The first phase of the plan, the "space elevator," is simply to help humanity escape the constraints of gravity. The second phase aims to utilize gravity in a way that empowers humanity.

"To build humanity's own interstellar fleet, we must first solve the problem of propulsion."

These were Liao Changtian's original words at the time.

"The gravity engine will lead humanity into a true interstellar age."

Liao Changtian was not joking.

Blue Star is serious about this.

The formation of an interstellar fleet has been included in the five-year work plan of the World Government. This is not a joke; it is something that humanity is actually preparing for.

Because humanity knows that its future enemy will likely be a civilization more advanced than itself.

Three years!

This is the timetable set by the World United Government, by which time a "Blue Star Task Force" with basic interstellar cruising capabilities must be formed.

The new fleet is not intended to be deployed for immediate combat; its primary mission is to train and instruct new recruits.

The first batch of military personnel who will return for further training will graduate by then. We cannot allow people to wait for equipment, nor can we allow equipment to wait for people, so it will take three years.

Based on this, a fleet simulation training center has been established on the Australian continent. In addition to the southeastern coastal area, which serves as a logistics base and retains human cities, the entire Australian continent, including the surrounding coast and airspace, has been designated as the training center's exercise area, where army-level red-blue confrontations are conducted.

The first prototype "Taishan 01" gravity engine has been assembled in geosynchronous orbit around Earth and is being installed on the redesigned and rebuilt "Firebird 3" interplanetary spacecraft.

Although it is still called "Firebird", the Firebird 3 interplanetary spacecraft has no connection with the Firebird Mars probe in terms of design concept and function.

The Firebird 3 interstellar spacecraft will be propelled by a gravity engine and accelerated to the speed of light by planetary gravity, thereby opening a spacetime wormhole and entering a jump orbit.

This is a true interstellar spaceship.

However, limited by technological capabilities and insufficient thrust from a single engine, the Firebird 3 is still just a small, single-seat interstellar spacecraft. To build humanity's own interstellar fleet, the more powerful Kunlun gravity engine, currently under research, will need to be mass-produced before it can be realized.

Gravity engine technology is not only driving starships. The process of manufacturing an engine is never as simple as completing a single product, but rather a complete systems engineering project. The achievements it radiates in materials science, equipment manufacturing, space communication, basic theory, and other fields are giving back to all walks of life in human society.

Later historians referred to these five years as the era of the "knowledge explosion" and the "technology explosion."

Humans are like fledglings in a nest, constantly absorbing nutrients from the "phoenix," waiting for the moment to soar into the sky.

StarCraft 4, the teleportation stone.

"Are you really sure?" Liao Changtian looked at Zhang Fan. "No regrets?"

“What’s there to regret?” Zhang Fan said with a smile. “If I went back to Earth now, I would probably just be an ordinary person who can’t keep up with the times.”

"Your parents..."

“A man’s ambition lies in all directions,” Zhang Fan said. “Don’t underestimate my parents just because they are ordinary workers and farmers. In this respect, they will not hold me back.”

...

"Dad, Mom, I want to see the outside world."

Will they come back?

Yes, it will.

"Then let's go."

...

"I'm not trying to be mean," Zhang Fan frowned at Liao Changtian, "but I heard you arranged for all my relatives, including my third uncle and second maternal uncle, to work at NASA?"

"Don't try that on me, or I'll look down on you!"

“I admit that there was an element of consideration for you in this regard,” Liao Changtian said generously. “But the main reason is that we really need talents like them right now.”

"Talented?" Zhang Fan said with some displeasure, "Are you mocking me? Looking down on migrant workers?"

"No, no, no! You've completely misunderstood me." Liao Changtian shook his head repeatedly and explained, "The talent I'm talking about is real talent in the truest sense. I'm not making sarcastic jokes about them."

"What kind of work are you assigning them to at NASA?" Zhang Fan asked, frowning. "Sweeping, cleaning, or something like that?"

"No." Liao Changtian shook his head, his expression serious. "They are building a space colony satellite city in geosynchronous orbit around Earth."

"Huh?" Zhang Fan stared wide-eyed. Every time he spoke to Liao Changtian, it seemed like he was joking in a serious manner.

“I’m not joking.” Liao Changtian seemed to be able to see what Zhang Fan was thinking. “Your relatives used to be construction workers, responsible for building sheds at high altitudes and installing exterior walls of buildings, which are exactly the skills we need.”

"In essence, both high-rise building workers and those building space colony satellites are high-altitude operations, and their job content has many similarities, especially in terms of psychological qualities, they will hardly have any obstacles."

“No.” Zhang Fan looked conflicted. “Many of my third uncle and second uncle only went to junior high school. You should at least find some college students to go to space, right?”

“Academic qualifications are not within our consideration,” Liao Changtian replied. “In fact, we have already conducted experiments.”

“We put the college graduates who applied for jobs on the exterior wall of a building hundreds of meters high. They could only tremble and hold onto the bamboo poles with both hands, unable to do anything.”

"And if you put your third uncle and second maternal uncle in the same place, they can even eat boxed lunches while sitting on bamboo poles that extend into the air without wearing seat belts."

"If it were you, who would you choose?"

Zhang Fan: "..."

"Of course, they will all receive necessary training before being sent into space. Although the nature of the work is theoretically the same, we pay them more than ten times what they used to earn, they have five days off per month and we provide them with insurance. We will not exploit them."

"I see." Zhang Fan stared blankly, lost in thought. "Has Earth developed to this extent...?"

"No!" Zhang Fan suddenly realized, looking at Liao Changtian with disdain. "Ten times the salary? Don't think I don't know, that's still cheap!"

"Hehe." Liao Changtian laughed.

“We urgently need a large number of skilled industrial workers like these. It’s not economically efficient to send dozens or hundreds of astronauts with doctoral or master’s degrees or fighter jet flying experience to build sheds in space.”

"The operation of the space elevator means that the development of near-Earth orbit of Earth is no longer a job that only a few elites can do. Allowing ordinary people to work in space is the first step in the industrialization of space development."

"The current model of manufacturing equipment on the ground and assembling it in space is still too inefficient. After the space colony satellite city is built, we will build factories in space, and the future interstellar fleet will have its entire design and construction work completed by the spaceport."

"In addition, we have made a breakthrough in 'dome' technology. The 'Phoenix Nest' dome ecosystem simulator built in the northwestern desert has been proven effective, and the implementation of the Mars colonization plan has been put on the agenda."

"I really want to go back to Earth..." Zhang Fan murmured to himself as he lay on the bed in the treehouse.

“You…” Liao Changtian also sat down next to the teleportation stone, looking at Zhang Fan very seriously, “Actually, if you want to change your mind, it’s not too late now.”

"If you return to Earth, you'll be welcomed by humanity as a superhero, but if you choose the opposite path..."

"That could be a one-way trip."