I created an extraordinary era

Chapter 701 May Humanity's Glory Shine Forever Among the Stars
August 1, 41st year of the Extraordinary Era.

A striking headline, like a boulder thrown into calm water, instantly stirred up a thousand waves, its popularity even surpassing the Wanxiang Tianlu rankings, which had remained high for nearly half a year.

[A historic moment! Humanity's first large-scale deep space exploration begins! Three thousand extraordinary individuals are about to head to Mars!]

The news sent shockwaves through the entire human world.

The online discussion reached its peak instantly, pushing the term "Mars expedition" to the top of the trending topics list on all social media platforms.

It was followed immediately by a bright red "爆" (explosive) character.

This major news story dominated the front pages of major news outlets.

The report details that a fleet of three state-of-the-art "Expedition" spacecraft has completed all preparations and is now assembled at Qiming Airport in Xinyuan City.

More than 3,000 members have all taken their positions. They are not ordinary superhumans; their strength is at least that of a Grandmaster, and there are more than 100 Grandmaster-level experts among them!
The operation will officially commence tomorrow.

This will be an unprecedented deep space exploration mission in the history of human civilization, aiming to establish the first permanent base on Mars and pave the way for humanity to explore the wider universe.

Once a permanent base on Mars is built, it will mark the official entry of human civilization into the interstellar age.

Holy crap, three thousand Grandmasters and Great Grandmasters?!

[Are they really serious? I thought building a base on Mars within thirty years was just wishful thinking!]

[Pie in the sky? Dude, Xinyuan City has been around for over thirty years. Do you still think this is from the last era?]

With current technology, going to Mars is no longer difficult. In fact, advance teams have been going to Mars for the past twenty years, and now the time is surely ripe!

I actually know a bit about this; I work at a research institute under Kunlun Academy. Apparently, it's in preparation for the completion of the second-generation spaceship.

[If nothing unexpected happens, these three most recent "Expedition" ships are all second-generation spaceships.]

Without waiting for anyone else to ask, the man continued:

[As far as I know, the second-generation spacecraft should use the latest source energy matrix propulsion technology. Compared to the first generation, which simply used source crystals as energy to drive it, the efficiency and utilization rate of source energy transmission in the second generation are much higher. It can probably increase the speed by at least 100%.]

Of course, this is just hearsay; to know the specifics, we'll have to wait for the Supreme Research Institute to release the information later.

Enough with the chit-chat, I just want to know how long it will take to go to Mars. I can't wait to travel there!

[Are you dreaming? Even if there were a route to Mars, the price would be prohibitive for most people. It might even require contribution points. And whether an average person's body could withstand such a long distance is another question.]

However, there's no need to worry. Now that construction of a base on Mars has begun, the relevant technical challenges must have been resolved, since Mars colonization is definitely a future goal.

If the base construction proceeds smoothly, perhaps in 30 to 50 years we will be able to apply to become the first Martian citizens.

[This is amazing! Isn't this more exciting than any ranking system? This is the real universe!]

[Requesting a live stream! Requesting a full live stream! I want to see the grand launch!]

This appeal received the widest response.

In fact it is.

For most ordinary people, the Wuxiang Tianlu rankings are certainly exciting, a topic of conversation to enjoy over tea, and a window to admire the style of those top extraordinary individuals.

But the changing rankings and clashes of the strongest players on the leaderboard ultimately carry a sense of illusion and distance, like a story from another world.

Even setting aside ordinary people, most extraordinary individuals are far from being on par with the top geniuses of the Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Road.

But this "Mars expedition" is different.

It's like a giant magnet, firmly attracting everyone's attention and emotions.

That was not just an expedition of three thousand extraordinary individuals, but also the beginning of a journey that carried the shared dreams of more than ten billion ordinary people.

After all, who doesn't yearn for interstellar travel?

Who doesn't yearn to stand on the land of another planet?

Ever since the first time humankind looked up at the stars, that yearning for the universe has been deeply ingrained in our blood.

This has been the case for thousands of years.

In the extraordinary era, this aspiration was finally given the possibility of being realized.

Perhaps in the near future, even ordinary people will be able to undertake distant interstellar travel.

Therefore, when the news of the Mars exploration was announced, the global attention and excitement it generated was far more intense and pure than any duel between top-level superhumans.

……

at the same time.

Xinyuan City, Qiming Airport.

The airport was brightly lit at night, like a dazzling pearl embedded in the earth.

Three massive "Expedition" spacecraft lay silently on the launch platform, their streamlined hulls reflecting a cold, metallic sheen under the searchlights, resembling three colossal beasts about to awaken and embark on their journey into the stars.

Inside the spacecraft, final checks and preparations are proceeding smoothly.

The staff members were in a hurry but focused, ensuring that every system and every step was foolproof.

On the other side, inside the waiting hall.

