Cataclysmic Era: I can unlock the tech tree

Zhao Zijie stopped filling out the form and turned to look behind him.

A young man in his thirties looked in Zhao Zijie's direction with a wry smile.

Behind the young man were two other young people, a man and a woman.

"What's wrong?"

The old man continued with a chuckle, "What new technology has Professor Lü come up with this time?"

Zhao Zijie's breath hitched.

Professor Lü?

Is that Professor Lü Yongchang?!

He stared intently at the young man known as Captain White, focusing all his attention on him.

The young man waved his hand helplessly: "This time it's not Professor Lü's achievement."

"These are some tricks from the sub-labs. I heard that the new generation of starships will be equipped with quantum computers and weak artificial intelligence, and the original control consoles will be replaced with holographic projections... So, we old pilots have to relearn everything now."

"Holographic projection?! Artificial intelligence?!" Zhao Zijie finally couldn't contain his excitement and exclaimed in a low voice, "This, this is real?!"

"Sir? And who is this?" The young man raised an eyebrow and asked the gatekeeper.

"Hey, young man who's signed up for starship pilot training, here for the interview," the old man said casually, waving his hand dismissively.

A look of interest flashed in the young man's eyes as he carefully examined Zhao Zijie.

"Kid, good luck! If you pass the training, I'll treat you to hot pot!"

A slightly hoarse voice came from another young man.

Zhao Zijie nodded blankly, momentarily at a loss for words.

Zhao Zijie's gaze followed the three men's footsteps from afar.

"Kid, stop looking," the old man's voice rang out again. "Hurry up and fill out the form."

He snapped out of his daze, turned to the gatekeeper, and cautiously asked, "Sir, who were those three people just now...?"

The old man grinned, revealing a bright and proud smile.

"They were the first pilots of the Xuan Nu Spaceplane."

……

Because there were too many people being interviewed, Zhao Zijie could only wait in the waiting room.

He instinctively shrank into a corner, using deep breaths to calm his nerves.

"Next, Zhao Zijie, please proceed to office A2 for your interview."

His name was announced over the loudspeaker.

……

"Why did you sign up for this training, or rather, why do you want to become a starship pilot?"

As soon as I sat down, the presiding judge posed a question that seemed to have been asked for ages.

Zhao Zijie remained silent for a while, various answers surfacing in his mind.

But in the end, he chose to speak his mind.

"As an ordinary person, I don't want to have to be subservient to others when a crisis comes."

"I hope I can survive this crisis."

Upon hearing Zhao Zijie's answer, the presiding judge frowned instantly.

In the past few days, he has heard countless fancy answers, some saying that the training was for the rise of the People's Federation, and others saying that it was to establish a heart for heaven and earth, to establish a destiny for the people, to continue the lost learning of the past sages, and to create peace for all generations.

But this was the first time he had heard such a simple and unpretentious answer from Zhao Zijie.

He didn't speak, but silently wrote a question mark on the paper in front of him.

As for why he used a question mark... in his view, Zhao Zijie's answer showed an extremely obvious tendency to back down and run away.

This is an absolutely unacceptable mindset for the current pilots of the Human Alliance starship!

As for Zhao Zijie, his heart rate began to rise sharply the moment he saw the presiding judge's furrowed brows.

What should I do?

Failed?

I should have just made up a reason...

Hey……

For a moment, Zhao Zijie was in a state of utter confusion, his heart filled with regret.

"Ahem!"

The presiding judge coughed lightly, interrupting Zhao Zijie's thoughts.

"Don't be nervous, next question."

Are you familiar with the Xuan Nu series of starships?

Upon hearing the question, he breathed a sigh of relief and nodded hastily, saying, "I've studied the officially published books on my own and have a thorough understanding of the operating procedures for the Xuan Nu series starships!"

The presiding judge let out a soft "hmm," a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes: "Oh?"

"Then let me test you."

"..."

……

After a series of assessments, the presiding judge's eyes showed an increasingly conflicted expression.

The young man in front of me has a very solid theoretical foundation, which can be said to surpass that of 99% of the applicants.

But this ideology is precisely what...

"Tsk..." The presiding judge clicked his tongue softly, then turned to his assistant, "Show me Zero's assessment."

The assistant quickly retrieved a document from the side.

In the document, Zero detailed his observations of Zhao Zijie.

"According to the assessment, Zhao Zijie has strong observation skills, correct values, and a sense of justice, and is worth cultivating."

The presiding judge took another deep breath.

After some hesitation, he silently drew a checkmark on the paper in front of him.

"Congratulations, you passed the interview."

The presiding judge said in a deep voice, "Next, staff will take you to the classroom for the second round of written tests."

……

A few minutes later.

Zhao Zijie followed the presiding judge's assistant in a daze, walking down a corridor filled with cold-toned lighting.

Perhaps because he had passed the interview, the joy overwhelmed his thoughts, and he subconsciously recalled the scene that had occurred on the high-speed train.

"Um... there's something I'd like to ask."

"What?" The presiding judge's assistant subconsciously slowed his pace.

"Is that child alright?" Zhao Zijie asked urgently. "You can't give such a young child sedatives!"

The presiding judge's assistant suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"What...what are you talking about?" The assistant slowly turned around, looking at Zhao Zijie with a puzzled expression. "What child? Also, we never use tranquilizers indiscriminately."

Zhao Zijie's pupils suddenly contracted.

An incredible guess came to his mind.

"You...aren't those service staff and railway police officers at the high-speed rail station the people you arranged for the assessment?"

The assistant paused, stunned. "You noticed?"

"That's right. Some of the waiters and passengers are indeed our people. The purpose is to observe your behavior in daily life so as to make a simple analysis of your personality."

"Then, what about the human trafficker?!" Zhao Zijie's tone suddenly became agitated. "Wasn't that an actor you arranged?"

Upon hearing this, the assistant recalled the record he had just seen in Zero's analysis report.

He chuckled softly and slowly shook his head: "Of course not, that was indeed a coincidence."