Brother, just how powerful is our family?

On the day of the interview, Wang Xiaojun and his wife went to the company's office in Yanhuang Continent.

The interviewer asked some professional questions and psychological test questions. Wang Xiaojun answered fluently, and his wife was just as capable.

"You've both passed," the interviewer said with a smile. "Welcome to Star Exploration."

Wang Xiaojun and his wife exchanged a glance and smiled.

The Star Exploration Company's spaceship is a civilian interstellar spaceship, designated CS-027. It is five kilometers long, one kilometer wide, and eight hundred meters high.

This size, if placed on Earth, would be equivalent to a small town.

But in space, it is only a small to medium-sized spacecraft.

The spaceship's propulsion system is a warp drive, with a maximum speed of ten times the speed of light.

The weapon system includes an electromagnetic railgun and dozens of laser defense weapons, designed to counter potential unknown threats.

However, these weapons are locked inside the solar system and will only be unlocked after leaving the solar system.

The crew totaled over 300 people, mostly couples.

The company explained that long-term interstellar travel has a significant impact on the mental health of single people, while traveling together as couples, with mutual support, can greatly reduce the incidence of mental health problems. Wang Xiaojun thought this explanation was very reasonable.

On the day of departure, the whole family came to see him off.

Wang Xiaojun's parents, along with their four children, stood in the waiting hall of the spaceport in Earth orbit.

Through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, you can see countless spaceships, large and small, in various shapes, parked in the starry sky outside, like a group of sleeping giants.

"Dad, Mom, take care," Wang Xiaojun said to his parents.

"You two should take care." His mother held his hand, her eyes a little red. "It's been decades, so far."

"It's not like we're never coming back. We'll return after we've finished exploring."

"We still have to be careful. It's outer space, not Earth."

"understood."

The father stood to the side without saying a word. Only after the mother finished speaking did he step forward and pat Wang Xiaojun on the shoulder.

"Work hard," the father said.

"Um."

"Your mother is right, be careful."

"I will."

The father looked at his daughter-in-law again and nodded: "You too, be careful."

"Dad, don't worry."

The youngest child, not yet understanding what was happening, was held in his grandfather's arms, looking around with wide eyes.

The older one, who was already fifteen, stood to the side with a somewhat complicated expression.

Wang Xiaojun walked over and hugged him: "Take good care of your younger brother and sister."

"Um."

Listen to your grandparents.

"Um."

Study hard.

"Um."

Wang Xiaojun released his grip, took a step back, and looked at the family.

His parents, his children, his wife.

They were the most important people in his life. Now, he was leaving them and heading light-years away.

"Let's go." His wife gently tugged at his sleeve.

Wang Xiaojun took a deep breath, turned around, and walked with his wife towards the boarding gate. Behind them, his mother's voice came: "Remember to keep in touch on the way!"

He turned around, waved, and then walked into the passageway.

The spacecraft is parked in Earth orbit and requires a shuttle boat to board.

The shuttle boat is a small shuttle that can accommodate dozens of people.

Wang Xiaojun and his wife got in and fastened their seatbelts.

Through the porthole, they saw the Earth slowly rotating.

Blue ocean, white atmosphere, green forests and grasslands.

This is their home, the place where they started.

The shuttle boat took off.

A few minutes later, they spotted the spaceship, Star Exploration Corporation's CS-027. It hovered silently in the void, its silvery-white hull gleaming in the sunlight.

Five kilometers in length may not seem like much in space, but you only realize its immense size when you get close to it.

The shuttle boat enters from the stern of the spacecraft, passes through a long passage, and finally docks in an internal berth.

"Welcome aboard." A uniformed staff member greeted them at the exit. "Please follow me, I'll take you to your cabin."

The cabin wasn't large, but it was cozy. It had a double bed, a table, two chairs, a wardrobe, and a private bathroom.

There is a porthole on the wall from which you can see the starry sky outside.

Wang Xiaojun put his luggage away, stood in front of the porthole, and watched the Earth outside grow smaller and smaller until it became a point of light.

"How are you feeling?" His wife walked over and stood beside him.

"It's like a dream."

"Me too."

They stood side by side, gazing at the starry sky outside the window. Those stars, which had once seemed like distant specks of light, were now their destination. They were their future.

The spacecraft remained in Earth orbit for two days, waiting for all crew members to arrive.

Two days later, the captain ordered the ship to depart. The spaceship started its engines, slowly leaving Earth's orbit and heading into the depths of the solar system.

Destination: Kuiper Belt, Superstarport.

Traveling from Earth to the Kuiper Belt at ten times the speed of light would only take a few hours.

However, the spacecraft cannot use warp drives within the solar system and can only fly slowly using conventional thrusters. This journey will take approximately one week.

Wang Xiaojun used the week to familiarize himself with every corner of the spacecraft.

He visited the engine room, control room, living area, medical room, laboratory, and ecological cabin. Although the spacecraft was small, it had all the necessary functions.

The ecological cabin, in particular, is filled with various vegetables and fruits, and also has a small fish pond.

These were the crew's source of food during the voyage, and also a source of comfort for their souls.

"The design of this eco-pod is very interesting," the wife said, pointing to the layout of the plants. "Look, it's modeled after Earth's ecosystem. There are producers, consumers, and decomposers, forming a complete cycle."