Hai Yunfan stood in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the three majestic "Expedition" spaceships outside, their silhouettes resembling mountain ranges, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

He is a Transcendent Level 3 transcendent being, a research-oriented grandmaster from the Heavenly Light Academy.

The main research area is energy transfer technology.

For example, he participated in the research and development of first-tier ordinary ironware and second-tier refined equipment.

He was involved in the propulsion system of this spacecraft.

It was for this reason that Hai Yunfan was selected to go to Mars, where he was responsible for building and optimizing the power system during the construction of the Mars base.

He was actually extremely excited when he first learned that he had been selected.

After all, obtaining this spot is no easy feat; countless masters have been scrambling to get it.

Interstellar travel.

This is a huge attraction for everyone.

Anyone who is eligible to run for office will generally not want to miss out.

Of course, more importantly, this mission can earn a large number of contribution points.

Therefore, Hai Yunfan had been looking forward to this day.

But now that I'm actually standing here, about to say goodbye to everything familiar, a complex and indescribable emotion quietly wells up inside me.

"Old Hai, are you still watching?"

Suddenly, a cheerful voice came from the side.

He was his teammate on this trip, and also another grandmaster from Tianguang Extraordinary Academy, Wang Kui.

Wang Kui is slightly stronger than Hai Yunfan, being at the fourth level of the Transcendent Realm.

Hai Yunfan snapped out of his daze and smiled:

"It feels a bit unreal. We're really going to build a base on Mars."

"you do not say!"

Wang Kui plopped down on the ground, looked up, his gaze seemingly piercing through the dome of the waiting hall, looking into the depths of his memory.

"I am fifty-four years old this year. When I was in elementary school, when the teacher asked us about our dreams, we all said we wanted to become scientists or astronauts!"

"Today, I finally realized this dream."

A smile also appeared on Hai Yunfan's face.

He is a few years younger than Wang Kui, but he still remembers that era clearly.

At that time, the word "astronaut" was as distant as a myth.

No child doesn't want to be an astronaut.

Who could have imagined that decades later, these extraordinary researchers would become part of an interstellar expedition?
Wang Kui scratched his short, needle-like hair, his tone carrying a sense of unreality and dazedness:
"Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and I have to pinch myself, afraid that these forty years have been a dream."

Hai Yunfan nodded silently.

He could understand Wang Kui's feelings.

The extraordinary era has only been going on forty-one years.

Their generation grew up almost in step with the rhythm of the times.

Childhood may still retain vague memories of the old era, while adolescence witnessed the explosive emergence of superhumans and source energy technology.

He threw himself into this torrent in his youth.

Now, in middle age, he is to become a pioneer in exploring other planets.

Of course, considering their lifespan of around 200 years at the Grandmaster level, being in their fifties doesn't really count as middle age.

Hai Yunfan suddenly said:
"Actually, my childhood dream was to be a librarian."

Wang Kui turned to look at him in surprise. Hai Yunfan smiled.

"Back then, I thought librarians could read all the books in the world. Now that I think about it, maybe what I longed for wasn't books, but the unknown worlds depicted in them."

The two were speechless for a moment.

Over the course of forty years.

One after another, extraordinary individuals with astonishing power emerged, and source energy technology advanced by leaps and bounds. Things that once only existed in fantasy have become reality.

The world today is just like the world depicted in books, even more magnificent and fantastical than any book.

"so good!"

"I really want to see the world hundreds, even thousands of years from now."

Wang Kui closed his eyes and murmured softly as if in a dream.

At first, the two-hundred-year lifespan of the Transcendent Realm seemed incredibly long to him.

But looking back now, standing at this juncture of civilizational leap, two hundred years seem so short.

It may be so brief that it's only enough to witness the Mars base go from nothing to something, but not necessarily to see it flourish into a city.

It was so brief that we may have just touched the edge of the interstellar age, but we didn't have time to follow the fleet to the far reaches of deep space.

"Then you should cultivate diligently. If you can break through to the True Spirit Realm, you will have at least a thousand years of lifespan!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Kui smiled and shook his head.

"Let alone the True Spirit Realm, even the Unity Realm is unlikely to exist."

"I think reaching the Grandmaster level is the limit for me in this lifetime!"

"I'm afraid only the top geniuses of the Myriad Phenomena Heavenly Road will have the opportunity to witness the era thousands of years from now."

There was no jealousy in Wang Kui's tone, only a faint sense of relief.

"For someone like me who rose to the top through resources, becoming a grandmaster is already considered to have caught the best of times."

That statement is not wrong.

With his talent, it would be difficult for him to become an extraordinary person in today's era.

Today, the two research-oriented extraordinary academies, Tianguang and Kunlun, not only require academic performance, but also a certain level of talent in cultivation.

Given Wang Kui's talent, it's highly unlikely he'll be able to get into Tianguang Academy or Kunlun Academy.

He became an extraordinary person because he caught up with a good time when only scientific research level was required.

Moreover, the contribution points they gained far exceeded those of the current students at the Extraordinary Academy.

