Age of Cosmic Exploration

Chapter 428: Anima

The moment Zhang San left the spaceship, he saw the giant crowd that had gathered at the space port. It consisted of citizens that he didn't know, including Asians, Caucasians, and even African Americans. The crowd carried various banners, some welcoming them home, others congratulating, praising, and even openly acknowledging their envy of the new Homo Evolutis. This was similar to how they welcomed a superstar at the airports on old Earth or Yao Yuan when he returned from war.

Zhang San was flustered. He stood there in a daze like a child until the two Black Star Troopers walked to him and one of them said with a smile, "You have to get used to this because you're a Homo Evolutis and a future Black Star Trooper. This kind of situation will only repeat itself in the future."

Zhang San smiled awkwardly before asking with uncertainty, "Sirs… am I really a Homo Evolutis? Am I really a future Black Star Trooper? But my field of study is electromagnetism, is that even okay?"

The two Black Star Troopers looked at each other and laughed. One of them replied, "I have a masters in electromagnetic circuits, it's fine. Troopers and soldiers can always be trained, so as long as you wish to become a Black Star Trooper, you will definitely be able to become one."

Excitement started to blossom on Zhang San's face. He turned to look at the gathered crowd and he straightened his spine even more.

Yes, he was already a Homo Evolutis, and a future Black Star Trooper. For Zhang San and the new generation who had grown up on the Hope, even though they were exposed to many anime since they were a children, ranging from sci-fi, fantasy, and superheroes, compared to those virtual superheroes, the Black Star Troopers were modeled to be actual superheroes in their lives. The Black Star Troopers were even greater than the heroes in the movies, and since that idea was instilled in them since they were young, they grew up to be great admirers of the Black Star Troopers.

Zhang San was one of them, he was a child who grew up in this environment. He was not an orphan who hated the world or a genius who outsmarted his seniors since he was young. He too had that period of blind idolization where he wished for a superpower and even collected money to buy those paper-made Black Star Troopers' armor. He really didn't expect his childhood dream to one day become a reality!

After the two Black Star Troopers escorted Zhang San through the crowd, the three got into a waiting hovercraft. The moment they entered, a few excited voices cried out.

"San Er…"

"Zhang San!"

In the hovercraft were his parents and girlfriend. They couldn't hold it in anymore when they saw Zhang San in person. His father and girlfriend still managed to keep a lid over their emotions, but his mother couldn't help but rush to his side. With tears in her eyes, she looked at him up and down as if Zhang San had returned from the dead.

Zhang San was slightly embarrassment, but it didn't stop a sensation of warmth from welling inside his body. He lowered his head and said, "Mom, I'm fine, there's no need to worry."

His mother continued to study his face before adding, "I hear they say there will be a fever-induced unconsciousness during awakening. There were even reports of death. After I heard the news, I've been having these nightmares…"

Zhang San's face was red. He lowered his head and grumbled, "I'm fine, Mom, we can talk about it when we get home… Sirs, are we going to my house?"

One of them smiled and replied, "Not yet. You just awakened to a Homo Evolutis, and that happened on the first defense line. The amenities there are not complete and they didn't have a qualified doctor. You might still have some undetected illness in you, so you have to go through a complete body check first. Also, we still have no idea what kind of Homo Evolutis you are, so we have to check all of that first."

Before Zhang San could say anything, his mother chimed in, "Sirs, honorable Sirs, you have to complete all the necessary checks. If there's any hidden illness…" Before she could finish, tears swallowed up her words.

The Black Star Troopers started to console Zhang San's mother. To be honest, the chance of a hidden illness was very low, the check was merely a prevention. By then, the hovercraft had started and they were flying towards the edge of the City of Light Moon. When they stopped, they were at the front of HE Research Center.

Zhang San entered the Research Center with a mixture of nervousness and anxiety. In fact, this building was already present on the Hope, but the place was often guarded by Defense Unit soldiers. Those without clearance weren't even given permission to get close. In spite of this, the rumors surrounding the HE Research Center were plenty on the Hope. There were rumors of it being filled with samples of alien bodies, like the samples of the Zerg race and the devils. Other rumors pointed to it being a house of scary experiments. It consisted of live experiment on aliens and even human beings. Regardless, the experiments were all inhumane and the subjects were treated no better than lab rats.

Of course, there were positive rumors as well, if there was such a thing. Some believed the place was a congregation of humanity's top technology. The technology was at least several hundred years more advanced than the what was used by the public. Perhaps the technology inside the HE Research Center had even reached the level of a level 4 space civilization. In other words, the rumors were as crazy as crazy could be…

Zhang San silently cheered for himself to galvanize his courage. With the two Black Star Troopers leading the way, he was brought into what appeared like a decontamination chamber. Then a group of people in white coats came in to conduct a series of analyses and tests. After that, it was followed by detailed questions. When all of that was completed, he was sent into a metallic ball. There was a chair placed inside it and he was strapped to the chair. After everyone else exited, the lights in the ball all went out and he was thrown into darkness.

Zhang San's heart was shaking, he thought they were going to do some experiment on him. Suddenly, there was light. Zhang San turned towards it out of habit and saw a blinking starlight far away from him. Gradually, more stars lit up the darkness. He found himself existing in space and the world around him had disappeared. This was a virtual space and he was surrounded by stars.

Even though he knew he was still inside the City of Light Moon and the HE Research Center, he was assaulted with a deep sense of loneliness. Zhang San suppressed his urge to yell and was visibly perturbed. He turned left and right as if trying to look for something in the dark.

At the same time, outside of the metal ball, a large amount of researchers were busy jotting down the analytics. Based on the data, a few researchers claimed excitedly, "Yes, he's a Homo Evolutis, the density of soul is still rapidly increasing. My God, the density is over grade A Homo Evolutis, he's approaching grade S already!"

One of the two Black Star Troopers rushed forward to ask, "He's an S-grade Homo Evolutis?"

Homo Evolutis were separated into grades. An Immortal like Yao Yuan was a SS-grade Homo Evolutis, while most Homo Evolutis were below the S-grade, meaning they had no special power. This was why each S-grade Homo Evolutis was so important and could at least become the vice-captain of a Black Star Trooper unit.

Just as the researchers planned to answer, a roar suddenly surged through the room. It was not a roar that travelled through the eardrums, it was something received by the soul. It was hard to explain. Instead, a sense of extreme loneliness assaulted everyone there. It was enough to instill abject fear in people's hearts, even causing many to faint instantly…

"This… an Anima?!"