Industry: Cthulhu

Chapter 41 Award Ceremony
The next morning, Fang Yan and Aliat went together to the venue of the Star Ring Awards, the Green Garden Galaxy Sky Tree.

The Sky Tree is one of the most famous natural wonders in the inner ring. Its towering trunk reaches straight into the sky. The whole tree is more than a thousand meters high and is very old. It is the symbol of the Green Garden Galaxy. The award ceremony was held in the square under this giant tree.

Looking from afar, Fang Yan saw the lush green treetops extending under the blue sky, like a huge natural tent, shrouding the entire square in its shadow.

Unlike other ceremonies, the Star Ring Awards ceremony is exceptionally simple, without excessive ornate decorations. The layout of the venue is mainly practical, providing a place for scholars and engineers from all over the galaxy to gather and communicate.

There are countless tables and chairs in the spacious space, and people gather in groups of three or four to discuss the latest scientific and technological developments or the most cutting-edge research directions. The air is not only filled with the unique scent of plants, but also with a taste called science.

Fang Yan looked around and felt a little nervous. After all, this was his first time attending such an important event. He was surrounded by talented scholars and engineers with silver or gold badges on their chests. Many of them even had the Science Star on their badges, which represented the highest honor.

"Fang Yan! You are finally here!" At this time, a voice came from the crowd.

Fang Yan looked up and saw that it was the senior engineer he had met in the Rhine Galaxy. His name seemed to be Jerry.

Soon after, more and more familiar people gathered around Aliat and Fang Yan. They were all friends and seniors they had met through previous gatherings. For some unknown reason, they all seemed to have come to the Green Garden Galaxy.

"Colt, it's you, I guessed you would come!"

"Our junior brother Fang Yan has been shortlisted for the Star Ring Award finals. Of course I have to come for such a good thing. Besides, I just saw Mr. Marbury over there."

"Oh, Mr. Marbury is here too? He's one of the senior academicians of the Academy of Engineering now, so he's very busy on weekdays."

"Don't forget, when Mr. Marbury was young, he studied under Master Frentino. I'm sure the reason he came here is the same as you and me. After all these years, I finally got some news about those old men. No matter how busy he is, he still has to come and see."

"Even though everyone doesn't say it, they still can't let it go in their hearts."

"How could I possibly let go? After all, he was the teacher who personally trained us and led us on this path of pursuing truth."

Having some familiar faces around him finally made Fang Yan feel a lot more at ease.

But the strange thing is that what they were talking about was incomprehensible, and almost everyone called Fang Yan "junior brother". There were even many people Fang Yan had never met before who came over mysteriously, exchanged contact information with Fang Yan, and patted Fang Yan on the shoulder before leaving, then sighed deeply.

The scene didn't seem like two strangers who had just met, but rather like Fang Yan's presence reminded them of other people, so they projected their thoughts and emotions for other people onto Fang Yan.

What was even more strange was Aliat. He kept wandering among the crowd, and whenever he met someone he knew, he would whisper a few words in groups of three or five. Then, those people would run towards Fang Yan at the same time, shake hands with him cordially, say hello, and some even had red eyes.

Originally, Fang Yan had made friends with about a hundred engineers and scientists in the Rhine Galaxy. Now that he arrived at the venue, with Aliat's help, it seemed that most of the people in the venue came to greet Fang Yan, and everyone was extremely friendly to him.

Call ~
Fang Yan was embarrassed and had to take the opportunity to go to the bathroom to wash his face with cold water, forcing himself to quickly wake up from this weird social atmosphere and rethink the plan he had made last night.

"Come on! You can do it." Fang Yan clenched his fists and cheered himself up.

……

It was almost noon, and the square under the Sky Tree was already filled with scholars and engineers from various galaxies, all waiting for the Star Ring Award ceremony to begin.

As the time approached, a three-star engineer wearing a Galaxy Engineering Academy uniform and a Libra badge on his chest came to the front. His appearance immediately drew warm applause from the audience.

"This is Mr. Novlen, a highly respected three-star master in the Academy of Engineering, specializing in ultra-long-distance communication technology." Aliat introduced to Fang Yan.

Novlen glanced at the enthusiastic crowd and said in a concise and powerful voice, "Hello everyone! I'm Novlen from the Galaxy Engineering Academy and the chairperson of the Star Ring Awards jury. Thank you very much for coming."

