Superstars of Tomorrow

Chapter 506: Alive After 500 Years

Even though Nanfeng had suffered many different shocks at once, he was able to get over them much faster than Yan Biao and Zuo Yu. Furthermore, his self-confidence was brimming.

Fang Zhao had given him time to consider. In two days, Nanfeng created his new Manager career plan.

He brought this career plan with him to seek out Fang Zhao and sign the second contract.

Stepping out of the house once again, Nanfeng gazed at the clouds in the distance and clenched his fist.

Yan Biao saw this and asked, “You signed as a manager?”

Nanfeng didn’t answer immediately and said, “Listen!”

“Listen to what?” Yan Biao asked.

“The sound of dreams being realized. It is really wondrous.”

“...As long as you are happy.”

Nanfeng smiled and looked around. “Where’s Curly Hair?”

“He’s been inside his room all this time.”

“How can a dog be a shut-in all the time?” Nanfeng felt something was amiss when he said that. If Curly Hair really wanted to go out, nobody could stop him unless the boss didn’t permit it.

“What happened? What is he doing in the room?” Nanfeng asked.

“Gaming. He played through the night again,” Yan Biao replied calmly

Nanfeng: ???

What sort of nonsense are you spewing?!

Nanfeng didn’t want to believe it, but this dog could become a robot monster and could talk. Being able to game... seemed acceptable?

Yan Biao felt pity for his comrade. On his first day in a new post, he received another psychological shock.

The next day, Yan Biao no longer felt this way.

Nanfeng was gaming together with Curly Hair, and they seemed to be having a lot of fun.

Yan Biao: “...”

Do people capable of becoming managers have such hearts of steel?!

Besides the matter with Curly Hair, Nanfeng also learned of the existence of Little Bear and now knew that the island had been attacked because of this individual.

When Curly Hair was gaming, Little Bear would come over and drag Fang Zhao to catch up on dramas together. Since everyone in the house already knew of his existence, he wasn’t willing to spend all his time hiding in the underground room.

A month later, Inter-planetary Fund personnel came over to pick up Little Bear.

The Inter-planetary Fund’s highest authority Yu Hua had come personally.

Yu Hua smiled as she shook Fang Zhao’s hands and expressed her sincerity. “Thank you for your hard work!”

Whether it had been saving Yuan Zheng on Planet Yin back then or protecting Little Bear this time, Fang Zhao had done a great deal for the Outer Space Immigration Plan and the future of interstellar travel.

Yu Hua dismissed Little Bear to play by himself elsewhere so she could speak to Fang Zhao in private.

Nanfeng, Zuo Yu and Yan Biao also took the initiative to give the two some private space. The things discussed between big shots would surely be highly confidential. The three of them understood that the more they knew, the more pressure they would have.

Curly Hair scrutinized both people, then returned to his room to game. He knew he would have to start lessons and tests again once the Inter-planetary Fund people left. His unrestricted play time was coming to an end, so he had to play as much as he could now!

In the study, Yu Hua and Fang Zhao were the only ones there.

Before Little Bear was sent to the island, Fang Zhao had told Yu Hua in their long-distance call that he would protect Little Bear. And, once the matter concluded, Yu Hua would tell Fang Zhao about herself and her family’s origins.

Fang Zhao had never once let his guard down with regards to these visitors from beyond the stars.

Yu Hua scrutinized Fang Zhao. When she first met Fang Zhao at the beginning, she only viewed Fang Zhao as a junior to be given much encouragement. Now, she treated Fang Zhao as a peer of the same level. They both were extraordinary. Her forebears had different genes, whereas Fang Zhao changed through external factors. The two of them each had their own secrets.

She took the cup of tea Fang Zhao handed over and smiled mildly. “Just as you guessed, my Grandfather, who everyone knows as ‘Great Master Hengxin’ is indeed not from this planet. He is from a distant stellar system...

“He came here by chance and had no way of returning. Therefore, until he passed, he devoted his fullest efforts towards interstellar travel-related technology. He also cooperated with the native military to harness power ore for warp engines...”

Nobody would have imagined that the godly engineer and research fanatic everyone called “Great Master Hengxin” was actually an alien. His experiments had brought him to a remote place that he had no way of returning from. Thus, he had no choice but to make contact with the natives and impart space flight technology to them.

“There were also seven super intelligent robots that came together with Grandfather. These were his work assistants. They are different from the A.I. that most people are familiar with. Their intelligence levels are much higher. You can just treat them as another type of human. Little Bear is one of them.

“The superintelligences could follow orders, but they also knew how to defy them. After my grandfather passed, six of the superintelligences started to diverge, and there was a defection. The Inter-planetary Fund suffered great losses, and the research on warp engines stalled. Fortunately, there were quite a number of talents who had been groomed. Although they lacked the specialized core guidance, they were still able to sustain the project at that time. Although progress was slow, any progress was still a good thing. That was... until you discovered the Alkaid.

“Of the seven superintelligences, only Little Bear was left. This was because the Alkaid had encountered malfunctions and was uncontactable. However, it turned out to be the best of all the misfortunes. Because, with his return, the new generation of warp engines has arrived two decades earlier than original estimates.

