The Daylight Project, the Beginning of the Sea of Stars

Yanhuang Calendar, Year 245.

Ye Chen was handling state affairs in the palace when Yuan Lan suddenly came to report to him.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Academy of Sciences has sent word that the Daylight Project is nearing completion. It will be ready for testing next month."

Hearing this, Ye Chen set down what he was holding, a faint smile appearing on his face.

The completion of the Daylight Project marked the Yanhuang Empire's official entry into the Nuclear Energy Era. It was an event of extraordinary significance.

Although the Yanhuang Empire no longer had any enemies anywhere on Yanhuang Star (Blue Star), the Daylight Project still had to continue.

After all, this was the most powerful weapon in the Homeworld Civilization. At the very least, before the Yanhuang Empire ventured into space, it absolutely could not go without this weapon.

It was the most basic guarantee of the empire's security.

A month passed in the blink of an eye.

In the empire's largest desert region, amidst endless dunes of yellow sand, stood a vast scientific research base.

Ye Chen descended from the sky. Many people had already gathered there to await him.

"Greetings, Your Majesty. May Your Majesty live ten thousand years!"

"Rise, everyone."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

After arriving, Ye Chen followed the others to the base. They changed into protective suits before proceeding to the test area.

As for Ye Chen, he had no need for such things.

Once they reached the test area, Ye Chen stood in midair and looked at the huge device below. He could clearly sense the terrifying energy it contained, along with the danger it posed.

But it was only a little dangerous. With his current strength, as long as he wasn't standing at the very center of the explosion, the peripheral shock waves and radiation alone couldn't kill him.

"Begin."

Ye Chen spoke into the communicator he was wearing.

After hearing Ye Chen's order, the person in charge of the control center below didn't hesitate. He pressed the button at once.

He wasn't at all worried about Ye Chen's safety outside. In his heart, Ye Chen was an omnipotent deity.

As he pressed the control button, Ye Chen saw a sun appear in the sky. Its dazzling light made his eyes sting repeatedly.

Fortunately, the pain was merely uncomfortable for him.

Immediately afterward, he saw the ground tremble as layer upon layer of visible shock waves spread out in every direction.

Everything in their path was destroyed, reduced to nothing. The once peaceful desert was instantly swept up in a sandstorm.

Only a few seconds later, Ye Chen felt a powerful wave of heat bearing down on him. Even from thousands of meters in the air, he could still feel its scorching intensity.

With a wave of his hand, he blocked the oncoming heat and calmly watched the enormous mushroom cloud rising in the distance.

The next day, the Imperial Daily went all out in its coverage of the event.

In response, people across the empire's major cities discussed it in great numbers.

Two opposing camps gradually emerged among the public. One believed there was no need to build such a terrifying weapon.

In their view, the world was now united and the people lived in peace. Since the Yanhuang Empire was the only country on Yanhuang Star, there could be no more wars in the future.

So there was absolutely no need to spend so many resources building and researching such a terrifying weapon.

The other camp disagreed. They believed that although the empire had united Yanhuang Star, it would sooner or later set out into the cosmos. No one knew what dangers might await out there.

So this terrifying weapon should not only be built, but more resources should be invested in finding ways to develop even more powerful weapons.

Only then could the empire stand on a firm foundation. Only then would it be able to fight back if it encountered another civilization in space.

The core belief of this hawkish camp was that "peace only exists within the range of a cannon."

In short, they were a bunch of people suffering from a fear of insufficient firepower, along with enthusiasts who loved exploring extraterrestrial civilizations.

They loved the stars and longed to prove that other civilizations existed out there, yet at the same time, they felt a nameless dread of the beautiful cosmos.

As the times advanced, and especially now that the Yanhuang Empire had reached such heights, war had disappeared and everyone enjoyed a good life. In their leisure, people began to let their imaginations roam and explore the cosmos.

This could be considered an inevitable trend for any civilization that reached a certain level of development.

The people below gathered information about the matter and submitted it to Ye Chen.

After reading the report, Ye Chen shook his head helplessly. "Do these people have so much free time? They're actually arguing over this, and some of them have even come to blows over it.

"Looks like I'll have to speed up the development of the Internet. The online world is vast. They can argue as much as they like there. They won't be able to fight through a network cable anyway."

After giving it some thought, Ye Chen instructed Yuan Lan to have the publicity department guide public opinion on the matter.

With the Daylight Project complete, Ye Chen turned his attention to the empire's Aerospace Technology sector.

Before the war began, the Aerospace Department had conducted some research, but preparations for the war that followed had slowed its progress.

Now that the war was over, vast resources were being poured into the sector, and development had sped up rapidly.

In just a few years, it had launched quite a few satellites, but it had yet to send anyone into space.

Yanhuang Calendar, Year 250.

On this day, the empire conducted its first crewed spaceflight test.

That day, large crowds gathered at the Yanchen Aerospace Base, and reporters had come from every continent.

After all, this was the empire's very first crewed spaceflight.

It was a moment worthy of being recorded in history.

Yanchen Aerospace Launch Center.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Xu Xin, a host from Tianxuan Television Station. I'm currently standing at the Yanchen Aerospace Launch Site.

"From where I'm standing, you can see the Tenglong-1 crewed rocket in the distance. Soon, we'll hear Tenglong-1 roar like a dragon as it carries our aerospace hero, Zhao Yunlei, toward the beautiful, boundless cosmos..."

"Listen, everyone. The launch countdown has begun at the Yanchen Aerospace Launch Site. Let's count down together and witness this historic moment."

"10, 9, 8... 3, 2, 1!!"

"Ignition!!"

"Rumble!!"

"I can feel the ground shaking violently beneath me.

"Look, everyone! Under the tremendous thrust of its boosters, the Tenglong-1 crewed rocket is slowly rising toward space, carrying the Yanhuang Empire into the cosmos for the very first time..."

Xu Xin watched the crewed rocket slowly rise in the distance. Her eyes brimmed with tears, and she spoke passionately to the countless viewers watching on their televisions.

At this moment.

The giant dragon soared, its roar shaking the land.

The first crewed spaceflight in the history of the Yanhuang Empire was like a colossal white dragon. Amid a succession of roaring blasts, it burst through the thick atmosphere and headed into the pitch-black reaches of space.

Inside the Tenglong-1 crewed spacecraft.

Zhao Yunlei listened quietly to the countdown coming through his headset. As the seconds ticked away, he took a deep breath to calm himself.

He tensed every muscle in his body, his entire form like a piece of iron compressed to its limit.

This was the empire's first crewed spaceflight, and also its most dangerous.

Although he had long been prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice, he still couldn't help feeling a little nervous.

When the countdown ended, at exactly nine in the morning, the rocket ignited. A tremendous roar erupted from its tail.

In an instant, hundreds of tons of high-energy fuel inside the rocket began to burn.

Then, the rocket's eight engines began spewing blazing flames.

At the same time, the flames from the rocket instantly evaporated the thousands of tons of water beneath the launch platform into steam.

The crewed rocket had begun its journey.

As the rocket slowly rose, Zhao Yunlei, seated inside the cockpit, didn't feel the slightest discomfort.

At that moment, he actually felt "steadier" than he would on an elevator.

Zhao Yunlei hadn't expected the pressure inside the rocket to be far lower than he'd imagined during his training. This put him much more at ease, and his tense muscles slowly relaxed.

"Escape tower separation..."

"Booster separation..."