A One-Man Apocalypse

Chapter 46: A One-Man Apocalypse

Holiday balance: 1 day.

Zhang Yuan finally understood the restless feeling Ye Kaifu had experienced before he left.

His heart felt hollow; nothing he did felt right. He didn't want to study, didn't want to use his brain, and didn't even want to play games.

He even tossed and turned in bed, suffering from a sleepless night.

This feeling was as if the end of the world were about to arrive.

If tomorrow were truly the end of the world, what should one do today to make it most meaningful?

This topic had always been a perennial favorite on the internet. If the apocalypse arrived and the world fell into chaos, some would choose to indulge and degenerate; some would choose to go home to be with their parents; others would choose to confess their feelings or do things they wouldn't normally do to make up for the regrets of a lifetime...

Humans are, after all, emotional creatures. Having lived in a place for a long time, even if there are many flaws and many complaints, one becomes inseparable from it due to sheer familiarity and habit.

This place was his home planet—Earth.

Looking again at the crowds moving back and forth on the street, everything was in perfect order. This was merely an apocalypse for him alone.

Zhang Yuan let out a deep sigh, cast aside his wild thoughts, and quickened his pace as he walked forward.

He arrived at Professor Wang Zhong's office, intending to donate his shares in Genesis Technology Co., Ltd., even though the company was still in the process of registration.

"Zhang Yuan, it's good that you have this intention. I think you should keep the shares in your own hands for now instead of donating them to the foundation." Professor Wang took a sip of water and said kindly.

"Why?" Zhang Yuan couldn't help but ask. "Isn't the foundation short on money?"

Professor Wang waved his hand and sighed with emotion, "Even if it is short on money, it isn't short of your few million."

"The foundation has developed for a hundred years now and has become a true behemoth. It owns more and more industries—some developed inexplicably as a blessing in disguise, such as the space elevator and shares in certain space cities, while others were acquired through investments."

Professor Wang made a gesture, "The further one reaches, the greater the influence on the entire world."

"What do you mean..." Zhang Yuan didn't quite understand.

Professor Wang sighed, "But what is the core purpose of the Deep Space Foundation? It is to help develop the aerospace industry, not to acquire massive profits. It is not a capitalist; it does not need to be profitable in the long term."

"To this day, the foundation's scale has become somewhat bloated. Wherever there is power, corruption will arise. In a large organization, no matter how standardized the system is, once more people join and time passes, chaos will form, and there will be all sorts of dark sides within."

"So, you should keep those shares of yours. Many companies that the foundation participates in managing actually end up performing poorly."

Zhang Yuan felt thoughtful.

Professor Wang smiled and said, "No flower blooms for a hundred days, and no person is always lucky. The foundation cannot grow stronger forever. Especially once our generation passes away, the next generation may not necessarily have that same spirit; it will slowly decline."

"If you have the heart, come back to offer help in the hour of need three hundred years from now—if the foundation still exists."

Zhang Yuan said in surprise, "Professor Wang, three hundred years from now, my company might have already gone bankrupt. After all, I'm just a small shareholder, I'm not responsible for operations, and I certainly won't be looking after it..."

Wang Zhong said calmly, "Who can predict the final outcome? I still suggest you keep the shares for now and just donate the dividends to the foundation. The foundation isn't lacking assets right now; it just lacks insurance for the future."

"I tell all other asset donors the same thing."

The two chatted for a long time.

If a man takes no thought about what is distant, he will find sorrow near at hand.

What Professor Wang said certainly made sense. Their generation had risen from ruins and hardship, so their sense of crisis was different from those who came later. Days without sufficient energy had allowed everyone to feel the bitterness of life and the taste of destitution, and even the thinking of the ruling class was deeply influenced by it.

"To develop, to develop without end!" Professor Wang pointed to his own head, "This is the thought engraved in my mind by the entire era."

"However, for many children who grew up in the new era, this thought no longer exists. Life is too affluent; why bother to develop?"

It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but difficult to go from luxury to frugality. This was the reason why Professor Qi Yuanshan believed that humanity only had one or two hundred years to leave the solar system.

"He had long ago made a prediction: in a few hundred years, humanity will likely follow the old path of the past, and all sorts of contradictions will emerge... The warmth brought by nuclear fusion is simply too wonderful, far better than oil. Plus, the solar system is already vast enough to support a population in the trillions. How could the people of that time still have the will to develop a second civilization?"

"This isn't a problem of technology, but a problem of spirit and will!"

When Zhang Yuan walked out of the office, he kept thinking. He could understand these various social predictions, yet it was hard to truly grasp them—perhaps.

Zhang Yuan found a random corner on campus to sit down, looked at the blue sky, and aimlessly scrolled through his social media feed.

"In Xisha, just got off the high-speed rail, heading to the spaceship tomorrow. Any ladies willing to keep me company for my last day?"

[Selfie]

[Selfie]

[Selfie]

It was his friend Li Zhendong showing off on his feed. There was a whole pile of replies below, full of blessings and likes.

Everyone was still very friendly toward astronauts who were about to leave.

Zhang Yuan replied, "I'm at Xisha University, come over."

Li Zhendong replied, "Get lost, you're not a lady!"

"I have plenty of ladies here!"

Li Zhendong replied immediately, "Coming, coming! Wait a bit, I need to report to the Aviation Planning Bureau first."

About half an hour later, Li Zhendong appeared at the school gate, looking shifty. Because he didn't look like a student, he was even stopped by the security guard to have his ID checked.

The moment he saw him, he asked, "Where's the girl? I knew you were bullshitting me, you idiot!"

"What's the rush? She'll be here in a second."

"Heh."

Li Zhendong sniffed, looking completely unconvinced. "How about we go play some games? It's the last day, how about an all-nighter? LoL 8 is out, and I happen to have two beta accounts..."

Zhang Yuan shook his head. "You really have no taste beyond that. We aren't going to an internet cafe, just wait five minutes!"

A few minutes later, Han Ziyue appeared as promised, her voice carrying from a distance: "Zhang Yuan, let's go hang out!"

Li Zhendong's eyes nearly popped out of his head, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit a pear inside!

He turned back to look at Zhang Yuan, cursing inwardly: This guy is actually picking up girls, and such a beautiful one at that!

I'm such a fool!

I spent the whole month miserably reading books at home!

As the girl approached, Li Zhendong stammered, "Hello, beautiful lady, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Li Zhendong, and I am very friendly and honest. I excel at mechanics and informatics, I love surfing the web, and I play online games. I also like playing basketball, and I once dreamed of becoming an athlete. I love watching seagulls flying freely by the seaside, which is why I often go to the beach in the summer. White is my favorite color, because I feel that white is a symbol of purity..."

It sounded as if he were reading from a textbook.