Spark

"We're completely behind the curve."

At NASA headquarters, Musk said to Nelson with a cold expression.

Not only was there no trace of "guilt" in his tone, but it was full of some unexplainable resentment. It seemed that in his opinion, the backwardness of SPCAEX was not his responsibility, but entirely the result of NASA's wrong decision-making.

——

Yes, if NASA hadn't deliberately delayed the Artemis landing plan, how could I have let those Chinese people take the lead?

Obviously we have already entered the lunar orbit, and we can even try to land through the Hohmann transfer orbit.

No matter what, if we take a step back, we can obviously be like them and focus our post-landing investigation plan on finding helium-3 foam and discovering lunar minerals.

Isn't this our plan?

But what's the result?

An ordinary landing, an ordinary inspection mission, and an ordinary result.

Artemis has landed on the moon for more than a week, and there has been almost no feedback from public opinion. What is even worse is that because the "effects of the Artemis mission did not meet expectations", SpaceX's stock price also plummeted.

Are you kidding me?

SpaceX builds rockets, not landers!

What does NASA’s fault have to do with us? !

At this moment, Musk even had the idea of ​​​​ending cooperation with NASA.

But on the other hand, he actually knew that in this turbulent era, he could only survive if he hugged the official thigh tightly.

Otherwise, China has begun to open the door to a new era of aerospace. Will commercial rocket companies like ours really have a way to survive?

Thinking of this, he sighed and his tone softened slightly.

"Now, if we want to regain our advantage, it may be impossible to rely on the moon alone."

"But in several popular directions, the price/performance ratio is not high enough."

"The concept of Mars immigration can be said to be untimely. After the birth of nuclear fusion, human beings' illusions about the 'new world' have almost hit the bottom. Most people believe that the future on earth is far more beautiful than the future of alien stars. good."

"So, there is no point in hyping this up any more."

"We can only start from the outer space - the outer space that is further away, more hidden and more dangerous."

After hearing his words, Nelson shook his head helplessly.

"This is not something we can decide in one sentence - there are significant external pressures involved."

"Investigations on corruption and profiteering are getting stronger and stronger, and the serious mistrust has even evolved into a direct attack on us."

"During the demonstrations in the past two days, some people demanded that NASA be directly banned and cooperate with the China Space Administration in the form of capital investment."

"To be honest, I can't even tell whether this is the effect of China's public opinion war or if this is really what the people think."

A sarcastic smile appeared on Musk's lips, and then he replied:

"There is a high probability that they really think so, because this is the basic operation of other countries at present."

"Not to mention the tycoons in the Middle East, even Europe and the German Space Agency have proposed plans to cooperate with China."

"Obviously, this is indeed a good choice. The trend of world integration is becoming more and more obvious. In this case, why should we resist the wave? It is better to adapt to the times and invest in the so-called 'repeated research and development' of technology. The expenses will be used to solve basic people’s livelihood problems.”

"That's not something a leader should be thinking about."

Nelson interrupted Musk, who shrugged angrily and made no further argument.

"No matter what, we must try our best to regain the initiative - fortunately now we have one last chance."

"If the next rocket recovery can still be successful, it will prove the stability of this technology and prove that China has not widened the gap with us, and market confidence will return to our side."

"So are you sure?"

Nelson asked.

“It’s as simple as drinking water and eating.”

Musk answered without hesitation.

"There will be absolutely no problems with the Artemis 2 plan. All you have to do is hand over the lander to me and let me send it to the moon."

Musk's tone made Nelson a little unhappy.

here you are?

Do you really think that NASA doesn’t have the ability to send Artemis to the moon?

The reason why we want to cooperate with SpaceX is actually because of the so-called "rocket reuse" pie.

Once this technology truly matures, SpaceX may be the first to be kicked out.

The seemingly close relationship between the two people is actually full of unspeakable overt and covert struggles.

Of course, Nelson couldn't say anything in front of Musk, so he just smiled and said:

"Then let's wait and see."

"However, if the expected results are still not achieved this time, I am afraid that neither you nor us will have an easy time."

"I know that better than you do."

Musk replied.

In fact, even within SpaceX, people's hearts are already floating at this time.

Especially when facing one round of attacks from the new North American League, he obviously endured heavier pressure without an official background.

Every day, people who don’t know where they come from come to demonstrate under the SpaceX headquarters building and even the Tesla building, demanding that they disclose their true financial data and accept public scrutiny.

Are you kidding me? We are a listed company, isn’t the data we disclose true enough?

Those are all data released only after being audited by an accounting firm.

But unfortunately, the public cannot accept this statement.

What they want is "absolute transparency", a disclosure that allows them to directly enter the company and rummage through the cabinets to investigate every document.

Musk asked himself that no company could withstand such an investigation.

Therefore, it is absolutely impossible for him to accept such a request. All he can do is to complete the next launch mission as perfectly as possible and silence everyone with a real and irrefutable lead.

After exchanging a few words with Nelson again, Musk left his office.

According to the plan, he will take a two-week vacation.

He plans to fly to Hawaii to spend a rare vacation there.

Sunshine, beaches and Latin beauties who don't need to register their names will give him the most comfortable rest.

He could even smell the damp, fishy wind on the beach.

Getting on his exclusive Roadster, Musk stepped on the accelerator and drove towards the main road. The distance from the NASA headquarters office to his temporary rented apartment was not close, but it was definitely not too far.

In theory, there shouldn't be any surprises along the way.

Because he had already walked the same route countless times.

However, sometimes, accidents happen when he is unprepared.

While driving near Loop 610 in downtown Houston, a bullet penetrated the hood of the Roadster.

When he saw the sudden bullet hole on the hood, Musk's first reaction was not panic, but joy.

