Thud!
Carrying the space capsule, Chen Yu descended from the exosphere to over 100 meters above sea level. Only after doing so did he relax and watch as the capsule crashed into the ocean like a meteor, creating waves that were several meters tall.
Half a minute later, the capsule emerged from the water's surface and swayed back and forth between the waves.
"Boom."
After landing on the capsule's roof, Chen Yu bent down and twisted the lock. He then opened the hatch.
Creak.
After opening the hatch, Chen Yu looked inside and asked, "Is everyone alright?"
"We're fine."
"We're fine."
"N ̄ N ̄ N ̄ o..."
After inspecting each other, everyone answered one after another.
"That's good. Stay inside. I'll send you back now."
After saying so, Chen Yu closed the hatch. He then dragged the capsule toward the Earth Spray's metal platform under the engine's propulsion.
Ten minutes later, the capsule returned to the water near the launch pad.
At this time, various types of ships were already parked around the launch pad. The sky above the launch pad was also densely packed with helicopters.
"Come out."
Ignoring the armed soldiers present, Chen Yu stepped onto the platform and reopened the capsule's hatch. "One by one. Hold the ladder. Don't fall into the sea."
The first to climb out was the Japanese girl. She then jumped onto the metal platform with everyone's "help," her complexion alternating between red and blue. Clearly, she still felt some lingering fear.
Next, it was the bullet comment group's turn for the other four nimble youths and the donation group's turn.
Lastly, it was Little Peach and the Russian engineer's turn.
"What a... great spaceflight!"
The old engineer climbed up the ladder and kissed the Andromeda space capsule's hull excitedly, reluctant to let go.
"The review is over. Thank you for your participation and support."
Walking up to the metal arch, Chen Yu called up the virtual Earth and said to the bullet comment group's five members, "I'll start with you guys. I hope we can meet again if fate wills it."
"Can we take a photo together?" the doctor asked calmly as he pulled out his phone.
"Me too!"
"Me too."
"It's a private matter..."
After taking a photo, the five members of the bullet comment group teleported away one after another.
This spaceflight trip was destined to be an unforgettable experience for the rest of their lives.
"You guys as well." After sending off the five members, Chen Yu looked toward the donation group and said, "It's time to go. Want a photo?"
"It's my honor to take a photo with Mr. Wang, but I won't trouble you with the teleportation."
The director of the Huaxia Aerospace Science and Technology Institution pointed to the ships behind him. "I need to report something there."
"Me too." An Airbus director raised his hand.
"I'm not going back either."
The old engineer on the ladder interrupted, "I need to help our country recover the Andromeda space capsule."
"What about you guys?" Chen Yu asked, nodding. He then looked at the remaining three people.
"I have to go back. Sorry to trouble you." The general manager of Google Planetary Resources bowed.
“me
Aryan Space Company raised its hand.
"I … I want to take a look at the floating castle. Do you think I'll have the chance?" Musk asked.
"No," Chen Yu answered without hesitation.
"Then … then I'll go back too."
After sending everyone away, Chen Yu and Little Peach arrived at a Chinese warship. Under the warship's officer's enthusiastic guidance, they entered the warship's cabin.
"Hello!"
The person in charge of the warship, who had been waiting in the corridor for some time, stepped forward and saluted Chen Yu. "I am China's commander stationed on Light Island. It is an honor to meet you."
"We're all compatriots. There's no need to be so polite."
Waving his hand, Chen Yu said, "Use the radio to notify the various government representatives to come over for a meeting. I want to briefly distribute the Earth Spray's usage."
"Yes, sir."
The person in charge nodded solemnly and instructed his subordinates to get to work.
He then led Chen Yu to a spacious conference room and respectfully poured tea for Chen Yu.
"You're too polite. It's inconvenient for me to eat and drink while wearing the protective suit."
"Okay." Nodding, the person in charge took a seat beside Chen Yu and glanced at the time.
"What do you want to say?" Chen Yu took the initiative to ask.
The person in charge immediately straightened his back. After organizing his words for a few seconds, he carefully asked, "M-Mr. King, aside from SpaceX, are you really not considering adding more partners to the Mars Colonization Plan?"
"Uh …"
Hearing this, Chen Yu crossed his legs and looked at the person in charge. "Is this your personal idea?
Or is it the government's idea? "
"M-Personal."
"That's right." Nodding, Chen Yu said, "The so-called Mars Colonization Plan is nothing more than a trap.
It's a mixed bag. Why are you all getting involved? "
"A trap?" The person in charge was stunned.
"Think about it carefully."
Lowering his voice, Chen Yu said, "What's the use of a Mars colony?
It might sound good, but it's a big trouble and burden.
This is especially true for national units.
Before the emergence of technology to change the planet's environment, the more people we send to Mars and the larger the city we build, the greater the burden we will have to bear.
Aside from tourism and scientific research, what other use is there? "
"This …" The person in charge fell into deep thought.
"If it's purely for scientific research, it's more cost-effective to build a small station.
Not to mention, humans aren't even able to create a self-sufficient ecosystem right now. We can only rely on Earth to launch supplies.
Meanwhile, the Earth Spray can only operate a limited number of times per day.
With so many countries, how much can Elon Musk or America get? "
"SpaceX doesn't have the launch rights!"
The person in charge's eyes glowed. "SpaceX didn't participate in the construction of Light Island and the Transdimensional Academy. If we want to launch at no cost, we can only purchase or request America's government to grant us the launch rights!"
"That's right.
Once I open the Interstellar Portal and send a large number of people to Mars, America will no longer be able to ignore it.
Isn't this a burden? "Leaning back, Chen Yu made a '6' gesture." Are you going to show off? "
"This way, the number of launches for other purposes will decrease.
In fact, America will even be forced to return to using liquid-fueled rockets to fulfill missions with lower authority, "the person in charge calmly analyzed.
"This is a huge burden. However, we can also obtain a lot of valuable data and experience regarding alien colonization."
Shrugging, Chen Yu said, "That's why it's a mixed bag. However, the symbolic meaning is still greater than the actual function.
Moreover, I understand what it means to worry about inequality rather than scarcity. In the current world structure, bringing one more person means bringing a whole bunch of people with us.
In that case, I won't have to do anything else. I'll just open the door for you all to play with every day.
Take the maglev train for example. There must be a lot of troublesome external issues, right? "
"I-I don't know much about this," the person in charge said awkwardly.
"You'll understand once you have the opportunity to have a few more children."
Pointing out the window, Chen Yu said, "In any case, I've already given you the launch pad. Without any cost constraints, establishing a colony on Mars will be a piece of cake.
You might even be able to establish a colony faster than SpaceX.
However, I don't think the higher-ups will do so. They're more likely to set up a small station for scientific research and give more launch opportunities to cutting-edge satellites and deep-space exploration. "
"T-This isn't something I can participate in."
"I'm just speaking casually."
Waving his hand, Chen Yu picked up his teacup and was about to take a sip. However, when he discovered that a helmet was between his mouth and the teacup, he gave up in embarrassment.
Half a minute later...
Boom!
The conference room's door opened, and a group of government representatives wearing different attires and skin colors poured into the room...