Chapter 737 - 464: Astronaut Selection (Part 2)

Chapter 737: Chapter 464: Astronaut Selection (Part 2)

After this period of training, the time has reached March 2025,

and today happens to be the 20th.

If they want to land on the moon this month, it means they need to be ready within the next ten days.

Old Yi pondered for a moment and replied, "At the current pace, we should be ready within this month. As long as you give the order, the lunar landing plan can be initiated directly."

"Not bad," Wang Ye nodded.

Old Yi smiled and said, "Let’s go, I’ll take you to see the candidates for the astronauts of this lunar landing plan. Although we already have an initial list here, you are the leader of this plan, so you should make the final selection."

Shortly thereafter, Old Yi took Wang Ye to the indoor area where the astronauts were staying. They were still undergoing centrifuge training. There were two centrifuges in total, with two astronauts sitting inside, their expressions pained. The intense gravitational acceleration distorted their faces, making them look decades older than their youthful appearances.

Wang Ye stood by, quietly waiting for them to finish their centrifuge training.

Then Old Yi gathered all the astronauts and had them stand before Wang Ye for him to pick and question.

Wang Ye stood with his hands behind his back, calmly in front of over a dozen astronauts,

as he scanned through the candidates, his gaze paused slightly on one individual.

"Wu Chen?"

The young man Wang Ye was looking at was very handsome, although fatigued and pale from the centrifuge training, it was clear he was a healthy young man in his twenties, with a well-proportioned physique. He was wearing a standard black tight-fitting suit, revealing defined chest and abdominal muscles beneath it.

But that wasn’t the point; the key was his identity.

Ever since evolving, Wang Ye’s memory had significantly improved. He distinctly remembered that this Wu Chen was one of his disciples at the Shenzhen Tai Chi Association.

When Wang Ye was teaching Tai Chi, Wu Chen was among the most perceptive of his disciples.

Wang Ye wore a look of astonishment.

A Tai Chi practitioner participating in astronaut selection?

Although the selection criteria for astronauts weren’t exceedingly strict, as long as height and weight met standards and physical qualities such as cardiovascular, respiratory, central nervous, vestibular functions, as well as visual and auditory abilities met standards, along with professional skill proficiency, and psychological qualities such as perception ability, logical thinking, memory, attention, and flexibility met standards, and after passing countless tests, one could become an astronaut candidate.

However, there was a particularly strict criterion among astronauts: they must be able to fly a plane, with over 100 hours of flying experience.

Therefore, astronaut selection generally sourced from experienced air force fighter pilots.

But he distinctly remembered, Wu Chen never mentioned any experience in military fighter piloting.

Could it be that he concealed it initially?

Wang Ye couldn’t help but frown, asking, "Wu Chen, do you remember me?"

Wu Chen answered succinctly, "Yes. You are my teacher."

Wang Ye inquired, "How did you come to participate in astronaut selection?"

Wu Chen pondered a moment and answered, "Being an astronaut has been a dream of mine since childhood. Though I’ve achieved much in the Tai Chi field, I still aspire to be an astronaut. Upon hearing that you were leading astronauts for a lunar landing, I immediately participated in the selection process, and after numerous screenings, I made it here."

"Not bad," Wang Ye looked at him approvingly.

Though he hadn’t witnessed the selection process, he could imagine, given the gravity of the lunar landing plan that involved him, the selection process must’ve been unprecedentedly strict. Yet Wu Chen managed to make it through to the final stage, implying immense hardships over the past few months.

Moreover, Wang Ye keenly noticed,

Wu Chen’s primordial Qi had grown tenfold compared to ordinary individuals over these months of training, his physical qualities exceeding human limits, capable of lifting 500 kilograms despite an unimpressive physique. This was likely a primary reason he made it this far.

"How is the association doing now? Does Wan Zonghua know you’re here?" Wang Ye continued to ask.

Wu Chen responded methodically, "The association has advanced rapidly since the exchange event you organized last time and has grown considerably larger. Chairman Wan, having gained strength, looks much younger. I informed him before leaving that I would be participating in astronaut selection."

His clarity in speaking and his demeanor bore semblances to Wang Ye, at times making Wang Ye suspect the youngster had some sort of advantage.

"Alright, perform well,"

Wang Ye patted Wu Chen on the shoulder,

he didn’t linger too long with Wu Chen and turned to inquire about other astronauts’ situations.

After all, the plan involved numerous people’s efforts, and he couldn’t let personal bias disrupt the order, ensuring objectivity and fairness was essential in the selection.

After about half an hour of inquiries, he gained an initial understanding of the basic information of the fifteen astronauts.

As for deeper information, Wang Ye didn’t delve further, he could easily see through qualities like physical and psychological attributes at a glance,

so there was no need to waste time asking.

After some simple consideration, Wang Ye selected three outstanding men as the official astronauts for the plan.

Among them was Wu Chen.

This selection wasn’t intentionally favoring his disciple, but Wu Chen’s various qualities were indeed top-notch among them.

On the list drafted by Old Yi, Wu Chen was also ranked first.

This was an indisputable fact, after all, Wu Chen was among the few disciples of Wang Ye,

had received the true teachings of Tai Chi, with a primordial Qi level that surpassed human limits,

clearly making him one of the most qualified candidates for the lunar landing astronauts.

This outcome left other unselected astronauts unresentful since they couldn’t deny their inferiority.

However, Old Yi was very curious about the conversation between Wang Ye and Wu Chen, as he never knew Wang Ye had a disciple.

Though they investigated Wang Ye’s background thoroughly, aware he had visited the Tai Chi Association,

they didn’t know he had a disciple there. Had they known, they would’ve saved much trouble, directly making Wu Chen an astronaut.

After all astronauts left, Old Yi couldn’t help but ask, "Is that Wu Chen your disciple?"

"Yes," Wang Ye answered, "He was a disciple I was forced to take in back at the Tai Chi Association, later by some chance I taught him some things. He’s a good seedling with good comprehension."

Old Yi continued to ask, "Did you teach him anything real? I remember this kid performed exceptionally well during selection, especially his physical condition and coordination, it’s almost inhuman."

He was particularly impressed by Wu Chen, who exhibited decathlon-level athletic ability and easily broke world records in the initial selection phase.

Old Yi later investigated Wu Chen’s background, discovering he was a member of the Shenzhen Tai Chi Association, suspecting Wang Ye’s influence but without delving deeper.

Wang Ye shook his head, "Not really anything real; I just taught him a few Tai Chi techniques. Plus, technically speaking, his physical strength might not even match yours. You should have felt it after the last possession, your current physical strength surpassed human limits, while Wu Chen is barely at the edge of human limits. With more training, you’d definitely surpass him."

"That’s true," Old Yi scratched his head, feeling somewhat unearned,

even Wang Ye’s direct disciples had to train arduously to reach such a level,

yet just through possession, he had been enhanced to this physical level.