Age of Cosmic Exploration
chapter-429-30041322

Chapter 429: Key

"1,462 people went unconscious. Among them, three suffered quite serious injuries, but thankfully there was no fatality. However, the damage caused towards the economy…"

Yao Yuan interrupted her instantly. "You don't need to worry about the damage to the economy for now, the point is no one was harmed. All the fainted individuals, especially the three who were injured, the government has to send some representatives to check in on them. Make sure it is not a PR move, discuss with them the way the government can compensate… What about Zhang San?"

Barbie answered without taking a look at the file, "He has returned to his house with his parents. The psychologist attached to his case reported that he may end up with some negative impression of the HE Research Center, but he idolizes Black Star Troopers. His interest in the Black Star Troopers is palpable according to the report."

Yao Yuan sighed. "This was my careless mistake. I forgot that he is merely a citizen, I shouldn't have shuttled him directly to the HE Research Center first thing after he returned from first defense line. Speaking of which, the citizens' evaluation of the HE Research Center seems to be incredibly low in recent years."

Barbie retorted without holding back, "Not actual evaluation but one born out of speculation and suspicion. Since the government has an open office policy regarding many sectors, with the sole exception being HE Research Center, it makes sense that the people are suspicious of it. They do not know anything about the HE Research Center and they fear the unknown. This recent accident merely added to their fear."

Yao Yuan thought about it and agreed with his secretary. However, as a powerful organization, a government that represented a whole race and civilization, how could it have no secrets? Examples being the UFO on the Hope, the illusory space, as well as the cloning technology inside the HE Research Center. None of these could see the light of day, but the government couldn't hide everything either. It would only lead to civil unrest. To borrow an example, if a government official was exposed to be involved in public embezzlement and the government decided to judge this behind closed doors instead of bringing him or her to court and play the citizens for fools, then of course the citizens would have a bad opinion of this government.

"I understand. Then why not make use of this opportunity to introduce the public to the HE Research Center?" Yao Yuan suggested after a short rumination.

Barbie was confused. As Yao Yuan's secret secretary, in terms of official government business, there was practically nothing that Yao Yuan could hide from her; however, she had no clue what this opportunity that Yao Yuan spoke of was…

Yao Yuan noted the confusion on her face and he smiled and explained, "I also just received the call this morning. It's about the latest breakthrough from Professor Ivan's group. Even though it wasn't directly related to the HE Research Center, his research did borrow the members and devices from the HE Research Center. Therefore, it wouldn't hurt the Center's reputation by attaching this breakthrough to it. This breakthrough is not a part of the confidentiality clause, it is merely the precursor to the human strengthening project."

Barbie nodded with understanding when she heard the phrase "human strengthening project." Then she listened quietly to Yao Yuan talk about the rest of the civil movements.

When Zhang San returned home from HE Research Center, he had a drawn face for quite some time. After all, the sense of loneliness inside that metallic ball was too scary. It almost made him have a mental breakdown. Even though he didn't see the rumored human experimentation inside the building, the induced loneliness was enough to make Zhang San harbor a great dissatisfaction about the place. However, a few hours after he returned, he was told of the news that he had caused a massive fainting across the city. The kind-hearted young man was assaulted by guilt instantly.

However, he had no way of compensating these people, and the fainting didn't seem to be directly caused by HE Research Center. As he thought about it, he came to the conclusion that the people inside the HE Research Center were merely doing their jobs. There didn't seem to be anything scary or illegal inside it. They were like any other research center, but because they conducted research on Homo Evolutis, they were hated and suspected by the general public.

Zhang San then made a call to the Black Star Trooper who left him his phone number to enquire about the things that he could do to help. He was told the government had already handled everything, he just needed to focus on taking his rest and reporting to the Black Star Trooper camp at the end of the month.

As Zhang San sighed in relief, the guilt within him increased. However, he could do nothing about it except make a promise to himself that he would focus extra hard in his training and become a Black Star Trooper as soon as possible and use his actions to compensate for the inconvenience that he had caused…

Just like that, Zhang San's period of recuperation began. However, it couldn't be said that he had gotten much rest, because his life had started to change drastically.