Using these contribution points, he sought one-on-one guidance from countless experts.

That's why Wang Kui was able to break through to the fourth level of the Transcendent Realm.

Hai Yunfan, who was standing next to him, was the same; both of them were representatives of research-oriented superhumans from the old era.

With their talent, they will most likely only reach the Transcendent Realm in this lifetime!

Even so, to become a master, to participate in such an epoch-making project, and to witness humanity's first step into the stars, they were already luckier than many others.

"After I come back this time, I'm going to get married!"

Wang Kui's sudden remark startled Hai Yunfan.

He turned to look at his old friend and found that the other man had an expression on his face that he had never seen before, a mixture of longing and determination.

"Is it Chen Lu from the logistics department?"

Hai Yunfan recalled the name he had seen on the list before departure.

"Correct."

Wang Kui took out a photograph from his inner pocket; the woman in the photograph smiled gently.

"We've made a promise that once this mission is over, we'll buy a house in the new Mars city."

“After the Mars base is built, there will definitely be people who will be stationed and work there for a long time and become the first batch of real Martian residents. Chen Lu and I both feel that this is a rare opportunity to participate in the construction and settle down.”

Wang Kui's eyes sparkled, full of plans for the future.

"Just imagine, on a completely new planet, watching it develop little by little, how exciting would that be?"

Hai Yunfan was infected by his enthusiasm and smiled too:

"Indeed. And with your combined contributions, applying for first-batch residency status will definitely not be a problem. When you have a child, that will be the first Martian baby born on Mars in human history!"

"Have children?"

"Let it go!"

"For extraordinary individuals like us who have undergone a leap in life level after awakening, the probability of having offspring is not high."

Wang Kui smiled and shook his head, his tone showing little regret.

The stronger and purer the life energy, the more difficult it is to stably pass on this quality.

This may be the law of balance in the universe.

While gaining a long lifespan and great power, they also lost the possibility of easily continuing their bloodline.

According to research by the Supreme Research Institute, the chance of having offspring in the Transcendent Realm is only one-tenth that of ordinary people.

However, offspring born in the Transcendent Realm have much stronger physical qualities than children born to ordinary people.

Even without any training, they will not be worse than those who have taken the original medicine.

These people's starting point to becoming extraordinary individuals is far higher than that of their parents.

Of course, this only refers to physical fitness.

As for comprehension and talent, they are not much different from ordinary people.

In other words, it may be relatively easy for these people to cultivate to the Innate Realm, but if they want to break through to a higher realm, they still need to rely on their own comprehension and hard work.

Just as the two were talking, the airport's public address system finally came on, and a clear and steady voice echoed throughout every corner of the waiting hall:
[Attention all crew members, the 'Expedition' fleet's departure procedure has now begun. All personnel are requested to proceed to the designated passage for final identity verification according to the boarding sequence.]

"Let's go!"

Hai Yunfan and Wang Kui exchanged a smile and stood up at the same time.

The two followed the flow of people through a special passage onto the bridge leading to the spaceship, the metal beneath their feet making a slight creaking sound.

The walkway has transparent observation windows on both sides, offering views of the massive ship structure and the dazzling lights of Xinyuan City in the distance.

Upon entering the spaceship, soft light illuminated the spacious passageway.

Staff members guided the way at key points, and everything was in good order.

After finding his cabin and settling in, Hai Yunfan looked out the porthole at the receding silhouette of Earth, and his heart gradually calmed down.

Years will pass, and I wonder what it will be like when I return.

……

The next day, early in the morning.

As the sun rises, golden rays bathe the earth, draping Qiming Airport in a magnificent cloak.

The area around the launch platform was already packed with people.

Media reporters, granted access to the core area, stood ready with their cameras and microphones, while further away, countless members of the public watched the live broadcast on giant screens.

All eyes were focused on the three majestic spaceships.

Moon and star time: 8:00 AM.

The melodious and solemn bugle call echoed throughout the airport, signaling the start of the voyage.

The engines of the three Expedition ships roared in unison, their dark blue exhaust plumes surging from the nozzles, gradually deepening in color until they transformed into dazzling incandescent beams of light.

The powerful energy fluctuations caused the ground to tremble slightly even in the distant crowd watching the ceremony.

The spaceship slowly ascended into the air.

accelerate!
Speed ​​up!
Within a few dozen seconds, the spaceship transformed into three streaks of light that pierced the sky, leaving long trails as it sped toward the distant stars at a speed beyond everyone's imagination.

In just a moment, the figure rapidly shrank and eventually merged into the boundless deep space.

Sudden.

Someone in the crowd shouted something.

May the glory of humankind shine eternally among the stars!

This shout was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, instantly creating ripples.

On the airport viewing platform, countless people shouted in unison, their voices converging into a torrent that shook the heavens and the earth.

The sound waves, transmitted via live broadcast, reached every corner of the world, stirring the hearts of everyone watching.
(End of this chapter)