Clap， clap， clap—

  “Excellent presentation from our flight control team. Your applause says it all.”

  “The flight control team’s success proves something.”

  “Our policy of trusting and empowering young people is correct!”

  “When I first proposed this， many on the leadership team doubted it.”

  “They thought young people lacked experience and knowledge to lead key projects.”

  “But facts prove young people can deliver incredible results.”

  “Great heroes emerge in every generation.”

  “Bright young stars like Stella and Kane have risen among us.”

  “I hope everyone will follow their example， keep working， and keep improving.”

  “The company rewards those who fight!”

  “Once again， round of applause!”

  Clap， clap， clap—

  In the meeting room， Kane clapped mechanically.

  Many eyes were on him， as if， as the boss had said， he was a rising star.

  But of course， more than fame， Kane cared about one thing:

  how big the project bonus would be.

  As the meeting moved to the next topic， he quietly opened the internal chat and messaged Stella.

  Kane: Hey， how much is the project bonus gonna be?

  Stella: It’s confidential. I can’t just say that.

  Kane: C’mon， it’s for us. Just the number.

  Stella: Not happening. You’ll see when it’s announced.

  Don’t worry. Yours won’t be small. You’re getting the biggest cut.

  Kane: Biggest cut how much? Just a rough number.

  Stella: Around 60k to 70k… don’t tell anyone， okay?

  Kane: Got it… that’s it? I thought at least 100k.

  Stella: Dream on. The company’s struggling. Test Craft 1 funding didn’t go well. Series B got undervalued hard— only a bit over 200 million.

  The Series B plan isn’t finalized. The investors want a more ambitious development plan.

  Be ready. Once Test Craft 1 wraps up， the new project starts immediately.

  You’ll be leading the charge. Young guys like you need to seize opportunities.

  Kane: Can I just relax?

  Stella: Buy me dinner tonight， and maybe.

  Kane: You really need to calm down. Do you talk like this to everyone?

  He sent the message. Stella didn’t reply.

  Kane looked up. An admin assistant was standing beside him， clearing her throat.

  He quickly closed the chat and pretended to listen intently.

  The rest of the meeting was meaningless filler. He zoned out.

  So Stella was nothing like the masked man’s wife.

  Stella joked around， but she was professional with everyone else.

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Only because they were close did she tease him so much.

  The masked man’s wife， though? From what Kane had picked up， everyone on the merc team knew she was unfaithful. The kind you couldn’t run into without seeing someone she’d been with.

  Whether the masked man was clueless or lying to himself…

  Poor guy.

  But his suffering was over anyway.

  Apocalypse coming. Dying thinking he was loved… maybe it wasn’t so bad.

  What really caused that world-ending event?

  Super nukes?

  Gamma-ray bursts?

  Vacuum decay?

  Antimatter collision?

  Kane’s thoughts drifted. Then applause signaled the end of the long meeting.

  He stood up. Stella turned around and winked.

  “C’mon to my office. Let’s talk.”

  “...That eager?”

  Kane teased. Stella rolled her eyes.

  “Bring your laptop. We’re discussing the next project!”

  “Oh…”

  Kane obediently followed her. Once inside， Stella closed the door and collapsed onto the sofa.

  “That meeting was brutal. 15 minutes stretched into two hours…”

  “You can leave early today. No overtime.”

  “But before you go…”

  Stella sat up and straightened her expression.

  “That‘more ambitious plan’ I mentioned. Any ideas?”

  “Me?”

  Kane blinked.

  “Isn’t that a leadership call? Why ask me?”

  “Didn’t you hear the boss? New generation， new ideas.”

  Stella shrugged.“Say whatever. It’s just a brainstorm. No wrong answers.”

  “Alright…”

  Kane frowned slightly.

  He thought of the project he’d seen in the bracelet.

  StarVoyager 1.

  If Aether Technologies really became a space tourism-focused provider in the future…

  Then that direction must be correct.

  After a moment， he spoke.

  “If I had to say it— commercial launch vehicles might not be the best path.”

  “The barrier seems high， but it’s actually not.”

  “Think about it. Low-altitude flight was high-barrier a decade ago. What about now?”

  “To keep growing， just launching and carrying payloads isn’t enough.”

  “We need more value-added services.”

  “Not bad.”

  Stella looked at him approvingly.

  “You sound like you know what you’re talking about. specifics. What services?”

  “Space tourism.”

  Kane said it seriously.

  “Space tourism?”

  Stella was shocked.“Isn’t that way too ahead of its time? Or just… too vague?”

  Kane shook his head.

  “It’s not vague. The boss’s own vision: push per-kilogram payload cost below 10k， ideally 5k.”

  “That puts a trip to orbit for an adult at a few hundred thousand.”

  “Think about it. How much does a trip to Antarctica cost? A luxury Hawaii vacation?”

  “Rich people drop millions on high-end trips easily.”

  “Now— 500k to go to space. Which would you pick?”

  “Makes sense.”

  Stella nodded thoughtfully. Kane pressed on.

  “There’s another very practical benefit.”

  “What?”

  “Simple. Investors love this story.”

  “If you were rich， would you rather hear‘500k to send a nuclear warhead into space’… or‘500k to take you on a space tour’?”

  “Perfect!”

  Stella stood up excitedly， clapping her hands.

  “I’m pitching this exactly.

  I can feel it— the boss will love it!”

  “Wow， Kane. You’re gonna go far.”

  “In two years， you might be higher than me.”

  Her eyes turned playful.

  She leaned closer.

  “Looks like I really have to take you out for that late-night snack…”

  8 PM. Kane returned to his rented apartment.

  He still hadn’t gone for dinner with Stella.

  They’d eaten， but nothing happened.

  In Kane’s words， Stella was all talk.

  After the meal， she used overtime as an excuse to bolt.

  As if he would’ve actually taken her home to show off his backflips.

  Kane shook his head and looked at his wrist.

  After two days of rest， the bracelet number had recovered to 5.

  He could enter the world again and endure the high-stress loops.

  This time， Kane wasn’t going for the rocket.

  At the main console， he’d already seen the StarVoyager 1 documents.

  He planned to use all five chances to memorize as much data as possible.

  It might actually change his real life.

  He made his bed， put on an eye mask， and lay down.

  He tapped the bracelet gently.

  In an instant， his consciousness was pulled away.

  When he opened his eyes， he was back at the familiar aerospace base.

  Wait— no.

  It wasn’t familiar.

  Kane jolted upright， hitting his head on the car roof with a loud thud.

  The masked man beside him stared in confusion. But Kane only pressed himself to the window， staring outside.

  Holy shit.

  Everything had changed.

  The entire layout of the base was completely different from the dozens of times he’d seen it before.

  Everything was different.