Superstars of Tomorrow

Planet Yin was a planet entirely under military administration. Besides a small fraction of dormitories, most of the space was used for military exercises and testing of experimental items.

 Naturally, the environment here wasn’t suitable for human survival. But, because of the abundant power ore deposits, the first foreign planet strategic military base was established here.

 As of now, ninety percent of space travel technology originated from Planet Yin.

 Fang Zhao and the others couldn’t see anything outside during their journey until they landed on Planet Yin. They had also signed a confidentiality clause for this period. In short, they were only there for the artistic showcase and shouldn’t be overly curious.

 Fang Zhao’s batch alighted the flying transport onto Planet Yin..

 Planet Yin’s special characteristics meant that there was very little actual information about it online. Even veteran artists who had been on Planet Yin previously didn’t know much.

As a first time visitor to Planet Yin, Fang Zhao didn’t know much, but he was certain that the power ore deposits on Planet Yin were very rich and abundant. Curly Hair was drooling non-stop.

 They looked up to see a huge defensive barrier above them. Without protective gear, they were limited to indoor activities, but at least the space wasn’t too cramped.

“At the side are the living quarters prepared for the various teachers,” introduced their Planet Yin guide.

This area was a reception center. There were dormitories, cafeterias and activity zones here.

 The invited guests had already been briefed on the most important matters and signed non-disclosure agreements. They were to work together with Planet Yin’s music and dance troupe to put on a collaborative performance. In their spare time, they could have their own leisure activities in the permitted area.

 For the living quarters, family members could stay together, but assistants and bodyguards were in a separate block.

 “Fang Zhao, your quarters are over on that side,” the guide said.

 “Can I bring my dog over too?” Fang Zhao asked.

 “Yes.”

 Fang Zhao brought the keycard to his allocated quarters.

 The living quarters weren’t considered large but had comprehensive furnishings. There was a hall, a bedroom and a study. The interior seemed very high-tech and had an artistic vibe as well.

 Besides these, there was also a dog bowl and dog toilet.

 That was indeed thoughtful.

 After a short break, the leader of the group called to gather everyone for a small meeting to brief them on the plan for the following few days.

 There were musicians, dancers, actors, painters and all sorts of professions among the invited group. They all had different specializations, and the Planet Yin personnel they worked with were different too.

 Fang Zhao would be collaborating with a youth band. On Planet Yin, most of the artists were hobbyists and couldn’t be judged according to professional standards.

 “Fang Zhao, you will be the conductor of the youth band. Any issue with that?” the group leader asked.

 “No problem,” Fang Zhao responded.

 The piece this Planet Yin youth band had chosen to perform was a work of Mo Lang’s. It was “Founding Era’s” final closing theme, the ten minute long “Legend”.

 As such, Mo Lang had indicated that the conductor had to be Fang Zhao. Fang Zhao had played a part composing this piece and knew this musical work better than anybody else.

 This was also another one of Mo Lang’s tests for Fang Zhao.

 After the meeting ended, everyone returned to take a short rest before a tour of the exhibition hall in the afternoon.

 Only the invited personnel could be on this tour. Their retainers weren’t permitted. Even family members like Qiao Tingzheng couldn’t come in, let alone bodyguards and assistants. Thus, Fang Zhao had Nanfeng and the other two walk the dog.

 The stuff in this exhibition hall was mostly related to space travel and scientific products. This was Fang Zhao’s first time here, and he was rather interested by all these.

 What interested Fang Zhao the most was the warp engine.

 The warp engine had brought the age of space flight and was publicly acknowledged as the New Era’s greatest invention.

 The guide in the exhibition hall was currently sharing some related information about the warp engine.

 “Here is a component of a first-generation warp engine. It is because of this engine that space jumps became possible. However, the energy consumption of the warp drive far exceeded everyone’s expectations. Old energy sources had no way of supporting the operation of the warp engine. Therefore, mankind had to look for new power sources…”

 The guide went from warp engines to power ore technology and ore extraction, but he never revealed any important points.

 For example, he omitted how the warp engine was derived, its development process, how long it took, and the distance it could support. All those questions that Fang Zhao was especially curious about were never answered.

 However, they knew that in this place, they weren’t supposed to ask too many questions. The guide probably had limitations on the things he could talk about.

The guide talked about many things from the discovery of power ore and the upgrades of power isomerization techniques to power ore classification. While these were merely like stories to others in the invited group, Fang Zhao listened attentively.

 While the warp engine wasn’t shared in detail, Fang Zhao was still interested to hear about power ores and the other stuff.

The more Fang Zhao listened, the more beset with emotions he became.

 So fast!

 Breakthroughs in new energy sources and space flight technology came too quickly in the New Era. They had far surpassed Fang Zhao’s expectations.

 During the Period of Destruction, he had asked relevant scientists numerous times whether space travel could be realized.

 However, the reply he had received was, “Perhaps humans might never achieve that breakthrough.”

 But, after the Period of Destruction was over, the New Era had barely been established for a hundred years when the warp engine emerged. The New Era’s seven pioneer exploratory spacecrafts “Dream Team” was created.

 Most people from the Period of Destruction would never have been able to forecast such a thing.

 A hundred years sounded long, but Fang Zhao understood the aftermath of the Period of Destruction very well. In his opinion, a hundred years was probably only enough for recovery and restoration.

 1The rate at which the New Era actually developed was simply a miracle in Fang Zhao’s opinion.

