Spark

"The operation is not going well in Cuba, this is our chance!"

In Cheyenne City, the temporary headquarters of the New North American Alliance, Weiss said to Dewey in front of him.

"Although public opinion calls this operation a major victory, anyone with the most basic military common sense knows what a huge failure it is for a battle with generational differences to end like this."

"Moreover, their front-line commander was even killed - at a distance of more than two thousand meters! I can even describe this as incredible."

"Obviously, they have obtained Hua. With your support, they have obtained more advanced equipment."

"Moreover, these advanced equipment will soon be continuously transported to Cuba, and the situation on the battlefield will definitely be reversed."

Hearing Weiss's words, Dewey nodded, but did not immediately make a statement. He just asked:

"You have already been betrayed once by Grady - or to be precise, you were betrayed by Grady and the so-called organization at the same time."

"Now, if we are to continue the activities of the New Alliance in North America, we will have to continue to cooperate with those in power."

"How can you be sure that these people are reliable? In other words, how can you be sure that this operation will not fail like before?"

Faced with the doubts in Dewey's words, Weiss did not hesitate at all, but answered calmly:

"In fact, our previous actions were not failures at all."

"Yes, because of Grady's sentencing and the abandonment of the so-called organization, we lost the opportunity to continue to expand our results."

"But no matter what, we have stabilized our position in Cheyenne and gained a more favorable 'starting point', which has also amplified the political resources we already had."

"From an investor's point of view, you can say that we have gone short, but you can never say that we have made a loss."

"I think there should be no doubt about this for you, right?"

"Otherwise, as a representative of LMS, how could you still be here - you should have flown to Cuba long ago like those PMCs, right?"

As soon as he said this, Dewey smiled and nodded.

There is no need for him to always bargain with Wes with a face of asking for debt, because after all, this is a cooperation, not a simple business.

So he opened his mouth and replied:

"Your analogy is very novel - walking in the air. It certainly seems like this."

"In this case, there is no need for us to test each other."

"Be honest, what is your plan? If we think it is feasible, we will definitely provide you with sufficient support."

"Of course, on the other hand, if it is just a wild imagination, then there is no need to waste resources."

Wes breathed a sigh of relief.

In fact, even though he had planned out all the wording and prepared all backup plans in advance, he was still worried that he would be rejected by Dewey.

After all, under the appearance of "cooperation", the status of both parties is actually completely unequal.

One represents a superpower that is at the height of its power and can even be said to be the "center of the world";

One represents a small group of completely incompetent rebels in a declining empire.

To put it bluntly, this is a story about "pirates asking for help from neighboring lords". People can get along with you as equals, but you must not be fooled by the illusion of equality and really take yourself seriously.

"Thank you very much - I know it's a huge pressure for you to get another chance."

"But believe me, this time, we are not dependent on others."

After that, Weiss took out the plan he had prepared long ago.

Seeing this scene, Dewey couldn't help but feel a little funny.

"So you actually printed out this plan?"

"I mean, do you know how much of a trace printing a document like this would leave?"

"You need access to a computer, a printer, and even an Internet connection. Every step leaves a trace."

"And you are even using a public network."

"When the confidentiality system itself is not sound, such behavior can be called stupid. At least, you should use handwriting."

Wes had an embarrassed expression on his face, and he said with some shame:

"We're not experts in this - in fact, we have relationships with many government departments but they don't share enough experience with us."

"Of course, in the future, maybe you can provide us with more guidance in this regard."

"Okay, let's get back to the matter itself."

"Essentially, our plan is simple — we're going to keep up with Bezos."

“Following Bezos?”

Dewey frowned.

He already knew that Bezos was actually the number two figure in that organization, and was also the key driver of the decision to "abandon the new North American alliance." And now, Weiss actually said that he wanted to follow in his footsteps?

"Tell me more specifically?"

West paused and explained:

"In fact, from the perspective of the political ecology of the United States, Bezos' actions are very easy to understand."

"What he is targeting is the purest wave of populists, or in other words, the low-educated people."

"These people can't see the benefits behind those huge strategies. They can only see the immediate benefits and understand only the clearest concepts."

"If you explain to them how the war in Cuba affects the industrial development of the entire country and how it creates opportunities for economic recovery, they will not understand."

"But if you tell them that if they vote for me, each person will get $2,000, then they will definitely cast their votes without hesitation."

"So, based on this principle, we can continue to deduce more feasible directions."

"For example, they cannot understand the government's considerations in previous large-scale merger and acquisition strategies, but they will know that building fusion nuclear power plants can reduce electricity bills."

"For another example, they don't understand why we oppose Tyson's acquisition of farms, but if we tell them that a monopoly will not only not lower food prices, but will also make everyone unable to drink milk, they will immediately back down. to us."

"To sum up, what we have to do is actually very simple."

"That is, we must echo Bezos, continue to amplify the impact he is trying to create, and then pick the fruits of victory."

"The first thing we have to do is to use a positive image to remove obstacles for Bezos."

"The first target I chose was not Tyson, but SpaceX."

"SpaceX? Why?"

Dewey asked confused.

"Because I can't take action directly against NASA."

"China's aerial platform is about to take off. In the eyes of the public, we are completely behind in the sky."

"At this time, NASA, which consumes a lot of resources, has become the target of public criticism. This is an excellent opportunity for us."

At the same time, Guanghan lunar base.

Zhang Xuemin sat in front of the screen with all the other lunar exploration team members, and together with everyone on the ground, watched a grand event in the history of human aviation.

Today is the day for the take-off test of Nantianmen 1. Unlike any other spacecraft flight test, the entire experimental process will be broadcast live - just like many rocket launches.

