Chapter 562 - 550 Preparation_1

Futaba District.

A thousand meters above the Fukushima First Nuclear Power Station, a Self-Defense Force US2 seaplane flew slowly overhead, then turned around and came back, constantly circling the nuclear plant.

The leaders of the emergency support and rescue teams from five countries were all seated on the left side of the plane, observing the situation below through the porthole.

Although the seaplane was not as convenient as a helicopter, it was safer and less likely to crash, and could at least glide into the sea to land.

Tian Zhan was still wearing a bright orange full-body protective suit, holding onto the porthole with one hand and clutching a Geiger counter with the other, which kept clicking non-stop.

Aluminum foil-based anti-radiation materials had also been affixed to the inner layer of the seaplane. Even though the readings inside were very low, they could not be ignored.

"Bailey, can the plane go down a bit more?"

The colonel shook his head; he did not want to take the risk.

This field inspection was conducted at the strong request of Tian Zhan, and the seaplane was equipped with their detection equipment.

The team sent from the domestic side had preliminarily locked down the position of the sinking reactor cores, but there was still some margin of error.

Russia also planned to use a Ground Drilling Bomb and was ready to proceed, potentially with a larger yield warhead if necessary—after all, they had plenty in stock.

The locations of the two sinking reactor cores were not too far apart, at least not for a nuclear bomb, so the intervals between attacks needed to be as short as possible to prevent the other core from undergoing a major displacement.

Bailey was not interested in these details; after all, the Pacific Fleet’s plan was to test a submarine-launched missile, planning to modify a Trident and let an Ohio-class launch an attack from the Pacific to see if America’s prowess had declined.

The instructions he received for the other two parties were to collect as much data as possible, especially on the missile trajectory and the effects of destruction.

Originally, the Pentagon had planned to deploy a B1-B bomber for an aerial drop, but then "Thunderstorm" reappeared a few days earlier, refreshing people’s understanding of its combat power:

Not only did it circle the entire Island Country, but it even took a cruise around Hawaii. Judging from this, its range must not be less than 20,000, perhaps even 25,000 kilometers.

This distance was far too sensitive. A range of over 20,000 kilometers meant at least a cruising radius of 10,000 kilometers. Following the Pacific route, "Thunderstorm" could easily swing by America’s west coast and return with great fanfare, even managing to intimidate Hawaii in passing!

Launching from the Western Pacific and directly threatening the West Coast!

Moreover, this was a stealth aircraft. Although many could locate it with their eyes and ears, radar completely failed to find the target this time, as if everything seen was an illusion, unable to lock on.

Congress immediately realized that the natural barriers provided by the two oceans had significant vulnerabilities—they were not insurmountable or one-way suicide missions. This fear made them extremely uneasy, eager to demonstrate power, which was why the B1-B was replaced by an Ohio-class, to prove they were still strong.

After that day, Tian Zhan, who was always serious and never joked around, became somewhat frightening in Bailey’s mind. He was sure that the intent of "Thunderstorm’s" action was to respond to the demonstration that day, and in fact, after the demonstration around the island, the protesting groups did not immediately disperse but also did not take further action.

The seaplane circled the nuclear plant for over an hour before returning to the airport. Then, the ground crew conducted decontamination on everyone on board, and finally pushed the plane into a special hangar to await inspection. This plane would be used only for flights in radiation-affected areas for the coming months.

Tian Zhan came out of the decontamination cabin changed into a new set of clothes and, after interacting with the survey team that came with him, called out to the personnel from the other four parties:

"Everyone, we are now able to complete the final precise positioning. Considering that the reactor cores are still sinking, we hope to start the operation as soon as possible, otherwise a second survey will only be more complicated."

Regarding the pollution cleanup issue at Fukushima, the IAEA readjusted and finalized the last plan:

Since the Ground Drilling Bomb would also cause a small degree of atmospheric pollution, the sequence was set: first clean up reactor core 1, then clean up reactor core 2, and lastly, conduct air blasts to clean up the radiation.

And because the two reactor cores were still sinking, cleanup had to begin as soon as possible to avoid errors in positioning.

Tian Zhan’s proposal was very reasonable, and no one from the other parties had any reason to object.

Sergey: "Tian, when do you think would be the most appropriate time?"

Tian Zhan: "Within two months. Our team in the country has already set off, needing a month to continue surveying and familiarizing themselves with the environment. Within the remaining month, we will choose the right time to take action."

Sergey: "We are more or less the same, but we need a little more time to prepare the missile, it might take until January."

Both looked towards Bailey, who could only spread his hands:

"I need to check the progress with the country first... But I think there should be no major issue, oh... you may be able to start before December 24, so we can catch up with Christmas Eve."

Tian Zhan: "The residents here... will they feel safe?"

Bailey: "At least the Pacific Fleet will."

"..."

...

November 22, Beijing.

New Yuan’s C810 landed at Capital International Airport again, and Lin Ju stepped off the boarding ramp with a resigned expression, followed by the glaring Academician She.

