Reborn in 2011, I am the chief designer of aerospace.

For the next two days, Song Xingye kept his promise and took Jiang Mian out for a day of eating, drinking, and having fun in Jinling City.

Jiang Mian was just joking around and talking nonsense, but she didn't expect Song Xingye to actually take her to try all the food on the food street.

As she wished, there was plenty of glutinous rice balls, meat wontons, salted duck, Meiling porridge...

The night market was brightly lit, and the Confucius Temple was bustling with activity, with colorful tassel lanterns fluttering in the wind.

Jiang Mian was already full, but she was still in high spirits.

Seeing red lanterns hanging by the roadside, he reached out to touch them;

Seeing masks on the stall, he casually picked up a soft leather mask of Sun Wukong and put it on his face, then threw a mask of Tang Sanzang to Song Xingye.

Song Xingye had no choice but to play along, clasping his hands together and saying, "Hey, Wukong, stop fooling around!"

Jiang Mian giggled and, while frolicking around, saw someone carving stones and asked him to give her one.

Before the boss started carving, he asked what words Jiang Mian wanted to be engraved. Jiang Mian looked at Song Xingye, who answered with four words.

"To blend in with the world? Why carve those four words?"

Do you know what this word means?

Jiang Mian's mind raced; she was a young Chen Jingrun, not a young Lu Xun, and for a moment she was at a loss. Song Xingye sighed.

"From now on, I'll read more books, learn more culture, and stop raising pigs!"

Wearing a mask and speaking with an air of maturity, Song Xingye said, "This is also the high expectation that your master has for you, you monkey. Do you understand?"

We must be down-to-earth, temper our brilliance, and adapt to reality;

When faced with the rules and personal connections within the system, one should neither be arrogant and aloof, nor compromise one's principles.

We need to adopt a more tactful approach to adapt to reality and achieve our ultimate goal.

This is called... blending in with the world.

The girl let out a confused "ah" sound, but still pursed her lips and smiled sweetly, her eyes shining brightly.

The next morning, the two climbed to the top of Zijin Mountain to watch the sunrise.

Jiang Mian looked eastward with great joy.

The red sun, like a runny egg yolk, first timidly peeked out from the foot of the mountain, then boldly broke through the mist and burst forth.

In an instant, golden light shone upon the earth.

Jiang Mian had never thought Zijin Mountain was so magnificent.

She stretched out her arms, her upturned nose facing the biting mountain wind and warm sunshine, feeling that life was infinitely wonderful.

If every day could be like this, how wonderful that would be.

Jiang Mian giggled, turned to look at Song Xingye, her eyes shining with focus.

Her eyes shone like molten gold, outlining a tall and imposing silhouette.

...As light and shadow shift, the outline of Purple Mountain divides the world into two halves, light and dark, like a wall that transcends time.

A moment later, the wall of time collapsed in front of her, jolting Jiang Mian awake from her daze—

When I opened my eyes again, the mountains and rivers had vanished.

She looked around and saw herself standing at the bustling entrance, with Comrade Xiao Song waving in front of her.

Goodbye, until we meet again!

Song Xingye carried his suitcase into the waiting hall.

The train started moving, and fatigue washed over me like a tidal wave.

He fell asleep amidst intermittent shaking.

In his dream, he seemed to see the black wreckage of the Salyut 7 space station, floating silently in the endless darkness, like being in a dark and hopeless prison.

And at the end of that darkness, a huge secret seems to be buried.

Song Xingye longed to uncover the mystery, even though it was still unknown whether the secret would actually bring danger. Nevertheless, he instinctively moved step by step toward the darkness.

Was it truly to save Wang Han, or simply out of curiosity among researchers?

He didn't have a definite answer in his heart either.

The only certainty is that uncovering this secret is imperative.

Song Xingye woke up from a nightmare, then looked up at the equally dark sky outside the window; it was already evening.

When the train arrived at Shanghai Station, he took a taxi straight to Jiaotong University.

Although he didn't intend to "show off," a group of familiar classmates still gathered on the dark street outside the South Gate, organized by his roommate Qin Rui, to give Song Xingye a farewell party.