And this is an unabashed endorsement of this aerial platform.

It is not only an "aviation platform", it can also be an "aerospace platform" when necessary.

Looking at Nantianmen No. 1 parked quietly on the tarmac in the real-time transmission on the screen, Zhang Xuemin couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

"I thought I would be truly isolated from the world when I came to the moon, but I didn't expect that life would be basically the same as before."

"Except for the slight difference in gravity, it feels no different from ground training."

"The ground said before that it would open entertainment channels for us so that we can watch TV series in the future. Is that true?"

Chen Qiongming on the side smiled and replied:

"It's just a matter of the past few days."

"There are no technical problems. The reason why we were not open before was purely to manage risks. Now the operation of the base is basically stable, our work schedule is relatively regular, and some entertainment activities will be opened soon."

"At that time, it will be more convenient if you want to video chat with your family. As long as you ensure that the secret is not leaked, you don't need to report it every time."

"It would be great!"

Zhang Xuemin nodded with satisfaction and moved his eyes back to the live broadcast screen.

Reporters from the live news channel are giving a very official introduction to the Nantianmen Platform. In fact, most people have read the content of these introductions countless times from previous written reports.

"Today, the focus of attention at home and abroad is focused on a certain airport in China."

"A spectacular event of modern aviation technology is about to be staged here - the Nantianmen 1 large-scale aerial platform independently developed by China will begin its first test flight."

"In the early morning, the sky is blue, and the sun shines on the huge Nantianmen No. 1. Its fuselage sparkles in the sun, showing the majesty of modern technology. It is reported that Nantianmen No. 1 is currently the largest aerial platform in the world, capable of It carries multiple types of aircraft, including the most advanced fighter jets and drones, and can achieve long-duration and long-distance continuous flights."

The screen turned. Behind the reporter, Nantianmen No. 1 stood on the ground like a high mountain. Hundreds of engines had been started. Under the strong thrust, even the host's location, which was nearly two kilometers away, could not move. Strong winds were already blowing.

The reporter's hair was flying, the wind was blowing, and the wind was howling. Her voice was completely covered, but no one was dissatisfied.

——

In fact, that soul-stirring roar is the best explanation for this test flight.

Zhang Xuemin clicked his tongue. He couldn't help but move closer to the screen and said from the bottom of his heart:

“It’s so big”

"Yeah, I didn't expect it to be so big. At this scale, the buildings next to it look like toys."

Chen Qiongming replied in agreement.

He had no intention of ridiculing Zhang Xuemin for "having never seen the world", because in front of Nantianmen, everyone, and even the entire human race, were children who had never seen the world.

Looking at the engine array that was ejecting airflow on the close-up screen, Zhang Xuemin subconsciously touched his head, and then continued:

"Making this thing fly really feels a bit like Foolish Old Man Moving Mountains."

"With so many engines, just one of them can send us to the moon. There are more than a hundred of them. I can't even imagine how heavy this thing is."

"But speaking of which, if the follow-up lunar ship port project can be realized, will the aircraft we can see in our lifetime be even bigger?"

"Then it's up to us."

Chen Qiongming's face revealed a look of expectation, and after a short pause he said:

"Our work is still very important. We need to prospect for minerals, build a lunar base, and find new landing sites."

"In short, in this major historical event, we can still leave our name."

"It's really a blessing."

Zhang Xuemin breathed a sigh of relief, recalling his decades of life experience, he even felt like he was having a sweet dream.

At this time, the final self-inspection work of Nantianmen 1 has been completed, and the engine power continues to increase. In the close-up picture, the hot airflow distorts the air, making the picture blurry.

The next second, the screen cut back to the distant view, and the wind increased further. The host stood there with difficulty and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Nantianmen is about to take off!"

"We can see that the engine at the bottom of Nantianmen 1 has entered the take-off preparation state!"

"At this time, the fusion and fission energy cores carried on this giant platform began to work in a supercritical state. In this part, we adopted the world's unique fusion core ramjet solution. This technology will be based on the traditional nuclear energy power solution. on, increasing the engine output power by more than 70% again.”

"The cooling system is operating at full speed, and a large amount of smoke is released around Nantianmen 1. This is the effect of the water-cooling auxiliary cooling solution. The main purpose is to protect the take-off site. But in fact, the main heat dissipation work will be done by using the latest molten salt materials. The circulating cooling system is responsible for”

"It's about to take off, now let's turn our sights into the distance."

The screen switched again, the camera zoomed up, and with the sudden majestic roar, a huge amount of flammable gas rushed into the core of the fusion reaction, the energy output reached the limit, the engine working mode switched, and the turbofan power was converted to ramjet power. In just a short time After a few seconds, the giant beast slowly rose into the sky.

"It's flying!"

Zhang Xuemin shouted excitedly. In the video, the cheers at the takeoff venue even overwhelmed the roar of hundreds of engines.

Nantianmen 1 did not take off vertically, but its take-off distance was extremely short. When it passed above the camera at a seemingly slow speed, even the audience in front of the screen felt its astonishing pressure.

A mountain flew up overhead.

Under the stamping condition, the bottom of Nantianmen No. 1 is a continuous bright blue glow, like a thunder, disappearing into the sky.

Zhang Xuemin took off his headphones and rushed to the observation window impatiently, while Chen Qiongming walked directly to the airlock.

"What are you doing standing around, go out and take a look!"

Everyone in the base lined up as if waking up from a dream. Half an hour later, everyone stood outside the base and looked up at the distant home.

They searched hard for traces of Nantianmen No. 1, but of course, they couldn't see anything.

This is just a romantic ceremony.

But at the same time, it was also a distant look.