Deep Space Wandering Fleet

Chapter 36: Chapter 36 is trending!
Editor: Henyee Translations

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The venue was getting more and more lively, and all the audience could barely hold back their enthusiasm to discuss.

Finally, the chairman of the organizing committee made a speech and delivered the closing remarks, “I announce that the total fundraising amount this time is, $4.211 billion!”

Thunderous applause filled the room.

“Here, I sincerely hope the Earth Era can withstand the scrutiny of 20 light years and successfully reach its destination, building the Second Star System for all humanity!”

“I announce the 43rd Galaxy Award Ceremony officially closed!”

Amid the splendid cultural performance, people gradually left the venue.

“Whew… It’s finally over.”

Zhang Yuan let out a long sigh of relief, lamenting how an entire afternoon of his life had been wasted like this.

He quickly ran to the restroom, took off the suit he was wearing, and handed it to Wang Lili.

“Handsome guy, I didn’t expect you to be quite eloquent!” Wang Lili took the clothes and teased with a smile, “I was breaking a sweat for you just now!”

“Why?”

“Because you were going live, the biggest award in the country, plus the spaceship’s launch ceremony. It attracts a lot of attention. That question was too sharp. If it were me, I would definitely be a bit nervous…”

Wang Lili turned on her phone screen, waving it back and forth in front of him.

“If the response isn’t good, you’ll be trending, no, you’re already trending now!”

Zhang Yuan took Wang Lili’s phone and looked closely.

A black bold headline appeared right in the middle of the screen.

“Shocking! Son of a Scientist Donates Entire Prize, Ridiculed by Female Reporter!”

“Even if the Poor Starve, He Wouldn’t Help Them!”

The popularity was soaring!

Zhang Yuan was baffled; these unscrupulous self-media were really risking everything for eyeballs.

He sighed deeply, “Forget it, forget it, no matter what the answer is, you’ll get criticized. I had already mentally prepared for it. Donating the bonus was something I had thought of beforehand, who knew it would stir up such a…”

Plus some debate about whether poverty alleviation or supporting aerospace is more important and so on.

The world was still dominated by the voices of ordinary people, as if not donating money to them was a sin. Various internet trolls could always find the most comfortable posture to criticize others.

They incessantly said strange comments like “pretentious jerk,” “prodigal son.”

“Thanks for the invite, on the Moon, just got off the spaceship, monthly income of a million, too many people in the circle, hard to comment, anonymous.”

“Mr. Zhang, do you have a girlfriend? He must be a big tycoon!”

“He probably does, and maybe several. Are you interested?”

“Hee-hee, aren’t you interested?”

“Several is okay, just be a tycoon, so handsome!”

Praising him for being handsome, Zhang Yuan felt inexplicably satisfied.

However, he was not a tycoon.

“I bet this guy is going to enter the entertainment industry! It’s a great packaging opportunity, creating a very good persona. (Struggle)(Struggle) The next step would be shooting TV shows or participating in variety shows, both art and sports, everyone stay tuned!”

“Spending ten million to advertise once, gaining fame, a very smart choice, what a pity. The son of a great scientist actually wants to become a celebrity.”

“What’s wrong with being a celebrity? Being a celebrity is great!”

“You know nothing!”

Zhang Yuan felt a bit dizzy, silently admiring the people’s powerful imagination. If they could imagine so well, why not become scientists?

“Do you want to be a big star? With some packaging, it’s really possible!” Wang Lili said with a laugh.

“No, I’m tone-deaf, and I can’t dance.”

There were also some busybodies wanting to dig into Zhang Yuan’s life. Fortunately, he had never had a habit of posting on social media, so this group couldn’t dig up anything special after a long search, only finding his alma mater and exam scores, etc.

“Only got into Z University, didn’t even study abroad, GPA only 4.58…”

“What era are we in, still studying abroad? Are you an idiot? Going to a Natives’ school?”

“What do you mean only 4.58 GPA? Z University’s full GPA is only 5, okay? That’s equivalent to an average score of 95.8, so anyone who hasn’t been to university should shut up!”

Anyway, the previous Zhang Yuan, although not the most outstanding, was indeed not bad and didn’t have many black spots. Yet, there was still a group of people tirelessly searching— internet real-name systems couldn’t stop these idle people…

Of course, there was also a pile of people who supported him, many of whom were women.

Zhang Yuan had a bit of a headache; he had no idea things would turn out like this.

It was just a donation. Was it such a big deal?

With envy comes jealousy, with jealousy comes hate. As long as you stand straight, you won’t fear your shadow bending. Let them be.

Listening to his various complaints, Wang Lili also opened a social app and ruthlessly commented, “This guy, aside from being a bit handsome, doesn’t have many advantages. Witnessed his prodigal behavior firsthand, so frustrating!”

[Like][Like][Like]

In just a few seconds, a bunch of likes poured in.

“You’re adding insult to injury too…” Zhang Yuan shook his head helplessly.

“Mr. Zhang, please come over here to sign!” someone suddenly called him from behind.

“Oh, okay.”

Zhang Yuan turned around and signed his name on a “donation agreement,” pressing his fingerprint.

What was said cannot be undone. After doing this, the ten million prize was officially donated.

Since he was about to run away anyway, Zhang Yuan didn’t feel distressed, just like donating Game Coin from a video game account. He didn’t even blink.

This feeling was strange.

National-level science awards, according to policy, did not require taxes, which was equivalent to the Foundation transferring this part of the funds from its left hand to its right hand.

However, the corresponding processes still needed to be done. The Deep Space Foundation, with its century-long history, had developed into such a colossal organization, it had long formed a very standardized administrative system, and most of the funds flow was transparent.

Wang Lili and Xu Yunjing, the two volunteers, watched the entire scene, occasionally glancing at each other with very resentful expressions.

“The number one in front, so many zeros behind, when will I ever earn so much money? Probably never in this lifetime…” Xu Yunjing sighed.

Wang Lili also said wistfully, “Yeah, a perfectly good tall, rich, and handsome guy, recklessly squandering himself into a poor man… Acting like you have a lot of money, but you only have this much money.”

“…Some relatives and friends I know have assets worth hundreds of millions, yet they’ve never donated so much. Ten million, I so want to snatch it all to buy clothes, so many clothes!”

Xu Yunjing nodded in agreement, “Luckily, he’s not my boyfriend, or I’d be driven mad by him. Just want to beat him up hard…”

Even though he knew they were joking, Zhang Yuan still felt quite embarrassed, unsure of what to say.

Wang Lili threw out another strange question, “You astronauts, can you back out temporarily? Like… suddenly not wanting to go and just wanting to stay home.”

“Of course you can.”

Zhang Yuan thought for a moment and said, “But if there’s no reasonable reason, backing out temporarily would be treated as desertion, which carries significant risks.”

“Desertion, you know, is like refusing military service… First, you’ll be fined a sum of money, probably tens of thousands for training costs, and most social benefits will be canceled, and it will appear on your social credit and so on. Lots of penalties, anyway, being a deserter, it’s really hard to get a good job in the future…”

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(Thanks to the book friend “Experiment Body Jun Gui” for the Alliance Hierarch reward, although the collection of this book is growing slowly, to have an Alliance Hierarch so early is truly a blessing, thank you!)

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