Farewell, Hometown.

Chapter 50: Farewell, Homeland.

The next morning, four o'clock.

Zhang Yuan woke up from his sleep; surprisingly, he had slept quite well last night.

He couldn't even tell if he had experienced a time of joy or a time of pain.

He stroked the girl's soft hair, preparing to leave.

This feeling was strange, not very comfortable.

After putting on his clothes, Zhang Yuan wrote a line on a sticky note on the nightstand: "I'm leaving, goodbye."

"I wish you a happy life, may you live to be two hundred."

He glanced back at the girl still fast asleep, then turned and left the room.

In truth, Han Ziyue had already woken up; she simply buried her head in the pillow, crying secretly, unable to stop at all.

There are some things you know will happen, but when they truly arrive, it is still very painful.

Is this the feeling of a moth flying into a flame?

Unable to help herself, she threw herself into it, burning herself into ashes...

The time was still early, the sun had not yet risen from the east, and the streets and alleys were empty.

Strangely, a small yellow-furred dog followed behind Zhang Yuan, step by step. Judging by its coat and build, it appeared to be a stray, very thin and not living well.

Zhang Yuan thought for a moment, bought two sausages from a nearby vending machine, and fed them to the poor little dog.

Unexpectedly, after eating, it trotted along, following behind Zhang Yuan again, as if it knew who was kind to it and who was not.

Twenty minutes later, Zhang Yuan returned to his dormitory, gathered all his luggage, and meticulously cleaned the room he had lived in for nineteen days.

So many stories had happened here, unforgettable memories; this was his final time on Earth.

The little dog just lay at the doorway watching.

Zhang Yuan smiled and said, "I'll give you a quick bath. If your fur is clean, even if the city management catches you, you might not be killed. If you look presentable, maybe you can find some beauty to take you in. The girls here are all very kind-hearted..."

The dog was very obedient, its tail wagging constantly while it was being washed.

Zhang Yuan guessed that this dog had likely been abandoned here; otherwise, it wouldn't be so well-behaved.

After the bath, there was nothing more Zhang Yuan could do for it.

He closed the dormitory door and picked up all his luggage to leave, but the dog continued to follow behind him.

He tried to feed it the remaining sausage, but it refused to eat, just following along quietly.

Finally, they were about to leave the school gates.

Zhang Yuan said, "It will be even more dangerous if you run into the city; you're better off staying at school. You can find food here, and you won't be killed."

The persuasion was ineffective.

Zhang Yuan squatted down and picked up a stone, pretending he was going to hit it.

The dog finally stopped. It just crouched on the ground, looking as if it had been stunned; its simple brain could not comprehend the contradictory behavior of a person who had fed it a moment ago and was now threatening to hit it.

Zhang Yuan turned back, feeling a slight pang of regret in his heart. Perhaps this dog had once pinned its hopes on him, but there was nothing he could do. Things he couldn't promise, he simply couldn't promise.

Whether it is a human life or a dog's life, that is just how it is: you have to get used to being let down, being lonely, being exiled, wandering, and being abandoned.

This is the life of a person.

Watching it walk back into the campus, Zhang Yuan breathed a slight sigh of relief and sent a text message: "Li Zhendong, are you awake? Where are you staying?"

"I'm at the cafeteria eating breakfast. Do you think I'm as reckless with appointments as you? Your last night on Earth was too enjoyable, wasn't it? Such a beautiful girl... Wow!" Li Zhendong chattered on at length.

"Bring me two steamed buns."

When the two met, Li Zhendong had a gossipy look on his face.

"How was it? Was it very pleasant!"

"It wasn't like what you said, let's go!" Zhang Yuan was in a bad mood and couldn't be bothered to say more.

Dragging his suitcase, he arrived at the registration area, passing through one security checkpoint after another.

The security checks for the space elevator were very strict, somewhat similar to airplanes in the past; liquids, flammables, explosives, and sharp objects were not allowed. There were also several medical screenings, as patients with certain serious infectious diseases were not permitted to board the spacecraft.

After passing the medical check, the staff quickly arranged their batch for the space elevator.

[Identity Number 330841244... Zhang Yuan, your seat is 17-3-D, elevator batch 2264-8-3-1246...]

Zhang Yuan looked back and asked, "Did no family come to see you off?"

Li Zhendong laughed heartily: "No... my mom would just cry if she saw me. Better not to let her come."

"That's true."

Many messages had already arrived on his phone.

"Zhang Yuan, have a safe journey!"

"See you on the ship!"

"Safe travels!"

Zhang Yuan received various well-wishes from friends and family, yet Han Ziyue was the only one missing. Perhaps she was still sleeping; or perhaps, just as she had said last night, there was no future anyway, so there was no need for further contact, letting last night remain the most profound memory.

"Ding-dong—passengers of the 1246G batch, please be advised that the space elevator you are boarding is about to launch..."

Time ticked away second by second, and he dared not delay, falling into line with the queue.

All the astronauts were very quiet. Li Zhendong, standing behind him, kept his head lowered, lost in his own thoughts.

Zhang Yuan looked up at the boundless sky; it was a hazy gray, with a sliver of light breaking through.

"...The space elevator is 36,000 kilometers long, over 4,000 times the height of Mount Everest, the world's tallest peak... The primary material is carbon nanotubes with a tensile strength of 62,000 MPa, and its breaking length under Earth's gravity is 46,000 kilometers, making it fully capable of meeting the demands of the space elevator..."

"...Humanity is small, yet humanity is also great. Technology changes the world, and science achieves the future!"

The documentary on the large screen played on a loop, helping to relieve the boredom of the waiting crowd.

In stark contrast were the queues of tourists about to head into space for leisure. Men and women screamed and cheered. For them, this was an unforgettable and proud journey of a lifetime. The tourists were noisy, discussing and praising this greatest structure in human history.

"...We will eventually embark upon the unprecedented—Great Interstellar Era."

Zhang Yuan had watched this documentary countless times; he could practically recite every line.

Yet he still watched it from beginning to end, carefully, for this would likely be the last time in his life.

So many memories; every single detail was filled with them.

This was the home planet, the eternal home planet.

"Beep," he passed through the gate.

"Have a smooth journey."

The electronic voice remained that same cold, icy tone, which did not sound very pleasant to the ear.

As he reached the corner, Zhang Yuan couldn't help but wipe his eyes with his sleeve.

Then, he wiped them a second time with his sleeve.

This action was exactly the same as the one Ye Kaifu had performed earlier.

A tear welled up from his eye socket, rolling down his cheek and dripping onto the ground.

Once they took this step, they would no longer belong to Earth.

Farewell.

Homeland.