The flight of Chapter 9 a few days ago caused a tremendous shock to the outside world, but what was even more shocking was that Lin Ju himself had also boarded the spacecraft.

This combination immediately gave the outside world an entirely new understanding of domestic aerospace technology and the realization that they had completely outclassed other space agencies.

No matter how various aerospace experts disclosed that "Chapter 9" was nothing more than outdated technology with a new veneer, there is a saying that being impressive is a lifelong affair. Chapter 9 gained a wide fan base around the world, with videos of the spacecraft’s launch and landing spreading across the internet these days, and every day there are people tracking and filming the spacecraft that is halfway through its voyage.

The fame of Lin Ju, who personally piloted it, also greatly increased. Countless people admired his confidence in his own product, speculating that he might even personally land on the Moon.

Academician She has now made it his primary task to monitor Lin Ju and prevent him from acting recklessly—although this is of little use, and he himself is somewhat an enabler.

After taking the aero-space plane up, other personnel at the space bureau were envious and felt tempted to try it themselves, as it is difficult to stop such a thing once it starts, and without clear regulations, it’s impossible to convince the comrades that there could be consequences.

Meanwhile, Lin Ju, the very instigator of it all, was quite relaxed. He had still come to Capital with the plan to undertake a major venture, with United Mining’s first inspection team already assembled and ready to set off in batches starting next month.

Successive victories of the Jiuzhang Spaceship and aero-space plane greatly boosted people’s confidence in United Mining, leaving no doubts about their technical prowess.

After resting for a night at the guest house, the group went straight to the Union Mining Headquarters the next day.

Just as Lin Ju arrived at the entrance, he saw the Big Shot with a smirk on his face.

When Lin Ju approached, the Big Shot pinched his shoulder to confirm he was in one piece and then pointed a finger at him, saying,

"Lin Ju, Lin Ju, your nickname should be Lin Daring, Lin Show-off. If we, the old folks, don’t hold you back, you’d be flying to the sky, even to Mars, wouldn’t you?"

"How do you know about my plan to build a Space Research Center? It would be convenient to move my office there."

"..."

"Don’t beat around the bush."

The thickness of Lin Ju’s skin left the Big Shot momentarily at a loss for words, and after composing himself, he then seriously said,

"The leadership has asked me to notify you, they have decided that the day after tomorrow is an auspicious day for marriage. You are not allowed to roam around until your son can operate a rocket."

"Ah?"

This time, it was Lin Ju’s turn to be stunned. He quickly waved his hands in refusal,

"Director Zhang, this is a personal matter for me. There’s no need for the organization to solve it."

"Hey, have you forgotten your position at the Aerospace Development Committee? This is about caring for you."

The Big Shot enjoyed Lin Ju’s confusion for a while, satisfied with his successful counter, and then explained it was a joke. While Lin Ju patted his chest, the Big Shot added,

"However, you really should sort out your personal issues. Joan suits you well. Pick a good day, and if we’re available, we’ll all come to drink at your wedding."

Shaken, Lin Ju cursed the old man’s impropriety in his heart, was about to retort, but suddenly thought of something and earnestly gripped the Big Shot’s hand,

"Then please make sure you come, Sir She as well. Your word can’t be unreliable."

Although Academician She had not spoken just now, he naturally had no reason to decline Lin Ju’s invitation.

"We’ll definitely come, but as a millionaire don’t complain about our small wedding gifts."

"Yeah, why don’t you, the tycoon, learn from Prince Abe and wrap up a big yacht?"

Lin Ju also played along,

"That’s right. However, you might have to come to the base then. I’ll send planes to pick you up, and no excuses allowed. You definitely have to be there."

Both nodded continuously, not realizing Lin Ju was already considering how to deploy engineers to ambush them so that they could be directly loaded onto the aero-space plane—watch me send you all to space, no, to the Moon!

What wedding could be more interesting than sending people to the heavens unawares?

Lin Ju made up his mind to arrange the plan as soon as he turned around, then followed the two men into the headquarters of Union Mining, where all the crew members involved in the first stage of the inspection mission had gathered.

They were made up of professional astronauts and experts from various fields, all of whom were eagerly expecting their journey to the Moon.

It has only been just over four months since Union Mining was established, but by acting decisively, it had funded a large number of domestic research teams and companies and now all the foundational preparations were in place.

This meeting could be considered a "military oath-taking assembly," but the oath was made by showcasing one’s achievements.

First up were the engineers from the base, revealing the progress of several large-scale projects including the CZ-18, Chapter 9, Dawn One, and Yushu No. 1, proving that United Mining had completed all the necessary groundwork.

There was also the first batch of "Lunar automatic unmanned energy extraction systems" transported from the base. Those that were sent to the northeast for testing in the past few months had all achieved faultless continuous operation in harsh environments, and their operational efficiency had reached the expected targets.

There were two sets of the production version, one of which had already been sent to Qiongzhou, ready to be loaded into the Jiuzhang Spaceship next month for launch.