"You understand this?"

"I studied biology," his wife laughed.

A week later, the spacecraft arrived at the Kuiper Belt.

Standing in front of the spacecraft's observation window, Wang Xiaojun saw the legendary super-starport.

Before coming here, he had seen it countless times in news and documentaries.

But what you see with your own eyes is a completely different story.

Tens of thousands of kilometers of steel structures unfold in the void, like a boundless steel dragon.

No, it's not a dragon, it's a city.

A city suspended in space, larger than a planet.

The main structure of the Star Harbor is a huge ring, with a diameter of over 30,000 kilometers and a width of several hundred kilometers.

The inner side of the ring is densely packed with berths, docks, warehouses, factories, residential areas, commercial areas, parks... Tens of thousands of spaceships are parked there, of all sizes and shapes.

Some are only a few hundred meters long, while others are tens of kilometers long.

They are like a flock of migratory birds, dwelling in this steel forest.

The Star Harbor's lighting system was fully activated, illuminating the area brightly, with each light twinkling in the darkness like another galaxy.

Wang Xiaojun's breathing became rapid as he watched this scene.

This wasn't special effects, it wasn't a model, it was real. He saw it with his own eyes.

"It's so magnificent..." his wife murmured beside him, her voice filled with an almost reverent awe.

Wang Xiaojun was speechless. He just stood there, staring unblinkingly at the starport.

He remembered watching a documentary about the universe when he was in China.

The documentary said that humanity is as insignificant as dust in the universe. At that time, he thought that statement was true.

But now, looking at this starport, he had a different thought—human beings may be insignificant, but human civilization is not.

The CS-027, spanning five kilometers, slowly traverses the Star Harbor.

It takes several hours to fly from one end to the other.

The Starport is so vast that it defies description. Compared to it, CS-027 is like a grain of sand dropped into the ocean.

"Requesting berthing permission." The captain contacted the Star Harbor Control Center via communicator.

"Permission granted. Parking space D-8732, please follow the signs to proceed."

The spacecraft slowly approached its parking spot. Through the porthole, Wang Xiaojun saw other spacecraft nearby. One of them was several times larger than CS-027, estimated to be over ten kilometers long.

Its hull bears the logo of "Yanhuang Mining," indicating it's a mining spaceship. There's another one even more outrageous, at least fifty kilometers long, roughly the size of a Conqueror-class warship.

The ship bore the official emblem of the Yanhuang civilization—a blue flag with a golden dragon. It was the official colonial fleet.

"Look at them, and then look at us," the wife said with a smile.

"They're an official team, we're a civilian team, we can't compare." Wang Xiaojun laughed, "But one day, we'll have our own big spaceship too."

"When will that be?"

"Thirty thousand years, what's the rush?"

The spaceship was docked. Next came resupply—fuel, food, water, spare parts, scientific instruments… all sorts of supplies were continuously loaded onto the spaceship.

Wang Xiaojun and his wife also took this opportunity to apply to disembark and visit the ship.

They wore spacesuits, stepped out of the spaceship, and stood on the platform of the starport.

All around is a sea of ​​steel. Above you is a ring structure stretching tens of thousands of kilometers, and below you is a ring structure stretching tens of thousands of kilometers.

In the distance, a massive spaceship was leaving the port, its engines emitting pale blue light as it slowly accelerated before disappearing into the darkness.

"Where are you going?" his wife asked.

"I don't know. Maybe they're going to colonize, maybe they're going to explore, maybe they're going to fight."

Do you think we'll be like this in the future?

"Yes, we will." Wang Xiaojun looked in the direction where the spaceship disappeared. "One day, we will also set off from this port and go to places that no one has ever been before."

They stayed in Starport for three days. Three days later, supplies were replenished and everything was ready.

The captain announced over the intercom: "Fellow crew members, CS-027 is about to set sail. Our destination is an uncharted region of space within a hundred light-years of the solar system, with an estimated journey time of several decades. During this time, we will explore dozens of unmarked star systems in search of habitable planets. This is a challenging mission, but also a great undertaking. On behalf of Star Exploration, I thank you for your participation. Wish us luck."

After the broadcast ended, the spaceship began to move slowly.

It left its berth, passed through the exit of the Starport, and sailed into the boundless void.

Wang Xiaojun stood at the porthole, watching the starport behind him grow smaller and smaller, farther and farther away, until it became a single point of light and then disappeared.

Ahead lies the vast expanse of space. Those stars, which once seemed like distant specks of light, are now our destination.

Wang Xiaojun held his wife's hand. Her hand was warm and strong.

He looked out the window, at the boundless starry sky. The sun was no longer visible, nor was the earth.

Behind them lay everything familiar. Ahead of them lay everything unknown.

The spaceship traveled at ten times the speed of light, leaving an invisible trail in the starry sky.

This is Wang Xiaojun and his wife's first interstellar journey.

It is also a small microcosm of the countless folk explorers of the Yanhuang civilization.

In this sea of ​​stars, there are countless people like them.

They come from all walks of life and have different backgrounds and experiences.

But they shared a common goal—to expand the territory of the Yanhuang civilization and find a new home for future generations.