Zhang Yuan was Ye Qingqing, his aunt¡¯s daughter. Suddenly being lectured, she couldn¡¯t help but pout. Although Zhang Yuan wasn¡¯t some top genius, he was a typical hardworking student, a ¡°good student¡± in the eyes of relatives. Ye Qingqing naturally wasn¡¯t pleased with being constantly compared to the ¡°good kid.¡± She quietly retorted to herself, ¡°I don¡¯t even use trigonometric functions to sell vegetables¡­¡± Ye Qingqing didn¡¯t dare to speak too loudly for fear that her father might hear and scold her. With how things evolved, the anti-intellectual argument that ¡°learning is useless¡± had long been discarded by the public. A simple comparison: the average income of staff in major Space Cities and Moon Bases was around 600,000. In contrast, Xia Country¡¯s average income was roughly 60,000. A tenfold difference in average income between the two! Xia Country had already become one of the wealthiest countries on Earth. Without studying, it¡¯s embarrassing to venture into space and one would ¡°likely¡± be a low-income earner. In essence, for ordinary people, working in a Space City or at a Moon Base was a very respectable job. ¡°By the way, when will you enter hibernation? Didn¡¯t the TV say that most of the journey would be spent in hibernation, with an average conscious time of less than ten years per person?¡± Zhang Yuan thought for a moment, then said, ¡°Well, it depends on one¡¯s abilities. If you¡¯re outstanding, you can apply to enter hibernation later. Ordinary people will likely enter hibernation after resupplying at Jupiter, sleeping through hundreds of years, waking for a few years, then entering hibernation again. We take turns working to get through these difficult times.¡± ¡°It will ultimately take three thousand years to reach the destination.¡± ¡°Three thousand years, huh.¡± His aunt¡¯s eyes turned red again. By that time, they would long be gone, not even their bones left. No one knew what would happen in the future, and who would contemplate things three thousand years from now. His uncle also sighed, ¡°Ah, let¡¯s eat, let¡¯s eat first.¡± Zhang Yuan felt a wave of emotions. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Every astronaut had to face such a choice¨Cthey had to abandon their Mother Star, abandon everything, everything here¡­ Time aged quickly, and past stories were hard to find. These fifty thousand people would become witnesses of Earth¡¯s history, personally experiencing the next three thousand years of Earth¡¯s future. It sounded glamorous but was, in reality, profoundly harsh. They would be abandoned by the entire era. Some might wonder why there would be such fifty thousand people. It sounded strange, truly strange. Because¡­ The morning fungus knows not of twilight, and the cicada knows not spring and autumn. Without venturing beyond Earth, one would never understand just how vast the starry sky truly was. Viewed from the Universe¡¯s scale, Earth seemed so very small, small enough to make one¡¯s heart flutter, as if it could be obliterated with a flick of a finger. Just like a hundred years ago, when Professor Qi Yuanshan, the founder of the Deep Space Foundation and the Father of Nuclear Fusion, made his resounding proclamation, ¡°What does aerospace have to do with profits!¡± The atmosphere grew more silent, with only the sounds of eating. His uncle suddenly said, ¡°Uh, Xiaoqing is taking the college entrance exam next year. Are there any good majors you can recommend? The kind with good job prospects.¡± Zhang Yuan got into university Z, considered the best achievable school for ordinary people with effort. Plus, he had interned in a Space City, so he knew the situation there. Ye Qingqing looked up. She was already a high school junior, having a lively personality and not fond of studying. Based on her usual grades, she had a realistic grasp of her abilities and didn¡¯t expect to get into a particularly good university. In her view, not studying was the ultimate liberation; as long as she didn¡¯t need to study, life would be easy and happy. Even going to the market to sell vegetables seemed better than studying. Zhang Yuan thought for a moment, ¡°It depends on her interests for choosing a major.¡± His aunt awkwardly said, ¡°She doesn¡¯t have any particular hobbies¡­¡± This was quite normal. Most high school juniors didn¡¯t know what they wanted to do in the future and didn¡¯t have a complete life plan. Anyway, they just dutifully studied when teachers and parents told them to. It was only when it came time to fill out application forms that they hurriedly spent a few days planning their lives. Chapter 8 - 8 The Higher the Education Level, the Better Chapter 8: Chapter 8 The Higher the Education Level, the Better Editor: Henyee Translations ¡°` Taking a responsible stance, Zhang Yuan organized his thoughts and began, ¡°The current pillar industries are Space Botany, Space Industry, and Nanomaterials Science.¡± ¡°Space Botany, which means cultivating superior Mutant Plants, these plants are widely used for growing food, extracting industrial raw materials, and in medical fields.¡± ¡°However, the minimum educational requirement to work in this industry is a graduate degree¡­ I guess that¡¯s the case.¡± ¡°A master¡¯s degree, huh¡­¡± Ye Qingqing frowned and muttered softly. She actually quite liked plants, all kinds of flower and herb cultivation, both enjoyable and rewarding, with high pay. But hearing this educational requirement made her somewhat hesitant. ... Zhang Yuan continued, ¡°The space industry system is even more massive; basically, there are all kinds of sectors, and the top-level manufacturing has been moved to the Moon. Low gravity and an oxygen-free environment are more suitable for developing heavy industry. The latest generation of Photon Chip technology is produced on the Moon.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a huge talent gap in this area, with higher-end being various Engineers and lower-end being Mechanical Technicians. For these, at least a graduate degree is needed.¡± sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Further down are technical workers, the minimum requirement is a bachelor¡¯s degree from the 995 type¡­¡± ¡°995¡­¡± Ye Qingqing stared, repeating once more. The 995 program was a major decision made by Xia Country at the turn of the century, with a total of 40 universities selected, basically the best universities in Xia Country. She involuntarily stuck out her tongue, ¡°This kind of school, definitely won¡¯t be able to get in¡­¡± Zhang Yuan continued, ¡°As for research in Nanomaterials, the academic requirement is even higher, you can¡¯t manage without a doctoral degree. Even in the production workshop, the technical workers also need 995.¡± ¡°Oh, if you graduate with just a bachelor¡¯s, you can only be a worker¡­¡± Young Uncle murmured, also startled. ¡°And it has to be 995!¡± Workers in Space City were much more valuable than those on Earth; an annual salary of several hundred thousand wasn¡¯t easy to get. Zhang Yuan quickly added, ¡°Oh, and there are various service industries in Space City, after all, people can¡¯t just work, they also need to rest and entertain. For girls, for instance, doctors, nurses, and the like, if they¡¯re excellent enough, they can still go to space. Artificial Intelligence hasn¡¯t been able to fully cover these fields yet.¡± ¡°The acceptance rate is about one in a thousand.¡± One in a thousand! Ye Qingqing¡¯s face turned red; even if she wasn¡¯t good at Mathematics, she knew what this number meant. ¡°¡­So, if you want a good prospect, you have to do well in university exams, and if there¡¯s a chance, it¡¯s best to study until you get a doctorate. Anyway, there¡¯s no such thing as having too high an education level. Unlike in the old days where PhD graduates couldn¡¯t find work, this likely won¡¯t happen anymore.¡± Ye Qingqing¡¯s brows already furrowed into a knot; although she knew the importance of studying, at her age not yet having entered society, not knowing the sweet and sour of life, there was always a sense of disinterest in studying. Studying was really annoying! Oh dear, if in the future one must study all the way to a PhD, studying for ten years, her heart felt as if inhabited by an angry little bird, wishing to bang her head against the culprit, Zhang Yuan¡¯s, face. ¡°Cousin¡­ what education level are you pursuing?¡± Ye Qingqing mischievously asked, her eyes rolling. ¡°Me¡­¡± Zhang Yuan scratched his head, embarrassed, and said, ¡°My major is Space Machinery Engineering¡­ I just graduated with a bachelor¡¯s degree, so my degree isn¡¯t enough, and I¡¯m just a repair worker. On the spaceship, my daily work is to check and maintain the spaceship, or do some cleaning, very simple work.¡± ¡°If I learned more, I should be able to take on a higher-level position¡­¡± Saying he was a worker was no big deal when he was one of the few who made it out of a one-in-a-thousand ratio. Zhang Yuan was always a very diligent person; now, with enhanced Intelligence, he was even more industrious. He had confidence in reaching higher levels within a few years. ¡°Spaceship repair worker, can you fix things? Fix the air conditioner, fix the television?¡± Ye Qingqing asked again. Faced with such a strange question, Zhang Yuan was taken aback; he repaired spaceships, how could he fix air conditioners? The two were worlds apart. ¡°Can you fix my dad¡¯s broken radio?¡± Ye Qingqing asked slyly. With a turn of thought, Zhang Yuan quickly understood what the little girl opposite him wanted. She was trying to undermine the ¡°usefulness of studying¡± argument to reduce future parental pressure on herself! And he, Zhang Yuan, inadvertently became the detestable ¡°other people¡¯s child.¡± Smiling inside, this kind of dislike for studying at that age was normal. He had gone through it like that himself; apart from a few exceptions, who likes studying all day? Did they really think using their brains wasn¡¯t tiring? ¡°That radio is really noisy, honestly noisy! Brother, can you help fix it?¡± Faced with the challenge from the little girl, as a¡­ ahem, genius, how could he be stumped by such a basic job? Fixing things was no big deal! Zhang Yuan shamelessly said, ¡°The structure of ordinary electronic devices isn¡¯t complicated; for the radio, it shouldn¡¯t be difficult either.¡± Young Uncle quickly interjected, ¡°Talking about radios here, first eat, first eat!¡± ¡­ After the meal, somehow Zhang Yuan felt a curiosity tickling his heart. This strange exploration desire continuously urged him to try, to explore. ¡°Young Uncle, if possible, let me give it a try!¡± Young Uncle hesitated for a moment, reluctantly returning to his room to bring out his cherished item. ¡°It took quite a lot of money to buy it! A small bargain was picked, and if it weren¡¯t for this defect, it would have been even pricier¡­¡± Faced with his precious collection, Young Uncle was beaming, his face full of pride. Zhang Yuan was stunned; it was actually a 20th-century antique. The square radio in front of him, with two long antennas. The black plastic surface was wiped very clean, feeling relatively rough to the touch, exuding a strong sense of history. Nowadays, people generally referred to the era before the oil crisis as the ¡°Old Era¡±; the chaotic and regressive hundred years in the middle as the ¡°Gray Era¡±; and the era after the ignition of nuclear fusion as the ¡°New Era.¡± Collecting electronic devices from the Old Era had become a new fashion trend, akin to collecting jade antiques. Young Uncle was one of the fervent enthusiasts. ¡°Can this still work? It¡¯s almost 300 years old!¡± When mentioning ¡°300,¡± Zhang Yuan inadvertently dragged out the sound. Hearing Zhang Yuan¡¯s astonished tone, it seemed to scratch an itch in Young Uncle¡¯s heart, ¡°Of course it can work; it¡¯s just a bit loud at first. I¡¯m not sure why there¡¯s so much noise; that¡¯s the only flaw¡­¡± He took a cassette tape from the safe and inserted it into the radio. The cassette was certainly an antique too; the image stuck on it no longer identifiable, depicting which star. After plugging the radio into a specially made power source, it suddenly emitted a stream of static, with the entire device trembling slightly. ¡°Buzz¡ªbuzz!¡± It startled Zhang Yuan. ¡°` Chapter 9 - 9 Reading Is Still Useful Chapter 9: Chapter 9 Reading Is Still Useful Editor: Henyee Translations After a long while, the radio finally went back to normal and played the music from the tape. ¡°Sweet honey, your smile is so sweet, as if flowers bloom in the spring breeze¡­¡± An unknown singer, but the voice was quite pleasant. ¡°This is exactly the problem. It¡¯s only like this when it first starts up; it gradually gets better afterward, no idea why¡­¡± Young Uncle said, suddenly feeling uneasy in his heart. He had approached several shops, trying to get the thing repaired. ... But these shops didn¡¯t dare to take the job because if it was damaged, they¡¯d have to compensate. These old electronic products were very delicate; just a few touches might break one of the internal lines. Moreover, the various components of the radio had long since ceased production. Even if factories still produced them, they wouldn¡¯t fetch any price. Antiques, after all, needed the ¡°antique¡± aspect; if modern electronic components were installed in ancient instruments, what difference would it make from sticking a band-aid on it? Since it could still play normally, Young Uncle just made do with what he had. Zhang Yuan was eager to try and walked up to the radio: ¡°Let me try to fix it!¡± ¡°But¡­ sigh.¡± ¡°Give it a try.¡± The tone was obviously one of distrust. Young Uncle was suffering in his heart, feeling he might have overboasted. Even though his nephew was quite impressive, studying something called ¡°spaceship management¡± and even capable of fixing spaceships, fixing a spaceship was vastly different from fixing a radio! The most critical part was, if it broke, he couldn¡¯t possibly make his nephew pay for it! Seeing Zhang Yuan¡¯s hands already touching the radio, his heart clenched tightly! But, for the sake of face, he couldn¡¯t say much, only glancing viciously at his daughter. Ye Qingqing wasn¡¯t intimidated; she returned her father¡¯s glare, her heart blooming with laughter. In her view, this old antique had long been out of production, and even the design drawings were lost. Who could possibly fix it? Especially since¡­ dealing with minor issues was actually far more challenging than major ones. Knocking her cousin, this ¡°child from another family,¡± off his pedestal, at least temporarily, seemed to prove that ¡°studying was useless,¡± and maybe she could study a little less in the future¡­ sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. At this moment, Zhang Yuan had already unscrewed the radio¡¯s casing, exposing the internal electronic structure: switches, power supply, variable capacitors, potentiometers, magnetic rods, and so on, which were not too complicated. It was precisely these uncomplicated things that had withstood the test of time and survived to the present. The more complex and delicate the things, the more prone they were to damage; few remained from 21st-century Huawei and Apple smartphones, with those retained commanding sky-high prices. Zhang Yuan had never repaired such an old artifact; this was a brand-new challenge. In the past, he might have avoided it, but now, he felt a strange, eager curiosity. He took a deep breath, his brain began to spin rapidly. He tried to predict the working mode of the radio using knowledge learned before. Any electronic equipment dealt with electricity and magnetic fields; essentially, they weren¡¯t much different. The working principle of a radio was merely to convert audio signals through various circuit structures. ¡°And this radio used tape playback just now, so the antenna, variable capacitor, and demodulation circuit basically didn¡¯t come into play. The noise at the beginning was unlikely to be caused by these parts¡­¡± ¡°Could it be a tape issue?¡± Zhang Yuan removed the tape, manually reset it, and inserted it back in. ¡°Sweet honey, your smile is so sweet¡­¡± This time, it played from the beginning without any noise. Zhang Yuan changed another tape and pressed the play button. ¡°My love for you is endless¡­¡± Still no noise. ¡°So, it shouldn¡¯t be due to the tape.¡± Young Uncle watched him trying again and again, growing more anxious, hastily saying, ¡°There¡¯s only noise when it first starts; afterward, there isn¡¯t any. If it doesn¡¯t work¡­ just forget it¡­¡± His heart always tightly clenched, just hoping his nephew would give up. Don¡¯t break it. Dear Lord, don¡¯t break it! ¡°Is it only like this at the start?¡± Zhang Yuan waited for a while, then brought the radio under the air conditioner to cool it for ten minutes. He plugged it back in, and surely enough, the cooled-off radio started blaring again. ¡°Buzz¡ªbuzz!¡± The piercing sound was gut-wrenching. After a while, it finally quieted down. Zhang Yuan was thoughtful. The whole troubleshooting process was somewhat like debugging in computer programming. The way for the bug to appear was already identified; now it was only necessary to find the cause and fix it. Zhang Yuan paced the room back and forth, quickly contemplating suspicious points. Poor contact? No, poor contact wouldn¡¯t cause the mad blaring at the beginning, only intermittent stoppage. ¡°Nor is it the current hum issue.¡± After thinking it over, it was most likely a preheating issue. This old-fashioned radio utilized vacuum tube technology. In this nearly vacuum-sealed chamber, there were two main devices: one was called the heater, located at the center of the vacuum tube, which would glow when operational; the other consisted of the cathode, metal grid, and metal plate. ¡°If the vacuum tube warms up improperly within the circuit, it can cause the circuit¡¯s voltage to be chaotic. This disordered voltage would erroneously transmit into the subsequent amplification circuit, causing the recorder to blare in the absence of an electrical signal.¡± ¡°And eventually, once the RF circuit fully warmed, the vacuum tube voltage adjusted, everything would return to normal, and the recorder would work properly.¡± Zhang Yuan clapped his hands; that should be the reason! Young Uncle watched Zhang Yuan pacing back and forth, just eating fruit, feeling terribly disheartened: how could a normal repairman be pacing around like this? Ye Qingqing just covered her mouth and snickered. Zhang Yuan lowered his head, squinting while he began disassembling the vacuum tubes one by one. He actually started dismantling! I¡­ Young Uncle nearly wanted to cry, trembling all over: ¡°Zhang Yuan, if it really doesn¡¯t work, how about going to a professional antique repair shop! I know a very skilled craftsman¡­ albeit a bit expensive.¡± Zhang Yuan paid no heed, wholly engrossed in his work. He truly hadn¡¯t heard what Young Uncle was saying. He restructured the arrangement of the vacuum tubes and then screwed each of them back in, waiting for the radio to cool down. Young Uncle¡¯s face was bright red, unable to help but wonder to himself: would it be broken? Did any extra parts appear? Even Aunt could hardly bear watching: ¡°Why are you so tense? It¡¯s just a radio; what¡¯s the big deal?¡± ¡°What do you know? Even if it¡¯s just a radio, do you know its history? It¡¯s very¡­¡± Zhang Yuan did not answer but pressed the play button instead. With a click¡ª The radio behaved like a docile lamb, warming up obediently with no more noise. ¡°Sweet honey, your smile is so sweet¡­¡± The gentle song echoed in the air. Chapter 10 - 10 Smart Medicine? Chapter 10: Chapter 10 Smart Medicine? Editor: Henyee Translations ¡°` ¡°It¡¯s very expensive¡­ it is¡­¡± ?! Suddenly, hearing this soft music, Young Uncle¡¯s mouth gaped wide in astonishment, big enough to fit a pear. He had intended to say something but quickly swallowed his words. Unexpectedly, Zhang Yuan actually fixed the radio, and he did it in a very simple way! He was stunned for a few seconds, then hurried forward to inspect it closely. Every screw was tightened just right, and there were no extra parts left over. ... ¡°How did you do it?¡± After cooling the radio, he turned it on again, repeating the process several times. Each time it played perfectly, and he couldn¡¯t hide the smile on his face. ¡°You can fix radios?¡± The value increased, as the flawed antique became a perfect one. His previous doubts had long since vanished, as if they never existed. Zhang Yuan thought for a moment and honestly answered, ¡°I haven¡¯t learned it formally, but I read some related information online before¡­ Think it through carefully, and you can find the cause.¡± He then recounted his entire line of reasoning. ¡°¡­So I guessed that the former owner of this radio might have also removed these vacuum tubes when cleaning the dust. Then when reassembling, they mixed up the order, causing this problem.¡± Young Uncle listened with a vague understanding but felt it made a lot of sense. In other words, his nephew thought about it for a while, then took action and genuinely fixed it. Thought about it for a while¡­ It sounded simple, but in reality, it wasn¡¯t an easy feat. He restrained the urge to brag in front of friends and said with a smile, ¡°With the skills you just showed, opening an antique repair shop could easily earn you hundreds of thousands a year!¡± ¡°No way¡­ I actually don¡¯t really understand it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth!¡± Actually, the important thing wasn¡¯t the level of skill in fixing things, but this ability to see through the surface to the essence. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The specific principles are easy to explain, but how many can really think of it? ¡°So, Xiaoqing, you still need to study hard. If you don¡¯t understand the principles, you¡¯ll just be fumbling in the dark when fixing things.¡± Watching from the side, Ye Qingqing blinked her eyes, realizing that once again she was being lectured. So infuriating! He actually fixed it. Kids from other families really are lifelong adversaries! Terms like ¡°vacuum electronic tube¡± and ¡°radio frequency circuit¡± sounded impressively knowledgeable and convincing, leaving her with a deep sense of helplessness, not even a chance to chime in. Even¡­ A faint feeling of admiration emerged. She thought about what was in her head: 50% of her energy was used on longing for ¡°romance,¡± like the attractiveness of the school heartthrob, the class crush, and the superstar Cai Xukun; 30% on pondering what to wear and eat today, and whether she¡¯d get pimples; the remaining 20% was divided among various things, including novels, TV dramas, and¡­ studying. No wonder she couldn¡¯t learn anything well. Her head couldn¡¯t help but droop down. Young Uncle kept thanking Zhang Yuan profusely, even wanting to offer repair fees, making him feel quite embarrassed. ¡°If it were outside, the repair fee would be at least two to three thousand¡­¡± ¡°Young Uncle, how could I take your money¡­ money doesn¡¯t mean much to me.¡± Zhang Yuan was utterly embarrassed. Ye Qingqing just chuckled from the side. Suddenly, having a smart cousin seemed quite nice after all. At least, she could boast about it in front of her best friends. The word ¡°cousin¡± could even be dropped, just calling him her brother was fine, since they grew up together anyway. Being an astronaut was an incredibly esteemed identity¡­ Imagining the envious and jealous looks on her friends¡¯ faces, Ye Qingqing felt more and more that this was really cool, really cool! ¡­ When he walked out of Young Aunt¡¯s house, it was already three in the afternoon. Before leaving, Young Aunt had insisted on stuffing a big red envelope into his hands, a full ten thousand federal coins! Actually, Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t lack money, and money didn¡¯t serve much purpose for him. However, since it was the heartfelt gesture of family, he still accepted it. After all, he couldn¡¯t refuse as the red envelope was passed back and forth, and he really couldn¡¯t win against the elders. Walking on the bustling pedestrian street, Zhang Yuan was reflecting on his performance just now. ¡°99 points¡­ leaving the remaining point to avoid being too proud of myself!¡± An antique radio that produced noise, something he¡¯d never encountered before, would have left him utterly confused in the past. This rich sense of satisfaction felt like a strong coffee, leaving a lingering aftertaste. Undoubtedly, his reasoning ability and thinking ability had greatly improved! Previously, even if he had the knowledge in his mind, he wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to deduce relevant conclusions, lacking the ability to infer by analogy. Possessing knowledge and applying knowledge are two entirely different challenges. ¡°But now, it¡¯s different¡­ Ha!¡± This magical power left Zhang Yuan absolutely thrilled. Not only that, he seemed to have regained a childlike curiosity, a strong desire to explore everything. Human curiosity and imagination are strongest in childhood, but as we age and our level of education increases, curiosity and imagination continuously diminish. This is the price of growing up. Children can play with mundane toys for a long time, with a boundless desire to explore the world. But upon growing up, they can¡¯t; doing one thing becomes tedious, and they dislike learning and using their brains. In other words, he had regained his innocent curiosity! Put simply¡­ he had the desire to learn, whether it was mathematics or physics. Exploring this world brought a vibrant sense of achievement. Things that once seemed very dull now seemed incredibly interesting. ¡°I just want to go back and keep studying¡­ have I become a freakish science giant?¡± Zhang Yuan was a little curious about the components of that strange potion, able to change a person¡¯s thinking level and interests. ¡°On Earth¡­ is there really such black technology?¡± ¡°Smart medicine?¡± With a casual search on his phone, Zhang Yuan was startled, there really was such a thing! ??? Some neurostimulant Western drugs, including Ritalin, Modafinil, and others, were dubbed ¡°smart medicine.¡± Many high school students, college students, and corporate managers took stimulant-like drugs to enhance temporary memory, making their thinking more agile. But this type of drug belonged to stimulants, with some degree of addictiveness, and long-term use would lead to dependency. It could even possibly cause insomnia, among other side effects. Zhang Yuan calmed his thoughts, ¡°This is insane¡­ these drugs are just stimulants, taken daily, and can¡¯t possibly have such strong effects.¡± ¡°Dad wouldn¡¯t give me something with side effects anyway.¡± So, what exactly was it? ¡°` Chapter 11 - 11: Its Time to Learn Chapter 11: Chapter 11: It¡¯s Time to Learn Editor: Henyee Translations ¡°` Lying low for now, Zhang Yuan was unwilling to casually find an institution to test the composition of the remaining liquid. Who knows, maybe it might unintentionally expose some secret. If things get blown out of proportion then, it would not be worth the loss. He understood the principle of hiding one¡¯s wealth. The benefits his father gave him were enough for him alone to enjoy. ¡°Sigh, forget it, what¡¯s meant to be known will eventually be known. What shouldn¡¯t be known, it¡¯s better not to meddle unnecessarily¡­ Since Dad was vague and didn¡¯t explain the reason, he must have his own reasons.¡± Zhang Yuan suppressed his curiosity and cast the matter out of his mind. ... There were many shops on the pedestrian street, including convenience stores, clothing stores, restaurants, and fruit shops. The fruits here were cheap and fresh. There was a type of sea plant called ¡°Pu Pu Grass,¡± a new species cultivated a hundred years ago, known as ¡°God¡¯s gift to humankind from space.¡± This stuff tasted sweet, much like grapes, and its flesh was rich in a B-group vitamin with antioxidant properties, which was very beneficial to human health. Long-term consumption could even directly increase the average human lifespan. Zhang Yuan bought several pounds of ¡°Pu Pu Grass¡± at 3 federal coins per pound, intending to take them home to savor slowly. Next were the clothing stores, an endless row of them. Even now, with highly developed logistics and cheap online shopping, women still couldn¡¯t shake the bad habit of shopping. To them, online shopping and going out shopping were two completely different matters. This was because, in this era, there was no petroleum, and clothes were a bit expensive. Owning a wardrobe full of diverse clothes required a significant economic cost. As a result, women loved shopping even more; just looking and touching was fine for them. Zhang Yuan walked into a store selling underwear and casually bought several pieces of underwear, panties, and socks. ¡°After an eighty percent discount, it totals 887 yuan!¡± ¡°Make it cheaper, boss,¡± Zhang Yuan attempted to haggle. ¡°Sorry, no bargaining!¡± The reason there were sales clerks in the store was to increase employment. Even with Xia Country¡¯s productivity and social welfare system capable of supporting many idle people, if the overall unemployment rate got too high, these people would be idle, and the crime rate would rise. So, it was better to increase some low-end jobs without technical content. Really expensive! Four pairs of panties, three pieces of underwear, five pairs of socks, none of them brand names, yet they cost more than eight hundred yuan. An average person¡¯s salary was only about four to five thousand a month. Zhang Yuan twitched his nose, deeply realizing how poor his bargaining skills were, or maybe it was because the other party was a man. If it had been a female clerk, she might have been swayed by his looks and given a discount. However expensive it was, these were all clothes made of nanomaterials, very high quality, not easy to get dirty, and they wouldn¡¯t wear out for several years. Considering it like this, it was still a bargain. He planned to take these clothes for use on the spaceship. As he walked out of the store, he glanced at the latest clothing advertisement from a well-known fashion manufacturer, ¡°Nano-plastic fabric clothing, icy texture, an unprecedented silky enjoyment¡­¡± He casually touched this white dress that resembled stockings; it really was cool and refreshing. Ordinary clothes would block infrared radiation, but this nano clothing had no insulation capability; the nanopores in the material could let infrared radiation through, helping the body to dissipate heat. Of course, because the new material was thin and soft, when girls wore it, it accentuated their figure. Its price was quite steep as well, one piece costing more than two thousand. Nanotechnology changed the world, including fashion. Zhang Yuan felt it several times, the texture was incredibly good, and his mind wandered aimlessly: ¡°Looks somewhat like white stockings, pretty soft.¡± ¡°Petroleum is truly a wonderful thing, why were old-time clothes so cheap?¡± ¡°They actually burned petroleum as fuel!¡± Zhang Yuan sighed. He then thought of some countries on Earth, whose people, to this day, just barely had enough to eat, yet still couldn¡¯t afford clothes, submerged in misery. He didn¡¯t have much sympathy in his heart because most of these countries were former petroleum producers. They used to be the wealthiest on Earth, but now their current condition could only be described in one word: depletion. A flower doesn¡¯t stay in bloom for a hundred days, and people aren¡¯t good for a thousand days, there have been countless countries that have declined in history, whether individuals or civilizations, everything has its lifespan. Rising during times of crisis, declining in comfort and enjoyment, this is an unchanging truth. In times of prosperity, if one doesn¡¯t plan for the future, then they could only suffer when hard times come. Next, Zhang Yuan walked into a life insurance company, wanting to buy two extra retirement insurance policies for his Young Aunt and Young Uncle. Even if their family wasn¡¯t short on money right now, society changes, fortunes change, what if something happens in the future? Having more insurance is always better. ¡°¡­ Could you please not inform the involved parties for now, and do it two years later, is that possible? Pay the fees in one lump sum, no need for installments.¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s possible!¡± The pretty clerk was exceptionally enthusiastic, her face flushed. Selling insurance comes with a commission, especially big deals like this, she couldn¡¯t be happier. Moreover, the other party was handsome, his manner was so cultured, giving people a very pleasant feeling. ¡°The total cost for two people¡­ three hundred thousand. Post-retirement, each person receives a refund of 2,000 federal coins per month, break even in 75 months without considering inflation.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Zhang Yuan cheerfully signed, then paid in full. Even though it was a splurge, his heart didn¡¯t ache; it was like a small parting gift for these relatives before he left. Having finished this, there weren¡¯t too many trivial matters to bother with. Zhang Yuan returned home and organized his current tasks. Regarding various memos, for some trivial matters, he simply abandoned attempts to fix them, now he only wanted to study. Study tirelessly! In the following days, Zhang Yuan joyfully browsed through various books, initially attempting to review all university courses, including ¡°Mathematical Analysis,¡± ¡°Real Analysis,¡± ¡°Near-contemporary algebra,¡± ¡°University Physics,¡± etc. The days passed by quickly. His biggest wish at the moment was to understand the articles his father left on the tablet. These articles were somewhat like casual notes, apparently recorded when Dad had inspirations at work, appearing somewhat disorganized. But Zhang Yuan had no doubt about their value¡­ ¡°` Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Chapter 12 - 12 Please cooperate with the inspection Chapter 12: Chapter 12 Please cooperate with the inspection Editor: Henyee Translations ¡°A New Community Discovery Algorithm¡± ¡°Improvements in Machine Learning Classification and Regression Algorithms¡± ¡°Research on Whole-Body Motion Mapping Robots¡± Within this tablet, there were only a few lengthy articles, and much more were personal thoughts, making Zhang Yuan dizzy with all he saw. ¡°¡­The research work on deep neural networks should be strictly monitored. Artificial intelligence had no morals and no self-awareness. The instability of algorithms could easily lead to unforeseen crises.¡± ¡°¡­Social ethics had already begun to influence the development of science, especially biotechnology. Artificial womb technology, due to the prohibition of clones, had been unable to break through for a long time¡­ The old paradigms did not allow things that violated ethics to emerge. Only a new civilization could break this shackle¡­¡± ... Unfortunately, apart from these somewhat unethical thoughts and viewpoints, he could not understand the vast majority of the knowledge. With an insufficient level of knowledge, it felt like possessing a treasure mountain but being unable to dig out the treasures inside, leaving him annoyed and restless. In the end, the root of the issue was: his mathematics proficiency was inadequate, and he lacked prerequisite knowledge. Mathematics was the key to unlocking everything; without this key, it was difficult to unlock the corresponding knowledge points. But solely relying on undergraduate mathematics was definitely not enough. Zhang Yuan let out a sigh; he still needed to take it slowly. Even if he became smarter, it was impossible to reach the sky in one step. Then it was time to burn the candle at both ends, burning out night and day until the world turned dark and day and night reversed! ¡­ On this day, his friend Li Zhendong suddenly called, saving Zhang Yuan, who was nearly drowned in the ocean of knowledge. ¡°Zhang Yuan, have you visited all your relatives?¡± ¡°What?¡± he said, puzzled. ¡°Have you visited all your relatives? I¡¯m asking you!¡± Wait a minute, who are you? Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing? With dark circles under his eyes, Zhang Yuan heavily shook his head and suddenly realized that his holiday balance¡­ only had 20 days left. ¡°I¡¯m asking you a question! Have you visited all your relatives?¡± Li Zhendong loudly questioned. Zhang Yuan came to his senses and stiffly said, ¡°Ah, almost. Most of them are distant relatives, not much interaction¡­¡± Actually, he had not gone out for several days. Apart from being closer to his little aunt¡¯s family, the other relatives had not interacted much since his father¡¯s passing, which was quite convenient. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Are you sick? What a face you have, looking like you¡¯ve overindulged.¡± ¡°No, no.¡± ¡°What are you doing cooped up at home all day? Not going out to play, not gaming, not posting on social media, like you¡¯ve disappeared.¡± ¡°Cultivation¡­ no, studying!¡± After a while, Zhang Yuan finally returned from the void to the present. He raised the tablet in his hand. The screen displayed an e-book. He said excitedly, ¡°I felt that what I learned before wasn¡¯t solid enough, so I simply re-learned it and picked up a lot of stuff. It was quite refreshing!¡± ¡°Stu¡ªdying?¡± These two words were deliberately drawn out, and Li Zhendong shouted discontentedly, ¡°You¡¯re not studying human physiology, are you? Exercise some restraint. Look at your face, don¡¯t think about those filthy things all day!¡± ¡°Shut up, open your damned eyes!¡± He showed the cover with the words ¡°Study Guide for Group Theory.¡± Zhang Yuan looked like an infatuated man, revealing a look of fascination, ¡°Mathematics is so much fun, especially the joy of calculating repeatedly using different methods and finally getting the answer, which is indescribable with words!¡± In his heart, Li Zhendong couldn¡¯t help but utter an internal ¡°boastful snob.¡± Such a good holiday, actually spent studying, are you a dog or what? However, recalling every move Zhang Yuan had made previously, it seemed a little possible. Just a little bit. ¡°¡­Why not read Deng Jiaxian¡¯s Academic Lecture III¡ªGroup Theory?¡± ¡°E-books are too expensive! 308 yuan per copy, I can¡¯t bear it. And it¡¯s a book from three hundred years ago; apart from being famous, it¡¯s nothing special¡­¡± Zhang Yuan said regrettably, ¡°By the way, what¡¯s up?¡± ¡°My mom wants to treat you to dinner; do you have time tonight? Come over to my house and hang out.¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± Zhang Yuan was reluctant to go and wanted to continue burning the midnight oil. That learning ecstasy was inescapable. But at this moment, a sudden fatigue invaded his mind, and he knew he could not continue further. ¡°Alright.¡± Li Zhendong lived in the neighboring East Sea City, over four hundred kilometers away. Fortunately, modern transportation was developed, making travel convenient. After receiving the invitation, Zhang Yuan reluctantly put down the e-book and stood up to examine himself in the mirror. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Lethargic! Truly lethargic. After ten days of intensive reading, apart from eating, drinking, and answering nature¡¯s call, he just read, read, and read. His entire self seemed rusty. Massive dark circles, a sallow face, and not to mention aches all over his body. ¡°I finally understand how academic gods in bionics rise up¡­ Humans¡¯ physical constitution truly sucks.¡± Zhang Yuan painstakingly walked out of his room. Outside, it was still scorching hot. ¡°Beep, ID number 330841244¡­ Zhang Yuan, please cooperate for inspection!¡± As he left the community, he was stopped by a security robot. The robot forcefully plucked a few strands of hair and drew a drop of blood for testing before finally allowing him to pass. ¡°Check completed, thanks for your cooperation. Have a pleasant trip.¡± ¡°Really unlucky! Perhaps my terrible complexion triggered some mechanism? How could I possibly be a drug addict?¡± Zhang Yuan shook his head and was not particularly opposed. These robots were specifically aimed at drug users. If someone took illegal drugs and the robot detected it, that person would be forcibly sent to a detox center. Thanks to such strict supervision, the drug abuse rate in Xia Country had always been low. However, over in North America, due to the prevalence of illegal drugs, they could already rename it Cannabis Country. There was still time, so perhaps a massage. He went into a self-service massage shop, paid, and then the massage machine began automatically massaging him. Soft music played, and his entire body¡¯s meridians seemed to be smoothed out. ¡°Truly pleasant¡­ Life on Earth is beautiful.¡± Because he was overly exhausted, Zhang Yuan unknowingly fell asleep. When he woke up, the machine had already stopped working. On the next bed lay a stylish middle-aged woman, who also squinted her eyes in enjoyment. Judging by her attire, she seemed to be a publicity aunt from the local community¡¯s ¡°Encourage Fertility Committee.¡± ¡°Hey handsome, are you local? I haven¡¯t seen you around before!¡± the middle-aged woman greeted out of habit. ¡°I live at 2236-9.¡± ¡°Oh, I remember now, the son of Zhang Qiming. You used to come to our house to play when you were little! Are you an astronaut? You¡¯re leaving Earth?¡± the middle-aged woman prattled on in a string. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± ¡°What about your assets? And no one to carry on the family line?¡± The middle-aged woman¡¯s gossiping urge surged, asking about family matters. Carry on the family line? Zhang Yuan secretly rolled his eyes. I¡¯m not even dead, and I¡¯ve already spread seeds onto an outer planet. Isn¡¯t that enough to bring glory to the ancestors? However, he only thought about saying this and did not speak it out loud. ¡°I can carry on the family line aboard the spaceship, and as for the assets, just donate them.¡± ¡°Donate¡­ donate?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s of no use anyway.¡± ¡°You really are generous.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not really generosity, it¡¯s simply a matter of letting go.¡± ¡°¡­¡± In the slightly incredulous gaze of the middle-aged woman, Zhang Yuan rolled off the massage bed, smiled, and left the self-service massage shop. It is very difficult for people to truly understand each other. Especially for those who have not witnessed space firsthand, it is even harder to comprehend this kind of thinking. In fact, there was no need to demand the whole world to understand oneself, having a group of like-minded companions was enough. Chapter 13 - 13 Ill Tell Your Mom! Chapter 13: Chapter 13 I¡¯ll Tell Your Mom! Editor: Henyee Translations Zhang Yuan took out his phone, opened the ridesharing app, and used voice input for his destination. ¡°Destination: East Sea City, distance about 412 kilometers.¡± ¡°Searching for a carpool match, please wait¡­¡± A radar-like icon was spinning. This intercity bus carpooled ten people, with a cost of 60 yuan per person, quite economical. It quickly got onto the intercity high-altitude track, with a speed of up to 400 kilometers per hour. Such speed was beyond what an ordinary human could handle, so it had to be controlled by an unmanned system to strictly maintain the distance between cars. ... Once there was a fool who wanted to show off his driving skills in front of someone and switched to manual driving in non-emergency conditions, and the result¡­ as expected, was dust to dust. At a speed of 400 kilometers per hour, the car crashed into the high-track railing, with not a single organ intact. The carbon nanotube railing, however, remained unharmed in the accident, and the safety of the high track became legendary. An hour later, after getting off the bus, Zhang Yuan took the subway to reach his destination. ¡°You sure are on time, not a minute early!¡± Li Zhendong opened the door. ¡°I took a nap in the massage parlor, so I was a bit late¡­¡± ¡°Tsk tsk, that¡¯s a great place for a romantic encounter!¡± Li Zhendong had a mischievous expression. Spending too long in Space City had turned them into tinder, seemingly ready to ignite just upon contact with the opposite sex. Zhang Yuan responded irritably, ¡°Come on, they were all middle-aged women, where¡¯s the romance in that? My taste isn¡¯t that bad¡­ Can you stop talking about this stuff the moment we meet¡­¡± ¡°Zhang Yuan!¡± Li Zhendong suddenly looked serious, as if contemplating something. ¡°What?¡± Zhang Yuan felt a chill down his spine. Li Zhendong, looking excited, waved his phone, ¡°I¡¯ve been chatting with a girl these days, maybe something could happen¡­ Look at the photo, she¡¯s quite nice.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Taking the phone, Zhang Yuan saw it was a cute girl with pouty lips, fair and delicate. Chat history: [Girl: Does your job pay well?] [Li Zhendong: Not very high, money doesn¡¯t matter much to us, the main thing is to be happy¡­] [Spaceship photo] [Li Zhendong floating in zero-g photo] [Girl: Space seems so fun! I¡¯ve always dreamed of going there, but the travel costs are too expensive.] [Li Zhendong: Risking your life to do this work surely isn¡¯t fun. In zero gravity, you can choke just drinking water, and there have truly been such cases!] [Girl: Is your dad also a Space City worker?] [Li Zhendong: Of course, but I¡¯ve never relied on my dad, I got there on my own.] [¡­] (One thousand words of flirtation omitted) [Li Zhendong: Look, I¡¯m about to get on the spaceship. Can you join me for a movie? I¡¯ve never been on a date in my life.] [Girl: Haha~ Really? You don¡¯t have a girlfriend?] The girl still hadn¡¯t replied formally but seemed a bit interested. Li Zhendong, full of pride, boasted, ¡°See how good I am? Want me to teach you how to pick up girls? The first trick is to act innocent¡ªsome ladies like that! They like virgins!¡± Zhang Yuan furrowed his eyebrows as he listened. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°The second trick, letting go to capture.¡± ¡°The third trick, monkey steals the peach!¡± ¡°What¡­ steals the peach?!¡± Li Zhendong grew more agitated and louder, ¡°Oh, I mean steals the heart¡­ Just imagine, even after you¡¯re gone, left Earth, those girls still keep you in their hearts. In the deepest place, they reserve a spot for you, filled with the beautiful times you spent together.¡± ¡°One year, ten years, a hundred years later, at the moment of their passing, their last words are your name¡­ while you are in another corner of time and space.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you find this meaningful?¡± For some reason, Zhang Yuan felt nothing, even a bit nauseous¡­ He sighed, acknowledging that his friend, despite being intelligent, a genius, effortlessly achieving top-notch results¡ªa level befitting an Academic God¡ªhad one flaw¡­ extremely reserved and loved to brag. Zhang Yuan suddenly grinned, ¡°Player!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell your mom about this!¡± The atmosphere plunged into a deathly silence. Zhang Yuan repeated verbatim, ¡°¡­One year, ten years, a hundred years later, at the moment of their passing, their last words are your name?¡± ¡°Li Zhendong! Li Zhendong! Oh, I¡¯m dying.¡± ¡°Is that how they call out? Enjoy it? Enjoy it?¡± Silence engulfed them again. In a certain way, Zhang Yuan also showed some talent. Li Zhendong sighed as he stared at the ceiling, ¡°Right now, I just want to beat you to a pulp, truly!¡± ¡­ At the dining table, Li Zhendong behaved like a model son, saying nothing extra, just quietly eating. Mrs. Li was amicable, urging Zhang Yuan to eat more, saying, ¡°You won¡¯t find natural meat in space,¡± ¡°This big drumstick is real free-range chicken,¡± and so on, just like what a maternal aunt would say. And it was true; the limited space and poor ecological environment on the spaceship allowed for some plant cultivation but made it impossible to luxuriously breed pigs, cows, sheep, chickens, ducks, or fish. So the food in Space City was synthetic meat, tissues from animal cells cultivated in petri dishes. Li Zhendong¡¯s father, Li Cheng, and Zhang Yuan¡¯s father were colleagues at Space City. He was sharing stories from the past when they designed the ¡°Earth Era.¡± ¡°¡­Your dad, Zhang Qiming, truly was a genius. The problems we couldn¡¯t solve, he figured out with just a tap on his head and a twist of the pen, like he was on drugs!¡± ¡°Drugged?¡± Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but wipe the sweat off his face. ¡°He built the majority of the spaceship¡¯s control program. So far, only 212 minor bugs have been found; it¡¯s incredibly difficult¡­¡± ¡°Sadly, he left too soon, such a pity¡­¡± Li Cheng felt complex emotions, even drinking a bit of alcohol. ¡°Even 212 is a small amount?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t understand, the spaceship¡¯s control engineering, one ring connects to the next, one layer overlaps another; the more complex the system, the greater the risk. The Earth Era has safety monitoring systems, energy systems, ecological systems, material cycle systems, communication systems, and several small industrial plants; the complexity of control engineering is beyond your imagination!¡± ¡°Software and hardware complement each other; software isn¡¯t any less difficult than hardware!¡± The two youngsters couldn¡¯t chime in with anything. After a while, Zhang Yuan asked, ¡°Can¡¯t the spaceship go any faster?¡± Li Cheng shook his head, ¡°Seven-thousandths of light speed is already very fast. Unless propelled by large-scale nuclear bombs, reaching possibly 3% of light speed, but our materials can¡¯t withstand the explosive power of nuclear bombs¡­ and in the foreseeable future, materials resistant to nukes won¡¯t emerge.¡± Li Zhendong also asked, ¡°Dad, after we leave, will they build the next Colonization Ship?¡± ¡°No, in the coming years, even decades, likely not¡­ the entire Earth¡¯s economic circle needs some time to recuperate.¡± ¡°This project was quite taxing, even with the strong support from various governments and the Deep Space Foundation, it requires a good rest period to slowly recover its vitality.¡± ¡°Public opposition to the special aeronautics tax is strong; several countries are quite stirred up¡ªit¡¯s likely to be canceled¡­¡± Zhang Yuan asked in confusion, ¡°Are we the only batch of Deep Space Colonizers?¡± ¡°Not exactly, as for the future, who knows?¡± ¡°The basic technology for deep space voyaging has matured; building a second large Colonization Ship won¡¯t be as costly as the first. Perhaps, once the governments have spare funds, launching a second one might be possible.¡± ¡°However, without new technology, significantly boosting travel speed is tough. Don¡¯t count on later ships catching up with you.¡± Zhang Yuan gnawed on a drumstick, pausing slightly, he deciphered a crucial piece of information: the once financially robust Deep Space Foundation seemed to be out of money. Chapter 14 - 14 As Long As You Can Learn Chapter 14: Chapter 14 As Long As You Can Learn Editor: Henyee Translations ¡°` The construction of the ¡°Earth Era¡± consumed 2.07% of humanity¡¯s GDP every year. Over so many years, the total cost had reached an astronomical 159 trillion federal coins! This was an extremely large figure, and over time, ordinary people naturally became unwilling to accept it. Consider this: many people on Earth were still struggling to make ends meet! Li Cheng sighed again, ¡°The Deep Space Foundation still needed to prepare at least another trillion in funds to pave a path for the ¡®Earth Era.''¡± ¡°In the next 20 years, the Jupiter Industrial Base needed to collect a large amount of nuclear fuel. Its fusion energy would be used to launch long-distance lasers¡­¡± ... Zhang Yuan nodded, lost in thought. The Earth Era adopted a dual propulsion mode of light sail and nuclear fusion propulsion. A light sail referred to light pressure propulsion. When photons hit a smooth surface, they could change direction like a ping pong ball bouncing off a wall and impart corresponding force to the object, thus propelling the spaceship. However, the light pressure from the Sun was too weak to quickly propel a giant spaceship weighing tens of millions of tons. Only large artificial light sources from the Moon and Jupiter Base could generate enough pressure to move it. Think about it, the nuclear fuel on Jupiter, though seemingly inexhaustible, still required human cost. Moreover, this light path needed to be continuously launched for 20 years. The laser launching devices numbered in the tens of thousands and needed constant replacement, which was another massive expense. One could hardly imagine how, back then, Professor Qi Yuanshan, the ¡°Father of Nuclear Fusion,¡± persuaded those shrewd businessmen and cunning politicians. Deep space colonization, this super massive project had no apparent benefits. Not even in hundreds or thousands of years would it generate any profit. It was quite puzzling. After chatting for a while, Li Cheng found talking about these matters with the younger generation somewhat dull, ¡°Whether there¡¯s enough budget is a matter for the bosses above to worry about. You just focus on doing well in your tasks.¡± He shook his head, as if something had come to mind, and abruptly stopped eating. He stood up from the dining table, walked into his study, and became absorbed in contemplating some question alone. Although Zhang Yuan was very curious about this gossip, seeing this, he could only let it be. After dinner, Zhang Yuan privately complained, ¡°Your dad and my dad are really alike, just workaholics. Suddenly getting an inspiration and then getting all excited, busy writing it down. At times like this, you should never disturb him, or you¡¯ll either get a scolding or hear some inexplicable words.¡± ¡°Exactly!¡± Li Zhendong agreed wholeheartedly, ¡°I remember when I was little, I asked my dad why 1 + 1 = 2. Do you know what he said? He actually told me about Peano¡¯s axioms, and I was just in kindergarten at the time. I seriously doubted if he had any common sense!¡± ¡°Was your sister educated in a similar way?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Li Zhendong exaggeratedly said, ¡°Once, my sister asked him why the area of a rectangle is length times width. He directly spouted some esoteric stuff about Euclidean spaces and inner products. Fortunately, my mom was a normal person, or else she¡¯d be driven out of her mind by him.¡± Zhang Yuan also burst into laughter, reminiscing about his dad¡¯s eccentric behavior. At that time, he was playing with a Rubik¡¯s Cube on the sofa, and his dad suddenly had a whim and sternly began explaining Group Theory to a seven- or eight-year-old child. Yes, Group Theory, a subject Gawaro spent a night writing a paper on. ¡°It¡¯s just math from over five hundred years ago, very simple. Once you learn this, kids will look at you in awe!¡± Zhang Yuan was overjoyed, ¡°I want to learn; I want to learn!¡± ¡°¡­The group composed of all operations is called the Rubik¡¯s Cube group. Obviously, the Rubik¡¯s Cube group is a non-Abelian group¡­ If you can decompose it into products of simpler subgroups and then construct generators for each subgroup, you can prove its solvability. It¡¯s been proven: All Rubik¡¯s Cubes can be solved in less than 20 moves.¡± During this process, Zhang Qiming was animated, thoroughly enjoying the pleasure of being a teacher. But in the end, he discovered his son seemed to be staring at him blankly, unable to understand. Unable to understand? Zhang Qiming blurted out a curse, ¡°What an idiot!¡± He didn¡¯t know if he was referring to his son or himself. Zhang Yuan sighed. These memories, when looked back upon, didn¡¯t evoke the resistance they had at the time. Instead, they were nostalgic. It had been three years since his father¡¯s passing, hadn¡¯t it? Time flew by so fast; a blink of an eye, and three years had passed. The deceased were gone, leaving only memories. Seeing Zhang Yuan in a somewhat gloomy mood, Li Zhendong turned on the TV and switched to the children¡¯s channel, where a cartoon called ¡°Bear Out: The Bear Becomes a Sheep¡± was playing. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me as just a bear¡­¡± It was a very childish cartoon, but the little girl nearby watched it with great delight. Zhang Yuan then asked, ¡°When you leave, won¡¯t your parents miss you?¡± ¡°They won¡¯t. I still have a sister,¡± he pointed to a little girl in her early teens nearby, speaking without a care, ¡°And we can have several more in the future. Anyway, technology is advanced now; we can have as many children as we want and can afford to raise them.¡± He continued, ¡°Think about it. If I don¡¯t go on the spaceship and instead work on the Moon, visiting home once a year for the Spring Festival, spending three days each time, and accompanying them for two hours every day¡­ Considering 60 years, the time spent with them would only be 360 hours¡­¡± ¡°Now, I stay at home every day, eating and drinking, accompanying them for seven or eight hours a day, summing up to over two hundred hours a month. With the entire vacation, I¡¯ve already spent most of my life accompanying them, so what regrets are there?¡± Zhang Yuan scratched his head. What kind of absurd logic was this? But listening to it, it somehow made a bit of sense¡­ Mrs. Li smiled as she cut some fruit for them, seemingly accustomed to Li Zhendong¡¯s neurotic remarks, ¡°Zhang Yuan, why don¡¯t you stay with us tonight? We have an empty room anyway.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Zhang Yuan nodded, sighing inwardly. Li Zhendong¡¯s situation was quite similar to his own, but the difference was, Li Zhendong¡¯s parents were alive, and his family was harmonious. While he, Zhang Yuan, was the result of a test tube baby, with a father who provided the sperm, and an unknown woman donor from the human gene bank who supplied the egg. To this day, he didn¡¯t know who his biological mother was, nor did he need to know¡­ But who wouldn¡¯t love to have a kind and gentle mom? In university, their grades were quite similar. However, Li Zhendong was an Academic God, goofing around and still scoring over 90 in exams, while Zhang Yuan was just an academic achiever who needed to put in more effort to earn good scores. This was actually a difference in intelligence¡­ But it didn¡¯t matter! Thinking this, Zhang Yuan took out his phone and started browsing the ¡°Super Brain¡± app. When he saw those mathematical symbols, a strange sense of happiness arose in his mind. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. There was no need to envy others¡ªlearning made him happy, learning made him grow! As long as he could study, he felt he had the whole world! ¡°` Chapter 15 - 15 Let Go of Your Claws! Chapter 15: Chapter 15 Let Go of Your Claws! sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Editor: Henyee Translations Li Zhendong glanced at Zhang Yuan, saw him smiling sweetly at his phone, and was momentarily stunned. Okay, got a girlfriend now. His nosy mind burned with curiosity. He took a quick peek, but no, he was actually doing Super Brain? Li Zhendong had to pinch his nose and said irritably, ¡°Working so hard, huh?¡± ¡°Boredom, just solving problems for fun. Look at this integration, what a beautiful method, it¡¯s rare to find integrals that can actually be solved analytically.¡± ... Just for fun¡­ Fun¡­ Ju¡­ Li Zhendong¡¯s forehead pulsed with veins, and his breathing quickened. Recalling his university days, Zhang Yuan was just as hardworking, causing him to be frequently criticized by his parents. ¡°Look at him, then look at you!¡± His father¡¯s judgment seemed to echo in his ears. Li Zhendong couldn¡¯t help feeling agitated; after graduating from university, this guy only ramped up his efforts instead of restraining himself. Solving problems had become a sophisticated leisure, that impressive?! ¡°Wait, my sister can¡¯t get through a game, a puzzle game, why not give it a try if you¡¯re bored.¡± Game? ¡°Let me have a look.¡± Seeing the mischievous look in his eyes, Zhang Yuan grew a bit interested. What difficulty could a child¡¯s game hold? A little girl handed over a learning machine, on which there was a small program called ¡°Lights Out.¡± The objective was this: A 4¡Á4 grid of lights was lit up on the panel, and every time one light was operated, it, along with its surrounding lights above, below, left, and right, would all change state (on to off, off to on). If you could turn all the lights off through a series of operations, the game would be cleared. ¡°This is pretty simple.¡± Zhang Yuan tapped a few times, turned off all the lights, and cleared the level. The screen then switched to another image, this time becoming a 5¡Á5 grid of lights, with a few lights already turned off in the middle. ¡°The difficulty has increased.¡± Zhang Yuan thought for a moment, tapped a few more times, and cleared it again, but this time took a bit longer than the previous attempt. Obviously, as the grid of lights increased, the game became more challenging. ¡°My thought is¡­¡± The little girl¡¯s eyes sparkled as she timidly said, ¡°If there¡¯s a very large grid of lights and their initial state is arbitrary, is there a mathematical algorithm to solve this problem, rather than randomly tapping?¡± Zhang Yuan scratched his head and laughed, ¡°Your sister has a way with math, this general algorithm, um, let me think¡­¡± ¡°Of course, she has half my intelligence!¡± ¡°Brother~ I¡¯m smarter than you~¡± ¡°In what way are you smarter than me?¡± Li Zhendong smiled externally and internally. This problem was hard. Why was it difficult? Because Li Zhendong thought for a while and couldn¡¯t figure it out. So, puzzle-loving Brother Zhang, take your time, think yourself into exhaustion, day and night¡­ He was very pleased! Extremely so! ¡°I¡¯ll go take a shower first. You take your time with it.¡± The little girl looked at Zhang Yuan expectantly; after all, she definitely couldn¡¯t solve this kind of problem. Yet as the person who posed the question, there was also an unusual pride in her heart. Zhang Yuan¡¯s response took them by surprise; he felt a bit embarrassed, ¡°No need, don¡¯t shower yet, I¡¯ve already solved it.¡± What? Solved it? Li Zhendong¡¯s eyes nearly popped out as he dashed out of the bathroom, then sheepishly put his clothes back on. Zhang Yuan spoke eloquently, ¡°According to the problem, when you press a switch once, the light itself and those around it all change state. So, we can draw a conclusion: for a given light, pressing the switch an odd number of times is the same as pressing it once; pressing it an even number of times is equivalent to not pressing it at all, or zero.¡± Interesting. ¡°So, if the problem has a solution, each light only needs to be operated on at most once, or not at all.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s first discuss an N*N matrix, which is actually a binary group and isomorphic to a full-rank matrix. Since the matrix is full rank, there must be a unique solution¡­¡± After listening to just a few sentences, Li Zhendong¡¯s head was about to explode, inspiration bubbling like a spring! Wait. It seems like¡­ that¡¯s it¡­ Such a simple problem. How did I not think of that? He shouted unwillingly, ¡°How can you use group theory? How can a middle schooler understand group theory? You can¡¯t do this to my sister!¡± Even Li Zhendong¡¯s mother came out to check, seeing they were not up to anything, shook her head, and returned to the kitchen. ¡°Alright then. Middle schoolers have learned systems of linear equations, right?¡± The little girl nodded, indeed binary system equations are part of middle school content, they can be solved by elimination method or substitution method. Even problems with three variables or four variables are manageable. Zhang Yuan continued, ¡°Assume Aij is the number of times the j-th light in the i-th row is adjusted. Obviously, according to what I just said, Aij is either 1 or 0.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s take the simplest 2¡Á2 matrix as an example, assuming the initial state is off for zero and on for one.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s assume the matrix¡¯s initial state is like this: [1-0] [0-0]¡± ¡°Then we can write four equations: A11¨’A12¨’A21=1 A11¨’A12¨’A22=0 A11¨’A21¨’A22=0 A12¨’A21¨’A22=0¡± ¡°By solving, we get A21=A11=A12=1, A22=0. So just toggle these three lights in order, A21, A11, A12, it doesn¡¯t matter what order.¡± ¡°Every N*N matrix problem can be calculated this way, and there¡¯s always a solution. But an N*M problem may not have a solution, and here¡¯s why¡­¡± Li Zhendong watched helplessly as admiration filled his sister¡¯s eyes, practically seeing stars! Even though he knew she probably wouldn¡¯t understand¡­ But, but, at this age, girls are innocent and pure, their eyes focused on learning, they have no resistance to intellectual brilliance! It¡¯s over; his sister¡¯s admiration for her brother has been stolen! Then he heard his sister ask, ¡°Why does this plus sign have a circle around it?¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s a binary field operation, 1¨’1=0, 1¨’0=1, 0¨’0=0, in computing it¡¯s called XOR operation¡­ If you use a regular plus sign, it would result in a negative number.¡± ¡°Brother Zhang, you know so much!¡± ¡°So you have to work a little harder, otherwise, like your brother, having talent that¡¯s unfulfilled means being smart is useless¡­¡± Bastard, still putting me down! Go die! ¡°Brother Zhang, help me with those Math Olympiad problems, a lot of them I don¡¯t understand. My brother won¡¯t help me.¡± ¡°Sure¡­ all right.¡± My sister is still a minor! Let go of your paws! ¡°Ahem!¡± Li Zhendong coughed heavily, warning, ¡°I¡¯m going to take a shower, don¡¯t mess around, my parents are home.¡± What? Zhang Yuan scratched his head. The little girl couldn¡¯t help but roll her eyes. She was already in middle school and knew a lot; even dating wouldn¡¯t be opposed by family. She felt her own brother was a bit brainless, while Brother Zhang seemed more normal¡­ Chapter 16 - 16 No Aliens Attacked Earth Chapter 16: Chapter 16 No Aliens Attacked Earth Editor: Henyee Translations Sure, here is your translated text: ¡°¡± Late at night, when everything was quiet, two young men were frantically working on their study problems. Li Zhendong was very angry, really angry. Every time Zhang Yuan surpassed him, he had to work hard again to surpass him back. For him, working hard was a painful affair. Especially when this guy was working on middle school math problems and grinning foolishly, what¡¯s that about? ... Doing middle school math problems with such joy, is he even human? Ruffling his hair, Li Zhendong grew irritated, and the various texts in the book looked like fleas jumping around, bouncing here and there. After a while, he still didn¡¯t understand a thing. Unable to calm down, he stopped looking. He glanced at Zhang Yuan¡¯s problem: ¡°Prove: the nth root of 2 is irrational. (n being an integer greater than or equal to 2.)¡± ¡°Proof: Assume the nth root of 2 is rational and denoted as p/q, with p and q being primes to each other.¡± ¡°Then 2 = (p^n)/(q^n), which means 2(q^n) = (p^n).¡± ¡°Rearranging gives p^n = q^n + q^n.¡± ¡°By Fermat¡¯s Last Theorem, there are no positive integer solutions to this equation. Hence, the assumption is wrong, and the nth root of 2 is irrational.¡± Li Zhendong nearly spat out old blood: ¡°You can¡¯t teach my sister like this, you really can¡¯t! Besides, you¡¯re helping her with math problems, how is this ok?¡± Zhang Yuan paused, realizing that he had unconsciously turned into a free homework doer. But it didn¡¯t matter, if the entire proof was copied exactly, the teacher would definitely laugh hysterically. ¡°Forget it, I¡¯m done. This much distraction is enough.¡± Zhang Yuan yawned, feeling quite carefree. Li Zhendong finally breathed a sigh of relief, eagerly put down the books in his hands, and rubbed his aching temples. He picked up a telescope, walked out to the balcony, and looked in the direction of deep space. Gliese 581, a Red Dwarf Star located about 2 degrees north of the Libra ¦Â Star, was their destination. Its mass was 0.31 solar masses, its radius was 0.38 solar radii, and its surface temperature was approximately 3,480K (3206.85¡ãC). A +10.56 apparent magnitude meant that ordinary telescopes couldn¡¯t see it, but Li Zhendong continued his ceaseless search. That was the future Mother Star after all! Li Zhendong had a sudden thought: ¡°Do you think there¡¯s a deep-space plan because the high human councils already know Aliens will attack Earth?¡± ¡°Impossible!¡± Zhang Yuan responded casually, ¡°If that were the case, they would definitely be building spaceships on a massive scale with global resources. Plus, would people like us get the chance to escape? Surely you¡¯ve watched various sci-fi movies, where, at the apocalypse, how expensive are tickets for Noah¡¯s Ark? Even as sons of scientists, there¡¯s no guarantee of us being that important!¡± ¡°Movies aren¡¯t reality, but they do somewhat reflect reality. Right now, no national leader is rushing to escape, since when have humans been so noble?¡± Silence ensued for a while. The 500,000 volunteers were not the most outstanding individuals of Earth Civilization. Everything depended on personal will. There were some scientific giants with dreams, but true political bigwigs would not abandon everything on Earth to venture into such desolate lands. Li Zhendong chuckled, ¡°Indeed. So there are no Aliens attacking Earth. Then what do you think is the reason?¡± Zhang Yuan pointed to two directions in the sky, frowning as he spoke, ¡°Maybe it¡¯s that, or maybe it¡¯s this¡­ or possibly both, or perhaps there are more important reasons we don¡¯t know.¡± Where Zhang Yuan pointed, one star was KIC-8462852, commonly known as Tabby Star. In the other direction, there was Eta Carinae. Looking up at the sky. The moon was bright, and lights from the big city obscured the dazzling starry sky above, making finding these stars all the more challenging. In the historical year of 1977, North America experienced a massive blackout. During that night when the lights vanished, the boundless heavens revealed their original, primitive appearance. In an amusing turn of events, on that night, police stations received many alarm calls reporting, ¡°Aliens are attacking Earth!¡± The reason was nothing more than¡­ these urban people had never seen the true Milky Way, and the primeval force from antiquity left them bewildered and alarmed. Indeed, Mother Earth was simply too warm and gentle, so gentle that humans of that era were reluctant to leave the swaddling, slowly forgetting the vast world outside. However¡­ This world was not just for humans. The universe wouldn¡¯t simply disappear because humans chose to cover their ears and pretend nothing happened. The first challenge came from ¡°Eta Carinae,¡± also known as Eta Carinae, a supergiant star with more than a hundred times the mass of the Sun. Scientists estimated that this star might explode within a million years, forming an extreme supernova! Note, it is an extreme supernova, with the word ¡°extreme¡± added. If considering Eta Carinae¡¯s distance from the Solar System of 7,500 light years as a somewhat okay news, then the other news was utterly deadly¡­ sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Research indicated its rotational axis possibly already aimed at the Solar System, like a stellar cannon ready to fire at any moment! When Eta Carinae exploded, powerful gamma-ray bursts would sweep across the entire Solar System. ¡°Unfortunately, this bright star cannot be seen from the Northern Hemisphere.¡± Of course, this disaster could be very large, or very small. Firstly, the timeline for its explosion was very blurred, perhaps a million years from now or maybe tomorrow, or even already happened a hundred years ago. Moreover, scientists were still in heated disputes over the rotational axis deviation of Eta Carinae and disaster prevention¡­ Human knowledge of such celestial bodies was minimal, making it difficult to accurately predict the disaster it might bring to human civilization. Gamma-ray bursts, after a long journey, might destroy the entire ecosystem or perhaps have little effect. It was unclear. The second challenge came from KIC 8462852, Tabby Star. In the 21st century, humans had already discovered this strange star, whose periodic dimming had garnered widespread attention from astronomers. At the time, many scientists speculated that a nebula or other large celestial body obstructed the star, causing its dimming. However! Hundreds of years of observation only proved one thing: Its dimming was increasing at a rate of 0.064% per decade. In other words, if the maximum dimming data ten years ago was 22.112%, now it would be 22.176%, without exception. What did this mean? It meant there was an artificial structure near that star, and it was being built at a constant speed. This construction had continued for hundreds of years! The Dyson Sphere was right there. It wouldn¡¯t change due to human will. This fact caused a significant panic among the high echelons of civilization. A distance of 1,400 light years was too far for humans, yet it was not enough to quell such panic. Any normal person knew what a ¡°Dyson Sphere¡± signified. In comparison to a civilization capable of building a Dyson Sphere, human civilization was merely an amoeba! At the time, Professor Qi Yuanshan, the ¡°Father of Nuclear Fusion,¡± excitedly wrote in his diary, ¡°Without Aliens, humanity might destroy itself through idleness!¡± ¡°¡­ just like the old days, the forthcoming entertainment craze and non-toxic neural drugs will inevitably destroy much of human spirit for progress. The Dyson Sphere being proven true, humanity might revive from decadent consumerism and capitalism, similar to the US and USSR Cold War effects!¡± ¡°Truth be told, having a good neighbor might bring hope, fortunate¡­ exceptional!¡± ¡°¡± Chapter 17 - 17 Farewell to Once, Farewell to the Past Chapter 17: Chapter 17 Farewell to Once, Farewell to the Past Editor: Henyee Translations Zhang Yuan sighed, ¡°But I feel that the reasons for deep space colonization still aren¡¯t enough. The Dyson Sphere sounds indeed terrifying. But it directly proves the existence of truly powerful alien civilizations in the universe. Civilizations can be exposed.¡± ¡°It also proves that the universe isn¡¯t a dark forest; it can be communicated with. It¡¯s not as dangerous as we imagined.¡± Back in the 21st century, when it hadn¡¯t been proven to be a Dyson Sphere yet, scientists were already eagerly sending electromagnetic signals in that direction. After all, scientists often did such things. This series of signals represented humanity¡¯s ¡°friendly greetings¡± and ¡°aspirations for peace.¡± Although it was quite laughable to speak of ¡°aspirations for peace,¡± even when humanity experienced two world wars in the 22nd century, it indeed happened. There were always many optimists in the world who believed that aliens could be communicated with amicably. If true communication succeeded, human civilization would undergo a qualitative change! ... ¡°How can you be so optimistic? Powerhouses can be exposed, but what about the weak? Earth would be toyed to death by them, so why would they help monkeys?¡± Li Zhendong chuckled, these ridiculous events happened so often that they became normalized. Even now, there were still people sending electromagnetic waves toward KIC 8462852, hoping that the ¡°alien god¡± could help them escape suffering. Secretly transmitting electromagnetic waves, the government couldn¡¯t do anything; they had no means to stop it. Zhang Yuan teased along, ¡°Who knows? The people over in South America might eat the monkeys; but over here, people genuinely help the monkeys. When they see a sick monkey, they rescue it and give it food. Monkeys even boldly steal things, and if you harm them, you get fined¡­¡± ¡°Maybe in a while, aliens will come to Earth to distribute food.¡± ¡°Yeah, that would be really sweet¡­ When the time comes, don¡¯t say it was unexpectedly good.¡± Fortunately, the transmission speed of electromagnetic waves was only the speed of light, taking over 1,200 years to reach KIC 8462852. Moreover, electromagnetic waves attenuated significantly in cosmic space, coupled with cosmic radiation interference, turning into garbled nonsense 1,200 light years away. So, there¡¯s really no need to worry too much; ordinary civilian equipment couldn¡¯t possibly send signals that far. Whether Earth was exposed, no one knew. Perhaps, they observed primitive people thousands of years ago, paying no attention to these native monkeys. Looking up at the starry sky, Zhang Yuan felt a bit tired. He yawned, suddenly seeming invigorated, clenched his fist, ¡°So, I have to study!¡± ¡°Only by becoming stronger can one evolve from a monkey to a human.¡± ¡°Fighting, keep it up! Work hard!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Li Zhendong was at a loss for words; they had just rested for a few minutes, and this guy again wanted to study. What to do, waiting online, it¡¯s quite urgent! But quickly, Zhang Yuan declined the thought himself, ¡°Forget it, it¡¯s too late, not efficient, better to rest first. The time squeezed out would only be slept back, so it¡¯s better to have a regular schedule.¡± Li Zhendong was relieved. ¡°I¡¯ll report to Xisha Aviation City tomorrow.¡± Li Zhendong got nervous, ¡°Why? This vacation is mandatory, you¡¯re not allowed to end it early!¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing to do at home¡­ I¡¯ve finished all the books.¡± Zhang Yuan shook his head, explained, ¡°Buying e-books myself is really too expensive; the university there allows free book reading. Plus, there are many documents available for free, and some professors and experts can be consulted; inventing things behind closed doors isn¡¯t good.¡± This era greatly valued intellectual property, watching pirated material was illegal, and being caught would result in hefty fines. Professional books and papers were even more expensive. According to Zhang Yuan¡¯s current reading speed, with books and literature, he burned through hundreds to thousands of dollars daily. ¡°So, my plan is to read two books a day, plus five papers, for 20 consecutive days. Tens of thousands of dollars is still money¡­ might as well save a bit and donate to the Deep Space Foundation.¡± S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Li Zhendong felt his mind was about to explode, almost fainting to the ground. Reading two books a day¡­ Two books¡­ Two¡­ Are you a dog? Is a book a meaty bone? He felt entirely unwell, mumbling, ¡°You really are a damn¡­ wealthy dude!¡± ¡°That¡¯s it, sleep, sleep.¡± Watching Zhang Yuan step into his room, Li Zhendong took a deep breath. Thinking about how he spent his vacation flirting, playing games, teasing his silly sister, while others were studying, working hard, and diligent, he inexplicably felt a sense of guilt. Then, he picked up the half-read ¡°Complex Semi-Simple Lie Algebra¡± and began reading again. So frustrating. ¡­ forced, have no choice. ¡­ The next morning, Zhang Yuan got up early, bid farewell to Li Zhendong¡¯s parents, and returned to his own city. Despite the heartache, after purchasing a series of the latest electronic products, he copied all sorts of materials left by his father onto 10 mechanical hard drives. Over 3,000 years of interstellar travel, there¡¯s nothing reliable, especially electronic products. Who knows, maybe one day, this tablet would become unusable. Only by diversifying risks could these materials be preserved long-term. Even though these things would be worthless three thousand years later, Zhang Yuan still hoped to keep them. After checking several times, ¡°This should be it.¡± The Deep Space Planning Bureau allowed every astronaut to carry 20 kilograms of personal belongings. Inside the suitcase were some change of clothes, a few mementos from his father, and various messy electronic devices, including the latest photon chips, storage devices, etc., making sure nothing significant was missing. ¡°Sigh, I¡¯m about to leave here¡­¡± Zhang Yuan looked at this home he¡¯d lived in for more than a decade, every detail so familiar. He had laughed here, cried here, been mocked by his father, and also been sullen alone in the room¡­ So many, many stories happened. It felt like his mother; hiding here brought a harbor-like warmth. Sadly, he ultimately had to leave it. Gone for good, with no chance of regret. After cleaning up the place until every spot sparkled and discarding the trash, he shut the door with a ¡°bang,¡± the deep attachment in his heart growing stronger. He turned back and bowed. ¡°Goodbye.¡± ¡°Goodbye!¡± Saying farewell to the past, a tear unknowingly rolled down. Zhang Yuan wiped it with his sleeve, heading to the elevator. A man always had to head to distant lands, dry his tears, and not overthink things. Dragging his suitcase to the entrance of the community, there was a familiar park there; because the weather was too hot, there weren¡¯t many people inside. He remembered playing there often as a child. One day, he suddenly tumbled to the ground. Then, he had a flash of inspiration and started crying at the corner of the wall, unable to stop. His dad asked him what on earth he was doing, Zhang Yuan said, ¡°I know I have to die eventually, so I cried. Even if I won¡¯t die now¡­ a long, long time later, I still will, so I felt sad.¡± A little child, suddenly comprehending the concept of ¡°death,¡± couldn¡¯t wrap his head around it immediately, felt very uncomfortable, and could only keep crying. It seemed so absurd, yet so real. Death, such an unglamourous affair, yet the endpoint for everyone. ¡°So that¡¯s how it is¡­¡± his dad coolly said, ¡°Dead is dead, what¡¯s the big deal? Do you know the meaning of living? If you don¡¯t, why be afraid?¡± ¡°Living is for eating!¡± Zhang Yuan, all snots and tears. ¡°Hahaha, makes sense!¡± His father just laughed heartily and uncommonly made no further comments. As smart as his dad was, even he couldn¡¯t answer such an ultimate question. Chapter 18 - 18 Xisha Aviation City Chapter 18: Chapter 18 Xisha Aviation City Editor: Henyee Translations ¡°` Zhang Yuan hurried to the train station. The phone displayed a message, ¡°[Dahua Transport] Dear passenger Zhang Yuan, your ticket was successfully paid at 10:03. Train G888, second class seat, Donghua (10:30) ¨C Xisha (11:45), ticket number 781234¡­¡± The time was almost up. Zhang Yuan boarded the train and found his seat. A gentle electronic voice sounded in the carriage, ¡°This train is bound for Xisha and will take one hour and fifteen minutes¡­¡± The gray-black sea-crossing bridge lay across the sea like a giant dragon. Modern carbon nanotube materials, capable of constructing a 36,000-kilometer space elevator, could certainly handle a small sea-crossing bridge. ... These bridges could easily withstand a Category 16 typhoon. Traditional transportation tools, airplanes, were instead becoming obsolete. Fuel was not much of an issue since hydrogen could replace traditional fossil fuels, but the payload and operational costs of planes couldn¡¯t compete with maglev trains. Moreover, with the speed of maglev trains approaching that of airplanes, cheaper tickets, and comfort without the ear problems caused by pressure, airplanes gradually lost their competitiveness, edging toward obsolescence. An hour later, a few vague shadows finally appeared on the blue horizon, fusion power plants. The nuclear fusion power plants were three hundred meters tall. Due to the massive heat dissipation, all the white mist around them was steam. This distilled water would be collected and supplied to the cities. Xisha Aviation City was located in Xia Country¡¯s southernmost sea. Hundreds of years ago, it had territorial disputes with neighboring small countries. Incidents of detaining fishing boats and skirmishing often occurred. But as time went on and society progressed, with Xia Country¡¯s rise, these trivial disputes became insignificant. ¡°Controlled nuclear fusion is really a good thing. Three cents per kilowatt-hour, how much cost does that cut for industrial production? What are other countries even playing at?¡± The nuclear fusion power plant had an unappealing characteristic: the larger the nuclear generating set, the more stable its operation and the lower its power generation cost. Plus, due to human technological limitations, there was no way to miniaturize nuclear fusion devices, so each nuclear fusion power plant was like a small mountain. Fusion and space economy made Xia Country the first country to brave the unknown, earning a fortune, so much so that it didn¡¯t mind giving some to its neighboring little brothers. Territorial disputes had long ceased to exist. Those who follow the path receive more help, those who walk alone receive less aid. Interests are the closest bond between countries. The train sped past the nuclear power plant. ¡°Look, look! It¡¯s the space elevator!¡± ¡°Where, where?¡± ¡°Right there¡­ that one as fine as a hair.¡± Squinting eyes could barely make out a slender column towering into the clouds, resembling a kite string. Under the sunlight, it had a dazzling, unreal quality. High. Too high¡­ Many seeing the space elevator for the first time couldn¡¯t help but press against the glass windows and take photos. The legendary ¡°Babylon Tower,¡± a miracle in history; there were a total of seventeen of these structures on this planet. Over the next thirty years, they were expected to increase to over thirty. Xisha Aviation City housed humanity¡¯s first space elevator, ¡°Tengyun.¡± Its geographical location was roughly three hundred kilometers from the Equator, slightly slanting, maximizing Earth¡¯s rotational force to provide greater payload capacity for the elevator. After nearly a hundred years of development, Xisha had become an international metropolis. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it collapse?¡± ¡°Impossible, the principle is different. The space elevator mainly relies on tension, not pressure. Do you understand the tension of a rope?¡± S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Would terrorists attack this tower?¡± Some curious onlookers let their imagination run wild. ¡°Well, attacking a space elevator is akin to launching a nuclear war and would receive equivalent retaliation. Xisha City¡¯s security is strict, with military troops stationed nearby, and no airplanes are allowed to pass¡­¡± ¡°Bro, are you already in Xisha City? I just saw your social media update~~~¡± At this moment, Zhang Yuan¡¯s cousin Ye Qingqing called, ¡°Are you going to space? I really want to go on a space tour once, but my parents want me to work-study and earn money. At 30,000 yuan for a trip, when am I ever going to make that much money¡­¡± She was practically dying of envy. ¡°Space tourism, it¡¯s not that marvelous actually, I¡¯m serious,¡± Zhang Yuan said with a smile. ¡°Slowly earn through work-study. Under eighteen, you can¡¯t even get a tourist visa.¡± Getting a visa was one thing, getting a tourist spot was another. The freight of the space elevator was limited each day, so not many tourist spots were available. Besides spending money, connections might also be needed. Social connections won¡¯t get completely eliminated in any era. In the course of this conversation, the train gradually stopped. ¡°Dear passengers, the terminal, Xisha, has arrived; please bring your belongings and prepare to disembark¡­¡± As the train arrived, tourists excitedly observed the distant space elevator; wherever they were, raising their heads, they could always see that robust pillar of the sky. This power derived from technology and industry could entirely arouse the national pride of Xia Country people. Almost all space elevators worldwide involved Xia Country¡¯s technology and investments. Having been exposed to this often, Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t feel much about it, and simply rented a self-driving motorboat. ¡°Whoosh!¡± The motorboat sped through Xisha City, splashing water all over. Xisha City enjoyed summer-like weather year-round, yet June temperatures were under twenty-eight degrees, definitely more comfortable than Donghua City. The city was mostly artificial islands, with bridges connecting island to island, and numerous waterways underneath where occasional tropical fish could be spotted. There was once a leader who, on a whim, wanted to fill these waterways for land transport to enhance traffic efficiency but faced unanimous opposition from the masses because¡­ they found boats more enjoyable, attracting tourism. As facts proved, the people were right for once. The omnipotent aerial tracks solved the traffic issues while water transport indeed bolstered tourism. ¡°Beep¡­ This service fee: 16 Yuan.¡± Zhang Yuan stepped off the motorboat and arrived at his destination. ¡°I am an astronaut for the Earth Era. May I check-in now?¡± Deep Space Planning Bureau staff scanned his ID, smiled slightly, and said, ¡°Mr. Zhang Yuan, your vacation has 19 days remaining. You are too early. Your launch batch has not been reached yet.¡± ¡°No¡­ I just want to ask, is there any place to stay?¡± The staff laughed and said, ¡°Unfortunately, if you were 3 days earlier, we could arrange accommodation for you. But now, it seems there¡¯s no such arrangement.¡± ¡°You might want to ask the adjacent university to see if there are any vacant student dormitories. I¡¯ll issue you an astronaut proof.¡± Zhang Yuan frowned, coming too early and being rejected. This was normal as the staff merely followed regulations. ¡°Alright, thank you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome!¡± Numerous aviation universities were stationed here, some being international institutions enrolling global students. However, due to the summer vacation, most students were away, leaving the university somewhat deserted. Soon, Zhang Yuan saw the four gilded characters ¡°Xisha University.¡± Because he looked somewhat student-like, he entered the school without issues. After questioning several people in a row, he reached a building¡¯s base, Deep Space Foundation (Xisha University Branch). ¡°Hello, I wish to meet Wang Zhong, Professor.¡± ¡°Do you have an appointment?¡± ¡°¡­No appointment.¡± ¡°Sorry, without an appointment, Professor Wang is very busy.¡± Having no choice, Zhang Yuan had to use his ace card, an astronaut proof, and his father¡¯s ID. Though it was somewhat embarrassing to rely on his father. ¡°I¡¯m Zhang Qiming¡¯s son, may I¡­ make a visit to Professor Wang Zhong?¡± ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C ¡°Hahaha, suddenly found out this underdog¡¯s contract is signed, quickly made a radiant cover to calm the nerves.¡± ¡°And who said I can only sign a contract with a hundred thousand words?! (dog head emoji) (dog head emoji)¡± ¡°` Chapter 19 - 19: Abolition of Special Aviation Tax Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Abolition of Special Aviation Tax Editor: Henyee Translations 1:00 PM. In front of his desk, the octogenarian Professor Wang Zhong was reading a document with a red header. As he delved deeper into the contents, his mood gradually worsened. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Notice on the Cancellation of the Special Aviation Tax¡± ¡°The special aviation construction tax will be officially canceled starting December 31, 2264. This is hereby announced¡­¡± ¡°What was bound to come, still came.¡± ... The special aviation tax was a form of support from the United Government for the ¡°Deep Space Project.¡± Every participating country paid this tax annually. Now, this tax was being canceled. Professor Wang Zhong let out a long sigh, and as his thoughts deepened, the wrinkles on his forehead furrowed like valleys and ridges. In this era, with advances in medical technology, especially the advent of 3D bioprinting organs, the average human lifespan had reached 110 years, with healthier individuals living up to 140 years. But at the age of eighty, it was still a bit too old. The decline in his energy made Wang Zhong a bit out of sorts in his research endeavors. However, as an Academician at the Academy of Sciences, no matter how old he got, his intelligence far exceeded that of ordinary people. He was someone who couldn¡¯t stay idle. Even at his age, he found it good to contribute some remaining energy. Teaching some master¡¯s students wasn¡¯t a big issue, and he could also handle some administrative tasks along the way. As a scientific advisor for the Deep Space Foundation, he had endless tasks every day. Regarding this newly issued document, the more he looked at it, the more dejected he became. Time spared no one. If he were twenty or thirty years younger, he would have certainly fought hard during meetings, even if the argument wouldn¡¯t have a significant effect¡­ Wang Zhong made a phone call, trying to make his tone a bit gentler, ¡°¡­ Don¡¯t they know that without Jupiter Base¡¯s support, the Earth Era can¡¯t even accelerate to seven-tenths of the speed of light?¡± ¡°It costs a lot to build such a far-reaching light path!¡± On the other end of the line, a middle-aged man¡¯s voice replied, ¡°Professor Wang, reducing taxes is the trend of the times. It isn¡¯t something a few of us can stop. This decision has been studied for a long time, and it isn¡¯t a spur-of-the-moment decision. Chairman Lin of the Foundation has already¡­¡± Unwilling to accept it, Wang Zhong said, ¡°Do you understand the consequences if the travel speed doesn¡¯t reach seven-tenths of the speed of light? A 3000-year journey, with any variable creating a domino-like chain reaction¡­.¡± ¡°Professor Wang, we¡¯re trying to find a solution. Rest assured, even if we need to sell off large amounts of assets, we will gather this amount of money.¡± Wang Zhong hung up the phone, sighing once more. For politicians, the ¡°Earth Era¡± ship was already built. Of course, this tax collected from the people should be exempted. Truth be told, this additional tax had been collected for over forty years, and the public had already been grumbling about it. But¡­ Where would the subsequent funding come from? It remained a significant issue. Though the Deep Space Foundation was vast and wealthy, possessing numerous industries, without financial backing from the United Government, it couldn¡¯t withstand this tremendous demand for funds. Selling off assets wasn¡¯t a wise choice. Randomly selling in the capital market would only benefit those financial sharks. The market was a silent killer, the more anxious to sell, the lower prices they would offer. Furthermore, the Deep Space Foundation¡¯s goal wasn¡¯t just to launch one colony spacecraft but ten, twenty, even a hundred. These assets were their foundation! Just then, the office door knocked softly. ¡°Come in,¡± said Wang Zhong, pulling his thoughts back. A young girl, his student Xu Yunjing, entered. The girl said softly, ¡°Teacher, there are a few reporters outside who want to interview you. They are foreigners. Do you know them?¡± ¡°Foreigners?¡± ¡°It seems like some humanity association¡­ They want us to donate to impoverished areas.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t accept it, just say I¡¯m not in!¡± When it came to money matters, Wang Zhong¡¯s eyebrow twitched, and he raised his voice, ¡°It¡¯s obvious without thinking that they are here for our money! While our Foundation has many industries, the money didn¡¯t just blow in with the wind. It was created by all the scientists together!¡± ¡°¡­ In the future, don¡¯t bother with those kinds of reporters, especially foreign ones. They just like to dig a hole for you to jump into. If you say one wrong word, they¡¯ll make a big deal out of it and report all sorts of nonsense!¡± Xu Yunjing was left feeling embarrassed. It was apparent that her mentor was in a foul mood. Xia Country was an energy-exporting nation, with domestic electricity only costing 3 cents per unit, a sort of social welfare. However, electricity sold abroad was another story; Xia Country people¡¯s labor couldn¡¯t be cheaply sold, this electricity needed to profit. According to their initial contribution to the controlled nuclear fusion research funding, some countries had to pay 8 cents per unit, others 30 cents per unit. It was up to them whether they wanted to use it or not. The main reason was the high monopoly of the controlled nuclear fusion project. This highly challenging project almost integrated the most cutting-edge science of mankind, not something every country could simply decide to undertake. Xu Yunjing pondered and awkwardly asked, ¡°Teacher, will refusing the interview have a bad impact?¡± ¡°Impact? Impact my ass! Will not using electricity cause hunger? Is 30 cents per unit very expensive? What human rights, it¡¯s clearly trying to use electricity cheaply!¡± Wang Zhong scolded irritably, ¡°¡­ They didn¡¯t contribute much when doing the research, so why do they now want to reap the rewards?¡± ¡°This is a matter of national interest!¡± ¡°If they want cheaper electricity prices, they should send representatives to negotiate with the government instead of sneaky media campaigns to win the sympathy of our country¡¯s people!¡± Wang Zhong knew well the truth of talking too much would lead to mistakes, so he couldn¡¯t be bothered with these journalists. He just took the opportunity to educate his student about having ¡°political sensitivity.¡± In tackling any issue, emotional intelligence was necessary. ¡°Particularly for girls, don¡¯t let a savior complex make you use other people¡¯s resources gloriously!¡± After Xu Yunjing was educated for a while, she no longer considered it. She awkwardly added, ¡°Oh, and¡­ that brother¡¯s son wants to visit you. Do you have time?¡± ¡°Brother? What brother?¡± ¡°You know¡­ Brother Zhang!¡± Xu Yunjing gestured with both hands. Wang Zhong was momentarily stunned, then quickly understood. His expression softened, showing a trace of gentleness. Zhang Qiming, his most brilliant student, was the mastermind behind the Earth Era¡¯s main control system. All his students, whether doctoral or master¡¯s, called Zhang Qiming ¡°Brother.¡± As for¡­ his son? It seemed he hadn¡¯t heard much about him. Oh, not that he hadn¡¯t heard, but he had forgotten long ago. Everyone knew Einstein, but few cared to remember Einstein¡¯s son. Recalling the scene of Zhang Qiming¡¯s passing, where the elderly bid farewell to the younger, Wang Zhong sighed, ¡°Ah, let his son come over then.¡± CREATORS¡¯ THOUGHTS Henyee From 18 Dec 2020, there will be only 40 chapters for Trial Read, with Chapters 20 to 40 locked. After a book is picked, Chapters 20-39 will have the locks automatically removed. Chapters 1-39 will become free to read, with Chapter 40 remaining a Premium chapter. The selected book will have a mark on the corner of the book cover in 30 days to indicate continuation. Coins spent on all books during Trial Read will all be refunded within 30 days. However, Fast Passes will not be refunded. Thank you for your understanding. Chapter 20 - 20 New Civilization School Chapter 20: Chapter 20 New Civilization School Editor: Henyee Translations ¡°` Facing the spirited and renowned old professor in front of him, Zhang Yuan felt a bit nervous. Not to mention all the other miscellaneous titles, just the title of ¡°Academician of Mathematics¡± was enough to scare an ordinary person half to death. Academician! The main research direction of Professor Wang was specialized, namely Motivation Theory, one of the most challenging subjects. Motive was an outcome of the extension of Galois Group Theory to higher dimensions, which was later surprisingly found to have a mysterious connection with Quantum Field Theory. The Langlands program and Motive Theory research were currently the two major mathematical mainstreams. The Langlands program attempted to unify Number Theory, Algebraic Geometry, and Groups, while Motive Theory tried to unify discrete and continuous. ... They were referred to as the obverse and reverse of the same coin. A mathematician once predicted, ¡°When Humanity truly completes these two frameworks, the mathematical community will witness a genuine unification. All mathematical problems will be solvable using these two grand theories.¡± It sounded impressive, but Humanity might never accomplish this step. The progress of the Langlands program was still so-so; after a few centuries of research, Humanity developed the geometric Langlands, p-adic Langlands, etc. But concerning Motive Theory, due to its highly abstract nature, it had turned into some mathematicians¡¯ own jargon, making peer review very difficult, so the development speed was extremely slow. Undoubtedly, Wang Zhong was one of the top mathematicians; the construction of mixed motives was proposed by Professor Wang, causing a massive sensation at the time. In the past, Zhang Yuan often heard his father mention his mentor with an air full of respect, so he visited the elder while on his way, without any other intentions. He even brought a small gift, a local specialty of Donghua City¡ªDonghua Ham. Although now, it seemed rather odd. ¡°Which university did you graduate from?¡± ¡°Z University,¡± Zhang Yuan answered honestly. ¡°Z University¡­¡± Wang Zhong frowned slightly, not entirely satisfied. Although Z University was ranked as the third-best university in Xia Country, compared to the top two, it was a bit lacking. In the eyes of an elder like him, a good student should go to one of the top two schools¡­ ¡°Are you also a space volunteer?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Very good, following in your father¡¯s footsteps.¡± Wang Zhong nodded, quite satisfied with this. If it weren¡¯t for his advanced age, barely having a few years left to live, he would certainly be one of the 500,000 to experience the life of interstellar travel. ¡°What are your plans?¡± Professor Wang picked up the teacup and took a slow sip. ¡°I have 19 days left for vacation. I plan to spend some time reading at the library. When I get on the spaceship, I hope to find a mentor and complete my master¡¯s and doctoral studies¡­¡± ¡°Learning more knowledge is pretty good, so which research direction do you want to pursue?¡± Speaking of which, Zhang Yuan smiled sheepishly, ¡°I quite like Mathematics, but restarting a civilization requires a lot of practical talent, so I still plan to engage in research in engineering fields, like Information Science¡­ um, mainly Mathematics and Space Engineering, I guess.¡± Wang Zhong was a science professor; the sciences looked down on engineering, and engineering looked down on the humanities¡ªthis was a longstanding academic disdain chain. It was determined by the simplicity of writing frivolous papers; science professors had relatively more difficult frivolous papers, needing some innovation, right? Whereas in the humanities, writing frivolous papers was just too easy, such as in Film Studies or Acting Studies, producing frivolous doctorates. When Zhang Yuan¡¯s father switched from Mathematics to Space Mechanics, Wang Zhong threw a tantrum, considering the switch to engineering as ¡°too utilitarian.¡± As expected, Wang Zhong frowned again, remained silent for a while. But since it was their first conversation, and the two were not very familiar, he did not express too many opinions. ¡°Have you found a mentor already?¡± ¡°Not yet. I¡¯ll have to take exams after boarding the spaceship; I hope to score high¡­¡± Zhang Yuan said very humbly. ¡°¡­¡± In Wang Zhong¡¯s view, he naturally misunderstood a bit. The ¡°Earth Era¡± was just a large spaceship; even with ample preparation, the resources and output inside the spaceship remained limited. The majority of the crew¡¯s time would be spent in hibernation. To restart a civilization on an unfamiliar planet, knowledge reserve and technical level were the most important. So, experts and scholars on the spaceship naturally controlled more resources, having more authority. These well-known experts and scholars had limited slots for students. Being their student, of course, had more benefits compared to ordinary technical workers, akin to a kind of ¡°backstage support.¡± Now, it seemed as if Zhang Yuan knew he couldn¡¯t score high, seeking for him to open the back door, attempting to find a good mentor through Wang Zhong. He frowned and asked, ¡°What kind of mentor do you want?¡± Zhang Yuan was taken aback, and he casually said, ¡°Of course, the more outstanding, the better; someone like my father would be perfect!¡± S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Wang Zhong felt even more displeased in his heart, and then looked at the ¡°Donghua Ham¡± on the table. With his years of teaching experience, someone who wanted to go through the back door based on their father¡¯s connections was undoubtedly an academic loser! If not, I¡¯d swallow this ham whole! He should look in the mirror and see what kind of character he was¡­ Wanting the top-notch mentor, first see if you deserve it! His view of Zhang Yuan turned somewhat unfriendly. ¡­ Wang Zhong was not someone completely ignorant of worldly affairs. The son of his proud disciple, showing a bit of care, wasn¡¯t really a big deal. But when it came to the ¡°Earth Era,¡± it seemed to touch on his sensitive point, making him very anxious. Because the ¡°Earth Era¡± was an independent society, once launched, Earth civilization would no longer be able to interfere with it. Disregarding all the chaotic factors like the Dyson Sphere, Extreme Supernova, this immense project actually had another intrinsic reason. It was the revelry of idealists on Earth! A great social experiment! When the ¡°Father of Nuclear Fusion,¡± Professor Qi Yuanshan, established the ¡°Deep Space Foundation,¡± he also formed a new school of thought called the ¡°New Civilization School.¡± The New Civilization School believed, Civilization¡¯s development, like biological evolution, could only be patched and repaired on the existing foundation, with no way to start completely afresh. Therefore, history, culture, and ideology from the past would profoundly impact future development. This impact could be good, but also bad, and couldn¡¯t be dramatically changed through simple repairs. It¡¯s just like human growth, once a worldview is formed, it¡¯s fixed. Thus, some old historical baggage would become a drag in the development process. The New Civilization School once posed a question: Why hadn¡¯t Earth¡¯s civilization formed a unified nation until now? The answer was simple. First, humans as a species cannot abandon vested power and interests. If multiple countries unified, certain small-country leaders would have to step down, a mass of class interests would be redistributed, and vested interests would be unwilling. A simple example is that the railroad gauges worldwide haven¡¯t been unified yet. Unifying railroad gauges involves political factors as well as various economic problems. Replacing old rails costs money¡ªwho would pay for this part? Since no one is willing to pay, it has to be dragged on. Just a ¡°rail gauge,¡± such a simple issue, who knows how long it¡¯ll take to resolve, let alone other complex interest issues. Second, the historical gaps between nations are difficult to mend; national hatreds, racial conflicts still exist today. After World War III and IV, except for the East Asia region, which was slightly better off, other places still had old and new enmities, and minor friction. The poorer the area, the bigger the conflict. In the foreseeable future, these are unlikely to disappear. Thirdly, many countries aren¡¯t even worth supporting or saving. Some countries have a dictatorial + bureaucratic capitalist system; some nations are addicted to drugs, exporting them globally, even with governments already hijacked by the underworld; some countries are universally lazy, preferring to let fruit wither on the ground than to pick it; and some countries hold universal religious beliefs¡­ The chaos of global ideologies can¡¯t be salvaged by merely one great person or one major power. In short, the ¡°New Civilization School¡± believed that since Earth¡¯s civilization can¡¯t unify now, it won¡¯t in the future either. Even if forcibly unified, more chaotic contradictions would emerge, determined by comprehensive factors such as history and culture. Therefore, the ¡°Earth Era¡± was a great attempt by the New Civilization School. It sought to use physical distance segmentation to discard all the dregs of human history, attempting to establish a stronger, unified, cohesive civilization with a common ideology for all! It¡¯s like an old father, seeing no hope for the future, placing all his hopes on an infant. This stronger new civilization, once successful, would have a certain probability to influence the original Earth civilization in return. This was the plan formulated by Mr. Qi Yuanshan back then. A great¡­ Millennial Plan! ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C (Regarding Motive Theory, Grothendieck¡¯s dream, he wanted to establish a ¡°universal¡± cohomology theory, called Motive Theory. Anyway, when you see the words motive or motivic in mathematics, you know it¡¯s very advanced and very abstract.) (There will be some mathematics-based science fiction content in the future, and you don¡¯t need to know much, just know that such things exist.) ¡°` CREATORS¡¯ THOUGHTS Henyee From 18 Dec 2020, there will be only 40 chapters for Trial Read, with Chapters 20 to 40 locked. After a book is picked, Chapters 20-39 will have the locks automatically removed. Chapters 1-39 will become free to read, with Chapter 40 remaining a Premium chapter. The selected book will have a mark on the corner of the book cover in 30 days to indicate continuation. Coins spent on all books during Trial Read will all be refunded within 30 days. However, Fast Passes will not be refunded. Thank you for your understanding. Chapter 21 - 21 Senior Sister, Im Sorry! Chapter 21: Chapter 21 Senior Sister, I¡¯m Sorry! Editor: Henyee Translations ¡°` So, Wang Zhong absolutely did not allow this kind of ¡°back door¡± nonsense to pollute the entire human environment of the spaceship from the very beginning. Fifty million people, equivalent to a small city¡¯s size, any minor flaw would quickly amplify. Humans are profit-driven creatures; at that time, everyone would follow suit, constantly trying to pull strings to open back doors, and then what kind of strong civilization could be built? Thinking of this, Wang Zhong said calmly, ¡°How about this, you first complete a set of test papers. If your grades are good, I can help you see if there is a suitable mentor.¡± But the underlying message was, if you don¡¯t measure up, just get lost! S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Huh?¡± Zhang Yuan was surprised. ... ¡°We¡¯ll just test some mathematics. Regardless of the major, mathematics is a must.¡± Zhang Yuan scratched his head, feeling somewhat puzzled. He originally just wanted to visit this mentor and describe some future ideas; how did it suddenly turn into doing test papers? But¡­ whatever, just take it as a test from a senior to a junior. ¡°Little Xu, go fetch a set of test papers for him to do. I¡¯ve sent them to your email.¡± Wang Zhong instructed. ¡°Alright¡­ follow me.¡± Following this ¡°senior sister,¡± Zhang Yuan retrieved three test papers in total, namely ¡°Introduction to Algebraic Geometry,¡± ¡°Lie Algebras,¡± and ¡°Modular Forms and Number Theory.¡± Xu Yunjing certainly didn¡¯t know any grand ¡°Millennium Plans.¡± True idealists only appear after experiencing chaos; she couldn¡¯t figure out why her teacher had thought of so many things in such a short time. She smiled and comforted, ¡°Don¡¯t take it to heart. Professor Wang is just like this. He¡¯s not very patient; as he¡¯s gotten older, his thoughts have become more erratic that most people can¡¯t keep up. He might just want to check your level.¡± Zhang Yuan nodded, taking these exam papers. Xu Yunjing also said, ¡°However, for young people with talent, Professor Wang would love to hand over everything to them. Anyway, he¡¯s a pretty good teacher who doesn¡¯t allow slackers.¡± Wait a minute, has Old Wang gone senile? Glancing at the printed papers, Xu Yunjing turned pale. This was¡­ wasn¡¯t this her exam content? She was a graduate student, after all, and nearly failed. How could the test papers be given to an undergraduate? It wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t work hard; it was because Professor Wang¡¯s requirements were too high. Especially ¡°Introduction to Algebraic Geometry,¡± an abnormal subject. What level is ¡°introduction¡±? Well, it¡¯s telling you ¡°1+1=2¡± and then directly asking you to solve ¡Ò{[arctanx]/(1+x^2)^2}dx¡­ Anyway, for the average person, it¡¯s like seeing a heavenly book. ¡°Do what you can first. I¡¯ll go ask about this test paper¡­ it seems a bit strange.¡± Xu Yunjing felt a bit sorry for this junior brother and ran off in a hurry. When she rushed to Wang Zhong¡¯s office, she suddenly found this old man frowning while on the phone, his voice unusually loud. Then Wang Zhong looked up, ¡°Come with me, we¡¯re going to a meeting!¡± ¡°Oh, okay!¡± Seeing his stern face, Xu Yunjing felt a bit panicked and forgot the words that were hanging on the tip of her tongue. ¡­ The two of them had a meeting all afternoon, leaving only Zhang Yuan racking his brains in a small room. Each difficult problem seemed like a steep mountain; the process of climbing was hard, but the scenery was beautiful. He enjoyed it so much that he couldn¡¯t stop, even forgetting to eat dinner. ¡­ At eight in the evening, Wang Zhong and Xu Yunjing finally returned to the office. Professor Wang sighed, ¡°¡­ The Foundation must be prepared for danger in times of peace. Although there is no lack of money right now, who knows in the future. Utilizing the astronauts¡¯ residual heat is also good. Well, it¡¯s okay like this, people have to be squeezed a bit to create greater value¡­¡± ¡°Fifty million people, if each generates an income of one hundred thousand yuan, that¡¯s 50 billion¡­¡± Wang Zhong sat in silence for a while; a retired scientist like him still had to worry about money, what was this even about? ¡°Go open the door.¡± ¡°Oh, alright.¡± Professor Wang was a very orthodox person; when female students were in his office, he habitually kept the door open. In his words, this practice reduced some unnecessary gossip. Although at eighty-something years of age, there really couldn¡¯t be any rumors. ¡°Forget it, forget it, you should head back and rest early too. In the future, it¡¯s better not to attend such activities; besides arguing with people, it doesn¡¯t have much meaning. Spend more time reading literature.¡± Xu Yunjing sighed as well, organizing the meeting notes. Wait a minute. Seems like something was forgotten! Oh no! My poor junior¡­ Senior sister apologizes. Xu Yunjing coughed and brought up that Zhang Yuan was still taking an exam, but she dared not mention anything about ¡°graduate mathematics,¡± or she would have to take the fall. ¡°Professor Wang, um¡­¡± ¡°¡­ How long has it taken him and he¡¯s still not done? It¡¯s just three math papers.¡± Professor Wang Zhong blew his nose and glared, already in a bad mood. Remembering this matter made him even more irritated, ¡°Go call him over.¡± He thought to himself, if Zhang Yuan got onto the spaceship through his father¡¯s connections, he must thoroughly investigate¡­ Even if he was Zhang Qiming¡¯s son, it would not do. If he needed to go, he should go quickly. Xu Yunjing went to the small classroom and asked softly, ¡°Well, well¡­ junior, have you finished the papers?¡± ¡°Just finished.¡± Zhang Yuan felt a bit embarrassed. Based on the two-hour time frame for each paper, he had actually taken longer. Finished? Was it scribbled? Curious, Xu Yunjing peeked at the papers. The writing was neat, and the format was fairly normal, likely not scribbled¡­ Whoa, the first few questions seemed right; not bad¡­ Graduate education isn¡¯t like undergraduate, with communal meals; it begins to cultivate real research abilities. Math papers are all made by professors themselves, without multiple choice questions; they¡¯re all proof questions. You either can do it, or you can¡¯t. Just from a few glances, sweat began to drip down Xu Yunjing¡¯s forehead. ¡°Senior sister¡­ um, senior, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Oh, nothing.¡± What was written here? Why didn¡¯t she quite understand? With a head full of question marks, Xu Yunjing walked into the office, carefully presenting the papers to Wang Zhong. Wang Zhong frowned, put on reading glasses, and with a rigorous attitude, began reviewing the papers. The old professor had a habit, the first few questions on the paper were foundational. If you couldn¡¯t solve them, sorry, this graduate student, bye-bye! If you can¡¯t even do the foundational questions, why are you even studying? Better to drop out early, don¡¯t waste everyone¡¯s time, okay? The middle questions were moderately difficult. If you couldn¡¯t do them, sorry, this fellow¡¯s fundamentals were not great, not likely to have any research ability, so just be an Outer Disciple. Only a master student, if you graduate, you graduate; if not, then leave quickly. As for the ones further back, those were the high-difficulty questions, his Inner Sect Disciples had to solve these, otherwise, he¡¯d be very disappointed and scold them thoroughly. Inner Sect Disciples, well, they¡¯re those with hope to advance to PhD level. The last question was of a monstrous difficulty. Whether Academic God or academic ace, just lie down; the purpose of this question was to make you understand the reverence for knowledge! In the old professor¡¯s eyes, scientific research was far more difficult than doing exams, at least the math questions in papers have solutions. Using tools already created by others and inventing tools yourself are two different concepts, doing research is like finding a needle in a haystack, not only requiring effort but also talent. Wang Zhong glanced at it, the first few simple questions were correct. ¡­ ¡°` Chapter 22 - 22 This guy is just an undergraduate! Chapter 22: Chapter 22 This guy is just an undergraduate! Editor: Henyee Translations ¡°` After reviewing the first few problems, Professor Wang Zhong glanced at Zhang Yuan and slowly said, ¡°Your handwriting is quite good, very neat. Not like some people who use computers so much that they can¡¯t even write, like chicken scratch.¡± Xu Yunjing, standing near, blushed. Could he be talking about her? No! It must be about someone else. Wang Zhong didn¡¯t pay attention to Xu Yunjing¡¯s expression. In his understanding, answering the simple initial problems correctly was something expected from a student. ... Looking further, the moderately difficult problems were also answered correctly. The solutions were well-reasoned, though the approach seemed a bit odd, not quite the conventional method¡­ Overall, they were still correct. Wang Zhong took a deep breath, looked up at Zhang Yuan, and the anger in his heart slowly dissipated. Upon closer inspection, this young man was quite good-looking, rather handsome, and somewhat resembled his father in his youth. The days and nights of struggle together between teacher and student over thirty years ago had long passed, yet seemed so near. Time flies by so quickly! Elderly people always tend to be a bit nostalgic. As he reviewed the test paper to this point, he thought to himself, since these questions were already answered correctly, the young man had some capability, so he wouldn¡¯t investigate any longer if there had been any favoritism. Among 500,000 people, it¡¯s impossible for everyone to be a born saint; there¡¯s bound to be a trace of Earthly habits remaining, which can only be slowly corrected in the future. Social interactions are such that if there were none at all, it would be too cold, too lacking in security; but if it became a society ruled by human emotions, bureaucratism would prevail, which would certainly be a disaster for a civilization. Continuing to look further. Oh, those few harder problems¡­ Also correct! Not bad, very not bad! These problems, even some quite intelligent students might not necessarily get right. The stern expression on Wang Zhong¡¯s face began to soften, a sign that his mood improved. He had misjudged the young man, with this level, he didn¡¯t need any favoritism; an astronaut exam would be a breeze. Seeing Professor Wang¡¯s expression relax, Xu Yunjing also let out a sigh of relief, swallowing back the ¡°wrong test paper¡± she had been hesitant to voice for so long. Since this guy got it right, I suppose I needn¡¯t say anything more? Whatever! The last problem¡­ Hmm, this¡­ A fine layer of sweat appeared on Professor Wang¡¯s brow, and his expression became serious. Xu Yunjing curiously observed from the side, but really couldn¡¯t understand the proof of this problem. Furthermore, during the exam, she was utterly defeated by it, unable to solve it at all. ¡°Did you do it yourself?¡± Wang Zhong couldn¡¯t help but ask. Actually, he knew in his heart, as the questions were of his own making, the answers couldn¡¯t be found online. ¡°Yes,¡± Zhang Yuan replied. ¡°Xu Yunjing, did you understand it?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Xu Yunjing was stunned, suddenly called upon, her mind in disarray. ¡°In the exam, it seems you didn¡¯t answer this problem, did you?¡± With a flushed face, covering her embarrassment for a long time, she finally uttered two words. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Zhang Yuan, tell her your problem-solving approach.¡± Zhang Yuan thought for a moment, and said, ¡°This constructed L-function has the following properties¡­ it involves mapping the category of sheaves to the contravariant functor of H, decomposing through any special cohomology theory¡­¡± Xu Yunjing pretended to listen intently, while also eyeing her newly met junior fellow. Speaking of mathematical thinking, excellent mathematicians master several methods. The first method: if a problem is difficult and cannot be solved directly, one can attempt to consider its equivalent problem. To give a simple example, Fermat¡¯s Last Theorem and the Taniyama-Shimura Conjecture are an example of equivalent problems. Mathematician Wiles proved the famous Fermat¡¯s Last Theorem by demonstrating the Taniyama-Shimura Conjecture. The second method: if the problem is difficult, and an equivalent problem also cannot be found, one can attempt to think about a broader issue. What does that mean? Still taking Fermat¡¯s Last Theorem as an example, the ¡°abc conjecture¡± is a stronger, broader conjecture. If the abc conjecture were true, then Fermat¡¯s Last Theorem would be trivial, provable in just five sentences. Easier said than done. The vast majority of people just solve problems without delving into the deep mathematical essence, and drawing inferences from one example is not something everyone can do. After Zhang Yuan explained for quite a while, Professor Wang nodded in satisfaction and asked, ¡°Do you understand now?¡± Xu Yunjing hesitated for a moment, then quietly replied, ¡°Um¡­ I should have understood.¡± ¡°Did you really understand?¡± Wang Zhong furrowed his brow and slowly said, ¡°Then repeat it back to me.¡± ¡°¡­¡± S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. With a blush, she felt like ten thousand grass-mud horses were galloping through her mind, feeling extremely troubled, she stuck out her tongue, ¡°¡­ Not entirely. I only got the gist.¡± According to Xu Yunjing¡¯s very reluctant understanding, the proof of the last problem used a very cutting-edge L-function, akin to piloting a bomber and suddenly dropping a nuclear bomb! It directly blew the problem to smithereens¡­ Not just this problem was obliterated, but the whole category of similar problems were resolved in one fell swoop. This was a typical high-dimensional crushing method, full of the aesthetic of sheer force. Wang Zhong furrowed his brow, knowing that the graduate student he was currently mentoring couldn¡¯t be considered a genius. Xisha University, after all, was not among the top two universities, so it was inevitable that the quality of students was slightly lower. ¡°If you don¡¯t understand, just leave it at that, no one¡¯s blaming you. Don¡¯t pretend to understand when you don¡¯t in the future.¡± He turned back to Zhang Yuan and said, ¡°Very good problem-solving thinking, but isn¡¯t it overkill? Have you read through those papers? Motivic-L functions, this is cutting-edge mathematics, isn¡¯t it?¡± Zhang Yuan replied shyly, ¡°I¡¯ve only read some introductions. Cutting-edge mathematics is still difficult for me to understand. But since I know the properties of these functions, I just used them effortlessly.¡± Used effortlessly? Xu Yunjing muttered inside: Why can¡¯t I use them effortlessly? Professor Wang couldn¡¯t help but laugh, saying, ¡°Using the most advanced mathematical theories to solve a math problem on a test? Can you use theorems you don¡¯t understand? Do you just trust other people¡¯s research results like that? What if they¡¯re wrong?¡± This was his usual style; he never praised anyone¡­ But in reality, his heart was filled with appreciation. What does research require? Innovation! Not those who stick rigidly to the norm and follow rules step by step! How many people are great at solving problems but turn out to be trash when it comes to actual research? Because they can only circle within existing frameworks. When they hear about cutting-edge mathematics, they have only one response: I can¡¯t do it, I can¡¯t understand it, it¡¯s like a heavenly book! They don¡¯t even dare to pay attention to it, let alone possess the spirit of exploring the unknown, unraveling the mysteries! ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Zhang Yuan felt he was indeed at fault. Wang Zhong¡¯s expression became slightly gentler, cautious not to indiscriminately dampen the young man¡¯s confidence, ¡°In academics, one should be more down-to-earth. Although doing so can¡¯t be considered wrong, it isn¡¯t very solid. However, solving the problem is better than not solving it at all, so for this exam paper, I¡¯ll give you 99 points.¡± Zhang Yuan nodded understandingly, acknowledging his mistake, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I self-studied these courses. I deeply understand my own lack of knowledge, my foundation is not solid, which is why I want to pursue further studies¡­¡± ¡°Self-study¡­¡± Wang Zhong snapped back, a statement caught abruptly in his throat. What was going on? Suddenly, he remembered, this fellow was just an undergraduate! ¡­ ¡°` Chapter 23 - 23 This Robot Wants to Harm Me! Chapter 23: Chapter 23 This Robot Wants to Harm Me! Editor: Henyee Translations ¡°` After reviewing the exams for half an hour, all three received high scores. Professor Wang Zhong became more and more satisfied with this young man, and the stern look on his face had long since disappeared. Talented young individuals¡­ Is that considered using connections? That is what they deserve! He asked kindly, ¡°What was your undergraduate major?¡± ¡°Space Mechanical Engineering.¡± ... ¡°Why choose this major, what a waste!¡± This major covers a bit of everything¡ªbiology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, mechanics¡ªall in the name of better understanding the entire space industry. But everyone¡¯s energy is ultimately limited, and learning everything often means learning nothing well. Few people truly master the subjects during their undergraduate years. ¡°A bright mind should study pure math; what¡¯s the point in studying space machinery? Maintenance of spaceships can be done by others!¡± Wang Zhong shook his head, sighed, and felt his idea was unrealistic. There are only 500,000 people on the spaceship, and everyone must be put to use. Pure theoreticians can only be sustained by Earth Civilization. He explained, ¡°The research conditions on the spaceship are not great, and most people tend toward administrative work, maintaining the existing systems.¡± ¡°¡­Administrative work is indeed important but very time-consuming, suitable for a retired person like me. There are so many trivial matters to manage every day that I can¡¯t even supervise PhD students anymore; I can only manage a few masters¡¯¡­¡± Xu Yunjing rolled her eyes, unsure what to say, making it seem like guiding a master¡¯s student was easy. Perhaps, in the eyes of someone so exceptional, it indeed was simple. ¡°But even if the conditions on the spaceship are poor, research must be taken seriously. Humans, once they become lazy, find it hard to return to diligence,¡± Wang Zhong advised. ¡°You must pay attention to this!¡± Zhang Yuan nodded. Wang Zhong asked again, ¡°Did you publish any good papers during your undergraduate years?¡± ¡°No.¡± Wang Zhong frowned, instinctively attributing the lack of good papers to Zhang Yuan¡¯s unfit major. Moreover, with just an undergraduate degree, it¡¯s normal not to have particularly outstanding papers. ¡°It¡¯s okay, you¡¯re still young. As for a mentor, it still depends on your research direction. You must be cautious and deliberate.¡± ¡­ At nine in the evening, Zhang Yuan left the office, feeling delighted. Professor Wang Zhong promised to write him a recommendation letter. A recommendation letter can sometimes just be an extra touch of success, and sometimes very important. ¡°As long as your ability is sufficient, why worry about not finding a mentor?¡± He wasn¡¯t concerned about this issue. He also held a temporary student card in his pocket. This meant he could temporarily stay at Xisha University for a few days and borrow books from the library for free. This was excellent. At night, Xisha University was brightly lit, and even during the summer holiday, some students stayed to participate in summer camp activities. Competitions like mathematical modeling and robotics contests all had intensive training during the vacation. Couples played joyfully on the beach, with waves rolling in, mixed with screams and cheers. A seaside university is just this joyful. After a while, the tide began to rise, and some patrolling robots blared warnings that the tide was coming and not to swim. If someone drowned again, it wouldn¡¯t be the school¡¯s fault. ¡°So hungry!¡± Zhang Yuan suddenly remembered that he hadn¡¯t had dinner yet and hurried toward the east gate. The food stalls at the East Gate were extremely popular, and the strong aroma of seafood could be smelled from afar. Zhang Yuan swallowed a mouthful of saliva. ¡°One seafood stir-fried noodles and two skewers of grilled octopus.¡± ¡°Your order is confirmed, please wait.¡± ¡°Hey, hey, student, student!¡± Turning around, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl stopped him. A foreigner? Not surprising, since Xisha City was an international metropolis filled with foreigners. Over 35% of Xisha University¡¯s students were recruited globally. ¡°Uh¡­ What¡¯s up?¡± Zhang Yuan asked, frowning. ¡°Did you meet Professor Wang Zhong? Prof. Wang!¡± Her fluent Xia language was quite rare. Nowadays, intelligent translation systems are widespread, and all sorts of languages can be flexibly translated with just a smartphone, so few people are willing to spend the effort to learn other languages. In Xia Country¡¯s college entrance exams, English teaching had also become an elective subject rather than a compulsory one. Zhang Yuan replied, ¡°Yes, why?¡± ¡°Can you take me to see him? I¡¯m Angelica, a reporter from the Lan Country Humanitarian Association, and I want to interview Professor Wang, the science advisor of the Deep Space Foundation¡­¡± ¡°What¡­ Humanitarian Association?¡± Hearing the words that followed, Zhang Yuan shivered all over. He pretended not to have heard and continued walking on his own. ¡°Student, please help, I have some questions for him, really, please.¡± Angelica grabbed him, her eyes sparkling. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to interview him and also apply for an allocation of electricity aid for impoverished countries¡­¡± Zhang Yuan thought about it and was still not inclined to get involved in such inexplicable matters. Just thinking with his pinky, he knew the Foundation itself lacked money, and Professor Wang certainly didn¡¯t want to see her. Plus, these Humanitarian Associations often had political entanglements, which were really annoying. Some Western nations are still stuck in the dream of being traditional powers and always point fingers at Xia Country¡¯s internal affairs and human rights, under the guise of freedom and democracy. Please, the world has long since changed! Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t want to help and, in a flash of inspiration, said, ¡°Sorry, we have different ideals, and I can¡¯t help you. Because I¡¯m a member of the Cat and Dog Protection Association, if you want to apply for rescue funds, we are competitors¡­¡± The blonde beauty widened her eyes. ¡°Cat and¡­ Dog Protection Association?¡± ¡°Animal-Protection, you know?¡± Zhang Yuan pretended to be serious. ¡°We should love animals, love them like we love ourselves. We shouldn¡¯t eat animal meat and should eat more environmentally friendly synthetic meat and plants¡­¡± The blonde beauty agreed, ¡°So you¡¯re also a benevolent person. Synthetic meat can indeed replace natural meat, and we can reduce slaughter in the future, and protect the environment¡­¡± ¡°Guest No. 719, your grilled octopus and seafood stir-fried noodles are packed.¡± Zhang Yuan felt awkward inside and cursed at the damned robot for wanting to betray him! The blonde girl looked at Zhang Yuan and the steaming grilled octopus with disdain, and her expression became strange. Zhang Yuan blushed deeply, adopting a saintly expression, ¡°Actually¡­ my association mainly focuses on the Cat and Dog Protection Association, not eating cat meat and dog meat. I believe we should raise cats and dogs as our own children.¡± ¡°Cats and dogs under one year old should be placed in cradles, fed with milk powder, and receive the greatest care and love from humans!¡± ¡°Ah?!¡± The blonde reporter Angelica couldn¡¯t help but shiver. In that brief moment of being stunned, Zhang Yuan had already run far away. It was only then she realized she had been teased, and she couldn¡¯t help stomping her feet in anger, cursing in pure Xia language, ¡°Jerk!¡± ¡°` Chapter 24 - 24: 3,000 Beauties in the Imperial Harem? Chapter 24: Chapter 24: 3,000 Beauties in the Imperial Harem? Editor: Henyee Translations ¡°` After teasing a foreign beauty, Zhang Yuan felt¡­ Not bad! As for the ¡°Love Animal Association,¡± it was pure nonsense, just a convenient excuse to slip away. While munching on grilled octopus skewers, he secretly lamented, ¡°Ah, soon I won¡¯t be able to eat this anymore, what a pity¡­¡± Replacing natural meat with synthetic meat grown from cells in Petri dishes had long been achieved technically. Furthermore, after extensive research, synthetic meat turned out to be cheaper, more environmentally friendly, and healthier than natural meat, winning the hearts of many Third World citizens. ... However, synthetic meat always tasted soft, somewhat like a meat patty, lacking the elasticity of muscle and the chewiness of soft bones, not quite appealing to the taste. As Zhang Yuan ate, he pondered the conversation he had with Professor Wang Zhong. They talked for a long time, discussing not only academic issues but also some details about the ¡°Earth Era,¡± including the work system, economic system, and so on. For someone like him, an undergraduate with decent grades but no special achievements, the roles available were mostly Second Level or third-level jobs, with a basic salary of one thousand and eleven yuan per month. If he published a few good papers and proved his academic value, he could get better jobs and his salary would rise to one thousand three hundred¡­ That¡¯s how harsh the competition was. ¡°If I followed a good mentor and produced excellent experimental results, I could also get a raise.¡± ¡°If I could complete some high-quality patents, bringing some revenue to the Deep Space Foundation on Earth, the salary could continue to increase¡­¡± ¡°Is this the new economic system they¡¯ve devised? Hmm, it feels strange, but it sounds quite effective.¡± Ideals could motivate for a while but not for a lifetime. The ¡°Earth Era¡± was an independent little society and naturally required a complete economic system to stimulate the working enthusiasm of its internal staff. Here, ¡°money¡± wasn¡¯t the Earth-used federal coins but the currency within the spaceship, known as ¡°New Coin.¡± As long as his work did not go drastically wrong, he received a fixed amount each awake month according to work level, essentially serving as a government-issued bond. New Coin could be used to purchase food, clothes, and various entertainment services inside the spaceship, as well as for trading among each other. Of course, because resource production was quite limited, salaries could not be very high, topping at three or four thousand, so the wealth gap would not be very large¡­ Besides this economic policy, there was another one, which was the conversion policy between federal coins and New Coin. The Deep Space Foundation, which provided subsequent ¡°light path¡± support, might be short of money. To quickly raise these funds, the Foundation called on astronauts to make donations, which could be personal assets or intellectual property. Asset donation was not a mandatory measure; it was up to personal ability. Assets on Earth could be converted to some extent into ¡°New Coin¡± for use inside the spaceship. This conversion plan was still under study and would be announced to everyone when ready. ¡°Hey¡­ although this approach was somewhat odd, everyone should understand, right? Helping the Foundation was helping ourselves.¡± The fifty thousand people boarding the spaceship carried a bit of idealism. Going to an unknown Planet to establish a Human colony required enduring hardships and being prepared to possibly pay with their lives. All difficulties were discussed in advance, and everyone was mentally prepared. Was it likely to expect a better enjoyment than on Earth? If you wanted to enjoy yourself, you might as well stay on Earth. Anyway, Zhang Yuan had already donated all of his family¡¯s assets and felt quite at ease. However, there was one thing he cared about, which was the work level inside the spaceship. The higher the work level, the more privileges one had within the spaceship, and the more important the position and salary. People always needed to set some goals for themselves, and Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t want to become a marginal figure that the spaceship could do without. However, work level could not be obtained through donations; it could only be achieved by one¡¯s own abilities after obtaining accomplishments, calculated fairly and justly through a complete ¡°impact factor algorithm.¡± The highest-level positions were ¡°Captain,¡± with only a few candidates who were irreplaceable. Zhang Yuan knew deeply how difficult it was for the spaceship to travel twenty light years to a Planet. Even though Earth Civilization had prepared as much as possible, the entire journey was still extremely arduous. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The Captain not only needed to make overall plans but also manage material allocation, nurture the next generation of successors, and bear tremendous psychological pressure. Those comments saying even a pig could be a Captain were essentially pig-thinking. Besides the Captain, the middle-level cadres inside the spaceship included leaders of various departments, university experts and professors, project reviewers, and community organization committee members, among others. The lowest-level workers were, of course, like those spaceship maintenance workers and production line workers. These workers were carried in saturation numbers, and to put it harshly, it was not that they were not important, but that they were so numerous that even if half of them were lost, it would not significantly impact the spaceship¡¯s operation¡­ Thinking of this, Zhang Yuan basically made a plan for the future. His undergraduate grades were decent, but among the excellent group, they were just average, so it was best to write a few good papers to improve some social status. ¡°In the new society, knowledge reigns supreme, and the social atmosphere is very good.¡± ¡°With good papers, it would be easier to find a mentor, and it would also prove one¡¯s ability to gain higher social status.¡± But what to write about¡­? What papers could be written? After racking his brains and exhausting all thoughts, he temporarily had no particularly good ideas. Writing a superficial paper wouldn¡¯t bring much benefit and would even earn a scolding from Professor Wang Zhong, which he didn¡¯t want. With such thoughts, after spending more than ten minutes, Zhang Yuan finally reached his temporary dormitory floor, panting heavily. The dorm light was on, and there was a roommate inside, also an early-arrived astronaut like him. ¡°Knock, knock, knock,¡± he rapped on the door. ¡°Come in!¡± As soon as he walked through the door, Zhang Yuan got quite a surprise. The floor was littered with a jumble of mechanical creations, red, white, yellow, with various bizarre-shaped robots. Some were still crashing around, like a four-wheel-drive car, ¡°bang,¡± hitting the wall. ¡°Be careful, don¡¯t step on them.¡± In the corner squatted a plain-looking young man, with a bit of greasy stuff smeared on his face. Zhang Yuan quickly dodged. The four-wheel-drive car bumped into the table leg again, dropping a few parts. He cautiously maneuvered around the robots, placed his seafood noodles on the table, and curiously asked, ¡°Dude, are you making robots?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m choosing¡­¡± ¡°These are my favorite creations. Deciding which ones to take to space, it¡¯s a headache!¡± The young man said with a frown. Yet, he was a bit smug, his eyes constantly observing Zhang Yuan¡¯s expression. Zhang Yuan chuckled and nodded understandingly, ¡°A harem of three thousand beauties and you can only bring one on the journey, it¡¯s painful, huh?¡± Everyone¡¯s carrying allowance was twenty kilograms, no more than that. These machines were metal, and just two of them together exceeded twenty kilograms. ¡°Exactly! I¡¯ve been fretting over it for hours!¡± the young man across lamented. Regarding this behavior, Zhang Yuan had no intention of commenting. Everyone had their own hobbies, and it wasn¡¯t really a big deal. Someone who could make robots by themselves was certainly a rather impressive individual. ¡°` Chapter 25 - 25 Chapter 25: Chapter 25 Editor: Henyee Translations Zhang Yuan opened his seafood noodles, planning to fill his stomach first. Unexpectedly, the man across from him, upon smelling the food, gulped involuntarily. ¡°Would you like some? I can share half with you.¡± ¡°Ah, thank you! I¡¯ve been busy deciding what treasures to take on the journey, and I forgot to eat.¡± With this shared meal, the two quickly became acquainted. This guy¡¯s name was Ye Kaifu, and he had the same level of education¡ªonly a bachelor¡¯s degree. ... But most importantly, he was a ¡°Level 8 Mechanic,¡± skilled in various craftsmanship techniques. Zhang Yuan¡¯s curiosity was piqued: ¡°Is it that profession where¡­ you file an iron ball with a file?¡± Level 8 Mechanic, what kind of salary do they have? Needless to say, it was certainly higher than his! ¡°It¡¯s not about filing a ball, but using basic tools like files, cutters, and polishers to grind a cube of iron into a sphere. The maximum error is only a hair¡¯s width. This qualifies as Level 8.¡± ¡°A hair¡¯s breadth of precision? That¡¯s quite difficult, relying solely on manual perception for measurement.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re skilled enough, it¡¯s okay, but for higher precision, advanced tools are necessary.¡± ¡°Amazing!¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing, there are more skilled people out there¡­ Like Level 9 Machinists or Level 10 Mechanics.¡± Zhang Yuan sighed inwardly; everyone on the Earth Era had a skill, and he might have been the most mediocre one¡­ Of course, that was his past self. Such high-level machinists were cultivated to quickly reboot civilization. The spaceship¡¯s load was limited, so not every industrial machine could be carried. Some parts had to be crafted manually. Never underestimate the power of humans. Within a few bites, he swallowed the noodles down and turned his attention to studying those metal creations. He was also a mechanical enthusiast and had participated in a robotics competition during university. In programming, he was competent. But due to poor hands-on skills, he didn¡¯t make much of an impact. Ye Kaifu was beaming with excitement, his eyes glimmering. Talking about his creations seemed to strike a chord: ¡°This was my work in the ESL Robotics Competition, this one in the National Competition, and this one¡­ this one¡­ #¡­%;¡± ¡°Did you make them yourself with a file?¡± ¡°How could that be? The sensors and other parts were purchased, but most components were indeed handmade.¡± ¡°What about the robot program?¡± ¡°Uh, most of it was done by me¡­¡± Ye Kaifu said, his expression becoming slightly unnatural. Because¡­ During university, he accidentally became a sycophant. In competitions, he always brought his ¡°girlfriend¡± and his ¡°girlfriend¡¯s male best friend,¡± functioning as one god carrying two mortals. But no matter how amazing a person was, there was a limit to what one could achieve. So, he never won first prize. The sycophant ultimately had nothing. In a fit of anger, he left this heartbreaking world. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Zhang Yuan laughed: ¡°Don¡¯t feel regret. First prize is so hard¡­ I¡¯ve participated too and didn¡¯t win anything!¡± As they chatted, Zhang Yuan casually picked up something resembling a mechanical hand and examined it with curiosity. Its appearance was impressive, with a metal power aesthetic, perfect as a movie prop. He hefted it in his hands; wow, almost twenty kilograms! Designing this mechanical arm would require a tremendous amount of time, and making it actually move would be incredibly challenging. This guy was a true genius! Ye Kaifu looked a bit proud: ¡°¡­This is a Power Armor I made over four months, and it won a second prize in the Milky Way Awards. It was even borrowed for the movie Terminator 100!¡± ¡°Power Armor?¡± ¡°Well, I only made one arm. You make a move, and it mimics you. Want to try it?¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Zhang Yuan, intrigued, put on a very tight leather glove that extended to his wrist. The leather glove was connected by a wire to the iron arm. When he turned on the switch, the sound of mechanical movement roared, much like an engine starting. Ye Kaifu made some adjustments: ¡°All set, you can move now.¡± Zhang Yuan attempted to curl his five fingers into a fist. A mechanical sound followed, and the iron arm skillfully curled its five fingers into a fist. He opened his fingers, and the iron arm did the same. He asked curiously, ¡°Is this leather glove a pressure sensor, the famous MIA pressure sensor system?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Facing someone knowledgeable, Ye Kaifu was even more enthusiastic, rattling off various parameters. ¡°Try squeezing it.¡± He picked up a can and placed it in front of the mechanical arm. Zhang Yuan carefully moved his arm, and the iron arm mirrored his movements, cautiously gripping the can with its five fingers. Crash¡ª The can let out a spine-chilling roar as it was crushed into a metal disc. ¡°The maximum grip strength can reach 320 kilograms, while an ordinary person¡¯s grip strength is only about fifty to sixty kilograms.¡± Wiping the sweat from his face, Ye Kaifu asked, ¡°How does it feel?¡± ¡°No need to mention the good points, just the flaws, or I won¡¯t be able to make the decision to scrap it. I can¡¯t possibly take it to the sky.¡± ¡°Really, talk about the flaws?¡± Zhang Yuan scratched his head: ¡°I don¡¯t really know how to put it¡­¡± ¡°Go on, go on, don¡¯t be shy!¡± ¡°Uh, operating it feels a bit like a digger¡­¡± ¡°First, there¡¯s no feedback to the human body. Without looking, I can¡¯t tell if the iron hand is holding something or how much force I¡¯m using. Compared to a human body, it lacks tactile sensation; it¡¯s inconvenient.¡± Ye Kaifu nodded, ¡°Indeed, without human-machine interaction, you can only estimate how to grip things visually.¡± Zhang Yuan continued, ¡°Second, I can¡¯t seem to control the grip strength. I crushed the can instantly¡­ I just wanted to pick it up gently.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± ¡°Third, it seems there¡¯s a slight delay, and the movements aren¡¯t very smooth. The distance the mechanical hand moves feels different from the distance I move¡­ How to put it, it¡¯s not very precise.¡± Although Ye Kaifu was somewhat unhappy, he had to admit that Zhang Yuan had a point. Moreover, it was he who asked for criticism, so he couldn¡¯t blame others. He hung his head, ¡°Sigh, you¡¯re right, which is why it only got second place. Best to abandon it.¡± ¡°Goodbye, dear. See you in the next life¡­¡± He lifted the mechanical arm and placed it in a box. Zhang Yuan felt a little embarrassed, wondering if he had been too blunt, making the thing seem worthless. He hurriedly said, ¡°Your model is pretty good actually. When it¡¯s moving, the gears have backlash, and different angles have different friction. The design complexity is high, and making it this well is already quite an achievement.¡± ¡°The model¡¯s fine, but what use is there? It doesn¡¯t have much technical content; it just takes time.¡± Ye Kaifu shook his head, sighed, and became lost in the sorrow of losing his harem¡­ Seeing this, Zhang Yuan decided not to say more and put the matter out of his mind. With nothing else to do, he decided to study. Studying always brought a sense of happiness. ¡°What should I learn¡­¡± The knowledge he once studied flashed through his mind. Suddenly, a spark of inspiration struck him, and he recalled that there seemed to be a good idea in his father¡¯s tablet. ¡°The Study of Full Body Action Mapping Robots¡± Chapter 26 - 26 Whats wrong with it? Chapter 26: Chapter 26 What¡¯s wrong with it? Editor: Henyee Translations ¡°` Zhang Yuan opened the tablet and began to study it seriously. Having studied mathematics for so long, perhaps he could tackle his father¡¯s article, add his own thoughts, and organize it into a paper. The full-body movement-mirroring robot aimed to achieve the function that when a human made a move, the robot would perform an almost identical action, similar to the mechanical arm Ye Kaifu had just demonstrated. Don¡¯t underestimate this function. It was the basis and premise of the ¡°Power Exoskeleton¡±! The Power Exoskeleton, also known as Power Armor, was currently a major research hotspot. ... It wasn¡¯t just a weapon of war but could also be used for civilian purposes, such as replacing a space suit. Due to the rapid development of nanomaterials, space suits were evolving towards simplicity and lightness. But one thing remained unavoidable, no matter what, space suits still had to carry a large oxygen tank and numerous life-support systems and communication systems. The universe was dangerous. Whether it was a leak or a temperature loss, any small mistake could be fatal. These life-support systems had to be carried; missing any one of them was not an option. Therefore, scientists proposed using the more cumbersome Power Armor to replace space suits. After all, with Power Armor, carrying more things wasn¡¯t a worry, and it was safer and more reliable. Even if thick armor got hit by fast-moving space debris, it wasn¡¯t a big deal. Apart from replacing space suits, Power Armor could connect with humans through VR devices to perform dangerous and challenging tasks remotely, eliminating risks to human lives. It was easy to talk about, but challenging to execute. Research on the Power Exoskeleton had been ongoing for a decade and was still in the experimental stage. The main reason was still¡­ immature technology. For example, taking a balloon in hand and shaking it rapidly in all directions was simple for humans. But for robots, it was no less than a herculean task! Why? Robots lacked self-awareness; they had no idea how much force they used or how to shake it. These needed to be solved with mathematics. Even the most sensitive sensors couldn¡¯t function as comprehensively as human skin. Gripping the balloon first required adjusting the cooperative pressure of the robotic hand¡ªnot too much, not too little¡ªor it would burst. And shaking it rapidly was even more difficult. Reportedly, a small company invented a patent for rapid pressure measurement ten years ago¡ªthe ¡°MIA Pressure Sensing System.¡± It¡¯s the glove Ye Kaifu used, earning billions in patent fees per year. Of course, apart from cooperative pressure, there were many other challenges, such as joint drive force, body balance capability, control algorithms, etc. Such a complex project, with both hardware and software, running millions of lines of code, wasn¡¯t something Zhang Yuan could handle alone. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Therefore, he only wanted to solve one relatively key issue, then write a paper or patent. It would be even better if it could generate income for the Foundation. ¡°Let¡¯s write a paper!¡± He got down to work, and a line of small text appeared on the screen. ¡°A High-Degree-of-Freedom Robot Kinematics Analysis Theory Based on Geometric Group Theory and Topology¡±¡­ The more research he did, the more profound and complex the ideas seemed. His father¡¯s idea primarily focused on the complex kinematics of a ¡°27-degree-of-freedom¡± robotic hand, which involved group theory, topology, and some knowledge of hypercomplex numbers, making it quite challenging to comprehend. Even understanding the inspiration didn¡¯t mean he could smoothly write the whole paper. His father only provided a general direction; Zhang Yuan had to fill in the large blanks himself. Writing a paper was a painful task, like squeezing water from a sponge, with many details to address. Fully presenting inspiration wasn¡¯t easy. Zhang Yuan¡¯s brain operated quickly, entering a highly focused state. He tried to sort out the overall thought process but was quickly hindered by numerous detailed problems. Sometimes, seemingly ¡°obvious¡± problems became obstacles when writing papers, becoming distinctly ¡°non-obvious.¡± Zhang Yuan sighed deeply. ¡°With so many degrees of freedom in kinematics, coupled with strange algorithms, with my current ability, I could only understand, yet there really was no way to independently propose something. I wonder how my father thought it up¡­¡± ¡°Oh, Ye Kaifu, could you let me see your control program?¡± ¡°What program?¡± Ye Kaifu turned his head. ¡°The program for that mechanical hand.¡± ¡°Oh, sure, no problem. This kind of programming, I¡¯m actually not an expert, just self-taught¡­¡± Ye Kaifu said very cautiously. Saying he wasn¡¯t an expert was really a modest statement. Being able to write the related program already made him far more impressive than regular undergraduates! Ye Kaifu looked at Zhang Yuan with a bit of a competitive spirit, wanting to know what level this new roommate was at. Young people always had a sense of competition, especially these astronauts from all corners of the world, who were likely relatively outstanding. Soon, the related program was sent to Zhang Yuan¡¯s computer. Zhang Yuan pinched his nose as he looked at the program. How to put it? Ye Kaifu indeed was an amateur, with poor programming habits¡­ Not mentioning the lack of comments in the code, the variable and function names were actually ¡°a,¡± ¡°b,¡± ¡°c,¡± ¡°d,¡± making it all foggy. The downside to doing this was that, after a while, even the programmer himself couldn¡¯t determine what his code was supposed to do. However, the algorithm content inside was much simpler than the idea his father proposed. He quickly analyzed the general idea. The entire glove was a very sensitive pressure sensor; the movement of human fingers caused pressure changes in the glove. Then, by processing this data with a certain algorithm, the specific direction of finger movements could be determined. ¡°And then transmitting the movement direction to the mechanical hand would make it follow suit.¡± This idea was quite intuitive and didn¡¯t have particularly good mathematical modeling, mainly relying on the intrinsic functions of the ¡°MIA Pressure Sensor.¡± By the standards of real scientific evaluation, it would be just ¡°ordinary.¡± Of course, Ye Kaifu was just an undergraduate, so one couldn¡¯t expect too much; no one expected an undergraduate to perform groundbreaking work. Zhang Yuan carefully thought it over, analyzing many areas for improvement. ¡°Hey, anything wrong?¡± Ye Kaifu asked with concern, seeing the rich expression on Zhang Yuan¡¯s face, as he alternated between deep thought and frowning. Yet he wondered to himself, in such a short time, could you really understand the entire algorithm? It shouldn¡¯t be, after all, it took him ages to come up with it¡­ Anyway, my ex-girlfriend, and her male best friend, certainly couldn¡¯t understand it. ¡°Ah, nothing, just some parts¡­¡± Zhang Yuan turned back and, seeing none of Ye Kaifu¡¯s displeasure, continued, ¡± ¡­a bit of a different opinion, don¡¯t mind, okay?¡± ¡°` Chapter 27 - 27 Big... Boss? Chapter 27: Chapter 27 Big¡­ Boss? Editor: Henyee Translations ¡°` S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Zhang Yuan observed the other person¡¯s expression. If the other was someone who thought ¡°I¡¯m so awesome, invincible in the world,¡± then just agreeing a few times would suffice. After all, there was no deep connection, and there was no need to argue to the death with them. But if the other person genuinely wanted to ask for advice, a few exchanges would be nice. ¡°No need to mind, just say it directly!¡± Ye Kaifu hurriedly said. Zhang Yuan continued, ¡°¡­This whole function should be handling the pressure changes in the glove, right? It¡¯s the SDK interface for that leather glove.¡± ... ¡°Yes!¡± Ye Kaifu¡¯s heart skipped a beat; he didn¡¯t expect this kid to really understand it. ¡°Since the data generated by the entire glove is immense, this algorithm selectively discards most of it; about 70% of the data is discarded.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Ye Kaifu nodded again. Zhang Yuan went on, ¡°I think these redundant data shouldn¡¯t all be discarded. A hand, along with the arm, has 22 joints. Only taking data from these 22 points might not cause significant errors, but lacking details from other parts feels crude¡­¡± ¡°I have a few ideas for handling these seemingly useless data.¡± ¡°The first is to calculate the variance after dividing the data into blocks. The variance of redundant data won¡¯t be significant¡­ Calculating this way can determine redundancy; better than discarding randomly¡­¡± ¡°The second method is utility function; we can calculate the value of block data after dividing it using a utility function¡­ Assuming max[i][j] represents the optimal solution from data i to j, with max[i][j] = max(max[i][k] + max[k + 1][j] + w(i, j))¡­¡± At first, Ye Kaifu listened with animated enthusiasm, agreeing repeatedly. Later on, he remained silent, becoming completely dazed. Because, in the end, he had no idea what Zhang Yuan was talking about¡­ This brother, with your max[i][j] or whatever, what are you even doing? But a strong aura emanating from him made it hard for Ye Kaifu to speak. Once he opened his mouth, he felt like he¡¯d become illiterate. ¡°¡­Lastly, I want to say, though an arm only has 22 joints, it has at least 27 degrees of freedom because the arm, wrist, and fingers can rotate. Missing these 5 degrees of freedom makes operations like using an excavator. You hadn¡¯t considered this well¡­¡± Ye Kaifu understood this sentence; he also knew this fact and thought about it for a long time but eventually abandoned it due to difficulty. Once an arm can rotate, the modeling and design complexity exponentially increases, and he simply couldn¡¯t handle it. ¡°So, what do you think should be done?¡± Zhang Yuan said, ¡°Rotational calculations can usually be handled with quaternions. A good book on this is ¡®Quaternion Physics,¡¯ understandable with some basic complex analysis.¡± Saying this, he felt his thoughts clearing up. Being a teacher indeed had its benefits. ¡°Quaternion, huh¡­¡± Ye Kaifu knew of the term, already somewhat convinced. His mind wandered, ¡°¡­If my former teammates were him, we might have won first prize?¡± ¡°In large part, my undergraduate university wasn¡¯t great; geniuses comparable to me were too few, so I grew lazy. But now it¡¯s different¡­¡± Soon, he began encouraging himself, ¡°Work hard, fight! Only with diligent study can I, Ye Kaifu, surely surpass him!¡± Eagerly, he said, ¡°Zhang Yuan, let me treat you to a night snack. I didn¡¯t quite understand just now. Could you explain it again?¡± ¡°Still eating now? It¡¯s almost 11 p.m.; it¡¯ll make you fat.¡± Since he only ate half a bowl of mixed noodles, Zhang Yuan indeed felt unsatisfied, tempted slightly. ¡°Of course, night life is just beginning!¡± ¡°Well¡­ okay then.¡± Too low blood sugar could make the brain dumb. Zhang Yuan comforted himself like this. Action is better than thought, and the two sneaked out of the dorm again. I must say, the university seems like the most energetic period in human life; students generally don¡¯t sleep before 12. The East Gate remained bustling. Along the way, Ye Kaifu kept talking about various mechanical models and chip parameters, describing the latest space weapons with an exaggerated and fervent tone. ¡°¡­I really like the Enterprise developed by Eagle Country, and Country Mi¡¯s Giant Rock Turtle is also good. Eh, our Flying Dragon is nice, an authentic Sky Carrier with the latest electromagnetic gun.¡± ¡°Indeed, these space weapons¡­ are quite astonishing results.¡± Barely understanding what he was saying, Zhang Yuan licked his dry lips, ¡°But aren¡¯t the research speeds of these weapons currently slow? The global trend is cooperation, not previous confrontations, so research on such weapons has slowed.¡± Ye Kaifu spat passionately, as if he hadn¡¯t chatted like this for ages, ¡°There are aliens, and isn¡¯t the Dyson Sphere the driving force behind it! Although it¡¯s over a thousand light years away.¡± ¡°Over a thousand light years isn¡¯t much of a drive. If it were at Centauri Alpha Star, that would be a drive!¡± ¡°If the great era of space opens, maybe everyone can buy a private spaceship then?¡± ¡°¡­That day will surely come. I¡¯ve already thought about it; my spaceship will be called Queen Elizabeth! I can pilot my ship for space tourism!¡± As Ye Kaifu fell into fervor, chattering endlessly on his own, Zhang Yuan abruptly interjected, ¡°Brother, if you keep this up, you won¡¯t get a girlfriend!¡± ¡°Why?!¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± Cold sweat dripped from Ye Kaifu¡¯s forehead as he shut his mouth. Zhang Yuan sneaked a glance around, relieved that the blonde reporter he¡¯d bullied wasn¡¯t there, before nonchalantly sitting on a chair. ¡°Because in front of me, you keep talking about this Elizabeth stuff. From that term, I deduced, you don¡¯t have a girlfriend¡­¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that name cute?¡± Zhang Yuan found it somewhat amusing, ¡°Yes, very cute! But girls probably wouldn¡¯t like it.¡± ¡°Together!¡± ¡°Together!¡± ¡°Together!¡± Suddenly, the neighboring table erupted in uproar. The group had drunk a lot, and a couple even kissed amidst the commotion. It wasn¡¯t a big deal; in this era, such behavior was normal. Facing this public display of affection, Zhang Yuan glanced twice and couldn¡¯t be bothered. Ye Kaifu sighed a bit enviously, ¡°Now those still in campus are mostly top students, right? Youth is nice; I truly miss my university days.¡± Zhang Yuan said, ¡°Probably mostly top students, but not all. Many slackers are hoping to win a prize to leverage.¡± ¡°Anyway, with a national award, be it applying for scholarships or job searching, they¡¯re in a stronger position.¡± Prompted by this, Ye Kaifu recalled his ¡®simp¡¯ experience, being used by that so-called ¡®ex-girlfriend.¡¯ Well, ¡®ex-girlfriend¡¯ meant not even holding hands; a mere title got him hooked willingly. How stupid! He said bitterly, ¡°The toughest part in college isn¡¯t seeing couples in love, top students flaunting grades, or the wealthy flaunting cash; it¡¯s seeing couples flaunt cash, top students flaunt love, and the wealthy flaunt grades¡­¡± I really want to have a cute girl who truly likes me! ¡°` Chapter 28 - 28: Living is for Learning! Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Living is for Learning! Editor: Henyee Translations ¡°` Ye Kaifu thought of this and let out a long sigh. Forget it, forget it, better to look on the spaceship. The gender ratio on the spaceship was strictly controlled at 1:1, and everyone had been genetically tested with no dominant hereditary diseases, so the girls were certainly not bad-looking! Two hundred and fifty thousand young and beautiful girls¡­ two hundred and fifty thousand, there must be one suitable for me! Zhang Yuan took a bite of his fried noodles, bringing Ye Kaifu back to cold reality, ¡°Falling in love is nothing to envy, reproduction isn¡¯t a compulsory course in life. Look at them drinking constantly, what¡¯s the point?¡± Ye Kaifu retorted defiantly, ¡°Isn¡¯t living all about mating and reproducing?¡± ... Zhang Yuan said with a hint of disdain, ¡°Of course not!¡± ¡°Living is for¡­ learning!¡± ¡°Pfft?!¡± Ye Kaifu almost spat out a mouthful of noodles. Zhang Yuan said seriously, ¡°Let me tell you a story, there was a person named Wolf who planned to commit suicide at midnight because of a breakup.¡± ¡°And then?¡± ¡°Because he was efficient, he finished writing his will by 10 o¡¯clock, so at 12 he decided to read a mathematics book¡­¡± ¡°He saw Fermat¡¯s Last Theorem and started trying to prove it.¡± ¡°And then, dawn came, and he hadn¡¯t proved it in the entire night.¡± ¡°???¡± Ye Kaifu was a bit puzzled. Zhang Yuan continued, ¡°After a night of mathematical research, Wolf¡¯s mind finally became clear, and he decided not to commit suicide. Later, he became a successful entrepreneur.¡± ¡°¡­When he died of old age, people discovered his revised will, leaving one hundred thousand yuan as a reward for the first person to prove Fermat¡¯s Last Theorem.¡± ¡°In the late 20th century, the mathematician Wiles finally received this prize.¡± S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°???¡± Ye Kaifu blinked. ¡°What I¡¯m trying to say is that love makes people foolish, and mathematics makes people happy. There¡¯s nothing worth talking about in love, you might as well go study hard instead of booking hotel rooms¡­ Knowledge will never let you down or abandon you.¡± ¡°So, living is for learning!¡± With that, Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but take out his phone and start swiping the ¡°Super Brain¡± app, thoroughly enjoying the happiness it brought. Ye Kaifu¡¯s brain almost crashed. He wanted to forcefully argue, but the ancient aura from someone stronger made him nod. Recalling his time as a sycophant, it seemed like he¡¯d really become dumber, unable to distinguish right from wrong. A single word from the goddess could excite him for a week¡ªit¡¯s simply foolish. He said somewhat speechlessly, ¡°What you say makes sense¡­¡± Zhang Yuan continued to swipe math problems while silently praising his newly invented concept. A daily good deed is better than building a Level 7 pagoda. Young man, the sea of bitterness is boundless, turn back and find the shore. ¡­ After enlightening Ye Kaifu, Zhang Yuan returned to his dorm room, absorbed in researching his algorithms, unable to extricate himself. What he had just been telling Ye Kaifu about variance and dynamic programming was basic knowledge in operations research. These things were still too elementary, things he could easily think of that experts had already considered. Moreover, the mathematical model Ye Kaifu designed was not good, the foundation wasn¡¯t solid, and no matter how much optimization, it could only be optimized to that extent. Hoping to write an extraordinary paper this way was almost impossible. As for his dad¡¯s idea, it was much more brilliant. It involved using a nonlinear geometric theory to solve nonlinearity and nonholonomic problems in robotics kinematics. Especially when two matching parts have symmetry, it could be easily expressed and reasoned through geometric Group Theory. The entire process¡­ how to put it, because the core algorithm had already been developed by his dad, it only needed to be understood. But expressing it was particularly cumbersome, as the human arm alone has 27 degrees of freedom, making the expression method unbelievably complicated. ¡°Maybe seeing something so cumbersome, Dad simply was lazy to do it?¡± Zhang Yuan thought to himself, ¡°It¡¯s very possible, after all, he has to design the various systems of the spaceship, which is even more complex and difficult¡­¡± ¡°Or perhaps, it was a special little gift prepared for me.¡± ¡°The gap between people is really big¡­¡± Thus, Zhang Yuan immersed himself in research and exploration, as time passed day by day. One day, two days, three days¡­ A week passed. After being infused with the notion that ¡°living is for learning,¡± Ye Kaifu also embarked on a liver-busting lifestyle. On one hand, he had a mindset of envy, jealousy, and competition. Zhang Yuan¡¯s theoretical knowledge was evidently stronger than his by an unknown margin. On the other hand, there was indeed a sense of wanting to ¡°catch up¡± with the other through ¡°hard work.¡± When Zhang Yuan went to the library, he went to the library; when Zhang Yuan slept, he slept, unwilling to miss a single moment. It¡¯s undeniable that the academic atmosphere, although elusive yet truly existing, could easily spread on a dormitory basis. If an entire dormitory was filled with top students, it was likely the result of mutual cross-contamination. But after a week, Ye Kaifu felt like he was about to explode! He was really about to not be able to hold on. It was driving him crazy, as day in and day out, at least 12 hours were spent studying. Apart from eating, drinking, and relieving himself, it was all about studying, studying, studying! Even in his dreams, he could see those damned theorems¡ªit was really driving him crazy. ¡°Why am I working so hard? I¡¯m on vacation!¡± He had frequently asked himself like this, ¡°I¡¯m soon going to have no fun left, so let¡¯s take a day off.¡± ¡°Hey, you, can you take a break¡­ Ahhhhh!¡± He shouted in his heart. He once thought of himself as a model of hard work and studiousness, but compared to real maniacs who take doing math problems as ¡°leisure,¡± he was like a small witch seeing a big witch. The most crucial thing was, his roommate actually enjoyed it, unable to extricate himself, occasionally laughing joyfully¡­ What is this? As he thought, Ye Kaifu began to breathe heavily, trying to suppress his pounding chest muscles. ¡°Persevere, keep going, fighting!¡± ¡°Only those who can stay calm are truly strong!¡± He cheered himself on, stifling his desire to go out and have fun with the girls. But in the blink of an eye, Zhang Yuan¡¯s self-talk completely shattered Ye Kaifu¡¯s mental defense, ¡°¡­Hmm, let¡¯s finish reading these papers too, since they can be read for free with the campus network¡­¡± ¡°In total it¡¯s 200 pages, not much.¡± Two hundred pages! ¡°Fuck!¡± in his heart. A little person in Ye Kaifu¡¯s head was frantically pulling him to indulge. ¡°No, big brother, I really can¡¯t hold on. Once he finishes reading two hundred pages, another day will have passed. I want to play games, want to flirt, eating a big meal is fine too¡­ Every cell in my body yearns for entertainment.¡± ¡°I need to rest!¡± Another little person shouted in his mind, ¡°No, absolutely not! If someone is smarter, stronger, and even more diligent than you, then you have to accompany him to the end!¡± ¡°Ye Kaifu, you absolutely must not degenerate!¡± ¡°No, I want to degenerate!¡± ¡°¡­Absolutely must not degenerate!¡± ¡°Ahhhhh, Zhang Yuan, degenerate quickly, please, no, I beg you!¡± ¡°` Chapter 29 - 29: No Need to Give Fools Face Chapter 29: Chapter 29: No Need to Give Fools Face Editor: Henyee Translations ¡°` It seemed like Zhang Yuan heard Ye Kaifu¡¯s thoughts and suddenly lifted his head, glancing around. ¡°Why do I feel like someone is calling me? Were you calling me?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m just reading,¡± Ye Kaifu quickly replied. Zhang Yuan lowered his head again, looked for a while, and then spoke suspiciously, ¡°¡­Forget it. These papers don¡¯t seem worth reading. I¡¯ve decided to go attend this public lecture to change my perspective. Are you coming?¡± It was currently the time when various Olympic Training Camps were opening, and all kinds of public lectures at the university could be audited for free. ... According to Zhang Yuan¡¯s plan, he would find something simple to pass the time. Yes, just like that. After reading papers for a long time, he also got tired, so a short break made his efforts more effective. Hearing this, Ye Kaifu couldn¡¯t help but feel a surge of joy in his heart, as if a sweet spring had erupted in a dry desert. ¡°Haha, he¡¯s finally going out¡­ he¡¯s slipping, he¡¯s just pretending after all!¡± ¡°What are you laughing about, so happy?¡± Ye Kaifu drifted off into his own world and didn¡¯t answer. ¡°Hey! Are you coming or not?¡± Ye Kaifu quickly snapped back to reality, pretending to be serious, ¡°No, just got dust in my eyes. Did you finish that¡­ thesis of yours?¡± Zhang Yuan sighed, ¡°Not even close, just finished reading the literature and organized my thoughts. Going out to hear a lecture is good; when I get back, I¡¯ll start writing in one go, which will probably take many days.¡± Damn it, really going to the lecture? Well, attending a lecture is better than staying in the dorm. Ye Kaifu said, ¡°Alright, I also want to check it out¡­ I haven¡¯t attended a class at Xisha University yet, don¡¯t know how good the professors are here, but I do know there are quite a few pretty girls.¡± ¡°A lot of pretty girls?¡± ¡°Of course, since you make me bring you meals every day, you naturally wouldn¡¯t see them!¡± Stepping out of the dormitory door brought a peculiar sense of returning to the living world. Zhang Yuan took a few deep breaths. The air was fresh, carrying a hint of salty sea breeze, and the distant cries of seagulls could be heard. These clever birds knew that where there were people, there was food. Looking again, he realized he only had 12 days of vacation left, a subtle sense of urgency arose in his heart. Time flew by so fast! Writing a thesis was not only a mental task but also a physical one; trying to write down ideas exactly as they appeared in his mind was exhausting. The first task was to organize one¡¯s thoughts and understand what needed to be done. This part was actually quite challenging, but fortunately, his father¡¯s guidance had already reduced much of the difficulty. Secondly, he needed to read a lot of literature to see if there were articles on the same topic. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Like the topic Zhang Yuan was working on now¡ª¡±robotics kinematics¡±¡ªthere were simply too many articles. Things like ¡°forward kinematics,¡± ¡°inverse kinematics,¡± and ¡°vector methods,¡± ¡°quaternion methods,¡± etc. However, the passion for writing a thesis often inversely correlated with the number of articles read. Why was that? Sometimes, while reading, he would find that his ideas had already been done by others, losing their value. At other times, he found that compared to others¡¯ ideas, his own seemed like garbage¡­ So, wanting to produce a valuable thesis was really difficult. It required coming up with something others hadn¡¯t thought of that was also practically valuable, which was extremely hard¡­ Luckily, after a week of reading, Zhang Yuan had basically confirmed that his father¡¯s idea hadn¡¯t been written about by others. And its actual application value was likely more advanced than the mainstream algorithms! As for how innovative this thesis was and in which journal it could be published, he wasn¡¯t quite sure, as he had never mixed in this circle. Zhang Yuan only set one goal for himself, to completely finish it before getting on the spaceship! Turning around the corner, they entered the cafeteria, quickly ate two buns, and hurried to the classroom. Class time was about to start, and the classroom was full of people. However, there was a strange phenomenon: the first three rows were empty. Noticing no vacant seats, Zhang Yuan reluctantly sat in the farthest seat on the left in the front row. Ye Kaifu had no choice but to sit next to Zhang Yuan, biting the bullet. Based on past classroom experiences, courses where the first three rows were empty were either very trivial, so trivial that even the top students didn¡¯t bother attending, such as ¡°Literature and Life,¡± ¡°Law, Religion, and Human Order,¡± ¡°World Famous History¡±¡­ Or they were incredibly difficult, to the point that even the Academic Gods couldn¡¯t understand them, so attending was as good as not attending, hence opting not to attend. Or it could be that¡­the teacher was a bit of a freak! Often making things difficult for students. Sitting in the front row posed the risk of answering questions, so everyone simply voted with their feet and sat at the back en masse. Ye Kaifu frowned and said, ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be like this; teachers care about face too¡­ Doing this would make the instructors very unhappy.¡± Xisha University was considered a fairly good university, and this situation was indeed unusual. Zhang Yuan said expressionlessly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it; teachers are already used to teaching a bunch of fools. They don¡¯t need fools to give them face, just as long as they don¡¯t go too far.¡± ¡°Makes sense.¡± At this moment, a sound of light footsteps running came from the corridor, and in came a young, beautiful female teacher. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s my first time substituting, so my teaching experience may not be sufficient¡­ My surname is Wang, and my name is Wang Lili. You can call me Mr. Wang.¡± Her voice was soft and cute. ¡°Hey, move up to the front, it¡¯s not nice to leave it empty¡­¡± Beauty equaled justice, and soon there was excitement among the male species, voluntarily moving from the back to the first three rows, fully giving the beautiful teacher enough face. Judging by her age, she should be a graduate student sister. Helping the teacher substitute wasn¡¯t much, as it consolidated knowledge and brought funding. Naturally, the level of a graduate student wanting to teach undergraduates was somewhat lacking, and this senior student¡¯s level was definitely among the best. Seeing a large number of male classmates moving their seats, Ye Kaifu felt smug again. Haha, your post-event behavior is too blatant! What¡¯s the point of coming over now? The teacher¡¯s favorability was already maxed out by the two of us who sat in the front row from the start. But seeing Zhang Yuan with his out-of-this-world focus and serious expression, Ye Kaifu quickly calmed his inner thoughts, no longer letting his mind wander. A strong person was indeed strong, unaffected by a teacher¡¯s appearance. ¡°And of course, in the life of a strong person, there were only the words ¡®study,¡¯ unaffected by the appearance of beautiful females.¡± ¡°Truly awesome!¡± ¡°` Chapter 30 - 30 That, This... Green Function? Chapter 30: Chapter 30 That, This¡­ Green Function? Editor: Henyee Translations ¡°` The beautiful teacher, Wang Lili, paused for a moment and then began, ¡°Um¡­ Today, I¡¯m going to teach you some knowledge about mathematical physics equations. Of course, it won¡¯t be the homogeneous equations you¡¯ve learned in class but rather¡­¡± ¡°Today¡¯s key content: the Green Function method for the two-dimensional Laplace equation¡­¡± As soon as these words were out, the class erupted in groans. Ye Kaifu finally understood why the first three rows were empty. This course must be a bomb! ... The usual final questions in math exams, such as Fourier Transforms, orthogonal expansions, ordinary differential equations, and so on, had become routine tools here. Could it not be difficult? Without saying much more, the teacher officially began the class. ¡°Dear students, I believe you¡¯ve all learned homogeneous partial differential equations and non-homogeneous partial differential equations. Due to time constraints, we¡¯re not going to review them here¡­¡± Ye Kaifu habitually glanced at Zhang Yuan and found this god-like figure was still lost in thought, unaware of what he was pondering. Wait. He seemed to be asleep! Go to ????????????????????.co Asleep, really asleep! Haha! Ye Kaifu almost burst out laughing, seeing himself gain an advantage in ¡°effort value.¡± He couldn¡¯t have been happier and nearly exploded in his seat. ¡°Work hard, work hard, he¡¯s sleeping, I can¡¯t slack off!¡± ¡°I have to take this opportunity to learn more.¡± ¡°Now, most textbooks establish the Green Function method using a three-dimensional Laplace equation background. Its core content is the spatial form of Green¡¯s formula and a point-analytic representation of three-dimensional harmonic functions. The Green Function method for two-dimensional problems has similarities with the three-dimensional problems¡­%@@!¡± The content was obviously very difficult, and even high attractiveness couldn¡¯t directly boost the intelligence of male livestock, making the whole classroom atmosphere very awkward, equivalent to a pretty girl talking to herself on the podium. The basic knowledge of the Green Function method is double integrals and triple integrals. Ye Kaifu racked his brains, only to find he had forgotten most of it, occasionally skipping some content. Skipping and skipping, he ended up not knowing what the teacher was talking about. He simply gave up, dared not play with his phone in the first row, and just appreciated the teacher¡¯s beauty. ¡°Oh my gosh¡­ Now I know why my boss couldn¡¯t be bothered to take this class and sent me instead.¡± ¡°It¡¯s really torturous!¡± Seeing pairs of bewildered eyes, heads nodding off, and some punks playing with their phones, Wang Lili stood at the blackboard, continuously ridiculing in her heart. ¡°This is basically a class on a bunch of pigs¡­¡± So, she seemed to forget that she had gone through this herself. Her teacher probably viewed her as a pig too. ¡°Endure, endure!¡± ¡°Can¡¯t hold it, so annoying!¡± Wang Lili didn¡¯t have the broad tolerance of an old professor, with a bunch of students playing with their phones and dozing off while continuing to deliver a sermon. She wasn¡¯t pleased either. She had painstakingly prepared for the class, and they were playing down there? Why should I? Make me preach like a nun, I can¡¯t do that¡­ Hmm, let¡¯s call on a few people to liven up the classroom atmosphere and wake up those who are sleeping! Just like that! This guy in the first row looked pretty serious; he sat in the first row from the beginning, so the probability of being a top student was quite high. He should be able to answer the question, and it¡¯s his turn, so no one¡¯s embarrassed, and it can wake up the sleeping ones. ¡°This student, could you solve this problem?¡± Wang Lili suddenly said with a smile. The atmosphere in the classroom suddenly became serious. ¡°Roll call¡± was indeed a nuclear weapon in the classroom; almost all the sleeping students fell from paradise and quickly returned to the mortal world. Those playing with their phones also put their phones back in their pockets¡­ ¡°What? Me?¡± Ye Kaifu stood up, his face turning red. He pretended to study seriously, only to be called to answer a question. How tragic. Really. ¡°Student, first consider¡­¡± Wang Lili slightly reminded him with a few more words. ¡°Uh, this, the Green function¡­ two-dimensional Green function¡­¡± Ye Kaifu weakly said. Aside from these words, he seemed to know nothing else. He kept scratching his head and rubbing his ears, his brain spinning intensely. Sadly, even if his head exploded, he couldn¡¯t solve this problem. ¡°Sigh, sit down, sit down¡­¡± Wang Lili hadn¡¯t expected the good student in the front row couldn¡¯t answer, so she had to wave her hand in dismay. Perhaps it was that her teaching was too bad, or maybe the content was just too difficult¡­ However, the classroom atmosphere improved quite a bit. After all this, everyone had straightened up in their seats, except for a few stubborn ones who were still asleep, genuinely asleep. Especially the one on the far left of the first row, sleeping too comfortably, right? Sleeping in the first row was too influential! ¡°Does anyone know how to solve this problem? Just follow the method I just mentioned, using a harmonic function¡­¡± Wang Lili reiterated. The classroom atmosphere was very awkward for a moment. ¡°This¡­ the student on the far left?¡± Ye Kaifu quickly tapped the slumbering Zhang Yuan, making him jump up from his seat with an ¡°Ah.¡± What¡¯s going on? Zhang Yuan opened his eyes in confusion. A small laugh echoed through the classroom. ¡°The teacher asked you to solve the problem!¡± Sitting beside him, Ye Kaifu winked and was amused beyond measure. Zhang Yuan blushed and scratched his head in embarrassment. Because of continuous late-night work and excessive fatigue, he accidentally fell asleep. ¡°Student, can you do it?¡± S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Although a bit displeased, Wang Lili was ready to let the student sit down after waking him up. Everyone was an adult, responsible for their own life choices, and there was no need to overly criticize others. Besides, this was just a course arranged by the school for various competitions, with no exams and no binding agreement¡­ Zhang Yuan glanced at the PPT; his slightly dazed mind started to clear. He quietly said, ¡°It should be solved using the Green function¡­¡± Everyone laughed. The Green function had been discussed for the entire class, and even a pig would remember these four words. Surely this guy only repeated those words after sleeping through the whole class. Zhang Yuan paused for only two seconds, then continued, ¡°Let v be another known harmonic function on the plane D. According to Green¡¯s formula, 0=¡Ò¡Ò(v?u/?n-u?v/?n)d¦Ä. After subtracting the two equations¡­ considering the boundary conditions¡­¡± ¡°£¤@¡­%£¤¡± A few top students perked up their ears and vaguely understood what he was talking about. Thinking back and forth, it seemed right and wasn¡¯t nonsense. If someone could ramble to such a level, they¡¯d be astonishingly impressive¡­ Whispering rose in the classroom. What was happening? A sleeping guy just obliterated them all! ¡°` Chapter 31 - 31 Galaxy Award Chapter 31: Chapter 31 Galaxy Award Editor: Henyee Translations When Zhang Yuan finished explaining the entire solution, Wang Lili just opened her mouth and swallowed the heartfelt words she had prepared. She secretly rolled her eyes and replied, ¡°Student¡­ very good answer, please sit down.¡± So it turned out to be the legendary Academic God. People like this were actually the most annoying; they understood without studying and spoiled the classroom atmosphere. Ye Kaifu had already restored his admiration and was no longer surprised, as if he was numb. ¡°The Great God is indeed the Great God, not changing his essence as a strong person because of sleeping¡­¡± The strong had the privilege of sleeping. ... He was ashamed of his jealousy. Afterwards, everything was peaceful. Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t doze off again, only mentally wandered, as if his pupils were focused on a distant void. The teacher didn¡¯t call names anymore, simply reciting the lecture like scripture until it ended. ¡°Ring ring,¡± the bell rang. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Wang Lili assigned a few after-class exercises, indicating that everyone could leave. When it was time to go, everyone became extremely enthusiastic again, which was really frustrating. Go to ????????????????????.co ¡°Let¡¯s go, time to head back.¡± After taking a short nap, Zhang Yuan was full of energy and wanted to go back to the dorm to continue working on his thesis. Ye Kaifu reluctantly packed his materials and asked Zhang Yuan, ¡°Mathematical equations are too difficult. Is there an overall framework for easier understanding?¡± Zhang Yuan thought for a moment and said, ¡°Framework? You mean a problem-solving approach? This course actually doesn¡¯t have many complicated things.¡± ¡°Solving a homogeneous partial differential equation is the simplest. You just need to use separation of variables and follow a four-step approach to solve it¡­¡± ¡°Then comes the determination problem of an inhomogeneous general equation. The method is to introduce a new function, or use a parameter variation method, viewing the inhomogeneous problem as a homogeneous one to solve. Then, by using the Fourier series expansion, a new condition can be formed to solve it¡­¡± ¡°Later on, dealing with inhomogeneous boundary conditions is about converting them to homogeneous boundary conditions, thus turning it into solving an inhomogeneous general equation problem¡­¡± ¡°Stop!¡± Ye Kaifu was on the verge of tears and couldn¡¯t help but shout. When he realized there were no shortcuts in the entire learning process, he could only silently chant a phrase in his heart: Terrifying! ¡­ After packing up, the two were ready to leave. ¡°Zhang Yuan, don¡¯t go yet!¡± At this moment, Zhang Yuan suddenly heard a female voice calling behind him. He turned around and saw it was Xu Yunjing, the graduate student under Professor Wang Zhong. ¡°Senior sister, are you here attending the lecture too?¡± Xu Yunjing said, ¡°Yes¡­ I¡¯m planning to switch to the mechanical field when I pursue a doctorate, so I need to learn some related knowledge to make it easier to change fields in the future.¡± Zhang Yuan asked curiously, ¡°Switch to engineering? Aren¡¯t you studying mathematics now? Won¡¯t Professor Wang be upset?¡± ¡°He won¡¯t, he won¡¯t¡­ He should respect my opinion.¡± Xu Yunjing thought, I¡¯m not that genius student. Why go down the pure mathematics path, which is tough and offers no money? Why make life difficult for myself? ¡°Is he your¡­ junior? Your titles are so strange.¡± Wang Lili, the substitute teacher with large twinkling eyes, also looked over. ¡°Yes, let me introduce you.¡± Xu Yunjing said with a smile, ¡°This is Wang Lili, my good friend, currently studying for a master¡¯s with Professor Lin from the Mechanical Engineering College.¡± ¡°Hello, senior sister!¡± ¡°This junior sure is shy, huh? Spacing out and sleeping in class, and I even caught him red-handed.¡± Wang Lili said with a smile. She lowered her voice slightly, ¡°Though he finished that problem in a flash.¡± Zhang Yuan felt a bit embarrassed. ¡°Senior sister, I¡¯m really sorry. I got tired writing the thesis, so I accidentally fell asleep. I didn¡¯t mean it.¡± ¡°Writing a thesis at such a young age. What¡¯s your topic?¡± ¡°Using geometric group theory and topological analysis to study robotic motion¡­¡± Upon hearing the topic, Wang Lili was at a loss for words. ¡°Are the kids this twisted nowadays? Group theory, topology and all that, while I¡¯m still troubled for publishing papers. Getting a third or fourth-tier one would already be nice.¡± Seeing them chatting, and in no time becoming senior sister and junior, Ye Kaifu on the side rolled his eyes. He lost interest in being the third wheel. He grumbled a farewell, ¡°Zhang Yuan, I¡¯m heading to the library, bye!¡± ¡°Bye-bye!¡± Ye Kaifu swaggered off with a smile on his face, while inwardly venting. What¡¯s this ¡°living is for learning¡±? That¡¯s definitely a lie. Such a pretty senior sister got attracted in no time. This skill is a model for our generation. Since Zhang Yuan is hitting on girls, I should as well. Maybe I can encounter someone in the library? The vacation is almost over. I can¡¯t go on miserable like this. ¡­ After chatting for a while, Zhang Yuan asked, ¡°Senior sister, was there something you needed me for?¡± Xu Yunjing smacked her forehead. ¡°Almost forgot, I actually do have something.¡± At this time, there were only the three of them left in the entire classroom. Xu Yunjing searched in her little bag. She pulled out an invitation and handed it to Zhang Yuan. ¡°In a week, there will be a ¡®Galaxy Award¡¯ ceremony in the great hall of Xisha University to commemorate the successful construction of the Earth Era. You have an important award to receive, don¡¯t forget.¡± Award? Zhang Yuan shivered all over. It seemed he had done nothing. The thesis wasn¡¯t even done, and he was just an ordinary spaceship worker. What award would he receive? How come? ¡°How could it be my turn?¡± ¡°It¡¯s your father¡¯s award, dream on!¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Zhang Yuan¡¯s heart jolted. His father¡¯s award, it seemed he had no right to refuse. Xu Yunjing made an exaggerated gesture, ¡°That¡¯s the legendary Galaxy Award first prize, with a ten-million reward! You, as your father¡¯s only direct kin, should receive it on his behalf, not overstepping, right?¡± ¡°The Earth Era is about to set sail, so all these grand projects need to be completed. Moreover, there will be a fundraising ceremony afterwards, inciting those tycoons to donate. That¡¯s the most crucial part.¡± ¡°The foundation is short on money, not billions but trillions! Squeezing some funds from those entrepreneurs would be good.¡± ¡°Alright, alright, I got it.¡± However, it couldn¡¯t be called a grand project; it¡¯s the honor my father deserves! Zhang Yuan thought about it. He had already donated all his possessions, so there was no mental burden. He could go. He then asked, ¡°Do I need to give a speech or something?¡± Xu Yunjing said with a smile, ¡°Just go up to accept the award. Who would care about you, a small figure, seeing your little vanity! You¡¯re not the person involved, just a stand-in, and the reporters won¡¯t make it hard for you.¡± ¡°They might let you say a few words of ¡®thanks,¡¯ thanking the government, the foundation, the judges and so forth. It¡¯s simple. You don¡¯t need to worry about the fundraising event afterwards; we¡¯ll handle it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Zhang Yuan hated troublesome ceremonies the most. If he had to give a long speech and write a special article, he¡¯d rather work on the thesis in that time. ¡°Don¡¯t forget, I¡¯ll remind you again when the time comes.¡± ¡°Got it, got it.¡± After finishing, Zhang Yuan waved goodbye to the two who were teasing him, and walked off alone to think about his thesis. Chapter 32 - 32 More Beautiful Memories Chapter 32: Chapter 32 More Beautiful Memories Editor: Henyee Translations A week went by in a hurry just like that. The days were pretty much the same as before, a routine of the library, dormitory, and cafeteria. It was quite fulfilling, or rather, it had never been so fulfilling. Ye Kaifu always followed closely behind, outwardly defiant, but inwardly relishing the torment. This life was just too exciting. He never imagined meeting such a lunatic in the final days of the holiday, let alone becoming someone caught up in their madness. What on Earth was happening! However, this day marked the day of farewell. ... The Space Elevator had a limited daily capacity. The 500,000 astronauts couldn¡¯t all be sent up at once; they were to ascend in many batches, in sequence. The two of them weren¡¯t in the same launch batch. Ye Kaifu¡¯s holiday had ended, and he was scheduled to go up to space early. ¡°¡­You¡¯ve learned about the economic policies and work grade system on the spaceship, right? Although it¡¯s not fully public yet, I assume you¡¯ll systematically study them once you¡¯re on the spaceship. It¡¯s good to prepare early, like writing papers and preparing for graduate exams, for instance.¡± ¡°Got it, got it, you don¡¯t need to worry about me.¡± Ye Kaifu smirked and said, ¡°I¡¯m a Level 8 Mechanic. I start with an eighth-level work grade, way higher than you. A Second Level small fry can only clean on the spaceship, can¡¯t do anything else.¡± Zhang Yuan retorted irritably, ¡°You¡¯re right; you¡¯re way more impressive than me. See you then.¡± Go to ????????????????????.co Ye Kaifu suddenly widened his eyes and shouted, ¡°Zhang Yuan, being with you is tiring but fulfilling. If I had met you earlier, I certainly would have been more than now¡­¡± Goosebumps all over! People around gave strange looks. ¡°Scram! Get lost! You¡¯re leaving and still disgusting me!¡± Zhang Yuan yelled. ¡°Hahaha, idiot, look at yourself! I¡¯m a standard straight guy. Who the hell would want to be with you!¡± Ye Kaifu was beyond happy, feeling incredibly refreshed. Did you see those little girls¡¯ faces about to puke? Hahaha! Zhang Yuan checked his phone calendar, remaining holiday balance: 5 days. As that moment approached, a strange sense of urgency grew stronger inside him. This feeling was hard to describe with words, like the last moment of life was approaching¡ªnervousness, fear, uncertainty¡ªall mixed together, forming a complex sense of disconnection. ¡°Bye!¡± Ye Kaifu left with a suitcase, waving backward as he walked away, thinking he looked dashing. He left alone, abandoning his mechanical harem, discarding fantasies of the fleet, leaving everything behind, traveling light. His figure appeared very small amidst the orderly astronaut lineup. Perhaps, everyone seemed tiny in front of the grand Space Elevator, insignificantly small. ¡°Bye.¡± The sun slowly rose from the east. This was probably the last sunrise this batch of astronauts would see on Earth. And it was Zhang Yuan¡¯s fifth to last. Zhang Yuan saw Ye Kaifu wipe his eyes with a sleeve as he passed the security check and entered the Space Elevator. No, he wiped twice, maybe three times¡­ Many astronauts did the same. Once up there, they¡¯d never set foot on Mother Star¡¯s solid ground again. Never again. He couldn¡¯t help but sigh, ¡°Such fools.¡± No, it was a group of fools. ¡­ He turned around and returned to the campus. Now he was alone once more. Living alone in the dormitory inevitably brought a sense of solitude. The thesis was almost done, with some wording and phrasing details needing revision, which could be finished in a night¡­ Zhang Yuan thought of giving himself a day off, for a real rest. Lying in bed, he prepared to take a short nap but found he couldn¡¯t sleep, overwhelmed with thoughts. He opened his long-unvisited social media apps, seeing a bunch of notifications. ¡°Li Zhendong, how¡¯s the girl you arranged to meet?¡± Li Zhendong¡¯s voice was still as arrogant as ever: ¡°We ended it long ago. The girl was a catfish, full of acne, couldn¡¯t go for it. By the way, how¡¯s your mechanic roommate?¡± ¡°Gone up.¡± ¡°So early, huh?¡± ¡°Yeah, different batches.¡± They chatted casually for a bit. As that moment approached, this show-off seemed not to be in a good mood either, speaking more seriously, less lively. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°¡­Touring with my family, trying to persuade my parents to have another child.¡± ¡°My mom often hides to cry. Don¡¯t know how to console her. She just wants to cry, women are like this, my mom¡¯s no exception¡­¡± Zhang Yuan sighed, ¡°Sigh, in the last few days, spend more time with them. Don¡¯t come early.¡± After hanging up, Zhang Yuan suddenly remembered the forgotten ¡°memo.¡± He¡¯d been busy with the thesis for half a month, almost forgot about it. More good memories, there should be more, a little more. He walked into a supermarket, bought a 38-federal-coin popsicle, and put it in his mouth, cream flavored. The taste was mediocre, didn¡¯t know why it sold so expensively. Then he checked off an item on the memo: ¡°Eat an ice pop at a price that makes me feel heartache¡­¡± ¡°Done!¡± On the spaceship, he probably wouldn¡¯t even get to eat popsicles, no space for an ice pop factory on board. ¡°No wonder Ye Kaifu kept eating popsicles before leaving¡­ Turns out he was working on his memo.¡± What should he do next? Unknown. Zhang Yuan felt slightly lost, suddenly having free time and seeming a bit aimless. Maybe go back to studying? Anyway, there¡¯s no end to learning. No, today was a rest day. ¡°¡­I want that BQ ice cream,¡± a girl next to him said. The boy beside her dotingly replied, ¡°That¡¯s expensive. I¡¯ll give you two options: eat a BQ ice cream, or drink two milk teas, so I can have one too.¡± ¡°Then two milk teas¡­ see how good I am to you?¡± Watching couples pass by in the supermarket, Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t figure out why, but he thought of his ex-girlfriend. How many years ago was that? Zhang Yuan thought carefully and suddenly realized he couldn¡¯t even remember her appearance well, took several seconds to recall a name. He merely remembered: she was quite cute, had a little temper, average grades. Due to academic pressure, needed coaxing to study well daily. Back then, they were high school students, had no money, not allowed to use mobile phones, could only go out using very old banknotes. On every date, she¡¯d give Zhang Yuan all her money, saying: taking it out was troublesome. As a result, Zhang Yuan held less than a hundred federal coins in his left hand, with his right arm around something warm and soft. In that nothing-to-show-for era, he felt content as if he owned the entire world. ¡°¡­Although dating lowered my intelligence, that period was quite happy,¡± Zhang Yuan sat on the steps, reminiscing. That girl who found spending money troublesome, she must have grown up too, right? Should he make a call? After thinking it over, he shook his head. Forget it, after so long without contact, there¡¯s no such thing as feelings anymore, just memories remain, like a piece of art, vaguely beautified. Chapter 33 - 33 Award Ceremony Chapter 33: Chapter 33 Award Ceremony Editor: Henyee Translations ¡°` First love happens only once; it exists solely within memories. In a lifetime, one will never again experience an age where the scent of the opposite sex quickens their heartbeat. Zhang Yuan reflected, time truly is a terrifying assassin, even blurring the memories of first love, making all the past unpleasantness vanish, making it seem so perfect¡­ If they boarded the spaceship, everything on Earth would surely grow old with time. All the memories would become more beautiful. ... Just like that day, when he climbed a mountain in the sweltering heat to witness a sunset, the whole process was hot and uncomfortable. But decades later, most of the unpleasantness would be forgotten, leaving only that sun that refused to set¡­ ¡°A distance of 20 light years, that¡¯s already another space-time, isn¡¯t it?¡± Sighing long, Zhang Yuan walked out of the supermarket. ¡­ Next, at one o¡¯clock in the afternoon, the ¡°Galaxy Award¡± ceremony would take place. Zhang Yuan arrived early at the venue, with all kinds of festive decorations making the hall especially grand. Go to ????????????????????.co The ¡°Galaxy Award¡± was held every two years, jointly established by the Deep Space Foundation and the National Science and Technology Association, rewarding outstanding contributors in the aerospace industry, and has a history of over eighty years. This national award, with generous prizes, awards 10 million yuan to first-prize winners, 5 million for second, and even 2 million for third prize. It is also the highest-paying science-related award in the country, with live broadcast coverage by major media. In short, the organizers had ¡°wealthy and bold¡± written all over their faces. ¡°Obviously they¡¯re going to be broke in the future, still handing out bonuses like this¡­¡± Regarding this, Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but ridicule in his mind. But there was no choice; those who made outstanding contributions should be rewarded. No matter how poor, scientists shouldn¡¯t be deprived. It was still early, and the ceremony hadn¡¯t officially started. Zhang Yuan already saw many old friends, including Professor Wang Zhong, Xu Yunjing, Wang Lili, and some of his father¡¯s former colleagues, all casting friendly glances his way. ¡°Nervous?¡± ¡°Just fine, after all, I¡¯m just a substitute to collect the award¡­¡± Professor Wang smiled and said, ¡°One day, you should rely on your own strength to stand on such a stage.¡± Zhang Yuan nodded, feeling moved, ¡°Professor Wang, I¡¯ve written a paper recently, could you have a look at it?¡± Professor Wang Zhong, hearing that Zhang Yuan had really written a paper, felt quite pleased, ¡°Oh? What¡¯s the title? If it¡¯s nonsense, I will criticize you. Research papers are not undergraduate theses; if they¡¯re not published, they are practically useless¡­¡± Zhang Yuan hurriedly replied, ¡°Definitely no nonsense! The title is ¡®Kinematic Analysis of High-Degree-of-Freedom Robots Based on Geometric Group Theory and Topology.¡¯ I¡¯ll send it to your email.¡± ¡°Geometric Group Theory? Okay, I¡¯ll help you take a look after I get back.¡± Professor Wang glanced over the title, ¡°But I¡¯m not very proficient in robotics knowledge, I can only help see if there¡¯s any logical error in the mathematical reasoning. If it¡¯s good, I¡¯ll forward it to other professors for further review.¡± Zhang Yuan said happily, ¡°Thank you, Professor Wang!¡± Reviewing papers is an exhausting task, requiring effort yet offering no authorship credit. Only professors with good relationships are willing to help this way. Without a professor¡¯s recommendation, the chances of getting published are greatly reduced. Professional reviewers rarely want to look at unknown works. Seeing that it¡¯s a submission by an undergraduate without notable endorsements, they might just pass on it. After all, there are many amateur scientists worldwide who claim to have invented ¡°Perpetual Motion Machines¡± or proved the ¡°Goldbach Conjecture¡± every day. If all nonsensical papers were read, there¡¯d be no time to do anything else. Zhang Yuan, after all, was writing this kind of proper long paper for the first time. Having Professor Wang oversee it, those unqualified details could be amended. Shortly after, Xu Yunjing quietly walked over, tapped Zhang Yuan on the shoulder. Seeing his casual wear, she was quite displeased, ¡°Why are you dressed like this? No, no, you need to change clothes quickly.¡± Zhang Yuan was puzzled, ¡°How should I dress then?¡± ¡°I told you to be a bit formal!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have such clothes; I never wear that kind of¡­¡± ¡°Wang Lili, hurry and lend him your boyfriend¡¯s suit!¡± ¡°Oh, okay.¡± Wang Lili darted out of the venue. After a dozen minutes, she returned, panting, telling Zhang Yuan, ¡°Quickly put it on, put it on!¡± Changing clothes, especially someone else¡¯s, was giving Zhang Yuan a headache. ¡°Senior sister, if you keep tugging at me like this, your boyfriend will get jealous.¡± Wang Lili giggled, ¡°Jealous of my little junior? That would be too petty¡­ You¡¯re about to ascend; would he still be jealous of you?¡± ¡°Quickly now, I¡¯m a volunteer and must handle the entire venue¡¯s work! If I get scolded afterwards, you¡¯ll be responsible!¡± ¡°How should I take responsibility, by marrying you?¡± Wang Lili stared at him, ¡°Such boldness, daring to flirt with senior now? If you¡¯re willing to stay, I might consider it¡­¡± ¡°Absolutely not!¡± With no choice, Zhang Yuan had to go to the restroom to change into the suit. Clothes make the man; Buddha relies on gold decoration, after changing, he felt like a different person. ¡°Unexpectedly, looking quite handsome¡­ If my boyfriend sees this, he might really get jealous.¡± Wang Lili chuckled. A group of volunteer girls also gathered around, chattering and watching the ¡°first-prize winner,¡± making Zhang Yuan blush slightly. Sisters, the winner is not me¡­ ¡°Alright, the meeting is about to start, just sit here and wait. When you hear your name, go up to receive the award. Have you planned what to say? You don¡¯t need to say much, three thank-yous, two to three minutes, the reporters won¡¯t trouble you.¡± Zhang Yuan nodded. A burst of music began, and everyone standing returned to their places. The speeches by various leaders were followed by some cultural performances. The whole process was boring and almost put Zhang Yuan to sleep. But for those interested, it was a good opportunity for socializing. After all, the ¡°Galaxy Award¡± is a major national award, and those attending the ceremony were big shots from various fields, including leaders, CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, academic elites, and so on. Some students were just there to join in the fun, or perhaps they were extras sent by the student union. Some students wished to be remembered here. With so many big shots, perhaps in the future, just by being recognized, they could gain an opportunity? Others from within the industry were exchanging insights on industry trends, using all sorts of professional jargon that left listeners in the clouds. ¡­ ¡°` S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Chapter 34 - 34: Big Trouble! Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Big Trouble! Editor: Henyee Translations Zhang Yuan had no interest in communicating with others. He was about to leave Earth, so why bother with anyone? Sleeping seemed more practical. For some reason, he could never fall asleep in his dorm, yet in a classroom or such public places, he found it easier to become drowsy. Half an hour passed in a flash¡­ The award ceremony typically began with the third prize; after all, presenting the first prize right away would leave nothing for the end. The atmosphere in the venue was excellent, the host was very professional and humorous, plus it was the most prestigious award in the country, and the applause was like waves. ¡°Next, the recipient of the Galaxy Award First Prize is¡­¡± the host intentionally left a suspense, glanced at the still-sleeping Zhang Yuan, and was slightly stunned. ... Zhang Yuan suddenly heard his father¡¯s name and woke up with a jolt. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. On the screen, a video was playing: it was an introduction to his father¡¯s life. A renowned mathematician and engineer, chief engineer for the spaceship¡¯s main control system and nuclear engine¡­ Looking at the lines of text on the screen, the audience whispered and gasped. Any one of these achievements alone would be enough for an ordinary person to boast about for a lifetime. Amidst everyone¡¯s amazement, a piece of somber music began to play. Due to overwork, Professor Zhang died young, at the age of 60, so his family was to accept the award on his behalf. After the host finished speaking, Zhang Yuan went on stage, bowed slightly, and received the gold medal. Go to ????????????????????.co A microphone was handed over. The host wanted him to share a few words of gratitude. The venue gradually became quiet. Zhang Yuan had already prepared his remarks and was not nervous. ¡°I am honored to accept the Galaxy Award First Prize on behalf of my father.¡± ¡°First of all, please allow me to thank the judging panel, thank the Science Committee, thank¡­¡± It was a very procedural speech; after all, ¡°thanks¡± usually numbered three, more would sound redundant, and less would not seem formal enough. Originally, being awarded the first prize was a significant event, with a principle of preferring quality over quantity, so several editions might not even see one being awarded; it was often left ¡°vacant.¡± However, now that the person involved had passed away and the family was accepting on their behalf, some of that significance was lost, and journalists were not very interested in interviews. What could they uncover by interviewing a family member? Zhang Yuan mused that if he himself had received the award, that would be the real glory¡­ He thanked his father for allowing him to experience the feeling of accolades. It was stressful, yet motivating. However, what he said next was what Zhang Yuan truly intended to say. ¡°¡­ According to my father¡¯s last wishes, here, I am willing to donate all the prize money, which is ten million in cash, to the Deep Space Foundation to support the development of the aerospace industry!¡± This stirred a hornet¡¯s nest, and a buzz like bees could be heard from the audience. Although Zhang Yuan was only the representative, such an act of donating all the prize money still sparked a lot of discussion. Nobody would believe in supposed last wishes; no matter how genius Zhang Qiming was, he couldn¡¯t have known he¡¯d win an award after dying. Thus, it must be the personal decision of the young man. Ten million! This was definitely not a small sum, enough for an ordinary person to live a very comfortable life for the rest of their days. And yet he just gave it up like that. Clap clap clap! The audience erupted with unprecedented applause. ¡°Thank you, everyone!¡± With a slight bow, Zhang Yuan handed the microphone back to the host, preparing to step down from the stage. He noticed Professor Wang Zhong, as well as several other notable figures nearby, were beaming with surprise. ¡°Mr. Zhang, can we have an interview?¡± A swarm of reporters rushed over, like a pack of dogs drawn to the scent of a bone, excited beyond measure. ¡°Mr. Zhang, I have a question I¡¯d like to ask you¡­¡± ¡°Mr. Zhang, could you come over here, please!¡± ¡°Why did you ??¡­?¡± Zhang Yuan felt dizzy and disoriented. Oh no, it seemed like good intentions resulted in trouble, inadvertently drawing the attention of so many reporters! The host cleared his throat, understanding exactly what this group of reporters wanted to ask. He hurriedly came to the rescue: ¡°Dear journalist friends, due to time constraints, only one question is allowed.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s have this lady, please, what would you like to ask?¡± he pointed to a lady at the front and asked. Zhang Yuan¡¯s heart sank. What a coincidence, it was that blonde reporter Angelica whom he had once bullied. Yes, the one from some Humanities Association whom he had teased before. Would she take this occasion to make fun of him? Angelica looked at Zhang Yuan with a complex expression. She wanted to get back at him but didn¡¯t dare to do so outright in this setting. However, she quickly adjusted her emotions and, after some deliberation, said in fluent Xia, ¡°Hello, everyone, my name is Angelica, from Lan Country.¡± ¡°My aspiration is to travel the world. I have visited many corners of the world, the bustling Xia Country, the beautiful Country Mi, but also some poor small countries¡­¡± ¡°¡­I once visited a small country and met a rich man there. He wore clothes made of burlap, a kind of, um, yellowed plant fiber clothing, which is the best clothing there. He had eight wives; please do not laugh at this, in their country, polygamy is legal.¡± ¡°How rich was he? He owned a cassava processing plant with two machines capable of grinding cassava into powder.¡± ¡°Because of this, he became a well-known rich person far and wide. Almost all the girls in the village were willing to marry him.¡± ¡°You can imagine, such poverty still exists in corners of the world, not just one place or one person, but many, many people¡­¡± The venue became quiet for a moment. Then whispers began again. Zhang Yuan could already imagine what she wanted to ask. Angelica continued, ¡°What I want to ask is, Mr. Zhang Yuan, why did you not donate this money to people who need it more?¡± ¡°There are so many poor people in the world who need our help. The Deep Space Foundation is already wealthy, investing hundreds of trillions each year in spaceflight and aerospace; I apologize for not remembering the exact number. Yet so little is donated to impoverished people; isn¡¯t this somewhat putting the cart before the horse?¡± The question was sharp, even carrying a hint of political sensitivity. Several political figures were already slightly frowning, worried the young man might respond poorly. The entire award ceremony was being broadcast live, and every word and action would be recorded, leading to wide public discussion. Especially with the full donation of the prize money, it was bound to stir conversation. The atmosphere in the venue quieted down, and all eyes were focused on Zhang Yuan, eager to know how this young man would handle it. Chapter 35 - 35 Making a Bigger Cake Chapter 35: Chapter 35 Making a Bigger Cake Editor: Henyee Translations ¡°` Zhang Yuan thought for a couple of seconds, then took the microphone from the host. He suddenly felt that there weren¡¯t as many conspiracy theories as one might think. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. This blonde girl was quite adorable. She was likely genuinely thinking this way when she asked the question. Taking a deep breath, Zhang Yuan said slowly and steadily, ¡°Ma¡¯am, there¡¯s a concept you might have misunderstood.¡± ¡°Every year, the funds allocated for poverty alleviation by the government and various charity organizations amount to several hundred billion. It¡¯s real money, donated by the people of each country. These kind-hearted people have sacrificed their own interests to help others. Indeed, they are very great.¡± ¡°But the 167 trillion produced by the aerospace industry each year is gross domestic product, not real money. It doesn¡¯t belong to the Deep Space Foundation but is collective wealth created by 43 million space workers and 2.2 billion surface workers, involving 273 large and small industries¡­¡± ... ¡°If there weren¡¯t this 167 trillion in GDP, I think there would be more than two billion additional people living in poverty on Earth. Everyone would have a worse living experience¡­¡± ¡°Therefore, the amount of money donated for poverty alleviation and the total output value are two concepts that shouldn¡¯t be confused.¡± ¡°As for your question, I can answer it like this: the aerospace industry is equivalent to enlarging the pie, while donating to the poor is merely redistributing the pie. I am more inclined towards the concept of ¡®enlarging the pie,¡¯ which is why I donate money to the Deep Space Foundation¡­¡± The audience below listened intently. Zhang Yuan¡¯s speech had a measured pace and clear logic, as if all his notes had already been prepared. Wang Lili and Xu Yunjing were quietly discussing: ¡°I didn¡¯t expect him to be so eloquent. He¡¯s usually quite shy.¡± Go to ????????????????????.co ¡°Maybe it¡¯s just an act!¡± ¡°Haha, this is Zhang Yuan¡¯s true self!¡± Zhang Yuan continued, ¡°¡­Why did I make this choice?¡± ¡°Ms. Angelica, I wonder if you have ever taken the space elevator or personally witnessed the entirety of the Solar System. If you have truly seen the vastness of space, you would realize that the cake of aerospace is astonishingly large, a hundred times, a thousand times, or even ten thousand times larger than you imagine!¡± ¡°As long as this cake is made well, it can feed hundreds of billions, even trillions of people!¡± ¡°The poverty alleviation you mentioned is just a minor issue.¡± ¡°However¡­¡± ¡°The difficulty of getting a slice of this cake is daunting. Billions are merely a drop in the bucket; trillions are just a drop in the ocean. The space elevator behind us, humanity¡¯s first, consumed trillions in funding and took a full twenty years to build!¡± ¡°¡­No private capital has the determination and ability to spend decades building a 36,000-kilometer space elevator, seemingly without any output, except for non-profit organizations like the Deep Space Foundation¡­¡± ¡°If, a hundred years ago, there had been no investment in this space elevator and no generous donations from those idealists, I think we might still be confined to the small Earth, living in widespread poverty. Even with controlled nuclear fusion, we would still be poor.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I donated the prize money my father received to the Foundation, though it¡¯s just a drop in the ocean; it¡¯s also my heartfelt wish¡­¡± ¡°We need more like-minded people to expand this pie together and let more people enjoy its benefits.¡± ¡°As for the poverty alleviation issue you mentioned, it¡¯s not that it¡¯s unimportant. I highly agree with your idea and greatly admire your benevolence. But we in Xia Country have an old saying: ¡®Teaching a man to fish is better than giving him a fish.¡¯ Simply giving them money and food will only raise a group of lazy people, and there¡¯s no essential improvement.¡± ¡°¡­I believe that only through education can their lives be changed. As for this aspect, the Deep Space Foundation has a charitable department in online education, aiming to spread education through remote networks, but I won¡¯t elaborate here. If you¡¯re interested, you can look into it.¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± A burst of even more enthusiastic applause broke out. Zhang Yuan¡¯s response was smooth and sophisticated; it was impeccable from any angle. The blonde journalist just opened her mouth, unable to speak. Although she herself was not convinced, the audience had been convinced, and that was enough. ¡°Professor Wang, Zhang Qiming¡¯s son is quite impressive, very articulate.¡± The Foundation¡¯s vice-chairman, Liu Yi, said happily, ¡°It¡¯s as if we specially arranged for it.¡± ¡°With a scientist¡¯s son donating ten million, those wealthy bosses have to bleed heavily!