When Lu Chenyuan finished telling his story, Lu Shi'an had already fallen asleep.
Lu Chenyuan carefully picked him up, placed him on the bed, and tucked him in.
He and Mo Qingli tiptoed out of the children's room together.
"Qin Ya's phone has been blowing up," Mo Qingli said, her voice tinged with unconcealable worry.
"Many in the alliance are panicking."
"Mm." Lu Chenyuan walked to the liquor cabinet, poured two glasses of red wine, and handed one to her.
"Aren’t you going to say something?" Mo Qingli asked.
"Say what?" Lu Chenyuan gazed out the window.
"Congratulate them for finally getting the data they wanted most?"
Mo Qingli froze.
"This... was also part of the plan?"
"Not the plan. A contingency," Lu Chenyuan took a sip of wine.
"You need contingencies for both the best and worst outcomes."
He picked up his phone and glanced at a text Lin Yuan had just sent.
Only five words:
"Proceed as planned."
Lu Chenyuan smiled and replied with two words:
"Understood."
Then, right in front of Mo Qingli, he dialed Qin Ya's number.
The background noise on the other end was chaotic, and Qin Ya's voice was thick with suppressed fury and exhaustion.
"Lu Chenyuan! You’d better have an explanation for me!"
"Qin Ya," Lu Chenyuan's voice was calm and firm.
"Notify all alliance members. Online meeting in half an hour."
"A meeting now? What for? To announce our bankruptcy?" Qin Ya's voice was nearly a roar.
"No," Lu Chenyuan said lightly.
"A victory celebration."
...
One month later.
The same control room.
The same people.
But now, everyone’s faces carried a quiet resolve.
This time, no one was staring at the countdown.
All eyes were fixed on Lin Yuan.
He stood in the same spot as before.
His voice, amplified by the microphone, was clear and steady.
"All units, report readiness."
"Propulsion systems, nominal."
"Control systems, nominal."
"Tracking systems, nominal."
"..."
"10."
"9, 8, 7..."
Lin Yuan’s gaze remained fixed on the main screen.
"3, 2, 1..."
"Ignition!"
This time, there was no abort.
Thousands of miles away, in the Cloud Peak Residence.
The massive screen in the living room broadcast the launch live.
Lu Chenyuan and Mo Qingli sat side by side on the sofa.
Lu Shi'an perched on his father’s lap, watching the screen with wide-eyed curiosity.
On the screen, a brilliant orange flame erupted from the base of the towering white rocket.
Thick smoke billowed upward.
The entire world seemed to tremble under the deafening roar.
The living room was silent, save for the glow of the ascending fire, painting their faces in warm hues.
The massive rocket slowly lifted off the ground.
Then, it began to accelerate.
Trailing a long tail of flame, it pierced the sky like a blade.
Faster and faster, higher and higher.
Until, against the deep blue expanse, it became nothing more than a radiant speck of light.
Lu Shi'an pointed at the tiny dot on the screen.
"The rocket... so pretty..."
In his eyes reflected the first glimmer of starlight his father had kindled.
Minutes later, the broadcaster’s composed voice came through the television.
"Stage separation successful."
"First-stage reentry initiated."
"Attitude adjustment nominal."
"Entering recovery zone."
"Sea platform signal acquired."
"...Recovery successful!"
When those last four words rang out,
the control room erupted in thunderous cheers.
People embraced, wept with joy, their jubilant cries almost piercing through the screen.
But in the Cloud Peak Residence, the living room remained quiet.
Lu Chenyuan’s phone buzzed incessantly.
Congratulatory messages and calls flooded in like a tide.
He didn’t even glance at it, simply setting it aside.
He held his son close, watching the screen where the silver behemoth had landed safely on the sea platform.
Mo Qingli leaned against his shoulder.
She didn’t say "You did it," or "We did it."
Instead, she looked down at the child in her arms and whispered softly:
"Shi'an, look."
Her voice was as gentle as moonlight.
"That’s the first poem your father wrote to the stars."
Lu Chenyuan turned to look at Mo Qingli.
Her eyes mirrored the city lights outside the window—and a future even more dazzling.
He leaned down and pressed a light kiss to her forehead.
Then, he looked at his son in his arms.
He thought of the small village he’d left behind in another life.
There, children who gazed at the stars saw only poverty and unreachable dreams.
But his son, from the very first moment he looked up, would know:
That path could be walked.
...
The success of Expedition-1 acted like a fuse, igniting the entire market.
Not the media frenzy.
Not the stock market surge.
But something quieter, yet far more powerful.
Countless calls poured into the public inboxes and switchboards of every member company in the Skyway Alliance.
Requests for collaboration, investment inquiries, technical consultations.
Overnight, it seemed everyone could see the road to the sky.
And the Skyway Alliance was now the only tollbooth—and the only rest stop—on that road.
Shortly after the successful launch, a small announcement appeared in an obscure corner of a state media website.
Xia Nation officially declared it would accelerate the construction of the "Chang’e" Lunar Research Base.
For the first time, the statement mentioned "encouraging and incorporating reliable commercial aerospace forces in the project."
...
Mo Corporation, boardroom.
Mo Qingli sat at the head of the table.
She wore a light blue tailored suit.
The room was dead silent.
Mo Qingli didn’t look at anyone. Her gaze rested on the distant horizon beyond the window.
"Effective immediately, Mo Advanced Materials will establish the 'Celestial' division."
Her voice was soft but carried clearly to every ear.
"Independent accounting. No resource caps."
"Its sole purpose is to meet every demand of the 'Chang’e' project and the Skyway Alliance."
When she finished, the room stayed silent.
Mo Qingli’s eyes swept slowly across every face present.
"The future isn’t just on the ground."
"It’s also in the sky."
...
At the same time.
HanQing Technologies, headquarters.
A bright conference room filled with young faces.
They were the top engineers and scientists handpicked from every department.
Ren Qian stood at the front.
She wore a sleek black professional suit.
"I’ve called you here today for one announcement."
"Starting now, you no longer belong to any existing division of HanQing."
"You will form a new team, codenamed 'Vega.'"
"The 'Vega' team will represent HanQing—represent Yuanlong—in the AI systems, communications, and autonomous navigation development for the 'Chang’e' project."
A wave of barely contained excitement rippled through the room.
"This is an order, and an honor."
Ren Qian's eyes burned with determination.
"I don’t want you to consider the cost. I don’t want you to consider the time."
"I want you to pour our best technology, our most daring ideas, into this project."
"I want the whole world to see that even beyond Blue Planet, Xia’s technology stands at the pinnacle."
"Do you have the confidence?"
"Yes!"
The response was thunderous, unified, and deafening.
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
