Spark

"Falcon 9 recovery failed, the biggest shame in NASA's history!"

"The transfer of benefits was confirmed, the potential of rocket recovery technology was falsified, and Musk's death was suspected of internal strife."

"Nelson is by no means innocent, or suspected of paying someone to kill someone!"

"There are major problems in the system. Why can Chang'e 5 successfully land on the moon, but Artemis cannot?"

Chen Nian never imagined that the mysterious organization that had not been discovered until now would actually attack with such a high frequency in such a short period of time.

First, he killed Musk in public, and then ruined the Falcon 9 recovery plan.

The intention was so obvious that it was almost unbelievable.

There is no doubt that they want to end rocket recycling, a technical direction that may develop in the future, they want to break up SpaceX, and they want NASA to lose all prestige and have to find other collaborators.

But who is this collaborator?

Other commercial rocket companies? Other institutes? Or. China?

Chen Nian didn't know.

——

In fact, he didn't even know how it happened.

In his memory, the Falcon series rockets have indeed experienced crashes due to recovery failures, but there has never been a problem like "all locking devices failed" as mentioned in the accident report.

At most, it means that one or several locking points failed to lock due to positioning problems during the landing process, and the instability of the platform caused it to tip over and explode.

Obviously, there must be something wrong with this incident, and it must be the result of man-made sabotage, but the question is, how did they do it?

"How do you think they did it?"

Chen Nian asked Li Xiang.

Li Xiang is now considered the backbone of the intelligence department. Although he has not experienced many "actual confrontations", the number of files and cases he has seen is definitely far ahead.

This can be seen from the battle examples he talks about when he has nothing to do with himself.

Let him share his opinion, which is actually a reliable reference.

"There are actually many ways to do it."

Li Xiang frowned slightly, and then continued:

"The simplest thing is to bribe the internal operators and directly destroy the system from the bottom."

"This method is the most stable and reliable, but has the lowest security in the later stage - you see, SpaceX and NASA have launched a joint review. If there is really an insider, it won't take long to find out."

"So I think it's unlikely that they will adopt this option."

After hearing his words, Chen Nian nodded slightly and said in agreement:

"Yeah, I think so too."

"All the actions of this organization highlight a hidden nature."

"It is impossible for them to reveal their trump card at will, nor to leave clues that can be traced."

"Yes, so they must have done it themselves. They must have completed this operation alone with a completely isolated system and a completely independent unit. Moreover, they must completely cut off contact with this unit after the operation. contact."

"Then, all long-distance communication means, all equipment and action routes that may leave records will be abandoned. In other words, they must have someone personally approach the barge and complete the destruction in person."

"is it possible?"

Chen Nian asked with a frown.

"It's not as difficult as you think. Do you know the biggest flaw in this recycling?"

"In order to demonstrate the flexibility of the so-called sea landing, they did not pre-select the landing point, but drew a rough range based on the natural landing point of the rocket after returning."

"And this range is neither within LZ-4 nor Vandenberg Base."

"To put it bluntly, it's not a military-controlled area. It's too easy to get close to."

"Even if you are strong enough, you can jump into the sea from Cape Aguero, and then swim all the way to the landing site. Well, this is a relatively safe plan, because although there are sea forces patrolling, you only need to swim at night. alright."

"Radar and sonar can't detect you, all you need is big enough lungs."

"Or several sets of diving equipment that have been arranged in the sea in advance."

Chen Nian added.

"Yes, that's it. This is a basic idea. Of course, they can also use other solutions."

"For example, hidden mechanisms are set up during the barge modification process, and Trojans are implanted in the control system. But generally speaking, all these solutions face the same problem."

"intelligence."

Chen Nian spoke again.

"Yes, you have already mastered the essence of our department. If one day you feel tired of the technology, you can even jump directly and come here to play."

"Okay, let's get back to the point. No matter how you launch an attack, intelligence is the most important."

"The attacker must determine when and where the Falcon will land and how to defend the perimeter."

"When I say that the landing site is not within the military control zone, it does not mean that there are no military patrols around it."

"It is extremely difficult to avoid them perfectly while leaving no clues during evacuation - even a 'self-destructive' evacuation."

"There are really not many organizations that can do this."

Speaking of this, Li Xiang couldn't help but sigh.

He was involved in the entire investigation of the Rasrakela incident. From being full of confidence at the beginning, to being at a loss later, and now, he has almost begun to doubt himself.

Could it really be us?

An attack was completed so neatly, without leaving any clues, without any room for tracing, and even the obvious beneficiary other than China could not be found.

Coupled with the attack on Musk and the explosion of the Falcon-9, it is difficult for intelligence personnel like him who have access to the inside story not to think too much.

But on the other hand, he knew clearly that these things had nothing to do with China.

Because of Chen Nian's relationship, his authority is actually many levels higher than that of other intelligence personnel - this was originally to ensure Chen Nian's safety to the greatest extent, but now, knowing too much makes him overwhelmed. .

Looking at Li Xiang's expression, Chen Nian breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, all complicated things will lead to the simplest result."

"What simple result?"

Li Xiang asked.

"We are facing a formidable opponent."

".It sounds like nonsense, but it's very powerful."

Li Xiang laughed.

"Yes, this must be a powerful opponent. He may even be a combination of several powerful opponents."

"However, he must not have gone beyond the scope of 'reality'. He is different from you after all."

"Give us a little more time and we will find them."

Pescadero State Beach.

