Chapter 578 - 566 Worry

"Welcome, Mr. Boden, we are delighted to engage in pleasant exchanges with our colleagues."

"I am not, I’m just a consultant."

At the immigration checkpoint in the Capital, Claire wore a mask and discreetly followed the reception staff, even deliberately lowering her head to prevent anyone from taking a front-facing photo.

Currently, his identity was that of John’s strategic consultant on what was a fairly routine reciprocal visit, an activity that both sides would regularly conduct to ensure deep exchanges and prevent strategic misjudgments, regardless of the state of their relationship.

However, as the former NACA Director, he felt very embarrassed, especially since he had been the Director who had made a big blunder a few months before. He really did not want to come and was adamant about not doing anything in his capacity as an aerospace industry figure.

But now that he had set foot on this land, Claire decided to do something.

While they were waiting for their reception arrangements, their own reception staff were suddenly asked to change the itinerary, so the newly arrived group of consultants boarded a plane to Qiongzhou that evening.

...

December 9th, afternoon.

"Groups 2 and 4, 3 and 6, 1 and 5; alternate entry into the launch box to check for water tightness. You must ensure that not a single drop of water seeps in, understand?"

"Understood!"

Academician She looked sternly at the divers lined up in a long row. These were elite soldiers transferred from the navy, and they would be ensuring the safety of the assembly box around the clock.

Here at the Aerospace Development Committee, they were responsible for securing and launching the rocket’s assembly box, called the launch box, which essentially served a similar purpose to the cold launch canisters in missile vertical launching systems, except that one uses the buoyancy of water to launch a rocket and the other uses compressed gas.

This launch box itself is also a super pressure-resistant shell, needing to withstand huge water pressure from all directions, with the pressure at the very bottom even exceeding that of strategic nuclear submarines.

Luckily, it didn’t have to consider as many restrictions as submarines and could simply increase the thickness of steel beams and the load-bearing structure to enhance strength, which made neither the cost nor the construction period too high.

However, since it needed to fill with water during launch, the reliability of the huge moving mechanism of the water injection gate was very important. Any significant leakage would be a major issue.

The CZ-18 had already completed all fueling, and to avoid any accidents, the launch was set for 6 a.m. the following morning.

The remaining ten-plus hours were spent continuously checking for problems; after all, everyone knew the outcome of the same process used by the N1 rocket, so they were extra cautious.

A 10-kilometer exclusion zone around the launch area at Wengjia Bay was set up to keep unauthorized personnel out, and even the staff that remained for the actual launch would need to evacuate to a shock-resistant building 5 kilometers away. Otherwise, even if the rocket did not explode, the shockwave produced would be enough to cause severe injuries.

This meant that the many people hoping to see the rocket launch could only wait from a distance or try to approach by boat, with the coast guard constantly busy preventing ships from nearing the launch area.

Even now, Academician She could see waves stirring at the distant shore, clearly another speedboat was trying to escape the coastal patrol’s interception.

He merely glanced at this before refocusing his attention on the launch box that was already set upright. The CZ-18’s milky-white rocket body was almost completely hidden inside the gray-black box, only the likewise gray-black Chapter 9 spaceship sticking out from the open end, from a distance looking as if it were part of the launch box.

From this view, it more strongly resembled an odd sculpture appearing on the sea, with the part of the launch box that jutted out serving as the sculpture’s base. The Chapter 9’s exterior surfaces were made up of a multitude of clearly-defined geometric shapes, giving it a distinctly artistic feel.

The symbol of gray-black steel, warm yet hefty; the geometric shapes were abstract entities. The combination of the two bore a sort of force that seemed to struggle free from reality, underneath the clumsy exterior was the essence of the world’s most advanced technology, tightly connected yet full of dissonance.

Just by gazing at this strange assemblage for a moment, Academician She felt slightly disoriented and found himself involuntarily thinking of Xinyuan Company.

This company gave him a similar impression; the Aerospace Development Committee knew them well, but the closer their acquaintance, the more they could feel the company’s disconnect with the world, as if they were spiritually isolated, yet they had a great impact on the entire world.

Moreover, through his interactions with Lin Ju, he could sense a very concealed concern, as if they were always on the verge of facing some great upheaval.

As someone who was born during a time of war and had lived through the tumultuous years of ’78, Academician She did not believe he was mistaken in his judgment.

But what was this concern? Was it wealth? That was unlikely; Lin Ju indeed valued money, but he did not care much for personal luxury. He had invested almost all his funds into aerospace, and this dedication was why Xinyuan was able to maintain a close and good relationship with the space agency, with many from the space agency and others actively working to protect them.

Was it affection? That also did not seem right; neither familial love nor romantic love seemed to fully engage Lin Ju’s heart and soul.

Was it reputation? That was even less likely; he was not that type of person.

It couldn’t possibly be world peace, could it? Although the geopolitical tensions were escalating, nuclear war still seemed a long way off; the massive commercial trade alone would prevent a world war from breaking out.

This puzzle remained deeply buried in Academician She’s mind, especially when the accounts of Xinyuan were audited, revealing that a lot of their expenditures could not be accounted for. The analysis suggested that funds might have gone to a "secret organization of Chinese abroad," giving rise to the possibility that they had some unknown purpose.

Academician She had even learned from a Big Shot that, at one point, the security agency had secretly collected information on aliens from around the world, which explained a great deal.

Had the leadership started to increase investment in space and basic science only for the apparent reasons, or was there more to it?

"Sir She, you’re still here!"

Lin Ju had appeared behind him at some point, and Academician She turned around, his expression unchanged, to see the familiar young smile.

But compared to a few years ago, that face had matured, starting to show the depth of years passed.

"We can’t leave the site unattended... did you come to find Xie Liaofu?"

"No, I came to find you. Someone will be arriving here soon, and you’ll definitely want to meet him."

"Who?"

"Claire Borden, the former NACA Director, though now he’s some sort of presidential advisor. Anyway, the leadership has approved his attendance at the launch ceremony here. Is this not considered a face-off of titans?"

"Then I certainly want to give him a proper reception."

The expression on Academician She’s face changed immediately; after all, this was a colleague with whom he had engaged in meaningful competition. No matter how you looked at it, it was very significant.