Chapter 690 - 671 Sherwood

"What do they want, money, or are they trying to get more from us, to get a foot in the door of Moon development, or some kind of technology?"

This was the first time Lin Ju saw Zhong Cheng get angry. He had wanted to sweep everything off the table but ended up delivering a forceful slap to the solid wood, causing the lid of the teacup to jump and emit a clear collision sound.

Zhong Cheng truly had reason to be furious. International cooperation was not child’s play. It was all negotiable before finalization but to possibly sabotage a project that had been agreed upon half a year ago, signed into an agreement, and was a joint effort by five parties -- especially when a huge amount of resources had been invested and it was at the last step?

"Are we short a few nuclear bombs? Even if we pull out, we’ll use hydrogen bombs for mining, using as high a yield as need be!"

Even though Lin Ju knew this was said in frustration, he couldn’t help but curse the Yankees inwardly for not following protocol -- who stabs you in the back at this time?

Raising conditions would be fine, but come on, say something. Staying silent and then suddenly starting nonsense about world peace, who are they trying to fool!

Only a few hours had passed since America’s mischief, but the entire Aerospace Development Committee was already in an anxious frenzy, gritting their teeth as they awaited what would happen next.

The significant incident had immediately received high-level notification, suggesting that the situation was being assessed and to await further news.

Another fifteen minutes passed, and the landline on Zhong Cheng’s desk rang.

"Hello, this is Zhong Cheng... Mhm... Okay... Yes, we have already told the astronauts... Right, right... Okay, thank you, leadership."

The phone call wasn’t very long. After hanging up, Zhong Cheng still had a stern face but now appeared more perplexed and thoughtful.

"What’s the situation?"

"Our people are also trying to gather information, but... it seems to be related to us."

"It’s always been related to us."

"No, not that."

The look in Zhong Cheng’s eyes had been replaced by confusion and contemplation:

"We just had a brief meeting with the blasting team from the five parties. Although the Americans still didn’t say anything, they seem to be hinting that we are up to something.

It’s really baffling, what kind of tricks could we be pulling with our own initiative? The higher-ups also said that Jon will be on a hotline call tomorrow morning to discuss world peace and the continued destruction of nuclear bombs."

Lin Ju too tried to recall memories from the original timeline, but he couldn’t remember any significant events.

New Yuan hadn’t taken any abnormal actions recently, there were no such things as deploying weapons in space, and the Qianjun Rod... Oh no, the Solar Flare hadn’t even been launched yet.

After thinking fruitlessly for a while, Lin Ju stated with a grim face:

"United Mining spent so much money; if it really gets sabotaged, then all of our previous investments will have been a waste. The hydrogen bomb must be detonated, and the Moon project must proceed on schedule.

Whoever tries to stop it will be negating all of our efforts and hard work!"

"Don’t panic yet; it definitely isn’t that simple. Even if there is some mischief, we need to see if the others agree to it."

Zhong Cheng offered a bit of comfort, walked in circles on the spot for several rounds, and then realized it was already past 11 in the evening.

The Zhu Rong was set to launch on May 7th, and the nuclear bomb was to be detonated on the 9th, leaving less than two days!

He closed his eyes, thought for a bit, and regained his composure:

"You go back and rest. We have an important launch mission tomorrow, and I will handle these matters. It won’t descend into chaos."

Lin Ju sighed deeply, "How can I sleep at a time like this..."

This sudden turn of events was utterly without warning, and even if Lin Ju had three days and nights to think about it, he couldn’t make sense of the unforeseeable accident.

The two of them simply stayed up all night, spending most of it sorting through the various recent events in detail.

Lin Ju also had the base analyze in secret whether it was a misunderstanding resulting from the "M event," but in the end, he found that there shouldn’t be any connection.

As dawn was about to break, Lin Ju and Zhong Cheng decided to take a dose of "An Shenduo" to ensure they could attend the Zhu Rong launch on time, when the base finally sent over an encrypted message:

"If they really point the finger at us, the only thing related to space weapons is Death Ray No. 1."

Death Ray No. 1, formerly known as Thousand-Jun Stick No. 1, had to be reluctantly renamed by the base after the original trademark was ruthlessly registered by others, choosing a name that was easier to understand.

Even so, with Death Ray No. 1 taking utmost caution in its operations, using laser communication that couldn’t possibly be intercepted, it should have been discovered sooner, not now.

The cause seemed like a mystery, blinding the eyes of many.

...

"Bill, is it that you don’t want to leverage this situation to demand shares in United Mining?"

Bill Nelson awkwardly floated in the Core Module of the Black Rabbit Space Station, joined by Joan and Matthew, facing the questioning from the other seven experts.

He was the only seasoned politician there. After the news came from Earth, aside from the seven people on the Moon, everyone else was demanding the three Yankees divulge what scheme they were plotting.

Some thought they intended to extort shares or technology from United Mining, whereas others felt that America wanted to impede the Aerospace Development Committee’s continued leadership in space. These debates eventually all turned into pointed questions at Bill and his companions.

As a 76-year-old elite who had weathered many storms, Bill had not felt "shame" for many years.

Especially in the idealistic atmosphere of space, where unity is a rare moment, to suddenly experience betrayal?

Luckily the Chinese astronauts had gone down to the Moon, otherwise the atmosphere would have been even more awkward.

Faced with everyone’s accusations, Bill couldn’t respond; he really knew nothing about it!

That damned John, even keeping me, a true, old-fashioned American whose ancestors followed Washington inside the borders, a legitimate congressman, in the dark?

While internally cursing his country’s inhumanity, Bill had to grudgingly explain that he was completely unaware and that it all was a misunderstanding, but this did nothing to dissipate everyone’s anger.

Especially Stevenson, who emphasized:

"Tim is right below us, and he has the detonator and the codes that can set off a hydrogen bomb. There’s less than 24 hours to the scheduled detonation time, and the Royal Air Force has already remotely disarmed the safety state. Even if you stop us, ’Robin Hood’ will explode on time!"

"Robin Hood" was the code name for the hydrogen bomb test, chosen through a domestic online vote by the UK. The story of the legendary outlaw lent its name to both the hydrogen bomb and the operation, officially dubbed "Sherwood Action," after the forest where Robin Hood lived.

"Hey! I’m just an ordinary person, and every hydrogen bomb should be used with the utmost care. Without America’s permission, it would be illegal."

Even a clay figurine has a temper, let alone Bill, and this statement completely ignited his conflict with Stevenson.

Fortunately, the others quickly realized the gravity of the situation and forcefully separated the two who were about to come to blows, an absolute taboo in space. They were forced to calm down separately.

But after this incident, the atmosphere on the space station became extremely tense; everyone silently awaited the response from Earth and whether "Robin Hood" would be able to detonate as planned.