Deep Space Wandering Fleet

F{h*F5.. V hapter 53 Our Spaceship!

After having bid farewell to the girl they had met by chance, the two of them swam towards the waiting room like they were swimming.

There lay a spaceship bound for the Moon.

“I’ve noticed your pickup skills have significantly improved!” Li Zhendong almost choked himself, “We must know, ultimately we will know! Are you a believer in determinism?”

Zhang Yuan, blushing, squeezed out a reply, “No, I’ve never believed that humans could fully understand the universe. But, how should I have answered her? New civilization? Aliens? Escapism? New Civilization School?”

“Did I leave Earth for those reasons? Of course not, I just wanted to see the scenery beyond the Solar System. So, was there anything wrong with saying that?”

Li Zhendong was shocked and found himself at a loss for words for quite some time as he realized that Zhang Yuan made some sense.

...

Apparently, telling the truth is the ultimate form of pretense.

The kind of pretense that even convinces oneself while speaking.

“You seem to be getting smarter recently. Whether it’s flirting or academic knowledge, I could take lessons from you.”

“Oh, well, thank you for the compliment,” Zhang Yuan nodded and accepted the compliment.

Li Zhendong was shocked again, he hadn’t expected this guy’s thick skin had evolved to the level of a Tyrannosaurus.

He wanted to say something more but noticed the entire line was starting to move.

The two of them followed the moving crowd.

“Ladies and gentlemen, astronauts, please note that spacecraft D-13156 heading to Dragon Gate No.7 Space Port will officially depart at 10:22 am…”

The time here is based on Xia Country’s East Eighth Zone Standard Time, so there was no need for time adjustment.

“Beep!”

“Bon voyage!”

Zhang Yuan had a slight complaint in his mind about why these electronic sounds were all in the same female voice.

After passing security, astronauts from all around gathered and swam into the large transport spaceship.

Zhang Yuan took his seat, fastened his seatbelt, and quietly waited.

In space, there’s an old saying: Bringing water up from a planet’s surface is less efficient than transporting it directly from the other end of the universe.

Due to the immense cost of climbing Earth’s gravity well, the Moon naturally became the preferred space base. After all, the Moon’s gravity is only one-sixth of Earth’s, and the cost using the space elevator would be much cheaper.

There’s a famous hypothesis: the Moon was parted from Earth, and during its early formation, due to extreme temperatures, its atmosphere was composed of metallic steam.

This layer of cooled metallic steam, covering the surface of Earth, became a treasure trove for humanity.

Abundant rare earth elements, titanium, aluminum, lanthanum, among others, could fully meet the heavy industry needs of humans.

All things considered, the Moon is more suited for space manufacturing than Earth.

The great “Earth Era” Mother Ship was stationed at the Moon’s Space Port, on board the Dragon Gate No.7.

“Ha ha, here I am, I’ve arrived!” A tall man with blonde hair and white skin was shouting wildly at the glass windows, extremely excited.

“Ah, help!” Another girl twisted her waist, trying to swim to her place. Somehow, she always moved in the opposite direction.

A spaceship crew member steadied her and ritualistically announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts! The spaceship will soon take off. This flight is headed for Dragon Gate No.7. Please check your tickets and make sure you are in the correct seats.”

“The restroom is at the end of the corridor; for usage instructions refer to the manual in the flight handbook …”

“If you feel unwell, please seek medical help immediately!”

The large transport spaceship, 200 meters in length, resembled a cruise ship navigating the stars. It was not only filled with these passengers but also carried a massive amount of cargo.

Since there was no centrifugal ring to simulate gravity, everyone could only stay seated, which was far from a pleasant travel experience.

It really wasn’t pleasant.

The food was like toothpaste, nothing to boast about in terms of flavor; sleep was often interrupted by a sudden jolt, creating a sensation of falling from the sky. Waking up to find oneself floating.@@novelbin@@

Even going to the bathroom was a nerve-wracking ordeal, fearing that some dirty substance might float up and accidentally be inhaled, resulting in an emergency room visit.

And even if it wasn’t inhaled, cleaning it up was still your responsibility.

Thus, if one could avoid eating, it was best to avoid it; if one could avoid using the bathroom, it was best to also avoid that.

What about taking a bath? Even the most hygiene-conscious women would avoid bathing under such circumstances.

During this ordeal, the transport spaceship circled Earth twice, leveraging the gravitational slingshot effect to successfully accelerate towards the Moon.

Three days passed without any particular incidents occurring.

The spaceship had circled the Moon several times, and the orbit gradually began to lower.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the spacecraft is expected to arrive at ‘Dragon Gate No.7’ in fifteen minutes. Please fasten your safety belts and refrain from moving around the corridors…”

The announcement was only half finished when the passengers already began to stir.

“We’re here, we’ve arrived!”

“That’s our ship!”

Looking out the window, one could see that it was immense, resembling a massive mountain quietly docked at the Moon’s largest Space Port.

Bright, regular indicator lights on the spacecraft’s surface lit up sequentially, indicating that it was undergoing a routine check.

“Shush—shush!”

A group of foreigners frantically whistled.

For some reason, they always called the giant Mother Ship “Gaia,” perhaps because Gaia had some connotation of Earth…

“Earth Era” surpassed this era entirely; almost all spaceships, including the Space Port, seemed petty in its presence.

It was truly a mobile, giant city!

Busy robots and transport spaceships moved to and fro in the port just like autonomous cars on Earth, full of order.

Below this still lay the barren, lifeless Moon.

The Moon had seen the emergence of man-made structures such as smelting machines in mines and satellite signal transmitters. Most of the buildings were actually hidden underground, with only the tip of the iceberg visible.

After enduring so many days in the boundless universe, suddenly seeing a large expanse of human-made structures always stirred up inexplicable emotions.

Observing the towering Deep Space Colony Ship from close quarters, Zhang Yuan’s heart raced faster, and he too cheered loudly.

Earth Era, our spaceship!

Only such a colossal structure could sustain a brand-new civilization; only such solidity could support the lives of 500,000 humans.

It was set to conquer a distance of 20 light-years, spanning 3,000 years!

This was the greatest glory of the 23rd century.

A century belonging to us… Our era!