Genius Club

January 21, 2024

At the secret astronaut training base in the capital city.

Lin Xian was taken aback when he saw Chu An Qing standing there. He turned to Yellow Finch, eyebrows furrowed, “You said you’d find another team member. Why is it An Qing?”

“Why can’t it be An Qing?” Yellow Finch crossed her arms and stared at Lin Xian. “When it comes to adaptability for space operations, Chu An Qing, with her dance background and regular training, is far more suitable than you amateurs who have never undergone any related training. Especially Gao Yang…”

She glanced down at Gao Yang’s nearly bursting shirt buttons and his bulging beer belly. “I’m really worried about whether you can handle the rocket’s acceleration. I can already picture you vomiting all over the passenger cabin.”

“That’s impossible!” Gao Yang waved his hand confidently. “This belly of mine is like a one-way cosmic pouch; nothing ever comes back up! I’ve never thrown up from drinking all these years! Nothing I eat ever comes back out!”

Wei Cheng, standing nearby, smiled at Gao Yang. “That kind of mindset is actually good. The truth is, just riding a rocket into space, without leaving the capsule, isn’t as dangerous as people think. With today’s technology, rockets are very stable in terms of posture and acceleration. After completing the ‘gravity overload adaptation training,’ even healthy ordinary people can go into space without much problem.”

He continued, “Not long ago, the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, sent four ordinary people on a space trip. They were much older than you and adapted after just a few weeks of training. Although the rocket’s acceleration overload might sound scary, it’s only about 4g.”

“Do you know what 4g feels like? Some of the more thrilling roller coasters at amusement parks reach accelerations of 4g at their most intense moments. Compared to that, isn’t it less terrifying? Plus, the acceleration of a rocket is much smoother, making it easier to adapt to. That’s why I say, having a relaxed mindset like Gao Yang’s is what’s most important.”

“Of course, physical fitness is still fundamental. Gravity overload adaptation training is a must. I’m just saying this to help you relax. Even for ordinary people, it’s not as difficult as it seems. Historically, cats and dogs have gone into space and traveled through it, not to mention humans’ adaptability and learning ability.”

Wei Cheng, the main pilot of the space shuttle and the main trainer for the past two months, was very professional. Lin Xian understood this. Wei Cheng was boosting everyone’s morale to prevent them from backing out before the training even started.

Unlike a conventional spacecraft that ascends, orbits, and then falls back to Earth, the space shuttle skips the falling back into the atmosphere part. This phase is what truly tests an astronaut’s physical endurance. Unlike the steady 4g acceleration of a rocket during ascent, a spacecraft re-entering the atmosphere can experience accelerations of 6g, 8g, or even over 10g.

But Lin Xian and his team didn’t need to worry about this. The space shuttle, equipped with its own propulsion, would bring them back into the atmosphere and land smoothly at an airport. That’s why Wei Cheng assured them that this space shuttle journey wasn’t dangerous, as long as there were no accidents.

Still, Lin Xian couldn’t understand why Yellow Finch had to bring Chu An Qing. There were clearly many people more suitable than Chu An Qing. Even from a trust perspective, was Chu An Qing really the best choice?

He approached Chu An Qing, who was wearing the training suit of the astronaut base. “You didn’t sneak out again, did you?”

“This time, I didn’t!” Chu An Qing pulled out a red official document from behind her and handed it to Lin Xian. “Ta-da~~ Look! My dad approved it!”

Lin Xian glanced at the red official document. Indeed, besides the stamps of various national departments, there was also the signature and handprint of Chu Shan He. It was strange. Since when had this daughter-loving father become so open-minded? Or did Chu Shan He really believe that space travel was safe and not dangerous?

“How did you convince your dad?” Lin Xian asked.

“Ah… that was not easy at all…” Chu An Qing sighed. “We argued for a long time before he finally agreed. I gave him a reason he couldn’t refuse.”

Her eyes sparkled mischievously as she smiled. “He’s Chu Shan He, after all. What kind of father raises what kind of child. He should have known and been prepared for this!”

“Alright, that’s enough chit-chat.” Yellow Finch clapped her hands, interrupting the two. “Everyone, gather around. Let me explain our plan for the ‘Spaceplane Alpha Matter Collection.'”

Alpha matter referred to time-space particles. Yellow Finch didn’t want Wei Cheng, an “outsider,” to know their true plan. Gao Yang and Chu An Qing would be informed of the truth before the final mission. During the mission, they would all be together, while Wei Cheng would be in the cockpit, focusing on piloting the space shuttle, and not involved in the capture operation in the passenger and equipment cabins.