“Although those six superintelligent robots are gone, their navigation cores still exist. These cores can’t be replicated with current technological standards. Many years ago, Tomorrow’s Empire took advantage of the chaos to snatch one away. They hid the core very well, and we had our misgivings. This was also the reason why the Inter-planetary Fund never made any move against them all this while. However, after Little Bear returned, finding these navigation cores became much easier. Therefore, we snatched it back this time.”

Yu Hua recounted this story in a calm fashion. However, the scenes this little island experienced meant that it wasn’t difficult to imagine how much more intense the fighting at the main battlefield was. There was payback for the animosity of the past and present. The Inter-planetary Fund had combined with the military for an all-out offensive this time. Even if the Tomorrow’s Empire wasn’t completely wiped out, they had definitely been dealt a mortal blow.

At this point, Yu Hua glanced at Fang Zhao with a serious expression. “Before my grandfather passed, he told me something. ‘We are staying here, and we didn’t come to trample over their home.’ My grandmother is a native, and my father was also born on this planet. Therefore, to us, this is also our home planet.”

“What about you? Where were you born?” Fang Zhao asked.

“Planet Yin. The discovery of Planet Yin was actually made much earlier than the public date. At that time, our Inter-planetary Fund and the military joined hands to establish a base on Planet Yin. I was born there and looked after by a robot nanny. This went on until I was three and accidentally ripped the arms of a cleaning robot off. Thus, my grandfather brought me to his side and guided me personally. Later, he announced that I would be his successor in the Inter-planetary Fund.”

Fang Zhao: “...” That was a lot of information.

Yu Hua’s tone flattened. “It was because he did gene testing and discovered that I was the strongest in the family and capable of living the longest.”

Fang Zhao: “....”

“Our future plans include reconstructing navigation cores. When warp engines reach a certain level, that will be when we truly realize interstellar flight and will be able to travel even further.”

Fang Zhao was very concerned about this matter. “How long will the reconstruction of cores take?”

“There’s no definite answer. It might be several decades or possibly over a century.”

Fang Zhao fell silent for a moment, then smiled. “I hope that the speed of your success will be swifter than my aging.”

...

Little Bear was really reluctant when it was time to leave. “Must I return to work now?”

Yu Hua smiled at him but didn’t say anything.

Little Bear then glanced at Fang Zhao. “Brother Zhao, do you want to sell that rabbit? It can light up and even give early warnings!”

Fang Zhao knew that Little Bear was talking about the sea slug. “Is it convenient for you to keep it there?”

“Of course, of course! I have a huge pond. I can remodel it into an aquarium.”

In the water tank, the two “rabbit ears” of the sea slug fluttered back and forth with the ripples of the current as if it was sending a greeting.

Fang Zhao picked up the water tank and brought it over. “You can have it.”

A pair of fair hands reached out and accepted it. “Thank you.”

Little Bear’s outstretched hands stopped in mid air and he turned his head towards Yu Hua.

Yu Hua held the water tank in one hand and patted Little Bear’s head with the other. “We should go.”

Fang Zhao then said, “This sea slug is a man-made organism. The breeder didn’t fully uncover all its secrets. All that is known is that it has a strong survivability and a high level of toxicity. It’s best to lock the water tank tightly. It knows how to ‘jailbreak’, so you two should pay more attention to it.”

When it was kept here, Fang Zhao always had to worry whether it would ‘jailbreak’, escape to the ocean and wreck the food chain and ecosystem. He wouldn’t need to worry as much if it was brought to Planet Yin. It would die if it broke free there.

Little Bear pledged, “I will look after it well! I will send updates of it everyday!”

Fang Zhao: “That won’t be necessary.”

“I have to! I have to! When the time comes, I will make a robot A.I. sea slug and send it to you!”

Little Bear hugged Fang Zhao and badgered him for an autographed photo of them together before he reluctantly left

When the house was out of sight, Little Bear asked Yu Hua. “Fang Zhao is very concerned with the spaceflight project.”

Yu Hua nodded. “Yes, he even said that he hopes our success will be swifter than his aging.”

Little Bear sighed. “Humans here start to decline after they are over a hundred. The natives here have different genes and live very short lives. Can we even be certain that we can accomplish this within a hundred years? I can’t even determine how much time I would need to decipher the core and reconstruct it. Even if five generations of warp engines are achieved and interstellar space ships are constructed, we still won’t be able travel far without getting lost if the core isn’t reconstructed.”

“He might not necessarily have any significant changes after a hundred years,” Yu Hua said.

“Really? Then how much longer can he live?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he’ll still be around in 500 years.” Yu Hua smiled and pulled Little Bear to the flying transport.

The personnel from the Inter-planetary Fund withdrew completely.

Restoration of the island was complete. Even if outsiders came, they wouldn’t know that a fierce battle had taken place here.

As participants of the battle, Nanfeng, Zuo Yu and Yan Biao had received gifts from the Inter-planetary Fund.

The Inter-planetary Fund had given Nanfeng a new eye. All he needed to do was head to the hospital to install and activate it.

Nanfeng giggled sheepishly as he caressed his new eyeball.

The Inter-planetary Fund’s technological level had always been at the forefront. However, their products were usually for the military. It wasn’t easy for most people to obtain them.

Everything has turned out for the best!

Nanfeng was delighted. He wasn’t even envious when he saw the exoskeleton suits for Yan Biao and Zuo Yu.

Who cares about exoskeletons? I have Curly Hair!