Chapter 428: Mutual Strife

Colonel Lin smiled knowingly, "Rest assured, the people I have selected are all veterans; they know what to do."

Three days later, the first batch of feedback began to appear.

"Chief Engineer Li, good news!" The intelligence agent hurried into Li Mingyuan's office, "The Star-Spangled Country has already begun to act! According to our monitoring, they have dispatched three electronic reconnaissance ships to the waters near Beijixiong Guo; it is clear they are tracking the source of those abnormal signals."

Li Mingyuan smiled slightly, "What about Beijixiong Guo?"

"Even more spectacular! They directly summoned the Star-Spangled Country's ambassador to lodge a stern protest, accusing the Star-Spangled Country of conducting 'electronic provocations' at the border."

"Hahaha!" Li Mingyuan couldn't help but laugh out loud, "This is going even more smoothly than I anticipated!"

He immediately gathered his team to deploy the next step of the operation.

"Now, we need to add fuel to the fire," he said, looking around at everyone, his eyes flashing with a cunning light, "Prepare to execute the Academic Induction Plan."

Two weeks later, a paper signed by "J. M. Li" appeared in the international academic journal *Frontiers of Electronic Science*, titled "On Beijixiong Guo's New Electronic Jamming Technology and Its Threat to Satellite Communications." The article used rigorous academic language to analyze the so-called "Beijixiong Guo's latest developed satellite jamming system" and implied that this was likely related to the failure of Star-Spangled Country satellites.

At the same time, another paper signed by "Li Ming. J" appeared in another journal, titled "New Developments in Star-Spangled Country Electronic Warfare: From Theory to Practice." The article analyzed in detail the so-called "Star-Spangled Country secret electronic jamming project" and implied that this might be the true reason for the crash of Beijixiong Guo satellites.

Once the two papers were published, they immediately caused an uproar. The intelligence agencies of both countries urgently scrambled to collect background information on the authors of the papers, only to find that these two authors seemed to have vanished into thin air; there was no record of such people.

"Damn, this is talented," Department Head Zhang said, holding copies of the two papers, unable to help but exclaim, "Chief Engineer Li, you wrote these two papers so realistically that even I almost believed them."

Li Mingyuan shook his head, "The academic world is the easiest to fool. As long as your paper looks professional enough, cites enough references, and adds some seemingly rigorous data analysis, very few people will question its authenticity."

The effect of all this far exceeded Li Mingyuan's expectations. Just one month later, the relationship between the Star-Spangled Country and Beijixiong Guo had dropped to freezing point.

"Latest intelligence," Colonel Lin reported excitedly, "The Star-Spangled Country has reduced its diplomatic personnel stationed in Beijixiong Guo by one-third, while simultaneously strengthening surveillance on Beijixiong Guo technical personnel. Beijixiong Guo has closed three Star-Spangled Country cultural centers within its borders and expelled several Star-Spangled Country journalists for 'engaging in espionage activities'."

Li Mingyuan nodded with satisfaction; "Mirror Operation" had achieved huge success. The two superpowers were busy accusing each other, completely ignoring the true "mastermind behind the scenes."

But he knew this was only the beginning. The real space race had just pulled back its curtain.

Star-Spangled Country, Washington City, Tuoyuanying Bangongshi.

The Leader looked grim as he listened to the latest report from the intelligence department.

"Sir, according to our technical analysis, the electromagnetic signals interfering with our satellites highly match the technical characteristics of Beijixiong Guo," the intelligence officer said, pointing to a stack of charts, "Especially this modulation method; it is almost their patent."

The Leader narrowed his eyes, "Have they admitted it?"

"Of course not, sir. They have turned around and accused us of sabotaging their satellites. What is even stranger is that the abnormal electromagnetic activity we detected at the border does indeed carry the characteristics of our own equipment, but we are certain this was not done by us."

"What does that mean?" The Leader frowned.

"Someone is imitating our technical characteristics to create chaos," the intelligence officer hesitated for a moment, "It is possible... that it is a third-party force."

The Leader slammed the table, "This damn third party again! Who is it? Long Country? Do they have this capability?"

"Theoretically, it is unlikely, sir. Our U-2 Reconnaissance Plane has carried out multiple missions at their border and has not discovered any signs of advanced electronic equipment or satellite launch facilities."

The intelligence officer did not mention that those reconnaissance missions had almost all ended in failure, with pilots reporting that they had encountered severe "equipment malfunctions" and "navigation errors."

"Then it is Beijixiong Guo!" The Leader concluded decisively, "Strengthen the technical blockade against them and simultaneously prepare our new generation of satellites. I will not let them get ahead in the space field!"

At the same time, the capital of Beijixiong Guo, inside a secret meeting room in the Kremlin.

"Comrades, the situation is very grave," the First Chair said solemnly, "According to the analysis of our technical department, the signal characteristics interfering with our 'Dawn' satellite are extremely similar to the electronic warfare systems of the Star-Spangled Country."

"This is a blatant provocation!" A technology general slammed the table and stood up, "We should immediately prepare to strike back!"