First, as a Black Star Trooper trainee, he was allowed to enjoy all the benefits available to the Black Star Troopers, including free housing, free entry into government centers, like cinemas, full health insurance coverage, life benefits, and a green card for his family which would enable them to enjoy an 80 percent discount on pretty much everything.

The first party to make their move at Zhang San after he became a Black Star Trooper trainee was his girlfriend's parents. Even though his girlfriend was still in university, the second day he returned, his girlfriend's parents came to visit with his girlfriend in tow. Beyond the simple greeting, they wished for the two youngsters to get married as soon as possible. Even though they had already set for them to marry right after her university graduation, they now wanted them to get engaged immediately.

Since Zhang San's family was a house of honest people, they didn't think much of it. Furthermore, the young couple was indeed in love, so after some discussion, the engagement ceremony was to be held at the end of this month.

After that, Zhang San was busy sending out invitations to his parents' friends, his colleagues, and his own friends. This took up yet another day. At the end of these busy three days, Zhang San felt like his bones was breaking from exhaustion. When he lied in his bed that night, he didn't even have the energy to move his pinkie finger.

Suddenly, a voice entered his ears.

"Zhang San, are you still lonely?"

Now… I'm not lonely anymore…

Zhang San sat up in a hurry and grabbed the phone to call the Black Star Trooper. After his call was answered, Zhang San greeted the man carefully and asked after some hesitation, "Sir… that robot, the one who came back with me. Has… has he been destroyed?"

The Black Star Trooper on the other end of the phone visibly paused before adding, "I too have no clue how its current condition is. I am currently on patrol duty. Wait a minute, I will direct you to my unit leader, he should be able to answer you."

Then the call played some elevator music. 10 seconds later, a voice said, "Is this Zhang San? I am the first Black Star Trooper unit's captain, Liu Bai. I've heard about you from my members. How can I help you?"

It was Liu Bai!

Zhang San had idolized the Black Star Troopers since he was young, and among all the troopers, be it among the government's official promotions or the public ranking, Liu Bai was always a frontrunner. He was humanity's hero and this caused Zhang San to be even more cautious. He said in a whisper, "Cap, captain Liu Bai, I'm Zhang San, it's nothing really… But I just want to ask about the robot that returned me with. Has it been destroyed?"

Liu Bai went silent and answered after a while said, "Originally, we were planning to tell you more when you join the troopers at the end of this month, but since you've asked for it, I'll direct your call to Ol' Captain. He'll be able to give you a more thorough explanation. This is a bit complicated after all..."

"Ol' Captain?" Zhang San asked curiously, but Liu Bai's voice disappeared soon after and the elevator sound began again. After a while, another voice answered, and when Zhang San heard it, his heart almost stopped.

"This is Zhang San? I'm Yao Yuan, I'm glad to be able to talk to you. In fact, I know you are quite busy. After all, you've just become a Homo Evolutis and you've suffered unnecessarily due to my oversight. I planned to talk to you when you officially joined the Black Star Troopers, but since you've called, then I will briefly tell you the current situation…" Yao Yuan explained.

When Zhang San heard his voice, his heart started to beat at a crazy rate and he couldn't help himself from standing up from his bed, "Is, is, is this the Chancellor? I, I, I am Zhang, Zhang San. Greetings to you, Chancellor…"

Yao Yuan laughed and said, "There's no need to be so formal, we'll be colleagues in the future after all. I'm the commander of the Black Star Troopers and you'll be my member, so no need to be so nervous. Now listen to me… after that robot returned to the City of Light Moon, it shut down completely. It didn't speak, struggle, or attack anyone. It merely stopped moving altogether. Since its system is shut down, we are unable to tell what it has done in the past. However, we need to know how it achieved sentience breakthrough, what else it has done on the first defense line, and whether it has other allies. According to the report from the Research Center, the robot's computer system seems to respond specially to you. Whenever we say 'Zhang San,' it will temporarily activate its system, so…

"You are the key to unlocking the mystery around this robot!"