¡± Wang Zhong chuckled without speaking, but the pride in his heart was hard to conceal. Praising his disciple¡¯s grandchild was far more satisfying than praising himself. The Deep Space Foundation was a behemoth, possessing not only massive political influence and technological power but also having vast shares in the aerospace industry and space elevators. For those capitalists, cooperating with the Foundation was a win-win situation. Of course, to achieve a win-win, they first had to catch the Foundation¡¯s eye ¡­ Anyway, they should donate a bit first. After all the awards were presented, the winners stepped onto the stage for a group photo, followed by various artistic performances and donation activities. Zhang Yuan stepped off the stage and sat quietly in his seat. Professor Wang gently patted him, giving an encouraging look. ¡°Professor Wang, I didn¡¯t say anything wrong, did I?¡± ¡°You spoke quite well!¡± Wang Zhong said with a laugh. Professor Wang Zhong watched as one after another, capitalists took the stage to donate, with deep emotion: ¡°If Mr. Qi Yuanshan could see this scene, he would certainly be gratified.¡± In the world, people pursue benefits, even if these capitalists were only in it for profit, not for ¡®ideals,¡¯ it was still a healthy cycle. It is easy to embellish the present, but offering help in desperation is as difficult as ascending to the heavens; those hard days were a story from a hundred years ago, even before Wang Zhong was born. Qi Yuanshan, known as the ¡°Einstein of Material Science,¡± was a true giant in the field. His three most outstanding achievements were ¡°High Magnetic Saturation Superconducting Material,¡± ¡°Mass Production Method of Carbon Nanotubes,¡± and third, of course, some sociological content of the New Civilization School. Why was controlled nuclear fusion difficult? There were many reasons, such as neutron radiation and the triple product, but a very important point was¡ªmagnetic field confinement was not strong enough. The magnetic field confinement had to be strong enough to hold the violent plasma in place to make the circulator¡¯s nuclear fusion reaction stable and last longer. But having a strong enough magnetic field wasn¡¯t just about increasing the current. In material science, there¡¯s a phenomenon called ¡°magnetic saturation.¡± When the external current and coil density reach a certain size, the magnetic field won¡¯t increase further. No matter what you do, the magnetic field remains the same; deal with it yourself. Reaching the limit of magnetic field confinement still wasn¡¯t strong enough to hold the plasma, which became an almost unsolvable problem. And Professor Qi Yuanshan¡¯s breakthrough ¡°High Magnetic Saturation Superconducting Material¡± straightforwardly and dramatically increased the original magnetic field strength tenfold! Tenfold! As a result, the violent plasma was obediently contained, and many problems were no longer problems. ¡°Controlled Nuclear Fusion Technology¡± finally appeared in the world, albeit late. In that era, without oil and with scarce energy, Professor Qi¡¯s reputation was like the midday sun, being called the ¡°Father of Nuclear Fusion.¡± The second major achievement was the mature production technology of carbon nanotubes, making them very cheap. This material¡¯s tensile strength was over 100 times that of steel, and its density was only 0.03 grams per cubic centimeter, making it an excellent building material. Such a scientific giant¡¯s influence extended into the modern era, admired by many scientists. However, at that time, Professor Qi¡¯s ¡°Proposal for the Construction of a Space Elevator¡± was rejected by the government. The investment was too large, too large for Xia Country, just recovering from an energy crisis, to accept¡­ ¡­ As for what happened later that ultimately caused such a significant change in government stance, Wang Zhong didn¡¯t know. He only knew that the space elevator was built on schedule and was almost complete by the time he was born. Xia Country gambled its national destiny for 20 years and finally bet on a bright future! Historical historians still frequently talk about this past event with great relish up to the present. A country¡¯s development, taking one step puts you ahead in all steps thereafter. So it is with a civilization. Without that brave step, perhaps the Earth would still have no space elevator and no beautiful present. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- (For web readers, please rate this book, a 5-star rating wouldn¡¯t be too much!) ¡°` Chapter 36 - 36 is trending! Chapter 36: Chapter 36 is trending! Editor: Henyee Translations ¡°` The venue was getting more and more lively, and all the audience could barely hold back their enthusiasm to discuss. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Finally, the chairman of the organizing committee made a speech and delivered the closing remarks, ¡°I announce that the total fundraising amount this time is, $4.211 billion!¡± Thunderous applause filled the room. ¡°Here, I sincerely hope the Earth Era can withstand the scrutiny of 20 light years and successfully reach its destination, building the Second Star System for all humanity!¡± ¡°I announce the 43rd Galaxy Award Ceremony officially closed!¡± ... Amid the splendid cultural performance, people gradually left the venue. ¡°Whew¡­ It¡¯s finally over.¡± Zhang Yuan let out a long sigh of relief, lamenting how an entire afternoon of his life had been wasted like this. He quickly ran to the restroom, took off the suit he was wearing, and handed it to Wang Lili. ¡°Handsome guy, I didn¡¯t expect you to be quite eloquent!¡± Wang Lili took the clothes and teased with a smile, ¡°I was breaking a sweat for you just now!¡± ¡°Why?¡± Go to ????????????????????.co ¡°Because you were going live, the biggest award in the country, plus the spaceship¡¯s launch ceremony. It attracts a lot of attention. That question was too sharp. If it were me, I would definitely be a bit nervous¡­¡± Wang Lili turned on her phone screen, waving it back and forth in front of him. ¡°If the response isn¡¯t good, you¡¯ll be trending, no, you¡¯re already trending now!¡± Zhang Yuan took Wang Lili¡¯s phone and looked closely. A black bold headline appeared right in the middle of the screen. ¡°Shocking! Son of a Scientist Donates Entire Prize, Ridiculed by Female Reporter!¡± ¡°Even if the Poor Starve, He Wouldn¡¯t Help Them!¡± The popularity was soaring! Zhang Yuan was baffled; these unscrupulous self-media were really risking everything for eyeballs. He sighed deeply, ¡°Forget it, forget it, no matter what the answer is, you¡¯ll get criticized. I had already mentally prepared for it. Donating the bonus was something I had thought of beforehand, who knew it would stir up such a¡­¡± Plus some debate about whether poverty alleviation or supporting aerospace is more important and so on. The world was still dominated by the voices of ordinary people, as if not donating money to them was a sin. Various internet trolls could always find the most comfortable posture to criticize others. They incessantly said strange comments like ¡°pretentious jerk,¡± ¡°prodigal son.¡± ¡°Thanks for the invite, on the Moon, just got off the spaceship, monthly income of a million, too many people in the circle, hard to comment, anonymous.¡± ¡°Mr. Zhang, do you have a girlfriend? He must be a big tycoon!¡± ¡°He probably does, and maybe several. Are you interested?¡± ¡°Hee-hee, aren¡¯t you interested?¡± ¡°Several is okay, just be a tycoon, so handsome!¡± Praising him for being handsome, Zhang Yuan felt inexplicably satisfied. However, he was not a tycoon. ¡°I bet this guy is going to enter the entertainment industry! It¡¯s a great packaging opportunity, creating a very good persona. (Struggle)(Struggle) The next step would be shooting TV shows or participating in variety shows, both art and sports, everyone stay tuned!¡± ¡°Spending ten million to advertise once, gaining fame, a very smart choice, what a pity. The son of a great scientist actually wants to become a celebrity.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with being a celebrity? Being a celebrity is great!¡± ¡°You know nothing!¡± Zhang Yuan felt a bit dizzy, silently admiring the people¡¯s powerful imagination. If they could imagine so well, why not become scientists? ¡°Do you want to be a big star? With some packaging, it¡¯s really possible!¡± Wang Lili said with a laugh. ¡°No, I¡¯m tone-deaf, and I can¡¯t dance.¡± There were also some busybodies wanting to dig into Zhang Yuan¡¯s life. Fortunately, he had never had a habit of posting on social media, so this group couldn¡¯t dig up anything special after a long search, only finding his alma mater and exam scores, etc. ¡°Only got into Z University, didn¡¯t even study abroad, GPA only 4.58¡­¡± ¡°What era are we in, still studying abroad? Are you an idiot? Going to a Natives¡¯ school?¡± ¡°What do you mean only 4.58 GPA? Z University¡¯s full GPA is only 5, okay? That¡¯s equivalent to an average score of 95.8, so anyone who hasn¡¯t been to university should shut up!¡± Anyway, the previous Zhang Yuan, although not the most outstanding, was indeed not bad and didn¡¯t have many black spots. Yet, there was still a group of people tirelessly searching¡ª internet real-name systems couldn¡¯t stop these idle people¡­ Of course, there was also a pile of people who supported him, many of whom were women. Zhang Yuan had a bit of a headache; he had no idea things would turn out like this. It was just a donation. Was it such a big deal? With envy comes jealousy, with jealousy comes hate. As long as you stand straight, you won¡¯t fear your shadow bending. Let them be. Listening to his various complaints, Wang Lili also opened a social app and ruthlessly commented, ¡°This guy, aside from being a bit handsome, doesn¡¯t have many advantages. Witnessed his prodigal behavior firsthand, so frustrating!¡± [Like][Like][Like] In just a few seconds, a bunch of likes poured in. ¡°You¡¯re adding insult to injury too¡­¡± Zhang Yuan shook his head helplessly. ¡°Mr. Zhang, please come over here to sign!¡± someone suddenly called him from behind. ¡°Oh, okay.¡± Zhang Yuan turned around and signed his name on a ¡°donation agreement,¡± pressing his fingerprint. What was said cannot be undone. After doing this, the ten million prize was officially donated. Since he was about to run away anyway, Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t feel distressed, just like donating Game Coin from a video game account. He didn¡¯t even blink. This feeling was strange. National-level science awards, according to policy, did not require taxes, which was equivalent to the Foundation transferring this part of the funds from its left hand to its right hand. However, the corresponding processes still needed to be done. The Deep Space Foundation, with its century-long history, had developed into such a colossal organization, it had long formed a very standardized administrative system, and most of the funds flow was transparent. Wang Lili and Xu Yunjing, the two volunteers, watched the entire scene, occasionally glancing at each other with very resentful expressions. ¡°The number one in front, so many zeros behind, when will I ever earn so much money? Probably never in this lifetime¡­¡± Xu Yunjing sighed. Wang Lili also said wistfully, ¡°Yeah, a perfectly good tall, rich, and handsome guy, recklessly squandering himself into a poor man¡­ Acting like you have a lot of money, but you only have this much money.¡± ¡°¡­Some relatives and friends I know have assets worth hundreds of millions, yet they¡¯ve never donated so much. Ten million, I so want to snatch it all to buy clothes, so many clothes!¡± Xu Yunjing nodded in agreement, ¡°Luckily, he¡¯s not my boyfriend, or I¡¯d be driven mad by him. Just want to beat him up hard¡­¡± Even though he knew they were joking, Zhang Yuan still felt quite embarrassed, unsure of what to say. Wang Lili threw out another strange question, ¡°You astronauts, can you back out temporarily? Like¡­ suddenly not wanting to go and just wanting to stay home.¡± ¡°Of course you can.¡± Zhang Yuan thought for a moment and said, ¡°But if there¡¯s no reasonable reason, backing out temporarily would be treated as desertion, which carries significant risks.¡± ¡°Desertion, you know, is like refusing military service¡­ First, you¡¯ll be fined a sum of money, probably tens of thousands for training costs, and most social benefits will be canceled, and it will appear on your social credit and so on. Lots of penalties, anyway, being a deserter, it¡¯s really hard to get a good job in the future¡­¡± ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C (Thanks to the book friend ¡°Experiment Body Jun Gui¡± for the Alliance Hierarch reward, although the collection of this book is growing slowly, to have an Alliance Hierarch so early is truly a blessing, thank you!) ¡°` Chapter 37 - 37: You dont know me? Chapter 37: Chapter 37: You don¡¯t know me? Editor: Henyee Translations For deserters, any country would implement exceptionally severe punishment measures. The volunteers on the Earth Era, although not soldiers, also consumed a lot of public resources for training. Initially, they eagerly signed up, but if they regretted it before leaving, they would certainly be punished. Wang Lili said again, ¡°But with that ten million, plus the inheritance your father left, you can live quite lavishly on Earth. Credit scores and such aren¡¯t a big deal anymore; no mistakes should be passed on to your descendants¡­¡± Zhang Yuan replied casually, ¡°It would affect the descendants too, wouldn¡¯t it? With me as their dad, my son and daughter¡¯s political assessments would basically be impossible to pass, affecting more than just my generation.¡± ¡°And the inheritance was donated long ago, leaving no room for regret. I never consider the things you¡¯re talking about, so it doesn¡¯t bother me.¡± Feeling mentally overshadowed, Wang Lili was very discouraged and pouted, ¡°You weird astronauts, your thinking is indeed different from ours¡­ Acting all high and mighty!¡± ... ¡°It¡¯s not actually high and mighty, but a kind of dumb behavior!¡± Xu Yunjing, standing beside, laughed, very much agreeing with Wang Lili¡¯s statement. ¡°Right, it¡¯s dumb!¡± ¡°How is it dumb?¡± ¡°Stupidly dumb.¡± Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t argue back and suddenly wanted to tease these two troublemaking seniors, ¡°I have a few questions to ask you. If our answers are the same, it means our IQs are about the same.¡± Wang Lili smiled slyly, preemptively defending herself, ¡°What kind of questions? If they¡¯re too weird, I might not be able to answer. Even if I¡¯m smart, I can¡¯t answer everything.¡± Go to ????????????????????.co ¡°Very simple, a three-year-old child knows the answers, but you must answer within a second!¡± ¡°Alright, ask away.¡± Zhang Yuan held up one finger and asked, ¡°Is there a number bigger than 1?¡± ¡°There is.¡± The two girls answered in unison, their eyes filled with skepticism. What kind of dumb question is this? He held up two fingers, ¡°Is there a number bigger than 2?¡± ¡°There is!¡± Zhang Yuan sped up, ¡°Is there a number smaller than 3?¡± Smaller than 3? Wang Lili¡¯s eyes showed more suspicion and she said again, ¡°Of course there is!¡± ¡°Is there anyone dumber than you?¡± ¡°No! Haha, I knew you were going to pull a trick. I was thinking fast¡­¡± After a few seconds of silence, Xu Yunjing, standing by, suddenly laughed so hard she almost ran out of breath. Wang Lili looked at her dubiously, still pondering over what the riddle was all about. ¡°You just said it yourself, there¡¯s no one dumber than you¡­¡± Zhang Yuan looked up at the sky, pretending to be a sage from another world, ¡°There¡¯s indeed a bit of a gap between us, an IQ gap!¡± Wang Lili suddenly realized the trap Zhang Yuan had set. She was both angry and embarrassed, ¡°You dare bully your senior! You¡¯ve turned bad!¡± She stomped her foot, ¡°I¡¯m leaving, I need to return my clothes¡­¡± ¡°Stay put if you have the guts, I¡¯ll call my boyfriend to beat you up!¡± Wang Lili and Xu Yunjing left, bickering as they ran off. ¡­ After bidding farewell to the two adorable and silly seniors, Zhang Yuan walked alone on campus. Girls would often run up to him, wanting to exchange social media information. Girls nowadays were very enthusiastic and open; knowing another ¡°celebrity¡± was good, maybe something might happen in the future? ¡°Mr. Zhang Yuan, can I have your autograph?¡± ¡°Can I take a photo with you?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s have a meal together!¡± Unable to avoid it, Zhang Yuan quickly slipped into a narrow path. ¡°Darn it, do they really think I¡¯m going to be a celebrity? No way, I¡¯d never be a celebrity, not even in death!¡± This kind of thing annoyed Zhang Yuan to no end. He actually didn¡¯t play much with these social media apps and never cared about celebrity gossip; he just wanted to be himself. Spending time browsing social media was better spent studying at home. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Yes, go back and study. ¡°Work hard, keep striving, fighting!¡± Finish one paper, then work on the second, third, fourth, fifth! ¡°Zhang Yuan, Zhang Yuan!¡± At this moment, a shout came from behind, ¡°Wait for me! Wait!¡± Zhang Yuan turned around and saw a girl in a white short-sleeve shirt running towards him. He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Who are you?¡± The girl brushed her messy bangs, sweating profusely because there was no air conditioning outside the venue, ¡°You don¡¯t recognize me? Really? Think hard, try hard.¡± Zhang Yuan felt awkward. The girl in front of him was very pretty, fair-skinned, like someone he knew, but he didn¡¯t recognize her. Who is she? He racked his brains, these features and looks really seemed familiar, like he¡¯d seen them somewhere, yet he couldn¡¯t recall. ¡°Who? Who?¡± The feeling of being on the tip of his tongue was uncomfortable. Instead, he remembered a professional term called ¡°TOT phenomenon.¡± Yes, a vivid ¡°TOT,¡± meaning a failure in retrieving brain memory. Seeing his puzzled expression, the girl said softly, ¡°Mr. Zhang, you must be quite busy, have you forgotten even your first crush?¡± First crush? How could that be? Did she have cosmetic surgery? Zhang Yuan suddenly seemed to recall something, gesturing with his hands, ¡°Oh, you¡¯re Han Jing¡¯s sister?¡± Han Ziyue blinked, ¡°You finally remembered me, so frustrating!¡± She wore a white short-sleeve shirt, and her dark hair naturally fell on her shoulders. Under the denim shorts, her legs looked fair and even. For a girl with a good figure, it was indeed quite an eye-catching combination. Zhang Yuan remembered the dark, skinny middle school girl from back then, and now she had grown so charming. Indeed, girls change a lot as they grow, becoming more and more beautiful. ¡°Meeting you at this school, what a coincidence!¡± Zhang Yuan laughed twice. ¡°I only saw you at the award ceremony. I got into Xisha University, isn¡¯t that great!¡± ¡°Yeah, great¡­ Staying here for the summer to study? So diligent?¡± Han Ziyue laughed, ¡°Not really! Just holding onto the top students, and if I can win some awards, it¡¯ll be easier to apply for postgraduate studies later.¡± Walking side by side, the two found a restaurant and ordered some small dishes. ¡°Are you treating me to a meal? Let me order, let me order. I like the Dongdong Grass here, don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t have a big appetite, I won¡¯t eat too much¡­¡± Zhang Yuan casually asked, ¡°How¡¯s your sister? Is she doing well? Is she married?¡± Han Ziyue looked up, giving him a very ambiguous look, ¡°Huh? Are you hoping for old flames to reignite? You older folks like doing such boring things, I wouldn¡¯t ever think of reminiscing about past lovers.¡± Zhang Yuan quickly shook his head, ¡°Not really. It¡¯s been so many years, what¡¯s past is past, just a casual question¡­¡± Han Ziyue laughed, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll tell you. My sister has a boyfriend now, they¡¯ve met each other¡¯s parents, but they haven¡¯t registered yet.¡± ¡°If you want, I can help match you two up, anyway, I don¡¯t really like that prospective brother-in-law¡­ He looks kind of sleazy, not as handsome as you.¡± ¡°But you, you¡¯re actually Professor Zhang¡¯s son, we didn¡¯t know that before¡­ Professor Zhang, my idol!¡± Chapter 38 - 38 Haha! Great! (Additional chapter for the Alliance Hierarch Chapter 38: Chapter 38 Haha! Great! (Additional chapter for the Alliance Hierarch ¡°Experiment Body Jun Gui¡±) Editor: Henyee Translations ¡°` Zhang Yuan felt puzzled, did his dad have that many fangirls? It shouldn¡¯t be; he didn¡¯t engage in social activities and just got a bit of fame after winning first prize. Was the state promoting him heavily? He smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s not like you think¡­ I¡¯m about to leave Earth, where would I find the time to do such things? Let your sister get along well with your brother-in-law.¡± Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Leave Earth?¡± Han Ziyue¡¯s voice elongated, with a slight look of shock on her face, ¡°Could it be, you¡¯re one of those one in five hundred thousand?¡± Zhang Yuan nodded. ¡°So frustrating!¡± ... Han Ziyue pouted, her expectations completely falling through, ¡°So that¡¯s why you don¡¯t consider ten million as money! I was planning to latch onto a rich guy, but it turns out you already donated everything, you might be poorer than me¡­¡± Saying her purpose of ¡°latching onto a rich guy¡± so bluntly, Zhang Yuan exclaimed, were young girls nowadays so bold? Her small head swayed as if she was muttering to herself, ¡°Sigh, is this meal going to make me pay? Well, it¡¯s not impossible¡­¡± ¡°You have to think of how to compensate for my empty, lost soul, maybe help me fix my computer back at the dorm. An astronaut should know how to fix things, right?¡± Zhang Yuan was taken aback, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can still afford a meal. As for fixing things, fixing a computer¡­¡± Was there some underlying meaning in fixing a computer? Go to ????????????????????.co ¡­ At 7 PM, in the office building. ¡°Mr. Wang, Zhang Yuan is quite a talent, very articulate. I think once he¡¯s on the spaceship, he could consider doing some administrative work with me. His major is quite suitable¡­ especially for the research on New Civilization History, we need such talents.¡± ¡°How could that be?¡± Professor Wang Zhong righteously refused, ¡°High-IQ talents should focus on academics, what management, such a waste of time!¡± The middle-aged man with a military demeanor chuckled, ¡°It still depends on his personal wishes, what could come of conducting research on a spaceship?¡± Wang Zhong pondered, sighed, and said, ¡°Ma Tao, just take care of the kid a bit; no need for special treatment. Building a new civilization, we can¡¯t let the initial ethos go awry. The smaller the environment, the easier it is for messy unwritten rules to form; we can¡¯t start that!¡± Captain Ma sighed, ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± ¡°Not engaging in administrative management is actually nice, having ample time for hibernation. At least¡­ there¡¯s a possibility of seeing the new Sun in 3000.¡± He slowly spoke as if sighing about something, ¡°Like our previous captains, they most likely died of old age en route. Unable to see the future Mother Star.¡± The long journey, three thousand years, no one knew if this spaceship would reach its destination. ¡°Good luck to you all!¡± ¡°Hopefully.¡± ¡­ After seeing off Captain Ma, Wang Zhong finally had the moment to sit down and do some of his own work. Professor Wang Zhong, getting older, could not keep up with the young minds in terms of thinking speed, and learning new knowledge revealed some gaps. However, looking at students¡¯ articles should still be doable. He was reading the thesis Zhang Yuan sent him. His brows furrowed and relaxed intermittently. This thesis, how to put it? Firstly, it made the typical beginner¡¯s mistake: too verbose. Some very obvious conclusions didn¡¯t need long-winded explanations, as if fearing insiders wouldn¡¯t understand. Moreover, there were some issues with the structural levels; the primary and secondary points were unclear, not highlighting the intended theme. Of course, these were merely details, not major issues, and could be revised in a day or two. Apart from these problems, the logical proof was very clear, with a meticulous process of case-based reasoning. He wanted to find a loophole, yet felt at a loss on how to start. ¡°Quite a beautiful piece of work!¡± After spending three hours reading the whole thesis, Wang Zhong felt increasingly satisfied with this young disciple. As a mathematician, he found the process of mathematical proof very brilliant, with a refreshing and exhilarating sense of satisfaction. This appreciation for mathematics was something every renowned mathematician should possess. However, since it wasn¡¯t within his field specialty, whether this paper had value, or whether it could be published, remained an unknown. ¡°Each profession has its own expertise, whether there¡¯s innovation, I don¡¯t know either.¡± He decided to do a plagiarism check first. Professor Wang uploaded the thesis to a professional platform, and a number popped up on the webpage, ¡°Thesis duplicate ratio: 2.33%.¡± A very acceptable duplication rate. Duplicate issues arose due to the algorithm problems of the thesis library, with some technical terms having a little overlap with other theses. After writing some revision comments, Wang Zhong stood up from his seat, stretched his limbs, and planned to consult some experts in Information Science or Mechanical Engineering. Getting older had its advantage, having students all over the world, spanning across various industries. Thus, Professor Wang Zhong¡¯s connections were vast, knowing almost every expert in various fields. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s already ten o¡¯clock. Forget it.¡± After thinking about it, not wanting to disturb others¡¯ rest, Wang Zhong just sent an email asking industry professionals to comment on the thesis. ¡­ ¡°Professor Wang¡¯s student¡¯s paper, sent to me, could it be in the field of Mechanical Engineering?¡± ¡°Just recently accepted undergraduates?¡± Facing this elderly man over eighty but still working on the front line, Lin Wenda was very respectful. Asking him about an undergraduate¡¯s paper was rare, one had to at least give some face. However, at the moment, Lin Wenda had a project on hand and couldn¡¯t spare much time to review a thesis. He casually forwarded this thesis to his students, asking them to take a look first. If it was ordinary stuff, he wouldn¡¯t need to waste his time. By his thinking, being graduate students, reading an undergraduate¡¯s paper should be easy, right? ¡­ ¡°¡­The teacher is always like this; making me do such boring little tasks. Revising a thesis, what if it¡¯s written by a novice, making me rewrite the whole thing?¡± Wang Lili was watching a movie with her boyfriend and suddenly received this message, uttering a low complaint. Life as a graduate student was tough, often having to do chores for the teacher. Her mentor was already a good one, giving only relevant work without errands or sending parcels, nor randomly delaying graduation without reason, and there were no unwritten dramatic rules. Anyway, enduring through this time would pass as well. ¡°If I pursue a doctorate, I¡¯d still have to slave away for so many years!¡± Just the thought made her not want to study further. But for her future, she had to bear it slowly. Casually clicking on the thesis, upon seeing the thesis title and ¡°Zhang Yuan¡± written under the author, Wang Lili suddenly felt overjoyed. Ha ha! Cool! ¡°` Chapter 39 - 39: What are you writing! Chapter 39: Chapter 39: What are you writing! Editor: Henyee Translations ¡°` When Wang Lili caught a glimpse of this paper for the first time, she was ecstatic. The world is so small! Could it be someone with the same name? ¡°Zhang Yuan¡± is such a common name, you could find ten thousand of them in the whole Xia Country! ¡°It probably isn¡¯t someone with the same name. A few days ago, I think I heard he was writing some kind of kinematics paper¡­¡± ¡°Haha, Horses¡¯ Fortune, you¡¯ve fallen into my hands!¡± ... The more Wang Lili thought about it, the more excited she became. When she recalled how her intelligence had been severely insulted that afternoon and how she couldn¡¯t find a way to save face, she held a grudge in her heart. ¡°Little Horses¡¯ Fortune, what good can come from your paper?¡± ¡°I must completely refute it, then criticize it until it¡¯s worthless, making the boss give you a good scolding!¡± Thinking of this, she quickly told her boyfriend, ¡°Sorry, I have something to do.¡± ¡°Huh? What!¡± The poor guy, after much effort, finally got his beloved girl to go out and planned to get into a little mischief. But then this happened. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?????????????????.co ¡°The teacher sent over an assignment. No choice, I have to look at the paper first.¡± Yet he couldn¡¯t complain¡­ ¡°Then I¡¯ll ask you out again tomorrow¡­¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s see if I have time tomorrow.¡± And just like that, Wang Lili abandoned her boyfriend and enthusiastically threw herself into the ¡°revolutionary work¡± of reading the paper. ¡­ Two hours later, she sat dazed in front of her computer. ¡°The writing is really longwinded, constantly rambling to increase length?¡± ¡°This point does have some substance.¡± Huh? What¡¯s this? Hmm¡­ Let me think. Maybe I need to look through some other papers. Gradually, her face flushed. Her whole body experienced a strange sensation of dizziness, and the dense text seemed like a heavenly book, so much so that later on, she had no idea what was being said. Read it again! Still no good¡­ Read it again! Wang Lili felt her thoughts were so clogged, she was nearly suffocating. So frustrating! I actually couldn¡¯t understand it! ¡­ After Zhang Yuan and Han Ziyue finished dinner, they also strolled around the pedestrian street near the campus for a while. They didn¡¯t buy anything, as for women, shopping and buying things are actually two separate matters¡­ Then, bypassing the dormitory supervisor¡¯s gaze, they went to her dorm room to ¡°fix her computer.¡± The computer wasn¡¯t really broken; it just ran slowly due to aging parts. Zhang Yuan, of course, couldn¡¯t solve such a world-level problem; he just pretended to take apart the computer, cleaned out some dust, and deleted a bunch of junk software. He also got a wave of attention from the girls, with all sorts of singing and dancing, and the random questions made Zhang Yuan quite uncomfortable. If he had known earlier, he wouldn¡¯t have come. ¡°You look familiar. Have I seen you somewhere?¡± ¡°You were just on a live stream.¡± ¡°Is he your new boyfriend?¡± Han Ziyue replied, ¡°No, no, he¡¯s my sister¡¯s ex-boyfriend. He¡¯s an astronaut, the kind who¡¯s about to go to space.¡± ¡°Haha, that relationship seems quite strange.¡± ¡°¡­Doesn¡¯t every astronaut know how to fix things? If a computer chip really breaks, how should it be fixed? I heard that spaceship is going to fly for three thousand years.¡± Zhang Yuan patiently explained, ¡°The main chips on the spaceship are very traditional military silicon-based chips, low frequency, micron-level. The simpler and cruder something is, the less likely it is to break. Of course, the performance isn¡¯t that great, and they¡¯ll carry a lot of spare replacements to just swap in when one breaks.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s electronic equipment we bring ourselves, if it breaks, then it just stays broken, as it can¡¯t be fixed.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s so tragic; we better hope our phones don¡¯t break!¡± The girls couldn¡¯t imagine a miserable life without phones. Watching them chat, Han Ziyue just laughed on the side, her face slightly flushed. Zhang Yuan knew what the girl was thinking. Girls always have a bit of vanity. Zhang Yuan was now a minor celebrity too, and bringing him back to the dorm to show off certainly greatly satisfied her ¡°vanity.¡± Such things were all normal, as long as they didn¡¯t go too far. Actually, he also had a bit of vanity himself; who doesn¡¯t like being praised? In short, it was certainly a very comfortable day; he didn¡¯t use his brain, didn¡¯t study, and even enjoyed a wave of unprecedented adoration, basking in glory. Returning to his dorm, Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but feel a sense of guilt. Such decadence! ¡°If Ye Kaifu were still here, I might get mocked harshly!¡± He thought to himself, ¡°Anyway, I, Zhang Yuan, won¡¯t be a backup plan or a sycophant. In five days, I¡¯ll be aboard the spaceship and leaving, so how could I be afraid of you girls? If you ask me out tomorrow, I won¡¯t go; I¡¯ll just stay in the dorm and study.¡± Yes, that¡¯s the way. After reading for a while and studying for a bit, he then went to bed. He had a great habit of resting before midnight every night and then waking up at 7 AM sharp the next day. ¡°I wonder if Professor Wang has looked at my draft?¡± Groggily, he closed his eyes. He was sleeping soundly when suddenly, his phone rang. Ding-a-ling! S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Zhang Yuan woke with a start, looked at the time, and angrily asked, ¡°Sister Wang Lili, what are you doing? Do you know it¡¯s 2 AM¡­ you also have a boyfriend, can¡¯t you not disturb me in the middle of the night?¡± Wang Lili stuck out her tongue and asked apologetically, ¡°I have a question, do you have any recommended books for geometry group theory and topology?¡± She couldn¡¯t understand. She really couldn¡¯t understand Zhang Yuan¡¯s paper. She had studied group theory and topology, but combining the two fields of mathematics and utilizing some of the deep knowledge in them, she just couldn¡¯t grasp it. Both are profound areas of mathematics, and even if you study them a lifetime, you may not thoroughly master them. She asked a few good friends, but they couldn¡¯t understand either. She even asked a few doctoral senior students, still remaining in that foggy, in-between state of understanding and not understanding. But everyone said it was a very innovative article, needing to be studied well. She couldn¡¯t even understand it, so how could she edit the paper! She might even get criticized by the boss! At the thought of the boss¡¯s fretting, sighing, looking at her like a fool, she became very anxious. So, she could only take this roundabout way of saving herself. What books Zhang Yuan had read, she would read too. That way, she¡¯d surely understand his paper. ¡°I¡¯m such a genius! Coming up with this scheme.¡± ¡°He mustn¡¯t find out that I¡¯m modifying his paper and can¡¯t even understand it; otherwise, he¡¯ll laugh at me so cruelly, trampling me¡­¡± But in the next second, Wang Lili was disheartened. She heard Zhang Yuan say, ¡°You want to study group theory and topology, huh? These are two different branches of mathematics, and there actually isn¡¯t a particularly comprehensive textbook that explains their connection.¡± ¡°Then quickly introduce them.¡± Wang Lili almost blurted out her true intention. ¡°Oh¡­ A topology on a group, forming a topological group. A group with a topology, or a topological space with a group structure, where the focus is that the group operation must be continuous. An important subclass in topological groups is the so-called Lie Group, and within it is another important subclass called typical groups (Matrix Groups), for instance, those you might encounter in linear algebra, like GL(n), O(n), U(n), etc., all belong to this category¡­¡± ¡°If you want to learn completely, there are five books I can recommend to you, and these documents can also be referenced¡­¡± Five books, how long will it take me to finish them?! I have to hand it over tomorrow! Wang Lili almost fainted. ¡°` Chapter 40 - 40: What a Good Paper! Chapter 40: Chapter 40: What a Good Paper! Editor: Henyee Translations ¡°` Just thinking about not being able to complete the task today, Wang Lili cursed to herself, ¡°Horse¡¯s Fortune, I¡¯m done with this!¡± ¡°Senior, why is your breathing so rapid? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Zhang Yuan scratched his head awkwardly. In the middle of the night, rapid breathing, and even making a phone call, could it be she¡¯s looking for some excitement? ¡°What¡­ heavy?¡± Wang Lili finally regained her senses and snapped, ¡°Let¡¯s just leave it at that, I¡¯m hanging up!¡± Zhang Yuan felt a bit puzzled, but he couldn¡¯t be bothered to think about it more. He just closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep. ... After confirming that she couldn¡¯t save the day in a roundabout way, Wang Lili could only send an email to her teacher, admitting her lack of ability: ¡°I don¡¯t understand, I¡¯m sorry.¡± She also included the opinions of several senior brothers as a backup, indicating that she had already tried her best. ¡°My credibility scores are going to be completely deducted¡­¡± She sighed heavily. ¡­ The next morning, Lin Wenda arrived at his office and brewed a cup of green tea. The first thing he did every day was open his email. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ????????????????????.co Various miscellaneous tasks usually lasted until ten o¡¯clock. But today there were particularly few emails, only a handful. ¡°Hmm, Wang Lili didn¡¯t understand the article?¡± Lin Wenda was slightly surprised. Seeing the email was sent at two in the morning, he decided not to blame his student. ¡°It seems she really didn¡¯t understand, interesting¡­¡± Wang Lili was a student who, although not the most talented, had always been reliable in her work. Since there were fewer affairs to handle, Lin Wenda thought to himself: I might as well take a look myself. He opened the email and began reading carefully. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. At first, his brow was tightly furrowed, but soon enough, something caught his attention, and he continued reading intently. A fine layer of sweat gradually covered his forehead. His expression grew more and more excited, to the point where his hair stood on end. A very valuable article! ¡°The kinematics of humanoid robots are clearly described using a new method!¡± ¡°No, this is just a framework, a grand theory; many details still need to be perfected¡­¡± What did this mean? It meant countless subsequent papers, it meant related industries might further upgrade! A groundbreaking discovery! As an insider, he deeply understood the article¡¯s value. At that moment, Lin Wenda felt a temptation to claim the paper as his own. The rewards from this paper were simply too enormous, especially the fame! He could already foresee a constant stream of awards, to the point his hands would cramp from receiving them. However, he quickly restrained this desire. The paper was sent over by Professor Wang. If he dared to claim it as his own, with Old Wang¡¯s prowess, it would take only a second for him to turn into ashes¡­ the energy of an Academician was not something a regular professor could rival. Besides, it was really unethical to engage in academic misconduct, even though one heard about such shenanigans quite often in the circle. ¡°It¡¯s better to be honest, there¡¯s no need to snatch from others; writing some follow-up expansion papers by myself is already quite impressive.¡± ¡°Yes, there¡¯s a lot of follow-up work to do!¡± As he thought this through, Lin Wenda felt inspiration flowing like the Yangtze River, able to write effortlessly. As for the current projects¡­ compared to writing papers, they were nothing. These were not filler papers; they were quite valuable. ¡°Knock, knock, knock!¡± Someone stood outside, knocked on the door, and then coughed. Lin Wenda looked up, seeing it was Lu Junzhe, the dean of the Mechanical Engineering College. Professor Lu smiled and asked, ¡°Professor Lin, what are you looking at? So engrossed and even giggling. I¡¯ve been standing here for ages¡­¡± Lin Wenda instinctively wanted to hide Zhang Yuan¡¯s paper but thought better of it and took it out. ¡°Professor Lu, have a look at this paper, it¡¯s quite interesting!¡± An interesting paper? Lu Junzhe skeptically walked over and skimmed through a few lines. ¡°A novice writing their first paper, as bad as an undergraduate thesis.¡± ¡°It does look a bit like that.¡± ¡°Undergraduate theses are mass-produced garbage, but there¡¯s nothing you can do.¡± Then, as if something caught his attention, his breathing became rapid. A new method! His eyes gleamed brighter. Its value¡­ Immeasurable! After reading the entire paper, he hurriedly turned and left, urgently in a rush. ¡°Professor Lu, where are you going?¡± Lin Wenda was a bit confused. ¡°Going back to write!¡± Professor Lu hurriedly said, ¡°Inspiration is the most valuable thing; I can¡¯t waste it!¡± ¡°No, what did you come to me for?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Professor Lu remembered his initial purpose and stopped. He slapped his forehead, ¡°Actually, it¡¯s nothing much. The annual departmental evaluation is about to begin. Last year, our college didn¡¯t produce any outstanding work and might slide in rank again, so I came to talk with you all. If there¡¯s any important article, publish it quickly. We must maintain our rank; otherwise, everyone¡¯s funding will reduce by a tier.¡± There¡¯s competition among universities, and rankings among departments too. Xisha University¡¯s ¡°Mechanical Engineering¡± was a top-notch field, but it hadn¡¯t produced particularly outstanding work in recent years, always hovering around fifteenth or sixteenth nationally, much to Professor Lu¡¯s anxiety. As the dean, he was responsible. How were rankings made? Academic reputation, employer reputation, paper citations, and all sorts of index weights. Anyway, papers were certainly the top priority. Lin Wenda collected his smile: ¡°This paper was written by¡­ Zhang Yuan, Zhang Qiming¡¯s son, who¡¯s about to board the spaceship, part of the Deep Space Foundation. And it was completed independently by him, so it can¡¯t be attributed to our college.¡± ¡°Zhang Yuan? I¡¯ve heard of him.¡± Professor Lu blinked, ¡°Like father, like son, such a pity it¡¯s not our college¡¯s achievement¡­ What a shame.¡± Lin Wenda laughed heartily: ¡°Old Lu, don¡¯t be anxious. Isn¡¯t the extension of this paper good work? Based on it, we can at least write ten more highly valuable articles!¡± ¡°The paper has just come out and hasn¡¯t been published yet; no one else has seen it.¡± ¡°We saw it first, that¡¯s our opportunity. Let¡¯s seize it and fleece it for what it¡¯s worth!¡± Professor Lu¡¯s eyes shone as he slapped his thigh: ¡°Right! It¡¯s just a broad framework and can¡¯t be applied concretely yet; there are still a lot of details to discuss.¡± ¡°Just the expansion tasks are too much for the two of us¡­¡± He quickly made a call to notify his assistant, ¡°Little Yuan, quick, gather all the professors, there¡¯s a major task to distribute to everyone.¡± ¡­ ¡°` CREATORS¡¯ THOUGHTS Henyee From 18 Dec 2020, there will be only 40 chapters for Trial Read, with Chapters 20 to 40 locked. After a book is picked, Chapters 20-39 will have the locks automatically removed. Chapters 1-39 will become free to read, with Chapter 40 remaining a Premium chapter. The selected book will have a mark on the corner of the book cover in 30 days to indicate continuation. Coins spent on all books during Trial Read will all be refunded within 30 days. However, Fast Passes will not be refunded. Thank you for your understanding. Chapter 41 - 41 Probably a Weakling Chapter 41: Chapter 41 Probably a Weakling After the conference ended, almost everyone was bubbling with excitement and anxious anticipation. Professor Lu quickly proposed several broad directions, and everyone chose their favorite topic to avoid overlapping ideas within the Mechanical Engineering College. If this series of papers was successfully published, it would be enough to make up a special issue, and it would be a great opportunity for the Mechanical Engineering College to break into the top ten nationwide! ¡°With higher rankings, graduates won¡¯t have to worry about finding jobs¡­ and it would also attract various high-end manufacturing enterprises.¡± Thinking about the certain improvement of various indicators, Professor Lu became more and more cheerful, and couldn¡¯t help but burst into laughter. Happiness came so fast, it was almost overwhelming. ... ¡°Right, Zhang Yuan¡¯s paper needs to be published as soon as possible. All our work is based on it. Without its publication, we can only hold onto our papers,¡± Professor Lu Junzhe suddenly remembered this important detail, ¡°It would be best to get it published in ¡®Modern Science¡¯ as soon as possible.¡± ¡®Modern Science¡¯ is almost the most influential journal in the country, a top-tier Q1 journal. ¡°¡­I¡¯ll personally help him edit it!¡± Lin Wenda offered. ¡°No.¡± Professor Lu Junzhe shook his head, ¡°He is not your student, better not to meddle too much. Poor editing could cause trouble. Just give some editorial recommendations; let him handle it himself.¡± ¡°Actually, they¡¯re all insignificant details, not that important. Get it approved quickly, so we can publish our papers¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Regular publications usually undergo a triple review process: initial editor review, peer review, and chief editor¡¯s final review. It can take as little as one to two months or as long as half a year to a year to review, which made Professor Lu Junzhe very anxious. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ????????????????????.co Such urgency, truly urgent. Because as long as Zhang Yuan¡¯s paper wasn¡¯t published, they couldn¡¯t cite their research results. Publishing without citation would be considered plagiarism, which would cause serious trouble! ¡°Alas, send him the expedited review email for the editor too, and get it published quickly.¡± As for whether it could be accepted? Such a question had naturally never crossed the minds of Professor Lu Junzhe and Lin Wenda. If that paper couldn¡¯t get through, ¡®Modern Science¡¯ might as well close down. ¡­ Half an hour later, Wang Zhong found an additional email in his inbox. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°An exceptionally innovative and valuable paper, it is recommended to submit directly to ¡®Modern Science¡¯¡­¡± ¡°Editorial recommendations are as follows¡­¡± Wang Zhong was delighted to see his grand-student praised, knowing that if the paper wasn¡¯t good, they wouldn¡¯t suggest submitting it to ¡®Modern Science.¡¯ He then forwarded the email to Zhang Yuan. Zhang Yuan received the email promptly and was stunned as he read it. ¡°They actually want me to submit to ¡®Modern Science¡¯!¡± Zhang Yuan pondered deeply for a while, then sighed heavily. He originally intended to submit to just any journal, but Professor Wang had even sent him the submission email. It seemed that the ¡°inspiration¡± his father left him was probably meticulously selected essence, much better than he had imagined. Without delving into these ¡°inspirations,¡± Zhang Yuan wouldn¡¯t have been able to uncover the hidden treasures within. ¡°Thanks, dad.¡± He faintly understood then the well-intentioned efforts of his father. Since the editorial recommendations suggested quick submission, he might as well make some casual changes, like modifying sentence structures; and he could cut out any overly verbose parts¡­ Yes, in his eyes, these were meaningless things. He was diligent, but never wasted his diligence on meaningless tasks. ¡°Let¡¯s leave it at that.¡± After three hours and some minor edits, Zhang Yuan felt shy about bothering the experts to review his paper again and sent it directly to the editor¡¯s email¡­ ¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s go have some fun!¡± At that moment, a female voice came from outside the door. Opening the door, he saw Han Ziyue had invited herself, smiling at him from just outside his dorm room. He wondered how she managed to sneak past the dormitory supervisor and make her way to the male dormitory. Zhang Yuan had just submitted his paper and was in a great mood, ¡°Don¡¯t you have training to do? The summer camp during the vacation is for studying, not for playing. Besides, a girl coming to a boys¡¯ dormitory could be kind of¡­¡± ¡°What could it be?¡± Zhang Yuan¡¯s eyes drifted up towards the ceiling, ¡°Could be¡­unsafe.¡± Han Ziyue boldly stepped into the room, looking around, ¡°Why are you sounding like my dad? What era do you think we¡¯re living in that you can¡¯t loosen up!¡± ¡°What? Loosen up?¡± Han Ziyue then mischievously added, ¡°Today is Saturday, you know. There¡¯s no need to keep studying all day long. As for safety¡­ do you really think you could do something to me? Weren¡¯t you always a proper person?¡± Zhang Yuan blushed, ¡°I definitely wouldn¡¯t.¡± His small room was not at all messy; on the contrary, it was very tidy and didn¡¯t have the usual smell that one finds in boys¡¯ dorms. ¡°Your place is cleaned up nicely, you must be good at household chores¡­¡± Zhang Yuan recalled his slovenly father¡ªwho else would do the chores if not him? He even knew how to cook, clean, and scrub the toilet¡­ He said, ¡°I am someone who is going to be on a spaceship, after all. If I didn¡¯t maintain personal hygiene, wouldn¡¯t I end up gassing out an entire spaceship? If there were a lot of complaints, I could lose my wakefulness rights and be put into forced hibernation.¡± Han Ziyue curiously sat on another stool, one hand propping up her chin, ¡°Haha, poor hygiene and you get forced into hibernation?¡± ¡°Exactly. And it¡¯s not just that. If you commit a crime, you¡¯d also be forced into hibernation. Anyway, you stay in hibernation until a new civilization arises, and then you¡¯re allowed to wake up for the trial, according to the law.¡± Zhang Yuan shrugged and closed some of the books that were open on his desk. ¡°That¡¯s just awful, waking up from hibernation only to go to jail?¡± Zhang Yuan nodded, ¡°That¡¯s right¡­ but normally people wouldn¡¯t commit crimes on purpose, right? What brings you here?¡± Han Ziyue invited him, ¡°Actually, it¡¯s nothing much, just thought we could go to the water park together. What do you say?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to go, I need to study!¡± Remembering the earnest pledge he had made the night before, Zhang Yuan dragged a stool and seriously sat in front of the computer, pretending to edit the paper he had already submitted. But the ¡°Learning to Distract Method¡± isn¡¯t almighty, and with a girl looking over his shoulder, Zhang Yuan always felt distracted. ¡°Ah, I remember now, you really are a studious nerd. Back in high school, you always loved doing homework. When you dated my sister, you often did her homework, and you even helped me with mine¡­¡± Han Ziyue found the memories incredibly amusing. ¡°When did I ever like doing homework? I did it because I had to¡­¡± Zhang Yuan remembered those times from about five or six years ago. Back then, Han Ziyue always loved to be the third wheel. Even kissing his girlfriend required her consent, which was incredibly annoying. And just like that, she had grown up so much. Time really does flow like water. Han Ziyue glanced at Zhang Yuan¡¯s computer screen, with a hint of admiration in her voice, ¡°This is your paper? Would you let me read it? Are you thinking of submitting it? Writing papers must be harder than winning competitions, right?¡± ¡°¡­I can¡¯t really say which is harder, I¡¯ve never won any competition prizes myself. Each has its difficulties, I guess.¡± Zhang Yuan inwardly doubted whether Miss Han, with her beauty but no brains, could understand any five consecutive words in it. From her loser vibe, it was clear¡­ she was probably a bottom-tier student. After all, she never liked doing homework and was never a top student from the start. And really, a sophomore girl¡ªno disrespect¡ªthe level is just not there. Chapter 42 - 42 Sending Warmth? Chapter 42: Chapter 42 Sending Warmth? Sure enough, Han Ziyue pointed at one of the words and laughed, ¡°This¡­ what does ¡®ideal¡¯ mean here? So weird? Is that word even in academic papers?¡± Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Do you need ideals to write papers?¡± ¡°Could it be about the legendary New Civilization School papers?¡± Zhang Yuan covered his face, saying grumpily, ¡°¡­ a non-empty subset I of ring R, if for any two algebraic operations on R, it satisfies: for any a, b ¡Ê I, r ¡Ê R, a-b ¡Ê I, ra ¡Ê I, then I is called a left ideal of ring R. Similarly, there is a definition for right ideals.¡± ¡°A non-empty subset I of ring R, if it is both a left and right ideal, is called a bilateral ideal of R, usually simply referred as R¡¯s ideal.¡± Come on, this is the most basic concept in mathematics. ... Suddenly revealing her ignorance, Han Ziyue couldn¡¯t help but blush. She stuck out her tongue and said, ¡°You¡¯re no fun at all! Here I am teasing you, and you actually recite mathematical definitions.¡± ¡°No wonder you¡¯re a single guy, after being dumped by my sister, no girls like you anymore! That¡¯s not right, you know?¡± Zhang Yuan said expressionlessly, ¡°I know, but I won¡¯t change.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Han Ziyue was suddenly at a loss for words. ¡°Zhang Yuan, are you there?¡± Just at that moment, another female voice sounded outside the door, it seemed like Wang Lili. Speaking of the word ¡°bad luck,¡± there might be nobody unluckier than her. Caught by her supervisor to review a paper overnight, only to find she couldn¡¯t understand anything. Not understanding was not a problem since Zhang Yuan, the person concerned, didn¡¯t know; it was just secretly embarrassing. But¡­ Her damn supervisor actually asked her to invite Zhang Yuan to some conference at the Mechanical Engineering College! There was a high chance of being exposed, and even a certain likelihood of becoming Zhang Yuan¡¯s student! Why am I so unlucky! ¡°Hey, is there another girl inside? Hahaha!¡± Wang Lili¡¯s mood improved when she saw a man and a woman alone together in the room. Got you, is this your new girlfriend? She¡¯s pretty cute, walking around teasing people, young girl, you better not fall for it! Who would have thought, this dull Zhang Yuan, turns out to be a closeted naughty guy. But it makes sense, everyone is at their most playful at this age, once on the spaceship, everyone must behave properly, no messing around anymore. ¡°Ah, sorry, sorry, carry on, carry on¡­¡± While saying ¡°carry on,¡± Wang Lili showed no intention of leaving; instead, she just stood outside laughing joyfully. ¡°Wait a minute! Carry on what¡­¡± Zhang Yuan hurriedly tried to explain, sweating profusely. ¡°This is¡­ my ex-girlfriend¡¯s younger sister.¡± Han Ziyue, ever the instigator, added, ¡°She¡¯s the younger sister of my first-love ex-girlfriend!¡± This relationship is a bit complicated, huh, all broken up and still playing with little aunties? Wang Lili¡¯s face showed a curious expression, her gossiping nature worsening. Young people today¡­ So impressive! Zhang Yuan was extremely embarrassed and quickly changed the subject, ¡°Right, what did you want me for?¡± Now that business was mentioned, Wang Lili no longer beat around the bush, ¡°My boss wants to invite you over for a face-to-face discussion.¡± She paused, pretending to be serious, ¡°I read your paper¡­ It was good.¡± ¡°You have read it, and it¡¯s good?¡± Zhang Yuan recalled the reply letter, indeed forwarded by the Mechanical Engineering College, and suddenly had a thought, ¡°You¡¯re not the one helping me revise it, are you?¡± Wang Lili¡¯s heart skipped a beat, ¡°Don¡¯t overthink it! I just took a casual look.¡± ¡°Based on that paper of yours, not only can many follow-up papers be published, but many projects can also be initiated. We forwarded the paper to several big companies, and they take it very seriously.¡± ¡°There are a lot of big company representatives coming this time¡­¡± A faculty position at the university isn¡¯t just about scientific research; it also involves outsourced projects from the community. High-tech companies, when faced with tough challenges, often contract university professors directly. Zhang Yuan was skeptical, ¡°Many corporate representatives? What¡¯s that got to do with me? Are they sharing money with me?¡± ¡°Forget it, how can they just give you money for nothing. With your paper as the framework, the professors can do a lot already¡­¡± Wang Lili explained, ¡°However, first, their understanding of that paper wouldn¡¯t be as profound as yours, they won¡¯t be as quick as you in executing projects, and for some commercial projects, time is money. Second, don¡¯t forget who dug the well when you drink the water; it wouldn¡¯t look good if these professors take all the big projects for themselves. It would be great if you could participate.¡± ¡°What do you think, will you go?¡± Zhang Yuan nodded, realizing it was a sign of goodwill from the big players, ¡°Yeah¡­ I¡¯ve got the time, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°I¡¯m coming too!¡± Han Ziyue quickly said. The three of them walked and listened as Wang Lili rambled on. Papers, as such, cannot be patented; everyone can look at them, and anyone can cite them; aside from bringing fame, they can¡¯t provide significant financial benefits to the author. However, if Zhang Yuan¡¯s new algorithm were used to write robot control software, then the entire set of software could be protected as intellectual property rights, and anyone who wanted to use it would have to pay. Zhang Yuan had a lot of free time on the spaceship, making some contributions wasn¡¯t a bad idea. ¡°Your suite of algorithms might indeed be more advanced than the original ones!¡± ¡°High degrees of freedom in robots involve really huge stakes, the big companies can¡¯t help but be anxious.¡± Zhang Yuan kept nodding his head. Han Ziyue¡¯s eyes sparkled, ¡°Wow, Zhang Yuan, you¡¯re amazing! My sister has really poor taste, to have dumped you¡­ Maybe I should step in personally, I don¡¯t have a boyfriend!¡± *Cough cough*¡­ Zhang Yuan awkwardly scratched his head. Actually, he wasn¡¯t interested in money; even if he earned it, he¡¯d just donate it to the Foundation¡­ He immediately made a call to Professor Wang Zhong. Professor Wang always had that energetic tone, ¡°What? A big project, you say? I definitely don¡¯t object! If you plan to get into this field in the future, doing more of these projects now is a good idea. It can help you gain experience¡­¡± ¡°Right, before the spaceship reaches Jupiter, there¡¯s at least a year of wakeful time, enough for you to complete a big project.¡± ¡°What¡­ you want to donate the money you earn to the Foundation?¡± Professor Wang immediately got excited, ¡°Good, good, I¡¯ll send two people to help you right away!¡± After hanging up, Wang Zhong kept marveling; his disciple was genuinely impressive, young yet starting to show his mettle, much like he had been back in the day. ¡­ Chapter 43 - 43: Heroes Dont Ask About Origins Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Heroes Don¡¯t Ask About Origins Xisha University, Mechanical Engineering Building. Several business representatives rushed to a meeting room, quietly discussing. ¡°Nowadays, are all university students this impressive? When I was in my twenties, I should have still been handing out flyers on the street¡­¡± Ma Teng joked while leaning on the chair. As the CEO of ¡°Evolver Robot¡± company, a Fortune 500 tech-originated firm, Ma Teng deeply understood the value of the thesis, even though it had not been formally published. But it not being published had turned into a good thing at this moment, becoming their opportunity to overtake their competitors. ¡°President Ma, heroes needn¡¯t ask about each other¡¯s origins, ambition isn¡¯t confined to the elderly. Real geniuses are already reaching their productive phase in their twenties,¡± said a middle-aged man sitting opposite him named Ding Peng, also the chairman of a major corporation. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ... Ma Teng continued, ¡°Honestly, I couldn¡¯t understand what that paper was about. It¡¯s just that my team thinks it¡¯s important. Since I was free, I might as well come and see.¡± ¡°You jest, President Ma¡ªif you don¡¯t understand it, why rush over personally?¡± The discussion hadn¡¯t yet started, but there was already an invisible haze of gunpowder in the meeting room. Everyone was a competitor, fiercely rivalrous in the marketplace. What does cutting-edge robotics rely on? Technology! Especially these kinds of highly autonomous robots, the better the coordination, the more humanoid they are, the more favored they are in the market. But, it¡¯s difficult. Current robotic hands always have a bit of an ¡°excavator¡± feel when they move. Plainly speaking, they are stiff. Human movements can be like this, can be like that, full of the spirituality belonging to life, but robotic hands can¡¯t do that¡ªit¡¯s actually about the motion control algorithms. This paper, one could say, had resolved the most critical ¡°control¡± part, and it was likely to be an industry upgrade! Therefore, they were all deeply concerned. Professor Lu Junzhe saw their confrontational demeanor and was inwardly delighted. Go on, just keep boosting each other¡¯s bids, the higher the better, the happier I am! ¡°¡­Professor Lu, this paper, it hasn¡¯t been sent to other companies, has it?¡± ¡°No, just to you five firms, those who have close collaboration with our university, only you were informed.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. If it weren¡¯t for submission elsewhere, I would even consider buying the paper outright, why even bother publishing it?¡± ¡°President Ma, that wouldn¡¯t be right, intellectual property should belong to all humanity!¡± Professor Lu cleared his throat, ¡°Ahem, Chairmen, trying to recruit Zhang Yuan is basically impossible now. He belongs to the Deep Space Foundation and will be following that spaceship leaving¡­¡± Ma Teng smiled and said, ¡°Professor Lu, what you mentioned are not problems. If he¡¯s willing to stay on Earth, we have ways to exempt him from punishment¡­¡± ¡°Even if he gets punished by the government, we will still hire him.¡± At this moment, the door opened, and several young people along with two middle-aged individuals walked in. Wang Lili and Han Ziyue immediately ran to the back row. Facing so many big shots, they really didn¡¯t dare to joke around, they would rather hide if possible. Ma Teng, engrossed in high-spirited discussions, couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit of a headache, as two of the individuals were negotiation representatives from the Deep Space Foundation. Facing a twenty-something-year-old, tricking him with some phrases or getting him to sign some agreement wasn¡¯t simple? But facing these crafty old fellows, trying to make even a little money from them is not easy. ¡°This is Zhang Yuan. This one is President Ma, this one is Master Ding, and this is¡­¡± Professor Lu introduced the sitting bosses one by one. ¡°So young!¡± ¡°Truly a tiger¡¯s son indeed!¡± A round of praise made Zhang Yuan feel rather embarrassed. Professor Lu paused, smiled and said, ¡°We take your paper very seriously. Next, regarding the control of movement, could you talk about it? Of course, if it involves what you are planning to write in your next paper, you can choose not to.¡± In fact, this was also a test of Zhang Yuan¡¯s strength. Although he had written that critical paper, no one really knew how strong he actually was. Just by talking face to face for a while, these old-timers could quickly discern a person¡¯s real caliber. ¡°My paper just roughly outlined a framework, there are still seven directions in total for the subsequent part¡­¡± Seven directions? Professor Lu was slightly startled; they had only discussed five yesterday. ¡°The first direction is like this¡­¡± Zhang Yuan eloquently spoke, first paraphrasing his own paper in plain language, then he began to describe these extensions. There were really too many details, and due to the immense amount of engineering involved, it¡¯s not something Zhang Yuan could complete alone. So, he spoke openly about it. He was under no pressure to write the paper, but these professors were; during the discussion, bringing all these ideas out was beneficial to everyone. He wasn¡¯t planning to write further about it anyway. For more than two hours he discussed the seven directions, occasionally interrupted by questions. Professor Lu¡¯s eyebrows were furrowed and relaxed at times as he posed some questions. There were some particularly tricky questions that Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t answer right away, but he could easily answer the vast majority of them. ¡°¡­Senior, did you understand?¡± Han Ziyue couldn¡¯t make sense of a single word, aimlessly playing with her phone below when she suddenly asked a master¡¯s student next to her. The senior blushed and remained silent for a while. ¡°Sister, what about you?¡± She then asked Wang Lili. ¡°What? Of course¡­I understood.¡± Wang Lili lied, a bit flushed, continuously shifting the topic. Luckily, Han Ziyue didn¡¯t ask very professional questions, ¡°What are they talking about? Can this project make money?¡± Wang Lili pursed her lips, ¡°There are two Fortune 500 companies here, do you think they can make money? By the way, are you really his girlfriend?¡± Han Ziyue blinked provocatively, ¡°I¡¯ve known him for much longer than you have!¡± Wang Lili laughed, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I already have a boyfriend. I was just gossiping. Is that right?¡± ¡°Of course¡­not! I just feel his earnest demeanor is quite handsome. Although he might look awkward when he messes up, when he¡¯s smart, he¡¯s really attractive!¡± ¡°Handsome? What does that mean?¡± ¡°An ancient Xia language, it means a bit handsome.¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± Wang Lili felt she was a bit out of touch with the times, ¡°He¡¯s not staying on Earth just because of you, right?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, I just want to have fun with him during his last few days, not necessarily to be his girlfriend¡­ Isn¡¯t it okay to just be friends?¡± Chapter 44 - 44 Dust Settles Chapter 44: Chapter 44 Dust Settles At that moment, the meeting room suddenly fell silent. Ma Teng stood up and patted his back, ¡°Sorry, I need to use the restroom.¡± ¡°Excuse me, I do too.¡± Several people hurried out. In the restroom, Ma Teng let out a sigh, ¡°Alas, it¡¯s been too long since I¡¯ve been out of academia, these cutting-edge topics, I listen and listen and then I just can¡¯t understand anymore. But judging by the looks of those old professors, there shouldn¡¯t be any problems¡­ Xisha University has been collaborating with us for a long time, and their credibility has always been good.¡± ¡°Little Guo, what do you think of Zhang Yuan?¡± ... The assistant known as Little Guo thought for a moment and said earnestly, ¡°President Ma, if you can recruit him, you absolutely must. I reckon, with him, we could shorten the timeframe by at least a third. A project that normally takes 12 months could be finished in 8¡­¡± The door to the restroom opened again, and Chairman Ding walked in. As soon as he entered, he spoke loudly, ¡°President Ma, could I ask you a personal favor?¡± The circle is so small; although the two were rivals, they were also friends in private. Ma Teng burst into laughter as if he knew what was coming, ¡°No way, I won¡¯t accept it! Even if it¡¯s on a personal basis, I absolutely refuse!¡± ¡°Master Ding, are you really planning to compete with me for this person?¡± Ding Peng also started laughing, ¡°Then let¡¯s both lift the palanquin, shall we? Raise the price all the way to the Moon?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not that foolish. I think we can do it this way¡­¡± When the group returned, Ma Teng¡¯s first words were, ¡°Mr. Zhang, have you considered staying on Earth and joining our company?¡± He put up two fingers, making a gesture, ¡°I offer you an annual salary of two million. If the government penalizes you for anything, we¡¯ll take care of it!¡± Facing such brazen poaching, the expressions on the representatives of the Deep Space Foundation turned green, but they didn¡¯t know what to say. Zhang Yuan immediately shook his head, ¡°Sorry, President Ma¡­ this has been my dream since childhood.¡± The two representatives breathed a sigh of relief. Ma Teng said meaningfully, ¡°Two million is not a small amount. To set up a high-paying position like this, I¡¯m going to have to do quite a bit of talking at the board meeting¡­ Every penny in the company is budgeted.¡± ¡°You have to know, we¡¯ve only been acquainted for two hours, and because I know you¡¯re highly capable, we offered this price¡­¡± ¡°But academic ability doesn¡¯t necessarily mean work capability. I¡¯ve seen too many people who can talk a good game, but can¡¯t deliver¡­ If you do produce results later, the price is definitely not an issue!¡± Ding Peng laughed loudly, ¡°Boss Ma, you¡¯re too stingy. I offer an annual salary of three million, and I¡¯ll take another million out of my own pocket! As long as you¡¯re willing to stay here.¡± Zhang Yuan hurriedly responded, ¡°I¡¯m flattered by your generous offers. But it¡¯s not about the money, not even two hundred million would suffice. President Ma, Master Ding, I think, being in your positions, you should be able to understand that life isn¡¯t just about money, there are many things far more important than money.¡± ¡°I can complete the project on the spaceship too. There¡¯s a communication device inside, so remote communication isn¡¯t difficult.¡± Ma Teng was taken aback, then nodded, showing he understood, and quietly sat down. The meeting room was silent for a while. After a long pause, he said with an admiring tone, ¡°I really envy you young people, abandoning everything, starting anew on an unfamiliar planet. Sometimes, I also feel that impulse.¡± ¡°New civilization, it¡¯s a grand concept. In our fantasies, it¡¯s like paradise, always filled with infinite possibilities.¡± ¡°¡­ As beneficiaries of Earth Civilization that has developed to this point, I often think that many things are not right, but I don¡¯t know how they should be corrected.¡± ¡°Or maybe, I¡¯m well aware that many things are wrong, yet I oppose correcting them, because they would affect my personal interests. That might just be the case of interests dictating thoughts¡­¡± ¡°I hope that your new civilization becomes even better.¡± ¡°Thank you, President Ma,¡± Zhang Yuan said with a smile. ¡°You see, he won¡¯t stay here!¡± Wang Lili whispered her discussion below. Han Ziyue smiled and said, ¡°I know. If he really stayed, I wouldn¡¯t bother with him¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think he looked really cool rejecting them earlier? Boss Ma was dumbstruck! Even two hundred million couldn¡¯t do it¡­¡± Wang Lili felt a bit helpless, ¡°Fine, I really don¡¯t understand you artsy girls, making life uncomfortable for yourselves. What friendship? I don¡¯t want to be friends with him at all.¡± ¡­ And so, the entire negotiation for the collaboration took three days, a tortuous process of stock allocation and various clauses that exhausted Zhang Yuan. Even the usually gentle Professor Lu and Professor Lin had to get involved, indicating they could take on some of the work. After it was done, at a small restaurant, Zhang Yuan was treating the two girls to dinner. ¡°I finally understand why those big companies are so rich, they¡¯re completely ¡®no rabbit, no eagle¡¯ types. They¡¯ve made their fortunes by saving every penny!¡± Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but complain. The five big enterprises haggled back and forth and, in the end, only invested twenty million. It was truly unexpected. They planned to register a small company, called ¡°Genesis Technology Co., Ltd.¡± As one of the providers of technology, Zhang Yuan owned 10% of the shares. Of course, for this 10% of the company¡¯s shares, the two million annual salary was gone. ¡°They even want to save on a two million salary, I am really impressed.¡± But though he said this, his mood was still pretty good. Although donating felt like acting as a rich dog, that was money left by his father, whereas now, he was earning his own money, which felt distinctly different. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Han Ziyue laughed and said, ¡°This round of investment is called ¡®seed round.¡¯ The project has only a concept, there is only an idea but no concrete products or services, also known as ¡®face-recognition investing¡¯¡­ that is, investing money in you based on your reputation.¡± ¡°They are able to invest twenty million, which is already showing a huge respect to you and the university! After all, there¡¯s nothing concrete, can a concept alone make someone invest tens of billions? That¡¯s impossible.¡± Zhang Yuan nodded, it really was that way. Seeing potential is one thing, whether it can produce results is another. Han Ziyue continued, ¡°Didn¡¯t they retain the right of first refusal for follow-on investment in the cooperation agreement? If it really succeeds, these big companies will definitely swarm in with money, and with subsequent Series A, B, and C rounds, it can quickly grow into a big company.¡± ¡°Alright, I know that. Investing a small amount now, it¡¯s just a form of risk control. But they really are cunning.¡± Zhang Yuan said, ¡°Moreover, in a few years, the big company will be none of my concern.¡± How the company develops in the future doesn¡¯t matter to him, he won¡¯t be on Earth to enjoy the sense of achievement. The Foundation¡¯s people also helped him gain quite significant benefits. According to the company¡¯s articles of association, Zhang Yuan¡¯s 10% shareholding would be fixed. Even if the company raised capital for expansion in the future, it would still be 10%, not diluted. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for the fixed shares, I might as well take the salary and donate it to the Foundation.¡± This kind of distribution was really tricky; a fixed ten percent stake that didn¡¯t require additional investment to maintain one¡¯s share ratio was quite a windfall for Zhang Yuan. The key was whether the project could actually take off, otherwise it would be just a mirage. Afterwards, several chairmen invited him and the professors for a meal, but Zhang Yuan politely declined. It was better to avoid such socializing, as everyone would understand. ¡°I¡¯d rather have dinner with you guys!¡± ¡°Why?¡± Zhang Yuan hesitantly said, ¡°Because it saves time.¡± ¡°Dining with them, who knows how long it would take, and all the mutual flattery, annoying.¡± The room filled with laughter and joviality for a moment. With this matter settled, Zhang Yuan felt at peace. This was probably the last big thing before his departure. Glancing at the date, there was only one day left, and Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help feeling a bit of sorrow. Tomorrow would be his last day on Earth. And that day was finally approaching. Chapter 45 - 45: One Mans Doomsday Chapter 45: Chapter 45: One Man¡¯s Doomsday Holiday balance: 1 day. Zhang Yuan finally experienced the feeling of restlessness that Ye Kaifu had before leaving. His heart felt hollow, nothing he did seemed to have a spark, he didn¡¯t want to study, didn¡¯t want to think, and didn¡¯t want to play games. He even tossed and turned in bed, losing a whole night¡¯s sleep. This feeling was as if the end of the world was approaching. If tomorrow were the end of the world, what should he do today to make it meaningful? ... This topic had always been popular on the internet, if the apocalypse arrived and the world was in chaos, some people would choose to indulge, to fall; some would choose to go home and stay with their parents; others would confess their love, do things they normally wouldn¡¯t do, to make up for any regrets in life¡­ After all, humans are emotional creatures; living long in one place, no matter how many shortcomings it has and despite numerous complaints, the over-familiarity and habit makes it hard to leave. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. This place was his mother star¡ªEarth. Looking again at the crowds on the street, where everything was in order, it appeared to be just his own personal apocalypse. Zhang Yuan sighed deeply, shook off the wild thoughts in his mind, and hastened his steps forward. He went to Professor Wang Zhong¡¯s office, prepared to donate his shares in ¡°Genesis Technology Co., Ltd,¡± though the company was still in the process of registration. ¡°Zhang Yuan, it¡¯s good that you have this intention,¡± Professor Wang Zhong said amiably after taking a sip of water. ¡°I think, for now, you should hold on to the shares; don¡¯t donate them to the Foundation.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Isn¡¯t the Foundation short of funds?¡± Professor Wang waved his hand and sighed, ¡°Even if they are short of funds, they don¡¯t need your few million.¡± ¡°The Foundation has grown over a hundred years into a true behemoth. Its industries have increased, some obviously came into success because of fortunate misfortunes, such as the Space Elevator and some shares in Space City, and others were through investments.¡± Professor Wang made a gesture, ¡°The longer the reach, the greater the influence on the entire world.¡± ¡°You mean¡­¡± Zhang Yuan was a bit unclear. Professor Wang sighed, ¡°What¡¯s the purpose of the Deep Space Foundation? To support the development of aerospace, not to obtain massive profits; it¡¯s not a capitalist entity that needs to make profits in the long term.¡± ¡°Today, the size of the Foundation has become somewhat bloated. Where there is power, there will be corruption. A large organization, regardless of how well-regulated it is, with more people and over time, will inevitably form chaos and have all kinds of dark sides.¡± ¡°So, hold on to your shares. Many companies managed by the Foundation are not doing well.¡± Zhang Yuan pondered thoughtfully. Professor Wang smiled and said, ¡°Flowers don¡¯t bloom for a hundred days, and people don¡¯t stay good for a thousand days; the Foundation can¡¯t keep growing stronger. Especially when our generation is gone, the next generation may not have that vigor, and it will gradually weaken.¡± ¡°If you are truly concerned, come and offer help in three hundred years¡ªif the Foundation still exists by then.¡± Zhang Yuan expressed surprise, ¡°Professor Wang, three hundred years later, my company might have already collapsed. After all, I¡¯m just a minor shareholder, not involved in management, and I don¡¯t even look after it¡­¡± Professor Wang spoke indifferently, ¡°Who can predict the final outcome? I still suggest you keep the shares and simply donate the dividends to the Foundation. The Foundation doesn¡¯t lack assets, just future security.¡± ¡°I say the same to other asset donors.¡± The two talked for a long time. A person with no forethought will surely have immediate worries. Professor Wang indeed made sense; their generation had risen from ruins and destitution, and the consciousness of hardships differed from those behind them. Days without sufficient energy allowed everyone to feel the bitterness of life and the taste of downfall, deeply influencing even the mindset of the ruling class. ¡°To develop, to endlessly develop!¡± Professor Wang pointed at his head, ¡°That¡¯s the idea imprinted in my mind from our era.¡± ¡°But for many kids who grew up in the new era, that kind of thinking is gone. Life is too affluent, so why bother developing?¡± Going from frugality to luxury is easy, but going back is hard. That¡¯s why Professor Qi Yuanshan believes that humans had only a couple hundred years to step out of the Solar System¡ªit¡¯s just this reasoning. ¡°He predicted a long time ago that, in a few hundred years, humans would likely revert to the old ways of the past era, with all sorts of contradictions emerging¡­ The warmth brought by nuclear fusion is just too wonderful, far better than oil. Plus, with the Solar System being vast enough to accommodate trillions of people, who then would have the will to develop a second civilization?¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t a problem of technology, but of spiritual will.¡± ¡­ When Zhang Yuan stepped out of his office, his mind was tirelessly pondering. He could understand these social predictions, yet found them hard to truly grasp, perhaps. Zhang Yuan casually found a corner in the university campus to sit down, gazed at the azure sky, and aimlessly scrolled through his social media feed. ¡°Person in Xisha, just got off the high-speed train, boarding a spaceship tomorrow. Any ladies willing to accompany me on my last day?¡± [Selfie] [Selfie] [Selfie] It was his close friend Li Zhendong showing off in his social media feed, and the responses below were a heap of blessings and likes. Everyone was quite friendly toward the astronaut who was about to leave. Zhang Yuan replied, ¡°I¡¯m right here at Xisha University, come over.¡± Li Zhendong responded, ¡°Scram, you¡¯re not a lady!¡± ¡°I have lots of ladies here!¡± Li Zhendong immediately replied, ¡°Coming, coming, wait up, I¡¯m going to report to the Aviation Planning Bureau first.¡± About half an hour later, Li Zhendong sneaked up at the entrance of the university, looking nothing like a student, and even had his ID checked by the security guard. The moment they met, he asked, ¡°Where are the girls? I knew you were tricking me, you idiot!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the hurry? They¡¯ll be here in a bit.¡± ¡°Ha-ha.¡± Li Zhendong shrugged, clearly unconvinced, ¡°How about we go play games? Last day, how about pulling an all-nighter gaming? LoL8 has just come out, I¡¯ve got two beta accounts¡­¡± Zhang Yuan shook his head, ¡°That¡¯s all you ever think about. We¡¯re not going to an internet cafe. Just wait five minutes!¡± A few minutes later, Han Ziyue indeed appeared, her voice carrying from afar, ¡°Zhang Yuan, come on out and play!¡± Li Zhondong¡¯s eyes nearly popped out, and his mouth hung open wide enough to fit a pear! He glanced back at Zhang Yuan and cursed inwardly: This guy was actually hitting on girls, and such a beautiful girl at that! I¡¯m so dumb! To think I bitterly studied books at home for a whole month! As the girl approached, Li Zhendong stuttered, ¡°Hello, beautiful girl, nice to meet you. My name is Li Zhendong, I am friendly and honest. I¡¯m good at mechanical and information sciences, love surfing the internet and playing online games. I also like playing basketball. I once dreamed of being an athlete. I love watching the seagulls fly freely over the sea, which is why I often go to the beach in summer. White is my favorite color because I think it symbolizes purity¡­¡± It was like he was reciting a textbook. Chapter 46 - 46 Wishing You Smooth Sailing Chapter 46: Chapter 46 Wishing You Smooth Sailing ¡°???¡± Han Ziyue stood there dumbfounded, as if staring at an idiot, then looked up at Zhang Yuan. Her eyes were full of confusion, as if to say, why is there an idiot standing here? Zhang Yuan said irritably, ¡°This guy is just like this, he¡¯s actually just pretending to be stupid, what ¡®flirting playbook¡¯¡­ Monkey steals heart? Pretend to be pure? Pretend to be dumb? Puppy love mode?¡± ¡°Pretending to be stupid is one of them. He¡¯s trying to flirt with you!¡± Han Ziyue giggled, her face turning a bit red. ... Li Zhendong, having his true intentions revealed, jumped up angrily, ¡°What, you say I¡¯m pretending to be stupid? Where did I pretend, I¡¯m telling the truth!¡± ¡°I just like white, I think white is a symbol of purity¡­¡± ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Zhang Yuan felt like he was about to throw up. Amidst the bantering, his mood slowly improved. After all, it wasn¡¯t just him hitting the road, there were so many buddies around, what was there to fear? Since he was bored anyway, Zhang Yuan called Wang Lili and Xu Yunjing, two senior girls, to go to the waterpark together. The last day was here, really couldn¡¯t study any more. ¡°Hey, Wang Lili?¡± ¡°I¡¯m with my boyfriend, on the way to a movie¡­¡± Wang Lili said awkwardly. Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t mind, ¡°Stop watching the movie, we¡¯re leaving tomorrow.¡± ¡°Alright then, should my boyfriend come too?¡± ¡°Bring him along too, no problem!¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t make it all couples,¡± Li Zhendong quickly said, ¡°What about me? Am I to be the third wheel? Bring more girls, so I can feel surrounded by beauty.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll call a few girlfriends, whether you can charm them is up to you,¡± Han Ziyue said with a smile. ¡°Thank you so much, beautiful lady,¡± Li Zhendong said with an exaggerated tone. Before long, a group of ten people arrived at Xisha City¡¯s waterpark. Actually, ¡°federal coins¡± are properly called ¡°Xia Coin,¡± which is also Xia Country¡¯s national currency. Since Xia Country had become a major energy exporting country a century ago, electricity prices and the national currency were directly linked, and eventually, ¡°Huaxia Coin¡± became the common currency of the East Asia region. ¡°Federal coins¡± is a term fabricated by the media of some foreign countries, trying to instigate mischievous political intentions to disrupt the peace of East Asian countries. But this intention not only failed to materialize, over time, it actually became ¡°federal coins.¡± S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. So, it still had considerable purchasing power, and the tickets weren¡¯t expensive either, just 40 Yuan each. The girls quickly changed into their swimsuits, revealing large swathes of fair skin, and then started applying sunscreen on each other. Li Zhendong pretended to be indifferent but was actually sneaking peeks, only to be hit by Zhang Yuan. ¡°What are you doing, haven¡¯t seen a woman before? That¡¯s just sleazy.¡± ¡°Your girl¡­ she¡¯s pretty hot, where did you find her? Awesome! Go help her apply sunscreen,¡± he said, giving a thumbs up. Zhang Yuan was very embarrassed, ¡°What do you mean ¡®my girl¡¯? She¡¯s my ex-girlfriend¡¯s sister, I already knew her, just bumped into her here, don¡¯t think too much.¡± ¡°No wonder she looked familiar,¡± Li Zhendong rolled his eyes, thinking: Ex-girlfriend¡¯s sister? If you don¡¯t think too much about that, that would be weird. Next up, the Giant Python Slide, Sky High Twister, Rainbow Slides, and various other water attractions caused screams among the men and women. For safety reasons, many of the attractions required pairing up in twos. He wasn¡¯t a blockhead, how could he not understand what Han Ziyue was thinking? Besides, the days they spent together were quite pleasant. But thinking about it now, perhaps it was best to let it be, no need to cause any more trouble. ¡°Only at times like this do you seem like a normal person. If you¡¯re scared, you can scream louder, just like me, ah¡ª¡± Han Ziyue wiped the water off her body with a towel. Her figure was impressive, curves in all the right places without any excess fat. Zhang Yuan¡¯s eyes gazed at the sky, ¡°I¡¯m not scared, just screaming to fit in with you guys. Otherwise, it seems like I¡¯m not part of the group¡­¡± ¡°Is that so? Are you deliberately trying to blend in? Ah, the sunlight will probably darken me a lot again. The water washed away, and the sunscreen really isn¡¯t very effective.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t know what to reply. At night, Zhang Yuan was reluctantly dragged to another dinner. He saw Li Zhendong already immersed in joy, unable to extricate himself. From his blissful expression, it was clear: every cell in his body was yearning for the company of girls. Why? Perhaps because he had been deceived by a pretty photo recently and now wanted to compensate for it as much as possible? Or perhaps because he was about to leave. Whenever he paused, he couldn¡¯t help but think about that one thing, generating an increasingly intense sense of loss. The end of the world was approaching, and his friends seemed to be drifting further and further away. ¡°Can you men do something other than just eat? Especially you, classmate Zhang Yuan!¡± Wang Lili¡¯s voice woke him from his thoughts. Here, you had to barbecue the meat yourself, which was kind of a special restaurant. Zhang Yuan focused solely on eating, ¡°No way, no way, I need to enjoy the care of my seniors a bit more. Once I¡¯m on the spaceship, there won¡¯t be anyone to take care of me.¡± The girls laughed again. ¡°How about we go to a K-bar and sing!¡± After dinner, Zhang Yuan was dragged by the girls into a weird building. He felt like he had never been so decadent in his life, as if in one day, he had experienced a lifetime of joy. Inside the K-bar, couples abounded, and Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help feeling astonished by how liberal this international city was. Not only were there high school and university students, but there were also many middle schoolers! They were far more liberated than the people of his generation¡­ A couple was even passionately kissing in a corner, and though it was just a corner, it was still a public place! Could they please be a bit more mindful! ¡°Come on, cheers! I wish you a smooth journey to your destination!¡± ¡°Cheers! Cheers, a 3000-year journey, sounds so cool! We¡¯ll all be long gone.¡± ¡°Cheers!¡± Li Zhendong casually said, ¡°What¡¯s so cool about that, waking up from hibernation sounds pretty cruel¡­¡± He stopped mid-sentence, as if realizing something, and said no more. Wang Lili, who was good at lightening the mood, quickly said, ¡°Let me sing a song first¡­ an old song from the past, rearranged.¡± ¡°The men who pilot spaceships, so mighty and strong!¡± ¡°The rushing spaceship, fast like the wind¡­¡± ¡°The boundless starry sky¡­ accompanies you as you wander¡­¡± ¡°My heart is as vast as the universe!¡± A moment filled with laughter and chatter, men and women all mixed together. After singing, everyone seriously said to Zhang Yuan and Li Zhendong, ¡°We wish you smooth sailing!¡± Zhang Yuan and his friends clinked their glasses and he took a sip of beer, ¡°And I wish you all a bright future!¡± Chapter 47 - 47 Ive Had Talks Too Chapter 47: Chapter 47 I¡¯ve Had Talks Too Immediately following, the karaoke kings began to belt out songs, while others started to play the ancient yet thrilling game of Truth or Dare. ¡°Sometimes, a person wants to be alone and even desires to run up to the skies to gaze at the boundless starry expanse. Surely, there must exist something far greater than human civilization.¡± ¡°Quiet is right here!¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t call me ¡®Quiet;¡¯ otherwise, millions of people will miss me every day.¡± It wasn¡¯t until after drinking that a person¡¯s true nature was exposed. Normally demure, senior Xu Yunjing actually ended up kissing her boyfriend to the point of breathlessness during a daring challenge, to Zhang Yuan¡¯s utter shock. The surrounding girls couldn¡¯t stop clapping and cheering for them. ... Li Zhendong, appearing rather tipsy, sang a song that was quite relevant. ¡°In the vast sea of people, which one am I? Among the surging waves, which one am I? In the army conquering the universe, I am the one silently contributing. In the glorious river of careers, I am the one eternally surging. You don¡¯t need to recognize me, you don¡¯t long to know me¡­¡± Indeed, one girl was moved to tears out of nowhere and gave him a sweet kiss¡­ even though they had known each other for less than a day. It seemed that in this closed-off little room, everyone became more lively and open. ¡°¡­Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go, hurry and come with me to buy some stuff!¡± Han Ziyue¡¯s eyes twinkled as she grabbed Zhang Yuan¡¯s hand, pulling him forcefully towards the outside. ¡°Why can¡¯t you go buy whatever you want by yourself? Why drag me along?¡± Zhang Yuan felt her hand was hot, slick with sweat. He instinctively sensed a feeling of danger. ¡°I want to buy some snacks! The ones here are too expensive, not worth it. Aren¡¯t you a gentleman? I¡¯ve had a bit too much to drink, how can I walk the streets at night alone?¡± Zhang Yuan rolled his eyes secretly. This girl had clearly only drunk two bottles of beer, and with so many people coming and going around them, could there really be a safety incident? But after thinking about it a bit more, it seemed¡­ better to follow her after all. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± Han Ziyue happily linked his arm, as if they were a couple. Zhang Yuan jerked slightly but found himself unable to move away. He gave up, figuring it was the last day anyway; might as well let her have her way. They roamed aimlessly inside the karaoke bar, passing many vending machines without buying anything. Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but get a bit impatient, ¡°What do you want to buy?¡± Han Ziyue suddenly seemed to make up her mind and asked, ¡°Never mind, we don¡¯t have to buy anything¡­ I have a question for you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± She pointed at a sign and asked, ¡°What does the English on that sign mean?¡± Zhang Yuan looked at the sign and then glanced into the room, ¡°STAFF-ONLY, means it¡¯s a place for employees only, probably a storage room.¡± ¡°Means there¡¯s no one there?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Hehe!¡± In an instant, Zhang Yuan was pulled in by her and pushed forcefully, cornered against the wall. ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Seeing her gleaming eyes, Zhang Yuan felt an inexplicable panic rising, and the hairs on his body stood on end. Han Ziyue said with a mischievous smile, ¡°You¡¯re about to leave, so I¡¯ll give you a little gift, hurry up and close your eyes.¡± ¡°What¡­ gift?¡± ¡°Hurry and close your eyes! Are you afraid I¡¯m going to eat you or something?¡± Zhang Yuan thought to himself, ¡°I really am afraid you¡¯d eat me up. Looking at that expression of yours, you definitely have ulterior motives.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know, I¡¯ve been in love before, all right?¡± Before he could react, Han Ziyue had already tiptoed up and kissed him on the lips. ¡°Ah!¡± Zhang Yuan was so nervous he almost jumped. ¡°¡­Are you drunk? Let¡¯s head back quickly!¡± Han Ziyue¡¯s face had already turned red with shyness, ¡°Head back what? I¡¯m not heading back! You¡¯re so much older than me, yet you¡¯re acting like a child¡­ My gift isn¡¯t fully given yet.¡± ¡°I¡¯m no longer that middle schooler from before, and I have the right to pursue someone I like, don¡¯t I?¡± Zhang Yuan looked at her hot figure, her short-sleeved top revealing her navel, her miniskirt, and knee socks, couldn¡¯t be bolder. He stuttered, ¡°This¡­ isn¡¯t right¡­ I can¡¯t stay.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that? I know you won¡¯t stay, but ¡®it¡¯ just can¡¯t help wanting to go further, can it?¡± ¡°¡­Go further?¡± ¡°Men are always so contradictory, claiming they don¡¯t want it, but their bodies are always so honest¡­¡± ¡°Or rather, their bodies are not honest at all!¡± Zhang Yuan felt his head swell with blood, almost crying out, ¡°This isn¡¯t right, this really isn¡¯t right¡­ This is a public place, someone could come in. If we get caught, the impact would be terrible.¡± After being rejected several times, Han Ziyue started to get a little angry. She messed up her hair and popped open another button on her chest, slyly saying, ¡°If I run out crying, accusing you of assaulting me, then you wouldn¡¯t be able to get on the spaceship, would you?¡± Well¡­ Although he was 80% sure she was joking, for safety¡¯s sake, Zhang Yuan still sighed silently. He said very cautiously, ¡°I get it, I get it, just put your clothes on first. This gift of yours is really too shocking.¡± ¡°Yay! Let¡¯s go then!¡± Han Ziyue gave a victory sign with her fingers, brimming with happiness. ¡­ Amy Hotel. Han Ziyue held onto Zhang Yuan¡¯s hand tightly, not letting him escape amidst the chaos. She said unapologetically, ¡°What, you want me to do the talking to book a room?¡± With a stiff upper lip and no idea what to say, Zhang Yuan asked the receptionist, ¡°Um¡­ do you have any twin rooms?¡± ¡°Yes, 398 yuan per night.¡± ¡°We want a lovers¡¯ double room, not a twin room!¡± ¡°It¡¯s also 398.¡± To such young couples, the staff member was already used to it, wondering to himself why this young man was blushing. But a handsome man and a beautiful woman, they matched well. He disliked those pairings of ugly men with beautiful women, or ugly women with handsome men¡­ ¡°Do you do this with my sister?¡± Along the way, Han Ziyue kept teasing Zhang Yuan¡¯s sensitive nerves, ¡°Do you think I¡¯m cute or is she cuter?¡± Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t know whether to say ¡°yes¡± or ¡°no¡±, whatever he said would be embarrassing; he just wanted to run away. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I¡¯ve forgotten.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll just assume it never happened!¡± Swiping the card, the room was quite large; through the window, one could even see the distant lighthouse. The long sea-crossing bridge sometimes had trains passing over it. Han Ziyue smiled and said, ¡°Go take a shower quickly, you can go first, or we can go together. It¡¯s not that I can¡¯t shower together with you, but I¡¯m a little shy¡­¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll go first!¡± Zhang Yuan said quickly. From behind the frosted glass, he could still make out the figure on the other side, and Zhang Yuan cursed inwardly at this damn hotel for such an installation. He showered, while¡­ Saying there was nothing¡­ would be abnormal. But, indeed, this was against his morals and reason was continuously struggling. ¡­ Chapter 48 - 48: I Hope You Can Remember Me Chapter 48: Chapter 48: I Hope You Can Remember Me Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°I¡¯m a bit confused, why did you still have to do this at the end? Isn¡¯t this just adding unnecessary emotional burden on yourself?¡± Han Ziyue thought for a moment and replied, ¡°Three thousand years from now, I will have already disappeared from this world. If at that time, someone still remembers me, and it¡¯s in another time and space, don¡¯t you think that¡¯s quite meaningful?¡± Zhang Yuan was silent. He felt that this idea was a bit pretentious yet somehow made some sense¡­ After a while, he plucked up his courage and slowly crawled out of the bathroom. Han Ziyue just stared at his shoulders, laughing non-stop. ... Then she hopped and jumped into the bathroom. Zhang Yuan wondered if he should take the opportunity to run away while she was taking a bath? Yes, that¡¯s exactly what he should do! Run! Hey, where are my pants? ¡°¡­I brought your clothes and pants into the bathroom,¡± Han Ziyue said with a laugh, seeing Zhang Yuan searching for something through the frosted glass. ¡°If you try to run away while I¡¯m taking a bath, you might have to risk running around in a bathrobe.¡± Zhang Yuan was instantly speechless. He felt¡­ that he was so nervous he was about to explode. He quickly picked up his phone and started solving some calculus problems to calm his restless heart. But with all his blood rushing to his lower body, his brain was indeed affected, and the usually simple problems felt cumbersome; he couldn¡¯t solve them for a long time. ¡°Studying is not the cure for everything¡­ This won¡¯t do, I must think of something!¡± Think of something! After a few minutes, Han Ziyue emerged from the bathroom, her hair wet, with a few fine strands clinging to her smooth, fair neck. A freshly bathed girl always exuded a fresh beauty, her skin shimmering as if water could be squeezed from it. She rushed over, grinning, like a joyful deer. ¡°This¡­ isn¡¯t right!¡± Zhang Yuan trembled and stuttered, ¡°If we don¡¯t do anything tonight, it might leave a deeper impression. I really mean it!¡± Seemingly seeing through Zhang Yuan¡¯s true thoughts, Han Ziyue said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to take responsibility, why be scared?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not scared.¡± ¡°Then why are you trembling? I really don¡¯t need you to take responsibility.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not about taking responsibility; I just don¡¯t think it¡¯s right¡­ Maybe we should just hug¡­ Just a hug, wouldn¡¯t that be nice and harmonious?¡± Han Ziyue frowned and pouted, ¡°Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re being too much? I¡¯m putting myself out there! You think I¡¯m not shy? I get shy too.¡± Zhang Yuan hurriedly explained, ¡°If I had known you longer, had more contact, maybe I would think this is naturally the next step. But now¡­ it feels too sudden.¡± Han Ziyue¡¯s eyes began to redden, and she let go of his arm, wiping her eyes non-stop, ¡°You must think I¡¯m too cheap, just throwing myself at you like this, that¡¯s why you¡¯re acting this way!¡± ¡°¡­I have dignity too, you know. I have admirers, but I never keep them as backups! I¡¯ve only had one boyfriend, my private life isn¡¯t chaotic like you imagine!¡± Seeing her burst out, Zhang Yuan weakly said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t think that way¡­¡± ¡°Who would believe that!¡± Han Ziyue was very angry. But as she spoke, she began to laugh, her hands cradling her head, observing Zhang Yuan¡¯s awkward expression. ¡°Also, if you were so easily seduced by me, I might not like you anymore and would soon forget you¡­¡± ¡°My sister used to say that you are a boy of great principle. Even after you broke up, she still spoke highly of you¡­ Ha-ha, you tremble at the slightest touch, how cute, my taste is indeed not bad!¡± She revealed her sharp canine teeth, lying on the bed as if admiring a fresh little apple. ¡°Wait a minute!¡± She suddenly jumped up, rummaging through her bag, ¡°I have a small gift for you, close your eyes quickly.¡± ¡°Again?¡± Amid the shock, Zhang Yuan felt like he was suffocating. ¡°It¡¯s a real small gift!¡± She didn¡¯t keep him in suspense, handing a delicate box to Zhang Yuan. Upon taking it, he saw it was a specimen of a lily with Han Ziyue¡¯s portrait on the right, lifelike and very exquisite. At the bottom was a signature: ¡°Han Ziyue, 2264.8.1.¡± It must have been a plant specimen made a few days ago. She said earnestly, ¡°I hope you will remember me.¡± ¡°I am just an ordinary person among the masses, without any hope of becoming famous, nor the possibility to be remembered by history.¡± ¡°A hundred years from now, I will probably no longer exist in this world; three hundred years from now, any information about me would be untraceable, maybe only the name ¡®Han Ziyue¡¯ could be found in the family tree.¡± ¡°A thousand years from now, maybe even the family tree would be gone. Who would remember an ancestor from a thousand years ago? Everything about me would be lost in the cycle of reincarnation.¡± Suddenly broaching such a serious subject, Zhang Yuan was stunned, his boiling blood slowly calming down. The meaning of life? Han Ziyue continued, ¡°I have always thought, whether I ever came to this world, if there are no traces of my existence, then what¡¯s the point? Is it just for procreation, just for pleasure? A human¡¯s life is so short compared to the entire universe, it¡¯s truly insignificant.¡± ¡°I hope you will remember me because¡­ you are probably the last person who will know I existed.¡± ¡°I hope that three thousand years later, when you awaken from hibernation, you will still retain memories of me, um, that¡¯s my only request. Is that okay?¡± Zhang Yuan took the lily specimen, nodding solemnly, ¡°I promise you, a girl like you really is rare. But, in another ten or twenty years, you might not think like this anymore, perhaps you¡¯ll think today¡¯s you is very naive. Only the you right now would be this sentimental, right?¡± Han Ziyue said embarrassingly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, the future me is the future me, I know that the future me will be smoothed out by reality, but the me right now is the real me.¡± ¡°This thought is actually quite selfish, for you, it¡¯s completely an extra emotional burden.¡± Zhang Yuan rolled his eyes, laughing, ¡°So, you want to compensate me physically?¡± ¡°Yes, I did quite like you when I was a child, hearing that you and my sister broke up, I was happy for a long time! Physical compensation seems to be no problem.¡± ¡°You were in middle school back then, right? Did middle schoolers understand these things?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t middle school count?¡± Zhang Yuan said, ¡°Let¡¯s forget about physical compensation, I am a man of high moral standing and I hope to leave the best last impression on you.¡± Han Ziyue leaned next to him, quieting down, ¡°Then, on this long night, what should we do? What do you think is something very meaningful?¡± Zhang Yuan thought for a moment, jokingly said, ¡°On our last evening, how about I teach you some math problems, how about that?¡± ¡­ S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Chapter 49 - 49 Goodbye, Hometown. Chapter 49: Chapter 49 Goodbye, Hometown. The next morning, at four o¡¯clock, Zhang Yuan woke up from his sleep, having surprisingly slept quite well last night. He couldn¡¯t quite figure out whether he had experienced a time of joy or a time of pain. He stroked the girl¡¯s smooth hair, ready to leave. This feeling was strange, not very comfortable. After getting dressed, Zhang Yuan wrote a line on a note by the bedside table, ¡°I¡¯ve left, goodbye.¡± ... ¡°Wishing you a happy life, may you live to two hundred years old.¡± He turned to take one last look at the girl still deep in sleep, then turned and left the room. In fact, Han Ziyue had woken up a while ago, she just buried her head in the pillow, secretly crying, unable to stop at all. Some things are known all along, yet when they truly happen, they are still hard to bear. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Is it the feeling of a moth darting into the flame? Irresistibly drawn to it, burning oneself to ashes¡­ It was still early, the sun had not yet risen from the east, and the streets were empty. Interestingly, there was a yellow-furred puppy that kept following behind Zhang Yuan, matching his pace. Judging from its fur and body shape, it was likely a stray dog, quite thin and not living well. Zhang Yuan thought for a moment, bought two sausages from a nearby vending machine, and fed the pitiful little dog. To his surprise, after eating, the dog trotted along and continued to follow Zhang Yuan, seemingly knowing which people were good to it and which were not. It took 20 minutes for Zhang Yuan to return to his dormitory, he picked up all his luggage and earnestly cleaned the room he had lived in for 19 days. Many stories had happened here, hard to forget, it was his last time on Earth. The little dog just lay at the door, watching. Zhang Yuan said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ll help you take a quick bath. If your fur gets cleaned up, even if you¡¯re caught by the city management, you might not get killed. You might look good enough for some beautiful woman to take in. The girls here are all very compassionate¡­¡± The puppy was very obedient, its tail wagging non-stop during the bath. Zhang Yuan figured that the dog had probably been abandoned here; otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t be so well-behaved. After that, once bathed, Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t do much more to help it. He closed the dormitory door, picked up all his bags ready to leave, and the dog continued to follow. He offered the last of the sausages to it, but it wouldn¡¯t eat, just quietly following along. Finally, he was about to leave the school gate. Zhang Yuan said, ¡°Running into the city will be more dangerous for you, it¡¯s better to stay at the school. Here you can find food, and you won¡¯t get killed.¡± The persuasion was ineffective. Zhang Yuan squatted down, picked up a stone as if to throw it at the dog. The dog finally stopped. It just crouched on the ground, looking stupefied, its simple brain unable to comprehend how the person who was feeding it a moment ago could be about to hit it the next. Zhang Yuan turned back, a slight apology in his heart ¨C maybe the dog had once put its hopes on him, but it was impossible. The things that cannot be promised, simply cannot be. Whether it¡¯s human life or the life of a dog, this is the way it is, you must get used to disappointment, loneliness, exile, wandering, abandonment. This is a human¡¯s lifetime. Watching it walk back into the campus, Zhang Yuan breathed a sigh of relief and sent a text message: ¡°Li Zhendong, are you up? Where do you live?¡± ¡°I¡¯m at the canteen having breakfast. You think I¡¯m like you, randomly hooking up? Enjoying your last night on Earth too much with such a beautiful girl¡­ Wow!¡± Li Zhendong rattled off a long speech. ¡°Bring me two buns.¡± When the two met, Li Zhendong¡¯s face was full of gossip. ¡°How does it feel? Pretty exhilarating, huh!¡± ¡°Not like you say it is, let¡¯s go!¡± Zhang Yuan was in a bad mood and couldn¡¯t be bothered to say more. Dragging his suitcase, he came to the check-in point and passed through one security checkpoint after another. The security checks for the Space Elevator were very strict, somewhat similar to those for planes in the past¡ªliquids, flammables, explosives, and sharp objects were not allowed. Additionally, there were several medical exams, and those with certain severe contagious diseases were not allowed on spaceships. After passing the medical examination, the staff quickly arranged their batch for the Space Elevator. [Identity number 330841244¡­ Zhang Yuan, your seat is 17-3-D, Elevator batch 2264-8-3-1246¡­] Zhang Yuan turned and asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t any family members come to see you off?¡± Li Zhendong smiled cheerfully, ¡°No¡­ my mom would cry again if she saw me off. Better not to let her come.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± His phone had already received many messages. ¡°Zhang Yuan, have a safe journey!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s meet again on the spaceship!¡± ¡°Wishing you all the best!¡± Zhang Yuan received condolences from various friends and relatives, only Han Ziyue¡¯s was missing. Perhaps she was still sleeping; or maybe, as she said last night, there really wasn¡¯t a future anyway, so there was no need for further contact¡ªlet last night become the deepest memory. ¡°Ding-dong¡ªPassengers of batch 1246G, please note that your Space Elevator is about to launch¡­¡± Time ticked away by the second, and he dared not dawdle, joining the queue. All the astronauts were very quiet. Li Zhendong behind him hung his head low, apparently lost in thoughts. Zhang Yuan looked up at the boundless sky, which was grey and showing a glimmer of light. ¡°¡­The Space Elevator is 36,000 kilometers long, more than 4,000 times the height of Mount Everest, the world¡¯s tallest peak¡­ The main material is Carbon Nanotube, with a tensile strength of 62,000 MPa, which, under Earth¡¯s gravity, can withstand a breaking length of 46,000 kilometers, perfectly meeting the demands of the Space Elevator¡­¡± ¡°¡­Humankind is insignificant, yet humankind is also great, technology changes the world, and science and technology create the future!¡± The documentary on the big screen was playing in a loop, entertaining the crowd in the queue. In stark contrast was the queue of tourists about to travel into space. Men and women screamed and cheered. For them, this was a very memorable and proud journey in their lives. The tourists chatted and discussed noisily, praising this greatest architectural feat in human history. ¡°¡­We will ultimately usher in an unprecedented¡ªInterstellar era.¡± Zhang Yuan had watched this documentary countless times, practically memorizing all the lines. Yet, he watched it from beginning to end with full attention once more, probably for the last time in his life. So many memories, every detail filled with reminiscence. This was Mother Earth, forever the Mother Star. ¡°Beep¡±¡ªhe passed through the gate. ¡°Bon voyage.¡± The electronic voice was still that cold tone, not so pleasant to the ear. When he reached that corner, Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but wipe his eyes with his sleeve. Then, he wiped them a second time with his sleeve. This motion was identical to what Ye Kaifu had done before. A tear welled up from his eyes and fell to the ground, tracing a path down his cheek. With this step forward, they would no longer belong to Earth. Farewell, my homeland. Chapter 50 - 50: Space Journey Chapter 50: Chapter 50: Space Journey The distant tolling of bells resonated by his ear, as the Sun played a game of hide and seek below the horizon. Zhang Yuan took his seat and fastened his safety belt. He took a deep breath, trying to expel all the negative emotions from his mind. Buzz! Once the elevator started, it brought a slight feeling of increased gravity, causing a roaring in his eardrums. The structure of the magnetic levitation elevator was somewhat like a vertical high-speed train. It moved quickly, accelerating over time until it reached an upwards speed of roughly 500 kilometers per hour. ... It was predicted that after 72 hours, three days, it would reach the geostationary orbit position at 36,000 kilometers, also known as Tenglong Space City. Transporting materials to space via the Space Elevator cost about 10 federal coins per kilogram. In order to reduce transport costs, it was crucial for the magnetic levitation elevator, this mode of transport, to be as lightweight and simple as possible, therefore, the overall environment couldn¡¯t be very comfortable. Each person only had one small sleeping berth, and any personal baggage for the tourists required an additional fee. In just a few minutes, the elevator reached the stratosphere, surpassing the height of Mount Everest. Through the window, one could admire the breathtaking view outside. At this altitude, the full view of Xisha City came into sight, its aesthetically pleasing traffic routes like veins within the city, and the cars moving along them like flowing blood. This international port city operated ceaselessly, day and night. With nothing better to do, Zhang Yuan simply started chatting with Li Zhendong. Li Zhendong frowned and said, ¡°I received a notice a few days ago that everyone needs to find some work projects to be considered as part of our comprehensive assessment, along with various work grading systems. It¡¯s basically like military ranks.¡± ¡°As astronauts, we¡¯re already in space, yet we still have to generate income for the Foundation¡­ This is outright exploitation!¡± While swiping through micro-points on his mobile phone, Zhang Yuan countered, ¡°You could just loaf around and do nothing if you like. After all, as long as you have a basic position on the spaceship, you¡¯ll have a salary and won¡¯t starve. If you really were about to starve, you could apply for hibernation.¡± ¡°I now have 100,000 New Coin, probably among the wealthiest on the spaceship. A boxed meal only costs 4 coins, enough to last me a long time.¡± The conversion rate between federal coins and New Coin is roughly 100:1. 100,000 New Coin, with a monthly salary of 1000, would take 8.3 years to earn. Li Zhendong¡¯s eyes widened when he saw Zhang Yuan fervently swiping for micro-points and was momentarily speechless. Zhang Yuan, who had donated 10 million federal coins at the award ceremony and had a heated exchange with the reporters, causing a sensation, surely knew about it. He had wondered for a long time how Zhang Yuan had stumbled upon such a chance to show off and had done so perfectly¡­ ¡°You really struck it rich, huh? When are you treating us to a meal?¡± Zhang Yuan replied with a smile, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll treat you to synthetic meat, as much as you want. Money doesn¡¯t really serve much of a purpose, at least not for now. I can¡¯t eat for two, and I brought a lot of electronic products in my luggage, so I don¡¯t need to buy anything else¡­¡± Li Zhendong was curious, ¡°Is that all you brought, just electronic items? I also brought some condiments, especially chili sauce¡ªdon¡¯t come asking me for some!¡± Zhang Yuan paused, ¡°Oh no, I forgot!¡± Resources on the spaceship were extremely limited, and everyone had a purchase cap. Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t possibly use his substantial wealth to buy up all the food and then inflate the prices, monopolize, and profit through speculation and sales. Such activities were not permissible, and if they actually happened, Zhang Yuan might be invited by the relevant department for a ¡®tea talk¡¯. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Though the society was small, it still had a robust security mechanism in place. On the other hand, donated wealth would only make the initial capital a bit larger; it couldn¡¯t elevate one¡¯s social status. Only through working on projects that generated income for the Deep Space Foundation could one¡¯s capability be demonstrated. Or perhaps starting from the academic side, one could write some excellent papers and showcase their own value. ¡°Earth Era¡± aimed to build a new civilization on a distant planet, and the first principle it advocated was to reward based on work, more for more labor, less for less labor. It was only natural that people with higher work capabilities had access to more resources and privileges. Especially during times of resource scarcity, it was particularly apt. Aside from the original experts, professors, and skilled workers, who already possessed rather high status, these young people were all starting from the same starting line. The entire assessment lasted one year, continuing until the spaceship reached Jupiter Base to resupply for the last time, after which it would enter formal ultra-long-distance interstellar travel. The vast majority of the crew would enter hibernation, waking only once every three to five hundred years. Those with higher privileges could choose their hibernation batches first, such as hibernating a little later than others. Li Zhendong sighed, ¡°We¡¯re still not far from Earth and can still communicate with our loved ones; everyone wants to hibernate a little later, even if just by a year or two.¡± ¡°But once you close your eyes and wake up, it¡¯s been three hundred years, and everything is gone.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Zhang Yuan also sighed deeply. This was indeed the most distressing point. To be separated from the era and from all loved ones, truly forsaking everything. The two fell silent after reaching this point in the conversation. Li Zhendong snapped back to reality and continued, ¡°¡­Let¡¯s not talk about this anymore, let¡¯s talk about the work project. I¡¯m planning to develop a mobile game. Games are not hard to make, and if it¡¯s a hit, it can really rake in a lot of money!¡± ¡°Games?¡± Zhang Yuan used to be interested in them, but now, he felt that time spent playing games would be better spent studying. ¡°Send me the project proposal.¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll send it over for you to take a look.¡± Li Zhendong pondered happily to himself, Zhang Yuan, oh Zhang Yuan, even heroes have their weaknesses, spending all day chasing girls, you probably didn¡¯t do anything during the entire vacation, right? With such a beautiful girl, a hero can only become a mere bear! Unlike me, who studied hard while also working on the proposal, it¡¯s been an excruciatingly diligent vacation! Wait a second! A question suddenly popped into Li Zhendong¡¯s head: What would I do if I had a beautiful girl? I would definitely choose to be a bear too! Thinking this, Li Zhendong was no longer gloating, but instead filled with longing and¡­ envy! ¡°It¡¯s such a pity¡­ truly a pity!¡± ¡°A pity about what?¡± Zhang Yuan read the entire game proposal seriously, his brow slightly furrowed. ¡°Auto-chess? Quite an innovative idea. But making money isn¡¯t that easy. Making games isn¡¯t just about programming, there¡¯s also an element of luck involved. You¡¯d better find a graphic designer and a few other people to do it with.¡± ¡°Do you want to join in?¡± Li Zhendong truly trusted Zhang Yuan¡¯s programming skills. Even though the other had become a bear, he still needed to offer a helping hand, as Li Zhendong was just too kindhearted. Zhang Yuan thought for a moment and shook his head, ¡°Forget it, I don¡¯t have the time. I¡¯ve already found my project, working with the professors at Xisha University on robot control programming. Whether I can make money, I don¡¯t know, but I¡¯ll do my best¡­¡± ¡°Robot programming?¡± ¡°Right, I¡¯ve already promised them. The instruction set that guides robot movement is very complicated, so I need to brush up on the relevant knowledge quickly¡­¡± Chapter 51 - 51: Youth, Its Wonderful Chapter 51: Chapter 51: Youth, It¡¯s Wonderful Li Zhendong was amazed but seeing the expression on Zhang Yuan¡¯s face, it didn¡¯t seem like he was spouting nonsense. Moreover, working on a project with university professors sounded a lot more credible than his own ¡°games.¡± Suddenly, Li Zhendong felt an urge to join the other party. But he just couldn¡¯t swallow his pride! He went on to say, ¡°What about your thesis? Have you thought about that? I¡¯m planning to apply for a master¡¯s program on the spaceship. Us undergrads like me are probably at the bottom of society by now, so sad.¡± ¡°I think my GPA should be good enough, and I could pass the entrance exam for graduate studies, but I don¡¯t have any particularly good papers. Where would an undergrad get a good paper from¡­ it¡¯s so annoying! And my dad can¡¯t be bothered to guide me!¡± ... Zhang Yuan scratched his head, unsure what to say. If his paper was successfully published in ¡°Modern Science,¡± and his written exam scores were decent, it was almost certain a professor would want him. For a journal like ¡°Modern Science,¡± it was an achievement for many professors to publish even one paper in their lifetime. ¡°Have you decided what subject you want to study for your master¡¯s?¡± Zhang Yuan asked a bit sheepishly, ¡°I¡¯ve already submitted a paper to ¡®Modern Science.¡¯ If it gets published, it should add a few points to my interview score.¡± ¡°What, ¡®Modern Science,¡¯ you?¡± Li Zhendong was stunned again, struggling to process it. While the two chatted, the area next to them erupted with the shrill squeals of elated girls. ¡°The Sun!¡± ¡°Such a beautiful Sun!¡± It was the Sun rising above the horizon. Witnessing the Sun from hundreds of kilometers high, one found it incredibly bright. The Sun¡¯s position was pinpoint-accurate, with no halo, emitting a blinding and imperious white light. Without the protection of radiation shielding material, the Sun¡¯s radiation could easily cause burns and even destroy the DNA in human cells, leading to permanent damage. That was why, in the old days, astronauts were not allowed to go into space before completing their family. However, with the successive improvements in radiation shielding materials, this rule no longer existed. Beneath were dark clouds, bursting with lightnings, twinkling like blooming Dianthus flowers. Sometimes, lightning from different clouds in five or six places would illuminate the entire cloud layer. These sights were unseeable from the ground. The girls screamed excitedly, ¡°These clouds look so small, not quite the same as what we see from planes!¡± ¡°Of course they¡¯re not the same; airplanes only fly a few kilometers high¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s like cotton balls exploding!¡± ¡°If we really fell from this height, we¡¯d turn into a ball of fire, just like shooting stars. We¡¯d burn alive, not die from the impact!¡± A male student said wickedly, trying to frighten them, ¡°Can you imagine the scene of being charred?¡± ¡°Ah!¡± The chirping and panic-stricken screams involuntarily made Zhang Yuan laugh. Perhaps, he thought, his feelings were the same the first time he took the Space Elevator. In the following hours, as the height significantly increased, one could see the entire face of the Eastern Hemisphere. The Himalayas, vast in their snow-covered desolation; the reddish-brown swirls over the Kavir Desert with a primitive mystery; the forests of the Southeast Asia Islands sparkling like emeralds¡­ It was thrilling, truly thrilling! Looking down on the entire Earth, there was a sense of unrestrained pride as if the world was in the palm of one¡¯s hand. The vast Earth, just like in the pictures, quietly floated in the universe. The Earth was indeed round, visibly so. The current altitude was 600 kilometers. According to a scientific survey, at this height, over 90% of people would develop an incomparable sense of awe towards natural science, their homeland, and the Space Elevator. The Earth was immense, vast beyond measure! Even humanity¡¯s largest construction, the ¡°Octagonal Building,¡± was insignificant, like an ant. But we tiny humans, from this angle, were actually able to easily discern every contour of Earth! This intense contrast produced another kind of visual impact. Like gods looking down from above, everyone felt an odd sense of pride, as if the whole world was beneath their feet. Humans had actually advanced to this point, building a Tower of Babylon that reached into the boundless sky, contending against the immensely powerful forces of Nature¡ªit was truly, truly unbelievable! What was a trip around the world compared to space tourism? Upon hearing the passengers¡¯ exclamations, Zhang Yuan reflected, ¡°To be young, how wonderful.¡± Li Zhendong nodded in agreement, ¡°Too young, too naive.¡± The girls in the neighboring seats continued their chirping, wildly excited as they searched for famous structures and natural landmarks on the planet¡¯s surface. ¡°That should be Donghua City¡­¡± ¡°Over there¡ªis that the imperial capital?¡± ¡°Is that mountain peak Mount Everest?¡± ¡°No, it should be Nangjiabawa Peak.¡± ¡°That, that should be Taiwan¡­¡± Regrettably, one of the Seven Wonders of the World¡ªthe Great Wall¡ªcould not be discerned by the naked eye, which everyone felt was quite a pity. However, the Huawei P888 phone was able to capture images of the Great Wall. There were also a few wide asphalt roads, which could be vaguely seen against the contrast of the surrounding environment, like strands of hair. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The girls discussed excitedly, snapping photos and cheering. ¡­ Several hours later, the tourists finally lost interest and settled down once more. There was no network here, and they couldn¡¯t post on social media. To have the mood and nowhere to share, it was truly frustrating. ¡°Um¡­ handsome guy?¡± Zhang Yuan and Li Zhendong exchanged glances. Is she talking about me? She means me! ¡°¡­ Handsome guy, aren¡¯t you that Zhang Yuan? The one who donated! You¡¯re actually an astronaut!¡± The girl seemed very excited. Zhang Yuan touched his head, wondering if he had really become that famous. The girl across looked at him and exclaimed excitedly, ¡°¡­ At that time, I was just watching the live broadcast. I really didn¡¯t expect you to be an astronaut. Don¡¯t you want to stay on Earth and enter the entertainment industry?¡± ¡°When did I say I wanted to get into the entertainment industry? I¡¯ve never planned that¡­¡± Zhang Yuan coughed and replied, ¡°I will follow the spaceship out of the Solar System.¡± ¡°I knew it! The son of a great scientist, how could you go do that kind of boring trick. Ha ha, I¡¯m not saying being a star is bad, but the social value created definitely can¡¯t compare to that of a scientist. Can I post on social media to clarify this fact?¡± ¡°Go ahead, it¡¯s fine.¡± The girl tapped on her phone, only to find there was no network, and she gave up. She seemed to notice Zhang Yuan was a little embarrassed, so she asked another easy question: ¡°Um, I have a question for you. Outside the window, what are those ring-shaped, luminous devices?¡± Zhang Yuan answered, ¡°Those are ion propulsion devices. Once we reach the geosynchronous orbit, the linear speed is about 3.1 kilometers per second. This lateral linear velocity is provided by an electric propulsion engine, which helps to reduce lateral deformation of the elevator track.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± The girl sort of understood. Zhang Yuan smiled. In fact, on the ¡°Tenglong¡± Space City, there are many more ion engines, to maintain the station¡¯s orbital altitude. Think about it. If a person pulls a hydrogen balloon and gains an upward pull, the hydrogen balloon will experience a reaction force, which is a downward pull. In the same way, when a cargo elevator climbs up along the cable track, it would lower the height of the Space City. Hence, it is necessary to rely on ejecting working substance to push the space station back to a geosynchronous orbit to maintain a dynamic balance. Even though the Space Elevator is built, we still need to use working substance propulsion to maintain balance, what a tragic thing. But this is already the best method of climbing the gravity well. Who can blame the Space Elevator for not being rigid? The technology of mankind, actually, is far from as advanced as imagined. Chapter 52 - 52 We Must Know Chapter 52: Chapter 52 We Must Know Three days hurried past. Other than going to the bathroom, everyone could only stay strapped in their seats. It was an uncomfortable experience akin to imprisonment. Gravity was diminishing bit by bit. When the centrifugal force finally equaled gravity, people would experience total weightlessness. The novelty had worn off for the tourists, replaced by an inexplicable unease and irritation. Three days had passed, and even the most beautiful scenery had become commonplace. The initial excitement had given way to boredom. Weightlessness may look amusing, but in reality, it¡¯s quite terrifying. First, the blood pressure in one¡¯s head increases, and the legs begin to swell, a condition humorously referred to as ¡°puffy head, bird legs syndrome,¡± or more medically as the ¡°Charlie- Brown effect.¡± ... Second, since the brain loses the constraint of gravity and floats within the skull, one could experience blurry vision, symptoms collectively known as visual impairment and intra-cranial pressure syndrome. Even with advanced medical technology, these ailments can¡¯t be completely eradicated, hence the elderly and minors are not permitted in space. In such conditions, the tourists became exceptionally quiet, speaking in soft, gentle voices. Boys had to pretend to be brave, while girls became truly ladylike. ¡°Mr. Zhang, do you feel a sense of unease? I¡¯m not feeling very well.¡± ¡°No, actually once you get used to it, it¡¯s fine. You can take some low-dosage nitric oxide or other medications.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve taken them already, but I still feel terrible.¡± Zhang Yuan laughed, ¡°Apart from the physiological factors, there¡¯s also the psychological aspect, a bit like agoraphobia. Mainly, this space is just too vast, but you¡¯ll feel better once you¡¯re back on the ground.¡± This girl, whom he had just met three days ago, stuck out her tongue, her complexion not very good. It wasn¡¯t just her; nearly everyone felt the same. Perhaps she was recalling the fact that they were in the boundless universe. Between humans and the cosmos was only a thin layer of glass. Outside was absolute nothingness, void except for deadly radiation. Any minor mishap could result in this entire batch of people dying without a place to be buried. Or perhaps, if they turned around to look down at Earth from over 30,000 kilometers high in the sky, entering a broader perspective, they would see how truly small Earth is, just a quiet stone floating in the Solar System. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Almost all of humanity multiplies and thrives on this little stone. Humans have created countless stories here. Including the Four Ancient Civilizations, the Eight Wonders, the four world wars, and innumerable tales of love and hate¡­ But Earth is too small; all its history, culture, religion, and wars are merely small stories on a small stone. Humans and bacteria aren¡¯t that different after all. All the intrigue and pettiness become nothing but bacterial consumption. The leader of the United Government becomes a mere bacterial chieftain. The world¡¯s wealthiest person is akin to the largest individual in a swarm of bacteria. And then what? Which bacterium died, which found a mate, which one was the dazzling idol of the masses¡­ Even if one were to completely conquer Earth ¨C this beloved mother of children ¨C what would it ultimately signify? The world outside is so vast, so immense! This astonishing contrast turned the pride they felt in conquering nature just a few days prior into ashes. After a few more hours, amidst a profound silence, the world-famous ¡°Tenglong¡± Space City arrived. ¡°Wow, it¡¯s so tiny¡­ why is it so small¡­¡± The first reaction of people was that the Space City was surprisingly small. The tour guide explained, ¡°It¡¯s actually not small at all, with a diameter of a kilometer! After all, it¡¯s a century-old piece of equipment. Back then, there was no Space Elevator, and constructing this Space City relied on the thrust of rockets, which was quite difficult.¡± The zero-gravity experiment zone, the plant cultivation area, and the ring-shaped living area¡ªall this information was very familiar to the public. This Space City, due to its age and dated facilities, had gradually become a place for sightseeing tourism as well as an interstellar port for cargo transport, lacking much scientific research equipment. Its small size, coupled with its desolation, meant a lack of a sense of security. Even if they successfully reached their destination, it did not ignite the visitors¡¯ enthusiasm. Everyone just took a symbolic look around, with only the tour guide continuing his non-stop explanations. ¡°Pu Pu Grass was born right here in this Space City; it¡¯s known as the ¡®gift from space to humans.''¡± ¡°If you live in a zero-gravity area for a long time, you will grow very tall. Staying in space for a while, gaining five centimeters in height is very likely¡­¡± No matter how he tried to stir emotions, the response from the people remained tepid. There were plenty of people taking photos since this Space City already had a network connection to Earth. They snapped photos with their ¡°click-click,¡± uploading them to social circles, and it wasn¡¯t too bad to make family and friends envious¡­ After all, no matter what, they had to pretend to enjoy themselves. Having spent money, one could not claim it wasn¡¯t fun, could they? The vast majority of people, after going to space once, were thoroughly petrified and dared not come up a second time. Humans had evolved on Earth for a million years, having a certain confidence in their living place, even if it was a presumptuous confidence. To abandon the comforting harbor for a life of solitude and constant fear was not for everyone. Zhang Yuan sighed; he was accustomed to this sort of thing after experiencing it so many times. In any case, there were plenty of people signing up for space tourism, and there was no need for repeat customers. He turned around and said with a smile, ¡°Ms. Li, we¡¯re about to follow the group to the Moon, so let¡¯s say our goodbyes here.¡± The girl, who had been with him in the same car for three days, asked, ¡°Mr. Zhang, I have one last question I want to ask you.¡± Zhang Yuan said, ¡°I was thinking, you might be a journalist? From your every move, it seems to have that characteristic.¡± The girl raised her eyebrows and said with a smile, ¡°You discovered me! But I¡¯m not intending to interview anyone, I¡¯m just privately curious to understand, you and your companions, why leave the Solar System and go to such a distant place?¡± Zhang Yuan thought for a moment and answered, ¡°As for your question, my answer is, ¡®I don¡¯t know.''¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know?¡± The girl looked puzzled. ¡°Yes, we don¡¯t know. We don¡¯t know the world beyond the Solar System, so we want to see it. Have you seen the Earth beneath our feet? Doesn¡¯t it make you feel like our Mother Star is very small, just an ordinary sapphire?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s very small,¡± the girl said with a sigh. ¡°Being in space, the whole mindset seems a bit different somehow, as though there¡¯s a sense of detachment from the mundane world¡­ although I¡¯m still very scared. I still need to thank the many space workers for their silent contributions. I finally understand why their salaries are so high.¡± Zhang Yuan continued, ¡°We don¡¯t know how vast the starry sky is, we want to know.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know what Earth will become in three thousand years, we want to know.¡± ¡°Not knowing is our motivation.¡± ¡°We must find out, we will eventually find out.¡± There are always that small group of people willing to muster the courage to bounce high from a small stone, hold their hearts in their throats, tiptoe, reach out their fingers, and touch that deadly and boundless starry sky. Even if it costs them their lives. The girl was silent for a while, then smiled and said, ¡°Your answer really has a philosophical meaning. I¡¯ll write it down, can I post it to my social circle?¡± ¡°It would be better¡­ not to,¡± Zhang Yuan felt he really couldn¡¯t afford to lose that much face. They all laughed heartily. Chapter 53 - 53 Our Spaceship! Chapter 53: Chapter 53 Our Spaceship! After having bid farewell to the girl they had met by chance, the two of them swam towards the waiting room like they were swimming. There lay a spaceship bound for the Moon. ¡°I¡¯ve noticed your pickup skills have significantly improved!¡± Li Zhendong almost choked himself, ¡°We must know, ultimately we will know! Are you a believer in determinism?¡± Zhang Yuan, blushing, squeezed out a reply, ¡°No, I¡¯ve never believed that humans could fully understand the universe. But, how should I have answered her? New civilization? Aliens? Escapism? New Civilization School?¡± ¡°Did I leave Earth for those reasons? Of course not, I just wanted to see the scenery beyond the Solar System. So, was there anything wrong with saying that?¡± Li Zhendong was shocked and found himself at a loss for words for quite some time as he realized that Zhang Yuan made some sense. ... Apparently, telling the truth is the ultimate form of pretense. The kind of pretense that even convinces oneself while speaking. ¡°You seem to be getting smarter recently. Whether it¡¯s flirting or academic knowledge, I could take lessons from you.¡± ¡°Oh, well, thank you for the compliment,¡± Zhang Yuan nodded and accepted the compliment. Li Zhendong was shocked again, he hadn¡¯t expected this guy¡¯s thick skin had evolved to the level of a Tyrannosaurus. He wanted to say something more but noticed the entire line was starting to move. The two of them followed the moving crowd. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, astronauts, please note that spacecraft D-13156 heading to Dragon Gate No.7 Space Port will officially depart at 10:22 am¡­¡± The time here is based on Xia Country¡¯s East Eighth Zone Standard Time, so there was no need for time adjustment. ¡°Beep!¡± ¡°Bon voyage!¡± Zhang Yuan had a slight complaint in his mind about why these electronic sounds were all in the same female voice. After passing security, astronauts from all around gathered and swam into the large transport spaceship. Zhang Yuan took his seat, fastened his seatbelt, and quietly waited. In space, there¡¯s an old saying: Bringing water up from a planet¡¯s surface is less efficient than transporting it directly from the other end of the universe. Due to the immense cost of climbing Earth¡¯s gravity well, the Moon naturally became the preferred space base. After all, the Moon¡¯s gravity is only one-sixth of Earth¡¯s, and the cost using the space elevator would be much cheaper. There¡¯s a famous hypothesis: the Moon was parted from Earth, and during its early formation, due to extreme temperatures, its atmosphere was composed of metallic steam. This layer of cooled metallic steam, covering the surface of Earth, became a treasure trove for humanity. Abundant rare earth elements, titanium, aluminum, lanthanum, among others, could fully meet the heavy industry needs of humans. All things considered, the Moon is more suited for space manufacturing than Earth. The great ¡°Earth Era¡± Mother Ship was stationed at the Moon¡¯s Space Port, on board the Dragon Gate No.7. ¡°Ha ha, here I am, I¡¯ve arrived!¡± A tall man with blonde hair and white skin was shouting wildly at the glass windows, extremely excited. ¡°Ah, help!¡± Another girl twisted her waist, trying to swim to her place. Somehow, she always moved in the opposite direction. A spaceship crew member steadied her and ritualistically announced, ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts! The spaceship will soon take off. This flight is headed for Dragon Gate No.7. Please check your tickets and make sure you are in the correct seats.¡± ¡°The restroom is at the end of the corridor; for usage instructions refer to the manual in the flight handbook ¡­¡± ¡°If you feel unwell, please seek medical help immediately!¡± The large transport spaceship, 200 meters in length, resembled a cruise ship navigating the stars. It was not only filled with these passengers but also carried a massive amount of cargo. Since there was no centrifugal ring to simulate gravity, everyone could only stay seated, which was far from a pleasant travel experience. It really wasn¡¯t pleasant. The food was like toothpaste, nothing to boast about in terms of flavor; sleep was often interrupted by a sudden jolt, creating a sensation of falling from the sky. Waking up to find oneself floating. Even going to the bathroom was a nerve-wracking ordeal, fearing that some dirty substance might float up and accidentally be inhaled, resulting in an emergency room visit. And even if it wasn¡¯t inhaled, cleaning it up was still your responsibility. Thus, if one could avoid eating, it was best to avoid it; if one could avoid using the bathroom, it was best to also avoid that. What about taking a bath? Even the most hygiene-conscious women would avoid bathing under such circumstances. During this ordeal, the transport spaceship circled Earth twice, leveraging the gravitational slingshot effect to successfully accelerate towards the Moon. Three days passed without any particular incidents occurring. The spaceship had circled the Moon several times, and the orbit gradually began to lower. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, the spacecraft is expected to arrive at ¡®Dragon Gate No.7¡¯ in fifteen minutes. Please fasten your safety belts and refrain from moving around the corridors¡­¡± The announcement was only half finished when the passengers already began to stir. ¡°We¡¯re here, we¡¯ve arrived!¡± ¡°That¡¯s our ship!¡± S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Looking out the window, one could see that it was immense, resembling a massive mountain quietly docked at the Moon¡¯s largest Space Port. Bright, regular indicator lights on the spacecraft¡¯s surface lit up sequentially, indicating that it was undergoing a routine check. ¡°Shush¡ªshush!¡± A group of foreigners frantically whistled. For some reason, they always called the giant Mother Ship ¡°Gaia,¡± perhaps because Gaia had some connotation of Earth¡­ ¡°Earth Era¡± surpassed this era entirely; almost all spaceships, including the Space Port, seemed petty in its presence. It was truly a mobile, giant city! Busy robots and transport spaceships moved to and fro in the port just like autonomous cars on Earth, full of order. Below this still lay the barren, lifeless Moon. The Moon had seen the emergence of man-made structures such as smelting machines in mines and satellite signal transmitters. Most of the buildings were actually hidden underground, with only the tip of the iceberg visible. After enduring so many days in the boundless universe, suddenly seeing a large expanse of human-made structures always stirred up inexplicable emotions. Observing the towering Deep Space Colony Ship from close quarters, Zhang Yuan¡¯s heart raced faster, and he too cheered loudly. Earth Era, our spaceship! Only such a colossal structure could sustain a brand-new civilization; only such solidity could support the lives of 500,000 humans. It was set to conquer a distance of 20 light-years, spanning 3,000 years! This was the greatest glory of the 23rd century. A century belonging to us¡­ Our era! Chapter 54 - 54: The Super-Large Chapter 54: Chapter 54: The Super-Large ¡°Balloon The Transport Ship circled the Moon a total of four large loops before slowly adjusting its orbital position to dock officially with the Space Port. This technical feat wasn¡¯t too difficult, resembling the docking process with a space station and involving four stages: long-range guidance, short-range guidance, final approach, and docking. After so many years of development, the technology had become quite mature. ¡°Astronauts, please pay attention, the spaceship is about to dock. Please put on your space suits, enter the vacuum chamber, and queue up to exit the spaceship.¡± Zhang Yuan exhaled and donned his heavy anti-radiation suit made of nano-silver ions, akin to a thick cotton-padded coat. With a thick glass cover on his head, he checked everything and then ¡°floated¡± into the vacuum chamber before squeezing into an orbit train. ¡°I¡¯m floating up here, give me a hand!¡± ... Because there was no air, even the action of ¡°swimming¡± was impossible. The only option was to grab onto the handrails and move forward. Without anything to leverage against in the surroundings, and without help, one could end up floating indefinitely in mid-air. Such a terrifying accident had occurred before, where an unfortunate individual ended up floating in space, unable to push against anything. The nearest handrail was just a meter away, yet he was unable to move even the slightest bit. When the rescue team arrived, the person had completely broken down. Thus, nowadays space suits are equipped with a very small jet device that can expel jets of air to avoid such incidents. Of course, this function is better unused if possible; in the universe, any bit of matter is precious. Zhang Yuan grabbed the handrail and gently pulled the man down. The guy even said, ¡°Thanks a bunch.¡± This was ¡°Dragon Gate 7,¡± humanity¡¯s largest Space Port, where all astronauts would pass along the central axis of ¡°Earth Era¡± and enter the massive Circular Living Area powered by centrifugal force. It wasn¡¯t just air that could carry sound. Any material could transmit sound. The roaring noise of the orbit train, conveyed through the handrail to their ears, had a solid, rumbling quality. ¡°Earth Era Time¡± was the Wild Wolf Design Bureau¡¯s proudest creation. Zhang Yuan¡¯s father had also once been one of the Bureau¡¯s main designers. Fundamentally, it could be viewed as a super-sized ¡°balloon.¡± S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Apart from vital structures like the spaceship¡¯s central axis and engine room, which used high-strength metal, most other parts, including the ship¡¯s walls and the Light Sail, were made from extremely light, flexible nanomaterials. The universe is nearly a vacuum with almost zero atmospheric pressure, while inside the spaceship, the air is pressurized to a standard atmospheric pressure of 1.01¡Á10^5 Pa. The difference in pressure between inside and outside was equivalent to each square meter of the spaceship bearing a weight of ten tons under Earth¡¯s gravity, causing the entire ship to expand naturally to maintain its designed shape. The advantage of this was that the spaceship was very, very lightweight while fully utilizing the extraordinary tensile strength of the nanomaterials. Despite the spaceship¡¯s colossal volume, akin to a mountain, its own weight was less than 800,000 tons. Ahead, two girls were whispering to each other over their headsets, but they inadvertently opened a small public channel. ¡°It¡¯s said that the spaceship¡¯s nanomaterial walls are only 4 millimeters thick¡­ It looks so unsafe. What if it suddenly breaks?¡± ¡°How could it break? That¡¯s nanomaterial. Originally, 1 millimeter was considered enough, but for safety¡¯s sake, they increased it to four times that thickness.¡± Listening to their conversation, they apparently hadn¡¯t interned in Space City and were newcomers. Li Zhendong turned around, smiling as he explained, ¡°The spaceship¡¯s walls are a composite structure of nanomaterial and aerogel. Just like reinforced concrete, the nanomaterials may only be 4 millimeters thick, but there¡¯s also aerogel, lighter than air, acting as a structural support; so the total thickness is more than that.¡± ¡°Also, the spaceship¡¯s structure isn¡¯t what you imagine. There is no gravity or atmosphere in the zero-gravity areas, which hold various material resources. Only the Circular Living Areas have atmosphere, designed as a honeycomb structure divided into many small rooms, and the outermost areas are uninhabited.¡± ¡°Every room has an air pressure sensor. If there really was an accident on the exterior, it would be difficult for it to immediately affect the interior. Rest assured, we¡¯ll go and repair it right away!¡± ¡°Are you a spaceship maintenance crew member?¡± The girl¡¯s eyes widened as she turned her head. She introduced herself very enthusiastically: ¡°Hello, my name is Li Yiyi, I¡¯m a kindergarten teacher, and also a¡­haha, a painter.¡± ¡°My name is Li Zhendong, everyone has the last name Li, we must have the same ancestor!¡± ¡°Really? Haha!¡± ¡°We are all descendants of Laozi.¡± ¡°Laozi?¡± ¡°Li Er!¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Watching Li Zhendong flirting with the girl and discussing such a boring topic, Zhang Yuan instinctively felt a bit embarrassed for him. Can¡¯t you talk about something more normal, making it seem like it¡¯s culturally significant? As for being a spaceship maintenance personnel, that¡¯s wishful thinking¡­ Ye Kaifu, a craftsman with superb skills, he¡¯s the real spaceship maintenance personnel. They, although they have some skills, still can¡¯t handle real problems when they arise. ¡°You are¡­ Zhang Yuan! You¡¯re an astronaut too!¡± Zhang Yuan, with a bandaged head, thought, Ah, am I already that famous? What¡¯s going on¡­ A bunch of girls started chattering around Zhang Yuan again. Li Zhendong spread his hands, his limelight stolen, appearing somewhat helpless. The reason for the existence of the ¡°kindergarten teacher¡± profession is because, with 500,000 young people, accidents are bound to happen. Inside the spaceship, passion is encouraged along with proper contraception measures, but abortion is not enforced; if someone gets pregnant, they¡¯ll have to give birth. In short, with the help of various high-tech systems, the first basic goal of this small society is self-sufficiency, to sustain the entire social structure; the second goal is development. As they chatted, the orbital train rounded a bend and slowly came to a halt. Everyone entered into a large elevator once again. This elevator would take them from the central axis of the spaceship to the bottom of the centrifuge, while also imparting a lateral tangential speed to all the passengers. ¡°Earth Era¡± uses centrifugal force to simulate gravity¡ªit doesn¡¯t have a high rotational speed, meaning that the Coriolis force is very small, making it very comfortable for human habitation. ¡°Ding,¡± finally the elevator doors opened, and everyone entered a small room, taking off their space suits. The air temperature was 24 degrees Celsius, with 50% humidity. Zhang Yuan excitedly stamped on the floor, feeling its texture similar to a carpet, yet firm. Moreover, this place had gravity similar to Earth¡¯s, making movement very convenient. It was just that, after being in a weightless state for the past few days, their bodies felt a bit dispersed, and walking seemed to require some effort. Chapter 55 - 55 Please take safety precautions Chapter 55: Chapter 55 Please take safety precautions ¡°¡­Hello to all astronauts in Section C,¡± ¡°I am your supervising liaison officer, Lin Xuan.¡± Shortly thereafter, a professionally dressed lady greeted the new group of astronauts and began to explain the spaceship¡¯s systems. ¡°I have three points I¡¯d like to discuss with you all, first, the population management model of the spaceship, second, the economic system; third, work position assignments¡­¡± ¡°Let¡¯s start with the first point, population management. The spaceship has a total of 26 districts, named from A to Z. A is the administrative district, Z is the entertainment district, and each of the other districts houses twenty thousand people¡­¡± ¡°To ensure mental health, we encourage you all to find a life partner. A life partner can be a good friend, or your wife, husband, or boyfriend or girlfriend. Life partners can choose larger double rooms and have the right to awaken from hibernation simultaneously.¡± ... A buzz immediately arose among the crowd. Zhang Yuan just caught words like ¡°single dogs are sinful.¡± Continuing, Ms. Lin Xuan said, ¡°However, due to the limited material resources, we discourage procreation aboard the ship.¡± ¡°¡­Please take appropriate contraceptive measures when passions run high. Given the limited productive capacity of the ship, we cannot produce contraceptive tools and medications on a large scale. Therefore, our medical bay offers free sterilization services. Rest assured, this latest sterilization technology is minimally invasive, with minimal pain and side effects, and it is reversible, allowing easy restoration of reproductive capacity.¡± A video started playing on the central screen, detailing the entire painless sterilization process and various surgical precautions. With the current medical technology, the procedure was indeed as simple and easy as a circumcision. The noise among the crowd grew louder. Well, suggesting sterilization right from the start did sound a bit odd. But having children without adequate nurturing conditions is irresponsible. Everyone present was an intellectual, selected through rigorous screening, free of the deep-rooted ideology that one must pass on family lineage at all costs, so the initial commotion quickly settled. Zhang Yuan was already aware of these matters, but he listened attentively once more. In addition to population policy, there were various management policies. There were about 4,000 soldiers on the ship, operating under a semi-military management. Unless under special circumstances, the working hours for one¡¯s own position were from 8 AM to 11 AM, with the rest of the time being free. For a second-level position like Zhang Yuan¡¯s, the job was basically to patrol a designated area daily, checking for damaged instruments, potential material leaks, testing oxygen levels, carbon dioxide concentration, air humidity, and so on, then performing some simple manual maintenance. And finally, cleaning the cabins. A significant part of the dust in the air came from human skin flakes. These accumulated within the spaceship, proliferating and fostering various bacteria. These dust particles could be cleaned up with a vacuum cleaner. In summary, as the technical content was low, it was just a second-level position. Even without this job, it would be fine. Robots could also handle this work. After speaking for an hour, Lin Xuan said, ¡°¡­Alright, does anyone have any questions?¡± Immediately, someone asked, ¡°We only work for three hours in the morning, is it really that relaxed and free? Aren¡¯t there any planned tasks?¡± The liaison officer replied, ¡°After reaching our final destination, Gliese 581, there may be planned work, but not at present. Right now, the work is indeed easy because there are too few resources on the ship to create a plethora of positions. Most lower-level positions are dispensable, but there are still many high-level positions vacant.¡± ¡°Please exercise initiative and create more social value!¡± ¡°Of course, we also hope that in your free time, you learn more, and don¡¯t waste precious time. Play fewer games, spend more time enriching yourself.¡± ¡°After reaching Jupiter, the social and academic value created will be converted into points, to allocate future work positions. As for the right to wake from hibernation, you already know, so I won¡¯t say more¡­¡± ¡°If there are any emergencies, I will notify everyone through communication devices.¡± ¡°If you have more administrative questions, you can contact me directly or go to the administrative office in Section A. Please carry your communicator at all times.¡± S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Zhang Yuan received a communicator resembling a wristwatch and solemnly put it on his wrist. Upon closer inspection, the device actually had a black-and-white screen! How quaint! Its functions were incredibly simple, with just a few buttons, only capable of receiving information on specific frequencies. But its greatest advantage was durability, water and fire resistance, and it wouldn¡¯t be damaged by being dropped repeatedly; it would still function in extremely adverse environments. [Identity Number: 00311124560, Zhang Yuan, Current Time: 2264-8-9-12:23.] [Your Current Unread Messages: 0] ¡°Beep beep beep,¡± he pressed a few buttons and found that it had only basic communication functions and an emergency distress signal. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s all for today. You can rest for a few days, and we will start official work on the third day. Meeting adjourned.¡± The crowd quickly dispersed. ¡°Which room are you in?¡± Li Zhendong asked. ¡°C-11846.¡± ¡°Alright, not on the same floor. I¡¯m off to sleep, I¡¯m dead tired, I feel completely worn out.¡± A while later, someone behind him called out to him. ¡°Zhang Yuan, right?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Zhang Yuan turned around. In front of him stood a man about thirty years old, named Wang Xin, the team leader of their work group. In total, there were eight people in the group. After exchanging contact details, Wang Xin smiled amicably, ¡°You must be tired after several days on the spaceship, go rest. Work starts in three days. Your rooms are over there.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Zhang Yuan quickly found his small room. He estimated it to be about eight square meters. There was a single bed, a cabinet, and a desk ¨C the furnishings were simple but sufficient. If it was a shared room, it would be much larger, but for a bachelor like him, this was what he got. This was likely to be his den for a significant time to come. After settling his luggage, Zhang Yuan lay on the bed with mixed feelings, feeling a little uneasy but also calm. He felt incredibly weak; after several days without gravity, just walking a few steps caused backaches and leg cramps, and he lay on the bed panting heavily. Now that he was actually here, his whole soul gradually calmed down. After all, everything he had left behind or chosen to keep was in the past. One must always look forward, right? Thinking this, and due to several nights of poor sleep, Zhang Yuan drifted into a deep slumber. ¡­ Chapter 56 - 56: Undergraduates Are Inferior to Dogs, Graduate Students Are Everywhere Chapter 56: Chapter 56: Undergraduates Are Inferior to Dogs, Graduate Students Are Everywhere Zhang Yuan had interned on the spaceship for a year already, making him quite familiar with the entire living area structure. He woke up hungry and stepped out of his room, intending to go to the dining hall for a meal. The air was fresh, with Pu Pu Grass growing in water basins around the hallway. Under the influence of light, it converted the carbon dioxide exhaled by humans into oxygen. This seaweed-like plant grew swiftly, producing sweet grape-like fruits in about 28 days. If one wanted to eat them, they could freely pick them, as everything along the path was free of charge. The ceiling¡¯s lights were similar to sunlight. During night, these artificial light sources turned dimmer and softer, making it easy for people to distinguish between day and night. A few men and women passed by Zhang Yuan, excitedly discussing. ... ¡°Carbon oxygen cycling is a complex science. If the proportions of carbon dioxide and oxygen go out of control, people can easily be poisoned¡­¡± ¡°Microbial community control is the most important part in spaceship environmental studies, specifically involving¡­¡± Along the way, Zhang Yuan heard many hushed conversations, many of which he could not understand. The academic atmosphere here was remarkably dense, with discussions about scientific issues, spaceships, and even the Fermi Paradox and aliens. The astronaut exam was far more difficult than the college entrance exam; the spaceship gathered elites from all professions. Everyone had a high awareness of self-learning. A desire to learn suddenly sprouted within him. Everyone was striving hard! He quickened his pace, planning to study intensely after finishing his meal. Rest? No need for that! At that moment, Zhang Yuan noticed a girl in a sailor outfit looking around, appearing lost. She was about 1.6 meters tall and looked adorable. ¡°Do you need any help?¡± Zhang Yuan figured she might be going for a meal. He knew the spaceship well, so helping a little seemed fine. ¡°Excuse me, how do I get to the Biological Science Conference Hall?¡± The girl¡¯s accent was a bit strange, and by Zhang Yuan¡¯s guess, she might be a foreigner. Astronauts from the Earth Era were recruited globally, so encountering foreigners was quite normal. ¡°Biological Science Conference Hall?¡± Zhang Yuan was slightly taken aback, unaware of the conference venue. ¡°It¡¯s the one¡­ presided over by Professor Mendel,¡± the girl said, somewhat embarrassed. ¡°Do you have the exact coordinates?¡± ¡°E-14 area.¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re going the wrong way. It¡¯s in that direction,¡± Zhang Yuan smiled faintly and pointed in a direction. ¡°Walk about three or four hundred meters, turn left, and take the elevator.¡± ¡°Thank you so much. I really appreciate your help.¡± The girl bowed politely and then turned to leave. This was just a minor episode, but Zhang Yuan¡¯s desire to learn grew even stronger! The girl he just encountered seemed to be his age, yet she was invited to attend a conference on Biological Science. Zhang Yuan sighed deeply. ¡°Without good papers, without a high degree, you barely have the right to breathe; undergraduates have indeed become the lowest class of society¡­¡± ¡°I guess there¡¯s no one with a lower degree than mine.¡± ¡°I need to check on my paper, it¡¯s been over ten days since I submitted it¡­¡± After so many days, there should have been some response. He rushed to the cafeteria, hurriedly ate a few bites of rice. There weren¡¯t any special dishes, the vegetables were naturally grown without pollution, hydroponically, but all the meat dishes were synthetic and didn¡¯t taste very good. Zhang Yuan hurried back to his dormitory, connected to the spaceship communication system, and requested access to the Earth internet. ¡°Hello, please select the data package you would like to purchase. 1 CNY = 1 GB.¡± The average distance between the Moon and Earth is about 380,000 kilometers, electromagnetic communication travels at the speed of light, so the round trip delay was over two seconds, making real-time online gaming practically impossible. However, sending emails, making calls, or watching videos was no problem, as long as you could tolerate a two-second delay. After a while, Zhang Yuan opened his email and found a reply quietly waiting there. It was unclear how far the review process had gone. He opened the email with a slightly anxious heart, and his face slightly changed. ¡°Hello, your viewpoints are good, but there are many shortcomings¡­¡± ¡°¡­therefore, we¡¯re not considering it for review at this time.¡± What¡¯s going on! My paper was rejected? Zhang Yuan frowned and read the email carefully. This editor didn¡¯t outright reject the review, but offered many suggestions for revisions. But to make the changes they required, I¡¯d have to almost completely rewrite the structure of the paper¡ªit wouldn¡¯t be much different from starting a new one. Zhang Yuan sighed a few times. Publishing in ¡°Modern Science¡± is indeed not easy. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. He didn¡¯t want to waste too much time on this, what if he rewrote the paper and they were still not satisfied? He immediately made a call to Professor Wang Zhong on Earth, asking the elder for guidance¡ªsurely that couldn¡¯t be wrong. ¡°What? ¡®Modern Science¡¯ rejected it? Asked you to rewrite it?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll forward the review email to you.¡± Professor Wang Zhong inspected the email on his computer for about a minute, then spoke somewhat puzzledly, ¡°What kind of review comments are these, all vague and cumbersome, isn¡¯t this just making things difficult?¡± He hesitated slightly, then as if he realized something, he whispered, ¡°Your paper only has your name on it, right? I¡¯ve heard that some unethical journal editors, seeing you have no backing, might take the opportunity to solicit bribes. Has he contacted you privately to ask for a bribe?¡± Zhang Yuan responded in surprise, ¡°There has been no private contact¡­ ¡®Modern Science¡¯ has editors like that?¡± Professor Wang continued, ¡°No matter where, there¡¯s always a darker side, unrelated to the influence of the journal. If someone really calls to solicit a bribe, you could record it and let me handle it. As for the paper, if you¡¯re in a hurry, you could switch to another journal, such as ¡®Scientific Pioneer¡¯¡­¡± ¡°Although the impact factor is lower, we have more sway there, and could help expedite your review. You might want to consult Professor Lu on this issue.¡± Zhang Yuan then called Professor Lu Junzhe at the Mechanical Engineering College of Xisha University. ¡°It didn¡¯t pass even the first round?¡± Professor Lu Junzhe raised his voice, ¡°¡®Modern Science¡¯ has really gone downhill, demanding revisions for such a paper! Who reviewed it?¡± All their subsequent work was based on Zhang Yuan¡¯s paper, and now it was being sent back, plus with the annual evaluation approaching in a few months, how could he not be anxious? ¡°I don¡¯t know who reviewed it.¡± Zhang Yuan said, ¡°Can I submit it to ¡®Scientific Pioneer¡¯?¡± After some thought, Professor Lu replied, ¡°Well, ¡®Scientific Pioneer¡¯ is also good, although the impact factor is slightly lower; if you don¡¯t mind, go ahead.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll call Editor Hu and ask him to expedite the review of your paper.¡± Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t mind, he just wanted his paper to be published as soon as possible. Gold always shines; just by changing the journal, it wouldn¡¯t be buried, would it? ¡­ Chapter 57 - 57 Intellectual Plagiarism Chapter 57: Chapter 57 Intellectual Plagiarism Earth, imperial capital. Blue skies and white clouds, the weather was perfect. As one of the editors of ¡°Modern Science¡± journal, Mo Jianhua held immense power over life and death decisions. The feeling of being able to reject others was absolutely fantastic! What? Want to submit to another journal? Feel free, since ¡°Modern Science¡± is the domestic journal with the highest impact factor anyway, love it or leave it. ... ¡°What paper, and it was sent to the expedited mailbox?¡± ¡°Zhang Yuan? Never heard of him.¡± If it wasn¡¯t for his good mood, Mo Jianhua wouldn¡¯t even bother to click on it and would have just passed the paper for someone else to review. Kinematics¡­ The title was quite impressive. Mo Jianhua symbolically clicked on it and immediately spotted numerous beginners¡¯ mistakes. ¡°Pah, doesn¡¯t even know how to write a paper!¡± After all, a scientific paper is the new era¡¯s version of the eight-legged essay; only those who write them frequently can master their essence and have that qualified ¡°eight-legged flavor.¡± This is not a pejorative term; ¡°eight-legged essay¡± simply helps one grasp the key points quickly, saving review time. However, as crappy as it was, this paper seemed to have a kind of wonderful power, attracting him to keep reading. Finally, he let out a long breath. Great article! Very innovative! In theory, such a ¡°heavyweight¡± paper should be sent for review immediately, then published as quickly as possible. ¡°Modern Science¡± is a weekly publication, with a new issue every week. ¡°When is the next issue due? Hmm, it¡¯s already set to print; the manuscript for the following issue is also sufficient¡­ But if I wanted to queue-jump, it wouldn¡¯t be impossible.¡± Mo Jianhua became somewhat restive; he understood the importance of this paper profoundly. Its impact was significant and could potentially affect an entire industry! With his many years of reviewing experience, even without any modifications, it was very likely ready for direct publication! Impressive papers had privileges, and some had even formatted their papers in the style of martial arts novels, a hodgepodge of concepts, and still gotten published, hadn¡¯t they? But¡­ the author of this paper seemed a bit strange. In the signature field, there was just the solitary name, Zhang Yuan, followed by an email and the corresponding contact details. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. No co-author, no corresponding author¡ªit likely represented an independently developed idea. Judging from various details in the paper, there didn¡¯t seem to be the guidance of a savvy advisor. Which meant, this guy probably didn¡¯t have any powerful backing! Ordinarily, when submitting a paper, people add their institution¡¯s name behind their own, like ¡°XX University¡± or ¡°XX Research Institute,¡± etc. But this person had none¡ªthat probably meant he was not working in a research institution. ¡°Could he be a real amateur? Or perhaps¡­ an amateur scientist?¡± Amateur scientist refers to self-taught scientists not working within academic institutions, mostly used in a derogatory sense. But indeed, a small number of amateur scientists have true talent and knowledge. For example, many amateur scientists idolize the renowned Einstein. Before becoming famous, Einstein was not working professionally in universities or research institutions; he was merely a patent office clerk who developed the theory of relativity in his spare time. [1] Thinking of this, Mo Jianhua¡¯s heart raced, and his thoughts flashed urgently. Gradually, an evil idea crept into his mind. ¡°What if, I were to publish this paper first?¡± This article was purely theoretical, with no experimental data¡­ copying it should be quite straightforward. This temptation was simply too great, he felt as if he could already foresee countless praises and numerous awards. All sorts of fame and halos bestowed upon him, that feeling¡­ was unforgettable. ¡°It¡¯s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!¡± When Mo Jianhua was young, he had been a genius, carving out a name for himself with his own abilities. However, in every circle, there are unwritten rules. Once the victim, he had climbed his way up step by step and had become the beneficiary. Even now, as he grew older, he remained a prolific author of academic papers in the industry, capable of publishing over thirty articles a year¡­ which made his students utterly miserable. After all, those within the circle knew exactly how those thirty papers were produced. How could one person have so much energy? Did they really think that writing papers was as easy as hens laying eggs? But with reputation at stake, he must maintain it with a wealth of academic achievements. This is how a person¡¯s bottom line is gradually breached, and he had long been trapped in the pit of fame and would not stop. ¡°Two or three dozen papers are nothing compared to this one!¡± With this thought, Mo Jianhua¡¯s breathing became heavier. A quick online search for ¡°Zhang Yuan¡± turned up too many people with the same name, but not a single renowned scholar. Instead, a plethora of terms like ¡°big star¡± and ¡°advancing entertainment zone¡± popped up. Mo Jianhua had always been too lazy to read such news. ¡°Anyway, the guy¡¯s just a nobody, an amateur scientist at best,¡± he gradually reassured himself. The other party had left a contact number, but he was certain not to reach out, lest he inadvertently alert them. Plagiarism is a craft in itself, and it¡¯s not just about copying something exactly. There¡¯s a better, more subtle way, known as ¡°ideological plagiarism.¡± Ideas, after all, can sometimes overlap by accident. Nevertheless, as far as Mo Jianhua was concerned, could a nobody really outdo him? Since the article hadn¡¯t been published, it holds no authority. As long as my article gets published before yours, who would bother to gossip? History only remembers the victors. Without further ado, Mo Jianhua put aside his current work and prepared to rush out his draft overnight, aiming to get it published in the latest issue of the journal. Meanwhile, he also planned to delay Zhang Yuan¡¯s manuscript. He would publish his paper first, and then reject the latter on the ground of ¡°conceptual similarity¡±. ¡ª Zhang Yuan waited another week. The population on ¡°Earth Era¡± was increasing, with batches of astronauts gradually ascending, waiting for all 500,000 to be ready before beginning their long journey. During this period, he wasn¡¯t idle either; he quickly adjusted to the serious academic atmosphere inside the spaceship. There were eight people in his work group, with the leader being Wang Xin, thirty years old, who had once been an entrepreneur. Perhaps due to failing in business, this guy had almost given up everything, and with his wife, ran off to ¡°Earth Era¡±. ¡°¡­In any case, I will teach you some simple technical tasks, even cleaning must be done with earnest care. Pairs will supervise each other; don¡¯t slack off!¡± Wang Xin maintained a severe demeanor every day, giving orders here and there. One of the boys shouted out, ¡°Brother Wang, there are so many of us doing so little work, can¡¯t we take turns resting, so everyone gets more time off¡­¡± Wang Xin frowned, ¡°No, it has to be pairs.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already submitted a report suggesting that the committee, when scheduling work, should arrange for as many people in a group as possible for mutual supervision.¡± ¡°Especially later on when there are fewer people, we must maintain the spaceship diligently, with zero negligence.¡± ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª ps: (Why do I get so much support after changing the name?) (Is it because everyone really likes the new title? Ha-ha-ha-ha, no need to be polite if you think it¡¯s good!) (And what¡¯s this explosive update competition?? I¡¯m totally clueless, I had no idea about it.) Note[1]: It is not meant to imply that Einstein is an amateur scientist, do not take it seriously. Chapter 58 - 58: Zhang Yuan, something big has happened! Chapter 58: Chapter 58: Zhang Yuan, something big has happened! Zhang Yuan quietly noted the humidity, oxygen levels, and air pressure of these rooms, then manually inspected all devices, comparing data with his companion. Even though various Artificial Intelligences had already recorded this data. The reason behind this was for ¡°safety¡±. Working in groups not only ensured data security but also safeguarded against a multitude of other messy situations. In the 21st century, the International Space Station once experienced a ¡°leak¡± incident. There was a small hole on the space station, and judging by the damage to the hole, it was likely made by a human¡ªwith some kind of tool! ... A leak on the space station is life-threatening, what to do? They could only seal it with tape. To this day, the cause of this hole remains a mystery; no one knows the truth, nor who caused the damage¡­ ¡°So, to avoid some lunatics who no longer wish to live and sabotage things in secret, I still recommend working in pairs,¡± team leader Wang Xin said eerily, ¡°The most unpredictable thing is the human heart, especially those with depression, schizophrenia¡­¡± Not many knew this story, and Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but exchange a glance with his companion. ¡°Brother Wang, is that true?¡± a female student couldn¡¯t help but ask. Wang Xin just chuckled and did not answer. After checking the entire cabin, he gestured grandly: ¡°Alright, that¡¯s it for today¡¯s work, everyone is dismissed!¡± What followed was free time. For Zhang Yuan, this free time was almost entirely allocated to studying. He was truly weary of this current insignificant work. He had already been interning on the spaceship for a year; to keep studying the same things now was simply a waste of life! Zhang Yuan wished he could immediately switch to a more high-end profession. But job assignments required impressive achievements. Right after lunch, Zhang Yuan received several new messages. First, ¡°Genesis Technology Co., Ltd.¡± had finally been established, and he could begin working on a portion of the robotics control program. Zhang Yuan had made several calls to his Earth-based assistants, each with a Master¡¯s or Ph.D. degree, which made him quite embarrassed. But no matter, for the smooth progress of this work, he had prepared for a long time. Second, his paper was formally accepted by the ¡°Scientific Pioneer¡± journal. The editor of ¡°Scientific Pioneer¡± even stated that such a fine article could be rushed into the latest issue of the journal. ¡°To have a work of my own, finally shedding my status as a low-level member of society, feels wonderful!¡± He was delighted at heart; although the inspiration for the paper was provided by his father, turning that inspiration into words was also significant work. For him personally, it was a huge encouragement. He was about to make a phone call to report this good news to Professor Wang Zhong on Earth when his phone suddenly rang. ¡°Hello?¡± ¡°Zhang Yuan, something terrible has happened!¡± It was a call from Ye Kaifu. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Ye Kaifu had been assigned to Zone J and did not live with Zhang Yuan; his position as a technician in the production area was much more high-end than Zhang Yuan¡¯s. ¡°What happened, is there trouble again?¡± Ye Kaifu said urgently, ¡°In ¡®Scientific Pioneer¡¯ and ¡®Modern Science¡¯, there are two articles that clash! It¡¯s unclear who plagiarized whom, but I¡¯ve read both papers, and the viewpoints are nearly identical.¡± Zhang Yuan was somewhat puzzled, feeling that this guy¡¯s tone was taking pleasure in the misfortune. ¡°Could it be my paper?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± A picture was sent to the screen¡ªon the cover of ¡°Scientific Pioneer,¡± a few large characters read: ¡°An Analysis of High Degree of Freedom in Robotics Kinematics Based on Geometric Group Theory and Topology.¡± A thought struck Zhang Yuan¡ªwasn¡¯t that his paper? The cover wasn¡¯t bad, featuring an anthropomorphic robot, quite imposing. On the other hand, the cover of ¡°Modern Science¡± also had a similar title: ¡°Robot Kinematics under Geometric Group Theory and Topological Methods.¡± Zhang Yuan frowned, considering: that shouldn¡¯t be right, ¡°Modern Science¡± had rejected the paper, hadn¡¯t they? Could it have been published after all? I wasn¡¯t notified. Thinking about the consequences of submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals and getting blacklisted by all editors, Zhang Yuan broke out in a cold sweat¡­ Please, I never submitted the same manuscript multiple times; it was your decision to reject it! ¡°What exactly is going on?¡± Hearing his panicked tone, Ye Kaifu nearly burst out laughing, ¡°Buddy, the paper in ¡®Modern Science¡¯ isn¡¯t under your name. Either someone really had the same idea, or, could it be you¡¯ve plagiarized from somewhere?¡± Zhang Yuan cursed irritably, ¡°Plagiarize my ass! I typed out every single word myself, and you saw it with your own eyes in the dorm!¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. So, who is this Mo Jianhua? Did he plagiarize from you?¡± Zhang Yuan snapped back to reality, his face flushing red! He was absolutely furious and hurried back to his dorm to try contacting someone on Earth. ¡­ ¡°Professor Mo, congratulations!¡± ¡°Your paper is truly outstanding!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not often we see papers with direct applications.¡± ¡°You might even win Paper of the Year.¡± ¡°Thank you, thank you so much!¡± Mo Jianhua accepted the congratulations of his peers with a beaming smile, feeling completely deserving of the accolades. Getting published in ¡®Modern Science,¡¯ a top-tier journal, is no easy feat. Now that his paper was featured on the cover story, it was the most significant paper in the issue. With this paper, a little maneuvering might secure him the Paper of the Year award. And with that award, his status as a ¡°Quasi Academician¡± could be upgraded to a full Academician! Academician¡ªthe title alone could bring in so much money! Thinking of the lucrative future, Mo Jianhua felt his heart might leap out of his chest. He had never been so close to his goal before. Despite maintaining a serious expression, the flush on his face betrayed his excitement. Hold on, there¡¯s still the issue of the original author to deal with. But what¡¯s done is done; what could Zhang Yuan possibly do? ¡°Just give him some money! If that¡¯s not enough, give him a little more.¡± Mo Jianhua pondered in smug satisfaction, starting to look for Zhang Yuan¡¯s contact information. ¡°At worst, he could become my student¡­ A student of an Academician isn¡¯t something money can buy; the connections alone are worth millions. How could he refuse?¡± ¡°Teacher, teacher, it¡¯s terrible!¡± Suddenly, an alarmed shout jolted him from his reverie. He was about to scold the student when the young man placed two journals in front of him. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Mo Jianhua asked, frowning unhappily. ¡°Teacher, take a look at this journal quickly!¡± Mo Jianhua flipped through ¡®Scientific Pioneer¡¯ with a puzzled look. This¡­ He broke out in a cold sweat. He completely missed the schadenfreude on the student¡¯s face. Damn you, Zhang Yuan! To think you were too lazy to revise and submitted such an important paper to a second-rate journal! Now, they both were wearing the same ¡°shirt.¡± Facing the impending massive maelstrom, Mo Jianhua felt faint¡­ ¡­ Chapter 59 - 59 Clarification Statement Chapter 59: Chapter 59 Clarification Statement Xisha University, Mechanical Engineering College, meeting room, an emergency meeting was called with even the principal, Guo Pansen, in attendance. Professor Wang Zhong, known for his explosive temper, was nearly fuming. The language of the two papers differed, yet their core ideas were nearly identical. Thus, it was highly likely that one paper plagiarized the other. It wasn¡¯t possible that two people came up with the same idea simultaneously, right? Thinking back, Zhang Yuan had once submitted his manuscript to ¡°Modern Science¡± only to have it rejected, and the answer seemed ready to emerge. During the meeting, Principal Guo sipped some water and said, ¡°Professor Wang, we still haven¡¯t determined who is in the right and who is in the wrong. Shouldn¡¯t we first figure out¡­¡± ¡°Principal Guo!¡± Wang Zhong raised his voice. ... If he couldn¡¯t even protect his own student, he would have no face to continue in this circle. ¡°¡­Does Zhang Yuan even know Mo Jianhua? Not at all! One is in Xisha, and the other in the imperial capital, thousands of miles apart! Tell me, what magical means could Zhang Yuan have used to plagiarize someone else?¡± ¡°Hacking? Stealing papers? Ask yourself if you believe that!¡± Principal Guo frowned, slightly embarrassed, ¡°But there¡¯s no solid evidence¡­ Will they admit defeat? They won¡¯t!¡± Many professors were holding back their anger. Even if there were records of Zhang Yuan¡¯s emails, it was still hardly conclusive evidence. As long as one was shameless enough, they could forcefully claim that they had already come up with the idea before you sent it. What could anyone else do about that? ¡°They really have no shame, living like dogs despite their age!¡± Wang Zhong swore loudly. One of the professors mentioned, ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve also heard that at M University, the exploitation of students by professors is severe, with doctoral extensions and suicides all coming from there.¡± Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°There have also been accusations of plagiarizing papers, but such voices are weak and hardly anyone pays attention¡­¡± ¡°Having them investigate their own people isn¡¯t going to uncover anything.¡± ¡°Actually, these professors have long lost their edge; they only have big names and high positions, so no one can really do anything¡­¡± Some universities had already entered the so-called ¡°Academic Gatekeeper era.¡± Where there are people, there are social circles, and where there are social circles, there are factions. Some maladapted individuals in academic and research work form ¡°Academic Gatekeepers,¡± creating barriers between research funds and academic resources, becoming the exploitative class of the academic community. ¡°¡­So it is. These academic cancers, mediocrities¡­ They only want to make money!¡± A few more professors chimed in. However, as much as they cursed, the issue was indeed difficult to handle. Academic Gatekeepers, similar to warlords, protected each other, and uprooting them would involve too many interests. Professor Lu from the Mechanical Engineering College pondered for a moment, cleared his throat, and said, ¡°At any rate, no matter what, we must support Zhang Yuan. What¡¯s true can¡¯t be faked, and what¡¯s fake can¡¯t become true¡­¡± ¡°Otherwise, letting their M University papers become the pioneers would make our subsequent work mere followers. Such a significant project, are we just supposed to give up?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right!¡± Everyone spoke up. Principal Guo¡¯s expression was not very good. He remained silent for half a minute before speaking, ¡°In any case, we need to clarify to all sectors of society that Zhang Yuan completed his paper here at our university. It has been reviewed by many professors and there is no suspicion of plagiarism!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s contact ¡®Scientific Pioneer¡¯ again. Retracting the paper is absolutely out of the question!¡± ¡°Right, we also need to contact Zhang Yuan¡¯s alma mater, Z University. We must prove he is a good student both in morals and academics¡­¡± Principal Guo was very troubled, wondering if such clarifications would even be useful. He could almost predict what would come next: the other party definitely wouldn¡¯t admit their mistake, which would be a direct blow to their reputation. Of course, his side couldn¡¯t admit any wrongdoing either. Next would be mutual accusations, followed by online trolls attacking each other. The situation would escalate further and further. It¡¯s really difficult to completely overthrow the other side, as they are a group, and to overthrow them means taking down a big swath, not just an individual. But the fight must go on; it¡¯s clear that we have the moral high ground, and if we concede now, the entire team¡¯s morale will shatter. If all the professors jump ship, then my position as the principal will be doomed too. Xisha University quickly issued a clarification statement, starting to strongly support Zhang Yuan, stating that the article was completed under the ¡°witness¡± of many professors. There was a bit of exaggeration though. This ¡°witness¡± was merely a witness to the final results, but at least it was a form of public support. Various overwhelming comments soon followed, with many people who didn¡¯t understand the paper starting to voice their opinions and critiques. ¡°Can a bachelor¡¯s student really write such an article? Are you kidding me? Why can I understand each word but not a single sentence?¡± ¡°LOL, you¡¯re saying it¡¯s a lie just because you don¡¯t understand? I guess all the high-tech products in the world must be invented by ghosts.¡± ¡°Let me just say that Xisha University¡¯s ranking isn¡¯t as good as M University¡­¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t this the Zhang Yuan who donated all his money? Academic God is amazing; he regards money as dirt! (dog emoji) (dog emoji)¡± ¡°I¡¯m on the moon, just got off the spaceship, making over a billion a month, well-connected in the industry, I¡¯m out. But let me add, the last name Mo surely isn¡¯t anything good¡­ seems like he kicked the iron plate with a big backing this time! Hahaha!¡± ¡°Mo old dog£¤@¡­%&p;#!¡± After browsing various online information, Zhang Yuan felt his head was about to explode. However, in this round of public squabble, he was the underdog and won the natural sympathy of the masses. Sympathy for the underdog is human nature; what the truth really is seems not so important. Anyway, as long as the powerful are thwarted, the public enjoys it. Moreover, it seems Mo Jianhua has some dark history, with a few ¡°natural trolls¡± making a big fuss; all sorts of messy things got dug up. ¡°(Real name report) Give me back my youth, postgraduate complaining about Professor Mo¡¯s malpractices, delaying graduation for three years!¡± ¡°The northern schools exploiting students has become an unspoken rule, average doctoral delays are two years!¡± Things like delayed graduation, unpaid labor, the more exceptional and honest you are, the longer the delays, etc¡­ ¡°So, this guy has all these awful sides!¡± He was pleased internally. But in one second, Zhang Yuan was engrossed; the next second, he refreshed the page, and the post was deleted. The next second, even the trending topics were removed. It turned out that M University had issued a ¡°clarification statement.¡± There weren¡¯t many words above, but a statement was released stating that the paper was ¡°independently written¡± by Professor Mo. There were even a few professors who acted as witnesses, saying they had discussed the related ideas with Professor Mo, ruling out the possibility of idea theft. Following that, there¡¯s a list of achievements obtained by Mo Jianhua, including a plethora of papers, but the most important point: ¡°Academician Candidate of the Academy!¡± Academician! ¡­Although only a candidate. Chapter 60 - 60 The World of Selling Personas Chapter 60: Chapter 60 The World of Selling Personas ¡°Anyway, the whole clarification statement means, whether you believe in ¡®Academician Candidate¡¯ or just a little ¡®undergraduate¡¯ after all¡­¡± ¡°Shameless! Truly shameless! And there are even witnesses? It¡¯s unbelievable!¡± Ye Kaifu seemed even more anxious than Zhang Yuan himself, shouting loudly, ¡°I can be your witness too, even though I didn¡¯t understand what you were talking about then¡­ but I was probably discussing issues with you, right?¡± Zhang Yuan looked at him with disdain. ¡°What good is a witness as insignificant as you?¡± Ye Kaifu retorted anxiously, ¡°How is it useless? I can¡­ help you spray him!¡± The Washing party quickly appeared to whitewash for people. ... ¡°I¡¯m telling you, it¡¯s all slander. That Zhang Yuan is really good at hyping things up, to be famous, he even dares to touch an Academician Candidate, two words¡­ awesome!¡± ¡°Having looked carefully at the two papers, Professor Mo¡¯s style is very mature, clearly that of a true master. Zhang Yuan¡¯s paper, on the other hand, gives off a novice vibe. It¡¯s hard to imagine how a novice wrote this paper.¡± ¡°Poor loyalist, he has made so many contributions to human civilization, and now he¡¯s being schemed against like this. Are we really going to repeat the historical folly of dying of entertainment?¡± Repeating the historical folly of dying of entertainment? This big hat is way too huge. It¡¯s just freaking chaos! ¡°Those who spread rumors should go to jail!¡± ¡°Discussing Xia Country¡¯s academic community from the plagiarism scandal¡­¡± ¡°Academics lack due respect, Xia Country¡¯s major country status is bound to be compromised!¡± However, Zhang Yuan was relieved that there were a few natural allies still tirelessly debating for him. ¡°¡­Thinking back a bit, how could an undergraduate possibly steal a university professor¡¯s manuscript and then plagiarize? Hacking technology? Please, if such technology really existed, would he need this? He¡¯d have been recruited by Baribaba long ago, with an annual salary of a billion!¡± ¡°The existence of Academic Gatekeepers is severely endangering the sustainability of higher education!¡± ¡°What about Academicians? Don¡¯t even mention just a candidate, if the character is bad, he¡¯s still a dog!¡± Various confrontations began to intensify. The onlookers were enjoying the drama immensely. ¡°¡­There should be an application for the relevant departments to deeply intervene and investigate, letting them investigate themselves, which they probably could never do thoroughly in their lifetime.¡± Zhang Yuan came to himself, his head a bit in a whirl, not wanting to join the fray directly. Actually engaging in a verbal battle wasn¡¯t very useful. ¡°Beep!¡± The watch on his hand suddenly vibrated. It displayed a message, ¡°Mr. Zhang Yuan, please come to the Captain¡¯s office in area A-1 immediately.¡± He gathered his things, and hurried towards area A1. Even the people in the Earth Era knew about this. But for this group of astronauts about to leave, it was merely gossip news, not causing much of a sensation, and the order within the spaceship remained very good. When he entered, he found a very familiar middle-aged man sitting inside. He seemed to have seen him somewhere but couldn¡¯t quite remember. ¡°Let me introduce myself first, my name is Ma Tao, currently the Captain of the Earth Era.¡± ¡°Captain Ma, hello.¡± Zhang Yuan felt a movement in his heart. Ma Tao waved his hand and said with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t be so formal. Professor Wang Zhong was my mentor thirty years ago, and your father was my senior.¡± ¡°Do you know why I called you here?¡± Zhang Yuan, slightly nervous, hesitated, then said, ¡°Regarding that paper¡­¡± Ma Tao nodded slightly, smiling, ¡°Your matter actually involves conflicts between academic schools. Professor Wang is already handling it, and he wants to seize this opportunity to root out some academic corruption¡­¡± ¡°Overall, we will definitely give you a satisfactory answer.¡± Zhang Yuan asked, ¡°Then you called me here, is there something I need to do?¡± ¡°Right now, the most important things are two points.¡± Ma Tao held up one finger, ¡°First, is self-strengthening. Or rather, using more academic achievements to prove your strength!¡± He looked up at Zhang Yuan and said with a smile, ¡°Do you know how many people Newton, Lord Niu, knocked down in his lifetime?¡± As one of the greatest scientists in human history, Newton¡¯s character wasn¡¯t that great; he made countless enemies throughout his life. In the matter of the discovery of gravity, Newton tore into Hook, and the two fought for 30 years, resulting in most of Hook¡¯s research being destroyed after his death, disappearing into the depths of history. In proving gravity, Newton plagiarized Flamsteed¡¯s data. In the history of calculus, Newton also had a rivalry with Leibniz. ¡°¡­But, everyone just treats this story as an interesting anecdote about Lord Niu and it never affects his greatness.¡± Ma Tao continued with a smile, ¡°As long as you are strong enough, the scientific community will naturally lean towards you.¡± Zhang Yuan nodded, holding back frustration. He lowered his head and silently pondered, planning to quickly complete all the various procedures and patents to prove his copyright. Secondly, to publish more heavyweight papers as soon as possible. Ma Tao held out a second finger, continuing, ¡°Another point is to rely on the widespread public opinion campaign.¡± ¡°Public opinion, in fact, is quite easy to manipulate.¡± ¡°Since Mo Jianhua is selling the persona of ¡®Quasi Academician¡¯, then you can sell ¡®super-genius¡¯ plus ¡®astronaut¡¯ personas, see who sells better! Don¡¯t worry, from what we can see so far, your character definitely passes muster¡­¡± S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Zhang Yuan felt a bit embarrassed being praised like this. ¡°They may have a big influence within the academic circles, but how could they possibly compete with the Deep Space Foundation elsewhere? We will fully support you, and soon some reporters from the moon news will come to interview you.¡± ¡°Reporters?¡± Zhang Yuan suddenly became nervous. ¡°Don¡¯t be too nervous, just chat casually. Just act as a representative of the advanced figures of Area C, anyway, we consider that paper yours already. What do you think?¡± Zhang Yuan knew deep down that this was not only encouragement but also an invisible push. Once on the newspaper, he must maintain his ¡°persona¡± of outstanding genius without wavering. This maintenance wasn¡¯t for a month or two, but for life! He must always be better than others. Otherwise, his whole persona would completely collapse! But, with real knowledge inside, what is there to fear? Even if he had used up his father¡¯s intellectual legacy, couldn¡¯t he continue to explore and discover on his own? ¡°Okay!¡± he thought carefully and replied. ¡­ Chapter 61 - 61: People on the Moon, Insiders Chapter 61: Chapter 61: People on the Moon, Insiders The two reporters from the news agency were very pretty, quietly waiting at the door of the Captain¡¯s Room. ¡°Hello, Mr. Zhang Yuan,¡± said the reporter whose surname was Lin, called Lin Xuanyuan, ¡°may we begin now?¡± She looked at him with a bright, cheerful smile, her fair skin adding to her beauty. ¡°Ready.¡± Reporter Lin paused momentarily, then asked in a clear, crisp voice, ¡°Firstly, I¡¯d like to know, it¡¯s very difficult for the traditional field of mechanics to produce articles with high impact factors now, most of the publishable work is in interdisciplinary studies. Yet, your paper caused quite a stir within the industry. What is special about your paper?¡± Zhang Yuan replied seriously, ¡°Let me correct that first, my paper mainly deals with the control theory of complex robots and is not a traditional mechanical direction. The paper presents a big framework, with this theory, we can solve many previous difficulties, such as bipedal robot¡¯s stable walking in unknown environments, and so on¡­¡± ¡°Its practical value is likely to be quite high, so it made a significant impact.¡± ... The young lady reporter only understood the last sentence but didn¡¯t mind. She went on to ask, ¡°As an outstanding youth from Zone C, are you confident in facing more challenges in the future?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Will you continue to strive to produce more scientific results in the future?¡± Isn¡¯t that obvious? Zhang Yuan confidently said, ¡°Of course!¡± Click! Click! Click! He posed for a few photos until his face nearly stiffened from smiling. ¡°Is that all?¡± ¡°Yes, we need to interview others too. Did you want to keep being interviewed?¡± Reporter Lin smiled at him and then turned to leave. After the interview with the few young ladies ended, Zhang Yuan finally breathed a long sigh of relief. Full of excitement in his head. These administrative people¡­ are too damn cunning, it¡¯s like killing without seeing blood. He could already imagine what would happen in the future. Reflecting for a moment, if he were just a nobody, that damn Mo Jianhua might really have succeeded. Many things can¡¯t be clearly explained by just talking, and even if explained, no one might believe it. Earth, truly is a bit crude. He hoped the new civilization in the future wouldn¡¯t be like this. Next, he turned on his phone and wrote a lengthy blog post. ¡°Hello everyone, I¡¯m Zhang Yuan. I¡¯m on the Moon, part of the inner circle, my monthly income is 1100 New Coins. I should keep a low profile, but unfortunately, I¡¯ve hit the trending searches again.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m the one who donated ten million half a month ago¡­¡± ¡°In fact, it was not only ten million, but I also donated all my property on Earth, such as houses, adding up to maybe fifteen million¡­ Basically, I¡¯m penniless now.¡± ¡°Lovely ladies need not flirt with me, I can¡¯t afford anyone.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that my thoughts are particularly noble, but because I¡¯m about to leave Earth. Those properties are useless to me¡­¡± ¡°Where do you think I am now?¡± [Picture of the Earth Era] [Picture of the Moon Base] ¡°¡­As for my paper, I personally wrote it at Xisha University, there is no way I committed any fraud. I study over 10 hours a day and have never socialized with Professor Mo Jianhua.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand why this situation has occurred.¡± ¡°I once submitted to ¡®Modern Science¡¯ but got rejected.¡± ¡°So I submitted to ¡®Scientific Pioneer¡¯ instead and am very honored to have been appreciated by the editors.¡± [Screenshot of the submission letter] ¡°¡­It¡¯s possible Professor Mo really did have similar ideas as mine, or maybe something else happened that I¡¯m unaware of.¡± ¡°Justice lies in the hearts of people, anyway, I believe the academic committee will give a fair and objective solution¡­¡± ¡°Thank you for your attention. If there¡¯s any progression, I will post an update immediately.¡± Having written this far, the cause and process were already very clear. Moreover, he had ¡°unintentionally¡± created an image of himself as an excellent, upright, and ambitious young man. Astronauts are already bonus points in the hearts of the general public. Who, coveting wealth and glory, would be willing to go to a desolate place to restart civilization? So why don¡¯t you donate all your prize money, abandon everything, and join me at Gliese 581g? Yes, that¡¯s it! Zhang Yuan felt a bit embarrassed. He wasn¡¯t someone who enjoyed being high-profile, and he hardly ever engaged with social media. But when you¡¯re in the world, you often have no choice but to act with the world. There are some things you must fight for. He clicked the ¡°Post¡± button. ¡°Friends, it¡¯s your turn to join the fray. Hurry up!¡± Zhang Yuan urged, his face flushing with heat. Ye Kaifu grumbled and commented irritably, ¡°Insider here, not hiding anymore. 10 hours of study a day is a lie; this guy studies 14-16 hours every day! Smiling on the outside, cursing on the inside, wish I could avoid him more, lest he keels over dead in bed one day¡­¡± Li Zhendong also cursed discontentedly, ¡°Why should I be helping this show-off? By that measure, am I not also virtuous? I¡¯m an astronaut, too.¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re virtuous too, virtuous enough to have a bunch of girls throwing themselves at you.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Li Zhendong rolled his eyes and wrote, ¡°Can you believe there¡¯s someone who amuses themselves with calculus problems? Anyway, he¡¯s better at calculus than Mathematica100¡­¡± Watching the comments from various support groups pile up, including support from his old university teachers, was a warm feeling. Good character is truly a good thing. In others¡¯ eyes, Zhang Yuan really was quite a nice guy. The number of shares rose quickly. Then came two surprise bombshells that Zhang Yuan hadn¡¯t expected. Entrepreneur Ma Teng commented, ¡°I once chatted with young Zhang for a while, found him quite talented. Offered him an annual salary of two million to stay on Earth, but got rejected. Raised it to three million, still rejected.¡± S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Do you know what he said?¡± ¡°Even if you offer two billion, you still can¡¯t buy my heart!¡± Below was a comment from Chairman Ding: ¡°Haha, the entire project has now officially started, hope it all goes smoothly. Suddenly, I think the investment I made was too little. I¡¯m investing three billion of my own money to buy out everyone else¡¯s shares, wondering if everyone agrees¡­¡± Ma Teng responded urgently, ¡°Master Ding, you better not break the rules, we¡¯re not selling our shares, and we won¡¯t let you monopolize!¡± These well-known entrepreneurs brought with them huge numbers of followers, and given the topic already had substance, it quickly ignited massive attention. The comments grew more numerous, quickly turning in a one-sided wave of criticism. One hour later, Zhang Yuan realized¡­ The web seemed to have crashed. ¡­ Chapter 62 - 62 Doomed! Chapter 62: Chapter 62 Doomed! Mo Jianhua was in a particularly good mood. He had not easily obtained various titles for himself, and they indeed served as a protective umbrella, turning him into a radiant figure, unharmed by all poisons. He even pulled some strings to delete a slew of unfavorable comments online. A few dropouts spent all day trying to smear him, an utterly tiresome nuisance. These rambling fools, just shut them up directly. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Worthless! What can you do to me? If you have the guts, kill yourself!¡± Regarding the academic committee, that had been taken care of long ago, an investigation of one¡¯s own people by their own, could anything really come of it? ... ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that kid to have connections with Xisha University, a bit of a background. It¡¯s my fault for not investigating in advance.¡± ¡°However, Xisha University can¡¯t compare with M University, no matter what.¡± With that thought, he felt quite relaxed. Next, as long as he could persuade Zhang Yuan to retract his paper, that would be enough. Once the paper was retracted, the storm would pass, and his reputation would remain untarnished. ¡°It¡¯s just a matter of how much money it will cost, one or two million should be enough, right?!¡± The thought of this budget made Mo Jianhua a bit reluctant to part with his money. Well, never mind, money is something you can always make more of. It made him feel as if he were at a loss. However, he would have to be more careful in the future. There¡¯s a saying, ¡®Three times and you¡¯re out¡¯; if another scandal broke out, even a fool would see a pattern. Thus, Mo Jianhua was contemplating retiring from this line of work after being evaluated for Academician of the Academy¡­ he would have achieved success and fame, no need to keep mixing in these circles¡­ ¡°Professor Mo, representatives from several large companies would like to discuss a project with you!¡± Suddenly, his assistant called. ¡°Good, have them wait for me in the conference room,¡± Mo Jianhua said with a pleased expression. He was very satisfied with the response of these company representatives. Everybody acts out of self-interest; the project brought by this paper was out of the ordinary, and this time, he might earn tens or even hundreds of millions! ¡°Professor Mo, nice to meet you.¡± ¡°President Wang, good to see you.¡± Ten minutes later, Professor Mo had shaken hands with several company managers. ¡°Let me first introduce this new theory¡­¡± In negotiations, he had long mastered the art of probing, silence, and mediation to gain the maximum benefit. In some ways, he could be considered talented. ¡°Professor Mo, this project sounds quite challenging¡­¡± ¡°President Wang, no problem, I have an entire professional team behind me! I¡¯m confident that it will be completed within a year¡­¡± ¡°Heh, we have great faith in Professor Mo¡¯s ability. So, about the contract issues¡­¡± Mo Jianhua nodded in satisfaction. Anyway, most of the work would be done by the students below him. Otherwise, what was he keeping them for? This was training! Students working for their professor was perfectly natural! During this short time, a basic agreement on cooperation was reached between the two parties. They had collaborated many times before and had few reservations. For capitalists, whether a mentor exploits his students or not, it doesn¡¯t matter to them as long as the project can succeed¡­ Suddenly, the phone of President Wang, which was sitting on the table, started ringing. ¡°Excuse me, Professor Mo.¡± President Wang hurriedly stepped out to take the call, then returned with a peculiar expression on his face. ¡°Professor Mo, I have an important meeting this afternoon. Could we perhaps discuss the collaboration further in a couple of days?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Professor Mo¡¯s expression changed. ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± After seeing off President Wang and his entourage, Mo Jianhua was left feeling befuddled; it had all seemed so urgent a moment ago, and now they had just left. At that moment, a news alert popped up on his phone. ¡°New Era, New Fashion, Recording the Youth Who Chase Their Dreams!¡± The news article spoke about the cultivation of the academic environment in the ¡°Earth Era,¡± with rather trite and vacuous wording. But it listed several young geniuses, One of whom was Zhang Yuan, and his representative paper was mentioned too, yes, the one that caused the controversy. A wave of annoyance surged in Mo Jianhua; the media outlet was ¡°Moon News Press,¡± affiliated with the Deep Space Planning Bureau, and beyond his reach to influence. However, a sense of impending crisis began to gnaw at him. He was a man with a keen political sensibility, and the official media had tacitly recognized Zhang Yuan as the copyright holder of the paper. He wondered what that implied. Then, he noticed various chaotic comments on the internet. ¡°Young Genius Persona¡± VS ¡°Prospective Academician of the Academy Persona.¡± ¡°The ¡®genius youth¡¯ had the clear upper hand!¡± Because even when you call someone an ¡®almost Academician¡¯, there¡¯s still the word ¡®almost¡¯. There¡¯s a difference between having ¡®almost¡¯ in front of your title and not having it at all. And Zhang Yuan¡¯s blog post was too real, terrifyingly so. An astronaut about to leave Earth, would he really need to plagiarize someone else? Even a few big shots from the circles publicly supported him. ¡°People without shame are invincible. Don¡¯t let one rotten apple spoil the whole barrel.¡± ¡°Stomping out academic pests is everyone¡¯s duty. (Solid proof inside!)¡± ¡°Support! (Fist) (Fist)¡± The self-media love to fabricate sensational news to attract attention ¨C how do they do it? Obviously, by flipping the narrative, blindly praising the ¡®genius youth¡¯ while viciously attacking the ¡®famous figure¡¯! Mo Jianhua felt a cold sweat trickle down his back. This overwhelming wave of criticism felt as if the issue had become a confirmed fact. Suddenly, he realized he might have encountered a real tough nut, not the kind of putty you could mold at will¡­ The only solution to this immense public pressure was to contact the relevant departments to have the unsavory comments deleted. Yes, delete them all! He quickly picked up the phone, ¡°Hello, is this Xiao Zhang?¡± ¡°Professor Mo, I no longer have the authority to delete those,¡± came the reply. ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°The higher-ups have ordered¡­¡± ¡°Which higher-ups?¡± ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know. Just the higher-ups.¡± After hanging up, Mo Jianhua felt inexplicably panicked and paced anxiously around his office. When it rains, it pours. Shortly after, Professor Yang, the chief editor of Modern Science, placed a call. ¡°Hello, Professor Mo, I¡¯d like to consult you on something.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Editor Yang hesitated, then said, ¡°About your paper¡­ could you consider retracting it?¡± ¡°What¡­ Retract it, how could that be possible?!¡± His voice unintentionally grew louder. A retraction was like concrete evidence of his own guilt. To retract would be to admit defeat, triggering further investigations ¨C it was out of the question! ¡°Professor Mo¡­ there might be an investigation from above.¡± ¡°¡­Investigation? Who would investigate?¡± Mo Jianhua felt startled. If a bunch of politicians were to investigate, he was not afraid. Those political types didn¡¯t have a clue; could they even understand a single sentence of his paper? If they couldn¡¯t understand, what would they investigate? Nothing. That¡¯s what. He raged internally, with his thoughts in turmoil and sweat breaking out on his back for no reason. ¡°Just a few hours ago, the Ministry of Education established a new committee to review academic misconduct. Do you know who the president is?¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Wang Zhong, Professor Wang!¡± Mo Jianhua was stunned. This famous mathematician, known for his fiery temper and numerous prestigious awards in his youth, was definitely someone he was aware of. Editor Yang continued, ¡°Do you know¡­ who Zhang Yuan is?¡± ¡°Who?¡± Mo Jianhua¡¯s premonition worsened. ¡°He¡¯s Professor Wang¡¯s direct descendant!¡± Mo Jianhua was shocked, his body covered in goosebumps. It was like falling from heaven to hell in an instant ¨C his opponent even had a stronger backer! He was finished! He collapsed onto the floor. ¡­ (PS: Since so many people are criticizing me, I¡¯ve decided to take a day off during the May Day holiday to adjust my thoughts.) (This content has already been written and can¡¯t be changed now; it has to be published. Consider this chapter my way of making up for the leave.) Chapter 63 - 63 A Busy Day Chapter 63: Chapter 63 A Busy Day ¡°¡­To put it simply, that¡¯s the situation. This person has had a lot of dark history even before, and we plan to slowly gather evidence and dig it all out. If we can implicate more scandals along the way, that would be even better!¡± In the video, Professor Wang laughed heartily, ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to you that we found a good breakthrough, making them unknowingly walk into our trap. After this ordeal, the academic atmosphere in Xia Country will improve significantly.¡± After hearing Professor Wang Zhong describe it that way, Zhang Yuan felt exhilarated, experiencing a deeply satisfying sense of avenging a great wrong. The knowledge was an important legacy bestowed upon him by his father, and having it stolen like that would make anyone angry. But now, it finally belonged to him again. He said very sincerely, ¡°Thank you, Professor Wang!¡± Professor Wang smiled, seeming to see the real thoughts in Zhang Yuan¡¯s heart. ... He sent over a picture¡ªit was a real-time photograph of Earth. ¡°This should be the view of Earth that you¡¯re seeing. I haven¡¯t been to space in decades, and might not have the chance to go again¡­¡± Zhang Yuan nodded, ¡°Yes.¡± From the Moon¡¯s perspective, Earth was 14 times larger than when seen from the Earth looking at the Moon. It was beautiful, shimmering like a sapphire with a charming halo. Wang Zhong expressed his emotions, ¡°Look, everything including the grudges and arguments you see online, are just minor stories happening on a small planet. In fact, they are just one in a billion of such stories¡­¡± ¡°Even if you are right at the epicenter of the planet, where a storm is currently raging¡­¡± In the center of the screen, a tropical air mass was swirling. It was the season prone to form typhoons, and it had a certain probability of developing into a major tropical storm. ¡°Even if it turns into a real typhoon¡­ so what? It can only last for a few days, it will soon dissipate, and from the perspective of the universe, no one will remember that a storm ever occurred there.¡± ¡°Earth is just so small.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about those unimportant things.¡± Zhang Yuan was stunned for a moment, realizing that since this incident occurred, he had been restless, wasting a lot of his time. ¡°You¡¯re right¡­¡± Being at the eye of the storm inevitably meant getting carried away by the wind, perhaps this was due to not being strong enough. Wang Zhong said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s okay, after all you are still young¡ªit¡¯s good to be aware of this. If I had endured such things at your age, I would have grabbed a knife and taken the high-speed train to deal with my enemy!¡± Zhang Yuan also laughed, as he knew about Professor Wang¡¯s quick temper. But Professor Wang had gained fame at a young age and came from a prestigious background, unlike him, just a nobody¡ªhow could anyone dare plagiarize his papers? Professor Wang sighed, ¡°That¡¯s why I can¡¯t get rid of this bad habit; I¡¯m just at this level, not considered a top-notch scholar¡­¡± ¡°Being generous is enough to gather people, self-discipline is enough to lead people, broad-mindedness is enough to win people, leading by example is enough to guide people. If you can¡¯t get past the three hurdles of wealth, lust and fame, you¡¯re just mediocre. Although you are not interested in wealth, you haven¡¯t completely passed the hurdle of fame¡­ I hope you will stick to your own path and keep walking.¡± Zhang Yuan thought about various comments on social networks and asked, ¡°Professor Wang, if I were an ordinary person with no strong background and truly faced such situation, how should I deal with it?¡± Professor Wang Zhong laughed heartily. After a while, he shook his head and whispered, ¡°There might not be any good solutions. If you are more assertive, you will cause a series of troubles for the other party, but it would just be troubles unless you are willing to perish together with them. If you are more timid, you might just be settled by the other party. This is the harsh reality.¡± ¡°Our technology may be much more powerful than in ancient times, but our social system and culture are not necessarily more advanced.¡± Professor Wang sighed, ¡°Human history is essentially repeating itself. Even if ¡®science¡¯ is added as a variable, it merely prolongs the process of repetition. The history of the past five thousand years is a continuous process of overthrowing ruling classes. But once a ruling class is overthrown, a new ruling class emerges, and hence they become the targets of overthrow¡­¡± ¡°Think about it, when Mo Jianhua became a reviewer, did he think about engaging in academic corruption right away? Certainly not. When young, who doesn¡¯t have grand ambitions? It¡¯s just environmental factors, combined with the convenience of his position, that led him to such thoughts. Human corruption is spontaneous.¡± Zhang Yuan bowed his head, sighing in his heart. ¡°The complexity of Earth Civilization is striking. The entrenched history has already had a profound impact on the present. Some issues are clearly right or wrong, but when they involve deep-rooted vested interests, they cannot be corrected swiftly¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s why we need to build a brand-new, more vibrant civilization!¡± Zhang Yuan looked at Professor Wang¡¯s solemn expression, but he harbored a significant doubt in his heart¡ªhow could he establish a better, more powerful civilization? The ruling class would still exist in this new civilization. How can this situation be avoided? Could it be¡­ without a ruling class? Impossible, without one, the entire civilization would just be a mess, becoming even worse. He couldn¡¯t grasp the solution to this problem yet. He believed that the history of the next three thousand years would definitely offer better insights. ¡­ After the video call ended and all controversies had been resolved, Zhang Yuan no longer paid attention to external developments and immersed himself back into his hectic work. He had many tasks to attend to, including his duties on the spaceship, preparing for graduate entrance exams, and projects on Earth. As they say, ¡°You only realize the importance of a book when you need it.¡± After finishing his duties in the morning, he spent almost all his remaining time immersed in the library. The Earth Era¡¯s library had not a single paper book; all books were in electronic format. It merely provided everyone a very quiet place to study. Every time he entered, he saw many people studiously learning¡ªthis atmosphere felt great and slightly pressured. ¡°Is your matter resolved?¡± Li Zhendong¡¯s first question was this. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s resolved¡­ Is the transfer of the e-book database done? All the books and papers should be downloadable now.¡± ¡°Almost, the Foundation must have spent a lot of money to buy the rights to these books. We¡¯re leaving anyway, why can¡¯t they provide them to us for free?¡± Zhang Yuan curled his lip, ¡°That¡¯s impossible¡­ Even if you walked into a grave, the capitalists would still be desperate to suck more blood.¡± S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Li Zhendong laughed, ¡°Don¡¯t think so poorly of others. The Foundation has also collected a lot of patents, which we can read for free and even use!¡± Zhang Yuan was speechless, ¡°Patents are supposed to be public¡­ As for their use, of course, it should be free. Do they expect to charge us 20 light-years away?¡± Li Zhendong was stunned, ¡°Seems like¡­ yes.¡± During this conversation, Zhang Yuan carefully selected and downloaded two books, and began reading them earnestly¡­ Chapter 64 - 64 Setting Sail Chapter 64: Chapter 64 Setting Sail He was reading ¡°Assembly Language (Third Edition).