The paperwork for going to Baikonur has been completed and I will be departing soon.

The journey will take at least a month, and at most... the return date is uncertain.

Now that everyone is facing graduation, every meeting is one less opportunity to see each other.

After the New Year, with both thesis defenses and internships to attend, this drinking session might be the last farewell dinner of our university years.

That night, everyone got completely drunk.

Song Xingye struggled to carry Qin Rui back to the dormitory, took off his shoes and threw them into the quilt before turning off the light and going to sleep.

The next day, he went to the Sky Tower to say goodbye to his junior brothers and sisters and shared some of his unique experiences as the "senior brother".

Professor Xu told him to bring more warm clothes for winter, saying that November in Baikonur is still quite cold, and he shouldn't get sick from the cold.

Meanwhile, at the East China Institute, Dean Lu didn't say much, but Li Difeng made a special trip from the Aerospace Building on Caoxi Road to repeatedly instruct his newly accepted "unofficial apprentice" to be careful and follow orders.

Song Xingye felt a warmth in his heart. He hadn't expected that this academician, who was always elusive, would actually care about his personal safety.

After bidding farewell to everyone, he finally dragged his suitcase and boarded the flight to Baikonur.

Because Baikonur is a "country within a country", the journey requires a layover in Moskov.

After a ten-hour flight, Song Xingye stepped out of Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport.

In the biting cold wind, a young man with an equally Asian face hurried forward, held up the photo for comparison, and asked enthusiastically:

"You must be Comrade Song Xingye?"

"That's right, who are you?"

"Oh, I'm also from Dongyu Group. President Zhang specifically asked me to come and meet you! Let me introduce myself, my name is Li Fengxian!"

Looking at the tall and strong young man, Song Xingye thought to himself that this guy must be a very good fighter.

You can tell just by the name.

The other person looked honest and harmless.

However, judging from his short, thick, and deformed little fingers and the muscle outline under his sweater, this person doesn't seem to be a scientific researcher, but rather a veteran who has been through many battles.

Song Xingye shook hands. "Thank you for coming all this way, Brother Li. Which department are you from?"

"Me? Sigh, I'm from the Security Bureau."

Li Fengxian grinned, "The situation in Baikonur is special; you need a special person to escort you in. Otherwise, even if you have a pass and a visa, you'll be detained outside the checkpoint. It's a bit troublesome, hehe!"

Song Xingye understood perfectly.

So it was the Embroidered Uniform Guard, also known as the internal military police.

It was originally called the Confidentiality Department, then the Confidentiality Office, and I heard it's going to be reformed into some kind of Confidentiality Committee recently. In short, no matter how many times it's changed, the core team is still the same people.

Don't be fooled by their low rank; they might only reach the division chief level at best, but their power is terrifying. They have the power of life and death over any suspicious person within the group.

The group's confidentiality department investigates espionage, and the group's discipline inspection commission investigates corruption; this collaboration is jokingly referred to by insiders as a dream team effort.

Song Xingye politely asked, "Brother Li, when shall we go over?"

Li Fengxian said with a smile, "Don't be so polite, just call me Old Li. We'll stay in Moscow for one night and leave for Baikonur tomorrow morning, taking a chartered plane directly!"

Song Xingye's eyes lit up; he hadn't expected to receive such treatment.

In my previous life, I had been wandering around the four major launch sites in China. I didn't know until I went abroad that those overseas test teams were living such good lives.

He still called him Brother Li, "Brother Li, I don't think there's any need to charter a plane. I'm not some big shot..."

Upon hearing this, Li Fengxian stared at him strangely. "What are you thinking? Who said it was chartered just for you? You're quite narcissistic, aren't you? We're going to hitch a ride on a military charter plane from the Moscow Space Agency!"

Song Xingye: "..."

I was definitely overthinking it.

The two of them spent the night in a budget hotel near the airport.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Li Fengxian dug him out of bed.

After a quick wash, a jeep took them to the Chkalovsky military airfield.

On the howling wind on the tarmac, a large Tu-134 transport plane painted in Russian gray-blue camouflage waited quietly.