Farewell to the Past, Farewell to What Once Was

Zhang Yuan sighed, "But I still feel that the justification for deep space colonization is insufficient. A Dyson Sphere does sound terrifying. However, it actually serves as direct proof that truly powerful alien civilizations exist in the universe. Civilizations can be exposed."

"It also proves that the universe isn't a dark forest and that communication is possible. It's not as dangerous as we imagined."

In the 21st century, before it was even confirmed to be a Dyson Sphere, scientists at the time were already enthusiastically beaming electromagnetic signals in that direction. Regardless, scientists often did things like that.

This string of signals represented humanity's "friendly greetings" and its vision of "yearning for peace."

Although this sort of thing was quite ridiculous—calling it a "yearning for peace" even though humanity had erupted into two world wars in the 22nd century—it had indeed happened.

There are always many optimists in the world who believe that aliens can be communicated with amicably. If communication were truly successful, human civilization would undergo a qualitative transformation!

"You're far too optimistic. Powerful civilizations can be exposed, but what about weak ones? Earth would eventually be toyed to death by them; why would anyone help monkeys?"

Li Zhendong laughed. This kind of nonsense happened so often that he had become accustomed to it.

Even now, there were still people beaming electromagnetic waves toward KIC 8462852, hoping that an "alien god" could help them escape their sea of suffering.

The government had no way, and no ability, to stop people from secretly transmitting these signals.

Zhang Yuan teased back, "Who knows? People in South America might eat monkeys, but people on our side really do help them. We rescue sick monkeys and even give them food. The monkeys are even bold enough to snatch things, and if you hurt them, you get fined..."

"I reckon in a while, aliens will come to Earth to drop off food."

"Yeah, that would be just lovely... just don't say 'it's delicious' when the time comes."

Fortunately, the transmission speed of electromagnetic waves is only the speed of light, so it would take over 1,200 years to reach KIC 8462852.

Furthermore, electromagnetic waves attenuate severely in outer space, and with the interference of cosmic radiation, by the time they reached a place 1,200 light-years away, they would have long since become a string of garbled code.

So there was no need to worry too much; ordinary civilian equipment could never transmit signals that far.

Whether Earth has actually been exposed, no one knows.

Perhaps they observed these primitive humans tens of thousands of years ago and simply didn't care about this group of indigenous monkeys.

Looking up at the starry sky, Zhang Yuan felt a bit sleepy. He yawned, then suddenly felt as if he'd been injected with adrenaline, clenching his fists: "Therefore, I must study!"

"Only by becoming stronger can I evolve from a monkey into a human."

"Fighting! Keep it up! Work hard!"

"..."

Li Zhendong wanted to cry but had no tears. He had only been resting for a few minutes, and this guy was already wanting to study again.

What should I do? Waiting online, it's quite urgent!

But soon, Zhang Yuan dismissed the thought himself, "Forget it, it's too late, the efficiency won't be high. Better to just rest. Time squeezed out like this is always paid back in sleep anyway; it's better to keep a regular schedule."

Li Zhendong felt a weight lift from his heart.

"I'm going to report to Xisha Aerospace City tomorrow."

Li Zhendong grew nervous again: "Why? Your vacation is mandatory; you aren't allowed to end it early!"

"There's nothing to do at home... I've finished the books."

Zhang Yuan shook his head and explained, "Buying e-books myself is too expensive, and the university there allows free access to books. Plus, there are many documents I can consult for free, and professors and experts I can ask for help. Shutting myself away to work behind closed doors isn't a good thing."

This era places great importance on intellectual property; watching pirated content is illegal, and if caught, one faces massive fines.

Professional books and academic papers are even more expensive. At Zhang Yuan's current speed of reading books and literature, he would be spending hundreds or thousands of yuan every day.

"So my plan is: read two books and five papers a day for 20 days straight. Tens of thousands of yuan is still money... might as well save it and donate to the Deep Space Foundation."

Li Zhendong felt his head was about to explode; he nearly fainted on the spot.

Reading two books a day...

Two books...

Two...

Are you a dog? Are books meat bones?

He felt his entire being was unwell and rambled, "You really are a dog... a big spender!"

"That's it then, sleeping, sleeping."

Watching Zhang Yuan walk into his room, Li Zhendong took a deep, sharp breath.

Thinking of how he had spent his vacation chasing girls, playing games, and teasing his silly sister, while someone else was reading, working hard, and applying themselves, a sense of guilt inexplicably welled up in his heart.

Then, he picked up the half-read Complex Semi-simple Lie Algebra and began reading it again.

So annoying.

...Forced into it, no other choice.

The next morning, Zhang Yuan rose early, bid farewell to Li Zhendong's parents, and returned to his own city.

Gritting his teeth at the expense, he purchased a series of the latest electronic products and then copied all the various materials his father had left behind onto 10 mechanical hard drives.

In a 3,000-year interstellar journey, nothing is reliable, and electronic products are especially unreliable. Who knows when this tablet might stop working? Only by diversifying the risk can these materials be preserved for a long time.

Even though these things would be worthless three thousand years from now, Zhang Yuan still hoped to preserve them.

He checked back and forth several times: "That should be everything."

The Deep Space Planning Bureau allowed every astronaut to carry 20 kilograms of personal belongings. The suitcase contained some changes of clothes, a few mementos left behind by his father, and various odds and ends of electronic products, including the latest photonic chips, storage devices, and so on; there shouldn't be any major omissions.

"Sigh, I'm about to leave this place..."

Zhang Yuan looked at the home he had lived in for over a decade, every detail so familiar.

He had laughed here, cried here, been mocked by his father here, and felt depressed alone in his room here... so many things had happened, so many stories.

It was like a mother to him; hiding here provided a harbor-like warmth.

Unfortunately, he was destined to leave it behind.

There would be no turning back, no possibility of regret.

He finished cleaning, wiping every spot until it was spotless, and threw away all the trash that needed to be discarded.

With a "bang," he closed the front door, the deep attachment in his heart growing even more intense.

He turned back and bowed.

"Goodbye."

"Goodbye!"

Bidding farewell to the past, bidding farewell to what once was, a tear couldn't help but fall.

Zhang Yuan wiped it away with his sleeve and walked toward the elevator.

A man must eventually head toward the distance; dry your tears and don't overthink things.

Dragging his suitcase to the entrance of the residential complex, he passed a familiar park, which was empty due to the sweltering heat.

He remembered playing here often when he was a child.

One day, he suddenly tripped and fell on the ground.

Then, a flash of inspiration struck, and he started crying against a corner of the wall, unable to stop no matter what.

When his old man asked him what on earth he was doing, Zhang Yuan said, "I know that I am destined to die, so I cried. Even if I won't die now... a long, long time from now, I will still die, so it feels terrible."

A small child, having suddenly grasped the concept of "death," couldn't wrap his head around it for a moment, and feeling very uncomfortable inside, could only cry incessantly.

This situation seemed ridiculous, yet very real.

Death, what an unpleasant thing, yet it was the destination for everyone.

"So that's how it is..." his old man said coolly, "If you die, you die, what's the big deal? Do you even know the meaning of living? If you don't know, why are you afraid?"

"Living is for eating!" Zhang Yuan said, snot and tears streaming down his face.

"Hahaha, that makes sense!" His old man just laughed loudly there, but for once, he didn't offer any commentary.

Even someone as clever as his old man couldn't answer such an ultimate question, could he?