In early CE 56, with the help of his grandfather Zhou Junguo, Zhou Tianming entered an advanced elementary school.
Just one month later, he rapidly completed elementary education and was exceptionally promoted to high school.
Zhou Hanxiang entrusted Zhou Junguo to find and assist Keller's granddaughter, ensuring she wouldn't be bullied.
By March, East Asia officially began distributing the S2 Flu vaccine, significantly boosting its international prestige.
However, this also raised alarms in the Atlantic Federation and Eurasian Federation, who began showing signs of uniting to suppress East Asia.
In April, Zhou Junguo reported that Lainesse Brown had gone missing with no trace.
By October, all materials for the Black Tortoise were gathered, and after multiple revisions, its design was finalized for assembly.
At the beginning of CE 57, Zhou Tianming, having completed all high school subjects, officially enrolled in the East Asian Military Space Academy.
At just six years old, he was granted special permission as an external student to choose his own courses.
In June, the Black Tortoise was completed, and interior decoration began.
Zhou Tianming integrated the latest AI system obtained from East Asia's tech archives with the Black Tortoise's original AI data, refining it. The newly created AI was named White Rabbit.
That year, the Atlantic Federation, Eurasian Federation, and East Asian Republic's space forces began large-scale reinforcements in space.
The Atlantic and Eurasian Federations secretly colluded to marginalize East Asia, assigning them the most chaotic zones.
However, under Wei Tong's leadership, the East Asian space forces crushed the disorderly pirate and mercenary factions in their sector at minimal cost, forcing them to flee to Atlantic and Eurasian territories for survival.
Having suffered this covert setback, the Atlantic and Eurasian Federations temporarily couldn't focus on targeting East Asia.
While studying, Zhou Tianming saw news about PLANT—Siegel and Patrick had become council members. Due to the vaccine situation, he felt it inappropriate to show overt closeness and only sent them a text message with his blessings.
In CE 58, Uzumi Nara Athha became the Chief Representative of Orb.
In the latter half of the year, Zhou Tianming completed his master's degree in mechanical engineering. To protect him, the school avoided publicizing this achievement.
By year's end, combining research on magnetic fields and electromagnetic forces from the tech archives, Zhou Tianming began designing specialized equipment for the Black Tortoise to circumvent its weapon installation limitations.
In CE 60, the Atlantic Federation spearheaded additional restrictive regulations against PLANT, sparking discontent and escalating tensions between the two sides.
In February, Zhou Tianming's equipment development ended in failure. Realizing his knowledge was still insufficient, he dedicated himself to studying magnetism-related disciplines.
By July, he completed his master's degree in software engineering.
In December, the first prototype of the Black Tortoise's specialized equipment, [Yin-Yang], was completed.
On the 24th of the same month, Zhou Tianming completed his doctoral coursework in mechanical engineering on his birthday.
In CE61, the second generation of [Yin-Yang] was born, fulfilling Zhou Tianming's original design vision.
In July, he completed his doctoral coursework in software engineering.
Using the excuse of preventing the Black Tortoise from aging due to prolonged inactivity, the spaceship was sent to the Spaceport via Kaohsiung's Mass Accelerator, thanks to Master Craftsman Long Ye's influence.
In September, Zhou Tianming attempted to take the spaceship pilot license exam but was denied due to being underage.
On December 22, Zhou Tianming convinced Zhou Hanxiang to take him to the Moon by claiming he wanted to attend the [New Century Spaceship Expo] held in Copernicus for his birthday.
Moon, Copernicus.
Zhou Hanxiang's expression was stern, her tone warning: "Don't think I don't know you're up to no good. If you cause any trouble, you won't leave Earth again before you're 18."
"No, no, no," Zhou Tianming waved his hands repeatedly, putting on an innocent face. "I really just want to attend the [Spaceship Expo] to see the latest developments in spaceships. I don't want the Black Tortoise to be outdated before I even get to fly it."
