Chapter 756 - 729 Transportation Tools

"Hey, look up at the sky."

In Wenchang, the crowd gathered at the launch site beach was suddenly drawn to a commotion overhead and looked up at the sky.

Above their heads in the vault of heaven, a dim dark spot was slowly moving, surrounded by cloud-like expansions reminiscent of bubbles.

Seasoned visitors who often watched rocket launches were all too familiar with this scene, clearly another spacecraft on its way to space.

Considering there was no tearing boom, it was probably not an Aero-Space Plane.

"It’s a small rocket, but I didn’t see any other launch tasks scheduled for today."

"Selenium Chang, or Jiuquan, or Bingzhou? A range of several thousand kilometers? Impossible, right?"

Experienced aerospace enthusiasts already sensed something amiss; if it were a small rocket launched from the inland, it usually had a flight span of about 500 kilometers, which should be invisible from Qiongzhou.

It was only vehicles like the Aero-Space Plane that climbed more slowly and needed a range of several thousand kilometers, taking off from inland and only entering space after leaving the boundary of the South Sea.

However, the thundering noise of the Cloud Ascend’s ten engines was unmistakable, so this unknown "rocket" seemed very abnormal.

But their doubts did not last long, nor did it warrant much concern. The upcoming launch tasks in Wenchang were far more interesting.

All four launch pads for today were fully occupied and were set to carry out consecutive launch tasks in the next few hours.

These weren’t giant rockets like New Yuan No. 3 nor space planes, but rather medium and small rockets using outdated hydrazine fuel, with a lift-off mass of less than 200 tons.

Yet those four small rockets also drew tremendous attention, with a beach crowd rivaling those of moon landings.

Even more bizarre was the influx of a large number of foreign faces among the spectators, an unprecedented high proportion, and many of them held cameras in their hands.

All of this was due to the names of those four small rockets: East Wind-5.

As the launch time approached and the protection doors of the launch tower opened, their dark green 3.35-meter missile bodies were undoubtedly revealed, with blunt tops completely different from the sharp appearance of normal rockets.

The moment the first East Wind-5 was exposed, the crowd immediately erupted into cheers one after another.

Four East Wind-5s, four 15-million-ton yield single warheads, two in one system, with a coverage of nearly 12,000 kilometers. If all four targeted a single objective, they could erase any mega-city on Earth and easily cause millions of casualties.

It was such strategic weaponry that had changed from its previously secretive image and was now preparing to launch from the public launch site in Qiongzhou.

For whatever reason, this special grouping of four had caught the world’s close attention, and nearby radar stations were on high alert.

...

Lin Ju, "Do you think the entire world’s missile defense systems have entered the highest state of alert by now?"

Lu Jianfei, "At least our own missile defense system definitely has done so. With the Sword of Damocles unveiled, even if it were being used to slice watermelons, it would still make people tremble."

After their conversation, a mysterious smile appeared on both of their faces simultaneously.

The third blasting plan was much simpler since it only required domestic hydrogen bombs; it was even simplified to an exaggerated extent:

During the deliberation of transportation methods, someone immediately proposed that the existence of East Wind-5 was meant for those vintage high-yield nuclear warheads. Since the warheads were no longer needed, the aging East Wind-5 had no fate other than to be decommissioned, as its maintainability and survivability paled in comparison to newly commissioned models.

To maximize waste utilization, the nuclear bomb was sent into space directly using it as the carrier vehicle.

After all, in principle, ballistic missiles and rockets are the same thing, as long as you modify the flight trajectory, it becomes a space launch vehicle.

A 15-million-ton warhead is not considered light, and East Wind-5 could only send it to low Earth orbit. After that, it would require the Dawn Two spacecraft to go and "fish" it with a mechanical arm and then place it into the cargo bay to be sent to the Moon.

This plan passed swiftly through the decision-making process with a very high cost advantage and then an announcement was released, sending it to Qiongzhou for launch operations.

Although this was entirely a harmless launch, it nevertheless immediately caused all powers to be highly vigilant. After all, when Liu Huaqiang picked up a watermelon knife, he didn’t actually go chop watermelons.

Even if the probability of chopping people is low, it is still worth preventing to the greatest extent as long as it exists.

Lin Ju and Lu Jianfei, who were on the rooftop of a residential building by the beach, were suddenly surrounded by cheers, followed by the ignition of East Wind-5 at workstation one. Owing to the characteristics of the missile, its acceleration far exceeded that of ordinary rockets. It had just ignited and already passed the height of the launch tower, climbing rapidly with a fiery red tail flame, sending the largest yield nuclear weapon ever into space.

...

"Mr. President, you’d better go to the bunker,"

Sullivan tried to fulfill his duties as a special assistant, but John was clearly not appreciative.

John knew what others were worried about, if before reaching its highest point, the East Wind-5 launched from Qiongzhou was adjusted in direction, from the time the Pacific Fleet or satellite detected its target was not low Earth orbit, until the warhead reached Washington, there was only 15 minutes.

In the past, this early warning time might have been 25 to 30 minutes. A reduction of more than 10 minutes could mean several times the casualties, which was why the Pentagon was always closely watching Qiongzhou’s movements.

However, John didn’t seem to care, and dismissed Sullivan with some casual explanations, leaving Sullivan no choice but to drop the subject.

Having glossed over this topic, John began to speak about serious matters:

"What’s the feedback from the senators? How do they view bilateral trade?"

"Without informing them about the extraterrestrial civilization, I can only say it’s very pessimistic."

Sullivan’s response wasn’t surprising. Over the past month, he had been careful to spread rumors through the mouths of certain experts, continuously probing the senators’ attitudes toward John’s new policies.

The answer, of course, was a sea of curses and disdain. No matter how mixed the reviews were on the intelligence of these hereditary senators, they were clear on what dumping was, and whether it would compete with their own businesses.

They lacerated the "experts" they used as speaking tubes, or simply ignored them outright.

It was obvious that if the grand gamble plan, designed by John and the economic experts, was submitted as a bill, one could already foresee the senators looking as if they were seeing a madman.

But to inform the senators about the alien civilization now would be like making it public, which did not align with the interests of the higher-ups. It would also carry the risk of being seen as breaching the agreement with the Chinese People and provoking their hostility. John wasn’t ready to plunge the world into chaos.

There were only three months left until China’s stipulated deadline, and time was pressing John to make a decision.

"Damn, why have our senators become short-sighted vermin!"

John threw his pen onto the table and took the bottled cola, gulping down more than half of it in one go, continuing to complain:

"When the Chinese People do it, they’re awaited with anticipation; why can’t we be the same."

Sullivan: "That’s because they... Mr. President, I have a suggestion."