It should be called the "front trunk lid" because there are no key components underneath it.

He turned the steering wheel suddenly, trying to hide himself and the car in a blind spot on the roadside, but in fact, the killer hiding in the dark reacted faster than him.

As the first shot finally reached his ears across the long distance, more bullets followed.

The fragile car body could not stop the highly penetrating bullets. When he finally controlled the car and turned into an alley, intending to get out of the car to escape, he suddenly found that he had no strength left.

He lowered his head and found that his chest was covered with large amounts of blood.

“Musk was killed in an attack, and the world’s largest commercial rocket company may face a shutdown!”

"The New Alliance of North America has claimed that it has nothing to do with this matter, and multiple departments in the United States have activated emergency mechanisms and launched an investigation!"

"Another mysterious assassination? Are there similarities between the Loop 610 murder case and the Ras Lakhela attack?"

"NASA speaks out: Reject conspiracy theories, NASA and SpaceX have a close cooperative relationship."

"China has not expressed its position yet. Some officials said privately: Musk does not deserve such treatment by China."

"Mysterious Freemasonry? Members speak out: They will never use violence."

Musk's unexpected death caused an uproar around the world. No one could have expected that his almost legendary life would end in this way.

Even the North American New Alliance, which is the most suspected, showed great confusion in their public statements.

Yes, Keith Dutton was an activist, and in early conflicts he would even stare into the hail of bullets, taking on Tyson Group goons himself.

But the problem is that no matter which angle you look at it, the new alliance's tactics against NASA and SpaceX only remain at the level of public opinion, because they really do not need to use violent means to promote changes in the situation.

The people's trust in the officialdom has been greatly reduced. Now if they engage in shootings or KB operations, isn't this throwing the knife that they finally got back into the hands of others?

After all, human beings are social animals. In social life, various conflicts and disagreements may occur between individuals, but as long as one party bleeds during the conflict, the balance of sympathy will naturally change. Lean this way.

Don’t go too far. Didn’t the New North American Alliance itself just reap the public opinion dividend of John Dutton’s “innocent shooting”?

Even an upright and reckless man like Keith Dutton would not be able to do such a thing.

Wes Dutton, as a think tank, has no doubt about this.

He knew that even if he didn't emphasize it, John would not be able to directly skip him when executing such an important action.

But he couldn't figure out who did it and what the purpose was.

Yellowstone Farm, the "Headquarters" of the New Alliance in North America.

Weiss looked at Case opposite him with a heavy expression and asked:

"Is the investigation over? Are you sure it wasn't our people who did it?"

"Absolutely not."

Case shook his head firmly and replied:

"We have read the on-site investigation report released by the federal government and found that the other party used a 7.62mm automatic. None of our armed personnel possesses or uses such bullets."

"Furthermore, based on the sound of gunshots in the video recorded by passers-by at the scene, we determined that the killer was not using a Russian-made weapon, but more like the sound of a G3/SG1 rifle."

"This kind of rifle is rarely circulated in the market - it is one of the standard weapons of the German Bundeswehr, but it has been replaced by G22 in large quantities. Even if it is not completely destroyed, it will be difficult to reach the United States after a long sea transportation. "

"Furthermore, the performance of this gun is not irreplaceable. Judging from the shooting distance, whether it is M700 or MK11, it is not inferior to SG1 in terms of acquisition difficulty and killing efficiency."

"It's a pretty clear clue that the killer was either intentionally trying to assert his 'unique' identity or that he crossed into the United States from somewhere else."

"No matter what the possibility is, we can eliminate our suspicion."

"But now these reasons are obviously unable to convince the people."

"Some people believe that we are responsible - but I don't understand. What benefit does killing Musk do to us?"

Wes sighed heavily at his words.

Yes, what are the benefits to the new North American alliance by killing Musk?

It can even be said that killing him will have no visible benefit to any organization or country in the world.

China? Can someone do it?

Just the day before Musk was attacked, they also released plans for Chang'e 5 and Chang'e 6. According to the plan content, they have a vague tendency to catch up with or even surpass the United States in aerospace technology.

Are you free to do this kind of thing at this time?

It would be even more ridiculous to say that NASA benefits.

What they need, isn't Musk, a representative of a "large monopoly", to positively publicize their "centralization" and "centralization" strategies to achieve the desired goal?

Let alone getting rid of Musk, even if there is a little bit of negative news about him, Congress will probably jump up anxiously.

As for some kb organizations, it is actually unlikely.

Under the thunderous attack of the Chinese people, the world's largest kbzz nest has been completely wiped out, and his hometown has been stolen. How can he still attack others?

What's more, even if you want to cause trouble, you should go to China to do it. If the eldest brother beats you, you will beat the second brother?

What's the point? !

Weiss' brows furrowed tightly. As a senior lawyer, although he was not very sensitive to politics, his long-term contact with dignitaries had also allowed him to develop considerable professional qualities.

From this incident, he vaguely smelled some danger.

The manipulator behind this incident must have another agenda, and his target cannot be as simple as Musk, SpaceX, or NASA.

The last time such an "unexpected incident" occurred suddenly and no clues could be found was the attack on China's gas pipeline in Ras La Khela.

There is still no conclusion to that matter until now. The professionalism of the attacker was exactly the same as this time.

It seems that something really has begun to gather in the dark.

The situation in this world is becoming more and more unpredictable, and the future of the new North American alliance has been forced to add many uncertainties.

Thinking of this, Weiss said decisively:

"We have to speed up!"

"Our strength is still too weak now. If we want to protect ourselves, we must increase our strength."

"We can no longer use conventional means. Tyson Group's problems must be solved with the highest efficiency!"