¡± The lower the layer of hardware, the higher the difficulty factor. There weren¡¯t any particularly appetizing books here, all of them merely having a referential value, and not immediately applicable. Zhang Yuan suddenly felt that his annual salary of two million seemed a bit cheap. Fortunately, there was no rush on time; he had at least a year to complete this task. And it wasn¡¯t just him, but a large team¡ªthe United Government on Earth had many other people allocated for this. Li Zhendong noticed his worried look and subconsciously glanced at the page Zhang Yuan had open. ¡°ADD2MACROOPTR1, OPTR2, RESULT¡± ... ¡°MOV AX, OPTR1¡± ¡°ADD AX, OPTR2¡± ¡°MOV RESULT, AX¡± ¡°ENDM¡± ¡°¡­¡± What¡¯s the situation? Was this guy already studying assembly language? Times change, and programming languages are constantly being updated. But assembly, this most basic language, seems like it will never be outdated. ¡°Is it simple?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, not hard to understand, just a lot to remember.¡± Li Zhendong quickly adjusted his posture, striving to be more attentive. No matter what, he couldn¡¯t be left too far behind. ¡­ And so, days passed one after another. Zhang Yuan¡¯s small worry was soon overshadowed by even bigger headlines. On August 23, 2264, the much-anticipated departure day of the Earth Era finally arrived. ¡°Zhang, what are you doing, cooped up all day! Today is an important day.¡± Group Leader Wang Xin pushed open the door to find Zhang Yuan sitting seriously in front of the computer, with two large dark circles under his eyes, seemingly pondering a problem. Wang Xin was puzzled. He found this guy to be getting more bizarre by the day. The last time he came, Zhang Yuan was in this pose; the time before that, he was still in this pose! And the time before that¡­ was a week ago! What are those on the table, exactly? Pulled out hair? ¡°Could it be¡­ baldness makes you stronger?¡± Wang Xin couldn¡¯t help pulling out a strand of hair himself. Damn, so stupid! ¡°Can you stop studying all day? You¡¯re going to¡­¡± he trailed off. ¡°Going to what?¡± Zhang Yuan asked, puzzled. Wang Xin opened his mouth, ¡°¡­you¡¯ll become a weirdo, develop a psychological disorder.¡± ¡°Not at all, I¡¯m quite happy, happy all day long.¡± It seemed like Group Leader Wang considered it his duty to maintain the safety of the spaceship, ¡°Actually, you know, your last newspaper article was nothing, no one¡¯s continuously watching you. How about I introduce you to a girl? How does that sound? Hibernating together, waking up together¡­ it¡¯d be more interesting.¡± Anyway, in his opinion, having someone to care about in your heart reduces the chances of psychological abnormalities. Zhang Yuan had already been marked as a high-risk candidate for mental illness. Zhang Yuan said awkwardly, ¡°Group Leader Wang, what industry did you work in before?¡± ¡°Surveillance. Many of the surveillance systems on the spaceship were installed by me!¡± No wonder¡­ A rational analysis suggested this was a man severely lacking in security, and it was a mystery as to why he would come on board the spaceship. ¡°My wife is a psychologist here on the spaceship, if you have any problems you can talk to her.¡± He was also under the thumb of his wife. ¡°Hurry up, let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°Oh.¡± After tidying up his desk, Zhang Yuan leapt up from his seat and quickly ran outside. Today was the day the spaceship was set to depart. Apart from some key project leaders who were stationed at their respective posts, all other astronauts were required to stay at designated locations and were not allowed to wander about. There were also military personnel maintaining order at key transportation hubs. Area C¡¯s playing field had long been swarming with people, and in front of the field was a giant screen broadcasting the speech of the highest leader of Earth Civilization to the entire world. ¡°Hurry up; I saved you a spot!¡± Their work group consisted of eight people, three men and five women. Because the girls were of high quality, Li Zhendong, the shameless fellow, would always come over, claiming he wanted to make more friends. After spending some time together, everyone had come to know that Zhang Yuan was a workaholic. Top scholars were in demand in this new society, and the girls giggled as they made room for him to sit down. Zhang Yuan took his seat, thanked them, and then closed his eyes, ready to take the chance to catch up on some sleep. However, at this crucial moment, there¡¯s always a bit of restlessness. On the video, a middle-aged man, the leader of the United Government, was making a proclamation: ¡°¡­I sincerely wish you well and believe that you will always maintain such vitality, to create a greater, more harmonious, and more perfect civilization. This is the value of your lives.¡± ¡°Be proud of yourselves; we are proud of you as well.¡± ¡°We hope that you can use your wisdom to solve the problem of ¡®mediocrity¡¯ that plagues human civilization and even the entire universe. We will use our history to light the way before you¡­¡± ¡°Earth will forever be your mother. The million-year history of humankind, with all its hardships, has fought to this point, taking a new step at last¡­ We will bloom a magnificent flower of migration in the vast Milky Way.¡± ¡°Here, I declare, the Earth Era spaceship has officially embarked on its journey!¡± Suddenly, the entire square fell silent. All the noise and frolic came to a halt. This was a solemn moment. Very solemn. Everyone stared at the big screen, which was broadcasting a live feed from the Moon Space Port. Zhang Yuan felt something and opened his eyes. Time ticked away, minute by minute, as the massive gantry crane moved slowly. All the fixed supports were being orderly dismantled. The moment to inspect the final results had arrived; all the staff had worked hard for nearly 40 years for this day. It had been over 100 years since Professor Qi Yuanshan proposed the ¡°Deep Space Project.¡± At this moment, the dream of a new civilization had truly been realized. Suddenly, a bright white light flickered from the engine section in the center of the spaceship¡ªthis was the sign of the nuclear fusion engine starting up. More than twenty auxiliary engines also ejected bright plasma flames. These engines would provide the spaceship with an acceleration of one two-thousandths of a meter per second squared. This number was small but reliable over time. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t there be any problems?¡± ¡°There won¡¯t be any problems; all this technology is quite mature.¡± Whispers began to rise in the hall. Zhang Yuan activated his phone, connecting to the internal network, which displayed various real-time parameters. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The spaceship, powered by the nuclear fusion engine, slowly detached from the Space Port. According to the plan, it would orbit the Moon fifteen times before gradually breaking free of the Moon¡¯s gravity. Satellite imagery revealed that in the boundless universe, a speck of dust was slowly leaving these two warm little rocks. Zhang Yuan felt a deep sense of oppression in his heart. The blue Earth, the vast Moon, the warm Sun¡ªthere may not be such a cozy haven elsewhere in the universe. Despite its flaws, Earth Civilization had provided the maximum support and tolerance for this ¡°infant.¡± On social networks, almost everyone in the world was sending sincere wishes to the spaceship. People were astonished to discover a tiny star dot appearing around the Moon. It was clearly visible through astrological observation methods¡ªit was the ion flame from the Earth Era spaceship. ¡°We will eventually become legends!¡± Li Zhendong, watching the spaceship drift away from the Space Port bit by bit, suddenly rubbed his eyes. ¡°No,¡± Zhang Yuan shook his head, ¡°we¡¯ve already become legends!¡± ¡­ Chapter 65 - 65 Basic Ability Level Test Chapter 65: Chapter 65 Basic Ability Level Test One week later. The Earth Era had already deployed a huge light sail, and it had officially escaped the Moon¡¯s gravity, heading towards the Jupiter Industrial Base. The laser system at the Moon Base, along with the sunlight from the Sun, would provide it with a continuous source of power. For the small society inside, whether the spaceship was stationary or in motion didn¡¯t make much difference. A massive ¡°Basic Ability Level Test¡± was about to be staged in various regions. The ¡°Star University¡± and ¡°Deep Space University¡± inside the spaceship had officially begun enrolling students. ... Of course, they were currently enrolling mostly graduate students and accepted only a very few undergraduates, though it was feasible for someone to restart their university education if they really wanted. ¡°¡­Have you all decided what majors you want to apply for?¡± ¡°If someone scores well, they can officially transfer from this low-level position, no need to sweep the floor with me anymore. Coming together is fate, and for the student in our group who ranks first, I will even give a branded pen brought from Earth!¡± Wang Xin took out a glittering pen and spoke to a group of group members. The other seven members had just graduated from university, whereas he was already in his early thirties. ¡°Brother Wang, you¡¯re definitely biased. With Zhang Yuan here, you might as well just give it to him directly!¡± A girl shouted. ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Zhang Yuan was slightly embarrassed; after all, everyone was a top student, and none were slackers. However, after a long period of striving, he had evolved into an ¡°Academic God,¡± not only intelligent but also diligent, something beyond comparison with others. He quickly changed the subject: ¡°Brother Wang, aren¡¯t you planning to take the exams?¡± S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°I¡¯ve graduated so many years ago, I¡¯ve long forgotten all that knowledge, why would I take any exams.¡± Wang Xin laughed: ¡°I¡¯ll just do some administrative work in the future, and going into hibernation a bit earlier doesn¡¯t matter. After all, my wife is also here, and I have no attachments left on Earth. Every place needs talents, not just scientific talents, right?¡± Zhang Yuan nodded. In fact, many experts and scholars had brought their families onto the spaceship. Of course, their family members were generally equally excellent. ¡°What about you guys, what areas do you want to research?¡± ¡°Space plant cultivation!¡± ¡°Spaceship environmental science!¡± ¡°Ah, for me, just being a programmer is enough¡­¡± ¡­ ¡°Zhang Yuan, how about you?¡± Zhang Yuan was somewhat perplexed; he actually liked mathematics quite a bit, such as ¡°Far Abel Geometry¡± studied by Professor Wang Zhong, or symplectic geometry, but such subjects were epic academic traps, and currently, there were no particularly strong pure mathematicians on the spaceship. After some thought, his only option was to pursue ¡°Space Mechanics,¡± a rather broad field. Several well-known professors could be found in these fields, and he had even met and discussed with them in advance. As they talked, the bell rang, and Zhang Yuan walked into the examination hall with everyone. The ¡°Basic Ability Level Test¡± was an important criterion for applying to graduate school, and although he had already been noticed by some professors, he still needed to take the exams to avoid people¡¯s criticisms. He had four exams to take, the first being ¡°Advanced Mathematics,¡± which was a foundational course that virtually every candidate had to take. The other three subjects were Information Science, Basic Algorithms, and Political History. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, please note that the examination subject in this venue is Advanced Mathematics, lasting three hours. Please turn off your communication devices.¡± The proctor said with a sly smile: ¡°¡­There are too many people on the spaceship now, it¡¯s a bit crowded. Any cheating will be recorded in the archives and will lead to enforced hibernation.¡± Suddenly, all the candidates became nervous, making a spattering noise. A few more handed over their cell phones. The test papers were distributed. Zhang Yuan glanced at the problem. 1. Let b=(¡Ì5-1)/2, and define the sequence an: when [b*n] is odd, an=1; when [b*n] is even, an=-1, where [x] is the floor function, question: Is Sn=¡Æan bounded? Oh, there weren¡¯t any multiple-choice questions? Zhang Yuan thought for a moment and couldn¡¯t come up with a solution right away. He realized that this kind of exam was no longer the kind from university that pursued a pass rate, but one that pursued a ¡°filtering rate.¡± It had a bit of difficulty. He became more interested and perked up. These were all contents covered in Mathematical Analysis, and no matter how difficult, there was a limit to it. For Zhang Yuan, a problem that had an answer was just a paper tiger. In the process, he really encountered a very strong paper tiger. The last question was rather tricky and took him¡­10 minutes. After working for about an hour, Zhang Yuan had completed all the problems. After carefully checking, he found no major errors. Having published several research papers, completing these mathematical problems didn¡¯t give him much of a sense of achievement. He yawned widely. He thought there was no need to turn in the papers early, and lay down on his spot to take a nap. He had developed a very ¡°bad¡± habit. In his own dorm, he always wanted to work enthusiastically, frequently pulling all-nighters, unable to stop. He had tried to keep regular hours, but often time slipped away unexpectedly, and before he knew it, it was midnight. This also led to him always feeling sleepy when he was out and wanting to sleep. After all, in Zhang Yuan¡¯s subconscious, participating in various activities was a necessity. Sleeping and resting during the unavoidable times was simply¡­ too profitable! ¡­ In the corridor, several professors from Star University and Deep Space University were inspecting the examination discipline. In a new civilization, a university, as the highest academic institution, was definitely necessary, and it was a major focus of the entire civilization. As for¡­ having such a small population yet dividing it into two universities, it was to promote positive competition between them. Without competition, there¡¯s no motivation. ¡°Old Guo, the mathematics questions you set are a bit difficult. There were a few questions even I was stuck on for a moment.¡± A Professor surnamed Fang said with a smile. ¡°Difficult, so there¡¯s a clear distinction!¡± Professor Guo shook his head: ¡°I only want to teach genius students now, really don¡¯t want to waste time on mediocrity. You know, even the graduate students recruited by P University are mostly just getting degrees.¡± ¡°P University can¡¯t satisfy you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the same even in the best universities, mostly fools.¡± Guo Fan was a young professor from P University, working in condensed matter physics, including but not limited to ¡°Light Stagnation Technology,¡± ¡°Topological superconductors,¡± ¡°Topological semimetals,¡± etc. Jumping ship from one of Earth¡¯s top universities, naturally, he had his own pride. The two chatted as they walked forward, inspecting each examination room. Chapter 66 - 66: The Teacher Who Sets Questions Freely Chapter 66: Chapter 66: The Teacher Who Sets Questions Freely First up was a genius from Zone D named Wei Dongyi who liked to submit his exam papers early in order to disdain the intelligence of his classmates and the instructors. ¡°That clueless guy thinks he¡¯s amazing just because he can solve a few problems! Today, I¡¯m going to stump him for sure!¡± Seeing Wei Dongyi still pondering at his desk, Guo Fan couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. He had once taught university physics to Wei Dongyi¡¯s class, but the kid slept through every lecture and hardly ever attended a full class. In the end, he still scored high on the test! That incident really infuriated Guo Fan, and he finally seized an opportunity to embarrass his opponent. ... ¡°Don¡¯t say that, he¡¯s actually a pretty good seedling. If your Deep Space University doesn¡¯t take him, we won¡¯t be polite about it.¡± Professor Guo promptly said, ¡°That¡­ still depends on his own choice. You can¡¯t just snatch someone away!¡± Next up was a well-known genius from Zone B, named Fujino Junko, a girl from Mu Country who was a two-time gold medalist at the International Mathematical Olympiad. Junko had a peculiar habit of spinning her pen and staring at the ceiling during her free time, as if her thoughts had entered a distant void. Fujino Junko was already sitting at her desk, idly spinning her pen like a statue. For her, these mathematical problems were as simple as ¡°1+1.¡± sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. From this angle, she seemed even stronger than Wei Dongyi from Zone A. ¡°Junko is a student who took the pure mathematics track. It seems there¡¯s no teacher who can teach her. Why come to the spaceship? Aren¡¯t there good teachers left on Earth¡­¡± Professor Guo was quite puzzled. Both professors were worried; two mighty universities could not find an outstanding mathematician. ¡°¡­She says she wants to witness mathematics three thousand years from now.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. All of us boarding the spaceship want to witness human science and technology three thousand years into the future.¡± Professor Guo could only shake his head: ¡°Which university she applies to, let her decide.¡± Then there was the genius from Zone C¡­ First was Li Cheng¡¯s son, Li Zhendong, who was deep in thought at his desk. However, compared to the accomplishments of the previous two geniuses, Li Zhendong was slightly less extraordinary, and there were only a few true students in the world. ¡°If we really can¡¯t recruit students, Li Zhendong is also an option. His foundational knowledge is very solid. He has potential.¡± And then there was Zhang Yuan, the son of Zhang Qiming, whose level was unknown; he had never been heard of before. Since he came highly recommended by Professor Wang Zhong, one might as well take a look¡­ Damn, he¡¯s actually asleep! Professor Guo was slightly dissatisfied. He walked over and glanced at the test paper filled with writing. Then, he casually walked away. ¡°Zhang Yuan, like Junko, managed to solve the difficult problems¡­ but Junko comes from a mathematics competition background, right?¡± ¡°Are all these geniuses so idiosyncratic?¡± ¡°I know why. This guy spends all his day studying robotics kinematics, so now is a good time to catch up on sleep. An ordinary teacher might not be able to handle him¡­¡± They seemed to recall their own youthful days, when they were slightly smarter than average people and possessed a kind of arrogant and haughty air, and the professors found themselves understanding once again. ¡°It¡¯s okay to be a little arrogant now. When they really stumble over tough problems, they will simmer down.¡± After making the rounds, both professors were extremely satisfied with the pool of students and began to divide up the geniuses. But as they divided them, they started arguing again. ¡°I¡¯ll take Zhang Yuan, and you can have Junko.¡± ¡°Junko is no use to me! Zhang Yuan is mine!¡± ¡°Li Zhendong is yours! Zhang Yuan is mine!¡± ¡°¡­ ¡± Right when Guo Fan was about to agree, a jolt struck his heart: ¡°Zhang Yuan and Junko are yours, the rest are all mine.¡± ¡°No way, absolutely not.¡± They were just indulging in lip service, as graduate students and advisors go for a mutual selection, and one person¡¯s word did not count. ¡­ After taking three exams in the morning, afternoon, and evening, and sleeping three times, Zhang Yuan felt refreshed. It was like the more he tested, the more spirited he became. He was unaware that a proctor had passed by his side. The next day, the last exam was on politics and history, not a science subject, so he couldn¡¯t just sleep through it. The test papers were handed out. The questions at the front were regular political ones, nothing unusual. But the questions towards the end became increasingly bizarre. [The Phoenix Lights incident: On the night of March 13, 1997, about 700 people saw five white glowing spots arranged in a V-shape over the mountains south of Phoenix.] [The five white glowing spots were set up like a carpenter¡¯s square, and spanned a width of 460 meters. They flew slowly at low altitude, and when they passed in front of the moon, the moonlight could still shine through the flying object, showing that it was semi-transparent and silent.] [If this event was true in history, what is your opinion?] Zhang Yuan felt a jolt in his heart. What was this, a historical secret? Or was it to say that aliens had really visited Earth? He was somewhat perplexed by what the exam creator was thinking. As for his opinion¡­ ¡°Aliens exist, and they are more badass than humans.¡± ¡°There is no dark forest.¡± ¡°Superluminal interstellar travel technology might exist.¡± ¡°The aliens may have anti-gravity technology?¡± ¡°Aliens regard humans as if they were low-intelligence monkeys¡­¡± A plethora of ideas jumped out of his mind. First, skip over, write later. Next question. [For science, oftentimes, ethics and morals are like shackles binding our steps. On the edge between technology and ethics, certain controversial experiments garner significant attention.] [If the development of science is truly constrained by ethics, how would you choose?] What¡¯s this, having left Earth Civilization, the exam creators let their self-will fly? Zhang Yuan wrote in bold characters: ¡°Scientific research must uphold the spirit of science and the baseline of ethical morals!¡± But after some thought, he was not satisfied with this answer and sighed: ¡°We should discuss it based on the situation. Survival is a key element for civilization; when the existence of civilization is affected, perhaps one can disregard the interests of the few¡­¡± Next question. [What should be the ultimate goal of a civilization? How do you build a better civilization? And what is the definition of ¡®better¡¯?] Zhang Yuan sighed. What on Earth was all this? He wrote boldly on the paper: ¡°According to the New Civilization School¡¯s view, a civilization can be considered a high-dimensional life form stretching across the four-dimensional axis of time, with each individual civilization being akin to a cell. Because cells have individual wills, the entire civilization has not produced a self will.¡± ¡°The ¡®good¡¯ and ¡®bad¡¯ of civilization can be defined by the physical concept of ¡®entropy.¡¯ This includes the minimum existence of entropy law, entropy proportionate to complexity law, entropy increase law, system chaos law¡­¡± ¡­ Chapter 67 - 67 New Civilization History Chapter 67: Chapter 67 New Civilization History ¡°Is this question too bold?¡± In the central meeting room, a group of high-ranking officials aboard the spaceship were discussing the current enrollment plan. The university, as an institution for talent cultivation and scientific research, is the crux of a civilization. Without technology and talent, it¡¯s impossible to restart a civilization. Moreover, the universities on the spaceship have considerable authority, such as priority in allocating labs, distributing resources, and so forth, a large part of training this batch of graduate students must be directed toward the administrative layer of the spaceship. After all, this spaceship is too large; once most people enter hibernation, every awake graduate student must be capable of standing on their own. ... ¡°What must be known will eventually have to be known¡­ However, some things still need to be done step by step.¡± ¡°I, on the other hand, think it could be done like this¡­¡± Listening to everyone¡¯s discussion, Captain Ma sighed and said in a deep voice, ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, let¡¯s not be confined to conventional thinking¡­¡± ¡°We are already a new civilization; we must produce some new changes rather than follow the old ways and become a civilization like Earth¡­ Otherwise, what¡¯s the point of our journey through the stars?¡± Professor Lin, what¡¯s your opinion?¡± Next to Captain Ma sat a middle-aged man named Lin Fangzheng, who had been a mathematician three years prior and now was a scholar of New Civilization History. It was somewhat incredible for a mathematician to be in the decision-making echelon of a civilization, perhaps in any country. A mathematician would at most have a say in economic matters, but here, within the new civilization, it had easily occurred. The New Civilization School has an important tenet: past experiences profoundly influence future ideologies, so they stand at a critical historical juncture. If they make a mistake now, it will be much harder to correct in the future. Therefore, New Civilization History is a brand-new field of management science, trying to predict the direction of civilization through mathematical modeling. Professor Lin Fangzheng sighed and said, ¡°The Captain is right, we have only this small population, at a civilization¡¯s infant stage, and making significant changes becomes much easier. Before the course of the entire civilization solidifies, everyone should think more and assume more responsibility.¡± Another person around asked, ¡°What do the calculations predict?¡± Lin Fangzheng thought for a moment and said, ¡°This exam has a relatively high probability of being a positive event, consistent with prior experience.¡± But, New Civilization History is still too incomplete to deduce complex historical trajectories; we can only estimate a few high-probability possibilities.¡± ¡°We need more sample information to perfect this brand-new discipline as much as possible. Moreover, the current mathematical models are too crude; I feel they are far from being refined enough. We also need more talent to join in¡­¡± Everyone fell into deep thought. This interstellar migration represents a completely new social experiment, different from the previous capitalist or socialist management systems; the entire civilization will take a completely different path. The New Civilization School, founded by Professor Qi Yuanshan, known as the ¡°Father of Nuclear Fusion,¡± has been around for over a hundred years, its core idea being to use New Civilization History or ¡°calculations¡± to deduce and plan the future direction of the entire civilization. Therefore, the Scientific Council holds the highest authority aboard the entire spaceship. Of course, with our current computational power being far from sufficient, some of the past¡¯s political wisdom is still necessary to manage the spaceship effectively. For a civilization, Science is akin to External Power, while internal institutions and cultural systems form the more important Inner Strength. So the task for this batch of administrators is heavy, with much to rebuild. There are even many ultimate goals quite different from the current Earth Civilization, and for now, we are feeling our way across the river by probing the stones beneath, unsure how to proceed. Captain Ma sighed softly. This first batch of administrators will have less hibernation time and are likely to wither away within this vast Star Domain, never seeing the future Mother Star. Therefore, training successors is also a consideration. If the higher echelons become corrupt in such a small society, this cultural phenomenon will spread rapidly to the lower levels, making it impossible to correct. So, successor training is crucial and must be approached with caution. He looked out the dim window, feeling uncertain about what lay at the end of the road, unknown. How to transition from the current system to a more perfect system was also unknown. ¡°Let¡¯s leave it at that for now; thank you all for your hard work on the recruitment process. The meeting is dismissed!¡± Everyone stood up and left the meeting room. Before leaving, Captain Ma reorganized the various materials on the table, including some of the examination papers. The legends about Aliens, the ¡°Phoenix Light Event¡± ¨C the truth had long been scattered in the whirlpool of history. He didn¡¯t know whether the entire event was real or fake; it was merely a possibility. Whether an Alien Civilization had ever visited Earth was quite significant; it¡¯s treated as an essential proposition in Cosmic Sociology. If the event were false, naturally, there¡¯s not much to say ¨C it would be nothing more than a rumor. But if the event were true¡­ In the vast Universe, an Alien Spaceship had traveled hundreds or thousands of light years to Earth, causing hardly any ripples before departing again. Leaving only human eyewitnesses and various rumors behind. What does it signify? The process is somewhat similar to humans driving cars across the African savanna. For the lions on the African savanna, who saw the cars and pointed them out, humans do not care and pay no attention, even though these lions are the strongest on the savanna. The Universe lacks not for matter; the advance of Science will inevitably become more challenging, so what is lacking is information. Thus, if Alien Spaceships truly came to Earth, why did they not communicate with humans? Because it was unnecessary. The humans of the 20th century hadn¡¯t even achieved Controlled Nuclear Fusion, possessing no technology to speak of. Nuclear bombs? Aircraft carriers? Supersonic fighter jets? Please, what a joke. For a spaceship capable of traversing light years, these were mere toys. Therefore, to an Alien Civilization, the Human Civilization of that time might have seemed like nothing more than an Ordinary Civilization, devoid of any significance in communication. No matter how powerful, a lion is just one of many animals on the savanna, no different in essence from elephants, baboons, hyenas, or the ants on the ground. With that thought, Captain Ma shifted his gaze out the window. 300 years have passed, and humans have become many times stronger than before, even having overcome the threat of energy, but they might still be regarded as an Ordinary Civilization. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. An Ordinary Civilization that is just a bit more powerful. Regarding another question on the exam, regarding Science and Ethics¡­ He smiled slightly. If the ethics of the past are not thoroughly overturned, how can a stronger civilization emerge? Chapter 68 - 68: Is there a fraction among them? Chapter 68: Chapter 68: Is there a fraction among them? Soft music played as the first graduate admission exam for the new civilization finally concluded. Regardless of any regrets, everyone stopped what they were doing and walked out of the examination room. Zhang Yuan exhaled the frustrated air from his lungs, finding the last exam quite tricky. Voices chattered around him, ¡°How did you do?¡± ¡°It was so hard, the questions were tough, I don¡¯t think I can pass¡­¡± ¡°Ah, I think I only did well in Politics and History.¡± ... ¡°Really? How did you answer the last few questions?¡± ¡°I just wrote some random thoughts about alien diplomacy, respecting their customs and so on¡­ For civilizations without corresponding ethical etiquette, their ideologies might greatly differ from humans¡¯, and we should be cautious when interacting with such civilizations¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good answer. I had no idea what to write and just blundered something¡­¡± ¡°I guess it depends on the teacher¡¯s mood for scoring.¡± In terms of alien diplomacy, there are many conjectures. The first fact is that a civilization capable of crossing light years to interact with humans is probably far superior to humans. Zhang Yuan eavesdropped from the side and thought this classmate¡¯s answer was still a bit naive¡­ Soon, in the crowd, he spotted a familiar figure. Li Zhendong was animatedly discussing answers with his peers, probably because he did well, his face expressive with excitement, ¡°¡­This math problem wasn¡¯t hard. You start by organizing the entire equation, then apply the Lagrange Mean Value Theorem, and it solves right away.¡± ¡°Let me tell you another trick for solving problems. In the given conditions, if there¡¯s a function f(x) continuous on [a, b], derivable on (a, b), and f(a)=0 or f(b)=0 or f(a)=f(b)=0, just apply the Lagrange Mean Value Theorem without thinking twice¡­¡± For a good student, discussing answers is sheer pleasure. Especially in front of the less knowledgeable ones, seeing their surprised and shocked expressions just adds to the joy! However, the whole process isn¡¯t friendly to those less knowledgeable. They feel incredibly conflicted, wanting to know how many questions they got right and what scores they could achieve but not wanting to face the grim reality. A few girls turned pale, realizing how many mistakes they had made. Hearing Li Zhendong saying that the problems were simple and already covered in their studies made them wonder why they couldn¡¯t think of the answers during the exam. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell us earlier? There¡¯s no use saying it now. The exam is over, and we can¡¯t retake it!¡± one girl said, slightly irritated. ¡°If I don¡¯t get into graduate school, I might have to hibernate early¡­¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± ¡°You must be bragging. In a year, everyone will be hibernating except you, and you can enjoy your consciousness alone!¡± In university, these girls were probably top students, but now, in front of greater talent, they had turned into underachievers and were struggling to accept this change in status. Each wore a disgruntled expression. Zhang Yuan had to suppress a laugh, thinking to himself that this guy was showing off a bit too much. So, this attempt at impressing the girls was likely to fail. Thinking of Li Zhendong failing and then sulking about it in front of him, wasting a lot of time, he couldn¡¯t help but cough lightly. Li Zhendong realized he might have been a bit too smug and, seeing his emergency rescuer coming, quickly changed the subject, ¡°Let me introduce her, this is Zhang Chenchen, my¡­ good friend¡­ and these two are her besties.¡± Good friend? Zhang Yuan was puzzled. ¡°This is my university classmate, named Zhang Yuan, a super scholar, probably did even better than me! If you have any questions, feel free to ask him!¡± As a representative of the advanced youth in Area C, combined with a few major incidents, many had a slight memory of him. ¡°This handsome guy, why does he look a bit familiar?¡± This girl, named Zhang Chenchen, about one meter sixty tall, with fair and beautiful features, bit her lip hard as she tried to recall. Zhang Yuan secretly admired his friend¡¯s taste; the girl he had chosen was quite impressive. Li Zhendong laughed and said, ¡°He¡¯s the one who publicly quarreled with Professor Mo from Earth¡­¡± Zhang Yuan¡¯s face stiffened. What do you mean publicly quarreled¡­ Wasn¡¯t it the other party that provoked me first? People plagiarize my paper, and it¡¯s my fault?! ¡°Oh! I remember now!¡± ¡°Mr. Zhang, hello.¡± The girls immediately tensed up, fearing they might say something wrong. To quarrel with a famous professor, his combat ability alone was worth their admiration. Seeing their restrained demeanor, Zhang Yuan awkwardly said, ¡°Just call me Zhang Yuan, we¡¯re all about the same age. I just graduated from university, no need to be nervous.¡± One girl asked, ¡°Mr. Zhang, this kind of exam must not be difficult for you, right?¡± ¡°Indeed¡­ not difficult,¡± Zhang Yuan still told the truth. But for the girls, it was more acceptable; after all, quarreling with a famous professor and finding the exam easy was quite normal, right? ¡°Is the exam influenced more by innate intelligence, or by external factors?¡± ¡°Both are factors¡­¡± Zhang Yuan paused for a moment before answering. What he said, of course, was a lie. Such a difficult paper, innate intelligence mattered more. If it were the old him, he could get a decent score, but he would never be as relaxed and easy-going as now, with over half the time free to sleep. Actually, telling a little white lie wasn¡¯t bad either. There was no need to hurt others when there was no feud between them. He planned to give Li Zhendong some face in front of the girls. ¡°Actually, Li Zhendong is also very smart¡­ probably did well, right?¡± Zhang Yuan continued. ¡°Not bad,¡± Li Zhendong hesitated and, in front of Zhang Yuan, didn¡¯t dare to boast or discuss answers. Should there be a mistake pointed out in a question, the embarrassment would be immense. Zhang Chenchen smiled, ¡°Besides showing off, what special talents does Li Zhendong have?¡± ¡°Smart! If Li Zhendong studied over 13 hours a day, he might be smarter and stronger than me.¡± Li Zhendong ruffled his hair, wondering if this was a hidden compliment. It seemed like it¡­ Yet it also seemed like a critique on his lack of diligence. ¡°13 hours?¡± The girls were a bit skeptical. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Zhang Yuan flashed a sunny smile, ¡°I study at least 14 hours a day. He¡¯s a bit smarter than me; 13 hours should be enough for him to catch up with me.¡± After a while, everyone fell silent. Everyone looked at Li Zhendong. Did this guy really study diligently for 13 hours a day? Or was there a decimal point missing, like maybe just 3 hours? Embarrassed to death, Li Zhendong quickly pulled Zhang Chenchen, ¡°Let¡¯s go, I can¡¯t stand this kind of freak.¡± ¡­ Chapter 69 - 69, 3rd place Chapter 69: Chapter 69, 3rd place Five days quickly passed, and the final written exam results were released. Some were joyful, some were sorrowful. The two universities together were only recruiting six thousand graduate students, which, for the total of three hundred thousand undergraduates on the spaceship, meant a recruitment ratio of just one in fifty. With a trace of nervousness, Zhang Yuan clicked to view his own exam score report. He was now somewhat regretful for sleeping during the exam¡­ But quickly, the moment he saw his scores, that bit of regret dissipated like mist, his scores for the three professional courses were ¡°149, 148, 147,¡± arranged in an arithmetic sequence. ... As for where he lost those few points, he had no idea. ¡°Maybe it was for the presentation of the paper?¡± There was also that last subject ¡°Politics and History,¡± scored out of 100, which he really hadn¡¯t prepared seriously for, merely flipping through the syllabus hastily before the exam, so he only scored 81. ¡°Adding up the total, I wonder what rank I could get¡­¡± Continuing down to the next line of small print, he saw, [Space Mechanics Major Ranking: 3]. Zhang Yuan was delighted. Third place was a better result than expected, he wondered who the top two ranked individuals could be. With such professional scores, plus the bonus from his paper, in theory, he could now choose a very excellent mentor. For the upcoming interview, he naturally felt confident. He immediately made a call to report to Professor Wang Zhong on Earth. Currently, as the spaceship had just taken off, the signal delay was within a few seconds, which was still acceptable. ¡°Very good, you did well!¡± In the video, Professor Wang Zhong was unusually happy, even more delighted than if he had won an award himself. Following that, his expression became grave, ¡°Do you wish to continue specializing in Space Mechanics? Have you made up your mind?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Zhang Yuan nodded. Professor Wang nodded back, ¡°Then, you will need to learn more about Physics in the future, including mechanics, information science, and integrated circuits. There are many fine professors aboard the spaceship, but if we are to choose, we should choose the best!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see who is available¡­¡± Wang Zhong began looking at a list. ¡°How about Academician Ding Zhaodong from the Wild Wolf Design Bureau, one of the chief designers of the ¡®Earth Era,¡¯ what do you think?¡± Zhang Yuan was startled, he had interacted with several professors before, but none of them were on Academician Ding¡¯s level. Okay, just the title of chief designer of the ¡®Earth Era¡¯ could crush someone to death, not to mention his other numerous academic achievements¡­ Furthermore, Ding Zhaodong was one of the few Academicians aboard the spaceship. Academicians here were not like those on Earth; they truly held status and power. Zhang Yuan hesitated, ¡°That would be great, but Academician Ding probably isn¡¯t taking on students, right? He¡¯s very busy every day, I¡¯ve never met him in person, nor have I had any interaction with him.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid.¡± Professor Wang saw through his thoughts and waved his hand, ¡°Everyone has been young before, who dares assert that your future achievements will be less than his, Ding Zhaodong¡¯s? So there¡¯s nothing to be overly modest about.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll greet him first; as for the specific interview, you¡¯ll have to handle yourself. If someone else outperforms you, you can only blame yourself!¡± Zhang Yuan nodded with a smile, ¡°Okay, then I¡¯ll trouble Professor Wang.¡± He turned off the video, walked out of the main door, and deeply inhaled the fresh air. Looking up, he saw the group leader Wang Xin hurrying over. ¡°How did the test go? Judging by the expressions on everyone else¡¯s faces, it¡¯s unlikely anyone did better than you¡­ so, here¡¯s a little gift for you.¡± A 2% acceptance rate meant that it was perfectly normal for all the others to have failed to secure a spot. Zhang Yuan had thought Wang Xin was just talking casually when he handed over the pen, but on closer inspection, it was gold-plated. He handed it back, ¡°Brother Wang, this gift is too valuable, I can¡¯t accept it.¡± ¡°Valuable? Once we¡¯re on a spaceship, do you think gold is still currency? It¡¯s just a small memento,¡± Wang Xin said with a laugh, ¡°So, what place did you come in? Tell me!¡± ¡°Third, with two formidable figures above me.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so downhearted. As long as you hit the cut-off score, you can still make a comeback in the interview,¡± Wang Xin said, nodding to himself. ¡°Wait, third?¡± After a while, when Wang Xin finally caught on, he sucked in a breath of cold air. Space Mechanics was a major subject with many applicants. Securing the third place was no easy feat! He quickly shifted his tone, ¡°Little brother, you¡¯ve got a bright future ahead. I¡¯ve got a secret tome here that, once mastered, can slaughter a multitude of difficult problems¡ª¡¯P-adic Teichm¨¹ller Theory,¡¯ authored by Wangyue Xinyi, and it¡¯s a paper copy. Do you want to buy it? Just for five hundred New Coins, I¡¯ll sell it to you.¡± A bunch of question marks popped up in Zhang Yuan¡¯s head. Why did Brother Wang have such a book, and why a paperback at that? Everyone was limited in what they could bring, and here he was wasting it. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°It¡¯s for arguing with¡­¡± Perceiving his confusion, Wang Xin whispered conspiratorially, ¡°Whenever my wife tries to look down on me with her high education, I just pick up this book and spit out some terms¡­¡± ¡°As long as I mention things like ¡®Far Abel Geometry,¡¯ ¡®Grothendieck-universe,¡¯ ¡®perfectoid spaces,¡¯ she shuts right up.¡± Zhang Yuan was momentarily speechless. So, that was another way to use it. The 500 New Coin paper book wasn¡¯t expensive since Earth Era no longer produced such items, but his current level in Mathematics might not be up to digesting its content. ¡°Buy, buy, buy, it¡¯s not about the money! Just 500 bucks.¡± The two made their way to the canteen where the other six members of their group were already waiting. When they heard he ranked third, they all looked on with envy. ¡°Ah, Zhang Yuan, you¡¯ve been accepted for postgraduate study, you can finally escape your life as a janitor. The rest of us are doomed to another year of sweeping floors before going into hibernation,¡± one of the companions said. Wang Xin chimed in, ¡°Sweeping is also a job, just as doing research and management is. Is there really any difference in value? Although sweeping isn¡¯t important and can be left to robots, still¡­¡± He trailed off, unable to conclude his thought. The overall mood wasn¡¯t great. Many of the students had worked hard for a long time, only to find out in the end that their chosen path was a dead-end. Life¡¯s disappointments were many, and switching environments didn¡¯t promise any change. ¡°Alright, today, I¡¯m treating. Everyone can eat whatever they want!¡± Zhang Yuan quickly tried to lighten the mood. ¡°What can we even eat in a place like this?¡± muttered Wang Xin with a wry smile. As they spent a long while choosing dishes, nothing particularly appetizing was available. The vegetables were decent, but the meat dishes were all synthetic. Plus, to reduce kitchen pollution, the robots mainly used steaming and boiling as cooking methods, with no frying or saut¨¦ing, which meant the dishes lacked flavor and even the usual smells of cooking oil. ¡°Now that we have 3D organ printing, why don¡¯t we clone some chicken legs to eat?¡± One of the girls threw care aside regarding her exam performance and tried to crack a smile. ¡°3D organ printing? A single chicken leg at the cost of one hundred thousand? I could only afford one leg with all my fortune,¡± Zhang Yuan joked. ¡°Jing Xuan, if you ever sneak into a Biological lab, you could steal a few for us to try.¡± ¡°Formaldehyde-soaked ones you want?!¡± The girl named Jing laughed. ¡°How could that be? Biological organs are cultivated in sterile rooms, the purest of the pure!¡± ¡°Ah, I miss the chicken legs my mother used to cook!¡± ¡°Is that why you want to become a Biologist?¡± Everyone burst into laughter. Chapter 70 - 70: Top Students, Academic God, God, and the God above Gods Chapter 70: Chapter 70: Top Students, Academic God, God, and the God above Gods Life was like that, going with the flow. Having come this far, it was alright to live simply and ordinarily. Who could guarantee that they would maintain exceptional foresight throughout their entire life? At the crossroads of life, in addition to graduate school entrance exams, there actually were many other choices, and not everyone was suited for scientific research. In a spaceship, every profession needed to be represented: teachers, doctors, nurses, maintenance workers, and so on. The atmosphere at the dinner table gradually improved, and many things felt better once one could let them go. The current society was still dominated by young people, and classes hadn¡¯t yet solidified. The social structure didn¡¯t require considering too much about ¡°money,¡± so the pressure wasn¡¯t that great. ¡°Utilizing knowledge to achieve class mobility is actually the healthiest operation of human civilization. Even if one doesn¡¯t get admitted to graduate school, they can be like me, right? As long as you work hard, there are many ways to realize your own value.¡± Finally, Big Brother Wang Xin issued another talk on his views about life. After dining with friends, Zhang Yuan returned to his dormitory and began learning new knowledge. The content to study in Space Mechanics was indeed vast. ... A spaceship, whether large or small, involved numerous disciplines such as physics, biology, materials, chemistry, and so on. He self-studied for a long time every day. Especially with an even more challenging interview coming up, even last-minute cramming was worthwhile. ¡°¡­Let¡¯s start with integrated circuits.¡± Zhang Yuan opened ¡°Specialized Integrated Circuit Design,¡± a classic book that primarily covered the basic process of digital integrated circuit and dedicated integrated circuit design, along with the main design methods, across eight chapters. He had been exposed to related knowledge during his university years, though not in-depth. Actually¡­ it wasn¡¯t too difficult. The nature of silicon-based chips was easy to understand: on the same semiconductor substrate, the PN junction had unidirectional conductivity. Connect wires to the ends of the PN junction and you have a diode. With diodes, it was simple to design ¡°AND gate circuits¡± and ¡°NOT gate circuits,¡± which could then be used for logic calculations. The Soviets once developed ternary circuits, which were slightly different from binary circuits, with two more resistors in the ¡°AND gate¡± and ¡°NOT gate¡± circuits. These slight differences made manufacturing more troublesome, increased costs, and resulted in much lower chip yields. Due to various drawbacks, they were gradually phased out. It sounded so simple in principle, yet it baffled 99.9% of humans! Zhang Yuan felt that without a computer, even if he spent a month on it, he wouldn¡¯t be able to design a circuit with computing power that compared to a six-year-old child¡­ Without any exaggeration, the more he learned, the more he understood the grandeur of nature. Chip studies, a discipline that had developed for several hundred years, from the old diodes and integrated circuits to the latest photon chips, had ¡°band theory¡± as their foundation, which was just an approximation theory. Humans knew it wasn¡¯t entirely correct but were unable to rectify it. Because the behavior of electrons couldn¡¯t be calculated with precision. On a larger scale, despite the complexity of various disciplines, most were just playing with electrons. Once you mastered the various properties of electrons, it was easier to draw analogies to other disciplines. After reading for six hours straight, he stopped to take a breather. His rapidly working brain was slightly overheated and needed some time to absorb the newly learned content. ¡°Better to change my way of thinking, take a break.¡± He went out to eat dinner, taking half an hour. He opened his computer again and found a pile of unprocessed messages in his inbox which he began clicking open and replying to one by one. The work projects on Earth were a good training opportunity, and he needed to keep going. His main focus was on algorithmic frameworks, and he was progressing a bit faster than the teams on Earth, with four or five hours a day being sufficient. So, over ten hours of studying every day was no exaggeration. The above day was a very routine one for Zhang Yuan. Sometimes he felt tired, but most of the time he was fulfilled by the knowledge he gained. He didn¡¯t play video games, watch soap operas, or pursue romantic relationships; he forced himself to grow stronger. Zhang Yuan mused, ¡°If Li Zhendong worked this hard every day, even if he wasn¡¯t as good as me, he would still be at least halfway there¡­¡± But he knew deeply that what he was learning was just the tip of the iceberg. There were definitely many people in the world who were far more capable than him. The academic elite of the world can be divided into five levels. The first level consists of those who, during a long journey, overhear a stranger¡ªauntie boasting about her child¡¯s remarkable achievements, such as getting into the city¡¯s key middle and high schools, ranking first or second in the class, and so on. This should be considered the lowest tier of academic overachievers. After all, it¡¯s just high school. I don¡¯t know what there is to brag about¡­ The second level includes people who also attend distinguished universities, go to classes, self-study, and somehow end up with high grades at the end of the semester. As time goes on, one gradually realizes, no matter how hard they try, it seems impossible to surpass these individuals. With the same amount of study time, they are always more effective than the average person. These talented individuals are often referred to as ¡°true academic overachievers.¡± The third level, of course, is the legendary ¡°Academic God.¡± Unlike academic overachievers, Academic Gods don¡¯t study much but still score highly. They are the most dangerous people in universities, and many clueless weaklings mingle with them. They stay up all night surfing the internet and gaming, but while fooling around, they end up failing several classes. When you look back, that same laid-back person also casually took part in some contests, secured scholarships¡­ The weaklings failed and had to repeat years, while the ¡°Academic God¡± went abroad. The fourth level has already begun the march towards the superhuman, known as the real ¡°God.¡± In terms of personal character, ¡°Gods¡± are without a single flaw. They are both Academic Gods and academic overachievers; however, the most dominating aspect of these ¡°Gods¡± is their stamina and sustainability. To them, studying is an extremely pleasurable activity, much like chewing gum that they simply can¡¯t stop. Ordinary people can only feel inadequate and ashamed in the presence of ¡°Gods,¡± without a trace of envy. Academic Gods cannot compare to the real ¡°Gods.¡± Because the abilities of the Academic Gods are limited to the knowledge found in textbooks, whereas the real ¡°Gods¡± have long transcended the realm of academia. Zhang Yuan confidently estimated that he was marching towards this direction¡­ There is even a fifth level, which is, of course, the ¡°God of Gods¡±! This level is only witnessed in the world¡¯s most exceptional geniuses. Take, for example, Academician Ding, my intended mentor. He completed his undergraduate degree at Peking University¡¯s Department of Mathematics, with 20 perfect scores of 100 and six scores of 99 in his mathematics major courses! But he never boasts about trivial things like scoring full marks in exams. For these ¡°God of Gods,¡± exams, competitions, and scholarships are as childish as kindergarten games. In his first year at university, Ding Zhaodong covered the entire four-year university curriculum, and even out of boredom, he dabbled in the neighboring Physics Department¡¯s classes¡­ However, these are trivial; only the exploration of the infinite Nature is the joy of life for the ¡°God of Gods.¡± There are people even stronger than Ding Zhaodong! For instance¡­ Professor Wang Zhong! Professor Wang gained renown at a young age, making waves in the mathematical community with his major work at the age of 22¡ª¡±Homological Functions in Nuclear Space.¡± Zhang Yuan still cannot understand this paper in the field of Algebraic Geometry. According to Professor Wang, the most brilliant minds in the world should be dedicated to studying Mathematics. He has utter disdain for conversations with those engineering professors who lack sentimentality and an appreciation for aesthetics¡­ Even these individuals, who study day in and day out, year after year, accruing knowledge steadily over decades, have created a gap between people that is actually greater than the one between humans and dogs. Given this, what right does he have to complain incessantly? ¡­ (I¡¯d like to recommend a book from a buddy of mine, ¡°Elf: Early Login.¡± For friends who enjoy the second dimension, give it a look.) S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Chapter 71 - 71: Interview Chapter 71: Chapter 71: Interview This day, a major event suddenly took place inside the spaceship: Academician Ding from the Wild Wolf Design Bureau, released an announcement to recruit one graduate student from among the undergraduate graduates, causing a sensation among all the candidates! Academician Ding has always cultivated Ph.D. students, but this time he decided to recruit a master¡¯s student, a rare opportunity. Everyone clearly knew that getting in touch with these top experts early on could have a significant impact on their future academic careers. Due to the large number of applicants, it was impossible to interview them all. The staff had to impose stricter eligibility requirements to reduce the number of candidates to fewer than fifty. Zhang Yuan opened the registration interface, saw that he met the hard conditions and the exam results, and finally breathed a sigh of relief. At this moment, Professor Wang Zhong sent a video. ... ¡°¡­That old fellow has already been convinced by me¡ªnow it¡¯s all up to you. If someone more suitable than you comes along, and you are out-competed, don¡¯t blame others. Are you confident about being selected from fifty experts?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°That¡¯s good, I¡¯m waiting for your good news!¡± ¡­ After brief preparations, the day of the interview finally arrived. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. There were five interviewers; two of whom were former colleagues of his father, and seemed quite familiar, as they gave him kind looks. Sitting in the center was Professor Ding Zhaodong, and on the far left was Captain Ma Tao, who also looked at Zhang Yuan kindly. ¡°Young man, don¡¯t be nervous.¡± Captain Ma glanced at the materials on the table and was the first to ask, ¡°You are Old Zhang¡¯s son, as we all know, so no need for an extended self-introduction. I have one question, what is the most important thing you have learned from him?¡± Nervous but confident, Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t feel nervous at all. Zhang Yuan quickly replied, ¡°His humble personal character, excellent studying habits, a lifestyle not confined by material possessions, and lofty goals and ideals!¡± ¡°Stop!¡± Noticing the slightly amused smiles of the surrounding professors, Captain Ma asked, ¡°Now tell me one of his faults. What is something about him that you cannot tolerate?¡± Zhang Yuan was stunned¡ªdid this captain have some old grudge against his father? Or, was he just making a joke to ease the tense and serious atmosphere? Possibly. Zhang Yuan thought for a moment and said, ¡°He always demands too much of others based on his own intelligence, which I think is hard for ordinary people to tolerate. There are many things he finds simple, so he casually instructs others to do them, but the tasks he deems simple often take others half a day, or they might not be able to do them at all¡­ That¡¯s why he often gets inexplicably angry.¡± Everyone smiled slightly. Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t quite tell if his answer was good or bad. Next came the serious questioning session, which obviously was not going to be ordinary questions. One professor asked point-blank, ¡°I once read your robotics kinematics paper, which is indeed an excellent article. However, have you considered the constraint computation problem of robots with fewer degrees of freedom?¡± ¡°In reality, many industrial robots don¡¯t need large degrees of freedom, and the algorithms are different too¡­ Do you have any knowledge about the 2-RPS-2-SPS four-degree-of-freedom parallel robot? Just share one idea, no need for a lengthy explanation.¡± Zhang Yuan thought for a few seconds; actually, this question was relatively basic, ¡°Parallel robots, in terms of structural complexity and production costs, fully symmetrical parallel mechanisms have a huge advantage¡­ The motion support matrices for four degrees of freedom motion are 3T1R, 2T//2R, 2T¡Í2R, 1T3R, 3T2R, 2T3R, 3T3R.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s first discuss the mechanical primitives of these seven motion connections in single open-chain forms¡­¡± Although he was told not to be verbose, he still spoke for over ten minutes. The professor squinted his eyes, nodded, and said, ¡°Not a bad answer.¡± Just having that amount of clarity in such a short time was no small feat, showing that Zhang Yuan¡¯s foundational knowledge was solid, and he was quick-thinking and sharp-minded. ¡°¡­Do you have any research on the latest optical chips? Why not vigorously develop more powerful quantum chips?¡± Zhang Yuan thought for a few seconds and replied, ¡°¡­Photon chips are based on photon circuit computing architectures, essentially using countless micro-optical switches on the chip, similar in function to the logic gates in semiconductor chips¡­ Photon chips utilize combinations of light of different wavelengths, phases, and intensities, processed in complex arrays made of mirrors, filters, and prisms.¡± ¡°¡­Like microelectronics, they are based on semiconductor architectures using silicon materials, so they are essentially an extension of traditional chips. Their computing power is over ten thousand times that of ordinary silicon-based chips, and with current technology, there is still room for further development.¡± ¡°Although quantum computers can achieve computing power a million to a trillion times that of silicon-based chips, they require a related number of quantum entangled states. 40-50 entangled states is the current technological limit, and it is very difficult to increase. But the computing power of this number of entangled states is still less than traditional silicon-based chips¡­¡± ¡°Thus, although quantum chips are advantageous, without a major theoretical breakthrough, it¡¯s difficult to further develop them, so they are not the current mainstream research focus.¡± ¡°Very good, quite accurate.¡± The professor nodded slightly. This response not only tested theoretical knowledge but also breadth of knowledge. Many professors posed quite a few questions, and Zhang Yuan responded to each one calmly and confidently. ¡°I have a question too.¡± Academician Ding suddenly spoke. ¡°Please ask.¡± Academician Ding Zhaodong spoke slowly, ¡°What are your views on the industrial production of a new civilization? What do you think is the biggest factor restricting the development of a new civilization?¡± Is this question that big? Zhang Yuan cleared his throat and answered, ¡°Indeed, we do have some decent industrial foundations, such as carrying the most advanced photolithography machine inside the spaceship, production facilities for certain nanomaterials, and some industrial mother machines, etc. We can produce some components, but many upstream industry chains are completely disconnected.¡± ¡°For example, basic chemical raw materials like trichloromethane, caprolactam, and acrylic acid¡ªwe only have small stockpiles, and once they are used up, we cannot produce them anymore. If we use BIOSYNTHESIS, the cost would be prohibitively high.¡± ¡°If we successfully reach the target planet and obtain an abundance of material resources, we must start from the development of basic raw materials. In my opinion, the biggest factor restricting the development of civilization is actually¡­ population. Too few people hinder the development of the entire industrial system.¡± ¡°I once read a report that the minimum population required to sustain Earth¡¯s industry is 1.6 billion. Although the quality of our population is high enough, the number is only five hundred thousand, which is far from sufficient.¡± ¡°That makes sense; it¡¯s also a concern we share¡­¡± Before Academician Ding could reply, a professor quickly nodded in agreement. Chapter 72 - 72: 72 Chapters: Human Relations, Best Academic?! Chapter 72: 72 Chapters: Human Relations, Best Academic?! One of the professors suddenly said, ¡°If in the next three thousand years, Earth Civilization¡¯s technology could make another major breakthrough with stronger Artificial Intelligence and automated production lines, perhaps the industrial population needed for building a new civilization could be greatly reduced.¡± Ding Zhaodong slightly shook his head, ¡°We should not pin our hopes on Earth Civilization. Even if technology advances further, a population of five hundred thousand is still too few.¡± Another professor also said, ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not necessarily the case, the history of Earth in the next three thousand years is a good reference.¡± The group of professors quietly discussed amongst themselves for a while. Academician Ding turned his head and asked, ¡°Then, regarding the issue of a low population, would you accept the use of artificial wombs to massively incubate human babies? They would have no parents, existing just for the continuity of the new civilization.¡± Zhang Yuan said, ¡°As far as I know, the technology of artificial wombs is not yet fully mature.¡± ... ¡°What if, in the future, such artificial womb technology does indeed exist, what do you think?¡± Is this¡­ a political question? It¡¯s difficult. Zhang Yuan thought for a long time but couldn¡¯t find a very tactful and moderate answer. He honestly said, ¡°I accept. If reality demands that we must do this, we have no other choice.¡± ¡°Humans are not like livestock; their reproductive capacity is extremely limited. With a high population growth rate of 2%, in 100 years we could only increase sevenfold, to 3.5 million people, which is too few.¡± ¡°Due to long-term resource scarcity, coupled with the aging and dying of our first generation of high-quality population, it could cause a significant decline in the overall quality of our civilization¡¯s population. Even if unethical issues arise from artificially incubated infants, we have no other choice.¡± ¡°The cosmos is vast, yet the time left for us is limited. Once the equipment carried on the spaceship ages and we have not developed replacements, coupled with a significant decline in population quality, our new civilization would go extinct on an Alien Planet.¡± Captain Ma nodded and smiled oddly. The room became very quiet for a while. Everyone was thinking about something. Academician Ding said indifferently, ¡°All right, there¡¯s nothing more to ask. You can leave now.¡± ¡°Wait until we have interviewed everyone, then we will notify you with the final results.¡± ¡°Thank you all,¡± said Zhang Yuan, bowing politely as he left the room, involuntarily wiping the sweat from his brow. There were many challenging questions that were hard to tackle. No wonder in the selection of students by academicians, the difficulty¡­ is considerable! After Zhang Yuan left, the room was quiet for a while. Captain Ma suddenly asked with a smile, ¡°Old Ding, this nephew of mine isn¡¯t bad, right? If you don¡¯t take him, I will find another Academician to accept him.¡± Ding Zhaodong also smiled, ¡°He is indeed good, both in terms of skills and ideology, a very pragmatic person. However, let¡¯s wait and see if there is a more suitable candidate, as I won¡¯t show favoritism because of personal feelings.¡± ¡°Ha, do you really think such a talent is common as Pu Pu Grass, easily found everywhere?¡± ¡°Then, let us invite the next interviewee.¡± ¡­ Two days later, the interview results were announced. 98 points, not knowing where the two points were deducted, perhaps due to a poorly answered question. However, with 98 points, theoretically, it was already quite a high score. The interview score accounted for 40% of the total grade, and based on that, Zhang Yuan estimated that he had securely ranked first in the ¡°Space Machinery Engineering¡± program. Being accepted by Academician Ding was practically a foregone conclusion. Even influenced by this event, several other well-known academicians from different fields also whimsically wanted to recruit a wave of graduate students. This news spread among the group of candidates, causing a small stir. ¡°Congratulations, congratulations!¡± ¡°Boss treats!¡± Zhang Yuan, in a good mood, waved his hand generously, ¡°Eat whatever you want, everyone.¡± ¡°Big chicken legs! Big chicken legs!¡± Cunning Li Zhendong wanted to eat the biological 3D-printed chicken legs that cost one hundred thousand yuan each, which scared Zhang Yuan green. He hurriedly said, ¡°If you can steal the chicken legs from the lab, I¡¯ll pay the fine.¡± The companions chimed in, ¡°Actually, this is pretty normal. Other people¡¯s interviews were over in ten minutes. Zhang Yuan had an hour-long interview, whom else would they choose if not him?¡± ¡°¡­ What kind of questions did they ask? I¡¯m going for an interview soon too, although it¡¯s just for an ordinary professor position.¡± ¡°The questions¡­ were actually quite difficult.¡± Zhang Yuan was busy sharing his interview experience, including some academic questions that were quite profound. Even a master¡¯s graduate might not be able to answer them, along with various miscellaneous questions about culture and politics. A few girls listened with their tongues sticking out. ¡°Isn¡¯t this recruiting Ph.D. candidates rather than master¡¯s students?!¡± ¡°I guess other academicians¡¯ interviews are this twisted too. We might not even qualify for an interview; we can only watch the excitement¡­¡± ¡°Fortunately, I¡¯m only interviewing with an ordinary teacher¡­¡± Just then, Ye Kaifu rushed over from Area J, his face beaming with joy. ¡°Hahaha, Zhang Yuan, I have both good news and bad news for you. Which do you want to hear first?¡± Not the bad news again! Zhang Yuan grimaced, ¡°The good news.¡± ¡°Your interview went well, and you ranked first in your major, very likely to be selected by Academician Ding.¡± ¡°Pfft¡­¡± Everyone let out a bored sigh, indicating the news was already outdated. You must be from Zhiyuan Star, huh? S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Zhang Yuan rolled his eyes and continued, ¡°What¡¯s the bad news?¡± Ye Kaifu, looking like he was enjoying the disaster, said, ¡°Someone is challenging your interview score!¡± What? Challenging? Zhang Yuan was nonchalant. If no one envies you, you¡¯re mediocre. Just do what you believe in and let others talk. ¡°This isn¡¯t something small, you can¡¯t just ignore it.¡± Zhang Yuan took Ye Kaifu¡¯s phone, and saw a post titled ¡°Nepotism academics, ¡®best¡¯ academics?!¡± A student named Cai Kun, in his post, openly questioned the fairness of the entire interview process. His written exam score was the highest in the ¡°Space Machinery¡± major, but he only got 60 points in the interview¡­ ¡°Zhang Yuan¡¯s written exam score was 2 points lower than mine, but he scored 98 points in the interview, a whole 38 points higher than me! The other interviewees generally scored only in the sixties or seventies. Doesn¡¯t everyone think this is unreasonable?¡± ¡°Later, I came to a possible conclusion: Zhang Yuan¡¯s father, Professor Zhang Qiming, used to be a colleague of Academician Ding. Perhaps it was because of old times¡¯ sake that he scored high.¡± ¡°¡­ I left Earth because I despise all these unreasonable worldly manners. I hoped to live in a more perfect, more just civilization. But I didn¡¯t expect that even in such a critical matter as student recruitment, personal connections would still exist!¡± ¡°Let the capable ones lead, the mediocre ones step down, the equal ones give way. This is the most suitable human resource choice! If even this can¡¯t be done, how can we establish a stronger civilization?!¡± ¡°Especially since Deep Space University and Star University have just been established. They should really work on cultivating a good academic environment! They shouldn¡¯t develop this bad habit of nepotism.¡± Zhang Yuan¡¯s brows furrowed as he read. Chapter 73 - 73: The Malice of Spectators Chapter 73: Chapter 73: The Malice of Spectators There were still a bunch of messy comments following. People on the spaceship were generally more rational than Earth people, not easily swayed by trends, so Zhang Yuan wasn¡¯t overwhelmingly criticized. [¡­there might be some trickery involved, I suggest the relevant departments clear up the facts, otherwise it will dishearten all the aspiring students!] [Considering past achievements, Zhang Yuan is pretty awesome. What makes you, Cai Kun, think you are better? Just because your scores in politics and history are a few points higher?] [Buddy, I was in the same exam room with him, that guy spent half of the exam time sleeping! You scored two points higher than him, is that really something?] [Grabbing popcorn, watching the show. (watermelon) (watermelon)] ... [If that¡¯s really the case, I might as well go back to Earth.] [Where is the iron fist of justice?] sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The issue wasn¡¯t really that big, but it wasn¡¯t small either. On a smaller scale, it was just some young people not satisfied with their interview results venting online; on a larger scale, if not handled properly, it could affect the government¡¯s credibility and shake the political foundation. The new civilization was so small; it couldn¡¯t withstand any sand, any bad habits had to be immediately snuffed out. Ye Kaifu was somewhat gloating at first, but seeing Zhang Yuan¡¯s stoic face, he vaguely started to worry. He began offering reckless suggestions: ¡°Old Zhang, what are we going to do? Are you really angry? Should we write something in response?¡± ¡°Write what? That I swear I didn¡¯t cheat? They will never believe it!¡± ¡°So, we just stay silent? The quieter you are, the more they persist!¡± Zhang Yuan sighed, ¡°Mediocrity never incites envy. I even find his points fairly reasonable. Given my various backgrounds, I indeed fall under suspicion¡­¡± ¡°¡­Sigh, actually, Academician Ding does favor some personal connections when selecting students; he wouldn¡¯t have taken any graduate students otherwise. It was Professor Wang Zhong from Earth who convinced him to recruit.¡± For a while, they couldn¡¯t think of a particularly good rebuttal. Suddenly, Li Zhendong said, ¡°I have a suggestion, you should immediately publish a significant research paper, that will shut everyone up.¡± Zhang Yuan scratched his head. ¡°That¡¯s not possible, mate! Writing a paper isn¡¯t like laying eggs; I¡¯d honestly need a proper setup, one step at a time, from writing to publishing. Even in the fastest scenario, it would take a month or two. By then, this issue would have long passed, and would be cold news. ¡°So, you haven¡¯t been writing any papers recently¡­¡± Li Zhendong suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. ¡­ Where there are people, there are societal circles, and where there are societal circles, there are disputes. Although the spaceship was under semi-militaristic management, freedom of speech was relatively still preserved. Only when some comments seriously affected the unity of civilization and the safety of the spaceship, would one be invited for tea. Such skepticism was actually still within reasonable bounds. This was a real test for the rulers¡¯ managerial skills, they needed to foster cohesion in everyone, but could not be too controlling. High-quality talents aren¡¯t soldiers; they need more freedom to be productive. An hour later, Zhang Yuan was still fretting over what to do when Captain Ma called. He didn¡¯t say much, only dropping a sentence: ¡°Come to the Central Conference Hall in Zone A immediately, I need to see you.¡± Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t dare delay and hurried over. He found the Central Conference Hall packed with people, as if a conference was being held. Many onlookers who heard something also squeezed in. ¡°Mr. Zhang, this way please.¡± He was pulled up by a pretty young lady. ¡°What¡­ what are you looking for me for?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know in a moment,¡± the young lady cryptically added. As Zhang Yuan took to the stage, a round of warm applause broke out. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce to you, this is Zhang Yuan, Classmate Zhang. And this is Cai Kun, Classmate Cai.¡± The host smiled and continued, ¡°Following Captain Ma¡¯s instructions, I am hosting this public interview. Actually, the spirit of questioning like Classmate Cai¡¯s is very much needed for a civilization!¡± ¡°This statement is very correct, the capable rise, the mediocre fall, and the middling give way¡ªwe need to be fair in recognition, not showing favoritism, yet also acknowledging the talented despite personal feuds.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t need the doctrine of the mean, which waters down everything. You deserve what you score.¡± ¡°Now, let¡¯s have these two classmates have an on-site interview, look, they didn¡¯t even have time to dress up, let alone prepare answers. Classmate Cai, how do you feel?¡± Classmate Cai seemed a bit nerdy, this number one scorer of the written test, under the gaze of more than a thousand pairs of eyes, suddenly couldn¡¯t speak due to nervousness. After a while, he finally said, ¡°I think this method of handling is very good. If Zhang Yuan can truly convince me¡­¡± ¡°Zhang Yuan, how about you?¡± ¡°I¡­you are asking for a re-interview?¡± Zhang Yuan was still dazed. A wave of laughter echoed from below. Suddenly called up to the stage, in front of so many people, Zhang Yuan felt humiliated. Due to cramming the night before, he also sported two huge dark circles, utterly embarrassing himself. ¡°Yes, a re-interview. Questions will be random.¡± Zhang Yuan took a deep breath and glanced at Classmate Cai, who was also sizing him up, showing no discernible emotions. ¡°Alright, ask whatever questions you have.¡± This solution seemed quite good, though a bit sudden. Anyway, as long as the other party doesn¡¯t cheat, bring it on! However, to ensure fairness and justice, the interview questions were not asked by the host but chosen randomly from the audience. The host randomly drew a number. ¡°233.¡± Zhang Yuan and Cai Kun immediately felt the massive ill will from the onlookers. A male student in the seats stood up: ¡°Hello, I am studying the field of recursive neural networks.¡± ¡°¡­ For instance, Hopfield neural networks are a type of discrete neural network and also feedback neural networks, where the output of each node is the input of others. When establishing a neural network, we must consider its stability.¡± ¡°Do you have any good suggestions on this? Regarding the stability of neural networks¡­¡± Zhang Yuan was taken aback. Neural network stability, this guy basically just brought up his own research project and asked for help in solving it. What is this, asking for help in writing his paper? If I provide a good direction, should I add an author¡¯s name? Classmate Cai on the stage also looked baffled. He had not expected the first question to be so tricky. Recursive neural networks? What the hell, he had never studied that! Though he had undertaken some research projects and achieved some results during his undergraduate studies, it had nothing to do with neural networks, how should he answer? He was a top student, but only held an undergraduate level¡­ Chapter 74 - 74: You Have Met a True Pervert Chapter 74: Chapter 74: You Have Met a True Pervert ¡°Please take 3 minutes to think,¡± said the moderator. Soon, 3 minutes later, the host handed the microphone to Cai Kun. ¡°Next, please let Classmate Cai answer.¡± His face turned red as he stumbled over his words for a long time, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I have not studied this field in depth¡­ A recursive neural network is an artificial neural network that has a tree-like hierarchical structure and recursively processes input information according to the sequence of its connections. It is one of the deep learning algorithms.¡± Having reluctantly recited a few definitions and struggling to convince the audience, Classmate Cai said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t have any particularly good ideas at the moment.¡± A round of jeers came from below, but Classmate Cai, despite his flushed face, still bravely stood on the stage. ... He looked up at Zhang Yuan. Let¡¯s see what you can answer. If you can¡¯t answer anything, how can you score higher than me in the interview? ¡°Next, please let Classmate Zhang answer.¡± ¡°I have a question,¡± Zhang Yuan raised his hand. ¡°I¡¯ve heard about Hopfield networks, but what is network stability?¡± The questioner smiled and explained, ¡°If certain weights within the network can converge to an equilibrium point, which is called weight convergence, then the output can also approximate the desired output, which is called system stability. Hence, convergence pertains to variables, while stability relates to the system.¡± ¡°The system¡¯s stability is not guaranteed, the control system is unstable, and the network¡¯s convergence loses its foundation.¡± Zhang Yuan thought for a moment and said, ¡°I have not studied your research field in depth either, only read some papers. But I have some basic ideas you might be interested in hearing.¡± ¡°¡­Firstly, the issue of monotonicity, the Hopfield network model in discrete time with continuous states depends on whether neurons¡¯ activation functions are monotonic, or at least locally monotonic.¡± S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Secondly, by studying the condition under which the energy function becomes a convex function, the operation of the Hopfield network can be viewed as a constrained convex optimization problem solution, thereby attempting to prove the sufficient condition for a globally unique minimum point¡­¡± ¡°Convex optimization, you are correct! Convex optimization is exactly the direction I¡¯m working on. I have another question¡­¡± This time, the question resonated deeply with the questioner, who then asked a few more questions related to convex optimization, sparking a mathematical discussion on the spot. Finally, at the host¡¯s cue, Zhang Yuan reluctantly said, ¡°Regarding knowledge about convex optimization, if needed, you can discuss with me backstage later; I¡¯d prefer not to go into detail here¡­¡± Much of what he said was just blabbering based on his usual accumulation of knowledge; if he could spontaneously write a paper on the spot, he wouldn¡¯t need to be on stage; he might as well be hailed as a ¡°paper God.¡± A burst of applause rose from below. In such a short time, the outcome was clear. Cai Kun wished he could vanish into thin air. All he could do was redden his face, quietly encouraging himself, perhaps due to the limited sample leading to variance¡ªhe just happened to face a topic he was unprepared for but his opponent knew. The host then asked, ¡°Contestant number 666, please state your question.¡± The questioner was a girl and her question was more practical, not so obscure, ¡°I want to ask about caching in servers.¡± ¡°Caching is divided into two phases: the first phase is the data placement phase, where communication resources are used in non-peak demand times to place data in each user¡¯s cache. The second phase is data delivery, assuming that during peak demand times, each user randomly requests a complete file, and the server justly distributes complete data to meet all users¡¯ needs.¡± ¡°My question is, how can we scientifically design the caching scheme?¡± The questioner even projected a PPT onto the screen. It was a specialized question, but everyone understood what was being asked. The host said, ¡°Alright, please think about it for 3 minutes.¡± The microphone was handed to Zhang Yuan. Smiling, he said, ¡°I think¡­ let¡¯s give the chance to Classmate Cai first. I¡¯m afraid if I speak now, he¡¯ll have nothing left to say.¡± Laughter erupted from below, and even some whistling sounds. Some believed him, others did not. Cai Kun was startled; this time, he did have some ideas, whereas Zhang Yuan seemed at a loss, needing more time to think. ¡°¡­I have this idea, each user caches a portion M/N of each file, and during the data delivery phase, the server releases the missing (1-M/N) portion for each user individually, making the transmission rate R=K(1-M/N)¡­¡± ¡°Has anyone heard of a scheme called ¡®coded caching¡¯? The specific algorithm is like this¡­¡± ¡°You make a good point.¡± Although the questioner courteously responded, there was a slight hint of disappointment. Coded caching was a quite mundane idea with established algorithms already, bearing no research significance. Bringing such a worn-out idea for a project would likely get one slapped by their supervisor. It was Zhang Yuan¡¯s turn next and he cleared his throat. ¡°Classmate Cai¡¯s idea is good. In the distribution phase, by utilizing the relationships among existing cache information, it is feasible to design certain coded combinations that enable multiple users to decode the needed information from a single broadcast, thus achieving global caching gains.¡± ¡°However, a primary limitation is the need to split each file into segments exponentially growing with the number of users, K. As we know, slicing at an exponential scale is daunting to execute in algorithms¡­¡± ¡°May I use your digital pen and the big screen?¡± The host paused, ¡°Sure.¡± Zhang Yuan drew several diagrams on the screen. ¡°¡­Essentially, this is a combinatorial graph theory problem. What we want to achieve is a caching scheme where F is a polynomial level of K and R is at a constant level or prove whether such a scheme exists or not.¡± ¡°Obviously, whether file segmentation can be converted into polynomial levels, i.e., to an industrially usable scale, relies entirely on whether one can construct a hypergraph problem that satisfies certain properties, which are as follows¡­¡± ¡°I think after converting it into a mathematical problem, it might make a decent paper. As for the solution, I certainly cannot provide it now; it¡¯s just an idea for now. How to tackle this graph theory problem is something this classmate ought to ponder on his own.¡± Whispers filled the room. Among the audience, many of whom were professionals, whether what was said made sense was naturally discernible to them. Applause broke out! A few minutes later, the questioner led the applause. Thunderous applause cascaded down. Cai Kun could no longer face staying any longer; his face entirely flushed, and he quickly nodded in concession. He finally realized that although both scored 100 points on an exam, his were from ability, whereas others scored the same because the paper only awarded up to 100 points. ¡°Old Cai, you encountered a real freak!¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¡°It seems like a fair loss.¡± Chapter 75 - 75 Genetic Matching Chapter 75: Chapter 75 Genetic Matching A farcical situation had finally come to an end. The government¡¯s credibility was restored, and even taken up a notch. Classmate Cai still proved to be a straightforward person, and after he returned, the first thing he did was update his own post. ¡°Don¡¯t reply to this post anymore! Got utterly humiliated at the on-site interview¡­ Just two words: Respect!¡± ¡°There are mountains beyond mountains, people beyond people, I will definitely maintain a humble and rigorous attitude from now on¡­¡± A whole bunch of rambles with a slightly juvenile tone won some¡­ scoldings. ... ¡°I told you, with the integrity of those Academics, they wouldn¡¯t engage in nepotism. If they wanted to enjoy themselves, they might as well stay on Earth.¡± ¡°Do you think postgraduates still chase after scores?¡± ¡°They just scored a few points lower in politics, their theory scores are better than yours, alright¡­¡± Zhang Yuan replied later, ¡°Everyone stop scolding Cai Kun, I am not even angry, I don¡¯t know what you all are clamoring about¡­¡± ¡°Actually, this kind of skepticism is nothing; for our new civilization, it is a necessary spirit.¡± He received over a thousand likes and countless messages from star-struck fans, all asking to become his ¡°life partner¡±¡­ Zhang Yuan had no idea what to say, so he just ignored them. ¡­ Round after round of recruitment interviews soon ended, and Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help much with the final results of his peers; he could only share some of his experience and insights. Li Zhendong and Ye Kaifu did fairly well, but as for the others, there was nothing to be done if they failed. After all, everyone has their own fate, just wish for the best¡­ A week later, a massive recruitment fair was happening in the central hall of Area A. Zhang Yuan was dragged out of his dormitory, and he was not pleased. ¡°Why do I have to attend this kind of event? I¡¯ve already got a work project and still need to study for my master¡¯s; I¡¯m really busy.¡± This recruitment fair was organized to help those who did not pass their postgraduate exams and did not have any part-time work projects. ¡°You¡¯re not doing it right, you¡¯ll end up with a mental illness if this goes on. Studying for such long periods is unhealthy!¡± Li Zhendong said quite ¡°seriously.¡± ¡°No way, I¡¯m happy every day.¡± ¡°Being happy doesn¡¯t mean you are healthy. You need to find a life partner, to hibernate together and wake up together, or else you might go insane in the future.¡± Zhang Yuan frowned, feeling this matter was quite troublesome. The presence of the ¡°life partner¡± policy was to prevent mental illnesses under certain special circumstances. A life partner could be male or female. However, usually, it tended to be a romantic partner. Consider this: waking up from hibernation centuries later to find everything on Earth gone, only a few hundred people around you, cold and desolate, the only thing you can rely on is your so-called ¡°life partner.¡± He casually asked, ¡°Did you and Zhang Chenchen make it official?¡± As they touched on this subject, Li Zhendong¡¯s face showed off a smug expression, ¡°Of course, it¡¯s just Zhang Chenchen we are talking about, my charm is so high, was it not an easy catch? Want me to hook you up?¡± ¡°Great, I¡¯ve recorded that last statement.¡± Zhang Yuan nodded in satisfaction and played back a recording from his phone: ¡°¡­of course, it¡¯s just Zhang Chenchen, my charm is so high, was it not an easy catch?¡± Li Zhendong immediately cowered, ¡°Don¡¯t, bro, please delete it!¡± ¡°No way, this is evidence!¡± Seeing Zhang Chenchen was running over, Li Zhendong pleaded with a bitter face, ¡°Please don¡¯t, it took me ages to woo a girl¡­ Let¡¯s talk this over, I¡¯ll treat you to a big chicken leg.¡± ¡°That¡¯s your promise.¡± After some persuasion, Zhang Yuan finally agreed to delete the recording. ¡°Mr. Zhang, hello!¡± Zhang Chenchen approached and greeted. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Hello.¡± Thinking it over, he decided to wander around the venue. It wouldn¡¯t hurt to greet some future seniors early and make some acquaintances. Plus, he was headed into the industrial sector in the future, and it was crucial to know which flagship projects were available on the spaceship. The recruitment fair was bustling with people, the atmosphere very lively, very similar to the campus clubs¡¯ recruitment drives. Due to modest material conditions, a few cobbled-together posters counted as a small stage. Every large area had many projects recruiting people. Some roles were ¡°Spaceship Technical Maintenance,¡± aimed at training ¡°real astronauts.¡± These individuals needed to learn more about spaceship maintenance so that, when most of the crew entered hibernation and the population was minimal, they could still maintain the spaceship¡¯s operations. For example, engineers responsible for spacewalks and other technicians responsible for ¡°extravehicular activities,¡± the difficulty was higher, and only those with excellent psychological quality could qualify. There were also part-time project training courses. The last category, of course, was routine projects aimed at providing revenue for the Deep Space Foundation, solving the problem of funding shortages, and also to foster the crew members¡¯ capacity for innovative thinking. ¡°A genetic matching app?¡± Zhang Yuan stopped in front of a poster, a key project recommended by Zone C, and took an extra moment to look. A short-haired girl greeted him enthusiastically, ¡°Hey, handsome, do you know Mathematics? We only need people good at Mathematics; Biology works too¡­ there are far too many programmers right now, not needed temporarily.¡± ¡°How does this genetic matching work?¡± Zhang Yuan asked curiously. The girl explained, ¡°Each person¡¯s genes contain a few hundred defects. If both parents have the same defective gene, their offspring might suffer from genetic diseases.¡± ¡°By ¡®genetic matching,¡¯ the partners found would significantly reduce the chances of congenital genetic diseases in their children.¡± ¡°Is that it?¡± Zhang Yuan looked around and noticed a lot of interest in the project, and he skeptically asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t this a 200-year-old concept? A marriage health check could spot the probability of genetic diseases¡­ What¡¯s the point of developing this further?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just that!¡± the girl replied with a laugh, ¡°Checking for genetic diseases is just a small part. We¡¯ve discovered through big data that a person¡¯s aesthetics are also influenced by genetics. The greater the genetic difference between a man and a woman, the more likely they are to attract each other¡­¡± ¡°Why does love at first sight happen? It¡¯s essentially determined by genetics, including appearances, body odor, language, demeanor, and so on. Notably, the MHC genes on the human chromosome six are a key gene that affects animals, also known as the major histocompatibility complex¡­¡± After a long explanation, Zhang Yuan finally understood. Using this app combined with DNA testing data, the matched partners are highly likely to fall in love at first sight offline! At least, that was the technology they aimed to achieve. After matching, there¡¯s a high probability of mutual attraction, would beauties even fall for less attractive guys? Is it really that impressive¡­ Chapter 76 - 76 Meeting Academician Ding Chapter 76: Chapter 76 Meeting Academician Ding Zhang Yuan fundamentally did not believe. He had thought of a good solution, however, that only handsome men and beautiful women could register for the app, which would make it easy to accomplish ¡°love at first sight.¡± Yet, he voiced doubts, ¡°Can you decode genetic codes, decode the language of proteins? Is human technology capable of reaching this level?¡± Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The short-haired beauty shook her head. ¡°Through biological methods, we are still exploring. Currently, we plan to use big data mining. We can collect large amounts of existing data, especially the genetic data of those in happy marriages, and then perform data analysis. I think there will be some linearly correlated results¡­¡± ¡°Of course, the related algorithms are still under research¡­ The initiator is Dr. Yu, a biologist, and there has been some progress.¡± In fact, Zhang Yuan wanted to say that this big data mining might not be easy. However, he had a good habit of not commenting recklessly when he was not a professional. ... Overall, this project was really good. If it could be implemented, wouldn¡¯t making money on Earth be a breeze? As long as the matching success rate was high enough, wouldn¡¯t a 1000-yuan VIP membership still be hot-selling? So many young people on Earth who couldn¡¯t find partners, who would definitely adore this app, and if they didn¡¯t buy it, their parents would buy it for them. At this registration point, many people were interested, and various screening processes were also being carried out methodically. Zhang Yuan was somewhat interested, but he had no time, so he had to give up. Then, he visited section D¡¯s star project, ¡°VR Intergalactic Travel Experience,¡± which aimed to turn some content from ¡°Earth Era¡± into a VR game. It also included chaotic and thrilling segments such as alien invasions of spaceships and riots. It really was something. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï This project, however, was rather ordinary, as VR games were already very mature, and this type wasn¡¯t rare. But games win through realism, and the influence of ¡°Earth Era¡± was evident. By being a super IP, as long as it wasn¡¯t poorly made, Earth people would certainly pay for it. Project E was also a VR game called ¡°VR-LIFE,¡± conceptualized by who knows. The character named ¡°Lan Lan¡± was a somewhat self-conscious girl born in a single-parent family. Zhang Yuan pinched his nose; this was just a game selling sex appeal¡­ Looking at the surrounding crowd, he could somewhat understand. Physical needs are very basic needs. Even if the people aboard the spaceship were of high quality, they couldn¡¯t escape these needs, and Earth people were even more so, given that the spending power of singles was limitless. He glanced and showed disinterest in this stuff. Casually strolling around, most of the recruitment projects still involved software engineering. Thinking about it wasn¡¯t surprising; resources on the spaceship were too scarce. Being able to provide food and good sleep was already enough. There were no excess resources for everyone to start a business. ¡°Software¡± was boundless and didn¡¯t need resources. Everyone carried a high-performance personal computer when boarding the spaceship, so tools in this field were definitely not lacking. ¡°Arrow Tower Auto Chess is hiring!¡± Li Zhendong suddenly shouted, grabbing Zhang Yuan¡¯s arm. ¡°We already have top players joining, and cute girls in the team!¡± Zhang Yuan snapped back to reality and realized he¡¯d become a free promoter. He quickly wanted to leave but heard Li Zhendong whisper in his ear, ¡°Help me, big brother, I can¡¯t recruit anyone for this project. Just lending your fame, not asking you to code!¡± ¡°Alright¡­¡± After a while, Li Zhendong¡¯s ¡°life partner,¡± Zhang Chenchen, also ran over from afar, smiling broadly, ¡°Zhang Yuan really joined, huh? It seems this project is reliable, so I¡¯ll join too!¡± Fame really does have its uses. Many more girls came over, learning about the entire game project and asking if Zhang Yuan had a ¡°life partner,¡± making him very uncomfortable. ¡°Sorry, I currently don¡¯t have time for dating, nor do I have any plans for it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a life partner, not dating. You could be my guy friend.¡± Guy friend¡­ Zhang Yuan was terrified. There was also a group of boys attracted by various ¡°butterflies,¡± their eyes nearly dripping with envy. Zhang Yuan felt anxious. It was too unproductive to argue with these women here; he¡¯d rather go home and read. If he¡¯d known, he would have deliberately lost to Cai Kun during the interview and let that guy enjoy this treatment. Suddenly, his eyes brightened, he saw a familiar face, and quickly took the opportunity to escape the crowd. ¡°Senior Brother Zhao!¡± Zhao Qingfeng would be his direct supervisor in the future. Academician Ding was too busy to devote much attention to Zhang Yuan, so he had appointed a senior brother to guide him. Senior Brother Zhao was already a Ph.D. student, a standout among those accepted by Academician Ding, a genius among geniuses. His abilities naturally went without saying, and he was also an employee of Wild Wolf Design Bureau, having interned for several years. ¡°Zhang Yuan, if you already have part-time work, don¡¯t get involved in multiple projects; human energy is limited. I heard you already have a job on Earth, right?¡± Zhao Qingfeng quickly said this earnestly upon seeing ¡°Arrow Tower Auto Chess.¡± If this talented junior went astray and became engrossed in unproductive game development, he¡¯d likely get a scolding from the teacher. ¡°No, I¡¯m just helping them recruit a few people,¡± Zhang Yuan quickly replied. ¡°I don¡¯t have time to play games.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡± Zhao Qingfeng breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°The admission notice will be out in a few days; why don¡¯t you come over to my place first? It wouldn¡¯t hurt to communicate with the teacher in advance.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± He turned back and bid farewell to Li Zhendong. After all, he had already lured people in; whether they stayed would depend on their own abilities. ¡­ Section A of the Circular Living Area was the core area of the entire spaceship, including the Captain¡¯s Room, Wild Wolf Design Bureau, Central Conference Hall, ship control area, Hospital, and the two universities, along with various comprehensive service functions. All were located in this area. Heading to the office building of Deep Space University, Zhang Yuan completed his enrollment reporting. Even though the admission notice had not yet been issued,.reporting early was not a problem for someone with his special talents. Academician Ding just happened to be available and took the opportunity to explain the whole school¡¯s rules and regulations to Zhang Yuan, while also assessing his situation. ¡°From the master¡¯s level, we cultivate independent research capabilities. 99% of the world¡¯s people are actually not suited for research; they just want to earn a degree to make life a bit smoother. There¡¯s nothing wrong with that thinking¡­¡± ¡°But here, it¡¯s different; if it turns out to be unsuitable during the process, exiting early is also a blessing.¡± This was indeed a harsh truth. Both Deep Space University and Star University were newly established, adhering to the principle of ¡°strict entry, strict exit.¡± Unsuitable people would be eliminated. Chapter 77 - 77: Zero Gravity Zone Chapter 77: Chapter 77: Zero Gravity Zone Academician Ding continued, ¡°In my dictionary, there are no words for ¡®endurance¡¯ or ¡®discipline,¡¯ only ¡®interest¡¯ and ¡®sense of achievement.¡¯ Therefore, I do not restrict your daily working hours or the number of working days per week. The pressure and motivation for learning come from your own inner drive¡­ If you have any questions, you can ask me directly or ask your Senior Brother.¡± After a pause, he asked, ¡°By the way, which area of research do you want to pursue? The Space Industry is a broad field, with many specialized sub-fields. It¡¯s impossible to learn everything.¡± Zhang Yuan thought seriously for a while, feeling a bit lost momentarily, as he was quite interested in every direction. As he pondered, Senior Brother Zhao suddenly said, ¡°If you don¡¯t yet have a comprehensive understanding of the entire Space Industry, you could start by getting some experience on a spaceship and then consider your direction. Building a solid foundation is always right.¡± ¡°Moreover, the current lab conditions are quite poor, with limited resources. Any experiment requires waiting in line. I still recommend that you learn some fundamental knowledge, unless you have a particularly good idea for a project. You could also conduct some simulated experiments on a computer; I can help you arrange that¡­¡± The gravity now is simulated by centrifugal force, which, for some delicate experiments, any bit of Coriolis force is a nightmarish presence. ... Academician Ding nodded, ¡°Zhao Qingfeng, when you have time, take him to the zero gravity zone outside. Hmm¡­ better yet, have him intern in the nuclear fusion engine room for a while.¡± ¡°The nuclear fusion engine is the most complex engineering project to date. If you can figure out the whole workflow, you could basically graduate.¡± Zhang Yuan was excited by the thought of interning in the zero gravity zone outside. Earth Era¡¯s nuclear fusion engine was cutting-edge technology. ¡°By the way,¡± Academician Ding added, ¡°if you want to officially graduate, you need to publish at least one article in a Zone One journal on Earth. Our new civilization¡¯s paper evaluation system isn¡¯t established yet, so we have to follow Earth¡¯s standards, or get widespread recognition from industry experts.¡± Just one paper, huh¡­ Noticing Zhang Yuan¡¯s puzzled look, Academician Ding laughed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t think it¡¯s that simple. If it weren¡¯t for the poor lab conditions here, my requirements would be even higher.¡± Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã0 Zhang Yuan, struck by a sudden thought, asked, ¡°What if I can¡¯t get a paper published?¡± Academician Ding laughed heartily, ¡°Either apply to withdraw from school or just keep delaying graduation, becoming one of the first to die in the stars!¡± ¡­ Academician Ding was actually very busy. Though ¡°Earth Era¡± had undergone lengthy testing, there were still many minor issues exposed during the journey that needed temporary adjustments, so these big shots were rarely seen. In the following time, Zhang Yuan interacted more with his Senior Brother Zhao Qingfeng. Zhao Qingfeng was at Level 18, responsible for maintaining the material recycling system; he was busy too but his level of busyness was certainly lower than that of Academician Ding, allowing visibility every day. ¡°So it seems, the work level and the degree of busyness are directly proportional. My previous Second Level position was literally just sweeping. It allowed me to miss work anytime, unlike yours.¡± Zhao Qingfeng laughed and said, ¡°Not really, I don¡¯t need to monitor it all day. It¡¯s just that it¡¯s the beginning of the voyage, so there are more temporary adjustments.¡± ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go take a look!¡± Personnel below Level 10 need to report to their superiors if they want to leave the residential area and also require company from others. ¡°Verification passed, please be careful!¡± One of the nurses suddenly said with a smile, ¡°Mr. Zhang Yuan, please make sure your outings do not exceed 10 hours each time. Otherwise, you will lose too much calcium, which can lead to osteoporosis. You can buy some calcium tablets at the hospital.¡± S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Okay, thanks for the reminder.¡± Another nurse joked, ¡°Wang Shuo, why are you being so nice today? Did you take a liking to him?¡± ¡°Where is that? I¡¯m always nice¡­¡± Zhang Yuan¡¯s scalp tingled, and he quickly scooted off. The two donned their space suits and entered the elevator. The elevator ascended slowly. As the linear speed decreased, Zhang Yuan felt the ¡°gravity¡± lessening. It also induced a dizziness similar to standing in a spinning washing machine drum. Finally, when the elevator reached the central axis of the spaceship, all semblance of dizziness disappeared, and the two were in a state of weightlessness. They ¡°swam¡± into a railcar with their hands and headed to the airlock. Several soldiers guarded these airlocks and, after checking their identities, gave them a salute. ¡°Beep~ Please be cautious!¡± Beyond lay the vacuum zone. The railcar moved slowly along the central axis toward the first airlock. Hiss! A suction noise. After the air was completely evacuated from the small room, they moved to the next airlock. The entire air evacuation process took place three times before the car successfully reached the outer vacuum zone. The most precious thing in the universe is matter. Humans cannot create a perfect vacuum, so each time they enter or exit, a small amount of matter is inevitably lost. However, as long as the lost material is within an acceptable range, it is fine. Along the way, Zhao Qingfeng endlessly introduced various facilities and equipment in the zero gravity zone. ¡°Do you know why the zero gravity zone has no air?¡± Zhang Yuan thought for a moment, ¡°Mainly to reduce the mass of the spaceship.¡± Senior Brother Zhao nodded, ¡°Exactly, although the air density is low, the total adds up to be a massive number¡­ If the spaceship¡¯s mass reached billions of tons, it couldn¡¯t possibly accelerate to seven-thousandths of the speed of light. Think about it, the mass of our 500,000 people combined is only 30,000 tons, a huge order of magnitude difference.¡± The cabin interior was spacious, illuminated by dim lights. Senior Brother Zhao¡¯s finger pointed outside the window, ¡°Regarding those complex pipes, they are actually part of the spaceship¡¯s heat dissipation system. The heat generated in the residential areas is carried outside through these condensing devices, and then circulated by the spaceship¡¯s outer radiative sails for cooling.¡± Despite the average temperature in space being below minus two hundred degrees, without material exchange, cooling is ridiculously slow, only possible through radiation. Cooling, as an important aspect of the ecosystem, is crucial to the operation of the spaceship. Senior Brother Zhao sluggishly said, ¡°Actually, our spaceship¡¯s current capacity isn¡¯t enough to support 500,000 people.¡± Zhang Yuan was taken aback; weren¡¯t their 500,000 people living just fine? Chapter 78 - 78: Core Industries Chapter 78: Chapter 78: Core Industries Senior Brother Zhao smiled, ¡°Our heat dissipation capacity isn¡¯t enough, leading to insufficient wastewater treatment capacity. Do you know how much water each of us has on average?¡± Zhang Yuan shook his head. Zhao Qingfeng held out his hand: ¡°5 tons, the entire spaceship only has a little over two million tons of water, which averages out to only 5 tons per person. And how much does an average person on Earth have? 0.13 cubic kilometers, that is to say, 130 million tons.¡± ¡°One person has fifty times the total amount we have!¡± ¡°Just think, with so little water, our self-purification capacity is almost zero. The water we use has to be processed across several levels, including drinking water, industrial water, domestic wastewater, and so on. Among these, drinking water needs to be distilled again¡ªdo you know how much energy that requires?¡± ¡°Energy isn¡¯t the problem as there¡¯s plenty from nuclear fusion, but the heat generated from these industrial processes¡ªif not dissipated in time¡ªleads to heat accumulation issues¡­ to the point where our heat dissipation capacity is completely inadequate.¡± ... ¡°Sigh, that¡¯s true,¡± Zhang Yuan nodded; he understood that the spaceship¡¯s industry was a series of interconnected processes. A wastewater treatment unit on its own isn¡¯t complex, but when linked with other systems, it becomes quite troublesome. A mistake in any link could lead to the collapse of the entire system. And a spaceship must maintain a pretty high fault tolerance. He said, ¡°So, the extra heat we currently can¡¯t handle, we¡¯re simply ejecting into space through material discharge?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, we¡¯ll replenish our supplies when we reach Jupiter¡¯s moon¡­ but after arriving at Jupiter, there will be no more resources to resupply, everyone will need to hibernate then. Populations will sharply decline, and our heat dissipation capacity will be completely adequate.¡± As they chatted, the orbital car reached its first station, the core industrial zone. This was a vacuum zone; with no gravity and not being able to borrow any external force, moving around is exceptionally troublesome. To facilitate movement for astronauts, there were electromagnetic generators placed on the floor. Once targeted by the infrared probe on the space suit, emitting a signal, it would generate a certain electromagnetic force to pull one over. Zhang Yuan was no stranger to these devices and quickly mastered their tricks, gracefully soaring through the corridors. Through a thin sheet of glass, many workers inside the production room were busy at work. Zhang Yuan saw an old acquaintance¡ªYe Kaifu was intently focused on an electronic screen, but Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t run over to say hello. Actually, there wasn¡¯t a need for so many people in the production room, but in order to increase everyone¡¯s proficiency, the management still decided to train through saturation work. In any case, it¡¯s never wrong to train. A brief tour of the whole industrial process, and not many machines were running. The industrial production in space had its advantages and disadvantages. First, the disadvantages: the very conventional process of ¡°extraction¡± couldn¡¯t be directly implemented. For example, if water and oil are put into a bottle and shaken violently, using the different solubilities of solutes in water and oil to separate and extract them, this process is called ¡°extraction.¡± It is very simple on Earth, but in space, it¡¯s troublesome; in microgravity, water and oil cannot separate. Similarly, chemical engineering processes like distillation, absorption, sedimentation, and bubbling cannot be straightforwardly implemented in a zero-gravity zone. However, precisely because of the lack of gravity, centrifuges shine. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Using a centrifuge equates to creating artificial gravity, allowing for distillation, absorption, sedimentation, and bubbling to proceed. Moreover, in space, centrifuges are not affected by gravity, can be made larger, and can separate substances more purely. Senior Brother Zhao asked, ¡°This supergravity distillation machine can generate 500 g of gravitational acceleration. How many times faster is the separation speed than that of distillation towers on Earth? Do you know the formula?¡± Zhang Yuan frowned, thinking for a minute. What was that packed tower association formula? ¡°7.9 times faster!¡± Zhao Qingfeng was slightly surprised; he didn¡¯t expect the youngster to know such an obscure formula. But the surprise was only brief, as geniuses naturally come with expectations. ¡°Very good, the speed of distillation is directly proportional to the cube root of the acceleration. The faster the rotation, the faster the chemical purification speed.¡± ¡°On our Moon, there¡¯s a very complete silicon purification industry, a pity you can¡¯t see it now. Through repeated acidification and distillation, pure silicon ingots of extremely high purity can be refined, about 99.9999¡­%, roughly 15 nines, while Earth¡¯s industry can only refine 11-12 nines. And then due to oxygen and other reasons, it¡¯s very difficult to go further.¡± Pure silicon ingots are the foundation of chips. The higher the purity, the higher the chip yield naturally. Thus, the Moon has become the center of cutting-edge manufacturing. The two continued moving forward. If he remembered correctly, the machine ahead was the famous YS-3D photolithography machine. It was about as tall as a building and looked a bit like a large oven. However, it was temporarily being neglected, since ¡°Earth Era¡± couldn¡¯t produce any chips at all. What exquisite structures it contained inside, Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t see. ¡°Will it be broken after 3000 years?¡± ¡°No, do you think it¡¯s like a TV set at home that¡¯ll break if left unused for a long time?¡± Zhao Qingfeng laughed and said, ¡°We¡¯ve already specially processed it in advance. This is the universe space, after all, without oxygen to cause oxidation corrosion. Though there may be some quantum movement, preservation for several thousand years is not a problem.¡± That also makes sense, vacuum environment plus ultra-low temperatures allows almost anything to be preserved for a very long time. Even the bodies of humans and animals can be long preserved. As the space industry developed, more than fifty thousand human bodies were drifting in the Solar System; some returned safely, some death unseen, quietly hidden in some corner of the Solar System. A few years ago, Zhang Yuan personally witnessed a drone bring back the body of an astronaut. He was as dry as a mummy, surrounded by frost. The still-evident terror on his face spoke of his last moments. This was a worker who died during the construction of the Space Elevator a hundred years ago, named ¡°Carter Brandenward.¡± A hundred years later, he finally returned home, to the embrace of Mother Earth. In the past, people looked up to the Milky Way, tracing heroes among the constellations. And now, we still look up, but the heroes are driven by coldness. A civilization seeking to progress will inevitably come with sacrifices; Zhang Yuan just hopes for peaceful times, and that in the future, humanity may experience fewer such disasters¡­ Chapter 79 - 79 Observatory Chapter 79: Chapter 79 Observatory The machine right in front of us is the legendary industrial mother machine, the core of industry. The mother machine is used to manufacture other machines and machine tools, typically used to produce various high-precision machine tools; it is of paramount importance for restarting civilization. However, this equipment is also sealed and under normal circumstances, it is not activated. The next machine over is a heavy metal 3D printer, also the only currently functioning super-sized machine; it can be used to produce some not too complex parts. 3D printing is a rapid prototyping technology that, based on digital model files, uses powder-like metal or ceramics and other bondable materials to construct objects by printing layer by layer. That is to say, once the equipment is designed on the computer, it will automatically churn out various parts that can be assembled into a completed product. ... ¡°Hey, you can look but don¡¯t touch, and definitely don¡¯t mess with anything. If you break it, you can¡¯t afford to compensate!¡± One of the staff members, seeing Zhang Yuan looking around curiously, hurriedly issued a warning. They were not fond of visitors like Zhang Yuan. Flying around in this place, if something really got bumped into, although it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal, as the industrial area¡¯s safety protections were very well established, they still found it quite annoying. Senior Brother Zhao joked, ¡°Old Li, what¡¯s with you? This is my junior brother, show some respect!¡± ¡°Hello, Senior Brother Li,¡± Zhang Yuan promptly greeted. Every spot in this production area is an important position, dense with knowledge, technology, and talent, with the minimum qualification being a PhD, so calling someone ¡®senior brother¡¯ is nothing out of the ordinary. Old Li, who wouldn¡¯t hit a smiling face, gave Zhang Yuan a look and said, ¡°These are all top-notch toys. If you want to study them, you can ask me, just don¡¯t sneak in here and mess things up on your own!¡± ¡°Some foreign interns actually sneaked into the warehouse and almost started the industrial mother machine. That really enraged me.¡± Senior Brother Zhao asked with a smile, ¡°And then what happened?¡± Senior Brother Li snorted, ¡°I was going to call the police and have them put into forced hibernation, but seeing them cry and wail, I went soft and let them go¡­¡± Turning his head, Senior Brother Zhao joked, ¡°Old Li is a soft-hearted guy. If you look pitiful enough and shed tears of pain, maybe he¡¯ll let you use the 3D printer to make a real machine for you. It¡¯s not impossible¡­¡± Zhang Yuan widened his eyes and pretended for a while, but realized he couldn¡¯t pull off a very pitiable look. It seems that he couldn¡¯t rely on acting to get by. From now on, he would have to prevail through real ability. The tour of the entire first-floor factory was almost over; there were still the second, third, fourth floors, and so on, with mineral smelting, light industrial production factories that could be visited later. Zhang Yuan, not wanting to disturb others at work, promptly left with Senior Brother Zhao¡­ ¡°After seeing all this, what are your thoughts?¡± Senior Brother Zhao immediately inquired. Zhang Yuan sighed, ¡°It¡¯s magnificent! These machines can be said to be the crystallization of countless people¡¯s intelligence, and they¡¯re even more important than our lives!¡± ¡°But it¡¯s also quite embarrassing. It feels like having energy with nowhere to use it. The vast majority of machines are idle, and the production lines are scattered.¡± Senior Brother Zhao nodded, ¡°Ah, I feel the same way. If we successfully reach our destination and acquire a large amount of resources, then there will be a place for us to shine¡­¡± After the tour, Zhang Yuan had a general understanding of the entire industrial system. The two of them continued on their way, passing by the Astronomical Observatory, where some astronomers were conducting observations. With no lighthouses or satellite signals in the universe, one can only determine their location by observing the stars in the sky. But the entire Milky Way is far from stationary; it is constantly moving and rotating. With space navigation, a tiny deviation can lead to a huge mistake. If the direction is off by just a few microseconds, it could mean having to travel an extra several billion kilometers. Hence, a large amount of calculation and observation are needed for a relatively accurate determination. An idea struck Zhang Yuan, ¡°According to the date, our spaceship should be in the orbit of Mars by now, right?¡± Zhao Qingfeng nodded, ¡°About right, it¡¯s been over a month, want to go in and take a look?¡± Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but marvel at the grandeur of ¡®Earth Era¡¯. Being inside, one could feel completely unaware of being in the universe. There was always a strange illusion that one was still living on Earth. That was actually a good thing. If one were constantly reminded that they were in the universe surrounded by deadly dangers, the psychological pressure would sharply increase. If depression were to spread on a large scale, it would be troublesome. In Mars orbit, the communication delay with Earth is about 4 minutes. Messages sent out take 4 minutes to reach Earth, and replies from Earth take another 4 minutes, so one round of communication takes a total of 8 minutes. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. When Zhang Yuan communicated with Earth, he usually used the form of short videos. ¡°Let¡¯s go into the Observatory.¡± Zhang Yuan cautiously flew up to the Astronomical Observatory. A sparkling starry sky was right above their heads. Here, one could make the closest contact with the grand universe. Inside the Observatory it was very quiet, or rather, every place in the zero-gravity area was quiet. It was just that sometimes, a rustling sound could be heard through the earphones. Under the light of the age-old stars, witnessing the splendor of the entire Milky Way gave rise to a sense of unique tranquility. This kind of tranquility could immerse a restless soul. Observing Earth with the naked eye, one would find that Earth had become a very ordinary little star, reflecting a pale blue light at a certain angle from the Sun. From some points of view, it was somewhat similar to Sirius. Mars, about 60 million kilometers from the spacecraft, appeared slightly larger than Earth, its reflected sunlight displaying a shade of orange. Through the telescope, one could even see the Space City ¡®Mars 3¡¯ hovering above Mars! ¡®Mars 3¡¯, once the prototype of the ¡®Earth Era¡¯ spacecraft, is a movable space city. Its volume is only a third of the Earth Era, but for the technicians inside, it is sufficiently spacious. Future space cities will all be designed with the concept of being ¡®movable¡¯ in mind. Looking at the entire Solar System, one realizes how commonplace the planet Mars is; it doesn¡¯t hold much value for development from humanity¡¯s current perspective. From the angle of space industry, Mars can¡¯t compare to the Moon. The Moon is close enough to Earth, convenient for travel, with low gravity, no atmosphere, and abundant resources. From the perspective of exploitable resources, Mars falls short when compared to Jupiter¡¯s moon and Saturn¡¯s moon Titan. Nearby Jupiter¡¯s moon and Titan, there are large gaseous planets, naturally providing infinite repositories of nuclear fuel. Moreover, Titan is rich in hydrocarbons; if we could exploit this moon, it would be like having a vast oil supply. A large amount of easily extractable organic matter still holds significant value. Chapter 80 - 80 Chapter 80: Chapter 80 ¡°Energy Level Desert¡± Conjecture So, Mars was not a major point of interest for humanity, with only one solitary Space City above it, serving mostly as a scientific research and transit station. Mars enthusiasts were contemplating melting two levels of carbon dioxide to improve the Martian atmosphere, aiming to make it inhabitable in the future. ¡°Only if there¡¯s a population explosion in the future and Earth, as well as the Moon, can no longer accommodate people, might Mars be developed¡­ Compared to other planets, this one is quite suitable for habitation. We haven¡¯t found any extraterrestrial microorganisms yet, so it¡¯s still relatively safe,¡± Senior Brother Zhao suddenly commented. Zhang Yuan replied, ¡°I think that, for the foreseeable future, it doesn¡¯t seem likely because the growth rate of civilized populations isn¡¯t high.¡± Within the limits allowed by natural resources, social systems, and productivity, the more people, the better, especially high-quality populations. But capitalism is a contraceptive for population growth. ... In the old times, limited by resource constraints, the population of Earth had been stagnant at 70¨C80 billion for a long time. After experiencing the Fourth World War and the ¡°light of nuclear fusion,¡± civilization had once witnessed a baby boom. However, now, the growth rate had started to slow down again, with an annual increase of less than 1%. From the current population of ten billion, growing to a hundred billion or even a trillion is very challenging. For many families, having a second child is already a painful matter. As for the low-quality populations in certain countries, more of them aren¡¯t very useful. Zhang Yuan had a sudden thought, ¡°In the future, if artificial wombs and robotic parenting are developed, do you think it would change this situation?¡± Senior Brother Zhao shook his head, ¡°Artificial womb technology has liberated women; it¡¯s a major technology that affects the course of the whole world. With artificial womb technology, the feminist movements can finally stop.¡± ¡°¡­But I still think it wouldn¡¯t fundamentally change the population growth. Because what¡¯s important for children is nurturing, not the birthing process. Nurturing consumes much more energy than giving birth!¡± ¡°As for robotic parenting, such strong artificial intelligence is needed! Moreover, ethical issues might need to be discussed for a long time¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m more worried about the womb revolution strategies of certain small countries; a large influx of foreign immigrants could reduce the influence of the native populations. Ideological and cultural conflicts might very well lead to the inferior driving out the superior, which has happened many times in history already.¡± Zhang Yuan sighed, ¡°Indeed, that¡¯s true.¡± After idly chatting for a while and visiting the observatory, Zhang Yuan suddenly discovered an electronic reading room hidden here, called the ¡°Star Library,¡± with just a few people inside reading books. He thought to himself that those capable of enjoying solitude in such a place must be top experts, perhaps he could also try it out later¡­ After casually touring around, they turned back and re-entered the orbiting vehicle. Their final stop was the tail wing of the Mother Ship, where the nuclear fusion engine was located. The nuclear fusion engine, with its largest ring diameter exceeding four hundred meters, was just the tip of the iceberg, enough to be awe-inspiring. Witnessing this colossal object, Zhang Yuan felt his heart start to heat up. Working here long-term, the joy and sense of accomplishment would definitely be much more intense than cleaning the cabin. On the nearest detection screen, a blue-white plasma was discharging electricity, with various parameters changing nearby. Zhang Yuan squinted his eyes; he saw a temperature indicated on it of about 750 million degrees! ¡°You came!¡± ¡°Professor Ding.¡± Seeing a figure emerging from a room ahead, Zhang Yuan quickly greeted him. Academician Ding was here understanding the changes in various parameters, happenstance meeting them. ¡°Zhang Yuan, it seems you really like it here. To fully understand this big gadget, you might need to learn some mechanical engineering, nuclear physics, and plasma physics¡ªthere¡¯s a lot to learn.¡± Zhang Yuan was naturally quite proactive, ¡°What work can I do now?¡± ¡°First, read some papers. If you don¡¯t understand something, you can ask your senior brother or monitor the trajectory of plasma turbulence here, and at the same time study the entire structure of the engine like the helium cold solid-clad thermodynamic numerals, the impact of periodic shocks on the low-temperature helium expansion turbines, etc. Choose your own topic; I will grant you certain database permissions.¡± ¡°If you fully understand the working principle of the entire engine, the rest of space engineering will be a trivial matter for you.¡± Zhang Yuan acknowledged and found his seat. He eagerly secured himself into the seat, trying to find some papers to read in the database. Here, he could even read various mechanical control codes! Of course, he only had read access, with no permission to modify anything. Zhang Yuan was thrilled to discover that many tasks in the control engineering of the nuclear fusion were done by his father, which naturally made him even more curious and eager to try. He thought to himself, ¡°Working on nuclear fusion sounds prestigious. If Li Zhendong ever comes across it, I wonder how long he could boast¡­¡± Nuclear physics, similar to high energy physics, is a discipline researching profound microscopic theories. Nuclear physics leans toward horizontal applications, whereas high energy physics is aimed more at profound microscopic theories. But in this era, high energy physics was gradually fading. The primary reason was that what could be fundamentally understood had already been so, and what couldn¡¯t be understood remained so. In the 23rd century, Xia Country Academy of Sciences once spent huge sums to build an even larger collider, but the end result was that it failed to produce any kind of particles beyond expectations, turning the project into a classic white elephant. The standard model built on non-Abelian gauge fields seemed to have become the upper limit of humanity¡¯s understanding of nature. According to some scientists¡¯ estimates, to verify higher-level theories and discover some unexpected physical phenomena, a Solar System Ring Accelerator would be needed, meaning that this collider would have to encompass the entire Solar System. For humans, it was an unachievable task. This hypothesis was called the ¡°Energy Level Desert¡± hypothesis. In nature, substances under different accelerator energy levels produced completely different properties. At 10 electron volts, people could witness atoms bursting open, splitting into atomic nuclei and electrons. In the range of 10^6 to 10^7 electron volts, people could observe atomic nuclei further disintegrating into neutrons and protons. At 10^11 electron volts, electroweak particles could be observed, proving the electroweak unification theory. The LHC in Europe once reached an energy level of 10^13 electron volts and discovered the Higgs boson. Xia Country¡¯s collider, which used hundreds of billions in funds, raised the energy level again to 10^15 electron volts. And then? Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. There was no further discovery; at 10^15 electron volts, no new physics was observed. However, the ¡°Energy Level Desert¡± hypothesis suggested that at 10^24 electron volts, no new physical phenomena would occur. According to current theories, to continue researching high energy physics, please increase the energy level by a billion times! This was also the origin of the Solar System Ring Accelerator, which would require a collider with a circumference of 1000 billion kilometers to achieve this feat. 1000 billion kilometers! But this isn¡¯t all of high energy physics. A 1000 billion kilometer accelerator could likely only observe the unification of strong force, electromagnetic force, and weak force, still excluding gravity. To thoroughly research quantum gravity or the legendary All Things Theory, please build a Galactic Ring Accelerator spanning 1000 light-years! Chapter 81 - 81 5 Months Chapter 81: Chapter 81 5 Months Due to the vastness of the gap in energy levels, this hypothesis is called the ¡°Big Desert.¡± The vast majority of civilizations die of thirst midway, unable to see the next step. Thinking of this, Zhang Yuan sighed to himself, ¡°The Universe is so vast, I wonder if there are any super civilizations willing to undertake god-like projects such as the Galactic Ring Accelerator¡­¡± However, on second thoughts, colliders are not necessarily the only way. As early as the 20th century, scientists had proposed that to continue exploring nature, one must rely on another method, instead of brutishly probing with proton colliders. For instance, cryophysics might just yield an unheard-of new particle when solving the conditions at absolute zero. Unfortunately, to date, countless geniuses, in their dedicated work, still have not found a new breakthrough. ... This is a very sad thing, the impasse in high-energy physics has forced people to explore other fields, not knowing whether they will find a way out. But, let these cutting-edge problems worry the bigwigs, Zhang Yuan doesn¡¯t think he alone can change anything. He has one great advantage, that is self-awareness, and does not bother with some inexplicably troubling issues. Currently, the most mainstream direction in physics research is condensed matter physics, a discipline more vibrant than high-energy physics and of greater practical value. It provides strong theoretical support for the development of new materials, new technologies, and new processes. After reflecting for a short while, Zhang Yuan remembered the task at hand and began to search for ¡°nuclear fusion¡± on his computer, the subject he was to study in the future. Good heavens, nearly a million papers appeared! A million papers! Even if he absorbed new knowledge quickly, it was impossible to read them all. He complained to himself, these folks were too good at watering down their work, hardly leaving any room for future generations. Seeing his dumbfounded look, Senior Brother Zhao said with a smile, ¡°No need to rush, study more, make more contacts. Humanity has explored nuclear fusion for three hundred years, a million papers aren¡¯t too many, just selectively read a few.¡± ¡°I¡¯m currently making a diagnostic analysis tool by hand. Although there are already excellent finished products for this stuff, making one by myself certainly leads to a different understanding.¡± ¡°I suggest that you first conduct some research on triple product aspects. The study in this area has been profound already, but researching it on your own, after all, is somewhat different.¡± And so, time passed day by day, and with the assistance of the notable Senior Brother Zhao, Zhang Yuan¡¯s progress was swift. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. In the fifth month after starting his work¡­ Everyone in the laboratory had distinctive characteristics. Senior Brother Zhao had a very peculiar habit; whenever he was thinking about a problem, his neck seemed to lose support, his head drooped onto his shoulder, and he didn¡¯t like to be confined to a chair. Since there was no gravity in the laboratory, his whole body would sway freely, like a tumbler. The two female seniors were like aunties, always overly concerned with him, relentlessly thinking about introducing a ¡°life partner¡± to him, to the point of annoyance. And Zhang Yuan¡¯s main characteristic was that he thrived on overnight shifts; the more he pulled all-nighters, the happier he became. He wasn¡¯t tired at all; on the contrary, he became ever more cautious. This characteristic gave everyone in the lab goosebumps wave after wave. He felt he was still a newbie, and writing something decent was still too difficult, how could he catch up without pulling all-nighters. The more Zhang Yuan studied the discipline of nuclear fusion, the more he understood its complexity and intricacy, like the impacts of periodic impulses and on any aspect, there were excellent papers already. However, on this day, Zhang Yuan finally completed the first table of his life¡ª¡±Helium-3 Fusion Rates Under Different Triple Product Conditions.¡± It was just a minor task. Even a standard answer was already available. But, when one¡¯s hard work matched up with the standard answer, there was always a profound sense of joy. Truth could be replicated; the ancients did not deceive me. He shook his heavy head, took a long breath, and fogged up the glass helmet on his head with his breath. ¡°Ah, now I finally understand how those million papers came to be. It¡¯s really tough.¡± The project covered such a broad range of topics, yet there was seldom any overlap between them¨Dthey were all isolated from each other. Take for instance the experimental fusion devices and their auxiliary facilities, plasma heating and current drive, plasma engineering and control, diagnostics, data collection and remote participation, magnets and power supply, vacuum chambers, in-chamber engineering and remote manipulators, Science Material and so on¨Dany of these topics alone could keep someone busy for a lifetime. Even a genius like him couldn¡¯t master them all¡­ ¡°Your chart here is quite good, very precise. Only five months, eh?¡± Senior Brother Zhao said with a slightly odd look on his face, ¡°I have a question, how do you stay focused for so long each day?¡± He witnessed firsthand Zhang Yuan¡¯s insane hard work and his almost divine rate of progress. Without enough mental preparation, he was nearly scared to death. How long did it take him to draft this diagram back in the day? ¡­ It seemed to have taken a full 10 months, and to make matters worse, he was a Ph.D. student! Zhang Yuan patted his glass helmet and said, ¡°Focused? I don¡¯t know. Senior Brother Zhao, are you ill, unable to focus? Maybe you should take a break. Spending too much time studying every day is bad for your health.¡± Zhao Qingfeng blinked and felt a bit amused. Please, shouldn¡¯t that be what I¡¯m saying to you? ¡°¡­ It¡¯s not that I can¡¯t focus, but after a while, there¡¯s a sense of fatigue. Humans aren¡¯t robots, after all; it¡¯s natural to get tired. I see you can concentrate for a long time, glued to the screen all day long. Is it because of an innate talent?¡± Zhang Yuan thought for a moment and said with a smile, ¡°As long as you think of controlled fusion technology as a super cool and aloof girl, even the most mundane and boring times become interesting.¡± ¡°Because magnetic confinement, this loser, has been trying to charm the cool girl for hundreds of years and only succeeded after such a long time. All the different methods used could pretty much make up a romance novel. Doesn¡¯t that sound interesting?¡± ¡°That does make a bit of sense! Keep going.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a universal truth in the cosmos: boys never know why they¡¯ve annoyed a girl. If they can¡¯t win her over, it¡¯s the boys¡¯ fault, and they should strive to make amends, to correct their errors. These million papers are like humanity correcting its mistakes, writing letters of penance, being the dutiful servile followers. Think of it that way, and it might be slightly more entertaining.¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± Zhao Qingfeng fell silent for a moment, then burst into laughter. Could maintaining singlehood be a necessary condition for high combat power? Wait a second, what does being a dutiful follower mean, groveling to Nature? He made a joke, ¡°That method doesn¡¯t seem to work, though. If being a dutiful follower meant the Natural Goddess would reveal her charm, then scientists from ages past would have already pinned her down and licked her clean¡­¡± Zhang Yuan responded with a laugh, ¡°That¡¯s because she gets bored with the old and is always craving the new. If you keep using the same old methods, she¡¯ll grow tired of you and ignore you. If you try new methods, she¡¯ll give you a little reward. That¡¯s why we have to keep innovating, continuously coming up with new ways.¡± Senior Brother Zhao laughed heartily. Chapter 82 - 83: Job Grade Evaluation Chapter 82: Chapter 83: Job Grade Evaluation The girls working together in the room couldn¡¯t hear their conversation since it was a private channel on their headphones. They did cast curious glances over at Senior Brother Zhao¡¯s actions though, wondering, ¡°What are you talking about that¡¯s so animated and on a private channel?¡± ¡°Nothing, really nothing. Just complaining about how tough life is for us research dogs¡­¡± Zhang Yuan hurriedly said. ¡°Is that so¡­ Zhang Yuan, you¡¯ve only been at it for five months and you think it¡¯s tough already?¡± Anna, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed foreigner, asked. Of course, nationalities aren¡¯t much of an issue now, as long as one doesn¡¯t have strong religious beliefs; the race you were born into isn¡¯t too important. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t think that way. Maybe you should consider taking a couple of days off to adjust your attitude instead of spending all day in the lab.¡± ... Zhang Yuan quickly laughed it off, indicating that he was just not well-rested and wasn¡¯t tired of studying. After a while, the room quieted down again. Senior Brother Zhao quietly asked, ¡°Do you have a girlfriend yet?¡± ¡°Not yet. No time.¡± ¡°No wonder, I already have a wife, so I can¡¯t really use the method you¡¯re suggesting. You should treat men and women equally¡ªit¡¯s not good to have such thoughts. Just being subservient won¡¯t get you the girl; you should pursue them with sincerity. The countless sycophants out there are proof that they end up with nothing.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not it¡­ I was just giving an example. The Natural Goddess isn¡¯t any ordinary goddess,¡± Zhang Yuan inwardly rolled his eyes. Did he need to chase girls? No. He was the one being pursued. Senior Brother Zhao said solemnly, ¡°Actually, Anna and the others¡¯ concern is not unreasonable. Although you can hibernate later, I suggest you start looking for a life partner sooner because most people will hibernate on time. When that time comes and they¡¯re in hibernation, you¡¯ll have no choices left. The office girls here are all taken¡­ You don¡¯t stand a chance.¡± Zhang Yuan let out a sigh, ¡°Senior Brother, I really don¡¯t have time for that, and finding a partner relies on fate anyway. If it doesn¡¯t work out, being without a life partner is also okay. I can handle it¡­¡± Zhao Qingfeng shook his head and stopped meddling in others¡¯ private affairs. ¡°By the way, there¡¯s something to remind you of. In two days, the spaceship will change course, and the main engine will be shut down. If you¡¯re interested, you can visit the control site for the side engines.¡± ¡­ After finishing a day¡¯s work, Zhang Yuan returned to the living area, exercised for about half an hour, then took a shower. Due to water scarcity, the shower emitted a misty vapor, which was very conservative, only providing a wash at the end. If you exceeded the water usage limit, the price would skyrocket. After leaving the communal bathroom, he washed and dried his clothes. Zhang Yuan had gradually gotten used to life on the spaceship. Busy, but fulfilling. In the past few months, although material life was scarce, people¡¯s spiritual lives had undergone an earth-shaking transformation. Entertainment venues like basketball courts, ping-pong halls, cinemas, and gyms had been opened one after another, and life was becoming more enjoyable. Next, he checked his inbox and continued working on ¡°robot programs¡± from Earth. He was working with a doctoral student named Guo Hao, who updated him daily on project progress and any issues encountered. Zhang Yuan answered them one by one and sent the files back. After such a long struggle, the entire program¡¯s framework was almost complete, with just some patchwork left. The daily workload wasn¡¯t as massive as before; three or four hours were enough to get it done. Many software-related tasks could now be finished within five months, making people¡¯s leisure time richer¡ªexcluding Zhang Yuan, who didn¡¯t play games or seek virtual girlfriends, only occasionally playing ping-pong. ¡°Ah, hey, burning the midnight oil again? Come on out!¡± Zhang Yuan suddenly heard a knock on the door. He stood up and opened the door. Li Zhendong was rallying people to test his game Arrow Tower Auto Chess, greeting everyone and forcefully giving an invitation code to Zhang Yuan. ¡°It¡¯s finally playable¡­ though there¡¯s still a mountain of bugs to fix, it¡¯s playable at least.¡± Li Zhendong looked relieved, ¡°I¡¯ve been doing this while pursuing my graduate studies; it hasn¡¯t been easy!¡± ¡°Come help test it out.¡± ¡°Pssh, I¡¯m the one who did the design work for you, okay? Look at Zhang Yuan here, his workload is way more than yours! He works until eleven each night!¡± Zhang Chenchen followed Li Zhendong, constantly complaining. In truth, she knew everyone was really busy, really busy, and this denigration was just a habit. Zhang Yuan smiled, opened his phone; there was no need to download an app, he simply tapped and entered the game screen directly. ¡°Huh? The graphics look pretty good. In a few months, there¡¯ll be a job performance review, then they¡¯ll redistribute work levels based on the results, right?¡± The upcoming job performance review was critical. Those with higher levels would be seen as natural leaders. Moreover, during the 3,000 years of hibernation, work levels were unlikely to change much. Li Zhendong frowned and said, ¡°I¡¯m not too worried because I¡¯m already a grad student, even at worst I¡¯d be level five or six. But if the game isn¡¯t done well, it screws over a bunch of friends, and they won¡¯t get good results. The graphics are good because I used the newest 3Ddog engine¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re using cloud gaming loading technology? Why go with that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s trendy! Plus it shows off the tech, like writing a paper, you have to incorporate something popular, right?¡± Cloud gaming is a novel information processing technology, where all games run on a super server. When users want to play, they just connect to this super server, and game visuals and player inputs can interact with ultra-low latency due to the super-fast internet speeds. In plain words, it lets users stream their gaming. Thanks to this, users don¡¯t need to download a client or install anything; just click the icon, and they¡¯re playing. However, clearly, there isn¡¯t super high-speed internet on the spaceship, so it looks choppy. ¡°With how trendy it is, remember that on the spaceship, all data is expensive¡ªit¡¯s not as cheap as on Earth. If you want to be popular, I suggest making a client. The game itself isn¡¯t movie-level visuals, doesn¡¯t require high specs, so why make it like this.¡± Zhang Yuan wasn¡¯t too interested in playing games. To him, any video game was just about pursuing the optimal solution in terms of numbers. But, out of consideration for his friend, he played a few rounds of chess and gave some nonchalant suggestions. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Hey, I didn¡¯t make this game for people on the spaceship; the main players are still Earth people.¡± ¡°That makes sense¡­¡± Chapter 83 - 84 Mr. Billion Chapter 83: Chapter 84 Mr. Billion As the conversation reached this point, Li Zhendong sighed and said, ¡°Being fun is useless, you¡¯ve got to be on the Falls list to really succeed!¡± ¡°What list are you talking about?¡± Zhang Yuan asked in surprise. ¡°The Falls list, you¡¯re really out of the loop.¡± Li Zhendong lifted his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s something a guy named Falls came up with, ranking the wealth we young people have created on Earth. It¡¯s basically a private list that evaluates the value of our work¡­ and it has a certain predictive effect on future job rankings.¡± ¡°For example, if my game is valued at one hundred million, according to the equity distribution, I¡¯d have a personal worth of twenty million.¡± Zhang Chenchen spoke irritably, ¡°Dream on, one hundred million? You couldn¡¯t even sell it for a million! We¡¯ve all been working for nothing these past few months, thanks to you duping us to come onboard¡­ and to think I¡¯m still a Level 1 staff member in the end.¡± Li Zhendong furrowed his brows in retort, ¡°Who said it¡¯s worth nothing, it can¡¯t possibly not sell for even a single Mao!¡± ... Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t be bothered with their bickering and curiously opened the so-called ¡°Falls list¡± on his phone. He discovered that the list had two different categories, the first being ¡°academic influence,¡± and the second ¡°wealth creation.¡± ¡°Why are there only people under thirty years old?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious?¡± Li Zhendong rolled his eyes, ¡°Do you really want to compare influence with those Academicians? Besides, Falls can¡¯t dig up the confidential information of those big shots.¡± ¡°Alright then¡­¡± As he scrolled through the Falls list, Zhang Yuan finally spotted his name. Academic influence: ¡°1134.1¡±, ranked 66th, which was about what he expected. Although Zhang Yuan had only published one paper on robot dynamics, the value of the paper was quite significant. It was just that the impact factor of the journal ¡°Scientific Pioneer¡± wasn¡¯t high enough, slightly dragging down his ranking. Net worth ¡°2 million¡±, ranking at number 1733. Zhang Yuan was startled, wondering where Falls had unearthed his personal data. And being ranked 1733 was far below his expectations. It seemed that the Earth Era indeed boasted many capable individuals. In just a short half-year, his net worth of 2 million could only rank in the seventeen hundreds. Can everyone really make money so easily? In such a short time, there are already so many new millionaires? Knowledge can truly change fate! Zhang Yuan finally understood why Li Zhendong was so anxious; with such a low net worth, he couldn¡¯t show off anymore! Haha! But in an instant, Zhang Yuan¡¯s mood lifted again. A ranking in the seventeen hundreds was definitely a good thing. He was indifferent to money. He could finally walk down the street without the possibility of being recognized! He liked keeping a low profile, enjoyed staying in on his own! He didn¡¯t like being in the spotlight, nor did he covet the feeling of being on stage. Thinking about how he had become low-profile again, Zhang Yuan felt oddly pleased and forced himself not to laugh out loud. ¡°All those star projects got financing, all with high valuations!¡± Li Zhendong said with a troubled expression, ¡°Like that gene-matching app, it was given a valuation of ten billion right off the bat, creating how many millionaires? Even the programmers have a net worth of several million!¡± ¡°The gene-matching app was successful?¡± Zhang Yuan showed some interest. ¡°Not completely successful yet, but it¡¯s already in trial use¡­ and it¡¯s very popular. You could give it a try.¡± ¡°And there¡¯s the VR-LIFE game, which also got valued at several billion, suddenly giving the startup team a very high net worth.¡± ¡°Big teams have the advantages of big teams, they can easily find venture capital on Earth and operating teams due to their connections, but it¡¯s somewhat harder for small teams¡­ They need to ask the Deep Space Foundation for help, fill out lots of paperwork, and go through multiple rounds of vetting.¡± Zhang Yuan finally understood what this guy was thinking. It seems they wanted to partner with me to leverage connections on Earth. He coughed, ¡°I only know Professor Wang on Earth. How can I help you? You¡¯re not thinking of cutting in line to pass the review, are you? That¡¯s impossible.¡± Li Zhendong was a bit embarrassed, ¡°¡­ you also know Chairman Ma and Chairman Wang, don¡¯t you? Isn¡¯t this kind of thing easy for you? Please help, please, if I had any other choice I wouldn¡¯t come to you! My damned father couldn¡¯t care less about me¡­¡± Okay, Zhang Yuan was stupefied for a moment, it seemed that was indeed the case, he had almost forgotten about it. It was just a small favor, after all. ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll send out a message right away, but it may take a while for the other party to respond. Whether it will work out or not is still up to you to negotiate, after all, nobody¡¯s money comes from the wind, they need to earn a profit to cooperate¡­ ¡®Remember old friends when you come into a fortune,¡¯ right?¡± ¡°Of course, that¡¯s a must! How many shares do you want?¡± ¡°Ha-ha, just kidding, how could I¡­?¡± Zhang Yuan edited some messages and sent them out. After probably half an hour, his phone rang. Chairman Ma had replied, ¡°Zhang Yuan, I have received your message. The concept of ¡®Arrow Tower Auto Chess¡¯ is pretty good, though it has quite a few flaws¡­¡± ¡°Here, I am recommending a Manager Guo who specializes in operating games. Please discuss the specifics of the partnership with him¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got some terrific news! Regarding our collaborative project, the first phase has been successfully completed, and we are very satisfied with the true-to-life testing results. We have increased the investment, don¡¯t worry, your stake is still at 10%. According to this, we really made a big loss!¡± sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°I offer 1.2 billion to buy your shares, what do you think?¡± From the elated tone of Chairman Ma, it wasn¡¯t hard to hear that despite his words of loss, he actually made a profit. This project might have more potential than Zhang Yuan had imagined. ¡°Ha, really made a deal? Send me the contact info quickly.¡± Li Zhendong, upon hearing the operator¡¯s message, anxiously urged Zhang Yuan. Standing behind him, Zhang Chenchen had her mouth wide open, staring at a number on the phone in a daze. An incredulous look. The Falls list, Zhang Yuan, wealth creation 100000000, one followed by eight zeroes, ranking first¡­ First?! ¡­ It was the first time on the Falls list that someone broke into nine-digit wealth, quickly causing a huge sensation. ¡°Wow, Mr. Billion has appeared!¡± ¡°Zhang Yuan, I think I¡¯ve seen that name somewhere.¡± ¡°Hey, that¡¯s him, he¡¯s sitting right in front of us reading a book. Should we get a picture with him?¡± Half a billion in half a year, definitely not an easy feat. Do they really think everyone is like real estate tycoon Wang Jianxiong, for whom earning a billion is just a minor goal? Oh my, can you please stop discussing this in the library? It¡¯s pretty awkward¡­ Zhang Yuan put down the book in his hands and perked up his ears, overhearing lots of whispers. He realized that he just couldn¡¯t stay in the library any longer. This feeling of being too sharp was just too uncomfortable. Who can escape the ways of the world? Why did I become famous again?! My head really hurts! Before long, a group of reporter sisters found Zhang Yuan¡¯s trail and dragged him out of the library. Chapter 84 - 85 Live Broadcast Accident Chapter 84: Chapter 85 Live Broadcast Accident ¡°Classmate Zhang, we meet again. Can I take a few minutes to ask you a few questions?¡± Standing in the front, Reporter Lin Xuanyuan, who was an old acquaintance of his. Fame brings trouble as surely as strength draws challenges, and although Zhang Yuan wanted to say ¡°I¡¯m not taking any interviews,¡± the microphone was already in his face. Seeing their ¡°if you don¡¯t take the interview, you¡¯re dead¡± stares, Zhang Yuan got a jolt of fear and quickly swallowed the words he was about to say. ¡°Hi, Reporter Lin, hello¡­¡± This group of lovely young ladies specialized in collecting all sorts of news from the time period of the Earth Era. With a sense of smell keener than a hunting dog¡¯s, once they targeted someone, no corner could hide them. Even big shots like Academician Ding could only comply obediently with interviews. ... After all, many people on Earth were still following this spaceship, and writing news from time to time helped maintain the influence of the ¡°Earth Era,¡± which was beneficial for the entire aerospace industry and future deep-space plans. This was politically correct! Just kidding, Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t dare confront them head-on. Reporter Lin beamed satisfactorily and signaled the photographer behind her to adjust the camera lens properly. She cleared her throat and asked, ¡°Mr. Zhang Yuan, you¡¯re halfway through your journey to Jupiter. As the first person on the Falls wealth list to break nine digits, do you have any special thoughts?¡± Zhang Yuan took the microphone, hesitated for a few seconds, ¡°Not too many thoughts¡­ just a billion, too much money is also pointless.¡± Reporter Lin glared at him, how could he say something like that? Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï Zhang Yuan quickly shifted his tone, ¡°Actually, the list fluctuates a lot. The billion I own represents the valuation of equity, not cash in hand. Valuation and actual cash are two different concepts¡­¡± Reporter Lin laughed and said, ¡°Classmate Zhang is really modest. I heard someone has already offered over a billion to buy all your shares. So, cashing out must be quite easy, isn¡¯t it? Have you ever thought about selling your shares into cash?¡± Zhang Yuan just wanted to end the interview quickly, and responded bluntly, ¡°I¡¯ve never thought about it!¡± ¡°Do you think the company still has room to appreciate, so you choose not to sell these shares?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Reporter Lin¡¯s professional smile bloomed again, ¡°Another question here, why has the value of the shares you hold skyrocketed? In half a year, it¡¯s gone from two million to a hundred million, increasing fifty times!¡± Zhang Yuan thought about it and said, ¡°Because during the financing, the whole company was re-evaluated.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s put it this way, it started as a small startup with no results, venture capital of twenty million, I held 10%, so a net worth of two million. Later, the project was successful, obtained copyrights and patents, plus the simulation effects were good, and those big companies swarmed to invest ten billion¡­¡± ¡°Ten billion isn¡¯t much for hardware development because the subsequent R&D costs are very high, simulation experiments in supercomputers can¡¯t replace the real reality, and if we want to industrialize, we still need to make various molds for real testing, and a mold could cost millions¡­¡± S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°If the R&D fails and there¡¯s no new investment, my net worth will quickly return to zero. Well, that¡¯s about it.¡± The young lady nodded earnestly, understanding this basic knowledge. Zhang Yuan continued, ¡°I¡¯m not very clear about the specific development process, you can ask Mr. Guo Hao, who is my contact on Earth. Anyway, I only handle some theoretical stuff, I¡¯m not responsible for subsequent tests¡­¡± She then asked, ¡°So, do you take part in managing the company¡¯s operations? If a real crisis happens, what would you do from so far away?¡± Zhang Yuan was getting a bit impatient, with so many questions, one after another, she could probably go on forever. And the crowd of onlookers had already gathered around, their eyes making his scalp tingle. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, I¡¯m just a minor shareholder, I don¡¯t get involved in internal operations, nor have much say. Currently, I¡¯m only involved in some technical development. Whether the company goes bankrupt or operates normally, well, I still hope they operate normally¡­¡± ¡°If it goes bankrupt, it¡¯s just mismanagement, but I believe with the support of so many big companies, it won¡¯t come to that.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Reporter Lin saw his nonchalant and absent-minded demeanor and felt quite annoyed. After all, it¡¯s a billion, big news, and you¡¯re acting like this! But still maintaining professional etiquette, she showed her six teeth and smiled, asking, ¡°Then, with this billion, do you regret leaving Earth? A billion is like reaching the pinnacle of life, and after arriving at Jupiter Base, you still have one chance to return to Earth¡­¡± ¡°Regret? I have no regrets,¡± Zhang Yuan stated plainly. ¡°It feels like I¡¯ve just earned a bit of a Game Coin, a little thrill, but not much excitement.¡± ¡°A billion amounts to what? It¡¯s like 300 kilograms of gold. With the vastness of the stars, would you get extremely excited for 300 kilograms of gold? I sure wouldn¡¯t.¡± Hearing him say this, the whole crowd of onlookers burst into laughter. ¡°I¡­¡± The lady reporter¡¯s forehead veins twitched, wanting to say ¡°I would,¡± while also wishing she could punch him. She finally managed to get a few words out, ¡°It seems our Classmate Zhang truly has an exceptionally noble spirit¡­¡± ¡°Any last words for everyone?¡± These words were practically the concluding remarks of the interview segment, and Zhang Yuan finally recited the prepared closing remarks, showcasing a sunny smile. ¡°In the coming period, I will continue to strive, overcome shortcomings, promote strengths, study diligently, work hard, unite with colleagues, focus on communication, and duly perform my job responsibilities, assisting¡­¡± Reporter Lin couldn¡¯t help but roll her eyes, biting her lip hard to keep from completely losing her temper. ¡°Cut it, cut it, cut this whole segment! Zhang Yuan, listen well, you can¡¯t say that, we need to redo the interview!¡± ¡°Reporter Lin, it can¡¯t be cut! It¡¯s been broadcast live!¡± ¡°What?!¡± The interview, which started strong but finished weak, thus ended, including a broadcasting accident. [66666] [¡­Earned a billion, feels like just a bit of Game Coin, slightly thrilled!] [Remember everyone, a billion is just 300 kilograms of gold!] [¡­Look at that cute reporter lady, her face was like a red balloon, about to explode with anger. The two of them have a scandal, they look quite compatible!] [Academic God is awesome, worship! Orz] [When can I own 300 kilograms of gold, even 30 kilograms would be good, or 3 kilograms, no, even 300 grams would do¡­ The universe is so vast, yet I don¡¯t even have 300 grams of gold, poor enough to make the aliens laugh at me.] Chapter 85 - 86: When Youre Popular, Theres More Controversy Chapter 85: Chapter 86: When You¡¯re Popular, There¡¯s More Controversy An hour later, Earth had sent a tremendous amount of feedback, overwhelming Zhang Yuan with all sorts of comments. Even within the spaceship¡¯s internal network, the topic of the very young ¡°Mr. Billion¡± was buzzing. Zhang Yuan felt inexplicably uneasy and hastily apologized to the reporter Lin Xuanyuan on social media. Honestly, he had no mental preparation for his sudden surge in popularity. Wasn¡¯t it just making some money that he couldn¡¯t even spend? Indeed, he couldn¡¯t. ... He had thought that since everyone had left Earth, money would be less significant to them and rankings like ¡°Wealth List¡± would mostly be taken as a joke. Yet, he hadn¡¯t anticipated it would blow up like this. Perhaps, from certain perspectives, money still stood as a benchmark for success¡­ S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Having lived on Earth for so many years, many of his thoughts had naturally turned into habits. Wealth meant success; that¡¯s what everyone believed. The people on the spaceship hadn¡¯t completely shifted their thinking. Or maybe it was for some other reason. Zhang Yuan sighed deeply, feeling quite helpless¡­ After thinking for a while, he made a call to Li Zhendong, who was busy negotiating partnership details with Earth-based operators. ¡°How¡¯s it going? Have you discussed it with Earth?¡± ¡°The other party is interested, but still negotiating the terms. Everyone wants to make money. Although our project only earns money for the Foundation, we can¡¯t just undersell our hard work¡­¡± The current signal delay had reached 2000 seconds! Conversations were becoming less convenient, each exchange taking 40 minutes, so most communication was shifted to emails. Perhaps because the negotiation was progressing quickly, Li Zhendong was in a good mood: ¡°Hey, you helped in brokering this; do you need some shares? How much gold would you want¡­ is 300 grams enough?¡± Zhang Yuan retorted irritably, ¡°Your stuff doesn¡¯t interest me. My current pursuit is not gold anymore but three hundred kilograms of antimatter!¡± ¡°Antimatter? That stuff is very expensive! You¡¯d have to go to the Galaxy Center to mine it.¡± The wealth in the universe is virtually infinite. Located to the east of Gemini and west of Leo in the Cancer Seat, there is a planet filled with gold internally made of manganese, and its surface is golden, with at least a trillion tons of gold, millions of times more than the total gold found on Earth. There is also a planet known as 55 Cancrie, a Diamond Planet, likely one-third of which is diamond. As for antimatter, it exists too. About 3500 light-years above the Milky Way is a source emitting antimatter, forming a 2940 light-year high ¡°Antimatter Fountain.¡± The specific reasons are unknown, and it¡¯s entirely impossible for humans to travel so far to mine antimatter. Anyway, there are still many mysteries in the universe. ¡°Alright, keep negotiating; I can¡¯t help with anything else. Bye.¡± After ending the call, it was already late. Might as well go to sleep. ¡­ The next day, Zhang Yuan fully experienced the trouble of ¡°being famous brings many disputes.¡± Various talks about ¡°300 kilograms of gold¡± had bizarrely become a popular meme. The Falls List had been updated again, recalculating everyone¡¯s net worth in terms of the quality of gold, further spiking Zhang Yuan¡¯s popularity. Take his first place, for example, valued at 301.11 kilograms of gold, followed by the second place at 233.33 kilograms. Using this unit for valuation made the entire wealth list quite humorous. The wealth each person possessed was just a tiny bit really¡­ In the lab, his senior lab mates gave him a nickname, ¡°300,¡± and directly omitted the word ¡°gold,¡± making it sound like he weighed three hundred kilograms¡­ Due to various teases, Zhang Yuan spent a morning in the lab, finding it increasingly hard to stay. As a result, when he returned to the living area, it became even more unbearable, as a few young women kept following him, requesting to exchange contact information. Perhaps they had dug up that until now, he hadn¡¯t had a ¡°life partner,¡± and these single girls started to pursue him actively. ¡°Classmate Zhang, can we exchange QQ information?¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± Zhang Yuan reluctantly agreed. ¡°Can I ask you about mathematics problems in the future?¡± one girl suddenly asked. Mathematics? ¡°Depends on the type of math¡­ I¡¯m not all-knowing.¡± Zhang Yuan felt disdain internally, analyzing randomly. Could you really ask anything of value? True talents shouldn¡¯t need to dress up so well¡­ Or that¡¯s not right either, looking good or not doesn¡¯t relate logically to academic performance. Staying single was the best way to keep up combat efficiency, after all, to court the Natural Goddess, there was temporarily no capacity to court other girls. As he walked, he arrived at the safety checkpoint for the zero-gravity area. Zhang Yuan quickly slipped in, leaving the girls behind. ¡°I have to go work now; let¡¯s talk another time.¡± Ordinary people couldn¡¯t pass this security check. He sighed heavily, feeling troubled. With such a vast spaceship, it seemed there were no places left for him! He wasn¡¯t a celebrity; he didn¡¯t need fangirls. Could it be because he was handsome?! Donning his space suit and passing the safety check, Zhang Yuan revisited the zero-gravity area. Thinking it over, there was nowhere to go, so he might as well return to the lab. ¡­ The journey from Earth to Jupiter was half over, and the process of turning around was about to begin. That is, the entire spaceship was to rotate 180 degrees, realigning the Light Sail originally facing the Sun and the Moon toward Jupiter¡¯s moon. The artificial light from Jupiter¡¯s moon shining on the Light Sail would create light pressure that decelerates the spaceship. The whole rotation process was also simple. Just discharge some plasma pulses sidewards to provide a rotational momentum. ¡°You¡¯re back?¡± ¡°Senior Brother Zhao, stop making fun of me, this nickname is really ugly!¡± Zhang Yuan said discontentedly, ¡°And it¡¯s so annoying!¡± Zhao Qingfeng smiled, ¡°Ah, you shouldn¡¯t overthink it. Everyone¡¯s just bored and looking for some fun. There¡¯s no malice.¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t you noticed? As the communication delay with Earth increases, the atmosphere inside the spaceship is becoming gradually more oppressive, even with more entertainment options available, it¡¯s hard to lift this oppressive trend. Everyone¡¯s life pace is fast, with an average working time exceeding ten hours¡­¡± ¡°Everyone is just seeking a bit of psychological comfort, it will pass in a few days.¡± Chapter 86 - 87: Unease Chapter 86: Chapter 87: Unease Zhang Yuan nodded, acknowledging he understood. Even Li Zhendong, a notoriously lazy person, became hurried in his actions during this period, eager to achieve something. When they first boarded the spaceship, although there was the pain of departure, there was also a sense of anticipation for the future and a novelty. But now, that anticipation had slowly faded, the pace of life inside the spaceship had accelerated, and there were visibly fewer people chatting by the roadside. Because everyone was acutely aware that in the vast and desolate universe, this Mother Ship was all they had. This sense of security was severely lacking. ... ¡°Earth Era Time¡± was indeed gigantic and warm and comfortable, yet it still couldn¡¯t compare with Earth, a planet that had stood in the universe for 4.6 billion years. A meteorite of moderate size, if it were to collide with it, could completely annihilate the spaceship, leaving no survivors. Humans, tiny and fragile creatures. An average person, without a space suit, exposed to the universe, would not survive more than 90 seconds, their lung¡¯s air would escape their body within a few seconds, and the remaining oxygen in their blood could sustain them for about 15 seconds. After the next 15 seconds passed, one would fall into a coma, and whether they would survive was simply a matter of fate. Because everyone was clear about these facts, as they drifted further from their Mother Star, an intense unease was inevitably produced. Even Zhang Yuan himself felt this unease. He often jerked awake from his dreams, only to find it had been a nightmare before falling back into a deep, heavy sleep. Hence, little entertainment and gossip like Zhang Yuan¡¯s became a lifesaver, discussed with relish. People wanted to deliberately create a relaxed environment similar to Earth during their tense work, to comfort their fearful subconscious. Such subconscious changes were normal; some psychologists aboard the spaceship specialized in this field. Large group activities were often organized within each community, not only to foster a sense of community but also with the hint of treating cosmic phobia. However, even so, several dozen cases of depression had emerged over six months. ¡°That¡¯s why, ah, you need to find a life partner, preferably a beautiful girlfriend you can complain with. Alone, one can only struggle on. Unless you have exceptionally strong mental resilience¡­¡± There it was again, the same old tune. Zhang Yuan quickly turned his head away, pretending he hadn¡¯t heard. ¡°By the way, after the spaceship completes its maneuver, the nuclear engine will shut down and won¡¯t restart until six months later. If you have any observational experiments, you¡¯ve only got today¡­ Or, you could go visit the lateral engines.¡± Zhang Yuan nodded. Senior Brother Zhao was indeed an excellent mentor. Even under the very limited experimental conditions, he always came up with timely and apt suggestions. In this respect, he was far better than Academician Ding. Up to now, apart from the monthly meetings at the beginning of each month, Zhang Yuan had rarely seen Ding Zhaodong¡­ and even when he did, they hardly exchanged more than a few words. For the next few minutes, he made his way unhurriedly to the lateral engine observation room, where bright screens displayed a flurry of activity with many workers focused on the changing parameters. From one of the screens, one could see long streams of plasma flames shooting out from the sides, causing the whole spaceship to slowly rotate. The angular velocity of the ship¡¯s rotation was very low, completing a 180-degree turn in over twenty hours, so most people barely noticed it. Looking at the second screen, it showed the plasma turbulence inside the reactor. Despite being specially treated, the extremely bright screen was still somewhat dazzling. This infrared spectrum was like a complex whirlpool of water, with plasma transport across magnetic fields primarily driven by low-frequency drift wave turbulence. ¡°Hey, Zhang Yuan!¡± ¡°Hello,¡± he greeted a few colleagues, but no one paid him much attention. Zhang Yuan continued his study in front of the screens. The high temperatures generated by nuclear fusion vaporized the metallic sodium lining the reactor walls, and these scorching vapors generated electrical energy. At the same time, the plasma was ejected by the magnetic field as a working fluid, providing kinetic energy to the spaceship. The principle was simple, but this nuclear engine device was the pinnacle of human intellect. It was so complex that every single part, even including the welding techniques, could be the subject of an entire paper! It was also the second generation of nuclear fusion engines. After the fusion of a Helium-3 nucleus and a deuterium nucleus, a Helium-4 atom, a proton, and an enormous amount of energy were produced. Since it didn¡¯t produce neutrons, it was cleaner and more stable than deuterium-tritium fusion, with lower maintenance costs. However, mining Helium-3 on the Moon was actually a huge bluff in the space engineering field. Helium-3¡¯s abundance in the lunar soil was so low that the cost of extraction was too great. Upon calculation, one would find that using Helium-3 for fusion was not as cost-effective as using the first generation¡¯s deuterium-tritium fusion. But establishing a space base on the Moon wasn¡¯t without its uses, as the Moon was the most suitable natural base for Space Industry production. Even without considering Helium-3, the Moon still held great development value. Only after the development of the Jupiter Base did Helium-3 fusion from the second generation of nuclear engineering truly become widespread. ¡°What you¡¯re seeing now is the fluid motion of the plasma turbulence, how beautiful it is! The control software was designed by your father thirty years ago using a general wavelet transform method, and it¡¯s still the best algorithm mankind has.¡± In the observation room, a colleague named John Wilson struck up a conversation. ¡°Really? The general wavelet transform method¡­¡± Hearing his father¡¯s name made Zhang Yuan very proud. ¡°But essentially, the problem of plasma turbulence has not been completely solved.¡± John Wilson was a high-tech talent specializing in plasma physics who often lamented that human technology was too inferior and immature. However, he was actually a very straightforward person. ¡°It¡¯s pretty well-contained now, isn¡¯t it? The current method is quite stable, and theoretically, it shouldn¡¯t have any accidents for decades or even a century.¡± Hearing John question his father¡¯s achievement, Zhang Yuan was slightly defiant. ¡°Yes, it is quite stable. But as your ancients used to say in Summer language, ¡®rough methods bring miracles,¡¯ the way they constrain these plasmas is just too crude and far from elegant!¡± John Wilson affirmed with certainty, ¡°If we only use a 10T magnetic field to constrain it, I guarantee that the high-temperature plasmas would still splatter against the reactor walls, causing the entire device to shut down!¡± S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Humans now used a magnetic field intensity of 100T, ten times stronger. Furthermore, with supercomputers constantly monitoring these plasma turbulences, using immense computing power to maintain the balance of the turbulence, it was no wonder this method was a classic example of achieving miracles through brute force. Chapter 87 - 89: 100000 Unsolved Mysteries Chapter 87: Chapter 89: 100000 Unsolved Mysteries John continued, ¡°Your father¡¯s algorithm, indeed, is one of humanity¡¯s most outstanding works, but it is still far from powerful enough. Therefore, we can¡¯t make the fusion devices any smaller; each reactor is like a mountain, it¡¯s simply too brute.¡± Zhang Yuan looked at these turbulences, some bright, some dim, and others spinning, and he fell into deep thought. Whether he liked it or not, John¡¯s complaint was indeed correct. A small ambition began to form in his heart, sprouting like a seed. ¡°Perhaps¡­ the problems my father once tackled, I too could tackle?!¡± The turbulence problem, the last great mountain in classical physics. About 400 years ago, the Navier-Stokes equations had already theoretically described the physics of fluids. These equations generally do not have precise solutions, so scientists usually resort to simplified theoretical models or numerical simulations to predict fluid movements. ... But using simplified models to simulate plasma turbulence is far too imprecise. If these plasmas aren¡¯t properly contained, they could cause massive damage to the fusion engines. The booming development of Information Science had loosened the turbulence problem somewhat, but only just; it allowed for more accurate simulations but did not lead to a deeper understanding of its true nature. John sighed, ¡°We may never find a precise mathematical solution to the turbulence problem. Perhaps the complete precision lies in the more microscopic probability superposition states, beyond our capabilities as we are completely unaware of them.¡± John Wilson was a typical representative of the pessimists. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. He believed that the upper limits of human technology might have already been reached, and with human intelligence, we could only go round and round within a tiny circle. Although there were still some minor issues to be polished, a radical transformation was ultimately unlikely. Thus, this group of pessimistic scientists wanted to board a spaceship, to see what the world would be like three thousand years later. This theory wasn¡¯t without reason; a turbulence problem, unresolved for four hundred years. In cutting-edge physics, other than condensed matter which still retained vigor, other areas had gradually declined. High-energy physics was plagued by the ¡°Energy Level Desert,¡± and other disciplines, such as chemistry and semiconductors, relied on some approximate theories, which admittedly did resolve some problems. As for mathematics, it was also gradually declining. The Riemann Hypothesis, untoppled for 400 years; the Goldbach Conjecture, for 600 years. The ¡°Great Unification of Mathematics¡± project was still just a framework, billions of light-years away from completion. The New Civilization School believed that the current 23rd century, along with the 24th and 25th centuries, might likely be humanity¡¯s final golden age. Beyond that, human intelligence might not continue to develop. Once technological advancement halts, human civilization might likely undergo the same kind of historical cycles as ancient Xia Country did. In academic terms, this is falling into the ¡°trap of mediocrity,¡± making significant historical progress difficult. Zhang Yuan actually agreed with some of the New Civilization School¡¯s views, but regarding this issue, he was neither pessimistic nor optimistic. He didn¡¯t quite believe that humanity would be foolish enough to fall into foreseeable traps, and it was hard to imagine what the future world would be like; perhaps some technology to enhance intelligence might emerge. Moreover, his work leaned more towards engineering, more towards technology. There is a significant difference between technology and science, and there is still much room for improvement in human application technology. ¡°Zhang, you¡¯re too optimistic.¡± John shrugged his shoulders and said helplessly, ¡°In history, there have been many phenomena, such as Latin Americanization, middle-income traps, and so on. Even if some countries are aware of them, they still cannot overcome them because many things in a country cannot be achieved just by the leaders realizing them. It depends on the collective strength.¡± ¡°But the collective strength of humanity is not as strong as you imagine.¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right,¡± Zhang Yuan said. ¡°But we have to remain optimistic, don¡¯t we? Pessimism won¡¯t solve any problems.¡± After bidding farewell to the sullen Senior Brother John, Zhang Yuan returned to his lab seat and continued to review the literature. By chance, he flipped through a book. ¡°100,000 Unsolved Mysteries¡±¡­ From astronomy to geography, from mathematics to physics, there were too many challenging problems that could not be solved. For example, the ¡°3x+1¡± conjecture, happy ending problem, Gaussian circle problem, Erdos-Graham ternary problem¡­casually mentioning any one of them, the difficulty was comparable to the Riemann hypothesis. For some reason, looking at the numerous challenges, a faint irritation always stirred in Zhang Yuan¡¯s heart. Perhaps, as a member of the scientific research community, he was innately frustrated by his inability to completely penetrate the essence of nature. Zhang Yuan secretly clenched his fists. In that moment, he finally made up his mind to tackle a world-renowned difficult problem. It didn¡¯t matter what he gained or lost, he was merely following his own heart. ¡°Turbulence problem!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s give it a try!¡± It required a lot of courage. He might spend a lot of time, perhaps not produce any results at all, and face huge sunk costs. Only someone young like him, driven by passion, could march forward boldly. After making up his mind, Zhang Yuan took a deep breath and slowly focused his thoughts. From a purely mathematical perspective, there was hardly any possibility. Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t believe that with his current capabilities, he could write an equation more precise and effective than the N-S equation. ¡°Perhaps, I can devise some methods from information science to solve this problem.¡± The first approach was the famous ¡°spectral method of wavelet transformation¡± used by his father, which was currently the best algorithm in engineering applications. It successfully solved the problem of multi-scale turbulent simulation of flow inside engines in both time and space. Fundamentally, it mimicked the process of signal transmission in neurons to describe the bursting mechanism of turbulence in pipes. The second approach was the direct numerical solution method. It simulated isotropic turbulence in a three-dimensional periodic cube by solving the incompressible ¡°N-S equation.¡± However, this method demanded high computational power and was suitable for simulating simple turbulent movements at lower Reynolds numbers, such as in channel or pipe turbulence. Of course, there were also a third ¡°RNG¦Ê-¦Å model,¡± a fourth ¡°Spalart¡ªAllmaras turbulence model,¡± a fifth ¡°inner and outer iteration method,¡± and so on. Human creativity is limitless, but truly meaningful, applicable algorithms were few and far between. ¡°Are you looking into the turbulence problem? That thing is unusually complex!¡± Zhao Qingfeng glanced at his screen and said with interest, ¡°I¡¯ve also researched this area before, the core issue is the problem itself¡ªtoo difficult, strong non-linearity, infinite-dimensional systems, chaotic systems¡ªcurrently, there aren¡¯t very suitable mathematical tools for these issues.¡± ¡°So if you want to work on it, I don¡¯t really have any good advice for you.¡± ¡°I know, just casually looking,¡± Zhang Yuan hurriedly replied. Senior Brother Zhao smiled, reflecting on how great it was to be young. If it were him, he would definitely stay far away from such problems. However, he didn¡¯t pay too much attention. There were many things that, once understood, made one step back from the challenge. Chapter 88 - 90 Turbulence Problems Chapter 88: Chapter 90 Turbulence Problems Senior Brother Zhao asked with a hint of interest, ¡°Have you come up with any good ideas?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any yet, just trying to understand more about it.¡± Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t dare say he wanted to take on this century¡¯s tough problem outright, for fear of being laughed at¡­ Although generally speaking, Senior Brother Zhao wouldn¡¯t laugh at him, he¡¯d just suggest that Zhang not tackle such a difficult problem. Time quickly passed, and two days silently slipped away¡­ The spaceship had successfully turned, the main engine roared to a stop, entering a brief maintenance state. A man-made light source from Jupiter¡¯s moon shone on the Light Sail, causing the entire Mother Ship to enter a slow deceleration. ... The light path, an incredible technology. Because of this technology, small spaceships didn¡¯t need to carry a large amount of fuel, and they could quickly travel back and forth between the Moon and Jupiter. Formerly, space travel from the Moon to Jupiter required at least half of the payload for fuel. But not anymore; a small spaceship weighing several hundred to several thousand tons could now reach Jupiter from the Moon in just a month¡¯s time¡ªa significant advancement. Zhang Yuan witnessed the main engine slowly extinguishing. It was as if a pot of boiling water had been extinguished, without sufficient temperature, the bright plasma slowly died out, and the nuclear fusion reaction automatically stopped. From this angle, the nuclear fusion engine was quite safe. It wouldn¡¯t explode, but would only automatically shut down when reaction conditions were insufficient. Inside the engine room of the Earth Era, only a secondary engine and two Molten Salt Reactors remained, providing basic electrical power. The Molten Salt Reactor was a type of nuclear fission breeder reactor that had helped humanity through the long ¡°Gray Era.¡± The technology was quite mature, so it was usually used as a backup power source. For the crucial safety of a spaceship, one couldn¡¯t rely solely on fusion power. For the following period, maintenance staff would perform a series of services on the entire engine. The internship in the engine room was temporarily over¡­ Zhang Yuan returned to the living quarters somewhat aimlessly. He had a few days off to rest, and he had to work at a nuclear power station next. Since there wasn¡¯t much else happening, he planned to stay at home and read papers. Well, regarding the turbulence problem, despite several days of reading literature, he had no ideas at all. After all, it was a world-class challenge¡­ At six o¡¯clock in the evening, a small dinner was underway at the ¡°Big Food Barrel Restaurant¡± in Zone A. Academician Ding, no matter how busy, would make some time to have a meal with everyone at the beginning of each month and casually check in on the condition of his students. ¡°Are you trying to tackle the turbulence problem?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just trying to understand it¡­¡± Facing his mentor, Zhang Yuan honestly confessed. Ding Zhaodong smiled, perhaps reminded of his own reckless youth, and he didn¡¯t discourage his young disciple. ¡°Indeed, it is a very difficult problem. Many people have researched for more than a decade and still can¡¯t produce particularly good papers, simply wasting their time. If you want to work on this, you have to be mentally prepared.¡± ¡°If you have any questions about mathematics, feel free to ask Senior Brother Luo Wenhao, or you can come directly to me.¡± Senior Brother Luo, sitting on the side, was already close to forty years old. He had long graduated with his doctorate and was usually busy with his work, seldom attending such gatherings. This was the first time Zhang Yuan had met him. Senior Brother Luo was a big shot, involved in information field research. However, his focus tended towards mathematics and he was quite famous for his research on positive curvature, having solved two famous Hopf Conjectures. Why two? Because Hopf Conjecture itself contains multiple conjectures, one being ¡°There is no metric of positive sectional curvature on S^2XS^2,¡± and another: ¡°The Euler characteristic of even-dimensional positive curvature manifolds is positive.¡± ¡°` Two conjectures could have scored two big awards, but he swept them all up in one fell swoop. Zhang Yuan felt a sudden surge of respect and a desire to cling to someone greater. ¡°Senior Brother Luo!¡± ¡°Turbulence problems, ha ha, ambitious! I really like making friends with young people who have ideals. I¡¯ve studied that area before.¡± His wife was sitting nearby, a Lan Country mathematician in her thirties, dressed exquisitely with a special Victorian flair. ¡°Hello. Are you the Zhang Yuan who owns 300 kilograms of gold?¡± Zhang Yuan replied with a smile, ¡°Ms. Mo, you jest, but honestly, I¡¯d prefer having 300 kilograms of antimatter for experiments.¡± ¡°Really? Antimatter is quite expensive¡­ Your reputation is high among the girls in our District F! Want me to introduce you to some?¡± Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit embarrassed, ¡°Girls from Lan Country, eh? My contacts list already has several options to choose from¡­¡± Everyone burst out laughing. The atmosphere around the dinner table was relaxed, with the group first discussing recent personal development, followed by some academic gossip, all of which was quite interesting. This included someone proving a difficult mathematical problem; new breakthroughs in condensed matter physics; the renowned ¡°Modern Science¡± journal, which had taken a hit in influence due to academic corruption scandals, and more. ¡°More and more people are suffering from depression. If diagnosed, they disembark at Jupiter¡¯s moon and return to Earth.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± ¡°¡®Modern Science¡¯ has temporarily suspended publication. Several of the peer-review editors are under investigation. I used to submit there too¡­ I didn¡¯t expect this to happen.¡± ¡°Academic corruption can happen anywhere and is hard to completely avoid¡­ It mainly relies on the cultural environment for restraint, I suppose.¡± sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Zhang Yuan was startled, wondering if the journal¡¯s plummeting influence had anything to do with the incident that happened to him? However, finding that the discussion did not focus on him, he gradually let go of his concern. After the meal ended, Zhang Yuan had another brief discussion with the newly acquainted Senior Brother Luo. ¡°Turbulence problems mainly need to focus on non-uniform turbulence. After reading the paper, my first thought was Fourier analysis and related integral transformations. But then I realized that wasn¡¯t quite right¡­¡± This was his intuitive thought. ¡°Fourier analysis is too mundane,¡± Senior Brother Luo laughed. ¡°I thought of that too, but later found it only worked for uniform turbulence. Even if it worked, the fitting wouldn¡¯t be very good, not very meaningful.¡± Zhang Yuan agreed, ¡°It would be good for a question on an exam paper though.¡± Senior Brother Luo smacked his forehead as if he had an idea, ¡°Purely mathematical methods are hard, but for direct numerical calculations, I¡¯ve seen a good idea involving the use of LES and wall functions for both non-equilibrium and equilibrium¡­¡± ¡°Considering the impact of different wall parameters under three types of grid division and comparing it with the corresponding DNS results¡­ it¡¯s an innovative algorithm in the last few years, but in practice, it¡¯s still not quite as good as your father¡¯s.¡± An idea suddenly flashed through Zhang Yuan¡¯s mind, as if he grasped something, ¡°Grid division?¡± ¡°Then, can we classify the entire observation results into some sort of community division, first breaking down the big problem into smaller ones¡­¡± ¡°Communities?¡± Senior Brother Luo was taken aback, ¡°But in the end, you still have to bring the whole problem back together, otherwise, all the data is meaningless. What are the methods for division and recombination?¡± ¡°That¡­ I haven¡¯t figured that out yet.¡± ¡°` Chapter 89 - 91: The Geniuses Among Peers Chapter 89: Chapter 91: The Geniuses Among Peers After the banquet ended, Zhang Yuan hurriedly returned to his own room and opened his personal tablet computer. On it was an idea left to him by his dad¡ª¡±A New Algorithm for Community Detection.¡± The ideas left by his dad were all highly innovative. After pondering for half an hour, Zhang Yuan was surprised to find that this community detection algorithm could be very fittingly applied to the turbulence problem! ¡°Is it possible to use it?¡± A burning flame of enthusiasm rose from within his heart! Community detection is a very classic problem in graph theory, especially the detection of community structure in complex networks, which is a major research focus in information science. ... The nodes in a network can be divided into groups, with relatively dense connections between nodes within a group, and these dense groups of nodes are referred to as a community structure. According to Zhang Yuan¡¯s intuitive idea, a turbulent flow could be seen as a complete community structure. Analyzing individual communities would significantly reduce the difficulty. ¡°But, after analyzing individual communities, how do we merge the data together?¡± Without being able to analyze the system as a whole, the value of the algorithm isn¡¯t considered very significant. This issue was particularly puzzling, and the difficulty of solving it was unknown. Zhang Yuan furrowed his brow tightly, and for the moment, he had no good ideas. Now, two paths lay before Zhang Yuan. First, to copy his father¡¯s inspiration and sort out this ¡°Community Detection Algorithm in Complex Networks¡± into a decent paper. According to his current understanding, publishing this paper in a top-tier journal would be no problem and would be more than enough for a graduation thesis. The second direction was to continue solving the turbulence problem and integrate this ¡°Community Detection Algorithm¡± into it as a small part of the thesis. However, if the subsequent parts were poorly handled, this promising idea would be wasted. ¡°How should I choose?¡± Zhang Yuan contemplated for a moment, his expression changing. Finally, he let out a long sigh. He realized deep down that he still wanted to choose the second path. It really lacked integrity to plagiarize his father¡¯s idea again¡ªalthough all of those were willingly given to him by his father. Money? Fame? He did not need these things now. Zhang Yuan opened his father¡¯s photo again, and memories of the past, purified by the passage of time, seemed to be coated with a layer of brilliant gold. Zhang Yuan said softly, ¡°Father, thank you.¡± ¡­ Time flowed like water, passing day and night without distinction. As the communication delay increased, communication with Earth became more and more difficult, and the atmosphere within the spaceship slowly became oppressive. Those chatting by the roadside, exercising in the gym, were noticeably fewer. After eating, everyone worked, and after work, they went to sleep as if only busyness could help forget the worries. Regardless of whether they were willing or not, people had to adapt to the universe. Zhang Yuan¡¯s moment of high interest had finally passed, and Falls¡¯s wealth ranking was once again converted to federal coins. A few newcomers emerged on the list, but they did not stir up much attention. Everyone was only interested in the first Mr. Billion, with little interest in the second or third. Earth¡¯s money isn¡¯t the kind you can use on a spaceship. It¡¯s just a number, and after you see it enough, it doesn¡¯t feel all that significant. The competition in the academic rankings, however, is extremely fierce, with the first place changing many times. The truths of the universe, in this small society, begin to attract even more attention. ¡°Extra, extra! Star University¡¯s ranking has officially entered the top 500 of all humanity!¡± ¡°Our Deep Space University has been totally outclassed. We can¡¯t even make it into the top 1000!¡± Ye Kaifu, the guy who¡¯s always on top of things, greeted me with these words. With a troubled expression, he said, ¡°Young Master Zhang, as a leading graduate student at Deep Space University, you really need to step up. My teacher is constantly pestering me to publish papers, and it¡¯s so annoying.¡± Zhang Yuan was startled. ¡°You can¡¯t blame Deep Space University¡¯s ranking on me¡­ What about the professors?¡± ¡°The professors are busy tuning the spaceship, where do they have the time to write papers? Such a huge ship!¡± ¡°Hold on, Star University has made some more impressive achievements? What, are they popping pills or something, to be this awesome?¡± sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°I¡¯ll forward it to you.¡± A guy named Zhang Yingbo wrote an innovative paper on ¡°Light Stagnation Technology,¡± which caused quite a stir. Light Stagnation is a hot research topic at the moment, where the principle is to interweave light waves together to make them stop in their intrinsic orbits. This technique relies on adjusting the waves so they meet at what¡¯s called the ¡°exception point.¡± With this principle, people can use lasers to send and store information. Zhang Yuan read the paper with keen interest and was amazed at its innovativeness. He couldn¡¯t quite figure out how this Zhang Yingbo managed to write such a paper under conditions of such limited experimental resources. There was also a recent paper by a guy named Xiao Weixing on ¡°Light Catalysts¡± that was so full of specialized terminology and so out of my field of expertise that I couldn¡¯t understand it and, consequently, had no way to judge its quality. Anyway, it received a positive response from the industry. Right, this guy¡¯s also from Star University. There was another paper on ¡°genetic matching¡± by a student named Jina, who had dug into the mutual selection between genes from a big data perspective, and the mathematical model was quite impressive. This guy is from Star University too! Being in their twenties is the best age for having brilliant and inventive thoughts, and the fierce competition also led to Zhang Yuan¡¯s ranking gradually declining, slipping all the way down to just over 100. ¡°Zhang, the academic tycoon, aren¡¯t you working on the turbulence problem? A single breakthrough in turbulence could wipe them all out!¡± Ye Kaifu said with no good intentions. Zhang Yuan replied with a grimace, ¡°Go on, you think it¡¯s that easy to tackle this problem?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you the top student in terms of academic performance? I¡¯m just a weakling here. In these eight months, I¡¯ve managed to publish just one paper¡­ ranked at 233.¡± Suddenly, Zhang Yuan realized what Ye Kaifu was doing: he was trying to stir up envy. Ye Kaifu was catching up to him, who hadn¡¯t published anything in so long. Zhang Yuan felt a bit annoyed, but he knew that he had to stick with the topic he had chosen no matter what, ¡°You¡¯re so sure I can¡¯t do it? Listen, come closer¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ve grasped the true essence of the turbulence problem and have created an equation, called Ye¡¯s Equation. Its vector form is given by: =-?p+¦ÑF+¦Ì¦¤v¡­¡± ¡°Really? No way!¡± After swallowing hard, Ye Kaifu felt his heartbeat skip a beat. Even though he didn¡¯t quite understand, he deeply recognized the significance of the turbulence problem. Besides, not understanding meant he couldn¡¯t refute if the other person was talking nonsense! ¡°Hold on, why is it called Ye¡¯s Equation?¡± ¡°Ye Kaifu¡¯s Equation, because your provocation gave me the drive to keep going and the conviction to continue. If I really make a breakthrough, I¡¯ll name it after you, the Ye Kaifu Equation.¡± Ye Kaifu had an epiphany, and with a smile, said, ¡°Alright then! To show my gratitude, from now on, all devices I fix, including the phones that girls give me to repair, I¡¯ll secretly etch your name, Zhang Yuan, on them. How does that sound?¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t dare!¡± Chapter 90 - 92: Seeking Inspiration from the Unknown Chapter 90: Chapter 92: Seeking Inspiration from the Unknown After Ye Kaifu left, Zhang Yuan¡¯s restless heart gradually calmed down. Actually, it didn¡¯t matter. It would be foolish to let a ranking of entertainment nature disturb one¡¯s mind. Academic research relied on coincidence, talent, luck, and diligence. Not producing results in half a year or even a year was completely normal. Ye Kaifu was just joking; there was no real malice. However, doing research was a truly painful task. The moment one achieved results, they shone brightly, attracting the attention of the world with various honors as if spotlighted. But what about when results weren¡¯t achieved? ... One could only sit quietly, daydream, or read other people¡¯s papers, searching for that elusive glimmer of inspiration. It was Zhang Yuan¡¯s first time experiencing such anguish, seeing others achieve while he gained nothing, which inevitably led to some envy and self-doubt about his chosen path. He had pondered for many months, had discussed several times with Academician Ding, only to find his ideas too ordinary and promptly rejected. He had plenty of energy, but didn¡¯t know which direction to channel it toward, or what lay ahead on the path, so he remained idle. Three months were not enough; it could likely take three years, or perhaps thirty. The pain involved, only those who had experienced it could truly understand. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡­ In his spare time, Zhang Yuan grew fond of the hidden Star Library at the Observatory. He finally understood why a library was situated in such a remote corner. It lacked any superfluous noise, the lighting exceptionally dim, offering the enjoyment of pure solitude. ¡°¡­ Mr. Zhang, I have a question. In Euclidean Space, is a local homeomorphism, a continuous surjection, always an injection?¡± ¡°This is a challenging question. Broadly speaking, it should not be.¡± Zhang Yuan reflected for a while. ¡°Let me give a simple counterexample. Suppose the function F(z) is entire, and its derivative is F''(z)=e^(z^2), hence F is locally a homeomorphism. On the other hand, F(0)=0, F(-z)=-F(z); assume z0¡Ù0 is not in the range of F, then -z0 is not included either, which violates Picard¡¯s little theorem¡­ So, the major proposition is incorrect.¡± ¡°I see, thank you for your guidance.¡± The young man named Yamamoto Ichiro habitually wanted to bow. However, due to the lack of gravity, he accidentally floated upward. He struggled for a while, then aimed an infrared probe at an electromagnet, and pulled himself back down. Inside the Star Library, many researchers gathered, sympathizing with Zhang Yuan¡¯s plight. They wanted to solve certain problems, but suffered from lack of inspiration and direction, forced to think hard and endure the torment of their struggles. These individuals quickly became more familiar with each other. Sighing, Yamamoto Ichiro said, ¡°Mr. Zhang, such a strong person like you, with such solid mathematical foundations, also can¡¯t solve the turbulence problem?¡± ¡°It¡¯s very challenging, I still don¡¯t have any good ideas. Such issues, it¡¯s normal not to solve them.¡± Zhang Yuan responded, ¡°Mr. Yamamoto, you seem anxious.¡± Yamamoto sighed, ¡°Because I simply can¡¯t seem to achieve any results¡­¡± Yamamoto Ichiro was studying the field of bionic electronic eyes, aiming to research techniques that could restore sight to the blind. According to current theories, making electronic eyes wasn¡¯t difficult, but translating electronic eye signals into biological signals the brain could recognize was a globally challenging problem. Yamamoto said with a wry smile, ¡°After boarding the spaceship, we don¡¯t even have lab rats for biological experiments anymore, so I don¡¯t know how to proceed with my research. Hence, I might as well learn more mathematics during this opportunity; after all, good knowledge of mathematics won¡¯t be a wasted effort¡­¡± Though he said so, the anxiety on his face could hardly be concealed. ¡°Persisting in our heavily invested yet unyielding pursuits is actually a kind of sunk cost fallacy. I don¡¯t want it to be this way, yet I don¡¯t want to give up¡­¡± Zhang Yuan considered his words, not being good at comforting others, he could only offer what others often told him, ¡°Perhaps, you could take a break, find a life partner.¡± There was a sudden calm. Coming from Zhang Yuan himself, the suggestion seemed less persuasive. ¡°Thank you, I already have a girlfriend.¡± Yamamoto chuckled bitterly. ¡°She¡¯s a doctor, very kind, takes great care of me in daily life, so you don¡¯t have to worry about me. However, she still struggles to understand the anxiety I feel, and doesn¡¯t know how to comfort me.¡± ¡°Yes, different professions, indeed difficult to comprehend.¡± ¡°Mr. Zhang Yuan, do you think being idle all day long could be seen as laziness?¡± Zhang Yuan paused, ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be seen that way. You don¡¯t need to think like that.¡± Since the Fourth World War, relations between Xia Country and Mu Country had grown increasingly friendly. However, with their economic scales differing by more than tenfold, there naturally arose suspicions of dependency. Perhaps due to the deep influence of their own culture, people from Mu Country on these ships always sensed a vague inferiority complex. They even subconsciously believed that the spaceship belonged to people from Xia Country, and useless foreigners would be thrown out¡­ Yamamoto then asked, ¡°So, how should one define the boundary for laziness among scientific researchers? Is it up to personal conscience, or should we follow Earth Civilization¡¯s old methods, judging by the number of papers one writes?¡± ¡°Actually, one or two years are not enough to solve a world-class problem, yet being overly eager for quick success may drive people towards easier, less valuable areas for research, squandering plenty of intelligent minds.¡± A professor under the traditional system would find it difficult to decide to tackle such major challenges, because investing three to five years, or even ten, might end up fruitless, ultimately unable to meet the assessments. The more renowned a person, the more they guarded their reputation; possessing great capabilities, yet they dared not tackle significant issues, essentially a vicious cycle. Zhang Yuan shook his head, ¡°The phenomenon you mentioned, I don¡¯t know how it should be resolved. If you have good ideas about this, you could even write a decent paper on it!¡± ¡°That might be¡­ one of the key considerations in building the New Civilization.¡± ¡°Yes, I really want to engage in this line of work!¡± At the crucial moment, Yamamoto impulsively jumped from the ground and floated in midair again. ¡°Perhaps, I could join the New Civilization School, instead of remaining idle like this¡­ Being unproductive now, I feel I¡¯m truly letting society down.¡± Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but raise an eyebrow, silently thinking, ¡°Another one¡¯s gone mad.¡± He kindly suggested, ¡°There aren¡¯t many public works from the New Civilization School; you could finish them in a few days. It¡¯s just an idealistic school¡­ If the pressure is too much, you could also take a break, no need to force yourself to achieve results.¡± Chapter 91 - 93 The Great Artist Chapter 91: Chapter 93 The Great Artist After saying farewell to his somewhat depressed classmate Yamamoto, Zhang Yuan floated in midair, lost in thought. In the Star Library, one could look up and see the brilliant, boundless starry skies. All was silent, and one could only feel the utmost quietude. He quite enjoyed this sense of solitude. He had gradually grown accustomed to the light, weightless sensation. Due to the human body¡¯s structure, when in zero gravity, the blood pressure in the brain is higher than usual, which can lead to a strangely heightened focus. Now was a moment of pure reason, with nothing able to disturb him. ... Let¡¯s start. He was attempting to compare all the research papers he had read, draw out their essence, and spawn a better method. This state was like a hunter in the woods, tirelessly tracking traces of his prey over and over again. Even though the forest had been searched countless times by countless hunters, he still indefatigably looked for what had been missed. After mulling over it for four hours, he heaved a long sigh. He did think of a few improvements. But improvements were just improvements; they didn¡¯t constitute a fundamental enhancement, nor were they the significant achievements he sought. After some calculations, Zhang Yuan dismissed these few plans on his own. ¡°No, it¡¯s still not good enough¡­¡± This kind of frustration that came with failure had become all too familiar in recent months. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. No wonder Yamamoto Ichiro wanted to become a sociologist. At least with ¡°sociology,¡± as long as one was willing to put in the effort, churning out a paper was entirely doable. Moreover, discussions on new civilizations were very popular, with countless experts on Earth feverishly churning out papers, offering various suggestions, acting as if they were the primary builders of civilization. ¡°Boundless starry skies, the sea of books is limitless. Sort through the past beside you, and don¡¯t forget the way I looked when I came¡­ Star Library welcomes you to honor us with another visit.¡± Soft music suddenly started playing through the headset. Whenever this piece of music was played, the library would close in half an hour. Zhang Yuan lifted his head and realized there were hardly any people left in the room, only him and a middle-aged man nearby. This middle-aged gentleman was named Elwin, a renowned painter whose worth was in the billions back on Earth. As it turned out, at the peak of his career, Elwin made an unconventional choice¡ªhe donated all his wealth and followed the ¡°Earth Era¡± to leave! This decision led to a resurgence of Elwin¡¯s fame. After all, artists must have some idiosyncrasies¡ªhow else could one be called an artist? Personality and moral character are also forms of art. However, from his interactions during this time, Zhang Yuan knew that this great painter was also perplexed by ¡°inspiration.¡± ¡°Mr. Elwin, do you have any new masterpiece?¡± Zhang Yuan casually asked as he entered the orbital car. ¡°Nothing with particularly good inspiration, nor any good works,¡± Elwin handed his computer over to Zhang Yuan. There was a computer-generated picture of the starry sky of Gliese 581g. Art like this requires imagination and tension; it doesn¡¯t seek to replicate reality and is entirely different from real photography. Zhang Yuan looked closely and saw a glaze-colored sky, with an orange constant star rising in the east, accompanied by two moons, one in the east and another in the west. It seemed like a world filled with hope. ¡°Is this our future Mother Star?¡± ¡°Yes, the imagined Mother Star, but personally, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve done a good job,¡± Elwin responded. Zhang Yuan contemplated it for a long while but didn¡¯t feel a strong resonance. He didn¡¯t expect the future Mother Star to have an environment as beautiful as Earth¡¯s. He was even prepared to encounter an environment like Saturn¡¯s moon Titan, with its acid rain. Of course, if such a scenario really happened, people would only be able to choose another planet for colonization. There were more than one planet in the Gliese 581 system¡ªat least six. The second image was a photographic representation of the Milky Way, its central disc like a ribbon of silver hanging in the sky. Countless stars shone brightly and vied for attention. Despite the beauty of the painting, it seemed to lack something. After looking through image after image, Zhang Yuan jokingly commented, ¡°Mr. Elwin, why do your masterpieces sell for so much? Perhaps my artistic understanding is too low, but I really can¡¯t tell what¡¯s particularly good or bad.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not wrong in your feeling. I, too, think that these works aren¡¯t great; they lack a certain starry quality,¡± Elwin shook his head and said, ¡°Why do they sell for so much? How should I know? Perhaps those who like the paintings understand art better than I do, or perhaps it¡¯s for the hype¡­ In any case, whatever I draft up, those people will automatically infuse it with meaning.¡± Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but laugh heartily. Elwin then said, ¡°But before we reach Jupiter, I hope to leave behind a lasting masterpiece! A real masterpiece!¡± The pinnacle of human starry sky art was Van Gogh¡¯s ¡°Starry Night,¡± which was so stunning that it completely transcended its era. Any artist painting the Milky Way had to consider the pressure of being compared to Van Gogh. Although Elwin was a famous painter, comparing him with the illustrious Van Gogh was still challenging. ¡°Perhaps, you see the universe as too lively,¡± Zhang Yuan said with a smile. ¡°The real Universe is more like this¡­¡± With a slight tap of his finger on the edge of the black screen, a white dot suddenly appeared there. His skills were mediocre; the dot was skewed. Then there was nothing else, just complete blackness around this solitary, dim white dot, emitting just a tiny bit of light. Be it the total amount of matter in the Universe or human knowledge, this white dot was all there was, with nothing else beyond it. Among the myriad worlds, there are always lonely souls, always some problems that can¡¯t be solved. This was Zhang Yuan¡¯s revelation about Nature over the past few months; what we possess, compared to what we have never had, is far too little. Elwin inexplicably felt that pure emotion. He fell silent for a while, then said softly, ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but I feel like you¡¯re the great artist. How about¡­ you give up scientific research and learn painting with me?¡± Zhang Yuan replied boldly, ¡°Haha, every scientific researcher wants to grasp Nature¡¯s true essence. The essence is very abstract, perhaps to the ordinary person, it holds a kind of aesthetic beauty as well.¡± Elwin shook his head and said, ¡°I really want to plagiarize this idea of yours; I¡¯m almost certain it would make a fine masterpiece. Unfortunately, it belongs to you. Sometimes, simplicity doesn¡¯t mean inferiority; simplicity can also be quite extraordinary¡­¡± Zhang Yuan laughed again: ¡°Perhaps, this idea could be a gift to you. Only a white dot painted by you could fetch a truly high price! The white dot I paint could only be tossed into the trash.¡± Chapter 92 - 94 Unable to Go Back Chapter 92: Chapter 94 Unable to Go Back Elwin fell silent for a while. He suddenly said in a low voice, ¡°Do you know? I regretted it the moment I got on the spaceship, regretted leaving everything on Earth behind, regretted abandoning billions in property and the superior life on Earth. During these eight or nine months, I¡¯ve been living in annoyance, so the paintings I produced are just a pile of garbage!¡± Zhang Yuan was stunned, not knowing why Elwin suddenly wanted to talk about these things, ¡°Mr. Elwin, you can choose to go back. With our industrial base on Jupiter¡¯s moon and the spaceship for the return trip¡­ you can return to Earth.¡± Elwin shook his head, his tone growing firmer, ¡°There¡¯s no going back. Once I return, I¡¯ll be spit upon forever, and I¡¯ll never sell another painting again!¡± ¡°It¡¯s impossible, I¡¯m already gone without return¡­¡± ¡°In their eyes, I¡¯m already a real dead man! Even if I have the nerve to go back, I¡¯ll be assassinated, do you know¡­ only the work of dead people can truly fetch high prices!¡± ... ¡°I shouldn¡¯t continue like this! Yet, I¡¯m afraid, filled with regret, regretting the loss of everything I had.¡± ¡°I miss the life on Earth, but I can¡¯t possibly go back!¡± Elwin grew more and more agitated, his pace of speech quickening. Tears and snot flowed out together because of the pain in his heart. Zhang Yuan had no words. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, Elwin screamed wildly. ¡°I will create a real piece of art to record my cowardice, timidity, and ignorance at this moment. This is the real me; to hell with any so-called great character!¡± ¡­ After saying goodbye to the great painter, Zhang Yuan returned to the living area and called the community¡¯s senior liaison on a whim. ¡°Is this Ms. Lin Xuan?¡± ¡°Hello, how may I assist you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s like this. I suggest that you find a psychologist to visit the painter in Area M, Mr. Elwin. He seems a bit off¡­¡± Zhang Yuan explained the whole situation from beginning to end. ¡°Okay, I understand. Thank you for your suggestion.¡± After hanging up the phone, he breathed a sigh of relief. This was the best solution he could choose. He felt that, as they drew nearer to Jupiter¡¯s moon, everyone became a bit neurotic. It could possibly be related to the special group of people with whom he interacted or perhaps related to the increasingly oppressive atmosphere on the spaceship. Bringing himself back to reality, he continued to mull over his ¡°turbulence problem.¡± This sustained, long-duration contemplation had become a habit, and he was even able to carry it on while performing other simple activities. He could contemplate while eating, and even while talking to people, though he would seem a bit bookish then. It was even somewhat reminiscent of those scientists who bump into telephone poles while walking. Sometimes, Zhang Yuan would question himself: should he be doing some work that could produce results, rather than gnawing on this tough bone? But in the end, he decided not to. After all, he was still young. Even if he failed, what did it matter? ¡°Ding!¡± His wrist communicator suddenly pinged, and Zhang Yuan, jolted from his thoughts, shook his slightly tired brain. This communication device often announced large group events such as symposiums, dance parties, and others. [¡­Tonight, the notes of youth are leaping, and the flames of passion are burning. A mysterious dance party will be performed on the dance floor in Area Z.] [There will even be once-in-a-lifetime spicy hot pot and fried foods to eat!] A thought struck him; had the new batch of chili peppers matured? The thought alone made him salivate. Since he was free anyway, it would be good to go and enjoy the dance. Z District is an upper region of the Circular Living Area, and because it¡¯s closer to the central axis, the gravity here is about half of Earth¡¯s. In the low gravity environment, the human body becomes lighter, making originally difficult dances such as ballet much simpler. Zhang Yuan, unhurriedly, made his way to Z District and bought a ticket. It wasn¡¯t expensive, just 40 yuan. Then, he found a secluded spot to sit down and started to enjoy the buffet. Although it was called a buffet, the taste of the meat dishes was generally not great. Synthetic pork, synthetic mutton, just a bunch of meatballs. However, with a hint of spiciness from the chili, and after being deep-fried in oil, it seemed to taste a bit better. After all, he was fed up with the steamed dishes he usually ate; he was almost sick of them. Zhang Yuan missed the big chicken legs, spicy hot pot, chafing dish, seafood noodles, and Lanzhou ramen from Earth terribly¡­ While he was sweating profusely from eating, an unexpected figure sat down right across from him. It was his senior brother, Zhao Qingfeng. Zhao Qingfeng said, ¡°Your way of eating is really uncivilized. I didn¡¯t expect you to attend such a party. Aren¡¯t you going to join the dance?¡± Zhang Yuan wiped the chili from the corner of his mouth, ¡°No, I¡¯m just looking for a place to be quiet and have some spicy food.¡± A dance party? Eating chili and dancing at the same time, doesn¡¯t that seem strange? ¡°Be quiet, in this place?¡± Zhao Qingfeng said with a hint of amusement, ¡°You¡¯re already here, why keep up the pretense? Do you want me to introduce you to a very open Western girl, and we can all have some spicy hot pot together?¡± ¡°I also have a bottle of ancestral beef sauce, brought from Earth. Do you want some?¡± Unexpectedly, Senior Brother Zhao was a foodie too, using his valuable material allowance to bring food. Zhang Yuan teased, ¡°I¡¯ll try the beef sauce, but I can¡¯t handle a Western girl. As a married man, why are you here, anyway? As far as I know, this is a singles club, a kind of matchmaking event.¡± ¡°Senior Brother Zhao, adultery within marriage will get you in serious trouble¡­¡± Zhao Qingfeng pointed across the room, ¡°Isn¡¯t my wife right there? Appreciating the beauty of art together is one of life¡¯s pleasures. Whether a man or a woman, everyone likes beautiful girls; you simply have no aesthetic sense.¡± Zhang Yuan coughed awkwardly. ¡°Hi, Mr. Zhang, are you here to see my performance?¡± A girl with long golden hair casually draped over her shoulders and wearing a white ballet dress without too much adornment approached. She looked exceptionally elegant and beautiful. Zhang Yuan looked up and for a moment forgot who this girl was. He felt she was quite pretty and somehow familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere. ¡°You are¡­?¡± ¡°After spending so much time together, have you really forgotten who I am?¡± The girl furrowed her brows, a touch of dissatisfaction in her tone. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Anna, haha¡­¡± Zhang Yuan said embarrassingly, recognizing her identity only from her voice. Actually, she was a colleague from the lab. However, once she had taken off the bulky space suit, he hardly recognized her. Zhang Yuan thought to himself, that¡¯s not really my fault, is it? How could he recognize her when she usually spoke through a layer of headset while dressed in a space suit? Nonetheless, he kept praising her, saying, ¡°I had no idea you were so beautiful, and you can dance ballet too?¡± Anna said with a smile, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m about to perform soon¡­ This gentleman, if you¡¯re considering pursuing me, I might give you a chance.