Lin Xian and Chu An Qing returned to the team, standing next to Gao Yang. The four of them lined up to listen to Yellow Finch’s briefing.

“Our team’s chief scientist… well, our only scientist and engineer, Liu Feng, will join us here in about a month. He will bring the Alpha Matter Capture Device and the specific data on the time, location, and altitude of the Alpha matter’s arrival in Earth’s atmosphere. The detailed flight plan will be finalized once we have the specific information.”

“For now, the three of you, Lin Xian, Chu An Qing, and Gao Yang, need to stay at this secret base, follow Wei Cheng’s guidance, and undergo physical training. If possible, you should also learn how to operate the equipment on the space shuttle.”

Gao Yang raised his hand. “Does Liu Feng need to undergo training too?”

Yellow Finch glanced at Gao Yang with a look that said, “You’re asking too many questions.” “Liu Feng will be carrying a simple detection device to constantly lock onto the Alpha matter’s position and guide Wei Cheng in piloting the space shuttle. He will be in the cockpit and only needs to undergo overload training when the time comes. His task isn’t as heavy as yours.”

“Alright, we’ll discuss the specifics later. You can’t reach a thousand miles without taking small steps first. Let’s start with physical training and overload training.”

“Also, we have tight schedules and heavy tasks. Don’t plan on going home for the New Year. Continue training here. I’ll give you a break on New Year’s Eve to go out and relax, but other than that, don’t think about resting. We have very little time.”

With that, Yellow Finch clapped her hands to signal the end of the discussion. “That’s all I have to say. If there are no questions, let’s start the training immediately. Wei Cheng, take them and—”

Gao Yang raised his hand again, interrupting Yellow Finch.

Yellow Finch’s eyebrows twitched as she looked at Gao Yang with a “why do you have so many questions” expression. “What is it now?”

“Aren’t we going to eat first? Can’t we start after a meal?” Gao Yang’s clear and innocent eyes, coupled with his rubbing stomach, were almost too much to handle.

…

“Hey!” Chu An Qing leaped off the recently stopped spinning chair like a ballet dancer finishing a routine. Her toes lightly touched the ground as she landed steadily.

Wei Cheng, who had been watching the data on the instruments, was stunned. He turned to Chu An Qing, his eyes wide with surprise. “Are you dizzy?”

“Nope.”

“Nauseous? Any dizziness or urge to vomit?”

“None at all.”

Chu An Qing spun around twice on the spot, looking at Wei Cheng with a smile. “See, nothing at all.”

Wei Cheng took a deep breath and marked several check marks in his notebook. “You’re incredible. You have the physique of a natural astronaut!”

Lin Xian and Gao Yang stood silently, listening to Wei Cheng’s endless praise for Chu An Qing. They didn’t know what to say. They had been at the secret astronaut training base for half a month now. During this time, Chu An Qing had shown an extraordinary talent. Whether it was the centrifuge, spinning chair, buoyancy pool, or weightlessness simulator, Chu An Qing didn’t need any adaptation at all!

She jumped right in at full power, then gracefully jumped off like a kitten, completely unbothered. Wei Cheng had previously doubted if Chu An Qing had some neurological issue or abnormal inner ear function. No normal person could go through such intense training and come out unscathed!

But after further examination, it was found that Chu An Qing’s development was perfectly normal. Her brain and other organs were all functioning properly. This made Wei Cheng completely change his previous perception of Chu An Qing as a “pretty face” and become her biggest fan.

“You’re not only physically strong but also have excellent coordination. I wonder if this is related to your years of dancing. Even though many children who practiced dance were selected for astronaut training, none had your level of coordination,” Wei Cheng marveled. “No wonder Yellow Finch brought you here. Honestly, at first, I thought it was inappropriate for Yellow Finch to bring a teenage girl. But since she’s the commander, I didn’t question it.”

“But now I completely understand. Yellow Finch has an eye for talent. No wonder the state trusts her so much. An Qing, finding someone with your unique astronaut physique is nearly impossible, and Yellow Finch managed to find you among so many people. She truly has skills.”

Wei Cheng marked several more check marks in his notebook, full of praise.

“As for the other two…” He squinted at Lin Xian and Gao Yang, who stood silently by the wall. Especially Gao Yang, who was whistling and peeling wall paint, pretending not to be seen.

