Chapter 505 - 494: Unspeakable_3

The group exchanged glances, unclear about the reason for the sudden change, and opted to wait and see, sensing that something strange must be afoot.

Indeed, after Wu Yi also smoothly engaged in some pleasantries, Conna seemingly spoke offhand:

"Gentlemen, seeing as we lack understanding of the nuclear explosion effects on the Moon and are further unable to provide a specific reasonable quote, how should this bidding process continue?"

Hopkins: "Sincerity is the first principle of business transactions, and we cannot do business with uncertainty. Yet we are all ignorant about the Moon, and our current estimates are inaccurate."

Academician Yu, who had been calculating on paper with his head down, suddenly had an epiphany, looked up at the still somewhat perplexed United Mining crowd and the clearly intentioned Luo Luo, and after some thought, he also spoke up:

"It would be great if we could detonate a hydrogen bomb on the Moon. With that, both planning and cost estimation would become much easier and more accurate."

This statement seemed to flip a switch, and everyone present began to think along a certain direction, with Wu Yi quickly grasping the cause and effect, looking at Luo Luo’s negotiating team as if to verify the correctness of his realization.

As expected, after listening to the translation, Ambassador Conna’s eyebrows relaxed and his eyes widened as if he had just come to a revelation:

"What a brilliant idea, conducting a test explosion is absolutely necessary and correct. For the cause of humanity’s space exploration venture, we can offer a hydrogen bomb for the test free of charge, regardless of whether we win the bid or not."

With the developments reaching this point, Lin Ju and the others could fully confirm their suspicions. No wonder these British people didn’t leave after the price inquiry fell through; they had been waiting here all along.

He quickly whispered something to Wu Yi, who nodded repeatedly, and then tentatively said:

"United Mining agrees with this proposal. The hydrogen bomb detonation test can be completed with two Moon missions, but this probably requires your side to send relevant geological and nuclear experts to join the Lunar Exploration Team of United Mining, to personally carry out the explosion test and subsequent analysis."

As Wu Yi spoke, Conna nodded continuously in his heart, satisfied to have steered the conversation to this point after much effort.

The London authorities weren’t interested in the money from selling nuclear bombs, at least not that interested; but they were very keen on the idea of dropping hydrogen bombs on the Moon, and even having British people "invited" and "begged" to set foot on the Moon in a proactive stance.

Indeed, this benefit had prompted London to agree to the bid with the greatest speed, because the possible crippling and even cancellation of the Artemis program might prevent their astronauts from a Moon mission, with subsequent plans unknown until possibly the following year.

Watching the ambitious Moon plans of China and America, everyone in the UK was anxious!

But this couldn’t be stated openly; they couldn’t let the outside world think "London has stooped to trading hydrogen bombs for a place on the Moon," so they had to subtly steer the conversation in that direction.

From Wu Yi’s words, Conna heard there were two available spots, though actually London’s final line was just one person, which was already much better than he had hoped for.

After swearing internally about the Chinese people’s capabilities, Conna forced an unsatisfied expression and reluctantly said:

"The placement of a nuclear bomb is a complex project; we need at least two nuclear experts, two geological experts, and one space expert to be sufficient. Some information can only be safely understood after being reviewed by our experts."