Chapter 770 - 737: The Legacy of Mars

"Let’s return to the studio; today we’ve invited the well-known tech maverick Elon Musk. Elon, thank you for accepting our invitation."

"Well, it’s nice to meet you, Susan."

CBS’s senior reporter, a beauty rumored to be having an unspeakable secret relationship with the CEO of XAP and also claimed to have a derrière to rival Kardashian’s, is interviewing special guest Musk in the studio.

This smart woman didn’t miss her chance, capitalizing on her experience of being invited to cover the maiden flight of Cloud Ascend’s Aero-Space Plane to hype herself up and started to intentionally reject suitors in a high-profile way, coupled with always dressing to show off her legs and chest, garnering a large following both in the newspaper and online.

While New Yuan was debunking rumors, they hadn’t cut ties, regarding her as a channel for overseas influence and publicity; Susan would always get some explosive news ahead of others.

It was precisely because of this that Susan had obtained not an insignificant status in the Aerospace field, and this time, the opportunity for a long conversation with Musk had also fallen to her.

Musk seemed very excited these past few days, even looking quite a bit younger; he kept sizing up Susan, not out of desire but wondering about the likelihood of Lin Ju having an affair with her.

Susan, "Last week, you went to China and were invited to his factory by Lin, according to rumors you both had quite a good talk."

Musk, "We’re friends! I visited the unmanned rocket manufacturing process, saw an Aero-Space Plane, and a brand-new nuclear engine. XAP, just like SpaceX, is dedicated to the cause of technology and has never cared for excessive secrecy."

Susan, "Many people are saying that you’ve reached some sort of secret cooperation agreement."

Musk, "There’s no secret cooperation, but there has indeed been discussion on this idea; we share the same goal—to establish human colonies in space and on other planets; working together is the best approach for everyone."

Susan, "Would the Federal Government allow this kind of partnership?"

Musk, "Confrontation is an absolutely outdated mindset. You already know, Tesla will soon build a super factory in Modu City, increasing production capacity many times over. These cars will also be sold in Europe and America at much lower prices."

"..."

Susan, "By your words, some of the barriers between the two sides have been removed."

Musk, "Everyone knows it’s better to join hands than to oppose each other. We would even sell nuclear weapons to Chinese companies; this has already proved a lot."

This statement was somewhat beyond Susan’s expectations; it wasn’t in the script she had received, but she still smiled slightly and continued with her questions:

"Do you think the space cooperation between the two will become even closer in the future?"

Musk, "One day in the future, American astronauts will ascend to space aboard ’Cloud Ascend,’ and Chinese astronauts will also live in space pods made by SpaceX.

Maybe you don’t believe it, but I nearly boarded an Aero-Space Plane to enter the ’Tiangong’ space station."

"Wow... oh."

Susan heard an answer that exceeded her expectations once more and subconsciously believed what Ma had said.

Musk, "On the Moon, United Mining is undertaking an unprecedented pioneering venture, possessing the most complete lunar landing system to date; we should integrate ourselves into this system to jointly accelerate the human space exploration process."

Susan, "Is this what you hope the Federal Government will do?"

Musk, "It’s not just me; many people like me harbor this hope."

...

The CBS exclusive interview touched on too many sensitive topics; normally, most parts would be cut, and it might even trigger a crisis for the hosts and guests.

However, this interview was released on the same day, described aptly as "unedited," which was simply incredible.

Once the video was released, it immediately caused an enormous stir; many of Susan’s fans were the first to comment, saying she was crazy for risking arrest by agents to release this, and Musk was frequently mentioned as well.

Everyone thought the two had gone mad, waiting for the Federal Government’s heavy-handed response.

However, surprisingly, neither of the parties heard "FBI, open the door," nor other media took the opportunity to attack.

At the same time, America’s Congress was also conducting a hearing related to this matter in myriad ways.

...

"Sam Sappur, do you admit that you’ve deliberately delayed progress, causing the 3707 passenger plane prototype to fall behind schedule?"

Facing the Senator’s inquiry, Sam, the chief designer of the Boeing 3707 supersonic passenger plane and the head of the Everett factory, resolutely denied it:

"Absolutely not. The 3707 is the fastest, biggest, and heaviest commercial airliner ever under development; this is an unprecedentedly massive engineering challenge, and everyone at Everett has given their all to complete it."

"Yet, according to the expert panel’s assessment, the 3707 passenger plane cannot possibly have its maiden flight within 2018, which will cause you to breach the contract with Star Airlines and face a huge indemnity."

Sam, "We will complete it on time."

Senator, "Please take this project seriously; your delay is not only causing a huge loss to an American enterprise but will also seriously affect our friendship with China, which is the most critical issue."

Sam, who was still confused and frustrated, widened his eyes in disbelief as he stared at the Senator’s serious face, and then swept his gaze over other Senators whose expressions remained unchanged, wondering if something was wrong with his ears.

Friendship? Does such a thing really exist? Even if it did, is it worth mentioning?

Sam’s life-questioning stupefaction was captured by the camera, then shifted back to the Senator’s face that reflected a sense of entitlement.

Sam left the stage still puzzled by what had happened, but the Senators’ "unusual" actions hadn’t ended yet—they immediately began debating numerous commercial agreements submitted by several American companies.