After a pause, he cleared his throat and said, "First of all, let us welcome the three candidates for this year's Star Ring Award, they are Foskelder, Zhou Zhengkang, and Fang Yan." Amidst warm applause, Fang Yan, Foskelder and Zhou Zhengkang stepped onto the front stage one by one and stood behind Novlen, while Novlen unfolded an electronic panel and began to introduce the research results of the three candidates one by one.

Novlen first looked at Forskelder on the left.
"Dr. Forskelder," Novren said in a steady and serious voice. "He's from the core of the Milky Way. Thanks to his significant breakthroughs in communications, he's a candidate for the Star Ring Award."

"Dr. Forskelder's research has revolutionized real-time intergalactic communication. The comprehensive upgrade of the intergalactic network, which has significantly increased data transmission speeds, is his contribution. This is not only a contribution to the Milky Way, but will also have a profound impact on communication between major civilizations within the Milky Way and on the distant future."

After hearing these words, there was a burst of warm applause from the audience. The Milky Way is huge and the universe is boundless. Anyone who can contribute to the stability of interstellar communications to a higher level is definitely worthy of this honor.

Forskelder also faced the crowd below the stage and nodded slightly, his expression serious and confident.

Then, Novlen turned his attention to another candidate, Zhou Zhengkang.

"Professor Zhou Zhengkang has made remarkable achievements in the development and utilization of new energy sources. The team he leads has successfully designed and manufactured an improved dark matter energy device, achieving an unprecedented energy utilization efficiency of 17 percent and significantly reducing the cost of dark matter energy."

"As we all know, dark matter exploration is full of risks and unknowns, requiring tremendous courage and self-sacrifice. Professor Zhou Zhengkang's courage and achievements are undoubtedly the greatest driving force for the development of the Milky Way."

Novlen's voice remained serious, but revealed his high evaluation of Zhou Zhengkang.

Applause broke out again from the audience, this time with a hint of awe. After all, Zhou Zhengkang's research field is extremely groundbreaking. It is one of the most cutting-edge research projects in the Milky Way and will have a profound impact on the future.

Finally, Novlen looked at Fang Yan, "And the last candidate is Fang Yan."

He paused, and there was a more meaningful feeling in his eyes.

"Fang Yan's achievement is not just a technological breakthrough, but a revolutionary innovation that affects the fate of the entire galaxy. The Compass Algorithm has only been online for three months, but its impact has reached an incredible level."

"Data shows that the rate of shipping accidents in the Milky Way has decreased by over 90 percent thanks to the use of this algorithm! He has single-handedly saved countless lives."

After hearing this, the audience could no longer contain their excitement and began to discuss in low voices. After all, almost no one had ever seen something like dark matter, but the compass system was something everyone was familiar with and used every day. Fang Yan's contribution was behind the safe arrival of so many people at the venue.

Novlen smiled slightly and continued, "The compass algorithm makes the edge of the Milky Way and the dark star regions, and the unexplored and unknown space outside the Milky Way, places we can safely travel to."

"Do you know what this means? It means that the future of galactic civilization will no longer be limited to the currently known borders, but will extend to even more distant galaxies. This means that we humans in the Milky Way have hope of transcending the Milky Way!"

"What's even more amazing is that." Novlen held his forehead and burst into laughter before he could say anything, leaving the audience confused.

"The price of the Compass Algorithm is only 9.9 Star Coins. It's incredibly low, so low that anyone can afford it. It's almost free!"

"However, this inexpensive algorithm has benefited everyone in the galaxy. Whether it's a large enterprise or an ordinary interstellar voyager, they can easily obtain the help of this powerful algorithm."

Hearing this, the audience could no longer contain themselves and burst into thunderous applause.

Novlen's introduction made everyone understand that Fang Yan's contribution was not only technological innovation, but also a major turning point in the fate of the galaxy. As the saying goes, technology is people-oriented and serves people, and Fang Yan has undoubtedly achieved this.

At this point, the three candidates have been introduced.

Novlen didn't say anything. He seemed to be suddenly frozen, standing on the stage motionless.

His eyes swept across the entire audience, and just at this moment the background music became faster and faster, making everyone nervous, their hearts in their throats, wondering who among the three would receive this honor and become the winner of this year's Star Ring Award.

(End of this chapter)