Free Web NovelChapter 1471: Chapter 697: Cracking the Wave-Particle Duality!?
Half a month had passed.
Li Renzhe had gone from full of anticipation at the start to now experiencing a numbing sense of exhaustion, both physically and mentally undergoing a grueling baptism.
Although it had only been half a month, it felt as long as a century to him.
Waking up at six o’clock every morning, he ate standardized nutritional meals, which, due to his dietitian being mindful of weight issues, did not contain even a speck of oil—eating became merely a means to fill his stomach.
After enduring a day’s strenuous training, he would fall onto his bed at night and sleep would come instantly. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
That wasn’t the only thing that was depressing.
What troubled Li Renzhe most was that his impending astronaut training hadn’t begun, as he was constantly engaged in physical training.
Whenever he was alone in the dormitory, he felt an urgent desire to go home.
Just give up, go back home!
That thought crossed his mind often. Back at home, even watching the kids felt tiring, yet now it seemed like doing household chores had become a rather nice leisure activity.
The wife—how oppressive!
The kids—how adorable!
Why did he come here for some astronaut training? Why was he striving to become a space microbiologist?
Wouldn’t living a good life be enough?
Li Renzhe felt a surge of the impulse to give up, especially frustrating as every video call with either his wife or parents consisted of endless cheers and encouragement for him to keep going. He couldn’t even find an excuse to leave.
"Sigh!"
"How much longer will this last, Coach Zhang?" Li Renzhe could only talk to Zhang Wenshuo, his personal physical fitness coach.
Zhang Wenshuo shook his head and said, "Your body is still not up to the standard. Normally speaking, you need at least two more months before you can move on to the next phase."
"But don’t worry, from the second month on, the intensity of the exercises will decrease. Astronauts are not athletes, and it’s not about making you extremely strong; it’s about ensuring your body can withstand unique pressures without being overly affected."
"Okay then."
Li Renzhe didn’t know what to say after Coach Zhang had said so much.
There were other people training at the Astronaut Training Center, all newcomers like himself—some were engineers, others researchers from various fields. They were employees from companies related to cutting-edge technology like Yixing, Space Information Technology, and advanced materials under high compression. They were all undergoing astronaut training for a similar purpose: to become part of the talent pool for the Lunar Base project.
Once the Lunar Base was built, surely many people would go up to work, and among them, professional astronauts would be a minority. Most would be talented individuals from various fields, who would need to work on the moon for extended periods.
Li Renzhe was the youngest among them, but also the heaviest, mainly because other talents signing up all had a self-awareness; if not in peak physical condition, they were at least not too overweight, otherwise, they might not make it through the training. For this reason, half of them had already completed the basic training, which added to his sense of frustration—the contrast was painful, and compared to the others, he required the most time to meet the basic training requirements.
While Li Renzhe was jogging slowly, several people suddenly entered the training hall. It was quite normal for people to come in, but Li Renzhe stopped abruptly because he noticed that leading the group was none other than Zhao Yi.
Coach Zhang immediately said, "Why have you stopped? Keep it up."
"Hold on, someone’s looking for me," Li Renzhe panted, also taking the opportunity to rest for a bit.
Coach Zhang looked over curiously, his gaze shifting between envy and admiration toward Li Renzhe before saying, "Oh, it’s Academician Zhao! Then you go ahead."
Many people envied Li Renzhe for being good friends with Zhao Yi.
For Li Renzhe, it wasn’t a big deal since they had known each other for many years, and he had already experienced plenty of envy during their university days.
So it had become second nature.
Li Renzhe glanced over and could tell Zhao Yi was there for him. He waved his hand, "Over here!" Normally, he would have walked over himself, but he was just too exhausted and simply sat down on the ground.
Zhao Yi walked over with a smile and clapped Li Renzhe’s shoulder firmly. "Been training for half a month, eh? How does it feel?"
"Exhausting!"
Li Renzhe rolled his eyes in response, clearly not amused.
Zhao Yi turned to Coach Zhang and asked, "This is—"
"Zhang Wenshuo, just call me Wenshuo!" Coach Zhang quickly interjected.
"Brother Zhang!"
Zhao Yi called out, then asked, "How is Li Renzhe’s training going?"
Coach Zhang nodded affirmatively, giving a thumbs-up. "He’s very perseverant, having sustained such high intensity for half a month."
"Given his physical condition, the training plan I’ve set up is not easy to stick to."
"He’s doing quite well!"
Coach Zhang’s evaluation of Li Renzhe wasn’t bad, but in reality, he was saying it to save face for Zhao Yi. The commendation for perseverance was about the only positive he could openly express. To put it another way, there weren’t any particularly exceptional performances to mention.
Zhao Yi found this to be quite expected as Li Renzhe’s perseverance was indeed commendable, and he had also been in good shape during university. It was only after getting married that he had put on weight, but considering his age, he could train and lose the excess weight.
After Zhao Yi chatted with Li Renzhe for a while, Coach Zhang tactfully excused himself.
Finally, Li Renzhe could freely express himself, "I’m dying over here, really regretting listening to you about joining this training."
