Jinling Aerospace Launch Center.
The atmosphere had been rather lively lately.
The first batch of space residents headed for the Guanghan Special Zone had moved in a month ago. Most of them had been born in the 1990s, with some born in the 1980s. Regardless of age, the least educated among them held doctorates—or, failing that, were senior engineers.
Standing in the launch base dormitory area, Tao Muye held a can of coffee and squatted on a concrete block by the roadside, drinking while lost in thought.
At that moment, another man emerged from the dormitory building. Their eyes met, and the man walked over.
"A Ph.D.?"
There were only two types of people in the first group heading to the moon: engineers and researchers. By asking that, he was probably assuming Tao Muye belonged to the latter.
Tao Muye nodded at the man who had spoken to him.
"Yes. What about you?"
"Same as you." The man with the buzz cut smiled, lit a cigarette, and continued, "What are you going there to do?"
"Me?"
"Is there anyone else here?"
"Farming."
"Farming?"
"More precisely, seed research."
"Sounds interesting."
"Probably not in the way you're thinking."
"Haha, you look dull on the surface, but you're actually pretty funny. One of those secretly wild types? But I'm serious." Taking a deep drag, the buzz-cut man pulled out his cigarette pack and grinned. "Want one?"
"I don't smoke."
"A Ph.D. who doesn't smoke? I seriously doubt your academic ability." The man laughed and took out another cigarette, tucking it behind his ear. "How do you stay awake when you're rushing a paper?"
Tao Muye shook the canned coffee in his hand.
"With this."
"Coffee... good stuff, but it's not stimulating enough for me. If I have to crank out a twenty-thousand-word paper