"Calm down, Comrade Ivanov," the head of the intelligence department interrupted him, "Things are not that simple. The abnormal signals we detected at the border do indeed carry the characteristics of the Star-Spangled Country, but at the same time, we have also discovered signals in their controlled areas that carry our technical characteristics, and these signals were definitely not sent by us."

The First Chair furrowed his brows, "Are you saying someone is imitating the technical characteristics of both of us to create chaos?"

"Very likely, comrade. What is even stranger is this recently published paper," the Intelligence Chief handed over a copy, "It analyzes in detail our so-called 'new type of jamming technology,' but the technology described in it is something we do not have at all!"

The First Chair read the paper carefully, his face becoming increasingly ugly, "Who is the author?"

"Cannot find them, comrade. But the writing style and analysis methods show that the author has a very deep mastery of electronic technology."

"Long Country?" The First Chair asked suddenly.

The Intelligence Chief hesitated, "We have no direct evidence. Our reconnaissance planes have carried out multiple missions at their border, but none have obtained valuable intelligence; pilots reported encountering severe equipment malfunctions and navigation problems."

"Continue the investigation!" The First Chair ordered, "At the same time, accelerate our second-generation satellite project. No matter who is playing tricks, we cannot fall behind in the space race!"

Eastern Base, Li Mingyuan's office.

"The two great powers have been completely fooled," Department Head Zhang said excitedly, "They are now accusing each other and have completely ignored our existence."

Li Mingyuan leaned back in his chair and smiled triumphantly, "This is the charm of information warfare. In an era of information asymmetry, controlling the flow of information is more effective than direct confrontation."

He stood up and walked to the window, looking at the launch tower in the distance, where the "Longkong No. 2" rocket was being assembled under tension.

"While they are entangled with each other, we must accelerate our own Space Project," Li Mingyuan said, "Next, we will establish a global communication satellite network and make the whole world rely on Long Country's technology."

As the sunset faded, Li Mingyuan stood in front of the window at the Eastern Base, looking out at the silhouette of the "Longkong No. 2" rocket. His "Mirror Operation" had achieved astonishing success; the Star-Spangled Country and Beijixiong Guo had fallen into a quagmire of mutual suspicion, and Long Country's Space Project was able to advance quietly in the shadows.

However, an inexplicable sense of worry began to spread in Li Mingyuan's heart.

"What is wrong, Chief Engineer Li?" Department Head Zhang walked over and handed him a cup of hot tea, "Seeing you with your brows furrowed, has something gone wrong with 'Mirror Operation'?"

Li Mingyuan shook his head, took the teacup, "No, 'Mirror Operation' is very successful. I am thinking about another problem—energy."

"Energy?" Department Head Zhang was stunned, "Don't we have coal?"

Li Mingyuan gave a bitter smile, turned around, walked to the desk, and took out a telegram that had just been received.

"Look at this," he handed it to Department Head Zhang, "The southwest region has started power rationing again, supplying electricity for only eight hours a day, three days a week. Several large steel plants in Dongbei have been forced to reduce production capacity, and coastal shipyards have insufficient power, causing construction schedules to be delayed again and again."

Department Head Zhang frowned as he browsed the telegram, his expression gradually becoming grave.

"This... is indeed a problem, but our current focus is all on the Space Project; can't the energy problem be solved slowly?"

Li Mingyuan shook his head, his eyes as sharp as knives, "No, Department Head Zhang, you have the order wrong. Without strong energy support, our Space Project, military plans, and industrial plans are all castles in the air."

He picked up a piece of chalk and drew a simple chart on the blackboard.

"Look here, our current power generation mainly relies on coal power, with a small amount of hydropower as a supplement. But as the industrialization process accelerates, energy demand grows by at least 25% every year. At this rate, within three years, large-scale power rationing will occur all over the country, and within five years, energy shortages will become a fatal weakness that chokes Long Country."

Department Head Zhang gasped, "That serious?"

"Even more serious than you imagine," Li Mingyuan's voice was unusually calm, "In my previous life, I read a book called *The Rise and Fall of Energy Empires*, and there was a point in it that I have always remembered: the upper limit of a country's strength depends on the total amount of energy it can control. No matter how many smart people, how much advanced technology, or how much ambition you have, without enough energy, everything is just a reflection in a mirror or a moon in the water."

Department Head Zhang fell silent. As an old cadre who had experienced the war years, he knew deeply the fatal impact of material and energy shortages on national development.

"Then... do you have any solution?" he finally asked.

Li Mingyuan revealed a mysterious smile, "Of course I do. I need to report to the superiors and convene a special meeting."

Three days later, the capital of Long Country.

The leaders gathered together, the atmosphere solemn and tense. Li Mingyuan stood beside the projector, preparing to begin his report.

"Comrades," he scanned the crowd, his voice calm yet full of power, "what I want to discuss today is not the Space Project, nor military equipment, but a topic that seems ordinary yet concerns the fate of the nation—energy."

He opened the first slide, which showed a comparison chart of the national electricity supply and demand, with the red demand line far exceeding the blue supply line.

"According to the latest statistics, our country's current electricity shortage has reached 15%, and in some regions, it is as high as 30%. The Southwest region averages three days of power rationing per week, the Dongbei industrial zone is forced to reduce production capacity, and coastal cities frequently experience rolling blackouts."