Zhou Hanxiang narrowed her eyes, staring intently into his.
A bead of sweat formed on Zhou Tianming's forehead as he held his breath, meeting her gaze with wide, innocent eyes.
"I'll believe you for now."
Whew—
Zhou Tianming exhaled deeply, his shoulders relaxing as a smile spread across his face.
The two took a vehicle to the area of the lunar city Copernicus designated for the [Spaceship Expo].
Even from over ten miles away, the spaceships floating in space like mountain ranges were already visible.
Large ships over 250 meters, medium ships between 150 and 250 meters, and small to medium ships under 150 meters were densely arranged in the distance.
A single glance revealed over a hundred of them.
As they approached, the exhibition hall at the starting point seemed minuscule compared to the ships. A dense crowd streamed continuously through the entrance.
Beyond the hall, shuttles carried visitors into space to board the floating ships for tours.
As they entered and prepared to explore, Zhou Hanxiang's phone rang. Seeing it was Zhou Junguo calling, she answered: "Hanxiang, where are you?"
"We've just arrived at the [Spaceship Expo] hall in Copernicus. Tianming and I are about to go in."
After a brief silence, Zhou Junguo's voice turned serious: "Let Tianming tour alone. I need to talk to you."
"But—"
Zhou Hanxiang looked uneasy, but Zhou Tianming's eyes lit up. "Don't you trust me? No one here can match me."
Glaring at him, Zhou Hanxiang sighed. "It's precisely because you're too capable and full of ideas that I don't trust you."
She pointed to the seating area for visitors. "I'll be right there. Be careful."
"Understood!" Saluting playfully, Zhou Tianming hurried off.
Zhou Hanxiang sat down. "Dad, why did you need to send Tianming away?"
"It's serious. He can't know."
Her heart tightened as she clenched her fists, voice trembling. "What is it?"
"His medical report came back." Zhou Junguo paused. "At this rate, Tianming may not live past 25."
Biting her lower lip, Zhou Hanxiang glanced in the direction Zhou Tianming had left, took a deep breath, and asked, "What's going on? I remember his health reports have been excellent these past few years."
"That's exactly the problem—they were too good. We overlooked the issue because his physical indicators were far beyond what a normal 10-year-old should have."
"But he's an Ultimate Coordinator, maybe—"
"I considered that too, so I consulted Mr. Hua. The latest examination was conducted by him personally, item by item."
"Mr. Hua found that Tianming's cells are in a state of abnormally high activity. His exact words were, 'It's as if he's being chased by death itself.'"
"..."
"After further thorough examinations, we finally discovered the issue—Tianming's cells are disappearing."
"Disappearing? That's impossible."
"By 'disappearing,' I mean they're vanishing from the instruments' detection range. In other words, large portions of his genes can no longer be detected, and this trend is worsening year by year."
Zhou Junguo's voice was heavy with sorrow. "According to Mr. Hua's analysis, the likely cause of Tianming's genetic disappearance is the immaturity of the Ultimate Coordinator technology at the time. Now, due to inherent flaws, his genes are mutating as he grows."
"I remember you once said... Tianming was the first successful case to survive..."
Her eyes reddening, Zhou Hanxiang covered her mouth, desperately suppressing the sob rising in her throat. "There must be a way."
"..." Zhou Junguo hesitated. "Current technology can't help. We can't even detect what changes his genes are undergoing."
It felt as though an invisible hand had seized her heart. Zhou Hanxiang's mind went blank, her breath catching as the color drained from her face.
"The only silver lining is that Mr. Hua sees potential in Tianming and has agreed to personally oversee his case."
"The chances of a cure..."
"Mr. Hua said..." He paused. "A full recovery is impossible. At best, we can try to prolong his lifespan."
Her head bowed low, Zhou Hanxiang's dark hair cascaded forward, obscuring her face. A trickle of blood seeped from her bitten lip and dripped silently.
"As long as I live, I won't let Tianming die!"
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