On the first day of centrifuge training, Gao Yang had volunteered to go first. Looking at the giant spinning arm of the centrifuge, Gao Yang was unimpressed. “This is just an oversized version of the spinning coffee cups at the amusement park. Let me try!”

But it only took a few spins before he threw up. Fortunately, Wei Cheng had anticipated this and taught Gao Yang how to use the vomit bag in advance.

Lin Xian did better. He felt a bit uncomfortable in the centrifuge, but nothing he couldn’t handle. It probably had to do with his experiences in his dreams. Acceleration and overload were things he had already adapted to through activities like racing and skydiving.

While he couldn’t match Chu An Qing’s nonchalant “I’m fine!” and “That was fun! Let’s go again!” attitude, his performance was already excellent compared to the average person. Although not as good as a professional astronaut’s, Wei Cheng assured him, “It’s good enough for this mission.”

However, Lin Xian still struggled with the spinning chair. It was like a high-speed, ground-level washing machine. After enduring the spins for a while, he reached his limit just as time was up. He was dizzy and had to lean on the wall to steady himself.

Chu An Qing, on the other hand, could jump off the spinning chair and seamlessly transition into a ballet routine. She truly had a natural astronaut’s physique, as Wei Cheng described. Fortunately, after half a month’s training, Lin Xian, who wasn’t in bad shape to begin with, had improved significantly and was considered qualified by Wei Cheng.

Only Gao Yang remained problematic. He had lost some weight, but possibly due to his long-term lifestyle as a salesman, his physical condition was poor, and he lagged in all aspects of training.

“Well…” Gao Yang discarded the wall paint he had peeled off and approached, disgruntled. “Isn’t all this training unnecessary? You brought me here to operate the mechanical arm, right? So why not give me a game controller and let me practice? It’s probably similar to operating an excavator, up and down, left and right… Why make me do all this useless stuff?”

He pointed to the spinning chair that Chu An Qing had just jumped off. “When would we ever encounter a situation like this? Our space shuttle isn’t going to spin like a washing machine, is it? Like a Naruto ninjutsu?”

“If the space shuttle started spinning like this, it would probably fall apart before I had a chance to throw up!”

Wei Cheng shook his head. “Gao Yang, that’s not the right way to think.”

“You might not realize it.” He looked up, eyes serious and expression stern, at Gao Yang. “99.9% of our astronaut training is to prepare for the 0.01% of unexpected situations.”

“Space missions are no joke. If you can’t pass these tests, I can’t, in good conscience, let you go into space. Even though Yellow Finch is the commander, I have the authority and responsibility to ensure the safety of every team member.”

“That’s right,” came Yellow Finch’s voice from the hallway.

Click, click, click— The sound of her high heels echoed loudly in the quiet training room. Her blue eyes appeared at the hallway entrance, and she walked in wearing a black coat.

Lin Xian noticed her earrings… blue, as always.

“Is it meal time yet?” Gao Yang happily jumped over, scratching his butt.

He was very satisfied with the food at the training base. Healthy and delicious! Not to mention the special food and chefs for astronauts. However, Wei Cheng always controlled his portions to make him lose weight, which left Gao Yang dissatisfied and wanting more every time he ate.

Yellow Finch checked her watch. “It’s still early for that.”

“Then why are you here?” Gao Yang returned disappointedly.

Yellow Finch clapped her hands, signaling everyone to gather in the middle of the room. She smiled. “I’m here to introduce you to a long-awaited new teammate. This will also be the final member of our team.”

She turned toward the hallway and called out, “Why are you walking so slowly?”

“Because it’s heavy… You just don’t know how to help,” came a familiar complaining voice from the hallway.

Then, Liu Feng appeared around the corner, carrying two huge objects that looked like rice cookers, one on top of the other, blocking half of his face. Only his glasses were visible.

“Are we ordering takeout today? Did the chef take a day off?” Gao Yang immediately moved to help.

“They’re not rice cookers…” Liu Feng, amused, placed the two rice cooker-like devices on the ground and dusted off his hands. He looked at Lin Xian. “Lin Xian, it’s done!”

Lin Xian instantly understood and pointed at the objects on the ground. “Are those…?”

“Yes.” Liu Feng nodded. “These are the devices we’ll use to capture time—”

He caught himself, glanced at Yellow Finch, and corrected, “I mean, Alpha Matter… Capture devices!”