Human Deep Space Fleet Expedition Plan

The four large characters glowing faintly gold on the projection screen made everyone's pupils contract sharply!

Heavenly Court!

In Xia Country's legends, the Heavenly Court was the supreme seat of power in mythology!

In the heart of every person from Xia Country, the Heavenly Court held an irreplaceable significance!

"The Heavenly Court Project, formally known as the Human Deep Space Fleet Expedition Plan."

"Initial construction will be completed within fifteen years."

"The Heavenly Court Project's first target world lies 4.22 light-years away, at Proxima Centauri!"

Lü Yongchang's calm voice echoed through the Xia Country Great Hall.

Meanwhile, the slides on the projection screen kept changing, presenting the main details of the Heavenly Court Project to everyone.

The academicians and professors seated below were already too stunned to speak!

The same thought involuntarily surfaced in everyone's mind.

How... how did Lü Yongchang dare propose this?!

Colonize a planet outside the Solar System within fifteen years?

Even science fiction wouldn't dare write something like that!

At the very back of the Great Hall, camera flashes fired faster and faster, almost merging into a blinding band of white light!

The reporters were practically wearing out their cameras' shutter buttons!

More than ten minutes later.

Standing onstage, Lü Yongchang slowly let out a breath.

He had finally finished briefly introducing the three major plans.

He looked down and swept his gaze across the faces in the audience.

Sure enough, almost every academician and professor wore an expression filled with disdain and doubt.

The corners of his mouth twitched into a faint smile before he spoke into the microphone again. "This concludes the meeting."

"Members of the press, please leave first."

Lü Yongchang's words stirred a slight commotion in the Xia Country Great Hall.

The reporters had to leave first?

That hadn't been mentioned before!

The confusion in everyone's eyes deepened.

Lü Yongchang clearly had no intention of explaining. He simply stood quietly onstage, staring solemnly at the reporters in the last row of the Xia Country Great Hall.

Still, at a meeting like this, no one wanted to get on Lü Yongchang's bad side.

After all, as the Space Administration's first director, Lü Yongchang wielded real authority!

Five minutes later.

Once all the reporters had left the Xia Country Great Hall, Lü Yongchang signaled to the soldiers guarding the entrances.

Bang!

All four doors of the Great Hall shut at once with a synchronized, dull thud!

At the sight, the pupils of every academician and professor contracted!

Was... something major happening?!

"Everyone, what I'm about to discuss concerns national security!"

Lü Yongchang said pointedly, "So, sorry for the trouble, but I'll need you all to sign a confidentiality agreement!"

As he spoke, several soldiers began handing out confidentiality agreements to the academicians and professors in turn.

"What?!"

"We actually have to sign confidentiality agreements!"

"National security... what exactly happened?!"

As soon as Lü Yongchang finished speaking, the younger professors lost their composure and began quietly discussing it with those around them.

A sharp gleam flashed through the eyes of some veteran academicians seated in the front rows.

"Academician Yang, this must be the truth you mentioned to me earlier, right?" Elder Qiu signed his name on the confidentiality agreement while giving Yang Jianchuan a meaningful look.

Yang Jianchuan signed his name with a grave expression and said quietly, "Elder Qiu, I can tell you the truth now."

"If I told you that Xia Country... no, humanity, has less than fifteen years left to live, would you believe me?"

The white-haired Academician Qiu Tianzhong's pupils contracted sharply. Even he could not contain his shock, and he exclaimed in a low voice, "What did you say?!"

Seeing everyone nearby turn toward him, Qiu Tianzhong hurriedly forced a strained smile and waved a hand. "It's nothing, nothing..."

Once the people around him had turned away, Qiu Tianzhong hastily tugged at Yang Jianchuan's sleeve and asked under his breath, "What did you mean by that?!"

"What do you mean humanity only has fifteen years left?!!"

Just as Yang Jianchuan was about to answer, Lü Yongchang interrupted him from the stage.

"Since everyone has signed the confidentiality agreement, I'll get straight to the point."

"Everyone, humanity has only fifteen years left to escape!"

"To be precise, every living creature on Earth has only fifteen years left to escape!"

Lü Yongchang's words were like an atomic bomb dropped into the tranquil meeting hall!

In an instant, the once-quiet Xia Country Great Hall became as noisy as a bustling market!

Lü Yongchang stood onstage, quietly watching the audience without saying another word.

He knew that news this shocking truly required some time to digest.

Gradually, the discussions in the Great Hall faded, and everyone fixed their eyes on Lü Yongchang.

Only then did he click the mouse lightly and advance the projected slide.

"I believe everyone here is familiar with the paper published in Nature recently."

"The sun's recent activity has probably troubled quite a few of you. Last night's global aurora, in particular, defied every pattern we had previously established."

"Through rigorous calculations and simulations, we discovered that the sun has entered its aging phase ahead of schedule."

"What's more, it is aging far faster than we anticipated."

"According to our model's predictions, the sun will enter the red giant stage within ten years. During that time, it will engulf Mercury and Venus in succession."

"Within fifteen years, the sun will undergo a helium flash!"

"When that happens, Earth, as the closest remaining planet to the sun, will be completely melted by the light of the helium flash!"

"..."

The Xia Country Great Hall fell deathly silent.

Qiu Tianzhong sat in his chair with a blank stare, his thin, withered hands gripping the armrests tightly.

"This... how is this possible..."

"This... this defies all reason!"

Qiu Tianzhong growled under his breath, looking almost deranged.

As one of Xia Country's leading physicists, Qiu Tianzhong found himself unable to accept such a reality.

In just over a decade, the sun would simply expend most of the energy within it!

Under normal circumstances, that energy would be enough to keep the sun burning for billions of years!

Where had all that energy gone?!

"This violates the law of conservation of energy!!"

Qiu Tianzhong abruptly rose to his feet, his withered hands trembling slightly as he roared!

If something like this truly happened, it would be a catastrophe!

Not merely a catastrophe for Earth's civilization, but for humanity's entire body of knowledge!

Watching the old man sway unsteadily at his seat, a trace of pity flashed through Lü Yongchang's eyes.

He had seen far too many scenes like this in his previous life.

The more learned someone was, the harder it was for them to accept such a change in the sun!

Because it violated every law humanity understood!