"The mission is over - fortunately, all the beacons sank to the bottom of the sea as planned. The depth of the water near LZ-4 is close to 1,200 meters, and the diameter of our beacon is less than 60 centimeters, so they have no way to salvage it. "

"If nothing else happens, this matter will be completely covered up and eventually become an unsolved case."

"Well, it's not an unsolved problem, but a 'natural and unavoidable problem with vertical recycling systems,' just like our plan."

A dark-skinned man with his upper body exposed was lying leisurely on a beach lounger, with a man wearing a floral shirt lying next to him.

"Good job Jace."

"But, I thought you were going to say, 'lucky to be alive' or something like that."

"How is it possible? With such a careful plan, such a long time of preparation, and such accurate information, is there any chance that I will die accidentally?"

"The only variable is that the damage to the backup power fails to meet the planned requirements, causing the mission to fail."

"Anyway, it went well this time - what about you, Paul?"

"I?"

The man in the flowered shirt took a sip of the whiskey in the glass and then replied:

"It's nothing special. The scapegoat has been found, but I doubt they can get to this point."

"Don't take it lightly, JSOC is involved and you know what that means."

Paul hummed and said helplessly:

"This is where I am unlucky. Maybe we should find someone to deal with the old man before we act."

"Stuffing two women into his bed, taking some photos of him going to Lo Island, or accusing him of abusing JSOC to retaliate against legitimate organizations in the Middle East. In short, we really ignored this."

"It's not us, it's you, Paul."

Jace said seriously.

"Well, of course it's me. I admit that this was an oversight on my part, but the entire plan was formulated and executed by me alone. It's normal to have some oversights."

"After all, I am fully prepared to sacrifice for the organization."

"But now it seems that it is not necessary."

"It doesn't have to be the best."

Seeing Paul's indifferent expression, Jace also sighed.

The two were silent for a long time before Jace finally spoke:

"I know John's incident has hit you hard, but... this is not the reason for you to seek death."

"Now, we have a common ideal and a common goal, and it may not be many years before this ideal is realized."

"You are one of my few friends and my closest comrade. I don't want you to die before that day comes."

Hearing Jace's words, Paul nodded solemnly.

"Don't worry, I'm not stupid."

"Besides, it's been 10 years now, and I'm no longer the brainless high school student. Why do you still worry about me?"

"Now you're a brainless, uh, brainless Ph.D. in economics? Probably."

At this point, Jace himself laughed.

But after laughing, he regained his composure and said to Paul in a stern tone:

"Look, you have serious self-destructive tendencies and I'm not kidding you."

"Since John's death, you have been trying to destroy yourself, including taking economics as an elective. In fact, it is just one of the means you use to destroy yourself."

"A lot of people don't know this, not even your mother, but I'm not going to be fooled."

"I can't advise you anything, but you won't be able to walk far if you carry something that is too heavy. This is inconsistent with our philosophy."

Paul took a deep breath and let out a sick moan that sounded like pain and relief from his throat.

"Jace is not that easy to let go of. At least you didn't go to collect your father's body yourself."

"You know that scene? Well, his body was piled on top of other people, and his head was smashed all over the floor."

"I tried to restore it, but at that time a very funny idea came to my mind - would I put other people's brains into my father's skull?"

"Okay, maybe the problem doesn't exist, but there were times when I woke up in the middle of the night and I couldn't help but want to dig up the grave and sift through his ashes."

"Is this probably some kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder? Forget it, let's not talk about it anymore."

The topic was too heavy, and Jess didn't want to continue talking, but it seemed that this was another issue that the two of them could never avoid?

Yes, they are all orphans of that storm.

A man-made, horrific, and absolutely avoidable storm.

Jace sighed too.

"Anyway, it's almost over."

"We have all completed what we have to do, and it is impossible for us to do the next thing."

"It's time to disappear completely - how is it, do you have somewhere to go?"

Paul thought for a moment and replied:

“Not sure, but maybe I’ll go to the Middle East?”

"The Middle East? Why go to such a shabby place?"

Jess was a little surprised, and then continued:

"At least go to East Asia. Maybe China or Southeast Asia are good choices?"

“The Middle East is faster.”

Paul said briefly.

".Maybe Africa is faster?"

"If you say so, maybe the moon is faster."

Paul's smile returned to his face and his natural sense of humor returned.

"Okay, okay, I can't tell you."

"But I can give you a message - Mr. No. 0 hopes that we can go to Africa, the Seychelles, or Mauritius."

"He will prepare a resort hotel for us, um, hold a small stake in it."

“It was a nice auditorium, right close to the African continent and still able to be with him.”

"I will think about it."

Paul said seriously.

He is not being perfunctory, but carefully weighing his options for the future.

"I heard the scenery there is nice. Well, but I've had enough of the water."

Jess smiled self-deprecatingly, then looked into Paul's eyes and said seriously:

"If you go to the Middle East, I'll go with you."

"Choose a country?"

"Qatar, of course."

"make a deal!"

The two looked at each other, smiled and high-fived each other.

"Okay, the plan has been set, maybe it's time for us to complete the final touches."

"I rented the yacht in my capacity as a 'journalist.'"

"I'll go take photos near the landing platform and check the self-destruct status of all the beacons - do you want to come along?"

"certainly."

Paul stood up without hesitation, and then the two of them walked toward the hotel behind them.

Their location has long been far away from the LZ-4 landing area, but it won't be long before they reappear on the sea with completely reasonable identities.