Chapter 727 - 701: Visiting

On June 14 and 17, the Aerospace Development Committee and NACA each conducted a large-scale launch mission:

The first was Great Wall One, the fourth nuclear-powered aircraft of the H2N series, which was successfully launched in Qiongzhou with the payload being the "Sky Patrol" space telescope that had been grounded for almost two months.

Then, two days later, NACA launched the modified "Endeavour" space shuttle, and America officially had its large nuclear-powered spacecraft.

The launch of the two nuclear-powered spacecraft almost back-to-back led the outside world to believe that the space race had entered a new phase, combined with America’s sudden provocation during last month’s United Mining demolition operation, everyone was speculating whether the conflict would further intensify.

The missile test failure incident in China a few days ago was still fermenting, and the Chinese openly admitted that it was a "technical malfunction" that led to the failure, while the Pentagon was relentlessly stirring public opinion, everything seemed to be moving in the direction people had anticipated.

While the outside world was full of various opinions, Xu Rang was enjoying his tea at his estate in New York.

It was here that he and Sullivan had previously clashed over the laser satellite issue for half a month without any results, yet now they had to discuss the preparation of protocols to jointly respond to the extraterrestrial crisis.

The day before the missile interception test, he was suddenly asked to return to China to report on his duty, after spending two hours in Zhongyuan, he hurried back to New York.

As a frontline negotiator, he had basically learned most of the content and was very clear about what his mission was.

How to inform Sullivan that his side was aware without instructions, directly dropping that comment was mostly after careful consideration, and a small part of it was to vent the frustration in his heart.

Due to secrecy requirements, no one else knew what he had to do, and he was ordered not to communicate via phone or the internet domestically; after making contact, he had to return to China to report immediately.

During this period, all decisions were solely his to make, and this pressure kept him constantly on his toes, secluded in his residence until Sullivan notified him.

Returning to the estate once more, Xu Rang found that his treatment had improved considerably, and the servants seemed to have been instructed in advance and received him with the highest etiquette.

Normally, it is unusual for a guest to wait for the host, but Sullivan had told him that an "important figure" would attend, and Xu Rang had already guessed who it would be.

As the temperature of the tea slightly cooled, he heard a surge of footsteps outside.

The moment the door opened, John’s figure appeared in the room, his outfit and hairstyle seemingly prepared, though somewhat creased, probably because he had just attended some event.

"Welcome, Xu."

John’s height of one meter ninety was quite imposing, and after shaking hands with Xu Rang, he sat down directly.

Sullivan explained quietly following behind:

"This meeting is conducted in secret; the President has just completed inspecting a nearby air force base, and there isn’t much time."

Before Xu Rang could respond, John had already taken the initiative to ask:

"Xu, how long have you guys been detecting the signal?"

The aides who were familiar with Chinese immediately translated, but Xu Rang understood perfectly and responded without hesitation:

"At the same time you discovered it."

John appeared not to expect such a quick response from the other party, pausing slightly but quickly covering it up.

However, it was clear that the other party was unwilling to say more, as on such matters, of course, no one would voluntarily reveal more information.

John: "We have not escaped; that is a baseless accusation."

Xu Rang: "We are only stating the facts."

"..."

John said, "Then what do you want? No matter the reason, deploying lethal weapons in space is resolutely opposed."

Xu Rang replied, "The Chinese people’s determination to resist any foreign invasion is also unshakeable."

John declared, "America will not sit idly by and watch its security be threatened."

"We have never threatened anyone," Xu Rang retorted. "Everything we have done is merely for self-defense."

"..."

The conversation abruptly ended, and John was silent for a moment before suddenly turning to Sullivan:

"Since I took office, I haven’t visited China, have I?"

When John assumed office, it coincided with the climax of the first space race. He had planned a visit in September the previous year, but it was indefinitely postponed due to the Artemis II incident.

After a silent exchange with Sullivan, John pondered for a moment before saying:

"I plan to conduct a customary visit within the next month, and I hope you can convey that on my behalf."

A customary visit—Xu Rang caught the keyword. It wasn’t for any particular reason but a routine visit after taking office. Hence, it was completely public and justifiable.

"Of course, I will immediately convey this to my home country. Please give us a specific time at your earliest convenience."

"It will be very soon; I believe you are eager as well."

John had lost the interest to continue the conversation. Sullivan immediately stood up to indicate that the President needed to rest. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, they hastily departed, with the entire dialogue lasting less than fifteen minutes.

However, both John’s party and Xu Rang seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. At the very least, it was clear that both parties were willing to engage further, which was a satisfactory outcome.

...

"Tch, after all that fuss, the SLS hasn’t been retired, huh? Boeing really knows how to drag things out."

The successful launch of Endeavour had significantly boosted NACA’s confidence. For two days in space, it didn’t go ’BOOM’ and explode, and recently everywhere was abuzz with news of Endeavour’s undiminished prowess.

However, Zhong Cheng felt some disdain—mainly because Boeing, the giant leech, had secured a significant number of orders.

The launch of space shuttles naturally employed the old combination of the orange tank + SRB boosters, similar in size to the SLS. NACA had previously announced it would completely retire the SLS, but with Endeavour’s return to flight, SLS had been reincarnated in the guise of the new STS.

Due to changes in the space shuttle’s engines and center of gravity, the launch of the nuclear-powered Endeavour certainly couldn’t be the same as before. Over half of the entire launch system needed to be redesigned.

This STS launch system still only allowed for the recovery of the SRB’s solid rocket casings. The cost of launching was also about the same as before, so in essence, America had re-commissioned the space shuttle....

In addition to Endeavour, according to public information, Atlantis Number and Discovery were also undergoing nuclear power modifications. All three surviving relics of the Cold War were set to be revived.

With that calculation, America was simultaneously maintaining four giant rocket launch systems: STS, SLX, NOVA (Saturn VII), and Starship. NACA’s plan to cut launch expenditures was now in name only.

Although it could now be considered that America was making every effort to defend against aliens, according to predictions by domestic think tanks on America’s current situation, something interesting was set to occur in 2020:

Due to rampant inflation of the national debt, the interest payments on it were expected to soon equal the total annual military spending of that year.

In other words, a few years down the line, the interest payments America made on its national debt would be equivalent to its enormous military spending, potentially reaching trillions of US dollars.