Chapter 479: As brilliant as fireworks

The old man laughed and patted Zhang Jie, but his speech and behavior were nothing like those of a steady old man; instead, he was like a talkative youth full of passion and hope.

When death arrives, what form do you hope it takes?

This question is more like something an idealist would ask; for scholars, many probably wouldn't care much.

But Zhang Jie was truly thinking seriously about this question.

"Like a dream, falling asleep and never waking up."

"Or like an interstellar voyage with no return?"

Huang Luo looked at Zhang Jie, smiling as he offered two options.

"And you?"

"Me? I suppose I'd be like a falling leaf, returning to the earth."

"Hmm....."

If death had a form, how would you hope to exist?

"I think....."

"My life will surely be as brilliant as fireworks."

Zhang Jie gazed at the darkened sky outside, his eyes turning to the stars.

"Even if I burn out my life, I must burst forth with the most blazing light."

"Like a stellar supernova?"

"Hmm."

"Haha, great answer—truly a romantic and idealistic choice."

The old man was very satisfied with Zhang Jie's answer; idealists and researchers never conflict.

On the contrary, sometimes those cold‑looking numbers may be more romantic than the elegant words that sound pleasing.

"27 years old: time flowed like water; this year your growth coefficient surpassed the sum of all previous years. Unlike past small inventions and clever tricks, your current research is genuinely pushing the limits of human technology."

"Clearing all Nightmares from the universe isn't something you can do with a flick of the hand; it might take years, or even millennia, but there is progress."

"You have already researched how to bind Nightmares and sever their connection to the Nightmare's main body, turning them into a 'Little Pitiful' that can be played with at will."

"This couldn't be done without Huang Luo, the bio‑neurology expert; under his guidance, the bio‑neural Crystal Core produced can perfectly simulate Zhang Jie's mental barrier and also use these Nightmares to develop biological brains."

"This achievement can be called a milestone; calamity technology is something countless scholars both yearn for and fear."

"All prior research on Nightmares was solely about how to counter them; no one could research technology that utilizes Nightmares, and those who studied it couldn't even produce results—just staying alive was a problem."

"And you, my friend, you are the first human in this world who does not regard calamity as calamity; once your research findings were released, they immediately caused a great sensation."

"Ms. Yuan's student, the chief researcher who completed Nightmare restraint technology, a tough guy who graduated from twenty‑one courses in one go, your name has once again appeared in the public eye."

"For a time, you were in the limelight; many thought you would be the next person to join 'hellouniverse' after Ms. Yuan."

"But it's obvious that your teacher, Yuan, doesn't think that way."

"Hmm, not bad—you pass."

"Compared to a true genius, you're still off by more than a little bit; keep working hard."

"Okay~"

Zhang Jie's answer was weak and listless; after several months, he had grown accustomed to Yuan's manner of speaking—perhaps because her standards were too high, having already seen other more formidable people, so he felt Zhang Jie wasn't that strong yet.

But Zhang Jie felt he was already a decent scholar; although not a genius, he was certainly not mediocre.

Hmm, but here with Yuan, he's basically nothing.

Seeing Zhang Jie's reaction, Yuan gave a faint smile and continued speaking.

"Get ready; the next semester will start soon, so I'm giving you a two‑month vacation."

"If you can still sign up for twenty‑one courses, I'll take you to join the research project on new Ship Life."

Zhang Jie's eyes lit up; this thing sounds great—he hasn't learned it yet.

Although he finished the twenty‑one courses, Zhang Jie still hasn't reached the level where he can handcraft Ship Life.

"Alright, I'll sign up, teacher."

"Then I'll go first."

It's also time to check how his junkyard is developing; Yuan's promised twenty Ship Lives have arrived, and now he fully has the ability to go into space to pick up trash.

Cough cough, these parts no longer need to be made into antimatter; he's preparing to upgrade Xiao Jiu.

He once said he would turn Xiao Jiu into a massive flying ship that could cover the sky and block the sun.

Hmm... that would probably be a satellite‑class ship.

"Xiao Jiu, let's go—let's head back and take a look."

"Whoa!"

This year, Zhang Jie lived an extremely fulfilling life, and the other few Ship Girls weren't idle either.

Qiong seems to have gone to the military; I don't know what she's doing there.

As for Xiao Jiu, every day she keeps me company, daily asking for head pats.

Daitao then started competing, using her own earnings to swap parts; aside from daily accompanying Xiao Jiu to the Ship Life Activity Center to rest, she's just been in matches.

Hmm, everyone has something to do, and everyone has a bright future!

However, Zhang Jie keeps feeling like he forgot someone....

Never mind! Now he's heading to his own little junkyard!

Zhang Jie left; when 7774 found out, she stayed silent for a long time—she is the one Zhang Jie forgot.

A year passed; she.... hasn't made much progress.

Her relationships weren't maintained, she didn't learn any knowledge, and she left little impression on Zhang Jie—she's even worse than that silly competitive Ship Girl.

That Ship Girl fell into deep contemplation.....

On the other side, Zhang Jie sat with Xiao Jiu, having already arrived at that small planet belonging to the Intelligent Machine Star Alliance.

The development of the garbage field was awesome, not only taking complete control of the entire planet's waste disposal rights, but even extending its reach to other planets.

The accumulation of antimatter had reached a high amount, a considerable fortune, which Zhang Jie gladly accepted.

Using the money from selling antimatter, he bought a space station and arranged for twenty Ship Lives to come over; Zhang Jie no longer managed these things, his garbage field did not need him to run it himself, he only needed to decide the general direction.

With two months of rest time, the journey would take a while, but fortunately Xiao Jiu had upgraded to the highest‑level jump engine; otherwise, a single warp trip would have ended the vacation.

He also returned to the Garbage Star with Luzhou, visited the old man, thinking they would have a chance to catch up and chat, but unfortunately, what he saw this time was the old man's tombstone.

Well, there wasn't even a tombstone, just an empty grave.

The old man...... died in the Nightmare tide......