Chapter 422: Beginning Interference

"One minute..."

The control center was silent; everyone held their breath, waiting for this historic moment.

"Ten, nine, eight..."

Bulaide's fingers hovered over the launch button, fine beads of sweat seeping from his forehead.

"... three, two, one, ignition!"

With a deafening roar, the "Zeus" rocket spewed dazzling flames from its base, slowly leaving the launch pad and rising toward the dawn sky.

The control center erupted in cheers, but Bulaide immediately signaled for silence: "Focus, the mission has only just begun."

The rocket's ascent went smoothly, with all parameters within the expected range.

"Rocket attitude stable, speed increasing normally."

"Altitude 10 kilometers, breaking the sound barrier, structure intact."

"Altitude 50 kilometers, preparing for first-stage separation."

At an altitude of approximately 70 kilometers above the ground, the rocket's first stage separated as planned, and the second-stage Engine ignited, continuing to push the rocket toward space.

"Altitude 120 kilometers, speed Mach 5, exited the main atmosphere."

"Second stage functioning normally, fuel consumption as expected."

Everything was proceeding smoothly, and Bulaide's tension eased slightly, but he knew the most critical moment was yet to come.

"Altitude 180 kilometers, speed 7.5 kilometers per second, continuing to accelerate."

"Second-stage fuel sufficient, thrust stable."

"Speed 7.9 kilometers per second, orbital requirements met!"

Bulaide clenched his fists: "Prepare for second-stage shutdown and satellite separation!"

"Three, two, one, second-stage shutdown!"

"Satellite separation system activated, preparing for separation."

"Five, four, three, two, one, separation!"

In an orbit approximately 250 kilometers above the Earth's surface, the "Sentinel One" satellite successfully separated from the rocket and began its independent flight.

The control center erupted in thunderous applause and cheers; Bulaide was surrounded by team members, the joy of Victory shining on everyone's faces.

Inside the Tuoyuanying Bangongshi in Washington City, the leader raised a champagne glass: "Congratulations to us, gentlemen! The Star-Spangled Country has once again proven that we are the world's leader!"

The high-ranking officials in attendance raised their glasses, celebrating this great moment.

Back in the control center, the person in charge of the satellite system, Leidemon, was nervously monitoring the satellite's initial state.

"Satellite attitude stable, solar panels deployed normally."

"Power system functioning normally, voltage stable."

"Radio beacon activated, signal strength as expected."

Bulaide let out a long breath: "Prepare to activate the optical system; I want to see what our little guy can capture."

"Optical system activated, beginning attitude adjustment, aiming at the Earth's surface."

The large screen in the control center lit up, and everyone looked forward to seeing the first photo of Earth in history taken by an American satellite.

However, the screen only displayed a patch of blurry gray spots, with no recognizable surface features.

"What the hell is this?" Bulaide frowned.

"The signal seems to be experiencing interference; the image data packets are incomplete," Leidemon explained while quickly adjusting the reception parameters.

"Switch to the backup channel," Bulaide ordered.

Leidemon executed the command quickly, but the situation on the new channel was just as bad—the images remained blurry and full of noise.

"Damn it, it could be abnormal Taiyang radiation," a scientist speculated.

Bulaide's expression turned grave: "Keep trying, and at the same time, check the ground reception system to rule out equipment failure."

In Washington City, the leader's expression shifted from joy to confusion, then to anger: "What is going on? Why can't we see a clear image?"

The Secretary of Defense explained nervously: "Technical malfunction, sir. Doctor Bulaide is doing his best to troubleshoot."

The leader set his glass down heavily: "Tell Bulaide I want to see results within half an hour, or he will face the consequences!"

At the Eastern Base, inside the command center, Li Mingyuan and the "Sky Curtain Operation" team were monitoring the launch sites and control centers of both countries in real-time via satellite.

"The Beijixiong Guo 'Dawn' has successfully entered orbit for two hours, but their Image Transmission System is completely paralyzed," the reconnaissance Group Leader reported.

"The Star-Spangled Country's 'Sentinel One' just separated successfully, initial state stable, but it is also unable to transmit valid image data," another analyst added.

Li Mingyuan nodded with satisfaction: "The 'Storm-Space' system is working very well; both countries' satellites have become 'blind'."

He walked toward the large screen, which displayed the real-time orbital data and working status of the two enemy satellites: "Interestingly, they don't seem to know they are being interfered with, still thinking it's natural factors or equipment failure."

Minister Zhang laughed heartily: "This is even more subtle than directly destroying their satellites! They don't even know who did it!"

The signal Group Leader, Professor Chen, pushed up his glasses: "According to the communications we intercepted, Beijixiong Guo is trying to restart the satellite's image system, while the Star-Spangled Country is adjusting the parameters of their ground receiving stations. Both countries have fallen into a trap."

Li Mingyuan shook his head with a smile: "They can try until the end of time; as long as our 'Storm-Space' system continues to work, they will never see a clear image."

He walked to the signal monitoring station and carefully examined the communication data of the two satellites: "Interestingly, they don't seem to know yet that the other side also launched a satellite. Both countries think they are the first."

"Should we let them know the truth?" Minister Zhang suggested with a mischievous grin, "For example, quietly leaking Beijixiong Guo's satellite signal to the Star-Spangled Country?"

Li Mingyuan thought for a moment and shook his head: "No need for now. Let them be proud of their 'first' for a while. It will be even more embarrassing when they discover the truth."

Just then, a technician ran over in a hurry: "Chief Engineer Li, we intercepted an emergency communication from the Star-Spangled Country's Department of Defense! They just received intelligence that Beijixiong Guo might have launched a satellite a few hours ago!"

Li Mingyuan's eyes lit up: "Interesting, it seems their intelligence system has finally caught up. The situation is now even more complex."

He turned to the large screen, which showed the real-time situation in the two control centers—Beijixiong Guo's scientists were nervously adjusting equipment, trying to restore image transmission; the Star-Spangled Country's engineers were busy checking the satellite status while dealing with the sudden news that "Beijixiong Guo has already launched."

"Both countries have lost their footing," Li Mingyuan said with satisfaction, "This is exactly the effect we wanted."

He walked to the communication console and opened a secure communication line with the high-level leadership of Long Country: "Report to the Chief, 'Sky Curtain Operation' is proceeding smoothly. Both satellites have been successfully launched, but under our interference, neither can obtain valid image data. Currently, they still think it is equipment failure or natural interference, and have absolutely no suspicion of us."

A voice of approval came from the other end of the phone: "Well done! Continue to monitor the situation and ensure they remain in a state of 'blind men touching an elephant'."