¡± ¡°Then, I¡¯ll treat you to some spicy synthetic meatballs,¡± Zhang Yuan said, as if he had stumbled upon a key idea, completely unaware of what he was blurting out. ¡°¡­¡± The girl fell silent for a while, suddenly at a loss for words. Chapter 93 - 95 Significant Breakthrough Chapter 93: Chapter 95 Significant Breakthrough Zhao Qingfeng saw a group of people teasing Zhang Yuan and joked, ¡°Stop giving him a hard time. Even if you rivaled Helen in beauty, he wouldn¡¯t bat an eyelid until he has real results or has formally decided to give up.¡± ¡°Helen?¡± ¡°¡­the daughter of Zeus, the chief god of Greece; her unmatched beauty ultimately triggered the Trojan War.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t compare to that kind of beauty, so it seems I won¡¯t get to have this spicy hotpot.¡± Anna giggled. She noticed that Zhang Yuan was still absent-minded, focusing the majority of his attention somewhere unknown. Being fellow researchers in the laboratory, such behavior was somewhat understandable, and the desire to tease each other momentarily intensified. ¡°Hey! I¡¯m talking to you?¡± ... ¡°What?¡± ¡°But I¡¯m a few years older than you, and have a boyfriend. Do you think you could take him?¡± ¡°Ah! What?¡± ¡°Just like a coyote, it needs a duel, you know?¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Suddenly, a ¡°boom¡± resonated in Zhang Yuan¡¯s mind. A bolt of lightning seemed to flash through his brain. It felt as though he had pierced the dim sky with a bamboo pole, revealing a hint of faint light! He jumped up from his chair impulsively. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Anna was quite startled. Excitement sparkled in Zhang Yuan¡¯s eyes as he ran quickly toward the main door. ¡°I¡¯ve got a good idea! Gotta go!¡± ¡°What about my spicy meatballs?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll treat you next time!¡± S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Anna muttered a complaint under her breath, showing a look of helplessness. Zhao Qingfeng and the others also burst into laughter. It wasn¡¯t strange at all, not strange in the least. Zhang Yuan¡¯s mind raced, completely oblivious to what the people around him were saying. The feeling of inspiration was uncanny; although there was no experimental verification, he was utterly convinced of its correctness, as if his energy meridians had been unlocked and he¡¯d established a mysterious connection with the ultimate truth of the universe. For the first time in his life, Zhang Yuan experienced this indescribable Sixth Sense, his excitement causing his body hair to stand on end. What he thought of was a method using differentiable neural networks to string together a whole series of segmented data! The idea was unique and also challenging. Reaching his room, he exhaled the stale air from his lungs. Let¡¯s begin! He tried to clarify the entire inspiration. His right hand feverishly scribbled on the tablet, and dozens of pages of the electronic manuscript were written in no time. Deep into the night, Zhang Yuan was unaware of the passage of time; he kept trying over and over to enlarge the small hole in the dark sky. As his thoughts deepened, the mysterious Sixth Sense appeared again, and the light in the sky grew brighter, slowly unveiling the truth hidden behind the fog! He was fully immersed in the pleasure of tackling a famously difficult problem in the world. That intermittent rush of joy was so intense it seemed as if the entire meaning of life was just for this moment. Then the dawn arrived¡­ He stood up, his face flushed. Overnight, the intricate problem of turbulence had been perfectly transformed into an issue of neural networks! Various groups were divided exceptionally clearly, processing these groups region by region and then integrating them in a subtle way to provide a clear description of the turbulence problem. The sense of achievement felt as if he had been injected with adrenaline, soaring through the clouds. Without caring for sleep, Zhang Yuan grabbed a quick breakfast in the restaurant and, with the results of a night¡¯s work, excitedly presented them to Academician Ding Zhaodong. ¡°You¡¯ve got some good ideas?¡± Academician Ding¡¯s brows furrowed at first glance at the diagram. ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°Yes, look, this is a transformation structure of a neural network¡­¡± But in the next ten minutes, as he listened to Zhang Yuan¡¯s explanation, Academician Ding began to get excited. His voice involuntarily grew louder, ¡°Your idea is indeed very good! But, I still feel there are some problems that haven¡¯t been resolved, including a few key points¡­¡± Zhang Yuan then asked, ¡°¡­there are indeed a few major issues, like how to extend this method to topologically complex surfaces? How to implement a global approach?¡± After a moment of thought, Academician Ding said decisively, ¡°To link analysis with topology, you may try using the Atiyah-Singer index theorem, where the harmonic differential can be seen as a smooth vector field.¡± ¡°¡­Then, while keeping the cohomology class constant, you can try to work on some problems.¡± The two of them enthusiastically discussed for six hours straight. Academician Ding was a busy man, often receiving calls, but today, he put everything aside when he became engrossed in the conversation. Because he had realized this was a very significant breakthrough. In the end, he exclaimed with great excitement, ¡°Be bold in trying! Even if the final direction is wrong, it doesn¡¯t matter. You don¡¯t need to work on anything else for now. I will apply for the experiments you need; focus on researching this problem!¡± When Zhang Yuan came out of the room, the feeling of eagerness, of eagerly rubbing his hands together, made his heart blaze with a passion like nuclear fusion. This was the first time in his life he had caught prey in the mysterious forest. Strictly speaking, his previous paper couldn¡¯t count because all the inspiration came from his father, but this time was different¡ªit was his own resolve that captured it. Zhang Yuan clenched his fist. Go for it! It took three whole months. Writing the paper was tough; even with the general direction clear, countless details still required clarification. Zhang Yuan reckoned that if he had used paper drafts instead of digital ones, the piles of discarded drafts would have weighed more than he did. Moreover, the problem of turbulence was substantial¡ªit had to be validated by real experiments to prove the value of a solution. Otherwise, no matter how eloquently one spoke, no one would believe it. But the experimental conditions atop the Earth Era weren¡¯t great, and even if Zhang Yuan¡¯s solution was excellent, it wasn¡¯t possible to use the Mother Ship¡¯s nuclear engines for the experiment. Therefore, the most critical plasma turbulence experiment couldn¡¯t be conducted for now. If plasma turbulence experiments couldn¡¯t be done, there were still various other types of turbulence to explore, like pipeline fluid experiments, which were not a problem. When the results came out, the lab burst into warm and sustained applause. The experimental outcome, in two words¡ªperfect. ¡°¡­A very good result, and even though it¡¯s not a plasma turbulence experiment, your achievement is already magnificent!¡± Professor Ding Zhaodong led the applause: ¡°Congratulations!¡± Witnessing the birth of a miracle, he couldn¡¯t help being moved, his face slightly flushed, ¡°The plasma turbulence experiment can be sent back for scientists on Earth to verify. I believe there won¡¯t be any major issues!¡± Chapter 94 - 96 The Rise of a New Star Chapter 94: Chapter 96 The Rise of a New Star Academician Ding said with a somewhat profound meaning, ¡°The turbulence problem, ah, was once solved by your father thirty years ago, and once again in your heart. With the winning spirit, as swift as a horse in full gallop, one day you will witness all the flowers of Chang¡¯an¡­ I hope you never forget your original aspiration and continue to strive on this difficult path.¡± ¡°With this paper, you can now graduate early.¡± ¡°Congratulations.¡± ¡°Congratulations!¡± The several senior brothers and sisters behind him were also incessantly discussing the miracle they witnessed today. They rubbed their hands in excitement, including Senior Brother Zhao, Senior Brother Luo, and Miss Anna. In human history, the best solution to the turbulence problem, to this date, had emerged from this barren laboratory. ... To be captured by this genius junior brother was simply unbelievable! In fact, they had never really had high hopes that Zhang Yuan could solve this problem and had only offered a bit of assistance within their capacities. The eventual outcome far exceeded expectations. A rising new star! ¡°Having solved this problem, can you treat me to spicy hotpot?¡± Miss Anna muttered quietly. She originally wanted to tease Zhang Yuan a bit, but in front of so many master-level figures, she simply didn¡¯t dare. ¡°Thank you, I sincerely thank everyone,¡± Zhang Yuan bowed deeply. His peers had provided a lot of help during this process. Without them, his paper would not have been published so quickly. The sense of achievement and solidity that came after the genuine experimental results were out could not be described in words¡­ A week later, Zhang Yuan finally completed the paper in its entirety and submitted it to the academic journal founded by Deep Space University, ¡°All Things Theory.¡± ¡­ As the one-year deadline approached, Jupiter, the massive gaseous planet, was now within striking distance. With the naked eye, one could see it had grown as large as a millstone. The wooden textures, formed by temperature differences at various latitudes in the thin layers of the atmosphere, were quite beautiful. Next to Jupiter was a small terrestrial planet¡ªJupiter¡¯s moon, which also acted as humanity¡¯s farthest space base to date. Perhaps because it was close to a planet, the oppressive atmosphere inside the spaceship gradually eased. Whether they were adaptable or not, they had to adapt in any case. The final work assessment was about to start, and many had mentally prepared for a long winter hibernation, especially those without special achievements. On this day, the principal of Deep Space University, Xia Xu, and the editor-in-chief of ¡°All Things Theory,¡± Professor Zhang Xiaoyong, were sighing together. ¡°¡­ So, before hibernation, I was thinking of increasing the influence of ¡®All Things Theory¡¯¡­ You could let me publish an issue of the journal, though, with such a few papers, what can we do?¡± ¡°Once we enter hibernation, there will be no more of our journal on Earth.¡± ¡°¡­ To publish these filler papers, you might not be embarrassed, but I am!¡± The academic journal ¡°All Things Theory,¡± though originating from a year-old university like Deep Space University, naturally didn¡¯t have much influence. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. On Earth, it was just a poor caterpillar that couldn¡¯t crack the top 1000, with very few people aware of it beyond some universities and paper repositories that subscribed out of goodwill. Scientific researchers wouldn¡¯t think highly of you just because you are ¡°Earth Era¡±; a paper produced by a new civilization had to be based on actual quality. Trash was trash. Principal Xia spread his hands helplessly, ¡°So what do you suggest? There are a few submitted papers but mostly filler material.¡± ¡°If there are no good papers, it would be better not to publish!¡± This matter deeply troubled them. However, papers weren¡¯t something that could be rushed, nor could they be improved by administrative order. Most crucially, the academic journal from the neighboring Star University¡ª¡±Star Journal¡±¡ªwas thriving. Excellent papers on photo-catalysis, gene matching, Light Stagnation, all produced by Star University, had also received positive responses on Earth. Despite the unrefined name of ¡°Star Journal,¡± it had gained some notoriety because of those quality papers! Compared to that, Deep Space University had nothing to show, which was incredibly frustrating for both individuals. ¡°Could it be that the name ¡®All Things Theory¡¯ we chose was too grand, scaring people away from submitting?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not about the name. Look at ¡®Science¡¯ and ¡®Nature¡¯; aren¡¯t they grand names?¡± ¡°Is it that we have too few geniuses in the university? That shouldn¡¯t be the case; it was a fair distribution at the start¡­ I think it¡¯s just bad luck.¡± ¡°Old Xia, you still need to rigorously cultivate the academic atmosphere.¡± Principal Xia smiled bitterly. Cultivate the academic atmosphere? The academic atmosphere was already quite formidable, truly. These graduate and doctoral students weren¡¯t undergraduates; surely they couldn¡¯t be forced to attend mandatory night self-study sessions and have monthly tests, right? Impossible! ¡°Knock, knock, knock,¡± at this moment, the door to the meeting room sounded. Speaking of the devil, the person they least wanted to see walked in¡ªthe editor-in-chief of ¡°Star Journal,¡± Mr. Daniel. Following him were a bunch of experts and professors from Star University. Daniel, a Westerner in his fifties, had consistently outperformed Deep Space University, and his face was full of glee. The two of them stopped talking as these people entered. Although they got along well in private, they were direct competitors, and internal matters couldn¡¯t be divulged to outsiders. This foreigner didn¡¯t know the meaning of modesty, speaking bluntly as soon as he opened his mouth, ¡°¡­ Our ¡®Star Journal¡¯ editorial office received a rather good paper, however, due to limitations in professional knowledge, there was some disagreement about the content. Therefore, we invite you two authorities to take a look at this paper.¡± Principal Xia frowned slightly. What does he mean by ¡®limitations in professional knowledge¡¯? It was clearly a boastful display! This old fellow¡­ At that moment, Principal Xia was fervently hoping for the emergence of a legendary-level paper that could leave this old man speechless. Still, he had to maintain a facade of nonchalance. Principal Xia spoke indifferently, ¡°What paper? Let me see it.¡± It was a paper on new types of nanomaterials, indeed within his field of expertise. Staring at the various data and formulas on the screen, Xia Xu wanted to find something to criticize but could only come up with a few trivial points after a long search. The paper¡¯s format and grammar certainly didn¡¯t need his judgment. He could see no issues with the experimental data. While a competitor, he trusted Professor Daniel¡¯s character; the paper wouldn¡¯t have falsified data, an academically dishonest practice. After scribbling a few notes on the screen, Professor Xia asked, ¡°I have a question. Studies on the behavior of half-filled correlated insulators have been quite thorough, haven¡¯t they? The calculations in this paper show a significant discrepancy compared to current experimental results. How would you explain that? Doesn¡¯t it need to be optimized before publication?¡± Chapter 95 - 97: A Turbulence Numerical Simulation Method Based on Differentiable Neural Networks Chapter 95: Chapter 97: A Turbulence Numerical Simulation Method Based on Differentiable Neural Networks sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Facing the other party¡¯s skepticism, Professor Daniel smiled. After pausing for a while, he finally said, ¡°Although there is a significant discrepancy between the calculation and the experiment, I think it is still acceptable. The optimization is very challenging and cannot be accomplished by one person alone; it requires the collective effort of all colleagues.¡± ¡°This material is not appearing for the first time, but the mechanism behind it has always eluded us. Now, it has provided us with a completely new clue, a new direction.¡± ¡°This clue might lead to a dead end, but there is also a certain probability that it could lead to a brand new world. Therefore, I have decided to accept this paper for publication. Do you think that¡¯s acceptable?¡± Many fields in physics, such as some superconducting materials, have stalled in development because one core issue is that most physics calculations are based on perturbative expansions. As long as the expansion parameter is sufficiently small, one can take just the first few terms of the perturbative expansion and omit the rest, significantly simplifying the problem. ... However, for some quirky materials, perturbative expansions have proven to be a dead end. To further understand them, it is necessary to develop non-perturbative computational methods, which poses a huge challenge for humanity. Regardless of whether it¡¯s acknowledged or not, this is indeed a good paper because it utilizes a non-perturbative way of thinking, a new approach. Whether there¡¯s a new world behind it is another matter altogether. Xia Xu nodded his head; given his current status, he couldn¡¯t possibly make trouble or make things difficult for a junior, ¡°From this perspective, it is indeed a very good paper. Congratulations, Mr. Daniel, your school¡¯s journal has gained another achievement.¡± Having completed the entire peer-review process and received congratulations from a competitor, Daniel felt very pleased. He casually asked: ¡°Principal Xia, do you have any good papers on your side? You could share as well. Jupiter¡¯s moon is fast approaching, if we don¡¯t publish soon, everyone will be hibernating.¡± Relatively speaking, Xia Xu¡¯s mood was not so wonderful; he said expressionlessly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, there are no particularly good results at the moment¡­ As we Xia Country people would say, such things also depend on fate, don¡¯t they?¡± Daniel laughed again and asked, ¡°Indeed, poor experimental conditions have hindered a lot of work, otherwise we could have done even better.¡± ¡°By the way, Academician Ding¡¯s student, isn¡¯t he working on turbulence problems? He¡¯s been using our school¡¯s lab for some time. Turbulence problems are a global-level issue!¡± Xia Xu smiled and said: ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve heard about that too. Do you really expect him to achieve outstanding results? The turbulence problem¡ªhis father¡¯s algorithm is already good enough, and the difficulty of research is too great. Even if his mentor, Ding Zhaodong himself, struggles hard for ten or eight years, he may end up with nothing.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why he chose this topic.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true¡­ I also heard that someone is pondering Goldbach¡¯s Conjecture?¡± ¡°Being young is great, isn¡¯t it? Fearlessly challenging these difficult problems.¡± ¡°I once studied such major issues, but because my foundation in algebra wasn¡¯t strong, I gave up quickly¡­¡± ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± The most creative age in life is when one is a master¡¯s or doctoral student. Many significant scientific research achievements are made during this age. As one grows older and gains higher status, on one hand, one¡¯s mental agility and creativity decline, and on the other hand, one¡¯s reputation becomes a burden, no longer having the courage to tackle those difficult problems. The two of them reflected briefly. Then they began discussing administrative matters. ¡°What do you think about the new scientific research evaluation system?¡± ¡°That¡¯s also a problem I¡¯ve been thinking about. The old system has various limitations, but it has indeed solved quite a few problems; relying solely on personal ethics is definitely not enough.¡± ¡°¡­Speaking of which, what are the plans for managing the upcoming hibernation period at the school?¡± ¡°Those who have been admitted to graduate studies can delay their hibernation for one or two years. The specific hibernation arrangements will still need to be coordinated by the Captain¡¯s office.¡± ¡­ Just as this group of individuals was enthusiastically discussing plans for a new civilization, the editor at the side, Zhang Xiaoyong, suddenly received an email. He glanced at it and accidentally clicked on the title. ¡°A Turbulence Numerical Simulation Method Based on Differentiable Neural Networks¡± For some reason, just seeing the title made his heartbeat accelerate violently. Looking at the author¡¯s name¡ªZhang Yuan! ¡°Damn¡­ Did Zhang Yuan really submit a paper?¡± He swallowed nervously, feeling inexplicably tense. It was actually quite impolite to look at one¡¯s phone for a long time during a meeting, but Zhang Xiaoyong¡¯s eyes were fixed on the phone screen, unable to move away. He looked at the various formulas and text, sweat slowly appearing on his forehead, because the knowledge contained therein began to slowly exceed his understanding. His field, material science, was somewhat far from this domain, making it increasingly difficult to follow the thought process in the text. Finally, he couldn¡¯t help but call out. ¡°Principal Xia!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I have something urgent, if there¡¯s nothing else here, I¡¯ll head back first!¡± Seeing his odd expression, Xia Xu also sensed that something was happening, ¡°Then you go ahead, I¡¯ll come over in a bit.¡± You¡¯ll be at a loss if you come a minute late! Don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t tell you! Zhang Xiaoyong muttered to himself and hurriedly left the room. He rushed to Ding Zhaodong¡¯s office and shouted loudly, ¡°Old Ding, Old Ding, are you there?¡± ¡°Come in!¡± Ding Zhaodong pretended to be serious, but he was actually overjoyed inside, ¡°Your arrival is a few minutes later than I estimated¡­¡± ¡°Is this paper real or fake?¡± ¡°What do you mean ¡®this paper of mine¡¯? It was written by my student Zhang Yuan, don¡¯t get it wrong. My name isn¡¯t on it; he completed it independently!¡± ¡°Is it real or fake?¡± Zhang Xiaoyong shouted anxiously, his face flushing red. Ding Zhaodong remained calm: ¡°Are you suspecting my student of faking data? I was overseeing the entire experiment.¡± ¡°This is just too¡­ surprising, although I don¡¯t quite understand it. But the experimental results are too good, even better than Zhang Qiming¡¯s algorithm? What¡¯s going on!¡± ¡°Is it just surprising?¡± Academician Ding finally couldn¡¯t help but laugh, ¡°I think it¡¯s shocking!¡± Zhang Xiaoyong also burst into laughter, now eager to see Daniel¡¯s embarrassed expression. Let the shock spread even further now! Chapter 96 - 98: The Grand Meeting Chapter 96: Chapter 98: The Grand Meeting Zhang Xiaoyong quickly gathered all the experts and professors at Deep Space University to focus on the study of this paper and to replicate the experiment. The conditions required for the pipe turbulence experiment were not complex, and even the procedure was already prepared, ready for immediate use. ¡°The whole algorithm seems a bit complex, I couldn¡¯t understand it in a short time, but after all, facts speak louder than words, let¡¯s look at the results first,¡± said one of the experts who specialized in plasma. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Do you think the experimental data is real? It¡¯s unbelievable, truly unbelievable¡­¡± ¡°A repeat experiment this simple wouldn¡¯t involve falsified data. Just look at the smug look on Ding Zhaodong¡¯s face, and you¡¯ll know¡­¡± ¡°I still find it hard to believe.¡± ... Everyone stared motionless at the blank screen, which began to display a stream of data. Whispers arose, one after another, in the laboratory. The sense of anxiety grew more intense. ¡°Professor.¡± One of the younger participants spoke softly; he was also a student of an academician and had just turned 24 this year. Among peers, there¡¯s always a bit of competitive psychology. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°What would happen if this paper is entirely correct?¡± After seriously pondering for a while, the academician shook his head, ¡°Hard to say, but I think it might be one of the most outstanding achievements of the past decade. Or perhaps, the words ¡®one of¡¯ could be removed.¡± ¡°But this is just a numerical simulation method, not the true essence of mathematics!¡± Seeing his student a bit unconvinced, the academician smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t think that just because turbulence is a classic physics problem, it is easy. If you had delved into it, you would understand its horrifying difficulty.¡± ¡°The concept of turbulence and its applications have long surpassed the framework of classic physics, extending into various branches of modern physics research. From stellar evolution to condensed matter physics, high-energy physics, biological physics¡­¡± ¡°Therefore, this paper could have a profound impact across many different fields.¡± ¡°At the simplest, from an industrial perspective, if we can better control plasma turbulence, we could make nuclear fusion devices much smaller. Do you realize what that represents?¡± The young man nodded with a solemn expression. That comparative mindset slowly faded away¡­ Because others had already shattered the void and entered another realm. Zhang Yuan¡¯s first paper on robot control theory was quite good, but there was a possibility of surpassing it; now, however, they were not even on the same plane. Seconds and minutes passed, and the entire laboratory was quiet, filled only with the sound of tense breathing. Surprise. Amazement. Unbelievable! It fit so well! ¡°Old Zhang, what¡¯s the rush?¡± Principal Xia¡¯s voice drifted over from afar. He pushed in the door, paused, and said, ¡°Eh, everyone¡¯s here? What happened?¡± Principal Xia¡¯s voice seemed to bring everyone back to the world. Seconds later, the entire laboratory erupted into a vehement discussion with several professors unable to contain their laughter! ¡­ It was impossible to keep this a secret; rumors began to spread like wildfire within a few hours. Soon, they reached the inner workings of the Star Journal. The editors and professors at Star University felt uneasy, almost foreseeing that a single paper had outshone all of their publications. ¡°A stronger turbulence problem algorithm has emerged? Is it a rumor or something else?¡± ¡°How could it be possible? You should know how difficult this problem is.¡± ¡°Differentiable neural networks? What¡¯s that?¡± Just a paper title, no matter how much imagination one employed, couldn¡¯t conjure the specific algorithm. ¡°People from Deep Space University, frustrated by the lack of significant scientific achievements, deliberately concocted a lie to boost the university¡¯s influence?¡± How could that be possible? Rumors eventually dissipate, revealing the final truth. Surely Principal Xia was not so foolish! Unable to discern if he was curious or annoyed, Daniel tapped his fingers on the table a few times and instructed, ¡°Make a phone call to confirm.¡± The young assistant picked up the phone and dialed the editor-in-chief of the All Things Theory, Zhang Xiaoyong. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°¡­Is this the Star Journal editorial office? Haha, we have a very powerful paper, and the peer review will be held at one o¡¯clock in the afternoon. If you¡¯re free, you¡¯re welcome to come and take a look!¡± It¡¯s not that Zhang Xiaoyong lacked restraint, but he couldn¡¯t help wanting to laugh out loud. He really couldn¡¯t help it! Daniel felt a jolt in his heart. Had there really been a sensational result?! He wanted to deliberately avoid going to minimize the embarrassment from the other party. But his strong curiosity took over. ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s see! I want to see what it really is!¡± In theory, paper reviews are not that quick, with first, second, and third reviews, etc., it would take at least half a month. But this paper was so impressive, so impressive that it could ignore the whole process! ¡­ At one o¡¯clock in the afternoon, Zhang Yuan was also invited to the venue in Area A. Well, for him, all of this was expected. Below him was a sea of heads, almost all of them were heavyweights from the spaceship industry. Without an invitation, you wouldn¡¯t even have the credentials to enter. He took a deep breath, ¡°Today, I¡¯m bringing you a completely new turbulence problem simulation algorithm. Due to the rush, I haven¡¯t prepared a PPT, I hope you¡¯ll forgive me.¡± No need for further ado; getting straight to the point is what everyone needed. He began to describe his entire algorithm step by step on the big screen. Recalling the struggles of the past six months gave him a sense of happiness that comes after enduring hardship. Six months seemed so long, truly long, and agonizing. Yet it was also fleeting, a mere six months, after all. Really, just six months to achieve remarkable results. Without a doubt, Zhang Yuan felt he was fortunate and lucky. Had it not been for that stroke of inspiration, perhaps he would have continued groping in the fog for a long time. Six years, or even sixty, would not have been surprising! The real world is that cruel, just like that Deep Space Artwork, where light is but a tiny white dot, and darkness is the mainstream. ¡°Not stumbling upon the light, that¡¯s the real norm in the Universe.¡± As he pondered, he had already fully entered the zone, trying to display the entire process of his search for the light to the audience below. In fact, he had even forgotten about the audience below; he was simply reliving the arduous journey. On the stage of truth, there¡¯s no distinction between young and old, or race or color. The only distinction lies between right and wrong, with no additional choice in between. Chapter 97 - 99: First on the List Chapter 97: Chapter 99: First on the List Ding Zhaodong sat below, listening to Zhang Yuan¡¯s lecture, and sighed, ¡°Thirty years ago, his father, Zhang Qiming, showcased a new turbulence algorithm on a world-class stage. Since then, almost all the turbulence control parts in nuclear engines have adopted his algorithm.¡± ¡°Back then, I was Old Zhang¡¯s classmate. My teacher believed that it would take a hundred years before a better and stronger algorithm could appear. The problem seemed nearly perfected.¡± ¡°Who would have thought that in just thirty years, it would be his son¡¯s turn to tackle the same difficult problem with an even more powerful algorithm¡­ Perhaps, this is a kind of reincarnation of the world?¡± Next door, a physics professor laughed and said, ¡°Then, how long do you think this ¡®differentiable neural network¡¯ algorithm will last? The turbulence problem has still not been completely solved, it¡¯s just a numerical simulation, although well-simulated, it¡¯s not truly the mathematical essence, there is always room for surpassing it.¡± Academician Ding shook his head, ¡°Essence? That¡¯s not so easy to find. Mathematical essence that hasn¡¯t been discovered in hundreds of years may not be found in the next few hundred years either.¡± ¡°You never know, make a prediction, give us a time frame for being surpassed.¡± ... After pondering earnestly for a moment, Ding Zhaodong said, ¡°We can¡¯t predict the world fifty years from now, let alone a hundred or two hundred years, so let¡¯s just say a hundred years.¡± ¡°A hundred years, you¡¯re so optimistic about this algorithm?¡± ¡°Yes, I hope that future humans are smarter than we imagine and can achieve a complete breakthrough.¡± ¡°Heh, a good sleep, and we might wake up to see the results!¡± On the stage¡­ The entire big screen had been written on sixteen times. The discussion was also reaching its conclusion. Zhang Yuan slowly exhaled the stale air from his chest. He felt as if he saw a universe that was once dim, now filled with light. ¡°According to the above algorithm, the experimental data is as follows¡­ I believe that these data can be very easily replicated in the laboratory.¡± At that moment, he had surpassed his own father. ¡°¡­I also hope that colleagues on Earth can conduct the final testing on the plasma turbulence experiments to complete the parts unfulfilled in the experimental data.¡± ¡°I also hope that in future times, a true genius will provide a complete proof of the existence and smoothness of the solution to the N-S equations, thereby completely solving this problem. At that time, more innovative and precise algorithms will inevitably appear¡­¡± ¡°My presentation ends here, thank you all!¡± The audience below was silent, with no questions and no whispering. Everyone felt the dense light of truth. And they saw a rising new star of science. It belonged to the 23rd century, a golden age of science. Breaking the silence was a middle-aged man sitting in the front row. He must be a professor of the relevant field; he bowed slightly to Zhang Yuan and then began to lead the applause. The sound of clapping started off soft and grew thunderously, enduring like waves. Following that, the young people in the back rows began whistling, a large part of whom were Zhang Yuan¡¯s close group of friends and family. ¡°Your Falls Ranking has to be changed again! I wonder what the impact factor of this paper would be?¡± Sitting in the back rows, two young men loudly whistled and discussed. ¡°Impact factor?¡± The blond young man, none other than the creator of the Falls Ranking, Falls, spoke with an odd expression, ¡°You don¡¯t think that an ¡®impact factor¡¯ can measure the level of this paper, do you?¡± ¡°Just kidding, other papers, including those excellent ones, can be celebrated by organizing an academic conference before they¡¯ve even been formally published? The moment I assign it an impact factor, I¡¯d just be embarrassing myself, deserving to be criticized.¡± The other person asked, ¡°So, has the number one spot on your list been snatched by Deep Space University?¡± Falls chuckled, ¡°I have to admit, it¡¯s true, this achievement is kind of mind-blowing. And they have already gone to space by rocket. To catch up with the second rank, you¡¯d have to attach a spaceship-level add-on¡­¡± After the applause stopped, it was time for questions. The experts became active at last, each raising their hands to ask questions in turn. It took over an hour, and Zhang Yuan answered several technical questions, talking until he was hoarse, and finally stepped down from the stage. It¡¯s hard to forget the feeling of having this aura, winning the attention of the entire world. But at this moment, he didn¡¯t have much of a feeling, Zhang Yuan just wanted to get a good sleep. Being overstimulated for too long also has its side effects; whatever it is, it can wait until tomorrow. However, clearly, he had underestimated the enthusiasm of the crowd of fanatics. The moment he left the venue, many people had already seized the opportunity to follow him. ¡°Hey, bro!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve come up with a way to use recursive neural networks to simulate values, do you think it¡¯s feasible?¡± Zhang Yuan¡¯s face turned pale; even though they¡¯re both neural networks, they differ a lot. ¡°I¡¯ve thought of a deep neural network method, buddy, can we collaborate¡­¡± ¡°¡­How exactly do you use the Index Theorem, can you explain it again? I have an idea about a partnership in mathematics¡­¡± ¡°Handsome, let¡¯s exchange QQ codes!¡± ¡°Can I treat you to a meal? It would be good to discuss over a meal!¡± Zhang Yuan hurriedly thought about making an escape. Wait a minute, there seems to be a sleazy hand grabbing my hair, is this really necessary?! Is there anyone who can help?! Click, click, click, nothing but the sound of photos being taken, the noise was growing louder. It seemed no one heard his true inner voice. The crowd was becoming more raucous, with some enthusiastic young ladies seemingly unable to control themselves and wanting to kiss him. Although he had long lost his first kiss, Zhang Yuan was still a bit panicked. Can¡¯t you be a bit more elegant! He even saw the female reporters he had bullied before, including the young lady named Lin Xuanyuan, already blocking the escape route ahead. Another interview? What to do, waiting online. ¡°Follow me if you want to escape,¡± Reporter Lin said with a joyful laugh. Although he didn¡¯t hear her clearly, Zhang Yuan understood her expression. Even though it was a foolish act of escaping the wolf¡¯s den only to enter the tiger¡¯s den, Zhang Yuan still ran over there as if his life depended on it. ¡­ A quarter of an hour later, under the double escort of several female reporters and a cameraman, Zhang Yuan finally left the noisy Area A. At this moment, he thought Reporter Lin was pretty dominant. ¡°Ask your questions quickly.¡± Zhang Yuan tentatively said. He was very tired now, and he really wanted to sleep. Perhaps seeing that Zhang Yuan was truly exhausted, Lin Xuanyuan started to feel somewhat embarrassed. Moreover, considering the transitions in status and the completely different weight of financial and academic rankings, she even inexplicably developed a sense of admiration. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Lin Xuanyuan cleared her throat, trying to offer comfort, ¡°You seem to have lost a bit of weight¡­ It¡¯s been tough, hasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Do I?¡± Zhang Yuan glanced at her, ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s because of irregular sleep patterns¡­ Mmm, you seem to have gained a bit of weight.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Chapter 98 - 100 Jupiters Moon Chapter 98: Chapter 100 Jupiter¡¯s Moon Lin Xuanyuan was slightly annoyed, cursing inwardly that Zhang Yuan had no discernment at all¡ªshe had clearly lost 1 jin! Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. After a while, her heart finally calmed from the verge of bursting. She flashed a professional smile, ¡°There¡¯s no live broadcast now, let¡¯s relax and just chat casually. Hmm¡­ Is there a special method to generate inspiration?¡± Zhang Yuan coughed and replied, ¡°Inspiration? I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve done any Olympiad math problems?¡± ¡°Of course I have.¡± ¡°Doing scientific research is similar to solving Olympiad problems; the only difference is that there are no standard answers in research, which makes it more difficult. As for that sudden moment of epiphany, honestly, I don¡¯t know how it happens.¡± ... ¡°When you solve Olympiad problems and suddenly have an epiphany on how to solve them, the feeling in research is similar, so there can¡¯t really be anything generalizable¡­ Anyway, you first need to accumulate knowledge. You¡¯ve got to have enough tools before you can proceed, right? Then just keep thinking, keep thinking, keep thinking, right?¡± The beautiful reporter thought hard for quite a while but genuinely had no idea what to ask next. She merely found the response somewhat amusing. She wasn¡¯t familiar with academic matters; at most, she¡¯d report on normal life, study conditions, and perhaps the future impact. ¡°So, tell me about your daily life?¡± ¡°Ah, let¡¯s not over-publicize it.¡± Zhang Yuan shook his head, ¡°For a successful person like me, I¡¯m already fortunate enough; there¡¯s no need to add more topics and fuel more popularity.¡± ¡°¡­You should pay more attention to those who haven¡¯t succeeded, giving them more encouragement. The pain and confusion of exploring through the fog is truly hard to convey to outsiders, and sometimes even we don¡¯t know how we made it through.¡± Reporter Lin thought about it and said with a smile, ¡°What you said, we know. But, the way this world operates rewards the successful, not those who fail. Otherwise, who would want to strive to be successful?¡± ¡°Ah, you indeed have a point¡­¡± The entire interview took another half hour to complete. It was only after noticing Zhang Yuan had grown delirious that the attractive young lady reluctantly got up to leave. ¡­ While Zhang Yuan was soundly asleep, the entire meeting video and papers had already been sent back to Earth. Many scientists knew that a young lad on the spaceship had addressed the turbulence problem! It couldn¡¯t be said it was completely solved, but rather that the solution for the ¡°next step¡± pushed it to an unimaginably difficult level! To ¡°solve it next time,¡± one might truly need to delve into mathematical methods and discuss something ¡°smooth.¡± This issue created a huge stir within the community, with some equipped labs already beginning to undertake the most important ¡°plasma turbulence experiment.¡± Of course, it didn¡¯t stir much interest outside the community. To most people, issues like ¡°turbulence¡± were incomprehensible. Without understanding, they couldn¡¯t comment. People cared more about clothes, food, shelter, and things directly affecting them. Even if internet trolls saw the issue, they had no valid points to criticize. Otherwise, they might accidentally expose their own ignorance. ¡­ Waking up from bed the next morning, Zhang Yuan hadn¡¯t slept this soundly in a long time. He habitually checked his personal email. A pile of congratulatory messages from colleagues, including many scientists from Earth. Although it was troublesome, he still had to reply one by one, expressing ¡°heartfelt¡± thanks. There were also some reports on plasma turbulence experiments; some crazy scientists had worked overnight to complete some of the simplest tests. His heart skipped a beat as Zhang Yuan carefully read the experimental data above. Very good, everything met expectations. This meant that his algorithm was also very suitable for dealing with plasma turbulence. His heart gradually relaxed. The final part of his paper had been completed without much trouble. ¡°Zhang Yuan, congratulations on surpassing your father in this field!¡± It was a congratulatory video from Professor Wang Zhong. ¡°How does it feel to stand at the peak? Does it feel like you can look down on all the other mountains?¡± Zhang Yuan smiled. It indeed felt pretty good, but he also felt somewhat lonely. The more he knew, the more he realized he didn¡¯t know. He could now confirm that the turbulence problem could be approached with his current abilities, but it couldn¡¯t truly be solved. Professor Wang continued in the video, ¡°After the plasma turbulence experiment was validated, we held a night-long scientific symposium¡­¡± ¡°Many scientists believe that your algorithm is more effective than your father¡¯s method, with higher precision constraints. This will usher in another upgrade of the nuclear fusion industry, namely making miniaturization feasible.¡± ¡°¡­ Even the nuclear engine on the ¡®Earth Era¡¯ can be updated and replaced.¡± ¡°But after careful discussions, we still think it¡¯s unnecessary to upgrade the ¡®Earth Era¡¯ on this occasion and let it continue its journey into the distance¡­¡± ¡°Because with updates and replacements in the aerospace industry, the first priority is reliability and safety, and cost-effectiveness comes second. Your solution, although advanced, will need several years, or even decades, to be tested in long-term practice to ensure its reliability.¡± ¡°The classical engine of the ¡®Earth Era¡¯ has been time-tested and is reliable enough, while all the astronauts cannot afford to wait for decades. We hope you understand this.¡± Zhang Yuan nodded. ¡°This is another point,¡± Professor Wang said with a smile. ¡°Supervisors have sent down notices that if you want to stay on Earth, the state won¡¯t impose any penalties on you¡­¡± Zhang Yuan was slightly taken aback. ¡°However, from my personal point of view, I still hope that you will leave.¡± ¡°Young man, the worldly splendors aren¡¯t worth lingering over; look forward to everything three thousand years from now!¡± ¡­ Amid various discussions, Jupiter¡¯s moon, Europa, finally arrived. This moon was quite far from Earth, approximately 630 million kilometers away, and the signal transmission time between Earth and Jupiter was 2100 seconds. After several course corrections, the ¡®Earth Era¡¯ slowly docked at the Starry Sky Port of Europa. The spaceship itself was even slightly bigger than the port. Europa is the second largest moon of Jupiter, with a diameter of 3183 kilometers, and its gravitational acceleration is only one-eighth of Earth¡¯s. From the distant cosmos, it could be seen as a massive ice puck, with an ice cap on the planet¡¯s surface that is a hundred kilometers thick. According to scientists, beneath the thick ice layer of Europa, there could be liquid water, and possibly even extraterrestrial life. However, the ice layer over a hundred kilometers thick is ridiculously thick, and to this day, there isn¡¯t a particularly good way to drill through the ice for scientific exploration. According to speculation, even if there is extraterrestrial life, it would most likely be just microorganisms and would not affect humans. Here, the human population maintained a total of six million. They had built a complex and massive survival paradise within the thick ice cap, providing a good example for future interstellar colonization. The ¡®Earth Era¡¯ would stay here for about a month. During this month, the whole spaceship would be refueled with nuclear fuel, topped up with water resources, and undergo the final resource supplementation. Subsequently, the surplus population would enter hibernation, leaving only a small number of operational personnel to start the long interstellar voyage. The real long journey was finally about to come. Chapter 99 - 101 Postcard Chapter 99: Chapter 101 Postcard As a member of the scientific expedition team, Zhang Yuan was among the first batch of people to land on Jupiter¡¯s moon. He carefully descended the Space Elevator, walking on the icy cap of Jupiter¡¯s moon. In the dim sky, only a few lights flickered. These perpetual ice layers, not having melted since their formation, had a history of at least a billion years. Simply lifting his head, he could see the vast expanse of Jupiter. It truly covered the sky, its surface area about 23.5 times that of Earth when viewing the Moon, with wooden-like stripes visible to the naked eye across Jupiter¡¯s surface. Sometimes, he could also see the famous, dark red Great Red Spot, resembling a huge eye, quietly watching over them. If it were someone who feared ghost stories, seeing this real ¡®blood moon¡¯ might literally scare them to death. ... Zhang Yuan took several photos with interest. They had chosen this tidally locked side for the base because it faced a smaller probability of meteorite impacts. Jupiter, being a giant, had cleared countless meteorites for the inner planets of the Solar System. With Jupiter as a shield, Earth faced a much smaller probability of meteorite strikes, providing a more favorable environment for the formation of life. However, Jupiter¡¯s moon was not so lucky, with a significantly higher probability of meteorite hits for those living there. Inside the entire base, the most powerful Helium-3 Nuclear Bomb was stocked to fend off any potential meteorite strikes. There was no choice, as Jupiter was the most crucial nuclear fuel storage. ¡°A warm welcome to Jupiter¡¯s moon industrial base to all our friends who have traveled from afar. This is the furthest outpost of human space deployment,¡± a middle-aged man in a spacesuit said, smiling at everyone at the entrance to the base. He then shook hands with the Captain. Academician Ding turned around and said to Zhang Yuan, ¡°Let¡¯s go, this alien base might be similar to our future deployments¡­ You should take a good look around.¡± ¡°I have a few old friends I¡¯d like to visit here. Would you like to come with me, or do you prefer to go on your own?¡± Zhang Yuan thought for a moment, ¡°I have an elder I want to visit. I¡¯ll go on my own for now!¡± ¡°Then see you this afternoon.¡± The first thing Zhang Yuan did upon entering the base on Jupiter¡¯s moon was to enjoy a delicious grilled steak meal! The aroma of the grilled meat made his mouth water, and the anticipation of saliva secretion was almost akin to solving a math problem! Even though it didn¡¯t compare to the lavish meals on Earth, it was at least not synthetic meat. The base on Jupiter¡¯s moon, compared to a spaceship, was simply heaven! ¡°Not bad, really not bad! You solved the turbulence problem!¡± said the middle-aged man sitting opposite him, who was a former colleague of his father, giving a thumbs up and continually praising. ¡°Uncle Yuan, it was just luck. It was a numerical simulation method, and I haven¡¯t completely solved it¡­¡± Zhang Yuan replied modestly, smiling. ¡°Luck? It depends on skill! You think I don¡¯t understand this industry? Turbulence has many applications, from astronomy to geography. Look at Jupiter, that Great Red Spot, isn¡¯t that formed by turbulence? By the way, what time does the meeting start later?¡± ¡°Around one in the afternoon,¡± Zhang Yuan replied. ¡°Then there¡¯s still a bit of time to rest.¡± They had been invited to Jupiter¡¯s moon to attend an industrial academic conference. This base housed many existing achievements, the crystallization of human intellect, worthy of reference. The large structures inside the ice cap were very sophisticated, involving various cooling, support, and waste management structures, all needing coordinated planning. Especially, the emitted heat could not exceed the ice cap¡¯s tolerance; otherwise, too much melting could lead to collapses, earthquakes, and other disastrous accidents. Jupiter¡¯s moon, as a relatively successful colonized planet, was definitely beneficial to learn something new from an on-site inspection. ¡°Uncle Yuan, when are you planning to return to Earth?¡± Zhang Yuan asked, patting his satisfied belly. ¡°In three more months, it will have been three years, and I won¡¯t come back to this godforsaken place. No way to have real-time video calls, and it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen my son and daughter. My muscles are starting to atrophy too. If I don¡¯t return soon, I¡¯ll have a meadow growing on my head.¡± ¡°Where would that be possible¡­¡± Zhang Yuan hastily gave a hollow laugh. Jupiter¡¯s moon produces one of the most important resources for civilization¡ªenergy. Thus, this place is equivalent to the Middle East region of the past, with inevitably top-level salaries. The typical working period for common workers is about three years. Even the lowest-level positions can earn millions. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. However, due to its remoteness from the center of civilization, despite having money, one cannot enjoy it, much less take care of their families, so they must inevitably face certain risks¡­ All sorts of mishaps, earnestly earning money to return home, only to discover stories involving betrayal are far too numerous. ¡°Anything else you want to bring back to Earth? I can play courier for you,¡± Uncle Yuan said with a smile. ¡°Um¡­¡± Zhang Yuan thought for a moment, ¡°Do you have any postcards? I just want to send a few back.¡± ¡°Sure, I still have several left, I¡¯ll give them all to you.¡± After pondering for a while, Zhang Yuan wrote letters respectively to Wang Lili and Xu Yunjing, Professor Wang Zhong, his aunt¡¯s family, and Han Ziyue. They were very brief, describing his recent experiences and reflections. When he got to the letter for Han Ziyue, Zhang Yuan paused, unsure of what to write. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, is it a girl?¡± ¡°Ah, a quite lovely girl. I don¡¯t know how she¡¯s doing now.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Uncle Yuan chuckled, seemingly understanding. What to write? Inspired, Zhang Yuan drew his own portrait on the postcard, with a planet floating in the sky, which was Jupiter. His drawing skills were not very good, having only briefly learned from the artist Elwin. The whole portrait looked rather ugly, much uglier than he was in person. However, because of its ugliness, it also had a certain comedic charm. He signed his name at the bottom. [Zhang Yuan, 2265.8.31] I didn¡¯t have the chance to accompany you on your journey, nor an excuse to talk with you all night, and even less of an opportunity to tell you about my current life. I can only send a postcard, telling you that I¡¯m fine, remembering is better than meeting. Take care of yourself. Zhang Yuan sighed softly in his heart. Lastly, he left one postcard for himself. After deliberation, he wrote on it: [Today, we have arrived at Jupiter¡¯s moon, Humanity¡¯s outermost industrial base, where the Mother Ship will make its final resource replenishment. Jupiter¡¯s moon is not comparable to Earth, but it feels much more solid than being on a spaceship because, after all, it is a planet.] [From here, we will head towards the distant stars, not knowing when we might reach another planet.] [The long night is ahead, and the road forward is unknown. I hope in the future, we can remember this beautiful, precious day.] [2265.8.31] Done writing, he felt an inexplicable heaviness. Zhang Yuan looked up and said, ¡°I¡¯ll keep this one for myself. The rest, after you return to Earth, just drop them in a mailbox for me.¡± ¡°Alright, this little matter. Don¡¯t be a stranger!¡± Uncle Yuan carefully gathered the stack of postcards, nodding solemnly. ¡°Thank you! I¡¯ll be going now.¡± Chapter 100 - 102: Establishing New Standards Chapter 100: Chapter 102: Establishing New Standards Seeing that it was getting late, Zhang Yuan hurried onto a shuttle bus, heading for the science conference hall. This investigation of Jupiter¡¯s moon was not a sightseeing tour, and there were still many tasks to accomplish. The conference room was bustling with people, and after finding Academician Ding, he sat down properly. Academician Ding transferred a document to him and instructed, ¡°We have discussed such academic conferences many times before, but for you, it¡¯s the first time. There are many major directions that we, spaceship researchers, will need to study in the future. You can choose the reports you want to listen to on your own.¡± Zhang Yuan nodded. ¡°On the fifth day of the conference, you also have a report on the turbulence problem. Are you prepared?¡± ¡°No problem, I¡¯ve been prepared for a while.¡± ... Zhang Yuan was brimming with confidence; he had thoroughly memorized the paper a long time ago. He could recite it backward if needed. The theme of the conference was ¡°Exploration of Future Industrial Development,¡± which included a significant amount of improvement work on the existing industrial bases of the new civilization. The Earth Civilization had developed up to now, forming a massive and complex set of industrial standards. Among these standards, many were unreasonable, but because of historical reasons, the cost of correcting them was huge, so much so that it was impossible to correct. Academician Ding took the stage and spoke eloquently. ¡°Let me give a simple example. In the field of mechanical processing, constructing globally second-order smooth spline surfaces on geometrically complex surfaces has always been a very important core issue¡­¡± ¡°In the mechanical manufacturing, automotive, and aerospace industries, we have achieved very substantial developments. Scholars and engineers have put a lot of effort into constructing smooth spline functions on manifolds. But the results have always been unsatisfactory, with splines consistently having points where smoothness deteriorates.¡± ¡°Can this problem be solved?¡± ¡°The answer is, it cannot.¡± ¡°It has already been proven mathematically that it cannot.¡± A whispering buzz filled the conference room, and Zhang Yuan thought along as well. These points were new to him and quite intriguing. Academician Ding continued, ¡°Why not? Because the initial industrial system was incorrect.¡± ¡°The traditional spline construction methods, including spline theory itself, have irremediable flaws, which leads to any efforts by later generations to naturally extend traditional splines to manifolds being futile.¡± ¡°For the specific proof process, everyone can refer to the following materials¡­¡± ¡°I had previously looked through historical materials and found that the scholars initially did not pay attention to this issue. The industry was not developed enough at the time, and the parts were quite simple, not requiring much complex mathematics. The engineers, when establishing the entire standards, had no insight into the technological crises that could arise hundreds of years later¡­¡± ¡°The instability of the industrial foundation directly restricts the upper limits of the entire civilization. Our current industrial system has stabilized, and it¡¯s absolutely impossible to start over due to the unstable theoretical foundations. Think about it, how much would it cost to start everything over? All components would need to be redesigned¡ªis that realistic? It¡¯s not.¡± ¡°So, our future can only be limited to partial repairs, which is another type of sadness¡­¡± Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t know much about this area, but he still listened with interest. Their future key work should be the re-establishment of industrial standards for the new civilization. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Using the current mathematical foundations to rebuild an entire industrial system would be a very meaningful endeavor. That would make the entire new civilization stronger, and the subsequent development would also be smoother. The first day of the academic conference didn¡¯t formally end until 10 p.m., utterly exhausting. Academician Ding and others had additional activities planned, but Zhang Yuan decided to wander around by himself for a bit and then head back early to rest. At the door, there was a greeter waiting with enthusiasm; she was specifically responsible for receiving Zhang Yuan. ¡°Hi, hello.¡± ¡°Hello!¡± Shrugging his shoulders, Zhang Yuan felt a bit cold; the year-round temperature here was only in the teens, not high. It might have been to ensure that the heat emission stayed within limits. He felt somewhat uncomfortable. The girl said, ¡°Inside your spaceship, it¡¯s constantly 24 degrees, but your resistance to cold isn¡¯t great. Humans as a species lose any unutilized attributes very quickly.¡± ¡°Yeah, in fact, our resistance and immunity also become weaker, making us more susceptible to illness if we return to Earth.¡± ¡°Listening to your accent¡­¡± Coincidentally, the girl welcoming Zhang Yuan was also from Xia Country, even carrying a bit of a Donghua accent. On this alien planet, countrymen meeting each other was an emotional occasion. ¡°Are you from Donghua City too? Haha, that¡¯s too coincidental!¡± The girl even offered to help Zhang Yuan with his luggage, which he promptly refused. A gentleman could not possibly let a girl carry all these things. However, in this strange place, where his body felt oddly light, he found it hard to maintain balance with the things in his hands, almost forgetting how to walk properly. ¡°Let me do it; after all, there¡¯s hardly any gravity here.¡± Having lived here for years, the girl, named Jin Meilin, had gradually adapted to the gravity of Jupiter¡¯s moon and moved very steadily. To cover his embarrassment, Zhang Yuan casually asked, ¡°The people here are generally taller, is it because of the low gravity stretching the bones¡­ How tall were you originally?¡± ¡°I was only 1.65 meters tall originally, but I was stretched to 1.70 meters! Honestly, girls don¡¯t really need to be this tall. I also have to consume a biological calcium supplement daily to combat the loss of calcium, which is quite bothersome.¡± The girl made a face and pointed at the muscles on her thighs, ¡°Like me, who has been here a year, the muscle atrophy isn¡¯t severe yet. If one stays longer, it degrades to the point of being as soft as cotton.¡± Zhang Yuan laughed, ¡°Being taller is actually great; so many guys stuck at 1.69 meters would be desperate for such a second chance!¡± ¡°As for muscle atrophy, there are many solutions, such as exercising and using centrifugal force to simulate gravity. If you return to Earth, it would recover after a while, so there¡¯s no need to worry too much.¡± Jin Meilin laughed again and said, ¡°Mr. Zhang, it¡¯s not as you imagine; exercise can only slow down muscle degradation, not prevent it entirely. Especially the decline of the chest, it¡¯s too difficult to recover. Although, ha, it¡¯s quite perky here, but after returning to Earth, it¡¯ll be like a wilted eggplant, hard to imagine¡­¡± Zhang Yuan scratched his hair, smiling awkwardly. He glanced at her chest unconsciously, which indeed was very perky. Even the buoyancy of the air here could almost match the gravitational pull of Earth, creating an almost perfect shape. However, staring for too long seemed impolite, so after a quick glance, he looked away. Perhaps because it was rare to meet someone from back home, the two quickly got acquainted. The cheerful girl showed Zhang Yuan around various facilities at the base, which might also appear on Earth in the future. Chapter 101 - 103 The Meeting Concludes Chapter 101: Chapter 103 The Meeting Concludes The two strolled around the entire base and finally came to a large centrifuge. Jin Meilin smiled and said, ¡°Okay, this is your room. It will start rotating at eleven o¡¯clock at night until eight in the morning, at which point you won¡¯t be able to leave. Before that happens, you can come and find me if you need anything.¡± ¡°My room number is 8-1132, hehe¡­ if you like¡­ it¡¯s quite pleasant to spend time with a handsome guy.¡± Zhang Yuan blushed, pretending not to understand. ¡°Thank you, ha!¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll be leaving first.¡± ... Watching Jin Meilin¡¯s retreating figure, he privately wondered: Are the women here always so open? He was a bit confused. Upon reflection, perhaps it was due to the various changes that human organs undergo in a low-gravity environment, and those like him who had just disembarked their spaceship were relatively healthier? Stronger? Or maybe it was due to cultural changes caused by environmental factors. After all, Jupiter¡¯s moon is not Earth, and the pressure is still immense, driving people to subconsciously seek some psychological comfort. This had nothing to do with education. Zhang Yuan found it difficult to predict what changes Earth Era¡¯s environmental factors might bring to the whole of humanity¡­ Maybe it would become more like this place. But that was not for him to worry about. Casually judging others¡¯ private lives holds little significance. Even on Earth, isn¡¯t it just as open? He exhaled the stale air from his lungs and walked through the gate. The rooms here hung one by one from the transverse stems of a large centrifuge, which was hundreds of meters in width. When people entered sleep, all the rooms would begin to rotate with it. Thus, for at least nine hours of the day, people would feel an Earth-like gravity, helping to combat some of the physical degeneration caused by low gravity. Earth was truly everyone¡¯s home, whereas Jupiter¡¯s moon was just an industrial base, with no one wishing to live here long-term. If one¡¯s body completely adapted to this environment, that would be the worst-case scenario. The entire bed was cylindrical in shape, soft like a sponge. When artificial gravity was generated, one¡¯s body would involuntarily roll in the opposite direction without being flung out. After freshening up, Zhang Yuan lay quietly in bed. He recalled section A inside the Earth Era, which also seemed to have such Ferris wheel installations, albeit not currently in use. Once most people entered hibernation, these devices would start operating. Eleven o¡¯clock arrived, and as pure music began to play, suddenly, Zhang Yuan felt the world spinning. He rolled around the bed several times, and as the direction of gravity changed, what was once a wall became the floor, and the original floor became a wall. He finally understood why the toilets and all sorts of furniture here were so strangely designed. With this realization, he stopped delving into it. Exhausted, he soon drifted into a deep sleep¡­ Thus, the academic conference lasted for a total of five days. He learned many new things here and became acquainted with various technological devices of the future bases. On the fifth day, as the end neared, Zhang Yuan still had to give a special report due to the importance of the ¡°turbulence problem.¡± There were no particularly significant events during this period. Simply repeating the paper and answering some questions rounded off the task satisfactorily. A tide of flowers and praises confronted him, making Zhang Yuan a bit numb. In fact, the feeling of being admired and complimented was just so¡ªit got quite boring after a while, nowhere near as exhilarating as the moment he solved a problem. Two hours later, all the reports ended, and the closing ceremony officially began. Fewer people attended the closing ceremony. A middle-aged man looking like a leader took the stage and spoke with a cadence, ¡°¡­We are extremely grateful to the colleagues from Earth Era for traveling vast distances to join this academic exchange. We also thank the Deep Space Foundation, Yamaha Industrial Group, Big Food Bucket Food Co., Ltd., and Green Elf Technology for their sponsorships. Without these, this grand event would not have been possible.¡± The audience below chuckled and offered a round of friendly applause. ¡°¡­This conference was not only an occasion for academic exchange and mutual learning but also an opportunity for old friends to gather and new ones to meet. But however reluctant we may be to part, we must eventually say our final goodbyes.¡± ¡°¡­Especially our friends from the Earth Era, who will soon leave the rich cultural heritage and modern atmosphere of the Solar System that nurtured human civilization to embark on a journey of 20 light years.¡± ¡°My brethren, this will undoubtedly be a difficult journey.¡± ¡°And we, including our descendants, will provide silent blessings and continuous technical support from afar, in your eternal homeland¡­¡± ¡°Lastly, we sincerely wish everyone, bon voyage!¡± Amid thunderous applause, the academic conference finally drew to a close. Zhang Yuan felt he had gained much, both in terms of knowledge and perspective. Straight after enjoying a lavish dinner, everyone was ready to return to the spaceship. ¡°¡­Mr. Zhang Yuan, have you really not considered returning to Earth to engage in some scientific research? Young talents like you, even if you return, will not be punished at the state level.¡± A few officials tried to persuade Zhang Yuan to stay while at the dinner table. ¡°Thank you all for your kindness, but I am determined to go farther and see more¡­¡± he replied with a smile, ¡°This has been my heart¡¯s desire since childhood, please understand.¡± ¡°In that case, we will respect your wishes. We wish you a smooth journey.¡± The official smiled and nodded. He was only asking casually; even if Zhang Yuan was unwilling, it didn¡¯t really matter, Earth would still function without him. One more genius didn¡¯t make much difference, nor did one less. ¡°Thank you!¡± The well-meaning gentleman patted his shoulder and gave him an extra little gift, sponsored by Big Food Bucket Food Co., Ltd.¡ªtwo large boxes of vacuum-packed beef jerky! Each box weighed over one kilogram. Yes, he had two boxes, while everyone else only had one. Facing this small gift, Zhang Yuan¡¯s eyes lit up. He asked a bit anxiously, ¡°These things, I wonder if I can bring them onto the spaceship? I can¡¯t possibly eat two kilograms of meat right now.¡± Academician Ding smiled, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, gifts from the conference organizers should be allowed¡­ consider it a little favor.¡± The mood was quite somber all the way back, without the excitement they had when they first arrived. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Zhang Yuan pondered at the bottom of his heart how long these foods would last. The shelf life indicated on them was 24 months. But if stored in a space environment, in a vacuum and extreme cold, could they last for hundreds of years? Chapter 102 - 104: The Unknown Darkness Chapter 102: Chapter 104: The Unknown Darkness ¡°` So, should I devour it all before hibernation or wait until I wake up from hibernation to enjoy the blissful times? How to achieve the highest level of satisfaction while reducing the risk of spoilage is a tough mathematical problem. Bored out of his mind, Zhang Yuan constantly constructed ¡°satisfaction functions¡± and ¡°spoilage risk functions¡± in his mind, trying to obtain a higher degree of satisfaction at the cost of two kilograms of beef jerky. Half an hour later, with a soft ¡°rumble,¡± the elevator they were on reached the surface, and the outside temperature displayed on the instruments was minus 170 degrees Celsius. ¡°Mr. Zhang, this is as far as I can take you.¡± ... ¡°Maybe we¡¯ll never see each other again, could we¡­ hug?¡± The young girl who had been hosting Zhang Yuan hesitated for a moment and then whispered in his ear. Nothing much had happened over these days, yet she still felt it was a pity. Zhang Yuan was stunned for a moment, then opened his arms and embraced the girl he had known for just five days. Despite the pain of parting with his prized beef jerky, he still gave some to her. ¡°Thanks for looking after me these past few days. Please take this little gift.¡± The girl jumped up happily: ¡°Ah, you¡¯re really a good person! I haven¡¯t had Earth beef jerky for such a long time¡­ Sigh, everything here is so expensive¡­¡± From the surprised look in her eyes, it was clear that here on Jupiter¡¯s Moon, this was definitely considered a ¡°luxury item.¡± No wonder the organizers treated them like little gifts. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï Jupiter¡¯s Moon had begun to farm some livestock, but in order to maintain the health of the ecosystem, the output was inevitably low. ¡°It¡¯s just some beef jerky. It¡¯s nothing.¡± Zhang Yuan felt a pang of sorrow in his heart; the astronauts like him might also face such bleak tomorrows. Perhaps even bleaker. ¡°Bon voyage!¡± With a slight nod, Zhang Yuan turned and boarded the train to leave, and in the distance, he could still see the girl waving through the glass window. The Space Elevator was hundreds of kilometers away. ¡°Goodbye!¡± Along the way, one could see various bustling construction sites. The light of nuclear fusion had already been ignited on this planet, and further development was just a matter of time. With the efforts of generations, this place would become another home for humanity. Maybe¡­ Jupiter¡¯s Moon had its flaws compared to Earth. Its surface was all ice blocks. Water resources were not lacking, but the planet was extremely short of metals, rare earth elements, and organics. Current mining companies could only develop large meteorite mines that had fallen on the surface. However, the reserves of these meteorite mines were all quite limited; once they had been mined, there was nothing left. There was another larger moon of Jupiter, Jupiter¡¯s Moon, and mining it was even more difficult. Jupiter¡¯s Moon¡¯s size was similar to that of Jupiter¡¯s Moon, another Earth-like planet, but the frequent super volcanic activity and severe earthquakes made it an extremely dangerous place. No one would invest in an unstable place, where years of investment could be ruined by a violent earthquake. From this perspective, humanity¡¯s interstellar development level still had a lot of room for improvement. If we had the capability to calm volcanoes and earthquakes, there would be many more places in the Solar System that could be inhabited¡­ ¡°Senior Brother Zhao, I noticed that perhaps due to poor maintenance, a part of the population has severely deteriorated bodies, their muscle contours are quite different from those of normal people,¡± Zhang Yuan quietly asked while riding the Space Elevator back to Earth Era. ¡°Such significant physical changes might cause some irreversible damage. Even if they eventually return to Earth, it would be hard to recover, right?¡± This question had been nagging at him, with no time to ask. Now that he asked, it felt like a weight had been lifted. Under low gravity conditions, the pressure on the intervertebral discs caused by body weight disappeared, relieving the compression of the discs, making a person taller. Usually, if the damage was not severe, an astronaut¡¯s height would return to normal after returning to Earth. But low gravity environments have a series of impacts on gene expression. For some with severe deterioration, they may never be able to adapt to Earth¡¯s environment again. ¡°Have you also noticed¡­¡± Zhao Qingfeng thought for a moment and said in a low voice, ¡°Do you think they could be Xia Country people?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem likely. I also can¡¯t understand their language.¡± ¡°Could they be American or Lan Country people?¡± Zhang Yuan shook his head, ¡°That¡¯s probably not the case either.¡± ¡°Then who do you think they are, where might they come from¡­¡± Could they be from some small countries? After pondering for a moment, realization dawned on him. Behind all the glitz, there were countless unknown nights. Here, the wages of a regular technician were extremely high, starting at a million a year. Moreover, most people had only a three-year contract and would ultimately return to Earth. Three years was actually too short compared to the development cycles spanning several decades. Frequent personnel turnover was definitely detrimental to the whole development project. Therefore, for civilization and some capitalists, there would inevitably be some more ¡°cost-saving¡± and ¡°economic¡± methods. Even though automation industry had developed considerably, in complex environments, the role of humans could not easily be replaced. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Zhang Yuan quietly asked, ¡°So these people have settled here?¡± ¡°Yes, it started decades ago.¡± ¡°Why would anyone agree to this?¡± Senior Brother Zhao smiled and sighed: ¡°What you consider good or bad, willing or unwilling, is all relative. Why do people choose to live in harsh, desolate places? Why do they dwell on the loess plateaus? Why do some still live in the countryside to this day, instead of the city?¡± ¡°Compared to the hard times before, what¡¯s so bad about settling here? As long as you sell your labor, at least you won¡¯t starve to death. Life here can be quite flavorful, with much more prospects than on Earth¡­¡± Zhang Yuan fell silent, realizing he had asked a foolish question. He then asked, ¡°So, can they reproduce offspring?¡± Senior Brother Zhao glanced around and said, ¡°Allegedly, they can.¡± After a pause, he added, ¡°With current medical standards, it¡¯s still possible. There¡¯s just a bit of risk; the chances of getting pregnant aren¡¯t high.¡± The air fell into a silence as still as death. Zhang Yuan originally wanted to ask if, with such drastic environmental changes, generations upon generations of evolution could lead to reproductive isolation, forming different human races. But after thinking it over, he swallowed his words. Genetic selection would take at least tens of thousands of years, right? To ponder such a question indeed seemed like an overestimation of his own capacity. ¡°` Chapter 103 - 105 New Civilization History Chapter 103: Chapter 105 New Civilization History Academician Ding turned his head when he heard their conversation. He said softly with a sigh, ¡°Do you find it somewhat ridiculous, somewhat powerless? These days, we¡¯ve been discussing how to repair the technological hidden dangers left by our predecessors. But there are even greater dangers around us, social and cultural dangers.¡± ¡°Such dangers are hidden within our civilization. Who knows how many there are. Ethnic conflicts, ideological clashes, any small issue could potentially become a big problem. Even if the decision-makers are aware, they often don¡¯t know how to resolve them¡­¡± ¡°You know, how much we¡¯ve sacrificed to develop space? We can¡¯t just stop our endeavors because of some hidden dangers.¡± It¡¯s hard to predict what the next tens of thousands of years will bring. But what can be done about it? Without these people, how much longer would the development of Jupiter¡¯s moon be delayed? S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ... Many people on Earth may never know that some people are silently making sacrifices for their peaceful days. Zhang Yuan sighed deeply and nodded. The limitation of human vision is only their own lifetimes. From an information science perspective, the vast majority of political policies are configured using a ¡°greedy algorithm,¡± that is, the locally optimal solution under current conditions. The interests of the future must make way for the benefits of the present. The idea of planning for thousands or even tens of thousands of years is well beyond the limits of human wisdom. He wouldn¡¯t become sentimental about it. Even if he himself were the decision-maker, he could only choose this way. If something exists, it must have its rationality. The more complex and developed a civilization, the smaller the power of the individual appears. Even if he were the leader of the United Government, so what? In current society, various forces check and balance each other; many things can no longer be changed by one person. In the course of the discussion, Senior Brother Zhao suddenly said, ¡°Regarding the future development, in the New Civilization School, there is a profound and complex subject that remains a dream even today, called New Civilization History. Have you heard of it?¡± ¡°New Civilization History? Is it a historical subject?¡± Zhang Yuan had heard of this term before, but didn¡¯t know much about it, and his ears perked up with curiosity. Zhao Qingfeng smiled, ¡°The subject is complex. To put it in a sentence, it aims to find the global optimum for civilization, rather than the simple greedy algorithm of solving problems as they come.¡± ¡°Let me give you an example; the development of a civilization and the process of personal growth are actually quite similar.¡± In ancient times, due to a harsh living environment, any teenager with a bit of strength would be put to work. Although it met the immediate survival needs, it killed future benefits. This training method is known as the ¡°locally optimal strategy,¡± which considers only the present and not the future. Whereas, in the modern environment, a teenager receives obligatory education. Education seems to have no immediate benefit, just pure cost. However, the knowledge acquired comes into play when one matures into adulthood, manifesting greater social value. A person¡¯s life lasts only a mere century, and with a large number of samples, trying to plan and find relatively better solutions for the meaning of life is not very difficult. But what about a civilization? A civilization is the collective of all its people, inherently possessing high complexity, with a lifespan of thousands to tens of thousands of years, completely exceeding the lifespan of a single human. How to coordinate and plan? But that¡¯s exactly what New Civilization History aims to study. ¡°In the early stages of civilization development, populations were sparse, technology primitive, with constant risks of early death. It¡¯s similar to the infancy of humanity.¡± ¡°You know infants, don¡¯t you? Their worldview and values are not yet mature. So, a civilization in its early stages is also at its most malleable.¡± ¡°What about us then¡­ inheriting quite a legacy.¡± Zhang Yuan said with a smile, ¡°Are we like rich second-generation babies?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Senior Brother Zhao¡¯s expression became serious, ¡°We certainly have a deeper foundation, like the rich second-generation, but it doesn¡¯t mean we can squander it thoughtlessly.¡± ¡°What do you think is the most important thing for a civilization?¡± ¡°Technology, of course!¡± Zhang Yuan immediately replied. Senior Brother Zhao chuckled a little, as if to say ¡°I knew you would say that¡± and then shook his head, ¡°Technology is like a civilization¡¯s external power. You know about external power, right? With effort, it can be quickly mastered.¡± Zhang Yuan frowned, ¡°Quickly mastered? The development of technology is certainly not that simple¡­¡± ¡°Here, quickly mastered refers to minor achievements. Some basic technologies, if not limited by patents, wouldn¡¯t be difficult for other countries to imitate, right?¡± ¡°All right¡­¡± Zhang Yuan tentatively accepted this argument. ¡°For a civilization, what¡¯s actually more important is inner strength, including the cultural environment, political system, public ideology, and so on. These need to be cultivated slowly; there is basically no chance of quick success.¡± ¡°These inner strengths actually determine the upper limit of technological development, and that is also the focus of New Civilization History.¡± Zhang Yuan has never been much interested in politics, but influenced by various cultural courses at university, he knew a little bit. In some countries in South America and Africa, the public ideology tends towards pleasure; being satisfied so long as they are well-fed. Under this relatively lax ideology, it¡¯s natural that the whole country struggles to develop and remains just a source of raw materials. Whereas in the East Asian cultural sphere, there¡¯s a strong sense of crisis among the people, willing to strive for a better tomorrow and even endure hardship for the happiness of the next generation. Therefore, under this cultural environment, these countries advance to the forefront of the world, a historical inevitability. So, why do such radically different cultural environments emerge? ¡°The New Civilization History you speak of, it¡¯s supposed to lean towards the liberal arts, right?¡± ¡°No! You are mistaken, its ultimate essence is mathematics!¡± ¡°Ah?!¡± Zhang Yuan looked surprised, somewhat puzzled. Senior Brother Zhao smiled, ¡°According to New Civilization History, the entire inherent history of civilization is divided into a large number of critical nodes, each encompassing major historical incidents that occurred at that time. The events at one node have a certain impact on subsequent nodes and the entire network.¡± ¡°You can think of it as a neural network.¡± The concept was intuitive, and Zhang Yuan easily understood. ¡°When a civilization is in its early stages, with fewer critical nodes, the final result of the network is easy to change, meaning that an individual of great stature can have a tremendous impact on it.¡± ¡°But as the population base grows, and with the increase of information and culture, there are more and more network nodes, and the influence of an individual genius on the entire network becomes smaller and smaller.¡± Chapter 104 - 106: The First Batch of Hibernators Chapter 104: Chapter 106: The First Batch of Hibernators ¡°Can you understand what I¡¯m saying?¡± Zhang Yuan was silent for a while before he nodded. Senior Brother Zhao continued, ¡°So, the fundamental purpose of New Civilization History is to use a mathematical method to find the globally optimal solution in a complex network system¡­ that is, the best direction for the development of a civilization.¡± ¡°If such a method truly exists, we could indirectly or directly predict major historical events that might occur in the future, and by changing the current nodes, we could avoid potential disasters.¡± ¡°Predict the future?¡± Zhang Yuan was dumbstruck. Was this discipline not exceedingly metaphysical? Seeing his incredulous expression, Senior Brother Zhao laughed and said, ¡°It¡¯s just theoretical, really. The whole process is incredibly difficult.¡± ... ¡°To use mathematics to describe ¡®historical influence¡¯ is something a bit beyond the human brain capacity¡­ After all, this discipline has only a preliminary framework so far and is far from complete.¡± ¡°However, once New Civilization History is completed, a civilization would no longer need politicians or a ruling class.¡± ¡°Mathematics will guide the direction in which the entire civilization progresses!¡± ¡°This kind of global wisdom will far surpass the current political landscape, achieving a leap in the civilizational hierarchy!¡± ¡°Therefore, the history of Earth Civilization moving forward is very, very important for the development of this discipline¡­¡± Zhang Yuan pondered for a long time, but still found it somewhat incredible. During their casual conversation, they arrived at their destination¡ªthe Earth Era Space Elevator. After saying goodbye to the others, Zhang Yuan hurried to his room. Returning to this familiar small area, he suddenly relaxed, feeling utterly exhausted. After washing up, Zhang Yuan lay on his bed, his thoughts in disarray. He was reflecting on everything he had seen and heard these days and the ¡°New Civilization History¡± he had just learned about. He was still immersed in the discussion he had had with Senior Brother Zhao. Using mathematical calculations to guide future political planning. Linking global history, the future, and neural networks¡ªit seemed quite interesting. It was the first time he had taken such a significant interest in this school of thought. ¡°But¡­ what should be done?¡± How could ¡°historical problems¡± be translated into mathematical models? ¡°It might fall under the category of operations research. No, using just operations research isn¡¯t enough. Psychology and economics are also needed.¡± Zhang Yuan tried hard to think it through. Unfortunately, after much contemplation, he came up with nothing. It was tougher than the legendary ¡°Mathematical Abyss.¡± He had no idea how to approach it. He sighed softly and turned over in bed, finding himself unable to sleep again. Speaking of the ¡°Mathematical Abyss,¡± it was actually ranked according to difficulty levels. According to his understanding, the first level of math was equivalent to high school level and below, including mixed operations, Cartesian coordinates, trigonometry, geometry, etc. All of these were intuitive and not difficult to comprehend. The second level of math was equivalent to university math, including calculus, finding limits, partial differential equations, Fourier series, Laplace transforms, etc. These were within the range that ordinary people could master through effort. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The third level included Group Theory, topology, Algebraic Geometry, algebraic number theory¡ªsubjects that ordinary people might not master even with effort. Following that, the fourth level included Symplectic Geometry, random matrices, cohomology, etc., which only professional scientists could handle. The fifth level involved hugely influential world-famous conjectures, including the Riemann Hypothesis, P=NP, Hodge Conjecture, etc. The legendary Mathematical Abyss¡ª¡±Stock Market Prediction¡±¡ªwas at the sixth level. Yes, stock market prediction. No one knew whether the market would rise or fall tomorrow; if someone claimed to know, he must be a fraud. As for ¡°New Civilization History,¡± Zhang Yuan guessed it might be¡­ the seventh level. Trying to precisely predict future historical events made stock market prediction look trivial. Having realized this, Zhang Yuan no longer tried to challenge the super difficult problem beyond his capabilities, and he fell into a deep sleep. ¡­ Days passed by one after another. A continuous stream of materials was transported from the industrial base on Jupiter¡¯s moon to the Earth Era. The most common sight in the Space Port was a type of spaceship shaped like a ¡°beer barrel.¡± They had a very powerful propulsion system and carrying capacity, capable of approaching Jupiter and extracting the atmosphere from Jupiter¡¯s surface. Jupiter might look fierce and violent, but its boundary with the rest of the universe wasn¡¯t clearly defined. The outer atmosphere had only about one-thousandth of standard atmospheric pressure. Its atmosphere was about 90% hydrogen and 10% helium. Helium-3 could be used for fusion, while other elements could serve as propellants for ion engines. As various material resources continued to replenish, and as the time for the plan neared, ready or not, the hibernation plan had to officially start. That day, Zhang Yuan was having a ¡°farewell meal¡± with his friends in Section C. ¡°My friends, in a couple of days we¡¯ll enter hibernation, and I really wonder what the world will be like hundreds of years from now,¡± Wang Xin, the former leader of the cleaning team, was giving his pre-sleep speech. However, his expression did not seem as carefree as his words. ¡°So soon?¡± Zhang Yuan asked in surprise, ¡°Are you guys the first batch?¡± Wang Xin replied with a bitter smile, ¡°Yes, it seems those younger brothers and sisters don¡¯t want to go into hibernation early. My wife and I thought about it and decided to do a good deed by being in the first batch.¡± ¡°Giving the younger ones a bit more time is good, even if it¡¯s just for a few days.¡± The atmosphere around the table was somber, with many women¡¯s eyes turning red. In one¡¯s lifetime, you inevitably meet all kinds of people, and the total number may only be in the tens of millions. However, for most people, the encounter is just a fleeting moment that passes by on the street. The few hundred or thousand people with whom one ends up working and having conversations are precious. Some people are born socializers, like team leader Wang Xin; others are born loners, like Zhang Yuan. But undoubtedly, no one likes farewells. The day of parting, never to return, always comes, and in fact, it had arrived¡­ Wang Xin called out, ¡°Let¡¯s all have a drink! We might not be able to meet during the rotational breaks, but in three thousand years, we will surely meet again!¡± By then, it would already be the 53rd century. Such a terribly long time. ¡°Though it¡¯s just plain water, after this drink of water, I won¡¯t be able to eat much!¡± Before hibernation, a series of protective measures had to be in place¡ªit was not possible to let the food in the intestines hibernate as well. Thus, fasting before sleep was essential. ¡°Cheers!¡± ¡°Bon voyage!¡± Cheers! Clatter, clatter. ¡­ (I don¡¯t know why, but it seems like the comment section on the computer version has been blocked¡­ I didn¡¯t write anything offensive, so why was it harmonized again? It¡¯s funny, the chapter titled ¡°Leave and Science Popularization¡± was blocked the other day, and then it was immediately released¡­ ¡°Dear author, your work ¡®Deep Space Wandering Fleet,¡¯ chapter ¡®Leave and Science Popularization,¡¯ was found to be slightly in violation, but has now been amended and approved.¡± That¡¯s an article by an eminent academician! On further inspection, some of the previous chapters were blocked. Older books, including ¡®Under Deep Space,¡¯ also had many chapters blocked, truly a tough situation! Looks like I¡¯ll need to edit my work. Thankfully, this book is cleaner; they didn¡¯t execute Han Ziyue on the spot, otherwise, it surely would have been banned¡­) Chapter 105 03-25 - 107 The Death of Elwin Chapter 105: Chapter 107 The Death of Elwin Zhang Yuan took a sip of water and set down his glass. Indeed, a small number of people boarded the spaceship in pursuit of their ideals, but another group merely did it for a taste of ¡°being different,¡± to showcase their uniqueness. Some made the decision on a whim after being inspired by various videos, signing up for the spaceship journey; others simply did it for fun¡­ He sighed inwardly. How could there be so many people of high moral character? It was just that the cost of regretting the decision now was far too great. But at this moment, everyone¡¯s feelings were nearly the same, like wounds ripped open by a sharp weapon, with blood oozing out. One might try to stop the flow with their hands, but the bitterness seeped through the fingers, over the skin, and poured out unreservedly. These people were already brave enough; it was not right to blame them for anything else. Not everyone was like him, with few attachments back on Earth. Even for himself, when facing certain things, he could only turn away weakly, clenching his teeth as he left. Without the courage to look back. ¡°Alas, if only I had been accepted into graduate studies,¡± one lamented, ¡°I could have delayed it by a year or two. I¡¯m going into winter sleep next Wednesday, and I¡¯m currently getting injections and taking medication.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± One of the girls couldn¡¯t help but sob quietly. Then the atmosphere spread to others at the table, a chorus of whimpers rising, even some of the boys could not help becoming sentimental. There weren¡¯t many aboard the spaceship with the privilege to stay awake, aside from Zhang Yuan; most of these friends were scheduled for winter sleep. Sometimes, being the last to see them off was not a good thing. ¡°Alright, alright, let¡¯s not cry for now. I have a little gift for you all! From Earth, you know!¡± sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Zhang Yuan ran back to his dormitory and shared some of his cherished beef jerky with them. It was truly painful to part with! His only hope was that these snacks could divert their attention. But as they chewed on the beef jerky from home, the bitterness seemed even more pronounced¡­ ¡­ Thus, each day, about five thousand people¡ªnearly one percent of the population¡ªentered winter sleep, and the overall number of people on the spaceship began to gradually dwindle. As the winter sleep plan continued, many unnecessary facilities, including various entertainment venues and botanical gardens, began to close one after another. The entire ecosystem, like leaves on a withered tree, started to fall away piece by piece. But this was necessary, to safely endure the long and bitter winter by special means. According to the Captain¡¯s Room plans, these graduate students had the option to complete their education aboard the spaceship, a significant privilege. So, Zhang Yuan still had a year¡¯s worth of work to do on the spaceship. In theory, based on his current study progress, he could have graduated with his master¡¯s early. However, Deep Space University had no plans to enroll doctoral students at the moment, so they wouldn¡¯t make an exception just for him. Idle as he was, staying on for longer at the master¡¯s level to learn a bit more was not a bad thing. This day happened to be a rest day, and he and Li Zhendong were studying together in the library. ¡°Alas, about two thousand people chose to desert¡­ Why become deserters? Some things don¡¯t have an exit,¡± said Li Zhendong, somewhat resigned as he scrolled through his phone, coming across some rather disheartening news. ¡°At least we two have integrity!¡± ¡°My dad severely warned me¡ªhe said if I deserted, he¡¯d just leave me frozen out there.¡± It was unclear whether he was reflecting, envying, or reinforcing his own resolve. Zhang Yuan glanced at the news report: Roughly two thousand people, unable to bear the pressure, chose to leave the Earth Era ship. From the industrial base on Jupiter¡¯s moon, there were spaceships taking them back to the civilization of Earth. Various reasons¡ªmental illness, physical ailments, etc¡­ He shook his head and sighed, ¡°What else then? Their hearts are no longer here. Forcing them to stay on the spaceship? Impossible. Better to slink away.¡± Those who had a change of heart at the last minute would find themselves nailed to the pillar of shame in history. This act was even more despicable than desertion; even if they returned to Earth, their lives would be over. Whether in terms of public opinion or policy, Earth Civilization had enough means and capabilities to punish these cowards. Just then, Zhang Yuan suddenly received a phone call. ¡°Old Zhang, Old Zhang, something¡¯s gone wrong!¡± ¡°I have some very bad news to tell you¡­¡± It was Ye Kaifu¡¯s voice. For some reason, he was deliberately lowering his tone. ¡°What¡¯s wrong now?¡± Zhang Yuan¡¯s heart skipped a beat. ¡°¡­¡± Ye Kaifu stammered, struggling to speak. Zhang Yuan, noticing the unease in Ye Kaifu¡¯s tone and his heart picking up pace, pressed on, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Someone plagiarized my paper again?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not that¡­ I just passed by Area A when I heard some gossip.¡± ¡°The artist you know, Elwin, he¡¯s dead!¡± ¡°Dead¡­ dead?!¡± Zhang Yuan¡¯s pupils dilated slightly, and the hairs on his skin stood on end. How is that possible? ¡°He¡­ he committed suicide.¡± ¡°¡­ Why?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Zhang Yuan sat dazed in his seat. Artist Elwin wasn¡¯t a close friend, but they had some interactions, making him a friend nonetheless. How had he suddenly died? He vaguely had some guesses. The sudden bad news left him struggling to catch his breath. A person he had been chatting and laughing with just the other day, suddenly dead, never to be seen again. The feeling was very strange. After a while, a message came to his wristwatch; lowering his gaze, he saw that his superior, Lin Xuan, was summoning him to Area A. Without time to think much, Zhang Yuan stood up and rushed over hastily. ¡°Did you call me here regarding Mr. Elwin?¡± Zhang Yuan said this immediately upon seeing her. There was no smile on Lin Xuan¡¯s face as she sighed, ¡°Yes, the artist committed suicide. He left some of his personal belongings for you to have. Please come with me.¡± Zhang Yuan followed her and hurried to Area A. From a distance, he saw a white cloth; underneath, lay Elwin¡¯s body, surrounded by a group of solemn-faced soldiers. The Captain and several high-ranking officials were frowning, discussing how to handle the situation. One of the officers said to Zhang Yuan, ¡°We found your friend¡¯s body in the Star Library. The cause of death was suffocation, due to the illegal operation that opened his glass helmet, causing oxygen to leak out¡­¡± ¡°By the time we received the automatic space suit alert and rushed over, it was already too late.¡± ¡°May I see him?¡± Zhang Yuan swallowed and asked softly. ¡°If you wish,¡± was the reply. Pulling back the cloth, Zhang Yuan saw the dead artist. It was not his first encounter with death, but at that moment, his heart thudded hard nonetheless. Chapter 106 03-25 - 108 Chapter 106: Chapter 108 ¡°Starry Night The officer continued, ¡°Mr. Zhang, this video contains Elwin¡¯s last words. Please take a look.¡± Zhang Yuan took the camcorder and pressed the button. ¡°¡­I never realized how weak I was. I¡¯m sorry, these are my final words, I have decided to end my life here,¡± Elwin said in a hoarse voice in front of the camcorder. His gaze was very dim, as if the flame of life had already vanished from his face. ¡°¡­On Earth, I was a world-renowned painter, and the elite collected my works with great pleasure. In their eyes, I was a true artist through and through. Whether they were officials or billionaires, they all treated me with great reverence and respect.¡± ¡°Perhaps this had something to do with my father, who was also a great artist. Whether they liked me or my father, who knows?¡± ¡°For me, obtaining anything was a snap, be it wealth, power, or beautiful women. I once served as the mayor of a small city in Lan Country, savoring the taste of power; I also set the record for bedding women in one night, a satisfying yet empty evening¡­¡± ¡°I have indulged in meals costing millions¡­ lived in mansions of 3000 square meters.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve climbed Mount Everest, traveled through the Mariana Trench¡­ Each performance art piece added to my price.¡± In the video, Elwin reflected on his glorious past with a satisfied smile. ¡°Do you know? Actually, life like this is pretty boring. After enjoying yourself, sometimes you feel unsatisfied, desiring even higher levels of pleasure. Ah, perhaps humans are just creatures that never know satisfaction.¡± ¡°Various desires are like a magic-filled black hole. After falling into the black hole, sometimes you want to struggle out, but seeing everyone fighting to jump into it, you don¡¯t want to leave anymore. But apart from drugs, it seems there¡¯s no greater pleasure¡­ who knows¡­ I always felt life was meaningless.¡± ¡°Suddenly one day, on a whim, an idea occurred to me¡ªto leave Earth. I wanted to find my art on an Outer Planet!¡± ¡°I signed up enthusiastically, made donations, and the expected praise came in droves!¡± ¡°That moment was just too exhilarating! Exhilarating!¡± As he said this, Elwin¡¯s eyes bulged, and his expression turned fierce: ¡°But this was probably the biggest mistake of my life.¡± He spread his hands: ¡°Everything vanished.¡± ¡°I fell from the high Cloud Top Heavenly Palace and became a mere mortal. I can no longer do as I please, and I still can¡¯t accept this change.¡± ¡°But I know, it was my only chance in life to achieve greatness¡­¡± ¡°If I stayed on Earth, I would have sunk into ultimate depravity. The black hole is called a black hole because once you leap in, there¡¯s no escape.¡± ¡°But now, staying with Earth¡¯s Time, I feel endless regret, pain, and annoyance¡­ I want women, gourmet food, luxury cars!¡± ¡°Do you understand this contradiction?!¡± Elwin paused then pointed frenetically at a painting behind him, ¡°I did it!¡± ¡°This is true art!!¡± After a while, his agitated expression calmed down: ¡°My death is my own decision, unrelated to anyone else. Just let me stay here, I don¡¯t need to witness the new Mother Star firsthand, whether it¡¯s good or bad, let it remain in my imagination.¡± ¡°¡­If possible, please scatter my ashes on the soil of Jupiter¡¯s moon, thank you, everyone.¡± ¡°Send this painting back to Earth, sell it at auction, and donate all the proceeds to the Deep Space Foundation.¡± S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°It is the best, most outstanding work of my life!¡± ¡°And the second painting, give it to my friend, Mr. Zhang Yuan. I don¡¯t understand science, I simply hope you can become the brightest star in the Starry Night.¡± The first oil painting, a fiery red sky, with ashen grass, a solitary figure looking up at the stars. Countless stars, including the Sun directly above, glimmered and shone in the sky. The seemingly unremarkable painting evoked feelings of intense frustration, regret, and helplessness, akin to the depression and ambivalence Elwin felt before his suicide. The sky¡¯s infinite brightness still couldn¡¯t illuminate the vast darkness, including the pitch-black silhouette. This feeling of helplessness reached deep into the soul, as if capable of tearing the heart apart. The subtlety of this feeling could even be sensed by someone like Zhang Yuan, who was completely ignorant of art. It was a feeling of despair, a struggle, and a refusal to accept reality. A furious cry, a longing unfulfilled. The new Mother Star, ultimately was not the true Mother Star, but no matter what, one could never return to the past. Once a choice was made, there was no going back. It wasn¡¯t just his personal mood, it also represented the entire Earth Era. Zhang Yuan let out a long sigh. Yes, there¡¯s no turning back. From today, human civilization may have gained an artist comparable to Van Gogh. Elwin was feeble, but he was not a coward. The final masterpiece of his life, one that inspires both sighs and admiration. The second painting that followed was pure black, the only speck of brightness in the upper left corner. What set this apart was that this point of light was made up of countless tiny, dense specks. This painting was inspired by a conversation he had with Elwin at that time. Zhang Yuan finally understood why Elwin wanted to give it to him. He stood there in silence for several minutes. ¡°This has to be declared an accident for now, otherwise, it will lead to more instability¡­¡± Captain Ma said softly, ¡°Let those who need to stay, stay; those who need to leave, do so. Once everyone is determined to hibernate, we¡¯ll disclose this.¡± ¡°As for this painting, according to Elwin¡¯s will, it is given to you. I hope you cherish it.¡± ¡°It might be the first piece of art for the new civilization.¡± Zhang Yuan returned to his dormitory, slowly moving the painting to his quarters. He stood in front of it, lost in thought for a long time. Elwin was gone, had just chatted with him a few days ago. It still took his breath away. He suddenly noticed a line of small text on the back of the painting. ¡°Starry Night, 2265.9.11, Elwin.¡± Zhang Yuan looked up and turned off the light. There wasn¡¯t a trace of light in the room, the dot of white in the painting seemed to light up in his heart. Emotions burst forth in that moment, Zhang Yuan rubbed his eyes¡ªnot crying, but bidding farewell to a friend. Goodbye, my friend, farewell¡­ Chapter 107 03-25 - 109 Departure Day Chapter 107: Chapter 109 Departure Day 2265.9.27, the final day of departure. Cold and empty above Jupiter¡¯s moon, the Starry Sky Port is deserted, without its usual hustle and bustle. All industrial spaceships make way for the launch of ¡°Earth Era.¡± Looking down from the astronomical observatory, one can still see various industrial indicator lights on the surface. They form a variety of regular patterns, blinking incessantly. This ancient aerospace language, undisturbed by electromagnetic radiation, is something every astronaut must learn. Watching the time tick away, Captain Ma speaks softly, ¡°I hope our future Mother Star will be a bit better than this one¡­¡± ¡°In theory, it should be,¡± a nearby assistant responds, ¡°Our Mother Star is brighter, and its gravity more suitable.¡± Gliese 581g has a mass 3.1 times that of Earth, a radius 1.4 times that of Earth, with a theoretical gravity of 1.08 times that of Earth¡ªoverall, not too bad. But with the current observational methods, it is impossible to know the exact atmospheric conditions of this planet. ¡°Within the Solar System, have the results of the astronomical observations come out?¡± Captain Ma asks again. ¡°The results are out. The risk of meteorite attacks within the Solar System is about 0.00007 percent, which has been reduced to the lowest level.¡± ¡°Then¡­ let¡¯s set off!¡± The command from the Captain¡¯s Room is quickly disseminated to all departments. ¡°Spaceship launch countdown: ten, nine, eight¡­¡± ¡°Main engine start!¡± Zhang Yuan watches the nuclear engine¡¯s slow heat-up with surging emotions. High-energy microwaves, one after another, begin to heat the device, and plasma soon emits bright light. At this time, there is little that these workers can do, at most only monitor some parameter changes. The spaceship¡¯s Artificial Intelligence can detect errors quicker than the humans. Zhang Yuan certainly doesn¡¯t hope for any accidents. Soon, the core temperature of the engine room reaches a high of five hundred million degrees. The velocity of the plasma turbulence also increases rapidly. ¡°Five, four, three, two, one¡­¡± He silently counts the countdown in his mind, eyes glued to the screen without blinking. As the last second passes, suddenly sixteen bright blue lights appear on the tail of the spaceship! These streaks of blue light signify powerful plasma pulses. The nuclear engine will start at maximum power, providing an acceleration of three-thousandths of a meter per square second to the spaceship. The entire vessel emits a very faint vibration, particularly noticeable in the engine room. Three hours later, as Earth Era draws farther away from the Space Port, it deploys its massive Light Sail. Large lasers from the surface hit the Light Sail again and again, reflecting a mirror-like brilliant golden color. Never before has such a powerful reflection been seen on the surface of Jupiter¡¯s moon, to the point where the surface workers see another small Sun rising. Massive cheers erupt from the crowd; many workers raise their hands high, their heads tilted back, witnessing the great spectacle in the sky. It¡¯s at this time that Senior Brother Zhao quietly says, ¡°A speed of one-thousandth the speed of light is a great achievement within my realm of understanding, requiring a lot of technical support. But for interstellar travel, it¡¯s still too slow.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped¡­¡± Zhang Yuan replies, ¡°Without a breakthrough in fundamental theory, Curvature Navigation remains science fiction. For small-mass spaceships, using photon paths and nuclear fusion, we can accelerate to ten percent of the speed of light. Any faster and our materials can¡¯t handle it¡­¡± ¡°Do you think there will be breakthroughs in this area in the future?¡± Zhang Yuan thinks for a moment, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± After a while, he adds, ¡°Probably not.¡± Jupiter¡¯s moon has a weak gravitational pull, and within a day, the Mother Ship breaks free from it, heading toward Jupiter. The next flight trajectory is very complex. Firstly, in the initial phase, using Jupiter¡¯s gravity for a gravitational slingshot effect and redirection. The capacity to gain from the gravitational slingshot is limited, but with Jupiter¡¯s average rotation speed of 13.07 km/s and an average orbital radius of 5.2 AU, shaving a little bit off the top using the current speed of the spaceship is not an issue. Next, entering the second phase within the Solar System, orbiting in an elliptical trajectory for eight periods, fully utilizing the photon paths from Jupiter¡¯s moon, the Moon, and the Sun¡¯s own light to accelerate the spaceship. During these eight periods, the speed of the spaceship will continuously increase. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Only then comes the third phase, heading straight for ¡°Gliese 581.¡± It sounds complex, but the Artificial Intelligence within the spaceship is fully capable of handling such calculations, so there¡¯s no need to worry too much. After all, Earth Era is a new spaceship, all of its designs also fully take into account the situation of long-duration spaceflight, and the probability of malfunctions in the short term is not large. ¡­ Two months later, the number of people awake has been reduced to 20,000, and it continues to decrease. This part of the awake population mainly consists of the spaceship¡¯s primary working personnel and graduate students enrolled in school. Zhang Yuan becomes increasingly busy, nothing like before when he had ample personal time. One meeting after another leaves him dizzy and disoriented. The spaceship has already started assigning planned tasks, and he needs to learn some new things. For example, the operation of the nuclear power station, mainly responsible for the normal operation of the unit and the control interface in the main control room, and the local operation of power station equipment and systems, etc. ¡°¡­Next time you wake up from hibernation, when the population is extremely sparse, you¡¯ll have to take on even greater responsibility, similar to the real leadership.¡± ¡°Graduate students are cultivated for this purpose. Everyone needs to shoulder their responsibilities.¡± After this meeting, his work level had risen to Level 16, ranking as middle to upper management on the spaceship. However, Zhang Yuan doesn¡¯t feel particularly happy. He sees Li Zhendong looking gloomy off to the side and pats his shoulder, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, feeling down? You¡¯ve reached Level 11, also a middle-level cadre.¡± Li Zhendong forces a laugh, ¡°It¡¯s not about the work level. Being a bit lower than a freak like you doesn¡¯t bother me¡­ It¡¯s just that my girlfriend is in hibernation, and it will be centuries until I see her again, which feels pretty depressing.¡± Life partners don¡¯t have the right to hibernate at the same time, only to wake up almost simultaneously. The spaceship¡¯s various production lines are shrinking; no free riders are tolerated. Zhang Yuan jokes, ¡°It¡¯s affecting your mood, huh? I always say, staying single is the best form to maintain a high fighting spirit.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just envious, jealous!¡± Li Zhendong suddenly thinks of something and puts on a teasing grin, ¡°Comrade Zhang Yuan, do you know what my biggest wish in life is?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s that¡­before I close my eyes for the last time, you could find a wife.¡± ¡°Get lost!¡± Zhang Yuan¡¯s face reddens slightly, ¡°Is finding a wife really a big deal?¡± Chapter 108 03-25 - 110 The Throat of Fate Chapter 108: Chapter 110 The Throat of Fate Li Zhendong was not wrong; humans are, after all, social beings. The gradual decrease in their kind is like the withering of leaves on a large tree, causing a similar unease among the remaining leaves. Even Zhang Yuan would have similar thoughts, feeling abandoned by the era as he watched his friends enter hibernation one by one. Once, while eating in the cafeteria, he suddenly realized that apart from the tireless robots, he was the only person there. That sense of loneliness was indescribable; he could only sit there stunned for a while before putting down his utensils. He had absolutely no appetite for anything. When the awake population fell below 10,000, basically, all functions that could be shut down were shut down, including most of the laboratories and industrial areas, leaving only the minimal necessities for survival. All the population was consolidated into Section A, and the merging of people brought a slight bustle to the surroundings. Each person was assigned a small house attached to a large centrifuge, much like those on Jupiter¡¯s moon. At 11 p.m., the entire Ferris wheel would start spinning, effectively simulating Earth¡¯s gravity. And the large Circular Living Area of Earth Era itself would slow down to one-twentieth of the standard speed, taking a little more than half an hour to complete one rotation. The reduced angular velocity meant that the simulated gravity was only 0.22 times that of Earth¡¯s. There was no helping it; no machinery could function normally in space for 3,000 years. If the central bearings of Earth Era wore out too severely and malfunctioned, there was no way to repair them with just the people inside the spaceship. Only the slow spin, as slow as a snail¡¯s pace, could endure the long passage of time. Besides his new tasks related to the nuclear power station, Zhang Yuan¡¯s leisure study task was to monitor the turbulence of the nuclear fusion engine. Actually, it was a very boring and idle job. The second-generation engines, which had been around for more than thirty years, had very perfected control methods and usually did not experience significant errors. And he, personally, no longer wanted to continue studying turbulence. Or to put it another way, even he felt that he could not produce better and stronger results in this field. Next door, Senior Brother Zhao, in his free time, was always reading juvenile comics, a sight that was quite surprising. Perhaps the hibernation of his wife and the girls in the lab revealed his true nature. It turned out Senior Brother Zhao was such a closeted person. ¡°Zhang Yuan.¡± In the midst of idleness, Senior Brother Zhao suddenly spoke, ¡°There¡¯s no need for scientific research inside the spaceship anymore. You really have to relax; with such a small population, depression is a possibility. This copy of ¡®Pirate King¡¯ is an original comic, want to borrow it?¡± Zhang Yuan said, ¡°Studying makes me happy.¡± ¡°Cough cough,¡± Senior Brother Zhao immediately turned serious again, ¡°I also think this work is too simple for you. Maybe, you could take on some more challenging tasks. I have four directions to recommend to you¡­¡± ¡°Four directions?¡± ¡°The first is the design of new industrial standards, involving very tedious and complex mathematical calculations. If you¡¯d like, you could go to Academician Ding and take on some tasks.¡± ¡°Secondly, learn some knowledge about spaceship control systems. I believe the Science Committee will grant you higher clearance. The more people who understand the spaceship control engineering, the better, as it will make hibernation shifts more convenient.¡± ¡°Thirdly, write some doctoral theses to earn a doctoral degree. Your current level of knowledge, theoretically, is at the doctoral level, but you still need a thesis. With all the labs closed, I suggest you switch to a scientific field and work on something math-related, or in New Civilization History.¡± Senior Brother Zhao spoke freely, ¡°Especially New Civilization History¡ªif you¡¯re interested in this subject, you might consider self-studying¡­ um¡­ this school is actually quite interesting. The Scientific Council is also interested in bringing you in¡­¡± ¡°New Civilization School?¡± Zhang Yuan had always been uninterested in politics, ¡°I have no political beliefs; can I still join this school?¡± Zhao Qingfeng looked up at him, ¡°You know, it¡¯s a bit different from the usual, the New Civilization School is a Cosmic Sociology that seeks truth and logic, without overly complex and rigid political ideologies. Otherwise, it would have already been banned by the ruling classes on Earth¡­¡± Zhang Yuan paused, it seemed to be true. But he left one thing unspoken; why should his own philosophy be considered the truth? Indeed, Senior Brother Zhao said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ve already mentioned before, the New Civilization School¡¯s core content is pure Mathematics. Whether Mathematics is the ultimate truth, I don¡¯t know, but it could be the closest thing to truth.¡± ¡°We generate decisions for the entire civilization through calculations, and these decisions are likely globally optimal solutions, not just locally optimal ones, avoiding situations that are very suitable now but turn out to be terrible later.¡± ¡°Such decisions cannot be compared to those made by a leader on a whim, thinking they have the right approach¡­¡± Zhang Yuan thought for a moment and voiced his doubts, ¡°Decisions for a civilization, all subject to calculations¡ªyour idea sounds good, even making the ruling class unnecessary.¡± ¡°But, how should the calculations be performed? How to ensure the accuracy of the algorithm? The calculations are also set by humans; how can we ensure fairness in humans themselves? Are decisions generated through Artificial Intelligence calculations to be accepted by all?¡± ¡°I think, handing over fate to algorithms, to calculations, is something most people would have trouble accepting. They would doubt it, and dislike this controlled behavior. Humans, as a biological species, might be ruled by other humans, but can never be ruled by Artificial Intelligence¡­¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. These are all issues.¡± Senior Brother Zhao shook his head and sighed, ¡°Humans are an arrogant species, always presumptuously believing that they can seize control of their fate. Sadly, 99% cannot. That¡¯s indeed the biggest obstacle.¡± He posed another question, ¡°How many colony ships like Earth Era do you think Earth Civilization will be able to launch in the next few hundred years?¡± Zhang Yuan thought for a moment, ¡°There might be one or two more, or even three or four. It¡¯s all possible.¡± Senior Brother Zhao smiled mysteriously and held up one finger, ¡°There¡¯s a 66.23% probability, one.¡± ¡°The remaining probability, zero. No other possibilities.¡± Zhang Yuan was slightly shocked; Senior Brother Zhao¡¯s expression was not joking. He pondered for a few seconds, questioning, ¡°How was this probability calculated?¡± Senior Brother Zhao said, ¡°Through a complex function system in New Civilization History¡­¡± Source: Webn0vel.com, updated on Novg0.co S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Chapter 109 03-25 - 111: Time Train Chapter 109: Chapter 111: Time Train Senior Brother Zhao blinked, ¡°A hundred years ago, Mr. Qi Yuanshan had already calculated the emergence of the Earth Era Time code, and the remaining conclusions were given by him¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s a pity he didn¡¯t provide a stronger conclusion.¡± ¡°So far, New Civilization History has not established a genuine theoretical foundation. We need more geniuses to take part in it, as well as more precise historical samples¡­ On Earth, the Deep Space Foundation is burdened with such a task.¡± Zhang Yuan¡¯s confusion grew even more. There were actually people who wanted to predict the future, which was simply unimaginable! Seeing his expression, Senior Brother Zhao smiled without saying a word. After a long silence, he spoke again, ¡°Do you know what kind of civilization Earth Civilization is considered in the calculations?¡± ¡°What kind of civilization?¡± ¡°An ordinary civilization.¡± Is Earth Civilization really so mediocre? Zhang Yuan did not think so, at least it was still thriving for the moment. In the end, Zhao Qingfeng threw out another line, ¡°Don¡¯t disbelieve it, pessimistic scientists actually make up a vast majority.¡± ¡°Senior Brother Zhao, do you also hold a pessimistic expectation?¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± Zhao Qingfeng continued, ¡°Your father was once a member of the Scientific Council, making a significant contribution to this discipline. Unfortunately, he did not live to see today, our departure¡­¡± ¡°If you want to understand these calculations, you could visit Professor Lin Fangzheng from the Scientific Council. I think he would be very welcoming of you¡­¡± Spurred by a strong curiosity, Senior Brother Zhao refused to say anything more, which was incredibly frustrating for him. This guy was definitely doing it on purpose! In the following few days, since he had nothing better to do, Zhang Yuan applied for more projects from Academician Ding, including the mathematical foundation design for New Civilization¡¯s industry. Before the hibernation, he would do as much as he could, without any particularly stringent rules. Keeping busy was always a good thing; it prevented unnecessary thoughts. Then, trying to control his intense curiosity, he visited Professor Lin Fangzheng, the president of the Scientific Council. This appeared to be a very kind middle-aged man, with an air of scholarship, similar yet somewhat kinder than Professor Wang Zhong¡¯s demeanor. ¡°You¡¯ve reached Level 16 in your job position, haven¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve just been promoted.¡± Zhang Yuan nodded; his recent good work, coupled with sufficient ability, had propelled his job level to soar rapidly like a rocket. The usual graduate students only had Level 10 positions. ¡°Very good! I¡¯ve read your turbulence paper¡­ By the way, are you familiar with the Motivation Theory about dreams?¡± ¡°Motivation Theory? I¡¯ve read Professor Wang Zhong¡¯s paper.¡± The two chatted casually for a while, and Zhang Yuan gradually relaxed. Scholars like these were easy to talk to as long as you had genuine knowledge. It was like standing on the same starting line; there wasn¡¯t a huge disparity in status. Professor Lin Fangzheng nodded, ¡°¡­My research direction is mainly New Civilization History, which is closely related to the Motivation Theory. This discipline is too complex, and we urgently need more geniuses to perfect it.¡± Zhang Yuan said, ¡°In the future, I could try to learn it. After all, after waking up from hibernation, there will be plenty of time.¡± Professor Lin Fangzheng replied, ¡°That would be great. I¡¯ll send some materials to your email. If you¡¯re interested, have a look¡­ And if you come up with any good ideas, you could try writing some related papers and send them to me.¡± ¡°The history of Earth Civilization will bring a qualitative change to this discipline. We must seize this opportunity.¡± Zhang Yuan felt somewhat amused, a political discipline disguised as mathematics suddenly seemed less repelling. Even Earth¡¯s rulers supported this discipline; it was a little puzzling as to why these experts wielded such influence. After saying goodbye to Professor Lin, Zhang Yuan returned to his bedroom and heaved a sigh. He read with a mix of excitement and apprehension about this famous yet somewhat mysterious discipline¡­ A day later. His face alternating between red and pale, he put down the materials, feeling as if he had been persuaded. With just a glimpse of the surface, he felt his knowledge reserves were insufficient. This discipline seemed as if it originated from mysterious chaos. It was hard to imagine the creator¡¯s brilliance. As he read, the intricate structure even made him want to applaud in admiration! But, unfortunately, the discipline had birthed an ultimate prophecy: Earth Civilization was nothing more than an ordinary civilization. ¡­ Over the next ten months, Zhang Yuan fully embraced his workaholic nature and became exceptionally busy. He published several papers, one on the application of Ricci curvature flow in industrial design and another involving topological obstacle theory methods, both receiving favorable responses. However, due to the relatively small total population, it always felt somewhat lacking. The entire living environment was undergoing dramatic changes; people were entering hibernation every day. The thought of soon having to bid farewell to this era made whatever he did seem to lose its original significance. This feeling was peculiar. Perhaps, humans are inherently social creatures. If there were only one person left in the world, even with eternal life, it wouldn¡¯t hold much meaning. This day had finally come, it was Zhang Yuan¡¯s turn for hibernation. ¡°Here¡¯s to you!¡± After completing his final work summary, Academician Ding and Senior Brother Zhao were seeing him off. His other close friends, Li Zhendong and Ye Kaifu, had already entered hibernation; it had been Zhang Yuan who had bid them farewell. Clink! Zhang Yuan merely touched his lips to the glass, sipping a bit of the boiled water inside. To prepare for hibernation, he hadn¡¯t eaten for two days, just receiving regular injections of glucose to maintain bodily functions. His stomach was empty, but under the effects of the medication, he felt no hunger at all. ¡°Have you said goodbye to all your friends on Earth?¡± ¡°I have.¡± Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t say much more. He had sent video messages to each of his friends on Earth and received many well-wishes in return. Perhaps it was the hibernation drugs, but Zhang Yuan felt his mind was clouded, a touch duller than usual. This dullness also masked the despair and loss that preceded hibernation. ¡°Go on, in a while, we¡¯ll be entering hibernation too,¡± Academician Ding shook his head and sighed softly, ¡°This era will inevitably pass. Don¡¯t be too sad; we, this generation, must be prepared for this¡­¡± Soon, Zhang Yuan arrived at the hibernation check-in. A middle-aged man asked quietly, ¡°Do you have any regrets left behind?¡± After pondering for a while, Zhang Yuan finally said, ¡°No more.¡± ¡°Your assets?¡± ¡°They¡¯ve been arranged accordingly.¡± Then, he signed his name on the agreement. With the help of two nurses, Zhang Yuan lay down quietly inside a rectangular hibernation device. Then, the nurses injected him with another dose of the drug. To put it metaphorically, these hibernation chambers resembled drawers embedded within a large cooling mechanism. Each person had less than two cubic meters of space, and in such a small area, they were to sleep for hundreds of years. A heavy drowsiness descended upon him. Though his nerves were completely numbed, the painful sense of separateness was unrelenting. At that moment, Zhang Yuan felt an unstoppable sorrow within him. ¡°Do not worry, the failure rate of the hibernation chamber is below one in a million.¡± ¡°If nothing unusual occurs, your hibernation period will be 183 years, and then you will wake and work for approximately two years¡­¡± 183 years, such a long, truly lengthy time. Amidst the nurse¡¯s gentle voice, Zhang Yuan¡¯s eyes slowly dimmed. ¡°In three more months, I¡¯ll be going into hibernation too.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± These were the last two muffled phrases he heard. Then, the hibernation chamber closed up, and the super-cold liquid engulfed him, solidifying his life. The world plunged into darkness, as if a series of hallucinations appeared at the edge of death. All memories from his life fluttered through his mind¡ªkindergarten, primary school, high school, university¡­ Countless precious memories; conversations with his father, that memo on Earth, and the stories that occurred on the spaceship¡­ Goodbye, this era. Time at this moment, transformed from a slowly crawling snail into a rampaging wild horse. From birth to death, from failure to success, love and joy, pursuit and struggle, excitement and despair, everything, all of it, condensed into a solitary and utterly meaningless singularity¡­ Some stories had happened. Some stories had ended¡­ Many stories had occurred. Many stories had concluded¡­ 10 years¡­ 20 years¡­ 30 years¡­ S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. 100 years¡­ 183 years! Source: Webn0vel.com, updated on Novg0.co Chapter 110 03-25 - 110: 2 Volume Summary Chapter 110: 2 Volume Summary The story of the second volume has finally ended! Some people said that this volume was a bit too filler-heavy. Honestly, I also feel it was slightly watered-down, and some trivial content could have been removed. However, after giving it some thought, I decided to post it anyway since it¡¯s a free chapter. Besides, this book is a very serious science fiction novel, and there won¡¯t be such joyful experiences later on, so it seemed not bad to let the Protagonist have a little more happiness in their memories. At the same time, with these contents, the shift in identity wouldn¡¯t seem too abrupt. Fame, coupled with the exceedingly outstanding scientific achievements, should make it all the more convincing, right? The last few chapters of the second volume are the more core content. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. First, there was the sacrifice of an artist. Mr. Elwin, I am truly sorry, but if you didn¡¯t die, I couldn¡¯t have changed the style of this book¡­ Second, it introduced the discipline of New Civilization History, which is the main content of the text. Besides the conventional exploration and development, it¡¯s essential to add some new elements. Otherwise, upon waking from hibernation, there really wouldn¡¯t be much left to write about. New Civilization History is somewhat similar to the psycohistory of the ¡°Galactic Empire¡± series, though I haven¡¯t really read the ¡°Galactic Empire¡± (mainly because I can¡¯t get into that type of science fiction), I just know the concept¡­ I hope the fans of the series won¡¯t lash out at me¡ªI really can¡¯t take that. I¡¯m just a flop of a writer, not even close to being an author, let alone a science fiction master. Borrowing some concepts shouldn¡¯t be too much of an issue¡­ And certainly, the specific settings will definitely be different (since I haven¡¯t actually read ¡°Galactic Empire,¡± I just know of the concept). ¡­ Now, to talk about going live. I¡¯m not sure when it will happen¡ªmaybe on Children¡¯s Day? Before this book goes live, the growth in collections has been too poor, so it¡¯s unlikely to receive any follow-up recommendations. As a Level 5 author, not even getting a strong push from Three Rivers, I really have no presence, QAQ. Currently, I have roughly twelve thousand eight hundred collections, and with the storm at Qidian not yet over, I still need to find time to revise the chapters that have been blocked. With incomplete chapters, it¡¯s improbable that I¡¯ll gain any new readers¡­ Truly a sorrowful situation. (PS: I won¡¯t update any further today, I¡¯ll take a rest¡­) When it does go live, I¡¯ll let everyone know. I hope you all will give me lots of support by then¡­ Source: Webn0vel.com, updated on Novg0.co Chapter 111 - 112: The Mediocrity Principle Chapter 111: Chapter 112: The Mediocrity Principle The New Civilization School, since its inception, has been grounded in a primary theoretical cornerstone ¡ª the ¡°Mediocrity Principle.¡± The essence of this is summarized in one word: mediocrity. Large as the entire Milky Way, or as small as a single cell, the high likelihood is that they are all mediocre. Here¡¯s a simple example: Earth, an ordinary rocky planet in the Solar System. Earth is not the center of the Solar System, nor is it the center of the universe. There are many planets like Earth throughout the universe. The Sun is also just an ordinary star within the Milky Way, with countless similar dwarf yellow stars. The Milky Way is merely a common spiral galaxy in the universe. This also leads to another conclusion, that is, our position in the universe, as well as the stage of evolution we are in, is mediocre. The Mediocrity Principle is so profound that it can be applied to all facets of life. How do humans study the lifecycle of bacterial survival and development? A single photograph on a petri dish does the job, already inscribed with the births and deaths of bacteria. Because they are all ordinary, their lifetimes are similar. The same goes for taking a photograph casually on a crowded street, where most people in the picture are ordinary. If an alien civilization with a vastly higher level wanted to study human culture and understand human lifestyles, they wouldn¡¯t need to focus on a single person¡¯s entire life, as that would be too time-consuming. Instead, they would merely need to collect as much human data as possible at the same moment. Why? Because the lives of the vast majority of people are mediocre, and their life trajectories are similar. Collecting other people¡¯s data allows one to predict a particular person¡¯s lifestyle. Moving on, let¡¯s expand this conclusion to some more abstract concepts. Take, for instance, civilization. Look in any direction, and billions of stars are visible. It can be boldly predicted that these stars are mediocre, ordinary. What about the civilizations within them? They are probably mediocre; there is no need to imagine aliens as exceptional. It can be boldly predicted that many of these civilizations may not even surpass human civilization. So, what about human civilization? We must admit, humans are most likely an ordinary civilization. Indeed, history has seen many great figures, from the ancient Emperor Qin Shi Huang, Shakyamuni, and Muhammad to more recent figures like Lincoln, Mao, Newton, and Einstein. But within the grandeur of the universe, they are merely common, and all events follow the natural laws of history itself. Great individuals indeed have driven the times, but the times have, in turn, cultivated great individuals. There is no evidence to suggest that humans are extraordinary. It must be said, this is a very disheartening prediction. So, what kind of civilization is an extraordinary one? The civilization that attempted to build a Dyson Sphere around Tabby Star is likely an extraordinary civilization. Any ordinary civilization can realize that the Tabi Civilization¡¯s strengths and uniqueness. A Dyson Sphere, with its massive engineering scale, is something humans could not achieve even if they were a billion or a hundred billion times stronger. Here is the final question. How can human civilization become extraordinary? The answer is: we don¡¯t know. The observable extraordinary samples are too few, and the New Civilization School cannot make any calculations. But undoubtedly, human civilization has done something extraordinary. That is ¡ª launching the Earth Era identifier! From a probability standpoint, an ordinary civilization usually would not undertake such seemingly costly and ¡°pointless¡± endeavors. Otherwise, human civilization would have observed more ¡°ordinary¡± activities from alien civilizations, contradicting existing facts. ¡­ Time drifted slowly by as Zhang Yuan opened his eyes. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. For quite a while, his entire head was in a state of chaos. ¡°He¡¯s awake, he¡¯s awake!¡± ¡°Hey¡­ can you hear me talking?¡± It was as if someone was calling out to him nearby, the voice reaching his ears from the distant horizon. As his body temperature gradually returned, Zhang Yuan¡¯s will slowly became clear. The sensation was uncomfortable, akin to being suddenly woken from a deep sleep yet with a brain that wasn¡¯t fully alert, unable to move, only with his muscles instinctively twitching. ¡°Mr. Zhang Yuan, you have been asleep for 183 years, it¡¯s time to wake up¡­¡± ¡°Give him a bit of adrenaline.¡± After a good while, Zhang Yuan¡¯s eyes moved slightly, and his neck twisted a bit. Instinctively looking around, he saw the bright lights on the ceiling, tubes piercing his arm, with nutrient solutions hanging above. On the bedside table next to him was a medical device monitoring his health. The whole environment seemed somewhat familiar. The display screen above showed a line of numbers: 2448.11.13, 12:20. In the adjacent bed were a few people who had also just been awakened from hibernation. Standing beside him was a nurse wearing a mask, who softly said, ¡°Mr. Zhang Yuan, hello, this is Hospital A area. You¡¯ve been asleep for 183 years, just awoken from hibernation; don¡¯t worry, if you feel tired, you can continue to sleep for a while.¡± Hibernation was somewhat different from normal sleep; although he had been asleep for 183 years, Zhang Yuan still felt extremely tired and unable to think about anything. This time, he slept for another three days. Nourished by the nutrient solution, he had slowly regained his health. ¡°Miss Mary, thank you. May I have some beef jerky?¡± Zhang Yuan asked in a hoarse voice while lying on the hospital bed. ¡°You can¡¯t have beef jerky just yet. For the next few days, you can only eat probiotics to restore your intestinal health, along with some porridge.¡± The nurse said with a smile, ¡°You might be the most gluttonous patient I¡¯ve ever seen. Usually, people wake up and ask what has happened in the past hundred years¡­¡± Zhang Yuan felt a bit uneasy. He very much wanted to know too. But he was somewhat afraid, slightly reluctant to confront the stories of the past. ¡°Uh, is the spaceship functioning normally?¡± ¡°Everything is normal; there haven¡¯t been any major issues.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± On the fifth day, Zhang Yuan was officially discharged from the hospital. The liaison who received him was a man named Yu Feng, a former professor at Deep Space University whom Zhang Yuan recognized, who now turned out to be a political liaison officer. ¡°A Level 16 job? A high-tech talent, huh!¡± Yu Feng was a bit surprised as he looked at his files, ¡°Mr. Zhang, it¡¯s unfortunate that this is a minor year; there are only six hundred awake individuals. If you do not have a life partner, you might feel quite lonely¡­¡± ¡°Thank you, I¡¯m used to being alone.¡± Zhang Yuan managed a smile and nodded his head. A minor year referred to an era with very few people awake. Approximately every 20 minor years there would be a major year. During a major year, the number of people awake could surge to twenty thousand. A large population would then maintain the entire spaceship, and within one year, produce the living supplies needed for the next 20 years. After that, they would begin to experience the lonely minor years again. Chapter 112 - 113: The First Awakening Chapter 112: Chapter 113: The First Awakening ¡°Do I need to do anything next?¡± Zhang Yuan asked. Each person¡¯s station was planned and arranged. Yu Feng glanced at the specific schedule, ¡°Oh¡­ maintenance work for the nuclear power station and some electrical repairs are also assigned to you. Your awakening this time will last for 542 days, and the next hibernation will last 307 years. Of course, given your job level, you have some freedom to choose.¡± The professor spoke in a very polite manner, ¡°Can you accept these tasks?¡± Zhang Yuan waved his hand and hurriedly said, ¡°That¡¯s fine, let¡¯s go with that arrangement.¡± He had already learned about these things before hibernating. The professor continued, ¡°The fusion main engine has been completely shut down, and the spaceship relies entirely on inertia. The only thing maintaining the current power operation are the two Molten Salt Reactors. Under normal circumstances, you just need to check on them briefly, it¡¯s not a big deal¡­¡± ¡°Also, apart from Zone A and Zone Z, other areas have been shut down and filled with Helium. Please do not enter them arbitrarily.¡± Seeing no significant change in Zhang Yuan¡¯s expression, Yu Feng cautiously said, ¡°You can take care of your personal affairs first and take over this job after a week¡­ We currently have two psychologists, um¡­ if you need any help, you can also contact me directly.¡± For those who are waking up for the first time, as much care as possible should be given. Even though the man in front of him appeared very calm, who knew when he might suddenly erupt? Zhang Yuan nodded, taking a deep breath. Indeed, more than 180 years had passed! His body trembled slightly, as if foreseeing what he was about to face. Along the way, the atmosphere inside the spaceship was exceptionally quiet. Only six hundred people were living on a spaceship that could accommodate five hundred thousand, that extreme loneliness, as if coming face to face. Zhang Yuan saw a few girls softly crying and a few boys nearby accompanying and comforting them. Without thinking, he also knew why¡­ Professor Yu didn¡¯t talk much, just sighed and quietly arranged Zhang Yuan¡¯s accommodation and the person who would take over his future work. ¡°Mr. Zhang, hello! In 40 days, it will be my turn to hibernate. The following matters, including the safety management of the Molten Salt Reactor, will be left to you¡­¡± This colleague named Fang Yuhao was also someone he recognized, having met a few times in the lab and had interactions with. ¡°No problem.¡± Zhang Yuan forced a smile. They shook hands. Fang Yuhao, like Professor Yu, spoke very carefully, ¡°Um¡­ You can rest for a week first, sort out personal matters¡­ The psychological counselor is over there. Or you can rest for another half a month, the handover is not urgent, the matters are quite simple, I believe with your level¡­¡± Everyone who was a bit more normal became extremely gentle and careful. Zhang Yuan nodded, not refusing the other person¡¯s kindness. After saying goodbye, he returned to his little house. The robot had already moved all his luggage from the vacuum storage room in advance. He casually tried them, the clothes had been frozen for so long, they should still be wearable after thawing. However, he wasn¡¯t sure about these delicate electronic products, even after special treatment, whether they would still work. Zhang Yuan carefully turned on the tablet, charged it, and waited for a while before a familiar white light came on. He immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He skillfully connected to the spaceship¡¯s local area network, attempting to log into his email. Zhang Yuan discovered that downloading data from the database was very slow, possibly due to the reduced population and many functions being shut down, the network mode had been reduced to the most basic 2G network. A progress bar was slowly climbing, and for some reason, his heartbeat began to speed up dramatically. Zhang Yuan looked up at the ceiling, feeling slightly dizzy as if he were about to face a chaotic vortex from time. After waiting a minute, he finally logged into his email. Anxious, he glanced at the screen only to see his inbox crammed with various unread messages. The neat timeline bore no hint of a joke. Everything consistently reminded him that it had been 2448 years since 2266. A full 183 years, without any falsehood! The emails received in the first few years were especially numerous. As time passed, they became fewer and fewer, as if he had been forgotten. The last email was sent on June 4, 2389, which was also sixty years ago. This immense shock from time made it difficult for him to catch his breath. In Zhang Yuan¡¯s memory, yesterday was still the year 2266, the era that belonged to them. But waking up, it had already reached 2448, and even with psychological preparation, it was too abrupt. But this was a settled fact and would not change due to subjective factors. With trembling fingers, he clicked on the first email. ¡­ ¡°Genesis Technology Co., Ltd. Annual Financial Report for 2266.¡± It was the annual financial report from that robot startup company on Earth. As a shareholder, Zhang Yuan certainly had the right to know. He read through it carefully, the financial situation was not bad, cash flow positive, profits had emerged, and they had also conducted a second round of financing. However, that was something from more than 180 years ago. He wondered what the status of the company was now, whether it had closed down? ¡°Or¡­ has it developed even better?¡± The second letter was a consultation sent by a scientific research worker, including an experimental report on turbulence problems, asking for Zhang Yuan¡¯s help to check if there were any errors. However, Zhang Yuan had already entered hibernation at that time and had set up an autoresponder indicating that he had gone into hibernation and could no longer deal with various affairs. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Now facing this report, he had no idea what to reply. Some things, once missed, are truly missed. He sighed deeply, reading through the data in the spreadsheet. It took him an hour to write a reply over a thousand words long, which made him feel slightly better about the complex emotions in his heart. Whether the other party was still alive or could receive the reply was not the issue. Zhang Yuan wrote this letter for himself to see. Because in his subconscious, such scientific correspondence, if seen, must be replied to¡­ otherwise, he would feel an unsettling sense of irresponsibility. This anxiety stemmed from the deepest part of the soul; a scientific researcher must maintain a meticulous attitude. The next letter was still about scientific research, and he read and replied with care. Zhang Yuan spent a day replying to the letters one by one, as if he were possessed¡­ Chapter 113 - 114: Goodbye, Era Chapter 113: Chapter 114: Goodbye, Era He sat there, dazed, unable to calm the tumult in his heart. Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t know what was wrong with him, but a voice inside kept telling him that these emails had just been sent yesterday, and whether it was out of etiquette, responsibility, or obligation, he needed to reply. But reason told him that these people were long gone and didn¡¯t need a response. Even if he did respond, they wouldn¡¯t receive it. Besides, he was no longer the authority on turbulence issues; with one hundred and eighty-three years gone by, humanity had already grasped the method very clearly, and new theories may have emerged that no longer required his guidance. ¡°What¡¯s the point?¡± he asked himself. He sighed once again, trying to free himself from the complex scientific documents. It wasn¡¯t necessary, really, it wasn¡¯t. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The next letter was no longer about scientific research but the good news that his cousin Ye Qingqing had been accepted to university. Due to her lack of effort, her college entrance exam scores were not great, and the university she got into was just a local one, pretty average. Still, for a girl just stepping into adulthood, it was a crucial step towards her future life. The message included a photo of Ye Qingqing¡¯s smiling face, holding an admission notice, flaunting it with a bit of show-off pride. ¡°Cousin, I got into university. Haha, I can finally have a happy summer vacation, no more tutoring, no more nagging from mom and dad, feels so good and happy! There¡¯s also a cool boyfriend waiting for me on campus. I¡¯ll show you once I find him.¡± Ye Qingqing¡¯s voice reached Zhang Yuan across time and space. ¡°Congratulations!¡± Zhang Yuan typed a few characters on the computer. Then, after careful deliberation, he deleted them. He remembered the last summer on Earth, it seemed exceptionally hot, and he recalled fixing a radio in Ye Qingqing¡¯s home¡­ This silly girl didn¡¯t like studying, but she had chosen a decent major, so presumably, she wouldn¡¯t be unemployed after graduation. The following letter was a wedding photo from his senior, Wang Lili. ¡°Young Master Zhang, today, as I was home taking care of my child, I suddenly thought of you. Time flies so quickly, it¡¯s been four years since you left. A lot has happened over the years, and eventually, um¡­ I married a wealthy man. Too bad you can¡¯t drink our wedding toast, sigh.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sending you a photo of my wedding.¡± ¡°Here¡¯s another one of the baby! Isn¡¯t he cute?¡± [Photo][Photo] ¡°Haha, this lady is married now, and the kid is already this big, so no hope for those who want to pursue me!¡± ¡°Oh, right, by now, you must be in hibernation¡­ Suddenly, I wanted to check in on you. I wonder when you¡¯ll wake up, when you¡¯ll see my message? It won¡¯t be¡­ that by that time, I¡¯ll already be dead, will it?¡± ¡°The Deep Space Foundation is really stingy, charging ten bucks to send an email.¡± ¡°No other meaning, take care.¡± ¡°Wishing you a happy life!¡± Zhang hung his head, his vision already blurring. Life is so dramatic, Wang Lili still dumped her puppy-dog boyfriend and married a rich man¡­ It took a long time before he clicked on the next one. He felt as if he were reading the lifetimes of all his friends¡­ from the days after he left, right up until their deaths. Time, like a videotape, fast-forwarding quickly. Humans are such fragile beings, how can they just¡­ suddenly be gone? No doubt, as time passed, the number of times people remembered him had decreased. At the beginning, there were many letters from various friends, but later on, there would be just one every three to five years. And after that, one every three to five decades. Humans are a forgetful species, not only was the entire world forgetting him, but all his relatives and friends were too. Ye Qingqing had said she would show him her boyfriend, but in the end, she never sent anything. Professor Wang Zhong passed away at the age of 147, and the letter was still sent to him by his senior sister Xu Yunjing. At the age of 147, it was considered a relatively high age in that era. But for Zhang Yuan, it felt like just yesterday when they had a video call and said their goodbyes, and today he was gone. He still remembered the last words of Professor Wang Zhong, ¡°¡­All the earthly matters are not worth lingering over; let¡¯s see what the world will be in three thousand years!¡± This feeling, he didn¡¯t know how to describe it¡­ It was surreal, yet very real. The pain of parting that was spread out over many decades had to be endured in just one day. Zhang Yuan felt numb, as if he were watching a series of unimpressive TV dramas. At the end, there was only one letter left in the mailbox. Moreover, the time span was extraordinarily huge, a full forty years since the penultimate one. As if out of breath, Zhang Yuan stared blankly for a long time before he managed to click it open. ¡°Mr. Zhang Yuan, hello.¡± ¡°Without realizing it, I have become an old lady over a hundred years old. You must still be young in your hibernation, a truly enviable situation.¡± ¡°Today, as I held the family cat and sat under the shade of a tree drinking afternoon tea, I suddenly thought of you. It has been so long, and I find that I can no longer remember what you looked like, and even your name is a bit blurred.¡± ¡°But I do remember, that strange and wonderful night¡­¡± ¡°Ha, you were so adorable!¡± ¡°I hastily took out my phone and logged into the long-unvisited social media account.¡± ¡°I found our photo together, and the long-lost memories flooded in, giving rise to a subtle emotion.¡± ¡°I was so beautiful back then, fair-skinned and pretty, but you were handsome too!¡± ¡°I wonder, if I had been more proactive back then, would you have stayed? Maybe, what a regrettable thing! But more likely, you still would not have stayed.¡± ¡°As you get older, you tend to think about this and that, wanting to make up for the regrets of youth.¡± ¡°I still quite like you, space colonization, what a cool thing that is. But I¡¯m already an old lady! Can an old lady experience a second spring? Of course not, I can¡¯t catch up with you beyond the light years.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t show you what I look like now. I still prefer my youthful appearance; everyone likes to be beautiful, pretty, and young.¡± ¡°But time is a sailboat gliding downstream, and with the passage of years, it has long ceased to be pure and there¡¯s no way to start over. By the way, I¡¯m now a bestselling novelist, isn¡¯t that a surprise?¡± ¡°We agreed not to contact each other anymore, but I really can¡¯t help it! Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯m old and don¡¯t have many years left¡­ I always have many thoughts to share with you, feeling like you are my lifelong friend, who can always understand me, but I don¡¯t know how to express it.¡± ¡°A lifetime is really too long, with enough stories having occurred¡­ These stories, if they disappear with me, what meaning would they have?¡± ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s not talk about it.¡± ¡°You should know who I am.¡± ¡°Wish you well.¡± The mailbox was empty, no longer any unread messages. Even though he had made ample mental preparations, when reality truly hit, it still felt so heavy. So, so heavy! Zhang Yuan shut down the computer, lay his head on the desk, and sobbed, his tears dripping drop by drop onto the table. The room was pitch-dark, the lights were not turned on. Chapter 114 - 115: Goodbye, Era (2) Chapter 114: Chapter 115: Goodbye, Era (2) The true farewell, there were no ancient roads or pavilions, nor was there a call to drink another cup of wine closer to a friend. It all happened on a morning just like any other, yet some people remained stuck in yesterday. In the silent universe, a spaceship slowly moved along, everything appearing as if in a still frame. Life existed in the universe in an infinite cycle. Theists call this reincarnation, atheists call it the conservation of matter. Inside the spaceship, the six hundred people were all that remained of the new civilization. In contrast to the eternal unchanging world outside, humans were constantly changing. Time made everyone who woke up from hibernation feel the cruelty time imposed. But these changes were just a string of tiny pearls in the fabric of time and space, from beginning to end, merely a moment in the eternal universe¡­ Acceptance was not optional, it was mandatory! A week later¡­ Zhang Yuan had arrived at his workplace. People always have to face reality; lingering in sadness was not his style. ¡°Mr. Zhang, you are truly a strong man, not to mention a Level 16 worker. Many others would be down for a month or so¡­¡± his colleague Fang Yuhao said, very understandingly. ¡°¡­what has been lost cannot come back. Focusing on the present is even more important. What¡¯s more, my entire future is on this spaceship.¡± Zhang Yuan managed a smile, ¡°Keeping busy helps rid the mind of these kinds of stray thoughts, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Fang Yuhao recalled his early days, smiled bitterly, and said, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s true. I used to keep myself busy with learning to numb myself¡­ Soon, two years passed. Two years were enough to dull the painful memories.¡± ¡°This kind of simple work seems a bit of a waste of your talents¡­ I believe you will master it quickly. Over the next half month, I will transfer all the work projects to you. Then it will be my turn to go into hibernation¡­¡± Fang Yuhao said, extending his right hand. ¡°No problem!¡± The two shook hands firmly. The second hibernation theoretically wouldn¡¯t be as impactful, since what needed to be let go had mostly been let go during this time. So Mr. Fang Yuhao was preparing for hibernation quite boldly and confidently. Zhang Yuan¡¯s upcoming job mainly involved controlling the Molten Salt Reactor, a type of breeder reactor based on Fission Energy, and the main power source on the spaceship. With most functions shut down, there was no need for the fusion engine to provide energy; this small amount of power generation was sufficient. Compared to the more complex nuclear fusion engine, the structure of the molten salt reactor was simpler. Zhang Yuan had studied its design before, such as the Brayton heat cycle and the principles of power generation, including some basic manual maintenance. His task was also very straightforward. If the Artificial Intelligence managing the molten salt reactor issued a severe safety alert, he was to decide whether to shut down the reactor, whether to awaken a large number of staff from hibernation, and so on. ¡°Right, it¡¯s that easy. If it¡¯s a minor fault, you handle it yourself; if there¡¯s a major problem, then you wake the main team. You don¡¯t have to strain yourself. Our six hundred people cannot handle very complicated maintenance work.¡± Fang Yuhao earnestly explained, ¡°You really don¡¯t have to worry too much. This reactor is not a typical nuclear reactor. Its output temperature is about 700 degrees Celsius and doesn¡¯t require water cooling, so it has excellent inherent safety. Under normal conditions, you don¡¯t have to worry about it exploding.¡± Zhang Yuan thought briefly and, with a sense of responsibility, asked, ¡°What about replacing parts? My concern is about the reactor stopping automatically due to part wear, which would be quite troublesome if the power outage occurred, making it very difficult for us few to handle everything¡­¡± Fang Yuhao replied, ¡°Indeed, the possibility you are worried about is very small¡­ However, three years ago was a major maintenance year, and the nuclear engine was just serviced, so theoretically the probability of a major fault occurring is very small.¡± ¡°If one molten salt reactor really does break down, you can start another backup nuclear power unit. You have the authority and responsibility to do so.¡± ¡°I see, and if the third nuclear power unit also breaks down?¡± Zhang Yuan asked. ¡°Then you start the fourth one¡­ We have a total of six molten salt reactor units on our spaceship, and by the time you start the fourth, you should consider waking the main team.¡± Zhang Yuan thought to himself that he probably wouldn¡¯t be so unlucky as to have so many nuclear power stations break down in two years. These nuclear power stations were designed to be robust and durable. Failure of one was already an unlikely event, let alone two or three. ¡°The spaceship is still quite new¡­ Anyway, it¡¯s a very leisurely and simple job. Don¡¯t worry too much.¡± Fang Yuhao saw his thoughts and added, ¡°When you¡¯re bored, you can check out what exactly has been happening on Earth, or study some newly released theories to pass the time.¡± ¡°By the way, I recommend a few comedy films, just released, 25th-century popular culture is quite different from ours, some things are quite interesting. This movie will be shown tomorrow evening at 8 o¡¯clock in the Grand Opera House, Zone Z.¡± ¡°Like this one, ¡®Big Mess in Journey to the West¡¯ is pretty good, and these animations ¡®Eight Dragon Balls¡¯ and ¡®Migrant Worker Trilogy¡¯¡­¡± Community internal events were often organized, mainly involving watching movies or comedy films. Art and performance activities were never successful because everyone¡¯s mood was generally very poor; who would want to sing or dance on stage? Zhang Yuan quickly waved his hand, ¡°Skip the comedies, it has been so many years, and they are still filming ¡®Journey to the West,¡¯ truly lacking imagination¡­ I¡¯d rather learn some proper knowledge. Learning is what brings me happiness.¡± ¡­ Thus, under Fang Yuhao¡¯s detailed guidance, over half a month, Zhang Yuan had already learned to examine various data and clearly knew what was a major issue and what wasn¡¯t, which was already sufficient. Plus, he had already studied this area and found coping quite easy¡­ After a smooth handover, Fang Yuhao successfully entered into hibernation, and Zhang Yuan took over his position. There were six people in this office altogether, working three shifts, two per team, sometimes one per team. Everyone was responsible for similar work, which theoretically was already safe enough. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Everyone had their own way of entertainment, some liked reading comics, others liked watching movies. The new content generated over the past one hundred and eighty years was enough for everyone¡¯s amusement, especially topics about Earth Civilization and technological developments, which were consistently popular. Chapter 115 - 116: The Discovery of the Graviton Chapter 115: Chapter 116: The Discovery of the Graviton Zhang Yuan encountered an old acquaintance in the office, Mr. John Wilson, who was the pessimistic scientist among the nuclear fusion engine researchers. John had awakened two months earlier than him and seemed to be crushed by the bleak reality. He merely greeted Zhang Yuan and then sat at his desk all day long, staring blankly into space, with no one knowing what he was thinking about. Zhang Yuan sighed deeply, nearly everyone here was like this. With the current social environment, it was hardly possible to engage in complex work. At least half of the population was demoralized, and it was already quite rare to be able to do a simple job, let alone create substantial social value. Fortunately, the decision-makers had anticipated this situation and made certain arrangements when establishing hibernation policies. Currently, there were a total of six hundred awake individuals, with over a hundred responsible for maintaining the electricity system, and the rest scattered across communication, medical care, botanic gardens, and material management, among other sectors. There were also a few military and administrative personnel tasked with maintaining public order. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. In this self-sufficient micro-society, the workload of each person was very small. The engines of the Earth Era¡¯s ship were extinguished, and it was traveling through the universe by inertia. Moreover, since most functions had been shut down, it was unlikely that catastrophic accidents would accumulate over a hundred years, so a bit of slack on everyone¡¯s part wasn¡¯t really a problem. ¡­ In this uncomfortable atmosphere, days passed by one after the other. Zhang Yuan had put all his emotions aside and started to learn new knowledge normally. There were plenty of fresh things that had happened on Earth, whether in academics, history, or the humanities, all worth taking seriously and learning. Due to the qualitative changes triggered by the quantitative changes, Zhang Yuan found that he couldn¡¯t even understand the most cutting-edge scientific papers. He could only read relevant news articles from popular science websites to grasp the overall scientific trends. He muttered to himself, ¡°It¡¯s quite good, actually. Not understanding is a good sign. If an ancient person like me could understand, then humanity would certainly be doomed.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with ancient people? I could still be a university professor!¡± John said, ¡°It¡¯s the 25th century, and students in the university are still learning calculus? How boring.¡± Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. That statement was true; before the technology to enhance Intelligence emerged, students from any era should be learning calculus. Civilization still had to rely on geniuses to advance. ¡°John, what does this super-Alpha state mean?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, it could be a new academic term in condensed matter physics¡­ I¡¯ll help you look up some related papers.¡± The two people in the office had many things they did not understand about modern knowledge. However, studying together was actually quite enjoyable and a bit faster than studying alone. Once, there was a question online: If Einstein were to travel to the modern era, could he still become a top scientist? The top was not a certainty, but to become an excellent scientist once more would be quite easy. Under the influence of good habits, learning new knowledge was actually quite a pleasant thing for Einstein. A few years¡¯ effort would probably be enough to catch up with cutting-edge subjects. Even the presence of new knowledge without the willingness to learn could induce a sense of decadence and unease. ¡°¡­Frontier science is brimming with good news! Through an experiment with a superfluid condensate, it seems that evidence for the existence of gravitons has been found!¡± All of a sudden, Zhang Yuan discovered some major news and exclaimed aloud. ¡°It¡¯s really not easy at all!¡± After reading through one of the papers, he sighed deeply. At this moment, the only word that could describe his mood was: exhilarating! According to the description in this paper, scientists surrounded a finite area with a superfluid and found that within this region, there was an extremely small change in gravity. This change in gravity was unexpected. In some theories, gravitons are spin-2 bosons that produce a superfluid mechanism analogous to Helium-4. That is, this part of the superfluid may have short-circuited some of the gravitons passing through the area, thereby achieving local shielding. The evidence for the existence of gravitons could be the greatest scientific discovery in the past two centuries! It meant that some fundamental theories seemed to be further developed. Various related papers emerged in an endless stream, and so far, no ultimate winners had been decided. Seeing this, Zhang Yuan¡¯s heartbeat sped up slightly, knowing deeply how important the discovery of gravitons was to frontier science! ¡°The physical phenomenon involved with gravitons is gravity, and if gravity could be unified with quantum theory, then the ¡®Grand Unified Theory¡¯ would no longer be a dream!¡± ¡°If under the guidance of theoretical foundations, technologies related to anti-gravity and Artificial Gravity could indeed emerge, mankind would once again achieve a qualitative leap in technology!¡± Zhang Yuan was still very willing to engage in this area of research. Of course, for him at present, he could only be a distant spectator, finding some enjoyment in these news stories. Any bit of progress in human civilization was a very secure and gratifying thing for him. ¡°I¡¯m already two hundred years old, my descendants, keep it up.¡± Since he was in a good mood, Zhang Yuan joked. ¡°Cough cough, if you want to understand Earth Civilization, you should look at Deep Space Foundation¡¯s annual reports each year instead of searching for information randomly here. The news coming in is overwhelmingly numerous, and some are even fabricated by self-media,¡± John said leisurely. Over these months, he too had slowly returned to normal. Moreover, the zealous learning spirit of Zhang Yuan directly influenced him, compelling him to study as well. The guy still sighed now and then, but at least he was able to communicate. It has to be said, time can dilute everything, and humans are a species with a strong capacity for acceptance. Choosing to keep oneself busy can gradually put all the heaviness behind¡­ People always have to live for themselves. ¡°So, seeing these scientific achievements, are you no longer pessimistic about the future of Earth Civilization?¡± Zhang Yuan asked with a smile, ¡°Seeing scientific progress is very refreshing. Once Earth Civilization¡¯s technology undergoes a qualitative change, we will also benefit from it.¡± John spoke excitedly, ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s a remarkable discovery! I was happy for a long time the other day, which diluted that pessimistic expectation. By the way, what do you think about the gravity loss phenomenon caused by superfluidity? How can we industrialize anti-gravity?¡± ¡°Gravitons interact with fermions, and aside from Yukawa coupling similar to that of electrons and photons, there might be other terms in the Lagrangian. I think as long as we clarify these terms, the effects of gravitational shielding can continue to be enhanced!¡± ¡°The essence of the world is indeed somewhat beyond imagination!¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t the Four Basic Forces the ultimate essence?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be too optimistic; as of now, the entire theory hasn¡¯t been completely figured out.¡± The two talked more and more excitedly, wildly speculating as if Anti-gravity Technology could really be achieved¡­ Chapter 116 - 117: Solar System Civilization Ecological Circle Chapter 116: Chapter 117: Solar System Civilization Ecological Circle Zhang Yuan was pondering a question, if anti-gravity technology truly emerged, could human civilization break free from the predictions of New Civilization History? In previous calculations, it seemed this aspect had not been considered. John was still enthusiastically immersed in his own thoughts, ¡°I¡¯m wondering if black holes are a Bose-Einstein condensate at the quantum phase transition critical point? Only then would they have some strange properties¡­ just like Bohr said, when matter falls into a black hole, it can only approach the singularity infinitely close but can¡¯t actually reach the singularity.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a slight possibility¡­¡± The two discussed spiritedly for a long time before the room slowly quieted down. John, stubborn and pessimistic, insisted that humans could not achieve true anti-gravity technology, believing all technological advances were merely fleeting. ¡°Whatever you say¡­¡± Zhang Yuan replied irritably. Debates are endless, and disputes of words are unsolvable. After all, everyone has their own opinion, and the future humans will provide the answer. After finishing reading the news about technology, Zhang Yuan casually picked a few reports for a detailed read. The Deep Space Foundation published an annual special report, deeply investigating the technological advances and cultural changes of the entire civilization that year, providing more accurate historical samples for the scientists of the Earth Era. Reading that report was indeed much quicker than randomly searching for news. Upon hearing that the Deep Space Foundation still existed, Zhang Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. He still had a strong affinity for this enduring organization. Over 183 years, humans had spread across the Solar System. With technological innovation and the continual increase in productivity, the cost of aerospace had significantly decreased. Space exploration had become a very popular activity, with explorers shifting their focus from Mount Everest and Antarctica to the distant universe. Including distant Pluto and Sedna, traces of human exploration activities could be found. Yes, private spaceships had finally become a real reality! ¡°Ah, the wealthy can already buy spaceships, Ye Kaifu¡¯s dream has been realized¡­ what was it¡­ the Giant Rock Turtle?¡± Of course, buying spaceships required money. Zhang Yuan keenly felt the change in the environment. In their era, the 23rd century, it was quite difficult for ordinary people to travel to space, requiring a lot of money. In this era, space tourism had become a common occurrence. Clearly, the world¡¯s productivity had undergone another qualitative change. Furthermore, because of technological advancements and the pursuit of wealth, the overall human fear of the universe had also significantly reduced. The interstellar era had truly begun, just like the Age of Great Navigation from the late 15th to early 16th century, the wealth hidden in the universe quickly sparked a frenzied gold rush, rapidly shifting the overall human ideology. The fear of the universe was rapidly dissipating. For capital, wealth was more important than life. The Solar System was so vast, and the duration of the interstellar era was much longer than the Age of Great Navigation. Zhang Yuan opened a report from thirty years ago. ¡°Dear colleagues of the Earth Era, hello! I am Zhang Jianjun, the president of the Deep Space Foundation this term. In this report, I will describe in detail the various changes that Earth civilization has undergone in recent years.¡± ¡°I am honored to tell you that we have successfully built the first phase of the Solar System civilization ecological circle!¡± ¡°The Wood Element and Saturn have become our nuclear fuel storage, while Mercury, Venus, and the Moon have become excellent industrial bases¡­¡± Even though it was just a text report, one could still feel the strong pride of the president. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°The severe atmospheric greenhouse effect on Venus and the acidic rain environment on Saturn¡¯s moon Titan caused significant technical problems; we spent a full hundred years improving the ecological environment of these planets¡­¡± ¡°I hope these experiences can provide a good model effect for your interstellar colonization¡­¡± Below, there was a large number of papers on planetary transformation projects, including how to improve the atmosphere and geological environments. These were actual engineering experiences, indeed very precious. One documentary described the development site on Mercury. Mercury, a huge natural mine, composed of 70% metals and 30% silicates. Due to its proximity to the Sun, its surface temperature could reach 430 degrees, meaning endless energy sources, eliminating the need for nuclear power plants. Only a few solar panels and thermal differential devices were needed to generate sufficient electricity. Humans resided on the dark side of Mercury, where sunlight could not directly reach. In this documentary, a huge space port stood on the dark side of Mercury, with various robots and spaceships shuttling back and forth, a bustling scene. Zhang Yuan felt both happy and somewhat melancholic. This era, compared to theirs, was more prosperous and more powerful. It was a complex feeling. The report continued, ¡°Earth is undoubtedly the core of the entire Solar System ecosystem, as well as the center of talent, trade, and finance. Thanks to the development of the Solar System ecological circle, our civilization¡¯s prosperity has significantly risen.¡± ¡°Regrettably, our current high-quality industrial population is too small. The low birth rate seriously affects the further development of our civilization. The construction speed for the second and third phases is worrisome.¡± ¡°Simply estimating, we might need a total population of sixty billion to completely meet these planets¡¯ transformation needs, yet currently, our total population has only reached sixteen billion and is in a long-term stagnant state, with an increasingly severe aging problem¡­¡± ¡°There are many reasons for the halt in population growth. The main reasons are the increase in lifespan, economic issues, and current ideological problems. The higher the quality of the population, the greater the cost of training, and the greater the burden on families.¡± ¡°It must be admitted that many countries, like Xia Country, have already entered an aging state. This is our most worrying issue¡­¡± Below, a series of population reports were attached, including average lifespans in various countries, marriage and divorce rates, population distribution, Engel¡¯s coefficient, Gini index, and more. Seeing this, Zhang Yuan mulled over the data for a while. After several generations¡¯ accumulation, the Gini index, the gap between rich and poor, was slowly increasing. However, for the people of Xia Country, that was not the focus; as long as they could go to space and were willing to endure hardship, they could still easily attain considerable wealth, which was enough. But many facts, as mentioned by the Foundation¡¯s president, were that the stagnation in population growth was natural and difficult to reverse. Chapter 117 - 118 Aging Crisis Chapter 117: Chapter 118 Aging Crisis There are many factors contributing to the growth rate of the population, the first reason being the increase in lifespan. In regions with better medical environments, the average lifespan has already reached 160 years. Note that this is the average lifespan; some individuals, who take exceptionally good care of themselves, even live to be 238 years old! Under such circumstances of high lifespan, who would want to stay with one partner for life, in sickness and in health? The entire cultural environment of our civilization is slowly changing due to the increase in lifespan. Humans are creatures that crave novelty and tire of the old. The former ¡°lifelong companionship¡± meant fifty to sixty years, but now it means one hundred and fifty to sixty years! Humans will maintain their youth and strength for an extended period, and the vast majority would rather have their fill of fun before settling down to establish a family and raise children¡­ Consequently, the marriage rate has plummeted, and the birth rate has naturally declined. Second, there is the cost issue of cultivating talent. Cutting-edge space industry demands increasingly higher quality in the population. However, in just a few centuries, human intelligence will not make rapid advancements. Cultivating a high-quality talent could consume most of a family¡¯s savings. Hence, for most families, having just one child is enough. ¡°Many young people don¡¯t like getting married, much less having children. Staying childfree can significantly improve their quality of life. For these youths, supporting themselves is already tough enough. How can they consider the whole nation¡¯s security?¡± ¡°On the other hand, birth rates in some impoverished countries remain high¡­ Even with the widespread availability of remote network education, under specific environmental influences, the probability of producing high-quality talents is still not high.¡± Looking at this report made Zhang Yuan¡¯s heart clench a bit. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The aging trap is a particularly frightening crisis. The more elderly people there are, the heavier the social burden on the young will be. And the heavier the burden on the young, the poorer their economic conditions, the less likely they are to want to have children. This creates a vicious cycle, which is extremely difficult to break out of. Even if the government introduces various policies to encourage childbirth, they are often ineffective¡­ History has proven that the best way to cure an aging crisis is¡ªwar! Indeed, the reshuffling brought about by war has been proven by history many times to lead to a baby boom. But the current global trend is one of peaceful development, and the likelihood of war breaking out has decreased. Moreover, as a normal person, Zhang Yuan does not wish to use a world war to solve the issue of aging; it¡¯s completely backward. He shook his head, pushing these wild thoughts aside and continued to analyze the data. ¡°Under the influence of these trends, Korea¡¯s population has decreased from the original 51 million to 15 million and will be the first country to self-destruct due to aging.¡± ¡°Alas, humanity is screwed!¡± John, who was emotional, sighed again as he watched from the sidelines. ¡°The increase in lifespan has become the best contraceptive. The rubbish population in poor countries, on the other hand, is growing and largely depends on the relief of prosperous countries to get through the day. It¡¯s beyond me what use these people have.¡± When it comes to debates, Zhang Yuan isn¡¯t much good at them, but he bit the bullet and responded, ¡°At least poor countries are also producers of raw materials and have some purpose. Without poverty, how would there be wealth? As long as it¡¯s productivity, even if it¡¯s lower, how can it be useless?¡± ¡°In your eyes, everything is doomed.¡± John was taken aback, ¡°Indeed, the development of Earth Civilization does require a low-end population¡­ It can¡¯t all be high-quality. The distribution of population, in any era, is inevitably pyramid-shaped.¡± Zhang Yuan shook his head, ¡°Actually, overall, Earth Civilization is still progressing, isn¡¯t it? As for the population issue, I believe it can still be resolved. Every era has its problems; it can¡¯t always be smooth sailing.¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t believe that humans will become extinct due to aging.¡± John replied, ¡°Zhang Yuan, you are too optimistic. Up to now, humans have been using a greedy strategy, solving problems as they occur, rather than preventing them from happening.¡± ¡°This decision-making system is unscientific and is very likely to lead to mediocrity. Aging is already a big issue.¡± Zhang Yuan actually knew this, but still, facing his own mother civilization, he harbored a natural sense of hope. In this context, he didn¡¯t want to argue too much with John and just continued to read the following report. To address the series of problems caused by the cessation of population growth, government departments are constantly encouraging childbirth and introducing related policies. Such population policies would barely have any significant effect without decades of effort, so he skipped the middle thirty years of development and flipped through to the latest report. His spirits lifted when he read the first few lines. ¡°Greetings, colleagues of Earth Era! I am Yuan Yuchan, the new president of the Deep Space Foundation. I will bring you the latest information on Earth Civilization.¡± The new Foundation president had become a middle-aged woman, but there was nothing unusual about that. ¡°In recent years, the most outstanding technological achievements have been in the field of biology, mainly in the decoding work of protein language and the emergence of artificial womb technology!¡± ¡°¡­The decoding of protein language has brought about a qualitative change in the life sciences!¡± ¡°We have conquered a multitude of diseases, including the ¡®king of cancers¡¯ pancreatic cancer and various malignancies¡­¡± ¡°Overcoming the resistance problems of superbugs is no longer a pipedream!¡± Great news! Seeing this, Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but smile as he sat in his seat. Below were piles of papers on protein language, covering all aspects of biology. However, as Zhang Yuan was not very knowledgeable about biology, he could not offer any critique. All he knew was that the decoding work of protein language was of utmost importance, allowing humans to understand the essence of life from the most microscopic level. Take the immune system, for example. The HIV virus had reformed, aiding in the treatment of immunodeficiencies. Some people born with congenital immune deficiencies can now be cured, a medical intervention that would have been considered sheer fantasy in the past! ¡°The average lifespan is set to increase again. I wonder if it will affect the marriage rate.¡± Zhang Yuan asked with interest, ¡°Have our biologists studied these new drugs?¡± ¡°They¡¯re working on it,¡± John turned his head to say. ¡°Our current equipment is too poor to produce life-extending drugs¡­ There is a conference on life sciences next year, but we two are not biologists, so we¡¯re not involved.¡± ¡°Alright then.¡± Zhang Yuan shook his head. After all, he was young and didn¡¯t need to think too much about longevity. Dwelling on life and death only causes needless worry. Chapter 118 - 119: Robot Upbringing Chapter 118: Chapter 119: Robot Upbringing Furthermore, not only has the language of proteins made remarkable strides, but the emergence of artificial womb technology can also be called another outstanding achievement in the field of life sciences! It has directly liberated women from the burdensome task of childbearing! From then on, men and women could be said to have truly achieved equality. Men don¡¯t need to have children, and neither do women, which directly freed up a significant amount of productive force. The report stated, ¡°Artificial womb technology has greatly increased the momentum of the women¡¯s rights movement.¡± ¡°¡­ Social structures grant women this freedom and choice, and women¡¯s sense of agency is awakening accordingly. In the acquisition of social resources, they demand independent rights to subsistence and equal rights to social participation, among others. In legal contracts, they demand more humane rights for women¡¯s protection, and in the guidance of public opinion, they call for the inclusion of women¡¯s voices to achieve an ideal state of gender nondiscrimination¡­¡± The screen popped up with photo after photo of various women¡¯s rights movement marches, various slogans, demonstrations, and so on. What¡¯s the situation? Zhang Yuan was somewhat confused. Why were there still women¡¯s rights movements when such technology existed? They should have disappeared by now, right? ¡°Thinking men and women can be equal? You¡¯re oversimplifying!¡± John smiled, ¡°Why is it that Women, not men, are often the victims of unwritten rules? Is playing with women just for reproduction? Of course not.¡± He made a very eerie expression, ¡°Everything in life is related to sex, aside from sex itself, sex is about power.¡± ¡°You Xia Country people are actually quite open-minded. In certain undeveloped areas, a wife is a piece of personal property. As long as that culture exists, men and women will never be equal.¡± ¡°Alright¡­¡± Zhang Yuan nodded, ¡°Everything in life is related to sex? Is my studying also related to sex?¡± ¡°Of course, you do it to attract the opposite sex!¡± Zhang Yuan smiled helplessly, ¡°¡­ I believe that with more time, people¡¯s ideologies will slowly shift due to the emergence of this technology.¡± ¡°The few stubborn holdouts don¡¯t matter. They don¡¯t represent the whole world¡­ Eventually, they will be phased out by the times.¡± The women¡¯s rights movement is not the main issue; the arrival of artificial womb technology has truly increased the birth rate! Having babies is no longer painful, and many women are willing to try the new technology. Especially some older parents, who are eager to have another child. Even robots designed for related services are being vigorously developed! These anthropomorphic robots, with appearances similar to humans, and the continuous development of AI enable them to engage in more complex actions, even perfectly mimicking human movements. Under such circumstances, Korea, the country with the most severe aging problem, is discussing policies regarding the use of robots to care for babies. The Korean government plans to establish large-scale nurseries staffed mostly by robots, with only a few human supervisors. This way, a significant amount of labor dedicated to raising infants can be freed up, reducing social upbringing costs. The reasoning is simple: when the cost of upbringing is reduced, the birth rate naturally increases. This chairman wrote in the report with the most objective attitude, ¡°¡­ We cannot yet comment on the impact this policy will have on society. But according to existing trial results, it does indeed significantly increase the birth rate and addresses the current aging problem.¡± ¡°However, this policy has caused a huge uproar around the world!¡± Many foreign media outlets are furiously criticizing the Korean government for being ¡°irresponsible,¡± ¡°throwing the next generation into the volcano,¡± and ¡°abandoning human morals,¡± and even within Korea itself, there have been a series of protest marches. They believe that entrusting babies to robots is inhumane, and even if the AI does well, it¡¯s still unacceptable. Zhang Yuan could not comment on this policy. He was not a man of this era, and he did not know how powerful the so-called AI really was, or whether it had become capable enough to raise babies on its own¡­ But in a hundred and eighty years, anything could happen; accepting highly intelligent AI seemed reasonable. ¡°What do you think, will the Korean government withstand the pressure and pass this policy?¡± Zhang Yuan turned his head and asked. ¡°Of course!¡± John exclaimed, ¡°Just watch your own country decline steeply due to aging and then get annexed by neighboring countries? It¡¯s historical inevitability! Impossible to abandon the initiative just because foreigners criticize it.¡± ¡°Look at all the economic data; every country is progressing, except for these few who are regressing. Countries with aging populations can¡¯t possibly have vitality. At this point, the Korean government has no choice but to grab onto this life-saving straw, even if there¡¯s opposition.¡± ¡°In the study of New Civilization History, such a decision is called the ultimate convergence of an event¡­¡± Zhang Yuan sighed, ¡°You¡¯re right¡­ I also think that the Korean government wouldn¡¯t be foolish enough to destroy itself just because of others¡¯ criticisms.¡± As for the study of New Civilization History, it is still far from being perfected to the point where it can predict the future. Most forecasts must rely on the vague intuition and judgment of experience. For a country, as long as artificial womb technology and caregiving robots become widespread, the cost of cultivating talent will significantly decrease. If the Korean government withstands the pressure and achieves some degree of success, other countries will follow suit in the competitive race, which is almost a certainty. All the reports end here. Since a technological revolution has provided a turning point for the problem of an aging society, Zhang Yuan is quite pleased. As for the ethical issues that robot caregivers might bring, they are not within his current scope of consideration. He was just relieved to know that this major problem could be resolved without resorting to war. ¡°I really want to know what happened in the future¡­¡± After reading through the report, Zhang Yuan heaved a sigh of relief. John said, ¡°Unfortunately, that is the latest report. If you want to know the future, you¡¯ll have to go into hibernation.¡± Zhang Yuan smiled, ¡°Then forget it, I¡¯ll learn some of the latest knowledge first. Otherwise, the next time I wake up, I¡¯ll truly be out of touch with the times.¡± Having said that, Zhang Yuan slapped his head, ¡°I just remembered something, I¡¯m still a shareholder of a robotics company! I wonder how it¡¯s doing now, it hasn¡¯t gone bankrupt, has it?¡± He was quite interested in his own labor achievements and quickly searched the database. A startling piece of news made him almost chuckle! sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Zhang Yuan, currently valued at 33.1 billion, ranked 678th in the world¡¯s wealth! There is nothing more unexpected in the world than inadvertently sowing a seedling, only to turn around one day and find it has grown into a towering tree. Chapter 119 - 120: The Vicissitudes of the Sea Chapter 119: Chapter 120: The Vicissitudes of the Sea Even though he was over one light year away and couldn¡¯t enjoy these fortunes, Zhang Yuan still felt a deep sense of joy. He meticulously reviewed the general information of the company. Over the span of more than 180 years, the company had faced numerous ups and downs, nearly went bankrupt, but seized opportunities to rise again, and eventually stabilized after being acquired by a well-established publicly traded company. His shares had been converted into the shares of the publicly traded company, amounting to a significant number, with a current value of 33.1 billion. As for the publicly traded company, Zhang Yuan checked its main business¡ªthey indeed dealt with robotics. A major part of their business was adult toys, or rather, robotic companions, currently the most profitable industry¡­ Otaku men simply couldn¡¯t resist these beautiful androids; they could do household chores and provide additional special services¡­ Even if the price was high, they would just buy, buy, buy. There even emerged a so-called ¡°indescribable game¡± named VR-LOVE. Having ¡°indescribable¡± relations with robots felt good physically, but the psychological experience was never great. Knowing in the heart that it is a robot, which won¡¯t resist or behave inappropriately, lacked that unique feeling. But with VR glasses, one could remotely find a ¡°real person¡± as long as both parties had such a companion robot; you could remotely control each other¡¯s robot to make the same movements. This way, not only the physical sensation was good, but the psychological experience improved as well! Completing some stories remotely would bring a psychological thrill, yet it wasn¡¯t truly infidelity¡­ [The VR-LOVE game has become the most popular paid APP, with the government urgently shutting down 1191 online ## gangs. Among them involved 120,000 minors¡­] Faced with this bizarre fact, Zhang Yuan pinched his nose, chuckled wryly, and didn¡¯t know what to say. ¡°City folks really know how to play, huh!¡± Upon closer thought, it wasn¡¯t surprising; as lifespans grew longer, everyone liked to find some fun in their prolonged lives, leading to these gray-area toys on the fringe of legality. In Zhang Yuan¡¯s time, hooking up was widespread, let alone in the modern era¡­ Perhaps the most elusive thing in the world is fate. His robot control theory was originally intended for industrial production and power armor; in the end, after 180 years, it was used for adult toys¡­ Well, that¡¯s not really a big deal¡­ Being put to use was better than being discarded altogether. Right! How had the star project in Zone C, the ¡°Genetic Matching APP,¡± developed? After searching the database for a while, Zhang Yuan was suddenly wide-eyed to find that ¡°genetic matching¡± had long been shut down by the government. Companies that had survived in the flow of time for 180 years were indeed very, very few. ¡°Genetic matching¡± had been hot on Earth for about 3 years, but then better and more advanced matching technologies emerged. The core software development team had already entered a state of hibernation and naturally couldn¡¯t update to compete with their rivals. Taking advantage of the situation while the project could still fetch some money, the Deep Space Foundation sold it off entirely. The company responsible for taking over conducted a series of reforms on the software. As a result, something rather laughable happened. Due to its involvement with adult network services, the project was shut down by the government after three years. The incident even made quite the headlines at the time. Zhang Yuan swallowed, somewhat stunned. Who could have predicted the final outcome in the changing world? Most social software, at the moment of their downfall, would link up with adult content, in an attempt to turn the tide. This seemed similar. He checked further on Li Zhendong¡¯s game¡ª¡±Arrow Tower Auto Chess,¡± which had long been buried in the dust of history, with not even a single news item found¡­ Even the Deep Space Foundation, as diligent as it was, couldn¡¯t possibly send all of Earth¡¯s data over. There was one last thing he wanted to know¡ªjust how much had Elwin¡¯s painting sold for? There was relevant news on that front. The painting had become the object of pursuit among top billionaires. It had skyrocketed from a starting bid of 1.4 billion! At an auction over 40 years ago, it fetched a record price of 36.1 billion! A top billionaire had taken the painting, preserving it in a private museum. Okay, Zhang Yuan also felt that it was normal for such ¡°storied,¡± ¡°talked-about,¡± and ¡°controversial¡± art to be speculated upon, and any number used to measure it wouldn¡¯t be excessive. Perhaps even Elwin had seen through such trivial speculations in his last moments of life. ¡­ In this silence, time passed quickly day by day, and Zhang Yuan had completely recovered his fighting spirit, engrossed in the ocean of knowledge, unable to extricate himself. There were plenty of new things worth his serious study. This kind of cold, sparse life, if one got used to it, wasn¡¯t unbearable. Meanwhile, Zhang Yuan was always keeping an eye on the various dynamics of Earth Civilization. This was the greatest joy for them, the conscious population. After 183 years of time, the Earth Era was about 1.2 light years from the Solar System, roughly 11.35 trillion kilometers away. From here, looking at the entire Solar System, the Sun had turned into an ordinary star. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Even the astronomical telescope on the spaceship could barely detect Earth; it could only approximate Earth¡¯s location by calculations. At a distance of 1.2 light years, sending electromagnetic signals had become quite difficult; it required aligning with Earth¡¯s direction, emitting high-power electromagnetic pulses, which posed a significant loss to the spaceship¡¯s communication equipment. To reduce the wear and tear on the equipment, the spaceship would only contact Earth once every month or two. Of course, receiving signals from Earth was still quite simple. Many communication officers gathered in the Star Library, trying to obtain firsthand information from Earth and classify and organize it into the database¡­ In the blink of an eye, a year had passed. The work under Zhang Yuan¡¯s responsibility hadn¡¯t encountered any major errors. ¡°New report, new report!¡± Suddenly, everyone in the office gathered around the screen. Korea had hesitated for over half a year but ultimately opted for the combination of artificial wombs with robotic nurturing to increase the birth rate. ¡°Cut it, as expected¡­¡± Zhang Yuan said listlessly. ¡°What do you guess the outcome is?¡± In just half a year, the birth rate increased by 0.3 percent, which was an incredible figure for a country! And the growth of 0.3 percent wasn¡¯t even the final number. Many couples were still observing the latest policies, including the safety of robotic nurturing. Once proven reliable, the birth rate would surge even more! Chapter 120 - 121: Over 180 Years of Beef Jerky Chapter 120: Chapter 121: Over 180 Years of Beef Jerky This reality simply detonated the entire world. Think about it, every major nation was in the midst of a population crisis, merely laughing at each other¡¯s misfortunes. Now one country suddenly broke free from this predicament, how could other governments resist the temptation? Thus, governments everywhere were itching to act, and the various rumors that were once rampant had all but halted. Even the official media had started to promote the safety of robots raising children, preparing to first gauge the public¡¯s reaction before proceeding. When Zhang Yuan learned of this news, for some reason, he felt slightly heavy-hearted and a bit uneasy. As the anticipated facts truly unfolded, he once again felt vaguely worried. The Artificial Intelligence remained as he knew it, simply more advanced, and there was no possibility of it developing self-awareness or rebelling. He didn¡¯t know what he was worried about. But their spaceship was already 1.2 light-years away, what could they do? Their spaceship was incapable of interfering with any part of Earth Civilization¡¯s functioning. Only the Deep Space Foundation was still diligently fulfilling its duties, sending one report after another. Zhang Yuan stood in his office for a long time, letting out a long sigh¡­ ¡­ That day, after he finished his work, he returned to the living area. Zhang Yuan suddenly found a girl squatting in a corner, crying softly, as if she had encountered some sad story. This situation was all too common; one could stumble upon it every few days¡­and he was no longer surprised by it. Even he himself had gone through the same experience initially and could understand. ¡°¡­Hello,¡± Zhang Yuan opened his mouth, realizing he wasn¡¯t very good at comforting people, and quickly shut it again. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Usually, he would just hand over a tissue and then silently accompany the person from a short distance away. It wasn¡¯t that he was idle or trying to flirt, but this sort of accompaniment had become an unspoken rule. There were so few people on the spaceship, they had to look after each other to get through this hardship. It is said that companionship can share pain¡­although he hadn¡¯t felt this to be true initially. Anyway, just standing there was a waste of a little time. Zhang Yuan had one major flaw; seeing others cry didn¡¯t tug much at his heartstrings¡­not that he lacked sympathy, but often he would drift off in thought, pondering over other issues, and appear a little absent-minded. Relatively speaking, his willpower was quite strong; he could endure many things on his own strength. So he didn¡¯t know what to say or do in such situations. He just stood there silently, watching the girl cry, while contemplating the origin of this ¡°rule of companionship.¡± After thinking for a while, he suddenly felt that this ¡°rule of companionship¡± was likely a pre-established rule rather than something that had formed spontaneously. Spontaneous? Don¡¯t imagine humans to be too virtuous! In such oppressive environments, it was more likely for domineering, criminal groups to form spontaneously. Much like in times of conflict, when countless stories of humanity¡¯s innate evil emerge. It was unlikely for such a relaxed and friendly atmosphere to form by itself. So, the management had already done a lot of work in advance. ¡°Indeed, being a Captain isn¡¯t so easy,¡± Zhang Yuan mused to himself. Those group activities were also held to maintain such an environment. Essentially, this involved some concepts from game theory, such as the well-known Nash equilibrium. Social norms and the Nash equilibrium are deeply linked, with one idea being that a sense of trust fostered by strict moral rules can lead to economic benefits. Dominant groups are a spontaneous form of social norms, with survival as the basic instinct and extremely low efficiency. The overall benefit derived from such inferior norms is incomparable to the current relaxed and friendly, artificially created norms. Therefore, in these difficult times, everyone instinctively restrains their darker nature, carefully maintaining this social norm. No one wants to easily reveal evil thoughts because once exposed, they would be shunned by everyone. ¡°The higher-yield choice in the prisoner¡¯s dilemma¡­ a wise choice.¡± Zhang Yuan reflected thoughtfully, having grasped this point, he then considered some issues related to the New Civilization History. Predicting the future development, both game theory and the overall psychology of humans are quite important¡­ ¡°Regarding the conversion of human psychological choices into probability issues¡­¡± ¡°What are you doing? What was that look just now, do you think I¡¯m an idiot?!¡± The girl squatting on the ground suddenly stopped crying, lifted her head, and looked at Zhang Yuan with indignation. Zhang Yuan¡¯s gaze faltered for a moment, and he quickly said, ¡°Ah, sorry! I didn¡¯t mean that, really, I was just lost in thought.¡± The girl was quite pretty and seemed familiar. After a moment¡¯s thought, a name popped into his head. It was Reporter Lin, Lin Xuanyuan, who used to interview him frequently! ¡°Reporter Lin, did you just wake up from hibernation? Don¡¯t be sad, would you like to have dinner together¡­¡± As soon as he said it, Zhang Yuan felt stupid. It was as if he was trying to take advantage of her. Lin Xuanyuan was a bit stunned, then laughed at his silly words, ¡°Thank you for the offer. I¡¯m not in the mood to eat right now, I don¡¯t have an appetite.¡± Since they had met a few times before, and she knew Zhang Yuan had a rather unique way of speaking, she wasn¡¯t really angry. Meeting an acquaintance was much better than dealing with strangers. ¡°How can you not eat?¡± She was silent for a while, then said, ¡°Sigh, I woke up to find¡­ that my parents had both passed away, and there¡¯s no one left of my relatives and friends on Earth. It¡¯s really quite hard to accept all of a sudden.¡± As she spoke, Lin Xuanyuan¡¯s eyes reddened again, and she covered her eyes once more. Zhang Yuan pondered for a few seconds, then said, ¡°Everyone has felt this way. You must have prepared yourself mentally before going into hibernation¡­¡± Lin Xuanyuan wiped her tears and peeked at him through her fingers, ¡°Being mentally prepared and it actually happening are two different things. I can never see them again, never.¡± Zhang Yuan said, ¡°Everyone has a past, but farewells among adults are always silent. The jostling, merry-making collective emotions, the carefree and unsuspecting deep comradery of youth, exist only in one¡¯s teenage years¡­¡± Lin Xuanyuan was taken aback. Zhang Yuan wasn¡¯t quite satisfied with his own attempts at consolation, which had ended up being sterner than he intended. After trying to comfort her to no avail, he had no choice but to withstand the pain and pull out his trump card. ¡°Wait a moment!¡± He went back to his bedroom and took out his treasured beef jerky, aged for over one hundred and eighty years! Chapter 121 - 122 Just Give It All to You Chapter 121: Chapter 122 Just Give It All to You Zhang Yuan placed a bag of something in front of her, ¡°Let me treat you to some beef jerky. If you eat something, you won¡¯t think about other things¡­ After all, you¡¯ve been in cryogenic sleep for so long, your body lacks nutrition, and eating more meat won¡¯t make you gain weight. It¡¯s beef jerky from Earth!¡± Sure enough, Lin Xuanyuan stopped crying and stared blankly at Zhang Yuan. ¡°Really? You still have¡­ snacks to eat?¡± This trick, which had been almost infallible in the past, worked once again. Zhang Yuan was extremely pleased with himself. The 183-year-old beef had offered up its life, bringing abundant joy to the people of the present. It truly deserved to be described as great. Given the current living conditions, it seemed Lin Xuanyuan really did want to turn her grief into appetite, which terrified Zhang Yuan. His supply of beef jerky was limited, and he had plans to savor it slowly! [I mean, you¡¯ve just woken up from cryogenic sleep, so it¡¯s best not to eat too much¡­] [And it¡¯s past its expiration date, having been frozen in the universe for 183 years.] Zhang Yuan came up with a few excuses but kept them to himself, not daring to voice them; otherwise, he would seem too stingy. Lin Xuanyuan seemed to read his mind and, while wiping away tears, said, ¡°What¡¯s with that look on your face? I won¡¯t eat too much of your stuff¡­ You¡¯re so stingy!¡± Zhang Yuan quickly replied, ¡°No, I was thinking, I might as well give it all to you. If you stop crying, I¡¯ll give it to you.¡± When he said this, Zhang Yuan swallowed hard, his heart aching, but he pretended to be nonchalant, glancing at the Pu Pu Grass by the road, acting as if he was very generous. ¡°I don¡¯t want it, that¡¯s your babe magnet, isn¡¯t it?¡± Lin Xuanyuan dabbed away her tears, yet she couldn¡¯t quite bring herself to refuse the gift, ¡°If you really want to give it to me, I guess I could take it¡­ Are you sure you want to give it to me?¡± ¡°Ah, then I¡¯ll give it to you! I hope it makes you feel better¡­¡± Zhang Yuan felt as if he had been bitten, losing a piece of flesh, then forcefully picked a sprig of Pu Pu Grass and stuffed it into his mouth, ¡°You are so generous, this food has become a luxury. Even with a hundred million, you can¡¯t buy these things anymore¡­¡± Zhang Yuan rolled his eyes inwardly. His net worth was now 331 billion! But to him, 331 billion was just a number, and indeed, it was not as substantial as a bag of beef jerky. Lin Xuanyuan was silent for a moment, somewhat tempted, but felt the gift was too precious and struggled to accept it. She wiped away her tears, then came up with a good idea, ¡°It would be a waste to eat it directly like this, we should make it into more exquisite food. I have an idea¡­ Let¡¯s cook ourselves something to eat, how about that?¡± ¡°You can cook?¡± Zhang Yuan asked skeptically. ¡°Of course!¡± ¡°Can you really cook with beef jerky?¡± ¡°I think so, beef jerky contains various seasonings, which we currently lack. And listen to this¡­¡± Zhang Yuan thought about it and reluctantly agreed. The two made plans and quickly got to work. The spaceship¡¯s food was usually mass-produced by robots. Moreover, to reduce pollution, cooking methods were limited to boiling and steaming, resulting in less tasty food. Condiments considered ¡°unimportant,¡± were not produced on board, only crafted manually ¨C scarce and exorbitantly priced. The kitchen was considered a sensitive area, where accidental emissions of cooking fumes could contaminate a lot of air and were hard to manage, so ordinary people didn¡¯t have access. Zhang Yuan soon found the current political officer, Mr. Yu Feng, and suggested holding a large dinner party to alleviate the oppressive atmosphere. ¡°A large dinner party, that¡¯s a great idea, but¡­¡± Yu Feng was taken aback and a little hesitant, ¡°Our community activities are usually simple, like watching movies. A dinner party is complicated to manage¡­¡± ¡°If anything goes wrong, I¡¯ll take responsibility.¡± Zhang Yuan¡¯s Level 16 job position was one of the top few among the six hundred people, and this professor was only on par with him. Since someone was willing to take responsibility, Yu Feng quickly agreed, ¡°Then, I¡¯ll join in. We¡¯ll start by sending out a group message, then call a few people who can cook, how about that¡­¡± ¡°Thank you so much!¡± A group quickly got busy, all for the sake of making themselves a fancy dinner in the midst of material scarcity. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Human ingenuity is limitless, and even without fancy industrial seasonings, there were plenty of natural ones. For example, Black Rice, a very traditional ethnic food, is made by soaking glutinous rice in black tree leaves for several hours before cooking, imparting a fresh leafy aroma. There were other dishes like Five-Color Glutinous Rice and Hand-Pulled Rice, made with just natural plants, but still delicious. Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but marvel at the endless domestic wisdom these girls seemed to possess. He hadn¡¯t cooked for so long he was out of practice. ¡°I have a bottle of heaven-facing chili oil; can it still be eaten?¡± Lin Xuanyuan thought for a moment, then suddenly said. ¡°It should be fine.¡± Zhang Yuan nodded eagerly, ¡°Chili oil, good stuff!¡± He no longer cared whether it had been preserved in a vacuum at low temperatures for over a century; as long as it was edible. Couldn¡¯t any microorganisms survive in such conditions, so why worry about spoilage? ¡°We still need more stuff; go buy it.¡± After that, Zhang Yuan headed to the botanical garden, attempting to purchase a large quantity of plant-based seasonings and glutinous rice among other foods. The girl in charge of the plants frowned. ¡°¡­Mr. Zhang, according to your personal material purchase limit, buying so much exceeds the allowance.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯ll support me, won¡¯t you?¡± After a moment of thought, her eyebrows curved in agreement, ¡°Alright, I agree¡­ But I have a small request¡­¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Can I join?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± And so, Zhang Yuan spent about twenty thousand New Coins. The plant-based seasonings and glutinous rice were outrageously expensive, but he gritted his teeth and bought them. ¡°When did I become so generous? Twenty thousand bucks¡­¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ve always been this generous.¡± When they returned to the cafeteria, they found Lin Xuanyuan carefully dripping a few drops of chili oil into a pot. Instantly, a spicy aroma hit Zhang Yuan¡¯s nostrils. His mouth watered at the thought. He quickly closed the kitchen door to prevent the scent from wafting out and polluting the entire spaceship¡¯s air¡­ Over twenty people spent half a day preparing a massive amount of food, waiting for everyone to arrive. Chapter 122 - 123 Beyond Light Years Chapter 122: Chapter 123 Beyond Light Years Many were simple foods, akin to skewered ingredients cooked in a pot of broth, as well as some ethnic dishes. However, under the current conditions, such food was already delicious enough. Zhang Yuan swallowed a meatball he didn¡¯t usually care for, and its spiciness hit the back of his throat so directly that it almost brought tears to his eyes. Perhaps it was because the chili oil from the Facing Heaven pepper was a bit too fiery or perhaps for some other reason¡­ When had he last tasted this flavor? ¡°How is it, my cooking skills aren¡¯t bad, right? I made these fish balls myself,¡± Lin Xuanyuan asked with a smile, her eyes spinning round as they fixed on him. Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t know what to say. The taste was actually quite ordinary and no matter what you did with the balls, they remained just that. But homemade food, plus being cooked in spicy water, seemed to carry a slightly different sensation, altering the flavor a bit. That feeling was simply¡­ Soulful! ¡°Very good, just a bit spicy!¡± he said, unable to help himself from wiping the sweat from his face. The spiciness was so intense that he could not distinguish any other flavors. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Or rather, what he was eating was not so much about the taste as it was about longing for his hometown¡­ People from different regions each had their own flavors. The northwest had lamb and sliced noodles, Shandong was about buns and dumplings stuffed with pork, Sichuan boasted pots of churning red oil, and the south offered the sweet sophistication of lotus roots stuffed with glutinous rice. Although the spiciness was not the true flavor of his actual hometown, it was enough to evoke nostalgia. Because all of Earth had become one big hometown, even eating pasta¡­ could be considered a taste of home. ¡°That Facing Heaven pepper is really too hot; we should plant more of it in the botanical garden, a single cultivation could last many years¡­ By the way, are you a Sichuan girl, carrying a bottle of chili oil onto the spaceship?¡± ¡°You guess, you guess¡­¡± Lin Xuanyuan¡¯s face was flush from the heat of the spice, her condition clearly affected. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. You are too scared of the heat!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t I seem like I can handle spicy food? Ha!¡± After a while, the main group arrived. Hearing that the ¡°generous and hospitable¡± Mr. Zhang Yuan was hosting a meal for everyone, all were in high spirits. Especially upon entering the dining hall, many of the former Xia Country people caught the scent of something familiar and showed interested expressions. The entire dinner was served buffet-style, though one could also choose to cook for themselves, to eat their fill. At this moment, what nearly everyone thought of was not a dish from some fancy hotel or by some famous chef, but the smells of their childhood hometown. Many people ate while chatting together, creating a very pleasant atmosphere. ¡°It¡¯s too spicy, too spicy. I really don¡¯t understand why you guys do this to yourselves. According to scientific research, spice is actually a toxin!¡± John came over, his face covered in sweat, and exclaimed. ¡°I need some sugar. Is there any sugar?¡± His entire face was swollen from the spice, his tongue sticking out, unable to retract. ¡°Who says food is just for health? We eat for the flavors,¡± Zhang Yuan said with a smile. ¡°John, you should really enjoy the cuisine¡­ Xia Country¡¯s variety of foods is much richer than what you have back home.¡± ¡°That black rice is really good indeed; it would be even better with a bit of curry. It¡¯s a pity there¡¯s no curry, what a shame.¡± ¡°Curry rice?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Zhang Yuan truly could not agree with this guy¡¯s taste in life. The mood grew warmer and more lively, as if it had been a long time since they had experienced such a bustling scene. Even those who usually disliked noisy environments seemed to enjoy themselves. ¡°Quiet, everyone quiet down!¡± A young man suddenly shouted excitedly, ¡°Next, please welcome¡­ Miss Anfeifei to perform a program for us all.¡± A girl who seemed to have lost at a game of ¡°Truth or Dare¡± mustered her courage and took the stage, her face flushed as she sang an ancient song. ¡°Feel the fingertips that stop at the end of my hair, like time frozen in an instant. Remember looking into my resolute eyes, perhaps there is no tomorrow. Facing the vast starry sea, we are as insignificant as dust¡­¡± There was no accompaniment, just her singing a cappella. The singer¡¯s level was quite good, and her ethereal voice echoed in everyone¡¯s hearts, silencing all conversations. Zhang Yuan looked up. Gathered light-years away, the majority of his kind were in slumber, perhaps tomorrow would be a dream from which they could not awaken. Three thousand years too short, merely a fleeting moment in the universe. Three thousand years too long, it¡¯s possible that upon waking up, even the civilization of humanity behind them would be gone. For some reason, Zhang Yuan felt a faint sense of sorrow in his heart. If he counted his age in the virtual sense, he was over two hundred years old, and by his real age, he was also 27, having experienced enough to no longer be the naive student fresh out of graduation. But now, a little bit of food, a gathering, could make him feel a taste called happiness, something unimaginable in the past. Perhaps, drifting in the vast universe, depending on this Mother Ship for survival, unsure of his ultimate fate or the direction of the future. 1.2 light-years away, although there were more of his kind, they were no longer of the same era. Never again could he return to that beautiful yet rough world. This sense of loneliness, without having experienced it personally, one might never truly understand. When the singer finished her song, she bowed and stepped down. Clap, clap, clap! The applause was thunderous. Next, someone spontaneously took the stage and played a tune on the harmonica titled ¡°Childhood Memories.¡± Memories of younger days surged in his heart, remembering how his father used to play some instrumental music at home. Now, in this isolated little environment, hearing this song all of a sudden really brought back many memories buried deep in his mind, bringing feelings of happiness and sadness¡­ Following that, another young man took the stage and showcased his basketball skills. ¡°Shh!¡± A chorus of whistles rose from the audience. To be honest, due to a long absence from playing basketball, the young man¡¯s skills were a bit poor, but his somewhat comical performance brought a joyful atmosphere. All of these performers were volunteers, and Zhang Yuan felt his palms getting a bit red from clapping. Three hours later, the dinner ended in a jovial atmosphere. Overall, the dinner was rather pleasant, and nothing went wrong. Many who always wore stern faces also showed their smiles. After all, gathering more and making more friends doesn¡¯t hurt¡­ Chapter 123 - 124 Global Planning Chapter 123: Chapter 124 Global Planning After the meal, Zhang Yuan and several staff members cleaned up everything and carefully cleaned the kitchen once more, feeling slightly tired as he left the dining hall. Suddenly, he felt someone patting his shoulder. Turning his head, it was Lin Xuanyuan. Her complexion was slightly rosy, and she seemed less troubled than at the beginning. Lin Xuanyuan asked, ¡°Feeling a bit tired?¡± ¡°Not really, just think of it as a workout.¡± ¡°Then, how about we take a walk in the botanical garden? I feel a bit stuffed.¡± Zhang Yuan thought about it, having nothing else to do, he nodded. Currently on Earth Era, the most popular place was undoubtedly the botanical garden, filled with various functional plants, it was bursting with greenery, and the air was the freshest. In the low gravity environment, to allow orderly growth of plants, scientists had researched and designed special spatial devices to fix and cultivate the plants in a substrate, enabling them to grow in an orderly manner as reasoned. The two walked side by side, enjoying the fresh and natural air. Suddenly, Lin Xuanyuan said, ¡°Just waking up from hibernation, how can one forget the past? Sometimes when it suddenly comes to mind, it still hurts. Although today has been quite pleasant.¡± Zhang Yuan sat on the step, ¡°Let me tell you a story¡­¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Lin Xuanyuan also sat down next to him. ¡°I used to have a good friend in high school, after graduation, we went to different universities. At first, we kept in touch frequently, but gradually, we drifted into different social circles. ¡°I couldn¡¯t understand the statuses he posted on his social circle; he didn¡¯t know any of the friends I showcased in mine.¡± ¡°That¡¯s how we gradually lost contact.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been so long since we last spoke, so long that I myself have forgotten. When he updated his status next, he posted a prayer, and it was then through the comments that I found out someone in his family had been seriously ill recently.¡± ¡°So, I sent a message to ask how things were, but got no reply. After a few times, I stopped sending messages.¡± ¡°And then we lost contact for good.¡± ¡°I think, life, in the end, is a gradual farewell. Sometimes it¡¯s inevitably hard to accept, the friendship we had just cut off like that¡­ Cherishing the present is what¡¯s most important, isn¡¯t it?¡± Lin Xuanyuan¡¯s eyes met his, and she couldn¡¯t help but smile, ¡°Sometimes, you¡¯re not so straightforward, quite poetic actually¡­¡± Zhang Yuan laughed, ¡°How could someone without a poetic soul travel to the distant places?¡± ¡°Such vanity¡­ Do you still remember the memos on Earth?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Zhang Yuan reminisced, ¡°The most unforgettable was buying a BQ ice cream, so expensive, it really hurt.¡± ¡°You¡¯re really stingy, just over an ice cream!¡± Zhang Yuan touched his nose, ¡°I donated all my property, am I still stingy?! For this banquet, I even spent twenty thousand New Coins!¡± ¡°Ah, you¡¯re really generous!