Chapter 1: Legend of the Super Evolution Era

Mars orbit.

First Federation Advanced Military Academy.

Library.

Hovering lamps cast cold, white halos from the domed ceiling. Lin Yu’s fingertips skimmed across the holographic pages as the metallic book title shimmered with a faint blue glow.

“Era of Super Evolution.”

Hard work sets your lower limit, but your brain’s development decides your ceiling.

Those were the opening words of the book…

Before the Interstellar Age, brain development was dismissed as pseudoscience.

By today’s standards, back then, most human brains were developed only 3-5%. Only a tiny handful reached above 5%, and these people were called geniuses.

So what about those with over 10% brain development?

There really were such individuals among humans, but unfortunately…

They appeared purely by chance.

It was almost a once-in-a-century—or longer—event, and even then, not all of them achieved greatness or became well known.

But all that changed in the middle of the 21st century…

Everything was completely transformed.

It all began with a self-media blogger named Jiang Hao.

To get attention, he created a series on… the Children of the Stars.

What were the Children of the Stars?

Simply put, they were the children of astronauts—born after their parents returned from space.

At first, he figured the topic was just clickbait, but things quickly got bizarre.

Because any time a child was born to an astronaut after their space return…

By the middle of the 21st century, of the hundreds counted, not a single one was average.

Except for those who died young from accidents, every single one made remarkable achievements in their chosen fields.

Even those with questionable morals weren’t exceptions—some even became global supercriminals causing headaches for the whole world.

And it wasn’t just about intelligence—their physical capabilities were also beyond ordinary.

Even illnesses…

Seemed to completely avoid them.

Especially…

The one whose parents and grandparents had both been into space—they were downright monstrous.

So young, yet already a leading figure in the scientific community of a major nation, with research talent leagues above anyone else.

With one or two, maybe it’s just coincidence.

But when every single case is like this…

Most people just saw it as tabloid news, but government agencies around the world freaked out, immediately launching secret investigations.

Turns out, everything Jiang Hao claimed matched up perfectly.

After extensive research, people gradually discovered…

Spacesuits, space stations, and similar gear could block most types of radiation—but couldn’t stop one foundational force of the universe itself: the mysterious dark energy driving cosmic motion.

When humanity wandered the sea of stars, they’d touched the key to evolution—the dormant genes inside them suddenly awakened.

Brain development was just one sign of this new evolution.

Beyond that, people’s bodies grew stronger. Even lifespans increased.

Once this truth came out, every country with space tech made the same choice.

Which was…

Pouring everything into the space program!

After all, even by 2050, humanity had only managed to build scientific research stations on the moon and land on Mars.

Whether it was sending people to space stations, moon science bases, or Mars itself…

None of it was easy.

If a nation wanted all its people to rapidly evolve, space tech at the time couldn’t make it happen.

Not even in ten thousand years.

So, throwing massive resources into developing the space industry became inevitable.

What followed was 378 years.

Until the Earth was unified and the Human Federation established.

That whole era would later be called…

The Age of Super Evolution!

And in those 378 years, almost every school was relocated into space.

Because studies showed the best results came when humans experienced dark energy baptism before turning eighteen.

This was the epic of super evolution belonging to all humanity.

What once were once-in-a-century geniuses—those born with over 10% brain development—

Now, that’s just the baseline for the new generation.

Nowadays, the only ones called geniuses are those whose brain development hits over 20%.

Of course, in theory, there’s an extremely slim chance someone might hit over 25%, maybe even 30%.

But…

That’s only in theory.

It’s already Federation Year 200, and there’s still no word of such a monster emerging.

At least, not in public.

Lin Yu set the holographic book aside.

“The epic of humanity’s super evolution, huh?”

“And I didn’t even get a ticket to the show!”

He gave a self-deprecating chuckle, his knuckles rapping on the Federation emblem stamped on the book’s spine.

The starship icon, wrapped in a bamboo dragon bone, pressed painfully against his palm.

Three days earlier.

The day after graduation exams.

Lin Yu turned eighteen and, by Federation law, underwent the innate brain development assessment.

Why call it ‘innate’?

Pretty simple—while the dark energy baptism works best before age eighteen, it doesn’t mean there’s no change after eighteen.

It’s just that after adulthood, the effects drop to less than 1% of what you’d get before then.

That’s why the age eighteen test is called the “innate brain development” test, while any test after is marked “acquired development” to differentiate.

So what about Lin Yu’s test result?

Nineteen percent!

Yeah, just one percent short of the genius threshold at twenty.

Don’t underestimate that one percent—it’s the difference between heaven and earth.

When the results came out, the whole academy was in an uproar.

Given Lin Yu’s usual performance—in both theory and simulation battle—he always topped the Fleet Command track.

And not just by a little; he broke plenty of longstanding records.

Almost everyone figured his brain development easily cleared twenty percent—maybe higher, with a shot at that legendary twenty-five.

No one expected him to come up with just nineteen.

And because of that…

The three direct-entry spots for the Federation First Fleet’s cruiser command staff were off the table for him.

Per Academy regulations, any “genius” cadet who excelled in both theory and simulation was eligible for those coveted spots.

This year, three command track students tested over twenty percent and got top marks across the board.

Lin Yu’s theory and battle results were flawless.

But rules are rules.

Just like that, Lin Yu lost his direct ticket to the First Fleet and his chance to board a cruiser.