 1The warp engine had been invented in the first hundred years of the New Era. Now that five hundred years had passed in the New Era, Fang Zhao wondered what the current warp engines were like. It was a pity he wouldn’t get to see it.

 However, being able to see a part of the first generation warp engine was already good enough.

 Fang Zhao felt gratified.

 Others didn’t know of Fang Zhao’s sentiments. Not everyone was as interested, and many didn’t stay for long in the exhibition hall. Soon after, there was a meet and greet where fans from Planet Yin’s various departments could meet their idols.

 The autograph and photo sessions were very disciplined and orderly despite the number of people. The special administrative environment made these kinds of fan meets very efficient.

 With the limited capacity, some fans were already filtered out.

Fang Zhao had both young and old fans. Old people, especially those who had watched “Founding Era Yanzhou Chapter” showered Fang Zhao with tender gazes.

 Not too far away, two high level executives who had organized the fan meet smiled when they saw the long lines queuing up for Fang Zhao.

 “I really didn’t expect that Fang Zhao would have this many fans on Planet Yin!”

 “He’s popular with both young and old. This chap is not bad indeed. It’s a pity he didn’t stay in the military.” .

 “Speaking of which, have you seen Little Yuan? Didn’t he keep going on and on about having prepared a big present for Fang Zhao?”

 “I’ve already completed one circuit and didn’t see him. That little brat kept bugging me about the schedule for the invited artists.”

“There are time constraints for this fan meet. There’s only half an hour left.”

 “Could he have overslept? Maybe he lost track of time working. Or perhaps an urgent task cropped up?”

——

 Planet Yin Warp Engine Technology Research Facility.

 At the security checkpoint, a youngster who seemed to be around the age of a university student was seated on a chair. He drummed his fingers on the table anxiously while glancing at the time non-stop.

 A research facility security guard sat opposite him. Currently, he was expressionlessly removing the last item from inside a gift box that had been subjected to an investigation. All the items were laid out on the table.

 “So, you want to…” The security personnel pointed at the stuff on the table. “Gift an interstellar voyage fleet to a celebrity?”

 “That’s right!”

 “But these haven’t yet been made public. It’s so confidential the even the prototypes might not be going public in ten years.”

 “These are models!”

 “Models aren’t okay either. Please be reasonable.”

 Yuan Zheng inhaled sharply. “I might idolize a star, but I am still a reasonable person. I am different from those die-hard fanatics who blindly shoot their mouths off! Please don’t demean my intellect!”

 “I don’t doubt a gold badge engineer’s intellect.” The security personnel said with an unchanging expression. “Wasn’t Master Heng Xin your idol?”

 “My idol now is still Master Heng Xin! He is a god in the hearts of us science people! One whom we can only look up to and worship! However, my Zhao Bro is more down-to-earth. Zhao Bro is my idol. I just feel that he is especially impressive!

 “What does it mean to idolize a star? Their spirit shines through their bodies! My Zhao Bro is a huge mass of glowing light! Say, who else in the entertainment circles is able to achieve so much glory at such an age?”

The security personnel nodded, expressing he understood Yuan Zheng’s sentiment. He knew Fang Zhao too. Fang Zhao’s influence across even planets was too impressive, not to mention his military accomplishments. There were very few twenty-somethings who were invited here to participate in a performance.

 Upon seeing the security personnel’s stance loosen, Yuan Zheng continued. “Have you ever heard the phrase, ‘A goal lies ahead, but an idol is by your side’? That is a form of mental encouragement, you understand?! Improve together, understand?! I even have a poster of Zhao Bro in my room!”

 The security personnel nodded his head. He had heard that when Fang Zhao achieved the Galaxy Supernova award, Yuan Zheng had risen from a silver badge engineer to gold badge level with hard work.

 Of course, he too could understand that youngsters were more impulsive when it came to idolizing stars. In his younger days, he himself had adored a Mazhou basketball star. Unfortunately, that basketball star failed the audit and wasn’t able to come over. To come here, everyone had to pass stringent screenings. Besides their own professional ability, many other aspects such as character and moral integrity were taken into account. Compared to him, Yuan Zheng was much more fortunate. At least Yuan Zheng would be able to see his idol in person.

 Although Fang Zhao had impressive ability, he was too young and could potentially leak secrets. It wasn’t good to gift him with a model of an unreleased spacecraft.

Seeing the security personnel tense up, Yuan Zheng hurriedly played the sentiment card. “Uncle, you have watched me grow up and you should know the sort of person I am. I would definitely want to display my own achievements to my idol. Uncle, you have also adored idols before and can understand, right? Now, I have merely turned some parts from the project I’m working on into a model. I have even blurred out the more critical areas. There’s definitely no intention of leaking anything here!”

 “I believe you of course,” the security personnel said with a warm expression. However, it was soon followed by, “Second application, overruled.”

 Yuan Zheng put on a pitiful face. “Unc—”

“—All models will be confiscated. Sorry, duty takes precedence.”

 Yuan Zheng was on the verge of tears. The space fleet model he had taken so long to prepare was confiscated at this security checkpoint!

 Watching Yuan Zheng droop his head in dejection, the security personnel sighed. “How about this…”

 Yuan Zheng looked up, his eyes brimming with hope.

 He watched as the security personnel picked up one of the spacecraft models, broke off the engine component and placed the component in front of him.

 2

Yuan Zheng was shocked.

 Following that, his face fell. “My Zhao Bro came all the way here to perform and I can only give him… a part?”

 The security personnel replied mercilessly, “This is the bottom line. Young friend, have some rationality when chasing stars.”