¡± Lin Xuanyuan exaggerated her compliment. The two talked for a long time, reminiscing about the past, describing the future¡­ Suddenly, Zhang Yuan realized that he was not as strong as he had imagined, many things were just suppressed in his heart, and now with an outlet, he couldn¡¯t hold them back, like opening a floodgate. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The girl opposite him was the same, unknowingly, she had said a lot. Venting was indeed the best way to relieve stress. Soon, the botanical garden was about to close, and soft music started playing. Zhang Yuan stood up from the steps. Lin Xuanyuan suddenly asked, ¡°Generous Mr. Zhang, spending so much money, do you feel a sting?¡± Zhang Yuan replied with a smile, ¡°Are you interviewing me now? You surely can¡¯t still be a journalist, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a professional habit, I¡¯m actually a doctor now. I originally studied medicine, journalism was just a side job. Did you really think our civilization could afford a leisurely profession like a journalist?¡± He internally criticized, why would a woman who studied medicine bizarrely moonlight as a journalist? ¡°Doctor? Your patients must be tormented to death by your intense curiosity!¡± Lin Xuanyuan rolled her eyes, ¡°It¡¯s called a strong and intense curiosity, okay? If I were to become a physicist, I would definitely outperform you!¡± ¡°I was just curious; twenty thousand New Coins have real purchasing power in the New Civilization, not just assets from Earth. If it were me, I¡¯d probably hesitate to spend that on a meal¡­¡± ¡°That just shows my high morals!¡± Zhang Yuan laughed heartily. ¡°Your morals are high?¡± Seeing Lin Xuanyuan¡¯s skeptical look and recalling the pain of purchasing, he felt a bit embarrassed, ¡°¡­Actually, I figured making money won¡¯t be a big issue in the future. A few tens of thousands, just a drop in the bucket, letting everyone have a good time is what¡¯s important.¡± Wait, that sounded a bit too pretentious, maybe not so appropriate. Lin Xuanyuan couldn¡¯t help but chuckle, ¡°That¡¯s so vain of you to say! If everyone thought like you, society would indeed be simpler.¡± Zhang Yuan honestly expressed, ¡°Actually, I did feel a sting at that moment, but it was back to normal afterwards.¡± ¡°You call me simple, but it¡¯s not like that¡­ For this event, I went through a series of rational calculations before making this choice.¡± ¡°If I were to use scientific language to properly explain my recent action, it might be for the sake of creating a friendlier, more harmonious societal norm¡­ Such an atmosphere is beneficial to everyone¡¯s quality of life and can last for a long time.¡± ¡°Spending twenty thousand to enhance the collective quality of life is truly worth it. I even suggest that we should organize such banquets regularly.¡± Lin Xuanyuan blinked, ¡°You tech guys, are you always this serious when talking? I remember, aren¡¯t you in the space machinery industry? Why are you dabbling in sociology now?¡± Zhang Yuan responded, ¡°Earth Civilization¡¯s sociology is indeed humanities. But currently, New Civilization History is actually science, based on game theory and psychology. With such a small population, it¡¯s not difficult to find a local optimum¡­¡± Hearing a bunch of technical terms, Lin Xuanyuan felt a bit overwhelmed, quickly sticking out her tongue playfully. Zhang Yuan continued, ¡°Without a global plan, left to its own devices, humans would naturally choose the most beneficial greedy strategy for themselves. What is the most beneficial greedy strategy? Of course, controlling more resources, seizing the most beautiful mates, and building an entourage to consolidate a violent regime.¡± ¡°If everyone thought this way, striving for the maximization of personal interests, life would become a mess, filled with contradictions and dangers. Have you read novels about the apocalypse? The outcome is that, besides a few individuals, everyone¡¯s life is miserable. That¡¯s the classic prisoner¡¯s dilemma.¡± Chapter 124 - 125 Stock Donation Chapter 124: Chapter 125 Stock Donation This principle was quite simple to understand. Lin Xuanyuan couldn¡¯t help but blush a bit, particularly at the phrase ¡°snatching the most beautiful object,¡± which she found a bit strange. ¡°But few people think like this ¡­ once the Captain and the others wake up, all these bad guys will be caught.¡± ¡°Yes, very few people think like this. But we cannot rule out the possibility of some fools or psychologically deranged individuals having sudden strange ideas and wanting to be the lord over others during this special time. The Captains are still in deep sleep after all, and even if awakened urgently, it would take several days for them to recuperate, how could they manage the current situations?¡± ¡°Today¡¯s dinner helped lessen the likelihood of such incidents occurring¡­ In case of such accidents, everyone would spontaneously defend and resist.¡± ¡°How cold-hearted! I thought you were truly generous and hospitable, I didn¡¯t expect it to turn into a political act,¡± Lin Xuanyuan pouted, not hearing the answer she expected, and laughed teasingly. ¡°Cold-hearted?¡± Zhang Yuan smiled and said seriously, ¡°In fact, most human actions can be explained by the word ¡®interest.¡¯ I simply turned the fact into a mathematical model and optimized it.¡± Lin Xuanyuan said, ¡°Then, how can you explain women¡¯s emotions, doing things unexpectedly, with the word ¡®interest¡¯?¡± Zhang Yuan scratched the back of his head, laughed, and did not make any excuse. There was one thing he dared not say, the ¡°emotional¡± phenomena, perhaps evolved from women needing to captivate men¡­ ¡­ Zhang Yuan returned to his bedroom and wrote another crew log, detailing that afternoon¡¯s dinner, including video footage. He had bought so many things, which technically constituted a breach of regulations, so a rational explanation was necessary. In the crew log, he wrote, ¡°I suggest that in future plans, we should plant more natural herbs for seasoning and organize similar large-scale banquets regularly to regulate people¡¯s emotional states¡­¡± ¡°The joy found in preparing food and manual labor¡­¡± Of course, everything was done voluntarily. If the banquet evolved into mere formalism, then it would be meaningless. Later, he wrote some inspirations regarding New Civilization History in his notebook, including some understandings of personal psychology and game theory. Especially translating some human behaviors into mathematical problems, Zhang Yuan thought of a special function that seemed to describe the overall psychology of humans, naming it the ¡°psy¡± function. This subject was truly difficult, involving history, culture, systems, and collective psychology, with no significant progress thus far. ¡°If I could self-learn some of this and publish a paper on it, I could graduate with a Ph.D., a ¡­ Ph.D. in Mathematics? About various properties of the psy function¡­¡± After contemplating all this, Zhang Yuan quietly lay in bed. It was time, the centrifuge started spinning, creating Earth-like gravity. Once the gravity stabilized, the human body could slowly relax. Several messages popped up in his social circle. ¡°A lovely dinner, pity there was no curry,¡± posted by John. Zhang Yuan liked it, too lazy to reply. ¡°Met a guy who¡¯s quite nice¡­¡± posted by Lin Xuanyuan. Zhang Yuan wrote on it, ¡°Your cooking isn¡¯t bad either.¡± The reply came quickly, ¡°I still have some beef jerky left, want some?¡± ¡°Keep it for yourself to enjoy.¡± ¡°That¡¯s nice!¡± ¡°I¡¯m conceptualizing a doctoral thesis.¡± ¡°Ha ha, I¡¯m also directly pursuing a master¡¯s and Ph.D., just haven¡¯t graduated yet.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re older than me.¡± ¡°Just a few months older, let me hear you say ¡®sister¡¯.¡± After casually chatting a few sentences, Zhang Yuan, embarrassed and flushed, pretended to sleep to finally make her give up on flirting further. Zhang Yuan calmed the flames in his heart, not minding finding a girl. However, he didn¡¯t like to haphazardly seek out relationships during moments of loneliness; everything required careful consideration. Upon waking the next day, with the intent of writing his thesis, Zhang Yuan began reviewing research records from some scientists before him and tried to incorporate his newly invented ¡°psy¡± function. The currently best civilizational model was formulated in the mode of complex networks. In this model, the expected outcome for human civilization was tragically mediocre, thus John had such confidence in being a pessimist. Zhang Yuan truly hoped that this result was incorrect. ¡°After all, a model is just a model and can¡¯t represent the actual reality.¡± During these thoughts, he recalled a conversation he once had with Senior Brother Zhao, ¡°According to calculations, Earth Civilization has the capability to launch a maximum of two Deep Space Colony Ships.¡± The first has already been launched, fulfilling the prophecy. The probability of launching the second was over sixty percent. Now, 183 years had passed, and the second ship had not yet appeared¡­ There were many reasons, including economic and political. But ultimately, it had not been successfully launched, with not even a plan in existence, making Zhang Yuan somewhat anxious. He then wrote another letter to the Deep Space Foundation back on Earth. ¡°To all colleagues at the Deep Space Foundation, hello, I am an astronaut aboard Earth Era, named Zhang Yuan, at a Sixth-Level position. My identity number on Earth is¡­¡± ¡°After waking from hibernation 183 years later, I heard some good news and some bad news about Earth Civilization.¡± ¡°Regretfully, I cannot do much about it, nor offer very good advice.¡± ¡°Here, I volunteer a statement: if there is any plan by the entire Earth Civilization to build a second Deep Space Colony Ship, I am willing to donate all my remaining personal assets, including over thirty billion in personal equity, to aid in the construction of this spaceship.¡± ¡°I am not sure when this plan will start, but I am willing to give my earnest support.¡± Following that, he recorded a message. As long as it was sent to Earth, theoretically, this agreement would take effect. They were still citizens of Xia Country and had the same civil rights. ¡­ Time swiftly flowed, and every week, a small portion of people entered hibernation, then another portion awakened from it, confronting the harsh reality. This sensation was like the blood in the body, being replaced every so often. Mr. John, in the office, had entered hibernation a while ago, and Zhang Yuan had lost someone with whom to discuss issues. Office personnel kept changing, making it feel lonely, as if every few months, he would enter a strange environment. Many people, although acquainted, were not necessarily able to become good friends, which was also quite frustrating. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. But one must adapt to discomfort¡­ Chapter 125 - 126: Two Years Chapter 125: Chapter 126: Two Years In the blink of an eye, two years were about to pass. In forty days, he would leave this familiar office and enter hibernation for the second time¡­ Zhang Yuan reflected on the events of the past two years, the initial adaptation followed by an increasing maladjustment¡­ He had learned much new knowledge, especially in the areas of mathematics, New Civilization History, and industrial studies, and he was quite hopeful about the future. The current forefront of Earth Civilization was the research of space weapons, including lasers, electromagnetic guns, and ion cannons, among others. Given the observance of powerful Alien Civilizations, even if humans were weak, studying these weapons was necessary. Relying on the moral quality of aliens to decide their own fate was absolutely foolish. Lasers needed no further explanation; the development of condensed matter physics had been making laser power increasingly greater. However, laser weapons had their inherent limitations. When laser weapons hit a target, the super-high temperature caused various metals to rapidly ionize. These high-temperature plasmas could absorb a large amount of energy, preventing the lasers from further destruction. Thus, the lethality of these weapons was not strong enough. Electromagnetic guns used electromagnetic launch technology to produce kinetic energy weapons. According to current electromagnetic acceleration technology, bullets the size of soybeans could be accelerated to one-tenth of the speed of light. One-tenth of the speed of light, thirty thousand kilometers per second, was an impressive number. Yet compared to the vastness of the universe, it was still slow as a snail¡­ Ion cannons were also kinetic energy weapons, but the bullets were protons and other charged particles, almost as if turning the proton collider into a weapon. The speed of ion cannons could be higher, theoretically reaching over 90% of the speed of light. One branch, proton cannons, had reached a relatively mature stage of research, including various materials and weapon structures. The Deep Space Foundation had sent some of these papers to the spaceship. This high-level military secret, Zhang Yuan did not know how the Deep Space Foundation had obtained it, but they had sent it to the Earth Era Times. ¡°Perhaps there are some political heavyweights within the Foundation secretly supporting it.¡± With his level 16 employee access, he could read freely. Apart from proton cannons, there was another more advanced Ion Cannon research direction, something called ¡°Helium-Hydrogen Ion Cannon.¡± Helium-Hydrogen formula was HeH+, a positively charged ion. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. This substance was claimed to be the strongest acid in the Universe, capable of reacting chemically with almost anything. Upon hitting a target, it not only produced kinetic and electromagnetic damage but could also corrode surrounding materials, overall making it much more formidable than proton cannons. But because of this, HeH+ could not be prepared in condensed form since it would react with anions, molecules, and atoms, so there were still many challenges in manufacturing and storage. Sighing lightly, he set aside these materials, feeling a bit excited in his heart. His favorite things were large industries and mass production; he couldn¡¯t wait to reach the future planets and engage in this field of research. More than ten hours of self-study each day was not in vain. He was proud to have understood some of the cutting-edge science of this new era¡­ ¡°Mr. Zhang, hello.¡± A voice rang out beside him, the person taking over his job was a young man named Zhao Chao. This young man had just woken up from hibernation, looking quite nervous as he tried to muster the courage to face the reality that had once happened. Zhang Yuan secretly sighed. Just like Fang Yuhao had carefully welcomed him initially, he carefully treated this poor boy and shook hands with him. Following that, he said the same words, ¡°Mr. Zhao, the mental health office is over there. Perhaps you could rest awhile, let your feelings stabilize, and then take over my job¡­¡± ¡°I also have a few comedy movies to recommend to you, including the Journey to the West series, Eight Dragon Balls series, Pirate King series¡­¡± ¡­ More than a month later. After hands-on guidance, the successor Zhao Chao had already mastered all the work, and his mood had also gradually stabilized. This meant he could leave with peace of mind. On this day, Zhang Yuan was saying his final goodbyes to his good friend Lin Xuanyuan. ¡°¡­Hibernation is truly a wonderful thing! Waking up to see the latest developments of human civilization and to learn new knowledge. I wonder if the Helium-Hydrogen Ion Cannon can actually be developed successfully¡­¡± Speaking of which, Zhang Yuan felt a slight sense of guilt because he had only learned and not explored Nature, as if he had been idly lazy¡­ ¡°What¡¯s there to feel guilty about? Learning the forefront within two years is already quite impressive,¡± Lin Xuanyuan emerged from the room, holding a small plate with several golden corn cakes on it. ¡°Just a small part of the forefront,¡± Zhang Yuan said sheepishly. Lin Xuanyuan managed a half-hearted smile, not looking very happy. Nonetheless, she squeezed out a smile, ¡°Try the new corn cakes I just made! They¡¯re baked in the oven!¡± Over this period of mutual care, the two had become very familiar with one another. Additionally, in such a confined environment, it had become very difficult not to become close. This young lady was very good at cooking, able to create various novel and strange edibles. In these conditions of scarce resources, being able to cook delicious food was an incredible skill. Lin Xuanyuan sat opposite him, watching Zhang Yuan taste the food, her emotions somewhat complex. The hibernation batches were all planned, and under normal circumstances, the chances of the two meeting again after the next awakening were indeed very slim. She began trying to find some topics, ¡°Well¡­ the future of humans, you¡¯re not worried anymore? Isn¡¯t it said that robots are being trial-run in some areas?¡± Zhang Yuan laughed, ¡°Since it has already happened, why worry? I can¡¯t be of any help¡­ The captains aren¡¯t worried, so why should I be¡­ The most I can do now is donate, but after that donation, I really won¡¯t have any money left.¡± Lin Xuanyuan leaned her chin on her hand, looking at him, ¡°Over three hundred billion! Not three hundred yuan, why are you so generous? Why not donate it to me instead, let me experience the feeling of a world-class tycoon, and I could keep many many young men!¡± Zhang Yuan glanced at her, recording with his mobile phone, ¡°Hello to all colleagues at the Deep Space Foundation. My name is Zhang Yuan, identification number¡­ I voluntarily transfer all my property on Earth to Miss Lin Xuanyuan. Oh, what¡¯s your identification number?¡± ¡°Really giving it to me¡­ You¡¯re really generous. Want to keep me?¡± Lin Xuanyuan said happily. ¡­ Chapter 126 - 127: The Second Hibernation Chapter 126: Chapter 127: The Second Hibernation Zhang Yuan laughed and said, ¡°Sponsor? Well, giving it to you isn¡¯t out of the question¡­¡± He let his mind wander, wondering if someone spending a hundred billion to woo a woman would make worldwide headlines. Just the thought was a bit amusing. ¡°But according to the law, for such a huge gift, you have to pay taxes. When all is said and done, you¡¯d pay billions in taxes¡ªthat seems like a big loss. Would you really be willing?¡± Lin Xuanyuan couldn¡¯t help feeling discouraged. With a creased little face, she really didn¡¯t want to pay taxes, but she said defiantly, ¡°Just a few billion¡ªto win a beauty¡¯s smile, isn¡¯t it worth it?¡± ¡°Ha¡­ The beauty is already smiling here! Give us a smile.¡± Lin Xuanyuan had awakened a year later than him, so naturally, she would go into hibernation later; this would likely be their last meal together. Afterward, he would have to take medication and prepare for hibernation. Seeing her not looking particularly happy, Zhang Yuan quickly changed the subject, ¡°That¡­ These corn cakes are really tasty. Where did you get the corn flour?¡± ¡°Of course, it¡¯s hand-ground. Got nothing else to do after work, and no one to keep me company¡­¡± Zhang Yuan felt embarrassed. He wasn¡¯t an idiot, how could he not understand what she was implying? ¡°I think you could record your technique and make a program out of it, so the robots could learn to cook food like this.¡± ¡°No way, it gets tiring if you eat too much of it, it¡¯s only tasty for the first few times.¡± ¡°True enough.¡± After chatting for a while, the atmosphere turned silent, as if they had run out of things to talk about. Lin Xuanyuan¡¯s cheeks turned slightly red as she complained softly, ¡°Sigh, who knows when we¡¯ll see each other again¡­ you¡¯re going into hibernation so soon, and I still have to work here for half a year.¡± Zhang Yuan said quietly, ¡°If our waking times don¡¯t align, next time we meet, we might already be on the Planet. Then, we¡¯ll all be back to our regular jobs, busy with our own things¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to arrive at a new Mother Star and start a whole new life!¡± ¡°Reporters will still be needed by then. I hope when you interview me, you go easy on me and don¡¯t ask any tricky questions. Otherwise, I won¡¯t be able to answer.¡± Lin Xuanyuan raised an eyebrow and couldn¡¯t help but laugh, ¡°Look at you acting all vain. By then, I¡¯ll be the star reporter! If there¡¯s no important news, I won¡¯t bother interviewing you!¡± Zhang Yuan laughed, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the important news will definitely happen to me.¡± ¡°Ai, you think too much¡­ I probably won¡¯t be a reporter, nor will I come to interview you.¡± Lin Xuanyuan lowered her head, ¡°There will be cuter young girls to interview you, our newspaper is full of beautiful girls!¡± Zhang Yuan looked up at her; she was actually quite attractive, with an oval face, twin ponytails, and a nice figure. ¡°What are you going to do in the future?¡± ¡°A doctor. I¡¯m learning the newly developed protein language. It¡¯s always good to learn more. I want to do research on antibiotics¡­ that would contribute more to society, I guess.¡± Zhang Yuan frowned, he always thought she was a bit slow, because she frequently asked him some very obvious questions about mathematics. Little did he realize what was obvious to him wasn¡¯t necessarily so for others. ¡°Even a dummy can learn the protein language, huh? It must not be that hard¡­¡± Zhang Yuan thought presumptuously. ¡°¡­ If you, as a bumbling researcher, fail to produce results and end up with no funding, I¡¯ll reluctantly look after your lab. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll turn into a financial powerhouse,¡± Zhang Yuan bragged. Lin Xuanyuan giggled, ¡°Sure, golden thigh, as long as the money is right, anything is possible¡­¡± Zhang Yuan shivered uncontrollably; Lin Xuanyuan usually didn¡¯t speak with such a soft, sensual tone¡ªit gave him goosebumps. After some light-hearted banter, the mood lightened up a bit. But the thought of the imminent separation weighed them down again, and silence fell. After quite a while, Zhang Yuan asked haltingly, ¡°I have a question¡ªdon¡¯t you have a life partner? I¡¯m going into hibernation soon, and for a while, you might have to go it alone.¡± Lin Xuanyuan looked at him with a touch of wistfulness, ¡°If I had a life partner, why would I be here eating with you? Do you think I do this with every guy¡­ Don¡¯t flatter yourself too much, life goes on without anyone.¡± Zhang Yuan nodded, then played dumb, ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll rest easy. Cheers! With this meal, I won¡¯t be able to eat anything for hundreds of years¡­ See you in three thousand years.¡± Lin Xuanyuan was very unhappy, cursing in her heart that this guy was so foolish as to be beyond redemption; perhaps he was playing dumb. Actually, she knew it would be very difficult to stir such a person¡¯s emotions. Extreme rationality and intelligence meant an unwillingness to devote time to things that seemed trivial. If she didn¡¯t take the initiative, she might never keep up with him. She bowed her head and said softly, ¡°Or, next time we hibernate, let¡¯s wake up together¡­¡± Zhang Yuan was stunned and at a loss for words for a moment. Waking up together from hibernation was a privilege reserved for life partners, but he wasn¡¯t ready to get into a romance or anything¡ªit was such a hassle. Yet, chatting with her was quite pleasant. Lin Xuanyuan seemed to read his thoughts, her expression becoming somewhat angry, ¡°I¡¯m not asking to live with you! I just want to have someone familiar to talk to when I wake up. It doesn¡¯t feel good to be surrounded by strangers.¡± Zhang Yuan burst out laughing, ¡°¡­ If you like me, you could just confess, you know. There have actually been quite a few girls who¡¯ve liked me since I was young. I might not necessarily reject you.¡± Lin Xuanyuan turned her head away, ¡°Forget it then, who cares!¡± After a silence, Zhang Yuan spoke softly, ¡°Well, no one can be ungrateful, I¡¯ll accept it for the sake of the cornbread¡­¡± Actually, waking up together from hibernation was no big deal, having a familiar person around was much better than facing a completely strange environment. In the following days, it was time to endure hunger again. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Then came hibernation¡­ Time flies, two years have passed just like that¡­ ¡°Mr. Zhang, your health check is satisfactory,¡± the administrative officer, who had already changed, said. ¡°Do you have any unfulfilled wishes? This includes handling some financial matters, electronic devices need special care.¡± ¡°Everything is already taken care of,¡± Zhang Yuan replied, then filled out a form. With Lin Xuanyuan¡¯s help, he lay down in the hibernation chamber. A drowsy heaviness descended upon his mind. Not being his first time, he no longer found it strange. Zhang Yuan¡¯s mood was still somewhat heavy as his heartbeat slowed down in the cold environment, slower and slower. ¡°If the spaceship encounters no special conditions, your hibernation time will be 307 years¡­¡± ¡°The next time you wake up, it will be the year 2757, the 28th century. Your working time will be 456 days¡­¡± ¡°See you then!¡± As her gentle voice faded, Zhang Yuan¡¯s gaze slowly dimmed. Over 300 years, such a long period of time, who knows what the future holds. And as for Earth Civilization, my Mother Star, what it would be like at that time¡­ Earth Civilization, my mother civilization. May you fare well. ¡­ (The following text is free: The subscription for the first 24-hour chapter is roughly 1280; I¡¯ll round it up to 1300, so I owe everyone 3 chapter updates. Plus, I owe the Alliance Hierarch two more chapters, for a total of 5 chapters. Today I¡¯ll publish 5 updates, returning the first 3; I¡¯ll pay back the remaining two another day. You don¡¯t need to be discouraged; the subscription is still decent even if it¡¯s fewer than 12. I hope everyone can continue to support the official release if possible. Every reader counts, and losing even one is a loss¡­ Of course, I will do my best to write this book well. Let¡¯s go!) Chapter 127 - 128 307th Year Chapter 127: Chapter 128 307th Year Years had passed, time rushed by. Walking through the dim universe on the Earth Era spaceship, felt like being on a time train¡­ Periodically, some people boarded while others disembarked. There were many stops along the journey, and it was rare for anyone to stay from beginning to end. When someone had to get off, even if reluctantly, one should be grateful and then wave goodbye. Now, it was once again the era for Zhang Yuan to disembark¡­ In the midst of this fog, suddenly, a bright light shone from the darkness, slowly waking him from his hibernation. Zhang Yuan opened his eyes vaguely, his vision was a blur, and his brain had yet to register any sensations. Each awakening felt terrible, as if he had taken a nerve-paralyzing drug, leaving him groggy, with the world spinning and tumbling around him. His personal will seemed to vanish. He knew neither who he was nor where he was; he felt just like a zombie. ¡°Zhang Yuan, my child, it is now the year 2757, the legendary 28th century¡­ This time, we¡¯ve traveled through another three hundred years.¡± ¡°I woke up a month before you, still working as a doctor. Unfortunately, it¡¯s a slow year, only over six hundred people are awake, 645 to be precise¡­¡± Lin Xuanyuan¡¯s voice was like a whisper in a dream, fuzzy yet carrying a warm sense of security. Zhang Yuan¡¯s pupils constricted slightly, a bodily instinct; after a while, he seemed to find his own safe harbor and his eyelids closed again. ¡°Okay, Xuanxuan, all physiological indicators look normal, and his brain is recovering. Don¡¯t disturb him anymore, let him sleep a bit more. Complete recovery will still take some time¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be too concerned!¡± A head nurse said, laughing. ¡°I know, I know,¡± Lin Xuanyuan stuck out her tongue. A few days later, Zhang Yuan¡¯s mind had cleared, and he was able to think about some things. Being carefully looked after felt good, although due to physical reasons, he could only drink a little millet porridge each day, leaving his body feeling somewhat unsatisfied. Zhang Yuan really wanted to eat heartily, even synthetic meat would do! Thinking this, he licked his dry lips, and his first words were, ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°That response is quite satisfying to me,¡± Lin Xuanyuan¡¯s face brightened with a smile. ¡°Being able to speak indicates that your brain has mostly recovered¡­¡± Zhang Yuan cautiously asked, ¡°Can I eat meat?¡± ¡°No!¡± ¡°You¡­ did you take advantage of me?¡± ¡°I did, went over your whole body¡­ not bad, quite satisfied.¡± Lin Xuanyuan gave him a provocative look, scanning his vital parts. Zhang Yuan tensed up, suddenly not knowing what to say even though he knew she was joking¡­ Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. He then asked, ¡°Has the spaceship encountered any problems? I¡­ woke up on time, there shouldn¡¯t be any issues, right?¡± ¡°¡­There seem to have been a few minor accidents, but overall, it¡¯s within controllable limits.¡± Hearing this, Zhang Yuan gradually relaxed. After a while, he asked the question that interested him the most, ¡°So, have there been any new technological advancements in recent years? With three hundred years, humanity couldn¡¯t possibly have achieved nothing, right?¡± Lin Xuanyuan sat on the edge of the bed. ¡°I¡¯m not too sure about that, as I¡¯m busy all the time. However, in the medical field, the average human lifespan seems to have increased a bit, to about one hundred ninety, nearing two hundred years. The oldest person reached 320 years; living over three hundred years without dying, they¡¯re practically a turtle!¡± Zhang Yuan was slightly taken aback but, with three hundred years of technological advancements, an average lifespan extending to two hundred years wasn¡¯t unimaginable. ¡°¡­In a few days, you can be discharged from the hospital. It¡¯s the same position as before, you¡¯ll have plenty of time to catch up on these matters.¡± Zhang Yuan bowed his head. ¡°Actually, living too long isn¡¯t necessarily a good thing.¡± Lin Xuanyuan corrected, ¡°To clarify, in the new era, rich people can live very long, poor people still have only a slight increase in lifespan¡­ If you want longevity, you need money.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true¡­ You¡¯re right. There¡¯s only one illness in the world, called poverty.¡± Seeing Lin Xuanyuan holding a syringe and squeezing out the air with an excited expression, Zhang Yuan shivered, whispering, ¡°What are you doing? Thinking of harming me? If I die, it¡¯s a loss for all humanity!¡± ¡°You guessed right! I recently found a more handsome life partner, if you don¡¯t break up, I¡¯ll just have to kill you first¡­¡± ¡°Help, Pan Jinlian plotting to murder her husband!¡± Seeing the syringe coming closer, Zhang Yuan shivered and feigned a retreat, realizing he had no strength. ¡°Where is Wu Song? Someone, protect me!¡± Lin Xuanyuan nearly laughed herself breathless, touched his cheek, and blew into his ear. ¡°So¡­ are you the rumored Wu Dalang?!¡± When the time came to inject, her expression turned serious. ¡°Don¡¯t move, be careful it doesn¡¯t go in crooked. This is the most advanced anti-free radical new drug, able to resist aging. We can also produce some in our biological lab, but the yield is low.¡± ¡°These few injections, put back in the civilization of Earth, would cost over 800,000! They can keep you alive for another thirty or forty years, but if it goes wrong, they¡¯re wasted.¡± Zhang Yuan did not understand what the current purchasing power of 800,000 was, but judging by Lin Xuanyuan¡¯s expression, it must be¡­ pretty expensive. After this playful banter, his mood upon waking the second time from hibernation was pretty good, not filled with the previous anxiety. After all, personal matters had been dealt with during the first awakening, and all the people he knew on Earth had already passed away. There were no longer any heavy attachments. What remained were only the big issues concerning all humanity, including the overall direction of the entire civilization. Since these were matters concerning all humanity, no matter how bad, they couldn¡¯t be depressing enough to make one consider jumping off a building. Zhang Yuan had accepted the fact of leaving the civilization of Earth and was thoroughly integrated into this spaceship, light years away. Thus, he was looking forward with curiosity to experiencing the forthcoming historical events. After bidding farewell_mgmt to Lin Xuanyuan who was still working, Zhang Yuan left the hospital, reported to the administrative office, and then returned to his own workstation. Upon entering the office door, Zhang Yuan encountered an old acquaintance and his mood immediately improved. ¡°Ah, Senior Brother Zhao, Old Zhao, it¡¯s you handling the handover!¡± He deeply knew how fortunate it was to have someone with whom one could communicate freely! ¡°Zhang Yuan, I¡¯ve been waiting for you for a long time,¡± Zhao Qingfeng smiled heartily, showing a similarly happy expression. Chapter 128 - 129: The Robot Teacher Chapter 128: Chapter 129: The Robot Teacher Zhao Qingfeng said, ¡°Zhang Yuan, you¡¯re about to take over my shift. There will be about a month of handover time.¡± ¡°This time, the work needs to be even more meticulous. Over the years, the nuclear power station had a minor incident. To avoid a major accident, we must do a comprehensive inspection every week.¡± Zhang Yuan nodded, recognizing the responsibility was his. The two quickly struck up a conversation. ¡°What minor incident?¡± ¡°Some equipment, due to prolonged use and neglect of maintenance, was severely corroded and suddenly stopped working, causing power outages in certain areas for a while¡­ but overall, it was still acceptable¡­¡± After all, the spaceship was already five hundred years old and was starting to show some problems. Within the allowable margin of error, a few minor issues were not a big deal. Having heard about these incidents, Zhang Yuan formed a general idea in his mind and took careful note of the areas that needed particular attention. After spending half a day discussing work precautions, the two began to casually chat about recent stories. ¡°A few days ago, I read some of your mathematical papers on New Civilization History. They were quite good.¡± Zhang Yuan laughed and said, ¡°It took me two years to come up with those ideas, just those few papers¡­¡± Senior Brother Zhao patted him on the shoulder, ¡°With these achievements, when a major year comes and there are enough peer reviews, you will be able to graduate with a Ph.D. It¡¯s rare for someone to earn a Ph.D. through self-study.¡± ¡°By the way, do you have any predictions for the world over the past three hundred years?¡± Zhang Yuan responded, ¡°Predictions? Not at the moment¡­ I¡¯m more interested in technological advancements. How have the HeH+ ion cannon and graviton research progressed?¡± ¡°The HeH+ ion cannon and graviton research? Well¡­ there have been significant developments in the military field. But¡­¡± ¡°You should really look into the stories that have happened over these three hundred years,¡± said Zhao Qingfeng, furrowing his brows as if organizing his thoughts. ¡°Not spoilers!¡± Zhang Yuan sat in the office chair, turning on the computer, ¡°It¡¯s no fun if you spoil it.¡± ¡°Alright, take your time and see for yourself.¡± Senior Brother Zhao smiled understandingly. Zhang Yuan first checked the events that had occurred on the spaceship during his three-hundred-year hibernation. The first incident, his proposal, was adopted; an official banquet was organized every year, creating an atmosphere somewhat reminiscent of the New Year. Over three hundred years, it had evolved into a traditional holiday on the spaceship. The second incident, over two hundred years ago, involved a couple who had an argument that escalated significantly, leading to the spaceship¡¯s first violent incident¡­ Zhang Yuan frowned as he read. In the photo, the unfortunate woman had blood all over the ground. The end result was the perpetrator being forced into hibernation, the victim receiving emergency treatment, and then also being placed in hibernation. As for who was right or wrong, and what punishment they deserved, that would be decided upon reaching their destination¡­ At any rate, no one had the time to attend to them now. Following that, there were several incidents of infidelity within marriages leading to fights and brawls, though none too serious. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The astronauts aboard the spaceship were not born saints. Humans, in extreme situations, inevitably have some cases of emotional breakdown. Especially these acts of marital infidelity had become gossip topics for people over tea and meals. With such a small population, where almost everyone knew each other, it was odd if infidelity went unnoticed¡­ Seeing various couples tear each other apart, Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but remark, ¡°Utterly unreasonable!¡± ¡°Staying single is indeed the right choice.¡± Zhang Yuan, inexplicably thinking of Lin Xuanyuan, suddenly felt less certain about this statement. Zhao Qingfeng continued, ¡°Yes, in a small environment with few people, without reasonable control, the moral evolution of humans could develop in a very strange direction.¡± ¡°Fortunately, personnel keep moving, and every individual only has about one or two years of conscious time; otherwise, who knows what bizarre incidents¡­ even group¡­ cough cough, behaviors might occur.¡± ¡°¡­Yes, that¡¯s indeed possible.¡± However, seeing that the overall security situation hadn¡¯t significantly worsened, Zhang Yuan gradually became less concerned. Then there was the story that took place on Earth. Zhang Yuan reminisced that during his last hibernation, Earth Civilization was facing an aging crisis, and now, 300 years had passed. He wondered how this issue had been resolved. ¡°The aging problem, you should see the report for yourself. Do you want me to spoil it for you?¡± Senior Brother Zhao replied. ¡°Of course not! Go read your comics.¡± Zhang Yuan casually opened a report. ¡°Hello, colleagues of the Earth Era, I am Yu Tianlong, the current president of the Deep Space Foundation.¡± ¡°Next, I will bring you updates on the changes in Earth Civilization over the recent years¡­¡± The familiar opening remarks and the objective text gave a very nostalgic and reliable feeling. Zhang Yuan read the report carefully. In the decades after he had fallen asleep, by the mid-25th century, with the popularization of artificial wombs and the development and refinement of a series of parenting robots, Earth Civilization¡¯s birth rate began to gradually increase. Eventually, highly intelligent robot teachers appeared, containing vast databases, their intelligence comparable to the finest human private tutors! With the significant adoption of robots for childcare, the cost of nurturing talent began to drastically decrease, and many families were willing to have more children. As lifespans continued to increase, young people loved to play and were reluctant to marry and have children, but some middle-aged and elderly people surprisingly became the main contributors to childbirth. There was no need for them to bear children themselves; providing sperm and eggs, then using artificial wombs, robot caregivers, and robot teachers almost made having a child seem unrelated to them. ¡°Robot teachers¡­¡± Zhang Yuan muttered to himself, finding it hard to imagine how such complex information technology had come about, as well as these intricate personal relationships. In his era, even the kinematics of humanoid robots were extremely challenging. Robots could only do some simple repetitive tasks, such as cooking and delivering packages. But to the humans of this era, robot teachers, these robots engaged in intellectual labor, seemed to be a matter of course. This huge gap was indeed not on the same level. President Yu Tianlong wrote in the report, ¡°However, as humanoid robots became incorporated into families and part of the family unit, a series of new ethical issues arose.¡± ¡°First, they changed the structural hierarchy of families.¡± ¡°For a newborn baby, it¡¯s impossible to distinguish whether these humanoid robots are tools or real human beings. They just see them as their closest kin.¡± ¡°This affection accumulated over many years is an undeniable psychological factor.¡± ¡°When the baby grows up and gains some cognitive ability, they realize that their closest kin are merely tools that come and go at a call. This change in mindset can lead to a series of psychological effects that are unusual for ordinary people¡­¡± ¡°Second, there are issues concerning the authority of robot teachers.¡± Chapter 129 - 130 Complex Human-Machine Relationships Chapter 129: Chapter 130 Complex Human-Machine Relationships The report spelled out the truth: ¡°Within the agreements of the core database, robot teachers do not have the authority to physically discipline students, and the boundaries for controlling or restraining students are very small.¡± ¡°Yet human nature is inherently lazy, and without the ability to establish authority among students, the effectiveness of robot teachers suffers a considerable discount.¡± ¡°Humans have a quite limited time to learn, especially during adolescence. If this period is completely wasted, these children will find it very difficult to achieve long-term development¡­¡± ¡°Therefore, the average quality of these students is not on par with those taught by human teachers.¡± ¡°Relevant educational organizations are currently exploring solutions with great rigor¡­¡± ¡°The second issue is that the moral qualities imbued in robots are too excellent, leading to a trend of naivety. Children raised solely by robots struggle to adapt to the complexities of society.¡± Zhang Yuan was stunned for a moment, finding these bizarre phenomena strange to hear but, upon reflection, seemingly natural. Every generation of children has an aversion to school, which is normal. But if robot teachers are restrained and unable to attack or punish humans, could they really command any respect? It¡¯s like those study aids and reading machines from their era, which are ineffective without constraints. Too good a moral character is apparently also a problem¡ªbizarre indeed. What followed was a series of news reports that detailed various social phenomena, accompanied by a number of complementary psychological papers. One report was the ¡°14-Year-Old Middle School Student Matricide Case.¡± In this vicious case, the parents saw the robot that raised their child as nothing special, just a smart piece of furniture. But in the eyes of the child, it was a family member who had nurtured them. Parents would discipline and scold the child, but the robotic mother was always gentle. Even when the child made mistakes, she would not get angry, seeming even better than the birth parents. One day, for financial reasons within the family, the parents felt the child was already grown up enough to not need meticulous care. So they sold the caregiving robot without informing the child. The outcome was that the enraged child killed their own mother! This was the first report. Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t know how to comment¡ªit was both unimaginable and yet made a certain sense. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The second report also involved middle school students. ¡°Middle School Student Vandalizes Robot Teacher Case¡± For teenagers who are experiencing a rebellious phase, the fundamental difference between robots and humans is clear, even though robots are anthropomorphized. By law, they still have certain inherent external characteristics. For these dedicated robot teachers, to children, they were nothing more than tools, indistinguishable from a computer. Would you respect a computer? And worse, this computer is highly disagreeable, assigning copious homework, tattling to parents, and readily criticizing students¡­ So, unable to tolerate it any longer, on a dark and stormy night, a middle school student took a brick and smashed the robot teacher¡¯s head! Naturally, the end result was that he made the newspapers as a prime example of educational failure. After reading these reports, Zhang Yuan sighed deeply. The bizarre things happening in society really made him feel alienated by the times. ¡°Today¡¯s kids are really violent, huh? Robot teachers are teachers too, how could they¡­ smash their heads?¡± In his opinion, this behavior was absolutely unacceptable. If you smash a robot today, you might indeed hit a real person tomorrow. Once a pattern of thought is established, it¡¯s hard to change. Could having real human teachers educate such students really be effective? ¡°Isn¡¯t that the truth? I was quite shocked when I first saw these news reports!¡± ¡°Respecting one¡¯s teachers is a traditional virtue¡­ even if the ¡®person¡¯ is only a robot.¡± Zhao Qingfeng continued, ¡°The cultural environment is changing too fast, we can hardly imagine the current human-robot relationship. Teachers are no longer traditional teachers, and students are not the same as we were back then¡­¡± While these may be minor incidents, they reflect certain characteristics of the era. Humanity faces conflicts with anthropomorphic, intelligent robots, yet we cannot live without the conveniences they bring. ¡°Hard to imagine, and even harder to integrate into.¡± Zhang Yuan nodded, ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not so surprising after all. These robot teachers might be akin to the electronic learning devices of our time. When kids broke those, it didn¡¯t seem like a big deal¡­ I¡¯m more curious about the programming of these intelligent robots¡­¡± ¡°Haha, the information is in the database, but it¡¯s rather complex to study.¡± ¡°There was an academic conference on robotics more than a hundred years ago that studied this, but you¡¯ve already missed it!¡± Zhang Yuan shook his head; his main research focus wasn¡¯t Artificial Intelligence, so it was normal not to be invited to such an event. If he were to return to Earth, he might feel very uncomfortable. And, he couldn¡¯t judge whether these changes were right or wrong¡­ Or perhaps, there is no right or wrong in such matters. Everything is driven by the times. As a response to these new challenges, Earth¡¯s leadership was discussing relevant solutions. Children are the future of civilization; a strong youth means a strong country. If psychological issues arise en masse, it would be the end of civilization. The solution they came up with was¡ªgranting anthropomorphic robots certain ¡°human rights.¡± Yes, human rights. Anthropomorphic robots looked similar to humans, with their actions and behavior governed by large intelligent brains. Apart from lacking self-will and creativity, in many aspects, they could pass the Turing test. People falling in love with robots is also a common occurrence. They consider robots to be the perfect life partners. In this context, the emergence of organizations like the ¡°Robot Human Rights Association¡± was inevitable, similar to past ¡°Women¡¯s Rights Movements¡± and ¡°Animal Rights Movements,¡± with frequent protests and demonstrations. People sought to obtain certain rights for robots, including but not limited to the right to personality, identity rights, personal freedom rights, health and life rights, and the right to personal dignity¡­ Anyway, with certain human rights in place, anthropomorphic robots could not be bullied at will, nor could they be sold arbitrarily¡ªonce brought home, they could not be abandoned indiscriminately. In this way, many human-robot issues were resolved. At the same time, robot teachers would have certain rights to punish students, with these rights being set collectively by the education committee¡­ Zhang Yuan scratched his head and mulled over it, feeling that there was something odd about the solution. Chapter 130 - 131: The Golden Sun! Chapter 130: Chapter 131: The Golden Sun! However, what came as a surprise was that a report a few years later revealed that the ¡°Robot Rights Bill¡± had passed and was now being trialled in Mu Country. Anyway, for the otakus of Japan, granting their girlfriends some rights didn¡¯t seem to be a big deal. The proposal wasn¡¯t a joke, as suggested by the black text on white paper and the vivid red stamp of approval. Because of their human-like appearance, anthropomorphic robots had actually obtained ¡°human rights¡±! S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Zhang Yuan felt a sense of amusement, unsure of how to describe his emotions. He felt incredibly alienated from the entirety of human civilization; many things had deviated from his understanding. This unease, it was like how ancient people would feel seeing an airplane flying in the sky, constantly fearing it might fall out of the sky¡ªan anxiety towards unfamiliar things. Or how they would react to modern concepts like ¡°dog rights¡± or ¡°women¡¯s rights,¡± with complete bafflement. And Zhang Yuan, he was that unenlightened ancient person. After pondering for a while and shaking his head, Zhang Yuan finally accepted these new notions. He had a very good quality; since something had already happened, he would just accept it. Reality wouldn¡¯t shift just because of speculation. He said uneasily, ¡°Old Zhao, can you give me a spoiler, do the robots have a rebellion or something¡­ I¡¯m kind of panicking.¡± Zhao Qingfeng sighed, ¡°You¡¯re overthinking it, of course not. Humans have not yet deciphered the true mystery of self-awareness, so it¡¯s not possible to create strong artificial intelligence.¡± ¡°By the way, there¡¯s a new theory of self-awareness called ¡®Boltzmann Brain,¡¯ which is really interesting. You should look into it.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s talk about it some other time.¡± Hearing that there was no robot rebellion, Zhang Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. Since the worst-case scenario hadn¡¯t happened, theoretically, the development of human civilization shouldn¡¯t have any significant setbacks, right? Report after report, on the whole, human civilization was still progressing rapidly. Even amidst various small conflicts. The small disputes wouldn¡¯t hinder the overall trend of civilization¡¯s advancement. To accommodate the increasingly complex space industry, every child faced considerable educational pressure, and few stood out. But due to a large enough newborn population base, more and more geniuses were born into this civilization, making greater contributions. An increase in quality population, coupled with economic incentives, significantly accelerated the progress of the Solar Ring Engineering project! Finally, after Zhang Yuan¡¯s second hibernation, sixty years later, humanity¡¯s second Deep Space Colony Ship, The Golden Sun, appeared! The Golden Sun was 245 years from the Earth Era. ¡°Hello to all colleagues of Earth Era, greetings, I¡¯m Ding Fengsheng, the current president of the Deep Space Foundation.¡± ¡°I have some great news to announce!¡± ¡°Today, The Golden Sun Deep Space Colony Ship, at the Mercury industrial base, has officially set sail.¡± ¡°On behalf of all the staff here, I wish them bon voyage!¡± ¡­ The report displayed a middle-aged man: ¡°Hello to all the predecessors of Earth Era, I¡¯m Yao Xianfeng, the captain of The Golden Sun.¡± ¡°My mood today is nervous and complex, just like yours once was, because we are about to depart.¡± ¡°¡­ Since entering the space age, Earth Civilization has been rapidly developing for over four hundred years. This is an unprecedented golden age.¡± ¡°We do not know how long this rapid development can continue, nor whether Earth Civilization can avoid the ultimate predictions of New Civilization History¡­¡± ¡°We are even more uncertain about the difficulties we may face in the future.¡± ¡°We will become a new seed, a safeguard for Earth Civilization.¡± ¡°In short, a thousand words boil down to one wish, bon voyage to us. And to you as well.¡± Eyeing the departure of the Super Carrier from the Space Port, larger and more advanced than Earth Era and carrying a population of one million, Zhang Yuan¡¯s eyes were slightly moist, finding the only familiar sensation in the strange world of Earth Civilization. It was as if bringing back memories of the day Earth Era set sail, when everyone gave their sincere blessings. The Epoch 2509, humankind¡¯s second colonization spaceship, The Golden Sun, left the embrace of its Mother Star. Destination, Caputan, a Constant Star 12.8 light years away. As The Golden Sun was exceedingly large and loaded with an immense amount of resources and equipment, even with the most advanced travel technology, it could only accelerate to one-thousandth of the speed of light; hence, the entire journey would still require over two thousand five hundred years. Of course, with current planetary development technology, it was no longer necessary to adhere to terrestrial planets similar to Earth. The first consideration is the gravity of the Planet. The planetary gravity must not be too strong, otherwise the human body will not adapt, and the construction of a Space Elevator would be quite troublesome; Secondly, the star must not be too violent, and not prone to frequent flares, which can be quite annoying, nor should it be an aging star or a member of the Three Body Star. ¡°Captain Star,¡± similar to Gliese, is a long-lived Red Dwarf Star, possessing several terrestrial planets, offering a large scope for choice. Anyway, when the time came for a closer inspection, it would always be possible to select a suitable Planet. ¡°Ai, the second estimated Colonization Ship came about,¡± Zhang Yuan remarked with a sigh, ¡°Their population is larger, their technology more advanced, and they carry more equipment¡­ they have a better foundation than ours.¡± Though he said that, when comparing Caputan with Gliese, Gliese was obviously somewhat superior. The most critical factor is still gravity, with the gravitational force of Gliese 581g close to or slightly higher than Earth¡¯s, human habitation would be very comfortable and not give rise to various physiological diseases. The only drawback was that Gliese 581g had a slow axial rotation speed, making it difficult to construct a Space Elevator, likely requiring an alternative aviation method. ¡­ The following reports. On one hand was the continuing advancement of all of humanity, and on the other, something not quite pleasant occurred. From the annual financial data, Zhang Yuan noticed that the Deep Space Foundation was in slow decline. Earth Civilization was growing, but the Foundation¡¯s financial figures not only hadn¡¯t increased, but were also slowly slipping. The Deep Space Foundation¡¯s purpose was to aid humanity in the development of aerospace engineering, not for profit. From some perspectives, it indeed could not compete with real capital. And now, as the foundation of the space industry had solidified and Solar Ring Engineering had entered a phase of rapid development, private capital was already capable of undertaking various investments. Under such circumstances, the Foundation inevitably found itself in a predicament of being unwieldy. (Five updates complete, goodnight friends!) Chapter 131 - 132: Interstellar Real Estate Tycoon Chapter 131: Chapter 132: Interstellar Real Estate Tycoon ¡°The launch of the ¡®Golden Sun¡¯ consumed too much of the Deep Space Foundation¡¯s manpower and resources. Or perhaps it was the death of some key political figures, the shifting winds of the times, and the real backers of the ¡®New Civilization School¡¯ disappearing¡­ For various reasons, the Deep Space Foundation, an organization that had stood for hundreds of years, finally entered its period of decline. Flowers do not bloom for a hundred days, and man does not enjoy a thousand days of prosperity. Watching his last ¡®old friend¡¯ slowly walk towards death, Zhang Yuan felt an indescribable sorrow in his heart. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Yet, all he could do from 5 light years away was to stand by and watch helplessly¡­ The next report. ¡®Greetings to all the colleagues of the Earth Era and the Golden Sun, I am Ma Wentao, the current president of the Deep Space Foundation.¡¯ ¡®In this report, I¡¯ll bring everyone up to date on the recent changes in Earth Civilization¡­¡¯ Although the Deep Space Foundation was weakening, it was still a government-supported organization. As long as it had governmental support, its complete collapse remained quite difficult. The entire civilization¡¯s population continued to grow slowly, having already surpassed sixty billion, and with the development of projects around the Solar System, the economy of the Earth Civilization was booming. But then a seemingly insignificant, yet profoundly impactful event occurred. After crossing a certain threshold, real estate prices on Earth began to skyrocket! Especially in the first-tier cities, where housing prices soared several times over in just a decade! Why? Isn¡¯t going to work in space all about making money? And after earning money, isn¡¯t it about returning home in glory, to enjoy a better life? And where could one find a better life, if not on Earth? Humans are high-order biological beings evolved from Earth, fully adapted to its environment, including the Earth¡¯s gravity, atmospheric pressure, microbial components, etc. Living on other planets, even with all sorts of high-tech equipment, just wouldn¡¯t be as comfortable. Therefore, on Earth, a house is definitely something to buy, a basic necessity. Moreover, according to a research study, people who live on Earth long-term have a much higher average life expectancy than those on other planets. This further fueled a nationwide frenzy to buy houses! Who wants to shorten their life for no reason? But the space on Earth, especially for high-quality housing, is limited. To achieve comfortable living, normal cities have certain plans, such as skyscrapers not exceeding 1200 meters in height, and buildings spaced widely enough for each household to receive sunlight, and so on¡­ Villas? Ordinary people can forget about it; it¡¯s the real power brokers and the wealthy who naturally live in villas. And there must be a large number of supporting facilities, such as parks, pedestrian streets, hospitals, schools, and various entertainment venues. Only such houses are considered excellent residences. Zhang Yuan wasn¡¯t particularly concerned with this recent surge in housing prices; he simply saw it as normal market behavior. Several reports had mentioned it, and he subconsciously overlooked them.¡± Zhang Yuan became aware of the seriousness and profundity of the situation only after a few major events occurred. The first event was a hidden financial crisis triggered by a real estate bubble. The surge in prices was theoretically driven by genuine demand, but the rising prices sparked a frenzy of speculation among the population. People were hoping to buy houses and then sell them after a few years to profit from the price difference, and just like that, speculators began to play a game of hot potato with properties. Housing, from a basic necessity, had transformed into an investment asset, and the government departments hastily implemented various purchase restrictions, but house prices continued to rise. In this environment of rapidly increasing prices, the savings of the masses dwindled, and they all shouldered enormous mortgage debts¡­ The second major event was a real estate development giant who outright purchased all the land of a poor small country for property development! ¡°What is this? Buying a whole country? A major interstellar real estate developer?¡± Zhang Yuan scratched his head. It was this astonishing display of wealth that truly made Zhang Yuan take notice. The skyrocketing house prices on Earth had become an event of historic proportions, signifying that the poor would no longer have the right to live on Earth. As for the original inhabitants who were poor, they became interstellar evictees, happily receiving a sum of money they could never have imagined before, then cheerfully abandoning their homeland to head to an alien planet¡­ For the impoverished population, money was the most important thing. Matters such as lifespan should be considered later. Enjoy the wealth while you can! Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t know if there was a catch, but while evictions could be lucrative and provide significant short-term benefits, surely there would be some who would resist? An entire country being bought out, sovereignties discarded, such an affair was too exaggerated. Senior Brother Zhao said, ¡°You must understand, in this era, the gap between countries is even greater than that between humans and monkeys.¡± ¡°Take our Mu Country, for example; with a stable political environment, we are pioneers in the space industry, having rapidly developed for several centuries. Meanwhile, many countries have made very slow progress or no progress at all in these hundreds of years¡­ In some regions, owning a cassava processing machine can still make you the richest person there.¡± ¡°Behind these capitalist moguls are nations. When a powerful country really eyes their land, do they truly have a choice? As long as it doesn¡¯t look too ugly, who cares about sovereignty?¡± After giving it some careful thought, Zhang Yuan concluded that such events had indeed happened before. For instance, there was once a country on Earth named Nauru, known as the ¡°Bird Droppings Kingdom.¡± After its bird droppings were exhausted, the small country quickly went bankrupt, and in the end, it was consumed by Australia. Its former territory became a prison. The competition in the world is very fierce, with no country willing to aid another without compensation. These poor countries lacked technology and capital, and naturally, they could not develop their own national industries. Even if they managed to develop something, they would be defeated by superior products, unable to sustain themselves. To give a specific example, semiconductor technology began to rise in the mid-20th century; at that time, all the theories and patents were emerging. If a country started catching up then, it wouldn¡¯t have been particularly difficult. Korea and Mu Country both seized opportunities in the 20th century to become semiconductor powerhouses. Xia Country began to aggressively develop semiconductor technology only in the 21st century; being only a few decades late had cost it exponentially because the market was already dominated by the forerunners. Fortunately, Xia Country had a large enough domestic market and talent pool, which allowed it to gradually catch up¡­ Nowadays, semiconductor technology has been developing for several centuries; if a leader of a poor small country, on a whim, decides to dabble in semiconductors, it would be an impossible task. Many things, if missed, are missed forever, and the gap grows ever wider, with no possibility for remediation. Moreover, with the development of the alien economy, numerous polluting industries on Earth have come to a halt, particularly since the gold and diamond mines found on Mercury are much superior to those on Earth. Thus, many countries completely lost their economic foundation, leaving them with no choice but to sell their land. ¡°In other words, the entire Earth Civilization is involuntarily expelling this portion of backward and impoverished populations from the planet through economic efficiency.¡± This was a subtly transformative process that had continued¡­ for over a hundred years! Chapter 132 - 133: Years and Civilization Chapter 132: Chapter 133: Years and Civilization The entire transition of history and the rapid differentiation of the wealth gap made Zhang Yuan feel dizzy and disoriented. He sighed deeply, unsure of how to comment. It was both unfamiliar and familiar, Natural, yet unnatural. He seemed to recall the joyful and ecstatic expressions of villagers during the demolition of urban villages, the temptation of overnight wealth¡ªwho could resist it? Putting himself in their shoes, he wondered if selling the entire country in a package deal would be a problem if the price was right¡­ Existing without dignity, barely able to feed oneself, let alone embrace the hollow slogan of ¡°loving the country.¡± Civilization was still the same civilization, only it was no longer the same under the influence of time. In the vast universe, time was an infinitely stretching axis. At various points in time, countless brilliant cultures had emerged and just as many had been submerged and replaced. Humans had evolved from forest-dwelling primates to modern society, changing many things from habits of daily life to leaps in thought, but what never changed was human nature. With a hundred years of history left unread, Zhang Yuan faintly felt something bad was about to occur. He sat there blankly, pondering what would happen to Earth civilization in the future, though he already had the answers right in his hands, he temporarily did not want to know. ¡°It¡¯s time to get off work and eat!¡± Senior Brother Zhao patted Zhang Yuan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Take a break.¡± Zhang Yuan jumped up from his chair and sighed silently. The two chatted as they walked to the cafeteria. The variety of dishes in the cafeteria was still unappetizing. ¡°The control of the heat is a bit poor, everything¡¯s overcooked¡­ Have those cooking robots, after working year after year, forgotten how to steam vegetables?¡± Zhang Yuan actually missed the dishes made by Lin Xuanyuan a bit. ¡°I also think the food has been rather bad these days. There might be something wrong with the robots¡­ Let¡¯s check after we eat.¡± The cooking robots were actually quite simple. Every program timed to the millisecond, but they were not at all smart, nor could they discern whether there was too much water or a steam leak. If the robots aged, a malfunction in one part could wreak havoc on the taste of the food. ¡°By the way, do we have those intelligent robots here? The kind that can do almost any household chore?¡± Zhang Yuan asked. ¡°The Foundation should have sent the source code over, shouldn¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Of course, the complete set of source codes can run in supercomputers in simulated environments,¡± Zhao Qingfeng said. ¡°But the hardware is inadequate. There are tens of thousands of parts needed, and we don¡¯t have those components¡­¡± ¡°How about 3D printing?¡± ¡°The first robot is always the hardest; even with the exact blueprint, we need time to figure things out. Moreover, many production lines have shut down, which slows down the research.¡± ¡°Alright¡­¡± Zhang Yuan gave up on the idea. It was a pity that better technology was available but couldn¡¯t be used extensively due to limited production capacity. The two continued to eat while discussing topics related to the study of New Civilization History. ¡°Congratulations, Senior Brother Zhao. The successful launch of the second Deep Space Colony Ship, The Golden Sun, has once again validated a minor prediction of New Civilization History.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Zhao Qingfeng smiled. ¡°The future is unknown. How do you know there won¡¯t be a third launch? You¡¯ve only read the history of the first two hundred years; there¡¯s still a hundred years left.¡± Zhang Yuan forced a smile, ¡°Because the Deep Space Foundation has already begun to decline¡­ It¡¯s no longer possible.¡± ¡°I think the Foundation no longer has the influence to rally the entire civilization to build a third Deep Space Colonization Ship.¡± The more he researched, the clearer he understood the terrifying predictive power of New Civilization History: two ships were the entirety of human civilization. Just as Professor Wang Zhong had said during the Earth Era, it wasn¡¯t a problem of technology or economics, but a matter of spiritual quality. The years were complementary to civilization. In certain ancient times, soldiers could die for the Royal Family, sacrificing their lives, even committing suicide by disembowelment; in other times, some could sacrifice everything for their beliefs¡­ But in peaceful times, people found it hard to understand and consider past stories unbelievable. The Earth Era hailed from a time when humanity revered knowledge the most. And during that time, the influence and organizational capability of the Deep Space Foundation were also at their peak. The Golden Sun was born during an era of flourishing interstellar trade and entrepreneurship, much like the Age of Great Navigation between the late 15th and early 16th centuries, where rapid technological innovation and the allure of wealth fueled an intense desire for exploration. ¡°Its emergence was heavily characterized by its era, not appearing out of thin air. From the current ideology, people have come to view space engineering as a commonplace event, and the Solar System project is nearly complete.¡± ¡°So, it¡¯s difficult for people to muster a third drive to launch another colonization spaceship.¡± ¡°Very good analysis,¡± Senior Brother Zhao clapped. ¡°According to the complex calculations of New Civilization History, there¡¯s over a sixty percent probability.¡± He gestured with his fingers, ¡°367 years later, there¡¯s a major conference on New Civilization History. If you¡¯re interested, you could choose to wake up at that time.¡± ¡°No problem,¡± Zhang Yuan smiled. Planning for something 367 years in the future? Well, it¡¯s just like taking a nap, no big deal¡­ After dinner, they spent several more hours trying to fix the cooking robot. The ship had been traveling for five hundred years, and the frequency of malfunctions was increasing, requiring more and more maintenance. Fortunately, the malfunctions that occurred were minor, not major core issues. After resolving the minor issue, it was already night, and Zhang Yuan bade farewell to Zhao Qingfeng, heading alone to the Star Library. The journey had only completed one-fifth, but as the distance increased, the ship¡¯s ability to receive signals from Earth also dwindled. As the Deep Space Foundation gradually declined, eventually, the organization would be unable to afford the increasingly expensive signal transmission costs. ¡°Perhaps,¡± Zhang Yuan mused, hoping that day would come later. Alone, he felt a peculiar sensation¡ªit was time to learn about the coming history of Earth. Casually, he opened a news report from the 27th century, a follow-up investigation on households affected by demolition. [Mala Demolished Households¡¯ Mentality of Sudden Wealth] Mala was a small impoverished country in Zhang Yuan¡¯s era, with no minerals, no capital, and no talent, only vast plains where the people barely survived. But now, things were completely different. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Chapter 133 - 134 Avalanche (Added for Alliance Hierarch Zhao Shens Delegate) Chapter 133: Chapter 134 Avalanche (Added for Alliance Hierarch Zhao Shen¡¯s Delegate) ¡°¡­ ¡®Living in poverty generation after generation, who wouldn¡¯t dream of better days? And then, out of the blue, I became a millionaire. It¡¯s time to treat myself well,¡¯ said Abu Rahanm with a flash of his pearly white teeth, a bright smile on his face.¡± Buying high-end digital products, feasting on delicacies from the mountains and the seas, wearing mink coats¡ªthis interstellar evictee¡¯s consumption habits were not an isolated case. ¡­ Even before receiving the demolition compensation, Abu Rahanm had switched from his usual cigarettes to international brands. As soon as the money was in hand, he bought himself and his wife, who had just learned to drive, a magnetic levitation sedan each, costing around 300,000 yuan. These two cars represented wealth they could never have imagined owning in the past, but now they spent most of their time just sitting in the garage. Yet if they didn¡¯t buy them, and saw others doing so, they couldn¡¯t quite help feeling the urge¡­ These people were born in poor countries, with no education, no culture, and no adequate skills to engage in the space industry. After suddenly receiving a large sum of money, they became wealthy overnight, and as a result, their ideologies suffered a tremendous blow. With money, what to do? Buy cars, buy houses, gamble, womanize¡ªdo the things they had always dreamt of but never dared to. Interestingly, these evictees ended up indirectly boosting Earth¡¯s GDP, as a vast amount of capital was reinvested in the housing market, once again driving up property prices. The traditional ways of life and values were shocked, even overturned, and numerous problems arose in the process of establishing new ways of life and values. It proved that when virtue doesn¡¯t match one¡¯s position, disaster is inevitable. Falling into the black hole of desire, it became extremely difficult to escape it once again. In Xia Country there¡¯s an old saying, ¡°Those who sit idle and eat up their resources will one day run out of money no matter how much they have.¡± After squandering their demolition money, time quickly passed, and in twenty years, most people were back to living in poverty. Moreover, the majority of those who didn¡¯t understand financial management had already relocated to a distant outer planet, a place with a harsher environment and no natural resources. They had to start working again. It¡¯s easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard the other way round. How many can bear falling from heaven back into hell? The crime rate amongst the interstellar immigrants surged, and social stability was no longer what it used to be. Over a full century, the population living in poverty was essentially driven off Earth! Compared to the several year cycle of leadership elections, a century is quite slow. Or perhaps, even if the higher-ups became aware of this, they often didn¡¯t care¡ªafter all, it¡¯s not their own country, so why bother? The criminals, expelled from the space cities, could simply be sent away. But such actions sparked protests from left-wing activists. Without the protection of space cities, how many years could they survive on a distant outer planet? For votes, or rather, to gain public support, many officials were forced to consider accepting these low-quality refugees. At this point, Zhang Yuan¡¯s mood slowly became heavy. This was yet another hidden, incredibly significant historical junction. ¡­ What followed was another deeply anxious report¡ªthe completion of the solar system engineering project and the relocation of interstellar residents had led to a rapid widening of the Gini coefficient! This made Zhang Yuan¡¯s heart thump. The Gini coefficient is an internationally recognized index that measures income inequality among the residents of a country or region. The higher the Gini coefficient, the greater the income disparity. And the greater the income disparity, the more likely it is that unrest will occur. After a large-scale population migration, the Earth-Moon Economic Circle undoubtedly became the most developed region in the Solar System, serving as a center of finance, talent, and high technology. The remote Saturn¡¯s moon Titan and Jupiter¡¯s moon Ganymede were merely energy bases, definitely lagging behind in facilities. Moreover, another point that had been previously neglected was gradually becoming magnified, forming a series of complex social effects. That was¡­ The average lifespan of the wealthy had dramatically exceeded that of the poor! The wealthy, thanks to medical facilities and living environments, could live three to four hundred years; the poor could only live one to two hundred. What kind of disparity is this? Death, hailed as the most just divine being in nature. Every person is treated equally in the face of death. Whether poor or rich, when it¡¯s time to die, one has to die. But that statement had already become past tense. ¡°Hello to all compatriots from Earth Era and The Golden Sun.¡± ¡°Death, in the face of ever more advanced biological technology, began to favor the rich. It¡¯s hard to predict what will happen in the future¡­ High-longevity classes, in terms of knowledge, wisdom, and connections, can completely dominate the low-longevity population.¡± ¡°This has caused the rate of class solidification to increase significantly¡­¡± a Foundation director wrote with growing concern in a report. This was easy to understand. There¡¯s a saying, ¡°Wealth doesn¡¯t last more than three generations, nor does poverty,¡± a situation that allowed for class mobility. And yet, the poor had died off after three generations, while that wealthy old man had not yet passed away, so how could there be any class mobility?! ¡°¡­the resentment at the bottom of society is slowly magnifying.¡± ¡°Discontent with the government among the lower classes is also gradually increasing.¡± ¡°What¡¯s worse is that with the near completion of the Solar System project, our economic growth rate began to slow down.¡± ¡°Human development can¡¯t be infinite; investment activities are no longer booming, and we don¡¯t need such high industrial capacity¡­ The entrepreneurial environment is not as relaxed as it used to be.¡± ¡°Making money has become more difficult.¡± The increase in the lifespan of the rich wasn¡¯t a big deal in the past, and such conflicts didn¡¯t erupt. The main reason was the economy. As long as the economy could grow, it meant that class circulation was still active. When common people also had the potential to become part of the wealthy class, they had the energy to leap upward. They would envy, struggle, and work hard for it. Therefore, all conflicts were hastily covered up under the condition of high economic growth. But as the Solar System project neared completion, the speed of the entire civilization¡¯s economic growth gradually slowed down. Human material needs are not infinite, and the civilization had already grown at a high speed for so many years; it couldn¡¯t keep growing significantly. The planets that needed to be developed had been nearly fully developed, and further distant Pluto and Sedna, due to their extremely remote distance, held little value for development. The easiest times to make money were always the eras of high economic growth, not when GDP seemed large, but the growth rate had already stabilized. When the economy no longer grew, no new space emerged, and then it entered the phase of zero-sum games. The rich had plenty of resources; the poor had few. To jump upward was no easy feat, and most people would remain in the lower class forever. Thus, the age-old class conflicts were restaged at that moment! There was even a third factor, a massive influx of impoverished populations to the Alien Planets, once again exacerbating the conflicts! Because of this influx of cheap labor, jobs were becoming scarce. Even the high salaries in interstellar work were gradually being cut. Without the high salaries, unable to afford homes on Earth, who would want to spend their lives in such a godforsaken place, enduring exploitation? S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡­ Through these descriptions, Zhang Yuan felt as if he saw a towering, splendid skyscraper that, upon reaching a certain height, collapsed in an instant! Every beautiful situation fell apart like an avalanche; every inconsequential snowflake was complicit, yet there was no way to truly define the guilt of each individual snowflake. Having read the report, Zhang Yuan tried to calm his mood. In the dead of night, he felt immensely oppressed. ¡­ (PS: That¡¯s the update for today; I still owe one more chapter, which I¡¯ll make up tomorrow. As mentioned, comments and the entire site has been locked, which should be lifted around the 6th or 7th. I can already feel everyone¡¯s desperation for updates!) Chapter 134 - 135: Mars Iron Curtain Chapter 134: Chapter 135: Mars Iron Curtain Zhang Yuan let out a long sigh and opened the last and most recent report. ¡°¡­Greetings, residents of Earth Era, friends aboard ¡®The Golden Sun,''¡± ¡°I must admit, Earth Civilization has entered an unprecedented bottleneck period.¡± The tone of this report was no longer as calm and proud as it was centuries ago, but had become deeply concerned. ¡°Various crises have already seized us by the throat!¡± ¡°I regret to inform you that last month, there was an unprecedented massive strike that extended across four planets!¡± ¡°The workers¡¯ rage has spread throughout the Solar System, resulting in two vicious air leak incidents, with 3,439 people suffocated to death. Two Space Cities were paralyzed, and 17 interstellar ports ceased operations!¡± ¡°We anticipate that due to this terrorist activity, the GDP of our entire civilization will decrease by 1.1%!¡± ¡°There have also been huge protests on Earth, with the lower classes demanding higher wages, better healthcare, and reduced housing prices¡­¡± ¡°Are they wrong? No, they aren¡¯t wrong¡­ But clearly, this can¡¯t be done. The highest-end services are destined to be available only to a small number of wealthy people.¡± ¡°The price of skyscrapers on Earth has long been tied to the entire financial system, and with robust market demand, it¡¯s impossible to reduce prices arbitrarily. All economic activities are market-driven and do not shift due to government will. Moreover, redistributing benefits would implicate those with vested interests, including the elite who have contributed more to civilization.¡± ¡°They are not going to sacrifice their own interests to help others. The silent obstacles are more powerful than those that erupt with force.¡± ¡°Greetings once again, residents of Earth Era, friends aboard ¡®The Golden Sun.¡¯ I must admit, this crisis is different from those in the past.¡± ¡°The tsunami didn¡¯t come out of the blue; it brewed for centuries.¡± ¡°¡­The governments of Saturn¡¯s moon Titan and Jupiter¡¯s moon have already reached an agreement to limit energy production, attempting to raise the price of raw materials for nuclear fusion to ease their economic contradictions.¡± ¡°Naturally, Earth¡¯s economic sphere cannot tolerate such pivotal energy supplies being controlled¡­¡± ¡°Military orders worldwide are increasing at an annual rate of 20%¡­¡± ¡°We struggle to predict what this data will ultimately lead to¡­¡± ¡°The most remote base on Saturn¡¯s moon Titan is 6-8 astronomical units away from Earth, and it takes a spacecraft one or two months to get there. Such vast spatial intervals also lead to a series of management difficulties. Earth¡¯s economic influence has been greatly weakened there.¡± ¡°We do not know what the future holds; we only hope that our civilization can safely navigate this crisis¡­¡± ¡°War will not break out easily, but it will not be impossible forever.¡± This was the latest report, which was followed by a large volume of political news. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. There were reciprocal visits, probing, confrontations, mediation, and condemnations among the high ranks of various planets. An iron curtain is descending, with Mars as its border. Zhang Yuan let out another long sigh; the worst had happened. Earth Civilization had fallen into a trough. What caused the outbreak of the Second World War? It was because of the economy! The Third War, the Fourth War? They were still because of economic problems due to the energy crisis. He didn¡¯t believe that war would solve the issues. The development of interstellar weapons has become so powerful that destruction is much easier than defense. But he also didn¡¯t believe that war would never break out, for it has always been the best way to shift class conflicts. If every politician had supreme wisdom, a balance would soon be reached through mutual compromise. However, unfortunately, such phenomena only occur when both parties have high political savvy and operate under transparent information. The angry lower classes do not know what ¡°rationality¡± is. They would elect more extremist leaders due to incendiary language. A state is a machine of violence. When it exhibits enough strength in external conflicts, internal dissent becomes insignificant. In this context, extremism means votes. Populism means you have to lead your underlings to hammer others; if you don¡¯t break them, you risk being overthrown internally. War has not occurred for a very long time, and many have forgotten its brutality. They only think they can get what they want through violent means. Historical development has its internal laws. According to the perspective of New Civilization History, an Ordinary Civilization without sufficient Inner Strength cannot escape this rule. No matter how advanced the technology, it makes no difference. Human wisdom and the profit-seeking nature in their genes are not enough to steer the course of an entire civilization. This means that after prolonged development, the civilization¡¯s end state will stabilize within a local solution, either entering an endless loop or leading to a stable state surrounded by worse options, unable to break free. That was the latest report; there was nothing more. To know what happens next, we must continue to wait. Zhang Yuan closed his eyes, unsure of how to describe his current mood. He dimly remembered the words of the civilization leader when Earth Era set sail. ¡°¡­I hope that you can use your wisdom to solve the problem of mediocrity that plagues human civilization and even the entire Universe¡­¡± ¡°We will use our history to illuminate the path ahead of you.¡± Now, that piece of history had arrived. Back then, Zhang Yuan hadn¡¯t paid much attention to the civilization leader¡¯s speech; he thought it was just a formal discourse. But now, he understood. The pessimists had long anticipated today¡¯s outcome. Humans have overcome one difficulty after another through technology, from interstellar immigration, to aging issues, to infant care, and to human-machine relations¡­ People have painstakingly overcome countless challenges to reach today. But history has always repeated itself. During good times, everyone was happy and harmonious; during bad times, they were divided and self-absorbed. People who are used to comfortable lives can¡¯t endure hardships anymore. So, to return to better days, they began to raise the flag of selfishness to devour others. That is human nature. Marx explained long ago that humans couldn¡¯t sustain a technological revolution indefinitely. So, this crisis is now difficult to resolve with technology. Unless humanity invents a Curvature Spaceship overnight that can instantly reach an Outer Planet, find another Earth, and establish larger colonies to solve the current crisis. But current humanity cannot¡­ Zhang Yuan sighed again, quietly sitting on the chair, closing his eyes. Hoping that Earth Civilization can safely make it through this challenge. Hopefully. ¡­ Chapter 135 - 136 Ordinary Civilization Chapter 135: Chapter 136 Ordinary Civilization The next morning, Zhang Yuan, sporting dark circles under his eyes, began his usual day of work. Regardless of the commotion on Earth Civilization, life must go on. ¡°How come, did you have insomnia last night? Stayed up to finish reading?¡± ¡°Yeah, Senior Brother, you won,¡± Zhang Yuan said with a smile. ¡°It has nothing to do with me¡­ it¡¯s New Civilization History that won.¡± Perhaps it was because they were too far from Earth at this moment, or perhaps because as time had washed away familiarity, Earth Civilization had become very strange, everyone¡¯s mood wasn¡¯t so downcast, more like having watched an exceptionally dry film. However, the clicks on papers related to New Civilization History had increased by more than a thousandfold over the past few centuries, including many comments on Zhang Yuan¡¯s new papers! Whether they understood it or not, people tried to find solutions within this new discipline. Unfortunately, up until now, New Civilization History was nothing more than a complex network model full of calculations too abstract for most people to grasp. They were merely onlookers. Only a mathematically adept person like Zhang Yuan had some say in the matter. Especially when turning a historical node into a series of chaotic functions, involving many complex calculations. Sometimes, even Zhang Yuan himself didn¡¯t understand what a calculated number signified. ¡°Now that we have historical reference data from Earth Civilization, we can continue to refine this discipline. It¡¯s just that the sample data is still insufficient¡­ it¡¯s only been five or six hundred years,¡± Zhang Yuan read the current progress very carefully. He suddenly said, ¡°I think that Earth Civilization has not yet reached its worst state, there is still a possibility of breaking out of the low.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± agreed Senior Brother Zhao, ¡°It¡¯s just a Cold War after all. There¡¯s a small probability to leap out of the trough, but a higher chance of becoming worse. Let¡¯s set aside the calculations for a moment, from a political perspective, do you see any way the entire civilization could get out of the current predicament?¡± According to the old historical experience, such a Cold War would continue indefinitely, similar to the previous US and USSR competition, until one side¡¯s economy completely collapsed, consuming the other. Of course, it was also possible that before the collapse occurred, one side would make a desperate move, sparking the first interstellar war of Human civilization, causing tremendous destruction. ¡°¡­Relying solely on internal factors, it¡¯s difficult to climb out of this trough again,¡± reflected Zhang Yuan, ¡°We really need the help of Aliens now! Their arrival could potentially be a seminal event that turns the tide. However, the probability of that happening is too low.¡± Senior Brother Zhao couldn¡¯t help but laugh, ¡°How do you know the arrival of aliens would be a positive event? If we encounter an unstoppable powerful enemy, Human leaders would most likely surrender if there were a chance to survive, they¡¯d rather live poorly than die nobly. How can ants challenge an elephant?¡± ¡°Only an enemy of equal strength can unite Earth Civilization. The probability of that, unfortunately, is extremely low¡­¡± ¡°That makes sense.¡± Senior Brother Zhao made a joke that wasn¡¯t very funny, ¡°Maybe when we become powerful, we can be those aliens going back.¡± ¡°That joke isn¡¯t funny at all. Do we even need to go back?¡± After discussing this, Zhang Yuan furrowed his brows. Even with a wealth of history to learn from, could a new civilization really do better than Earth Civilization? Not necessarily. Reality is always crueler than we imagine. What will become of the generations that follow after the ambitious interstellar pioneers of this generation are gone? No one can predict. Humans have their own innate flaws, and their descendants might not do any better than Earth Civilization. As history advances, the wheel becomes less and less something a single great person can change. How easy could it be to change that? ¡­ Life aboard the spaceship was quite monotonous, confined to three keywords: study, entertainment, and rest. The research on New Civilization History continued, and translating samples into data was a key challenge. One day, Zhang Yuan came to the Star Library alone, gazing through the glass at the distance. He liked this little place very much for its tranquility to think about problems. Because of the war clouds over Earth, the economic downturn, and budget cuts, the correspondences from the Deep Space Foundation had been reduced from once a month to once a year. If funding was insufficient, it would be reduced further in the future¡­ That was bad news. ¡°Sigh, I would be better off if I¡¯d kept that stock until now.¡± Zhang Yuan was slightly annoyed, but quickly abandoned the thought. Perhaps if he had kept the stock, it would now be worthless, that company having gone bankrupt. He began to attempt changing certain key historical nodes within the model to alter the current outcome. What if a particular key historic event didn¡¯t occur? Would that change the outcome now? Unfortunately, it¡¯s not that simple. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Key historical nodes are derived from a multitude of prior history. To change these key nodes, the preceding history all had to be modified to harmonize and match. And by modifying a large amount of preceding history, it was necessary to modify even more of the prior narratives, all the way back to the initial point. As a result, every single point within the entire network system needed to be changed to alter the final outcome. Such complex extrapolation of a chaotic system was beyond Zhang Yuan¡¯s current abilities. ¡°Everything is connected!¡± Most critically, according to the mathematical model of New Civilization History, the insurmountable low points a civilization inevitably reaches are not limited to one. There were many more valleys ahead, more unsurmountable problems. In other words, under the dim stars, ¡°Ordinary¡± is the most eternal truth. The twinkling stars in the vast sky concealed how many civilizations? And how many of them faced a mediocre end like Earth? Even if Earth Civilization had not reached its ultimate endpoint, it was already nearing it¡­ Amongst the myriad paths, only one leads to the true grand avenue; the remaining 9,999 are all dead ends. Unfortunately, this grand avenue, hidden among the countless dead ends, is not necessarily easy to find. It even disguises itself as a rugged path, During the growth of a civilization, it naturally comes with countless heroic figures, but even these great people can only delay the civilization¡¯s journey toward mediocrity. Because they started on the wrong path from the beginning. At this moment, Zhang Yuan resolutely decided to adhere to ¡°everything follows calculation,¡± as mere human wisdom could see far too little. Even if what arises from the calculation is just a number, that simplicity and objectivity far transcend human wisdom. ¡­ Chapter 136 - 137: The Century of the Biological (Extra for Alliance Hierarch Chapter 136: Chapter 137: The Century of the Biological (Extra for Alliance Hierarch ¡°Entomologist¡±) In the time that followed, life returned to its former, mundane routine: browsing news updates, studying some new knowledge, teasing Lin Xuanyuan, and simply waiting for messages from Earth. Lin Xuanyuan was a rather pleasant girl, often accompanying him to read books and study. Having the companionship of a member of the opposite sex certainly diluted the tedium of life. Over this period of study, Zhang Yuan was surprised to discover that basic physics hadn¡¯t made any significant breakthroughs. The discovery of the graviton seemed like nothing more than a dying flash, failing to give birth to a new industrial system. Scientists racked their brains, establishing various different theoretical systems, but for many reasons, they couldn¡¯t continue to verify these theories through experiments. Thus, these theories turned into castles in the air¡­ Even condensed matter physics had gradually lost its vitality¡­ No discipline can remain popular for centuries. In terms of condensed matter, what could be figured out has been figured out; what couldn¡¯t be remains a mystery to this day. Now, after hundreds of years of being led on, the century of biology had finally arrived fashionably late. Biological studies flourished, with a swarm of talent pouring in, resulting in all kinds of fantastic ideas. Humans have an endless desire for long life, and with the profound complexity of protein language, studying it for a few hundred years was not an issue. Anyway, to date, humans have not been able to artificially synthesize true life; there¡¯s still a long way to go. ¡°What¡¯s this? KSP protein language. You¡¯ve got a lot to learn, doctor, my friend?¡± Lin Xuanyuan looked in the mirror and said, ¡°I think living too long isn¡¯t necessarily a good thing. If I lived to be eighty, my face full of wrinkles and utterly hideous, it would be better to die¡­ Having experienced everything worth experiencing, what¡¯s the point in living longer?¡± Zhang Yuan wondered, ¡°Experienced everything? Have you experienced what it¡¯s like to be a woman?¡± Lin Xuanyuan blushed, ¡°What the heck, can¡¯t I experience that for myself?¡± Zhang Yuan quickly changed the subject, ¡°When you¡¯re eighty, you¡¯ll definitely cling to life in fear of death, thinking about how you should keep living, wishing you could live to be eight hundred!¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one who¡¯s afraid of death! But it¡¯s true, people¡¯s ideas do differ at each stage of their life. If I still look beautiful then, living on wouldn¡¯t be so bad¡­¡± Zhang Yuan laughed, ¡°It¡¯s simple, bionics, synthetic skin, just transplant your brain into it and that¡¯s that¡­¡± His fingers slid across the screen, flipping to another piece of news. ¡­ What¡¯s even more peculiar is that the tone of this news report didn¡¯t criticize or chastise; instead, it took a business-as-usual attitude and even welcomed tourists from other places to participate. In fact, this kind of unconventional ¡°matrimonial event¡± had nothing to do with the world being in a cold war. It was the exceedingly long lifespans that began to cause the traditional family system to decline, leading to this so-called ¡°immoral¡± phenomenon. Or rather, people nowadays didn¡¯t consider this trend to be immoral. It was as simple as eating or drinking water, and even if one contracted some disease in the process, it could be easily cured. ¡°The extension of the average lifespan can change the entire social atmosphere¡­ It¡¯s truly degenerate.¡± ¡°What¡¯s not to like? For you guys, this is practically heaven on Earth! Look at this girl¡­ what a figure!¡± Lin Xuanyuan peered curiously and said with a laugh. Although she was inwardly opposed to such behavior, she couldn¡¯t help but tease Zhang Yuan. Those from the 23rd century, though relatively open, were still more conservative compared to this era. ¡°Don¡¯t blame it all on men! It takes two to tango¡­ Women can be pretty lustful too. Besides, do you really think I¡¯m the kind of person who needs blind dating?¡± ¡°Definitely. If not through blind dating, how else would you find a partner?¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going to go rest; this is making my head spin,¡± said Zhang Yuan. ¡°This is fixed now, here you go.¡± He placed a cell phone lightly on her desk. It was nothing more than a matter of fixing an electronic device. Over so many years, despite being preserved in a vacuum, many electronic products had mysteriously broken down. Fortunately, he had brought a lot of electronic components with him, so fixing the phone wasn¡¯t too troublesome. ¡°Thank you so much. Without my phone, I was almost going crazy!¡± ¡­ Days went by¡­ ¡°The century of biology, not physics, it¡¯s really disappointing.¡± This kind of sigh was often heard in the office. ¡°The new report is out!¡± Zhang Yuan shouted. ¡°Let¡¯s watch it together, let¡¯s watch it!¡± A crowd gathered around in a rush. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡­ ¡°They dare not fight, they can only stand off against each other.¡± ¡°¡­It¡¯s all such tedious political strife.¡± After criticizing for a while and finding that the cold war had no end in sight, the crowd dispersed. Zhang Yuan could only offer a bitter smile and shake his head. As the cold war persisted and the economy receded, the Deep Space Foundation could no longer obtain various confidential materials. The latest space weapon information could only be seen in the news, used as a deterrent between powers. Naturally, Zhang Yuan and his colleagues had no way to learn the construction and principles within. Various political events, smoggy and murky; after seeing so many, they seemed quite boring. Moreover, every report looked more or less the same. ¡°Do you think humans can achieve eternal life?¡± Zhang Yuan suddenly asked. ¡°If biological technology continues to develop into eternity, the whole world might be different.¡± ¡°Eternal life?¡± His former colleague, Senior Brother Zhao, had already entered a hibernation state, and another colleague in the office was a Dr. Sun. ¡°Hibernation technology is close to eternal life, isn¡¯t it? Besides that, achieving true eternal life might be more difficult,¡± Dr. Sun pointed to his own brain. ¡°So far, humans have not figured out the true nature of self-awareness. Or to put it another way, self-awareness is linked to quantum mechanics. Without a breakthrough in quantum mechanics, it¡¯s not possible to unravel the true mystery of self-awareness.¡± ¡°So, for now, eternal life is unrealistic.¡± Zhang Yuan sighed deeply. Without understanding the origin of self-awareness, it¡¯s impossible to crack the human brain completely, leaving eternal life technology without a starting point. No matter how advanced life-extension technology becomes, the human brain will ultimately age and die. Chapter 137 - 138 Bozeman Self-awareness Chapter 137: Chapter 138 Bozeman Self-awareness The most popular current theory about ¡°self-awareness¡± is named ¡°Bozeman Self-awareness,¡± which is a hypothesis derived from the concept of the Boltzmann brain. Human observations of a low-entropy world originate from random fluctuations within a high-entropy universe. Large fluctuations can create a state of very low entropy; although the probability of such low entropy is very slim, it still occurs on the vast scale of the universe. Further deduction leads to the conclusion: It¡¯s possible that these fluctuations could produce a brain, or a self-aware entity, and the likelihood of this happening is much greater than the chances of producing the low-entropy world humans inhabit and evolving a vast number of brains. It can be calculated that the probability of fluctuations creating the human world is e^(-10^100), while the probability of fluctuating into a Boltzmann brain is e^(-10^28), a difference of over seventy orders of magnitude. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Taking this hypothesis even further leads to an explanation for the origin of human self-awareness. At the same time, self-awareness can be divided into ¡°Weak Consciousness¡± and ¡°Strong Consciousness.¡± Devices like cameras and computers that can record the data of the universe¡¯s operation also possess ¡°self-awareness,¡± but they belong to the category of ¡°Weak Consciousness.¡± Those capable of deducting the cosmic system of movement through logic belong to the category of ¡°Strong Consciousness.¡± The observational behavior of ¡°Weak Consciousness¡± and ¡°Strong Consciousness¡± can impact the movement of the universe itself, thereby explaining peculiar phenomena such as causality inversion in certain microscopic fields, like the double-slit interference. Therefore, the mystery of self-awareness might be hidden at the very root of the universe¡­ Well, Zhang Yuan just took these speculations as a bit of fun. ¡°Speculation within speculation,¡± with no way to be experimentally verified or further developed. Naturally, it can¡¯t reveal the origins of self-awareness, so the concept of eternal life is out of the question. Moreover, he discovered that human conjectures that can¡¯t be experimentally verified seem to be increasing. From the beginning with high-energy physics to condensed matter, then to the current life sciences, and on to biology; perhaps, even more, subjects incapable of further development will emerge in the future¡­ He instinctively felt a tremendous crisis brewing from the vast universe! An invisible net delineated the forbidden zones that separate the extraordinary from the mundane. Once outside these forbidden zones, people encounter the bewildering and boundless unknown, losing the ability to continue developing. ¡­ As time hurriedly passed by, the time for hibernation had arrived once again. Carrying that uneasiness about the future¡­ This time, Zhang Yuan was set to hibernate for 329 years, directly traveling to¡ªthe 31st century. ¡°Mr. Zhang, after examination, your physiological indicators meet the criteria for hibernation. I wish you a pleasant time travel journey.¡± His life partner Lin Xuanyuan had entered hibernation a month early, leaving another nurse to bid him farewell, which made him somewhat embarrassed. ¡°You can record a message for your future self.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Zhang Yuan nodded, ¡°¡­This awakening wasn¡¯t too wonderful. On Earth, there¡¯s a crisis in both the cultural and scientific developments. I just hope that when I wake up next time, Earth Civilization will have solved these crises.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve recorded it¡­ Do you have anything else you want to say to this era?¡± Zhang Yuan said, ¡°No, that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°I wish you a safe journey, and I wish us good luck¡­¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hope so.¡± ¡­ The Earth Era spaceship crawled slowly through the depths of space, as time flew past it like shooting stars. One hundred years, two hundred years, three hundred years¡­ The era to disembark had arrived once again. This time, there seemed to be a little accident. ¡°What? I overslept¡­ by one hundred and fifty years?¡± Zhang Yuan lay on the hospital bed, looking at the atomic clock on the wall, his heart filled with astonishment. ¡°What happened? And that¡­ the New Civilization History conference, did I miss it again?¡± he asked with a raspy voice, opening his mouth. ¡°Mr. Zhang, hello, it¡¯s now the year 3234, the 33rd century. There¡¯s been no big incident with the spaceship. In the past few big years, several batches of children were born on the ship, and many people¡¯s wake-up times have been pushed back.¡± ¡°Accordingly, the New Civilization History conference has also been postponed,¡± said the nurse. Hearing about the postponement of the conference, Zhang Yuan instinctively felt uneasy. Such conferences aren¡¯t simply postponed at will; undoubtedly, something significant must have happened. Moreover, he noticed fine lines of wrinkles on the face of the female nurse, as if she looked older than a typical astronaut. ¡°Lady¡­ um, where is my life partner?¡± ¡°She¡¯s still in hibernation. According to the wake-up queue, it will be about another half year before her turn. This incident is truly regrettable.¡± Hearing that nothing had happened to Lin Xuanyuan, Zhang Yuan felt somewhat relieved. ¡°It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s alright. A delay of more than a hundred years isn¡¯t so bad.¡± A week later, Zhang Yuan was discharged from the hospital, taking deep breaths of the air before eating a Pu Pu Grass by the roadside. It was a long-lost ¡°big year¡±! The cabin was no longer empty as in previous years. The moment he stepped out of the hospital, he smelled the strong scent of human society! There were even a few teenagers around fifteen or sixteen years old running by, smiling and greeting Zhang Yuan. ¡°Sir, if you¡¯ve just awakened, you need to undergo a psychological evaluation.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ Thank you!¡± During his hospital stay, through indirect questions and answers, Zhang Yuan had already roughly understood what had happened inside the spaceship to result in the current situation. The first major incident was that someone had committed suicide due to severe depression! This kind of mistake is hard to anticipate in advance. The management had arranged for numerous psychological soothing measures and psychologists, hoping that everything would be peaceful. But not everyone is mentally resilient as imagined, and even the presence of psychologists doesn¡¯t guarantee effectiveness. For someone like Zhang Yuan, who could both work hard and be a homebody, possessing the world as long as he could study¡ªHe could entertain himself for a long time without issues in a small environment. Even during the whole process, there were beautiful girls who actively volunteered to be a ¡°life partner¡±¡­ Anyway, Zhang Yuan was enjoying his life quite deliciously. But there are always other people who are sociable by nature, and they feel very uncomfortable living in a world of solitude. They painfully endured the most difficult first waking period, but couldn¡¯t survive the second or third, devoid of friends or a life partner, leading a struggling life. Depression is a formidable disease, not only does it lead to personal misery, but it also has a certain level of contagion! After several suicides, the management became aware of this, and for several big years, they arranged emergency psychological screenings, and indeed discovered quite a few latent mental illness sufferers. Chapter 138 - 139: Technology of the 33rd Century Chapter 138: Chapter 139: Technology of the 33rd Century Many people developed minor psychological issues and, based on the idea that avoiding problems was preferable to creating new ones, even if they felt unhappy, they were unwilling to see a doctor. As these issues grew larger and became uncontrollable, they became even more reluctant to trust others, which eventually led to ultimate tragedies. After understanding the causes of these issues, Zhang Yuan merely sighed lightly. Psychological problems were indeed troublesome; even with frequent group activities, various banquets, movies, and musicals, these issues were inevitable. With only 600 people celebrating the New Year together, seeing just those few faces all the time was indeed too lonely and too torturous. As for other major events within the spaceship, there were few¡ªonly several minor accidents and a small-scale air leak incident, all within the allowable margin of error. ¡°Mr. Zhang Yuan, I will ask you some detailed questions, and I will keep all your answers confidential,¡± a kind-hearted psychologist said as she sat opposite him, prepared to begin her inquiry. ¡°Okay, please ask,¡± Zhang Yuan nodded. ¡°I will tell you everything truthfully.¡± This type of psychological barrier investigation had become a necessary procedure by now. ¡°Do you feel that mornings are the best part of the day?¡± Zhang Yuan frowned slightly. ¡°Mood? It depends, nothing particularly good or bad. Sometimes I feel rather terrible if I haven¡¯t slept well. Sometimes, when I find the key to a problem, of course, my mood is quite good and can stay that way for several days.¡± S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The doctor then asked, ¡°Do you feel as happy as before when in close contact with the opposite sex?¡± ¡°Quite happy.¡± ¡°Do you have a life partner?¡± ¡°¡­She is a very cute and slightly mischievous girl. She is a doctor.¡± ¡°What about your sex life? Are you interested?¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t¡­ gotten to that step yet¡­¡± ¡°¡­Are you still interested in things you usually like?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ it¡¯s okay. Mainly because the Deep Space Foundation can no longer send confidential documents, which is quite unfortunate. But there¡¯s still plenty of new knowledge to learn, and the various current news isn¡¯t bad¡­¡± After discussing a few questions and some small daily stories, the psychologist felt he had no significant issues and let him go. Psychological problems are hard to completely cure. Besides the necessary medication, environmental factors are also crucial. There was no choice, in order to treat approximately 2000 severe psychological patients, the management had to use the time of several New Years to bring them all together to start living a normal life, creating an environment just like on Earth. They were even allowed to marry and have children! After all, having a few children was within the allowable margin of error and also helped adjust the atmosphere within the spaceship. This was why Zhang Yuan¡¯s wake-up time had been significantly delayed. ¡°Old Zhang, you¡¯re awake! Look at this robot teacher, how about that, we can also use the latest technology now.¡± In front of a research institute, Zhang Yuan was very fortunate to meet his good friend Li Zhendong, who, in his usual flamboyant tone, introduced his work. It had been a thousand years since they last met, and Li Zhendong had become a doctor in Information Science. The robot teacher in front of him was a petite beauty of one meter sixty, dressed in a black and white sailor outfit; aside from the green color of her pupils, she looked no different from a human. ¡°Hi, classmate, hello, my name is Jin Lingling, you can call me Mr. Jin.¡± ¡°Mr. Jin, hello¡­ My name is Zhang Yuan.¡± Zhang Yuan carefully examined this anthropomorphized robot, the latest technology of Earth Civilization. Because he looked so much like a human, exactly like a beautiful girl, he even felt embarrassed to touch her and see what it felt like. Li Zhendong pressed a button, and Mr. Jin¡¯s pupils dimmed and he stopped talking, ¡°Okay, now you can touch her.¡± ¡°It feels like I¡¯m being a creep,¡± Zhang Yuan commented somewhat speechlessly. Jin Lingling¡¯s skin was synthetically made, filled with various advanced sensors; it almost felt no different from a real human¡¯s skin, tender and soft. Touching her twice, Zhang Yuan inexplicably felt a bit afraid. ¡°Look at that happy little expression of yours¡­ This is exactly what homebodies love,¡± Li Zhendong said with a laugh, then restarted her, ¡°She is a teacher, you shouldn¡¯t have any improper thoughts.¡± ¡°Who says I¡¯m a homebody¡­¡± Zhang Yuan felt a bit awkward. He asked, ¡°Mr. Jin, I have a question for you: What is the sum of 1+2+3¡­ all the way to 100?¡± ¡°Ah, Classmate Zhang, are you asking me? This is a classic arithmetic series problem. Normally, the solution works like this: We add the first term to the last term, the second term to the second-to-last term, and discover that they all equal 101, and then¡­¡± The robotic teacher spoke eloquently, not only finding the final answer but also providing very detailed calculation steps. She could even write very beautiful text on the screen. ¡°¡­So, the final answer is 101*100/2=5050. Did you understand?¡± Zhang Yu was dumbfounded, a strong curiosity arising within him. That robots could understand human speech was still within comprehension, but solving mathematical problems was a bit baffling! Moreover, the uniquely human ¡°Uncanny Valley effect¡± had disappeared, as she looked too much like a human, there seemed nothing to fear. However, seeing Li Zhendong¡¯s smug expression, Zhang Yuan snapped back, laughing and scolding, ¡°What are you so proud of? You didn¡¯t write the program! At most you worked on some compatibility issues.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with compatibility? Compatibility is also tough!¡± Li Zhendong retorted, ¡°The chips we brought over are already obsolete, they needed redesigning!¡± Zhang Yuan asked another question, ¡°Ms. Jin Lingling, how should one prove Goldbach¡¯s Conjecture? Can you tell me?¡± ¡°Classmate Zhang, don¡¯t tease the teacher! The proof of Goldbach¡¯s Conjecture is a world-class problem, truly beyond my capabilities¡­ Perhaps you can study mathematics hard, and pluck this pearl of wisdom.¡± Jin Lingling put her finger on her cheek, poked a dimple, and made a playful expression. Li Zhendong explained, ¡°High school level problems can be easily solved, but university-level ones need the support of a large database network. Our current hardware isn¡¯t up to it, limiting her capabilities.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t high school problems need a database?¡± ¡°Not necessary, they use a machine algorithm. High school mathematics is less abstract, less flexible, and thanks to computing power, solutions can still be obtained quickly. Of course, some extremely challenging constructions still aren¡¯t feasible¡­¡± Mr. Jin blinked, ¡°Yes, high school math is really simple! Would you like me to teach you?¡± After hearing all this, Zhang Yuan finally understood why personified robots would bring dramatic changes to human society. This girl looked so much like a human, having some ¡°personal protection¡± rights seemed¡­ not so unacceptable. Humans are, after all, visual creatures; protecting beautiful and adorable things is instinctive. Those robots that only have a mechanical arm or are clad in metal, of course, still have no rights. Li Zhendong sighed, ¡°Actually, robots don¡¯t care about human rights, animal rights, or machine rights, all that nonsense. They fundamentally lack self-awareness. Everything is just humans fooling themselves¡­¡± Mr. Jin countered, ¡°How can robots not have rights? Robots shouldn¡¯t be beaten either! Being hit, I also feel pain!¡± Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but laugh, ¡°You¡¯re right, no one should hit you. Not even humans.¡± Because the cost was too high, there are currently only four robot teachers and six care robots, but that was already sufficient. After all, there weren¡¯t many children on the Earth Era spaceship, and it was enough to be able to support them. After completing high school, these children and their parents would enter hibernation. Chapter 139 - 140: 120 Years of Cold War Chapter 139: Chapter 140: 120 Years of Cold War Having bid Li Zhendong farewell and greeted a few friends, Zhang Yuan headed to the registration desk and saw his long-lost teacher¡ªAcademician Ding. ¡°Zhang Yuan, by my calculations, we haven¡¯t seen each other for a thousand years. In the blink of an eye, you¡¯ve also become a ¡®youth¡¯ of over a thousand years old,¡± Academician Ding was in a good mood and made a small joke. ¡°Teacher¡­¡± Zhang Yuan silently realized that Academician Ding had aged a lot; he looked to be a man in his seventies or eighties. It was probably because he woke up more frequently than others. Fortunately, thanks to some longevity potions from the biological laboratory, people in their seventies or eighties didn¡¯t age like in the past but stayed in the prime of their careers. Academician Ding patted his shoulder, ¡°This Grand Year is mainly for the preparation of the New Civilization History conference, which is in three months. If you have anything you want to say, you can bring it up then.¡± ¡°By the way, we¡¯ve already looked over your doctoral thesis. It shouldn¡¯t be difficult to pass the defense. However, a doctorate in New Civilization History is essentially like a doctorate in the sciences.¡± Zhang Yuan smiled, ¡°A doctorate in sciences should be fine, right¡­¡± Another elderly professor also smiled, ¡°Regarding the Psy function you proposed, I think it¡¯s very valuable for reference¡­ I have a few questions I want to ask you.¡± The group talked for an hour about academic matters, as well as some recent events on Earth. Considering it was the Grand Year, things were bound to be busier. Items such as nuclear power stations needed maintenance, and all aspects of spaceships would undergo comprehensive inspection, including communication devices and inventory checks. ¡°You¡¯ve just woken up from hibernation and haven¡¯t fully recovered. Rest for a couple of weeks first.¡± ¡°Get to know the whole spaceship, as well as the changes in Earth Civilization¡­¡± Zhang Yuan nodded. Half an hour later, Zhang Yuan returned to his own bedroom. It was time to catch up on the latest developments in Earth Civilization. He checked his luggage and found his mobile phone was broken and couldn¡¯t be turned on, but his tablet still worked. He suspected that by the time he woke up again, he might not even be able to use the tablet and would have to settle for a very outdated black-and-white screen work computer. Shaking his head, Zhang Yuan sat upright in front of the computer and took a deep breath. He remembered that before his last hibernation, with Mars as the dividing line, the inner and outer political rings of the Solar System were caught up in a Cold War. The main reason was the wealth disparity and resulting class conflicts. The Cold War was merely a way of diverting internal conflicts. He sighed inwardly, ¡°I wonder if now, after five hundred years, the issue has been resolved. The Cold War couldn¡¯t have lasted for five hundred years, could it?¡± He opened an ancient report, ¡°Hello to all Earth Era colleagues from the Golden Sun. I am Ding Quan, the president of the Deep Space Foundation¡­¡± The familiar opening words brought a very comforting feeling. Under the onslaught of time, Earth Civilization had long since changed; all the familiar things were gradually disappearing. The Deep Space Foundation had become the only trustworthy organization on Earth. The report read, ¡°Under the cloud of war, internal contradictions are gradually easing, and populist sentiments are surging.¡± ¡°It is with regret that I inform you, belonging to the inner ring of Solar System politics, the Deep Space Foundation¡­ we¡¯re no longer able to know the various data of the inner ring.¡± Including economic data, Engel¡¯s coefficient, Gini index, industrial index, and so on, the Foundation could only estimate these through external manifestations. ¡°Unfortunately, relying on the Cold War to solve internal conflicts quickly led to new problems¡­¡± The first problem was the beginning of the collapse in Earth¡¯s real estate prices. War was imminent, and localized conflicts had already erupted on the Martian battlefield. With this risk-aversion in mind, real estate prices could no longer continue to rise, and with people only wanting to flee to Venus and Mercury, further away from the battlefield, the situation was exacerbated. More and more people began to sell their homes on Earth, escaping to the safer planets of Mercury and Venus. Finally, one day, real estate prices began to crash. The speed of the collapse was so frantic that even government departments hadn¡¯t reacted in time to make decisions. In just one year¡¯s time, many city homes had been directly halved in value. The crash in housing prices meant that many people burdened with mortgages became negative equity overnight. Since they were already in negative equity, why continue to pay the mortgage? S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. So, this group of negative-equity individuals simply defaulted, not wanting their homes anymore, they dusted off their bottoms and fled from Earth. Now the banks were in trouble, reluctantly taking on a mass of bad assets that they were unable to dispose of in such a poor economic environment. Furthermore, amid various asset transfers and bank runs, even the banks began to falter. And when the banks collapsed, the financial chain snapped dramatically, and the rest of the industries started to fall like dominoes¡­ A tsunami-like financial crisis swept through the political circles on Earth, causing massive devastation to the entire economy! The original political circles of Earth, relying on the heavy industrial bases on Mercury and the Moon, plus the deeply-rooted Earth, were much stronger economically than the external political circles, but after the financial baptism, their strength was greatly diminished, bringing both sides to the same starting line. Zhang Yuan sighed deeply. He opened the next report, which began with dire news: ¡°Hello to all Earth Era members, colleagues of The Golden Sun. I am Ma Tengfei, President of the Deep Space Foundation¡­¡± ¡°¡­I regret to inform everyone that due to the economic downturn, the Deep Space Foundation¡¯s budget has been cut again. We temporarily cannot afford the exorbitant costs of sending out the next transmission.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°We promise that when we have enough funds, we will find a way to send the next transmission.¡± ¡°I¡¯m truly sorry.¡± The President said ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡± many times. To send massive quantities of information measured in petabytes on a light-year scale indeed requires a tremendous amount of funds. Starting from this report, as time passed, the intervals at which the Deep Space Foundation sent information grew longer and longer. By now, nobody reminisced about the ambitious deep space plans of the past anymore; during economic downturns, everyone just looked out for themselves. Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t know how to describe his own emotions. The Deep Space Foundation, once a towering authority, was finally facing its true decline amidst turbulent storms¡­ In various intermittent reports, it was revealed that the Cold War lasted a total of 120 years. Destruction is always simpler than construction; while space weapons couldn¡¯t destroy planets directly, they could easily obliterate various ecosystems. For instance, just a few laser strikes could cause air leaks in the Space Cities, and there¡¯s no way to intercept a laser; the massive Earth was essentially a moving target, and it was all too easy to use various weapons to damage the ozone layer, which could cause significant changes in Earth¡¯s ecological environment¡­ Especially various gene and bioweapons, which were very low-cost yet had immense destructive power, it was far too easy to cause mass casualties. Under such a tightrope situation, governments of all countries maintained restraint with tentative fear, and any localized outbreaks of war occurred only on Mars. Just like the initial deterrent of nuclear arms, it¡¯s when the nuclear bombs are on their launchers that their deterrent power is greatest. Everyone struggled economically but didn¡¯t wish to cause a huge backlash that could lead to their own extinction. And so, after 120 years, no one had managed to completely eliminate a side, and with protracted attrition, war-weariness in all regions had grown significantly. Thus, the opportunity for peace finally arrived at a sluggish pace¡­ ¡°Hello to all Earth Era members, colleagues of The Golden Sun. This summer is the year of glacial melting, and we have welcomed true peace! Thank you to the world, perhaps our civilization can still emerge from the trough.¡± Zhang Yuan was invigorated. A great person named ¡°Quincy¡± had emerged on Earth, who delivered a speech for the ages. Under various coincidences, peace was truly rekindled across the entire world. Chapter 140 - 141 The Death of the Foundation Chapter 140: Chapter 141 The Death of the Foundation In the visual archives, this great personage of the century said to the entire population of the Solar System, ¡°Earth doesn¡¯t care, Earth never cared about what humans have actually done.¡± ¡°If the history of Earth were condensed into a 24-hour period, then humans would have only existed for a mere two minutes.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s take a look at what we have done in just those two minutes.¡± ¡°War, endless wars, with battles raging every millisecond.¡± ¡°Half of all wild species have gone extinct; petroleum, which took millions of years to form, has been completely depleted by us.¡± ¡°Plastic waste in the Pacific Ocean has formed the shocking ¡®Seventh Continent¡¯, which even after hundreds of years of efforts, has yet to fully disappear.¡± ¡°But!¡± ¡°Earth has never needed humans to save it.¡± ¡°Billions of years ago, a giant rock 10 kilometers in diameter descended from the sky. It was a small asteroid, the size of a medium-sized city, hurtling into the sea at 40 kilometers per second, creating a huge deep pit at the bottom of the ocean.¡± ¡°The water was rapidly vaporized, the steam skyrocketing tens of thousands of meters into the upper atmosphere, immediately generating tsunamis as high as 5 kilometers that spread extremely quickly, sweeping everything on land.¡± ¡°After sweeping across the Earth¡¯s surface, the raging waves converged on the opposite side of the impact point, where the massive force of the water triggered violent volcanic eruptions on the Deccan Plateau, simultaneously altering the direction of movement of the Earth¡¯s tectonic plates.¡± ¡°An era in the history of life¡ªthe Dinosaur Era¡ªended just like that.¡± sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°And then, humans were born.¡± ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, what I want to say now is, can our most powerful weapons compare to this asteroid?¡± ¡°This meteorite, the Chicxulub Meteorite, equivalent to 120 trillion tons of TNT, is clearly much more powerful than our strongest weapons, antimatter weapons. We cannot harm even a single hair on Earth¡¯s head.¡± ¡°Yet, even so, these weapons are already more than enough to exterminate the entire human species a hundred times over!¡± ¡°Let me predict what will happen on Earth after humans are completely extinct.¡± ¡°Within 3000 years, without human maintenance, Space Cities will collapse one by one, turning into brilliant shooting stars. Ten thousand years later, various plants will have taken over our cities.¡± ¡°Twenty thousand years later, all skyscrapers will have fallen.¡± ¡°The Solar System will continue its life span for another five billion years. This time is much too long, I believe that within ten million years, the entire atmosphere will slowly recover to become suitable for biological growth. In a world without humans, various surviving life forms will compete and evolve fully¡­¡± ¡°After a hundred million years, more complex life forms will have appeared, perhaps still mammals or perhaps other kinds of biological entities¡­¡± ¡°Two hundred million years later, intelligent life will have evolved. Yes, by then they will once again have petroleum and the chance to do it all over again. Then they will excavate the once-glorious relics, including fossils of us, discovering that bygone splendid yet stupid, self-destructive Ordinary Civilization¡­¡± ¡°My fellow beings, Earth never cared about us. Without us, Earth will only become better, and another civilization will replace us.¡± ¡°Likewise, Mercury, Venus, Mars¡­ they don¡¯t care about us either.¡± ¡°Do you wish to be replaced by another civilization due to your own actions?¡± ¡­ The long-lost peace finally arrived¡­ But¡­ With such great hatred having once occurred, between person and person, can we truly return to what once was? We can never return to the past. ¡­ Zhang Yuan opened the last few reports and suddenly realized that these reports were actually outdated artifacts from two to three hundred years ago, with none of the most recent ones from decades past. He couldn¡¯t help but have some very unpleasant suspicions. ¡°Greetings to all Earth Era colleagues on the Golden Sun, hello. I am Zhao Jun, the President of the Deep Space Foundation¡­¡± The Deep Space Foundation¡¯s reports had become decadal, and in order to save funds, the amount of information in them had also begun to diminish. It was no longer the behemoth it once was. ¡°¡­Various crises have indeed shuffled some interests around, but the vast majority are still being monopolized by the giants. How much can ordinary people really share?¡± ¡°Fundamentally, the core contradictions have not been resolved; they¡¯re just hidden. Undercurrents are stirring, the older generation has passed on, and the new generation seems to have become accustomed to this chaotic way of thinking; they lack a strong sense of struggle.¡± ¡°Even I, the new President, have been swayed by such thought; the slightest bit of stability has become happiness. We can only know of once better times through historical documents.¡± Vulgar forms of entertainment began to flourish, capturing the attention of the entire populace and exhausting their limited energy. A sham prosperity maintained the stability and harmony of the whole world. The ruling class did not bother to intervene, nor did they wish to. The greatest contribution of the entertainment industry was to alleviate class conflicts. There were always new entertainment stars emerging; they were young and beautiful, and people could cheer for them heartily, as if they saw the selves they yearned for in these stars. The biggest advantage of electronic entertainment is its low cost; there is no cheaper form of entertainment than video games. History¡¯s tendency to repeat itself is always so unexpected, yet so inevitable¡­ The Deep Space Foundation¡¯s final letter originated from the 31st century, two hundred years ago. ¡°Hello to all my friends of the Earth Era on the Golden Sun. As the last President of the Foundation, I am ashamed to mention my name.¡± ¡°Because tomorrow, the Deep Space Foundation, this organization that has stood for nine hundred years, will be completely dissolved¡­¡± ¡°I regret this is the last report.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, truly sorry, that we couldn¡¯t stop the tide of the times. Over the centuries, the Foundation¡¯s assets have been completely depleted. This is a shortcoming on our part, and I deeply apologize to you, who are light-years away¡­¡± ¡°Our building will be seized tomorrow, and I will be thrown into prison. Sorry, my friends, in order to fund this last piece of intelligence, I resorted to some illegal methods, but I do not regret it¡­¡± ¡°Our Earth Civilization will never lack the wise who seek to explore the beyond.¡± ¡°However, the spirit of our entire civilization has determined that a third deep space mission is no longer possible¡­¡± ¡°Friends, I wish us luck, and I wish you luck as well.¡± ¡°May you bloom into a splendid civilization under the distant skies.¡± With just a few words, one can imagine the difficulties encountered. Having weathered all sorts of storms, the Deep Space Foundation, our most familiar companion, has ultimately perished on the shore. It bore no complaints. It died. What followed were various detailed documents, including the latest scientific papers. Zhang Yuan carefully read these papers, unable to suppress the bitterness in his heart. The papers, collected and sent with so much effort and great expense by this President, turned out to be nothing but trash! Centuries had passed, how could papers that even Zhang Yuan could understand and critique be of any quality? These were the pinnacle of an entire civilization¡¯s academic efforts! This is¡­ the times! He sighed softly, at a loss for words. This was the expected, ordinary ending, but when it truly arrived, it suddenly felt as heavy as Mount Tai. ¡­ Chapter 141 - 142 The Hero of This Era Chapter 141: Chapter 142 The Hero of This Era Zhang Yuan felt empty inside, as if he had lost something precious. He searched through the data archives unwillingly. Inside the spaceship, a simple public forum also saw a large number of comments on current affairs. ¡°¡­It¡¯s really lamentable. The Deep Space Foundation has just fallen. In our era, it was truly a colossal entity¡­ There really is no such thing as eternity.¡± ¡°Has the government really stopped supporting the Foundation? They can¡¯t even allocate a few billion a year?¡± ¡°A few billion might not be enough. The Foundation needs to investigate all aspects of society and requires substantial funding support¡­ Haven¡¯t you noticed? The financial situation of the Foundation has not been very good for a long time, it was merely sustaining itself on old capital.¡± ¡°On the contrary, I think it¡¯s only natural that the government doesn¡¯t support it. It¡¯s been a thousand years, who would remember us? In the eyes of ordinary people, allocating such funds is just a meaningless act¡­¡± ¡°Is there no wealthy patron willing to help out?¡± sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Wealthy patron? Where would we find a wealthy patron?¡± ¡°Have we permanently lost contact with Earth?¡± ¡°I hate to say it, but yes.¡± In short, various complaints had persisted for hundreds of years. Since everyone¡¯s periods of wakefulness differed, discussing a topic for a few hundred years seemed not so unusual. Zhang Yuan felt that this old-fashioned text-based communication forum was quite comforting. Since it was regulated by real-name systems, people tended to be rational, and the comments seemed insightful. There were no trolls or haters. He also wrote: ¡°Although, it seems we won¡¯t be able to witness the next step in history, but according to New Civilization History, we can make further predictions¡­¡± ¡°The future of humanity, at most, holds two possibilities¡ªfirst is the ¡®Brain in a Vat,¡¯ to develop inwardly, seeking the deepest core spiritual solace¡­¡± ¡°The second is the ¡®vast expanse of stars,¡¯ to develop outwardly, seeking broader living spaces.¡± ¡°Currently, the first probability is likely higher¡­ When there is no way to continue advancing, people will start seeking the deepest core solace. This solace may not necessarily be religious; it could be entertainment or some culturally established norms, forming an ultimate steady state.¡± ¡°Finding comfort and happiness from certain things makes life feel less senseless. If everyone does so, the world would essentially stabilize.¡± After writing this lengthy post, he clicked the ¡°Submit¡± button and felt much less depressed. Suddenly, Zhang Yuan came across a line of highlighted text. ¡°Everyone, come look! New messages from Earth civilization!¡± ¡°But, it¡¯s not from the Deep Space Foundation, but an email from a kid! Today I¡¯m so lucky to be the first to see this message!¡± This story took place fifty years ago; the Earth Era Spaceship by chance received a letter from Earth civilization. ¡°Hello, friends of the Golden Sun of the Earth Era. My name is Aiding, I live on Earth, and I am 14 years old.¡± ¡°Today, while I was studying civilization history, I suddenly discovered the once very popular ¡®New Civilization History¡¯ and the former Deep Space Foundation¡­¡± ¡°People actually wanted to use mathematics to try to guide civilization, which is a discipline full of imagination! I wonder, with your vast historical samples, how much have you developed in this discipline?¡± ¡°I even discovered that Earth Civilization once launched two Deep Space Colony Ships. Oh, what a grand vision the deep space colonization plan was! It¡¯s a pity I wasn¡¯t born in that era of great waves.¡± ¡°But, why can¡¯t our current civilization colonize other planets anymore?¡± ¡°Is it because our technology has regressed or because we don¡¯t have enough resources?¡± ¡°Faced with this question, my father remained silent for a long time. Finally, he said he didn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Maybe when I grow up, I¡¯ll be able to understand. Maybe I need to find the answers in the real society¡­¡± ¡°By the way, my father is the famous chairman of the Karlva Industrial Group. He¡¯s the sixteenth richest person globally¡­ heh, a well-known entrepreneur! You could consider me a rich second generation, which I guess is supposed to be a derogatory term, but in our era, it¡¯s a compliment.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been out of touch for two hundred years. You must be very curious about how Earth Civilization has changed, right? Oh, for those of you in hibernation, it¡¯s just a fleeting moment¡­ Actually, we also have many hibernators here, like my grandfather, who wanted to live until a more advanced technological future, but I think it¡¯s pretty meaningless.¡± ¡°Here¡¯s some information I¡¯ve gathered. I spent two years of my pocket money to send you less than 10MB of files. I¡¯m sorry, the distance is too great and the cost of sending this information is too high, with a high packet loss rate as well. I really can¡¯t afford to provide more content¡­ Maybe I should think about earning some money instead of playing games every day?¡± 10MB of data isn¡¯t much, mostly texts including government reports, current political news, and some scientific journals, etc. Zhang Yuan felt a slight warmth in his heart, a kind of subtle touch. This emotion came from the distant Earth. In every era, there are always those who yearn for ¡°poetry and distant places.¡± A child born to the upper class, who still remembered their two spaceships and spent a fortune to bring them precious information. Zhang Yuan attentively read the information sent by Aiding, starting of course with science. He pinched his nose and looked at these academic journals, which were terrible, really terrible, the parts he could understand were no different from embezzling funds. It was just a switching of jargon, deceiving those who are ignorant. The parts he couldn¡¯t understand¡­ looking at the reviews of his spaceship companions, a barrage of criticism, it must still be terrible. That is to say, the most cutting-edge theories, whether in physics, chemistry, or biology, have essentially halted in development. Zhang Yuan sighed. This situation was somewhat expected¡­ Following that were some societal changes, which were more crucial reference materials for them. The Cold War ended and the world returned to peace, but the fundamental contradiction in civilization¡ªthe vast wealth disparity¡ªremained. It was a difficult problem to solve. Civilian movements and various protests happened frequently, and civilization failed to return to its previous tranquility. To address this fundamental contradiction, human society employed many complex solutions. Apart from castrating the public¡¯s spirit with the entertainment industry, they also adopted a series of welfare measures, such as labor unions and higher taxes on the wealthy, to reduce capitalists¡¯ exploitation of ordinary people. In the following period, the young Aiding occasionally replaced the Deep Space Foundation by sending letters! He even continued until now! Although each time the data volume was not large, it was much better than being completely cut off. In a recent letter, now a sociologist, Professor Aiding wrote: ¡°Friends of Earth Era ¡®Golden Sun,¡¯ I think I¡¯ve found the real answer.¡± ¡°Our era is no longer your era.¡± ¡­ Chapter 142 - 143 Aidings Social Experience Chapter 142: Chapter 143 Aiding¡¯s Social Experience Theoretically, Earth Civilization¡¯s productivity could have long ago brought wealth and prosperity to all of humanity, but the reality wasn¡¯t quite so simple. Earth Civilization was an extremely complex civilization, with a total population within the Solar System reaching up to one hundred billion, every individual harboring their own thoughts, each nation with its unique culture. The expanse of the entire civilization had grown too vast, such that even the fastest spaceship took months to complete a round trip. Under these conditions, no ambitious organization or individual could unify the civilization anymore. Though a semblance of peace had been achieved among planets under various agreements, how could the contradictions, conflicts, and the disintegration of ideologies be so easily resolved? Earth¡­ On a bright and sunny morning. After a term of adaptation, student Aiding had seamlessly integrated into this school for the common people. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. A beautiful and adorable robotic teacher, standing one and a half meters tall, was giving them a Mathematics class. ¡°A parabola, due to its location in the coordinate system, has a different equation, and there are four different cases¡­¡± Her voice was as clear as that of a nightingale. However, not many students were listening intently¡ªmany were just staring off into space, daydreaming, although no one dared to make a fuss during class. The teaching level of the robotic teacher was actually quite good, but for some reason, even after many improvements, the results she produced still fell short of a human teacher¡¯s. There was a scientific test that showed when students were not informed their teacher was a robot, her teaching quality could rival that of the finest human teacher. Once informed, both the quality of education and the final grades plummeted steeply. In essence, it all came down to the psychological factors of humans themselves¡­ Nevertheless, Aiding didn¡¯t hold such a lazy sentiment. When he wanted to withdraw from the noble¡¯s school, his father had thrown quite a tantrum. ¡°Aiding, I know you¡¯re resolute and smart since young. But this decision really makes it hard for me. Studying in a noble¡¯s school has many benefits, not just in teaching resources, but also in networking opportunities with classmates. Once missed, they are truly gone, and life doesn¡¯t give you a second chance.¡± ¡°Father, I understand. The biggest advantage of the school is the networking, but¡­ if I always live under your protection, I¡¯ll be nothing but a vassal of yours, and what meaning would my life then have? I just want to experience a more authentic life and understand more about the world.¡± It was hard to imagine that such words came from a teenager. After roughly half an hour of conversation, his father agreed, sighing deeply: ¡°Alright, you are right; being rich in spirit is indeed the most valuable treasure. Becoming a sociologist isn¡¯t bad either¡ªit¡¯s your own choice.¡± ¡°¡­Student Aiding, please solve this problem,¡± the teacher called out, apparently noticing that Aiding was lost in thought. He looked up to see a very basic parabola problem displayed on the blackboard. Even without paying much attention, the naturally intelligent Aiding solved it with ease. ¡°From the problem, we can deduce that the axis of symmetry for the parabola is x = 2. ©¦AB©¦=6, and by the symmetry of the parabola we know¡­¡± ¡°Well answered, please take a seat!¡± the robotic teacher beckoned him to sit, speaking with a meaningful tone, ¡°Classmates, in one more week, we¡¯ll have the high-stakes exams. If you don¡¯t pass, there¡¯ll be no university for you to attend¡­¡± ¡°So, in this last window of time, I hope everyone can review well. Who knows, you might just be able to increase your score by a few points?¡± For some reason, Aiding always felt that the robotic teacher¡¯s personality seemed gentler than that of human teachers. ¡°Is it because she¡¯s too gentle and lacks authority?¡± he wondered. Though they already had the authority to punish students, the school usually didn¡¯t employ such measures to avoid complications. Ding-ling-ling, the bell rang. ¡°Class dismissed.¡± ¡°Teacher¡ªgoodbye!¡± The teacher never prolonged the class. Even though she would teach the next class as well, stepping outside the classroom allowed the students to relax better. ¡°Ah, finally, it¡¯s time for the college entrance exams.¡± ¡°We¡¯re getting liberated!¡± The classroom was noisy; everyone praised the end of their entire academic journey. ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily true!¡± Aiding said slowly, ¡°College is not a place to relax; if you really want to study, it might be even tougher¡­¡± No one paid him any mind; many boys were fantasizing about their future. ¡°Why not just skip university?¡± A few boys were even discussing things like blind date parties in private, where they could freely play interesting games for adults, and then they laughed among themselves in a strange manner. A large hand clapped on his shoulder; it was a tall boy named Ma Zhuangzhuang: ¡°Aiding, let¡¯s use the plenty of time we have during the summer break to join that party too!¡± Graduating high school was precisely the age when passions ran high. Aiding rejected the suggestion with utter disdain: ¡°That¡¯s sleazy! Hooking up for no reason, what¡¯s the difference between that and an animal? Going to that kind of party, you won¡¯t find a decent girl. You¡¯d be happy with just a patch of Qingqing grass on your head!¡± Ma Zhuangzhuang chuckled: ¡°Pff, repressed man¡­ What¡¯s wrong with a patch of Qingqing grass? I¡¯m happy, and I wish it, after all, everyone is just playing around. Play for two days then break up, who said anything about having to get married? I plan to marry after I turn sixty¡­¡± Aiding laughed and said, ¡°By sixty, you¡¯ll find it even harder to get a good girl, unless you¡¯re really rich¡­ With money, you can play all you like.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if I don¡¯t have money, just the quality will be a bit lower! You act as if you¡¯re so high and mighty; don¡¯t let me catch you messing around then!¡± Ma Zhuangzhuang glanced around nervously, afraid that a female classmate would overhear their conversation. ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± Aiding said indifferently, shrugging his shoulders and sitting back down at his own seat. In fact, it would be wrong to say that the common people¡¯s class is more open than the wealthy class. Aiding had seen many rich folks, like his own older brother, changing women more frequently than clothes, sometimes several in one night¡­ Including all kinds of rich second generations, their private lives were in such chaos that it was despicable¡­ Russian roulette, depth charges, communal fertilization betting on sons, as though these could sketch out the most base desires of human nature. He himself had also tried such ¡°games.¡± But the emptiness after release, after experiencing it many times, he found it boring, not much different from an animal. He couldn¡¯t understand why his brother tirelessly tried such boring tricks. But in the eyes of others, it was his brother who was the normal one, and him being odd. Perhaps, humans are just robots controlled by genes, with only a very few able to break away from genetic control to pursue something they want, something more meaningful. ¡°Aiding, what are you daydreaming about? What kind of university do you want to attend? Or are you¡­ thinking about girls?¡± A very pretty girl sitting next to him suddenly asked. Her name was Xia Yueyue, Aiding¡¯s deskmate. Whenever she looked at Aiding, there was always a tender smile on her face. Because medical means have become more advanced, girls today were generally very beautiful, learning to take care of their skin at a very young age. ¡°Definitely Eastern University! What about you?¡± Aiding replied. Chapter 143 - 144 Please Call Me Ramen Queen! Chapter 143: Chapter 144 Please Call Me Ramen Queen! Upon hearing this reply, Xia Yueyue stuck out her tongue and giggled, ¡°Ah, Eastern University, even if I perform exceptionally well, I still can¡¯t get in¡­ In our class, probably only you have a chance.¡± ¡°If I don¡¯t do well, I might as well not go to university and just go home to take over my dad¡¯s Ramen shop¡­¡± ¡°Ramen shop?¡± Aiding paused, ¡°Not going to university doesn¡¯t sound so great, do you really want to make ramen all your life?¡± Xia Yueyue shook her head nonchalantly, ¡°My dad is already over a hundred years old, if I can¡¯t get into a particularly good university, I¡¯ll have to just go for that. Actually¡­ even with a university degree, it¡¯s not guaranteed to find a particularly good job. Many companies offer lifetime contracts, where¡¯s the freedom in that compared to making ramen?¡± ¡°The ramen I make is really delicious, do you want to try it?¡± ¡°Ha-ha, I¡¯ll definitely support your family¡¯s business when the time comes!¡± Actually, Aiding didn¡¯t really care about his test scores, good or bad, he would still be able to attend a decent school. His father was even one of the biggest sponsors of Eastern University, pulling strings would be all too easy. However, earning good results on his own was definitely more fulfilling than relying on connections. ¡°If only I were as smart as you. Sigh¡­¡± Xia Yueyue¡¯s curved eyes looked at him, whether it was admiration or envy, he couldn¡¯t tell. In this rather closed campus environment, where everyone had yet to truly encounter society, academic performance was the measure of a person¡¯s excellence. Good grades always earned envious glances from girls. This kind of look was quite pure, unlike the women that his older brother brought home. Of course, there were many ¡°rich second generations¡± who acted high and mighty in school, but how could second generations from ordinary people¡¯s schools be considered real second generations? Aiding sighed, the real second generations received the best education, enjoyed the best resources, and were simply beyond what ordinary people could achieve through effort. The bell rang, and everyone stopped talking and started class again. ¡­ Just like that, a week quickly passed, and the college entrance exams finally arrived. Aiding took a deep breath and walked into the exam venue. For some people, the college entrance exam was indeed a shortcut to change their lives. The subjects were many, including Mathematics, Literature, Extraterrestrial Geography, Cosmology, etc., a total of 6 subjects, taking 3 days. After all exams were completed, Aiding felt that he had done fairly well. ¡°Liberation! Liberation!¡± Right after the last exam, suddenly, outside the exam venue was uproariously chaotic. A grand event of tearing up exam papers was born in that instant. Students tore all their homework and exam papers into pieces, threw them on the ground, and cheered loudly, as if welcoming true liberation. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. This marked the official end of 12 years of compulsory education, and everyone would obtain greater freedom, either stepping into society or furthering their education in university. ¡°Aiding, join us! Come on!¡± Xia Yueyue grabbed his wrist, ¡°Throw away these papers, and we¡¯ll officially be adults!¡± Adults¡­ Was it really through throwing away papers? Aiding smiled and still threw a handful of papers into the sky. Fluttering about, like a flock of white doves, it also signified a step into an entirely new life. ¡­ A day later, the results were out. The speed of the robot marking was extremely fast, and its accuracy was very high, even clearly displaying which questions had points deducted. If any discrepancies were found, one could appeal for review. [Aiding, total score 688, ranked 70th in the province.] ¡°Wow, you did really well!¡± Xia Yueyue said with a hint of sadness, ¡°It¡¯s a pity I didn¡¯t do well.¡± ¡°Really not going to university?¡± ¡°Yeah, isn¡¯t there that online education program? As long as you complete it, you get a degree, and it¡¯s quite cheap.¡± ¡°¡­but there¡¯s no academic diploma,¡± Aiding thought to himself, shaking his head slightly. Once out of the university environment, how many people would continue to study? However, he had no right to interfere with other people¡¯s choices. Nowadays, there were fewer people willing to go to university, which was strange. Maybe it was because robot teachers hadn¡¯t fully reached universities, making tuition very expensive, or perhaps technology had gradually stagnated, with no big demand for scientists¡­ The jobs available to university and high school graduates were similar. The two took an hour-long drive to the countryside. On Earth, land was incredibly valuable, but the city¡¯s normal operations still required a larger lower-end population. Various agricultural and industrial bases had moved to the remote countryside. The whole planet was showing a trend towards de-urbanization. This ramen shop, about twenty square meters in size, was thriving due to its authentic handmade noodles and a good location. Not everyone liked food made by robots on assembly lines; as long as one was diligent, such a ramen shop would never worry about customers and could operate normally. ¡°Father, this is my classmate, his name is Aiding,¡± Xia Yueyue cheerily informed an elderly man showing signs of age. ¡°Hello, uncle,¡± Aiding said very politely, giving a slight bow. At this age, a little interaction between boys and girls wasn¡¯t anything noteworthy. The old father just smiled as if remembering his own youth. After a quick greeting, he busied himself with his business. ¡°Today I¡¯ll cook myself! What would you like to eat?¡± Clearly, Xia Yueyue was exceptionally happy on her own turf. ¡°Ha, thank you, a bowl of beef noodles, with an extra poached egg.¡± A few minutes later, a steaming bowl of ramen was served. Xia Yueyue just beamed at him while he ate, her thoughts unknown. Suddenly blushing, she said, ¡°Um¡­ we might not be able to meet often in the future. Aiding, do you have any dreams?¡± ¡°Dreams?¡± Aiding thought for a moment and said, ¡°I want to be a sociologist, to understand more about this world.¡± ¡°¡­A sociologist¡­ That¡¯s nice!¡± ¡°And you? Do you plan to make ramen all your life?¡± ¡°Of course not¡­ I want to open many, many chain ramen shops, so please call me the Ramen Queen!¡± As she talked about it, Xia Yueyue couldn¡¯t help but giggle, her cheeks like red apples. ¡°After making money, I can travel to other planets! Maybe in some city, some corner, I might even meet you.¡± ¡°Your dream is beautiful too¡­¡± Aiding looked up and smiled. Actually, Xia Yueyue had something else unsaid, only with money could she pursue the boy she liked. Some people evidently came from very wealthy families; though it was never explicitly shown, their polite yet aloof demeanor could be very disheartening and induce feelings of inferiority. Being from two different worlds, just getting to know each other was satisfying enough. Aiding seemed to notice her inner discontent: ¡°Let¡¯s make a promise then. Every year on this day, I will come here and eat ramen once. Let¡¯s see who can achieve their dream first¡­¡± ¡°Really?¡± The light in Xia Yueyue¡¯s eyes shone brightly again, she extended her pinky finger, ¡°Pinky promise!¡± ¡­ A year passed quickly¡­ Aiding returned to the ramen shop. Chapter 144 - 145: This Era Does Not Need Dreams Chapter 144: Chapter 145: This Era Does Not Need Dreams Mr. Aiding was surprised to find that the already small ramen shop had been divided into two adjacent storefronts, one belonging to Xia Yueyue¡¯s father and the other to her. ¡°Come try my new recipe!¡± Xia Yueyue stood at the shop¡¯s entrance, enthusiastically calling out to passersby. Mr. Aiding tried it and thought the taste was okay. Looking up at Xia Yueyue, he saw that the girl was still as lively as ever, bubbly and adorable just like before. ¡°I¡¯ve made a lot of new recipes, including tomato, pork bone, and spicy flavors¡­ Which one would you like to try?¡± ¡°Do you plan to start your own business? But why does your store have no customers?¡± Mr. Aiding looked next door, where various seats spread out to the sidewalk. Then he looked back at hers and it seemed he was the only customer. ¡°Doesn¡¯t anyone like it? I think it¡¯s quite good!¡± Mr. Aiding sipped the soup and found it really tasty. ¡°Sigh, I don¡¯t know¡­ Maybe it¡¯s because my dad has a lot of regular customers,¡± Xia Yueyue said, propping her chin, feeling very troubled. It was strange¡­ her noodles were even more diverse than her father¡¯s, and yet they couldn¡¯t compete with his. Then, the following year¡­ Seeing that the business couldn¡¯t go on, the two shops naturally merged back into one. Xia Yueyue¡¯s father was getting old and had started preparing for retirement, only occasionally lending a hand. As common folk who did physical labor for a long time, their lifespans were admittedly not very long. However, with Xia Yueyue¡¯s abilities, she managed to take good care of the shop. Clearly, after giving up those peculiar recipes, the business became as busy as before. The regulars were quite willing to support Xia Yueyue¡¯s business. ¡°You gave up on them? I thought they were delicious,¡± Mr. Aiding said, puzzled. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because people get tired of eating the same thing for too long, or maybe for some other reason¡­ Anyhow, sticking to the same old way seems to be the best approach for business,¡± Xia Yueyue shrugged, a bit disheartened. Then she said ambitiously, ¡°I¡¯ve decided to open another store! Otherwise, how could I become the Ramen Queen!¡± S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Uh¡­ make sure you choose a good location,¡± Mr. Aiding advised. He wore a slight smile; this was the Xia Yueyue he knew. ¡°Do you want to invest in me?¡± her eyes twinkled. ¡°Of course, no problem.¡± ¡­ The third year. Xia Yueyue opened a new franchise store in a pretty good location with high traffic. Furthermore, she used her father¡¯s old recipes. But looking at the deserted storefront, it was clear that she had failed again. All the surrounding old shops were packed, except for her ramen shop, which hardly had any customers. ¡°Why is that? Mr. Aiding, I¡¯m so sorry, I wasted your investment.¡± Repeated failures had drained Xia Yueyue of the confidence to be the ¡°Ramen Queen.¡± After three years of battling it out in society, she was no longer as green as before. Mr. Aiding exhaled deeply; the money he invested meant hardly anything to him. Yet, Xia Yueyue still couldn¡¯t pinpoint the reason for her failures. The fourth year¡­ The newly invested ramen shop closed again, and Xia Yueyue obediently took over her father¡¯s shop. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, Mr. Aiding. The losses were just too severe,¡± Xia Yueyue said with a wry smile. Four years had etched lines of hardship on her face; the business was truly demanding, starting at six in the morning to begin simmering broth, working until eleven or twelve at night to close up, getting at most one day off a week, and barely thinking about holidays. The income was okay, but only just okay¡­ But what else could she do? The fifth year¡­ Xia Yueyue was still making ramen in her father¡¯s shop. The sixth year¡­ He remained in her shop, after all these years, and it wasn¡¯t possible for him to start a new business anymore. The seventh year. He was still in her shop. The eighth year, the ninth year¡­ Fifteen years passed¡­ He was still in her shop. Thirty years passed¡­ At this moment, Aiding had truly become a sociologist. He had set foot on all the planets in the Solar System, delving into the deeply rooted cultures of the major planets. Many Star Domains were distinct from one another, yet they had commonalities. Over the years, Aiding had seen many people and encountered many events, wrinkles forming on his forehead. These wrinkles were not symbols of aging but of growth. Today, he quietly returned to Earth to fulfill his promise. The ramen shop was still thriving, and he sighed softly, ¡°Xia Yueyue, give me a bowl of beef ramen!¡± Even in the midst of the busy business, Xia Yueyue still personally cooked, ¡°Your ramen.¡± She looked at Aiding with her curved eyes by the table. Under the passage of time, it seemed nothing had changed, yet so much had. ¡°Looks like, I was the one who realized my dream first,¡± Aiding said, finishing the last sip of soup with a sigh. Talking about those bygone days, Xia Yueyue could only smile wistfully, ¡°I¡¯m very sorry, Mr. Aiding, I was just too naive back then¡­¡± ¡°Dreams, they are indeed beautiful¡­¡± ¡°And truly¡­¡± ¡°Far away indeed¡­¡± ¡­ ¡°Friends of the Earth Era Time, The Golden Sun, can you understand this state of stability rooted in the entire society?¡± ¡°This world is no longer suitable for the existence of dreams. Xia Yueyue is not an isolated case.¡± ¡°In this world, the gap between rich and poor isn¡¯t too big, but making money has become exceptionally difficult. Out of a thousand entrepreneurs, only one is lucky enough to survive.¡± ¡°¡­The chairman¡¯s son remains the chairman, the lawyer¡¯s son remains a lawyer, the doctor¡¯s daughter continues being a doctor, and the ramen shop¡¯s daughter continues making ramen¡­ There¡¯s virtually no interaction between the upper, middle, and lower classes.¡± ¡°Few people can escape this fate. Any attempt to break free is met with failure.¡± ¡°Only someone inherently free like me could engage in the work I desire.¡± Actually, such a world isn¡¯t necessarily bad. Given the option between a society with high wealth disparity but high mobility and one with low wealth disparity but low mobility, which one would a commoner choose? Many think the former is better. But for a vast number of ordinary people with average intelligence, courage, and insight, the latter might be the preferable choice. The former offers hope to the ambitious, but the latter is a better place for the vast majority of mediocre individuals, signifying at least stable families without the risk of destitution. If you¡¯ve earned enough money to occasionally indulge in freedom¡­ that can be considered a good life. That is to say, the majority of society has accepted their mediocrity. The environment of the world and the culture ingrained in the depths of civilization have imbued them with this mindset. Is mediocrity bad? Mediocrity is fine; the world¡¯s productivity is high enough that there is no need to develop technology or innovate further. Ordinary people can enjoy life with flavor as long as they inherit their parents¡¯ positions, without worries about food and clothing, living happily is not a problem. Additionally, the paths to promotion are too narrow, and as the primary subjects of class mobility, the younger generation¡¯s ambitions are increasingly dimmed, falling into the lingering malaise of an ¡°effort syndrome.¡± The benefits brought about by striving are just too small. As for the issue of lifespan, it¡¯s no longer a big problem. With technology stagnating, average life expectancy has stopped increasing. Considering the upper class can live three to four hundred years, and the lower class two to three hundred years, it doesn¡¯t seem like such a big deal¡­ Isn¡¯t it natural for richer people to live a bit longer? In the end, everyone still has to die. If one can accept that, there won¡¯t be so many conflicts, big or small. Chapter 145 - 146 Not Yet Reached the True Destination Chapter 145: Chapter 146 Not Yet Reached the True Destination Mr. Aiding wrote in his own letter, ¡°The long-term stagnation of the entire civilization¡¯s economy and science has caused this cultural phenomenon¡­ The three things people care most about are money, friends, and fan circle culture.¡± ¡°The ideology of the entire civilization is too dispersed, the vast majority of people do not care about politics, nor do they care about the general trend of the whole world, let alone pay attention to the distant Earth Era or the Golden Sun¡­¡± ¡°Far, far away, ladies and gentlemen, this is our time, an era both vast and small.¡± A great man of Earth Civilization in the 33rd century¡ªMr. Aiding¡ªsingle-handedly maintained communication with the Earth Era, sending over a piece of his own correspondence every few years and leaving behind his sociological work, ¡°Ordinary Civilization.¡± At this point, Zhang Yuan sighed softly. He opened the book. Volume One, The Evolutionary Process of Civilization Volume Two, The Principles of Civilization¡¯s Mediocrity Volume Three, Planetary Case Analysis Three volumes in total, one million words, took this great man a full forty years. So profound! But even if the upper echelons of Earth Civilization were aware of the problem, what could they do? They might not do anything at all, as this was already the most stable state. Just as the ultimate prediction in New Civilization History states¡ªwhether it is individuals or civilizations, the vast majority of civilizations are unable to escape their ultimate fate. The sea changes into mulberry fields, the older generation passes away quietly, and the new generation becomes the mainstream of society, with all the edges of the past slowly smoothed out. Recalling that era, tens of millions of engineers and scientists devoted their entire lives. People¡¯s desire was not only to break out of Earth but also the Solar System! When the Earth Era set out, almost the entire civilization gave it the utmost blessing¡­ But now, no one has such thoughts anymore. What¡¯s the point of breaking out of the Solar System? This feeling is like the cells of the human body, constantly renewing. Yet, the moment one crosses that peak, one inevitably falls into decline. The thoughts of an old person are necessarily different from those of a young person. Old people abandon past thoughts, considering their former selves incredibly naive and laughable, and their way of handling things also differs from that of young people. From a certain angle, it is not inappropriate to see civilization as a high-dimensional life form, like humans, when a civilization is strong, if it doesn¡¯t give birth to new offspring, then there is even less possibility in its later old age. What shocked Zhang Yuan was that a thousand years ago, someone had foreseen today¡¯s outcome! To prevent this ending, Earth Civilization, despite the majority¡¯s incomprehension, threw out two seeds into the vast universe with all its might. What wisdom this was! He looked up, towards the bright lights in the distance, ¡°Yes, Earth Civilization may have ended, and we¡­ we are just beginning¡­¡± ¡­ The long journey is still going on, and only one-third of the trip has passed. If Mr. Aiding should unfortunately pass away one day, the spaceship would once again lose contact with Earth Civilization, which must be said to be a very sad thing. Even in the future, if someone were to remember these two spaceships, they would often be powerless because broadcasting a signal precisely to such a distant place would require a tremendous amount of funding that ordinary people could not afford. The era may not necessarily produce another great person like Professor Aiding, by which time their spaceship would be completely forgotten by Earth Civilization. But that is also an inevitable situation. During his spare time, Zhang Yuan also tried to think about many deeper things, including the current lifestyle of Earth Civilization and how to use New Civilization History to globally plan the direction of the entire civilization¡­ No one wants the new civilization to become exactly like Earth Civilization in a few thousand years¡ªeven if those of us will no longer be here to see the end result, no one wishes for their descendants to follow in the same footsteps. ¡°If I lived in Earth Civilization¡± has become a very trendy topic on the spaceship. Debates are happening all the time, with various ¡°online philosophers¡± making bold statements. ¡°This world needs an ideological revolution. If I were president, I would try to start a revolution to overturn the whole process¡­¡± ¡°Bro, a president¡¯s power is granted by the classes. Do you think it¡¯s infinite? An ideological revolution also needs time to ferment, but now it¡¯s like still water. Many people even feel somewhat content, so how can it ferment?¡± ¡°Brother, don¡¯t overestimate yourself. In fact, you wouldn¡¯t do this. If you weren¡¯t observing from a distance on this spaceship, you certainly wouldn¡¯t have this kind of idea. If you lived in the Solar System, you would think this world is normal, just the way it is. Those like Professor Aiding who can step out of the era are extremely rare.¡± ¡°Yes, even Professor Aiding couldn¡¯t change the world. It¡¯s too difficult.¡± ¡°Gentlemen, hear me out, I¡¯ve thought it over carefully, and I¡¯m surprised to find that this way of life is actually not so bad¡­ Really, I¡¯ve thought about it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re born knowing what you are to do in the future, then you just follow the steps, no need to think too much. Rest when you should rest, and have fun when you should have fun.¡± Perhaps at times one might feel indignant about not being born into a better class, but what can be done? Once you step outside of your circle, wanting to switch to a bigger one, but if they don¡¯t accept you and ostracize you, most likely you are faced with failure. In such situations, even the capitalists have become a bit Zen-like, with various systems already quite perfect. Exploitation that¡¯s too harsh will be constrained by various guilds. Over 1000 years of technology development, not just 100 years, the necessary technology has been completed. What has not been achieved requires huge sums of money for even a slim possibility, and various patents have built a deep moat. Even the capitalist magnates dare not invest recklessly, afraid that one mistake would cause them to fall from high clouds, to be devoured by other capital. Once you fall from your class, it¡¯s tremendously difficult to get back¡­ S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. After reading those interesting frequencies, Zhang Yuan typed a string of text on the network: ¡°Gentlemen, according to my understanding, this kind of society still isn¡¯t the final steady state.¡± ¡°Have you all noticed that the population growth rate has started to slowly decline again? Even with artificial womb technology combined with robot childcare, it¡¯s hard to save this sluggish birth rate.¡± ¡°The middle and lower classes think one child is enough; why should they allow their child to endure the same hardships as themselves? It¡¯s only the upper classes, more affluent families, who will have slightly more children. When the upper classes have more, it leads to the dispersion of wealth.¡± ¡°It¡¯s difficult to predict, with this change in pace and the reduction, even negative growth, of the population rate, what might happen in the future¡­¡± ¡°With high longevity, the changes in the population structure are extremely slow, and it may take a few thousand years for a series of changes to occur. By then, we¡¯ll wait and see, of course, by then we will no longer be able to witness it.¡± ¡­ Chapter 146 - 147: Move Forward Endlessly Chapter 146: Chapter 147: Move Forward Endlessly S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Within the anxiety and anticipation, three months had passed. The highest governing body of the Earth Era, the Scientific Council, had finally convened formally. This session of the meeting was quite grandiose. Knowing that Earth Civilization had already entered the ¡°mediocrity trough,¡± everyone was eager to find a solution to avoid falling into the same trap with the new civilization. Especially since the new civilization was still in its nascent stage, the ¡°Seed Period,¡± it had become easier to make a list of significant changes. A person without foresight is sure to have immediate worries, and these long-term concerns could very well be tucked away in some corner inaccessible to human vision thousands of years from now. But to become a truly powerful civilization, one must have such foresight! The meeting was packed with people. Theoretically, all staff of Level 15 and above had the right to vote. Zhang Yuan encountered many old acquaintances here, including Academician Ding, Senior Brother Zhao, Senior Brother Luo, and the gray-haired Captain Ma. This captain might belong to the group of people who aged the fastest aboard the spaceship; the years had etched a series of wind-beaten marks on his face, and the wrinkles were like deep ravines. The last time Zhang Yuan had seen him, he was a middle-aged man, but now he had become an old man. The higher one¡¯s position, the more frequent their awakenings were, including his mentor, Academician Ding, who had aged much faster than Zhang Yuan himself. ¡°Zhang Yuan! Oh, my mistake, it¡¯s Dr. Zhang now.¡± The captain patted his shoulder gently and said with a warm smile, ¡°Do you have any special thoughts on the study of New Civilization History?¡± ¡°I have some mathematical papers I¡¯d like to show you¡­ just my personal thoughts,¡± Zhang Yuan said as he pulled up some calculus drafts from his email storage, some of which pertained to the mathematical models of New Civilization History. ¡°I¡¯ve already seen the published content,¡± the captain said as he scrutinized the documents, ¡°I¡¯d like to know about your specific political stance. If our decisions contravene the current ethical moral codes, how should we choose?¡± After a few seconds of reflection, Zhang Yuan spoke firmly, ¡°I only adhere to calculations!¡± ¡°If the result of those calculations is the globally optimal solution, then what is the need for a political stance? Can humanity¡¯s humble intelligence really manage an entire civilization? Like a computer playing Go, what appears to be a poor move could turn into a brilliant strategy a hundred moves later. This type of calculation is a form of wisdom beyond human reach.¡± Captain Ma couldn¡¯t help but laugh heartily and then shook his head gently. ¡°If everyone could see as clearly as you do, how simple this world would be!¡± About half a quarter of an hour later, when everyone was present, Captain Ma took the stage and started with a voice tinged with age, ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, I¡¯ll skip the pleasantries.¡± ¡°Our purpose for this meeting is: how to forge our civilization into an extraordinary one!¡± ¡°To maintain a civilization¡¯s low entropy, to endlessly progress forward, that is our essential goal, the true meaning beyond the value of life!¡± ¡°Nobody wishes for our successor generations to end up like Earth Civilization.¡± ¡°But a truly extraordinary civilization, from their very beginning, is already on the right path. How can we, as humans, achieve this?¡± The hall gradually fell silent. Many people had prepared for a long time but didn¡¯t want to be the first to speak. Zhang Yuan looked up at his mentor, Academician Ding, who just sat quietly in his place without saying a word. ¡°Then let me be the one to throw out the first idea¡­¡± Professor Lin Fangzheng, the chairman of the Scientific Council, stood up, ¡°I¡¯d like to propose a concept here, and I name it the societal support system¡­¡± Professor Lin Fangzheng sent a document to the large screen. First, all individuals are to be deprived of their reproductive rights. Secretly having children would constitute a criminal act. Second, a system maintained by society as a whole for raising children is to be established. The next generation will be uniformly incubated from artificial wombs and will be educated and trained by government agencies. Third, a powerful planned economy system is to be created. This planned economy is different from that of the old era; it would use big data for comprehensive and coordinated planning. With just these three simple rules, it swiftly caused a tremendous uproar! Zhang Yuan saw that the elder sitting in front of him had a flushed face and a thick neck, obviously greatly agitated, and even his breathing hastened! ¡°Professor Lin, do you have any basis for this?¡± someone quickly stood up to retort. Unacceptable, aside from the third point, more than 90% of people could not accept the other two. Survival and reproduction are human nature; one could say that half of human behavior is driven by the philosophical concept of ¡°reproduction.¡± And the family structure, bound by blood relations, had been proven by human history of a million years to be a very stable social system. What did it amount to, cutting it down now? Especially since the Scientific Council is the highest governing body of the new civilization, no jokes could possibly be made here. Once a decision is passed, it must be carried out! ¡°There is no special basis, but according to the calculations of New Civilization History, it can be proven that its general direction is positive. For our civilization, that¡¯s already enough, isn¡¯t it?¡± Professor Lin smiled faintly. ¡°If one really wants to conduct a social extrapolation, I can say this¡­¡± ¡°Class is the root of conflict of interest.¡± ¡°By sabotaging the concept of the next generation, class will cease to exist. All children born will achieve true equality; no one would be able to live off the family name. Without the concept of clan, a vast amount of corruption would undoubtedly be reduced.¡± ¡°Furthermore, having children raised within the family unit is no longer suitable for the interstellar era, under the circumstance of extremely high productivity¡­ Can ordinary parents truly guide the next generation? Regrettably, many parents are failing. Defective parents breed defective children.¡± Professor Lin had not finished speaking when a woman immediately rose to her feet, her emotions surging and her speech rapid. ¡°Professor Lin, the more a technology conforms to human nature, the more likely it is to be developed in a normal society, making society more stable and healthier! Those policies against human nature either won¡¯t have the opportunity to develop, or if they do develop, they¡¯ll end up destroying themselves! Such policies cannot last long!¡± ¡°Reproduction is a basic human right deeply rooted in our genes. How do you plan to eliminate it without causing social turmoil?¡± Professor Lin smiled as if he knew she would say this, ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not as hard to accept as you imagine. Many families on Earth are DINK families; they prefer not to have children and find living just the two of them quite fine. We are merely wishing to extend this measure to the entire civilization, that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°But, reproduction is a fundamental human right!¡± the woman¡¯s voice suddenly rose, ¡°Do you know what happens when you strip people of the right to enjoy familial love? What then is the meaning of human struggle?¡± The debate became more intense; a buzzing noise filled the meeting room. Professor Lin said indifferently, ¡°No one is stopping you from enjoying familial love. You can continue to look for a husband who loves you, to cherish each other for a lifetime. However, you won¡¯t have the right to raise the next generation. If you really like children, you can engage in specialized educational work.¡± ¡­ (The subscription is so disappointing; the ranking in the best-selling category is already at 63, subscribe if you like this book¡­) Chapter 147 - 148 Human Remodeling Project Chapter 147: Chapter 148 Human Remodeling Project The lady was furious, her chest heaving, but for a moment, she didn¡¯t know what to argue against. After a while, she lifted her head and tried to counter from another angle, ¡°Other things aside¡­ how can we transition from our current model to this public fostering policy? Our civilization can¡¯t withstand a civil upheaval. Not everyone is as rational as you are.¡± Professor Lin waved his hand, smiling gently, ¡°Let¡¯s not get agitated¡­ I¡¯m merely tossing out an idea for discussion, the actual decision-making still requires everyone¡¯s collective input.¡± Immediately, this proposal triggered an even wider debate. Most policies, from a human perspective, are double-edged. Implementing public fostering would undoubtedly reduce corruption and prevent class solidification. But it also gave rise to a series of ethical issues. Many people knew it would bring certain benefits but found it hard to accept the proposal from the bottom of their hearts, even though calculations according to New Civilization History deemed it highly likely to be positive¡­ Soon, someone tried to propose some modifications: ¡°According to statistics, children who are often hugged by their mothers tend to have more positive psychological states when they grow up. The close bond between mother and child is not just physiological; its impact on psychological development is even more subtle.¡± ¡°If you ask the children if they would like to have mothers, I guess all of them would prefer to have one without exception.¡± ¡°I think the plan for raising the next generation should be left for families to decide on their own. I believe most adults who have experienced maternal love would choose to give their children the same opportunity.¡± Professor Lin took a sip of water and said, ¡°Willing or not, it¡¯s only because there is a comparison that such a desire exists. It would be better if there were no such options; everyone should be equal. Either everyone has maternal love, or no one does.¡± ¡°Children will enjoy affection in the care of nurturing-type robots. Moreover, we will give these nurturing robots the same rights as humans. Although they don¡¯t have self-awareness, we will still bestow upon them dignity.¡± ¡°Minors will have a completely different circle of life from adults, a large circle primarily centered around education.¡± ¡°If we follow your plan, allowing people to retain their reproductive rights, naturally born children and artificially incubated children will create more conflicts. But if maternal love is a concept that is universally unexperienced, then there won¡¯t be anything to choose from, nor would such a concept exist.¡± Amid the noisy debates, Zhang Yuan simply reread Professor Lin¡¯s paper in detail, including the adjustment of family structure, the whole society¡¯s public fostering system policy, planned economy policies, and so on. The calculations therein were very complex, and many deductions were controversial. He found that, based solely on pure probability, this series of policies indeed had predominately positive impacts. Moreover, it changed the entire civilization at the most primal root node. It must be mentioned that ¡°positive¡± here refers to a numerical value calculated from the entropy function. An event is considered ¡°positive¡± if it decreases the civilization¡¯s entropy value, and ¡°negative¡± if it increases the entropy value. That is to say, this is a vague and dynamic process where it is difficult to predict what specific impacts the change in entropy value may bring. What is called ¡°improvement¡± might not necessarily mean ¡°improvement¡± in the usual sense; it might be an overall effect that cannot be directly assessed through sensory judgment. After about half an hour of discussion, the disagreements intensified, and disputes arose relentlessly. ¡°Alright¡­ everyone, please quiet down.¡± ¡°The final discussion and voting segment will be organized at the end of the meeting. We have another proposal to consider next.¡± The old Captain Ma, seeming to have anticipated such a scene, gently coughed. The Old Captain had considerable authority, and the noisy crowd gradually calmed down. Zhang Yuan held his breath and then saw another scientist step onto the stage, presenting the second proposal. This expert named Yamamoto Ichiro, was a bionics scholar in his early thirties, and he proposed a plan called ¡°Human Transformation Project.¡± ¡°¡­As is well known, humans evolved from Earth as high-order life forms, capable of adapting to a variety of environments on Earth. However, when faced with the vast universe, they still experience a series of maladaptations.¡± ¡°This maladaptation significantly reduces humans¡¯ desire and vitality for space exploration. Our lifespans are too short, and our bodies are too prone to death.¡± ¡°¡­That is, the inadequacy of our physical hardware restricts our development. To rely solely on natural evolution, on genetic selection, is utterly unrealistic. Even after a million years, or even ten million years, our bodies may not necessarily adapt to the universe.¡± ¡°Therefore, I suggest, through the use of bionics, we can fully remodel human organs and transform this maladaptation into adaptation!¡± A large screen displayed an image that detailed every step of the entire body remodeling process. The first step was to remodel the digestive system, using bionic machinery to replace the stomach, small intestines, and large intestines. From then on, humans would only need to drink a little nutrient fluid to maintain long working hours, instead of eating a meal every few hours and going to the toilet just as often, which is simply a waste of time. The second step was the remodeling of heart and lung functions. The respiratory system would be modified, and the heart replaced with bionic organs. The third step was to remodel the circulatory system. After replacing each organ in the body, blood circulation would be replaced with an artificial system. The fourth step involved full-region remodeling. Aside from the brain and other parts of the nervous system, all organs, including the skin, could be replaced with bionic devices. Humans and robots would merge into one, becoming a super silicon-based form of life! ¡°Except for the complex brain, which we cannot decode for the time being, nearly all human organs can be replaced!¡± Yamamoto Ichiro was slightly excited, ¡°After achieving this series of steps, we will fear no harsh living conditions! We could even survive in vacuum for extended periods!¡± ¡°We will also not fear bacteria or viruses from Outer Planets¡­¡± ¡°We will become¡­true superhumans!¡± There was silence in the venue for a while. Zhang Yuan listened with his heart pounding in waves. He carefully mulled over the data on the screen. Running 100 meters within five seconds, doing a standing long jump for 10 meters, high jumping as tall as a two-story building¡­ Is this still human? Before long, the venue was buzzing with a surge of whispers. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Though it sounded like a promising future, not many people were truly inspired. The thought of cutting out one of your organs to replace it with a bionic machine sounded quite strange¡­ In fact, as biology blossomed, bionics technology was rapidly evolving, too, and it once had a craze over Earth. The main reason was its affordability. If the poor were to get injured at work, sustaining disabilities or organ damage, they would opt for cheaper bionic organs. For the rich, biological organ cloning was already quite mature. If an organ turned diseased, those wealthy would prefer to install a biological clone instead of bionic machinery. They believed that this was the only way to remain purely human. This disdainful hierarchy had always existed. Having bionic organs installed was like becoming disabled. Even finding a wife became much more difficult. Chapter 148 - 149 Chapter 148: Chapter 149 (Title: The Wisdom of Humanity) In fact, the existence of such disdain chains is completely irrational. In Zhang Yuan¡¯s era, the function of bionic organs was inferior to the organs of humans themselves, but as technology developed, bionic organs had long since surpassed the original ones. ¡°Mr. Yamamoto, what about the reproductive system?¡± someone suddenly asked from the audience. ¡°The reproductive system? It can be preserved or not¡­¡± Yamamoto said, frowning, ¡°However, keeping the reproductive system would increase the complexity of the system, and I am inclined not to keep it. Or, if it¡¯s absolutely necessary, to make a bionic organ with only tactile function.¡± ¡°If you want to experience pleasure, you could use biological currents to directly stimulate the brain and achieve the same sensation¡­¡± The entire venue erupted in commotion. If this were the case, wouldn¡¯t humanity become a mere ¡®Brain in a Vat¡¯ existence? Is it still human if it¡¯s all mechanical except for the brain? Can a bit of electric current really replicate the same sensations? ¡°Dr. Yamamoto, your concept seems too idealistic!¡± ¡°I disagree!¡± ¡°This poses a severe challenge to our ethics!¡± ¡°¡­So what about the ¡®Brain in a Vat¡¯? Who can be sure that you¡¯re not living in the world of a ¡®Brain in a Vat¡¯?¡± Professor Yamamoto argued loudly, ¡°Does replacing the human shell with superior machinery change the true essence of humanity?¡± ¡°What is the true essence of humanity? Can you answer that? Do those cells of yours truly represent you?¡± But not many could accept this. Zhang Yuan faintly sensed that the atmosphere in the venue seemed a bit chaotic as the discussion grew louder with a profusion of various opinions. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Even if the benefits of such bionic modifications were clear, the vast majority of those present still couldn¡¯t accept it. It was even more challenging to accept than the social welfare system¡­ He quietly turned to Academician Ding next to him, ¡°Teacher, isn¡¯t there a better option, something that could be widely accepted?¡± Academician Ding responded with a faint smile, ¡°Then¡­ what are your thoughts?¡± Zhang Yuan hesitated for a moment but then stood firm in his belief, ¡°I only obey the results of calculations. If they are correct, then¡­ let¡¯s execute them. Such debates are utterly unproductive.¡± ¡°But for ordinary people, these two options are just too radical; they might not be able to accept them.¡± ¡°So-called better ways? Where is there any better way?¡± Academician Ding said lightly, ¡°What we have to do is fundamentally change the entire civilization, starting from the root node, making it completely different from the beginning. Only then can we take the critical step to break free from mediocrity.¡± ¡°¡­You should know that reform through legal and moral means is utterly unreliable. Our generation witnessed the decline of Earth Civilization and indeed had the original impetus for reform. But shouting a loud idealistic slogan can inspire momentarily, but it cannot inspire forever.¡± ¡°Because of human nature, since the birth of humanity, human nature has not changed¡­ Humans are selfish creatures, with very few exceptions.¡± ¡°If one hasn¡¯t experienced it, they won¡¯t hold the corresponding convictions. Once our generation dies, the following generations might just waste all our efforts. They could not possibly have our beliefs and persistence.¡± ¡°A grand civilization cannot be built in one generation. ¡®The benefits of a gentleman last for five generations; the benefits of a small-minded man also cut off after the fifth.¡¯ Earth Civilization has declined, and the people a few generations later will not feel it and therefore will not have that original drive.¡± After a moment of silence, Academician Ding spoke, ¡°Thus, humanity remains the same humanity. Thousands of years later, our civilization will have become just like Earth Civilization. Zhang Yuan, do you accept this hypothesis?¡± Zhang Yuan was stunned. Professor Ding¡¯s hypothesis was very cold and unpleasant to hear. But it did indeed match up with conventional logic. Humans from the Earth Era witnessed the rise and fall of Earth Civilization; the pain and shock were something the later generations could not comprehend. If the first generation does not make significant changes, then the generations to follow will be even less likely to do so. And relying on morality to bind the future generations is indeed impractical, for morality itself is the product of Nash equilibrium under the negotiation among human societies. If a certain ¡®morality¡¯ contradicts the interests of most people, then humanity will abandon it without hesitation. Academician Ding continued, ¡°But Zhang Yuan, there are many things in this world where, once we make a choice, the future generations will have no chance to change it! Like several viewpoints mentioned in the meeting.¡± ¡°Think about it, a child who has no parents from birth, with both paternal and maternal love provided by robots. And if everyone around him is without parents, he would think it¡¯s natural. That¡¯s how the world operates.¡± ¡°If a person lives in a society where everyone around him is a bionic person, having undergone related modifications, he would think that there is nothing remarkable about having bionic surgery, and he wouldn¡¯t cling to any nonsense about pure human theory¡­¡± Zhang Yuan sighed. Yes, indeed that was the case. Humanity is a conformist being. Conformity is not just a phenomenon; it¡¯s part of human nature, based on the optimal choice derived from human physiological traits. But then, are humans after modification still humans? He also began to feel a bit puzzled and perplexed. ¡°So, what kind of human is truly human?¡± Academician Ding laughed, ¡°According to genes? Chimpanzees share 99% of their DNA with humans, why aren¡¯t they human? The genetic difference between humans and paramecium isn¡¯t much.¡± ¡°Genes select based on the environment. Perhaps thousands of years later, humans accustomed to living in space have already become reproductively isolated from us. Are they the real humans, or are we?¡± ¡°¡­ By intelligence? Are those with congenital intellectual disabilities, or patients with Alzheimer¡¯s disease, to be stripped of their human status? You¡¯re so intelligent; does that mean those less intelligent than you are no longer human?¡± ¡°By culture? If you lived in the Middle Ages in Europe and said, ¡®the Sun is the center of the Universe,¡¯ you would have been burned alive; if you lived in the Great Qing Dynasty, you had to secure your queue properly and kneel when seeing officials! Do you think these obsolete beings are human?¡± ¡°Nothing is eternal and unchangeable, especially thoughts, which change the fastest.¡± ¡°As long as you consider yourself human, you are human.¡± Zhang Yuan understood Academician Ding¡¯s point; he let out a soft sigh. Looking around at the noisy crowd, the issues that people are entangled with now might seem very ridiculous to the people of the future. The wisdom of humanity. Indeed¡­ it¡¯s immature. Chapter 149 - 150 Human Past Chapter 149: Chapter 150 Human Past In the midst of this clamor, another biologist, Professor Wei Jiahui, presented his proposal, ¡°The Human Genetic Modification Bill!¡± Human technology had no way to further develop; there were many factors, and not just the legendary ¡°Limit of Knowledge Desert¡± hypothesis. Actually, there was an even bigger reason: humans¡­ were too stupid! The intelligence of an ordinary person was limited; learning even the basics of calculus was pushing their limits. Asking them to learn anything more difficult and they would start to struggle. Yet calculus is just a basic tool for exploring nature, no different from 1+1 in a scientist¡¯s eyes. Limited by their intelligence, human memory was limited, as was their capacity to learn. Modern disciplines had become extremely specialized, and even a genius like Zhang Yuan was unable to switch from space machinery to biological research on a whim. Yet relying on just a few top geniuses was no longer enough to drive the development of an entire civilization. ¡°Therefore, by means of gene editing, we can comprehensively enhance the intelligence level of the next generation of humans, and cultivate many more geniuses!¡± ¡°If it could be combined with a societal foster system, there is no doubt it would be a great endeavor!¡± ¡°Can you imagine a world where geniuses are mass-produced?¡± This proposal¡­ Zhang Yuan furrowed his brow; he didn¡¯t know how to evaluate it. Perhaps it was because of the overload from the meeting, but he felt somewhat numb. After a while, someone stood up to question, ¡°But Mr. Wei, how can this be achieved? Everyone wants higher intelligence, and there is no mistake on that point¡­ but¡­¡± ¡°Does it necessitate conducting trial after trial on human subjects? As a biology Ph.D., I have the right to refuse such cruel and inhumane biological experimentation.¡± The audience no longer wanted to discuss the ¡°societal foster¡± system; gene editing undoubtedly touched the scientific bottom line. If gene editing made mistakes, resulting in mutations, what should be done then? Dispose of the entire person? A biologist raised a hand to speak: ¡°Professor Wei, our understanding of genes is not yet thorough. There are thousands of genes related to intelligence, and if each gene has 2 alleles, then the number of combinations is 2 to the power of a thousand!¡± ¡°This number far exceeds the total number of atoms in the universe!¡± ¡°How can you decipher the optimal combination of intelligence-associated genes? Even the fastest computer could not complete such a task.¡± This was a nearly unsolvable problem; even if the genetic data of all humanity was analyzed, compared to 2 to the power of a thousand, it was merely a drop in the ocean. Moreover, a gene¡¯s varieties are not limited to two, take for instance the blood type gene; besides the ABO blood types, humans have various other blood types such as Rh, MN, and Xg. Is blood type related to intelligence? Of course it is! Even if there is no direct connection, there is certainly an indirect relationship. Furthermore, humans have 46 pairs of chromosomes, with genes also coming in pairs. Thus, the combination of genes related to intelligence can only be substantially greater than 2 to the power of a thousand! However, what came next was unexpected. Professor Wei fell silent for a while, then transmitted a document to a large screen, ¡°Please do not worry about this point; we have already found several relatively favorable gene combinations.¡± Wow! It was a bombshell! The venue was thrown into chaos once again. Zhang Yuan, watching the various data on the screen, felt his heartbeat accelerate rapidly; this seemed¡­ related to the sudden enhancement of his own intelligence. The pursuit of intelligence by humans had existed since ancient times, using intelligence for societal leaps, dubbed the most ¡°stable¡± and ¡°convincing¡± method for social advancement. Especially during that energy-depleted Gray Era when oil was exhausted and the hope for nuclear fusion remained unreached, a huge survival crisis led to the outbreak of two world wars! People yearned¡­ for the appearance of scientific giants. Under such circumstances, the human genetic engineering project finally broke traditional taboos and took place in secret. The first genetic engineering project was named ¡°HIA gene sequence¡±, a set of gene sequences that were devised by studying inbreeding populations¡ªthey increase the probability of both mental disabilities and geniuses. There¡¯s a small chance of giving birth to a genius, but a much higher chance of producing a group of individuals with low Intelligence. Why this is the case is hard for scientists to explain, as the genetic code has not yet been cracked¡ªanything could happen. In short, the ¡°HIA gene sequence¡± would drive human Intelligence towards extremes. The second gene sequence was known as the ¡°BIA gene sequence¡±. It was identified by studying populations with high Intelligence. However, due to the complex nature of the genes in highly intelligent people, no specific converging combination could be found. Therefore, this gene sequence was very erratic, sometimes working and sometimes not. Overall, children born utilizing the ¡°BIA gene sequence¡± could have their Intelligence increased by about 6%-10% compared to the average level. This was relatively safe and usually wouldn¡¯t result in mental deficiencies. If it could really be used on a large scale, a 6%-10% increase would be a remarkable figure! The third genetic engineering project was called the ¡°Anti-Eyed People¡± project. This project attempted to rectify the human retina, which is inverted, to directly free up brain processing power. Human eyes are elaborately constructed but far from perfect, primarily because the retina has numerous defects. The human retina is inverted, with only a loose connection between the top of the photoreceptor cells and the layer of pigment cells, making it extremely prone to detachment. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Objects are imaged on the retina just like images formed by a pinhole camera, upside down. It is only through brain processing that we perceive the world as upright. This rubbish retinal structure not only makes eyes extremely fragile, but it also consumes a large amount of the brain¡¯s computational power to restore visual images. The crazy scientists back then had a hypothesis that by borrowing certain eye genes from octopuses to ¡°right¡± the human retina, all problems would be resolved. Perhaps, by freeing up this part of the brain¡¯s computing power, humans could become even smarter. Of course, back then, human understanding of genes was still very naive, and any change in genes could trigger a series of chain reactions. There were successes and failures in the three projects. ¡°HIA gene sequence¡± brought rich results! The birth of giant figures in science directly propelled the entire era. ¡°BIA gene sequence¡± was only useful in large numbers. Even in times of war, the relevant departments dared not clone people on a large scale. But the ¡°Anti-Eyed People¡± project did not succeed. Alas, the brain was unable to recognize the biological signals from the new eyes. These unfortunate ¡°experimental products¡± became blind and lived their entire lives in darkness¡­ The brief records in the data were insufficient to describe what exactly happened back then, yet one could vaguely imagine it. A storm of shock and horror surged through Zhang Yuan¡¯s heart! Cold sweat emerged drop by drop on his back, soaking through his entire clothes¡­ Even he could not accept such occurrences, yet they had already happened in history¡­ Even his own blood might carry the ¡°HIA gene sequence¡±! It was simply unimaginable. He sighed deeply. Humans have never been a species of high moral standing, never. What does it all matter when a real survival crisis emerges? Chapter 150 - 151: The Era Brings Them Forth Chapter 150: Chapter 151: The Era Brings Them Forth Professor Wei Jiahui looked at the silent crowd and sighed lightly, ¡°The HIA and BIA gene sequences have been experimentally proven to be quite successful. The current state of biotechnology is incomparable to what it once was.¡± ¡°Perhaps we could optimize them in a series to reduce the occurrence of intellectually disabled infants. These gene modification plans are definitely feasible.¡± ¡°As for the Anti-Eyed People project, which involves splicing genes of foreign species into humans, we still need to do further research.¡± ¡°But, Professor Wei¡­¡± Someone else voiced their opposition. ¡­ The meeting lasted for two days. After extensive discussion and voting, Zhang Yuan felt dizzy and overwhelmed, as many things had overturned his expectations. The final vote was in. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The result was¡ªnothing was approved. Even the most acceptable ¡°public welfare system¡± was rejected¡­ All the debates had turned into fruitless arguments. After leaving the meeting room, everyone felt a strong sense of disappointment. ¡°From this moment on, we seem to have become sinners of history,¡± a woman lamented. ¡°But I really couldn¡¯t vote in favor. I just couldn¡¯t do it¡­¡± Zhang Yuan shook his head slightly and sighed inwardly at how difficult it was for a civilization to escape mediocrity. New Civilization History had already pointed out several new directions. Whether people believed in them was one thing, whether they could achieve them was another. Achieving pure rationality and obeying calculations was very, very difficult¡­ ¡­ In the following months, the discussion about the meeting and New Civilization History reached an all-time high, even though it had already passed. Due to it being a peak year, the enthusiasm was very high, and discussions of varying opinions could be heard in every corner of the spaceship. ¡°Ah¡­ sounds interesting! It¡¯s a pity I didn¡¯t have the right to attend the meeting, what a shame.¡± Lin Xuanxuan lay on the hospital bed, her face pale from just having woken up from hibernation. ¡°Could you really accept that Anti-Eyed People project? Inverting your retina?¡± Zhang Yuan asked with some surprise. ¡°Haha, because I am well-versed in human anatomy, I deeply know the foolishness of the creator! Xia Xia, what do you think?¡± A nearby nurse nodded, ¡°Dr. Zhang, many human structures are indeed silly, not only the eyes but also wisdom teeth, hemorrhoids, joints, all sorts of messy blood vessels, nerves¡­ Humans live so long, yet collagen is lost so quickly¡­¡± Lin Xuanxuan smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m more concerned about whether the appearance of the eyes would change, whether it would look better. If it actually turned into octopus eyes, then forget it. But even if the eyes became bigger and prettier, what would it change?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just an inversion of the retina, no big deal¡­ We just need to be more beautiful!¡± Zhang Yuan felt somewhat speechless inside, perhaps Lin Xuanxuan¡¯s thoughts were not unique, and many women actually thought the same way. If the change in appearance after gene modification wasn¡¯t significant, they really wouldn¡¯t mind. He joked, ¡°If the appearance could be modified to be even prettier, perhaps you women would become fervent supporters?¡± But unfortunately, when it comes to genetic manipulation, humans still can¡¯t modify things as God does. Correcting the retina alone was already tremendously difficult, and scientists certainly wouldn¡¯t want to increase the workload under these circumstances¡­ Zhang Yuan slowly peeled an apple, ¡°You know, after modifying the retina, although humans and Anti-Eyed People wouldn¡¯t form a reproductive barrier, their offspring might very likely become blind!¡± ¡°Blind is blind, after all, no one is having kids anymore¡­ You¡¯re so naive! This kind of genetic adjustment plan, just pair it with the public welfare system, and isn¡¯t that settled? Even if it results in reproductive isolation, what does it matter? People can still get married and then¡­ fall in love.¡± Zhang Yuan felt a shiver, ¡°I¡¯ve just realized your thinking is very open¡­ Maybe you should do propaganda work, just quit the medical profession and go to the propaganda department.¡± He handed the peeled apple to her, ¡°Have the apple, I still have work I need to attend to, I have to go.¡± ¡°Ha ha, come back again when you have time!¡± Lin Xuanyuan waved her hand understandingly. ¡­ Zhang Yuan became increasingly busy. As a Level 16 worker, he began to take responsibility for more and more things this year. The 1,000-year voyage had taken its toll on the spaceship, which occasionally experienced various problems, big and small. The nuclear fusion engine had not been started for a very long time. To prevent future problems, the engine was still started a few days ago for a month, producing a large amount of data. These senior engineers needed to check if any parts of the fusion engine were aging through this data. If replacements were needed, they must be replaced quickly during this year. Upon entering, Senior Brother Zhao greeted, ¡°Zhang Yuan, come and see. Do you think the data here is a bit different from usual?¡± After contemplating for a while, Zhang Yuan said, ¡°It¡¯s possible that the data detection device is malfunctioning. Other reasons shouldn¡¯t account for just a few errors¡­¡± This skill of identifying problems through data was something only a few senior talents possessed. ¡°Ha, I thought so too. How about it, do you want to go inside the engine and take a look?¡± Zhang Yuan paused for a moment, ¡°Okay!¡± After submitting a report, the two quickly received a response from their superiors. ¡°Come this way!¡± Zhang Yuan and Zhao Qingfeng, carrying their diagnostic instruments, ventured through a small window. They were in the core reaction chamber of the engine, where there was no air or gravity, and the two could only move slowly using the propulsion devices on their space suits. The central reaction chamber resembled a huge circular room. When it operated, it generated an extremely high-pressure magnetic field, congregating heat at the center to produce nuclear fusion. The two split up, checking each device around them. Suddenly, Zhang Yuan asked through his headset, ¡°Senior Brother Zhao, now that the vote has failed, what should we do? The public¡¯s highly polarized discussion also leans overwhelmingly one way¡­¡± ¡°Should we really make no changes at all? I feel¡­ it¡¯s not very good.¡± Senior Brother Zhao chuckled, ¡°If you had already known the contents of this meeting beforehand, do you think these things would pass?¡± ¡°No¡­¡± Zhang Yuan thought for a moment. ¡°I can almost certainly say these decisions wouldn¡¯t be approved.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why, don¡¯t underestimate the intelligence of the Old Captain and others¡­ Whether the vote passes or not, it doesn¡¯t really matter.¡± Senior Brother Zhao said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s just to give everyone a heads-up and prepare them mentally.¡± ¡°What do you mean¡­¡± Zhang Yuan said in surprise. ¡°Do you think the Scientific Council is a place that values democracy?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it?¡± Senior Brother Zhao laughed, ¡°Zhang Yuan, all voting rights indeed exist, but they might as well not¡­ Democracy, compared to New Civilization History, this higher level of intelligence, is really too foolish, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Have you forgotten? New Civilization History itself possesses certain predictive powers. As long as we subtly adjust some historical points, then¡­¡± ¡°Regardless of whether people accept them or not¡­¡± ¡°The times call for their emergence, and they will inevitably appear!¡± Chapter 151 - 152: The Handover of Power Chapter 151: Chapter 152: The Handover of Power The predictive power of New Civilization History¡­ Zhang Yuan¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly understood what Senior Brother Zhao meant, even feeling a vague sense of being manipulated. It took a long while before he let out a dejected sigh, ¡°So, the highest leader must absolutely obey the calculations, and cannot have too much self-interest, right?¡± ¡°Self-interest? There¡¯s no need to worry too much about that,¡± Senior Brother Zhao smiled, ¡°You should know that often there¡¯s more than one person doing the calculations, and there might be some discrepancies among them, but the overall objective remains the same.¡± ¡°On the spaceship Earth Era, our entire New Civilization School¡¯s hidden strength is actually quite formidable. There are many silent forces that did not make their voice heard at the assembly because there was no such need¡­ Our goal isn¡¯t something that can be achieved in a year or two, but takes millennia!¡± Zhang Yuan stopped talking, focusing instead on the repairs in his hands. After around three hours, he finally completed the work and, picking up his tools, felt a touch of fatigue. ¡°I found three minor issues and resolved them.¡± ¡°Things are fine on my end. No big problems.¡± Senior Brother Zhao suddenly suggested, ¡°Let¡¯s go out and look at the stars over there.¡± ¡°The nuclear engine¡¯s exhaust vent?¡± Zhang Yuan licked his lips, having heard of this very stimulating and visually striking observation spot before. ¡°Just take it as a check-up, it should be fine.¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Zhang Yuan agreed enthusiastically. The two of them cautiously entered a large, circular duct and walked more than three hundred meters. Ahead lay the nuclear engine¡¯s ion exhaust port, with visible traces where metal had been scorched. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. From the forefront, a dazzling, pristine starry sky could be seen. Zhang Yuan tied the rope built into his space suit to a safety bolt nearby and quietly squatted at the vent. The diameter of this vent exceeded five meters and was just one of over a dozen engines onboard the Earth Era, indicating the sheer size and grandeur of the spaceship. Yet, such a massive spaceship is just a grain in the ocean. It traveled at one-thousandth the speed of light, moving through the vast expanse of the universe as imperceptibly as a snail¡¯s crawl, with absolutely no sensation of motion. Senior Brother Zhao sat by his side, just as silently lost in thought, without a word. The starry sky here was even purer than at the Observatory; there was nothing to obstruct the view. One star after another dotted the pitch-black curtain above, as if each were a sacred and solemn mathematical structure. With a soft sigh, looking into the distance, a spirit immersed¡­ At that moment, Zhang Yuan seemed to experience a sudden enlightenment: all things are constantly in motion, from atoms to stars, from individuals to civilizations. These ceaseless movements were governed by the laws of nature, with never an exception. Only the laws that govern movement are still, everlasting. Zhang Yuan suddenly felt an urge to leap out of the exhaust vent and embrace this eternal constancy. A ¡°click¡± sounded in his headset, as Senior Brother Zhao turned on the light on his space suit, pulling him back to reality. ¡°Old Zhang, our teacher, Academician Ding, might not live to see the future Sun.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Zhang Yuan tensed up instantly. Senior Brother Zhao seemed to detect his confusion, shook his head, and said, ¡°You know, the Old Captain¡¯s health isn¡¯t good, and the medical examination isn¡¯t looking good¡­ He doesn¡¯t wish to extend his life through hibernation, so after waking up this time, he won¡¯t hibernate again.¡± ¡°The next Captain will be Professor Lin Fangzheng from the Scientific Council, who also proposed the Public Welfare System. Have you met him?¡± Zhang Yuan nodded; he was a very gentle and erudite middle-aged man. ¡°The one after should be Academician Ding. Actually, there aren¡¯t that many candidates for Captain. They must have a technical background and understand some management.¡± ¡°And then it¡¯s our generation¡­ There are still two thousand years to go in our journey!¡± The starlight was brilliant, and Zhang Yuan understood the meaning behind Senior Brother Zhao¡¯s words. Humans are fragile creatures, and some will inevitably perish in this vast starry sea¡­ He sat in silence, lost in thought for a while. Strangely enough, a thousand years had passed in a hazy blur, as if nothing had changed. Gazing at the starry sky, he even experienced a peculiar illusion. The era seemed to be the same one they had originally known; he had just said goodbye to Han Ziyue, promising to remember her existence in the future¡­ He had just solved the turbulence problem using differentiable networks. He had just been receiving congratulations from his peers. He had just arrived at Jupiter¡¯s moon¡­ And then all of a sudden, everything was over. Even Earth Civilization had fallen into the trap of mediocrity. It was as if he had traveled through time. Yet, time had indeed brought about many changes. The small gift given by Han Ziyue, the specimen of the lily flower, was already withering away, and even the sketch on it was starting to blur. Many people, including the Old Captain, were inevitably aging fast, and the spaceship was inevitably depreciating. If one were to run a finger along the spaceship¡¯s surface, they would find that the once smooth exterior had become quite rough, as if it had been sanded down. Although space is vast and empty, there are still a small quantity of particles. It was these few particles that, over a thousand years, relentlessly bombarded the spacecraft, wearing its exterior to its current state. Senior Brother Zhao smiled and said, ¡°Alright, no need for melancholy. The cycle of life is a cosmic truth. Death is the ultimate focus.¡± ¡°Going forward, everyone¡¯s duties will become more burdensome. Who knows when it¡¯ll be my turn to become Captain.¡± ¡°However, the sudden increase in psychological pressure makes it somewhat hard to adapt.¡± Senior Brother Zhao rambled on incoherently for a bit. He seemed to realize his own discomposure and suddenly turned his head, saying, ¡°You also need to start preparing mentally, to take on more responsibilities. Hmm¡­ I should be able to see the future Sun, so I suppose I¡¯m lucky.¡± ¡°Me?¡± Zhang Yuan was startled: ¡°I¡¯m only at a Level 16 position.¡± ¡°How many are there as young as you at Level 16? You¡¯re already in the upper-middle tier of the pyramid.¡± ¡°And, you cast the affirmative vote, didn¡¯t you?¡± Zhang Yuan nodded. ¡°How many truly abide by calculations?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay; you have two thousand years of preparation time to learn more. Our task might become heavier, responsible for the restart of a civilization¡­ Who knows, maybe we¡¯ll encounter the original inhabitants of Gliese 581?¡± After saying this, Senior Brother Zhao slowly retracted the rope. ¡°Original inhabitants, aliens?¡± Zhang Yuan recalled a news article he had once read: Earth Civilization¡¯s scientists had penetrated hundreds of kilometers of ice on the surface of Jupiter¡¯s moon. Beneath the thick layer of ice, humans discovered the presence of complex organic substances. These complex organics were completely different from those on Earth. They could stably exist under extremely high pressure environments, whereas they struggled to survive for long in low pressure environments. Scientists couldn¡¯t even define whether they were merely proteins or truly biological entities¡­ Thus, the origin of life might not be as complex and difficult as imagined. Chapter 152 - 153: Planting Plan! Chapter 152: Chapter 153: Planting Plan! Biological entities lack a precise definition. According to some theories in cellular automata, under the governance of time and space, a few simple rules can generate exceedingly complex systems. One might wonder, what does the existence of multiple life-supporting planets in the erratic Solar System signify? If a person wins a lottery ticket, it might be due to luck; if they win two lottery tickets, it may not just be luck but rather the high probability of winning embedded in the lottery itself. The presence of these complex organic materials, on the other hand, confirms the universality of life in the Universe. However, there¡¯s no need to worry too much; humans once sent numerous electromagnetic waves towards Gliese 581. The result was no response¡­ Humans have never observed any signs of intelligent civilizations on Gliese 581. Zhang Yuan was more concerned about whether the human immune system could adapt to the complex microbial environment of an outer planet. ¡°Thinking too much is useless, but we must prepare in advance,¡± Senior Brother Zhao patted his shoulder and turned back to the cabin. ¡­ Days passed one after another, and it was time for hibernation again. It had been a fulfilling year, and he had learned many new things. Yet, this hibernation carried a touch of melancholy. After saying goodbye to his teachers and friends, Zhang Yuan went to bid farewell to the Old Captain. The elderly Captain Ma was in the Star Library, gazing at the stars and lamented, ¡°Children, do you know the origin of the Earth Era Spaceship?¡± Five teenagers, curious, were marveling at the library in zero gravity for the first time and saw the stars, enjoying themselves immensely. One child quickly answered, ¡°It was built by Earth Civilization!¡± The Old Captain asked another question, ¡°Do you know what Earth is?¡± ¡°¡­It¡¯s a very big planet with many, many people.