“We just came to communicate with you and to understand your wishes and needs. We also would like to know your plans. Also, if you need any help, you can tell us. We’ll meet all of your needs!” The woman took a deep breath as she spoke to Lu Zhiyu.
Lu Zhiyu nodded. “I am very satisfied to see that you didn’t make stupid plans or take any unnecessary actions. I am leaving the earth, and I don’t want to leave any bad memories during this last period.”
He then said, “I do have some requirements. I hope that you will help me to hire some people who will volunteer to enter space and explore the universe. However, these can’t be mere ordinary people. They must be the top talents in all aspects and fields.”
Lu Zhiyu had just looked at the profiles of the two thousand people who were inside the starship. This situation was exactly as he had expected.
Only 10 out of more than 2,000 people were willing to stay, and these 10 all came from a single family. Even the original management committee members were unwilling to stay.
Although most of these people were ambitious explorers of the universe, they knew what leaving the earth meant. The mysterious dark space was a big adventure that posed an unknown future and an unclear purpose. So, it was more than likely that they wouldn’t live to see the end of such an adventure.
The fact that more than a dozen people were even willing to stay was already a surprise to Lu Zhiyu. After all, not everyone wanted to explore the universe at the cost of everything else.
What really surprised Lu Zhiyu didn’t was that Gu Chaoran had finally chosen to go with him. In this way, Lu Zhiyu wouldn’t have to worry about choosing a candidate to be the leader in charge of the starship.
However, a starship that could accommodate a minimum of 100,000 people finally leaving the earth with only a dozen onboard was still a rare thing. Although Lu Zhiyu made such a large spacecraft because he had follow-up plans, having a crew of only 10 people was still pretty shocking. Lu Zhiyu had hoped that Truth could carry more earth imprints into space.
These initial members who had been selected from the earth would be the first generation of the Truth management committee members. Lu Zhiyu hoped that all of these members could become familiar and trusted confidantes in the future.
“Ok, no problem!” Nicolas replied.
“I will leave the earth within seven days, and you will move on as soon as possible! After I get what I want, I will leave right away. You will also get what you want, so it’s a fair trade!” Lu Zhiyu said to Nicolas.
It seemed that the three of them wanted Lu Zhiyu to leave as soon as possible. Knowing that Lu Zhiyu really wanted to leave the earth anyway, they had no intention of rejecting such a small request, so they pleasantly agreed.
Many countries all around the world immediately released advertisements for the crew of Truth. The Debye Company and the Vatican Clan, in the name of NASA, selected the crew members for Truth from applicants from all around the world, claiming that it was a spacecraft that combined global intelligence that would start an interstellar exploration to the Alpha Centauri. They also said that this trip could take up to 100 years, depending on the speed of the spacecraft.
During this period, the people onboard would stay asleep most of the time in dormant compartments. This would be an undocumented journey that would span a century, and it would be full of dangers and possible accidents. No one would knew what would happen or whether the spacecraft would arrive smoothly in the Alpha Centauri.
Even if those people returned to the earth, their relatives and friends would most likely pass away during the time that they were gone. This meant that, from the moment they set foot on the starship, they would have given up everything on earth to join this interstellar exploration tour.
This selection that was jointly conducted by these numerous countries immediately aroused strong opposition, causing debates to break out all over the world. A large number of professionals expressed their doubts about this tour. Particularly, they felt that this exploration program was too strange and too hurried.
Moreover, under the pressure of public opinion, people grew more concerned about the fact that human beings had really started the journey of interstellar exploration. As some people successfully got selected, this selection process reached a climax. At this time, conspiracy theories were treated as jokes and rumors, while those who knew part of the truth could only remain silent due to the fear of facing scorn.
In the end, more than 20 people were selected and sent to Lu Zhiyu. These people came from all over the country and were of different races and occupations. In all respects, they met the requirements that were specified by Lu Zhiyu.
Lu Zhiyu looked at the thick profile book, which detailed the background information and work histories of all of these people, including information about their living situations, friends, physical health statuses, psychological assessments and so on. But, what surprised Lu Zhiyu was that there were two familiar names on the list.
As Lu Zhiyu took out two of the files, he saw that the photos on the files looked very familiar. One of them was a young man with glasses, and the other was a black-haired woman with a typical British appearance. He then read the brief introductions…
Wang Yi… Male… 31… Medical doctor… Immunologist…
Zoey Sharp.. Female… mathematics doctor… Physical health level A, with a…
Both of these individuals were his old friends. Wang Yi was his classmate and former buddy, and Zoey Sharp was a friend that he once knew long ago. It was such a coincidence that they had been chosen to be among the crew of the starship!
Lu Zhiyu then asked, “Is everyone on this list voluntarily choosing to become part of the crew of the starship?”
After getting a positive answer, Lu Zhiyu no longer asked any more questions. Everyone had his own choice, and as long as they made their own decisions, Lu Zhiyu had no reason to interfere.
In the last few days, Lu Zhiyu had returned to his hometown. He had no relatives left there, only friends who had become somewhat obscured in his memory after all this time.
Some of them were married, some were still single, some people were successful in their careers, and some people had failed in life and were extremely lonely.
As Lu Zhiyu passed every building that he was familiar with during his childhood, the crowds of people rushed past Lu Zhiyu. The roads were filled with vehicles.
It was clear that the whole city was changing rapidly. Everyone seemed to be tied up by strings, living like puppets.
Life here was like a set of established templates and routines. Everyone lived according to these rules and routines in the template of life.
In fact, he now realized that the whole world had not changed, but he was the one who had changed. He seemed to have broken free from what had bound him previously.
Lu Zhiyu lay on the roof of his old home. The sky in the night was gray and there were no stars. The sky was like a film that separated the humans from the stars.
At this moment, Lu Zhiyu felt that his life was like a dream. He was a lucky man, as he had broken free and escape the rat race of living his life just like the countless normal lives on the earth.
He had broken away from his old destiny and launched a challenge to the universe. The exploration of truth and the unknown had started from here until now, and it was far from over. Now, he was just starting a new journey and was about to set sail again!
“It’s time to leave! There is nothing worth staying here for!” Lu Zhiyu murmured as he looked at the sky.
Although nothing could be seen in the sky, he seemed to see the stars and the vast galaxy. He reached out and exclaimed, “Our journey is… To the sea of stars!”
