Zhao Zijie stopped filling out the form and turned to look behind him.
A young man in his thirties looked toward Zhao Zijie with a wry smile.
Behind him stood two other young people, a man and a woman.
"What is it?"
The old man continued with a cheerful smile. "Has Professor Lü come up with some new technology again?"
Zhao Zijie's breath caught.
Professor Lü?
Did he mean Professor Lü Yongchang?!
He stared fixedly at the young man addressed as Captain Bai, focusing all his attention on him.
The young man waved a hand helplessly. "It isn't one of Professor Lü's achievements this time."
"Some of the subsidiary labs came up with a few new tricks. Apparently, the next-generation starships will have quantum computers and weak artificial intelligence, and the old control consoles are being replaced with holographic displays... so now all of us veteran pilots have to come back for training."
"Holographic displays?! Artificial intelligence?!!" Unable to contain his excitement any longer, Zhao Zijie exclaimed under his breath, "Is-is that true?!"
"Sir, who's this?" The young man raised an eyebrow and asked the elderly gatekeeper.
"Oh, a young fellow who signed up for starship pilot training. He's here for an interview," the old man said with a casual wave.
A flicker of interest crossed the young man's eyes as he looked Zhao Zijie over.
"Good luck, kid. Pass the training, and I'll treat you to hot pot!"
A slightly hoarse voice came from the other young man.
Zhao Zijie nodded blankly, at a loss for what to say.
"Well, we'll be off, sir." Captain Bai smiled and waved, then turned and walked through the gate.
Zhao Zijie watched the three of them recede into the distance.
"Stop staring, kid," the old man said again. "Hurry up and fill