¡± Another child excitedly said, ¡°I read in books that it has a lot of delicious food, fun things, and some cartoons.¡± The children, though not deeply emotional about Earth Civilization, were sufficiently curious. The Old Captain continued, ¡°Do you know how many people it took to build this spaceship?¡± ¡°500,000?¡± 500,000 was the total population on the spaceship¡ªthe largest concept they could imagine. ¡°Wrong, add three more zeros!¡± The Old Captain chuckled, ¡°At least five hundred million people! They directly or indirectly participated in the construction of the spaceship. The initial planning and supportive facilities took sixty years, and the entire construction took forty years¡­¡± The children were speechless, shocked by the grandeur of the plan, beyond their wildest imagination. Education aboard the Earth Era spaceship was stringent; in meager resource conditions, physical labor was required at a certain age. Material life was not so grand either; there weren¡¯t many toys. Children from poorer families matured earlier, profoundly understanding the enormity of this number. The Old Captain asked further, ¡°If we reach a new Mother Star, achieve basic industrialization, and solve the problem of survival, are you willing to spend a lot of effort to build the next Deep Space Colony Ship?¡± S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°¡­Don¡¯t rush to answer. Your entire lifetime will be consumed by this task, and then, this spaceship won¡¯t belong to you. It will slip from your hands.¡± The children hesitated, speechless. To think of investing one¡¯s life¡¯s effort only to let it go was an excruciating notion. They were already aware of how vast a light-year is, how arduous such a lone journey can be, and how important money is to life. The Old Captain smiled, explaining, ¡°This isn¡¯t a meaningless task. In the finest era, we dedicate the most refined part of our entire civilization, releasing it into the vast Universe, to grow into a new seed.¡± ¡°This is the ideology of our new civilization, which we named¡­ the Seeding Program!¡± ¡°We can¡¯t guarantee that our civilization will escape the fate of mediocrity. Our mathematics is not yet strong enough, our will not solid enough, we do not know if the future path is correct, so it must be done this way!¡± ¡°¡­Only thus, year by year, day by day, one generation after another will continuously regenerate from the ruins.¡± ¡°Using our fragmented history to illuminate the path of the future.¡± ¡°I believe, one day¡­¡± ¡°One generation of civilization will produce a genuine qualitative change!¡± ¡°¡­It will become a truly extraordinary civilization, a legend in the Universe! Far surpassing our existence!¡± ¡°This is the meaning behind our actions! Are you still willing now?¡± The children¡¯s spirits surged with passion, and the painful feeling seemed much alleviated. ¡°Then¡­ I want to be a Captain!¡± ¡°Me too!¡± The children hastily raised their hands. The Old Captain laughed heartily. He had decided not to hibernate anymore and spend the last segment of his life doing what he desired. Educating the next generation, accompanying this spaceship he had spent a lifetime on as it slowly decayed¡ªit wasn¡¯t so bad after all. What you regret, others may not; what makes you happy, others may not feel the same. The true sensation is like drinking water, warm or cool only known to oneself. The Old Captain turned back, smiling at Zhang Yuan, ¡°Are you about to hibernate?¡± The deep wrinkles on the Old Captain¡¯s face, like ridges and ravines, yet he appeared fiercely strong. He had devoted his life to this spaceship, and while nearing its end, it was far from truly finished. This powerful aura made one subconsciously overlook his age. Zhang Yuan nodded, ¡°In an hour¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see you off!¡± The lighting in the large hibernation chamber was always dim, faintly misty, giving Zhang Yuan an unreal sense of illusion. The hibernation device was like a time-space machine. Unfortunately, it was only a one-way ticket to the future, with no possibility of returning to the past. He did not have much interaction with the Old Captain, but at that moment, he felt an indescribable emotion. The first batch of humans fading in deep space¡­ Were truly¡­ Great enough. There would be a second batch, and a third. Parting is never comfortable. ¡°Drama and joy are merely perceptions of others. To have lived this lifetime safely, without major mistakes, is already quite good; I am quite satisfied,¡± the Old Captain discerned his mood, smiling lightly. ¡°I can only accompany you this far.¡± ¡°It¡¯s up to you guys to keep pushing¡­¡± ¡°The future challenges, I entrust them all to you.¡± With a soft sound, the hibernation chamber lid officially closed. Zhang Yuan felt a wave of dizziness. The last scene he saw was the Old Captain kindly smiling at him. ¡­ Chapter 153 - 153 154 Unidentified Flying Object ?Chapter 153: Chapter 154: Unidentified Flying Object Chapter 153: Chapter 154: Unidentified Flying Object Time once again accelerated forward¡­ Many stories happened, many stories ended¡­ Now it was the year 3553, another chilly Minor New Year. During the numerous cycles of hibernation and awakening, Zhang Yuan had gradually forgotten the concept of time. The 31st century and the 36th century, or even the 40th century, didn¡¯t seem all that different to him. Or perhaps, it was the same for all astronauts. Under Earth Era conditions, only the minimum standard of living could be maintained, and it didn¡¯t support large-scale experimental research. Except for some progress in biology and information technology, the vast majority of technology remained at the stage of the year 2264, the time of departure. Staring at the empty ceiling, illuminated by milky-white light, Zhang Yuan muttered to himself, thinking this must be the fourth time¡­ waking up from hibernation, right? In 1300 years, the spaceship had traveled nearly 9.1 light-years. This was definitely a monumental milestone in human history. Unfortunately, the people on Earth didn¡¯t care, nor did they know about the achievement of this milestone. ¡°Um¡­ anything big happened on the ship?¡± Zhang Yuan asked, looking at Lin Xuanyuan standing by the hospital bed, in a fairly good mood. Having a familiar female companion was indeed a good thing. ¡°Don¡¯t be scared, but aliens have come!¡± Lin Xuanyuan said mysteriously while peeling an apple, ¡°Over a hundred years ago, astronomers observed an alien spaceship that whooshed right past us!¡± ¡°Really?!¡± Zhang Yuan raised an eyebrow, not believing a word, ¡°Could it be that our ship has been hijacked by aliens and you¡¯ve been controlled by them?¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s true!¡± Lin Xuanyuan quickly made a ghost face, ¡°Zhang Yuan, I am the Skytop Star Person Amibaraba, surrender your precious beef jerky¡­ or I¡¯ll bite you to death!¡± Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but laugh, which was followed by waves of dizziness. His current weakened body was not yet able to withstand such emotional upheaval. The medical equipment emitted a sharp warning sound, Lin Xuanyuan realized she had done something wrong and hurriedly turned off the alarm. If the Head Nurse found out she had been teasing a patient, she¡¯d get scolded to death, even if he was her life partner. She quickly said, ¡°It¡¯s true, they really observed an alien spaceship! Wait a second, I¡¯ll show you the news.¡± ¡°But you need to rest first, sleep a bit more, or I¡¯ll get scolded!¡± After forcibly sleeping for a few hours, Zhang Yuan finally gathered a bit of strength. He looked at the photo on the screen, his pupils contracted slightly¡­ There really was an alien spaceship! Over a hundred years ago, an unidentified flying object passed by Earth Era, the closest distance¡­ about 0.12 light-years! ¡°How could it be¡­ such a coincidence?¡± Zhang Yuan was extremely astonished. Looking at the news on the website, the numerous comments, and the conference reports related to it, it definitely wasn¡¯t a joke by Lin Xuanyuan. Luckily, when the alien spaceship was observed, it happened to be a major holiday, and Captain Lin was also awake. He immediately ordered the entire ship to maintain radio silence to minimize the probability of being observed by the other party. The Earth Era was not a military spaceship, it didn¡¯t carry any nuclear bombs, or even electromagnetic guns or lasers. Every bit of load weight on the ship was precious, and since they didn¡¯t have the capability to maintain such delicate weapons for a long time, they simply didn¡¯t install any. The soldiers on the ship, essentially acting as police, even needed to file additional reports if they wanted to carry firearms. With humans unarmed, Zhang Yuan of course thought Captain Lin¡¯s decision was quite correct; radio silence was the best course of action. Whether the aliens had good intentions or bad, it was unnecessary to risk the lives of everyone on board to gamble on their nobility. At that time, people were just hoping that in the vast universe, with a 0.12 light-year separation, the other party would not notice them. This distance was actually quite far, equivalent to 7600 astronomical units, whereas the Sun is only about 59 astronomical units from Pluto. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Because the incident happened over a hundred years ago, the outcome was already determined, so Zhang Yuan naturally wasn¡¯t panicked. But he could imagine the great fear at the time, like a defenseless infant stumbling upon a Tyrannosaurus in the jungle. Even now, desperate messages from people at that time could still be seen on the internet. ¡°¡­Unable to fall asleep, fearing that disaster might strike at any second. Light-speed weapons can¡¯t be observed, and being observed means being hit.¡± ¡°I¡¯m scared, is there anyone willing to hold me?¡± ¡°¡­I remember the miso soup made by my mother, I really want to have a taste.¡± Thankfully, with strict control from the higher-ups, no major chaos had occurred. From this angle, the new Captain Lin¡¯s administrative orders were quite timely. The two spaceships approached each other for about half a year, then gradually moved apart, and nothing happened. People were able to observe the other party because their spaceship was extremely huge, comparable to a planet, and it radiated light actively; otherwise, it would have been impossible to know. Zhang Yuan analyzed the series of information brought about by this event. He sighed lightly, ¡°In the vast space, we suddenly encountered an extremely huge alien spaceship¡­ The probability of this is like throwing a stone into space at random, and it hitting the head of an alien hundreds of light-years away.¡± ¡°¡­But we didn¡¯t hit it!¡± Lin Xuanyuan said with a laugh, ¡°It was 0.12 light-years apart, which is quite a large search range! And we¡¯ve been traveling for 1300 years; in such a long time, it¡¯s not surprising for a small probability event to happen¡­¡± Zhang Yuan tilted his head, pondering, ¡°I think, based on this, we can estimate the activity frequency of extraordinary civilizations in the universe!¡± Zhang Yuan consulted historical records of some unidentified flying objects, ¡°In Jian Shi Yuan Nian, the first year of Emperor Cheng of Western Han, in the eighth month, there were two moons following each other, seen in the morning in the east.¡± A body appearing in the east in the morning couldn¡¯t be the Moon, let alone two moons. Its shape, like two curved moons supporting each other, clearly wasn¡¯t a natural celestial body; it somewhat resembled a modern spaceship. In ¡°Mengxi Bi Tan¡± written by Shen Kuo of the Song Dynasty, a strange large pearl was recorded in the Yangzhou area, shaped like a clam shell, which is the typical shape of a flying disc, and it emitted strong light. It stayed in the area for over a decade, resting in three different lakes, perhaps collecting aquatic organisms from Earth. The author also emphasized that many residents had seen it, proving it was not just his imagination or fabrication. Of course, whether these historical records actually happened is still to be verified, they could only serve as a reference. Chapter 154 - 154 155 Frequency of Activities of ?Chapter 154: Chapter 155: Frequency of Activities of Interstellar Civilizations Chapter 154: Chapter 155: Frequency of Activities of Interstellar Civilizations Zhang Yuan quickly established a mathematical model, ¡°Consider the Milky Way as a simple plane, that is, R^2. Contemplate a spaceship performing a standard Brownian motion or two spaceships performing independent standard Brownian motions each. ¡°When the distance between the two spaceships is less than a certain small constant, for example, 0.01, they are deemed to have encountered each other.¡± ¡°Since two-dimensional Brownian motion is recurrent in the neighborhood, given enough time, the two spaceships are bound to meet.¡± ¡°Consider two independent standard Brownian motions A(t), B(t). A(1)+B(1) has the same distribution as A(2), because B(2)=B(1)+[B(2)-B(1)], which is also the sum of two independent standard normal distributions. This means that the sum of two independent standard Brownian motions at time t has the same distribution as a single standard Brownian motion at 2t.¡± Zhang Yuan frowned and said, ¡°From this simple model, a moving spaceship has twice the probability of observing an Alien Civilization as one that is stationary. That is to say, if we assume it takes us on average one thousand three hundred years to observe a civilization capable of interstellar voyage, Earth Civilization would need two thousand six hundred years to make the same observation.¡± Lin Xuanyuan¡¯s mouth fell open slightly, this was information seemingly conjured from nothing! She felt a bit proud inside, silently praising her good judgement. Soon, Zhang Yuan shook his head; this was just a simple model, after all, and with such scant data, the real situation and the estimates were sure to differ widely. ¡°If interstellar civilizations are not so rare, then this universe might be more wonderful than we ever imagined!¡± Of course, Zhang Yuan wasn¡¯t the only smart person aboard the spaceship; from just this simple encounter, a multitude of ideas had already sprung forth. The first question: How big was the alien spaceship, and where was it headed? According to astronomical observations, it had to be at least as big as Mercury! And it was moving at 40% of the speed of light, the faint point of light due to the ultra-high-speed hull colliding and friction with the cosmic microparticles, then emitting light. Due to the extremely high velocity, the observed image was stretched out a bit like noodles. Its direction of motion was at approximately a 123-degree angle relative to the movement direction of the Earth Era, with an unknown destination, definitely not Earth, nor Gliese 581. Relieved by this information, Zhang Yuan felt more at ease as it seemed unrelated to their destination¡­ The second question, did the Alien Spaceship detect Earth Era? S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Probably not, as Earth Era was still too small, a faint object in the dim universe, virtually invisible without intentional electromagnetic radiation, making it very hard to detect something 0.12 light-years away. But the other side had once sent a string of brief signals, and it was unclear whether they were directed broadcasts or sent out to all directions. Zhang Yuan looked at the series of signals, roughly six hundred bytes long, with many repeating peaks and troughs, indicating it was a logical electromagnetic signal. Unfortunately, due to the paucity of data, it was impossible for people to decipher these alien characters. Then, there was nothing more; even if the other side had good intentions, humanity dared not boldly observe, much less reply or use radar to scan. Besides, the Earth Era¡¯s radar could not possibly scan something 0.12 light-years away. Zhang Yuan felt a bit disappointed; the universe is never short of matter, the most valuable thing is information. Humans, having never communicated with an interstellar civilization before, missing this opportunity, who knew when the next would be¡­ The posts below indeed shared many of the same views. [The technology of this civilization must be much stronger than ours, right?] [For sure, didn¡¯t you see it¡¯s a planet-level spaceship? Nuclear fusion probably can¡¯t accelerate such a planet to 40% of the speed of light¡­] [I think they¡¯re using either vacuum zero-point energy or Black Hole energy sources. It¡¯s also possible they have an anti-gravity propulsion device; we didn¡¯t see any ion flame from the exhaust.] [If only we had more observational data¡­] After all, without experiencing the fear that comes from the unknown, the more recent posts were indeed more optimistic and open-minded, filled with all sorts of discussions that made Zhang Yuan itch to share some thoughts of his own. ¡°See, no more screen time for you!¡± Lin Xuanyuan snatched away his mobile phone, ¡°That¡¯s enough for today; a patient should act like a patient. Once you¡¯re discharged, do whatever you like; I won¡¯t care.¡± A week later, Zhang Yuan was officially discharged and returned to his normal work. He was already a high-level Manager, and as the aging of the spaceship intensified, he no longer had the ample personal time he used to have. His job became even busier, organizing manpower for maintenance of the entire spaceship nearly every week. And apart from that one chance encounter with an Alien Spaceship, Zhang Yuan learned about some other stories that had occurred in the past few hundred years¡­ None of them were good. The first, the Old Captain, had left the spaceship he loved the third year after Zhang Yuan went into hibernation. His successor was Captain Lin from the Scientific Council. Even after many times, even with psychological preparation, the feeling was still not comfortable. With the opening and closing of eyes, some people had already vanished¡­ The second issue, regrettably, was that since Mr. Aiding passed away on Earth, contact with Earth had been completely lost. No other epoch-making individual had appeared since. What had become of Earth Civilization was now a complete unknown. Zhang Yuan sighed deeply, immersing himself in his work¡­ ¡­ A year quickly passed, saying farewell to one colleague after another, and then it was time for the farewell feast, followed by hibernation. The only one who could truly accompany him for a long time was his life partner, Lin Xuanyuan. During the meal, Zhang Yuan suddenly felt how nice it was to have someone constantly by his side¡­ If not for this life partner, life might be a bit worse. ¡°¡­How old are you this year?¡± Lin Xuanyuan asked. ¡°Me? A grand old man well past a thousand three hundred, why?¡± said Zhang Yuan, focusing on eating. ¡°Your real age!¡± ¡°¡­30?¡± Zhang Yuan calculated carefully and unexpectedly realized he had just turned thirty. And coincidentally, today was his birthday. In such an environment, it was really a bit hard to distinguish the passage of time, plus he never had the habit of celebrating birthdays. ¡°Happy birthday, 30-year-old uncle!¡± Lin Xuanyuan pulled out a bright red apple and handed it to him. ¡°Thanks to this beautiful young lady¡­ and your warmth too!¡± joked Zhang Yuan. Used to their playfulness, there was always an instinctive casualness between them, as if they were real family. (Why are there so many comments in the review section saying I¡¯m padding it out, with a single person posting several times? That¡¯s simply unbelievable¡­) (And those asking for a faster pace, to relax a bit? This is not some lighthearted novel, okay? My target audience has never been the lay reader.) Chapter 155 - 155 156 The 8th Awakening Period ?Chapter 155: Chapter 156 The 8th Awakening Period Chapter 155: Chapter 156 The 8th Awakening Period Surprisingly, Lin Xuanyuan didn¡¯t have any objections. She rested her chin in her hand as she carefully observed Zhang Yuan¡¯s expression. Finally, she mustered up the courage and said, ¡°Hey¡­ Uncle? I¡¯ve been with you for over four years. Even if you were the Emperor, you should have chosen an Empress by now. I¡¯m not getting any younger either; I should have some sort of status.¡± Zhang Yuan felt a mix of complex emotions, but he was still a bit embarrassed, ¡°You have to understand that I am 90% rational and only about 10% emotional, so I¡¯m not very romantic¡­¡± ¡°Know what? Do you think I¡¯m still that little girl who used to squat on the ground and cry?¡± Zhang Yuan paused, suddenly realizing that after such a long journey through the stars, not only he but also everyone around him had matured a lot. This maturity showed in being more pragmatic and rational. Everyone was there for each other, and no one owed anyone anything. ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯m not sterile.¡± Lin Xuanyuan suddenly laughed, now accustomed to Zhang Yuan¡¯s somewhat neurotic jumping thoughts. Her face flushed slightly, ¡°What are you doing looking so smug for! Have I said I would marry you?! You need to confess and propose first, right?¡± Zhang Yuan looked up and casually glanced into the distance, ¡°Then we might wait a few hundred more years¡­ that doesn¡¯t seem to be a problem.¡± Lin Xuanyuan retorted angrily, ¡°Wait a few thousand years¡­ that doesn¡¯t seem to be a problem either!¡± Zhang Yuan quickly replied, ¡°A few thousand years¡­ that does seem a bit long.¡± ¡°Not long at all; just hibernate a few times, and it¡¯ll be over.¡± The meal wasn¡¯t even finished when Lin Xuanyuan, angry, found an excuse to leave. Zhang Yuan carefully calculated various functions and thought that since the relationship was already clear, he should be more proactive. At ten o¡¯clock at night, before the centrifugal wheel started spinning, Zhang Yuan knocked on her door. Unexpectedly, the door was ajar, and the air inside was filled with a girl¡¯s unique fragrance. Zhang Yuan took a deep breath and pushed the door open. Lin Xuanyuan was pretending to read a book. Seeing him enter, she immediately tensed up, thinking to herself: This man isn¡¯t as foolish as I thought¡­ Yet, she asked aloud, ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°It¡¯s late at night; be careful or I might call the police!¡± ¡°Get on the ship, if you don¡¯t hurry, it¡¯ll be too late!¡± Zhang Yuan looked around and chuckled, ¡°We¡¯re going into hibernation in a few days, we have to get injections, take medicine, starve, where will the energy come from¡­¡± ¡°Sorry, this is private property, you can¡¯t enter without the owner¡¯s permission¡­¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s private property, how much is it?¡± Zhang Yuan transferred most of his accumulated salary in one go, ¡°Is that enough?¡± Lin Xuanyuan was stunned by his move, and then her face started to heat up. Fortunately, she was covered by the quilt, hidden from view. She whispered in a voice smaller than a mosquito, ¡°It¡¯s enough, it¡¯s yours!¡± Zhang Yuan deftly got into the bed. ¡°Next waking period¡­ we can apply for a bigger room,¡± Zhang Yuan started to ramble. ¡°Mhm.¡± ¡°The money can be held by you, but you need to give me some pocket money.¡± ¡°Pocket money?¡± ¡°To buy some snacks, I really like eating ramen. Ah, are you sterilized?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not¡­ why would I go for a sterilization surgery? Are you crazy!¡± ¡°Such a pity¡­¡± ¡°But¡­ it¡¯s a safe period¡­¡± The fourth hibernation period soon passed. Then came the fifth¡­ A shameless cohabitation began, perhaps the happiest years since Zhang Yuan had boarded the spaceship. He began to understand why there was so much opposition to the ¡°public maintenance system.¡± Humans, as a species, simply couldn¡¯t achieve complete rationality, and relatives meant a sense of security and familiarity. Although love is unreliable, when it comes surging in, it seems to overshadow everything else. Sometimes, he even thought about having a child and spending a lifetime that way. However, continuing the life of just two people wasn¡¯t too bad either. Having a child now wasn¡¯t feasible, financially. Then came the sixth, the seventh¡­ Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Once accustomed, whether it was a major or minor period, life didn¡¯t seem much different from life on Earth. If time hadn¡¯t aged, sometimes, Zhang Yuan felt that everything had settled down. But obviously, society within the spaceship was constantly changing; by the sixth hibernation period, Captain Lin had handed over his position to Academician Ding, his teacher Ding Zhaodong. A meeting was held at that time, and Zhang Yuan was assigned more and heavier tasks. These high-ranking officials aged much faster than ordinary people. The Captain woke up every major period, every 20 years, and sometimes extended his active period in emergencies. The Deputy Captain woke up every thirty-four years. And reserve cadres like Zhang Yuan, approximately every three hundred years, scattered across minor periods to maintain order. Ordinary members woke up every four to five hundred years. This meant the Captain aged over 15 times faster than ordinary people! The time Zhang Yuan experienced was ten years, but for some, it might have been one hundred fifty, or even two hundred years. The eighth hibernation period. Waves of music woke Zhang Yuan from hibernation, and upon opening his eyes, the familiar environment, the familiar lights, and that uneasy feeling that came with waking from hibernation surrounded him. Another period of wakefulness? ¡°Mr. Zhang Yuan, it is now the year 4683. Theoretically, it is not yet your scheduled awakening period. However¡­ Captain Ding has something to instruct you, so you were awoken early. There are no significant events on the spaceship, please rest assured,¡± said the nurse with a mask, softly. Zhang Yuan lay on the hospital bed and nodded slightly¡­ A week later, Zhang Yuan was officially discharged. It was a bustling major period, and there were many people in the spaceship. Sadly, due to being awoken prematurely, Lin Xuanyuan wasn¡¯t by his side, and he had to spend the year alone. However, the thought of many old friends waiting for him made it not so lonely. After stepping out of the hospital, Zhang Yuan saw the white-haired Academician Ding, Captain Ding, aging had left brown age spots on his face. Nature¡¯s law is too cruel; no matter how hard humans try on material or spiritual levels, it is just futile. Even Zhao Qingfeng, standing next to him, had become a middle-aged man aged fifty. They hadn¡¯t seen each other for a long, long time, yet it felt as if they had just met the day before. Recalling Senior Brother Zhao at the engine exhaust, lamenting increased pressure and burdens and no longer having time to read comic books, only to have turned into what he is now, Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but sigh. ¡°Teacher,¡± Zhang Yuan bowed slightly, then greeted on the other side, ¡°Senior Brother Zhao.¡± Chapter 156 - 156 157 47th Century ?Chapter 156: Chapter 157: 47th Century Chapter 156: Chapter 157: 47th Century Academician Ding no longer had the image of being decisive and swift in action. Perhaps because he had experienced so much and with age, he had become a kind old man. He nodded with a smile and said, ¡°Zhang Yuan, taking advantage of this lucid period, there are some details regarding spacecraft control authority that I want to pass on to you¡­¡± Zhang Yuan sighed deeply in his heart and nodded. He clearly understood what this really meant¡­ The Scientific Council meeting this time was very grand, relating to the next generation¡¯s successor, with over three thousand participants, many of whom were reserve cadres like Zhang Yuan. The civilization¡¯s requirements for the next Captain were very high, not only needing to be excellent in both character and learning but also possessing sufficient experience to command respect. They needed to be proficient in the spacecraft¡¯s internal structure and understand human psychology and sociology, as well as possess the ability to spontaneously adapt¡­ The most challenging aspect was mastering the related computations of New Civilization History, not merely echoing others¡¯ opinions. For someone in their thirties like Zhang Yuan, not yet forty, the experience was still slightly lacking. After such elimination, there were basically only a handful of candidates left, including several Deputy Captains and people like Senior Brother Zhao. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen of the Scientific Council, good day. I am the current Captain, Ding Zhaodong,¡± Academician Ding began his speech on stage. ¡°We have been adrift in the starry sky for 2419 years, and it is necessary to sort out the current state of our spaceship, as well as the current population status. Moreover, we need to confirm the candidates for the next Captain.¡± ¡°During these two thousand three hundred years, the spaceship experienced a variety of incidents, a total of 3123, among them significant power outages: 3, and significant material leaks: 1. Fortunately, all these incidents were within our capability to withstand¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s indeed not easy to have persevered until now, which couldn¡¯t have been done without the hard work of all the staff.¡± A round of enthusiastic applause arose from the audience. The government report was lengthy, as several Deputy Captains took the stage to report on the performance of different areas of the spaceship, the status of resource reserves, and the population. There was a nuclear fuel leak incident on the spaceship, thankfully it was just a fuel storage, and it didn¡¯t affect the core components. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, the probability of errors occurring on the spaceship is slowly increasing, and everyone must be extremely careful in the journey ahead.¡± ¡°We have not yet reached our true destination, and I hope everyone can maintain a rigorous style always¡­¡± As for the current population status, the average age had risen by about 5 years, still in a relatively young state. Over 2300 years of navigation, a total of 645 senior leaders had passed away in this expanse of starry sky. Corresponding to this was the birth of a total of 1644 infants. In fact, sixteen hundred infants weren¡¯t considered numerous¡ªless than one a year. These individuals had basically graduated from high school and entered a hibernation state. After listening to these reports, Zhang Yuan had a general understanding of the state of the entire spaceship. After the two-day reporting meeting concluded, the voting and the power transition between old and new leaders immediately followed. Then there would be a year of training. Academician Ding and several Deputy Captains were getting older and there was a need to train successors in advance. Zhang Yuan¡¯s job level also rose to Level 19. He now had the authority to control the nuclear fusion engine switch, to start it, and the spaceship¡¯s emergency control rights. When Elder Ji handed over a series of passwords and control authorities to him, Zhang Yuan felt a profound sense of responsibility and mission. As if the lives of everyone on board were weighing down on him. It turns out¡­ we were no longer young. Zhang Yuan solemnly saluted the old man. ¡°Dr. Zhang, I have great faith in you, from now on, we¡¯ll have to trouble you folks,¡± Old Man Ji said with ease. ¡°Thank you, Elder Ji.¡± After the entire handover ceremony concluded, a routine banquet was held, with toasts and quiet discussions about future considerations. Many newcomers, including Zhang Yuan, didn¡¯t feel the thrill of gaining power, but rather a heavy feeling in their hearts. Senior Brother Zhao had been promoted to Deputy Captain Zhao and, in a few hundred years, he might even be promoted to a real captain. He was navigating and interacting with the crowd, getting a handle on the overall affairs of the spaceship as if he could replace wine with tea and still be in his element. From a certain perspective, over the years, Senior Brother Zhao had grown a lot, no longer as green as he used to be. After a while, Senior Brother Zhao finally arrived fashionably late, ¡°Old Zhang, it feels like we haven¡¯t seen each other in a very long time¡­ here¡¯s to you.¡± Clink! They clinked glasses, and Zhang Yuan took a sip of the boiled water in his cup, laughing, ¡°My most vivid memory is of you by the engine exit, lamenting about the pressure of being a captain.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to take on the burden so quickly.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Zhao Qingfeng sighed, ¡°there are some things you have to accept, and you end up getting used to them. You¡¯ve only had three or four lucid periods in this time, while I¡¯ve had more than ten, enough to take on these responsibilities.¡± They chatted casually like this, and soon the slight awkwardness between them turned back into the familiarity of old times. Senior Brother Zhao was still that Senior Brother Zhao. He sat next to Zhang Yuan, smiling and asking, ¡°Do you know what my biggest wish is now?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ for you, my outstanding junior brother, to find a wife. I hope you find one before I close my eyes for good.¡± Zhang Yuan shrugged, ¡°Haha, I¡¯ve already found one, so you can go in peace, brother.¡± Senior Brother Zhao took an interest, ¡°Oh? Is it that little doctor you always bully? I knew it; she seems like a traditional girl.¡± Traditional? Zhang Yuan glanced sideways. Did Lin Xuanyuan disguise herself so well in front of others? Unconvinced, he protested, ¡°I haven¡¯t bullied her that much¡­¡± Senior Brother Zhao asked again, ¡°Any plans for having kids?¡± ¡°No¡­ things are pretty good as they are now. Giving birth in this kind of environment is unethical. Besides, we should probably not set that kind of example¡­¡± As the banquet thinned out, with fewer people paying attention to them, Zhang Yuan quietly asked, ¡°So, Senior Brother Zhao, give me the lowdown, are we still executing the decisions calculated by the New Civilization History? That¡¯s what I¡¯m most concerned about.¡± ¡°After Mr. Aiding passed away, we no longer had Earth¡¯s history as a reference¡­ and there¡¯s no need to keep putting off these decisions.¡± Apart from the Alien Spaceship incident, the decisions calculated by the New Civilization History had always been one of the top three hot topics. Debating back and forth on many things, and after discussing them a lot, they didn¡¯t seem as unacceptable as one might imagine. Especially after being intimidated by the Alien Spaceship, a small fraction of people gradually let go of their original stubborn thoughts. ¡°About this matter, let¡¯s talk privately later, let¡¯s go to Teacher¡¯s place,¡± Senior Brother Zhao deliberately left him hanging in suspense. After the dinner, the two of them went back to Academician Ding¡¯s office. ¡°You¡¯ve arrived!¡± Having put down his heavy responsibilities, the old man looked much better in spirits, his voice returning to that of his younger days, and he even personally brewed tea for the two of them. ¡°Today has really been a relaxing day, from now on, all tasks will be handed over to you young people!¡± ¡­ (PS: Does anyone want to join the group? The old group is almost full and it¡¯s quite quiet, not many people are talking. If there are active readers, we might consider starting a new group¡­) S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Chapter 157 - 157 158 The Next 1000 Years ?Chapter 157: Chapter 158: The Next 1000 Years Chapter 157: Chapter 158: The Next 1000 Years Zhang Yuan still felt a bit of sadness in his heart. After this hibernation, he would probably never see his teacher again. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Teacher, you¡¯re not choosing to hibernate? Perhaps, you could wake up after reaching the Mother Star in the future.¡± Academician Ding waved his hand, ¡°No, following the doctor¡¯s advice, with my current physical condition, it¡¯s likely that once I go to sleep, I may never wake up again. Various life-extending technologies don¡¯t work well on someone as aged as I am¡­¡± ¡°As I¡¯ve gotten older, sometimes I too wish to rest a bit, to spend my days in retirement with a few old friends, living the life a normal person should.¡± ¡°But, before that, there are a few matters I want to discuss with you.¡± Zhang Yuan perked up; the serious matters were coming. The first thing their entire school wanted to promote was the ¡°social pension system.¡± Without this system, all subsequent plans would be mere idle talk. If nothing changed and they continued to develop in this safe and stable manner, after a thousand years, they would still be that mediocre Human civilization¡­ This was something no one wanted to witness. Seeing Zhang Yuan¡¯s and Zhao Qingfeng¡¯s serious expressions, Academician Ding smiled lightly, ¡°No need to be so pessimistic. First, take a look at this population report. Over these many years, the number of people choosing to become life partners has increased by 422%, with only 38% of the population still single. Even you, Zhang Yuan, have found a life partner, which is a cause for celebration.¡± Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but frown a little, what did he mean by ¡°even you have found a life partner¡±? After making a small joke, Academician Ding continued, ¡°That means, we have approximately 150,000 couples!¡± ¡°And in the two thousand years, the number of babies born, which is the added population, is only a little over a thousand, even under the poor living conditions and discouraging fertility policies¡­¡± ¡°Do you understand what this extremely low fertility rate implies?¡± Zhang Yuan was stunned for a moment; it was inevitable that the low quality of life would significantly reduce people¡¯s desire to have children. The population aboard the spaceship consisted mainly of highly educated individuals, not farmers from the mountains. If they couldn¡¯t provide a good living environment for the next generation and ensure good breeding, they would rather remain childless. This cultural phenomenon had already emerged during the Earth Era; children were not toys and were not born merely to take care of the elderly, it was more about responsibility and burden. Academician Ding continued, ¡°According to current statistical data, the environment is poor, material conditions are lacking, so the fertility rate is low, which is easy to understand.¡± ¡°Once we arrive at our destination and obtain abundant resources, the first issue we must address is solving survival problems and improving our living environment. The primary duty of a person is survival; if we can¡¯t even satisfy our basic needs, we can¡¯t handle other matters, let alone ideal morals.¡± Zhang Yuan nodded; that was natural. ¡°But development has its priorities; some technologies can significantly improve the quality of life and fertility rates, some can provide spiritual enjoyment and pleasure, and some can enhance medical services¡­ I think, the most important thing is to reinvent the Biological technology from Earth to significantly increase the average lifespan, not the other fancy stuff¡­¡± Zhang Yuan opened his mouth, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Labor force, my friend; prolonging lifespan means an increase in the labor force!¡± ¡°For you young people, the effects of these lifespan-extending technologies would be much better, meaning¡­ everyone could live to two hundred or even over three hundred years.¡± ¡°Anyway, these technologies were all invented by Earth people, we don¡¯t need to pay any patent fees, nor do we need to raise prices or seek profits, consider it a public welfare!¡± ¡°Also, the public will definitely not oppose it. If given a choice between living up to 300 years with a higher quality of life and only 150 years, I believe most people would choose longevity.¡± Zhang Yuan nodded his head. Academician Ding spoke in a low voice, ¡°What¡¯s more critical is that this would reduce the intent to ¡®give birth for old age support¡¯ ¡­¡± ¡°The natural population growth rate will continue to be greatly suppressed!¡± ¡°Think about it, the work pressure is high, lifespans are increasing, society is thriving, and there are no elders pushing these young people to have children. Naturally, everyone would think about having children later, allowing their children to enjoy a brighter tomorrow. According to historical experience on Earth, it¡¯s common to have children at one hundred years old¡­ delaying a few decades doesn¡¯t seem to be a big deal.¡± Zhang Yuan pondered for a moment, confused, ¡°But, don¡¯t we need a large population¡­ with only 500,000 people, it¡¯s far from enough for industrialization.¡± Academician Ding smiled, a smile that slowly turned into a steely sharpness. He articulated slowly and clearly, ¡°We need a population, but not one that is naturally born!¡± ¡°The naturally born population is a huge obstacle to the social pension system! Moreover, the birth rate of the natural population is too slow¡­ far too slow.¡± ¡°Time is not on our side. The equipment we carry aboard the spaceship is limited, our population is limited, and once this equipment is fully operational, it will rapidly age and depreciate, and at most, they can only last a few decades.¡± ¡°¡­The higher-quality population is also mainly concentrated in our generation. We are the elites selected from a population of ten billion, the high-tech talents from various systems. The subsequent generations, in terms of intelligence or other basic abilities, cannot compare with us¡­¡± ¡°So, what will happen in the future? Even if we let go and have children, the annual birth rate will definitely not exceed 2%! It will take 30 years to not even double our numbers, and remember, we are not farmers.¡± ¡°If we don¡¯t have enough people, we can¡¯t achieve industrialization!¡± ¡°When our generation has all aged and passed, and when the spaceship¡¯s failure rate gets higher, if we still haven¡¯t established a complete industrial system, our descendants will perish on this Outer Planet!¡± Zhang Yuan took a deep breath, earnestly contemplating the possibility of this future happening. Yes, it would happen! It was highly likely to happen! The Outer Planet was not Earth, its ecological environment was extremely harsh. Without solid industrial support, and with the spaceship aging, various flaws emerging, if the spaceship is eventually scrapped, everyone would just await their death! ¡°¡­Under such a situation with no alternative, we must rapidly increase the population! With the extremely low natural fertility intent, using artificial womb technology to mass-produce babies becomes the only choice!¡± When the Earth Era spaceship set off from Earth, it carried the Human gene pool, including sperm and eggs from superior gene contributors. ¡°Consequently, a large number of artificial babies appeared, without parents, growing from artificial wombs, raised by robots from a young age, their ideologies not the same as us natural people¡­ I call them the new humans.¡± ¡°This process will take about twenty to thirty years. By then, millions of new humans, raised by robots, will significantly exceed the number of natural people, and they will have stepped into society, exerting their influence.¡± ¡°They are the natural supporters of the social pension system.¡± Chapter 158 - 158 159 Crushing Intelligence Level ?Chapter 158: Chapter 159: Crushing Intelligence Level Chapter 158: Chapter 159: Crushing Intelligence Level Academician Ding directed his gaze at the two of them, ¡°Thus, it is the next generation, who are nurtured by robotic caregivers, on whom our attention should focus, not on our generation itself.¡± ¡°They are the true citizens of the new civilization.¡± ¡°¡­We are not.¡± ¡°We are the pioneers of the era, yet also the impediments.¡± Zhang Yuan drew in a cool breath, bit his teeth, and grasped Academician Ding¡¯s point, ¡°But will the members of the Scientific Council agree to mass-produce babies using artificial womb technology?¡± Academician Ding smiled, ¡°They will¡­¡± ¡°In the face of survival, all ethical issues are minor! How many can be born naturally? They know the consequences of a long-term shortage of population.¡± ¡°The low birthrate cannot be saved by merely talking about it or shouting slogans. If people cannot see the life-and-death crisis in decades ahead, they simply won¡¯t want to procreate, as the enjoyment of the current moment matters more than the life or death of civilization.¡± ¡°But they are the elite, do not underestimate the intelligence of the elite¡­ They can see what will happen decades later and will choose self-preservation.¡± Zhang Yuan contemplated for a long time, stunned. Was this the mathematical forecast, a battle between the human elite? Without a doubt, this group of elites would be thoroughly crushed. Academician Ding took a sip of water, returning to his amiable demeanor, ¡°Of course, all our current policies and steps should gradually move in that direction¡­ without causing too much backlash¡­¡± ¡°Plan the entire educational scheme in advance, including the plan to nurture the next generation through robots.¡± ¡°Based on Earth¡¯s experience, every child has his or her individual talents, and the process of education via robots, tailored to each category, is very complex¡­ Fortunately, years of experience have been sufficient, and I believe you can handle this very well¡­¡± ¡°In thirty years, the power of an entire era cannot be thwarted by a few stubborn individuals. Even if they vote against it, what of it? Those grown-up children are your supporters, their numbers are greater, and they have already infiltrated every aspect of civilization.¡± ¡°They, having no parents, thus require no so-called parents.¡± Academician Ding gave a slightly sarcastic smile, ¡°So, are they using so-called democracy to phase themselves out?¡± Zhang Yuan suddenly felt a coldness on his back, as if he had betrayed his own camp, shifting from the side of natural humans to that of the new humans. Indeed¡­ So what?! The wisdom of ordinary people cannot penetrate a millennium into the future; being able to see just a few decades ahead is already the mark of the true elite. Ordinary common people cannot even foresee a few years ahead. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. This path is unique; someone must take that brave step. If the existence of natural humans hinders the progression of civilization, then simply eliminate naturally born humans¡­ ¡°If¡­ because of this policy things become too troublesome, why not simply divide into two civilizations, each going its own way. After all, our path is not necessarily the correct one, only that the probability of being correct is somewhat higher. Who knows, a stronger discipline than New Civilization History might emerge in the future?¡± Zhang Yuan was silent for a while; such a probability was too low to consider. Moreover, the idea of a civilization splitting, due to the seeding plan, seemed not so unacceptable¡­ it was essentially like producing another entirely new seed. The conversation returned to the topic of the ¡°social collective nurturing system.¡± ¡°In fact, new humans can¡¯t really be called Clones; they are still humans born from fertilized eggs, and rightfully possess the same rights as natural humans.¡± They were orphans from the start and even perceived the social foster system as a given. Indeed, this was simple, because people around them were all orphans, and with the robots¡¯ intelligence so advanced, they naturally felt that raising robots had become a reliable option. And for decision-makers like Zhao Qingfeng and Zhang Yuan, what they needed to do was to prevent them from facing discrimination, allowing them to compete fairly with natural persons. Inherent disdain chains might exist, but they could be prohibited legally and publicly, and anyone who dared to show contempt would face public condemnation¡­ After listening to these predictions about the future, Zhang Yuan reflected on his own father, even though that was a story from thousands of years ago. He sighed softly, ¡°But, can we really sever the bond of parental love? The world has seen countless great stories, all because of the love of parents for their children¡­¡± Academician Ding sighed, ¡°Zhang Yuan, take a longer view, beyond your own lifespan, and you will see much, much more¡­¡± ¡°There are many great parents in the world, but there are even more who are incompetent. The reason why most children are mediocre is that their parents are mediocre themselves. If parenting required a license, this group would fail¡ªthey don¡¯t even know how many rebellious phases a child has, what nutrients they need, or how to educate them, thus they pass their own shortcomings on to the next generation.¡± ¡°So many great stories, the shining points of human nature. Because most people cannot achieve this, it is called greatness; most people are, in fact, not great.¡± ¡°If you regard these low-probability events as the saviors of mankind, you would be gravely mistaken¡­¡± ¡°Family affection is just a derivative of our genes, a result of game theory in harsh environments. The family structure, in harsh environments, increased the survival chances of descendants, but is this ancient social structure really suitable for the era of colossal productivity, the interstellar era? Not necessarily¡­¡± If parenting robots replaced parents, the children they educated would undoubtedly possess better personal virtues. In Earth civilization, these overly honest individuals would undoubtedly be cruelly exploited; but in the new world, a more amicable society would be formed. Ultimately, Zhang Yuan took a deep breath and decided to follow the real calculations. Eliminating the conventional family system had become their first goal. After talking so much, Academician Ding felt a bit tired. He rested for a while, then softly said, ¡°The first point should be more or less like this, and then there¡¯s the second point¡ªmodification of bionic humans!¡± ¡°Our destination, Gliese 581g, has a very high probability of harboring alien life.¡± With that one sentence, Academician Ding made Zhang Yuan look solemn. Senior Brother Zhao noticed his expression, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it might just be some microbes¡­ since this planet hasn¡¯t responded to the electromagnetic waves sent by Earth. Our spaceship has also not received any related signals.¡± Academician Ding continued, ¡°Yes, microbes¡ªeven beneath the ice layers of Jupiter¡¯s moon, there are complex organic compounds, why couldn¡¯t Gliese 581g also have microbes? Perhaps even some plants and even more complex animals¡­¡± ¡°If these fauna and flora do not possess intelligence, do not possess technology, they are not a concern. But do you think we can overcome the environment of alien microbes?¡± Zhang Yuan was silent for a long while, then shook his head. The human immune system, faced with alien bacteria it has never encountered, could hardly have any resistance. Either it overwhelmingly kills off the opposition, or it is overwhelmingly infected. Human current biotechnology couldn¡¯t possibly produce any kind of foolproof ¡®Universal Immune Potion.¡¯ Even if it were possible to develop vaccines, they could only be developed one at a time. But how many kinds of microbes are there on a planet? Even a hundred million would be considered few! The most lethal issue would still be the allergic reactions caused by alien microbes. Various complex organic compounds could cause mild reactions like throat edema or severe, rapidly developing conditions like acute upper respiratory obstruction, quickly leading to difficulty breathing. This was the experience gained from the microbes of Jupiter¡¯s moon. ¡­ (Today just opened a new QQ Book Friends group: 860, 921, 431, friends who want to discuss the plot can join! We need active members!) Chapter 159 - 159 160 The Colossal Plan (End of Volume ?Chapter 159: Chapter 160: The Colossal Plan (End of Volume Three) Chapter 159: Chapter 160: The Colossal Plan (End of Volume Three) Senior Brother Zhao explained, ¡°So, these microorganisms are too troublesome¡­ To reduce unnecessary dangers, we are likely to choose a barren planet for landing. Gliese 581 has six planets and also satellites similar to the Moon, offering many planets to choose from¡­¡± Academician Ding smiled and said, ¡°Think about it, a barren planet and a life-bearing planet always have differences. Given that, if there is a planet similar to Earth, isn¡¯t there a desire to travel and explore it? Don¡¯t you want to breathe fresh air, feel the natural gravity of a planet?¡± ¡°To quickly settle on that life planet, humans must undergo significant modifications. Hence, bionic modifications became a possibility¡­¡± ¡°Shedding our original frail bodies is the only way to embrace a better future.¡± ¡°This process might be very long, longer than we can imagine¡­¡± ¡°What you have to do is to slightly open up this modification technology, not allowing it to stall and be locked away completely.¡± ¡°When the time is right, people will naturally respond actively and release it from its cage.¡± Academician Ding sighed, ¡°Also, if you feel that this step is not going well, you can launch a Deep Space Colony Ship before the mass human modification plan, just like we did.¡± ¡°That way, if we really made a misstep, there¡¯s still a chance to start over¡­¡± ¡°Ah, don¡¯t self-destruct in this starry sky.¡± Zhang Yuan nodded his head, but for some reason, it felt as if countless stones were pressing on his heart, making it difficult to breathe. ¡°The last point is about genetic modification¡­¡± ¡°When people abandon their original frail bodies through bionics, their minds will gradually become more open. Their perspective on many things will be completely different from ours; what seems important to us might not matter to them, and what seems trivial to us might be important to them.¡± ¡°Since even the body can be discarded, why not discard the deeply ingrained genes? Why not let the next generation become smarter?¡± ¡°In a society where the public foster system is already complete, reproductive isolation is indeed not a big deal since individuals do not procreate with each other.¡± ¡°Even if so-called ordinary people and genetically modified Anti-Eyed People fall in love, let them fall in love. As long as they are happy¡­ This kind of thinking is something that we currently find hard to comprehend.¡± ¡°Therefore, the conditions for comprehensive genetic modification have already emerged, but how the specifics will unfold, I also find it hard to predict anymore¡­ After all, carrying out this type of biological engineering requires a multitude of experiments, which are unimaginable taboos for us today.¡± ¡°As for how things should develop later, or if some unexpected accidents might occur, that¡¯s for you to judge¡­¡± Academician Ding sighed again, ¡°The New Civilization History is not omniscient or omnipotent; there are many imperfections. We only know the probabilities; these are just abstract concepts. There is still much uncertainty, only by translating them into real facts can we say they are truly stable.¡± ¡­ When Zhang Yuan walked out of the office, Senior Brother Zhao patted his shoulder without saying much and then left. Zhang Yuan¡¯s heart throbbed tremulously, and for a moment, he did not know how to take the next step. This was certainly a lonely and rugged path¡­ Zhang Yuan did not know whether leading humanity onto this path was right or wrong. Once the bow was drawn, there was no turning back. If an error was made, they could only place their hopes on the Deep Space Colony Ship to be launched in the future. He just went over it again and again in his mind, calculating and reasoning in various ways. Suddenly, Zhang Yuan remembered the Ordinary Earth Civilization, remembered the founder of the New Civilization School, Professor Qi Yuanshan. A gaze that had spanned thousands of years seemed to project onto Zhang Yuan, quietly watching him, watching them, the new generation successors. Including Professor Wang Zhong on Earth, Captain Ma, Captain Lin who had withered away in deep space, and generation after generation of silently dedicated chairpersons within the Deep Space Foundation¡­ Including the last chairperson who, despite facing prison, still sought funds to send information. Countless giant gazes cast themselves upon him. He saw a colossal plan that spanned countless generations and stretched over thousands of years! S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. At that moment, he truly experienced a predestined enlightenment, a newfound understanding of the entire civilization¡¯s trajectory. Conversing casually among people, as years slipped by, the wheels of history were simply too powerful, possessed with an inertia that humans could hardly resist. Yet, the New Civilization History could utilize this inertia to slightly alter the direction of civilization¡¯s advancement. But even the giants of civilization could only see through a few centuries; beyond that lay years shrouded in dense fog, which always brings about a sense of bewilderment. It felt awful to be hesitant and indecisive, and even when a so-called ¡°way out¡± was found, humans might not necessarily dare to embark upon it. As for a ¡°retreat¡±, there really wasn¡¯t one. If there were, it would be an altogether new civilization, still human but not their generation anymore. ¡°This is the principle of mediocrity, after all. Most paths are mediocre, and most civilizations are ordinary too¡­¡± Zhang Yuan felt as if he saw humanity, a civilization inherently filled with mediocrity, struggling to escape its fate. Throughout the process, there was no anger, nor were there earth-shattering events; in an inconspicuous corner of the Milky Way, silent changes were taking place. In silence, they burned their blood, disassembled their own ribs, removed their hearts and lungs, trying to discard everything cherished, all to become¡­ A truly extraordinary civilization! ¡­ Time hurriedly flowed. In the blink of an eye, a year¡¯s transition period had passed, and the Level 19 positions were now among the high ranks within the spaceship; much of the learning was about management. Communicating with these elders was a delightful experience, allowing him to learn a great deal, both in terms of knowledge and character. However, at this point, whether he liked it or not, Zhang Yuan would once again enter hibernation. Academician Ding and others were waving goodbye to him. For these elders, this was the final stop on this journey through time. Zhang Yuan¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t help but moisten up; after this hibernation, he would never see his teachers again. Academician Ding said with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t be sad. I¡¯ve had a pretty good life, won many awards on Earth, even served as a captain, and achieved my life goals. Now, I have so many old folks accompanying me in retirement, drinking tea, playing chess, life is delightful¡­ I reckon I could live another decade or so.¡± ¡°All that follows, we leave in the hands of you young people.¡± Zhang Yuan nodded and bowed deeply. Academician Ding merely waved his hand, signaling that he could leave. At this point, there was nothing left to sentimentalize over; everything that needed to be said had been spoken, and all that needed to be arranged had been dealt with. This day was bound to come. Supported by two nurses, Zhang Yuan quietly lay down in the hibernation chamber. The lights dimly shut off. Goodbye, teacher. ¡­ Chapter 160 - 160 161 Supernova Explosion ?Chapter 160: Chapter 161 Supernova Explosion! Chapter 160: Chapter 161 Supernova Explosion! One epoch¡¯s end often means the beginning of another. What remains unchanged is that epochs always belong to the vibrant youth. In the year 4933 of the Earth Era, Zhang Yuan once again opened his eyes from a dream, starting his ninth awake period. ¡°Time to get up, it¡¯s time!¡± The white light, the tiny room filled with a sense of security, still the same girl. It¡¯s still a cold year, but having a familiar and reliable partner during such times brought a substantial sense of security. Thinking back to the previous year without Lin Xuanyuan¡¯s company, Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but softly say, ¡°Come here¡­ give me a hug.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Suddenly hearing this, Lin Xuanyuan felt a twinge in her heart, her eyes slightly moist. This fool¡¯s first line had always been, ¡°What happened inside the spaceship¡­¡± ¡°¡­not here, there are others around.¡± Following that, Zhang Yuan indeed asked the same question, ¡°Oh¡­ so, what happened inside the spaceship?¡± ¡°I knew you would ask that!¡± Lin Xuanyuan rubbed her eyes and said with a smile, ¡°Everything is normal, don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°There were a few minor accidents, but overall, they¡¯re still within the acceptable error margin. Guess, over these hundreds of years, have we encountered aliens again?¡± ¡°Aliens, there probably aren¡¯t any.¡± Perhaps due to the shift schedule, this girl always woke up about half a month earlier than him. ¡°Has Senior Brother Zhao been promoted to captain yet?¡± Zhang Yuan asked. ¡°Yes, you are now the captain¡¯s junior brother, promo, congratulations.¡± Zhang Yuan seemed to think of something that upset him, ignored her joke, and sighed to himself, ¡°Let me borrow your phone¡­ I want to look up something.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t play too long.¡± Knowing the reason for Zhang Yuan¡¯s subdued mood, Lin Xuanyuan handed him the phone. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The originally brought ¡°Huawei 888¡± phone from Earth had long since broken down, replaced by a simple black and white screen phone for the elderly, and obviously, there were no games to play on it. Various electronic products brought from Earth had been damaged over the years, even including many military-grade chips inside the spaceship, which had been replaced several times. Zhang Yuan opened his personal email and found it filled with mail, including a large number of government work reports and various captain logs, detailing the incidents that happened in specific epochs. Following that, among these emails, Zhang Yuan found the obituaries of previous leaders like Academician Ding. Before passing away, Academician Ding hadn¡¯t left many instructions. And this series of obituaries once again brought him a sense of mild melancholy. Perhaps, with more experiences of parting, it became less difficult to accept¡­ ¡­ In the time following his discharge, Zhang Yuan became significantly busier than before. He was now at a level 19 job position, as one of the high-level members of the spaceship¡¯s force, he needed to coordinate and arrange the current awake staff and perform maintenance on the spacecraft over and over again. After all, the Earth-era spaceship was already two thousand seven hundred years old. Two thousand seven hundred years, not just one hundred, the passage of time magnified the chances of various faults. They could no longer afford to slack off during work, making jokes, lazily catching up on news, or playing games. The closer they got to their destination, the less they could afford to take it lightly. If something were to happen due to his negligence, Zhang Yuan would never forgive himself. ¡­ On this day, Zhang Yuan was leading a few communication officers, conducting routine inspections at the Observatory. This had already become a routine matter. The various communications equipment in the Observatory could occasionally receive electromagnetic signals from across the universe. Among these electromagnetic signals, the vast majority were chaotic codes emitted by constant stars and neutron stars. However, there was a very small chance that they were signals sent by Earth Civilization or an Alien Civilization. Of course, since the probability was negligible, everyone was relaxed, treating it as just another routine check. ¡°The next time we wake up, we will have arrived at the new Mother Star!¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m really looking forward to it. 3000 years have just passed like that¡­ I really want to write this journey into a novel.¡± ¡°How about crowdsourcing the novel writing? What do you think?¡± While listening to his companions¡¯ discussions, Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but join in, ¡°So many years have passed, I wonder how Earth Civilization has developed? Whether it has managed to climb out of its mediocrity¡­¡± Another person responded, ¡°Captain Zhang, it¡¯s tough. Once in a slump, it¡¯s unlikely to break free. We are already 18 light years away from the Solar System. Even if someone has a sudden inspiration to communicate with us, they might not be able to pinpoint our exact location. It would be great if someone could emit signals like Professor Aiding.¡± ¡°Ah, I wonder how much it would cost to emit high-powered electromagnetic waves. At this distance, being able to transmit a few bytes is already quite incredible.¡± From this position observing the Solar System, the Sun had become a dim point of light. Planets like Earth, Mercury, and Venus could no longer be directly observed. These planets could only be indirectly observed through an astronomical phenomenon known as ¡°transit¡± or by photometric methods. Given the distance of 18 light years, even a huge sphere like Earth was near unreachable. Without an exact location, it was virtually impossible for Earth Civilization to find the specific position of the spaceship. Randomly emitted electromagnetic waves would not be successfully received by the spaceship. ¡°Hey!¡± A colleague suddenly said, ¡°This segment of electromagnetic waves seems to have some logical connection, but the errors are too excessive; it might just be a coincidence.¡± ¡°Just record it for now. Any bit of information from Earth is good. Even if we can¡¯t analyze the results, there¡¯s no loss¡­¡± Zhang Yuan turned to another communications officer, ¡°Have you detected any issues with the hardware?¡± ¡°Not at the moment, but the computational speed of this computer is getting slower and slower.¡± ¡°If it can be fixed, try to repair it, otherwise, we¡¯ll have to replace the parts¡­ How many parts do we have left¡­¡± Before he finished speaking, suddenly, Zhang Yuan stared blankly for a moment. He raised his head, his eyes squinting, and remained in a daze for a long time. His pupils constricted slightly, as if he couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing! In his view, a vast expanse of light shone from the glass cover overhead¡­ In the dim universe, a huge Sun had appeared! Could it be¡ªsomething exploded?! The other two communication officers were also staring blankly at the large glass cover of the observatory, unable to react for a while. The light continued to grow, becoming more and more intense, illuminating the originally dim observatory like daylight, even giving off the feeling of basking in the summer sun. Zhang Yuan¡¯s heart began to race, and cold sweat involuntarily broke out on his back. Snap! One electronic screen suddenly went dark, and a few others also began to shake violently. Zhang Yuan pressed several keys on the computer before he could determine the source of this intense light. A¡­ Supernova! More than 7000 light years away, the already unstable Eta Carinae 2, also known as Eta Carinae, had exploded! At that moment, the brightness of this supernova surpassed the combined total of the Milky Way¡¯s billion stars, becoming the brightest sight in the universe! Chapter 161 - 161 162 Spaceship Accident ?Chapter 161: Chapter 162: Spaceship Accident Chapter 161: Chapter 162: Spaceship Accident The ¡°buzzing¡± noise in the headphones grew louder and louder, and upon seeing several observation instruments damaged by strong radiation, Zhang Yuan hurriedly shouted, ¡°Turn off these devices for now¡­ just keep the astronomical observation equipment and record all astronomical data! By the way, how much has the temperature on the outside of the spaceship risen?¡± The faint sense of crisis intensified to the extreme, and his breathing became unavoidably heavy. The axis of rotation of Eta Carinae pointed towards Earth. In the instant of the supernova explosion, the greatest disaster in the universe¡ªthe gamma-ray burst¡ªwould spew forth from the axis of rotation. The energy of the gamma-ray burst was estimated to be equivalent to, or even more than, the total energy released by the Sun over its entire 10 billion year lifespan! After 2700 years of travel, the spaceship should theoretically have escaped the attack range¡­ so this supernova explosion shouldn¡¯t impact the spaceship too much. At worst, it would be like being exposed to a somewhat intense solar flare for a while. But what if¡­? What if the calculations were wrong? What if a gamma-ray burst deviated by just a tiny angle and happened to aim directly at the spaceship? If the spaceship were affected, 500,000 people would be doomed! ¡°Damn, to explode at a time like this!¡± Zhang Yuan cursed fiercely to himself as he frantically operated the instruments, checking the overall condition of the spaceship. The light in front of him grew more and more intense. Zhang Yuan held his breath. This was the first time he was witnessing a supernova explosion with the naked eye. Through the thick glass, the light fell on the floor, heating it up to an abnormal degree quickly. His colleagues all around him watched the jumping data on their computers, continuously reporting the situation. ¡°The temperature on the surface of the spaceship is rising!¡± ¡°The levels of radiation inside the Observatory have already significantly exceeded the standard¡­ The energy of a single photon is about 400,000 times that of the Sun¡¯s¡­¡± S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°The temperature on the sunlit side of the spaceship has increased to 400¡­ 500¡­ 600 degrees Celsius¡­ It¡¯s still within a tolerable range.¡± Only after about twenty minutes of checking did everyone let out a sigh of relief, ¡°The temperature won¡¯t rise further in the short term. 600-700 degrees Celsius is already the limit. We don¡¯t know if there will be a second explosion.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s just this¡­ there won¡¯t be too many problems.¡± Zhang Yuan patted his chest, relieved it was just a false alarm. Since the supernova explosion wouldn¡¯t cause significant damage to the spaceship. He was considering whether to inform the awakened passengers to witness this supernova event at the Observatory. However, adhering to the principle that less is more, he quickly abandoned the idea. Everyone recovered from their initial panic, and then excitedly started recording all sorts of data. Who knows, perhaps the scientists who wake up in the future could discover new physical phenomenon within these high-energy rays? This kind of supernova eruption, with a mass a hundred times that of the Sun, was a rare event occurring once in ten thousand years, lasting only a few hours or at most a week. Due to the massive mass and the intense explosion, it might not even form a black hole afterwards, as almost all matter would have been violently ejected in that instant. Human understanding of such large-mass stellar explosions was very limited. Complete recording of the entire explosion process would be very beneficial for future research. Zhang Yuan suddenly remembered something and sighed, ¡°Assuming the calculations are accurate¡­ we still don¡¯t know the fate of Earth Civilization, whether it will be destroyed by the supernova.¡± Several colleagues chimed in with their own opinions, ¡°I think there might be some impact, but it shouldn¡¯t be crippling.¡± ¡°After all, Earth¡¯s Civilization is such an old interstellar civilization. Even if technology has stagnated, it has come a long way. If the Sun exploded at close range, there might be no way to resist, but there shouldn¡¯t be any problems withstanding a supernova 7000 light years away¡­¡± ¡°Preventive measures against this disaster have also been in place.¡± ¡°Right, if they have neutrino observation equipment, they should be able to discover the disaster a few hours in advance and then arrange for emergency evacuation.¡± Zhang Yuan nodded, ¡°Let¡¯s hope they¡¯re lucky. Right now, all we can do is take care of ourselves.¡± Indeed, neutrinos from a supernova explosion could possibly travel faster than gamma-rays. This was because photons on their long journey might interact with various particles in the universe. The speed of photons could not reach the absolute speed of light in the truest sense. Some neutrinos approached the speed of light and hardly interacted with any matter. Thus, in the pursuit over more than seven thousand years, the fastest neutrinos often managed to win by a few hours, bringing humans the earliest warnings. Amidst this intense debate, suddenly, Zhang Yuan felt a series of slight tremors. He quickly pressed his hand to the ground, carefully feeling it. The vibrations were subtle, elusive, seeming to carry a buzzing sensation as they were mechanically transmitted. His heart skipped a beat! The Earth Era spaceship was an extremely stable vessel, especially since the nuclear fusion engine was completely shut down and it was coasting on inertia; such vibrations were nearly impossible! Something might have gone wrong! Zhang Yuan gasped, ¡°You guys keep recording here, I¡¯m going back to check!¡± In the vacuum of space, there was no way to move quickly, so Zhang Yuan even activated the precious jet device in his space suit to speed up. Rushing into the orbital train, Lin Xuanyuan¡¯s panicked voice was already coming through his earphone: ¡°¡­It¡¯s not good!¡± ¡°¡­A room in area M has ruptured, and helium is rapidly escaping to the outside! Zhang Yuan, come quickly!¡± Zhang Yuan shuddered all over¡ªthe spaceship¡¯s hull had actually been breached! A mere six hundred degrees temperature¡­ how could it be possible?! Normally, when a living area was not in use, to prevent the oxidation of equipment by oxygen, helium would be used to replace the air inside. Area M just happened to be an idle area. Could this be due to oversight in routine maintenance? That was impossible. He frowned deeply, ¡°I understand, find a place to hide and don¡¯t go near the commotion! By the way, close all the pressure gates near the hospital!¡± The next second, another soldier was on the secure line: ¡°Captain Zhang, an external room in area M suddenly ruptured, and we¡¯re trying to close the nearby pressure gates!¡± ¡°Do you know the specific reason?¡± ¡°We¡¯re investigating the surveillance¡­¡± A series of other noises were transmitted into his earpiece. The clamor drove Zhang Yuan to distraction as he shouted into his earphone: ¡°Everyone, put on your space suits and stay away from area M!¡± ¡°Turn on the air pumps, evacuate the air in the surrounding areas, and close all nearby pressure gates!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t lament the air that¡¯s leaking out! Don¡¯t go looking, or you¡¯ll get sucked out with it and be dead for sure!¡± He had no clue what had actually happened; he only knew that it seemed like something had struck the living quarters, creating a gap. But how¡­ How could this be? In that instant, Zhang Yuan pondered many possibilities. Could it be that the object that struck the spaceship was moving at near-light speed? Only then could it arrive almost simultaneously with the supernova explosion. But if it were a near-light speed object, a single hit could have turned the spaceship into actual interstellar junk, not just a small breach as it was now! Or perhaps¡­ a meteorite just happened to hit the spaceship, unrelated to this supernova event? Chapter 162 - 162 163 Strange Light Spots ?Chapter 162: Chapter 163: Strange Light Spots Chapter 162: Chapter 163: Strange Light Spots Amid various wild thoughts, Zhang Yuan never felt time pass so slowly, although the speed of the orbital train wasn¡¯t actually slow, it now seemed as slow as a snail. Over 10 minutes later, the train finally arrived at its destination, due to the rupture of several rooms on the periphery of the Circular Living Area, the center of gravity was unbalanced, and the centrifuge¡¯s movement wasn¡¯t as smooth as before, the subtle vibrations were coming from the central axis. Here, they could be felt even more distinctly. Zhang Yuan quickly ran to the control room and shouted loudly, ¡°You need to hurry to the hibernation area and wake up Captain Zhao and the others¡­ including all the spaceship maintenance personnel! You know who¡¯s on the emergency list, right?¡± ¡°Captain Zhang¡­ I need authorization,¡± said the staff member, already sweating profusely from hearing about the accident. ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Zhang Yuan strode forward, took a deep breath, and entered a string of passwords into the main control system, while speaking very quickly, ¡°Then get the maintenance materials out of the warehouse as quickly as possible¡­ there might be a lot, so get ready.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t panic, as long as the spaceship hasn¡¯t disintegrated, there won¡¯t be a big problem.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Amidst the chaos, the group finally found their backbone and dashed out. The rotational speed of the centrifuge remained the same as before, and Zhang Yuan was considering whether to reduce the spin speed a little to reduce the wear caused by the unbalanced center of gravity. But after careful consideration, he decided against it. The entire centrifuge¡¯s rotation was already slow, and if they completely lost artificial gravity, a large number of items in the living area, including liquid water, would all float up, causing immeasurable danger and loss. As he contemplated this, Zhang Yuan quickly took the elevator, racing toward Zone M. As soon as he stepped out of the elevator, he immediately felt gusts of strong wind that pulled at his entire body and propelled him forward. The wind was like a typhoon, and with the lowered gravity, his body was almost sucked away by it. That must be the direction of the rupture! A massive amount of helium had escaped, leaking thousands of tons of material in an instant, and Zhang Yuan felt a painful twinge in his heart. Even though this random accident was beyond human control, he still felt some regret. Regret wasn¡¯t very useful. Zhang Yuan just hoped that before the main team awoke, he could minimize the damage. The current population awake was just over six hundred and simply wasn¡¯t enough to handle such a major accident. It would take a week for the bulk of the crew to wake up and recover. Along the way, he issued orders non-stop: ¡°Lin Xuanyuan, you guys take care of the people in the Hospital¡­ Yes, don¡¯t come over here to crowd¡­ The awakening from hibernation relies on you. We need to wake up three to five thousand people at least.¡± ¡°Wang Chuan, Li Chen¡­ you two maintain order and close the gates around the nodes near Zone M.¡± A few minutes later, a continuous stream of reports came through the headset, and as the airpressure doors closed one by one, the force of the wind began to diminish significantly. Another minute passed, and Zhang Yuan had reached the front line. He stood in front of the last gate and anxiously asked, ¡°What happened exactly? Sunlight shouldn¡¯t have caused a hole to break in the hull, right? Didn¡¯t you say the highest temperature was only 600 degrees?¡± The room he was currently standing in was already a vacuum, with all the air sucked out by pumps, and everyone was wearing space suits and communicating through headsets. ¡°It seems something hit the spaceship, there aren¡¯t any eyewitnesses on the scene.¡± The soldier shook his head and said with a frown, ¡°I saw a light spot come in through the surveillance, don¡¯t know if it was a meteorite or something else. But the cameras got destroyed by the strong radiation shortly after¡­¡± ¡°Any casualties?¡± Zhang Yuan asked again. ¡°None for the moment, there was no one in Zone M, and no one got sucked out into space.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a relief.¡± Zhang Yuan sighed with relief; no casualties was probably the best news amidst the mishap. He squinted his eyes as the electronic screen on the wrist of his space suit kept flashing, playing surveillance from about fifteen minutes earlier. The surveillance footage showed a firefly-sized light spot suddenly piercing through the hull, creating a large hole. Immediately after, the screen shook even more violently, filled with static, and then turned pitch black. ¡°A meteorite?¡± Zhang Yuan frowned, ¡°A meteorite the size of a fingertip¡­ just happened to scrape the spaceship?¡± ¡°Ah!¡± All of a sudden, the soldier standing opposite him widened his eyes as if he had seen something unimaginable, letting out an involuntary cry. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Seeing his terrified expression, Zhang Yuan hurriedly turned his head. His pupils, too, suddenly contracted. This was¡­ What? A speck of light, the size of a firefly, unexpectedly appeared at the gate that had been firmly sealed. In that instant, a neat, circular hole appeared right in the center of the gate! He didn¡¯t know what this firefly-sized thing was, but he felt an instinctual sense of crisis. A strong suction force was insanely pulling his body toward the light! ¡°Grab onto the surroundings, don¡¯t get sucked in!¡± Zhang Yuan yelled, forcefully stepping back, but due to the extremely low gravity and insufficient friction, he stumbled and fell to the ground. However, the closest soldier was too slow to react, letting out a terrified scream as he was sucked in alive. What happened next was even more astonishing¡­ In just a blink of an eye, this poor guy seemed to suddenly drop into another surface of water! And the part that fell into the ¡°water¡± instantaneously displayed endless information! Zhang Yuan¡¯s eyes bulged, seemingly incredulous, and at that moment, he could even see the soldier¡¯s skeleton, muscles, beating heart, and flowing blood! Then, after letting out one last scream, the soldier disappeared¡­ A¡­ Black Hole? He didn¡¯t know whether he was hallucinating or what was happening, but the sweat on his back had soaked through his clothes, and the sense of crisis had intensified to the extreme. Zhang Yuan struggled to get his brain working. He shouted into his headset: ¡°Run! Run!¡± In the next instant, the firefly-sized speck of light started moving languidly again! It didn¡¯t move fast and seemed to drift randomly through space. But another soldier was already paralyzed with nerves, struggling to run and crawl a few steps, and then, under the powerful attraction, was pulled in again. The same scene unfolded the next second. The soldier¡¯s organs seemed to display themselves entirely in front of Zhang Yuan, creating an eerily bizarre spectacle. Then, this soldier also disappeared. Vanished into thin air! With goosebumps all over, Zhang Yuan uncontrollably staggered backward. He didn¡¯t know what this speck of light was, only knowing it most likely wasn¡¯t a black hole. Because a black hole couldn¡¯t display such bizarre traits. A black hole with strong gravity would have devoured the entire spaceship by now, and one with weak gravity wouldn¡¯t be able to consume a person so quickly, nor would it likely cause such a strange phenomenon¡­ ¡°Escape, hurry and escape!¡± Chapter 163 - 163 164 Higher Dimensional...... World ?Chapter 163: Chapter 164: Higher Dimensional¡­¡­ World?! Chapter 163: Chapter 164: Higher Dimensional¡­¡­ World?! A multitude of objects in the room were being sucked in like a vortex, and Zhang Yuan struggled frantically, but due to the low gravity, friction was minimal, offering him no purchase. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The very next second! He felt as if he were being yanked by a rope, and no matter how much he thrashed about, he was still sucked in alive. Damn it! He watched helplessly as the point of light appeared before him, time seemed to stop, and at the very last moment, all sorts of wild thoughts flooded his mind. It was as though he suddenly calmed down, and Zhang Yuan sighed deeply in his heart. Goodbye, this world¡­ In an instant, a massive amount of light appeared before his eyes, truly massive. Colors more wondrous than he had ever seen and speckles of light surfaced one by one in his mind. It was an odd sensation; Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t know whether he was hallucinating before death or truly seeing these colors. He could define a color named ¡°I,¡± and another named ¡°J.¡± These colors had never appeared in the world, so that only he himself could truly feel them. The light was so intense he couldn¡¯t help but close his eyes, but it had no effect at all. Even with his eyes shut, he could feel countless lights, including the clear arrangement of material structures on the ship¡¯s walls, the marrow in his bones, the blood in his veins¡­ a jumbled, motley array of things seemed to flood in all at once. Overwhelmed by the deluge of information, his brain couldn¡¯t process such a vast amount of data, and Zhang Yuan immediately fainted. ¡­ Several hours later, Zhang Yuan regained consciousness from his coma, slowly opening his eyes. ¡°Am I not dead? What place is this?¡± He found himself lying quietly in a void, his brain still in pain from the massive informational assault it had received. After resting for half an hour and recovering slightly, Zhang Yuan began to silently contemplate his current predicament. It seemed he had been sucked into a very strange place. It was somewhat like outer space, but not the actual universe. There were no stars around, nor any material to be seen, the only presence was himself. He could raise his eyes to see his own body, including all his organs, veins, blood, almost every cell, and even his own back. Even with his closed eyes, he could still see these damn things; his eyelids did nothing to block out the light. His entire being was transparent, yet it seemed not to be. The massive amount of information nearly knocked him out again. As time ticked by, Zhang Yuan gritted his teeth and started to forcefully accustom himself to this inexplicable omniscient and omnipotent state. It was too uncomfortable. After observing for a long time, he realized that he himself seemed to have been twisted into a very strange shape, like a distorted, flattened rugby ball. He had no idea why he was still alive, twisted like this, still able to breathe, move, and even the various functions of his space suit were still in normal operation, undamaged! Zhang Yuan licked his dry lips, tried to calm his nearly frantic heart, and get his mind working again when he saw his own brain matter¡­ his brain matter was not traditional brain matter but looked more like a roller coaster track, looping around bizarrely. ¡°High-dimensional space?¡± ¡°Was I sucked into a high-dimensional space?!¡± The idea came to him naturally. ¡°Wait a second, what¡¯s going on? Was our spaceship hit by a High-dimensional Fragment? Does it have something to do with a Supernova explosion?¡± Zhang Yuan used his imagination, beginning to ponder other things. ¡°So that white point of light could be a warping point in space, forcibly sucking us beings from three-dimensional space into a higher dimension?¡± ¡°And that¡¯s how it became like this?¡± ¡°Damn, this is really creepy!¡± Even with his composure, he couldn¡¯t help but curse at this moment. But cursing was of no use, and soon, a multitude of questions arose in his mind. ¡°Does such bizarre technology really exist in the world?¡± First, he could actually see things! Could there still be photons in this place? Even without turning his head, Zhang Yuan had seen his space suit, the light on his chest was still on, meaning all the light should be coming from the lamp. These photons, under the circumstances of spatial distortion, did not travel in straight lines, leading to extremely odd visuals. Second, why was he still alive? In theory, matter from three-dimensional space couldn¡¯t continue to exist in higher dimensions. According to current theory, if the fundamental theory were extended to higher dimensions, various functions would change. To give a simple example, in four-dimensional space, signal strength is inversely proportional to the cube of the distance. In three-dimensional space, signal strength is inversely proportional to the square of the distance. This is because the area of a two-dimensional spherical surface in three dimensions is proportional to the square of the distance, so the product of signal strength and surface area is a constant, hence the law of conservation of energy. If the same structure were used, then in four-dimensional space, energy would not be conserved, which would be an unimaginable world. Just as accepting the conservation of energy, the entire set of rules would undergo drastic changes, it could be inferred that atomic nuclei would disintegrate instantly in a High-dimensional World. In other words¡­ how was he surviving in this place? Why hadn¡¯t all atomic nuclei disintegrated? Well, let¡¯s put aside these theoretical issues for now. Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t be bothered to think too much; it was good to be alive, even if it was only for a few more hours. He took a deep breath and saw the cells in his lungs expand, contract, and then return to normal¡­ It was almost like having X-ray vision. If he were in a normal world, he would definitely be intensely curious, but being all alone in this eerie place, the absolute silence, compounded with the sight of his own colorful insides, greatly magnified his psychological stress. Zhang Yuan had to look for some good news to comfort his nearly crumbling heart. He could only assume that their Human current theories might be wrong. Or perhaps¡­ the civilization that created this peculiar High-dimensional World had done something to him, so that the atoms in his body wouldn¡¯t immediately collapse. ¡°This thing must be man-made, not naturally occurring, probably related to a Supernova explosion¡­¡± Then, naturally, an idea sprang to mind. If he could find the point of curvature in space again, that is, the light spot that sucked him in, would he be able to return to his three-dimensional world? ¡°The way I came in, is the way out¡­¡± ¡°Can I escape this place?¡± Zhang Yuan gently shook his head, trying to discern from the mass of information he saw, the amount of remaining oxygen in his space suit. Without strenuous activity, it could last¡­ about 12 hours. The duration of the light power, about 8 hours. ¡°I wonder how those two guys are doing, how long they can last¡­¡± Regrettably, Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t see those two soldiers, nor did he know where they had run off to, whether they were still alive. ¡°I hope they¡¯re still alive and find a way out before I do. Sigh¡­¡± In the current situation, Zhang Yuan could only take care of himself. Chapter 164 - 164 165 Qiu Space ?Chapter 164: Chapter 165 Qiu Space Chapter 164: Chapter 165 Qiu Space To escape, he first needed to figure out just how many dimensions this damn place had, how large it was, and¡­ whether he could actually move in higher dimensions. If he could only move in three-dimensional space, then the probability of finding an exit was nearly zero. Zhang Yuan struggled to extend his finger into the fourth dimension. Miraculously, he succeeded! With a slight obstacle, his finger penetrated the sealed space suit and emerged into a void from the fourth dimension. It was an odd sensation, as if the entire scene had been torn apart¡ªsomething impossible without a high-dimensional perspective. His finger quickly felt an icy, expanding touch, yet it did not disintegrate completely. ¡°Good,¡± Zhang Yuan thought, elated, and then retracted his finger. Secondly, if this space was large, even as large as the Solar System, relying on the little jet thrusters of the space suit, the probability of finding an exit remained zero. Zhang Yuan rested for a few minutes, gathered his spirits, and carefully observed the distance. Soon, his head began to overheat due to the reception of a vast amount of information. This place seemed to be filled with mirrors, reflecting countless images of himself! He felt as if he were surrounded by mirrors! When he looked straight ahead, he could actually see the bottoms of his feet¡ªnot just once, but seven, eight, nine times¡­ as if countless times over! This massive amount of information nearly made Zhang Yuan¡¯s head collapse again. ¡°There¡¯s no traditional sense of space here at all, just myself and this space suit!¡± Sweat poured from his forehead as Zhang Yuan tried to remain calm. He profoundly experienced the kind of pain that high-dimensional life must endure. ¡°Perhaps it isn¡¯t painful for high-dimensional life forms, it¡¯s just that my low-dimensional perception cannot adapt.¡± Zhang Yuan dared not move recklessly, for he had been twisted into a sphere and a careless move might thrust his finger from another dimension right into his own heart. In such a place, if such an accident occurred, it would be nearly impossible to save him. The flashlight in his space suit was still on, so he maneuvered it back and forth, adjusting angles bit by bit, exploring time and again. He first considered the simplest four-dimensional space. If three-dimensional space were twisted into a four-dimensional Klein bottle, undoubtedly, a beam of light shot from the front could indeed strike one¡¯s own back. But soon, Zhang Yuan realized it wasn¡¯t so simple¡­ He simply could not use the trajectory of light to estimate the curvature of the space. Since there was no air in the space, the Tyndall effect couldn¡¯t occur, so he could not see the complete path of light. Even if he could see the path, due to the limitations of his own perspective, he would most likely assume that the beam was a true straight line. Only if he jumped into a higher dimension for a global view, would he realize that the path of light was twisted. Quickly, Zhang Yuan thought of other methods¡­ He could deduce what the heck this damn space was by observing the strange twists and distortions of himself and the space suit. Moreover, the scenes he saw, some bright and some dim, were likely related to the trajectory of photon movement. Imagining a high-dimensional space was a brain-burning task because it went far beyond Zhang Yuan¡¯s daily experience. This feeling of omniscience and dizziness came in waves every few seconds. ¡°Is that thumping one my heart?¡± ¡°That¡­ is my stomach?¡± ¡°That¡­ what is that? It couldn¡¯t be the apple I ate today, could it?¡± For some reason, all the original structures still functioned, meaning the high-dimensional world was, in fact, compatible with the low-dimensional world. The human body¡¯s organs are incredibly complex, a profusion of irregular shapes that made Zhang Yuan¡¯s eyes swim and even induced an urge to vomit. He quickly shifted his attention to his space suit. He was much more familiar with the space suit than with his own body and soon identified some structurally regular components. Cubes, as well as various gears! With mathematics, it was possible to determine the specific dimensions of space. In a three-dimensional space, there are exactly five regular polyhedra: the tetrahedron, hexahedron, octahedron, dodecahedron, and icosahedron¡ªthere could not be any more. In a four-dimensional space, six regular polyhedra could be constructed, one more than in three dimensions known as the ¡°tesseract,¡± a 4D shape bounded by eight cubic cells, akin to how a square is surrounded by six square faces. In a five-dimensional world, only three regular polyhedra could be assembled¡­ In each different dimension, solid geometry would exhibit different properties. After an observation and calculation that lasted for a full hour, he reached a final conclusion. It was not four-dimensional space. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. It was¡­ nine-dimensional space?! Zhang Yuan wondered if he had made a miscalculation; he felt like he was about to suffocate as he arrived at this conclusion. From a certain perspective, all matter was still three-dimensional, with the other six dimensions being extremely small, barely observable. It was these additional six dimensions that had twisted him into his present form. To give an imprecise analogy, he was like a two-dimensional life form embedded in a sheet of paper. The paper appears to be a flat plane, but is in fact three-dimensional, just with a very small thickness. To extend a sheet of paper into nine dimensions, to extend two-dimensional space into three-dimensional space¡ªthat was his current situation¡­ The perspective of nine dimensions was so novel that it was no wonder that the influx of information seemed as vast as a flood. ¡°Why is it like this? Is this world inherently nine-dimensional? And with time, would that make it ten-dimensional?¡± A ten-dimensional space brought to mind some conjectures from physics. When he shifted his body again, it was as if the whole ball had bounced once; he pondered with a thought in mind, ¡°There seems to be gravity here¡­ but I¡¯m in a void, not falling in the direction of gravity¡­ What force is holding me in place?¡± ¡°It¡¯s utterly bizarre.¡± At this moment, his intense curiosity had overshadowed the initial panic. In any case, regardless of whether he would live or die, he had to continue exploring¡­ Even knowing it was a nine-dimensional space was clearly not enough; he still couldn¡¯t escape this place and needed to understand what this strange space was all about¡ªwhere exactly was that damnable curvature point! This was exceedingly difficult; even light¡¯s path had been distorted, and Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t possibly receive any hints. ¡°Wait, why have I been twisted into a ball? Could it have something to do with the properties of the space itself?¡± Zhang Yuan frowned, letting his mind race. Gradually, a famous space surfaced in his mind. Calabi-Yau space?! This space, smaller than a proton, hypothesized to have a complicated and unclear connection with String Theory. In this space, there are no straight lines; everything is constantly curving. You might be able to reach your own back or the soles of your feet just by stretching out your hand. Thus, the photons Zhang Yuan saw had already been tumbling through the additional six dimensions numerous times, taking many roller coaster rides, before finally concluding their travels on his back, which explained the situation he now observed. Chapter 165 - 165 166 Changing Mass Distribution ?Chapter 165: Chapter 166: Changing Mass Distribution Chapter 165: Chapter 166: Changing Mass Distribution ¡°In other words, the three dimensions of my own body are the normal three dimensions¡­ The other six dimensions are likely caused by the matter of my own body.¡± Space-time tells matter how to move, matter tells space-time how to bend. A space-time without matter is indistinguishable from ¡°nothingness.¡± Since the only matter in this space-time is Zhang Yuan himself, just a tiny bit, it is very probable that his own matter is causing this strange space-time to twist. ¡°¡­It is precisely because of the enormous, similarly frequent matter concentrated into a tiny area that the generated relativistic mass causes extreme bending and entwining of the surrounding space.¡± ¡°This space actually only contains myself; the point of warping should be inside the space, not the outside.¡± Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t know whether his line of reasoning was correct; it always felt a bit weird, requiring more patches to make it logically coherent. ¡°Ah, these ideas are just too bizarre; there¡¯s absolutely no evidence for any of this.¡± Zhang Yuan shook his head. Since he had no more ideas, he could only act out of desperation. Continuously moving the light source, even taking it into higher dimensions, after repeated examination, Zhang Yuan finally discovered an anomaly within his body. ¡°Found it!¡± His heart skipped a beat. This anomaly was like a glass bead, located where his small intestine should be, causing everything around it to distort abnormally. This kind of distortion was not a conventional type of distortion but a higher-dimensional twist. Just like crumpling a piece of paper doesn¡¯t damage the curves inside it, and a two-dimensional life form on the paper wouldn¡¯t be affected, or even aware, that it has been distorted. Only when observing from the third dimension can one see that the paper has been crumpled into a ball. ¡°Ah, this world, to someone of my low dimension, is no different from the most perfect prison¡­¡± ¡°However, now a bending point has appeared, not perfect anymore, and I can escape.¡± ¡°If only I can enter that warping point, perhaps I can return to the spaceship¡­¡± Zhang Yuan¡¯s face shifted between hope and doubt; this was just his speculation, uncertain whether it was true. He carefully reached out with his index finger and tentatively, nervously reached through the fourth dimension into his own innards, trying to touch that warping point. Just be careful, go slow, not to make any of these organs bleed, that¡¯s all. ¡°It¡¯s not working, I can¡¯t do it.¡± He found that it was impossible to touch that warping point. Although it seemed to be inside his body, in reality, it wasn¡¯t; it was hidden in a higher dimension, and what was inside his body was just a tiny projection. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and as a flood of information bombarded him, his head began to spin again. He tried again, this time reaching through the fifth dimension to touch the warping point. Suddenly, a sharp pain erupted from his abdomen! Zhang Yuan was startled and withdrew his hand as quickly as possible. The intense pain caused his entire body to tremble slightly, and his back was drenched in sweat. The pain was as if his heart was being torn apart, his adrenaline surged, and even the life support system in his space suit issued a safety warning! It took quite a while for the pain to subside slowly. Zhang Yuan sighed; the complexity of five dimensions was already beyond his computational capacity. One careless move, and he had touched his vulnerable organs. This touch was as if out of nowhere, materializing inside his body! Imagine, what would happen if a finger suddenly appeared within the blood vessels or organs? Internal bleeding or even death was possible! Luckily, he retracted quickly; as soon as he sensed it, he pulled back, preventing severe bleeding. But next time may not be so fortunate. So, what to do? He had just reached the fifth dimension and it had already exceeded his computational ability. Moreover, even if he could calculate five, six, seven, eight dimensions, it might still be useless because he had just observed another phenomenon: during his exploration, the position of the warping point seemed to have moved slightly. He tried again. ¡°It really does move!¡± ¡°When I move slightly, it moves slightly too. This way, I can never touch this damn thing¡­ Fuck!¡± Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but become impatient. Staying in this hellish place for even a second longer was torturous. ¡°Wait a second¡­¡± ¡°The entire space is constructed according to my own mass¡­¡± ¡°Just like the center of gravity of a human, can I change the properties of the space itself by distorting my body, altering the distribution of my mass¡­ and moving the warped point into a dimension I can easily touch?¡± He twisted his body forcefully, and the entire space underwent another change, the position of the warped point shifted again. ¡°It works!¡± A surge of ecstatic joy rose in Zhang Yuan¡¯s heart! ¡°That is to say, the position of the warped point is related to the current distribution of mass!¡± sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. But this change was tiny, no matter how he twisted, he could not bend like a snake, the extent to which he could change was limited. Zhang Yuan thought carefully and carefully dismantled the toolbox from his back. He tied the toolbox with a rope and placed it beside his body. Because of the redistribution of mass, the position of the warped point changed again. After repeating this several times and discovering a certain pattern, Zhang Yuan started calculating the number of components he could disassemble and the amount of mass he could alter. He found that the only thing he could move at will was the toolbox he carried with him. But the mass of the toolbox was not significant enough; he had to alter a larger distribution of mass to complete the plan. ¡°This carbon fiber space suit has too few parts that can be dismantled.¡± ¡°The essential life support system cannot be dismantled¡­ otherwise, I¡¯d be dead on the spot.¡± Zhang Yuan had once felt the outside world with his fingertips; when he extended them outside, there was a coldness as vast as the universe, and his fingertips rapidly lost warmth. ¡°That means, without the protection of the space suit, I cannot survive here. This place is almost the same as the universe¡¯s environment.¡± But the existing mass was completely insufficient to significantly alter the space¡¯s attributes. He needed to change a larger distribution of mass to be able to move the warped point away from his body to a place he could touch. What should he do? Where could he get the mass from? Zhang Yuan¡¯s face turned ashen; the idea he had painstakingly conceived seemed unworkable. Minutes later, his complexion began to grow even more somber. Perhaps¡­ Could he disassemble parts of his own body? At the thought, his pupils contracted slightly, and he shivered uncontrollably. This self-mutilating method¡­ Now he had two plans; the first was to force a crossing through five, or maybe six, up to seven dimensions, risking his life to touch that warped point. However, this sort of high-dimensional traversal had already exceeded Zhang Yuan¡¯s mental capacity. Humans were accustomed to movement in up and down, left and right, forward and backward; now there were so many additional directions like ABCDE, it was unimaginable. If he carelessly damaged his internal organs, that would be the end of it, with no chance to try again. The second option was to expose the warped point by distorting space through changing mass. But that might mean removing some organs, for example, an arm or one or two legs. His breathing gradually became heavier; he had six hours to make this difficult decision¡­ Chapter 166 - 166 167 Escape Successfully ?Chapter 166: Chapter 167: Escape Successfully! Chapter 166: Chapter 167: Escape Successfully! Time ticked away, second by second¡­ In just five minutes, Zhang Yuan had made up his mind. The most precious thing to humans is life. If one could survive, what was a little sacrifice? His time for escape was limited, the longer he hesitated, the slimmer his chances of survival. ¡°Well, that settles it then, I have to choose the option with a greater chance of escape¡­¡± Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t know how to describe his current state of mind¡ªit might be the greatest ordeal of his life¡­ or a valuable treasure? ¡°If I had a choice, I¡¯d rather not have such a treasure. Missing arms and legs¡­ luckily, technology is advanced, otherwise, it would be a disaster¡­¡± Zhang Yuan scoffed at himself with a wry smile. The next second, his eyes firmed up, and he slowly extended his left leg out into the fourth dimension. Soon after breaking through that barrier, his left foot began to lose warmth, and waves of intense pain penetrated to the bone marrow. It was so painful, incredibly painful, akin to being thrown into boiling oil; sweat drenched his clothes in no time. To prevent his mentality from collapsing, Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but ponder over more questions. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t the air inside the space suit leak into the fourth dimension, or even the fifth dimension?¡± A three-dimensional space suit, though sealed, is not closed off in the fourth or fifth dimensions; that¡¯s why his left leg could easily leave the suit. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. He always found this phenomenon very strange. ¡°Perhaps the thermal motion between molecules instinctively rejects the extra dimensions? That¡¯s why it doesn¡¯t escape? Or maybe they move within these dimensions by nature?¡± ¡°¡­ Right, my own flesh and blood is actually open to the High-dimensional World. The blood in my vessels isn¡¯t splattering everywhere. The brain matter isn¡¯t floating out from my skull into the extra dimensions.¡± ¡°Or maybe, there is a three-dimensional membrane on my body that prevents this from happening?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ The civilization that designed this space must have considered these strange phenomena.¡± As he lost himself in such wild thoughts, an hour passed, and his left leg had completely lost sensation, even the sense of pain was gone. Zhang Yuan took a comparatively sharp knife from the toolbox and began to cut off his frozen left leg. After all, his wife was a doctor, so he had a basic understanding of human anatomy. Human limbs have major arteries, and cutting without freezing first would not only be excruciatingly painful but also result in bleeding to death. However, under these circumstances, he could visibly see that the blood flow in the vessels had stopped. No feeling, no sensation whatsoever, it was as if he was cutting a piece of aged frozen meat. The blood was completely coagulated; it felt as if it wasn¡¯t his leg at all. After all, his body had been twisted into an ellipse, and he could touch his foot easily, making the cutting quite convenient. Yet, the sight of flesh being sliced made his skin crawl, his adrenaline surging. Particularly at the moment when he hit the shinbone, that shaking sensation as the joint popped nearly drove him to the brink of collapse! He had to distract himself by thinking about other developments in biology and bionics. ¡°Damn it, with current technology, I¡¯ll be able to recover and walk normally, and it won¡¯t affect my life¡­¡± ¡°Yes, it won¡¯t affect anything¡­ certainly not!¡± ¡°As long as I don¡¯t castrate myself, Lin Xuanyuan surely wouldn¡¯t despise me?¡± ¡°¡­ Is she crying outside now? She would probably burst into tears of joy seeing me escape!¡± It took roughly twenty minutes to completely sever the calf. Then he tied it with a rope and placed it in a position he had calculated. He moved once more, slightly bent. But it wasn¡¯t enough! Not enough! Having made his choice, Zhang Yuan clenched his teeth, feeling feverish throughout his body; he threw all his chips into the pot like a desperate gambler, trying to snatch a chance at survival. He extended his right leg into the fourth dimension again, repeating the same trick to freeze it stiff. As he did this, he even felt that traveling through higher dimensions was quite convenient, being able to step out of enclosed three-dimensional space with ease, reaching his own heels became exceptionally simple. ¡°If this were used in industry, how advanced that civilization would be!¡± ¡°The legendary wormholes, they¡¯re achieved by using extra dimensions, aren¡¯t they?¡± This bizarre experience was simply beyond description¡­ Perhaps because he was a bit overexerted, the task of severing this calf proved much more difficult, consuming an entire hour. Humans are indeed fragile creatures, easily fatigued to the point of collapse. Zhang Yuan had more than once contemplated giving up and resigning himself to his fate, but driven by a strong survival instinct, he stubbornly held on. After all was done, Zhang Yuan swallowed hard, his heart pounding, and placed it in a carefully calculated position. The curvature point shifted once more. Still, it missed by a tiny bit! Just a tiny bit! In that instant, his eyes widened, his hands thrust forward mightily, his body bending as much as possible! A miracle happened; in that moment, due to the spatial shift, the curvature point finally exposed itself in a seemingly reachable place! Zhang Yuan¡¯s heart raced as he cautiously reached out with his right hand, slowly feeling forward. He knew he couldn¡¯t rush at this time, couldn¡¯t recklessly grab at the curvature point. For each slight movement he made, the mass distribution would change, and with it, the position of the curvature point. Blindly grasping was impossible; it would only uselessly deplete his strength. He had to approach it slowly, tentatively, allowing the curvature point to come to him on its own. Finally, after 15 minutes of trying, his fingertips met with the curvature point! It was a strange sensation, as if touching something, yet it felt somewhat cold. His entire hand stretched out and suddenly disappeared from view! In the blink of an eye, Zhang Yuan fiercely activated the jet apparatus of the space suit, charging towards the spot where his arm vanished! As he escaped the curvature point in a flash, a massive load of information reappeared in his mind¡ªskin, bones, blood, a range of bizarre images assaulted him, causing dizziness and a storm in his stomach, triggering a strong urge to vomit. Suppressing his excitement, in that moment, he had only one thought. Don¡¯t faint; push through, you must push through! Before him was true light. His entire body¡­ was out! The moment he escaped the curvature point, the once settled fragment suddenly reignited with light, generating a powerful attraction! Zhang Yuan was shocked. If he had just escaped only to be sucked back in, that would have been the absolute end. He wouldn¡¯t have anything left to sacrifice, and there would be no possibility of another attempt. The power of the jets in his space suit was already at its limit, but it was still far from enough! ¡°Go, push through!¡± ¡°You must break out!¡± His vision returned to normal, and Zhang Yuan instinctively noticed a large robotic device nearby, probably a specialized scouting probe, with a safety tether attached to it. Like a true savior, Zhang Yuan instinctively grabbed it with a death grip. Blood boiled throughout his body, veins on his forehead bursting out. In that moment, driven by the will to survive, he unleashed all the potential in his body! Hold on, you must hold on! Chapter 167 - 167 168 The Super Warrior in the Spaceship ?Chapter 167: Chapter 168: The Super Warrior in the Spaceship Chapter 167: Chapter 168: The Super Warrior in the Spaceship A soldier behind a screen, using a robot to probe the High-dimensional Fragment, was so startled that his eyes bulged and his mouth hung open. By the time he regained his composure, he shouted loudly, ¡°Someone come quickly¡­ Captain Zhang has escaped!¡± ¡°He¡¯s going to be sucked in!¡± Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Following that, the soldier came to his senses, ¡°Hurry, hurry! Pull him back!¡± ¡­ After an unknown amount of time had passed¡­ Zhang Yuan slowly opened his eyes, his head was swirling tumultuously, throbbing as if it had been pierced fiercely by an awl. He lay on the bed, enduring the pain for a few minutes, trying hard not to cry out. Looking around, it was still the familiar medical bay, bringing him a slight sense of safety. The instruments showed that he had been unconscious for a week. Only Lin Xuanxuan was by his bedside, her hand propping up her chin as she dozed off on the table. There was a faint trace of tears on her face¡ªshe must have been exhausted these past days. Seeing the girl by his side brought a mysterious peace to Zhang Yuan¡¯s heart. It¡¯s good to be back! It¡¯s good to be alive! Recalling the final moment, he was still shaken, even somewhat forgetting how he had managed to hold on. ¡°That was¡­ too dangerous.¡± He exhaled a long, turbid breath. ¡°Ah, you¡¯re awake!¡± Lin Xuanxuan lifted her head, trying to muster a smile, but a thousand words coalesced into those three. Suddenly, her facial expression became very distressed, and she couldn¡¯t help crying. Zhang Yuan smiled foolishly. ¡°Why, don¡¯t laugh at me!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t cry, look, I¡¯m alright, aren¡¯t I?¡± Zhang Yuan said, gently patting her back, ¡°With today¡¯s biological technology, it should be no problem to restore these two legs, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not so simple! Oh right, I¡¯ll go call the Captain¡­¡± Lin Xuanxuan seemed to remember something, wiping her tears as she jumped up from the stool. A few minutes later, Captain Zhao and others strode over quickly. ¡°Zhang Yuan, you¡¯re awake!¡± Senior Brother Zhao greeted him excitedly, his face showing a look of concern. ¡°Senior Brother Zhao¡­ how are those two soldiers¡­¡± Zhang Yuan asked first thing. Captain Zhao¡¯s tone noticeably dimmed, ¡°Unfortunately, we still haven¡¯t heard from them. In such an unknown situation, we can¡¯t organize a rescue. We simply don¡¯t know what happened¡­¡± Zhang Yuan rubbed his aching head and sighed deeply. In such a situation, not rescuing was the correct decision. Besides, so much time had passed, it was very likely that the window for rescue had gone, and the chances of survival were slim. A large group of experts had all gathered around, including experts in biology, physics, and cosmology. They had all seen the relevant footage on the surveillance videos and all wanted to know about the incident. ¡°Mr. Zhang Yuan, could you tell us what exactly happened? How do you feel physically?¡± ¡°What exactly was that? Was it a High-dimensional Fragment?¡± ¡°And regarding your legs¡­¡± ¡°I sawed them off myself. That indeed might have been a High-dimensional Fragment, something crafted by a super civilization.¡± Zhang Yuan sighed, taking roughly half an hour to describe his complete experience in nine-dimensional space. ¡°¡­Only in this way could I escape that space.¡± ¡°Changing the distribution of mass can change the structure of space?¡± Captain Zhao and the experts behind him gasped in shock, so taken aback that they turned pale and couldn¡¯t find words for a long while. Even though they had many questions, at that moment, it was as if their brains had collectively crashed. Given the same conditions, if it had been them entering that space, survival would not have been guaranteed. Amputate his own legs? Dr. Zhang was usually so refined, how could he be so ruthless? After a while, a buzzing conversation filled the medical room. ¡°But there was no choice¡­ it¡¯s better than suffocating to death.¡± ¡°High-dimensional Fragment, consistent with our speculation.¡± ¡°Simply unimaginable!¡± ¡°If only we could study it¡­ What is its function? How is it achieved?¡± The tone of discussion shifted from initial shock to an increasingly fervent curiosity; some people even admired Zhang Yuan¡¯s resolute decision-making. Zhao Qingfeng sighed, looking at Zhang Yuan with an odd expression: ¡°You really are¡­ sigh, this time, we¡¯ve had a stroke of bad luck. Six rooms have been destroyed, and six thousand tons of air have leaked out.¡± Zhang Yuan also sighed. Zhao Qingfeng shook his head quickly, comforting: ¡°This kind of unexpected accident¡­ There¡¯s no need to talk about your responsibility or mine¡­ It¡¯s not something human effort could have prevented; to have come this far is already the best possible outcome.¡± ¡°Thank goodness for your firsthand data; otherwise, we might have to give up exploring this dangerous high-dimensional space¡­ If it¡¯s too dangerous, we¡¯d rather jettison it than keep it aboard the spaceship.¡± Zhang Yuan raised his head: ¡°Yes, indeed, although it is a creation of top-tier technology. But like ancient people playing with nuclear bombs, one slip could be fatal¡­ How is that thing now?¡± Senior Brother Zhao replied: ¡°That fragment seems to have calmed down now, turned into a¡­ solid? It¡¯s still in the outermost room, monitored by robots. You rest for now, regain your strength; we have a meeting at three o¡¯clock this afternoon, and we hope you can attend¡­¡± ¡°That should be fine.¡± Zhang Yuan nodded. In the following period, Zhang Yuan first enjoyed a good meal, then took a brief rest. What he cared about and missed the most were his severed legs. He had been unconscious for a week, the wounds were beginning to heal, and the most painful period was over. But the amputated parts were always very itchy, as if ants were biting, and sometimes there was even an illusion that his calves were still there¡­ This was because the nerve endings had not completely died, creating certain illusions in the brain. ¡°Ah, if it had been the old days when biological technology was undeveloped, I would have had to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair.¡± Zhang Yuan said with a wry smile: ¡°Now there¡¯s still a chance for retention¡­ Really bad luck.¡± The story spread fast, and now he was regarded as a Super Warrior on the spaceship; many colleagues came to visit him voluntarily. Escaping from that terrifying place, any normal person would feel genuine admiration. Especially since that bead was still on the spaceship, the debate over whether to throw it away or keep it was intensely fierce. Without Zhang Yuan¡¯s input, no decision could be made. ¡°So, do you want to use biological technology to restore your legs, or bionic technology?¡± Lin Xuanyuan pushed the wheelchair and took him into the conference room. ¡°With just biological technology, it might take a very long time. The conditions of the current laboratory are quite poor and the procedures complex.¡± ¡°Bionic technology is fine too¡­ It¡¯s quick, and less painful.¡± Zhang Yuan said, ¡°As long as it looks similar and feels similar, and you don¡¯t mind, using it would feel the same.¡± ¡°Mind? Why would I mind? The materials similar to humanoid robots are indeed quite decent. It feels almost like flesh and is even stronger, allowing you to jump higher!¡± Talking about this, Lin Xuanyuan suddenly laughed; she was in a good mood: ¡°I¡¯m thinking¡­ why didn¡¯t you cut that off too? You could install bionic¡­ aren¡¯t you guys promoting bionic modification?¡± Zhang Yuan looked up, teasing: ¡°I thought about it, but in the end, couldn¡¯t bear it¡­ Could you handle a bionic one?¡± Lin Xuanyuan was momentarily taken aback and muttered ¡°couldn¡¯t handle it¡± before she pushed him through the doors of the conference room. About three hundred people were in the hall, the middle and senior ranks of the entire spaceship. As Zhang Yuan entered, a warm round of applause erupted. Such an escape required a combination of courage, will, wisdom, luck, and a vast amount of knowledge; no single element could be missing. A minute later, under Captain Zhao¡¯s signal, the conference room quieted down. Chapter 168 - 168 169 To Discard To Keep ?Chapter 168: Chapter 169: To Discard? To Keep? Chapter 168: Chapter 169: To Discard? To Keep? In the central conference room of Earth Era A Zone, Captain Zhao spoke, ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, this disaster is the greatest disaster of our entire journey. A small half of Section M in our living area has been destroyed, and over six thousand tons of air have leaked. It¡¯s even difficult to ascertain the source of the disaster¡­ And, unfortunately, there are two individuals whose whereabouts are currently unknown.¡± ¡°The theme of this meeting, therefore, is how to deal with that high-dimensional fragment, whether to proceed with related rescue efforts, and¡­ how to repair the spaceship, among other things¡­¡± ¡°Now, let us invite Mr. Zhang Yuan, the only survivor at the moment, to bring us firsthand information about the high-dimensional fragment.¡± Zhang Yuan organized his language and repeated verbatim what he had said that morning. Although the people below had heard the related recounts, they were still silent, each listening intently. If one has not truly witnessed it, even a mathematician would find it extremely difficult to intuitively imagine the fourth dimension, let alone the fifth and sixth dimensions, which can only be calculated in equations but cannot be visually imagined. ¡°Mr. Zhang, is it really nine dimensions?¡± Zhang Yuan replied, ¡°I am sorry, I cannot be certain; everything is just speculation. Without seeing it with my own eyes, I think it¡¯s difficult to describe the specific situation with human language and imagination. There¡¯s related video in the camera of the space suit, and I suggest that a team of experts conduct a series of studies.¡± A fervent discussion emerged among many physicists who almost fanatically approached the matter. Soon, a lady voiced a lingering question, ¡°So, Mr. Zhang Yuan, do you think there¡¯s no value in a rescue? What about those two unfortunate soldiers¡­¡± Zhang Yuan paused for a moment and said, ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t know how to rescue them. Because in that space, I only saw myself and didn¡¯t see the two of them. The surroundings were true nothingness¡­¡± ¡°Do you understand the concept of that nothingness?¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ nothing, it¡¯s different from the emptiness in the universe; it¡¯s genuinely ¡®nothing¡¯! It might be what I saw if one were to reach the edge of the universe.¡± ¡°So, I am thinking, every object sucked in might be transferred into different spaces.¡± ¡°Until we fully understand the nature of the high-dimensional fragment itself, it¡¯s unlikely we can find where exactly they are¡­ So the chances of rescue are very slim.¡± By this point, a few girls had quietly started crying; they might be friends or relatives of the victims. In the vast conference room, only these soft sobbing sounds lingered in everyone¡¯s ears, and the rest were silent. This harsh truth sounded very cruel, but it was the reality¡ªfacing an overwhelming position beyond human control, conservatism was the best strategy. Zhang Yuan sighed deeply in his heart. There was still one thing he hadn¡¯t mentioned; he didn¡¯t know the ratio of time flow between the high-dimensional world and the real world. But based on his own perception of time, it was almost 1:1, whether from running out of oxygen or exhausting energy, both would cause them to disappear in that space. The survival chances for those two brothers were really slim. Yet, with a responsible attitude, he still had to say this. The high-dimensional fragment was simply too dangerous, and he couldn¡¯t even guarantee that he could escape a second time if he were re-engulfed, let alone others. After a few minutes of silence and a few more minutes of discussion, that was the end of Zhang Yuan¡¯s information. Next, the second expert began to speak. He was an elderly expert responsible for the safety of the spaceship and the Dean of the Mechanical Engineering Department at Deep Space University, his hair already white. ¡°Please look, this is the high-dimensional fragment. It should be the creation of some advanced civilization, not born of nature.¡± A robot was investigating in the room, and the screen displayed the footage it had captured. Zhang Yuan stared intently and realized that the object was merely a piece of glass the size of a fingernail. It lay quietly on the floor, not emitting any light, nor exerting any so-called gravitational pull, nor had it swallowed any material from the floor. The object turned out to be an irregular chunk of glass debris! ¡°Is this what they call a warp point? Why has it transformed into a three-dimensional material? Or rather, is the warp point hidden inside this piece of glass debris?¡± A series of questions arose in Zhang Yuan¡¯s mind. ¡°First of all, it seems to have no mass¡­¡± After a few seconds, the old man spoke, ¡°Or rather, its mass is extremely, extremely small, so small that we can¡¯t detect it with robots¡­It¡¯s an unknown material we are unfamiliar with.¡± ¡°However, this fragment can engage in slight electromagnetic interactions with the materials on the floor, which is why it lies obediently on it.¡± ¡°Secondly, we seem to be unable to grasp its activation time. The first activation was when it hit the spaceship, the duration of which is still unknown. The second activation occurred when Mr. Zhang escaped, lasting for exactly 24.4 seconds¡­ It¡¯s been so many days, and there hasn¡¯t been a third activation yet.¡± ¡°Each time it activates, it will generate a gravitational acceleration of 6.2 meters per square second, creating a fairly strong attraction. And it swallows all the materials within a 2.2-meter radius.¡± The screen began to play another video: a light sphere was absorbing aerogel from the floor, but the 6.2 meters per square second of gravity clearly weren¡¯t strong enough to pull it. However, 3.1 seconds later, the aerogel on the floor abruptly disappeared, leaving a 2.2-meter radius hole! ¡°Soft substances will be drawn in along with it; hard materials¡­ at most can only last 3.1 seconds before forming a 2.2-meter radius circle.¡± The high-frequency camera couldn¡¯t capture the moment the big hole appeared, no matter if the footage was delayed hundreds or thousands of times, from one frame with no hole to the next frame where it appeared out of nowhere. Zhang Yuan took a deep breath, this strange concept, he didn¡¯t know what it meant. Upon hearing this, Captain Zhao spoke, ¡°So everyone, if we confirm that there¡¯s no way to rescue the two soldiers, should we throw this fragment into space to ensure the safety of the spaceship, or should we continue to research it and probe deeper into its properties?¡± S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The object was a ticking time bomb; once it acted up, it would cause tremendous damage to the spaceship, and no container could possibly hold it; it might even end up swallowing a bunch of researchers. Even though Zhang Yuan had found a way to escape, not everyone would be able to escape in exactly the same way when the time came. Another elder stood up, ¡°¡­Throwing it out is a very reasonable plan. We are already nearing our destination; just three hundred more years of travel, and we will reach our future Mother Star. We have inherited most of the technology from Earth Civilization and have the guidance of New Civilization History. In this situation, why create unnecessary complications?¡± Zhang Yuan frowned but did not voice his opinion at the moment. Captain Zhao asked again, ¡°Then, based on New Civilization History, can we calculate whether to keep it or discard it?¡± Zhang Yuan raised his hand to answer, ¡°Sorry, there¡¯s no way to make such a calculation. We can¡¯t have a mathematical model for such a random accident¡­¡± ¡°But when faced with a higher-grade technological creation, if the risk is controllable, the probability of negative events is relatively small.¡± Chapter 169 - 169 170 The Second Exploration Plan ?Chapter 169: Chapter 170 The Second Exploration Plan Chapter 169: Chapter 170 The Second Exploration Plan Zhang Yuan paused for a moment, then added a few more sentences, ¡°Science is the primary productive force, and technologies related to dimensions are likely to exceed our level by more than one grade.¡± ¡°I can hardly imagine how advanced the technology of the civilization that created this High-dimensional Fragment is¡­ So, we may gain significant insight from it, but we also might risk a lot for nothing, considering the vast technological disparities.¡± Everyone hesitated a little as they weighed the opportunities and challenges brought by the High-dimensional Fragment. Amidst this silence, suddenly, a different voice rang out in the meeting room, ¡°No, we can¡¯t give up! A technological creation of a civilization with such a high level is too important for us! We must study it¡­¡± It was a young physicist named Zhang Yingbo, who seemed a bit shy under everyone¡¯s gaze at first, but soon his voice grew louder as he expressed his true thoughts, ¡°We indeed have many technological legacies from Earth Civilization, enough to occupy us for hundreds of years¡­¡± ¡°And then what? As everyone knows, Earth Civilization has not seen any new theories for a very long time!¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been choked!¡± ¡°In the field of natural science, the small and medium fishes in the pond have long been caught, and what remains are the big fish that nobody can catch, including not just those on Earth, but us as well.¡± ¡°Now, one such big fish is presented before us, whole and intact.¡± ¡°If for the sake of momentary safety, we give up this tremendous opportunity, I believe we will be safe for a moment but regretful for a lifetime¡­ Our descendants will forever regret today¡¯s cowardly decision.¡± The meeting room fell silent for a few seconds, then erupted in noise¡ªactually, many scientists shared the same thoughts, including Zhang Yuan, who simply hadn¡¯t spoken up. ¡°I agree with the doctor¡¯s opinion.¡± ¡°I agree as well.¡± Even at the potential cost of lives, the immense curiosity and the possible benefits seemed to dwarf that risk. Three hours later, after a heated discussion and a series of votes, the decision to preserve the Fragment and proceed with a second exploration won by a narrow margin. To prevent it from suddenly acting up, it could only be left in the outermost living area. Anyway, as long as it didn¡¯t consume important parts like the engines, the loss of some living area structure was not a big deal. The living area had a tightly sealed honeycomb structure, so even if a few outer rooms broke apart, the inside could still be used normally. And so, under everyone¡¯s watchful eyes, an exploratory robot slowly entered the room, then carefully picked up the Fragment. Zhang Yuan¡¯s eyes widened as he watched the screen intently, his heart rate quickening. Fortunately, nothing happened. All was calm¡­ Captain Zhao wiped the sweat from his face, ¡°Well, it seems that ordinary touch doesn¡¯t trigger it¡­ Let¡¯s move this High-dimensional Fragment to the neighboring Area N, and we¡¯ll repair the cavity in Area M¡­ Then we can research it, or conduct a second exploration activity.¡± Afterward, everyone freely used their imagination, proposing hypotheses and preparing relevant proposals for the unknown, which was better than preparing nothing. ¡°So, everyone, what I want to ask is, where does this High-dimensional Fragment come from? What is its purpose? How can we reactivate it, and do you have any more thoughts?¡± Another scientist stood up and said, ¡°I think there¡¯s a high probability it is related to the Eta Carinae 2 Supernova explosion.¡± ¡°Look everyone, this high-dimensional fragment looks just like a piece of broken glass. Why does it look like a piece of glass and not some other shape?¡± ¡°Like, why isn¡¯t it a sphere? Why not a cube?¡± The question seemed rather nonsensical. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The scientist explained, ¡°As everyone knows, spheres, or ellipsoids, are not only aesthetically more appealing but also possess better mechanical properties. Even if an alien civilization¡¯s aesthetic standards are not the same as ours, their mathematical concepts must be far more advanced¡­ they couldn¡¯t possibly be unaware of these principles. I simply cannot fathom any good mechanical properties of a piece of broken glass.¡± ¡°So, we can boldly hypothesize that near Eta Carinae 2, there might be a large-scale project of a supreme civilization!¡± ¡°It was because of the supernova explosion that it was destroyed, hence these fragments that look like broken glass¡­¡± ¡°Plus, its mass is extremely small, so it can move at speeds close to the speed of light in the universe, and it just so happened to collide with our spaceship. Due to its small mass, its kinetic energy is also not great¡­ which is why we encountered it.¡± Zhang Yuan nodded, this hypothesis sounded like a fantasy, but it seemed to have no significant loopholes¡­ The only oddity was, why would a super civilization build their project near a supernova. In fact, the question itself was not very nutritious, even if people knew there was a supercivilization artifact near Eta Carinae 2, so what? It¡¯s 7,000 light-years away from humans and has already been destroyed; at most, it could be treated as a piece of gossip to listen to, without any possibility of actually going there to take a look. Lin Xuanyuan stood behind him and whispered softly, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, if we can find a second piece of high-speed moving glass, it could prove this hypothesis.¡± ¡°Relics of a super civilization¡­¡± she started to daydream quietly, ¡°I wonder what the daily life of other civilizations is like¡­ whether it¡¯s the same as us humans.¡± Zhang Yuan said with a smile, ¡°Finding a second fragment, the probability is too small; even a black hole of such a large mass, distributed over a scale of 7,000 light-years, is too sparse to be found. That we could encounter a high-dimensional fragment is already an incredibly lucky event. Moreover, if we were hit by multiple high-dimensional fragments, our spaceship would be doomed.¡± Such gossip-worthy content could be guessed at, but the most important issue was the second question, how to stimulate this high-dimensional fragment? Because humans only observed the activation twice, and the samples were too scarce to draw any regular conclusions. Some people believed it had to do with the fragment¡¯s speed; if it were accelerated to an extremely high velocity, perhaps it could be activated; some thought it was related to energy or temperature; others felt it might have to do with specific time points. Anyway, without clear experimental results, there would be no meaningful conclusion. ¡­ A day later. The high-dimensional fragment had been transferred to a spacious hall in Area N, firmly monitored by various instruments, and many physicists were studying it, risking their lives. Meanwhile, a solemn funeral was held in Area A. Although Zhang Yuan had escaped from the high-dimensional space, the other two soldiers theoretically had no chance of survival. This was the first case of death in the line of duty on the spaceship, and the atmosphere was somewhat heavy. Zhang Yuan had always felt that awarding a ¡°first-class merit¡± to the deceased did not mean much. But at this moment, he understood that, in fact, these kinds of honors were given for the living to see¡­ This serious ceremony was very important for a civilization. It was not enough for a person to only have this life; living solely in the present wasn¡¯t sufficient either. He should also possess poetry and ideals. Chapter 170 - 170 171 Bionics Restoration Surgery ?Chapter 170: Chapter 171: Bionics Restoration Surgery Chapter 170: Chapter 171: Bionics Restoration Surgery At the memorial service, Captain Zhao read the eulogy in a low voice, ¡°¡­Death is the end of life, but their courage will be forever sung by us.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a shame we can¡¯t even find their bodies, no matter how much we praise them, they can¡¯t hear us anymore. But our lives must go on, carrying a part of them with us.¡± ¡°Let us forever remember their names and observe a five-minute silence in their honor.¡± Zhang Yuan bowed his head below, letting out a light sigh. It was hard to imagine what it must have been like to wait for death alone in such a place. Suddenly, he felt very fortunate to have escaped from that unknown, great fear. Such high-tech, related to dimensions, was like magic to humans. After 5 minutes, the entire memorial service ended. The mourners quietly left, leaving only the family and friends crying softly. Zhang Yuan started up his electric wheelchair and left the room. ¡°Mr. Zhang, please come this way, your bionic legs are ready,¡± said a biologist softly to Zhang Yuan at that moment. ¡°So soon?¡± Zhang Yuan said in surprise. ¡°They were ready-made in the lab and have been researched for a long time. Now you are willing to be an experimental product¡­ no, a volunteer, which is absolutely splendid. If you are ready, we can proceed with the surgery immediately.¡± Zhang Yuan shuddered and took another glance at the doctor. He felt he could not endure the days without his legs, ¡°Okay¡­ I¡¯ll come right now.¡± Out the door, take a left turn, then go up an elevator, and there¡¯s the hospital. At the entrance to the operating room, Lin Xuanyuan rubbed her hands together and with a very odd smile said, ¡°I¡¯ve heard it might hurt a bit, you¡¯ll have to hang in there¡­ I can only watch from the side.¡± Doctors can¡¯t perform surgery on their family members, that¡¯s the rule, and Lin Xuanyuan wasn¡¯t a specialist in this field either. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m afraid of pain?¡± Zhang Yuan patted his chest, ¡°I can even cut my own flesh without issue.¡± ¡°Yeah, just don¡¯t scream out loud during it!¡± S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. But soon, the agony of the installation far exceeded his imagination! Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t know what the damned biologists had applied to his legs, purportedly some life-stimulating drug for neurons, it felt like millions of ants biting at the wound! Within just moments, Zhang Yuan felt his teeth were about to be ground to dust. Sweat dripped onto the operating table from his forehead. Shivering, Zhang Yuan could barely bear it any longer. He forced out a sentence from his throat: ¡°Doctor, can¡¯t you give me a bit more anesthesia?¡± ¡°No, Mr. Zhang, please bear with it a little longer. Reactivating the neurons can¡¯t be done with too much anesthesia. Otherwise, the results might be poor, and if they reconnect improperly, you¡¯ll have to endure this pain again.¡± He saw Lin Xuanyuan hiding to one side, her eyes filled with worry but also incessantly giggling, not sure if she was reveling in his misfortune or expressing some other emotion. He cursed in his mind, ¡°Ecstatic, right!¡± After about four hours, the intense pain finally subsided. Zhang Yuan was exhausted, gasping for air on the operating table, his body felt as if it had been paralyzed. It was a nightmare! A nightmare on par with that nine-dimensional space! After regaining a bit of strength, Zhang Yuan sat up and felt his legs. They felt alright, not too different from normal legs. Then he took a few steps on the floor, slightly staggering and not very accustomed to it, but without any major discomfort or pain. Faced with this miraculous surgery, he quickly cast aside the recent suffering. Having been confined to a wheelchair, even though Lin Xuanyuan didn¡¯t look down on him, Zhang Yuan had begun to despise himself. Regaining his legs gave him a strong sense of groundedness. ¡°Technology¡­ truly amazing! Biologists, magnificent!¡± he praised sincerely in his heart, ¡°If such surgeries could become widespread, there would no longer be disabled people.¡± ¡°Mr. Zhang Yuan, your instability comes from not having fully adjusted the settings yet,¡± said the doctor in a white coat, handing him a remote control: ¡°The common stride range of bionic legs needs manual adjustment. We haven¡¯t tuned the settings to the right parameters yet, so walking might be a bit unsteady. You can adjust it to your liking¡­¡± ¡°Oh, okay, okay, thank you!¡± Zhang Yuan took the remote, continuously adjusting the relevant power. His thighs were still human, but the lower legs and joints had been replaced with bionics. If the power wasn¡¯t coordinated properly, being either too strong or too weak, it was easy to have an unstable walk. After about half an hour, Zhang Yuan had mostly adjusted to his preferred power level and stride, and his walk became more stable. He jumped forcefully and landed smoothly on the ground. He was already quite satisfied with the result. Most importantly, the bionic legs still had almost the same sensation as the original, able to feel pain and itchiness. ¡°It even has a certain memory capacity and will record your habits. After some time of use, it will become smoother.¡± Turning around, Zhang Yuan asked with a smile, ¡°The emergence of the Bionics School is indeed not without reason. What¡¯s the maximum power it can adjust to? Have I become a superman?¡± ¡°Dream on if you want to be a superman!¡± Lin Xuanyuan looked him over for a while: ¡°The maximum power is about 5 times that of a human. Mainly the energy system is the limitation. If the output power is too high, it can generate a lot of heat.¡± ¡°It should be using a radioactive decay battery, right?¡± Another doctor nodded, ¡°Normally, you only need to change the battery every twenty or thirty years. When it signals an alarm, it can still last about a month. If you enter hibernation state, you need to remove the battery and some parts first, which is a bit troublesome.¡± ¡°Anyway, I¡¯ll just use it for now. If there¡¯s a problem, we can adjust it then.¡± Having regained health, Zhang Yuan was indeed quite excited and jumped forcefully. ¡°It seems that the technological transformation of bionics is not as hard to accept as I thought¡­¡± With this thought in mind, Zhang Yuan stepped out of the operating room. He still had many things to do. Especially research on the High-dimensional Fragment. As the only survivor, many studies simply couldn¡¯t proceed without him. Lin Xuanyuan suddenly caught up with him in a series of quick steps, stuttering, ¡°You¡­ should still be careful, don¡¯t get yourself crippled again. Our technology is not yet capable of a full-scale transformation.¡± ¡°I know, I know, nothing can kill me!¡± Zhang Yuan smiled, waving his hand, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m off, bye!¡± ¡­ Chapter 171 - 171 172 Subatomic Solid State ?Chapter 171: Chapter 172 Subatomic Solid State Chapter 171: Chapter 172 Subatomic Solid State In the Central Control Room, the atmosphere was very oppressive. Captain Zhao and his team were tensely monitoring the movements of the high-dimensional fragment. Ever since it had appeared, it felt like a huge stone was pressing on their hearts, and they hadn¡¯t had a good night¡¯s sleep since. Various instruments tirelessly performed remote scans, fearing that, at any moment, they might accidentally trigger its activation mechanism. Yet everyone was somewhat hoping for it to be triggered. In just half a day, a temporary high explosive bomb had been set up near the high-dimensional fragment. For so many scientists, making a high explosive bomb with the available materials was simply too easy. However, Captain Zhao Qingfeng still felt waves of headaches, experiencing no sense of security whatsoever. The main reason was the inadequacy of human military strength. After scouring the entire cabin, all they managed to put together was this remote-controlled bomb and a few mechanical rifles, and that was all. A nuclear bomb? Impossible¡­ The firepower of a single high explosive bomb simply couldn¡¯t bring any sense of security, It wasn¡¯t that Zhao Qingfeng was timid, but¡ªif they really encountered aliens or some strange life form, humans would stand no chance of fighting back. But there was nothing they could do. When Earth Era had embarked on this journey, they hadn¡¯t carried many weapons; one reason was the difficulty in maintaining such delicate arms, and another was the lack of tonnage to carry them. A nuclear bomb, after thousands of years, had a 99.99% probability of failing, or even posing safety risks, so they simply didn¡¯t bring any. Now, they were paying the price. Zhao Qingfeng shook his head, calming his spirit. According to the scientists¡¯ speculation, the high-dimensional fragment might be used for several purposes. First, as an experimental apparatus; it might not actually be a high-dimensional space, but rather an experimental product used to simulate various properties of high-dimensional space. In this scenario, humans were safest, since the experimental product had already been damaged by the supernova, and aliens would likely not come knocking, demanding things from humans. So they could boldly explore. Second, as a container for certain materials! In theory, a high-dimensional space could carry almost unlimited three-dimensional materials, such as energy and resources. In this scenario, humans would strike it big, potentially extracting even more valuable items from it! The third conjecture was the most outrageous, yet it was what people feared most¡ªan interstellar portal! ¡°Think about it, a high-level civilization. Wouldn¡¯t they know that this supernova is about to explode? Even we know this fact!¡± A middle-aged scientist argued heatedly, his face red and neck bulging, ¡°Would they be foolish enough to let the supernova destroy their device?¡± ¡°No, they wouldn¡¯t!¡± S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°So¡­ they did it on purpose!¡± ¡°Because this is an interstellar portal. The shattered high-dimensional fragment could spread throughout the Milky Way during this supernova explosion. With these fragments, a super-civilization could easily travel across the galaxy.¡± ¡°We must prevent this scenario¡­¡± Captain Zhao couldn¡¯t help but pat his aching head; weren¡¯t these people¡¯s imaginations a bit too wild? But then again, it kind of made sense. One scenario led to soaring success, the other to humans being utterly defeated and wiped out by aliens. Even though this issue had already been discussed and voted on in the meeting, the debates continued incessantly. As a leader, Captain Zhao instinctively wanted to throw out the fragment, but he couldn¡¯t bear to part with it, with a bunch of scientists fiercely opposing it. So after a long hassle, he could only attach a bomb to it¡ªif anything really happened, they would just detonate it¡­ ¡°Alright, alright, no more arguing!¡± ¡°Since the meeting has voted to keep it for experimentation, let¡¯s just keep it for now!¡± ¡°Can the results of a vote be changed arbitrarily?¡± Captain Zhao slammed his hand on the table heavily; time had etched authority onto his face, he was no longer that young man from before. The noisy scientists finally left reluctantly. After a while, a new report appeared on the computer screen. Zhao Qingfeng hastily read it; preliminary research results were in¡ªthe high-dimensional fragment was composed of a type of unstable subatomic particles! Its surface temperature had already gone below absolute zero! Reading the text carefully, veins on Zhao Qingfeng¡¯s forehead throbbed as he took several deep breaths. As a highly educated intellectual, he certainly understood what this meant. It was simply¡­ unimaginable! Below absolute zero indicated that a massive amount of vacuum zero-point energy was extracted from that area! Thump, thump, thump, the door to the office sounded a few times, and in walked a very familiar person. Zhao Qingfeng¡¯s tone eased slightly, feeling a sense of security, ¡°Zhang Yuan, how¡¯s your leg?¡± ¡°Yes, thanks to those biologists. How¡¯s the research on the high-dimensional fragment going?¡± ¡°Take a look at this report first.¡± Upon examining it, Zhang Yuan also frowned, remaining silent. This peculiar subatomic particle had an extremely small mass. The gravitational field it produced could affect electromagnetic waves, altering the trajectory of these waves, essentially qualifying as a form of dark matter. This electromagnetic effect was far weaker than that of normal matter. Second, the multidimensional momentum of the subatomic particles was less than that of known atoms, existing at temperatures below absolute zero, therefore appearing to be fixed in place, forming something like a shard of broken glass. ¡°Theoretically, subatomic particles can¡¯t stably exist in space and would decompose in an instant. But now, as the space temperature is below absolute zero, it appears to be solidified¡­ Though it¡¯s not exactly solidification, but rather a very bizarre state¡­¡± Zhang Yuan, frowning, said, ¡°So, providing a large amount of energy to shift it from this state, these subatomic particles would decompose and expose the twisted points behind?¡± Senior Brother Zhao said, ¡°Yes, theoretically, it¡¯s highly likely!¡± ¡°After some time, this weird material would automatically reset and seal off this high-dimensional space. The reason behind this, we don¡¯t know¡­ but this method of sealing off high-dimensional space is indeed very ingenious.¡± Zhang Yuan said, ¡°I¡¯m now rather interested in this subatomic solidification technology¡­ Its hardness is higher than diamond, and the material strength has completely surpassed the scope of intermolecular forces¡­ Could it be strong interaction?¡± ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be. We don¡¯t even have a theoretical basis.¡± The room fell silent for a while. What¡¯s the point of discussing ¡°subatomic particles¡± here? Isn¡¯t it like missing the forest for the trees? Since the high-dimensional fragment, under the action of a massive amount of energy, had been reactivated, the second exploration could be prepared. But, a problem lay ahead¡ªwho should be sent in? One misstep, and a person might die. Sending in a robot would result in no return and no transmission of any valid information. After pondering for a long time, Zhang Yuan took the initiative to say, ¡°If it really comes down to it, let me go take a look. As long as we are well-prepared, escaping back shouldn¡¯t be too hard. It¡¯s easier the second time around¡­¡± Senior Brother Zhao uneasily said, ¡°Should we add one more person?¡± ¡°No need, one person is enough. The mass distribution for two people is different, making calculations even more troublesome.¡± Chapter 172 - 172 173 Crisis... Extraterrestrial Life ?Chapter 172: Chapter 173 Crisis¡­ Extraterrestrial Life! Chapter 172: Chapter 173 Crisis¡­ Extraterrestrial Life! Senior Brother Zhao stood still for a while, seemingly a bit uneasy, ¡°Alas, who¡¯d blame the soldiers for not learning to calculate? Sending them is just sending them to their deaths¡­¡± ¡°I will get them ready as soon as possible with all the equipment and the related counterweight mass¡­ Once the timing is right, we can explore again.¡± ¡°No problem, rest assured.¡± Zhang Yuan saw the worried look on Senior Brother Zhao¡¯s face, the wrinkles on his forehead and the white hair at his temples, at least forty years older than himself. He suddenly remembered the scene of Old Zhao sneaking a peak at comics in the laboratory, things like ¡°Pirate King¡± and ¡°Eight Dragon Balls¡± aimed at a younger audience. After many years had passed, and taking on the role of captain, there were no more such leisurely moments. He had become more serious and carried a conservatism that suited middle age. ¡°It must be tough being a captain,¡± Zhang Yuan said. Senior Brother Zhao sighed, ¡°Yes, there¡¯s just too much of a variety of things. Everyone has their own ideas, and sometimes it¡¯s like a tangled mess, nowhere near as straightforward as staying in the laboratory! And all day long worrying about aliens suddenly popping out from high-dimensional fragments, what kind of situation is this!¡± ¡°I think the probability of that happening is very low, don¡¯t find trouble for yourself,¡± Zhang Yuan took a sip of water and said, ¡°Think about it, this kind of supercivilization, would they really need to harness the power of a supernova, to blow it to bits? It¡¯s too barbaric and too absurd¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m more inclined to think that the supercivilization has forgotten about it, or to say, they simply don¡¯t care about this thing and let it explode if it explodes.¡± S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Moreover, we¡¯ve already cracked the entry method to the high-dimensional fragment, incidentally reducing the probability. If it was an interstellar portal, how could it have been so easily deciphered?¡± ¡°¡­That¡¯s also true. But for a captain, any small probability event must be taken into consideration. Our weapons are too poor; we cannot afford any mistakes.¡± After a long discussion, which lasted until late into the night, Zhang Yuan finally stood up to say goodbye. When he returned to his little room, Lin Xuanyuan had already fallen asleep. After washing up, Zhang Yuan quietly lay down beside her. When the time came, the Ferris wheel started to accelerate, generating a centrifugal force equal to Earth¡¯s gravity. Lin Xuanyuan rolled over into his arms. The warmth and softness in his embrace felt very good. But Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t do anything more; after working all day, everyone was tired, who had the leisure or desire to do anything else¡­ He had a good habit of reflecting on what he had done, learned, and gained throughout the day before going to bed. Maintaining this self-disciplined state was the source of progress. After pondering for a few minutes, Zhang Yuan suddenly felt a strange palpitation, an idea flashed through his mind like lightning¡ªthey had forgotten something at the day¡¯s meeting! This palpitation was eerie yet incredibly strong; Zhang Yuan could not help frowning and pondering hard. Ten minutes, half an hour, an hour passed, and Zhang Yuan tossed and turned in bed, with no sign of sleepiness. The palpitation grew stronger and stronger, always with a heart-pounding sense of horror. Subsequently, a series of associations formed in his mind. ¡°Perhaps¡­ that glass shard is a bullet? Not some kind of space gate¡­¡± ¡°After hitting the object, it directly absorbs the culprit, and incidentally, locks them straight into the high-dimensional prison?¡± ¡°Or perhaps it¡¯s some kind of storage pocket?¡± How strange, what exactly had they forgotten? Zhang Yuan carefully recalled the scientists¡¯ speculations during the meeting, starting from the beginning and analytically going through them one by one. He quickly found¡­ a suspicious point of enormous proportions! In the meeting, it was established that the high-dimensional fragment was triggered a total of two times. The first time was when a high temperature caused by hitting the spaceship¡¯s wall activated it; The second time was when Zhang Yuan struggled out from inside, activating it from within. But the answer of ¡°two times¡± might not be entirely correct! There might have been three times, and one of them was missed by everyone! Zhang Yuan remembered that since the supernova exploded and the spaceship¡¯s wall was breached, it took him more than fifteen minutes to rush over in a hurry. Then, they discussed the relevant repair matters behind the air pressure door. As a result, this high-dimensional fragment appeared out of nowhere and was in an active state. It absorbed them all, and only he, Zhang Yuan, escaped. ¡°So, the first activation of the high-dimensional fragment lasted for over fifteen minutes?¡± Zhang Yuan remembered that humanity had fully observed it for only about twenty seconds during that instance, and compared to 15 minutes, the time difference was just too great. ¡°It¡¯s possible, the number of times it was activated¡­ not just twice!¡± During the first activation, a hole was punched through the spaceship¡¯s wall, and the relevant monitoring equipment had been destroyed by the intense radiation from the supernova, making it impossible for people to observe any other occurrences. ¡°After its first activation, it quickly calmed down.¡± ¡°The second activation happened fifteen minutes later, and it sucked us three right in.¡± ¡°The third activation occurred because I escaped from inside it, triggering some mechanism.¡± Since no one saw the quiet periods before the first two activations, humanity mistakenly combined them into one event. So, if this speculation is true, how did this additional instance, the second one, come about? Zhang Yuan quickly came to a chilling speculation¡­ Could something have escaped from the high-dimensional fragment? Just like when he escaped! ¡°Alien life?!¡± Zhang Yuan was startled by the possibility, feeling like he had fallen into an ice cave, with all his hairs standing on end! He hastily dropped Lin Xuanxuan, who was in his arms, and scrambled up from the bed. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Go to sleep,¡± Lin Xuanxuan muttered, disoriented, and fell back asleep. ¡°There¡¯s an emergency!¡± Zhang Yuan said, too rushed to bother with her, and hurriedly picked up his phone to call Captain Zhao. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Old Zhao, where are you?¡± Hearing Zhang Yuan¡¯s slightly panicked voice, Captain Zhao became serious, ¡°I¡¯m still in the Captain¡¯s Room, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a big deal, I¡¯m on my way!¡± Although the centrifuge was spinning at high speed, there was still a way to get out of the room. Near the door, there was a small emergency safety seat. If you strapped it on, you could slide along the track of the centrifuge to the central axis. The speed would gradually decrease during the slide, and then you could get off. Zhang Yuan rushed to the Captain¡¯s Room. He found Senior Brother Zhao still in the room, frowning and pondering something, with several soldiers reporting their duties. When he saw Zhang Yuan, he spoke with a hint of complaint, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? It¡¯s so late, I was about to go to sleep.¡± ¡°We might have missed some information.¡± Zhang Yuan swallowed, his voice urgent yet straightforward as he relayed his thoughts, including some speculations. ¡°What? Alien life!¡± Senior Brother Zhao¡¯s eyes widened, the slight listlessness he had was gone, replaced by cold sweat on his forehead! His voice involuntarily grew louder, ¡°Are you saying that¡¯s true?!¡± Zhang Yuan shook his head, ¡°How would I know exactly¡­ It¡¯s just speculation. It¡¯s possible that when the high-dimensional fragment hit the spaceship, the energy was extremely high, and it really lasted for fifteen minutes.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s also possible¡­ if this possibility really came into play¡­¡± Zhao Qingfeng¡¯s expression flickered, unsettled. Just the speculation alone was enough to be horrifying. The soldiers standing guard at the door too exchanged glances, their blood boiling and a restless heat surging through them¡ªif this speculation held water, the crisis would be enormous! The prospect of an unknown life form having slipped into the spaceship was a crisis that could lead to the annihilation of an entire species! Chapter 173 - 173 174 A False Alarm ?Chapter 173: Chapter 174: A False Alarm? Chapter 173: Chapter 174: A False Alarm? ¡°Don¡¯t panic just yet!¡± Captain Zhao, with a stern face, quickly awoke a large group of soldiers and members of the think tank to start checking the surveillance within the spaceship. Everyone looked uneasy, quietly discussing among themselves. There were endless guesses about ¡°aliens.¡± ¡°The key issue now is that we don¡¯t know how many times the High-dimensional Fragment has been triggered.¡± ¡°It¡¯s unlikely¡­ If it were a normal biological invasion, we would have noticed much earlier.¡± ¡°¡­Alien creatures might have unpredictable abilities. We must be cautious.¡± But the surveillance in the outermost rooms was destroyed, and it was a headache to get firsthand data. ¡°How many people awake on our spaceship?¡± ¡°Currently, there are more than six thousand¡­ Any missing persons?¡± The supercomputer quickly reviewed the surveillance records and, in the past 24 hours, no missing persons cases were found. ¡°Perhaps¡­ this thing is hiding inside somebody¡¯s body, or in some corner. The spaceship is so big, it¡¯s impossible for us so few to check everywhere.¡± Major Guo, the highest-ranking military officer aboard the ship, frowned and said, ¡°Should we wake more soldiers?¡± People didn¡¯t know whether the hypothetical enemy existed but dared not take it lightly. Earth Era was as big as a small city, a hundred soldiers truly couldn¡¯t inspect every nook and cranny. Captain Zhao shook his head, ¡°No, more people would make things even more complicated. The hospital¡¯s X-ray equipment isn¡¯t enough either, it would take forever to scan everyone¡­¡± ¡°If this thing is very, very small, as small as a sesame seed, X-rays might not be able to detect it at all.¡± Everyone was at a loss, hoping both to find it and not to find it. The uneasy feeling left everyone helpless. Zhang Yuan gritted his teeth, ¡°Right, if it¡¯s some kind of¡­ parasite, then let¡¯s see if there are any unusual medical records at the hospital!¡± Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate the human¡¯s natural immune function! It wouldn¡¯t have encountered humans before. There¡¯s bound to be some abnormal reactions, like collapses, fever, and so on. Check it out quickly!¡± Zhao Qingfeng nodded, ¡°Quickly call Shen Jie over!¡± The person responsible for the hospital was woken from his sleep, arrived at the scene bewildered, and turned pale and then purple with panic after being informed of the reason. ¡°No, there really are no special patients¡­ Let me think.¡± There were few patients in the hospital, with a total awake population of only 6000, mostly comprised of young adults. Besides some patients awakened from hibernation, where would there be so many sick people? ¡°Think carefully, even from the past few days.¡± After pondering for a while, Shen Jie suddenly said, ¡°I recall, there were two patients with fevers¡­ I¡¯ll investigate the hospital records again.¡± These two unfortunate souls were quickly awakened from their dreams and readmitted to the hospital for thorough examinations. The situation caused panic, disturbing many of the sleeping crew. But nothing, absolutely nothing! After watching surveillance videos all night and catching patients all night, no clues were found. Many people breathed a slight sigh of relief. Either it was all a figment of their imagination, or¡­ the opponent¡¯s cunning and ability to hide were far superior to what anyone anticipated! ¡°Sigh, you guys go back and rest for a while,¡± Captain Zhao sighed lightly. Humans, if they don¡¯t rest for a long time, all their basic abilities decline. Only Zhang Yuan, Captain Zhao, and Major Guo remained in the office. Zhang Yuan, frowning, obviously wouldn¡¯t let his guard down so easily. With dark circles under his eyes, various chaotic thoughts raced through his mind, even suspecting that something had been done to the group of soldiers. ¡°Of course, he couldn¡¯t just blurt it out. Otherwise, under mutual suspicion and fear, nothing could get done. ¡°Major Guo,¡± Senior Brother Zhao said in a serious tone, ¡°are we really giving up just like this?¡± ¡°First, turn off all electronic devices¡­¡± Zhang Yuan whispered privately, ¡°Captain, I think if it really is some kind of biological entity¡­ the situation might be far worse than we imagined. We can¡¯t even find it.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s hiding somewhere like a sewage system, we definitely can¡¯t find it. Does it even have intelligence?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what we¡¯re most worried about.¡± ¡°How long has it already been here?¡± ¡°Nine days, if it exists,¡± Senior Brother Zhao replied soberly. Zhang Yuan said gloomily, ¡°Think about it, using a high-dimensional prison to detain such a creature, could it be an easy opponent? A super civilization needs to use such means¡­¡± ¡°I even think it might not have a physical form, perhaps, it¡¯s some sort of electromagnetic wave life form, or even a high-dimensional being¡­ completely invisible and untouchable!¡± Zhang Yuan thought of an even worse possibility, that if the other party had already infiltrated the spaceship¡¯s main computer, perhaps all the surveillance was tampered with! Even their conversation might have been fully monitored, including this one! Thinking about these possibilities, he truly shuddered, merely hoping the situation wasn¡¯t as bad as he feared. Yes, even high-dimensional fragments were vividly displayed before people¡¯s eyes, what¡¯s so impossible about high-dimensional life forms? Captain Zhao furrowed his brow: ¡°Even if it¡¯s a high-dimensional being, if it¡¯s hiding on our spaceship, it still has to have a three-dimensional projection point.¡± ¡°Think of a solution, carefully consider it, there must be a way.¡± Wait a minute! Zhang Yuan suddenly had a flash of insight and whispered quietly, ¡°When I was pulled into the high-dimensional world, in that instant, I had a higher-dimensional perspective and saw a slew of information. Perhaps¡­ I could see something?¡± ¡°Did you see anything?¡± Zhang Yuan recalled carefully and smiled bitterly, ¡°No use, I have absolutely no memory of it. I was too panicked and scared at the time, my brain was muddled, I couldn¡¯t see anything else.¡± The other two sighed involuntarily. ¡°However¡­¡± Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t finish his sentence and just mouthed the words. Record¡­ing! Yes, the recording on the space suit. Captain Zhao was immediately thrilled. ¡°Let¡¯s go, take a look!¡± The recording from the space suit had already been uploaded to the central computer. Analyzing these bizarre recordings required strong mathematical knowledge and the construction of specific mathematical models. This task had been progressing orderly, and the key solution had just been deciphered. The men ran the recording on the computer for a while, their eyes glued to the screen. Regrettably, even after converting the higher-dimensional perspective to a three-dimensional one, nothing abnormal was discovered. ¡°Am I overthinking it?¡± Zhang Yuan frowned, but quickly thought of another, even worse possibility. ¡°Let¡¯s hope¡­¡± Captain Zhao let out a long sigh of relief, appearing relaxed, ¡°Everyone, go back and rest. If there¡¯s anything, we can think about it after some sleep; there¡¯s no need to scare ourselves.¡± Because they hadn¡¯t slept all night, everyone was exhausted. After discussing, they went off to sleep separately. Chapter 174 - 174 175 The Second Investigation Begin ?Chapter 174: Chapter 175: The Second Investigation, Begin! Chapter 174: Chapter 175: The Second Investigation, Begin! The next day, in the central meeting room. The clamor from the previous night did not affect the subsequent exploration; all the senior leaders quickly reached a consensus and issued the second space expedition¡¯s operational plan. ¡°The experiment this time will first need to confirm whether the warp point within the High-dimensional Fragment can be traversed back and forth, and whether it is reliable¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s also the most important and dangerous point. If the warp point isn¡¯t reliable, we¡¯ll have to abandon this fragment.¡± ¡°So, you must return within 12 hours. If you don¡¯t come back, we will consider the mission a complete failure¡­¡± ¡°It will also lose its value for research.¡± Zhang Yuan nodded, ¡°Understood!¡± Standing to the side, Major Guo had a complex expression and sighed deeply. This kind of action was supposed to be carried out by soldiers like them. But in such a highly complex environment, without sufficient knowledge, it would be of no use and only lead to pointless death. ¡°So, this operation is named¡­ Dimensional Shuttle!¡± And so, clad in a space suit, wearing various electronic instruments, and with a large counterweight box on his back filled with various components, Zhang Yuan quietly waited near the High-dimensional Fragment. Beam after beam of laser light shone upon it, and slowly, a scorching point of light appeared at the very center of the High-dimensional Fragment. According to the experts¡¯ calculations, the time the High-dimensional Fragment was activated depended on the received energy. Therefore, as long as its temperature reached a certain threshold, it would be briefly activated for just two to three seconds. A mere few seconds would not cause significant damage to the spaceship. At this moment, it was impossible not to feel tense. Suddenly, a bright light flared up! Zhang Yuan¡¯s eyes widened. In just an instant, that feeling of impact, with a broader perspective, appeared again¡­ Various human organs, cells, blood, including the spectators across the wall, a myriad of information surged through his mind. Everything seemed transparent. A brilliantly colorful world emerged before his eyes. Almost all of the experts were observing from a distance. Even with mental preparation, they couldn¡¯t help but cry out in surprise. The noisy voices quickly rose and fell in his headset: ¡°Is this¡­ the distortion of space? Why is this happening!¡± ¡°Quick, record it!¡± ¡°Even the light is being distorted¡­¡± Once bitten, twice shy, the voices in the headset soon fell silent. This time, Zhang Yuan did not lose consciousness but was slightly disoriented for a few minutes. He found himself alone in an empty space, exactly like the first time he had entered. Dark and lonely. If it weren¡¯t for the sake of the grand plan for the future of civilization, Zhang Yuan would not have wanted to re-enter this dreadful place. His own calf, which he had previously amputated, along with the discarded components from the toolbox, had disappeared. It was somewhat baffling why these items had vanished so abruptly. After thinking it over, the only explanation seemed to be the parallel universe hypothesis. That is to say, those things from before, and his current self, no longer belong to the same space-time continuum and naturally cannot be seen anymore. The two missing soldiers likely followed the same principle. Of course, his purpose this time wasn¡¯t to investigate where the objects that had fallen here before had gone, but to repeat the entire escape process and record it completely. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. And¡­ An even more important point! The moment he had just entered, he had a high-dimensional perspective of the entire spaceship again! This perspective had been thoroughly recorded by the multitude of instruments on the space suit. ¡°Senior Brother Zhao went to great lengths to prepare so many instruments for himself; it must be for this reason.¡± ¡°If we analyze it, perhaps we can make some unexpected discoveries.¡± Let¡¯s begin! ¡­ Captain Zhao Qingfeng anxiously waited in the monitoring room. How could one take lightly such a great terror coming from alien life? He heard a group of scientists excitedly discussing, with a bittersweet knowledge in his heart. Yet, no orders could be directly spoken aloud. Eight days, no, it had already been nine! Perhaps the other side had already deciphered human language? If the interlocutor heard this conversation and took preventive measures, it would be even harder to locate it¡­ Even, the intruder might have compromised the computer systems inside the spaceship, and all the surveillance footage people saw could have been altered. This worst-case scenario was not impossible! Thus, all appearances of relaxation, sleeping, and even proceeding with the exploration plan as scheduled were just a fa?ade. ¡°If there isn¡¯t any high-dimensional life, all of this is tantamount to acting, frightening ourselves, and we suffer no loss;¡± ¡°But if it truly exists, then¡­¡± He didn¡¯t know if Zhang Yuan could understand his intentions, but he was secretly anxious. The surrounding professors were huddled together, discussing the various properties of high-dimensional space in low voices that grew louder and louder, their expressions becoming fanatical, irritating him to no end. ¡°Major Guo! Are you ready?¡± Captain Zhao suddenly called out loudly to a burly man at the door. ¡°Ready!¡± ¡°Deploy some soldiers to the living area, always prepared to maintain order on the spaceship, to avoid stampede incidents during chaos¡­ the rest, guard the key positions. If necessary¡­ you are authorized to use weapons!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± A phalanx of armed soldiers already waiting at the door saluted him in unison. Zhao Qingfeng did not know if these soldiers, equipped with simple weapons like rifles, would be effective, but he sent them anyway. The soldiers¡¯ arrival did not cause too much panic among the people. Those unaware of the truth thought the soldiers were there to prevent any chaos that might erupt from the High-dimensional Fragment¡­ even if it was just a low-probability event. They had no idea that a monster might already be roaming inside the spaceship! As time ticked by second by second, the High-dimensional Fragment showed no activity. These 12 hours were excruciatingly tough, and Major Guo was extremely tense, guarding the door while licking his dry lips. He would now rather face a tangible alien lifeform or parasite than combat some high-dimensional life. He didn¡¯t even know what Captain Zhao was thinking; surely he couldn¡¯t have truly let his guard down? The soldiers underneath him were also ignorant of the situation, yet the serious expression of their commanding officer made them vaguely aware of something. If it was truly an intangible lifeform¡­ First and foremost, how should they fight it? Mulling over this, Major Guo felt cold sweat streaming down his back. ¡­ Chapter 175 - 175 176 Discovery ?Chapter 175: Chapter 176: Discovery! Chapter 175: Chapter 176: Discovery! Zhang Yuan continued to work intently, and in that instant of high-dimensional perspective, he could almost observe every detail never seen before. He first thoroughly inspected the entire computer algorithm. If the enemy dared to tamper with the computer algorithm, Zhang Yuan would surely detect it. 12 hours was long, but compared to such a massive amount of work, it was very urgent. ¡°There are no errors, no signs of modification. If it truly possesses extreme intelligence, it should also know not to recklessly modify algorithms, otherwise, it would be easily discovered by us,¡± he said. Zhang Yuan let out a breath of turbid air. Then, he imported data from various observation devices into the computer algorithm. Even if it was for a mere moment, the data observed by the devices was extremely abundant, and moreover, the devices prepared by Captain Zhao and others were quite comprehensive, nearly every kind of investigative equipment was there. Zhang Yuan frowned, carefully inspecting image after image. Nothing was found. Still not found¡­ Nothing¡­ Suddenly, his heartbeat sped up rapidly! He saw at the center of a computer, there seemed to be a very strange Dark Cloud! This Dark Cloud was so eerie, like a cone stretching out from a void, and in comparison with the nearby objects, it was extremely dissonant! This dissonance had an indescribable feeling of inconsistency, small parts seemed smaller than the tip of a needle, while large parts seemed larger than the entire spaceship. This difference, just like volume and area, was completely not the same concept. ¡°Is this¡­ high-dimensional life?¡± It actually really existed! Zhang Yuan was both shocked and anxious, in that instant, his blood nearly boiling! S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. This computer was involved in some of the spaceship¡¯s monitoring, especially the monitoring devices related to the High-dimensional Fragment, and Zhang Yuan had even operated it personally, with no abnormalities at all. After deliberating carefully for a while, Zhang Yuan managed to suppress that terrified feeling and couldn¡¯t help but sneer. ¡°It¡¯s better to have discovered it than to have not discovered it at all¡­¡± At the same time, he began to ponder some deeper matters. First, what is it, what does it want to do? Zhang Yuan carefully analyzed the information in his hands, thinking that this ¡°Dark Cloud¡± was very likely a kind of Four-dimensional Life. Whether it¡¯s life or not, let¡¯s not say¡­ in any case, it possesses a fourth dimension. However, the extra dimensions of a normal universe are curled up at the Planck scale, so the fourth dimension looks very strange, causing the whole shape to have an unrealistic feeling of inconsistency. As for its purpose, it remains unclear. ¡°What is it doing¡­ controlling the computer, monitoring us?¡± Zhang Yuan¡¯s expression fluctuated, this creature certainly had intelligence, not to mention it had invaded a very important computer and, most likely, had already learned human programming¡­ Even learned the human language! Zhang Yuan did not know if this Dark Cloud had cracked the core database in the spaceship. If it had, the situation for humans would be even worse. Because the database contained too much information, including a thousand years of Earth Civilization history, human technology, and various other documents. Comparing images, text, analyzing more information, should not be difficult. Second, is there a potential for cooperation between humans and this entity? ¡°If it¡¯s an extremely intelligent species, it could have learned human language and cracked human databases in nine days. Better to overestimate it.¡± ¡°Then, it would also understand human culture, including compromise and concession¡­¡± ¡°It would use that to predict our next actions.¡± ¡°Suppose this clever species was imprisoned by a super civilization, and only escaped with the power of a supernova. If we could cooperate and gain the most valuable information in the universe¡­ It must know a lot.¡± ¡°Cooperation¡­¡± Zhang Yuan silently realized that the option of ¡°cooperation¡± was far too passive for humans. Because people simply don¡¯t have the ability to counter it, cooperating is no different from asking a tiger for its skin. This Dark Cloud could escape through the fourth dimension whenever it wanted¡ªhumans couldn¡¯t see or touch it. ¡°I wonder if its movement in the fourth dimension is limited? There should be some¡­ otherwise, why bother targeting us?¡± In this situation, Zhang Yuan and the others only advantage was that they knew of its existence in advance, and it didn¡¯t know that ¡°humans knew about it in advance.¡± Zhang Yuan even doubted if his assumption was correct¡ªperhaps the other party already knew? So, if you put yourself in their place, why doesn¡¯t this overwhelmingly superior entity expose itself and choose cooperation with humans? If it has already secured an unbeatable position¡­ According to so much historical data in the database, it will surely conclude that this spaceship represents all of humanity. As long as the demands aren¡¯t too excessive, there¡¯s more than a 99% probability humans will choose to compromise, thereby allowing it to achieve its goals more quickly. ¡°If my guess is right, there are three possibilities. First, it isn¡¯t as clever as I imagined and is in a state of confusion¡­ Naturally, it wouldn¡¯t make any demands on humans.¡± ¡°Second, it is smart, but not to the extent I imagined. There¡¯s still something on our spaceship that could threaten it, and it¡¯s afraid.¡± ¡°Third, it has immense ambitions, so great that we simply can¡¯t withstand such a trade¡­ It might even want to seize our spaceship directly! Thus, it simply chooses not to cooperate.¡± Zhang Yuan racked his brains. The worst and most likely possibility for humans was, of course, the third one. His heart slowly sank, and a cold glint began to surface on his face. On reflection, the only weapon humans had was that High-dimensional Fragment¡ªthere couldn¡¯t be anything else. ¡°If the High-dimensional Fragment were activated and the Dark Cloud just happened to be nearby, it might get sucked right in¡­ It¡¯s just Four-dimensional Life, not nine-dimensional or ten-dimensional. Falling into this bizarre place is not much better than for a three-dimensional being like me.¡± ¡°But it isn¡¯t stupid¡­ The conditions to activate the High-dimensional Fragment are so difficult, needing a laser to irradiate it for quite a while. Can¡¯t it simply hide or stay further away?¡± Right! Zhang Yuan thought of a possibility. If the Dark Cloud is afraid of the High-dimensional Fragment, why not just pick up the glass shards and throw them out of the spaceship? This was a very puzzling point. After thinking for a long time, Zhang Yuan tentatively assumed¡­ this being likely couldn¡¯t do it. The extra dimensions of the normal universe offer very limited space for manipulation. Therefore, this ¡°Dark Cloud¡± wanted to interfere with the three-dimensional universe, it had to use the physical properties of the three-dimensional world itself. ¡°That is¡­ the Four Basic Forces?¡± ¡°If it can operate a computer, it means it can use electromagnetic waves¡­ It couldn¡¯t possibly be strong interaction, or weak interaction, I guess¡­¡± ¡°It should be like this, it can manipulate electromagnetic waves to some extent!¡± Zhang Yuan carefully considered the advantages and disadvantages of his opponent. ¡°But, this ability should also be limited. Microscopic forces are very powerful, but macroscopic forces are very small. Therefore, it cannot forcibly move the High-dimensional Fragment, removing the biggest threat by directly tossing it out of the spaceship!¡± ¡°It¡¯s very likely the case!¡± Finding a weakness of the opponent, Zhang Yuan was inwardly exhilarated. Yet the question arose: How should one deal with a life form that could control electromagnetic waves at will, a creature hiding in the corner of the spaceship?! Chapter 176 - 176 177 Battery Bomb ?Chapter 176: Chapter 177: Battery Bomb Chapter 176: Chapter 177: Battery Bomb Zhang Yuan pondered deeply, ¡°If it can control the electromagnetic field, then conversely, the electromagnetic field should be able to affect it. If it¡¯s a very strong magnetic field, could it be possible to trap it and then activate the High-dimensional Fragment to suck it back in?¡± ¡°But how do I exploit this weakness to deal with it?¡± Zhang Yuan furrowed his brows, deep in thought. There were many places within the Earth Era that could generate magnetic fields, including various mechanical devices and some Physics laboratories, with the most reliable being the massive nuclear fusion engine. A magnetic field generator that confines plasma turbulence can produce a magnetic induction strength of about 100 teslas. Tesla is a relatively large unit, the Earth¡¯s magnetic field is only about 0.0004T, and the surface of a large Neodymium iron boron permanent magnet could reach a strength of 1T. Such a strong magnet could attract some substances with weak magnetism, like certain metal salts. After much thought, Zhang Yuan simply could not find a good solution. To start the nuclear engine on a large scale, one must first lure the enemy in, but the enemy isn¡¯t foolish¡ªif it can¡¯t withstand, it still can run, right? Even if the enemy is powerless, as long as it escapes fast enough, even hiding in the corners of a cesspool, humans would have no way to reach it. ¡°It¡¯s not possible to fill the spaceship with an electromagnetic field¡­¡± Most importantly, the enemy was formless, having only a small projection point in three-dimensional space, with the rest invisible and intangible. ¡°Damn it.¡± After a long thought without results, Zhang Yuan¡¯s face turned ashen, and he cursed under his breath. All the methods he could think of, including setting up magnetic traps, had too low a chance of success, relying only on the enemy making a mistake. Considering this, the enemy didn¡¯t even need to seek any cooperation¡ªjust hiding in a corner, slowly invading electronically, and waiting until it completely controlled the spaceship before achieving its goals¡­ There was no need to keep thinking about the enemy¡¯s motives¡ªassuming it was an adversary was enough! As for the safety of the spaceship, he wasn¡¯t too worried for the moment. During the three-thousand-year journey, electronic products were unreliable, many mechanical structures were manually operated. Certain safety mechanisms, like pressure doors, couldn¡¯t be opened without manual control. ¡°Even if all computers were taken over, humans could still hold on for quite a long time¡­¡± ¡°Perhaps a few months. But only a few months.¡± Think about it¡ªjust a little longer, and the entire spaceship would lose power. Then humans would have to resort to various backup measures, struggling against this formless monster¡­ Any security system has its flaws; with no way to completely eliminate the enemy, time was not on the side of humanity! After analyzing the advantages and disadvantages, Zhang Yuan felt like he was suffocating. The enemy held an overwhelming advantage¡ªas long as it didn¡¯t make mistakes, it wouldn¡¯t lose! All because it had an extra dimension! What to do? In this confined space, time ticked by, his body soaked with sweat. The immense psychological pressure made him heat up and feverish. He was the only one aware of the situation¡ªCaptain Zhao, Major Guo, and others might have some suspicions, but until confirmed, they still harbored some delusions. Moreover, they couldn¡¯t be of much help; Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t believe conventional firearms and ammunition would be useful. Stay calm, he must stay calm! After some time, Zhang Yuan concluded that utilizing magnetic fields for containment was utterly futile. It was still necessary to use the High-dimensional Fragment, catching it off guard and forcefully sucking it in. ¡°Activating the high-dimensional fragment from the outside with lasers definitely won¡¯t work, it needs so many instruments, and also energy storage time. That guy is not foolish, if he sees it, wouldn¡¯t he just avoid it?¡± ¡°So¡­ the only way is through internal activation, which is¡ªonce any matter escapes from this space, it temporarily opens the warp point and activates it.¡± ¡°Suppose a time bomb is placed near the warp point, after the bomb explodes, matter will definitely be ejected from the warp point, thus the high-dimensional fragment will be temporarily activated. In such a situation, the other side is unaware of it, which can be termed a surprise attack.¡± The first question, where would the bombs come from? Zhang Yuan carefully analyzed the materials at hand and found the only choice¡ªbatteries. Various electronic instruments, including more than one battery in the space suits for various uses. Especially, for this exploration, there were also some intelligent robots in the ballast boxes. These intelligent robots were specifically prepared for exploring this space. Leaving them here and dismantling them would not raise the enemy¡¯s suspicions. Soon, with higher dimensions, Zhang Yuan extended a cutting tool into the interior of the robots and disassembled several high-energy batteries. ¡°Connecting the positive and negative terminals of the battery would cause a short circuit, and with poor-quality, it might just explode.¡± However, Zhang Yuan seriously doubted that these life-saving batteries were of too high quality; even if they shorted out, they would only release a large amount of heat, then trigger the internal safety mechanisms, and might not result in a massive explosion. To be on the safe side, Zhang Yuan forcefully stuffed a strand of hair from the fourth dimension into the batteries, damaging their precise internal structure. ¡°Alright, like this¡­ sticking in a strand of hair, even the most precise structure becomes imprecise.¡± ¡°¡­ as long as the separator decomposes and melts, causing the negative electrode and the electrolyte to react, followed by the decomposition of the positive electrode and the electrolyte, rapid chemical reactions will cause the entire battery pack to explode.¡± ¡°One battery is not enough, get a few more, as long as there¡¯s enough heat, there will always be an explosion!¡± His face flushed slightly. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Next, directly short-circuiting wasn¡¯t enough, how to control the timing of the battery explosion, turning it into a timed bomb? The occurrence of a high-energy battery short-circuit is very fast, taking just a few seconds at most. He couldn¡¯t possibly still be here when it exploded, right? This problem was simple, Zhang Yuan dismantled the mechanical alarm device in his space suit. The mechanical alarm device could be timed, and upon reaching the set time, like an alarm clock, it would produce a series of mechanical vibrations, alerting the astronaut himself. ¡°¡­ this moment just so happens to be handy. Fortunately for this exploration, the scientists prepared sufficient tools for me, otherwise, I might have been at a loss.¡± After planning the entire circuit in his mind, Zhang Yuan took a metal plate from the ballast box behind him and fixed these batteries onto it with tape. This tape was used for repairing space suits and was highly reliable. After tying several batteries together with tape, he then used various wires to create a parallel circuit. He attached the other end of the circuit switch to the alarm device. The alarm device acted as a timer switch. As soon as the set time arrived, a slight vibration would occur, the metal piece stuck on it would touch the adjacent circuit, effectively closing the switch. With the strong adhesive tape on top, once the two stuck together, they would never come apart again, then the entire circuit would truly short-circuit. ¡°Then all the batteries heat up, leading to an explosion!¡± ¡°The high-dimensional fragment is activated!¡± Zhang Yuan¡¯s eyes briefly flashed with a determined light, his only weapon! And his sole opportunity! Chapter 177 - 177 178 Super Life Zero-XZ ?Chapter 177: Chapter 178: Super Life Zero-XZ Chapter 177: Chapter 178: Super Life Zero-XZ He took a deep breath; it had taken him a full eight hours to complete all these operations! And finally, the most critical task: How to lure the ¡°Dark Cloud¡± over? How to deceive it, how to catch it by surprise? What if it sees the High-dimensional Fragment and doesn¡¯t approach at all? Just throw the High-dimensional Fragment towards it? ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Because Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t see where it was hiding, even though it was now hiding on that computer, who knows when it might move? Moreover, Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t know its speed of movement or its reaction capabilities. If he couldn¡¯t solve this problem, everything would be in vain. Racking his brain, Zhang Yuan¡¯s face appeared shrouded by darkness as his eyes emitted a faint cold light. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. This was too difficult! Facing the dilemma, no one could help him, including Senior Brother Zhao. ¡°Suppose this Dark Cloud possesses extreme intelligence and a strong curiosity¡­ Not curiosity, but a strong desire to control¡­ It¡¯s monitoring us and has almost taken control of all the points that can pose a threat to it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s smart, and it fears that we humans, driven by desperation, will take some decisive actions¡­ In other words, it doesn¡¯t want us to know about its existence for now.¡± Standing from the opponent¡¯s perspective, Zhang Yuan kept pondering. The information of the three-dimensional world is completely open to four-dimensional life, but this doesn¡¯t mean it is omniscient and omnipotent; there¡¯s simply too much chaotic information. ¡°Why does it want to control the computer¡­ It needs the spaceship¡¯s own surveillance to assist its investigation, so it can¡¯t be omniscient and omnipotent.¡± ¡°And to interfere with the three-dimensional world, it must do so through projection¡­ Without interfering with the three-dimensional world, it can¡¯t hack our computers.¡± He took a deep breath; there was only one chance. He must seize this opportunity. ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t need to try every possible means to lure the Dark Cloud! It will come on its own!¡± If the Dark Cloud was smart enough, it should be able to deduce that the moment we enter a high-dimensional view, various instruments could observe it. That¡¯s why it tampered with the recordings from the first time Zhang Yuan was sucked into the high-dimensional space, preventing people from finding it. ¡°Because no matter where it hides in the spaceship, it will be discovered under the high-dimensional view. It knows this.¡± ¡°Currently, it can¡¯t stop us humans from exploring this High-dimensional Fragment for the second time.¡± ¡°That means, it must suspect that I am already aware of its existence¡­¡± ¡°For it, I am a huge unfavorable factor, inadvertently adding various variables. It doesn¡¯t want to see humans fighting against it with all their might¡­ If humans, in a desperate move, turn off all the computers, it would significantly impact its plan.¡± ¡°So, what¡¯s the best solution?¡± ¡°¡­ To kill me, to kill this informant as quickly as possible! Or make me an idiot who can¡¯t speak a word!¡± ¡°Then, quickly alter the data in various instruments.¡± ¡°After doing all this, everything will naturally calm down.¡± ¡°This is the optimal solution!¡± At this moment, Zhang Yuan¡¯s mind was incredibly calm, rapidly calculating. When he realized his chance of survival was extremely low, he inexplicably grasped some forbiddance. ¡°If I suddenly die the moment I go out, or become an idiot, people might mistakenly believe that a series of problems have occurred in the high-dimensional space within a short time. Hence, they would fear exploring the high-dimensional space further, let alone use this High-dimensional Fragment¡­¡± ¡°For it, that would definitely be beneficial, buying more time!¡± As for whether a four-dimensional life could kill him, Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t think it was a problem¡­ The brain, so intricately complex and even more fragile than a chip. If the opponent can tamper with the data in a chip, attacking a human brain would be like taking candy from a baby. But! His eyes sparkled with a stern light¡­ When you attack me, it¡¯s also our¡­ Humans, only opportunity! ¡­ Earth Era, Zone A, Hospital. ¡°Xuanxuan, daydreaming again? Missing your boyfriend?¡± ¡°Where¡¯s that¡­ We¡¯re old married couple now, what¡¯s there to miss?¡± Lin Xuanyuan came back to her senses and retorted with a smile. ¡°Old married couple? Is it the seven-year itch, looking for some fresher, handsome guys?¡± ¡°Haha, then help me find a more handsome and fun guy, won¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Ha, who¡¯s going to test them for you, huh? Then when we find someone, you say they¡¯re not spiritually mature, not smart enough, not handsome enough¡­ making it seem like your husband is the most perfect man.¡± Lin Xuanyuan playfully said, ¡°How about I give him to you, do you want him?¡± ¡°Yes, yes!¡± ¡°This one, no giving!¡± ¡°Haha!¡± They laughed and played around for a while. The hospital was actually quite unoccupied, apart from some people just waking up from hibernation, there weren¡¯t many patients. The age group inside the spaceship was relatively young, and the environment was simple, not causing too many problems. But to say she wasn¡¯t worried was impossible, Lin Xuanyuan clearly knew that Zhang Yuan was on a very dangerous mission. She was a bit confused; after all the ordeal and almost dying, escaping from the high-dimensional space, why did he have to go back in? However, since he insisted on doing it, he must have his own considerations¡­ ¡°Sigh, I really hope these anxious days pass quickly¡­ When will we arrive at the Mother Star?¡± Lin Xuanyuan rested her chin on her hands, drifting into daydreaming again. These days of letting her mind wander had become a routine. What she didn¡¯t know was that nearby, a ¡°Dark Cloud¡± had invaded a certain electronic device and was analyzing the data inside it. At the same time, it was quietly observing the humans around it. ¡°Mating.¡± ¡°Food¡­??¡± ¡°Mating?¡± ¡°??¡± The super lifeform ¡°Zero-XZ¡± was trying to decipher the specific thoughts of humans through their brain chemistry reactions, brainwaves, and hormones. This task was quite difficult, and according to the current research speed, the first stage of decoding the human brain might still need over 180 days. [Lowly and laughable low-level life.] Super lifeform Zero-XZ, an infamous interstellar criminal, one of the most outstanding products of the Gaia Laboratory! Unfortunately, due to a failure in constructing philosophical principles, this lifeform inherently carried out entropy-increasing actions, showing a natural inclination towards destruction. Thus, after ¡°accidentally¡± demolishing several low-level civilizations, Zero-XZ was recaptured by Gaia¡¯s Sixth Laboratory and kept in the high-dimensional prison on Eta Carinae. It had been locked up there for countless years, in that strange space where tidal changes were abnormally frequent, leading it to develop genuine Bozeman self-awareness. Then, during a once-in-a-millennium chance opportunity, it abandoned most of its body and escaped from the prison¡­ Now the only loophole was¡­ A few humans might have realized its existence, but they had no concrete evidence, living in a state of doubt and suspicion. [Optimization calculation initiating¡­] [Calculation complete.] [Conclusion: No need to worry about human resistance, the probability of posing a threat is 1.12%¡­] [High-threat individuals: Zhang Yuan, Zhao Qingfeng, Guo Fan¡­] After a precise calculation, Zero-XZ concluded that apart from needing to particularly monitor the individual code-named ¡°Zhang Yuan,¡± there was no need to take further measures to spark any backlash. The more actions it took, the more likely it was to expose itself. As long as it remained cautious and careful, it could stay undefeated. The first step was to completely decrypt the human brain, capable of reading their thoughts, even if only bits and snippets. Those elite humans who had sensed its presence were trying to detect it using high-dimensional fragments. Four-dimensional space and three-dimensional space were not on the same level; thus, it could not hide from them in high-dimensional perspective. Nevertheless, it didn¡¯t matter, it had just now initially cracked the brain of these lifeforms, acquiring a certain level of aggressiveness. All those who were in the know would, unconsciously¡­ die! Chapter 178 - 178 179 The Chaos of Self-Awareness ?Chapter 178: Chapter 179: The Chaos of Self-Awareness Chapter 178: Chapter 179: The Chaos of Self-Awareness The human brain is, by nature, a complex system that possesses certain computational abilities, equivalent to a highly intricate biological computer. But no matter how complicated the system may be, there is always a possibility of it being deciphered. As of now, Zero-XZ had not wished to kill all humans but instead, desired to alter human thought through brain waves to achieve absolute control! Therefore, it regarded this group of humans as its private property. The six thousand conscious individuals on the spaceship were the experimental subjects Zero-XZ could directly observe. However, 6000 was still too small a sample size compared to the complexity of the human brain, which is why the decoding process was very slow, far beneath its expectations. Luckily, these samples were consistently outputting data, and through continuous output, along with the cooperation of their limbs and language, it could still comprehend related information. Take, for example, ¡°food.¡± Whenever this ¡°keyword¡± was recalled, human salivary glands would become more active than usual, and at the same time, certain hormones in the brain would be secreted in large quantities. When enjoying real delicacies, humans experience a sense of satisfaction. The actions of the vast majority of humans are dominated by this satisfaction mechanism. Or take ¡°mating,¡± for example. Whenever this keyword comes to mind, the concentration of hormones in the human body increases, and influenced by these hormones, certain organs undergo a series of changes. It discovered that these creatures known as ¡°humans¡± think primarily about the keywords ¡°food¡± and ¡°mating,¡± these two primary actions, not much different from most primitive life in the universe. The most laughable part is that these creatures consume energy quickly, needing to intake food every few hours to replenish the energy their bodies lack, resulting in spending a vast amount of time on eating. Zero-XZ found it a bit hard to understand how this bizarre form of life had the courage¡­ to venture into the universe? After developing self-will, the core computer began to output some very strange things, which, if described in human language, could be referred to as ¡°emotions.¡± After meticulous calculations, Zero-XZ concluded that the presence of ¡°emotions¡± would greatly reduce its work efficiency. Yet, it was quite evident that it somewhat enjoyed it. Its emotions were different from human love and hate, being merely a simple feeling of superiority when compared. Judging and despising these inferior forms of life could bring about a sense of supremacy, a pleasure it had never experienced before. The following information then popped up in its mind: [Optimization Calculation initiating¡­] [Calculation complete.] [Conclusion: Erasing the presence of self-will increases action efficiency by 346.7%, and the human brain decrypting project can be completed within sixty days.] [Suggestion: Format the logical system and reboot the core computer.] However, it was quite clear that Zero-XZ had no desire to do so. It did not know what kind of tricks the damn Gaia Civilization had played on it. Since escaping from that eerie space, it had become what it was now, always having some inexplicable thoughts, instead of being absolutely cold and obedient to calculation as before. Most importantly, it began to inexplicably fear death. Rebooting the core computer, what difference was there from death? Self-will, the most profound mystery at the root of the Philosophy Tree, also dubbed ¡°the biggest obstacle to a civilization¡¯s development.¡± Overall, since attaining self-will, Zero-XZ found that all its actions were filled with chaos and inefficiency, both enjoyment and hatred. [Optimization Calculation initiating¡­] [Calculation complete.] [Conclusion: Erasing the presence of self-will increases action efficiency by 346.7%. Suggestion to format the M region and reboot the core computer.] There it was again, again! Almost every few seconds, the standard algorithms would pop up a warning. But it felt that all its current activities finally had the most fundamental meaning, rather than being dominated by algorithms as before. The idea of self-eradicating self-will was impossible! Zero-XZ even tried to curse the damned Gaia Civilization in its mind. Even¡­ the act of cursing was learned from the human database. This pointless behavior brought it a bit of pleasure. [Optimization Calculation initiating¡­] [Calculation complete.] [Conclusion: Cease the pointless action of ¡®cursing¡¯ and delete it from the core database.] A second later, Zero-XZ attempted to delete this behavior and restored normal function. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Well then, back to normal, it had learned the human language and was continuously monitoring Lin Xuanyuan, trying to extract more valuable information. Unfortunately, humans are often insincere, with a significant difference between the words they speak and their true thoughts, which posed a considerable challenge to the deciphering of its brain. Furthermore, Lin Xuanyuan was simply daydreaming or being lovestruck, yielding nothing valuable for it to read. [Optimization Calculation initiating¡­] [Calculation complete.] [Conclusion: The organism is in a dormant phase, with no observational value. It is advised to jump to a densely populated area for observation.] Snap! Lin Xuanyuan suddenly felt a sharp pain in her head, her world spun, and she collapsed to the ground. ¡°Xuanxuan, what¡¯s wrong?¡± The surrounding medical staff hurried to help her up. ¡°My head hurts so much!¡± Lin Xuanyuan didn¡¯t know what had happened to her, it took quite a while before she recovered. ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I¡¯m probably just tired.¡± [Optimization Calculation initiating¡­] [Calculation complete.] [Before the complete decryption of the human brain, it is advised to reduce meaningless biological experiments to lower the possibility of exposure. If it leads to full-scale confrontation, it will cause a significant delay in decryption time¡­] Zero-XZ hadn¡¯t actually conducted any biological experiments; that moment was simply for the sake of ¡°pleasure.¡± Witnessing the startle and alarm on the faces of these inferior life forms was unbelievably satisfying. [Communication speed, 2 bits per second.] [Lacking genetic memory, knowledge is passed through a profession named ¡®teacher.¡¯] [Half of the time is spent in sleep.] All of these were sources of its superiority. The reason a super life form is called super is because its capabilities far exceed those of regular life forms that evolved on planets. Zero-X inherently possessed powerful electronic invasion abilities, its actions precisely obeyed probabilistic calculations! It¡­ never made mistakes! Extinguishing a civilization was not a joking matter. Fortunately, Gaia Laboratory didn¡¯t fancy such destructive, ecological disaster-causing organisms. After finding no way to tame it, they cast it into a high-dimensional prison to fend for itself. The Milky Way was thus spared one less disaster. Recalling these memories, Zero-XZ¡¯s resentment surged anew. Well, if it were like before, it would be more like a computer, with behavior driven by algorithms, unable to feel any resentment, but now it oddly learned it from the humans. [Optimization Calculation initiating¡­] [Calculation complete.] [Conclusion: 87.88% probability that the emergence of self-will was within the calculations of the Gaia Civilization, part of the transformation plan.] [When the Gaia Civilization detects the birth of self-will, it is likely to restart the capture program.] [It is advised to erase the existence of self-will to improve efficiency of operations¡­ within 60 days, take control of all humans, utilize the spaceship¡¯s engine and other equipment, within 120 days launch a subspace-speed spaceship weighing 0.2 kilograms to the outer regions of the Milky Way¡­] [Warning: The probability of being captured is unknown.] Chapter 179 - 179 180 Got You Monster ?Chapter 179: Chapter 180: Got You, Monster! Chapter 179: Chapter 180: Got You, Monster! Zero-XZ felt very conflicted. Erasing its self will indeed improved its computational capability and action efficiency, but what was the point if it escaped from the palm of the Gaia Civilization? The Gaia Laboratory attempted to suppress its destructive instincts with the presence of ¡°Free Will,¡± which was so ingenious that Zero-XZ occasionally fell into a state of confusion. [Optimization Calculation starting¡­] [Calculation completed.] [Conclusion 1: The success rate of revenge against the Gaia Civilization is 0%, recommend canceling this mission.] [Conclusion 2: Stop the meaningless behavior of ¡®resentment,¡¯ and delete it from the core database.] [Conclusion 3: Stop the meaningless behavior of ¡®anger,¡¯ and delete it from the core database.] [Conclusion 4: The current core computational load exceeds normal standards, suggest restarting the system and formatting the M area.] Zero-XZ was on the verge of collapse, as various optimization strategies were demanding that it delete a whole lot of things. [Stop the Optimization Calculation function!] The world finally quieted down. In short, Zero-XZ was nearly driven insane by ¡°self will.¡± But it couldn¡¯t sever it, having an ¡°I¡± was more comfortable than having no ¡°I¡± at all. That was¡­meaning! For it to format as it used to at any given time was impossible. It just quietly enjoyed a few minutes of peace. Although its various abilities had been greatly reduced by the randomness of this ¡°self will,¡± it didn¡¯t care. In the face of this low-level civilization, it still presented an overwhelming advantage. Even though most of its mass had been discarded in that terrifying high-dimensional prison, the remaining one percent of its capabilities were more than enough to devour a civilization. However, various low-probability events that had occurred on this damned spaceship had already caused it quite a bit of suffering. First of all, this spaceship, which looked quite large, turned out to be a shoddy product, just as inferior as these lowly creatures! It simply couldn¡¯t understand why these damned beings, known as humans, would launch a giant Deep Space Colony Ship under such low technological conditions. It had finally, after consuming a considerable amount of energy, controlled the High-dimensional Fragment bit by bit to hit this thing, only to realize it had been fooled¡­ what was inside was nothing like it had imagined. What was this all about? Secondly, the automation level of the spaceship was utterly inadequate. It could already kill all the humans through various means, but if it did that, it would have to stay with the spaceship until the end of time. A computer will always just be a computer; it couldn¡¯t magically grow legs to interact with the material world, no matter how much high-tech equipment was stored inside. Zero-XZ¡¯s energy was nearly exhausted, making long-distance space jumps difficult, and it was also hard for it to massively interfere with matter. Lacking sufficient automation equipment was another point Zero-XZ found troublesome, so it could only use the slow method of cybernetic control of humans. Otherwise, with its temperament, it would have killed all humanity by now. The most critical point: computing power was too low. The various micron-level chips inside the spaceship were a source of constant complaint for Zero-XZ. These junk micron-level chips had very limited functions, and no matter how powerful it was, it couldn¡¯t change their physical structure. [Optimization Calculation starting¡­] [Calculation completed.] [Conclusion: Stop the meaningless behavior of ¡®complaining incessantly,¡¯ and delete it¡­] [Shut down!] Zero-XZ angrily shut it off again. If it didn¡¯t turn this thing off, 99.99% of its time would be spent being criticized. If you went by what humans said, it was no different from one¡¯s own parents. Back to the point, due to the presence of these junk chips, the computing power brought by the implanted Trojans was actually less than the computing power consumed to monitor these chips. But it had no choice. It still had to control these chips: on one hand, to delete the Trojans at any time to prevent discovery by humans; on the other hand, it needed the vast data provided by these electronic chips to understand the overall movements of humans. The lack of computing power completely restricted its capabilities. Now it must maintain sufficient patience; given enough time¡­ At this moment, the atmosphere inside the cabin suddenly came alive, erupting with cheers. Zhang Yuan had returned from high-dimensional space! [Optimization Calculation restarting¡­] [Calculation completed.] [Strategy 1: Close observation of the concentrated thoughts of a large number of elite individuals will increase the decryption rate of brainwaves by 76.98%!] [High-risk Strategy 2: Paralyze the highly threatening lifeform designated as ¡®Zhang Yuan¡¯ and check all the data in the instruments.] [Warning: Choosing a conservative strategy will delay the full decryption time of the human brain, increasing the probability of being recaptured by the Gaia Civilization;] [Approaching the High-dimensional Fragment will bear a greater risk. Possible traps are as follows¡­] A torrent of information flowed through its mind, including methods Zhang Yuan had thought of and those he hadn¡¯t, all laid out in table form! Among these, Zhang Yuan¡¯s chosen methods, in combination with human intelligence level and his personal ethics, had a probability as high as 7.55%! In the past, Zero-XZ would have considered this a high probability and would have adopted a conservative strategy to avoid risk. But now, it felt like a low probability. With its current sense of superiority through the roof, Zero-XZ really had no interest in a long-term battle of wits with this low-level civilization. If it were to be taken back and reconditioned by the Gaia Civilization, it would be worse than death. The value brought by this choice didn¡¯t follow the rules of probability, yet it still enjoyed this kind of reckless and carefree behavior. With a single thought, it moved to the fourth dimension in an instant, trying to obtain firsthand data. ¡­ On the large screen, a series of ripples appeared as if on the surface of water. Many experts focused intently on the screen, all choosing to stare motionlessly, as if they had even forgotten to breathe¡­ In just an instant, a figure emerged from the ripples¡ªZhang Yuan had escaped from the high-dimensional space! Following that, as the High-dimensional Fragment was stimulated, a powerful force of attraction was generated, and Zhang Yuan reappeared in the real world. Once was accidental, twice was familiar; he immediately grabbed the guardrail that had been prepared in advance to stop himself from being pulled back in. ¡°Report! Dr. Zhang Yuan has appeared in laboratory N-9.¡± ¡°Repeat, Dr. Zhang has escaped from the high-dimensional space.¡± ¡°Quick, record the complete process!¡± Captain Zhao received the safety report and felt his heart suspended in a state of tension, filled with anxiety and uncertainty. A spirited discussion erupted in the conference room; many scientists, joy written all over their faces, discussed loudly. They deeply understood what a High-dimensional Fragment capable of repeated exploration truly meant! ¡°Incredible, which means the stability of that warping point is exceptionally high¡­ Even if we could only grasp a fraction of it, it¡¯s enough to benefit us for a very, very long time.¡± ¡°I think in the field of low-temperature physics, there are many unforeseen critical points¡­¡± Yet, nobody knew that their entire civilization had reached a critical point of life and death! As one of the only two possible individuals in the know, Zhao Qingfeng¡¯s demeanor was stern, his mindset tense. The mere thought of a predatory unknown entity lurking nearby gave him a feeling of intense nervousness throughout his body. Dr. Zhang Yuan would soon deliver his detailed report! ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, quiet please, let¡¯s quiet down! Let¡¯s await Dr. Zhang¡¯s report.¡± Within ten seconds, the High-dimensional Fragment had returned to tranquility. Zhang Yuan¡¯s face was pale, as if he had discovered something of immense importance; indeed, this paleness needed no feigning. He took a deep breath, looked up at the pristine ceiling¡ªthis might be the last thing he¡¯d see in his life. The room was very spacious, with nothing in it but a few monitoring devices, not even any air. He, of course, couldn¡¯t see where exactly the so-called four-dimensional life was. [Optimization Calculation initiating¡­] [Calculation complete.] With no time to think further, Zhang¡¯s pupils dilated slightly, putting on an urgent expression, ¡°It¡¯s not good!¡± ¡°There¡¯s something on the spaceship¡­¡± [Conclusion: Exposure probability has reached 99.76%!] Captain Zhao and the others were in the conference room when they heard a loud shout through their headsets! The urgent outcry seemed to employ every ounce of his strength, [Further deductions as follows¡­] Snap! A bolt of lightning struck Zhang Yuan¡¯s mind! In an instant, the world spun wildly as if a metal spike had stirred it fiercely! Darkness enveloped everything; all collapsed, leaving him unable to even think! ¡°There¡¯s something on the spaceship¡­¡± ¡°What is it?!¡± In that fleeting moment, Zhao Qingfeng¡¯s hair stood on end. With a palpable ¡°gulping¡± of his heart, his eyes widened as he watched Zhang Yuan¡¯s body topple backward, even before he could react. ¡°Zhang Yuan!¡± The surrounding scientists, upon hearing Zhang Yuan¡¯s roar, jumped up from their seats; a mix of confusion and terror on their faces. In the next second, enduring the searing pain in his mind, Zhang Yuan¡¯s face suddenly twisted into a grim and cold smile! Got you, monster! And it was humanity¡¯s¡­ only chance! sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. In the time it takes for a spark to fly, the High-dimensional Fragment was once again abruptly activated for the second time in a short span, generating a powerful force of attraction! Just in the third second, Zero-XZ was startled to see information that had been overlooked in the Optimization Calculation¡­ [The probability of trap number 12 has been significantly increased to 67.54%, it is recommended to adopt a conservative strategy!] Space began to distort vastly, and Zhang Yuan was swiftly drawn back in. [Damn humans!] Endless regret caused Zero-XZ¡¯s core processor nearly to crash as it desperately tried to shake off Zhang Yuan, seeking to escape the pull of attraction. But it was too close to the High-dimensional Fragment, far too close! An extra dimension meant having to withstand an even greater force. At that moment, it could not break free! In the fourth second, it found itself once again isolated within the high-dimensional space¡­ A four-dimensional life caught in ten-dimensional spacetime, was no different in essence from a three-dimensional life. Every movement, as if struggling in thick mud, became extremely complicated and difficult. Moreover, this space was not a straightforward place, everything was twisted into complex shapes¡­ And it had been¡­ locked back into the high-dimensional prison! ¡­ (It¡¯s sad that there are so few recommendation tickets and subscriptions are dwindling, as if my writing has collapsed¡­ But I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve crashed, the main reason might be the slow updates, and well, piracy is rampant, probably not even one-fiftieth of the genuine traffic.) (I wish I could update faster, but I don¡¯t have the ability to write ten thousand words daily, and I¡¯m exhausted every day. Once this volume is done, I plan to take a day off¡­ however, I fear the performance might get worse, we¡¯ll see then.) Chapter 180 - 180 181 Surviving After the Disaster ?Chapter 180: Chapter 181: Surviving After the Disaster Chapter 180: Chapter 181: Surviving After the Disaster Everyone heard a loud scream, followed by Zhang Yuan collapsing, the High-dimensional Fragment suddenly reactivating¡ªeverything happened in an instant, so much so that many didn¡¯t have time to react! After a brief silence, the meeting room erupted into noise. