Chapter Seventy: So It Was Only a Dream

“Don’t go, don’t go, old sir—you haven’t answered me yet!”

“Junior brother? Junior brother? What’s wrong with you?” Peng Dongli shook Zhang Mingyang vigorously.

Zhang Mingyang opened his eyes and sat up abruptly from the bed, with Peng Dongli’s face looming close.

“Senior brother?”

Zhang Mingyang hadn’t expected the person he was chasing to be Peng Dongli.

Seeing Zhang Mingyang awake, Peng Dongli let out a long breath. “You scared me to death. When I came in, I heard you howling like a ghost—I thought something had happened to you. Turns out you were having a nightmare.”

Zhang Mingyang rubbed his eyes and looked carefully around. “I was dreaming?”

“Come on, you don’t even know if you were dreaming or not? Hurry up and get dressed, there’s only an hour until nine. Eat breakfast and get ready to leave.”

Zhang Mingyang glanced at the time; it really was eight in the morning. He slapped his left cheek hard—the pain reminded him he wasn’t in a dream.

Peng Dongli, watching Zhang Mingyang hit himself so furiously, quickly stopped him. “Hey, what’s up with you? Still stuck in your dream?”

Certain that he was back in the real world, Zhang Mingyang climbed out of bed and looked at Peng Dongli. “Senior brother, I think I went to a magical place. I met a mysterious old man, and he wanted to teach me how to evolve my brain.”

Listening to Zhang Mingyang’s nonsense, Peng Dongli placed his hand on Zhang Mingyang’s forehead. “No fever. Why are you talking crazy?”

“It’s true, senior brother,” Zhang Mingyang grabbed Peng Dongli’s hand and looked at him earnestly, causing Peng Dongli to smack Zhang Mingyang’s right cheek with his other hand.

“Does it hurt?”

Zhang Mingyang touched his right cheek and nodded, “It hurts.”

“Good, then welcome back to reality.”

With that, Peng Dongli withdrew his right hand, looking serious.

Zhang Mingyang, feeling the sting on his cheek, finally woke up.

“Was it really just a dream?”

“Alright, enough about dreams. If we wait any longer, the rocket will leave without us.” As he spoke, Peng Dongli picked up the clothes from the bed and began helping him dress.

“Seems it really was a dream.”

Back in the real world, Zhang Mingyang remembered today’s mission. He glanced at the time again. “Oh no, it’s so late! Senior brother, why didn’t you wake me up?”

He quickly sat down on the bed and began putting on his clothes.

Peng Dongli, baffled by his antics, pointed at Zhang Mingyang. “Oh, so you were still in your dream? Everything I said was wasted?”

Zhang Mingyang finished dressing at lightning speed, didn’t even wash up, and bolted out of the room. Before leaving, he shouted back, “Senior brother, hurry up! We’ll miss the rocket!”

Watching Zhang Mingyang dash out, Peng Dongli slapped himself, the pain making him grimace and clutch his cheek. “I’m not dreaming!”

…

In the base cafeteria, Zhang Mingyang and Peng Dongli sat at a small table. Peng Dongli had his hands in his pockets, watching Zhang Mingyang busily arrange food. Zhang Mingyang apologized as he worked, “Senior brother, I wasn’t messing with you. I really was dreaming.”

“What kind of dream was that? You almost confused me. You don’t sleepwalk, do you?”

“No, I absolutely don’t sleepwalk.”

The breakfast was served, and Zhang Mingyang made a gesture inviting his senior brother to eat first.

But Peng Dongli didn’t move, staring at him intently.

Zhang Mingyang followed Peng Dongli’s gaze and looked at himself. “Senior brother, is something wrong with me?”

Peng Dongli pursed his lips and shook his head. “Junior brother, what exactly did you dream about? Now I’m curious.”

Zhang Mingyang thought for a moment. “I think I told you already?”

“Peng!”

Peng Dongli slapped the table angrily. “I want details!”

“Alright, alright, I’ll tell you.”

Zhang Mingyang recalled last night’s dream. “At first, I was on a spaceship, then I landed on an orange planet. After that, I met a white-haired old man who demonstrated creating a space with his mind. I asked him how he did it, but before he could answer, you woke me up.”

“That’s it?”

Zhang Mingyang thought again and nodded firmly. “That’s it.”

“What kind of nonsense dream is that? Look at other people—they either dream of becoming the richest person or a superhero. Next time, learn from them. Eat your breakfast.”

Peng Dongli grabbed a bun and began devouring it.

Seeing his senior brother’s indifference, Zhang Mingyang thought he would get scolded, but Peng Dongli didn’t care at all.

“Senior brother, why aren’t you asking more?”

Peng Dongli took a sip of soup and answered, “Your dream had no substance. You said you met some old man who could do this and that—how is that possible?”

“It’s not magic tricks; he was using his brain to create an independent space.”

“Exactly. Think about it—how could the human brain create independent spaces? The brain is for learning and storing information!”

Chastised by his senior brother, Zhang Mingyang suddenly felt his dream was bizarre too. The human brain couldn’t possibly create spaces of its own.

“Enough, stop thinking about it. Eat.”

Peng Dongli glanced at the time. “It’s eight-thirty. We have half an hour until assembly.”

“Okay.”

…

The two hurried through breakfast and rushed to Launch Tower Fourteen. Looking up, they saw eighteen others already preparing to enter the crew capsule.

“Junior brother, we’re late—let’s catch up.”

With that, the two grabbed the handrails and hurried up.

After nearly ten minutes of climbing, they finally caught up. The staff outside the capsule checked their identities, confirmed everything, and let them in.

Inside the crew capsule, Zhang Mingyang noticed two adjacent empty seats. He quickly pulled Peng Dongli over and sat down, fastening their safety equipment.

Once everyone was ready, the safety officer began checking each person’s gear to ensure everything was secure. After the inspections, the safety officer handed over to the ‘Rocket Chief’ on the screen.

After the handover, the safety officer exited the capsule and closed the hatch.

At the moment the hatch shut, all the lights in the cabin came on.

The ‘Rocket Chief’ stepped forward and introduced himself, “Comrades, I am Bai Yang, the commander of this rocket. You can think of me as the captain of an airplane. For the next twelve hours, I’ll be with you. During the flight, if anyone has a problem, you can press the red button on the left side of your seat. Once pressed, I’ll see it at the front.”

“But—and I want to stress this—do not remove your safety equipment without my permission. Only after I give approval can you take it off. Is that clear?”

“Yes.”