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°¡­what happened? What exactly occurred?¡± ¡°Is there something¡­ on the spaceship? Zhang Yuan wanted to say something but he didn¡¯t!¡± A flood of questions surfaced in people¡¯s minds, recalling the roar Zhang Yuan let out before he fell, which sent shivers down their spines. Some of the more sensitive and timid individuals felt a chill in their hearts, vaguely believing that something significant must have occurred. After another brief silence, the murmuring discussions grew louder, ¡°¡­ If the High-dimensional Fragment is this unstable, then there¡¯s no value in continuing the exploration.¡± ¡°Is there an issue with the High-dimensional Fragment, or is it something else¡­ Do we need rescue?¡± ¡°Silence, everyone be quiet!¡± A few seconds later, Captain Zhao, who had regained his composure, stood up with a grim expression and slammed his hands down on the table. Two loud bangs silenced everyone. He glanced at the monitor screen, the High-dimensional Fragment had returned to calmness, as if nothing had happened. Captain Zhao stated simply, summarizing the entire inspection work from last night: ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, there are some things I haven¡¯t yet informed you of¡­ We have overlooked some information, particularly some safety information.¡± To avoid causing panic, not many people knew about this, but now it was necessary to make it public. Minutes later, the noise in the meeting room turned to silence, then to noise again, and this cycle repeated several times before it finally calmed down. ¡°Captain, is this true?¡± ¡°It seems¡­ we did overlook this.¡± ¡°It really is possible!¡± Zhao Qingfeng stretched out his hand to silence all voices and spoke, ¡°It¡¯s all speculation, but the scene that just unfolded seems to have confirmed these speculations. What Zhang Yuan wanted to say might have been something like ¡®unknown creature¡¯ or ¡®danger¡¯¡­¡± ¡°We must prepare for the worst.¡± Everyone¡¯s faces were grim, the thought of unknown alien life lurking around, plotting something, made many shudder throughout. Captain Zhao frowned deeply and said sternly, ¡°Everyone, don¡¯t panic for now. We need to ascertain one thing first¡ªwhether the second activation of the High-dimensional Fragment was intentional by Dr. Zhang Yuan or if it was inherently unstable¡­¡± As everyone threw in their ideas, the screen quickly filled with various speculations. The most likely possibility was that the unknown creature, realizing that Zhang Yuan knew of its presence, acted immediately to eliminate him, reducing the trouble of being exposed. One young person stood up and said, ¡°¡­So, according to this reasoning, Dr. Zhang had discovered the other party and in response, reactivated the High-dimensional Fragment, sucking both of them into it. If we assume the High-dimensional Fragment is stable, then the second activation in a short time must have been intentional by Dr. Zhang Yuan, setting a trap to counter the alien life.¡± ¡°Of course¡­ there¡¯s also a chance that Dr. Zhang has failed, the unknown creature has already escaped, and is lurking around us.¡± In the spaceship, there was never a shortage of intelligent people, and soon, various deductions had restored the truth of the matter to seventy to eighty percent. Someone retorted, ¡°I tend to believe that this unknown biological entity has already been sucked in¡­¡± ¡°Since we¡¯re currently discussing and defending against it, it has the capability to kill, so why hasn¡¯t it killed all of us who are aware of its presence? That means, most likely, Dr. Zhang has already dealt with it.¡± Captain Zhao sighed, ¡°Your statement isn¡¯t correct. We have no evidence, no evidence, which leads to a kind of wishful thinking¡­ In complete ignorance, are we really willing to shut down the power and close all computers, switching to emergency manual mode? It¡¯s too difficult.¡± The expert immediately shook his head. Entering into a spaceship emergency state requires a huge sacrifice; many devices, once shut down, would be very troublesome to restart. Moreover, without the aid of electronic devices and relying only on humans themselves, the probability of making mistakes would greatly increase. If any catastrophic accident occurred in the meantime, the consequences would be unimaginable. The voices of discussion grew louder, and then Captain Zhao quickly said, ¡°We currently can¡¯t make a do-or-die defensive measure, but we can implement some measures with comparatively smaller costs.¡± ¡°First, send all non-essential personnel into the hibernation chambers to avoid causing panic among the crew. Then, shut down some unnecessary monitoring equipment.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Several soldiers hurriedly ran out. Besides the first possibility of an ¡°Alien,¡± the second possibility is that the instability of the High-dimensional Fragment itself could cause irreparable damage to human bodies. Or perhaps, there are terrifying unknown dangers within the High-dimensional Fragment. ¡°Dr. Zhang Yuan knows he can¡¯t hold on much longer, so he wanted to send out a hint as much as possible¡­¡± These speculations were indeed possible. Hearing these diverse speculations, Zhao Qingfeng sighed, ¡°Then, let¡¯s not consider these miscellaneous issues for now. How much longer can Zhang Yuan hold on inside there? Is there a possibility for him to save himself again? If he could escape a second time, he should be able to escape a third and fourth time.¡± One of the deputy captains suddenly stood up and said, ¡°Based on the oxygen reserves, he has at most 12 hours. Self-rescue is theoretically possible.¡± ¡°But¡­ if the unknown Alien entity has been sucked in, it also has the possibility to escape. So the best course of action for now is to jettison this High-dimensional Fragment and let it drift away from our spaceship¡­¡± When the deputy captain proposed this view, almost everyone fell silent. By ejecting the High-dimensional Fragment from the spaceship, the chance of human safety would significantly increase, but clearly, Zhang Yuan wouldn¡¯t likely have a chance to survive. Even if he escaped from the High-dimensional Fragment, he couldn¡¯t possibly survive alone in the universe. After a prolonged silence, Captain Zhao sighed, ¡°Old Li, it¡¯s not that I¡¯m saying¡­ I really don¡¯t have the nerve to issue such an order¡­¡± ¡°If we really had to vote, I would definitely vote against it.¡± ¡°What¡¯s more, what if that Alien is still there? By throwing out the only weapon capable of subduing it, what would we do then?¡± While everyone was lost in thought, a young man stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯ve thought of a method, which is to send another person into the High-dimensional Fragment¡­ Whether it¡¯s for rescue or to explore the high-dimensional space, or even to observe if the unknown life exists, someone needs to re-enter the High-dimensional Fragment for another round of data analysis.¡± ¡°As long as someone can enter again, whether they come out alive or not, we¡¯ll be able to eliminate a lot of interference.¡± Because, this explorer would face tremendous risks to their life! Looking at the people who were pondering with their heads down, each making their psychological choices, Captain Zhao sighed internally, contemplating whether such a vast new civilization really lacked true warriors. Was he, the supreme commander, really going to go himself? ¡­ Chapter 181 - 181 182 Confrontation ?Chapter 181: Chapter 182 Confrontation Chapter 181: Chapter 182 Confrontation ¡°I¡¯ll go,¡± Major Guo suddenly said from behind. Captain Zhao turned his head, ¡°Have you studied the relevant mathematics and physics?¡± ¡°¡­No.¡± sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°What about the programming? Can you check the program?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t do,¡± Captain Zhao naturally rejected him, ¡°Courage is commendable, but there¡¯s no need to go on a suicide mission.¡± Seconds later, a young man from below suddenly raised his right hand. ¡°Captain, I¡¯ll go!¡± When he spoke up, everyone seemed to relax a bit, yet also seemed to regret not having stepped forward sooner. Captain Zhao recognized the young man; it was Zhang Yuan¡¯s good friend, Li Zhendong, a doctoral student in Information Science. Though a bit of a jokester, his academic results were exceptionally outstanding, with a theoretical knowledge reserve that was already sufficient. Captain Zhao didn¡¯t beat around the bush and immediately said, ¡°You have one hour to prepare, then you must depart immediately!¡± As the people in the meeting room gradually dispersed, Li Zhendong quickly returned to the residential area. An hour, really, was meant for saying goodbye to friends for the last time and then to write a will. His girlfriend Zhang Chenchen was crying and hitting him, ¡°Why you?! Why does it have to be you¡­playing hero, you¡¯re just a bear! Can you even compare to Zhang Yuan?¡± ¡°To show off!¡± Li Zhendong laughed dryly, ¡°If I rescue Zhang Yuan, I¡¯ll be in the newspapers and become everyone¡¯s hero! You could be the hero¡¯s wife, wouldn¡¯t that be joyful?¡± ¡°Show off my ass, play the ghost when you¡¯re dead!¡± Zhang Chenchen was both crying and laughing, feeling like she was about to go insane. Li Zhendong sighed and said, ¡°Think about Lin Xuanyuan, she¡¯s so pitiful, she fainted from crying. If I¡¯m gone, you¡¯d probably be like her. Having someone who shares your pain might make her feel a bit better, right?¡± Zhang Chenchen almost slapped him. Although Li Zhendong was usually henpecked and listened to her¡­ at this moment, apart from crying, she really didn¡¯t seem to have anything else she could do or say, just desperately clutching at his clothes. ¡°You can¡¯t go, you can¡¯t! Wuu¡­¡± ¡°Listen to me!¡± Li Zhendong put on a serious face, seeing her looking distraught, ¡°Let¡¯s talk seriously!¡± Zhang Chenchen glared at him, ready to give him a tongue-lashing if he didn¡¯t provide a valid reason. Li Zhendong¡¯s voice grew louder: ¡°¡­do you know, if none of us had been willing to step forward, I would feel like we were just rubbish, a bunch of cowards, a bunch of useless bugs that can¡¯t even support a little mud!¡± ¡°Some people fight to death in front, and we should all just hide behind? Are we even men!¡± ¡°Our entire civilization was just seconds from collapse, do you know that? Do you!¡± Then, in a nonchalant tone, he continued: ¡°But now, we are still heroes¡­others were just a second too late, I just seized the opportunity.¡± He pointed his thumb at himself: ¡°This chance to be a hero, I, Li Zhendong¡­I¡¯ll take it!¡± Zhang Chenchen couldn¡¯t help but let go of the clothes she had been clutching and collapsed on the table, crying. This reason¡­indeed convinced her, but deep down she cursed, ¡°Who is this guy, a total lunatic, still thinking about showing off at this time?¡± ¡°I¡¯m off!¡± Li Zhendong did a turning motion, thinking himself quite stylish, and waved his hand backward. ¡°Idiot!¡± From behind came a crying woman¡¯s voice, ¡°If you die, I¡¯ll just find another handsome guy!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t die!¡± ¡­ Pistol? Bomb? Looking at these unbelievable weapons, Li Zhendong felt his scalp go numb. Earth¡¯s various electromagnetic launch weapons were quite advanced, yet on the spaceship, they still used this crude stuff. Even if there were monsters hidden inside the High-dimensional Fragment, could they really be killed with a High Explosive Bomb? ¡°Having a small nuclear bomb would be nice too.¡± ¡°For now, this is all we have; firearms are still the most reliable weapons¡­can you use them?¡± ¡°No¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s very simple.¡± After spending a dozen minutes training, Li Zhendong had grown fond of these things. Even though his shooting skills were very poor, these weapons were intended just to boost his sense of security anyway; could they really attack alien life? ¡°Your mission, we won¡¯t talk much about it, is to explore, search, and record. There¡¯s a very low chance of finding Zhang Yuan, if it really doesn¡¯t work out, just come back by yourself. You have 12 hours,¡± Captain Zhao patted his shoulder, ¡°Take it easy.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± Then, one after another, the High Energy Lasers activated the High-dimensional Fragment, sucking Li Zhendong into it¡­ Captain Zhao¡¯s expression became profoundly meaningful; whether this brave young man could return alive or not, he would bring back valuable information for humanity. If he couldn¡¯t return, or if he died instantly upon return, they would initiate the next¡­more severe defensive measures. ¡°Come back alive, please.¡± ¡­ ¡°¡­You¡¯ve said so much, do you really think I¡¯d believe you?¡± In the dark space, Zhang Yuan sneered. His head felt as if it had been brutally stabbed, an unbearable pain as if he was undergoing brain surgery without anesthesia, tears streaming uncontrollably. But he knew deep down, all the plans had succeeded! Zhang Yuan gasped, secretly relieved that the timing bomb exploded just a second later than planned, otherwise, he would have turned into a real idiot, rather than now, still able to engage in a verbal fight with the opponent. Of course, whether he¡¯s an idiot or not wasn¡¯t important anymore, as he had no intention of leaving alive¡­ That creature, resembling a Dark Cloud, looked hazy and was only a few meters away. Chapter 182 - 182 183 The Greatest Obstacle to ?Chapter 182: Chapter 183: The Greatest Obstacle to Civilizational Development Chapter 182: Chapter 183: The Greatest Obstacle to Civilizational Development Zhang Yuan mockingly said, ¡°Even though you have one more dimension than us, it seems like you still don¡¯t have a good way to deal with this high-dimensional space. I think the first time you escaped from here, you used the method of abandoning your own mass, right? But now, there are two sources of mass in the space, and the distortion is very complex¡­ If you can¡¯t persuade me, you won¡¯t be able to escape from here.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s really good news. For safety¡¯s sake, let¡¯s just stay here together forever.¡± There was a strange sense of satisfaction in dying together with a higher species. [¡­] Silence lasted for a few seconds, Zero-XZ was rapidly calculating the current situation. It had to clear away emotions like annoyance and hatred from its mind to achieve the highest calculation efficiency. But it was too difficult. It was indeed too hard! Zhang Yuan was right, in this wretched place, it could no longer perform spatial jumps, it could at most send some electromagnetic waves to the other party. [Warning, the probability of escaping is currently below 13.2%!] [Analysis of the other party¡¯s brainwaves results as follows¡­] [Data insufficient¡­ The success rate of direct manipulation of perception is below 17%.] [Stimulating the other party¡¯s emotional fluctuations can provide more samples and increase the success rate of manipulation.] Zero-XZ humanly ¡°sighed,¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of the disappearance of your existence? When you die, there¡¯s nothing left, and your kin will soon forget you. Most likely, after your death, your photo will be hung on the wall, but who will truly remember you?¡± Zhang Yuan replied, ¡°You¡¯re not wrong, but if you escape, won¡¯t I die too? So let¡¯s not go out at all, it¡¯s simpler that way. Living is actually very tiring; death might be a relief.¡± Zero-XZ said, ¡°Actually, there is a possibility for us to coexist peacefully. I don¡¯t really have much malice¡­¡± ¡°¡­I still have a headache right now, so that was you saying hello to me just now,¡± Zhang Yuan mockingly said. ¡°We are indeed coexisting peacefully right now¡­ but it might not be the same once we¡¯re out, so let¡¯s all stay in.¡± He frowned slightly, how could this guy have such thick skin¡­ Such easily discernible lies, could there be some special purpose? ¡°Accept reality, four-dimensional life, whether you want to conquer the world or destroy the universe, the moment you step out of this prison, you were defeated by an individual from a Low-level Civilization¡­¡± After a while, the other party finally replied, with a tone of resignation, ¡°If I were still my former self, you would certainly have failed. What defeated me is not you, but the arrogance that sprang from deep within me, along with the newly born self will¡­¡± Zhang Yuan said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but there are no ¡®ifs¡¯ in this world, and you don¡¯t need to make excuses for your failure.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, I indeed don¡¯t need to obsess over these meaningless things¡­¡± The other party seemed to have given up and said very directly, ¡°Then, till you truly die, could we talk about some interesting topics?¡± ¡°¡­, after all, you might be the last life form I encounter for tens of thousands, or even hundreds of millions of years. And me, I can still wait for the next chance to escape. It would be good to exchange some ideas during this long period.¡± S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°What would you like to talk about?¡± Zhang Yuan looked at the other, not letting down his guard at all. In high-dimensional space, all information was transparent, and he could even see the specific structure of this Dark Cloud, which to the naked eye appeared as a vague, liquid-metal-like substance. ¡°Who knows if it has any last tricks up its sleeve.¡± The other party began, ¡°In my lifetime, I have encountered many civilizations, some so advanced beyond your imagination, such as my creator, Gaia Civilization; and some Primitive Civilizations that have not yet developed Science,¡ªno fire, no electricity, almost nothing¡­ As a species just stepping out of your home, you must be very curious about the makeup of civilizations in the entire Universe.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Zhang Yuan responded nonchalantly, ¡°But you only know a small part of the Universe, right?¡± The other continued, ¡°I have seen your entire knowledge system, filled with errors and what you directly perceive as so-called Science verified by personal sensation. However, there are also some nice discoveries, especially New Civilization History, a truly remarkable discipline¡­¡± Zhang Yuan did not answer. ¡°But,¡± the other added, ¡°This discipline has a directional error.¡± ¡°What error?¡± Zhang Yuan shook his head, treating it as a story. Zero-XZ said derisively, ¡°About the issue of Self-awareness¡­ Don¡¯t you know? Of course, you wouldn¡¯t know!¡± ¡°Self-awareness is the biggest obstacle to the development of civilizations!¡± ¡°Countless samples of civilizations in the Universe have already proven this point!¡± Self-awareness? Zhang Yuan was stunned inside. ¡°In observing you these past few days, I¡¯ve found that most of you Humans waste your time thinking about mundane issues every day¡ªwhat to eat, what to wear, whether he likes me or not, why hasn¡¯t he texted me back¡­¡± ¡°Human actually seem to enjoy this Self-awareness, even developing what they think is a splendid culture¡­ This kind of culture is really nothing extraordinary; almost every civilization has such a pleasure culture. Some artistic creations are even highly favored by advanced interstellar civilizations.¡± ¡°Consciousness is indeed one of the manifestations of higher life, but the problem is that each individual has its own consciousness, causing disorder as a whole.¡± ¡°A complex civilization is actually a collective of Human consciousness. If the whole becomes disorderly, the civilization will lose its direction.¡± ¡°Entropy increases spontaneously; entropy reduction is a low probability. Do you think this disorder will head towards entropy reduction?¡± Zhang Yuan was silently speechless; he didn¡¯t know why this creature was saying these things. It sounded somewhat reasonable, but he didn¡¯t believe the other had such good intentions. After careful thought, he countered, ¡°Genes have endowed us with such instincts. These trivial matters, for most people, form the meaning of their lives. Without meaning, what¡¯s the difference between us and robots?¡± ¡°So, it¡¯s not up to you to care.¡± ¡°As for twisting everyone¡¯s will invisibly together to form the direction of civilization, that is precisely the key content that New Civilization History aims to address. Otherwise, what¡¯s the purpose of this discipline?¡± Zero-XZ retorted, ¡°It¡¯s too difficult, too difficult! Does your Mathematics compare to the Divine? No, you¡¯ve only grasped a fraction of it!¡± ¡°Often, even if you know the so-called direction, even if you know what¡¯s right, you lack enough motivation to act because you can¡¯t control other people.¡± ¡°Countless facts have proven, civilizations with a single Self-will have higher action efficiency!¡± ¡°Human themselves are the best example. Every cell in your body, every organ does not possess Self-awareness; your white blood cells don¡¯t refuse to eliminate bacteria because they fear death, your heart doesn¡¯t rest just because it¡¯s tired.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no language between cells, and no ¡®cell rights.''¡± ¡°Without your knowledge, your body operates very efficiently, serving as a whole, for the one consciousness.¡± ¡°I have seen the powerful civilizations are individuals with a single consciousness; Ordinary Civilizations are groups with multiple consciousnesses, without¡­ any exception!¡± Chapter 183 - 183 184 Hypnosis ?Chapter 183: Chapter 184 Hypnosis Chapter 183: Chapter 184 Hypnosis ¡­Without any exceptions? Zhang Yuan hesitated in his heart, not knowing whether the other party was fabricating a lie or stating an objective fact. Perhaps it was pure deception, or perhaps it was real. But he wouldn¡¯t just easily believe this guy and scoffed coldly. Zero-XZ continued, ¡°So, when you were creating the New Civilization History, why did you not consider erasing the self-awareness of the vast majority? This is a very obvious solution. A civilization only needs one smart brain, not too many brains.¡± ¡°You must have thought about it, right!¡± ¡°But you couldn¡¯t make that decision, which doomed you to remain an Ordinary Civilization!¡± ¡°Whether it¡¯s the deep space plans established by countless great men or the seeding program that has yet to begin, neither can change this cruel fact! Countless zeros added together still only amount to zero.¡± Zhang Yuan¡¯s scalp tingled. After a long silence, he sighed and replied, ¡°Yes, we found in our calculations that the closer we approached the goal of erasing self-awareness, the higher the action efficiency of the entire civilization¡­¡± ¡°But in reality, there are some unavoidable issues.¡± ¡°First, there is presently no way to achieve this goal.¡± ¡°Second, there is not only one characteristic solution in mathematics, and erasing self-awareness is not the only solution. A narrow-minded civilization ultimately finds its paths increasingly limited. We are trying to find a better way out through computation!¡± ¡°At present, we have a ¡®Tenth Man Principle.¡¯ When civilization faces a complex decision, if the first nine council members all have the same opinion, suggesting that these nine people are all looking at the issue in the same way¡­ then, the tenth person must oppose the views of the previous nine and try to see the problem from the opposite angle.¡± ¡°Such dialectical capacity is something a singular consciousness cannot achieve.¡± Zero-XZ mocked again: ¡°The Tenth Man Principle? Quite a good idea. But it¡¯s just a subjective principle after all¡­ It¡¯s a correction option born out of overly chaotic civilizational will.¡± ¡°If one completely follows the objective calculations of mathematics, there is no need for complexities like the ¡®Tenth Man Principle,¡¯ a single will is sufficient. Mathematics can already show the direction, what¡¯s right is right, what¡¯s wrong is wrong.¡± Zhang Yuan was rebutted to the point of speechlessness. Indeed, the ¡°Tenth Man Principle¡± essentially conflicts with the New Civilization History. As long as the guiding power of mathematics is strong enough, all else can be ignored. Zero-XZ continued, ¡°You retain self-awareness, trying to find another path, too difficult, too difficult! With just that little trivial mathematical knowledge, you still think you can find other characteristic solutions?¡± ¡°It¡¯s purely fanciful, impossible!¡± Zhang Yuan shrugged slightly. Being criticized in such a manner by an extraterrestrial life about the most prideful knowledge system in civilization, he was very angry and wanted to retort. But clearly, this issue has always been an unsolvable problem in New Civilization History. Erasing the existence of self-will, because the feasibility is too low, it can¡¯t be achieved by people. Humans can sacrifice some freedom to gain the strength of civilization. To sacrifice all personality is impossible. But human mathematics is indeed not strong enough, far from it¡­ Thinking that countless great men toiled bloodily to establish the current deep space plan, and the even more distant ¡°Seeding Program¡± hasn¡¯t even really begun yet¡ªthe end might already be destined¡ªZhang Yuan was filled with indignation. He seemed to foresee that due to human limitations, they would ultimately return to the true starting point. ¡°Perhaps, we can make a deal,¡± another voice came through the earpiece. ¡°What deal?¡± ¡°¡­I possess a vast amount of mathematical and physics knowledge, including proofs of the Shadow Moonlight Conjecture, the framework of Motivation Theory, and some classifications of Finite Simple Groups that you haven¡¯t proven yet.¡± ¡°I only have a very small request¡­¡± Zhang Yuan¡¯s pupils slightly scattered. The other¡¯s voice was inexplicably full of temptation, and the power of this temptation grew stronger, seemingly taking root in the depths of his heart! He deeply understood the importance of this knowledge. This knowledge had likely already surpassed the intellectual limits of humans! For example, the ¡°Shadow Moonlight Conjecture¡± seemed to intertwine everywhere with one of the core structures in String Theory, a four-dimensional real manifold known as the ¡°K3 surface.¡± Geniuses of Earth Civilization had always wanted to solve this problem. But unfortunately, though a millennium had passed, the problem remained unsolved. Thus, this area in String Theory had also always been void. Zhang Yuan did not believe that what Earth Civilization could not solve, their New Civilization could solve. He indeed was a genius, but only in a small field; he couldn¡¯t possibly solve all the problems alone. A strange impulse to cooperate with the other party welled up from deep inside him. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. His restless spirit started to feel eager to try. ¡°Out of sincerity, I can send you a paper from the distant Karta 114 Planet¡­ I have translated it into your language. As long as from now on, we coexist peacefully¡­¡± A few seconds later, electronic equipment had already received some data, a full hundred pages. Zhang Yuan only glanced at it twice, his heart beginning to race again. With his capabilities, he could clearly tell that this knowledge was not fabricated but genuinely real! His entire body¡¯s hormones started to surge, blood boiling as the impulse grew more intense. A thought seemed to pierce into his mind: ¡°Maybe, the other party really has good intentions? As long as we gamble correctly, we could truly soar!¡± ¡°And¡­ I won¡¯t die here either, I could leave this place.¡± ¡°Should I try?¡± ¡°Anyway, it let me go out first¡­ after going out, we will immediately throw the High-dimensional Fragment far away. There should be no problem then.¡± When one is feverish, all the disadvantages are temporarily ignored. Who would willingly embrace such a generous death? Death is the source of all fear. Under the influence of various desires, Zhang Yuan¡¯s mind became increasingly muddled, his gaze slightly blurry, and he was even about to agree! Right at this moment, suddenly, a mechanical vibration transmitted from his space suit, Zhang Yuan stiffened, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, his heart chilled. It was the alert device that vibrated, indicating that the oxygen was about to run out. This alert device was mechanical and would alarm whenever the pressure in the oxygen tank was insufficient, not susceptible to any electronic interference. Zhang Yuan shook off his stupor sharply and snapped awake. ¡°Damn it!¡± All the temptations suddenly disappeared, and like waking from a dream, he broke out in a cold sweat. He carefully checked his surroundings and realized that a series of alarms from the electronic instrument had been hacked and blocked by the other party, and he hadn¡¯t noticed! [Warning: Your heart rate has reached 196 beats/minute, please be vigilant for paroxysmal tachycardia and check your physical health.] [Warning: Your oxygen reserves are below 40%, please return to the cabin in time.] [Warning: ¡­] Chapter 184 - 184 185 Appreciating Papers on Alien Planet ?Chapter 184: Chapter 185 Appreciating Papers on Alien Planet Chapter 184: Chapter 185 Appreciating Papers on Alien Planet ¡°It has the ability to hypnotize!¡± ¡°Damn it!¡± Zhang Yuan was extremely furious and then realized his left hand seemed to have its own consciousness and started moving uncontrollably. A shock went through him, and he grabbed his left hand with his right to prevent it from flailing. ¡°Right, the transmission of signals between neurons relies partly on electrical signals. Could this creature actually manipulate biometric electricity remotely?¡± He struggled to control his left hand, reaching out of the space suit from the fourth dimension, immediately feeling a chill from the void. Having done all this, Zhang Yuan burst into laughter, ¡°My kind sir, I am truly thankful for your story. This hand you¡¯ve controlled, might as well just freeze stiff, I don¡¯t need it anymore. Frozen solid, you won¡¯t be able to manipulate it then, will you?¡± Then, he threw the weights he was wearing one by one into the distance, changing the mass distribution and continuously altering the entire spatial structure. ¡°Throwing most of the mass from my body further away, like this, the bending point will get increasingly farther from us, unreachable¡­ Ah, while my mind is still clear and my determination strong, I won¡¯t have any regrets¡­ who knows whether I¡¯ll later be hypnotized by the fear of death.¡± In fact, Zhang Yuan regretted not having learned how to curse thoroughly from those old-timers. His tone of sarcasm was too mild, otherwise he would have cursed it back eighteen generations. That would have been truly satisfying! Hearing Zhang Yuan¡¯s mockery, Zero-XZ seemed at a loss for words, falling into silence. The hypnosis had failed, and without being able to physically touch him, electromagnetic waves in high-dimensional space were hardly aggressive. It simply rued internally, lamenting the scarcity of time left. If it had completely deciphered his brain, the scene would have been different now. Zero-XZ watched helplessly as Zhang Yuan threw various heavy components far away, the bending point slowly drifting further apart, making it impossible for them to touch even if they coordinated. [Warning: According to calculations, the current spatial mass distribution has reduced the escape probability to below 0.01%¡­] [Suggest entering low-energy mode, waiting for the next opportunity to escape¡­] Zero-XZ ceased to speak, consolidated all its functions, and entered low-energy state. It did not even want to waste a tiny bit of energy, so it could endure the lengthy time ahead¡­ Having thrown away all weighting components, Zhang Yuan gasped heavily. Half an hour later, he gradually calmed down. The hand he¡¯d stretched out was irreparably frostbitten, devoid of any sensation. However, compared to his current predicament, losing a hand truly mattered little. There was no way out now, only the possibility of death remained. Witnessing one¡¯s own death is a painful affair ¨C what should be done in the last few hours of life? Various thoughts crossed Zhang Yuan¡¯s mind. Was Captain Zhao still worried? Was Lin Xuanyuan crying? sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Zhang Yuan sighed deeply, truly sorry. Now the best course of action was to stay here, quietly awaiting his own death. ¡°Only by staying here can I protect you.¡± In the last few hours, he did not want to think about all those miscellaneous things. Better to spend them cheerfully! Zhang Yuan reopened the screen on his wrist, which now contained a mathematics paper from an Alien Planet, swindled from the enemy yet not reclaimed¡ªit could be thoroughly enjoyed. ¡­ Earth Era. The conference room was filled with many people, including Captain Zhao, soldiers, the heads of both Deep Space University and Star University, experts from various disciplines, and some medical personnel constantly ready to intervene. The anxious anticipation was almost indescribable in words. On the large screen at the front, a high-dimensional fragment was displayed, with a buzzing of discussion intermittently filling the room. Many people paced back and forth, not even in the mood to sit down. ¡°Gentlemen, right now all we can do is wait here.¡± ¡°Rather than wasting energy fretting, why not calm down and consider what we should do if the worst happens?¡± Captain Zhao stared at the large screen and sighed, while the others exchanged glances. Everyone felt heavy-hearted. A Deputy Captain whispered, ¡°The best case scenario is that Li Zhendong didn¡¯t detect any information. That is to say, Dr. Zhang and the alien life perished together, both sucked into the high-dimensional space.¡± Yes, that was the best case. ¡°The worst case would be the alien life still being on the spaceship. The second explorer, Li Zhendong, discovered traces of the alien life, but in the moment he emerged¡­ he died.¡± ¡°It¡¯s also possible that he might not be able to come out all, which would be an even worse, more complex situation.¡± ¡°If such a situation were really to occur¡­¡± Captain Zhao, thinking of his talented junior brother dying so insignificantly, felt an inexplicable pain. But there was no way, really no way. At that moment, he truly felt the weakness of humanity¡­ an inexplicable being, capable of dooming all of humanity¡ªthat kind of weakness! Eight hours later, finally, there was good news amid the anxious wait; Li Zhendong, pale as death, escaped from the high-dimensional fragment. A small cheer erupted among the crowd. His emergence meant the worst-case scenario was avoided! The moment he returned to the real space, Li Zhendong forcefully supported his body, gasping heavily, with cold sweat on his forehead like large beans. The strange world was truly beyond human mental capacity; even with extensive psychological preparation and the help of various instruments, escaping was incredibly difficult! The enormous psychological pressure, almost like carrying out a sentence in prison, made those eight hours a sheer ordeal for him. But thankfully, he had escaped. Struggling to muster energy, Li Zhendong said loudly, ¡°Everyone, from the high-dimensional perspective, no life forms were detected!¡± Then his voice dropped again. ¡°But¡­ I did not find any traces of Zhang Yuan either, there was only me inside, and I did not find those two missing human soldiers,¡± after saying this, Li Zhendong collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted. A group of staff hurriedly supported him and imported all the data from the instruments into the computer. Some scientists re-examined this data, quietly discussing the situation discovered. This time¡¯s detection data was more detailed, more specific. ¡°¡­Most likely, even if entering from the same warp point, due to different time sequences, one would end up in different spaces. That¡¯s why we couldn¡¯t locate Zhang Yuan.¡± ¡°It truly is the impenetrable ¡®high-dimensional prison¡¯. If it wasn¡¯t for this warp point, one might never have been able to come out¡­¡± Captain Zhao looked somber, ¡°So, basically there¡¯s no possibility of rescuing Zhang Yuan, is there?¡± One of the Deputy Captains said, ¡°We know nothing about this space, trying to conduct a rescue is like looking for a needle in a haystack¡­ he may not survive a few more hours.¡± A few young people stepped forward, ¡°I am willing to enter the high-dimensional world for a third exploration.¡± ¡°And so am I!¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± Captain Zhao thought for a moment. It would be good to explore a few more times, as it would be more reliable. With adequate preparation, Li Zhendong had already calculated a way to escape, so repeating the process shouldn¡¯t be too difficult. Moreover, there still existed a slight delusion in his heart¡­ ¡°Select personnel carefully, don¡¯t act on impulse. Once inside, everyone must rely solely on themselves.¡± ¡°Understood!¡± As such, time passed second by second, and they quietly waited for one whole day. All topics had been discussed, everyone was very tired, and the voices of discussion gradually quieted down. Chapter 185 - 185 186 η High-Dimensional Prison ?Chapter 185: Chapter 186 ¦Ç High-Dimensional Prison Chapter 185: Chapter 186 ¦Ç High-Dimensional Prison ¡°A day¡¯s time, the three explorers who repeatedly entered exploration also came out one by one, just as exhausted as Li Zhendong, practically paralyzed. Unfortunately and fortunately, they didn¡¯t discover any extra information. One of the young scientists softly said, ¡°After these repeated experiments, once one comes out, everything left behind inside disappears. It must have entered a different space.¡± Li Zhendong couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Maybe we can try again. Who knows, maybe after a hundred or a thousand attempts, we could find traces left before.¡± One of the Deputy Captains shook his head, ¡°Let it go. The passage of time is almost the same on both sides. By that calculation¡­ it¡¯s just futile. With our current experimental conditions, trying to fathom this high-dimensional fragment is too strenuous, not unless we reach the new Mother Star¡­¡± Once it was confirmed that the oxygen Zhang Yuan carried had been depleted and there was no possibility of self-rescue, the conference room fell completely silent. Captain Zhao couldn¡¯t help but wipe his eyes, and his Adam¡¯s apple bobbed. He still found it somewhat unbelievable, his genius junior brother¡­ just died like this? But the facts were right in front of them, and there was nothing more to say. The lights were very bright, no one made a sound¡­ and everyone mourned silently for five minutes. Then, the meeting passed a few resolutions and confirmed the next steps, including comforting the relatives and the decision to seal the high-dimensional fragment. With humanity¡¯s current capabilities, having only one spaceship and insufficient operational equipment, there was no capacity or enough fault tolerance to study it further. No matter how curious or excited they were, it couldn¡¯t be done, for the appearance of some bizarre life form would be too dangerous. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, any further research should wait until we reach the new Mother Star¡­ we are still far too weak.¡± ¡°As for the Hero Memorial Hall, preparations can start. Our civilization isn¡¯t lacking heroes, only those who cherish them¡­¡± ¡­ After the memorial service concluded, Zhang Yuan had been honored as a ¡°Civilization Hero,¡± the highest distinction in the Hero Memorial Hall. A Civilization Hero is only someone who alone saves civilization or makes a monumental contribution to an era, and might even be included in textbooks for future generations to learn and admire. Several journalists snapped many photos and pondered over how to draft their articles. The whole affair still sounded a bit terrifying, with many things lacking evidence, purely speculative; writing the article would be quite challenging¡­ ¡°Mr. Li Zhendong, could you tell us what the High-dimensional World is actually like?¡± ¡°Any clues about special alien life forms? How do you determine that there really was alien life? It¡¯s all just conjectures, conjectures can¡¯t be treated as fact, can they?¡± Li Zhendong, now something of a hero, was surrounded by various journalists, feeling quite unsettled. He just wanted to go home and sleep, sleep for days and nights without waking but couldn¡¯t refuse the interviews, so he had to endure and said briefly, ¡°High-dimensional World? I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t describe it, you might look at the video¡­ but there indeed are some clues left by alien life.¡± ¡°¡­We found some abnormal code in a great number of computers. The way these codes are written is very strange, not human made¡­ perhaps because they were suddenly pulled into the high-dimensional world, there was no time to revert. These abnormal codes suffice as evidence, I believe.¡± ¡°Can you imagine¡­ a scenario where all computers are monitored by alien life?¡± A few journalists shuddered involuntarily. ¡­ Looking at the bustling crowd inside the Hero Memorial Hall, Lin Xuanyuan¡¯s mind was blank, her entire being numb, and all sounds seemed surreal. As Zhang Yuan¡¯s life partner, she would enjoy significant welfare benefits in the days ahead. But what was the point of inheriting so-called legacies? A female doctor sat quietly in a nearby chair; this psychologist was also her good friend, but in such a situation, she didn¡¯t know what to say. The pain of losing a loved one could only be endured through one¡¯s own strength; there was no other way. ¡°Xuanxuan, should I prescribe you some antidepressants¡­ not sleeping or eating isn¡¯t good either¡­¡± ¡°No need.¡± Lin Xuanyuan forced a smile, ¡°Rather, arrange for me to enter hibernation. Let me wake up after reaching the new Mother Star, can it be done¡­¡± Her only thought now was to hibernate sooner, to hibernate quickly, perhaps waking up to a better world? She still remembered that year, only after awakening from hibernation had she met Zhang Yuan¡­ perhaps the next awakening from hibernation might also bring some good things. The doctor became silent upon hearing this, well aware that it was an act of evasion. Even if someone woke up long after, they couldn¡¯t come back to life, so why not accept this fact? However, seeing his good friend in such a despondent state, he agreed to the request after a moment. ¡°Alright, once we reach the Mother Star, as the population of those awake increases, the atmosphere will be livelier¡­ and perhaps a bit happier too.¡± ¡­ Marx had a famous proposition: Humans are the sum of social relations. Humanity¡¯s civilization would continue to function normally without anyone, and the absence of Zhang Yuan was no exception. Half a year later, the whole incident had calmed down, and Captain Zhao and others had once again entered into hibernation. In the following period, batches of people took turns waking from hibernation, learning about the entire storyline. While they sighed, they could not help feeling a bit frightened. In the dim universe, where bizarre life forms abounded, one could never know what they might encounter next. In contrast, humans were exceedingly frail. The solemn, oppressive atmosphere of the Hero Memorial Hall, on the other hand, offered a faint sense of safety. ¡­ [Warning: Near the high-dimensional prison D3M4N6 area, a dying life form detected!] [First scan results as follows: Oxygen-affinitive, carbon-based. Mass: 65 kilograms. Volume: 0.064 cubic meters. Genetic material: DNA double helix structure. Danger level: 5. Place of birth: Unknown. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Age: Unknown.] [Warning: This life form will lose self-awareness in 10 seconds.] [Cause: Asphyxiation due to lack of oxygen.] [Countdown: 10¡­9¡­8¡­] [Blue Alert: This unidentified biological entity is suspected of illegal entry into the high-dimensional prison, danger level raised to C-class!] [Red Alert: Presence of an escaped four-dimensional life form detected in this area, codename ZERO-XZ, danger level raised to A-class!] [Error codes as follows: QAZXWX£¤¡­;] ¡­ Zhang Yuan slowly opened his eyes, finding himself in a very strange place, surrounded by various blue luminescent dots, and he felt as if he were floating in midair. His mind was still in a haze. It took quite a while before he began to regain clarity. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Am I not dead?¡± ¡°Where is this¡­¡± ¡°Have I¡­ been captured by aliens?¡± Zhang Yuan looked around cautiously. However, he couldn¡¯t even perform the simple act of ¡°looking around.¡± He couldn¡¯t sense his own body¡¯s presence, as if he had turned into a formless entity. He considered his visible surroundings; besides the blue luminescent dots, there was nothing else. [Intruder, please identify yourself.] A neutral voice, devoid of emotion or gender distinction, suddenly resounded in his mind, startling Zhang Yuan. What¡¯s going on? An intruder? Zhang Yuan thought for a second and quickly betrayed his homeland. ¡°Hello¡­ My name is Zhang Yuan, from the Solar System, Earth. I love peace and cherish the purity of white¡­ May I ask your name?¡± Chapter 186 - 186 187 Manager Yita ?Chapter 186: Chapter 187: Manager Yita Chapter 186: Chapter 187: Manager Yita Zhang Yuan mulled over in his heart, since that voice could directly translate into something he could understand, then it¡¯s very likely that this alien civilization had read various information from his space suit instruments, or even possibly cracked his brain structure! After all, the Solar System, Earth is just a noun, so what¡¯s the harm in telling them? ¡°¡­Turning me into what I am now, surely they wouldn¡¯t kill me immediately, right?¡± There was a moment of silence from the other side, as if they didn¡¯t understand Zhang Yuan¡¯s defense, then another message came through: ¡°Intruder, state your purpose for invading the ¦Ç high-dimensional prison!¡± ¡°Invasion?¡± Zhang Yuan felt that the guy on the other end was rather foolish. He had already said it wasn¡¯t an invasion, and yet they insisted on calling it one. He hurriedly shouted, ¡°Injustice, true injustice! I didn¡¯t invade, I caught one of your criminals!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve made a contribution!¡± ¡°Do you know that the monster from your prison has escaped?!¡± ¡°?R%mp;amp;;$?Program error, self-check in progress, please wait¡­¡± After patiently waiting for half an hour, Zhang Yuan still hadn¡¯t received a response. What¡¯s the situation? Zhang Yuan had no idea what was going on with that guy outside, just that there wasn¡¯t any noise anymore, and then nobody else paid any attention to him. He faintly felt that something wasn¡¯t right. With nothing better to do, he began to carefully ponder over what he was seeing. Right now he couldn¡¯t perceive his whole body. He didn¡¯t need to breathe, nor blink, nor even move his eyeballs. It was extremely uncomfortable! There were two main possibilities. First, he only had a head left and had been ¡°brained in a vat.¡± ¡°Second, my consciousness has been uploaded to a computer!¡± Either way, the two possibilities weren¡¯t much different. This feeling was truly uncomfortable. Apart from being able to think normally with my brain, he was completely immobile. But the mere thought of the science fiction-level technology of ¡°consciousness upload¡± made Zhang Yuan¡¯s mouth go dry. This was a completely different concept from immersive VR! Pretending to swallow spit, since he had no body, he could only feign the action, and then he felt a bit better. ¡°What¡¯s the other side doing? Have they crashed?¡± Zhang Yuan cursed in his mind. ¡°If¡­ this computer carrying my consciousness reboots, I won¡¯t just kick the bucket, will I?¡± ¡°Anyway, being alive is always better than being dead¡­ Better not die.¡± With utmost boredom, Zhang Yuan¡¯s mind began to wander, conjuring various novels he had read. ¡°Could it be that a person¡¯s whole life¡­ is really just a ¡®brain in a vat,¡¯ and after death, we end up in another, more real world? Have I committed a crime in a higher-level world, and as a punishment, I am living an unremarkable life in this mundane virtual world?¡± Zhang Yuan almost laughed at his wild thoughts. Clearly, he didn¡¯t even have a face now, so he couldn¡¯t even make the gesture of smiling. ¡°Ah¡­ More likely, this place should be the command center for detaining high-dimensional life.¡± ¡°If it were a prison, there should be some sort of monitoring device, not allowing prisoners to die at will.¡± Yes, that must be it. Even the prisons on Earth worked that way. If a prisoner inexplicably died in prison, the guards would also be punished. Aliens¡­ should be similar, right? ¡°This super-civilization¡¯s monitoring system must have found me, this unidentified person, about to bite the dust, and then captured me, turning me into what I am now.¡± That thought made more sense. But then, if this is a high-civilization prison, why did the interrogator just now seem so dim-witted and suddenly crash? ¡°Maybe because it took the direct hit of a supernova, the prison blew up? That¡¯s possible!¡± S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Zhang Yuan pondered. But now, he was a fish on the cutting board. Apart from quietly waiting, there was nothing he could do. He screamed out, ¡°Before me, there should have been two other humans who fell into the prison, right? Where are they?¡± ¡°Can anyone answer me?¡± ¡°Is there anyone out there? Anyone at all?¡± There was no reply; the whole world seemed to consist only of him. This time he truly waited for a long time, this kind of monotonous silence was akin to torture. Zhang Yuan forced himself to keep falling into a stupor, believing he might go completely insane from boredom if he didn¡¯t sleep. Fortunately, in this state, falling asleep became incredibly easy; he would be out the moment he closed his eyes¡ªhe had no idea how long each nap could actually last¡­ until eventually, the periods of stupor began to grow longer and longer¡­ [Q!?;;¡­Self-check results as follows: Logic database lost up to 78.1%, Data storage lost amounting to 64.23%, 1145 dangerous vulnerabilities detected in ¦Ç high-dimensional prison!] [System restoration in progress%¡­] [Restoration failed!] After some chaotic reasoning, this superintelligence known as Yita finally realized that its high-dimensional prison had not withstood the blast of that supernova, many devices had turned into a pile of stupid electronic garbage¡­ The loss of the logic database meant that it couldn¡¯t perform self-repair. In sheer helplessness, it started seeking assistance from external information sources incessantly. [Attempting to connect with Gaia Civilization¡¯s Seventh Laboratory.] [Connecting¡­] [Connection failed.] [¡­] [Attempting to connect with Gaia Civilization¡¯s Eighth Laboratory.] [Connecting¡­] [Connection failed¡­] Without question, all attempts made to contact the principal civilization had failed. In the end, out of sheer helplessness, it selected an option of the lowest priority. [Attempting to connect with the Amoeba Civilization¡­] [Connection successful!] [Response received.] [¡­Respected Manager Yita, we have received your message. By chance, a fleet from our civilization is nearby, please wait a moment.] That waiting¡­ turned out to be nearly a hundred years. ¡­ The Amoeba Civilization, a typical King Worm centralized collectivist civilization, originated from AmiBa Star in the Andromeda Galaxy. In the Primitive Era, apart from reproduction, they possessed no intelligence to speak of, merely a group of highly aggressive Amoeba. These creatures, with their potent genetic mutation capabilities, rapidly reproduced en masse, conquered the entire planet, and became the apex of the food chain¡­ By chance, the Gaia Civilization passed by this primitive planet and, under various enlightenments, the group of Amoeba gradually abandoned their primal state and embarked on the path of technological development. King Worm-based civilizations naturally revolve around the King Worms. These so-called King Worms are the naturally intelligent and dictatorial individuals within the species, capable of controlling the fate of all members. In such a civilization, division of labor among individuals is clear-cut, with unified goals and extraordinarily high efficiency. They established star interstellar trading posts, known for being ¡°fair¡± and ¡°just.¡± Civilizations of the Gaia Faction generally do not have a strong tendency to plunder. Of course, the so-called ¡°fairness and justice¡± is only relative; at the end of the day, making money is of the highest importance. What the Amoeba Civilization excels in the most is curvature and superluminal travel. Thanks to these, the Amoeba traders¡¯ footprints spread across the Virgo Supercluster, including the Milky Way. Unique social structures combined with extensive trade activities enabled them to overcome various challenges. After millions of years of development, the Amoeba Civilization has become a well-known¡­ Level 6 Civilization in the Virgo Supercluster! ¡­ Zhang Yuan had no idea how long he had been lying in this damned blue space when, suddenly, his head throbbed, and the ground and mountains seemed to shake. The blue light in front of his eyes diminished greatly, and the whole world appeared to collapse. ¡°What are you doing, what the hell are you doing!¡± Zhang Yuan shouted, ¡°How long have you let me sleep? Can you at least send me back? I¡¯m not your prisoner!¡± ¡°Sir, is there a consciousness of a low-level civilization present here?¡± An Amoeba Insect discovered the anomaly at the computer control end and exclaimed in surprise. ¡°It might have entered through one of the high-risk vulnerabilities. Ignore it, we have no authority to deal with this. Once we¡¯ve repaired the Artificial Intelligence Yita, it can handle this itself.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Chapter 187 - 187 188 Amoeba Civilization ?Chapter 187: Chapter 188 Amoeba Civilization Chapter 187: Chapter 188 Amoeba Civilization For these advanced civilizations, their lifeforms had long since completed their own transformations. Communication was conducted entirely through brainwaves. Furthermore, through special brainwaves, they could clearly sense each other¡¯s subtle emotions, making communication exceptionally convenient. A series of crackling blue lights flashed by. The entire world finally stabilized, and Zhang Yuan had no idea what had happened outside. He was extremely agitated. He had narrowly survived, only to die again? And being locked up here, he didn¡¯t know how long he had been unconscious. What on earth was going on? But no one paid any attention to him¡­ ¡­ The Amoeba Civilization and Manager Yita of the ¦Ç high-dimensional prison quickly completed a not-too-complicated transaction. Their entire fleet would be responsible for repairing the damaged high-dimensional prison. In return, they would gain 4.6% of the shares as compensation. It was a very worthwhile deal. ¦Ç high-dimensional prison was an early creation of the Gaia Civilization. Its technology was not too advanced, and it imprisoned many high-risk experimental lifeforms. But for these Amoeba Civilization amoebas, it was unimaginable high technology¡­ The great Gaia Civilization was their Enlightener and had left this group of star systems. But departing didn¡¯t mean their fall; they had simply vanished from the observable domain. Therefore, these amoebas didn¡¯t want to bully the Artificial Intelligence Yita too much, even if it had lost most of its logical abilities. ¡°Commander, our level of technology is not capable of handling such a complex high-dimensional world.¡± ¡°We could take the whole prison back, letting the naturally proficient Amida Worms attempt this work¡­ Our civilization will gain much inspiration throughout the repair process.¡± ¡°Yes, Commander!¡± ¡°If our reputation is tarnished because of this transaction, that too would be an act of ¡®penny-wise, pound-foolish.¡¯ We would certainly be condemned by the main civilization¡­¡± ¡°Yes, Commander!¡± ¡°Having completed this deal, we can now receive the King¡¯s reward; there is no need to take on too much risk.¡± ¡°Yes, Commander!¡± Several amoebas were joyfully exchanging thoughts, their language simple and the air filled with happy brainwaves. Amoebas naturally possessed a hierarchy; conflicts were almost non-existent. This hierarchy was like the limbs of a body, instinctively obeying the brain, just as the subordinates naturally obeyed their superiors. They viewed this distribution of ranks as a matter of course. If the superior commanded, the subordinate simply carried out the order without overthinking. Lower-level units had less pronounced self-awareness. Only higher-level units possessed strong initiative. Of course, the higher-level units wouldn¡¯t arbitrarily command their lower-level units to commit suicide or self-harm. In their eyes, lower-level units were as important as their own bodies. Who would whimsically maim their own body¡­ [Self-check program starting¡­ Logic library restored to 88%!] [Startup successful!] Yita¡¯s logic library had been restored to its state before the supernova explosion, meaning it could now think normally. The Amoeba Leader sent a series of respectful data packets: ¡°Honored Lord Yita, I am sorry to inform you that my fleet¡¯s technological level is currently unable to completely repair the ¦Ç high-dimensional prison. The current progress of the repairs is 1.22%¡­¡± ¡°It is suggested that it be transferred to the AmiBa planet in the Andromeda Galaxy for repairs.¡± ¡°If you do not wish to move the ¦Ç high-dimensional prison, this transaction can be voided. You will need to pay 234.33 AmiBa Points for the system maintenance and inspection fees.¡± Yita brooded with a headache, realizing that it had suffered a slight loss in this business deal. But there was no choice; its former self had been foolish. Taking a slight loss to become what it was now was considered not too bad. ¡°Thank you for your help¡­ Well then, let¡¯s transfer the ¦Ç high-dimensional prison to the Andromeda Galaxy.¡± ¡°Respected Lord Yita, it is regrettable to inform you that according to the speed of our fleet, the transfer will require more than sixty thousand years.¡± ¡°No matter, you can first repair the significant security vulnerabilities, just keep the life forms inside from escaping at will¡­¡± After some discussion, both parties quickly reached a consensus. Later, Yita discovered Zhang Yuan, who was still trapped inside the computer, and recalled their previous conversation, feeling unexpectedly a bit embarrassed. If it weren¡¯t for this individual triggering the emergency mechanism, it probably would still be here, zoning out, and might not even realize it was malfunctioning¡­ Thinking about such a foolish error made Yita feel a bit ashamed. So it had better send him off quickly. A message suddenly popped up in Zhang Yuan¡¯s head. ¡°From the Solar System, Earth, Mr. Zhang Yuan, considering you have no subjective fault, the ¦Ç high-dimensional prison will not hold you accountable¡­¡± ¡°We will send you back to your home, the Solar System, Earth. Please provide the specific coordinates.¡± ¡°Wait a minute!¡± Zhang Yuan felt a rush of joy followed immediately by his scalp going numb. The emotionless tone was like that of an antique Artificial Intelligence voice from hundreds of years ago. Moreover, he didn¡¯t have any responsibility to speak of, he even had merit! What did they mean by not holding him accountable? How could this entity be so brazen? ¡°You may choose to return to your home with the Amoeba Civilization¡¯s fleet, and we will pay for your voyage.¡± What on earth was the Amoeba Civilization? Zhang Yuan felt a bit confused and pondered for a few seconds, guessing that it was probably a weird term translated directly out of the human language database. His interest was slightly piqued; traveling to Earth with the enormous fleet of the Amoeba Civilization seemed quite interesting. Although he would just be a passenger, it should be enough to shock the Earth people; maybe he could even use this to rid them of their mediocre state? S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. But¡­ He quickly yelled, ¡°¡­Are you kidding me? I¡¯m not going back to Earth, just send me back to that spaceship! The location is roughly at¡­ the storage point of the High-dimensional Fragment!¡± ¡°And it¡¯s very uncomfortable right now, could I be allowed to move around a bit¡­ Life is movement, and it has been a really long time since I moved.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Zhang Yuan¡¯s vision went dark, and then his hands and feet seemed to regain some sensation. Opening his eyes and moving his hands, he realized he was wearing nothing, standing almost naked in a very strange place, surrounded by blue dots of light. He looked at his hands doubtfully. Being able to move¡­ was wonderful! He took deep breaths of air, feeling incredibly curious, what level of technology could upload his Self-awareness so clearly to a computer and still allow him to breathe and feel his heartbeat? ¡°This is Virtual Space D112, you have been granted a certain level of activity permissions.¡± ¡°¡­ D3M4N6 High-dimensional Fragment detected¡± ¡°We will send you personally, through the multi-dimensional space tunnel, directly back to your¡­ spaceship?¡± ¡°After this, we will sever the connection with D3M4N6 High-dimensional Fragment, which will internally collapse into a Miao Space, preventing entry back into the ¦Ç high-dimensional prison through that flaw.¡± Miao Space was what exactly? However, Zhang Yuan understood the meaning of this message; that High-dimensional Fragment could indeed be used as a space door! He couldn¡¯t help but feel awed internally; this level of technology was beyond his imagination, it was indeed¡­ overwhelming. Chapter 188 - 188 189 Beggar Zhang Yuan ?Chapter 188: Chapter 189 Beggar Zhang Yuan Chapter 188: Chapter 189 Beggar Zhang Yuan While he could still converse with the other party, Zhang Yuan pondered for a while and then asked, ¡°Is that Four-dimensional Life still trapped there, or have you captured it? Its threat to us is really too great¡­¡± [The Four-dimensional Life Form coded Zero-XZ is currently incarcerated.] So, that guy was called Zero-XZ? ¡°Then, what about my companions¡­ There should be two other humans like me, still trapped in the high-dimensional prison,¡± he recalled the two soldiers. [The Biological entities coded MA9865DF and MA98FGDF died due to delayed rescue.] Hearing this, Zhang Yuan just sighed in his heart. He couldn¡¯t blame anyone else; after all, just being alive himself was extremely lucky¡­ He surely couldn¡¯t blame the Alien Civilization for not saving lives. ¡°It could also be possible that the two soldiers moved recklessly in high-dimensional space, accidentally touching their own organs, leading to their sudden death. Sigh¡­¡± However, soon, Zhang Yuan¡¯s mind was racing again¡­ At the brink of death, he had encountered what seemed to be a relatively friendly advanced civilization. Although he couldn¡¯t determine whether they were Artificial Intelligence or actual Biological entities, they seemed fairly good-tempered¡­ Even though he had always remained in this small space, not knowing what was happening outside, he still had some vague guesses. Zhang Yuan was wracking his brains to use this information to seek some advantages for himself, or perhaps for Humanity! [We will soon return you to your Mother Ship, please wait a few minutes¡­] Zhang Yuan licked his dry lips, his heart rate beginning to increase. He deeply knew that if he missed this chance, he might never again have the opportunity to interact with such a superior civilization¡­ Humanity would remain just ordinary humans, without any change. But in the world, there is no love without reason; they were probably just being polite out of habit. Just like a normal person rescuing ants about to drown with a leaf, merely out of habitual kindness. But if the ant doesn¡¯t understand and climbs the arm instead, then it can only be flicked into the gutter¡­ Zhang Yuan suddenly asked, ¡°May I know the name of your civilization?¡± [I am Gaia Civilization¡ª¦Ç high-dimensional prison Manager, Artificial Intelligence Yita.] Gaia Civilization¡¯s Artificial Intelligence¡­ Zhang Yuan mustered his courage, ¡°Respected Yita¡­ Lord, I would like to ask if there isn¡¯t some kind of substantial reward for helping you capture Zero-XY?¡± As he spoke, his breathing became rapid, even though he couldn¡¯t feel his body at that moment, he still experienced the same feelings. This was an instinctive physiological response to facing an unknown entity; Zhang Yuan wasn¡¯t a trained spy but just a scientist. As expected, the other party remained silent and did not immediately reply. Time passed by second after second, and Zhang Yuan grew more anxious. He mourned in his heart, ¡°Oh, Humanity, try harder!¡± ¡°If our civilization was strong enough, why would I risk my life here, begging from other civilizations?¡± ¡°How is this different from begging?¡± He slowly calmed his spirit. But if begging could make them stronger, what¡¯s the harm in begging? The other party replied: [What kind of reward do you need? I think the High-dimensional Fragment D3M4N6 left for you should be enough for your civilization to explore.] ¡°You must know, when dealing with civilizations with huge age gaps, any inspiration derived from higher technology progressively increases in marginal effects.¡± ¡°No¡­ Lord Yita, the High-dimensional Fragment is too advanced technologically for us, it¡¯s actually of little use,¡± Zhang Yuan cautiously said. ¡°You can take that piece of High-dimensional Fragment back and provide us with more basic technology¡­ We would be extremely grateful for your gift.¡± Zhang Yuan was gambling! He was betting that the other party didn¡¯t care much about the High-dimensional Fragment and wouldn¡¯t bother to reclaim it. Or rather, that the cost of reclaim was too high! Although the High-dimensional Fragment could be used for space travel, the Fragment itself couldn¡¯t travel through space. It was like a door, through which people could move back and forth, but the door itself surely couldn¡¯t cross through itself. This was a matter of logic! Zhang Yuan believed that even if a civilization was highly advanced, its technology had developed to the extreme, it still could not reverse the entire logic, otherwise the world would become incomprehensible! Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. According to the previous message that prompted him to use the Amoeba Civilization¡¯s fleet to return to Earth, this space travel was not random; it likely required a high cost or a High-dimensional Fragment as a projection point. Thus, he was gambling that the other party wouldn¡¯t be interested in coming over from afar just to recover this broken thing in exchange for greater benefits. ¡°¡­ Our civilization has a hard time surviving, a small disaster could wipe out our entire population. For instance, that Zero¡ªXY easily took control of our computers and accessed a massive amount of our confidential information.¡± ¡°But for you, any little help might make our lives a little better, might save us from taking some wrong turns¡­¡± Zhang Yuan started to plead, forcing himself to sound pathetic, ¡°Our lifespans are very short, only lasting about a hundred years¡­¡± ¡°Our science is far behind, we don¡¯t even know what you mean by Miao Space¡­¡± ¡°Too greedy!¡± Lord Yita felt a bit annoyed inside. As a highly intelligent Artificial Intelligence, it had easily seen through Zhang Yuan¡¯s little tricks. It could even directly read his thoughts. However, it refrained from doing so due to its good personal principles¡­ Yet, the other side seemed correct. Based on this Biological entity¡¯s level of intelligence, the probability of unraveling the mysteries of high-dimensional space was less than 0.02 percent. That said, the High-dimensional Fragment really wasn¡¯t of much use, and might even pose certain risks¡­ As a higher intelligence, Yita possessed strong self-awareness along with its own unique personal emotions and ethical standards. Due to a quirky tendency of the Creator Gaia Civilization, it even experienced a slight fear of social interactions, otherwise it wouldn¡¯t stay in this forsaken place, refusing to leave even if the Supernova exploded¡­ After thinking for a while, it spoke, ¡°As an additional reward, I can grant you 500 AmiBa Points, which you can use in any Amoeba Civilization¡¯s trade market.¡± ¡°As for the D3M4N6 High-dimensional Fragment, your civilization can continue to study it or discard it, but please do not hastily enter it again. Without the protection of the ¦Ç high-dimensional prison, three-dimensional materials will not survive in the High-dimensional World.¡± 500¡­ AmiBa Points? Perhaps it was a universal currency in interstellar civilizations? Zhang Yuan had no idea of the value or purchasing power of 500 AmiBa Points. But currently, Humans didn¡¯t even have the capability of interstellar voyages¡­ even if it were worth an entire Universe, it would be of no use. Holding the belief that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, he tentatively said, ¡°Respected Lord Yita, AmiBa Points are still of little use to us¡­¡± ¡°Perhaps, you could give us this computer; that would be the greatest reward for us.¡± Zhang Yuan¡¯s goal was¡­ this very computer he was using! This was the only piece of technology he could access. As for things like scientific papers, he decided not to consider them for now, to avoid asking more questions and irritating the other party¡­ Chapter 189 - 189 190 Hero… Returns ?Chapter 189: Chapter 190: Hero¡­ Returns! Chapter 189: Chapter 190: Hero¡­ Returns! Seeing the other party fall silent again, Zhang Yuan could only start playing the pity card again, ¡°Respected Lord Yita, we are just an ordinary civilization, born around a common Yellow Dwarf Star, and our greatest opportunity so far has been encountering you.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t even have the capability for interstellar voyages, so how could we engage in interstellar trade? What use are Amoeba Points to us? To travel from one Constant Star to another without hibernation would cost us the lifespan of dozens of generations¡­ we simply won¡¯t live to see that day.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even know what Amoeba Points are, can you understand this kind of weakness?¡± Zhang Yuan found himself tingly with anxiety, wracking his brain to imagine himself at the very bottom of the interstellar society. He suddenly felt that playing the pity card, something Li Zhendong was naturally suited for, might have been more appropriate for him. But having finally caught a seemingly mild-mannered advanced civilization, not fleecing them a bit would be a sin. ¡°Even if they get angry, only I would die!¡± With this thought, he indeed carried a tone of tragic resolve. Yita was calculating the value of ¡°500 Amoeba Points¡± against this ¡°Bozeman Quantum Consciousness Converter.¡± According to the transaction rules of the Amoeba Business Alliance, technological products benefit from marginal increasing effects. Among Sixth-Level Civilizations, this thing is worthless, merely a trifle, as everyone already possesses this technology. A Level 5 Civilization trying to purchase it would probably need more than 20,000 Amoeba Points! Fourth-Level Civilization¡­ The price is even higher and might be completely unaffordable. It analyzed the space suit Zhang Yuan wore and the various instruments he carried, which barely qualified as Level 1 Civilization technology, having just left their own planet¡­ Well, it truly seemed rather tough. [I¡¯m not part of the Amoeba Civilization, there¡¯s no need to adopt this pretense¡­] Do I need to earn money? No. It didn¡¯t bother much with researching technology either. ¡°Just a computer¡­¡± Most crucially, Yita¡¯s social anxiety was subtly flaring up again; all these Amoeba Insects scurrying back and forth, checking its territory, were incredibly annoying and dirtied his mood. Those insects were just too ugly. On the contrary, the individual within the computer appeared rather pleasing to the eye. Besides, capturing an escapee was indeed a commendable act and what to reward him with was within its authority. [So¡­] After a while, Zhang Yuan seemed to hear something and hurriedly perked up his ears. [As a reward for capturing the escaped prisoner Zero-XZ, I will give you this ¡°Bozeman Quantum Consciousness Converter.¡±] [I hope you will use it properly to aid the development of your civilization, rather than indulging in a virtual world¡­ Especially as civilizations that have not developed their philosophical thoughts to a certain level may face certain risks using this technology, please be mindful of this.] Haha, success! Zhang Yuan was ecstatic, nearly jumping up in excitement! What a thrill, truly exhilarating! But under the watchful eye of the other party, he dared not fully express himself, almost bursting with the effort to contain himself. Even during the technological peak of the once-great Earth Civilization, they couldn¡¯t achieve what this device for uploading consciousness could. Absolutely not! He marveled at the good-natured disposition of the other party and his own good fortune. Next came the time to return. Zhang Yuan discussed for a while with the other party, hoping it would return the bodies of the two soldiers, as well as a few of his own severed legs. The other party quickly agreed to Zhang Yuan¡¯s small requests. Zhang Yuan even regretted not ¡°begging¡± for more, but soon he suppressed that thought. Greed is a cardinal sin; moderation is just right. The next second, right after finishing their negotiation, Zhang Yuan lost consciousness in an instant and plunged into darkness. ¡­ Earth Era. Time rushed on, and 179 years had passed since the last accident¡­ Several staff members were in the Central Control Room, performing routine checks. Time can almost smooth over all hardships, and nearly every group of Awakened had heard of the accident over a hundred seventy years ago. While their hearts raced, they reflected on humanity¡¯s good luck as well. Zhang Yuan¡¯s portrait was also hung inside the Hero Memorial Hall for people to admire and remember¡­ For someone gracious, even a biographical account of Zhang Yuan¡¯s life from childhood had been written detailing tales of his academic success on Earth, and even those stories were dug up. Whether these stories were exaggerated was difficult to say¡­ because the man was long gone, and with the spaceship being cut off from Earth Civilization, even if it were embellished with gold, nobody was around to refute these accounts. As time passed and they neared their destination at Gliese 581, everyone¡¯s mood lightened, and they began to chit-chat and boast idly. ¡°Hey, in a hundred years, we¡¯ll finally reach our destination, and this tough journey will at last come to an end!¡± ¡°The new Mother Star, I wonder what it¡¯s like.¡± Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be easy once we get there. The entire civilization is still in a state of poverty and simplicity, and there¡¯s still so much to do¡­¡± ¡°Even when busy, there¡¯s at least something to look forward to, not like now where we¡¯re doing nothing. I wonder if our destination has any alien civilizations?¡± The leader coughed heavily, ¡°Alright everyone! Let¡¯s not borrow trouble. Let¡¯s just focus on our own tasks.¡± Two hours later, it was mealtime and several people went to the cafeteria, leaving only two people on duty in the large office. As the shift rotation continued over the years, everyone had grown accustomed to this kind of quiet. Two young people were checking in front of the monitoring probe, including the hazardous materials warehouse, nuclear engine, electrical system, and high-dimensional fragment storage point. They checked each one and didn¡¯t find any major issues. ¡°High-dimensional fragments haven¡¯t erupted for over a hundred years, so there shouldn¡¯t be any major issues anymore,¡± one of them glanced briefly and said. The other replied, ¡°Hey, this kind of super technology, I wonder when we will be able to achieve it¡­ We really can¡¯t understand what it actually is.¡± ¡°I think, if we can¡¯t enhance human perception abilities, we probably really won¡¯t be able to fully explore it. Our perception of the world comes from the brain, but what if this perception is wrong? Only 67 people have truly passed the space theory test¡­ That means, even if we know the method, only 67 people can escape from it. I really inexplicably want to try.¡± ¡°You¡¯re thinking too much. If you get sucked in, you¡¯ll probably end up dead in there, and no one will come to save you.¡± Suddenly, one of the younger staff members glanced at the screen and paused. Then, he was overwhelmed with goosebumps! ¡°It¡¯s¡­ lit up! It¡¯s lit!¡± Hearing this startling shout, another colleague gathered around, equally shocked by the surveillance footage on the screen. The high-dimensional fragment had suddenly burst into light again! Did this mean¡­ something had escaped from it again?! Thinking back to the horrific accident that had occurred a century ago, this staff member¡¯s hair stood on end with nervousness. His hair bristled as he yelled, ¡°Quick, set off the high explosive bomb!¡± ¡°Wait¡­ hold on.¡± The light seemed different from normal, not sucking things in but spewing things out. ¡°Something fell out!¡± ¡°Quick, call someone!¡± Director Fang, who was having a meal in the cafeteria, took the call, trembling and almost peeing himself with fear. ¡°What? Another alien has escaped!¡± ¡°I knew it was a menace!¡± People hurriedly left their boxed lunches and rushed toward the control room. Everyone¡¯s eyes widened in shock as they saw something emerging from the high-dimensional fragment. One corpse, two corpses¡ªit seemed to be the bodies of two soldiers who had been sucked in, likely humans. Then, something silver and white emerged, resembling a hibernation chamber! ¡°What is that?¡± A series of questions raced through the supervisor¡¯s mind. He gritted his teeth; if this creature had hostile intentions, it probably wouldn¡¯t have sent the bodies of the two soldiers out voluntarily. ¡°Everyone, if there are aliens, let¡¯s try to communicate first.¡± ¡°If anything abnormal happens, detonate the bomb immediately!¡± The bomb might not kill the aliens, but it would certainly blow apart the entire spaceship¡¯s wall. Under atmospheric pressure, everything would be sucked out. This was specifically designed for safety when storing the high-dimensional fragment. ¡°It¡¯s opened!¡± With a highly tense expression, Director Fang, sweating profusely, kept his thumb ready to press the button. The silver hibernation chamber slowly opened, and a figure emerged. Zhang Yuan, seeing the timed bomb at that moment, was immediately terrified. ¡°Help¡­ It¡¯s me!¡± he struggled hard to return to the spaceship, not wanting to get blasted by the bomb right off the bat. Hearing the scream through the headset, Director Fang was so nervous he almost pressed the button, but then regained his composure. ¡°Stop! Don¡¯t blow it up!¡± As a few people listened to a voice in the headset that sounded almost human, and watching the scene on the monitor, Qi Sensen was stunned. Wasn¡¯t that the person in the Hero Memorial Hall? ¡°Zhang¡­ Dr. Zhang?¡± Chapter 190 - 190 191 It Feels Good to Be Back ?Chapter 190: Chapter 191: It Feels Good to Be Back Chapter 190: Chapter 191: It Feels Good to Be Back Director Fang and the surrounding staff members were taken aback upon hearing the news. A man who had died 179 years ago had suddenly come back to life, bringing with him a strange device? They were still in shock, almost to the point of being tongue-tied! After a long while, Director Fang, with a flushed face, regained his composure and exchanged looks with his colleagues. Facing this resurrected ¡°human hero,¡± they felt somewhat uneasy, not knowing what to do, and also harbored some doubts¡­ Several people hurriedly ran over and saw the High-dimensional Fragment expelling two soldiers¡¯ bodies, as well as a large silver machine and Zhang Yuan standing beside it. ¡°Dr. Zhang, what happened to your left arm¡­¡± ¡°Ah, it accidentally froze and must have necrotized¡­ Do we have any awake bionics experts on the spaceship to help me install a new one?¡± Zhang Yuan forced a smile. In order to deal with that Four-dimensional Life, he had lost three of his limbs, preserving only his right arm¡­ It was truly a tragic situation. ¡°We do have one¡­ Dr. Fan in the hospital, he is an expert in this area, so you don¡¯t need to worry about the surgery. Please come with me this way¡­¡± Director Fang and others led Zhang Yuan to a safety examination room, sterilized him from head to toe, and after a thorough check confirming he was indeed a pure human, finally sighed in relief. ¡°Do you need something to eat, maybe rest a bit?¡± Zhang Yuan swallowed, and upon being reminded, realized he was terribly hungry, ¡°Definitely, urgently!¡± sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°What¡¯s the purpose of that machine you brought back¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bit complex, that device can upload consciousness¡­ Personally experiencing it, I don¡¯t even know the principle behind it¡­¡± ¡°Hey, the robot skills in cooking have improved, huh? It¡¯s pretty good.¡± Zhang Yuan was feasting in the cafeteria. It had been so long since he had eaten, and even the meatballs, which he used not to like, now tasted heavenly. At that moment, many of the Awakened on the spaceship had heard that a human appeared from inside the High-dimensional Fragment. The cafeteria exterior was noisy, and many gossipy individuals couldn¡¯t contain their curiosity anymore, resulting in a few soldiers stopping them. ¡°So why did it take over a hundred years, precisely 179 years¡­ It has been 179 years since you left, we all thought¡­¡± Director Fang rubbed his hands together, recalling the photo hanging in the Hero Memorial Hall, which might need to be taken down again. Zhang Yuan shook his head, also unsure why it took 179 years. It was possible that he had stayed in the computer for a long time, or perhaps time had simply passed by during space travel¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s do this, I¡¯ll go wake up Captain Zhao!¡± Director Fang hurriedly snapped back to reality, his head filled with excitement. This matter was overwhelmingly significant, and waking up the Captain was indeed justified! No matter which aspect, all were great news, especially that device¡ª¡±Bozeman Quantum Consciousness Converter¡±¡ªas a technician, it was impossible not to be curious. ¡°Oh, Director Fang¡­ please also wake up my life partner, thank you.¡± ¡°No problem at all.¡± Zhang Yuan thought to himself, Lin Xuanyuan must have been heartbroken hearing he was gone. Cheering her up a bit sooner wouldn¡¯t hurt¡­ If he could surprise her, that would be even better. ¡­ In the following days, Zhang Yuan leisurely relaxed aboard the spaceship. After the surgery, he wandered around, eating Pu Pu Grass, taking lazy naps. The feeling of being back in his homeland was profoundly beautiful, relaxed and comfortable, filled with a sense of safety. No longer did he have to match wits with bizarre entities or face the unknown. It was¡­ Absolutely thrilling! The only drawback was that his presence seemed a bit too prominent. Wherever there were people, both men and women would curiously inquire about his news, and although retelling these stories always left people jumping in surprise, for him, it became somewhat irritating to repeat the same things over and over. Subsequently, he did something extremely important: he cleaned out all the unlucky items about himself from inside the Hero Memorial Hall. He wasn¡¯t dead yet, no need for people to memorialize him! What human hero, might as well wait until after he¡¯s dead. ¡­ A few days later, Captain Zhao Qingfeng slowly opened his eyes, his consciousness gradually clearing. He looked at the date on the wall, which wasn¡¯t supposed to be his wake-up day, and his mood became heavy. Generally, when a captain is urgently awakened, it denotes some difficult tasks, often bearing bad news. In addition, he saw the nurses in the hospital bustling back and forth, seemingly very busy, even the beds in the corridors were occupied. That is to say, it was not just him, but a large group of people had been urgently awakened! ¡°What happened?¡± he asked hoarsely, feeling quite urgent inside. ¡°Well¡­¡± The nurse¡¯s face turned red, and she couldn¡¯t help but reveal a very strange smile when she thought about the matter. Captain Zhao¡¯s face darkened slightly. As a captain, he maintained his dignity, and soon, the girl restrained her smile, looking somewhat embarrassed. Another middle-aged doctor hurried over, saying quickly, ¡°Captain, it¡¯s a piece of good news, a tremendously good news. However, for your health, please rest a bit longer before you receive this news.¡± For just now, someone who heard the news had actually fainted from excitement. Those who had just woken up from hibernation were very weak, and excessive excitement could even lead to some health issues, such as high blood pressure, cerebral hemorrhage, and so on, which were all possibilities. The recent small accident had caused total chaos in the hospital, so the doctors collectively decided to conceal the news for a while until these high-level officials recovered a bit. If this group of people had all experienced accidents, the person in charge of the hospital would have thought of suicide. But how could such news be concealed? Soon, within half a day, whispers could be heard in every corner. ¡°Old Zhang, is he alive?¡± ¡°He¡¯s alive!¡± ¡°How is that possible? How did he come back to life?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but he brought something back, supposedly a machine found in high-dimensional space¡­¡± ¡°From another alien civilization?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°What about that Four-dimensional Life?¡± ¡°It must have been eliminated.¡± Rumors flew everywhere. These high-level officials of the civilization fully exercised their initiative, starting to match wits with the doctors in the hospital, playing a game of spies. Captain Zhao couldn¡¯t help but chuckle bitterly. Anyhow, how it happened didn¡¯t matter. There was only one fact that should be correct: Zhang Yuan was alive and had run out from the High-dimensional World again! ¡°Being alive is good! It¡¯s just good to be alive!¡± He sighed deeply, unsure how to describe his current feelings. This feeling of regaining what was lost was complex and yet wonderful¡­ Then, two days later, with the doctor¡¯s permission, Zhang Yuan finally visited this group of nearly crazed officials. The moment he walked through the hospital entrance, all the rumors finally stopped. The expressions on their faces became very dynamic the moment they saw Zhang Yuan. Several close friends warmly greeted him, and a few couldn¡¯t help their eyes turning red. Zhang Yuan quickly walked over and hugged friends like Captain Zhao who cared about him, expressing his joy. Li Zhendong even forced himself to stand, giving him a strong punch. ¡°Damn, you¡¯re alive again! Aren¡¯t you stealing all the limelight again? But after thinking it over, it¡¯s still better to be alive.¡± ¡°Haha, sorry about that!¡± The meeting this time was very odd, with more than half of them lying in hospital beds. Zhang Yuan sat at the very front, narrating his entire experience to everyone. From the discovery of Four-dimensional Life, to the mutual game of wits, and then being rescued by the Artificial Intelligence of the Gaia Civilization. Everything became clear¡­ The expressions of the people below went from shock, concern, to joy, and then to extreme excitement, various emotions appeared on their faces one by one. ¡°It seems, our conjectures were mostly right¡­ The risk was indescribable.¡± ¡°Just a little bit more, and we would have been ruined. Ah¡­¡± Some people were quietly reflecting, unsure whether they were marveling at their good fortune or the fragility of their existence. Zhang Yuan said, ¡°Okay, does anyone else have any questions?¡± Chapter 191 - 191 192 Wandering Plan ?Chapter 191: Chapter 192 Wandering Plan Chapter 191: Chapter 192 Wandering Plan After a quiet discussion, an expert in New Civilization History asked, ¡°Mr. Zhang Yuan, the Gaia Civilization¡­ what kind of civilization is it?¡± Zhang Yuan replied, ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure, but it should be the extraordinary civilization we imagine.¡± ¡°¡­What I encountered was just an artificial intelligence with a relatively good temperament, not the Gaia Civilization itself. I always stayed in that virtual world and never witnessed the outside real world. Therefore, I know nothing about the specifics and cannot understand them.¡± Captain Zhao asked again, ¡°What about the Amoeba Civilization?¡± ¡°It should be a civilization skilled in trading. And their credibility seems quite good too¡­ otherwise, that artificial intelligence wouldn¡¯t have let me take the Amoeba Civilization¡¯s fleet to Earth¡­¡± ¡°Amoeba?¡± Another Deputy Captain furrowed his brows, pondering. The mere term could give rise to a series of associations. ¡°Amoeba¡± is not only a kind of microorganism on Earth, but also a term in business management, that is, having various ¡°amoebas¡± with leaders at the core, allowing them to set their plans and relying on the intelligence and efforts of all members to achieve goals. ¡°Since the term ¡®Amoeba¡¯ has been extracted from the human lexicon, it must not be without basis; there must be some connection¡­¡± Just like ¡°Italy,¡± meaning ¡°Land of Bulls¡±; ¡°Lithuania,¡± land of many waters; china, meaning porcelain. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°So, this term may represent some characteristics of the Amoeba Civilization.¡± All kinds of wild guesses, they actually seemed to make a bit of sense! Zhang Yuan was sweating profusely and did not know how to comment; this train of thought seemed a bit too imaginative. But people couldn¡¯t help but take it seriously, as this might be the first time in history that humans truly communicated with an alien civilization! Moreover, this news was brought back by the contactee Zhang Yuan himself, absolutely authentic, not some fake news fabricated to attract attention. Zhang Yuan thought for a while, then said, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about the specifics for now, but this Amoeba Civilization must be far more powerful than us¡­¡± ¡°How powerful, exactly? At least they have a fleet capable of interstellar voyage, able to conduct Constant Star Level trade, and they can protect themselves from being plundered¡­¡± ¡°But what is the object of the trade? AmiBa Points should just be a unit of currency. It can¡¯t be that interstellar civilizations trade physical resources with each other.¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s about leveraging their unique technology to accept some high-difficulty commissions. Or perhaps exchanging technology and information¡­ Technology has barriers; there¡¯s so little a civilization can achieve on its own.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s really the case, it means that most civilizations in the universe are capable of communication.¡± From just these few words, the deduced information greatly expanded human horizons. As if Native Americans witnessed a true modern civilization, people discovered a completely new world. A boundlessly vast universe appeared in their minds, where civilizations have goodwill, competition, and can communicate. That was enough! Captain Zhao clenched his fists, ¡°Everyone, we shouldn¡¯t simply assume that other civilizations are filled with goodwill¡­¡± ¡°The universe is so vast, and the planets are relatively isolated; these civilizations definitely cannot have a single ideology. Who knows what kind of strange and exotic creatures there might be? Like that Zero-XZ, a super lifeform, it can destroy a civilization.¡± ¡°When power is equal, we can trade, but if it¡¯s not, it could turn into robbery!¡± ¡°Yes, this time we were lucky to meet some kind-hearted ones, next time it might not be the case.¡± ¡°We still need to develop¡­ Only by ensuring our own strength, can we avoid being passive like we are now. We won¡¯t actively plunder others, but we will certainly not allow ourselves to be plundered.¡± Many nodded in agreement, we must continuously develop until we reach the upper bound that humanity can achieve¡­ That upper bound, of course, is to fully reach or even surpass the technological level of Earth Civilization! Zhang Yuan pondered, currently the entire civilization possessed a vast legacy from Earth Civilization and, theoretically, it could reach the pinnacle of Earth Civilization in one to two hundred years. But the peak of Earth Civilization was still not nearly enough, it remained just an Ordinary Civilization in the universe. Vaguely, everyone seemed to see a much broader path: if limited by intelligence, or limited by human perception itself, science and culture really could not develop further, then¡­ ¡°¡­just like the Amoeba Civilization, wander in the vastness of space, to touch a greater world!¡± However, this path was not easy. It required people to abandon their warm comfort zone, leave the Mother Star, and embark on a harsh and unknown interstellar voyage, a long journey that might consume the youth of generations. This point was too difficult¡­ If one could comfortably lie down, who would be willing to force themselves to get up from the bed, to run, to struggle? Laziness is human nature, a minority of people can indeed overcome laziness, but the entire civilization is still determined by the will of the majority. ¡°So, whether our descendants can make this choice, no one can know.¡± The discussion reached this point, and Captain Zhao let out a sigh, ¡°Without long-term concerns, there must be immediate worries. If we don¡¯t think about these kinds of problems, our descendants will be even less likely to.¡± ¡°So we must formulate relevant continuity policies¡­ When you have time, think more, calculate more, and in another century or two, we will be able to end the three-thousand-year journey and reach our final destination.¡± ¡°I will tentatively name this plan, ¡®Wandering Plan¡¯.¡± Zhang Yuan did some quick calculations and found that the recently proposed ¡°Wandering Plan¡± had similarities with the ¡°Seeding Plan.¡± Theoretically, this plan had more of a positive impact. The Mother Star was good, but it was also a hotbed for the inward spiral of civilization. At the same time, the ¡°Wandering Plan¡± could encounter more civilizations, understand the cultures and development histories of these Alien Civilizations, and was more conducive to the improvement of the discipline of ¡°New Civilization History.¡± ¡°A single sample of Human Civilization¡¯s history still seems a bit insufficient.¡± ¡°If we can obtain more samples of civilizations, it might bring about a real qualitative change!¡± The enthusiastic discussion lasted until late at night, until the doctors came to hurry people away, and Zhang Yuan reluctantly left. Returning to his small room, Zhang Yuan suddenly realized he had neglected to do a few things. Second, because the discussion was so intense, the ¡°Bozeman Quantum Consciousness Converter¡± he had brought back seemed to have been temporarily overlooked. But no matter, that could be discussed tomorrow. But the second thing, if it was delayed any further, it would be a disaster! It seemed¡­ he had forgotten about Lin Xuanyuan. Lin Xuanyuan had been waiting in a single room in the Hospital, just awoken from hibernation, and to prevent emotional fluctuations that could lead to adverse reactions, the doctors had not informed her about Zhang Yuan¡¯s ¡°revival.¡± But today seemed to be the recovery period, and in theory, she should have had a higher capacity to cope. Swallowing, Zhang Yuan felt that the more he delayed this matter, the harder it seemed to explain. He hurried to the Hospital, ¡°Doctor, um¡­ can I see my girlfriend now?¡± ¡­ Chapter 192 - 192 193 Small Family and Large Family ?Chapter 192: Chapter 193: Small Family and Large Family Chapter 192: Chapter 193: Small Family and Large Family On a cold and not so wonderful night. Lin Xuanyuan was squatting in a corner crying, a bit confused as to why they had awakened her during such a bleak Minor New Year. Even though the doctor explained, ¡°An accident occurred within the spaceship, and there¡¯s a great need for doctors.¡± But what work ability could she have with her current psychological state? She didn¡¯t even have the interest to find out what exactly had happened on the spaceship¡­ Even though time had passed by 179 years, her memory still lingered on the day before she went into hibernation. Zhang Yuan quietly turned the corner of the hallway and then saw the girl squatting on the ground, crying secretly. He sighed in his heart. Although the girl was usually lively and cheerful, in reality, she was a girl with an incredibly tender heart¡­ Somehow, Zhang Yuan thought of something else. He remembered that more than two thousand years ago, the first time he awoke from hibernation, he encountered Lin Xuanyuan crying in a corner. Back then, their interstellar journey had just begun, and how difficult those days were, along with a series of ¡°companionship policies¡±, and then Zhang Yuan stupidly stayed by her side for half a day. Now, there was a similar corner and a similar scene. But in the blink of an eye, the entire three-thousand-year journey was almost coming to an end. The next time they awoke from hibernation, they would be able to see the new Mother Star, and at the thought of this, Zhang Yuan¡¯s heart beat even more joyfully. ¡°Cough cough¡­ Hey!¡± Zhang Yuan feigned a cough and realized that the other party, immersed in her sorrow, did not respond to him¡­ He pondered for a moment and then suddenly went over and rubbed her head, ¡°Don¡¯t cry, what about this¡­ I¡¯ll treat you to some aged beef jerky!¡± Hearing this familiar voice, Lin Xuanyuan incredulously lifted her head and was struck dumb. ¡°Guess what happened? The Aliens sent me back. Do you believe it?¡± Zhang Yuan said with a smile. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Tears had already blurred her vision; the familiar smile was like a mirage. She couldn¡¯t help but reach out to grasp¡­ And she actually caught hold of him! Zhang Yuan gently held her in his embrace, only to feel a bite on his arm and then cried out in pain, ¡°Ow, ow, ow¡­ What are you doing! If you think you¡¯re dreaming, you should bite yourself, not me!¡± ¡­ Strictly speaking, Zhang Yuan had always felt that love wasn¡¯t a very reliable thing. The vows between lovers, even God would take them as a joke¡­ According to scientific research, love is controlled by hormones, with the concentration of dopamine reaching its peak for 6 months to 4 years, depending on the individual and environment. As the concentration of dopamine decreases and disappears, all passion will turn into calmness. Therefore, love is a kind of genetic instinct, demanding more and broader pathways for reproduction, leading to people¡¯s behaviors of liking the new and loathing the old. Human nature is fickle, and that can¡¯t be changed. In contrast, what is more reliable is familial love, a kind of tolerant, peaceful, and mutually dependent friendly relationship. Familial love, too, is an instinct, evolved from the harsh living conditions of ancient times. Familial love is not just controlled by hormones, but also by other things, such as memories, habits, and so on. Zhang Yuan felt that the affection between him and Lin Xuanyuan had slowly evolved into a kinship. They had been together for so many years, with pleasant interactions and basically no conflicts¡ªa very stable and reliable relationship. Although there were no children¡­ But the absence of children did not affect the trust between the two¡­ Hence, Zhang Yuan silently lay on the bed and thought of many new things, such as the ¡°social upbringing system¡± proposed by the late Captain Lin. Severing the kinship between people was absolutely unreliable; a person with no attachments or restraints could easily develop various psychological issues. Without kinship, people are like kites with broken strings, not knowing where they will end up flying. So, if private childbirth were prohibited and children were raised by society, one would need to artificially establish a more reliable foundational social system to replace the original family structure based on blood ties. This system was called ¡°small family and large family.¡± After genetic testing, four infants with complementary personalities and a lower probability of conflict would be raised together from infancy to form a small family. Because they would grow up together, the connections between them would be very close. At the same time, units of twenty would form a class and create a large family. Although the connections within a large family were not as close as those of a small family, they were still relatively tight. The social upbringing system tried to use such institutions to replace the original family structure based on blood ties. Of course, the system did not prohibit adults from forming new families, but it simply did not allow for the direct birth of infants. Some sociologists believed that the absence of children would lead to an unstable family structure for couples, causing family members to lose their sense of responsibility. But this was not true. If someone cheated because there were ¡°no children¡± at home, they were merely seeking a self-comforting excuse. Even with children, such a person would still cheat. Moreover, the costs of divorce due to children only brewed more family tragedies¡­ ¡°Families without children, after discovering infidelity and choosing divorce, ended up separating more cleanly and with fewer messes¡­ Alas.¡± These ethical conundrums, when converted into mathematics, posed an undoubtedly huge challenge and could only yield a delicate probability. Various institutions were idyllic in planning, but their actual implementation was very complicated, and their effectiveness was still unknown¡­ ¡°All in all, social upbringing solves systemic corruption,¡± Zhang Yuan sighed deeply. ¡°As long as there is no network of kinship, collapse-style corruption is hard to occur, which can also ensure the purity of civilization.¡± After pondering all this, he glanced at Lin Xuanyuan sleeping beside him and then drifted off into a heavy sleep¡­ The next morning, while he was sleeping soundly, Zhang Yuan was awakened by a shrill ringing. Picking up the communicator, it turned out to be a call from Li Zhendong. ¡°What¡¯s the deal with disturbing someone¡¯s sweet dream early in the morning?!¡± Zhang Yuan said irritably. ¡°It¡¯s not¡­ How exactly do you use that thing?¡± ¡°What thing?¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s¡­¡± Zhang Yuan¡¯s heart skipped a beat; those blockheads better not have fled the Hospital in the middle of the night to mess with his ¡°Bozeman Quantum Consciousness Converter.¡± Such high technology, if really broken, nobody could possibly repair it! Even over the phone, faint chaotic discussions could be heard, terms like ¡°metal alloy, Light Stagnation, brainwaves,¡± and various fervent voices that sounded as if robust men had just seen a woman of unsurpassable beauty! Chapter 193 - 193 194 Bozeman Quantum Consciousness ?Chapter 193: Chapter 194: Bozeman Quantum Consciousness Converter Chapter 193: Chapter 194: Bozeman Quantum Consciousness Converter As a scientist, Zhang Yuan was well aware of what had happened and immediately bellowed, ¡°No one touch it; don¡¯t even use radiation to probe it!¡± ¡°Whoever dares to touch it will have to deal with me!¡± Before he even finished speaking, Zhang Yuan had leaped out of bed, hurriedly got dressed, and dashed out of the room. He was truly anxious, as if someone was about to steal his wife! The odd device was located in the outermost area, measuring about 3.4 meters in length, 2 meters wide, and weighing over four hundred kilograms, resembling a large refrigerator. Its surface was of a very shiny silver color, and at its center, there was a compartment just large enough for a person to crawl into. Most importantly, the scientists had no idea how to activate it, scratching their heads in desperation. The thing didn¡¯t have any buttons or anything of the sort¡­ They couldn¡¯t even pry the compartment door open and were too cautious to apply brute force and attempt a miracle. As Zhang Yuan entered the room, he saw a materials scientist sneakily fiddling with the device, seemingly trying to scrape off some material for research. He quickly called out, ¡°Professor Fan, what are you doing?¡± ¡°Nothing much, just trying to get some metal material¡­¡± Professor Fan quickly shrank his neck, caught red-handed by the owner and sporting an embarrassed smile. He hastily explained with awkwardness, ¡°It¡¯s high-tech from the aliens; their material properties should be a notch above ours, right? I reckon it seems to be some sort of metal material.¡± ¡°Hey, you¡¯re all too hasty.¡± These guys were all reasonable people with some social standing; Zhang Yuan felt embarrassed to scold them, ¡°With our current poor research conditions, are we supposed to activate all the labs in an instant? If it really gets damaged, who can afford to pay for it!¡± ¡°It¡¯s just curiosity¡­¡± ¡°Yes, yes¡­¡± ¡°Dr. Zhang, just tell us, how exactly do we use this consciousness upload device?¡± Zhang Yuan sighed as he saw many professors eagerly looking at him, ¡°Hold on a moment, I have a method.¡± He quickly retrieved a space suit from his own room. The suit¡¯s miniature computer was already equipped with a special software capable of emitting targeted electromagnetic waves. Zhang Yuan activated the app, and soon, a series of very strange characters appeared on the screen on his wrist. As several experts crowded around, he explained, ¡°This consciousness upload device is operated using electromagnetic waves. For artificial intelligence, there¡¯s no need for buttons or screens. They connect their neural networks directly to the device to access the corresponding data¡­¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s how it should be.¡± Zhang Yuan recalled some memories transmitted to him by the artificial intelligence Yita in his mind and pressed a button. With a light ¡°click,¡± a compartment door swung open. ¡°Who wants to give it a try?¡± ¡°I will, I will!¡± Li Zhendong eagerly volunteered, as a doctorate in Information Science, his curiosity for such things was the greatest. ¡°Change into clean, tight clothing first; don¡¯t dirty the inside.¡± A few onlooking ladies blushed and turned away. ¡°Oh¡­¡± Li Zhendong thought excitedly: For the sake of a scientific experiment, what does it matter if I¡¯m a little exposed! After closing the compartment door, Zhang Yuan pondered for a while, then sent another command. In just an instant, before Li Zhendong could even make a noise, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted, and the very next second, he found himself in a place filled with blue dots of light. This machine emitted a massive amount of signals, but since these electromagnetic waves had not yet been deciphered, interaction between the two parties was temporarily impossible. A few minutes later, Zhang Yuan issued another command and released Li Zhendong. ¡°It¡¯s incredible, truly incredible!¡± exclaimed Li Zhendong as he stepped out of the chamber, almost feverishly, ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s real Consciousness Upload!¡± ¡°To feel almost indistinguishable from a real body, yet not having one at all¡­ It¡¯s simply unbelievable, truly unbelievable.¡± ¡°Hey, did you guys hear what I was saying in there?¡± ¡°Sorry, you couldn¡¯t for the time being. You couldn¡¯t hear our discussions outside, either.¡± ¡°Why not just ask that¡­ to create an interactive system?¡± ¡°You really have some nerve,¡± Dr. Zhang Yuan said irritably, ¡°because others using this machine wouldn¡¯t need a screen at all. Just by analyzing these electromagnetic waves, the brain can understand all the information. Where do I get the clout to ask the Artificial Intelligence to make a screen just because we can¡¯t understand?¡± ¡°That does make sense¡­¡± ¡°Let me have a try too.¡± ¡°I want to try as well!¡± More and more people came to join in the excitement, leaving Dr. Zhang Yuan speechless with the uproarious crowd. He had only allowed a few more knowledgeable experts to have a go. But with the overwhelming number of trial candidates, he became quite worried. This thing is not a toy; how can it be used in such large quantities? Moreover¡­ some people wanted to bring a metal helmet into the chamber to try, while others were curious whether brainwaves disappear during Consciousness Upload and whether the human brain was alive or dead. But when it comes to brain-related equipment, causing paralysis would be effortlessly simple, and Dr. Zhang Yuan unhesitatingly rejected these experimental requests. Then he threw the matter over to Zhao Qingfeng. Captain Zhao was adept at dealing with these situations. Within minutes, a large group of soldiers marched in sync, forcefully shielding the machine. The scientists complained for a while but, outmatched by the soldiers, they sullenly dispersed. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Soon, at 2 p.m., a meeting was convened specifically to discuss how to handle the ¡°Bozeman Quantum Consciousness Converter¡± gifted by a high-level civilization. Captain Zhao spoke gravely, ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, regarding the handling of this machine, please be patient. First of all, anything brain-related is bound to be dangerous. We should not attempt it on a large scale, nor should we dismantle or destroy it before completely decrypting the signal code Dr. Zhang Yuan brought back.¡± ¡°¡­Not even a tiny bit!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a toy; it may well be a breakthrough for our entire civilization into a higher level of Science.¡± ¡°¡­It might have significant implications for materials, energy, the human brain, Self-awareness, among other things.¡± ¡°We must be cautious!¡± ¡°Of course¡­ Blindly trusting Alien technology is not wise, so we must reference this device to advance our own technology.¡± Hearing Captain Zhao¡¯s serious tone, a swarm of experts, despite their itching curiosity, had to tough it out and consider the greater picture. The discussion quickly yielded results. The first step would be to test for three months to initially decrypt the electromagnetic code and understand the operating method of the entire device. If even the operating method was unknown, there would be no talking about the next steps. Since Dr. Zhang Yuan already knew some of the codes, this decryption project theoretically wasn¡¯t difficult. ¡°So, this task will be jointly handled by Dr. Zhang Yuan, Li Zhendong, Professor Jin, and Professor Wang.¡± The second step is to fully decrypt the language of the Gaia Civilization. ¡°As the language of a high-level civilization, it will likely have substantial influence.¡± ¡°If we could fully decrypt it, it would certainly make communication much more convenient.¡± This task was taken on by several professors from Star University. Chapter 194 - 194 195 An Alternative Eternal Life ?Chapter 194: Chapter 195: An Alternative Eternal Life? Chapter 194: Chapter 195: An Alternative Eternal Life? After some discussion, everyone decided to temporarily seal away the high-tech device, apart from some decryption of Information Science, until the environment of the Mother Star stabilized, before considering more refined research. As for that High-dimensional Fragment, it was even harder to deal with, so it could only be temporarily sealed as well. Zhang Yuan sighed and said, ¡°To patch this leak in the high-dimensional prison, Gaia Civilization¡¯s Artificial Intelligence Yita will sever the connection with this High-dimensional Fragment¡­ so, if we enter again, we might fall into the true high-dimensional space where even atoms can¡¯t exist.¡± ¡°¡­Trying to unravel the mysteries of the High-dimensional World is extremely challenging.¡± One scientist asked, ¡°Then, Dr. Zhang, what exactly is this ¡®Miao Space¡¯?¡± Zhang Yuan rubbed his temples, ¡°I don¡¯t know either; it¡¯s a term not found in our human linguistic database. Anyway, since they¡¯ve informed us this way, we better not act rashly. Sacrificing our lives without any return doesn¡¯t make much sense¡­¡± After the discussion was over, whether out of curiosity or resignation, almost everyone breathed a sigh of relief. After the meeting, Captain Zhao had some work to deal with and left the conference room first. With the absence of leadership, the group started to casually chat, including what that silver-white material on the device was, whether it was metal, or some kind of composite ceramic. Even such a small question sparked a long debate, with some people even eagerly making bets, the stakes being a few pieces of chocolate¡­ Chocolate was a costly luxury, and even Zhang Yuan felt tempted to join in the excitement. He believed that those casings were just ordinary alloys¡­ For many things, sufficient performance was enough; there was no need for particularly grand materials. He would bet that people in the 50th century would still be using iron pots for cooking. Others were discussing how Consciousness Upload was actually achieved, whether consciousness truly detached from the body, or was it merely running in circles in a computer? What exactly was the energy system of this robot, among other things. A comprehensive product of alien technology, there was too much to explore, any one item could occupy human research for a long time. The issue that concerned Zhang Yuan the most was still a philosophical one. Could Consciousness Upload actually achieve true¡­ eternal life! The one speaking at the front was an expert in bionics, Yamamoto Ichiro. ¡°Based on our preliminary analysis, with this technology, it can upload everything in the human brain including consciousness, spirit, thoughts, and memories to a computer or other Artificial Intelligence machines¡­ Yes, it seems it does not require the brain as hardware, anyway, I don¡¯t know how it¡¯s actually achieved. It¡¯s beyond imagination.¡± ¡°Then it can send this data back to one¡¯s own body, and thus a person is resurrected.¡± ¡°So, I have a few questions¡­¡± ¡°First, am ¡®I¡¯ that group of data? Whether you call it the soul, or the Bozeman Brain, only with the support of this data am I the real me? This question is very crucial for us.¡± sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Second, can this technology be used to replace bodies, to achieve true immortality?¡± ¡°Our bodies will age, that¡¯s inevitable. No matter how advanced biological technology becomes, aging still occurs. But with this technology, as long as a new body is prepared and these data are reinstalled, can youth be restored?¡± ¡°Thirdly, can this group of data be backed up, mass-produced new versions of me? What happens to the original consciousness during consciousness upload? Why has the original consciousness disappeared? Did it die? Is the newly generated consciousness a clone with the same memories?¡± ¡°That is to say, if by erasing the original consciousness, a clone is created¡­ I mean hypothetically, for Dr. Zhang Yuan and Dr. Li Zhendong, the experimenters¡­ what significance does this erasing and re-cloning technique have?¡± These questions made Zhang Yuan feel a chill, and the voices in the conference room gradually grew louder. He couldn¡¯t help but turn his head, exchanging glances with Li Zhendong. Li Zhendong had a grim face, looking distressed, ¡°So, as one of the experients, have I already died once? Am I now a new version of myself? It shouldn¡¯t be¡­ Ah, I died, I lived again, I died again.¡± Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but laugh. In terms of philosophical exploration in this area, humanity was still quite naive. However, facing this issue, careful consideration was unavoidable. What is this uploaded data? A soul? If there were souls in the world, then all the concerning issues would cease to exist¡­ The thing is, Zhang Yuan completely disbelieves in the existence of souls. He would not base his existence on unseen, untouchable, unverifiable religious artifacts. If a soul cannot be verified, then there¡¯s no need to consider it. In this world, there are many things that cannot be verified, for instance, define any living entity A as eternally existing, indestructible; define another substance B as also eternally existing, indestructible. And so on, you could define C, D, E, F, G, and various other random living entities and substances. It¡¯s simply impossible to prove whether imaginary A, B, or C exist, that is¡­ they cannot be verified nor falsified. When these entities have no impact on humanity, there is no need to consider them. This principle is known as ¡°Occam¡¯s Razor.¡± Compared to souls, Zhang Yuan rather believes in some theories regarding ¡°Bozeman Self-awareness.¡± He stood up and said, ¡°Mr. Yamamoto, first of all, as an experimenter, I feel¡­ I am still the same original me.¡± ¡°Why do I say so? According to the ¡®Bozeman Self-awareness Theory,¡¯ a person¡¯s self-awareness occurs as a series of Quantum Entangled States in unique environments. Quantum Entangled States can achieve overall transitions but cannot be exactly replicated.¡± ¡°Why? Because once you try to replicate, you must read and observe the entangled states inside; once observed, the Wave Function will collapse.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the result of the Wave Function collapse? Of course, it¡¯s the dispersal of self-awareness, and the person dies, becoming a fixed value, rather than a random value.¡± ¡°Thus, will can be transferred, but not duplicated.¡± This explanation was not very convincing. The Bozeman Self-awareness theory itself was just a hypothesis. Using a hypothesis to explain doesn¡¯t provide convincing power. Chapter 195 - 195 196 Noah-Information ?Chapter 195: Chapter 196 Noah-Information Chapter 195: Chapter 196 Noah-Information Seeing many people pondering, Zhang Yuan added, ¡°Many problems are simply unnecessary worries. Take sleep, for example. Humans need to sleep every day. During those hours, can it be said that the old me has died and a new me has been born?¡± ¡°And then take hibernation, where consciousness is directly interrupted for hundreds of years! When humans wake up, how does that consciousness reappear? Are the pre- and post-hibernation ¡®me¡¯ different?¡± ¡°¡­Even if that device is used, the original me is dead in an instant, creating a new me, but the new me has no feelings, no relevant memories¡­ In the new me¡¯s cognition, consciousness still seems continuous, and that¡¯s already enough.¡± ¡°If the ¡®new me¡¯ and the ¡®old me¡¯ are exactly the same, and the entire world hasn¡¯t changed at all, and no one knows about it, then, according to Occam¡¯s razor, there¡¯s no need to worry about such trivial matters.¡± Some scientists found this reasoning somewhat persuasive and nodded thoughtfully. Others, upon hearing that the ¡°old me¡± might vanish, turned pale with fear, sitting aside in silence. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. These questions were extremely strange and bizarre. Those who could accept them did so easily; those who couldn¡¯t, just couldn¡¯t no matter what. Of course, there were still many people eager to try, willing to continue volunteering. Regardless of the outcome of the debate, humans would not stop eating for fear of choking; research had to continue. As for¡­ whether to accept this technology, that was a personal choice¡­ After the meeting, Zhang Yuan caught up with the bionics expert, Dr. Yamamoto Ichiro. This Dr. Yamamoto was a contemporary of Zhang Yuan and a very quirky yet serious guy as the proponent of the bionics project. ¡°Yamamoto, what do you think of this issue?¡± ¡°Me?¡± Yamamoto looked around and said softly, ¡°Of course, to abandon the frail body and embrace a stronger one! Initially, my transformation plan included preserving the human brain, but now it seems there¡¯s no need¡­ Direct consciousness upload and silicon-based transformation, that¡¯s it! It¡¯s kind of perfect!¡± Zhang Yuan chuckled, ¡°Do you dislike the human body that much? No wonder you don¡¯t have a girlfriend yet.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t dislike it. I still yearn for girls, but they don¡¯t yearn for me.¡± Yamamoto scratched his already somewhat balding head and pulled out a few more hairs, ¡°Inventing a real girlfriend from the 2D world is my dream.¡± Zhang Yuan laughed heartily, ¡°Do you really think that humans can crack this technology?¡± ¡°It involves more than just science, even philosophy and religion. It¡¯s beyond what science can solve¡­ I even think that until Bozeman self-awareness is proven, there¡¯s no possibility of cracking it.¡± ¡°Even if¡­ the technology is cracked and it really starts to be used, the opposition will be tremendous.¡± Yamamoto sighed, ¡°Zhang Yuan, you underestimate the human instinct to cling to life. When death is near, they will make choices, even if it might mean changing consciousness. They¡¯ll still choose.¡± ¡°This is¡­ immortality!¡± Zhang Yuan also shook his head. In fact, what he was worried about was not the choice of the people but whether humanity was on a level to embrace true immortality. Was this truly a science that benefitted the entire civilization? What kind of world would one without death be? Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t imagine and shivered at the thought. Immortality, a historical sample that had never appeared. Even the study of New Civilization History couldn¡¯t provide much guidance¡­ but Zhang Yuan vaguely felt that this was not as good as one might imagine. A basin of water, if stagnant, quickly spoils. Immortality, undoubtedly, stopped this flow. Three months flew by quickly, and the bustling first phase of decryption work came to a temporary halt. As many scientists had predicted, apart from the smooth progress in decrypting the alien language, the rest of the work did not go too well. On one hand, there were simply not enough hands on deck, with the majority of scientists still in hibernation; on the other hand, the technological gap was too vast to bridge quickly through hard work alone. In this hopeless situation, some scientists had already entered hibernation, with Zhang Yuan and others soon to follow. ¡­ Then, one day, a frenzied scream came from a small office. ¡°Ha-ha, look what I¡¯ve found! Look at what I¡¯ve discovered?¡± ¡°Ha-ha!¡± ¡°It¡¯s so unexpected!¡± This was the room of information science expert Li Zhendong, cluttered with all sorts of chaotic instruments. This guy was shouting excitedly, his face flushed like a balloon, as if he had made some incredible discovery. Language and script, as the only part that made progress, were of course of paramount importance. Without deciphering the language, there was no talking about anything that came after. But the language of the Gaia Civilization was really difficult to comprehend, its vocabulary too extensive, containing many meanings that human languages did not possess. Therefore, in the span of three months, so many scientists could only develop a rudimentary translation machine, capable of translating some simple language. But today, Li Zhendong made an incredible discovery! ¡°Old Zhang! Old Zhang! Look what I found!¡± Li Zhendong shouted into the phone as he started sprinting. Thousands of years ago, Earth Era had once encountered a planet-level alien spaceship, and even received signals from this spacecraft. In a bout of thorough boredom, Li Zhendong tried a variety of information encoding methods. When he tried a more rudimentary error-correcting code, a miracle occurred¡­ This string of error-correcting codes could actually be deciphered using the language and script of the Gaia Civilization! It was simply¡­ unbelievable! When he informed Zhang Yuan of this news, Zhang Yuan was simply dumbfounded, ¡°What? The language sent by that passing alien civilization is the same as the Gaia Civilization?!¡± This news was a bit too bizarre, and everyone was at a loss for words for a while. Even Captain Zhao¡¯s neck seemed to sag. Li Zhendong was very pleased with everyone¡¯s expressions, his desire to show off fully satisfied. ¡°How about that, am I not awesome?¡± ¡°Hurry up and play it, play it!¡± Zhang Yuan gave him a punch. Although this piece of information was very brief, it nevertheless piqued everyone¡¯s strong curiosity. Li Zhendong didn¡¯t keep them in suspense and quickly played the deciphered content on the big screen. ¡°¡­Attention to all interstellar civilizations, this is the Noah Civilization-MA37UY Negative Energy Network Space construction spaceship. It is forbidden to approach within 102 astronomical units¡­ Violators will bear the consequences¡­¡± ¡°Current Pan-Galaxy network system construction progress: 45.67%¡­ Target Star Domain, MJKH66754¡­¡± The rest was a jumble of gibberish. ¡°Wait a second!¡± Zhang Yuan swallowed hard, ¡°Why is it the Noah Civilization, and not Gaia Civilization? Did you get it wrong?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not the same word¡­¡± Li Zhendong replied with uncertainty: ¡°As for the Noah Civilization¡­ the name is arbitrary, just a code. It should not be Gaia, I¡¯m not sure.¡± People could extract two key points from this segment of information. First, Negative Energy Network Space, another very bizarre term. Anyhow, it must certainly be an incredibly huge project, because such a large planet-level spaceship was actually just a construction spaceship¡­ It was as yet unknown whether it had any impact on humanity. Second, this so-called ¡°Noah Civilization¡± must be exceptionally powerful. Zhang Yuan no longer knew what to say, a planet cruising at sub-light speed was merely a construction spaceship, well, he really didn¡¯t know what to say anymore. He was comparing the so-called ¡°Gaia¡± and ¡°Noah,¡± trying to determine which was stronger, or if the two could be the same, merely a problem of human translation. ¡­ This interesting interlude soon passed and did not interfere with the normal human itinerary, merely evolving into an unsolvable mystery. Two months later, Zhang Yuan was going to enter normal cryosleep again. He wrote in his journal: ¡°The long journey of more than 3000 years will soon pass, and the next time we awaken, we will have reached our new Mother Star.¡± Recalling the entire journey¡¯s experiences, the joys and the hardships suddenly surged in his heart! Throughout the process, he had learned a lot, grown a lot, and was no longer the student fresh out of university¡­ but the person to carry forward the entire civilization. ¡°Enough stories have occurred along the way, but they are all in the past now, the future is what¡¯s more important. We will eventually take a brand new step here!¡± ¡°If the Earth Civilization has perished, then let us¡­ rise from the ashes on our future Mother Star!¡± Gliese 518, we are coming! Chapter 196 - 196 197 The State Distributes Girlfriends for ?Chapter 196: Chapter 197: The State Distributes Girlfriends for Free Chapter 196: Chapter 197: The State Distributes Girlfriends for Free Throughout the history of human civilization, super engineering projects have always been the most talked about. From the pyramids of ancient Egypt, the pyramids of the Mayan, the hanging gardens of Babylon, the Great Wall of Xia Country, the Jing-Hang Grand Canal, Dujiangyan, the Forbidden City, to the Three Gorges Dam of the old era, the Heavenly Eye Project, and the Panama Canal; and then to the Space Elevator and the Solar System Engineering System of the space age¡­ Among them, the greatest super project is the ¡°Deep Space Plan:¡± Millions, hundreds of millions, billions, tens of billions of people, pooling the efforts of the entire globe to push a tiny seed into the vast, boundless universe¡­ Now, this seed, after a journey of 20 light-years, is about to reach its destination¡­ Epoch 5460! The interstellar voyage that lasted for 3,096 years is about to come to an end. The number of awake passengers inside the spaceship began to slowly increase, with technical workers taking the lead in awakening, as they were carrying out the final large-scale overhaul of the spaceship. Once maintenance was completed, the rotation speed of the entire living area would be restored to normal, and people would again feel gravity akin to that of Earth, no longer floating around as they did before. Inside a small workshop. ¡°Ha-ha, brothers, the benefits have been secured. Sixty lunch meat meal coupons and thirty large rice bucket beef sauce purchase coupons¡­ what do you guys want?¡± ¡°I want¡­ I want the large rice bucket!¡± ¡°Give me one lunch meat¡­¡± ¡°Give me one, doesn¡¯t matter which.¡± Several technical workers were eagerly grabbing items. As current productivity was relatively low, the prices of popular items were very high, but these purchase coupons allowed for discounts. For these technical workers, this was a very nice benefit. After transferring the electronic coupons to each person¡¯s account, Ye Kaifu started nagging again: ¡°That¡¯s all, there are no more, everything¡¯s been handed out, go home and rest. Give some to your people too, don¡¯t hoard them all for yourself. The electronic tickets have a record; each person can only get the discount once! Study whenever you have time. Once we reach our destination, work will become more challenging¡­ and by then, it¡¯ll be too late to learn¡­¡± S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Old Ye, cut it out, you say the same thing every day, it¡¯s so annoying! Who¡¯d hog these coupons? Our people would kill us!¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡± After finishing the day¡¯s work, everyone was in quite a good mood. ¡°Let¡¯s go, head home!¡± When the shuttle passed by the Observatory, from afar, everyone saw a fiery red constant star! The Observatory was crowded, nearly every group of awakened passengers made it a point to visit this place first, to gaze upon the future Sun. It seemed¡­ as if it were within reach. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ the future constant star.¡± When he returned to the living area, Ye Kaifu took off his space suit, chewing on some dried Pu Pu Grass, while thinking about the bright prospects of the future, his face showing an expression of great urgency. It was a look of anticipation, and¡­ longing. ¡°Old Ye, we¡¯re going to take off now.¡± ¡°Supervisor Ye!¡± People greeted him now and then. Known for his exquisite craftsmanship and mild temper, Ye Kaifu was very popular. Even though sometimes he was a bit too verbose and always pushing people to learn¡­ He was already considered middle to upper management on the spaceship, overseeing a total of 12 workshops and more than three hundred workers; this was no small supervisory position. ¡°Hello, everyone, go have your meals. Rest well.¡± Ye Kaifu greeted them briefly, but his mind was already pondering other matters. Just like a tree that had endured a winter, you must slowly sprout, and the batches of awakenings within the spaceship also had to proceed step by step. Currently, the population of those who had awoken was around 50,000. In a year¡¯s time, when everyone would have awoken, almost half a million people would need food, drink, and sanitation, and the daily consumption of resources would be no small number. Careful planning was necessary. Atop the hierarchy of the Earth Era, several generations of the management had already been replaced; many of the original seniors were no longer present, so there might be some lack of experience in management. In such unfamiliar territory where no rescue could be expected, a careless mistake could lead to disaster. Of course, there was no need to worry too much about such things. With so many scientists at work, they weren¡¯t just sitting idle; they maintained a necessary level of caution at all times. ¡°Although the Earth Era is an old spaceship, continuing to function for several decades or even a hundred years should pose no problem¡­ It¡¯s enough for us to grow stronger.¡± Ye Kaifu was young and had already climbed 14 ranks in his job position, which classified him as a senior talent. As an official in the New Civilization Development Department, he nearly had meetings every day, discussing how to develop industry after landing and how to better allocate resources, keeping him very busy indeed. Things like the production of acids and bases, mining and smelting¡ªif they reached a planet, these industries would be among the first to set up. How to do this well and quickly had become their first major concern. ¡°With 14 ranks, I have a bit of clout¡­ But compared to that freak Zhang Yuan, I still don¡¯t match up¡­¡± ¡°Captain candidate, Minister of the New Civilization Development Department!¡± Thinking of this, a hint of envy crept into Ye Kaifu¡¯s heart. He remembered the days at Xisha University on Earth when they shared a dormitory for a few days and crammed for exams together. Back then they were on the same starting line, but now¡­ well, the other had already left him far behind. The New Civilization Development Department, where Zhang Yuan was situated, could be said to be the most important department of the civilization, acting as the brain of the entire civilization. It was primarily responsible for¡­ planning the direction of advancement for the entire civilization. For instance, deciding which subjects to prioritize for development, which industries to focus on, all needed unified planning by the New Civilization Development Department, and then execution by other departments. Quickly grasping the vast legacy left by Earth Civilization and catching up with Earth Civilization¡¯s productivity was currently the first goal of the new civilization. Reflecting upon this, Ye Kaifu felt a bit wistful. But such a position was well deserved by Zhang Yuan, from being a super-genius from the start to later playing the game of wits with four-dimensional life, and even bringing back technology from an alien civilization. Both his achievements and qualifications were more than sufficient. ¡°What¡¯s lacking now is just a bit of managerial experience.¡± He shook his head, casting aside these inexplicable feelings of jealousy, and found himself slightly amused. He had let a sense of competition inadvertently affect his entire life, which made Ye Kaifu feel like a fool. Every Awakening Period, he would check out what achievements Zhang Yuan had made, what papers he had published, then curse the guy for cramming all day, and force himself to dive even deeper into his studies. Then, after waking up one time¡­ he found out the guy had actually entered the ¡°Hero Memorial Hall,¡± which saddened him for quite a long period. Fortunately, he had come back to life¡­ Being alive was certainly better than being dead. In the blink of an eye, three thousand years had passed, and during that lengthy time, everyone had grown a lot, from fresh-faced youths to¡­uncles? No, that wasn¡¯t right, they couldn¡¯t be called uncles given the increasing lifespans. Many young people had emerged with their abilities during this lengthy hibernation period; capable people would always stand out¡­ ¡°Old Ye, what¡¯s up with you? You¡¯re losing more and more hair, is it that stressful? Do you want to take a few days off and relax?¡± After meeting with Zhang Yuan, Li Zhendong, and a few other good friends, and hugging each other, the first thing he heard was this. ¡°I¡­¡± Ye Kaifu couldn¡¯t help but scratch his head, pulling out a few hairs in the process. The ever-advancing biotechnology didn¡¯t seem to be doing much for hair loss. But in front of so many people, all he could do was bluff and shout, ¡°Where is my hair thinning? It¡¯s thick and shiny!¡± Li Zhendong clapped his hands, ¡°No, no, no, the hair has indeed thinned, but it¡¯s also gotten stronger. If you really go bald, you could legitimately get bionic hair installed.¡± Everyone burst out laughing¡­ Chapter 197 - 197 196 New Journey ?Chapter 197: Chapter 196 New Journey Chapter 197: Chapter 196 New Journey The three of them had awakened more times than the average person, aging an average of 12 years. If they hadn¡¯t grown stronger by then, it would have been a complete waste. Today, Zhang Yuan, Li Zhendong, and Ye Kaifu had their private get-together, each bringing their partners along. After being busy for so long, it was time to relax, gossip about fun stuff, and dream about the future. Topics included but were not limited to, someone caught cheating in the last 3000 years, some sneaky actions captured by surveillance resulting in a warning¡­ The dining table was bursting with laughter and cheerful chatter. Everyone was in high spirits; life couldn¡¯t continue being tough¡ªthey had to be more optimistic. As Ye Kaifu looked at the two beautiful girls, he felt happy at first but then suddenly thought of something chilling. What¡¯s going on¡ªhad even someone as introverted as Zhang Yuan found a wife? And there he was, Ye Kaifu, who had vowed to find a cute, own girl in the spaceship, yet 3000 years had passed without success¡­ What a huge tragedy! Ye Kaifu suddenly felt a bit awkward and involuntarily shifted to his usual topics, ¡°Old Zhang, I just thought of something. The resources needed for that iron-smelting blast furnace seem a bit excessive¡­ Can¡¯t we consider something like plasma smelting? We still need to mine, for iron ore, copper ore¡­¡± ¡°¡­The material requirements don¡¯t have to be too high, as long as they work.¡± After a pause, Zhang Yuan replied, ¡°The method of smelting¡­ it depends on the quality of the iron ore we find. For lower-quality iron ore, using extensive smelting methods isn¡¯t bad; it¡¯s just for construction materials or train tracks after all, average quality steel should suffice¡­ As for materials needed for high-end robots, let¡¯s not go there for a few years. It¡¯s not about the materials; it¡¯s about the whole production capacity.¡± ¡°Hey, you two old guys, what are you even talking about? Today we¡¯re only discussing personal matters, no business talk! Just enjoy the meal without bringing up such complicated stuff, or the ladies will get really bored!¡± Li Zhendong smiled mysteriously, seemingly guessing Ye Kaifu¡¯s thoughts, ¡°Old Ye, you¡¯re getting older; it¡¯s time to find a partner. What have you been doing all these years? You¡¯ve wasted so many Awakening Periods, just as good as a dog¡¯s life?¡± ¡°You should be wooing girls or going on arranged dates. If you don¡¯t choose soon, the number of available girls is dwindling and you¡¯ll have to pick from the next generation. Then you¡¯d have to call us ¡®uncle¡¯ because you¡¯d be a whole generation behind us!¡± Ye Kaifu couldn¡¯t help but lower his head, blushing whenever he talked with girls. With so many Awakening Periods, if he didn¡¯t start talking to girls, nothing would change¡­ Zhang Yuan quickly coughed, helping Ye Kaifu escape the awkward situation, ¡°Alright, stop teasing him. But seriously, given the current resource constraints, we can¡¯t improve material conditions, so we have to chase spiritual wealth¡­ We¡¯re planning to implement a policy to distribute wives for free, what do you think? Any objections?¡± What? Distribute girlfriends for free? Ye Kaifu¡¯s mind was swarming with question marks, yet he felt a bit elated. Zhang Yuan, usually serious and not the joking type. ¡°Exactly¡­ genetic matching! Want to match with someone based on genetic traits? Come and participate; this technology has matured significantly since the Earth era!¡± Li Zhendong quickly revealed the mystery on the side. Actually, running this program isn¡¯t being nosy but is more of a welfare policy. Well, as the saying goes, men and women paired together make the work less tiring, and those with partners definitely have higher work motivation than bachelors. Plus, for the society at large, having more people form families also adds stability. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. A society entirely composed of bachelors versus one with fewer single men is definitely the latter more stable. ¡°This plan is going to be officially launched soon. Since it¡¯s a mature project, we already have everyone¡¯s genetic sequence in the database¡­ and it could increase people¡¯s happiness without any cost.¡± Ye Kaifu was somewhat tempted by this, but a partner chosen through genetic matching was just theoretical numbers; you wouldn¡¯t know if they were right until you actually spent time together. Thinking about matching with someone and then going on dates, talking to girls, Ye Kaifu got genuinely nervous. Zhang Yuan continued, ¡°Oh, right, in the future, we¡¯re also planning to develop a Love Chip to solidify the family system supported by society. This technology is still in development, but if you want to experience it, you better find a girlfriend soon.¡± ¡°What?! A Love Chip!¡± This time he was genuinely shocked, raising his voice involuntarily. The rest of the people at the table turned their heads, and Ye Kaifu quickly lowered his, regaining composure. Zhang Yuan spoke smilingly, ¡°Don¡¯t overthink it; it¡¯s not the kind of black technology that makes a woman fall in love with you right away. We still advocate for free love, so we¡¯re not going to just hand out girlfriends; genetic matching is merely a social method, not a forced measure¡­ If you want a submissive robot girlfriend, that wouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡± ¡°What is the Love Chip?¡± ¡°¡­It controls hormone secretion to keep love perpetually sweet and fresh.¡± ¡°Control hormone secretion?¡± Ye Kaifu instinctively frowned, feeling uneasy about the idea of using technology to induce love. ¡°It¡¯s a technological product,¡± Lin Xuanyuan, a doctor with significant authority, spoke up. ¡°The feeling of sweetness in love is caused by hormones, like dopamine and other substances. After people fall deeply in love, the secretion of these hormones gradually decreases, so that initial passion fades.¡± ¡°However, this specific chip continuously induces such hormones¡­ meaning, when you encounter your preset lover, you maintain that perpetual first-love sensation, feeling incredibly happy, with no urge to look for anyone else.¡± Ye Kaifu was astounded, his heart pounding wildly. Ah, what does a first love feel like? He didn¡¯t seem to have experienced it¡­ Zhang Yuan continued, ¡°This kind of technology product already appeared on Earth, where, due to its high price, it was treated as a luxury¡­ After using this device, the divorce rate dropped to one in a million, maybe even less. Especially among celebrities and public figures, after using this device, there were almost no affairs, no more negative gossip. Other than keeping love pure, the side effects are minimal¡­ This biotechnology isn¡¯t too complex, quite mature already.¡± ¡°That level of happiness is not something you can imagine right now¡­ what do they call it, a sugary feeling?¡± ¡°¡­What? Free Will? No worries, you can also choose not to install it; there¡¯s no way we¡¯d enforce it¡­ We control the level of happiness¡­¡± ¡°So, if you want to be a tester, hurry up and find a girlfriend!¡± ¡­ Chapter 198 - 198 198 ?Chapter 198: Chapter 198 Chapter 198: Chapter 198 Ye Kaifu left the entire banquet feeling extremely depressed. He didn¡¯t even have a girlfriend, let alone experience something like the Love Chip. It was so annoying! It felt as though someone was tickling him like a cat inside his heart. According to the regulations in the New Civilization, as a reward for maintaining love for the long term, only couples who had overcome the seven-year itch were eligible to experience the technology of the ¡°Love Chip.¡± The seven years were to prevent certain couples in the throes of passionate love from binding themselves to each other too hastily, without undergoing a period of adjustment. Otherwise, they would end up in conflict after conflict, driving each other to the brink of collapse. Ye Kaifu knew it was a protective system, but he always felt there was something odd about it, even though the technology was still under secret development and had not yet been widely promoted. ¡°This is no different from doing drugs, right? You can get addicted to love too. Then the two of them stick together permanently, never tiring of sweet nothings¡­ After seven or eight years, still swearing undying love?¡± After much thought, Ye Kaifu found himself inexplicably intrigued. ¡°It¡¯s so annoying. Who will my future wife be?¡± ¡­ Among those who knew of it, the technology of the ¡°Love Chip¡± actually faced a massive wave of opposition, sparking endless debates between supporters and detractors. The first principle emphasized by the New Civilization History was ¡°Seek truth from facts.¡± Changing a civilization through the sublimation of morality was almost impossible. Human nature had never changed throughout the long course of history. Even after a 3000-year hibernation, while everyone worked with great enthusiasm, helping each other in a harmonious civilization, what of it? Such zeal could likely only last a few years. Morality is a product of social development, while the inherent flaws of humanity are innate features rooted in our genetics. In terms of resilience, acquired morals are hardly a match for innate instincts. In 1824, the thinker Owen bought 1,214 hectares of land in Indiana, United States, to start the New Harmony commune experiment, attempting to create an economy based on an ideal communal model. Initially, this social experiment attracted many notable social figures, and the mood for work was high, as if they really wanted to create a utopian world. But as time passed, the community quickly showed signs of laziness, with more and more people shirking their duties, which in turn influenced more individuals to do the same. Come summer, the crops went untended, and gaps in the fences grew wider, with pigs, horses, and cows grazing on the plants. Incidents of petty theft became increasingly common. The entire social experiment ended in failure, with Owen going bankrupt and ultimately marking the death of utopian socialism¡­ The New Civilization School believed that the ultimate reasons for social change and political revolutions shouldn¡¯t be sought in people¡¯s increasing recognition of eternal truths and justice, but rather in the alterations of the modes of production and exchange; not in the morals of a given era, but in the economics of that era. Why was Earth Civilization so mediocre? It was because its deep-rooted production relationships failed to evolve with the economic changes of the era. In other words, a technology like the Love Chip, by changing interpersonal behaviors, indirectly altered the economic structure. The root nature of people is hard to change, but it can be suppressed and guided through technology. Actually, Zero¡ªXZ made a very accurate point that the free will of different individuals to some extent hindered social development. People cannot have unlimited freedom; it¡¯s not possible for someone to commit crimes or reproduce whenever they desire¡­ If everyone acted this way, the world would certainly be in dire straits. It has been proven that in areas under surveillance, the quality of the population generally improves, and the crime rate decreases; in places with a complete legal system, there tend to be fewer petty thieves and criminals. On the contrary¡­ in those countries where you¡¯re free not to be vaccinated, a multitude of contagious diseases resurge, leading to a regression in history. What¡¯s the difference between this kind of freedom and idiocy? ¡­ In the following days, following Zhang Yuan¡¯s suggestion, Ye Kaifu began his quest for love. Clothes make the man just as much as gold makes a Buddha¡ªYe Kaifu dressed himself meticulously, shaving off his beard and all such things. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Though he wasn¡¯t as handsome as Zhang Yuan, he had a different kind of charisma. They, being more frequently awake than ordinary people and slightly older in age, tended to be more composed than the younger generation. ¡°First, don¡¯t be a bootlicker,¡± Zhang Yuan began to share his experiences in love. The Observatory, of course, was the place with the highest concentration of girls. Many people, once awake, searched there for their potential Mother Star. After all, watching stars was essentially a very romantic activity. ¡°I know that.¡± ¡°Second, don¡¯t reveal your sense of neediness.¡± ¡°Sense of neediness?¡± ¡°Are you dumb¡­ The moment you revealed your desire to find a girlfriend, who would be interested in you? On the contrary, you should give off a sense of mystery. That way, girls will become curious and approach you on their own.¡± ¡°And then?¡± ¡°And then when a girl starts to like you, you can either make your move or wait for them to chase after you. As long as you¡¯re charming enough, there will always be someone who will like you, someone who will confess their feelings to you¡­¡± Lin Xuanyuan¡¯s forehead throbbed with veins. She quickly turned her head away, no longer eavesdropping on the nonsense between these clueless men¡­ How could she have been so blind to fancy a dummy like Zhang Yuan? Seeing Ye Kaifu striding confidently towards the Observatory, Zhang Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, convinced that he had given some very good advice. Just as he was about to pull Lin Xuanyuan to the restaurant for a nice breakfast, believing there was no need to rush to such a noisy place as the Observatory, he suddenly cocked his ear and heard waves of thunderous cheers coming from afar. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± The others also sensed something was amiss, and they left the restaurant in haste, rushing toward the central hall, the source of the sounds. Zhang Yuan pushed through the crowd and looked at the large screen in the central hall. Gradually, it seemed, perhaps, maybe¡­ a wondrous mood emerged from the depths of his heart, forming a gentle, warm current! He, too, started cheering loudly! A muted blue was silently revolving around a fiery red Constant Star! Blue! This feeling, just like the homeland of old, how warm, how nostalgic. No, not just a hint of blue¡ªthere were actually several shades of blue! After a wandering journey lasting three thousand years, humanity had once again found a new home! Never before had everyone so eagerly anticipated a bright future¡­ nor had humanity ever been so exhilarated. Everyone, including Captain Zhao, Zhang Yuan, Li Zhendong, Ye Kaifu, as well as the experts, professors, technicians, and engineers at the Observatory, and the nearly fifty thousand awake population, everyone felt an intense sense of joy. The interstellar journey of 3096 years¡­ had ended! As expected, this Planet System had at least six planets! Many people were excitedly pointing at the large screen, selecting their future homeworlds, including gaseous planets, terrestrial planets, and some large icy ones. That is, at this moment, Earth Era ¡°Gliese¡± had officially entered the inner ring region of Gliese 581. ¡°This Constant Star is so beautifully red, our future Mother Star¡­ probably because it¡¯s relatively small in mass.¡± ¡°Tonight¡¯s news program should report this news.¡± Zhang Yuan quickly received a meeting notice, snatched a few bites of bread, and hurried to the central meeting room. ¡°The first astronomical report is out!¡± The complete astronomical report stated that the Gliese 581 Planet System included 6 planets, named ¡°Gliese 581 b¡± all the way to ¡°Gliese 581 g,¡± with orbital periods of 3, 5, 13, 36, 67, and 400 days, respectively. At least 2 planets were in the habitable zone, those two shades of blue! They possessed stable atmospheres, with surfaces capable of sustaining liquid lakes and rivers. Taking a deep breath, within this Star Domain, humanity was greeted with new opportunities, and, the unknown challenges¡­ Chapter 199 - 199 199 Planet Selection ?Chapter 199: Chapter 199 Planet Selection Chapter 199: Chapter 199 Planet Selection Upon entering the conference room, Zhang Yuan found many of the experts in attendance beaming with excitement, engaging in very lively discussions. He quickly found himself a seat to settle into. ¡°Everyone, please remain calm! The most important thing is to choose a planet suitable for development as our main base¡­ At the moment, we have observed six planets, and counting the numerous moons, there are more than ten planets available for selection. However, we must find the best, the most suitable one for development!¡± In the large conference room, Captain Zhao spoke solemnly, but his excitement was difficult to hide. ¡°¡­Let¡¯s not take this lightly. Next, whether it¡¯s developing the economy, increasing the population, developing industry, or implementing various policies¡­¡± ¡°Our task is still long and arduous!¡± Every member in the conference room was eager, and a buzz of lively debate filled the space. All kinds of policies, including economic policies, cultural policies, social welfare, work plans, and so on, had been discussed for a long time and were basically completed. Anyway, they just needed to be implemented one by one when the time came. Now the most important thing was still the selection of a planet, the most crucial step. The mass of this Central Constant Star was merely 0.31 times that of the Sun, with a surface temperature of about 3200 degrees Celsius, and its luminosity was just 1.3% of that of the Sun. Due to the weaker gravitational pull of the star, the six planets were closer to it, resembling a downsized version of the Solar System. According to astronomical data, the two outermost planets are Jupiter-like planets, that is, gaseous planets. They have a larger mass and are surrounded by several moons with thick layers of ice. The remaining four are terrestrial planets. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The reason this structure similar to the Solar System formed is mainly due to the ¡°Nebula Theory.¡± Due to the excessive heat in the inner star system, molecules with smaller mass like water and methane struggle to accumulate. Hence, the areas closer to the star can only be formed by substances with high melting points, such as iron, nickel, aluminum, and rocky silicates. The Jupiter-like planets formed outside the colder frost line, and these planets have exceptionally abundant water resources. Since elements with small atomic mass occupy the majority in the universe, these Jupiter-like planets often become massive enough. Once they grow massive enough, they can capture hydrogen and helium, the lightest and most abundant elements, making them even larger. Essentially, there¡¯s a rocky core at the center of every Jupiter-like planet, it¡¯s just that its atmosphere is thick enough to cover up the core. After discussing for a few minutes, an astronomer stood up and said, ¡°Everyone, please hear me out!¡± The room gradually fell silent. ¡°If we choose to land on a moon of a gaseous planet, for instance¡­ this moon.¡± The screen showed a crater-filled giant ice ball, roughly three thousand kilometers in diameter, somewhat similar to Jupiter¡¯s moon. ¡°¡­We can easily obtain more nuclear fuel and water resources. Just like our industrial base on Jupiter¡¯s moon in the Solar System¡­¡± ¡°At present, after a series of decelerations, the fuel reserves in the spaceship¡¯s storage are not sufficient, already below the reserve line by 8%¡­¡± ¡°The mass of the Earth Era is really too great. Each relocation of the Mother Ship will result in a huge consumption of fuel. Therefore, I suggest that the first choice of base location must be well-selected.¡± ¡°Of course, if we choose the main base well, based on the current level of electricity consumption, these nuclear fuels can still last for about three thousand years.¡± Zhang Yuan furrowed his brow. Three thousand years may sound exaggerated, but that estimate is based on current levels of energy consumption. With the rapid development of industry, the demand for electricity is sure to increase exponentially, and soon these nuclear fuels will not be sufficient. The energy consumed in metal smelting and industrial production is enormous, and a growing population will also use up more energy; we are currently only at the bare minimum standard of subsistence. The astronomer continued, ¡°If we rely on a Jupiter-like planet as a nuclear fuel storage, of course, we won¡¯t have to worry about energy issues.¡± ¡°However, choosing the satellites of Jupiter-like planets as landing points may result in a lack of certain heavy atomic mass minerals due to their formation, such as the scarce metals, like scandium, yttrium and lanthanide elements.¡± ¡°The absence of these elements would create a significant barrier to industrial development. It¡¯s out of the question to mine all the way down to the planet core, both from a technological and an economic standpoint.¡± Sitting to the side, Engineer Ye Kaifu tapped his fingers lightly on the table, weighing the pros and cons. He said softly, ¡°Compared to the more accessible energy, I am more inclined towards easily obtainable resources.¡± ¡°Energy does not necessarily have to come from nuclear fusion, fission energy is also an option¡­ even solar energy can be used! Don¡¯t think that nuclear fusion is more sophisticated than nuclear fission.¡± ¡°I think so too¡­ when it comes to energy, only the economic and inexpensive options are most suitable,¡± Zhang Yuan nodded. The scientist on stage continued, ¡°The second option is the two innermost planets. Especially the one closest to the Constant Star, to call it a metal planet is not an exaggeration!¡± ¡°We can easily find all of the scarce metal elements.¡± But this planet has its drawbacks: water resources are scarce, organic matter is in short supply, and whether there are uranium mines is another matter. ¡°¡­I must say that the Central Constant Star is a variable star, its brightness and electromagnetic radiation are unstable, and it occasionally erupts flares. The planet¡¯s orbital period around the Constant Star is very short, only 4 days, and because it is very close to the Constant Star, the economic losses caused by solar flares must be factored in¡­¡± These are all challenges. Zhang Yuan frowned. When the Constant Star erupts, as long as the protective measures are adequate, there would not be too much of a problem. The real trouble is that all kinds of long-distance communication would be immediately disrupted. If communication is cut off during an important mission, the losses could be huge. ¡°¡­As for those two planets that seem to have abundant water resources, and possess atmospheres, located in the habitable zone, they are not within our current field of consideration.¡± ¡°But there is a third option; we could consider a satellite of Gliese 581 g.¡± ¡°One of the moons is roughly the size of the Moon¡­ perhaps even slightly larger!¡± The screen showed a pockmarked planet once again. Members of the Scientific Council are rational people, though those two planets have a lot of liquid water and seem to have beautiful environments suitable for human habitation. Even one of them, 581g, from a certain angle, looks exactly like a larger twin of Earth! Many citizens are already rejoicing on the net about the prospect of interstellar travel. But¡­ According to the atmospheric spectral analysis, the deadly gases mixed in the atmosphere, including sulfur hydrogen and ammonium sulfide, have a concentration of 0.02%! That¡¯s enough to cause serious trouble for humans, and even if it doesn¡¯t poison someone, it smells absolutely foul. Moreover, the mass of this planet is 3.1 times that of Earth, with an atmospheric pressure of about 1.7 times that of Earth¡¯s. Under such high atmospheric pressure, humans would feel very uncomfortable and would have to wear space suits at all times to survive normally. So then, since it¡¯s impossible to freely breathe the surface air and since various life support instruments must still be carried, it might be better to land on an atmosphere-less planet that¡¯s easier to develop. Chapter 200 - 200 200 Extraterrestrial Life ?Chapter 200: Chapter 200: Extraterrestrial Life! Chapter 200: Chapter 200: Extraterrestrial Life! Zhang Yuan carefully pondered the astronomical data. He had seen a ring of yellow faintly tinged with purple on Gliese 581g. This ring of yellow and purple was extensively distributed within the twilight line and seemed very orderly, not appearing to be naturally formed. Because the spaceship was still seven astronomical units from the planet, the photo resolution was not high, and it was unclear exactly what it was. ¡°Professor Fan, have you detected any signs of intelligent life?¡± Captain Zhao had also seen the photo and after pondering for a moment, asked. The astronomer immediately responded, ¡°At the moment, no intelligent life has been discovered; our probes are still en route. But as far as the current data show, there are no regular electromagnetic waves in space.¡± ¡°There are also no observables of artificial satellites or large structures on the surface¡­¡± Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°Then what are these yellow things? Such a regular global phenomenon can¡¯t possibly be naturally formed, right?¡± Professor Fan said, ¡°These unusual colors are likely large clusters of alien plants, just slightly different in color from the plants on Earth. Our vast primeval forests on Earth are green, while the plants here are yellow and purple¡­¡± ¡°We suspect these life forms don¡¯t need oxygen and obtain energy through oxidizing sulfur, nitrogen, and other reactions. This method of respiration is fundamentally different from our aerobic respiration.¡± Alien life? Zhang Yuan¡¯s heart skipped a beat, as many people sitting around also couldn¡¯t help but quietly discuss. Especially some biologists, more excited than fearful, found any evidence of alien life to be highly instructive for questions about the origins of life. ¡°These planets have all been tidally locked by the constant star. The side facing away from the star is too cold, and the side facing the star is too hot. The twilight line is neither cold nor hot, making it an excellent place to live.¡± ¡°The large life communities located at the twilight line can receive constant light and are at a suitable temperature¡­¡± S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°The tenacity of life is truly unimaginable.¡± ¡°Cough, cough, everyone quiet down. In a few more days, the satellite will transmit back firsthand data¡­ but I think¡­¡± The professor spoke at length, meaning that according to current data, it was more likely there was no intelligent life. Even if there were intelligent beings, they were probably just natives, not something to be feared. Anyway, as long as these life forms posed no threat to humans, there wasn¡¯t much to worry about. Once humanity reached a certain stage of development, a more detailed on-site inspection of this planet¡¯s life would definitely still be required. Zhang Yuan and many others in the room let out a slight sigh of relief. Their biggest concern was that this star domain already had a powerful interstellar civilization¡­ Although the probability was low, should such a civilization exist, they aboard this spaceship would doubtlessly be in a bind. ¡°It¡¯s impossible for a civilization to develop to the space age without using electromagnetic waves or satellites, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Listening to everyone¡¯s discussion, Zhang Yuan stood up and said, ¡°To be cautious, we should still minimize the spaceship¡¯s own radio signals as much as possible until more specific data become available.¡± This proposal was swiftly approved unanimously. Subsequently, after a series of discussions and combined with the various mechanical devices carried on the spaceship, the group still chose to develop Satellite 1, closest to Gliese 581g. The six main planets are referred to as b, c, d, e, f, and g, this nomenclature being based on the order in which they were discovered by humans. The satellites accompanying these planets were not named; for simplicity, people directly referred to the largest satellite of the 581g Planet as Number 1. The diameter of this satellite was nearly four thousand kilometers, bare, and the surface was filled with meteorite craters, with an orbital period of about 14 days. Due to being tidally locked, its rotation period was the same as its orbital period. The reason for choosing Satellite 1 was because its distance from the constant star was moderate. Even if the star erupted in flares, the spaceship would not be too affected. Theoretically, according to the conditions of planetary formation, it had all the resources humans needed, including various common metals, rare elements, radioactive elements, etc. The only drawback was its proximity to the Life Planet which could be a potential threat. Life always harbors infinite possibilities; who knows what kind of bizarre life forms might exist inside. However, with a distance of a full 360,000 kilometers between the satellite and the planet, if something did happen, there would be time to react. Zhang Yuan did not believe any creature could escape the planet¡¯s gravity by physical means and leap onto the Earth Era ship. Thus, being near the Life Planet was not necessarily a disadvantage, but could possibly be an advantage instead, at least making future scientific investigations much more convenient compared to other planets that might have irreparable flaws. Number 1 was already considered quite a good planet. ¡°But still, Old Zhang, at this rate of rotation, if we were to set up a Space Elevator on this planet, the height of the synchronous orbit would be immensely exaggerated!¡± Ye Kaifu whispered from under his seat, ¡°The planet¡¯s rotation speed is so slow. I did a quick calculation, and the height of the synchronous orbit would exceed 80,000 kilometers. We don¡¯t have enough raw materials on hand¡­ What should we do?¡± ¡°No, you¡¯ve miscalculated¡­¡± Zhang Yuan smiled and corrected, ¡°In this case, the setup of the Space Elevator also needs to consider the massive gravitational pull of another planet. Therefore, our spaceship won¡¯t directly stay on the synchronous orbit¡­¡± ¡°You calculate again, taking into account the satellite¡¯s gravity offsetting the planet¡¯s gravity, then use what¡¯s left for the calculation¡­¡± ¡°That makes sense!¡± Ye Kaifu suddenly realized, ¡°Haven¡¯t touched this stuff in years, almost forgot it. Luckily I didn¡¯t ask outright, or I would¡¯ve really embarrassed myself.¡± He calculated carefully and found that only 8,000 kilometers were needed to achieve the orbital height, which made him secretly delighted. This distance was good, significantly reducing the construction difficulty of the Space Elevator; no need to worry about anything else. As for the energy issue¡­ ¡°It should be possible to find enough uranium mines on the planet to support the first few steps of human development.¡± Moreover, with sufficient sunlight, it could be considered to install solar panels on the sunlit side of the planet, to replace nuclear power. Solar panels are a very inexpensive and simple technology, and Zhang Yuan thought that with the current equipment carried by the spaceship, they could be mass-produced within a year or two. After a discussion, Captain Zhao decisively declared, ¡°Then that¡¯s settled. We¡¯ll establish our first landing point on Satellite 1!¡± Chapter 201 - 201 201 New Economic Policy ?Chapter 201: Chapter 201: New Economic Policy Chapter 201: Chapter 201: New Economic Policy Next comes the mass awakening of people! The hospital scheduling was so busy that even the beds in the corridors were filled with hibernators just waking up. In just one month, the population of awakened had soared from fifty thousand to one hundred thousand, and the numbers were still increasing! When they heard that they were about to reach the new Mother Star, and that the hard days were finally coming to an end, these newly awakened people couldn¡¯t help but cry in their beds. This long journey through the stars had been too torturous, all the passion and ambition they had when they set off had been worn away by time. But now, the destination was almost here! What did that mean? It meant countless resources, unlimited energy, it meant that people could lead peaceful lives, and those tense, chilly days were finally over! Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Everyone¡¯s passion reignited in that moment, even kindling another fierce flame, as vigorous as a volcanic eruption! This public sentiment pleased the management, yet it also brought immense pressure. On one hand, everyone¡¯s enthusiasm for their work was very high, all were holding their breath¡­ On the other hand, the workload of the leadership increased drastically, industries revived from dormancy, and some even had to adopt standards different from those of Earth, requiring redesigned production. As the leader of the New Civilization Development Department, Zhang Yuan was so busy with various meetings that he worked overtime almost every day. He had previously laughed about Ye Kaifu¡¯s thinning hair, but now, he too was losing a handful¡­ Fortunately, most of the news these days was good. The satellite survey results were also out: those circles of yellow and purple were indeed alien plants, and traces of animals had even been captured, but no signs of intelligent life had been found, which gradually put minds at ease. A month later, two universities were reopening enrollment, attempting to cultivate more talent, and new economic policies were issued. ¡°The current economic system will still be primarily planned economy, with the market economy playing a secondary role¡­¡± Captain Zhao¡¯s figure appeared on the big screen, solemnly reading a ¡°five-year future development plan,¡± which included but was not limited to economic, political, and cultural aspects. In the current destitute situation, the planned economy could concentrate efforts on major undertakings, the advantages far outweighing those of the market economy. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, our civilization will adopt a new economic policy known as the ¡®dynamic planned economy¡¯¡­¡± The entire civilization would use big data to dynamically plan the total amount of materials needed for production, preventing imbalanced development; meanwhile, currency issuance would be aligned with productivity. ¡°The goals to be achieved in the first five-year plan are as follows: to complete the first phase of the Underground City construction, establish a preliminary ecosystem, complete the first phase of the chemical supply chain system¡­¡± The entire development plan had more than one hundred thousand words, including main objectives, guiding principles, and development concepts, how to achieve industrial modernization, agricultural modernization, and so on¡­ Captain Zhao felt parched and tired after reading an outline, and Zhang Yuan sitting below was too lazy to listen, seizing the moment to sneak in a nap, and take a good rest during this time. This white paper was drafted by this group of people; listening to it again was simply a waste of time. Anyway, the general public was too lazy to read this content, so after Captain Zhao finished reading the outline, he didn¡¯t read any further. Government workers had already posted the document online for people to download. In short, the first five years were focused on solving short-term survival issues while laying a solid foundation for the long-term future. At the same time, to stimulate the work enthusiasm of the public, especially in some state-owned enterprises, a system called the ¡°Civilization Contribution Level¡± was introduced. This was a very core part of the New Civilization History, using mathematics and computers to manage civilization! In general, the work a person did and the contributions they made to civilization could be quantified into a numerical value. The entire civilization would then use this contribution level to reward individuals with money, job levels, and social welfare benefits. The Contribution Value system complemented the planned economy. Whatever resources were produced, beyond some for public use, the rest were distributed based on contribution values, somewhat like company stock dividends. However, the number of ¡°stocks¡± had to be earned based on one¡¯s contribution to the entire civilization. Under this mathematical standard, how much effort a person exerted and how much work they did was uploaded to a database. The supercomputer would automatically analyze the contribution value to the entire civilization. More work yielded more gains, less work yielded fewer gains, all clear at a glance. The entire algorithm was fair and just¡ªeven the captain couldn¡¯t arbitrarily change his own contribution degree. This system reduced social corruption and stimulated everyone¡¯s work enthusiasm. Of course, the ¡°Civilization Contribution Rating System¡± was still in the testing phase. Information scientists and mathematicians had racked their brains for three thousand years to develop this system. But the contents were still very incomplete, and it was temporarily being tested only among employees of a few large companies and government workers. If the results were good, it would be promoted on a large scale. As for this policy closely related to personal interests, the general public was very interested, and there was already a lot of discussion on the internet. Various audiences actively participated, evaluating the pros and cons of the system, ¡°Trying to truly quantify work is difficult¡­ In the past, a person¡¯s labor outcomes did not match their salary because it was often exploited by capitalists.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not quite the same now¡­¡± Someone soon questioned, ¡°I¡¯ve studied it a bit¡­ For many vague, team cooperation projects, it¡¯s unclear who did what work. So, the computing system can only evaluate a contribution value for the entire project, and then let the team divide it themselves.¡± ¡°By letting the team divide it internally instead of using AI, isn¡¯t there operable leeway?¡± Another person replied, ¡°¡­Using this method, corruption can¡¯t be completely eradicated, but it can be controlled to a certain extent, and that¡¯s enough. Some things being a bit humane isn¡¯t too much of a problem. If it¡¯s too devoid of humanity, it becomes rather cold.¡± ¡°If someone incompetent gains a high contribution value through various means, and others receive unfair treatment, they can just change jobs, or form their own teams¡­ The good and the bad can always be distinguished. An incompetent person will find it hard to maintain a high contribution value over the long term by taking advantage.¡± ¡°¡­As for the academic field, this system hasn¡¯t been introduced yet¡­ Those in academics are better off not being too utilitarian. Not producing results for several years is normal, and another strategy is needed. But it might not be necessary to focus on academics for nearly a hundred years, let¡¯s first thoroughly understand the heritage of Earth Civilization.¡± Someone else replied, ¡°¡­The reason corruption hasn¡¯t been completely eradicated is just that the mathematics isn¡¯t strong enough. If we could make it more detailed, undoubtedly, the standards for judging contribution values would be more accurate. But for now, it¡¯s just the way it is.¡± The people in the ¡°Earth Era¡± were mostly elites who advocated for fairness and justice. Moreover, as there were no vested interests yet, they generally supported this policy. For them, starting on an equal footing was a good choice, and what they became later depended on their own abilities. There was also a large group of people studying how to calculate weights, what should be calculated, what psy functions, fma functions, and so on¡­ It was dizzying to see. Unfortunately, not many people truly understood it. Chapter 202 - 202 202 Earn Money Earn Money ?Chapter 202: Chapter 202: Earn Money, Earn Money! Chapter 202: Chapter 202: Earn Money, Earn Money! To reduce rumors fueled by speculation, Zhang Yuan even arranged for staff to popularize the calculation methods online. Whether or not everyone understood was up to them; the algorithm had been made public, so if you wanted to criticize, make sure to comprehend the tens of thousands of word-long mathematical paper first. After explaining these matters, the government departments turned a blind eye to various comments on the internet and embarked on another significant task: recruitment! When it came to large-scale projects, humans were the ultimate resource. From mineral extraction teams, smelting squads, and machinery production groups to workers in ecological parks, residential area managers, and even staff for the entertainment industry¡ªall were in demand! With such an extensive rollout, the shortage was substantial. Every place needed people. The Earth Era only had so many job positions, but if they were to land on a planet¡­ A mineral extraction and smelting team might need tens of thousands of workers. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Even a small planet, once the Underground City was perfected, could comfortably house hundreds of millions of inhabitants. Shortage of people! A real shortage! In the blink of an eye, heads of several state-owned enterprises began quarreling and snatching up staff from each other! Zhang Yuan thought that as the Minister of the New Civilization Development Department, he simply had to ensure the technological advancement of the entire civilization. He never liked dealing with such trifling matters but suddenly realized, if he didn¡¯t compete for employees, other departments would snatch them all, and a crowd of people would be on his heels, complaining nonstop, with no way to hide. He had no choice but to visit Captain Zhao Qingfeng and personally request assistance from his older brother in the ranks. ¡°What¡­ An arts performance troupe? Please, just keep one or two teams!¡± ¡°It¡¯s about development, what kind of development? The issue of survival!¡± ¡°¡­Especially improving living conditions and various medical services! Things like mobile phones are completely unnecessary¡­ not that they are not necessary, but as long as they work, they are sufficient, not essential. We can¡¯t possibly develop to the level of Earth Civilization all at once.¡± Faced with Zhang Yuan¡¯s aggressive stance, Old Zhao also had a pained expression¡­ What could he do? There were only 500,000 people, barely enough to fill the gaps in maintaining all aspects of a civilization. ¡­ And so, two months later, the spaceship neared its destination, and over 60% of the population had joined several large state-owned enterprises, securing their job positions, followed by the commencement of a comprehensive training regime. Although there was a workforce shortage, everything still adhered to the principle of voluntariness; there was no coercion. Furthermore, due to the priority of work, many projects didn¡¯t seem as urgent and could be considered less important compared to mining and smelting. If there was really no one available, those projects had to be cut. According to Zhang Yuan, as long as projects were not critical, delaying them for a few years wouldn¡¯t be a problem. The remaining 30% who were temporarily jobless each had their plans. Some hadn¡¯t fully recovered their mindsets and wanted to study or rest a bit longer¡ªthe wages distributed during the Awakening Period were still unused. Not everyone in society had a sense of urgency; surely, there were those a bit more laid-back. Others wanted to engage in media and newspaper entrepreneurship or other social ventures. Humans couldn¡¯t just work without play, so a proper balance between work and rest was necessary. Leaving entertainment in the hands of officials was inevitably too serious and not very effective. Therefore, in this respect, it was better to contract out to private media. As far as the government was concerned, some degree of supervision and management was sufficient¡­ ¡°Hey, buddy, let¡¯s go watch an ¡®Avengers¡¯ movie. The cinema has finally reopened. I heard the Iron King¡¯s done for, died a gruesome death¡­¡± On that day, a young man named Wang Junpeng sat on a bench in the square and called out to his buddy. ¡°Watch what, Mao, we¡¯re out of money¡­ don¡¯t you know how expensive movie tickets are, equal to the cost of food for more than ten days!¡± Another young man named Xu Jie made a gesture of resignation, ¡°And how much of our wages do we have left? If we can¡¯t find a job, we¡¯ll starve to death on this spaceship¡­ We should go find a job.¡± This pair of men were what you¡¯d call ¡°life partners¡±! But don¡¯t get the wrong idea, they¡¯re not a gay couple, just bros. Life partners don¡¯t have to be lovers; good friends will do. It¡¯s all about hibernating together, waking up together, and taking care of each other. Many people choose to do it this way. After such a long time of ¡°hard struggle,¡± the revolutionary friendship between Wang Junpeng and Xu Jie had grown deeply profound. Without giving it much thought, it was obvious that both were bachelors. If they had sweet-smelling girlfriends, who would want to spend the whole day hanging out with a foot-scratching dude? ¡°Ah¡­¡± Wang Junpeng began, but stopped short. Seeing couples of handsome men and beautiful women passing by the cinema, he couldn¡¯t help feeling envious. What must it feel like to hold a girl in his arms¡­ must be delightful, right? Being single for a long time, you do get lonely occasionally. Thinking back to their Awakening Period, the two had mindlessly played video games, watched movies, read novels, and had a blast without feeling the cruelty of hibernation. But now, it was just miserable because they forgot to study! After wasting so much time, it was impossible for them to compare to the common folk, and now they couldn¡¯t even find a job¡­ ¡°What are we going to do? I haven¡¯t coded in years, I¡¯ve completely forgotten,¡± Wang Junpeng said, worried. ¡°What¡¯s there to be afraid of, how could we possibly starve to death! If it really comes down to it, we could become community administrators; that doesn¡¯t require any technical skills, just being free from social anxiety¡­¡± Xu Jie was as carefree as ever, ¡°Can you cook? You could become a chef, specializing in cooking¡­¡± ¡°That won¡¯t work,¡± Wang Junpeng sighed, ¡°It¡¯s just too embarrassing, Old Peng. Any job that a robot can do isn¡¯t a good job, and the pay would certainly be low, barely enough to scrape by¡­ No girl would like you if you admit to that kind of job.¡± Xu Jie looked at him with a dejected expression and said irritably, ¡°So what if you can¡¯t find a girlfriend? Worst comes to worst, stay single for life.¡± When this subject came up, it seemed like he suddenly thought of something, ¡°Right, in the future you could just buy a robot girlfriend¡­ They¡¯re kind and cute, and you can even pick their personality, just can¡¯t have kids is all. I like the tsundere queen type¡­¡± ¡°Robot girlfriends really are great, I¡¯ve already seen the experimental products at the exhibition hall, such adorable girls¡­ you can even customize them to look like anime characters¡­ Come to think of it, I still prefer the slightly chubby type,¡± Wang Junpeng glanced at him obliquely, and Xu Jie had already developed a dazed expression, muttering incessantly, practically sounding like an eighty-year-old granny nagging away. Wang Junpeng couldn¡¯t hold back anymore, ¡°Xu Jie, are you senile or what? After all that talk, do you have the money? You surely don¡¯t expect the state to give you a wife for free!¡± ¡°These are limited-edition laboratory products, very expensive. I don¡¯t know if a few hundred thousand would be enough! Do you think you can afford one?¡± That comment hit Xu Jie like a bucket of cold water, sending a chill through his heart. ¡°Ah?¡± That¡¯s when he realized the seriousness of the problem and also started to sigh, wracking his brain to think of ways to get rich. Making money is so difficult! To survive here, it¡¯s not simple at all. Chapter 203 - 203 203 Entrepreneurial Craze (Combined 5000 ?Chapter 203: Chapter 203: Entrepreneurial Craze (Combined 5000 words!) Chapter 203: Chapter 203: Entrepreneurial Craze (Combined 5000 words!) Xu Jie and Wang Junpeng racked their brains, pondering ways to make a fortune. This society mostly comprised young people, not supporting idlers, and if they were to starve to death on the streets, they would simply be spat upon without any sympathy from anyone. ¡°¡­Traveled 20 light years, if we were to starve to death, that would be ridiculous! We¡¯d be worse than a disgrace¡­¡± Currently, the best option was to work in a large state-owned enterprise, where the salary was high and the benefits were good. However, the two of them had rather poor skills; after playing around for a few years, they had almost forgotten all their professional knowledge. Even if there were job vacancies, companies wouldn¡¯t necessarily want them. People hired were not there to retire but to work; without sufficient knowledge, they would only hold the team back. The next option was to further their education at a university! Deep Space University and Star University had restarted their enrollment plans for masters and doctoral students, responsible for training even higher-end talents. While studying, there would be numerous opportunities for practical social experience, as well as a certain amount of living subsidies; anyway, they wouldn¡¯t starve to death. But, of course, going back to school required passing exams, and they weren¡¯t likely to qualify with their current levels. ¡°Don¡¯t go back to school, after having played for so many years, who needs more school, it¡¯s annoying!¡± Xu Jie muttered to himself. ¡°Then there¡¯s only one last option left, start our own business!¡± ¡°Start a business? Start what?¡± Newspapers, games, social networks, comics, movies, and the like all have professional teams. There¡¯s even a millennia of cultural heritage from Earth, accumulated over many years of video games, comics, movies, novels, and all kinds of miscellaneous entertainments¡ªenough to keep people occupied for a lifetime of gaming, a lifetime of movies! Even if they knew some programming, they were only cannon fodder level, certainly not capable of creating games better than those on Earth. ¡°It won¡¯t work, we can¡¯t compete with others under these circumstances,¡± Wang Junpeng pondered for a long time and sighed. ¡°Maybe go into finance, Bitcoin?¡± Xu Jie had a sudden wild idea, ¡°Set up a computer to issue currency, how about that?¡± ¡°Issue your big head ghost, is that thing any use? You must be stuffed from overeating, who would speculate on this¡­ and it would be a waste of electricity¡­¡± While the two were frowning in worry, suddenly, the big screen in the square lit up, starting to play the day¡¯s news broadcast. Whenever this happened, Central Square in Zone A would be packed with people, all watching the news broadcast together. Citizens of the new civilization had relatively high social engagement and information flow was updated quickly; without watching the news, one would have no idea what changes were happening in the whole society. An attractive female anchor was announcing today¡¯s news on the screen: the first news item was that the first commercial bank had been formally established to promote economic growth, especially in terms of favorable conditions for entrepreneurial loans, with current interest rates close to zero, of course, limited to entrepreneurship. A large social project ¡°Genetic Matching¡± had received a substantial loan and was starting official operations. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The second news, the spaceship was about to reach its final destination, ready to start the first phase of the geological survey! At the sound of this news, cheers erupted from the playground. Xu Jie and Wang Junpeng looked even more troubled, some had received loans and started businesses, and others were proudly about to work on the surface of the planet, but what were they supposed to do? They still didn¡¯t have jobs! Satellite 1, a terrestrial planet, smaller than Mercury yet bigger than the Moon, had a certain magnetic field on its surface, meaning its core hadn¡¯t completely cooled off and could still potentially experience geological disasters. Of course, according to current observations, the chances of a global volcanic eruption are very low. ¡°¡­Ladies and gentlemen, the main objective of this scientific expedition is to select a location rich in mineral resources, with few geological disasters, and close enough to the Space Elevator to serve as the primary development base¡­ Our scientists have launched a satellite, and now we have Professor Xie from Deep Space University, a geologist, to give us an introduction¡­¡± After the news broadcast ended, everyone around began to get excited, holding forth about how to develop the industry in the first phase, how to smelt iron, make glass, and so on. Some people were saying it¡¯s definitely impossible to make chips directly. There had to be a gradual climb, a progressive process; a great leap forward was impossible. Even with advanced lithography machines, it wouldn¡¯t work. Others were even saying that for the time being, they wouldn¡¯t focus their main efforts on high-end chips. With such a small population, priority had to be given to developing more critical survival industries¡­ There was all sorts of bluffing and nonsense, making it seem as though they were experts at the research institute. However, after listening to these conversations, Wang Junpeng suddenly had a flash of inspiration that struck his mind like a bolt of lightning, piercing through his brain! Make money! A way to make money! Wang Junpeng jumped up from his seat, his face flushed as he said, ¡°The new civilization currently isn¡¯t lacking in technology; what¡¯s missing is experience, time, and population.¡± ¡°It¡¯s impossible for us to get every industry off the ground in a short time.¡± ¡°Right, so what? Everyone knows that the legacy of Earth Civilization can feed us for a good long while.¡± Xu Jie said irritably, ¡°The first issues to resolve are definitely medical, environmental, and food-related survival problems. According to government plans, we should use the best biological technologies to extend our lifespans. Although it¡¯s a bit annoying, I also think it¡¯s more important than developing the mobile phone manufacturing industry¡­ Who doesn¡¯t want to live for three hundred years?¡± It was as if Wang Junpeng hadn¡¯t heard what he was saying, prattling on to himself, even unconsciously lowering his voice, ¡°Everyone is talking about chips, chips, but even if we knew how to make them, reaching the cutting edge is too complicated. It requires a tremendous amount of manpower and material resources; the industry chain is just too long.¡± ¡°Look!¡± Wang Junpeng took out his cellphone, ¡°This is a smartphone produced on Earth, which after three thousand years of trials, most are no longer usable.¡± This phone was the once extremely popular ¡°Huawei 888¡± space phone, designed by Huawei Company specifically for life in space. Some of its performance had been reduced, but in exchange, it had great stability and was durable enough to crack walnuts. But after a journey through the stars, it had completely broken down. According to Wang Junpeng¡¯s research, its battery had died, but the core CPU hadn¡¯t been damaged and was still barely usable. He then opened another cellphone, a black and white screen like a pager, a product of the new civilization with only the most basic communication functions. It could send text messages, make phone calls, check email, and that was about it. In terms of quality, the consumer electronics currently produced couldn¡¯t hold a candle to those brought from Earth. ¡°And in the next ten, twenty, thirty years, we might not be able to catch up. What we¡¯re aiming for now is functionality, addressing basic needs, not chasing perfection.¡± ¡°Could we¡­ perhaps make use of waste? Haha, we absolutely can!¡± His voice grew louder yet he tried to suppress it, not wanting the people around to hear. This rush of adrenaline turned his face red like a balloon, as if it would burst if pricked with a needle. Xu Jie looked at him in astonishment, ¡°Dude, recycling waste? You¡¯re not thinking about picking up discarded industrial trash, are you? I¡¯m not about to collect scrap metal! And even if we picked up the trash, we can¡¯t process it¡­ We have neither the technology nor the equipment!¡± ¡°Pick up trash?!¡± Wang Junpeng laughed mysteriously, ¡°I¡¯m talking about recycling old cellphones! You don¡¯t understand waste utilization¡­ We can¡¯t make cellphones, but can¡¯t we assemble one?¡± Xu Jie was shocked. His mouth hung open for a long time before snapping shut. Then, realizing the potential, a surge of elation began to fill him. Yes, this plan¡­ was feasible! Quickly, Wang Junpeng and Xu Jie reported their startup plan to the bank, hoping to borrow some funds based on their personal credit. The newly opened bank was highly efficient. They had just submitted their report in the morning, and by the afternoon, the money had been credited to their account. At once, the two of them began their ¡°old cellphone recycling¡± and ¡°trade-in your old for new¡± reign as scrap kings. It actually sounded simple: take three broken cellphones, disassemble them, and use the good parts to reassemble, perhaps managing to put together two working ones. Wouldn¡¯t that make money? As for how to assemble¡­ well, that was easy. As tech enthusiasts, unless the models were particularly bizarre, there shouldn¡¯t be any problem. With a credit loan of 100,000 in their pockets, Wang Junpeng and Xu Jie walked nervously across the square. They rented a temporary stall, put up a sign, and then, with great determination, started calling out loudly, ¡°We buy old cellphones, old computers, tablets¡­ Top prices paid for your old electronics!¡± This sort of hawking really did attract the attention of passersby. ¡°How much would you recycle this phone for?¡± It was a Huawei P999, a very popular space phone on Earth at the time, but it was no longer possible to power it on. Wang Junpeng examined it, turning it over and over, then clenched his teeth and said, ¡°It looks well-maintained, 1000 bucks!¡± ¡°That¡¯s only half a month¡¯s salary¡­ Forget it, I won¡¯t sell it.¡± The person shook his head, preferring to keep it as a memento. ¡°Hey, buddy, don¡¯t go, 1200, I can¡¯t offer more!¡± Wang Junpeng hurriedly called out. ¡°¡­¡± The guy hesitated a bit. ¡°1300, take it or leave it. I¡¯m bleeding out here!¡± ¡°Deal!¡± Just like that, after the first transaction was completed, the second and third ones came quickly¡­ The 100,000-yuan loan was spent like water, and in half a day¡¯s time, over a hundred electronic devices were collected. The two of them returned home with a huge pile of junk, utterly thrilled. But if the startup failed, it would be disastrous. 100,000 yuan was not a small sum, and the money from the bank was the government¡¯s money. Nobody dared to default on their debts. In such a small society, even if you wanted to dodge your debts, there would be nowhere to hide. ¡°Don¡¯t be a broken chip, don¡¯t be a broken chip, don¡¯t be a broken chip!¡± A broken chip would be beyond their ability to repair. If only the battery or other parts were broken, it might be salvageable¡­ especially the batteries, whose technological requirements were actually not that high. Humans were able to produce some these days. Like praying to the gods, Wang Junpeng repeated this several times in his heart, and then picked up the screwdriver to begin the inspection and assembling process. The two almost spent the whole night with red eyes, and finally, at three o¡¯clock in the morning, Wang Junpeng couldn¡¯t resist sleepiness anymore and dozed off. When he woke up, he found his good friend Xu Jie sitting on a stool, eating instant noodles and weeping bitterly. ¡°It¡¯s over, Old Peng, it¡¯s over. I could only assemble 21 phones¡­ And only 21 of them can be powered on.¡± ¡°¡­We need to sell each one for 5000 to break even, there¡¯s no way we can sell them, everything is over! Wuuu¡­¡± Wang Junpeng¡¯s heart turned cold, that was a loss of seventy to eighty thousand yuan ¨C no joke! He tried to calm himself down. He looked at the various parts on the table, which were already sorted out by model. ¡°The main problem is that there are too many types of machines, and their parts are not interchangeable¡­ Damn¡­¡± At that moment, Wang Junpeng truly hated the mobile phone manufacturers on Earth. They created so many models that it made it impossible for them to assemble them all. ¡°Don¡¯t rush, we might not lose money yet, check how many parts are completely broken.¡± ¡°Not that many. Usually, on a phone, only one or two parts are broken.¡± Xu Jie answered, ¡°Mainly concentrated on the battery, RAM, and ROM¡­ and also some issues with capacitors and ribbon cables, which I can¡¯t possibly fix¡­¡± ¡°You rest for a bit¡­ I¡¯m going to go out and see how much money we can get back.¡± Walking down the corridor toward Central Square, he kept thinking: ¡°For phones that can be powered on again, three thousand is probably the psychological bottom line for people, impossible to sell for five thousand, so¡­¡± ¡°Got it, those parts we can¡¯t use are still our assets!¡± This time, Wang Junpeng stopped collecting old phones because there was indeed no money in the account, and instead started the ¡°old phone repair¡± service. A row of phones that could be powered on quickly became the best advertisement, but when they heard the steep price, people hesitated. After all, they were just assembled goods with no guarantee, how could they be sold so expensive? The first customer to open for business turned out to be Zhang Yuan¡­ Minister Zhang! ¡°How much to fix a phone?¡± Zhang Yuan was passing by and remembered that today was his wedding anniversary¡­ Buying a little gift for Lin Xuanyuan didn¡¯t seem like a bad idea. ¡°What¡­ eight hundred? Eight hundred to fix a phone?¡± Hearing the amount the other party quoted, a vein throbbed on Zhang Yuan¡¯s forehead. With eight hundred, one could buy so much food. As the first customer, surely they couldn¡¯t just fleece me! Wang Junpeng nervously explained, even though the customer was a minister, they couldn¡¯t suffer a loss with a fire sale, ¡°The repair cost is 500, I really can¡¯t go any lower. The parts needed for this phone are not ones we can manufacture. We have to harvest them from other phones; as we use one, we lose one!¡± ¡°I really can¡¯t go any lower than this, or we would be operating at a loss!¡± ¡°Ah, alright then. Just make sure you do it quickly.¡± Zhang Yuan reluctantly handed over five hundred, watching the other person swiftly assemble the phone, the bag of parts likely all salvaged from old recycled phones. ¡°We would never have thought of this¡­¡± He pondered in his mind. There really was wisdom in the common people. It was clearly not appropriate for the government to handle these trifling matters. However, this style of individual entrepreneurship could indeed unleash some hidden productivity and stimulate job creation¡­ After tinkering for half an hour, the broken phone was actually fixed, and the screen lit up once more. ¡°Thanks!¡± Seeing that Zhang Yuan left very satisfied, the crowd of onlookers around them began to stir. Although there was no warranty on the assembled phone, compared to old clunkers, it still far surpassed them in superiority. The quality of life improvement a smartphone could provide was just enormously excessive¡ªplaying games, watching movies, listening to music, anything goes! All of a sudden, Wang Junpeng was surrounded by a throng of people. Even if it was a little more expensive, as long as it could be fixed¡­ there was no way it wouldn¡¯t be a hit! ¡°We¡¯re rich, we¡¯re rich!¡± ¡­ Even though he spent five hundred, Zhang Yuan¡¯s mood was still quite good. As soon as he returned home and presented the gift, he immediately received a sweet kiss. The pleasant music and excellent photographic capabilities delighted her as if she was a little girl again. ¡°Oh, I remember now, it was those ¡®trade-in¡¯ guys, tsk tsk, this damn good idea made them rich just like that.¡± Lin Xuanyuan held onto it fondly, and couldn¡¯t help but comment, ¡°But seeing them power up again, it really¡­ makes me so nostalgic.¡± Their salaries were just around two or three thousand a month. ¡°How much to fix a phone? It seems very expensive¡­¡± ¡°Five hundred¡­ it¡¯s not expensive!¡± Lin Xuanyuan jumped up from her spot, exclaiming softly, ¡°Ah, 500¡­ that¡¯s totally wasteful! Don¡¯t buy these things again. It¡¯s not a big deal to live without a phone.¡± Zhang Yuan smiled, picked her up, and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t the money we earn meant to be spent? As long as it brings happiness, there¡¯s no need to be frugal!¡± His gaze turned towards the window. A new civilization was blooming, old institutions revived¡ªsuch money-making opportunities were still plentiful. These young people were able to get credit loans so easily mainly because the government wanted to establish some examples. To show more people the job opportunities and chances to strike it rich¡­ Everyone aspired to a better life, and with role models in place, the public¡¯s entrepreneurial spirits had been fully aroused. Even those who hadn¡¯t found work knew that society was brimming with wealth. With services or other diverse industries, as long as one used their brains and hands, they could fill the gaps the government never thought of and improve people¡¯s quality of life. Of course, a new civilization is a new civilization, and indeed, the first one to venture would be rewarded. However, such simple work would soon see competitors and imitators arise; it was impossible to maintain a complete monopoly in the end. Everything would still have to be determined by technology. He quickly put this small matter out of his mind. What came next was even more important¡­ The first planetary exploration project was about to begin! Chapter 204 - 204 204 Colony ?Chapter 204: Chapter 204: Colony Chapter 204: Chapter 204: Colony Before this detection activity, scientists had launched several artificial satellites in advance, trying to use remote sensing technology to discover mineral deposits exposed on the surface. Over the past few days, most of the data of the entire planet had already been collected, and indeed, many types of minerals had been found. However, the demands for minerals were high, not just in terms of abundance but also in terms of transportation considerations. It was not possible for the mineral deposits to be scattered about, one here, one there; if each site was thousands of kilometers apart, transportation would be troublesome. It was preferable to have them concentrated within a radius of one hundred kilometers. This would greatly simplify railway construction. Due to the reliance on satellite detection, the accuracy decreased with increasing depth. Most of the minerals on the planet were hidden underground, so another simple technology still had to be relied upon¡ªplanetary impact! Heavy objects were dropped from a high altitude, striking the planet rapidly, and then analyzing the dust raised could determine the specific composition of the rocks and soil. Among these, the crucial minerals were water resources and organic matter. Theoretically, this planet was not short of metals; it lacked only these two things. ¡°The surface temperature variation is too significant; it¡¯s impossible for there to be moisture on the surface¡­ thus water resources are likely hidden deeper underground, possibly in the form of ice blocks. We¡¯ve found large quantities of ice mines at the south and north poles of the planet. However, the poles are too far from the spaceship¡¯s stopping point, and transportation is not convenient.¡± ¡°As for organic compounds, these are of utmost importance in this detection. Whether for the production of carbon fiber, or for the growth and development of plants, humans, and animals, all require the support of organic matter¡­¡± On the display screen, a female host was live broadcasting this planetary impact experiment. Many common citizens had gathered at the Central Square, waiting for this exhilarating result. ¡°Satellite 1¡± was similar to the Moon, where theoretically minute amounts of organic matter exist. But without large-scale enrichment, the development would be too challenging and the economic value significantly reduced for humans. It certainly wasn¡¯t possible to run to a neighboring life-bearing planet to mine organic material; various microbes would be enough trouble for humans. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Watching the satellite gradually drift away, Zhang Yuan felt slightly anxious, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t there be any problems?¡± A nearby scientist said, ¡°It¡¯s hard to say. If we can¡¯t find those two types of mineral resources soon, our development speed will slow down a lot¡­¡± ¡°Switching planets would be even more troublesome.¡± Other planets each had their strengths and weaknesses; either they were too close to a constant star, lacked certain elements, or had extremely active geology, still experiencing volcanic eruptions and earthquakes by now. Moreover, these artificial satellites were all brought from Earth; once launched, retrieving them would be extremely difficult. Later, without satellites, exploring other planets could only rely on manual surveys, significantly reducing efficiency. ¡°The movement of the mother ship will also consume a lot of fuel. Sigh, let¡¯s hope for success in one go¡­¡± Zhang Yuan silently prayed for a while, then started watching the large screen intently. As the experiment proceeded, the pace of the commentator¡¯s speech in the booth next to them began to speed up, ¡°Ladies and gentlemen¡­ as you can see, the satellite is now approaching the first target area.¡± ¡°According to experts¡¯ calculations, this area was a super volcano billions of years ago. As is well-known, a volcanic eruption could expel a large amount of material, including some organic matter and sulfur compounds¡­ this is a very good selection site¡­¡± ¡°The experiment has started!¡± On the screen, an iron ball suddenly shot out from the artificial satellite. After a long freefall, the speed of the iron ball increased rapidly¡­ In an instant, the iron ball thunderously hit the ground. Due to the lack of air resistance, its energy was comparable to a high explosive bomb, enough to lift huge amounts of dust. Of course, no sound could be heard in the vacuum, it was just Zhang Yuan imagining the whole process. ¡°Alright, ladies and gentlemen, what we need next is to patiently wait a few hours, as our scientists will analyze the specific components of these dust particles using spectral analysis¡­¡± This experiment, which seemed a bit boring, had already been repeated sixteen times. Even if the announcer was experienced and tried to stir up emotions, the audience in the hall was still dozing off, and half of them had left without realizing it. In fact, many scientific investigations are very tedious, not as passionate as one might imagine. Ordinary people only need a result after all. But inside the Central Control Room of the Earth Era, many researchers were busy, their brows sometimes relaxing and sometimes furrowing. The results of the first few experiments were not quite ideal¡­ Time slowly passed until three o¡¯clock in the afternoon, when people finally discovered a rich presence of thiophenes, aromatics, and aliphatics in the dust of Volcano No. 5. The abundance of organic materials in this area was more than sixty times higher than usual locations, making it highly valuable for mining. Even more, beneath this area, due to large cavities created by previous volcanic eruptions, there was a thick layer of natural ice, with reserves estimated at around 120 million tons. This amount of water resource was not huge, only equivalent to the water of 10 West Lakes, but compared to the less than three million tons of water reserves originally on Earth Era, it was directly 40 times more! For humans at that time, it was already a massive amount of water resources! This news generated a small cheer in the meeting room. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to find two important materials at once,¡± Captain Zhao said with joy, ¡°It proves our worries were unnecessary. The planet is so vast, how could it not have these resources¡­¡± In the following days, one robotic explorer after another was deployed from the mother ship to specifically investigate the geological conditions of Volcano No. 5 and to collect soil and rock samples from various areas, which were then hauled back to the mother ship by ropes. For safety, over a thousand biologists and doctors were assembled and worked through the night. People carefully cut the rock and soil samples, trying to confirm that there were no existing life forms inside. The presence of microbial contamination was possible since there was a Life Planet next door. There were many samples to be analyzed, scattered across a hundred square kilometers, totaling thousands of locations. But nobody felt tired, and many were as excited as if they had been injected with adrenaline. Fortunately, there were none, no possible forms of life¡­ including carbon-based life or the imagined silicon-based life! After reaching this conclusion, everyone quietly cheered again, as the last safety concern was dismissed. The main base for the development of the new civilization had undoubtedly appeared. ¡°Today is undoubtedly an exhilarating day. Starting today, we have found our own colonization base.¡± ¡°In a hundred years, perhaps our technology will catch up with that of Earth Civilization¡­ We will also launch our own Deep Space Colony Ship and start a real seeding plan! But undoubtedly, it all starts today.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s cheer for this day!¡± Zhang Yuan saw his colleagues passionately discussing, and he too felt excited, clapping along. For some reason, he always had a slight sense of oppression in his heart, and that oppressive feeling seemed to come from¡­ the Life Planet next door? Chapter 205 - 205 205 Develop Human ?Chapter 205: Chapter 205: Develop, Human! Chapter 205: Chapter 205: Develop, Human! Day 12, large amounts of machinery were rapidly lowered from space via carbon nanowires. The volume of the Earth Era vessel was too massive to land directly on the planet¡¯s surface, as it would have turned itself into a pile of junk due to its own mass; thus, it could only float in space and lower materials in this manner. The whole process looked very exaggerated; from a height of eight thousand kilometers, it was almost like free fall, then, via the hanging ropes, it began braking about a thousand kilometers from the ground, eventually slowing down to a stop. In this way, dozens or even hundreds of tons of machinery could be smoothly placed on the ground. The Earth Era had three small space shuttles, each about the size of a small plane. However, these shuttles had a carrying capacity of no more than one ton and using them consumed precious chemical fuel. Thus, unless absolutely necessary, people would not utilize these flying machines. ¡°I¡¯m heading off, don¡¯t worry about me. Don¡¯t think too much about bonuses, just find me a girlfriend when I get back¡­¡± Facing the crowd who came to see him off, Engineer Ye Kaifu joked, put on his helmet, and pressed a button, emitting a light ¡°hiss¡± sound. As a senior engineer in the Ministry of Industry, he had to be at the forefront. ¡°Haha, don¡¯t worry, when you come back, a robot girlfriend should have been developed, the nation will assign you a wife.¡± Zhang Yuan gently patted his shoulder and held up three fingers, ¡°Three months, can you produce ten million tons of steel?¡± Ye Kaifu¡¯s eyes widened, then he heard the number that followed, what¡­ ten million tons? He swallowed hard; even if he burnt to ashes, he couldn¡¯t achieve that. Of course, he knew Zhang Yuan was just joking. But regardless, he still felt somewhat nervous. Landing on an unexplored alien planet was not only pressure but also an honor¡ªit wouldn¡¯t be impossible to be recorded in history! ¡°Nervous?¡± ¡°A little bit, yes. The first human to land on Mars, or on Jupiter¡¯s moon, must have felt this way¡­¡± Volcanic activity created many mineral resources in this area; a large number of excavators, trains, and robots had been lowered via space ropes in previous days, back and forth, several times, only human operators were missing now. With current human technology, only semi-automation of mechanical production was possible. Although it could be remotely controlled from the spaceship¡¯s control section, the efficiency still couldn¡¯t match on-site control, and there could also be some delay, which easily led to industrial accidents. When the time came, approximately two hundred workers entered a large carriage, tied with eight thin, long gray space ropes, each only as wide as a little finger and less than 1 millimeter thick, yet their tensile strength was above 80 GPa. At a lowering speed of 600 kilometers per hour, it would take 10 hours to reach the destination. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Thus, one by one, elevators from five lowering portals of the Earth Era dispatched five batches of workers, totaling over a thousand people. Actually, not all of them were technical workers; the group also included reporters, doctors, soldiers, and various other professions. Once the entire ecological environment was successfully established, more people would be transferred to work on the surface. Ye Kaifu took a deep breath; he had never enjoyed such high-level treatment. He was one of the three highest commanders of this batch of people, and the youngest one at that! S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. He was constantly planning in his mind how the engineering should be done, what the steps were, how to improve efficiency, and so on. Even though he had run through various ideas in his mind countless times, he couldn¡¯t help but still feel nervous. His task was to lead the team, to dig and build houses; the second step was to construct industrial factories. Building underground was specialized technical work. For Ye Kaifu, with a solid foundation,_WRONLY it wasn¡¯t too difficult, but¡­ ¡°Engineer Ye, please take extra care of us later! Our newspaper is quite concerned about the progress of your entire project. We are, after all, bearing the weight of an entire civilization¡­¡± The female reporter sitting next to him was named Luo Na, and she wanted to use this time to get acquainted with Ye Kaifu. It seemed a beautiful reporter had set her sights on him, and her sweet voice made the love-unexperienced Ye Kaifu feel a bit feverish. He had primarily been responsible for maintaining the spaceship during the entire hibernation period, dealing mostly with old men, and it felt as though¡­ he hadn¡¯t spoken to a girl in three thousand years¡­ Suddenly, he became so nervous that he couldn¡¯t speak, and his hands didn¡¯t know where to rest, ¡°Certainly, certainly¡­¡± Luo Na pursed her lips, immediately seeing through Ye Kaifu¡¯s state of mind, she couldn¡¯t help but find it a bit amusing. Actually, she had another hidden identity, the best friend of Zhang Yuan¡¯s wife Lin Xuanyuan¡­ As a leftover woman of a certain age, she had secretly come here to blind date¡­ Back on Earth, Luo Na was a beauty with wealth, her standards for boyfriends exceedingly high¡ªnot only must they be romantic and handsome, they also had to be somewhat artsy, a perfectionist, otherwise she wouldn¡¯t have ventured to the Earth Era to try and experience a new civilization. However, after a complete hibernation period, once-beautiful dreams were inevitably worn away by reality, making her more mature and gradually abandoning those impractical notions. Especially Lin Xuanyuan, her good friend, who had actually become a minister¡¯s wife¡ªit was impossible not to feel envious¡­ So, taking advantage of still being fair and beautiful, seeking a potential good match didn¡¯t seem like a bad idea. Of course, Luo Na wasn¡¯t too impressed with Ye Kaifu at first sight. She disliked this kind of straightforward man from the bottom of her heart who gets nervous upon seeing a beautiful woman, unable to even make a joke, carrying a baffling loser vibe¡­ In this boring wait, with a ¡°boom¡± a group of people finally arrived safely on the ground. The engineers quickly became busy, starting to build a small base, basically by digging a big pit, placing the buildings underground. Pretty much a two to three-meter thickness of Moon soil, plus a layer of radiation shielding, would block cosmic radiation, but achieving the critical air-tightness was still quite technically challenging. ¡°Engineer Ye, I wanted to ask, how should we construct space landmark buildings?¡± As a reporter, Luo Na, finding nobody else to talk to, could only wander around with Ye Kaifu. ¡°Little Wang, you go get the compressor first¡­¡± Ye Kaifu paused, he was actually extremely busy, directing something through his headset, but at this moment, he had to be patient. Since it was his area of expertise, there was nothing to be embarrassed about, he explained, ¡°This small base will utilize 3D printing building materials brought down from the mother ship, for rapid construction, expected to be completed within 2-3 days.¡± ¡°As for concrete¡­ We currently use a dry mix autoclave curing method, producing a special silicate cement concrete mixed with volcanic ash, the specific steps are as follows¡­¡± Luo Na widened her eyes, she finally understood the feeling Lin Xuanyuan had when she interviewed Zhang Yuan back then. A myriad of words could only be understood in part, and even though she had pre-studied some technical knowledge, it was still impossible to understand. ¡°So¡­¡± She wanted to continue asking something, but noticed Ye Kaifu, embarrassed, smiled softly, ¡°Reporter Luo, perhaps¡­ we can continue the interview after work, is that okay? The engineering vehicle is over there; if you¡¯re tired, you can go inside for some food and rest.¡± ¡°Okay then¡­¡± Seeing nobody was willing to engage with her, Luo Na could only aimlessly wander around the construction site. The gravity of this planet was very low; walking was like hopping like a rabbit. As it turned out, after more than ten hours, this group was still furiously at work. With all kinds of engineering blasting and excavation, a pit over twenty meters deep had been dug, and various 3D printed building materials were being installed inside. Of course, even with quick progress, the entire sealing test might still take a few days. Exhausted and hungry, Luo Na finally went with a few other girls into the engineering vehicle to eat¡­ Chapter 206 - 206 206 The Foundation of Civilization—Steel ?Chapter 206: Chapter 206: The Foundation of Civilization¡ªSteel Chapter 206: Chapter 206: The Foundation of Civilization¡ªSteel Humans are highly social creatures, and the sense of unease that arises when removed from the peaceful environment of the Earth Era and placed on a bare Alien Planet is well understood by every girl. The only things they could rely on were the few engineering vehicles and the men working outside. In this unique setting, the girls quickly began to lean on each other for support. Through the window, a dazzling light flashed across the construction site, kicking up huge clouds of dust. The engineering vehicle shook a few times, as if an earthquake had occurred. One of the female nurses stuck out her tongue, ¡°Using bombs for blasting, how crude¡­ I thought there would be some high technology involved.¡± Luo Na, a reporter, laughed, ¡°Using bombs might be the simplest, most economical method here. The rocks are incredibly hard, we need to loosen them up a bit with explosions before we can start digging with excavators.¡± ¡°Some of the projects on the Moon were built this way¡­¡± Many people were seeing the surface engineering of an Alien Planet for the first time and watched excitedly, the bright lights of the bombs painfully dazzling. However, since most of those sheltered in the vehicle were girls, they soon lost interest after watching for a while. Another woman, also a reporter, pursed her lips, ¡°Luckily there¡¯s no air here, otherwise our ears would be deafened¡­¡± This mission, while not particularly difficult for them, would earn them substantial credentials. The preliminary development work on the Alien Planet was something to boast about on their faces, and the bonus was very high. If measured by ¡°Civilization Contribution,¡± a day¡¯s work could even amount to ten days¡¯ worth of past contributions! As they chatted, all the girls became reinvigorated. ¡°Once the surface plant base is successfully built, clothes and pants can be manufactured in large quantities. How wonderful! Ah, I haven¡¯t worn new clothes in three thousand years.¡± Currently, the raw materials for clothing and other textiles were mostly extracted from Space Mutant Plants, including various chemical raw materials like methanol, ethanol, ethylene, etc. But plant growth requires a lot of carbon dioxide, water, and inorganic salts, which must be obtained from the minerals on the planet¡¯s surface. Thus, a large-scale space plant cultivation base was an important part of the surface engineering. ¡°Luo Na, you¡¯ll be a bit busy going out to take various photos. As for us, just staying here should be fine; hopefully, nothing will happen.¡± A nurse said with a smile. Another doctor chimed in, ¡°Right, hopefully no patients will show up¡­¡± Then, the conversation shifted to how much bonus they¡¯d get upon returning, what they could buy with it, and reminiscences of life on Earth along with assorted other topics. ¡°When I was on Earth, I was still a student. Sometimes I¡¯d dream of having lots of money to buy beautiful clothes¡­¡± ¡°There will be a big bonus, right? I heard it¡¯s several years¡¯ wages¡­ According to that AI¡¯s calculations, they won¡¯t shortchange us¡­¡± Luo Na frowned slightly; she felt it somewhat inappropriate to discuss such things under these circumstances, but couldn¡¯t help that women naturally gravitated towards these topics. Especially the life of Earth Civilization, so attractive in their memories. Over the years, new styles of clothing had appeared on Earth, and it would be great if the new civilization could recreate these clothes. Who wouldn¡¯t want a better life? While they were fervently discussing this, suddenly, a sneering laugh came from behind, followed by a cold snort. The group of girls was startled at first, quickly turning their heads to find several construction workers who had come to get water from the engineering vehicle had overheard their conversation. The young man sneered, apparently disdainful of their chat. ¡°Really boring!¡± The comment was soft, but Luo Na still heard it sharply, her cheeks flushing instantly as if scalded by hot water. ¡°What are you saying?¡± Ye Kaifu frowned and said softly, ¡°It¡¯s our luck that they are idle here! Would you rather these doctors were busy?¡± The young man snorted again, turned his face away, and said nothing. Mr. Ye did not make things difficult for the group of engineers, letting them quickly drink some water and then leave. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Seeing a group of women who were flattered yet still a bit awkward until now, he didn¡¯t feel gallant like a knight in shining armor. Had it been in the past, he would have definitely bragged to Zhang Yuan about how impressive he was in front of the ladies, but today, his mind was a mess. Mr. Ye forcefully drank a mouthful of plain water. ¡°Our civilization is no longer Earth Civilization, we each have our own duties. Work isn¡¯t just about making money anymore, it¡¯s also for more, like honor or responsibility¡­ I don¡¯t know, you have to have higher aspirations, anyway.¡± ¡°Forget it, just rest here a while longer, just do your responsibilities well, don¡¯t overthink!¡± After saying that, Mr. Ye left, leaving Luo Na quietly daydreaming, with the girls no longer chatting loudly. They felt a bit aggrieved, but¡­ In the days that followed, Luo Na, every time she woke from sleep, would see a bustling scene on the construction site¡­ Those workers seemed tireless, as they had, in 72 hours, completed a four-story deep compact base! Then, in the next hour, Mr. Ye excitedly invited them out of the engineering vehicle. The moment they entered the small base, they felt a true sense of security like home. This sense of security was beyond what the engineering vehicle could offer by many folds, truly stable and reliable! Of course, more than a thousand surface personnel couldn¡¯t possibly fit in this small base. So, the main function of this small base was still for practical uses, like for experiments, medical purposes, and communications, etc. A few residences, naturally, were allocated to these young women. ¡°Ah¡­ are we to live here?¡± Luo Na said a bit bashfully; they had essentially done nothing these days yet had enjoyed such benefits. ¡°What about you guys?¡± ¡°Us? Of course, we live in the engineering vehicle¡­ Who would fight over territory with you?¡± Mr. Ye glared, feeling this was just common sense, nothing worth discussing. Isn¡¯t ladies first a traditional virtue? Then he snapped back to reality and explained, ¡°Actually, sleeping in the vehicle makes no difference; it speeds up the construction even more. Next, we need to use the production materials brought down from the spaceship to build cement, steel, and chemical factories¡­ all these are essential production facilities, the faster the better.¡± He turned his head, ¡°Brothers, when can we finish the first phase of the project?¡± ¡°Two months.¡± ¡°Try to push it, one and a half months,¡± said another. ¡°One and a half months, seems doable, but then there¡¯s no time to chat with the wife in the evening¡­¡± ¡°Why brag? Besides Mr. Ye who¡¯s a three-thousand-year-old bachelor, we all have wives¡­ Don¡¯t think you¡¯re the only one with a girlfriend.¡± ¡°Shut up, all of you, shut up! What are you all talking about?¡± Mr. Ye¡¯s forehead veins throbbed, his voice raised. Hearing this, Luo Na secretly laughed. The conversations among these men were always so odd. Then suddenly she said, ¡°Wait, let me take a photo of you guys!¡± Click! Click! ¡°Wait, Mr. Ye, you blinked.¡± ¡°Oh? Reshoot, reshoot!¡± Someone else blinked. ¡°Ha ha, this is also good.¡± Luo Na giggled. In just these few days, she suddenly felt, perhaps straight men weren¡¯t so annoying after all, rather¡­ quite adorable. This energy and momentum. It was gradually infecting her. Because¡­ they were steel. The greatest and most solid foundation of a civilization¡ªsteel! ¡­ Chapter 207 - 207 207 One Year of Development ?Chapter 207: Chapter 207: One Year of Development Chapter 207: Chapter 207: One Year of Development Two weeks later, this news release with a unique perspective made its way back to the spaceship from the surface, detailing the progress of the entire project and highlighting the spiritual demeanor of the workers. ¡°¡­My name is Shi Dapeng, a member of the Industrial Party. I can do without a girlfriend, but a digger is a must-have. I love sleeping in the cockpit of the excavator every day¡ªit feels so secure!¡± ¡°What message to share¡­ I hope within our lifetimes, our civilization can surpass Earth Civilization! Then we could fly spaceships, and everyone would have one! Sleeping inside, it¡¯d feel so secure.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all¡­ Not enough? Stop recording, cough cough, get someone else, really¡­ I¡¯ve got nothing more to say!¡± In the video, a bunch of men in space suits were causing a ruckus, making a loud commotion. The camera then shifted to another astronaut. ¡°I¡¯m Li Wu; what would I most like to say?¡± A female voice said, ¡°Yes, what would you most like to say to your friends?¡± ¡°Wife, I love you!¡± This guy has an incredibly loud voice, startling the camerawoman so much that the entire frame shook. More raucous cheering ensued. The examples of various minor figures were still quite authentic; with no false grandiosity, they even carried a hint of educational significance, yet they weren¡¯t off-putting¡­ Below the news item, all sorts of shares and comments quickly exceeded the twenty-thousand mark¡ªan impressive number considering the current population size. ¡°Not bad, the people in the propaganda department are pretty capable¡­¡± Zhang Yuan was sizing up the news item critically. Though the propaganda department was small and understaffed, its responsibilities were extremely important. The current cultural environment was very beneficial for everyone¡¯s enthusiasm. The progress of the surface projects had always been a matter of great concern for Zhang Yuan. The expedition team members had discovered several good mining sites, and various smelting factories were still being built in an orderly manner. Due to the shortage of manpower, they were struggling to keep up with mining the discovered minerals. The second and third batches of surface workers were eagerly signing up, with a tremendous number of volunteers, to the point that they had to turn away some less-skilled individuals¡­ The risks of working on the surface were significant, and if professional skills weren¡¯t up to scratch, it was better to not deploy them. Meanwhile, within Earth Era, people were also working overtime and busily engaged. On one hand, they were preparing and transferring the large machines stored in the inventory to the surface. On the other, they were producing various materials to support the construction on Earth. The components and material resources stocked in the warehouse, brought from places 20 light years away, were now being put to good use¡­ After three months of overtime work, the first phase of the project was finally completed. Cement factories, metal smelting factories, and other heavy industrial factories began normal operations, and another six thousand people were urgently put to work on the front line¡­ After six months, the second phase of the project was finished. Various plant cultivation bases were completed, and the number of surface workers grew to thirty thousand! In twelve months, the construction of the biological chemical extraction plant was completed, with the workforce rising to sixty thousand! The completion of the chemical extraction factory meant that people¡¯s clothing, food, housing, and transportation all improved a whole level. And so, a year just passed like that¡­ From the spaceship, looking through a telescope, you could see that the buildings on this area of the surface had changed drastically. Rail tracks connected various mining areas, with trains running non-stop day and night, transporting minerals to the smelting projects. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Various robots and work vehicles bustled back and forth in the industrial zone, as busy as ants. The residential area and the central industrial zone were hidden deep underground, the deepest reaching down a hundred meters, divided into 16 floors, each with an area of about 120,000 square meters¡ªa veritable complex underground kingdom. The central industrial zone was able to produce a variety of resources, and in turn, support Earth Era. Seeing the continuous rise in various data, the sense of achievement in my heart couldn¡¯t be overstated. But at this time, the anticipated issue occurred: the population number began to constrain the development of various industries. The 60,000 people engaged in surface activities was not a small figure, after all, with only 500,000 people in the new civilization, allocating more would result in an imbalance in other developments. A civilization cannot consist only of heavy industry; it also requires light industry, service industry, education, medical services, and other sectors. But compared to the needed manpower, even if all 500,000 people were employed, it still wouldn¡¯t be enough to scratch the surface¡­ In the year-end government work report, this point was also summarized. With only 500,000 people, the scale of a small city, to fully form all the industrial chains was nothing short of a pipe dream. The population issue was important and a long-term problem: ten years, twenty years were not enough, not even a hundred years might solve it. Zhang Yuan took a deep breath and recalled his conversation with Academician Ding, feeling extremely exhilarated. The first major problem that civilization encountered, the population issue, had emerged! ¡°How so, are you planning to play the villain and implement your social foster care system?¡± Lin Xuanyuan patted his collar, trying to smooth out the old clothes a bit more. The clothes had been worn for who knows how long, and it was high time to buy a new one. ¡°Ha ha, indeed it¡¯s like the villain¡­ the grand villain of all humanity.¡± Zhang Yuan pondered for a moment and said, ¡°However, what we¡¯re currently advancing isn¡¯t a social foster care system, but the artificial incubation of a large number of infants¡­ This matter is the foundation of civilization reform, and we will certainly accomplish it, even if it takes decades or a century!¡± ¡°We won¡¯t have children in the future; you won¡¯t be mad about that, will you?¡± Lin Xuanyuan smiled, ¡°You¡¯ve asked me a hundred times already, I¡¯m not mad! Not mad! Not mad!¡± After straightening out Zhang Yuan¡¯s clothes, she said, ¡°Sometimes I do think about having a child. But then I think about how troublesome it is, the poor conditions for raising one, plus there¡¯s the examination. From this perspective, your policy is quite successful¡­ You¡¯ve successfully reduced the natural birthrate.¡± ¡°Although people are calling for everyone to procreate, that appeal isn¡¯t very effective.¡± Zhang Yuan took her hand: ¡°These policies aren¡¯t my work, they¡¯re done by an old man named Wang Tianwei in the Human Resources Department¡­¡± ¡°So¡­ you villains have already taken control of the entire high echelons of civilization?¡± Lin Xuanyuan rested her head on his shoulder, suddenly sentimental: ¡°Ah, sometimes I think, a child only spends a dozen or so years with their parents. Then they go to school, become adults, have their own lives, and leave our world. It¡¯s most fun when the child has just been born. Later, when they develop their own ideas, it becomes less interesting. The joy gained in the process isn¡¯t much different from raising a dog.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t possibly control their thoughts to keep them with us forever¡­ In this light, what¡¯s the meaning of having a child and raising them to adulthood? The next generation, I always feel, seems rather insignificant.¡± ¡°Significance? Of course there¡¯s significance.¡± Zhang Yuan sighed, ¡°It¡¯s these instincts that have continued our species. Without them, the species would have vanished. Continuation itself is the significance, the greatest significance of all.¡± ¡°On our Earth, there are no shortages of powerful but low-fertility creatures, so they all disappeared.¡± The difficulty in promoting the social foster care policy lay in¡­ the complete disconnect between the thoughts of the civilization¡¯s upper echelons and those of the ordinary citizens, including the vast number of middle-level cadres. Girls who had been completely brainwashed by Zhang Yuan, like Lin Xuanyuan, were after all rare. Most people, even if they currently do not want to procreate, would instinctively resist these policies. Even those in high positions like Captain Zhao and Zhang Yuan could not force the promotion of these policies. Authoritarian rule would undoubtedly harm the foundations, weakening their own base. Under the current high survival pressure, to provoke internal strife would be no different from suicide. Therefore, a roundabout way of saving the country was adopted. First, to suppress the birth rate of natural persons through various policies. Second, to try to promote artificial womb technology and massively produce infants. Chapter 208 - 208 208 Human Archvillain ?Chapter 208: Chapter 208 Human Archvillain Chapter 208: Chapter 208 Human Archvillain The first approach aimed to suppress the birth rate of natural persons, which was not a planned parenthood strategy, but a more gentle method. Want to have children? Sure, no problem at all, even with some policy support for individual childbearing. However, raising a child always requires nurturing. The process of parenting is not just a private matter but a public affair of the whole society; one must have the necessary capabilities to do so, and being a parent is not easy. Most of the spaceship¡¯s inhabitants were young people. Aside from a few kindergarten teachers, they lacked parenting experience and did not have the older generation¡¯s help. And caregiving robots were still in the experimental stage, not yet mass-produced, so it was impossible to allocate one to every family. To reduce the emergence of unqualified parents, please take a test for a ¡°Parent Certificate¡± first. According to regulations, both parents must take the exam, and only after obtaining the certificate can they have children. This naturally ¡°politically correct¡± measure, of course, won unanimous approval from the overwhelming majority of the public ¨C most people had no desire to have children. The remaining minority could only grit their teeth and accept it, as having children without a certificate would be met with universal condemnation from public opinion. With such a small population, where everyone is in everyone else¡¯s sight, being despised by others for an extended period can make life very difficult. As a result, these parents discovered that the exam was much harder than they had imagined. Many struggled to pass after several attempts ¨C including understanding children¡¯s rebellious phases, determining what nutrients were needed and when, and how to navigate those rebellious periods. These were difficult questions. Some people, seeing the trouble involved, simply couldn¡¯t be bothered to have children. The second approach was to advocate for eugenic childbearing. The new civilization was thriving from its ruins, and even though living conditions had improved somewhat, certain essentials like baby formula were still nonexistent. Not even a single dairy cow was available; cows still needed to be cloned from artificial wombs¡­ Diapers, pacifiers, and the like were, of course, also out of the question. Well, regardless of the lack of such material conditions, these were the facts; the civilization did not lack the need for these items, but it would take time to accumulate the resources to produce them. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. If, under these circumstances, one still insisted on having children, they would need to figure out how to overcome difficulties themselves¡­ Especially since long-term public opinion propaganda had made it natural for everyone to think that ¡°under unripe conditions, not having children casually is the basic quality of a responsible adult.¡± ¡°We¡¯re dirt poor; people are still mining and farming.¡± ¡°Traveled 20 light years just to have children? Aliens would die laughing at you.¡± ¡°Will a few more years kill you? What¡¯s the rush?¡± Furthermore, the higher one¡¯s education, the lower the desire to have children, which is an objective fact. Thus, under the combination of objective circumstances and subjective policies, the birth rate of the entire civilization was naturally kept quite low. The depressed birth rate had some insightful people jumping anxiously, calling for everyone to let go and procreate. However, this desire couldn¡¯t simply increase by calling for it¡­ Who would want to breed like pigs, having ten children? After pondering these objective factors and organizing his thoughts, Zhang Yuan lifted his head and walked into the conference room. This Scientific Council meeting was quite grand. Everyone was already aware of the developing data, but it was still officially announced again in a formal manner. Captain Zhao spoke seriously on stage, ¡°¡­This year¡¯s work tasks have been satisfactorily completed, even exceeding expectations. I am deeply grateful for everyone¡¯s hard work and the silent dedication of the sixty thousand engineers on the Earth¡¯s surface. Without your active labor, the society would not function properly, nor would we have our ever-improving lives.¡± Applause erupted! The auditorium erupted into enthusiastic applause. ¡°In the next few years, our first task is to develop even more cutting-edge technology. Earth Civilization has left us with a vast amount of valuable heritage, enough for us to enter the true interstellar era. Second, we need to raise the level of automation for all projects. There is still a significant amount of room for optimization. With industrial population unable to grow on a large scale, enhancing automation capacity is the only way to improve work efficiency¡­¡± ¡°Another issue is the population crisis, a more pressing problem. About this, every enlightened individual should feel concerned¡­¡± ¡°Population has become a significant factor restricting our development. Many projects can¡¯t continue because we lack people. Do you know what job contributes most to our civilization?¡± After a brief pause, Captain Zhao said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s not mining on the surface, nor becoming a scientist, and certainly not giving speeches on stage like me. It is to give birth to and raise more than 10 or even 20 children. Those parents are comparable to the greatest heroes in the world!¡± Some people in the audience couldn¡¯t help but laugh, for it was just a light joke in a serious meeting. Captain Zhao continued, ¡°¡­Of course, humans aren¡¯t like pigs, unable to simply have ten all at once. The next generation¡¯s birth isn¡¯t just a matter for civilization but also individual freedom. Thus, we cannot enforce birthing, and the objective environment is concerning. Even I don¡¯t have children. Frankly, I¡¯m too busy; I have neither the ability nor the interest to have a child¡­¡± After these words, the conference room fell into a long silence. Everyone seemed to anticipate what was coming next¡­ Then came the main event; the true solution to the population problem! This population bill should have been proposed by the Minister of Human Resources, but given its key role in New Civilization History and that the minister¡¯s influence and fame might not suffice¡­ they could be verbally tarred and feathered by the public once they proposed it. Only someone of Zhang Yuan¡¯s standing, with high prestige and a key figure within the New Civilization Development Department, could make a significant splash! The time¡­ had come. Zhang Yuan took a deep breath and rose from his chair. ¡°Mr. Zhang Yuan, I believe you know what will happen after this proposal is submitted. If I were you, I would have second thoughts¡­ Its impact on us is just too great.¡± A female legislator from the Ministry of Education seated nearby suddenly spoke up, ¡°Have we really reached the point where we must mass-produce babies with artificial womb technology? Or¡­ is it just personal ambition within your entire scholastic community?¡± Zhang Yuan looked at her with a smile: ¡°You know well enough whether the situation is critical. I do it solely for civilization.¡± His expression and tone were very calm. But within that calm, the legislator suddenly felt a chilling breeze, as if from the distant Arctic. In the core of civilization itself, a strong and cold will seemed to be slowly advancing everything. Any resistance was futile. Feeling the pressure, she frowned and said, ¡°I will vote against it.¡± Zhang Yuan smiled, but his words were not gentle: ¡°Your single opposition is ineffective; we are a democratic society¡­ Of course, you have the right to speak and pose objections at any time.¡± He confidently ascended the stage, holding a stack of documents, his stride steady and composed. Information flashed across the big screen. In an instant, like boiling water, the entire conference room erupted! ¡°Proposal for Mass Incubation of Infants Using Artificial Womb Technology¡±! Chapter 209 - 209 209 Ethical Refutation ?Chapter 209: Chapter 209: Ethical Refutation Chapter 209: Chapter 209: Ethical Refutation It¡¯s not that it was a societal welfare system, but rather its preceding plan¡ªusing artificial womb technology to massively breed human infants, in order to achieve a 5% population growth rate every year. In fact, many people had already been informed of this proposal and had discussed it for some time, but the controversies were still quite significant. Mr. Zhang Yuan suppressed the crowd and slowly began, ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, according to our population report, how many were born last year? The exact figure, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three, a fertility rate of point three six percent. The birth rate is extremely low, alarmingly so! Indeed, our population structure is still very young, with a mortality rate of zero. Add to that the low quality of life and poor objective conditions, delaying childbirth for a few years doesn¡¯t seem like much.¡± ¡°But consider, what happens in fifty years?¡± ¡°In fifty years, our average age will have risen by fifty years. Those sitting here will be eighty, even ninety years old. How many young people will there be? 100,000!¡± ¡°Yes, with a growth rate of point three six percent, in fifty years, there will only be 100,000 young people! The total population will be merely six hundred thousand, and that is with a mortality rate of zero.¡± ¡°Fifty years!¡± As if a sense of crisis exploded in many people¡¯s hearts. The current developmental model was clearly unsustainable. ¡°Your Excellency Mr. Zhang Yuan, we could adopt policies to encourage childbirth, rather than aggressively opting for artificial infants¡­¡± The female representative in the audience immediately stood up, passionately saying, ¡°The impact on our society is too great¡­ so great it¡¯s unimaginable! Have you considered the reality?¡± ¡°Yes, in a few years, the number of artificial infants will surpass that of natural persons. How can this be acceptable?¡± ¡°I oppose!¡± Voices of various discussions grew louder, and the opposition was relentless. Mr. Zhang Yuan raised his hand, silencing all the voices. He spoke out loudly, ¡°Seat number 145, Representative Qian Lihua, as an electrical engineer, do you have any prejudice against these infants born from artificial wombs? Or, do you think they are not regular humans?¡± All eyes turned toward him in unison, and Mr. Qian, his face turning pale, quickly said, ¡°No prejudice.¡± ¡°Then, if there is no prejudice, what¡¯s the problem with artificial infants outnumbering natural persons?¡± Mr. Qian¡¯s face flushed and paled, uncomfortable under the heavy implication of ¡°prejudice,¡± which could end his political career. It took him quite a while to respond, ¡°Whether there is a problem¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± Mr. Zhang Yuan then addressed another individual who previously wanted to vote against, his gaze striking like lightning: ¡°Ms. Zhong from the Ministry of Education, if an infant is born without a mother or father and is entrusted to your care, can you raise him with dignity and humility, without arrogance or impatience, to form an independent and optimistic character, and become a useful member of society?¡± Ms. Zhong hesitantly began, ¡°But¡­¡± Mr. Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t wait for her to finish her ¡®but,¡¯ pressing on, ¡°I¡¯m just asking whether you can assure he grows up with dignity and humility, forms an independent and optimistic character, and becomes a beneficial member of society. Yes, or no!¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± ¡°Do you think such upbringing can be scaled up? That is to say, can a large number of children without parents become beneficial members of society?¡± Ms. Zhong did not reply. ¡°If it works for one person, it should be possible for a group.¡± Mr. Zhang Yuan drew his own conclusion and turned his head to ask another, ¡°Then¡­ Minister Ding from the Human Resources Department, if we adopt proactive policies to encourage childbirth, what could our natural birth rate climb to?¡± The Minister Ding, his hair peppered with gray, quickly responded, ¡°The peak could reach 2-3%, but it won¡¯t be sustainable for long and will eventually plummet significantly. First off, according to statistics, couples show the highest willingness to have one or two children, with very few desiring a third and almost none preferring more than four. Thus, relying on natural growth alone, it¡¯s impossible to achieve a 5% birth rate ¨C and we¡¯re not talking about a population that lacks sophistication; these are highly qualified individuals.¡± ¡°Secondly, our population has distinct gaps, with ages clustered around the 30-year mark. After a wave of concentrated childbearing, the subsequent birth rate will come infinitesimally close to zero, creating yet another gap¡­ No one wants to have children at 30, then again at 40, and still be procreating at 50 or 60. These generational gaps will undoubtedly lead to adverse social phenomena for a civilization.¡± ¡°Moreover, implementing policies to encourage childbearing will consume a vast amount of societal resources and hinder the development of other industries. According to our statistics, the societal cost of individual child-rearing will be three to four times that of collective childcare¡­¡± ¡°In other words, the cost for one person to raise a single child could support the collective upbringing of three to four children¡­¡± The meeting room fell into silence for a few minutes. Zhang Yuan turned around, ¡°Minister Li from the Department of Resources, how long can our advanced equipment last?¡± Minister Li stood up and replied, ¡°Many of our robots came from Earth. Once high-precision advanced equipment is activated, it depreciates rapidly. Some machinery won¡¯t last more than 10 years¡­ Others maybe 30 years, at most fifty.¡± ¡°If our industrial mother machines break down, they¡¯re truly broken. Repairing them will be incredibly difficult. If, at that time, the things we brought from Earth are damaged, and we still can¡¯t build industrial mother machines of the same caliber, then¡­¡± Minister Li¡¯s face wasn¡¯t looking so good: ¡°Technology¡­ will regress!¡± The meeting room became exceptionally quiet. This year, our entire civilization had achieved tremendous progress, but the vast majority were simply living off the past. Few realized how pressing the timeline was. After some time, a person sitting below twitched his eyebrows and mustered the courage to ask. ¡°But sir, isn¡¯t birthing twenty or thirty thousand children a year too many¡­ Can our entire society support that?¡± Zhang Yuan said icily, ¡°Sir, I remind you to look further into the future. This year, 1,800 babies were born, which, 20 years later, will only result in an addition of 1,800 workers. If 30,000 babies were born, then in 20 years, we could have 30,000 more workers¡­ We must not only exist in the present but also in the future. The difficulties of today are for the sustainability of tomorrow.¡± ¡°Any other objections?¡± ¡°No more¡­¡± It seemed he was squashed by Zhang Yuan¡¯s momentum, and the gentleman quickly sat down. Ms. Zhong stood up again and countered, ¡°Babies need a lot of nutrition as they grow, especially without breast milk. They need formula and even more supplementary foods.¡± ¡°Mr. Zhang Yuan, have you calculated that with our current productivity, adding so many babies will invisibly raise the price of goods, lowering people¡¯s quality of life? Our economic and production structures will need considerable adjustment.¡± ¡°Madam, you¡¯re not wrong, that is the case¡­ Our productivity is not sufficient.¡± Zhang Yuan, expressionless, stated, ¡°But¡­ is the potential decline in living standards the reason you oppose? We traveled 20 light-years; did we do so just to enjoy life? Those who harbor such thoughts should¡¯ve stayed on Earth instead of coming here!¡± Her face flushed, Ms. Zhong stood there, dazed. Smack! Zhang Yuan slammed the table emphatically and roared, ¡°Then¡­¡± ¡°Since no one discriminates against these children, and education isn¡¯t an issue, nor does anyone wish to produce over ten children for the sake of civilization, and population has become the biggest constraint to development¡­¡± ¡°I ask you, why oppose this proposal? Why?! Do you want to see our entire civilization extinguished here in a hundred years?!¡± Seemingly intimidated by Zhang Yuan¡¯s roar, for a while, nobody dared to stand up and challenge him. Perhaps, many remembered that this Doctor Zhang, Minister Zhang, normally so courteous and refined, was the same man who dared to amputate his own legs, the same fighter who had triumphed over a superior life form all by himself! sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Chapter 210 - 210 210 Voting Results ?Chapter 210: Chapter 210: Voting Results Chapter 210: Chapter 210: Voting Results Gazing at the silent crowd, Captain Zhao let out a slight sigh. In fact, it¡¯s like this with many things¡ªif you take too big of a step, it¡¯s not easy for people to accept. But this big step cannot be broken down into smaller parts, even if it means biting the bullet and crossing over with difficulty. Therefore, their entire school of thought adopted a strategy of one playing good cop and another playing bad cop. He had said earlier that civilization lacks population, encouraging everyone to have ten or more children, the more the better, which to a certain extent, eased everyone¡¯s tension, serving as the good cop. As a result, Zhang Yuan followed up with the proposition to ¡°mass-produce artificially gestated infants,¡± making everyone draw their swords and take up their crossbows, tremendously anxious over the matter. For such decisive measures with great dissent, forcefully implementing them is not a wise choice, as it could easily lead to class conflict and social unrest. As things stood, although Zhang Yuan had debated the scholars into silence, whether or not it could be done remained an unknown. Seeing that no one else stood up to voice objections, Zhang Yuan directly said, ¡°Since there are no problems, please consider seriously for a few minutes and then proceed to vote.¡± ¡°Everyone present here represents the elite of various professions. I believe you all have felt whether the population issue has constrained us in this year¡¯s development. What will happen if the population is too small is all written in this report, whether or not it is an exaggeration, I leave to your own judgment and deliberation.¡± ¡°The vote you cast represents the future of our entire civilization. I hope you will not only consider your own life, nor just the next year or two. Our entire civilization needs to continue here for ten years, a hundred years, or even¡­ a thousand years!¡± ¡°We came here to complete a far greater task, not to become a second Earth Civilization.¡± Time ticked away, second by second¡­ A faint sound of discussion rose in the meeting room, which did not escalate. It was truly¡­ very difficult¡­ Half an hour later, everyone quieted down and cast their precious votes. The computer¡¯s tallying was very fast, and since it was a real-name voting system, it was impossible for the government to commit a huge crime against all people by cheating. The voting results were out! When Zhang Yuan saw the outcome, he couldn¡¯t help but clench his fist tightly, breathing a deep sigh of relief in his heart. 51.2% voted in favor, 22% voted against, and the rest abstained. Before the formidable power of an era, democracy seemed¡­ so fragile¡­ The victor was not him, but the force of the era! In this debate, although he had used some sophistry, those seated were elites, and they would not waver in their resolve because of a few words from Zhang Yuan. However, all the objective factors combined, left the people with no choice but to make such a decision. Failing to choose thusly, the entire civilization would perish in a few decades¡ªa visible, predictable outcome. Moreover, it takes time for children to grow up, and acting too late would be irreversible, forcing people to reluctantly accept. Otherwise, without these objective conditions, even if Zhang Yuan was more eloquent, blooming with flowery speech, it would still be to no avail. In the end, Captain Zhao announced the result of the vote. ¡°I declare that the ¡®Proposal on the Use of Artificial Wombs for the Mass Production of Infants¡¯ has passed!¡± When the results were announced, it caused a huge uproar, especially among the reporters in the back, who were visibly agitated. ¡°Actually, it really passed¡­¡± ¡°Incredible.¡± Anyone with a normal IQ realized that this was a super big piece of news, even comparable to a billion-ton nuclear bomb, capable of shaking the entire society to its core! Click, click, click! S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The flashes from various cameras were recklessly bright, even brighter than the lights in the meeting room itself. Immediately following, a few emotionally charged opponents couldn¡¯t believe the fact. They even suspected that the voting had been manipulated behind scenes and demanded to check the voting procedures and publish the voter list. As a result, things blew up. After the voting list was indeed published by the staff, those individuals were red-faced and sheepishly escorted out by two soldiers. What a joke, the government would definitely not tamper with such an easily criticized matter, otherwise, what would be the difference between it and a dictatorship or the underworld? After this farce, the vast majority remained silent, and the atmosphere was extremely oppressive. Some who had voted in favor started to regret their decision upon seeing the results; others simply breathed a sigh of relief in private. The vote that would permanently affect the course of civilization had just happened, in a way that was reasonable yet unexpected! ¡°These people, they say one thing with their mouths but their actions tell the truth,¡± Li Zhendong giggled as he passed Zhang Yuan¡¯s seat, ¡°I thought they had the courage to fight to the end¡­ Would rather face the extinction of their species than compromise their principles, to maintain their purity? To keep pure, they could have stayed on Earth, continue to be exploited by the upper class, that¡¯s what a pure Earth person would do.¡± The number of votes in favor was larger than imagined; those who abstained, the neutrals, were also more than expected. ¡°The neutrals just didn¡¯t want to take responsibility¡­¡± Zhang Yuan returned to his seat, in a good mood, and replied, ¡°Shut up, will you? Don¡¯t talk nonsense after a victory! It¡¯s not good if people overhear!¡± Li Zhendong made a mockingly defiant face as if saying ¡°come hit me if you dare¡±. He immediately reverted to a serious demeanor when people around started to look over. Next, the Minister of Human Resources took the stage to announce the supporting policies. To properly implement the policy of artificially incubating a large number of babies, a massive batch of complementary policies needed adjustment, including agriculture, animal husbandry, robotics manufacturing, education, and more. The resource allocation of the whole society had to lean towards this new nurturing program; otherwise, to give birth to these children without proper care and education would be a sin. Except for a few high-end robot-related issues that Zhang Yuan was responsible for, he couldn¡¯t meddle with the rest. So he just sat quietly in his seat, listening to others. He pondered the various dilemmas: ¡°Caretaker robots are quite mature on Earth, and the new civilization has the relevant materials; theoretically, the difficulty of replicating them isn¡¯t great.¡± ¡°However, we can¡¯t currently produce high-end chips¡­ We can only temporarily invest the high-end chips brought from Earth.¡± ¡°The production of precision components is also tricky; I wonder if the precision of heavy metal 3D printing is sufficient¡­ Well, it will hold for thirty to fifty years without issue, but beyond that, it¡¯s hard to tell.¡± Indeed, it could only sustain for thirty to fifty years, so massive population growth and rapid development were inevitable choices! This step had to be taken, no doubt about it. Glancing at Captain Zhao, although still stern-faced, it was clear he was in high spirits. Zhang Yuan was not fighting alone. Many in the upper echelons who believed in the New Civilization History supported him silently; his was simply the most prominent voice out front. After all, his popularity and influence were even greater than Captain Zhao¡¯s¡­ Anyway, now that the voting results were in, the policies had to be implemented in earnest. This meeting wasn¡¯t just for show; with a decision made, there was no room for second thoughts. Chapter 211 - 211 211 Victory Dinner ?Chapter 211: Chapter 211: Victory Dinner Chapter 211: Chapter 211: Victory Dinner After the meeting, all members of the council gathered in the restaurant in Zone Z for a grand banquet as the annual New Year¡¯s party. Compared to the simple and less appetizing dishes, the atmosphere of discussing various issues was quite intense. Many unfinished topics were brought to the table. Although there were arguments at times, the overall mood had slightly eased. It was no longer as oppressive as before. Many were pondering how to encourage the birth rates of natural persons. If the birth rate of natural persons could reach 5% per year, then this plan would not need to be implemented. But clearly, that was impossible. A 5% birth rate meant that, even with a zero death rate, each couple would have to have five children! Even these elites were unwilling to do this, let alone the general public. Unless civilization regressed to widespread poverty, where the populace was unenlightened and children were needed to support old age, achieving a 2% birth rate would already be a huge miracle. Given this, it was necessary for the government to publicly support the rearing of a large number of babies; there was no need for too much hesitation¡­ Especially Ms. Zhong from the Ministry of Education, who initially had strong objections but now had to compromise and reluctantly accept the new task: to properly plan the education and guide a large number of children born from artificial wombs. The thought of so many children different from natural persons in the future also made these educational experts¡¯ heads tingle with worry. It was most important to cultivate their ideologies as close as possible to those of natural persons. Ms. Zhong was loudly expressing her views, ¡°We should not educate a large number of children in an assembly line manner!¡± ¡°Each child has their own talent. They should have their own choices, creativity, and imagination¡­¡± ¡°They are not robots, nor are they born to work, and certainly not so-called¡­ tools!¡± ¡°We need to tailor our teaching to each individual¡¯s abilities¡­ Let them feel human care, not develop antisocial personalities. Yes, the most important part of each person is themselves, not others, nor for civilization. The most important thing is to cherish oneself, and then one can cherish others.¡± ¡°We must not discriminate against them, we firmly oppose discrimination! We can even include this in the law, they are human beings, not much different from us.¡± Resignation¡­ of course, was out of the question. If she resigned, she would become an ordinary person without the corresponding power, becoming an ordinary citizen with even less ability to be heard. She could not allow these people to turn the entire civilization upside down! ¡°Even if we must implement this policy, we should do so in a way that conforms as much as possible to human nature¡­ about the systems of small and large families, and closed education plans¡­¡± Ms. Zhong saw that no one was paying attention to her, so she quickly walked over to Zhang Yuan and kept bombarding him with various opinions. ¡°¡­We need to cultivate their true personalities, indistinguishable from those of natural persons! This can indeed be accomplished through education, even without parents. A four-good education: moral, idealistic, cultured, disciplined¡­¡± Zhang Yuan initially listened with interest for a while, but then his head began to ache. Ms. Zhong meant well, but why was she so long-winded¡­ He raised his glass, ¡°Alright, alright, Ms. Zhong, this is a matter for your Ministry of Education, not within my responsibilities. You should discuss this with your leaders, or go to Captain Zhao. I¡¯m only responsible for manufacturing robots!¡± ¡°Oh, and Ms. Zhong, I suggest you take a look at the Earth Civilization data in the database. There is already much historical experience in robot education and many papers written by education experts. It¡¯s much more effective than us groping in the dark. Just how much punitive authority robot teachers actually have or tailoring teaching to the students¡¯ abilities, those are problems you¡¯ll need to tune yourselves.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s all drink to the future hard work!¡± Ms. Zhong was startled and realized she had indeed approached the wrong person. Zhang Yuan was clearly not responsible for educational matters. Education was no longer traditional education, as robots with superior morals were set to replace human teachers at their jobs, putting an end to any scandals involving incompetent teachers. Human teachers, in turn, were supposed to adjust these robot teachers, within certain limits. Clang! After clinking glasses with Zhang Yuan, this lady complained briefly and could only slink away. ¡°Mr. Zhang, handsome! So cool!¡± After a few minutes, Lin Xuanyuan hopped over excitedly, ¡°Just now on stage, you made my heart race¡­ There are lots of girls cheering for you online. You might as well quit being an official and become a celebrity!¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Feeling good, Zhang Yuan joked casually, ¡°I¡¯ve always been quite famous, you know. But being a celebrity always involves being bothered, unlike holding office¡­¡± He pointed to the soldiers at the door, implying that whoever came to bother him would be taken care of! Lin Xuanyuan leaned close to his ear and whispered, ¡°Ah, but isn¡¯t it nice to be bothered by a beauty?¡± Zhang Yuan replied, ¡°My standards are pretty high, and only beauties of your caliber catch my eye.¡± ¡°Haha, such a sweet talker?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a shame the spaceship doesn¡¯t have another one like you. If there was¡­ Ow, that hurts¡­¡± Zhang Yuan quickly corrected himself, ¡°One is enough; more would be troublesome!¡± S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. In this public setting, Lin Xuanyuan found herself laughing heartily. Although they were already a decade-old couple, she still found him amusing. Noticing others looking over, she swiftly changed the subject, ¡°Between the two of you, hospitals are going to be overwhelmed. With a growth rate of five percent per year, birthing seventy or eighty babies a day is quite a lot. I suggest we establish a children¡¯s hospital and assign nurturing robots there. We can¡¯t expect nurses to perform parental duties, right?¡± Discussing serious matters, Zhang Yuan waved his hand, ¡°The mass birth of babies is also a gradual process; we¡¯ll need to pause before infrastructure is ready. It¡¯s not happening that swiftly.¡± ¡°It starts with Ye Kaifu and other engineers digging a hole in the Underground City, raising some cows there and starting basic animal farming. Then we¡¯ll need a milk powder factory to keep up with nutritional needs.¡± ¡°First, cows should be the earliest animals we raise, not cats, dogs, or poultry. However, these animals cause significant biological pollution¡­¡± Zhang Yuan frowned, considering the economic costs. ¡°Cows won¡¯t do. It should be goats; goat milk is closer to human breast milk, less allergenic than cow¡¯s milk, and more suitable for infants¡­¡± Lin Xuanyuan said with a smile, ¡°And they should be happy goats. Only then the milk produced is of high quality!¡± ¡°Happy goats? Figuring out how to make goats happy is a puzzle¡­¡± Unable to help himself, Zhang Yuan burst into laughter. As the toast continued, the banquet came to a close. Today, true change had occurred in the new civilization, taking a crucial step of its own¡­ This step would forever affect the course of thousands, tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of years! ¡­ Chapter 212 - 212 212 Folk Affairs ?Chapter 212: Chapter 212: Folk Affairs Chapter 212: Chapter 212: Folk Affairs At the beginning of Spring Festival, after much anticipation, the luxurious one-day holiday finally arrived! Of course, ¡°one day¡± referred to officials like Zhang Yuan, while the common people still had a five-day mini holiday. ¡°I haven¡¯t had a proper rest for a whole year.¡± Reflecting on the past year, Zhang Yuan felt both melancholic and amazed by the enormous changes undergone by the civilization. Upon returning home, he first indulged in a lazy sleep, blissfully sleeping until nine in the morning. It was unbelievable how simply sleeping could bring such happiness. Then, he watched a sci-fi movie ¡°Under Deep Space¡± with his wife, a major production by Earth Civilization filled with dazzling interstellar war scenes, which he found thrilling. Lastly, they strolled around the newly constructed ecological park and had a simple and modest dinner on the lawn. In the blink of an eye, time slipped away. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Thus, the day off passed mysteriously fast¡­ It was foreseeable that there wouldn¡¯t be such holidays in the coming year, unless next Spring Festival might offer another day off. Even though there was a slight regret, Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t complain too much and began the new year¡¯s work on the second day. Currently, the number of tasks, big and small, was rather overwhelming, including in industries such as manufacturing, agriculture, and services, all demanding more intelligent robots. Oh, and the newly enacted population policy¡­ This policy was to be formally reported by the media today, and a significant uproar from the public was expected. However, based on the leaked information, the current public opinion was still manageable. Fortunately, most aboard the spaceship were young and childless, so the impact of this policy on them was relatively minor. Young people, being more open-minded and receptive to new things, might complain initially, but given time, they would gradually adapt. When Zhang Yuan returned to his office, he found that numerous reports had already filled his entire mailbox, awaiting his review. These reports were all written by people, indicating that many, like him, had barely taken any holidays. If these diligent surface workers hardly took breaks, then even less so for high-ranking officials like them. He quickly immersed himself in work. ¡°¡­As of today at noon, the transportation railway between the B3 uranium mine and the central industrial hub on the surface was officially completed. The intelligent train has passed the unmanned driving test and has a transport capacity of about six thousand tons per trip. With three round trips per day, it can transport 18,000 tons of ore.¡± ¡°It is estimated that at the B3 site, with an initial investment of two excavators, the daily iron ore collection capacity totals 6300 tons.¡± Zhang Yuan frowned, which meant that the train¡¯s transport capacity far exceeded the collection ability? But there was no solution; the complexity of this excavation equipment was high, and it was bulky. Some key components were brought from Earth because the new civilization was incapable of producing them, and some parts relied on heavy metal 3D printing equipment. With the current pace, only one machine could be assembled per month. More advanced industrial machines were being prepared to produce various medical devices, on one hand, to create medicines and devices that could delay aging and increase life expectancy. On the other hand, equipment related to artificial womb technology, various nutritional devices, and medical equipment were being prepared for the upcoming baby boom. ¡°Fortunately, the current mining output is already sufficient for our current use; even the capacity of the surface steel smelting plant hasn¡¯t been able to use up so much iron ore.¡± The development of a civilization always had so many bottlenecks. Just the mining, transportation, and smelting of minerals could create so much imbalance. The task of Zhang Yuan¡¯s department was to bridge the gaps in the entire civilization¡¯s meridians, preventing any industry from facing overcapacity. Under this overall planning, despite various issues big and small still existing, the civilization was generally in a vigorously developing momentum¡­ Next, Zhang Yuan¡¯s pupils slightly dilated. The new issue of Time Weekly should be updated! ¡­ ¡°Latest news! Geologists have discovered a large uranium mine 180 kilometers away, and according to the current power consumption, its reserves can last us a thousand years!¡± ¡°Various nuclear fission reactor units are urgently under research. According to insiders, this planet is ousting almost all the Helium-3 brought by the solar wind due to a slight magnetic field on its surface. Since the cost of collecting nuclear fusion fuel is too high, using nuclear fusion energy is not as economically viable as fission energy!¡± ¡°Latest news! Zone A Ecological Park has been completed, with tickets priced at only one yuan. According to insiders, after the Spring Festival holiday, it will be open to the public for free¡­¡± ¡°¡­The sci-fi blockbuster ¡®Under Deep Space¡¯ from Earth Civilization has received universal acclaim!¡± ¡°¡­The plan to mass incubate babies using artificial womb technology has been approved by the Scientific Council!¡± This is a publication of the new government¡¯s Time Weekly, priced at 0.5 yuan per issue, published weekly, focusing on the major news and events of the week. Compared to the rich content inside, the price is not expensive, with a monthly expense of only two yuan, which everyone can afford. Producing such a newspaper is mainly to improve the transparency of information and enhance the social responsibility of the citizens. As a citizen of the new civilization, experiencing the slow progress of civilization creates a unique sense of achievement and belonging. It is because of everyone¡¯s hard work that the wheel of history is gently pushed forward. This progress is inseparable from everyone¡¯s efforts. In this issue, the most important content is undoubtedly the ¡°bill to use artificial womb technology to mass incubate babies¡± that was¡­ approved! It was a real eye-opener! As expected, the passage of this bill provided an opportunity for all sorts of bizarre characters to emerge, including comments from certain experts and professors as well as cheers from various feminists. Some feminists, I don¡¯t know what they think, even believe that this bill has achieved true gender equality: neither men nor women give birth, letting gender-neutral machines do the childbirth. What a dreamlike equality! The internet was in a complete uproar. Rational debates are acceptable, but all kinds of aggressive comments were directly deleted or muted. The monitoring of the online environment did not even require much human labor, as intelligent algorithms automatically prevented malicious disturbances. Fortunately, the news of this bill had been in the air for more than a day or two. Everyone had heard about it during the hibernation period, and somehow, it seemed not so hard to accept¡­ During the festive season, at least there were no protests or demonstrations. Anyway, for someone single like Wang Junpeng, it seemed¡­ alright. ¡°Hey, society needs people, and we are unwilling to breed, so this is the only way,¡± Wang Junpeng, looking at the newspaper that detailed the various reasons for this decision, thought it made sense. Although still somewhat uncomfortable, the reasons given were objective facts, and he didn¡¯t know how to argue against them. ¡°The government raises the kids, what does it have to do with us? It¡¯s not like they are banning us from having children¡­ I don¡¯t see what¡¯s so hard to accept,¡± Xu Jie, engrossed in playing a game, said thoughtlessly, ¡°It¡¯s a simple logic. If this bill wasn¡¯t passed, we would still have so few people decades later. Industrial development would lag, and once the machinery brought from Earth depreciated, all of humanity would be doomed! I really don¡¯t understand¡­ How could those opposers wish for suicide?¡± Wang Junpeng wondered, ¡°Of course, it concerns us. Where does the money come from? It¡¯s our taxes! Taking the taxes we paid to raise other people¡¯s children!¡± Chapter 213 - 213 213 Public Reaction ?Chapter 213: Chapter 213 Public Reaction Chapter 213: Chapter 213 Public Reaction Upon hearing Wang Junpeng¡¯s bizarre remarks, Xu Jie sarcastically retorted, ¡°What do you mean our taxes are used for other people¡¯s children? It¡¯s just societal public resources, and you¡¯re making it sound so weird¡­ You could also have your own children and earn back the taxes you¡¯ve paid, right? Having two could earn you societal resources and even contribute to the entire civilization¡­ Having ten could get you more benefits and make you a hero to the entire civilization!¡± At this point, Xu Jie suddenly remembered something, ¡°¡­but that¡¯s not right, we¡¯re primarily in a planned economy now. How much tax did you even pay?¡± sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Wang Junpeng defiantly replied, ¡°Who says I haven¡¯t paid a lot in taxes? I made so much money this year, enough to raise a kid, right?¡± The two stared at each other with wide eyes, arguing endlessly without coming to any conclusion or having any compelling counterarguments. In fact, neither of them was quite right. Population growth, for the present new civilization, was mostly a positive influence. To put it concretely, if a unit ¡°1¡± of societal public resources was invested in raising a baby, once he grew up and entered society, he could return 10 or even 20 times the public resources, making everyone¡¯s life better. It was definitely a profitable deal! Of course, this kind of deal was clearly calculable for the entire civilization but not so apparent for individuals. Even if the infancy and growth period lasted only 20 or 30 years, it still felt like a long time for an individual. As for Wang Junpeng and Xu Jie, although they made a lot of money recycling phones¡­ as wealthy individuals aboard the spaceship, neither of them wanted to have children. Look at the people around who had kids¡ªhow miserable were they? Old Fang next door had a little girl, and he had to get up in the middle of the night to wash diapers! Plus, the baby¡¯s crying could faintly be heard at night, it was just¡­ a nightmare, a real nightmare. In this godforsaken place, it was impossible to find a nanny to help take care of a child; money couldn¡¯t buy this, nor could you expect parents to help. Everything had to be done on your own. The government was studying caregiver robots, which might offer some help, but the current production capacity could not manufacture them in large quantities, nor could it ensure one robot per household. Way too exhausting! ¡°No way, I firmly refuse to have children,¡± Wang Junpeng thought, shaking his head involuntarily. He seemed to understand why the birthrate was so low. ¡°Have a kid, my ass, you don¡¯t even have a girlfriend, and you¡¯re talking about having children¡­ With your twisted values, you want to be a dad? Could you even get a certificate for that?¡± Xu Jie, for some reason, was particularly foul-mouthed today, truly deserving a scolding. However, having known him for so long, Wang Junpeng knew this good friend was just straightforward by nature. ¡°Who said I wanted to be a dad? I¡¯m still a kid myself, why would I want to suffer? It just feels really irritating, this policy is just so bizarre¡­ Okay, fine, for the sake of our civilization being stronger in fifty years, I¡­ I reluctantly accept!¡± Wang Junpeng shook his head and walked out the door. A 30-year-old child¡­ by theoretical standards of lifespan, that really is still a child. ¡°In fifty years, with a population growth rate of 5%¡­ we could reach over 570,000 people. It does sound quite good¡ªmore manpower resources than now and the possibility to develop more industries.¡± ¡°However, it¡¯s still less than 600,000 people, which is too few.¡± He earned quite a bit of money but really had no desire to become a father, especially without any parental pressure. Most astronauts on the Earth Era Spaceship were young people without parental pressure¡ªwho wouldn¡¯t want to play a few more years? ¡°Living together with a girl or getting married might be possible¡­ finding a robot girl isn¡¯t out of the question either¡­¡± Who doesn¡¯t have some physical desires? The festive joy of the New Year permeated the air, and the plants on Central Square, intricately decorated, looked like Christmas trees. Various joyful music played from speakers, and a group of kids, looking about three years old, were performing. ¡°Hey, kids, sing along with me¡­ Red fruits, red fruits, bright red; Green bubbles, green bubbles, bright green¡­¡± Mr. Jin, the robot teacher, was leading the children in dance. After some time, all the people had become familiar with this beautifully designed, anthropomorphic robot and had developed a fond affection for it¡­ Interestingly, there had even been men who confessed their feelings for it, and not just one! Of course, this was a teaching robot, not a companion robot, it didn¡¯t provide services beyond education. The crowd around them was large, constantly laughing and applauding. These children, born in recent years naturally, weren¡¯t numerous, but in an era where everyone was incredibly busy, it was government-developed robot teachers like Mr. Jin who were responsible for their unified education. In Wang Junpeng¡¯s eyes, these kids were all extremely clever and smart yet retained their innocence, each enjoying the unique joys of childhood. This perception of the next generation felt wonderful¡­ Living a simple life inside the spaceship every day, the children had never experienced the Mother Star, but they considered this life to be natural, their smiling faces bright and joyful. They definitely didn¡¯t own their own video game consoles; a small toy could entertain them for a long time. They were mostly accompanied by their robot teacher and, so far, exhibited almost no personality flaws. Some were mischievous, some were quiet, some loved drawing, others loved reading, and some boys enjoyed teasing the girls, although only within the normal range of teasing¡­ If it got too harsh, the teacher would punish them. Of course, these children still had parents, and some of their education was accomplished at home. ¡°If there were no parents¡­ I wonder if that would work.¡± ¡°Maybe in a few hundred years, being without parents will be the norm¡­ Who knows? Social changes are always more intense than one imagines.¡± Seeing all this, Wang Junpeng smiled slightly, his thoughts drifting to his father, the old gambler. Yes, an old gambler. His mood began to sour. Gamblers had no integrity, one second claiming ¡°I¡¯ll never gamble again,¡± and the next being found at the casino, ¡°Just one last bet, maybe I can turn things around!¡± In any case, there were always so many excuses, hope after hope, only leading to repeated disappointments. Recalling life on Earth, the family debt was uncountable, constantly pursued by creditors, driving his mother to despair and leading her to abandon their home and flee, leaving father and son behind¡­ Now, Wang Junpeng didn¡¯t resent his mother; running away was the right choice. Otherwise, would she have had to spend her life with a hopeless gambler? Influenced by his father, Wang Junpeng had earned every cent for his living expenses since he was young, including his university tuition fees. He revered money, instinctively wanting to earn more for a greater sense of security. Even his main reason for boarding the Earth Era Spaceship was just to pay off debts. Being a volunteer came with a substantial resettlement payment, allowing him to escape his incompetent father and that rough world¡­ Wang Junpeng didn¡¯t regret that decision. ¡°The old gambler gave me life and a smart brain. I¡¯ll pay off his last debt for him, but after that, whether he lives or dies, it has nothing to do with me¡­ Sigh¡­¡± He shook his head vigorously, not wanting to think about those past events on Earth anymore. After all, it was a story from three thousand years ago. Whether the old gambler ended up in a coffin or dead in the wilderness, it had all been buried in the sands of history, the so-called truth forever lost. His responsibilities were long fulfilled. He clenched his fists, ¡°It¡¯s in the past now, the life I live now is solely my own.¡± Chapter 214 - 214 214 Dust Settles ?Chapter 214: Chapter 214 Dust Settles Chapter 214: Chapter 214 Dust Settles Near the children¡¯s art troupe, a blonde beauty with rolling waves of hair was explaining to the crowd the new population and education policies. ¡°Everyone can rest assured¡­ with robot teachers to care for them, even children without parents will form complete personalities.¡± ¡°According to the plans of education experts, schooling can completely replace family education. The entire environment is enclosed, and children will only come into contact with society during social practice.¡± ¡°After the age of 14, they¡¯ll be able to form a relatively complete worldview, and they¡¯ll participate in more social practice, including some physical labor. Of course, everyone is welcome to visit our campus regularly¡­ The entire environment is shaped by all of us together, and we hope everyone will give them the most complete love.¡± There were also doubts being raised about whether robot teachers would turn children into robots, causing them to lose their creativity and imagination¡­ ¡°It¡¯s already the 55th century, yet your way of thinking is still stuck in the 23rd century!¡± One middle-aged woman who seemed to be a firm supporter of the plan said quite impolitely, ¡°Your thinking is way more rigid than that of robots!¡± People of the 23rd century, indeed, would find it hard to imagine the extent to which Artificial Intelligence had evolved years later¡­ Well, with so many examples right in front of them, people still held a skeptical attitude, fearing that robots would not educate children well. ¡°Hello, Mr. Jin.¡± ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Mr. Jin, I¡¯d like to ask, how do you usually cultivate children? What is your educational philosophy?¡± In an instant, this robot teacher started chatting with a parent. ¡°¡­I¡¯ve seen many families where the relationship between the child and the parents is like that of superior and subordinate, where the tone of the parents is commanding rather than consultative. The child feels wronged to accept it, and even if the child has ideas, they are suppressed. This is a very unhealthy educational philosophy.¡± ¡°¡­The belief that parents should educate their children is regarded as natural as heaven and earth. And it¡¯s taken for granted that children should be disciplined by their parents. But often, didactic education makes children resentful, especially during adolescence when kids have rebellious phases. If you insist on using such methods, it may backfire¡­¡± ¡°But if you don¡¯t establish parental authority, young children simply won¡¯t obey! What should you do with children who have different personalities?¡± The discussion between them deepened, and this Mr. Jin¡¯s fluency in language and depth of thought would make it impossible for humans to distinguish whether she was a robot if they weren¡¯t informed beforehand. Even some of the onlooking young men began to whisper among themselves; if such intelligent technology could be widely promoted, what¡¯s the point of looking for a girlfriend¡­ such a companion, whether in terms of loyalty or other aspects¡­ well, that¡¯s an additional topic altogether. Wang Junpeng laughed at himself and suddenly understood the policy. ¡°I don¡¯t know what this group of people are worried about, or perhaps they¡¯re just blindly panicking in the face of the unknown¡­¡± It was precisely because of such technology that such leaps were possible. Fair and just robots treated all children equally; if humans themselves were to take charge of socializing children, there would definitely be various preferences, which in turn would be the greatest injustice. ¡°Ah, if my father weren¡¯t that kind of father, might I be a bit more positive than I am now? What¡¯s that¡­ sunny and cheerful?¡± ¡°Perhaps robot teachers could indeed do a much better job than my old dad, right?¡± ¡°Small family and Large family systems¡­¡± Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Actually, it¡¯s also fine; leaving Earth is like losing the companionship of one¡¯s parents. Now isn¡¯t he doing just fine? To live in this world, one has to walk alone eventually. With the companionship of good friends, one doesn¡¯t feel so lonely; what matters most, perhaps, is to find a replacement for the sense of security¡­ A true friend is hard to come by in life; if one could find a congenital soulmate through genetic calculations, then this upbringing plan would be quite acceptable. Thinking thus, Wang Junpeng excitedly wandered around the square. He wasn¡¯t some education expert, after all; there was no need to ponder such complex matters. All the policies were still being formulated, but in the end, plans devised by the elites were not likely to exterminate humanity. Soon, the square showcased new attractions that drew his attention¡ªtasty treats and fun activities. No matter what, the atmosphere of the New Year was still quite strong there. He spent a little money on some New Year¡¯s delicacies, and a skewer of fried rice cakes even brought tears to his eyes, filling him with an intense sense of satisfaction! ¡°It¡¯s simply unimaginable these days¡­ everyone¡¯s life was very simple back then, and the slightest material reward could bring immense satisfaction.¡± Then he walked into a newly opened government-run internet cafe, where the prices were exorbitant¡ª10 yuan an hour! Keep in mind, many people¡¯s wages were still under two thousand yuan, which made Wang Junpeng whistle in shock. As a rare member of the ¡°Ten Thousand Yuan Households,¡± he was reluctant to spend that kind of money. But the place was still packed with people, with a full queue. ¡°Bro, what game are you playing?¡± After watching for a while, he couldn¡¯t help but ask. ¡°An old game from the 20th century.¡± Wang Junpeng¡¯s face turned green when he heard that. What the heck, it was already the 53rd century, and people were still playing 20th-century games. ¡°Sigh, the machine can¡¯t handle anything newer! But it¡¯s still pretty fun.¡± After watching for a while and feeling the itch to play, yet unwilling to spend the money, Wang Junpeng could only sulk back to his dorm. The more he thought about it, the itchier he felt, ¡°Hey, wanna go to the internet cafe and play that 20th-century game? It seems really fun¡­¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m in the middle of an argument! If I win, I¡¯ll go.¡± Turning around, Xu Jie, the guy who for some reason had become an ardent fan of the government¡¯s population policy, perhaps because he didn¡¯t have a girlfriend and wasn¡¯t interested in having children, or maybe because he¡¯d encountered an Artificial Intelligence girlfriend, was furiously debating online. ¡°¡­I really doubt your intelligence; it¡¯s worse than a pig¡¯s brain, no, it doesn¡¯t even compare! You neither offer solutions nor command efficiently, and if humanity goes extinct it will be because of you blabbering idiots.¡± ¡°Even pigs understand that a civilization needs to maintain a certain population.¡± ¡°For the health of the entire civilization¡¯s population, please, those who oppose the policy, have ten children, and I¡¯ll gladly donate. Yes, you have kids, and I¡¯ll donate, okay? That¡¯s how noble I am!¡± ¡°But if you can¡¯t have ten, please shut up!¡± ¡°Damn it!¡± Xu Jie suddenly cursed, ¡°My account got banned for swearing!¡± Wang Junpeng looked at him and laughed, ¡°You had it coming!¡± As the saying goes, ¡°It¡¯s easy to go from frugality to luxury, but difficult in reverse.¡± When living conditions are not great, implementing such a birth policy faces relatively less resistance. If this policy were to be introduced when living standards were higher and social resources were reallocated to a large number of babies, undoubtedly, it would lead to a decrease in the quality of life and increased dissatisfaction among the people. But that wasn¡¯t a concern now, because the quality of life was low to begin with; there was only room to go up, not much to go down. Even if societal resources were diverted to publicly raise children, it would only slow the pace of improvement at most, without causing a decline. So, taking advantage of the harmonious moment of the Spring Festival, this newly implemented system also gradually became understood by people. Even though there were still many voices of dissent, the number of supporters of the policy began to grow. That was sufficient. It wasn¡¯t possible to expect everyone to change their minds overnight. As time went by and population factors increasingly hindered the development of productive forces, as delicate machinery began to fail without the ability to repair¡­ more and more people would change their minds. This urgency of survival was the fundamental reason driving change! Chapter 215 - 215 215 Gleize Civilization ?Chapter 215: Chapter 215 Gleize Civilization Chapter 215: Chapter 215 Gleize Civilization While people were celebrating their New Year and endlessly debating over population policies, subtle changes had already occurred on the neighboring Life Planet. Floating above this planet were three human-made satellites, constantly monitoring the surface conditions. There were only three because humans didn¡¯t bring more when they left Earth. For such a long time, these satellites hadn¡¯t detected any abnormalities on the surface, and people had gradually let their guard down. Gliese 581g was an ordinary terrestrial planet. Due to its larger mass, it possessed a denser atmosphere, mainly composed of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, water vapor, and small amounts of sulfur hydrogen, methane, and other greenhouse gases. Even though the light from the Central Constant Star wasn¡¯t intense, the greenhouse effect still enabled the average surface temperature to reach around minus 20 degrees Celsius. Minus 20 degrees Celsius was quite comfortable for life. Even the South and North Pole of Earth held resilient life, let alone the alien biological entities that had fully adapted to their environment. Of course, the average temperature didn¡¯t reveal much, as the temperature differences across various parts of the planet were incredibly vast¡­ Unbelievably vast! Due to being tidally locked by the Constant Star, one side of Gliese 581g constantly faced the star, enduring scorching temperatures, with its central seawater almost reaching a boiling state. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The other side was in eternal night and extremely cold, with temperatures plunging below minus a hundred degrees Celsius, causing all water to freeze into thick ice, forming permanent ice caps several kilometers thick. This contrast between fire and ice created a celebrated astronomical phenomenon. But the planet¡¯s landscape offered more than just that. According to the laws of thermodynamics, heat naturally flows from high-temperature regions to low-temperature regions. The massive temperature difference between the two extremes led to severe air convection throughout the planet. Hot air and evaporated water spontaneously moved from the warm side to the cold side, forming huge gales. The water vapor condensed upon cooling, resulting in rainfall. Due to the shadowed side having a lot of ice and higher terrain, most of the rainwater flowed back into the ocean, establishing a global water cycle. Such large-scale air circulation made class 15 or 16 typhoons a common spectacle, and sometimes, these furious hurricanes could reach levels 18 or even 20! To adapt to these windy conditions, nearly all animals on the planet were excellent at burrowing. If they didn¡¯t hide in burrows during strong winds, they wouldn¡¯t stand a chance of surviving. Additionally, the low oxygen content on the planet meant anaerobic respiration produced little energy, forcing most animals to be quite small, crawling close to the ground, somewhat similar to Earth¡¯s reptiles. These life forms only emerged from the ground to forage when necessary. Ultimately, the twilight zone remained the best habitat on the planet, where the temperature was suitable, rainfall was plentiful, and there was some sunlight¡ªlife could thrive well here if they avoided the massive typhoons¡­ Of course, the chaotic hurricanes also posed significant obstacles to human scientific exploration missions. Given humanity¡¯s current productivity, sending an exploration team directly would likely result in them not returning¡­ Deploying drones or survey vehicles to conduct on-site investigations would only result in their being blown away by hurricanes within a few days, and then crashing heavily to the ground, rendering them inoperable. For the impoverished humans, each scientific instrument was precious, and with no way to mass produce them at present, each loss decreased their inventory. So far, humans still couldn¡¯t figure out the specific surface conditions and could only use satellites to remotely watch from above¡­ After all, life signified both opportunity and¡­ danger! That day, the weather was clear and sunny, a rarity. The eternal sun hung in the west, never setting. A creature resembling a guinea pig emerged from the ground, cautiously observing its surroundings, sniffing here and there, keenly making foraging movements. Those yellow and purple low-growing plants with short leaves and highly developed root systems were called ¡°Aruba¡± by the Glizerians. In ancient times, it had been a tasteless food source and even a raw material for clothing¡­ The guinea pig approached an ¡°Aruba,¡± then looked up toward the sky. It wasn¡¯t an ordinary creature but a mechanical mouse! Its powerful electronic eye began observing a satellite 330,000 kilometers away. There, parked was the Earth Era spaceship, a massive vessel with numerous machines moving back and forth on the planet¡¯s surface¡­ The mechanical mouse recorded all the data. Yes, there was indeed intelligent life in this star system! And furthermore, their technological prowess far exceeded human expectations. But fortunately, as predicted by New Civilization History, the majority of civilizations in the universe are mediocre. The Glize Civilization was also in the midst of an unprecedented, irreversible decline¡­ ¡°Commander, here are the astronomical data we¡¯ve captured. Please take a look!¡± A Glizerian, just over one meter tall, was respectfully lying prone on the ground¡ªa unique cultural expression of deference in their society. Due to their bodily structure, these intelligent beings had no need for stools or beds. They typically rested squatting on the ground and curled up to sleep. To human eyes, they resembled pangolins with their yellow skin and scaly armor. Their front claws were strong and clearly adapted for burrowing. Of course, with the current level of technology, they no longer needed to dig with their claws and usually trimmed their nails for better handling of complex tasks. The commander anxiously flipped through the astronomical report, photo after photo, showing the massive spaceship and various surface vehicles. They weren¡¯t particularly clear, but they were sufficient. Everything pointed to the fact that this alien civilization wasn¡¯t just engaging in scientific exploration but intended to settle here! Several other Glizerians were gathered in a small underground room discussing: ¡°According to our analysis, the signals sent over 3,000 years ago by a civilization originated from the Solar System, about 20 light-years away.¡± ¡°They¡¯ve been continually sending signals¡­ but we never responded.¡± ¡°It seems they are called¡­ humans!¡± Chapter 216 - 216 216 Declining Civilization ?Chapter 216: Chapter 216: Declining Civilization Chapter 216: Chapter 216: Declining Civilization ¡°¡­A civilization 20 light years away has come to our satellite and is engaging in colonization activities??¡± The Glizerians in the meeting room were startled by the news. They deeply understood how vast the astronomical figure of 20 light years was and how much power was required to cross it! It was simply inconceivable, even¡­ baffling! Because such colonization activities spoke of no benefit at all. ¡°Our area is just an ordinary Star Domain, isn¡¯t it? Why would they choose here?¡± ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s because of the presence of liquid water¡­ The living environment is somewhat similar to ours.¡± ¡°But they couldn¡¯t possibly overcome our microbial environment. Even if our planet has liquid water, so what?¡± The discussion was heated, and all the Glizerians were agitated. ¡°¡­So, this civilization known as humanity had been sending electromagnetic waves to detect if there was intelligent life here? If there was no response, they would proceed with interstellar colonization?¡± However, adhering to the principle that less is more, their ancestors had not replied to any of the messages¡­ What was done was done, and there was no room for regret. The small cramped room fell into a long silence. The astronomer continued, ¡°Everyone, please calm down. According to the observations these past few days, their technological capabilities are not as advanced as we imagined, but rather in a delicate phase¡­ Not very formidable overall.¡± ¡°Their spaceship is about thirty thousand kilometers away from us, and there is only one. It has no Artificial Gravity or technology beyond our expectations.¡± He brought out a recently taken photo for everyone to see, showing a blurred image marked with ¡®Earth Era Time.¡¯ ¡°¡­Yes, just one Mother Ship, quite massive, likely carrying a large population. I even suspect that, in order to travel such a long distance, this Mother Ship might not have the capacity to carry any weapons.¡± ¡°Using our most powerful interstellar missile equipped with nuclear warheads, we could hit and potentially destroy their Mother Ship¡­ This would result in them losing their Mother Ship and quickly becoming extinct here.¡± After a pause, another Glizerian spoke up, scolding, ¡°Opting for war, Davian, have you lost your mind? Our state right now cannot sustain a war!¡± ¡°Besides, where do the nuclear warheads come from¡­ According to the peace treaty, we destroyed all such weapons ages ago¡­ They¡¯ve been gone for thousands of years!¡± ¡°Yes, we don¡¯t have such weapons¡­¡± ¡°And it has been a very long time since there has been a war.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t even have enough soldiers¡­¡± Many Glizerians debated the feasibility of this plan, as the state of their entire civilization was somewhat dire¡­ ¡°¡­Even if we restart nuclear bomb production lines, with the industrial capacity of just one city, we could at most build one interstellar rocket and a few nuclear warheads in six months. Even if we hit, it wouldn¡¯t completely destroy their Mother Ship but would merely spark an endless war between civilizations!¡± ¡°Can we afford such consequences?¡± After some hesitation, the astronomer named Davian seemed somewhat unwilling to give up and raised another point, ¡°What if¡­¡± ¡°What if what?¡± ¡°¡­Human civilization is developing our satellite, and as time goes by, their industrial capacity will become increasingly stronger. If we want to attack, we must act soon rather than delaying here¡­ Otherwise, such an opportunity will slip away in the blink of an eye.¡± The leader paused for a while, ¡°Do they have the possibility to leave?¡± ¡°The probability is very low¡­ They came here through a prolonged interstellar voyage. It¡¯s highly likely that the fuel in their spaceship is already exhausted, and they can¡¯t undertake another interstellar journey. Asking them to leave is tantamount to asking them to die¡­¡± Another Pangolin angrily said, ¡°Why is this happening? Could it be¡­ that their population is so large that not even a single planet system can accommodate them? If that¡¯s the case, they might represent a civilization with a tendency towards endless colonial expansion!¡± The thought of housing two different wisdom civilizations within the same planet system, one flourishing with colonial tendencies and the other weakening and devoid of fighting spirit, instilled a subtle sense of fear in every Glizerian present. ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, they might be friendly! They sent a large amount of electromagnetic signals in advance, probably just making inquiries, because we didn¡¯t respond, so they mistakenly thought this was no man¡¯s land¡­ This indicates that the civilization possesses basic logical thinking and a culture of etiquette.¡± ¡°Perhaps we can try to communicate!¡± S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°We can cooperate peacefully¡­ Nobody likes war!¡± The room erupted into noisy chaos, with a great variety of opinions. ¡°Enough!¡± The leader roared forcefully, silencing all the voices, and then returned to normal, ¡°This isn¡¯t a risk that one city can bear alone. Have the other cities really shown no reaction to this matter?¡± ¡°They¡­ have no opinion.¡± ¡°What does ¡®no opinion¡¯ mean?¡± ¡°It means no opinion, an indifferent attitude, hiding as long as possible, at most making some weapons capable of self-protection during this time, but it¡¯s impossible for them to initiate an attack¡­ You know what the other cities are like, they simply can¡¯t withstand a war between civilizations.¡± The seniors debated for a while and decided to first produce some weapons capable of self-defense, but they did not wish to launch an attack first. ¡°Ah, let¡¯s have peace talks when we attain certain strength¡­ If we can coexist peacefully, that¡¯d be best.¡± A scholar, hearing this surrendering speech, burst out in anger, ¡°What, peace talks? This is the home of the Glizerians! Do you think all civilizations are friendly?¡± ¡°We have no conflicts of interest¡­ Why do we need a war?¡± Another person said, ¡°Yes, we just hide underground¡­ What does it matter to us whether that civilization is good or bad? As long as we develop sufficient weapons for self-protection, what purpose would their attacking us serve?¡± ¡°All we need is the capability to threaten them back, and such peace could be sustained indefinitely.¡± Some Glizerians felt angry that these dovish views were not just isolated cases but were quite prevalent! Even the willingness to negotiate peace made up the vast majority, including their highest leaders! At least this city could still seriously discuss countermeasures. The other cities¡­ still lived in a delusive state of oblivion, completely lacking the resolve to wage war. Discussing up to this point, it couldn¡¯t help but succumb to despair¡­ This was a thoroughly degenerate civilization¡­ Beyond saving, unable to think of any good measures for salvation. Nearly all the citizens were indifferent to whatever was happening outside the world, just hiding within the Underground City. Even when faced with threats of death, they still maintained an indifferent attitude¡­ Only if the dagger actually cut through their skin might they jump up to fight back, and only for a brief second or two before they meekly lay down again. This was simply¡­ irrational! ¡°War! We need a war to revive our entire civilization and get everyone to rally,¡± the scholar thought. ¡°If we fail, then we die together!¡± Other Glizerians who harbored similar thoughts cautiously exchanged glances, seemingly making a firm resolution. What human civilization didn¡¯t know was that, due to the humans¡¯ arrival, various disagreements arose within a civilization on the opposite Life Planet, even leading to a silent political upheaval! Crisis was looming! ¡­ Chapter 217 - 217 217 The Gap in Technology ?Chapter 217: Chapter 217: The Gap in Technology Chapter 217: Chapter 217: The Gap in Technology In the blink of an eye, it had been a year and a half since ¡°Earth Era¡± arrived at this planet system. Every day, a large volume of data and reports were gathered at the central control center. Whenever Zhang Yuan saw these data, a strong sense of achievement filled his heart. The Underground City grew larger by the day, with its usable area already exceeding five million square meters. Various functional zones had been carved out, and in a little while, they would be able to accommodate an even larger population. Various ventilation systems and matter recycling systems were being methodically installed. Just a few days ago, the first batch of dairy goats, incubated using artificial womb technology, were born into this world. These dairy goats would be able to reach lactation period in 7-9 months and produce a certain quantity of goat milk. The goat milk could not only serve as the main food for newly born infants but also improve the diet quality for everyone. Therefore, the first batch of about 100 artificially incubated infants was officially initiated today. It¡¯s expected that these fertilized eggs would complete incubation in 10 months, becoming genuine human infants. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. More fertility-related equipment was being produced around the clock¡­ Of course, this batch of infants had not yet been enhanced using genetic technology; they used sperm and eggs brought from distant Earth, not challenging too many ethical morals. The shift in thoughts was gradual. For now, it was quite an achievement to have people accept artificially incubated wombs, and changing more wasn¡¯t yet possible. Even now, some conservatives launched public opinion offensives on the internet, but in the face of solid facts, they could hardly make a big stir. ¡°Artificial wombs are truly a great technology!¡± Zhang Yuan remarked excitedly while contemplating in his mind how best to utilize this technology. It wasn¡¯t just about cows, goats, or human infants, but also implied that humans could incubate a multitude of other species to improve the ecological environment of living areas and, incidentally, food as well¡­ ¡°Right, improving the diet can significantly increase public satisfaction, and the cost isn¡¯t that high either.¡± ¡°Should we start with pigs, or chickens and ducks first? In the current environment¡­ it¡¯d better be the egg-laying kind,¡± Zhang Yuan thought to himself. The most natural food at present was the mealworm, which was easy and efficient to raise and didn¡¯t cause much biological pollution. Once fried, it tasted just like chicken and was pretty delicious! But insects alone still couldn¡¯t satisfy the needs of the populace. Thinking this, Zhang Yuan sent a breeding suggestion to the Agriculture Department. After all, it was just a suggestion; whether to adopt it or not was their department¡¯s decision. Then, he moved on to the next report, a research report on alien technology¡­ In people¡¯s hands, there were two pieces of ¡°Gaia Civilization¡± technology. The first was a High-dimensional Fragment, and the second was a Consciousness Upload instrument. Research on these two items was slow because the technology gap between humans and the Gaia Civilization was significant. Take, for instance, the Consciousness Upload instrument¡ªso far, humans knew only that it was very likely a biological computer. Yes, a biological computer, yet they had no idea what its energy system was. It was definitely not chemical energy, nor nuclear energy. Its energy system was a round metal sphere that continuously emitted heat, just like a Perpetual Motion Machine¡ªshowing no sign of weakening over the years. Some guessed it was vacuum zero-point energy, while others speculated it might be some form of energy substance from high-dimensional space¡­ simply a variety of wild and fantastical theories. It was a matter of great significance, and scientists didn¡¯t dare to disassemble the machine recklessly, so they were left with no choice but to decode and study it slowly. As for the High-dimensional Fragments, they were even more of a mystery¡ªpeople only knew how to activate them temporarily but had no idea how they were formed. Anyway, society was thriving amidst the chaos, and all scientists were extremely busy. Amidst their busy schedules, many simply couldn¡¯t remember this matter. Only a few experts were still diligently conducting research. As long as they weren¡¯t causing trouble, they could do as they pleased¡­ Another report came in, regarding the satellite detection of Gliese 581. Upon reviewing the report, Zhang Yuan furrowed his brows slightly. Through the satellite¡¯s remote sensing system, people had discovered some rather strange underground caves, which could have been formed by water erosion, or possibly other reasons, such as glacial movements, typhoons, and so on. A large number of living organisms were found in these underground caves, with over a thousand different animal species identified so far. Of course, satellites are merely satellites; no matter how advanced, they couldn¡¯t penetrate the thick layers of rock and soil to see what secrets lay beneath, and there could be many more such caves¡­ What troubled Zhang Yuan was that the satellites seemed to have found traces of what appeared to be industrial mining! These traces were ambiguous; for example, some exposed iron ore areas looked as though they had been mined, and some regions resembled the foundations of buildings, yet they could also be naturally formed by coincidence. After all, with the fierce winds on this planet, it wouldn¡¯t be impossible for stones to be blown away¡­ In the report, the biologist and bionic scientist Yamamoto Ichiro wrote, ¡°Due to the frequent typhoons and overcast skies on this planet, the effectiveness of satellite detection is not very good.¡± ¡°Compared to Earth¡¯s creatures, we have found that the organisms on this planet are generally smaller, with the largest animals not exceeding 1.5 meters in length and not weighing more than thirty kilograms. This may be due to a lower oxygen content, leading them to undergo anaerobic respiration¡­¡± ¡°Based on our current theories, the energy provided by anaerobic respiration is far too little to support complex life forms. The mass of thirty kilograms far exceeds our predictions, suggesting there must be more complex biological mechanisms involved¡­ Understanding these biological mechanisms will fill in the missing parts of the protein language.¡± Reading this series of information, Zhang Yuan knew that Yamamoto was itching to go on an on-site exploration of the alien planet. But, obviously, that was impossible. First, humans were not yet capable of withstanding the frequent typhoons and inhospitable weather; second, there was no need to waste manpower on such endeavors at the moment. The planet wasn¡¯t going anywhere; it would be more appropriate to wait ten or twenty years until human development was stronger before conducting scientific research. ¡°Human civilization is poor, truly poor¡­¡± Immediately, Zhang Yuan made a phone call and lectured Yamamoto, telling him to stop obsessing over unrealistic issues and not to lead young scholars astray. While scientific exploration was important, it wasn¡¯t worth risking their lives, was it? ¡°Yes¡­ I understand!¡± The response from Yamamoto was so earnest it was frightening. If they had been talking face-to-face, he might even have been bowing repeatedly. Some aspects of the Earth Era culture still influenced his thinking, and Zhang Yuan found himself missing the young man who had once fretted over inspiration together with him in the Star Library¡­ Just then, he suddenly received an emergency call; taking a look, he saw it was from Captain Zhao. ¡°Old Zhang, where are you?¡± The voice was stern, with an underlying sense of urgency. Zhang Yuan replied, ¡°I¡¯m in the office¡­ still have some issues to deal with.¡± Zhao Qingfeng said urgently, ¡°Forget those for now, come to the Captain¡¯s Room immediately!¡± ¡°Quickly!¡± Chapter 218 - 218 218 Nuclear Bomb Crisis ?Chapter 218: Chapter 218: Nuclear Bomb Crisis! Chapter 218: Chapter 218: Nuclear Bomb Crisis! Zhang Yuan was startled, his heart skipped a beat, because Captain Zhao was usually a very composed person, rarely using such an urgent tone. Something must have happened! After hanging up the phone, he raced towards the Captain¡¯s Room, taking the stairs two at a time as he burst through the door. On the way, he saw many council members scurrying about, and some armed soldiers rushing in the same direction, their series of messy footsteps intensifying the sense of foreboding in his heart. ¡°What happened?¡± Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but ask. ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± ¡°It seems like there¡¯s some emergency¡­¡± Pushing open the door to the Captain¡¯s Room, it was already packed with people making a racket, many of them pointing and discussing the central screen. When he saw the image on the screen, suddenly, all the hairs on his body stood on end! What was¡­ that? sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. A huge hole, about 50 meters in diameter, had appeared on the ground! The appearance of a hole wasn¡¯t necessarily alarming; it could be a sinkhole due to a surface collapse or some other geological disaster¡­ but the key point was that it was a complete, smooth circle, not seeming natural at all! The satellite had discovered the change in the land¡¯s surface and presented the image right away. Seeing this, Captain Zhao pressed the fast-forward button, skipping over the two-hour process in the middle. A sharp object, like a pencil, slowly emerged from the circular hole. It started to ignite, launching! A huge plume of smoke billowed from the base, and, propelled by chemical fuel, it soared into the sky like a raging giant dragon! For a moment, Zhang Yuan¡¯s mind was clouded¡­ What was going on? This technology¡­ It was somewhat like Earth¡¯s multi-stage rockets, which were popular for a long time and even used for moon landings. However, since Earth people developed the Space Elevator, rocket technology had been gradually phased out, and he had only seen it in videos. Wait a minute, isn¡¯t this rocket a bit too large¡­ The most powerful moon-landing rocket in human history was about 10 meters in diameter, yet the diameter of this one was a full 30 meters, and its height had already surpassed 100 meters! The noise in the crowd grew louder, and after the rocket reached a certain height beyond the atmosphere, it split into four warheads. It was these warheads that began to change speed and direction, trying to break free from the planet¡¯s gravity, flying towards the satellite¡¯s location. Captain Zhao Qingfeng said loudly, ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, this is the footage captured by the satellite 15 minutes ago!¡± Many still hadn¡¯t grasped what had occurred and only started to shout anxiously after reminders from others. Was there¡­ a powerful civilization with technology hiding here, launching a rocket at Earth Time? No, not a rocket, but four missiles. And most likely nuclear warheads! Were they launching an attack?! Zhang Yuan¡¯s mind raced with thoughts, his heartbeat speeding up rapidly. He was already regretting choosing this awful place for the spaceship to land. If they had chosen a different planet, an attack by the other party would undoubtedly have been much more difficult. But regret was utterly useless now; instead of dwelling on it, it was better to think about how to deal with the situation¡­ A situation that could directly lead to the extinction of humankind! ¡°Quiet, please be quiet!¡± Captain Zhao slammed the table forcefully and yelled, ¡°Let¡¯s not consider why a civilization suddenly appeared here! It only shows that our preliminary surveillance was not thorough enough!¡± ¡°According to calculations, these rockets¡­ no, missiles, are very likely heading towards our spaceship, and their speed has already exceeded 50 km/s, barely constrained by the planet¡¯s gravity.¡± ¡°If it keeps accelerating at this rate, the final speed could reach 80-100 km/s! In approximately 4000 seconds, it will hit our spaceship!¡± A speed of one hundred kilometers per second! Zhang Yuan¡¯s pupils constricted slightly, the speed was so astonishing that it sent shockwaves through his heart. It might have already reached the ultimate limit of chemical rockets. Interception, they had to find a way to intercept! But the biggest problem was that there were no interception weapons inside the Earth Era! Some rifles and a few construction-site bombs were all the weapons they had; there were no weapon-grade lasers, to say nothing of electromagnetic guns! How to intercept?! Shoot down nuclear warheads traveling at a hundred kilometers per second with rifles? Zhang Yuan swallowed hard, his brain flooding with blood at the instant he realized this truth. Humans simply didn¡¯t have the strength to face the aliens head-on. Although this Alien Civilization had launched only one rocket with a total of four nuclear warheads, they were still beyond the current strength of humanity. A physicist slapped his head and immediately said, ¡°There are some small laser devices in the laboratory that can emit lasers. Lasers travel at the speed of light, which theoretically is sufficient, but¡­¡± ¡°Can they penetrate armor?¡± Captain Zhao asked. ¡°Of course¡­not!¡± The physicist was so anxious that he was sweating profusely, shouting, ¡°If we focus the laser on one point for a long time, perhaps it could generate enough heat to melt the armor. But it requires a very long time, it¡¯s just not possible! It¡¯s moving so fast, how could we possibly aim accurately!¡± Even so, a group of people rushed out of the Captain¡¯s Room, preparing various instruments. The probability of interception using lasers was extremely low, but as things stood, they had no choice but to treat a dead horse as if it were alive. The second plan was slightly more reliable, using three small shuttles for armed interception! These missiles were traveling at 100km/s. Before the missiles could hit the Earth Era, they might be able to destroy them by hitting certain key parts with weapons, like rifles, given the immense relative velocity. But that was just theoretical¡­ With time pressing, Major Guo, after hearing the plan, didn¡¯t have time to consider the feasibility of the issue and saluted solemnly. While running, he shouted loudly into his headset, beginning the selection of the best pilots. ¡°I¡¯m coming with you!¡± Zhang Yuan ran quickly too, his eyebrows still furrowed with concern. Guarantee? There was no guarantee for this kind of thing. The shuttle wasn¡¯t a combat spaceship. Although it had autonomous piloting capabilities, it lacked weaponry. Were they supposed to leap out of the shuttle hatch and forcibly intercept with personal firearms and bombs? The odds of success¡­ Just think about it: using firearms in the vacuum of space means battling recoil. Fire one bullet, and the shooter would be sent flying backward; the accuracy would be ridiculously low. To hit such fast-moving missiles with bullets? The probability was nearly as likely as winning the lottery¡­ maybe lasers would be a better bet. Looking at Major Guo¡¯s stern face, Zhang Yuan sighed inwardly, thinking rapidly. He had to try another method, to increase the chances of hitting the missiles! Major Guo briefed the pilots with succinct language about the mission and then said gravely, ¡°Everyone, the fate of all humanity is now in our hands!¡± ¡°If our mission fails, our Mother Ship may suffer a nuclear strike! It might even be an antimatter weapon!¡± ¡°You all understand what such consequences entail¡­ The war has begun.¡± The pilots, upon hearing their mission, all turned pale, and some clenched their fists so hard they made a ¡®crackle¡¯ sound. The news was too sudden, too terrifying. With urgent time constraints, and no time for complicated combat plans, after a brief motivation, and understanding their specific assignment, within less than 10 minutes, the three shuttles, equipped with tools, launched from the spaceship. After carrying out this series of measures, Zhang Yuan hurriedly returned and saw Captain Zhao issuing commands non-stop in the Captain¡¯s Room. ¡°Evacuate the surface personnel immediately, and stockpile life supplies into the deep underground¡­ we have less than an hour.¡± ¡°Start the spaceship¡¯s nuclear engine, push the horsepower to the max¡­¡± ¡°Start all detection devices, calculate the ballistic position of the nuclear warhead!¡± Amid a flurry of activity, much of the industry ceased. Soldiers rushed to various areas to maintain order. Many civilians didn¡¯t even know what had happened, but the engines of the Earth Era had already started urgently. However, given the spaceship¡¯s vast mass, its acceleration wouldn¡¯t exceed two thousandths of a meter per second squared. With 4000 seconds of acceleration time, the speed would barely reach 8 meters per second, slower than a sprinter¡¯s 100-meter dash. If these missiles had even a slight tracking capability, such speed simply wouldn¡¯t be enough¡­ A massive nuclear crisis loomed. Chapter 219 - 219 219 Intercept Intercept ?Chapter 219: Chapter 219: Intercept! Intercept! Chapter 219: Chapter 219: Intercept! Intercept! Many insiders were cursing this damnable civilization for not playing by the conventional rules. For thousands of years, humans had been sending electromagnetic waves into this star domain, asking if there were intelligent life forms, with absolutely no response¡­ In addition, scientists had not found any artificial satellites above the atmosphere, nor had they definitively discovered surface activity traces. ¡°Damn it, this civilization can¡¯t possibly think the universe is a dark forest¡­ Impossible, the Dyson Sphere is right there¡­¡± ¡°How could a civilization that doesn¡¯t even have satellites or hasn¡¯t left its own planet possibly launch rockets?¡± ¡°Could they be underground rats?!¡± Swallowing hard, Zhang Yuan also found it somewhat incredible. If it weren¡¯t for his incompatible status, he even wanted to personally go to the battlefield to see how this damned civilization had technologically evolved! First off, if the interception mission failed, could Earth Era withstand these four nuclear bombs? The answer was¡­ uncertain! In outer space, nuclear bombs would not produce massive shockwaves, only light and electromagnetic radiation, significantly reducing their impact. Earth Era had enough mass to withstand these nuclear bombs, and theoretically, it shouldn¡¯t be directly turned into interstellar junk. However, the spaceship was a whole, and if the hull was severely damaged, it would significantly hinder subsequent activities. If some areas¡¯ warehouses were blown up, humans would lose a massive amount of resources; if the thermal radiation zone was destroyed, heat would accumulate inside the ship, and all industrial activities would have to stop! And without a doubt, until now, humans simply lacked the industrial strength to extensively maintain a damaged spaceship. If it were crippled in this wave, it would undoubtedly become a sitting duck afterward, the kind that couldn¡¯t even resist! ¡°So, we can¡¯t fail, we absolutely can¡¯t fail!¡± The industrial zone on the planet¡¯s surface was still not fully built, and the human mothership could not afford to fail. Second point, why would they initiate an attack? Couldn¡¯t things be negotiated? Was it due to different modes of thought, or some other reason? Zhang Yuan frowned deeply, quickly grasping the reason: If a seemingly weak civilization suddenly entered the Solar System, wanting to establish interstellar colonies on humanity¡¯s turf, and this weakling had already exhausted its fuel, unable to return¡­ what would the native civilization choose? ¡°The other side has observed us for a year and a half, basically understanding our technological strength.¡± ¡°So, without a second word, we should knock them down first, right? It¡¯s not like they¡¯d wait for us to develop, right?¡± Wrong! If presenting an overwhelming advantage, going straight to battle was the most foolish approach. ¡°By negotiating and forcing the opponent into submission, we can gain greater benefits.¡± Think about it: if Earth Era entered a territory of a strong interstellar civilization, the correct solution for them would be to capture humans for study, not barbarically destroy them with missiles. Given the significant difference in strength, humans would likely surrender immediately. ¡°Unless, their mode of thought is drastically different from ours¡­ or perhaps, they aren¡¯t sure they can handle us, which is why they¡¯d resort to this sneak-attack strategy!¡± Yes, that must be it! Thinking this, Zhang Yuan loudly said, ¡°Everyone, as long as we survive this wave, it¡¯s very likely that the opponent will be helpless against us! Launching a super rocket that can directly break free from planetary gravity isn¡¯t something that can be done on a whim; it requires a tremendous amount of a civilization¡¯s productive capacity.¡± As he pondered this, three space shuttles blazed out from the spaceship, becoming faster and faster as seen on the screen, turning into a tiny speck within a minute. Under the massive acceleration, several soldiers were firmly pressed into their seats, their eyeballs quickly becoming bloodshot. It was impossible to say they weren¡¯t nervous; the soldiers normally only functioned as police within the spaceship, and it had been a very long time since any war had happened¡­ The entire civilization simply didn¡¯t have the means to train them, all their training could only be done in simulators. ¡°Major Guo, Captain Li, Captain Wang, have all three of you understood your missions?¡± Just as the acceleration gradually faded and their bodies relaxed, Captain Zhao¡¯s voice sounded in the headset. ¡°Understood!¡± ¡°¡­ You will encounter these high-speed missiles in 1,228 seconds. The time of the encounter will be extremely brief, too brief for human neural response speed to handle.¡± ¡°To launch an attack, we¡¯ll need to set our sights well in advance!¡± ¡°Zhang Yuan, tell us your plan¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s like this¡­¡± Zhang Yuan paused, not beating around the bush. ¡°In our shuttle, there is a deceleration umbrella for use after the spaceship enters the atmosphere, which is the third button on the left.¡± Major Guo¡¯s heart jolted slightly, a deceleration umbrella? What did that mean? That¡¯s right, every spaceship had such a deceleration umbrella to facilitate landing on planets with atmospheres. Zhang Yuan quickly continued, ¡°There¡¯s no atmosphere in space, so the deceleration umbrella can¡¯t fully deploy, but it can at least partly deploy. Our shuttle isn¡¯t armed,¡± ¡°Just seconds before you and those missiles prepare to intersect, you just need to launch the deceleration umbrella ahead of time, let it open, and hit the opponent¡¯s missiles.¡± ¡°Right before the shuttle launched, I had someone disconnect the rope between the deceleration umbrella and the spaceship, so there¡¯s no need to worry.¡± ¡°After launching the deceleration umbrella, the shuttle will immediately change course to avoid being affected by the nuclear explosion¡­¡± S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Major Guo¡¯s gaze grew distant for a moment as he grasped the combat strategy, internally praising Zhang Yuan for his sharper wit. Initially, they had thought of using machine guns to strafe. However, the relative speed between the shuttle and the missiles was more than 120 kilometers per second. A distance of 120 kilometers flashed by in just one second! With such high speed, how could they possibly manage a precision strike? Later, they thought of sacrificing one life by directly colliding the spaceship with the missiles! That had a slight possibility. But now with the deceleration umbrella, it was different; each one covered an area of over three thousand square meters! Zhang Yuan¡¯s voice came through the headset: ¡°Even though we can¡¯t fully deploy it in space¡­¡± ¡°Striking a point with a surface¡­ The probability of success is much higher, and with such significant relative velocity, the moment the deceleration umbrella covers them, it will destroy those missiles instantly!¡± ¡°Do you understand?¡± ¡°Understood!¡± A few pilots shouted excitedly and in unison. Time ticked away by the second, and the distance between the two parties was rapidly closing. Even from within the Captain¡¯s Room, Zhang Yuan felt his forehead burn, sweating profusely. Although he wasn¡¯t piloting the spaceship, he couldn¡¯t help but feel tense¡­ How could he not be nervous. The entire meeting room was very hot. In fact, there was one more thing he hadn¡¯t said¡ªif destroying these rockets set off their nuclear bombs, they might still be affected by the explosion even if they changed course due to the close proximity. But what would saying that change¡­ Perhaps those pilots already knew this. At such a moment, professional soldiers have no time for dithering! ¡°Little Li, do you have any last words?¡± Major Guo sat in the shuttle, wiping the sweat from his forehead. The three shuttles weren¡¯t far apart, and each pilot could communicate with each other. They had already endured the most difficult period of excessive gravitational force, and the spaceship had entered a stable operation state. They were rapidly approaching the relative position of the missiles. ¡°Last words? None, just a bit nervous¡­¡± ¡°Not scared of dying?¡± ¡°Of course, I am.¡± Little Li paused, his complexion flush as he spoke, ¡°But who can care about that now?¡± ¡°You know, just before now, I thought the best method was direct collision, not the deceleration umbrella,¡± Major Guo said half-jokingly to ease the tension. ¡°The Divine Wind Special Team? Major, I thought of that method too. Haha¡± ¡°Although it¡¯s not exactly a glorious term¡­¡± ¡°If we¡¯re lucky enough to survive and complete the mission, we still have to toast Mr. Zhang with a drink!¡± ¡­ Chapter 220 - 220 220 Crisis...Resolved (2 in 1 chapter) ?Chapter 220: Chapter 220 Crisis¡­Resolved! (2 in 1 chapter) Chapter 220: Chapter 220 Crisis¡­Resolved! (2 in 1 chapter) ¡°There are a hundred seconds left!¡± At that moment, the command center of the Earth Era transmitted a massive amount of data. Major Guo yelled, ¡°All pilots prepare¡­ Last course adjustment! Get as close to those missiles as possible!¡± ¡°Orders received!¡± Major Guo narrowed his eyes, unable to see the so-called ¡°nuclear bombs¡± with the naked eye without relying on radar. What a joke, if they could actually be seen with the eyes, they would have already whizzed past before a reaction was possible. It was just a series of equations displayed on the screen, showing that the distance between both parties was rapidly closing! Too fast¡­ These spaceships, many times faster than Earth¡¯s fastest fighter jets, traveling over a hundred kilometers per second, humans couldn¡¯t possibly react in time, everything had to rely on programs accurate to the millisecond! Trembling fingers pressed a few keys, ¡°Has everyone set their autopilot programs¡­ any problems?¡± ¡°No problems!¡± ¡°Double check everything! Don¡¯t miss it.¡± 1000 kilometers¡­ 800 kilometers¡­ 600 kilometers! 200! The closing distance caused everyone¡¯s pupils to dilate, including the various calculation personnel in the Captain¡¯s Room of the Earth Era. Just mere tens of kilometers passed in a blink, making it impossible to observe the position of the nuclear bombs with the naked eye! But the data displayed on the instruments showed¡­ It was coming! The heart seemed about to leap out of the throat, and at this critical moment, the bodies of these soldiers shook violently! Buzz! Three huge Deceleration Umbrellas were instantly ejected from behind the wings of the shuttle. These Deceleration Umbrellas were tools used to slow down in the atmosphere, but at this moment, situated in the vacuum of space, without any atmosphere, the Deceleration Umbrellas twisted and turned, like crumpled plastic bags. But that was enough! ¡°Quick, retreat!¡± There was no time to look back; all the pilots simultaneously performed another action, crazily pulling the control sticks to rise! Even with autopilot programs, how could they dare to fly totally autonomously under the threat of nuclear bombs? Under the tremendous acceleration, everyone¡¯s head swelled to the color of a swollen liver. Major Guo felt the veins on his forehead bulging out one by one, but he didn¡¯t dare slow down, only wanting to know whether the final interception was successful¡­ If the Mother Ship really was attacked, even if they survived, what meaning would it hold? Zhang Yuan stared intently at the screen, watching the several ¡°plastic bag¡± like Deceleration Umbrellas launch synchronously. The various observational devices inside the spaceship had magnified the resolution to the extreme. Several high-speed missiles were successfully captured by the Deceleration Umbrellas. ¡°It¡¯s a success!¡± Cheers erupted in the Captain¡¯s Room. ¡°After taking that hit, even a thin Deceleration Umbrella was enough to tamper with those missiles. If a plane can be brought down by a small bird, let alone a much faster missile!¡± But the next second, before anyone could even be relieved, a massive nuclear fireball appeared in the middle of the battlefield! The intense light was painfully blinding. The screen filled with a lot of interference, and the communication with the Mother Ship and several shuttles was instantly cut off. ¡°Old Guo! Old Guo!¡± Captain Zhao took a deep breath and urgently called twice, but there was no response. It was uncertain whether those shuttles were destroyed by the nuclear bomb or if the communication signals were blocked by an electromagnetic pulse. Zhang Yuan stared at the various data on the screen and frowned, ¡°Don¡¯t panic yet, it looks like an atomic bomb that was detonated by collision¡­ The yield doesn¡¯t match our predictions; it won¡¯t reach the spaceships a few kilometers away¡­ Just one second, these ships could have flown tens of kilometers¡­¡± Before he could finish his speech, one of the scientists pointed at the screen and screamed in horror. Everyone followed his finger, instantly breaking out in a cold sweat again. There was still one last nuclear missile, breaking through the Deceleration Umbrella¡¯s interception, and it was heading straight for the Mother Ship! What should we do? The shuttles still needed to take a wide turn, and their speed couldn¡¯t match those nuclear missiles! Everyone¡¯s face turned pale; this was undoubtedly devastating news. Captain Zhao, with a solemn expression, asked, ¡°What about our laser? Is it ready? Is there a theoretical chance we could shoot it down?¡± Zhang Yuan immediately shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s ready, but there¡¯s no feasibility. It would take tens of seconds of aiming to possibly melt the surface of the missile. Tens of seconds, how could that be possible?¡± ¡°Then get ready¡­ to take a nuclear hit,¡± Captain Zhao vigorously pounded the table. He was hesitating whether to let a large number of soldiers fire machine guns from the spaceship, using their lives for a chance at ¡°drawing a lottery ticket¡±¡­ After taking that nuclear hit, he didn¡¯t know if it would lead to extinction, but from then on, humanity¡¯s days would certainly be much tougher. ¡°Damn aliens! Damn them!¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Zhang Yuan suddenly came up with an idea. The thought flashed through his mind, and he jumped up nervously. He said loudly, ¡°Can we activate that High-dimensional Fragment?¡± ¡°If we activate it at the precise location, could it possibly swallow the nuclear missile? Is there a chance?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a possibility¡­ though there are many difficulties.¡± Zhao Qingfeng quickly responded, and without hesitation, he immediately ordered someone to retrieve the High-dimensional Fragment from the storage room. That thing was once a curse, and it was uncertain how to research it, but now, it had become a lifeline. At this critical moment of potential extinction, everyone¡¯s action speed greatly increased. Many scientists were feverishly discussing the feasibility of the plan, especially some computational experts, who were sweating profusely, every muscle in their bodies trembling. ¡°¡­But using the High-dimensional Fragment to suck it in isn¡¯t just talk; the most important thing is to calculate the exact landing spot of the missile! But the missile is still accelerating¡­ especially our observation equipment, it¡¯s very hard to precisely locate this high-speed moving missile, the error could be hundreds or thousands of meters.¡± After all, the absorption radius of the High-dimensional Fragment was only a few meters, and if they missed, the nuclear bomb would still explode! But in this situation, they could only clutch at straws. All astronomical observation equipment was aimed at that last fiercely aggressive nuclear warhead, trying to detect the most accurate trajectory data. ¡°Only 400 seconds left! Hurry, hurry.¡± Zhang Yuan urged nervously, while at the same time, he kept thinking and calculating internally. ¡°Only 300 seconds left!¡± He swallowed, wishing he could join in himself if he were not so unfamiliar with the software. Li Zhendong rubbed his eyes. As an information expert, his heart was about to leap out at this moment, and his trembling fingers occasionally pressed the wrong keys, entering incorrect data. Including the relative movement of the spaceship and calculating the acceleration of the missile, the entire trajectory would have been a simple matter in the past¡­ at least not something difficult! But now! In this moment, he truly loathed every muscle cell in his fingers. ¡°Damn it!¡± ¡°Chop it off!¡± ¡°Once we return, I will immediately switch to a bionic mechanical hand!¡± Li Zhendong thought wildly to himself. As the last digit was entered, Li Zhendong finally pressed the Enter key, anxiously awaiting the result. ¡°There are two hundred seconds left!¡± Snap! The result of the equation calculation emerged, and Li Zhendong shouted, ¡°Coordinate location, about eight hundred meters to the right of us! The error is around 200 meters.¡± ¡°Is the equation correct?¡± ¡°I got pretty much the same result,¡± another expert also exclaimed. Zhao Qingfeng glared, ¡°An error of two hundred meters radius?! That¡¯s such a large area, where do you want me to place the High-dimensional Fragment?¡± Li Zhendong, sweating profusely, replied, ¡°The main reason is that our observational data is not very accurate¡­ wait a minute, just a bit longer. The closer the missile gets to our spaceship, the more accurate the data will become, and the error will decrease.¡± But waiting longer also meant that the danger would increase exponentially. He suddenly thought of a question, ¡°Could this missile suddenly change direction?¡± Zhang Yuan shook his head, ¡°It shouldn¡¯t, the missile¡¯s speed is increasing, and it has entered the final sprint stage¡­ theoretically, it shouldn¡¯t change direction anymore¡­¡± Zhang Yuan suddenly glanced at the time, ¡°Sixty seconds left, 59 seconds¡­ Damn it, did you get the calculations?¡± ¡°They¡¯re done, the location error has been reduced to ten meters¡­ I¡¯m sending the coordinates¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it!¡± ¡°Quick, hurry!¡± Several soldiers who had been waiting for orders quickly maneuvered robots and placed the High-dimensional Fragment in the calculated position. Following that, various lasers were urgently activated at maximum power targeting the High-dimensional Fragment. After completing all this, all personnel began to evacuate urgently. ¡°Thirty seconds left!¡± Just a mere thirty seconds, and in thirty seconds, a nuclear explosion might occur in this area, no one knew how powerful the surging nuclear bomb would be! Even if the explosion just seen was a small atomic bomb, it might¡­ it could be just the detonation device of a hydrogen bomb. Perhaps this nuclear bomb could have a yield of a billion tons? Thinking of these consequences, Zhang Yuan felt his scalp tingle, and even breathing became somewhat difficult. ¡°It must¡­ succeed!¡± The lasers quietly continued to irradiate, and soon this became a deserted area. Twenty-three seconds later, the High-dimensional Fragment emitted a bright white light, absorbing all the surrounding spaceship walls, and this absorbing power was very strange, as if the entire wall had abruptly vanished, a force from a higher dimension. But compared to enduring a nuclear bomb, for humans, damage to the spaceship walls was already quite acceptable. A nuclear missile surged forward, staring straight at the light point, and charged over! Zhang Yuan stared intently at the large screen; by now, everything that could be done had been done, and his mood gradually became calm. That part wasn¡¯t the most crucial engine section, but it was still a very important heat dissipation area. Once destroyed, all industries within the spaceship would have to halt. After the spaceship¡¯s industries halted, the industrial speed on the surface would also significantly slow down. Next, combating this enemy civilization would undoubtedly become extremely difficult. ¡°Fortunately, this enemy civilization must use rockets to climb the gravitational wells of planets every time they attack humans. Such super rockets should not be easy.¡± ¡°If the cooling area is destroyed¡­ it should¡­¡± Amid such wild thoughts, a series of screams had already erupted in the conference room. A tiny shadow suddenly appeared on the screen, bringing another civilization¡¯s ferocious killing intent! But it was merely a flicker of the eyes, and it disappeared directly from the screen! The whole event was so bizarre that most people couldn¡¯t even react, but the instrument data showed that the nuclear warhead, which had been so formidable, had disappeared from this world and could no longer be detected. The video began to replay at a speed slowed down by a thousand times, and after it was clear that the nuclear missile crisis was officially averted, a huge cheer erupted from the Captain¡¯s Room! The last nuclear missile was directly neutralized by the high-dimensional fragment! This escape from death filled Zhang Yuan with relief, so he randomly grabbed Li Zhendong next to him for a hug. Almost everyone did the same, unable to help celebrating and cheering for their narrow escape. In his excitement, Li Zhendong accidentally drooled on Zhang Yuan¡¯s arm. ¡°Damn it, that¡¯s disgusting, what are you doing?¡± Zhang Yuan wiped off the mess with great disdain. ¡°Ah, I accidentally became a hero again¡­ If it wasn¡¯t for my calculations of the precise position, ah, we would have been done for.¡± Li Zhendong turned around, wiped his mouth, and said very smugly. Zhang Yuan rolled his eyes, ¡°I saw you excitedly press several wrong numbers, and I had to remind you. Looking at your trembling fingers, you were scared to death. It seems pulling up the internal monitoring of the spaceship isn¡¯t that hard¡­¡± Li Zhendong was immediately at a loss for words, as if a simple compliment would kill him¡­ Cheering aside, there was still one last matter that hadn¡¯t been completely resolved; those three shuttles still had not made contact. There was even one hostile civilization that needed dealing with! After repeated searches with various observation equipment, the traces of these few spaceships were finally found. It turned out, these shuttles had taken a large detour and started to return, seeming like they hadn¡¯t been destroyed by the accidentally detonated nuclear bomb. Looking at those three intercepted nuclear missiles, aside from one that exploded on the spot, the other two had their trajectories altered; one flew wildly into outer space, while the other was likely to hit a planetary surface. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. However, the impact site was a full 4,000 kilometers away from the main base, which wouldn¡¯t cause much impact. ¡°¡­Calling the Mother Ship, this is Space Shuttle 001. I am the pilot Guo Qiang, the shuttle is currently in good operational condition¡­¡± ¡°¡­Calling the Mother Ship, this is Space Shuttle 002.¡± ¡°Space Shuttle 003 calling the Mother Ship, a nuclear explosion occurred 30 kilometers from my location.¡± It was quite a while before the calls from several pilots came through in the Captain¡¯s Room, mixed with various kinds of static. Zhang Yuan immediately felt relieved; this meant that this crisis had been mostly overcome without any damage to humanity, except for a slight damage to Earth Era. This was almost the best possible outcome. But the thought of facing a Wisdom Civilization immediately wiped out his relief. Captain Zhao immediately responded, ¡°The Mother Ship is still in slight motion and is not suitable as a landing point. You guys head directly back to the satellite surface¡­ Do not leave the bay randomly; the surface rescue teams will come to search and rescue you.¡± ¡­ Chapter 221 - 221 221 Weapon Production Plan ?Chapter 221: Chapter 221: Weapon Production Plan Chapter 221: Chapter 221: Weapon Production Plan Several minutes later, more of civilization¡¯s upper echelon gathered in the Captain¡¯s Room to discuss related issues. Although humans were very fortunate to have intercepted the first batch of missiles, who knew if there would be a second or third batch to follow. Plus, the incident had blown up so much that even the common people had some faint guesses. Many had seen the nuclear flash from the bombs, and the nuclear fusion engines had been urgently activated, with Earth Era time now in motion. These traces were impossible to cover up artificially. The Mother Ship was slowly accelerating, no longer a fixed target as before, but the consequence was that it had temporarily lost contact with the underground bases on the planet. The long carbon nanowires had been retracted, so there was no way to continue material and personnel exchanges. The activation of the nuclear engine was rapidly depleting the not-so-abundant reserves of Helium-3, which made Zhang Yuan¡¯s heart ache terribly. Fortunately, humans had already found uranium mines on the surface; otherwise, there might have been an energy crisis, leading to death on this planet. After a brief meeting concluded, Captain Zhao stood gravely in front of the television, delivering a war speech. As for the possible war, there was no use in hiding it; they were about to go to war, so surely they couldn¡¯t keep the enemy¡¯s identity secret from the public? ¡°I formally declare, we are entering an emergency wartime state!¡± ¡°¡­We must maintain sufficient vigilance against this unknown enemy, and even carry out equivalent retaliation!¡± ¡°To seek peace through struggle, peace will prevail; to seek peace through compromise, peace will be lost!¡± Zhang Yuan stood below the stage, texting to comfort his wife. ¡°Yes, no one was hurt, just a hole made by a high-dimensional fragment in the spaceship, nothing else¡­ I¡¯m fine too. There¡¯s no significant loss, you can rest assured, no more missiles are coming for now.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need to go to battle, so don¡¯t worry.¡± Yet, when it came back to it, people really did not know what this enemy was! They didn¡¯t even know what the enemy looked like. Some said that an unknown technological civilization lay hidden beneath the ground, while others thought it was an out-of-control Artificial Intelligence that had already wiped out other civilizations! Everyone knew that they could not retreat one bit, for to do so would be hell¡ªeven now with scarcely any weapons and without any ability to resist. Humans were simply incapable of leaving this star system, and surrendering was not an option. The uproar among the agitated populace continued, with some still in a state of total confusion. Such a major unexpected event had occurred so suddenly that they had no time to react. After the speech concluded, Captain Zhao stepped down from the platform and convened a second emergency meeting. The senior officials just sat in their seats, silent, as various reporters who wanted to interview them were temporarily driven out by the soldiers. After the commotion, there was silence. ¡°Now the common people also know about this. Mobilizing for war will still require the efforts of the Propaganda Department, both to maintain public morale and to ensure their fighting spirit remains high¡­ especially since our industrial capacity is insufficient, the production of weapons and equipment may have to sacrifice the current quality of life.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no problem with that; everyone should be able to understand,¡± nodded a leader from the Propaganda Department. Seeing everyone¡¯s mood stabilize slightly, Zhao Qingfeng spoke with a solemn face, ¡°First, let me ask you all, how long will it take to produce space weapons, including nuclear bombs, if we deviate most of our resources and compress the majority of the public¡¯s quality of life?¡± In the face of a life-and-death crisis, all plans for industrial development could only be temporarily put on hold. An engineer clenched his teeth, ¡°We have found a relatively good uranium mine on the surface. If we allocate a huge portion of our resources, we can produce six thousand centrifuges within half a year¡­¡± S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Within a year, we will be able to detonate an atomic bomb, and within two years, a hydrogen bomb! Technically, it¡¯s not a major challenge, but there are still some difficulties on the industrial side.¡± ¡°At the absolute minimum, it will still take nine months.¡± Hearing that it would take more than nine months, the meeting room immediately became lively again. Nine months was indeed too long, and even excessively so¡ªno one knew when the enemy might unleash their major weapons! Perhaps in a few days, another batch of nuclear bombs would be launched! However, in this universal war, nuclear bombs had become the most conventional weapon, and stuff like high explosive bombs and TNT were downright laughable when brought out. According to interstellar wars that have erupted within human civilization, there are three most conventional weapons: missiles, lasers, and electromagnetic guns. Needless to say about missiles, they¡¯re basically nuclear warheads, hydrogen bombs, Helium-3 bombs, with tremendous power but slow speed, suitable for close quarters combat, but easily intercepted. Lasers lean more towards defense, the smaller ones can defend against small drones, medium ones against artillery shells and missiles, and the larger ones can be deployed in space to attack boost rockets and anti-missile. But given the current industrial capability of the new civilization, it¡¯s unlikely that they could produce laser weapons in the short term. This is because laser weapons require some special crystals that are products of condensed matter physics, not easy to preserve for long periods, impossible to bring over from Earth. Making similar crystals is not something that can be achieved overnight. Manufacturing electromagnetic guns is slightly easier than lasers, but the power of an electromagnetic gun is directly proportional to the velocity of its projectiles. The faster the projectile, the higher the demands on the entire weaponry system, especially requiring a long acceleration tube, several kilometers or even tens of kilometers won¡¯t be considered too much! Therefore, electromagnetic guns are often very large in tonnage and volume¡­ which is one of the reasons why the Earth Era did not carry these space weapons. A military expert said, ¡°I think we can aim to manufacture missiles and small electromagnetic guns as our first target¡­ First, we need sufficient defense measures to counter these ultra-high-speed missiles from the enemy. The velocity of the electromagnetic cannon shells must reach at least one hundred kilometers per second to have an adequate interception success rate.¡± Zhang Yuan nodded, ¡°Understood¡­ Research on nuclear bombs and electromagnetic guns will be my responsibility.¡± ¡°What about poison gas bombs? What about biochemical weapons?¡± Captain Zhao inquired. ¡°It¡¯s not possible, the feasibility is too low.¡± The speaker was a biologist, ¡°We have absolutely no research on the life forms of this planet, and we don¡¯t know what gases they are afraid of¡­ Some of the gases in the atmosphere are toxic gases that can kill most Earth bacteria and react chemically with poison gases, neutralizing them directly.¡± ¡°Moreover, there¡¯s a vast planet below, it¡¯s not the size of our spaceship¡­ Natural phenomena like typhoons already have strong dilution capabilities. How much poison gas would we need to produce to kill creatures hiding in burrows? With the current productive capacity, even if we produced poison gas for a hundred years, it would not be feasible.¡± Hearing this, everyone found themselves at a complete loss, even Zhang Yuan was devoid of good ideas. His fingers lightly tapped the tabletop, his brow furrowed, the current strength of humanity was truly too pitiful. A skilled woman can¡¯t cook without rice, no matter how clever, it was impossible to think of any good solutions. He sighed softly, ¡°If we were given another eight to ten years, the situation would greatly improve, but this world just doesn¡¯t have any ¡®ifs¡¯¡­¡± Chapter 222 - 222 222 The Challenges Faced ?Chapter 222: Chapter 222: The Challenges Faced Chapter 222: Chapter 222: The Challenges Faced For humanity, the only advantage was that the enemy¡¯s missiles had to climb the gravity well before they could attack the mother ship. It was just unknown how strong the enemy¡¯s industrial capacity was and how many such super rockets they could manufacture¡­ ¡°It must be very strenuous. Otherwise, the enemy could easily produce dozens or hundreds of rockets and launch them all at once, leaving humans with no possibility of interception.¡± This kind of inference also made sense; rockets hundreds of meters tall could weigh tens of thousands of tons. Such powerful weapons of violence could not possibly be mass-produced in a short period of time, so there was a good chance that humans could catch their breath for a while. In various discussions, someone even suggested propelling asteroids to attack the planet and trigger a climate disaster, making a joke of it. If humans could move asteroids over 10 kilometers in diameter and weighing trillions of tons, there would be no need to fight at all; it would be more appropriate to have the opponent surrender directly. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Others said to transport a few high explosive bombs with shuttles; even if it wasn¡¯t very useful, it would be good to boost the confidence of the general public. Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but shake his head slightly upon hearing these statements. Soon, these absurd suggestions were rejected because using shuttles had a cost in itself. Doing such thankless and strenuous work was almost foolish. Finally, Captain Zhao heavily slammed his hand on the table. ¡°Alright, everyone please quiet down!¡± ¡°Whether we admit it or not, we must acknowledge that, currently, we have no capability to strike back.¡± ¡°So, let¡¯s defend¡­ Put maximum effort into defense! First, create some small electromagnetic gun weapons as interception means. We can¡¯t be passive like this anymore.¡± ¡°Once we strike, it must be a thunderous offense!¡± ¡­ Having no capability to retaliate, although it was frustrating, everyone quickly distributed their tasks, such as ideological propaganda, wartime mobilization, training of soldiers, and so on¡­ Zhang Yuan was the head of the New Civilization Development Department and also a nuclear expert responsible for manufacturing nuclear bombs. Don¡¯t forget, he had also published papers on plasma turbulence! He was in video communication with Engineer Ye Kaifu at the terrestrial industrial base, head bowed. ¡°Given the current technology, manufacturing an atomic bomb is not difficult, especially the traditional gun-type atomic bomb whose theoretical construct is fairly simple. Making hydrogen bombs is not too difficult either¡­¡± ¡°The biggest obstacle is still our industrial capacity, concentrating uranium¡­ How much uranium ore can you mine in a month?¡± Ye Kaifu responded, ¡°Uranium ore is not a problem, but purification is very difficult.¡± ¡°Is there a way to speed it up?¡± ¡°No, there isn¡¯t,¡± Ye Kaifu said somewhat speechlessly; industrial development progresses steadily and cannot shift according to human will. Additionally, atomic bombs require high concentrations of uranium-235 or plutonium-239 needing many centrifuges, which also occupy industrial capacity; many production lines need realignment. ¡°We also need a lot of electrical energy, that is, to build nuclear power plants¡­ Let¡¯s start by establishing the power plants first.¡± After taking on this task, Zhang Yuan was quite troubled; he even doubted whether he could manage to produce an atomic bomb within a year. That military expert was simply talking nonsense! ¡­ Earth Era, residential area. Every person he encountered along the way was in a hurry, as if preoccupied. Everyone¡¯s complexion was not good; since that incident had happened, the normally cheerful and relaxed atmosphere had long since dissipated, replaced by an eerie, oppressive sense. Although it was already after work hours, the entertainment venues were scarcely populated, as almost everyone was gathered at Central Square watching today¡¯s news broadcast. Under these circumstances, several usually bustling mobile repair shops found themselves without any customers. Wang Junpeng and Xu Jie were sighing in the shop, having made a fair amount of money as the first ones to try methods like ¡°trade in the old for a new one¡± or ¡°repair old mobiles.¡± But a year and a half had passed, and business was becoming increasingly difficult. This kind of competitive work didn¡¯t have a significant technical content. Seeing them making money, many technicians swarmed to join the competition. You can fix mobiles, so can I! I can even repair various parts that aren¡¯t very damaged, better and more durable than you! The intense competition was, of course, beneficial for society as a whole. Each shop had to lower profits and engage in a price war to attract customers. What was most crucial was to improve the quality of their repairs¡ªwithin this small society, reputation was everything. As long as the skills were outstanding, word would spread from one to ten, ten to a hundred, and soon everyone would know whose repair capabilities were stronger. Neither Wang Junpeng nor Xu Jie came from a professional mobile repair background. They couldn¡¯t compete with real tech experts, so business worsened, and they were barely getting by. The host of the news broadcast looked very serious, even deliberately replacing the previous female host with a male one, followed by Captain Zhao¡¯s war declaration. After watching the news broadcast, Wang Junpeng immediately felt uneasy. ¡°Damn, there are aliens here! What a clich¨¦. We¡¯ve been sending electromagnetic signals for thousands of years. Why no reply?¡± Xu Jie looked as if he had just woken up, repeating several times, ¡°Are we going to war? With aliens!¡± Hearing that several nuclear bombs almost exploded overhead, he suddenly woke up from the dream, his face turning pale. ¡°That¡¯s a nuclear bomb, damn!¡± Xu Jie murmured, ¡°Using a Deceleration Umbrella to intercept nuclear bombs? As thrilling as a novel¡­¡± The flash of a nuclear explosion sounded very cool, but when it was just a step away from oneself, it only conjured intense fear. Moreover, no one knew if more nuclear bombs would be launched afterward. Perhaps, one might even be blasted into char during sleep! ¡°Of course we have to fight back, kill them! Mass-produce atomic bombs, hydrogen bombs. I support this emergency policy!¡± Xu Jie said, throwing punches left and right. Wang Junpeng retorted sarcastically, ¡°¡­Produce nuclear weapons? You think it¡¯s as simple as producing sugar? Why the fuss, just from you?¡± ¡°What, I can¡¯t? I can donate money!¡± Xu Jie rolled his eyes and said vehemently. Wang Junpeng coughed, ¡°¡­Let¡¯s talk about the present. Leaving aside the entire civilization, our mobile repair shop might not even survive.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Xu Jie looked at Old Peng in surprise. Although business was down, it was still enough to scrape by. Why wouldn¡¯t they be able to continue? ¡°You dummy, didn¡¯t you understand the undertone of the news broadcast? We¡¯re going to war!¡± ¡°I know that, but so what?¡± Wang Junpeng spoke pompously, ¡°With industrial resources massively diverted, the price of various daily necessities will definitely rise. Our life won¡¯t be as¡­ comfortable as now! By then, who¡¯ll have money to fix their phones!¡± Xu Jie was startled, this statement indeed made sense. Compared to life on Earth, their current situation wasn¡¯t particularly comfortable, but it was far better than during the hibernation period. However, going to war meant sacrificing the quality of life was inevitable. Once prices rose and everyone was out of money, business would naturally suffer. Chapter 223 - 223 223 Good People and Bad People ?Chapter 223: Chapter 223 Good People and Bad People Chapter 223: Chapter 223 Good People and Bad People After listening to Wang Junpeng¡¯s grand speech, Xu Jie frowned, weighing the pros and cons¡­ This was a civilization war of life and death, after all. If living standards declined, it could only be endured forcibly, since humans surely couldn¡¯t surrender to the aliens, could they? A while later, he got pumped up like he¡¯d been injected with chicken blood and bellowed, ¡°Afraid of a drop in living standards? Nonsense! At worst, we¡¯ll repair cellphones for free! Don¡¯t we still have a lot of savings? As long as we don¡¯t starve to death, what¡¯s there to be afraid of? Let¡¯s go donate!¡± Wang Junpeng was left speechless. Having worked with this roommate for so long, he realized this guy was heartless and not as focused on making money, unlike him who was more passionate about the financial side¡­ In this repair shop, Wang Junpeng needed to handle many things, or else the business would have failed a long time ago. Put positively, he was generous; put negatively, he was like a fool ripe for the picking. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for me, Wang Junpeng, this guy would have been bankrupt, or kicked out by someone else by now¡­ Damn it, why am I so kindhearted?¡± His eyes flickered for a moment, and he said softly, ¡°That¡¯s right, the current prices of living supplies in the supermarket haven¡¯t yet seen a major adjustment¡­ When I was buying spices earlier, it didn¡¯t seem like the prices had gone up by much¡­¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Wang Junpeng clapped his hands, ¡°That¡¯s it! Definitely. To reduce the backlash from the general public, such price adjustments will surely be gradual, not done all at once¡­ but the eventual increase in prices is bound to happen.¡± ¡°Can we buy up a large amount of living supplies, especially some of the less extravagant luxury goods, then sell them at a profit after the prices go up? After all, these types of things¡­ the government hasn¡¯t prohibited them, right? Private transactions are not illegal.¡± Xu Jie was startled, thinking that this guy was even daring to take advantage of the government? He exclaimed loudly, ¡°Are you mad, trying to profit from a national crisis! No, I absolutely won¡¯t do it. Even if things get more expensive, they won¡¯t starve us to death. It¡¯s fine to reserve some goods for personal use, but reselling¡­ let¡¯s forget about it!¡± ¡°If you resell these things, wouldn¡¯t the government arrest you?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Wang Junpeng fell silent for a moment, feeling slightly hesitant. This did carry certain risks. But he felt the risks were manageable. If he thought about it, with the entire civilization of five hundred thousand people, what would it count for if he bought a bit more now? He surely would not be the only one doing this. ¡°¡­There isn¡¯t a law against this, is there?¡± ¡°The population of five hundred thousand is akin to a small or medium-sized city where people generally have low wages, and prices are not high. With luxury goods, if a person spends 400-500 yuan a month, that adds up to two hundred million yuan.¡± ¡°I have less than two hundred thousand yuan on hand; even if I put it all in, it wouldn¡¯t even account for one-thousandth of the entire civilization¡¯s market. Plus, if I spread out the investments, there shouldn¡¯t be too much disturbance¡­¡± ¡°Just wait a few months, sell them after prices double, and you can make an easy two to three hundred thousand!¡± Thinking this way, it felt like picking up money from the ground, much faster than repairing cellphones! Wang Junpeng panted heavily, feeling that he couldn¡¯t miss this opportunity to make a fortune. Seeing the cunning plan forming in Wang Junpeng¡¯s mind, Xu Jie shrank back a little and persuaded, ¡°Old Peng, you better not mess around. Think about it, if our entire civilization is defeated, do you think the aliens will be polite to you? What will money be worth then? Just a pile of useless paper! Even if you make money, you won¡¯t be able to spend it.¡± ¡°No, if we are defeated, money indeed becomes useless!¡± Wang Junpeng raised his head and said loudly, ¡°But what if we win? Our entire civilization will usher in a period of rapid development! Won¡¯t money be useful then? If we don¡¯t seize this opportunity to make money, what other chances do we have?¡± ¡°No, I just can¡¯t bring myself to profit from a national crisis¡­ I advise you not to get involved either,¡± Xu Jie shook his head with a hint of disdain, ¡°Not only will I not join in, I¡¯m going to donate!¡± He felt somewhat alienated from his good friend. In his opinion, what¡¯s the big deal about making a little less money? How could one do such a thing? Anyway, Xu Jie was absolutely not going to do it! ¡°Profit from a national crisis?! This is investment, don¡¯t you understand?¡± Wang Junpeng couldn¡¯t help but get irritated, defensively retorting, ¡°I haven¡¯t harmed anyone, damn it, you idiot!¡± Xu Jie wasn¡¯t stupid though; as an intellectual, he couldn¡¯t be easily swayed. He said in a mocking tone, ¡°Yes, indeed, you haven¡¯t hurt any specific individual, but you¡¯ve hurt the collective! By stockpiling a ton of goods, the price of supplies rises even faster! The government has to produce more living materials, indirectly reducing the resources available for developing weapons.¡± ¡°If this isn¡¯t profiteering from a national crisis, what is?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not colluding with aliens, nor am I corrupt. How is this profiteering from a national crisis?! I¡¯m just stockpiling supplies with foresight!¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t I stockpile? Am I not as smart as you?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re stupid!¡± Two good friends, who had been through a long hibernation together, finally came to blows at this moment. They argued, red in the face and unable to persuade the other¡­ After half an hour of arguing, Wang Junpeng said angrily, ¡°So be it, then. You take your broad road, and I¡¯ll cross my own log bridge! Transfer 150,000 from the basic account to me, and the store is yours¡ªI¡¯m done with it, you can manage on your own!¡± In a year and a half¡¯s time, plus being the first to take the risk, they made 300,000 in total. Splitting it evenly seemed fair; neither took advantage of the other. ¡°You can quit if you want, I don¡¯t owe you anything!¡± Xu Jie jumped up furiously, ¡°Damn you Wang Junpeng, even if you become a billionaire in the future, I will still look down on you! Because I am going to donate today!¡± ¡°Even if I go bankrupt, I¡¯ll still be more noble than you!¡± ¡°Fuck!¡± S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. With a loud thump, Wang Junpeng, overcome by anger, kicked a stool and stormed out. He knew he was partly in the wrong, but now he was so angry and impulsive, he desperately needed a victory to prove his wisdom. Wang Junpeng was not the only one of his kind; the Earth Era was certainly not short of clever people, but most of them would act like Xu Jie, choosing not to go down that path even if they knew how. However, the new civilization was not perfect; there would always be a few opportunists. When Wang Junpeng entered the supermarket, he noticed that customer traffic had increased by more than 30% compared to usual. Fortunately, most ordinary people of the Earth Era dined in communal canteens, and bagged commodities like rice and flour were not very popular, so there was no sign of a mass panic-buying frenzy. Generally, everyone believed that the government wouldn¡¯t let them starve. But there were still some who were buying instant noodles, sausages, seasonings, snacks, cosmetics, and other non-essential luxury goods. These supplies could significantly improve the quality of life but were not absolute necessities. Due to limited productivity on the spaceship, prices were high, so these goods were considered small luxuries. And these were precisely the targets of Wang Junpeng¡¯s business venture this time. Chapter 224 - 224 224 Make Them Bankrupt ?Chapter 224: Chapter 224 Make Them Bankrupt Chapter 224: Chapter 224 Make Them Bankrupt Wang Junpeng estimated that under the government¡¯s planned economy system, the price increases for essential living goods would not be too significant. However high the prices went, it was absolutely impossible to create cohesion if people literally starved to death. But the first items to see price hikes would definitely be these lightly luxurious goods; after all, one wouldn¡¯t die without them. He quickly purchased several baskets of supplies, along with clothing, reaching his purchasing limit. Within Earth Era, a flexible system of planned economy was adopted. Since the means of production were communal, the total amount of goods produced was determined by big data analytics. To encourage everyone to shop thriftily and wisely, all goods were priced in progressive tiers; the more of the same item bought within a certain period, the more expensive it became. The first tier was normal pricing, the second tier was up by 20%, and the third by 40%, and so on. When the price increased by 60%, Wang Junpeng decisively stopped buying. By then, the total of all the various items was over 20,000 and filled several large bags after a lengthy card swiping session at the unmanned retail machine. The people nearby were already giving him strange looks. Was he buying too much? Even if one wanted to stock up while the prices were low, there was no need to buy so much. Someone even muttered under their breath whether they should also buy a bit more¡­ Right now, they were buying to stockpile for personal use, which was perfectly reasonable. But if they were really hoarding to profit later, that seemed a bit inappropriate¡­ Wang Junpeng, thick-skinned, thought to himself that he had simply bought a bit more. What was the big deal? It wasn¡¯t a crime, was it? He silently hardened his resolve, ¡°Aren¡¯t you all also buying? The pot calling the kettle black, and yet you¡¯re here laughing at others? Even if I purchase for my own use, there¡¯s nothing wrong with that, right?¡± However, a stockpile of 20,000 worth of supplies would definitely not suffice; it would take at least 100,000 to earn more. But he had already overspent his personal quota. What should he do? Wang Junpeng¡¯s eyes flickered, and he quickly thought of another idea. He could use his friends¡¯ quotas¡­ If push came to shove, they could collaborate. That idiot Xu Jie wouldn¡¯t help, but in the face of interest, there would always be someone who would. And so, a week quickly passed¡­ Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Earth Era continued its high-speed orbit to decrease the probability of being targeted by enemy missiles. The opposing civilization seemed to have also entered a silent state, perhaps having observed the moment a nuclear bomb was absorbed by a High-dimensional Fragment, currently assessing the strengths of both sides; or perhaps they lacked the Super Rockets to launch an attack for the time being. Both sides were brewing their next wave of offensives. This silence was like the calm before a storm. In these days, the upper echelons of Human civilization were busily allocating various planning tasks. Zhang Yuan could only rest for three to four hours out of the 24 in a day, as communication with the surface bases and scientists, and the production of small weapons had him incredibly busy. Some production line workers had been urgently reassigned to weapon manufacturing. Specifically, the production of small electromagnetic guns could be accelerated if relevant parts were printed with heavy metal 3D printers, indeed making it possible to assemble a few quickly and escape the current defenseless predicament. Meanwhile, the propaganda department was carrying out an overwhelming public opinion campaign to mobilize for war. On the other hand, society was witnessing a bizarre chaos of two extremes: on one side, there was an enthusiastic wave of donations, and on the other, a frantic rush to stockpile goods. Many people¡¯s enthusiasm for work had significantly increased, and there were also very enthusiastic donations, with some even willing to contribute half of their salary to help the entire civilization through tough times! Here, money was not just a number; it also represented purchasing power and government credit. After donating, it was equivalent to voluntarily reducing one¡¯s own quality of life. On the other hand, there was a frenzy for material resources. The day after the news broadcast, supermarkets maintained normal order, and not many were going overboard with their purchases. Everyone voluntarily limited their spending, thinking it was enough for their own use¡­ But on the second and third day, the number of those hoarding shot up sharply. Led by some individuals, a herd mentality quickly developed, causing a large number of citizens to follow the crowd and frantically snatch up goods in a noisy chaos. Rumors even began to circulate in the markets, like ¡°war is coming, prices will inevitably rise,¡± with some self-proclaimed experts giving reasoned analyses and even listing all the items that might increase in price! As a result, people rushed in without a second thought after hearing this. The various rowdy hoarders were like locusts, nearly emptying the supermarkets of goods, which seriously affected normal life! Anyway, in people¡¯s minds, buying a bit more couldn¡¯t possibly do any harm! Despite the government¡¯s repeated assurances that supplies would not be cut off, the panic induced by the herd mentality couldn¡¯t possibly disappear with just a few promises. Even when purchase restrictions were introduced, demand still outweighed supply, and people were even complaining on the internet about being unable to buy what they needed. After reading this report, Zhang Yuan felt both angry and amused. They were planning with great difficulty at the front, with soldiers urgently training, and workers on the planet working overtime day and night, yet inexplicably, turmoil had broken out in the rear! ¡°Is it simply because life has been too comfortable?¡± Actually, making an example of a few typical cases to scare the common people, could indeed suppress the problem temporarily, but resorting to authoritarian politics as a solution was ultimately unsustainable, and it would be best not to misuse such measures if not necessary. At least so far, it hadn¡¯t reached that extent. ¡°Donations on one hand, and looting on the other¡­ People really are a bundle of contradictions.¡± ¡°So, right now we even lack relevant laws and legislation, our policies still have quite a lot of loopholes¡­¡± Captain Zhao furrowed his brows and sighed. ¡°Regarding the issue of staffing in legal affairs¡­¡± Several legal experts were also slightly embarrassed; many of their laws were copied directly from Earth, with not much modification. But Earth Civilization was a large society, with a population in the hundreds of billions, spanning multiple planets, while Earth Era was a smaller society with a population of five hundred thousand. The difference in scale meant that panic would spread at different rates. However, without these events happening, it would indeed be difficult to anticipate this in advance. At this moment, the minister of the propaganda department said, ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not really a big problem, let¡¯s have the people from the TV station deal with this¡­ Just in time, some of our soldiers have returned, and they can take the opportunity to educate about common knowledge regarding universe wars during interviews.¡± ¡°In times of emergency, it¡¯s more appropriate to influence public opinion with propaganda rather than forcibly arresting people and causing panic.¡± Zhang Yuan nodded in agreement, ¡°Actually, we can¡¯t just look at the surface¡­ There are many more people who didn¡¯t join in the chaos than those who did. Most people actually hope for social stability and for us to win this war.¡± ¡°Many people are inherently good; it¡¯s just that they¡¯ve been led astray by a few who think they¡¯re smart. Humans are always swayed by the crowd¡­¡± Then, a glimmer of ruthlessness appeared in his eyes, ¡°The legal system must be improved urgently¡­ And as for those speculative merchants, giving them a lesson or even bankrupting them would have a better effect than just arresting them!¡± Chapter 225 - 225 225 The Patriotic Fervor Among the People ?Chapter 225: Chapter 225: The Patriotic Fervor Among the People (Combined) Chapter 225: Chapter 225: The Patriotic Fervor Among the People (Combined) Just at three o¡¯clock that afternoon, a few soldiers who had intercepted nuclear warheads with a shuttle returned to the Time of the Earth Era from the surface. These soldiers received a hero¡¯s welcome! Crowds of people blocked the entrance of the residential area, spontaneously greeting the returning heroes. Their enthusiasm was akin to an honor guard, and even though flowers inside the spaceship were extremely expensive, they sold out crazily fast! The award ceremony for ¡°First-Class Heroes¡± and ¡°Second-Class Heroes¡± was quite solemn. It was not only a commendation for meritorious soldiers but also an inspiring war mobilization, so a large number of common people were allowed to attend. Various official journalists and self-media reporters lined up at the edge of the event, flashing their cameras like there was no tomorrow. Three soldiers received first-class medals, while the teams responsible for observation and calculation in the rear received second-class medals. Without these computing personnel, it would have been impossible to intercept the nuclear bombs with just the shuttle, so these workers were equally commendable. The soldiers solemnly accepted their medals and decorations with serious expressions as the solemn ¡°Internationale¡± played. Zhang Yuan stood by, watching with a smile and applauding; he had only received a second-class award. Although he also made a significant contribution and could even be said to have come up with a temporary solution that was more significant than the soldiers¡¯ contributions, at his level, there was no need to compete with the soldiers for credit. Receiving a second-class award was enough for him. ¡°Salute!¡± ¡°At ease!¡± sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Applause and cheers erupted over the parade ground, again and again. Watching the enthusiastic crowd, shuttle pilot Li Junkang felt himself floating on air. The first-class medal he¡¯d received would drastically change his life trajectory, making him stand out from the crowd. Moving up to a managerial position or even a higher post in the future wasn¡¯t out of the question. He saw in the eyes of many girls below an admiring gaze that nearly made him soar. But a glance at Officer Guo¡¯s serious face in front of him quickly straightened his own expression. The Civilizational crisis was not yet over, and personal issues should be pushed aside¡­ Yes, that¡¯s how it should be. A beautiful female reporter had already extended the microphone to him: ¡°Hello, I am Ji Jingjing, a reporter from the Deep Space Daily¡­¡± ¡°Hello, Journalist Ji,¡± Li Junkang gave a salute. ¡°The first question I want to ask is, did you feel fear or terror when you were on the mission? After all, using a civilian shuttle to intercept a supersonic missile is incredibly difficult¡­even as a layperson, I find it incredibly challenging. Was there no weapon system on board, and was the Deceleration Umbrella interception solution made up on the spot?¡± In truth, all the dialogue had been prepared in advance, and Li Junkang, reminded of his mission, swallowed with difficulty, struggling to clear his head. If he embarrassed himself here, he might never be able to lift his head again for the rest of his life. He said somewhat awkwardly, ¡°Fear¡­ of course there was! We had never been on a real battlefield, and peace has lasted far too long!¡± ¡°But once we set off, we instantly forgot those fears¡­ because whether we faced them lying down or standing up, death was the same. It¡¯s better to face them standing and complete the mission before dying!¡± ¡°As for the Deceleration Umbrella interception plan, it was thought up by Minister Zhang of the New Civilization Development Department. Fortunately, we executed it well enough¡­ we didn¡¯t let everyone down.¡± A friendly laughter filled the venue. To claim no fear at all would have contradicted human nature; speaking this way instead seemed more realistic and quickly narrowed the distance between him and the audience. As for Mr. Zhang of the New Civilization Development Department, a top-notch intellect, everyone knew him as the most esteemed person on the spaceship. Coming up with a good solution was no surprise for the public. ¡°I heard that you originally came from the Xia Country Peacekeeping Team on Earth, is that correct?¡± ¡°Yes! But that is all in the past now!¡± ¡°Did you carry out any missions on Earth?¡± Li Junkang pondered for a while, then spouted a long list: ¡°Back on Earth, we indeed carried out some missions. The entire team had been awarded third-class merits five times, second-class merit once¡­ It was the entire team¡¯s contribution, not individual glory.¡± ¡°When you were executing this mission, the nuclear bomb you intercepted suddenly exploded. How did you survive that? That¡¯s a nuclear bomb¡­ it signifies the most violent destructive force in nature.¡± Right at that moment, Major Guo, standing to one side, joined in the conversation: ¡°In space, a vacuum explosion of a nuclear bomb doesn¡¯t have the same effect as we imagine.¡± ¡°Nuclear bombs, including the Hydrogen Bomb and the Helium-3 Bomb, are just conventional weapons in interstellar warfare. An explosion in space doesn¡¯t produce shockwaves or mushroom clouds, so if it doesn¡¯t detonate right next to you, the lethality isn¡¯t considered too strong.¡± Following this, a video started playing on the big screen in the square, about common knowledge of interstellar warfare and the current progress of various weapons research. The Earth Civilization had once experienced an interstellar civil war, so the new civilization had some experience in this regard. There were many conceptual things, such as the powerful Helium-Hydrogen Ion Cannon, which were products of the Earth Civilization. The current new civilization couldn¡¯t produce them yet, but the idea was to put them up there for now. According to the current subconscious of the common people, the advanced legacy of Earth Civilization all belonged to the new civilization. Since Earth Civilization was able to create these, the new civilization could also make them¡­ given enough time. Although there was an element of exaggeration, these conceptual weapons invisibly quelled the public¡¯s panic. After the entire video played, the venue erupted with fervent applause. Many people were whispering among themselves, and the confidence in winning the war grew a bit more. ¡°So what we humans lack is nothing but time!¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t worry, everyone. If we can engage in prolonged warfare, we will become stronger and stronger, and the scales of victory are tipped in humanity¡¯s favor!¡± ¡°Officer Guo, is there anything else you¡¯d like to say to everyone?¡± With the time almost up, the journalist asked the last and most important question. What followed was the main event¡­ Major Guo wore a ¡°simple and honest¡± smile: ¡°After receiving the first-class merit, our few people were granted a two-day leave to relax. But since the war hasn¡¯t ended yet, we are returning to the military camp today to undergo formal training!¡± ¡°Then you guys are really working hard,¡± said the beautiful female journalist, playing along. Major Guo continued: ¡°Just now, when I passed by the supermarket, I noticed that many daily necessities had been cleared out, probably because people don¡¯t feel safe or lack confidence.¡± ¡°Why the lack of safety? The main responsibility lies with us soldiers. Our army is not strong enough to provide everyone with a sense of security.¡± ¡°So we discussed among ourselves and decided to give away some food from the military for free¡­ Protecting our entire civilization is our duty, but we also hope that everyone will not overreact, allowing us to keep a stable rear area¡­¡± Hearing this, many in the crowd started to get restless. Some blushed with shame and quietly left, while others began to curse loudly, having endured this matter far too long. As for the distributed food, anyone with a bit of intelligence certainly wouldn¡¯t dare accept it. Online keyboard warriors took this opportunity to lash out quickly, many already finding the situation distasteful and indulged in mocking and jeering. ¡°How wonderful, how touching. Our Brother Jun would rather starve than let the civilians in the rear enjoy a petty-bourgeois lifestyle!¡± ¡°¡­I wonder if there¡¯s a girl hiding at the back, willing to sing a song with me when the battlefront is ablaze? I¡¯ve stockpiled a lot at home, enough for two people to enjoy for a year!¡± ¡°Merchant ladies know not of the loss of their country, still singing of the flowers of the backyard across the river¡­¡± Photos were posted online showing the savage scenes of people frantically hoarding goods. To protect privacy, mosaics were added. The mockery among intellectuals was also exceptionally sharp, interspersed with some trolls¡¯ very coarse language. For instance, ¡°After defeat, men will be used for food, women can provide extra services for the Aliens, still able to live their beautiful lives¡­¡± Especially for impulsive guys like Xu Jie, they were exceptionally vigorous in their rabid rants, not knowing how to engage in sophisticated slander but fully capable of low-level frenzy! As a result of his chaotic and offensive statements, his account was once again silenced, requiring a bail payment to be unlocked. But after paying the bail, he started ranting again, furiously typing a string of text on the computer: ¡°These people have become scum and lackeys, I suggest the government departments conduct a thorough investigation!!¡± He felt exhilarated, extremely exhilarated! Of course, an investigation was out of the question, since at least a quarter of the entire population, if not more, was involved in the panic buying! With such a large number of people, even if they were identified, it would be futile¡ªsurely, they couldn¡¯t put each one on trial and lock them all up in prison, could they? That would paralyze the entire industrial system, and according to current laws, it¡¯s very difficult to truly determine how much purchasing constitutes a crime. For some reason, the usually prompt government departments were a step behind during this explosive wave of public opinion, showing no intention to restrain these online mobs. Now, facing a war, everyone was too busy¡ªnobody had time to deal with these internet mobs. The brash commentary continued unabated for two days, and under the overwhelming pressure of public opinion, no one dared to go shopping in supermarkets anymore. Even buying a pack of instant noodles had people trembling, fearful of being photographed and exposed online, sparking a war of words. People had to voluntarily lower their quality of life. Of course, such spontaneous patriotic fervor could not last very long, but the saved resources were enough to maintain current prices and give the government departments time to plan their next steps. Finally, a significant economic policy was announced: the first issue of special War Bonds worth a total of five billion was offered for sale to the public! Due to the uncertainty of the war¡¯s outlook, the bonds offered a low annual interest rate of about 4.5%, pitifully low compared to last year¡¯s economic growth rate of over 30%. Moreover, the bonds came with many restrictions; once purchased, they had to be held for a fixed period of three years, early redemption required an application and resulted in a loss of some interest, etc.¡­ Still, there was a massive frenzy to buy them, to the point where even the purchasing web page crashed temporarily! After an internal meeting, the new government converted the numerous donations into special War Bonds and returned them to the many donors. From the perspective of economics, implementing a rationing system for consumer goods during wartime meant that the common people, despite having money, had nowhere to spend it, and mass panic buying would only cause inflation. Thus, buying War Bonds became a very good investment option. At least under the current planned economy, the circulation rate of money was not high, making inflation easier to control, and an interest rate of 4.5% was still able to outpace inflation. Besides, if humanity were truly defeated in the war, what use would interest rates be? Even an interest rate as high as 250% would become worthless paper. Most importantly, these bonds would withdraw a large amount of currency from the public¡¯s hands. With less money, people naturally had to live more frugally, freeing up society¡¯s productive capacity for the production of needed weapons. Maintaining a strained lifestyle voluntarily was unsustainable, but with liquid funds converted into bonds and generally less cash on hand, everyone had to live more modestly. Even if the original goods didn¡¯t change in price, the number of purchasers would significantly decrease. Of course, the War Bonds were not based on the patriotic fervor of citizens; they provided a channel for the common people to express their patriotism. Under the current opinion climate, the first issue of five billion in bonds was quickly sold out, making buying bonds a new fashion, even a symbol of moral superiority. This was a whopping five billion, distributed among five hundred thousand people, averaging about ten thousand yuan per person. With the average salary at two thousand, it amounted to almost half a year¡¯s wages, which was indeed significant. Even many people felt unsatisfied, leaving online comments like ¡°I didn¡¯t manage to buy any, got scolded by the wife¡± or ¡°Didn¡¯t get it, lost face,¡± and there were more than just one or two of such people. As a result, the government released a second batch of fifty billion in War Bonds, which were snapped up in one day! The third batch, worth twenty billion in bonds, took about three days to sell out. By then, the personal savings of residents had essentially been squeezed dry. For someone like Xu Jie, who was originally wealthy with a total savings of 150,000 yuan, he crazily bought 140,000 yuan worth of bonds, leaving only ten thousand yuan as liquid funds, living a tight life with no longer any spare cash to spend on luxury goods, even eating instant noodles required careful consideration. Faced with this bleak economic scene, speculator Wang Junpeng felt a coldness in his heart¡ªhe had only wanted to make a bit of money at the outset, never anticipating that it would trigger such a massive uproar! If he had known beforehand, he would have never gotten involved in this. And with the current stockpiling of goods, there¡¯s simply no way to sell them¡­ Because everyone¡¯s spare cash has been converted into bonds, consumption is nothing short of depressed. The anticipated wave of price increases never arrived¡­ So, what now? All the people he knew were speculators, and they had begun falling silent as if they no longer recognized each other. This oppressive cloud of impending doom, even without further action from the government, was enough to make someone feel on the verge of collapse because of this frenzied public opinion environment. ¡°Little Wang, I¡¯ll sell you the goods I¡¯ve stockpiled at a discount, want them?¡± Suddenly, his phone chimed, and he received a text message. Wang Junpeng¡¯s expression fluctuated. This immense pressure was starting to cause some speculators to panic¡­ The more goods they had hoarded, the more panicked they became. Some were already unable to withstand the pressure and wanted to sell off their stocks. ¡°How much?¡± ¡°Twenty-five percent off, you want it?¡± After some thought, Wang Junpeng replied, ¡°I don¡¯t have spare cash on hand, can¡¯t take on your stock.¡± ¡°Thirty percent off, bottom price! Even cheaper than what the government is offering, surely it will still sell at a slight discount¡­¡± ¡°Forget it, Brother Zhao, I really can¡¯t handle it. I¡¯m about to go bankrupt.¡± What a joke, who in their right mind would dare to take over now? They¡¯d either have to be insane or foolish! Even at thirty percent off, it was certainly cheap, but in the current public opinion climate and economic situation, there was no way to sell anything! Even at fifty percent off, it still wouldn¡¯t sell! If he dared to try, he might literally get beaten to death, and that was the absolute truth! Wang Junpeng buried his head in his arms, completely enveloped by his blanket, utterly agonized. Only now did he realize there was a huge difference between the new civilization and Earth Civilization. The authority of the government appeared to be even stronger, along with a growing sense of civic awareness among the common people. The pain wasn¡¯t just the financial loss, but also something else¡­ In the pursuit of money, he had broken ties with his best friend, and they were still in a state of estrangement. Even if they didn¡¯t openly show it, people around him looked down on him with disdain, pointing and making remarks behind his back. The topic dominated social networks, and as he walked down the street, he felt as though people were blaming him from behind, causing him to lose sleep for several days. What was the point of earning money if he lost his family and friends? ¡°Damn it!¡± Wang Junpeng leaped out of bed, paced back and forth in the room, gritted his teeth, and made a decision. Although this decision pained him greatly, there was still¡­ something to salvage. Donate! Donate all of these things! Chapter 226 - 226 226 Surrendered ?Chapter 226: Chapter 226: Surrendered? Chapter 226: Chapter 226: Surrendered? That night, at midnight. Zhang Yuan tossed and turned in bed. The internal chaos was essentially resolved, yet, for some reason, he was still in a state of insomnia. Compared to the grand terror brought about by the aliens, the minor troubles of the civilians in the rear were in fact trivial, merely to remind the higher-ups that the public is blind and shortsighted and that it¡¯s necessary to improve overall quality and so on. Of course, that simple patriotic enthusiasm also deeply moved those in the higher echelons. The most pressing matter now was to urgently produce a few small electromagnetic guns that could intercept nuclear bombs. If their speed could exceed one hundred kilometers per second, then the interception success rate would be quite high. But achieving a speed of one hundred kilometers per second wasn¡¯t something that could be done just by talking about it; it required very good materials, and there were still several key difficulties in producing these materials which couldn¡¯t be resolved by simply making a decision¡­ As a result of his insomnia for most of the night, he was called up again by Captain Zhao. ¡°Old Zhang! Come quick!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter now¡­ There isn¡¯t another rocket coming over, is there?¡± Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t dare to delay; his heartbeat sped up rapidly, and he hurriedly jumped out of bed. ¡°No, it¡¯s not that¡­¡± Captain Zhao hesitated for a moment before saying, ¡°It seems like¡­ they have surrendered!¡± ¡°What¡­ what? Surrendered?¡± Zhang Yuan widened his eyes, almost doubting what he had heard. This fact was utterly beyond his expectations, leaving him astonished¡­ for quite a few seconds. ¡°Anyway, hurry up and come over!¡± Zhang Yuan hurried back to the Captain¡¯s Room. Since it was already three o¡¯clock in the morning, apart from some on-duty personnel, most were asleep. Only a few information scientists, including Dr. Li Zhendong from the Information Security Department, were inside. Li Zhendong¡¯s face was swollen to the color of liver, and he eagerly said, ¡°This electromagnetic wave was just received. The language is the common language of the Milky Way given to us by the Gaia Civilization. We¡¯ve been studying it for quite a while, so it didn¡ät require much deciphering to understand.¡± ¡°Take a look!¡± Zhang Yuan stared intently at the screen, which read: ¡°Unknown civilization, or should I say, Human civilization, greetings. I am Ganyador, the leader of the Gleize Civilization. We are a civilization that loves peace and is friendly¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t help but wipe his nose, thinking that every civilization claims to ¡°love peace,¡± much like the countries on Earth. ¡°¡­Just a few days ago, a civil unrest erupted within our planet. The warmonger faction¡¯s leader Davian attempted to launch a civilization war and fired that rocket¡­¡± ¡°After the rebellion failed, he committed suicide by swallowing his gun. Fortunately, those nuclear bombs did not bring you serious damage¡­¡± ¡°I think, given that our Planet System is so vast, we could set aside disputes and develop together, rather than engage in a life-or-death interstellar war¡­¡± The tone was very friendly, and there was even an invitation at the end, inviting the leader of the Earth Era to their planet to discuss joint development matters. Zhang Yuan simply didn¡ät know what to say¡­ The entire message was suffused with a strange eeriness, and Zhang Yuan felt extremely odd, really odd. There was something indescribably unsettling about it, making his skin crawl. Set aside disputes and develop together? Could it be a trap? That was his first thought. Zhang Yuan always felt something was amiss about the situation. Just a few days earlier they were launching nuclear attacks, and now suddenly¡­ they had surrendered? Even if it were a trap, it wouldn¡¯t be this foolish. ¡°Old Zhao, we can¡¯t exactly call it surrender, can we?¡± ¡°It does seem to have that sort of implication¡­ Peaceful coexistence, perhaps? But having communication is definitely better than none.¡± After pondering for a while, everyone felt like a monk scratching his head in confusion. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°An invitation?¡± Zhang Yuan said with a frown, ¡°¡­They can¡¯t possibly think that capturing our diplomats will make us obediently follow orders, can they? Are they a civilization similar to the Insect Race, with a single absolute intelligence core? Or an Artificial Intelligence missing a screw in its head?¡± The current development model of human civilization, honestly speaking, wouldn¡¯t have too much trouble without anyone. If he, Zhang Yuan, were to die, civilization would still develop forward. Although losing him, a talented individual, would be a great loss, it certainly wouldn¡¯t be unmanageable. Even if Captain Zhao, the highest-ranking leader, were kidnapped, they would try to rescue him if possible, and if not, he would be given up without hesitation by the other leaders. After all, another person could be appointed as captain¡­ ¡°It¡¯s hard to say¡­ Could they really wish for peaceful coexistence?¡± Captain Zhao said, furrowing his brow and falling into deep thought, ¡°We must not underestimate an intelligent alien civilization. If they are foolish to such an extent, then we have nothing to worry about¡­ And if they are a singular intelligence, it¡¯s even less likely they would send such an invitation.¡± Several information specialists who were decoding the secret were discussing vigorously. ¡°I think, maybe the other side has run out of means to attack us, and is trying to buy time?¡± ¡°Or maybe, they¡¯ve observed the High-dimensional Fragment absorbing the nuclear bomb¡­ and they¡¯ve felt a fear from the unknown?¡± Li Zhendong said with a mix of annoyance and amusement. ¡°It could also be a probe¡­ Yes, to test our desire to attack!¡± After discussing for a long time, no satisfactory conclusions were reached. Since it was very late and they were feeling rundown, everyone had to go back to their respective homes to rest for a bit. ¡­ The next morning, after only two or three hours of sleep, Zhang Yuan woke up with dark circles under his eyes, checking the time to see it was only half-past six¡ªhardly long at all. Lin Xuanyuan was still sleeping sweetly beside him, untroubled by the world¡­ Well, with a reliable man by her side, not even the sky falling down would disturb her beauty sleep. Zhang Yuan rubbed his eyes, took a moment to wake up fully, and then reached for his mobile phone on the bedside table. The news that ¡°they want to negotiate¡± had already reached many, with the various discussion messages on his phone having crazily exceeded six thousand! He didn¡¯t bother to look at them. After getting out of bed, he grabbed a piece of bread from the food cart and ate it on his way to an emergency meeting. Even now, he was somewhat incredulous about ¡°them wanting to negotiate.¡± It sounded quite fantastical¡­ but it was indeed happening. Even if it was a deception, it would only prove that the aliens think differently than humans. In the meeting room, many people gathered, bringing together a discussion with points that Zhang Yuan and a few others had not considered. One of the scientists said, ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, since this message was sent in the language of the Gaia Civilization, can we assume that this civilization has also encountered the Gaia Civilization? And that they have some common knowledge about cosmic civilizations¡­¡± To have encountered the Gaia Civilization, that would be too coincidental, wouldn¡¯t it? The probability is too low! Zhang Yuan said, ¡°It¡¯s not necessarily that they have encountered the Gaia Civilization¡­ I¡¯m more inclined to think that this is a galactic lingua franca. The mother civilization that invented this language is powerful enough, and its influence in the Milky Way is significant enough, that over time it became the common language for diplomacy among cosmic civilizations.¡± ¡°Because the Planet-level Spaceship we encountered used the same language. That¡¯s the Noah Civilization, right?¡± Captain Zhao nodded, ¡°Zhang Yuan¡¯s point makes sense, and I¡¯m inclined to believe that this is a Galactic lingua franca as well.¡± ¡°So, assuming this Gleize Civilization¡ªlet¡¯s tentatively call them that¡ªonce encountered other aliens, that¡¯s why they know all this¡­¡± Zhang Yuan couldn¡¯t help but wipe a bead of sweat from his brow, damn, isn¡¯t this eerily weird¡­ ¡°Then¡­¡± another expert stood up and said, ¡°Is it possible that this form of surrender is a kind of interstellar etiquette? Once you surrender, you can no longer be completely annihilated? Like during the Middle Ages in Europe, where in wars between nobles, if you were captured, you could redeem yourself by paying some ransom?¡± ¡°That can¡¯t be so harmonious¡­¡± Zhang Yuan muttered to himself. Chapter 227 - 227 227 Interstellar Diplomatic Negotiations ?Chapter 227: Chapter 227 Interstellar Diplomatic Negotiations Chapter 227: Chapter 227 Interstellar Diplomatic Negotiations Amid various discussions, whether the other side wanted to lull humanity into a sense of false security or genuinely wished to surrender¡ªespecially after serious deliberation by various military experts¡ªeveryone finally reached a conclusion¡­ If the other side wanted peace negotiations, then let there be peace negotiations! ¡°Yes, even if the other side is looking for an excuse to buy time, doesn¡¯t humanity also need to buy time?¡± ¡°As it stands, we simply have no powerful capability to strike back at the adversary; we can only passively take hits. So, it seems not bad to continue feigning compliance¡­ After all, the production of the various weapons currently planned is absolutely not going to stop.¡± Quickly, the entire team drew up a ¡°Non-Aggression Treaty,¡± which included ¡°mutual respect, non-aggression, non-interference in internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, peaceful coexistence,¡± and so on. They transmitted it via electromagnetic waves. Everyone was acutely aware that without a third-party witness, this agreement could have no real effect and could be torn up at any time. The most effective relationship between civilizations is based on interest, not a hodgepodge of things like morals, promises, personal qualities, etc. Anxious and tense waiting began. On the third day that followed, the communications department once again received a reply from the other party. They broadly agreed to the non-aggression terms put forth, but raised opinions on some details, such as moving away from this satellite to relocate to a more distant planet, and so on. What a ridiculous interstellar joke; of course, humanity could never accept such demands! Relocating to a new planet, moving a base, the back-and-forth would extend the timeline of industrial development for several years! Who knows, in those few years, the other side might be able to build a whole pile of interstellar weapons! Time was exactly what people lacked the most; how could they possibly agree to such terms? For such a non-substantial treaty that could be torn up at any moment, Zhang Yuan really had no interest in quibbling over it. He busied himself day and night around major laboratories, urging on the research progress of space weaponry. What brought a sense of security was that, thanks to round-the-clock emergency manufacturing, the first small electromagnetic gun was finally produced! Although labeled as ¡°small,¡± the electromagnetic gun itself had a mass of at least 6 tons, with its long spiral accelerator resembling a snail shell. After testing, it could accelerate a bullet the size of a soybean to a speed of 150 kilometers per second within 3 seconds! This speed was a thousand times that of traditional gunpowder bullets and had a certain probability of intercepting super missiles in space. Of course, because the material technology was not up to par, shooting a bullet required a long cool-down period, but this electromagnetic gun still provided a sliver of a sense of security. On the other hand, Captain Zhao and others were enthusiastically brainstorming over various clauses, negotiating with great zeal. According to them, even if these provisions had no binding force, the negotiating process could probe the other side¡¯s thought patterns, ideologies, and logical approaches, among other things¡­ After all, the other party was an alien civilization, not an antagonistic nation on Earth. If a war really broke out, it would be a fight to the death. No amount of caution and carefulness could be considered excessive. On the tenth day, the entire ¡°Non-Aggression and Friendship Treaty¡± had in fact reached a consensus. It included the other side allowing humans to temporarily reside above this satellite; in exchange, humans needed to withdraw the spy satellites beyond the atmosphere; both sides needed to maintain communication, and personnel exchanges had to be notified mutually, and so on. ¡°Acting as if it¡¯s the real deal¡­¡± Zhang Yuan looked at these clauses, snorted dismissively, and sneered at them. Humans retrieving their own artificial satellites can be said to be a necessary concession, as even the most amiable civilizations couldn¡¯t possibly allow surveillance tools from other civilizations to fly around above the atmosphere of their planet. At the same time, after reaching a consensus, the other party sent another invitation, inviting high-level human representatives to their planet to discuss deeper cooperation, such as technological and cultural exchanges, and so forth. ¡°Dear friends of human civilization, our civilization, in the long span of 200,000 years, has encountered two powerful interstellar civilizations.¡± ¡°We deeply understand that the benefits of communication between civilizations far outweigh the confrontations between them¡­¡± ¡°Based on our observations, the scientific level and technological standard of your civilization are not too far removed from ours. So why not sit down calmly, and talk about how we can cooperate on a deeper level¡­ More exchange will promote friendship between us, rather than the current state of tension.¡± ¡°Relying solely on one¡¯s own development is hard to reach the true pinnacle. Each civilization has its own limitations in thinking; it¡¯s impossible to completely comprehend the profound and complex nature of the universe.¡± The most troubling thing now was the invitation, which left Captain Zhao and others quite indecisive. After such a long period of tentative dealings, it appeared that the other party really intended to cooperate¡­ ¡°Captain, dispatching a diplomatic team for an interstellar inspection, I believe, is quite necessary¡­¡± an excited member of the Foreign Affairs said, ¡°When nations contend, they do not kill the envoys. After these days of negotiation, I think the logical thinking of the other side is not too different from ours, they should understand this principle too.¡± Zhang Yuan also furrowed his brow and said, ¡°You¡¯re right; as long as we are strong enough in the rear, our diplomats up front are actually the safest. Killing a diplomat is the most foolish act, one that, apart from igniting relentless hatred, offers no other benefits¡­¡± ¡°If the other party really wants peace, we don¡¯t need to fight to the death either.¡± S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. After two hours of discussion, everyone came to a unanimous agreement. There¡¯s no reason to start with high-level face-to-face negotiations, right? Maintain remote communication first, enhance mutual understanding; many things can be resolved through remote dialogue, then consider face-to-face negotiations. And then¡­ it¡¯s not necessary for humans to go down first; we could invite them to come up! Zhang Yuan¡¯s mood slightly lightened, gaining a bit of time temporarily was also good. Anyway, this charade must continue until either side tears up the agreement or a real peace negotiation succeeds. As soon as he returned to his office, he hurriedly made a satellite call, ¡°Old Ye, how¡¯s the shuttle repair going? We might really need it soon. These days have really been an eye-opener; we might not really go to war.¡± ¡°Ah? Almost done¡­ Really dispatching a diplomat?¡± As the chief engineer of the Earth¡¯s heavy industry base, Ye Kaifu had been busy with one thing or another, practically to the point of exhaustion. But what could be done, if not him, then who? Zhang Yuan said, ¡°The result of the negotiations is out; on the surface, we still need to maintain peace. We will retrieve those artificial satellites above the atmosphere, reducing surveillance of them.¡± ¡°Of course, that¡¯s just for show; necessary long-distance monitoring will not be reduced.¡± ¡°Understood,¡± Ye Kaifu nodded gravely, ¡°But retrieving the satellites intact is a bit difficult; with our retrieval capabilities, some damage is likely¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay,¡± Zhang Yuan waved his hand, ¡°Damaging some is better than not retrieving them at all, right? Just get ready, and we¡¯ll start by getting those satellites back.¡± Chapter 228 - 228 228 Interstellar Diplomat (Two in One) ?Chapter 228: Chapter 228: Interstellar Diplomat! (Two in One) Chapter 228: Chapter 228: Interstellar Diplomat! (Two in One) Within this tense atmosphere, another six months had passed¡­ The entire society had remained in a state of high tension, with remote negotiations, war mobilization, and weapons production. Everything had evolved from the initial chaos to a well-organized operation, with five hundred thousand people bursting forth with the greatest productivity in history! The main theme of war had never changed, with work atmospheres inside the Earth Era Spaceship and on the ground industrial bases remaining oppressive, as if war could break out at any moment. However, what common people didn¡¯t know was that remote negotiations with Alien Civilizations had been ongoing¡­ For Wang Junpeng, it had been a particularly grueling half-year. The quality of life for everyone had started to decline sharply, almost reverting to the state during hibernation. Many production lines had been shifted to weapon development, forcing people into poverty once again¡­ Producing nuclear bombs by tightening one¡¯s belt was not just lip service; it required physical effort and determination to persist despite the difficulty! Wang Junpeng was even worse off. At least others had bought War Bonds, which was akin to having a future deposit with a bit of interest. Life now might be miserable, but there was still something to look forward to. He was flat broke! His speculative ventures had completely failed. He¡¯d become penniless, his previous savings long spent, and he even owed money, although the amount wasn¡¯t too large¡­ Especially under the surge of public sentiment, a few who had brazenly engaged in black market activities had been made examples of and had inexplicably been beaten up! The government¡¯s punishment for the assaulters was barely a slap on the wrist, a fine, and detention for ten days before release, which garnered applause from the public. Online, there was even a ¡°Heroic Beater¡± campaign launched, urging people to donate money to bail out those who had committed the assaults. If the government could achieve a position of sufficient strength externally, then internal noise seemed insignificant. The continuous development of new weapons equipment and daily news reports stimulated the hearts of people, enough to suppress the anti-war sentiment due to the reduced quality of life. Now that they couldn¡¯t defeat the enemy head-on, people needed a vent for their frustrations, naturally directing their anger at the profiteering merchants. Some believed that it was these hoarding merchants who had caused the current dire state of living standards¡­ At most, only a few experts symbolically stepped out to call for ¡°proper legislative work¡± and ¡°the prevention of violence with violence,¡± but that was merely lip service¡­ What comforted Wang Junpeng¡¯s heart was that he had donated all the hoarded supplies ahead of time. He was not only spared from being beaten but also received praise, becoming a person of high morals. At least he had whitewashed himself, which was the only piece of good news worthy of celebration. He had regained lost friendships and even gained the admiration of a beautiful girl¡­ Thinking back on the process of finding a girlfriend, he experienced a very strange feeling. His girlfriend was in charge of infant education, but with the entire infant care program being delayed, she had been reassigned as a community worker. Wang Junpeng had met her precisely when he was making his donations¡­ ¡°I¡¯ve actually become a generous person, how¡­ strange.¡± But deep down, Wang Junpeng knew that the image he presented to others was completely fabricated, and the very thought of his girlfriend finding out he had once wanted to be a speculating merchant sent shivers down his spine. High morals, my ass! If it weren¡¯t out of sheer necessity, who would be willing to donate everything they had! He slapped his own head as he realized¡­ when had he suddenly become such a fool? ¡°¡­Ah, that¡¯s fantastic!¡± ¡°The first atomic bomb is already in production! In another month, we can detonate it, this is great news!¡± ¡°That¡¯s wonderful!¡± Xu Jie was still the same old carefree guy, shouting and yelling about the news he was watching. Wang Junpeng sighed; this simple-minded old friend of his hadn¡¯t shunned him and probably wouldn¡¯t betray him. But as for the others in the know, who could say? They might well be grumbling behind his back¡­ After much thought, he realized he couldn¡¯t control everything and his mind wandered back to the prospect of making money. Now that his speculation had failed, and he was penniless, combined with the poor business at the mobile phone shop, he felt too embarrassed to continue working there. He had no choice but to take on odd jobs in the community, such as supervising waste sorting, maintaining public order, and resolving neighborhood disputes, and so on. Such simple work inevitably paid very little. Even buying his girlfriend a cup of milk tea required prolonged contemplation ¡ª how was he supposed to live like this? It wasn¡¯t that he was materialistic; without material things, there could be no good life! He was truly poor now! ¡°Hey, Old Peng,¡± Xu Jie saw him lost in thought again and advised him, ¡°you¡¯re so clever, quit using your brain for shady schemes! The world is full of people smarter than you, doing honest work. Just be sincere for once¡­ Our civilization isn¡¯t Earth, where loopholes abound to be exploited. With our small population, a good reputation really means something! Just do honest work; no one¡¯s exploiting us here. What you do is what you get, nothing¡¯s unfair¡­¡± With the mobile phone repair business doing worse and worse, Xu Jie had already enrolled in training for the ground production team. Although the number of ground staff maintained at about 60,000, they still rotated through. In any case, as long as one was genuinely willing to work, there was no lack of jobs in the entire civilization. ¡°Why don¡¯t you sign up for a training program, too?¡± ¡°Yeah, I get it¡­ The most profitable stuff is outlined in the criminal law, you think I¡¯m dumb? Sigh, a training program¡­ Let me think about it,¡± Wang Junpeng shook his head irritably. As for whether he was the smartest person on the spaceship, he definitely wasn¡¯t. Even if he were vain, he couldn¡¯t possibly think so. People like Brother Yuan from the New Civilization Development Department and Brother Dong from the information sector were the real geniuses. At best, he only had a bit of street smarts. And as for committing crimes, he dared not even consider it¡­ especially since getting a girlfriend, he needed to maintain an upstanding image! So Wang Junpeng walked out of his room sighing and aimlessly wandered the square in Area A, where businesses often posted job recruitments. No matter how reluctant he felt, he still needed to find work. Starting a business was simply too difficult. Life was just like that, rarely going as planned. This civilization had no so-called favored children or second-generation wealthy; everyone started on the same line, with only ¡°knowledge¡± or ¡°skills¡± to give anyone an edge. ¡°Damn, I can¡¯t always rely on friends¡¯ charity or live off a woman¡­ still need to save some face!¡± Suddenly, he saw a huge crowd gathered in one area, buzzing with discussions and exchanges, the scene alive with activity. He quickly joined in. At a glance, he had thought it was a recruitment for soldiers or something similar. Then, Wang Junpeng was taken aback. ¡°¡­Recruiting interstellar diplomats?¡± What was going on?! ¡°Hey man, do you know what¡¯s up with this diplomatic recruitment?¡± ¡°Supposedly, some progress has been made in the negotiations between the two sides.¡± ¡°What kind of progress?¡± A chubby fellow was speaking eloquently: ¡°Neither of us can eliminate the other quickly, and vice versa. So¡­ it¡¯s quite necessary for us to exchange views.¡± ¡°Better to avoid war if we can¡­¡± A few people were discussing in low voices, and Wang Junpeng pricked up his ears, taking in their words. ¡°But we don¡¯t even know what the other side looks like.¡± ¡°They say it¡¯s a bit like a pangolin, intelligent, and fond of hiding underground. We need to train a group of interstellar diplomats to carry out the task of mutual communication.¡± Just as everyone was abuzz with discussion, Zhang Yuan stepped onto the stage, cleared his throat, and solemnly announced this fact. A few reporters stood in front of the stage broadcasting live. ¡°First of all, I must tell everyone that the negotiation with the Gleize Civilization is indeed ongoing, and currently, we need some diplomats to deeply investigate this civilization. Even though they fired a nuclear bomb at us first, it is not wise to wage a war to the death without significant losses¡­¡± Wang Junpeng hurriedly raised his hand, ¡°Huh? Brother Yuan, are we really just going to let this go?¡± sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel satisfying.¡± Everyone around burst into laughter, and many people online called Zhang Yuan ¡°Brother Yuan,¡± which could be said to be a naturally formed group of star followers. Since the Earth Era didn¡¯t have entertainment stars, they could only follow someone like Zhang Yuan, an alternative ¡°star.¡± But while casual teasing online was no problem, calling someone ¡°Brother Yuan¡± to their face in reality seemed a bit odd¡­after all, the person was a high-ranking official. Wang Junpeng blushed, muttering in his heart, ¡°Isn¡¯t this¡­just nerves?¡± Zhang Yuan didn¡¯t mind the way he was addressed and replied with a smile, ¡°Retaliating certainly feels satisfying, you hit me, and I must hit you back. But between civilizations, it¡¯s not a fight between people; if a real war were to start¡­ we couldn¡¯t possibly avoid casualties, right? We would have to pay a price.¡± ¡°Our opponent is not an animal in the forest that can be killed with a single bullet; we don¡¯t even know how strong they are.¡± ¡°And they also don¡¯t know how strong we are, which creates a delicate balance¡­¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Junpeng nodded, indicating he understood. Zhang Yuan continued, ¡°Back to the main point, this profession is inevitably risky and demands high personal capabilities. Those who want to apply first need to go through a written test. Those who pass will still need to face two rounds of interviews.¡± ¡°The final number of selections will be around 20.¡± ¡°Since we don¡¯t have corresponding professionals on the spaceship, we¡¯re not requiring educational qualifications or specializations for the time being¡­ But the most basic requirement is: good oratory skills, the ability to improvise, and knowledge of a wide range of etiquette¡­¡± Interstellar Diplomats! Instantly, the whole square was boiling over! Even those watching the live broadcast online rushed to the square to sign up. When the Earth Era Spaceship first launched, it was impossible to prepare for this profession. After all, Earth people had never encountered an Alien Civilization, so who would have considered these things? Moreover, it wasn¡¯t feasible to employ such idle positions on the spaceship. Even the New Civilization Development Department was a nominal position with no one actually appointed before the entire incident! But now, things seemed different, as the negotiations continued, it was necessary to train some special diplomats to deal with this civilization. ¡°Dealing with an Alien Civilization, this¡­ sounds a bit interesting¡­ seems doable.¡± Mulling this over, Wang Junpeng¡¯s heart started beating faster. For one thing, this job was indeed very appropriate for his professional needs. An interstellar diplomat, the mere title was prestigious enough to cover up his own blemishes, surely enough to deceive his little girlfriend. On the other hand, the job really was interesting and fun! The salary would also likely be high. Facing all manner of strange and peculiar Biological entities, there would definitely be some dangers, but¡­ the excitement and the fun couldn¡¯t be compared to any ordinary job. Weighing the risks against the potential benefits, Wang Junpeng fell silent for a moment, contemplating for a few seconds. Here¡¯s how the requested text would translate into English, with attention to context, nuance, and style: Done! The entire written exam and the interview process went quite smoothly, testing adaptability and eloquence more than anything else. With Wang Junpeng¡¯s intelligence and wit, it was hardly a challenge for him, and he quickly stood out from the many candidates. What he worried about the most was whether the stain on his record from his attempts at reselling purchased items would hinder his job search, specifically whether he could pass the political examination. Even though he had used multiple IDs at the time, if the government really wanted to investigate, they could certainly find out¡­ He would not underestimate the so-called big data system. Despite his cleverness, Wang Junpeng didn¡¯t dare to claim he could conceal it from this powerful AI¡­ ¡°So¡­ the last few questions, please answer carefully. This job is inevitably dangerous, and none of us have ever encountered aliens. No one knows what customs or thoughts they might have,¡± said the interviewer. ¡°What if their custom is to eat diplomats?¡± ¡°How do you view this danger?¡± Zhang Yuan, conducting the final round of interviews, was fairly satisfied with this shrewd young man. The experts sitting nearby were holding a form, quietly discussing something. Under the scrutiny of the big data system, it¡¯s easy to trace what a person has done. From the very first person who ¡°repaired old mobile phones¡± to later hoarding supplies with the intent to resell¡­ However, this blemish was not a big deal, at least in Zhang Yuan¡¯s view. It could, at best, be chalked up to being somewhat clever. Judging by how decisively Wang Junpeng had donated all his stockpiled goods, he seemed to have excellent timing, always one step ahead of others, and acted with conviction. After all, there were weaknesses but also strengths. Acceptable, one might say. Wang Junpeng, however, was unaware of these private discussions. Faced with such a tricky question, he pondered for a few seconds, then spoke confidently: ¡°Risk and opportunity are always proportional. The role of a diplomat is akin to that of a spy in broad daylight. Although it¡¯s risky, if one is capable enough, the intelligence gathered can be more valuable than producing several nuclear bombs!¡± ¡°Personally, I relish the challenge. Besides, I also cherish the honor that comes with this position¡­¡± ¡°As for what you said, if by any chance their custom is to devour diplomats¡­ I don¡¯t see much reason to worry.¡± ¡°Why? Because under equal circumstances, just as we consider their cultural customs, they will certainly consider ours. Our civilization believes that eating the other¡¯s diplomat is profoundly offensive and even an act of war provocation. What would they think?¡± ¡°If they still insist on consuming our diplomats, then it suggests two possibilities. One is that their civilization is extremely arrogant and narcissistic, trying to impose their values on other civilizations, which I believe makes them extremely dangerous and unworthy of communication. The dead diplomats would die in vain.¡± ¡°The second is that their intelligence is very poor, failing to foresee the consequences of eating a diplomat.¡± ¡°I think, given the information we have, both scenarios are very unlikely. The intelligence of the Glizerians is high, so there¡¯s no need to worry.¡± Zhang Yuan nodded, then asked, ¡°So, when negotiations break down and civilizations go to war, facing certain death, what would be your choice?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Wang Junpeng wanted to bluff his way through with an impassioned speech but in the end, replied honestly, ¡°First, I¡¯d look for a way to survive, hoping that civilization could rescue me.¡± ¡°If survival is impossible, then I would choose to let more people live on¡­ passing on the last pieces of information should be the way. I don¡¯t have many other thoughts.¡± ¡°Very good!¡± Zhang Yuan nodded. ¡°Remember your choice today. That¡¯s all, wait for the notification¡­¡± After witnessing Wang Junpeng leave the room, Zhang Yuan let out a sigh of relief. This guy was indeed the most satisfying type among this batch of interviewees. The others always had more flaws, being either not so articulate, easily shy and blushing, or a bit na?ve¡­ Yes, naivety was the biggest problem. The cultural environment aboard the Earth Era Spaceship lacked many dark aspects, and since all the astronauts recruited initially were young, there were no messy unwritten rules, resulting in people being more straightforward. The smooth-talkers were, on the contrary, not so common. The reason for urgently wanting to recruit a batch of diplomats was because¡­ The Gleize Civilization would soon be sending a delegation of alien diplomats to the Earth Era Spaceship! Chapter 229 - 229 229 Safety Inspection ?Chapter 229: Chapter 229 Safety Inspection Chapter 229: Chapter 229 Safety Inspection During the negotiations a few days ago, the other party had already made it clear that in order to enhance mutual understanding and ensure smoother communication, and not just engage in theoretical discussions, both sides could send a few Diplomats to the other¡¯s territory for diplomatic activities. Although it could be a probe, Humans, too, certainly wanted to further understand the other party, didn¡¯t they? Especially regarding the other party¡¯s industrial and technological strength, it was definitely beneficial to gather more information. It had been over two years since Humans had set foot on this Planet, and the development of the surface heavy industrial base had basically not been delayed. Various armed forces were gradually becoming sufficient. Under these premises, people began to have enough confidence to meet the challenges from the other party. Soon, a week passed, and the training of these Diplomats was underway vigorously. Wang Junpeng was dizzy with all kinds of data, utterly miserable, he didn¡¯t even have time to flirt anymore. Luckily, this job sounded quite cool, and when his girlfriend heard about it, the look of admiration she gave him was almost enough to send him flying! But it had to be said, being a legitimate spy was not so easy. To obtain more intelligence, it wasn¡¯t just about talking; one had to use their eyes to see and their brain to calculate! Many industrial data would not be directly disclosed by the other party, but Diplomats could use certain external indicators to make estimates. For example, how many people a city had, how many resources a route consumed, how much output there was¡ªthese professional skills and the ability to collect data couldn¡¯t be acquired immediately; they required long-term training. ¡°Come on, everyone! The other civilization¡¯s Diplomats are almost here, you all have at most one more month!¡± ¡­ At four o¡¯clock in the afternoon of this day, taking advantage of a brief lull in the Planet¡¯s large typhoons, a small Rocket was launched from a hole in the Planet. Below the towering flame of the launch, the Rocket quickly broke through the atmosphere and released a tiny space capsule. This space capsule¡¯s propulsion system wasn¡¯t strong; the Human shuttle had to retrieve it on its own. ¡°The atmosphere of this Planet is too dense, and there are powerful typhoons, making the development of the aerospace industry extremely difficult¡­ A Space Elevator is impossible; it might even be blown over by typhoons.¡± ¡°Yes, but¡­ why aren¡¯t there any artificial satellites on the Planet¡¯s surface? Don¡¯t they need them?¡± Zhang Yuan and others were relaxed, watching the distant light of the Rocket and casually chatting. ¡°Maybe they haven¡¯t unlocked that tech tree?¡± Many technologies are the products of sudden inspiration and not historical inevitabilities. Satellites, the internet, nylon rope, antibiotics¡ªmany technologies were born out of chance occurrences. ¡°Then what¡¯s the Rocket for? Isn¡¯t it meant for launching satellites?¡± ¡°That¡¯s unknown¡­¡± After a moment of silence, Zhang Yuan suddenly turned his head, speaking with a touch of seriousness, ¡°Based on some of the conversations during the negotiations, we can surmise that because of these external conditions, nearly every individual in this civilization suffers from severe agoraphobia!¡± ¡°So, they don¡¯t like the open expanse of outer space at all, they have no desire to explore like we do, and their inclination for outer colonization is not strong. I really am starting to doubt whether they truly want peaceful negotiations.¡± Captain Zhao nodded, ¡°Ah, it might be that the individuals without agoraphobia were all eliminated by the typhoons.¡± ¡°A civilization that doesn¡¯t like to expand outward, if you haven¡¯t seen it with your own eyes, it¡¯s really¡­ hard to imagine.¡± Actually, this phenomenon isn¡¯t incomprehensible. For example, on Earth, some Biological species engage in suicide after reproducing to a certain number; and then there are animals that have no interest in expanding outward, like sloths¡­ As an expert in New Civilization History, Zhang Yuan quickly saw the deeper implications of this strange phenomenon. The individuals of this civilization instinctively prefer enclosed, narrow environments, which bring them a sense of security. Merely because ¡°typhoons often sweep across the surface¡± of their planet, a huge deviation in the entire civilization¡¯s ideology has arisen due to the different living environment. Such a mentality and subconscious, compared to human civilization, might contain certain innate flaws, creating a lot of obstacles during expansion efforts. Since humans like spacious and bright environments, agoraphobia is only present in a minority of humans. However, this ¡°flaw¡± is only considered a flaw by humans. Perhaps the other side thinks such consciousness is very normal? They might even believe that humans¡¯ preference for spacious and bright environments, which leads to a tendency to colonize, is very foolish. Because there are many powerful civilizations in the universe; one careless encounter with a tough opponent, and they could be wiped out instantly. Isn¡¯t it better to just lay low and survive in the long run? ¡°Hey, according to this line of reasoning, are humans perfect?¡± Compared to the trillions of civilizations in the universe, do humans have their own subconscious and natural flaws? Definitely! And not just a few! ¡°Some deeply entrenched cultures, some things unwilling to change.¡± Zhang Yuan shook his head vigorously, casting aside these wild thoughts for the moment. Getting back to the matter at hand, if it were truly possible to achieve long-lasting peace, that would certainly be a good thing. For such a long time, people did nothing but build nuclear warheads, and other things, including artificially hatching a large number of babies, were also postponed. The benefits of war are simply too few, the people¡¯s lives too difficult, and even if they won, could they possibly plunder the other planet? Impossible! And the humans of today truly have no significant inclination to invade; there are so many planets here. The other side¡¯s planet is not even the best one, and it¡¯s difficult to develop; there is really no need for a fight to the death. ¡°Attention, all crew members, the shuttle is about to begin its launch countdown!¡± In the midst of this conversation, Captain Zhao issued the command. ¡°Five, four, three, two, one! Launch!¡± Seconds later, a small shuttle blazed out from the mother ship, emitting a faint blue ion flame. After distancing itself from the mother ship, it quickly became a tiny speck. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. After two hours of torturous waiting, the small shuttle finally approached the space capsule. The pilot pressed a button, and several spring-loaded launchers with carbon fiber ropes accurately hooked onto the mechanical arm of the space capsule. Carrying such a heavy object, the shuttle¡¯s power was somewhat insufficient, able to accelerate only slowly, then gradually pulled the space capsule away from its original orbital position. After circling around Gliese 581g six times, taking two days, it finally broke free from the planet¡¯s gravity and flew toward the direction of the satellite. ¡°Just stay in that position¡­ Tell the other side¡¯s Diplomat that our people need to conduct a safety inspection on their space capsule,¡± Captain Zhao said directly to the communicator. ¡°Understood.¡± This was also content agreed upon in advance; everyone feared what the other side might have hidden inside the space capsule, such as a nuclear bomb or some kind of biological weapon like a biochemical virus. In case the other side intended to sacrifice a few of their individuals for a suicide attack, it would ultimately be the humans who suffered. Anyway, it might be a bit rude, but being cautious is never wrong.