The completion ceremony of the space elevator began the next day.
More than a dozen cruise ships lined up in the northern part of the Galapagos Islands, and people standing on the deck could clearly see the stairway soaring into the sky.
The President of Ecuador stood on the deck and read a speech. He solemnly shook hands with the President of Celestial Trade, and signed his name on the two agreements. From today onwards, the space elevator located off the coast of South America would officially open to traffic, shouldering the responsibility of synchronous orbit shipping in the western hemisphere.
Under the watchful eyes of the public, the vertical train hung the flags of the two countries and the flag of Celestial Trade. It slowly accelerated into the sky and began its first journey. In order to celebrate this great moment, fireworks were set off in major cities in Ecuador at the same time. People sitting in front of the TV popped open champagne as if celebrating a festival, celebrating the ushering in a new era on this continent.
"On behalf of the Ecuadorian people, thank you for everything you have done." At the end of the completion ceremony, the President of Ecuador firmly held Jiang Chen's right hand and said in an earnest tone, "Once again, I would like to pay my highest tribute to you. You will always be the friends of the Ecuadorian people!"
Media from all over the world recorded this historic scene with their cameras.
From today onwards, cargo ships from the Mediterranean Sea would no longer have to cross the Atlantic Ocean, cross the Panama Canal, and then cross the Pacific Ocean to the distant Pannu Islands. The "Port of Macena" on the synchronous orbit would serve as an affiliated port of Celestial City and undertake the synchronous orbit transportation business from the western hemisphere.
…
Three days had passed since the completion ceremony, and the dozens of cruise ships docked on the sea dispersed one after another. A private yacht approached Macena Island not far from the space elevator. There was a sentry tower and a small port on the island, and soldiers on duty could be seen in the distance.
The nationality of those soldiers was naturally not Ecuador, but Xin on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.
According to the agreement between Celestial Trade and Ecuador, Macena Island would be leased to Celestial Trade at a price of one million Xin New dollars for a period of 50 years. If there were no accidents after 50 years, the contract would be automatically renewed for ten years.
This small island in the northern part of the Galapagos Islands was close to the equator line. The island had an area of 130 square kilometers and was basically undeveloped. No one lived on the island, and there was only a lonely extinct volcano. The surrounding sea was deep, making it an excellent natural port and a natural scenic spot.
As early as the Sino-American War, this island was handed over from Ecuador to Xin as a strategic fulcrum in South America to provide supplies to submarines and marines active in the waters near North America.
With the end of the Xin-UA War, Celestial Trade gradually withdrew its troops from the island. Now, only 50 people were left, mainly responsible for patrolling this area, maintaining the safety of the space elevator project, and combating pirates.
"A very beautiful island." Standing on the yacht, Loki squinted his eyes and said, "It's a waste to use it as a military base."
"The military base is only temporary. It will be even more beautiful in two years." Jiang Chen smiled, paused for a moment, and continued, "We will build a floating island around this island. First, we will expand its area by about ten times, then we will move in the population and build this place into Penglai in South America, a free and open port."
The aluminum and titanium materials needed for the construction of the floating island could be obtained through the space elevator, especially the aluminum foam, which required the use of rare earth elements. The production on the moon was quite considerable.
"Is that so? Then I have to keep that in mind," Luo Qi said with a smile.
In fact, even without Jiang Chen's words, he was already prepared for it.
On the nearby Galapagos Islands, such as Isabella Island and San Salvador Island, all the idle land was purchased by the B City Consortium as early as half a year ago. Loki's idea was very simple. If Macena Island would prosper with the arrival of Celestial Trade, then Isabella Island only needed to follow in the footsteps of Macena Island.
In fact, for now, this investment was not a loss.
As soon as the space elevator was completed, the value of the land he acquired increased by more than ten times. Considering that he couldn't be too greedy, he reduced some of the land certificates to the partners of B City Bank. Now the entire Galapagos Islands was monopolized by real estate developers from Wall Street and Coro City Financial Avenue.
As for the investors in Ecuador, they were at most jealous, but they didn't dare to complain. Not to mention them, even the governments behind them were just like small fish and shrimp in front of this huge international capital.
With a slight stomp of his foot, the economic index of such a small country would jump by two levels. Any president or minister of economy would have to take the blame and step down.
"If I go bankrupt, at least I'll have a way out for my grandchildren," Loki said with his eyes narrowed as he felt the sea breeze blowing on his face.
"Don't be so pessimistic." Jiang Chen smiled faintly and said in a relaxed tone, "Our plan is perfect. With the Xin Reserve as your backing, the quantum computer provides big data support, and Future Bank will also provide you with maximum help. What else do you have to worry about?"
That sounds nice. There are so many shields at the back, but aren't we the ones charging in front?
Luo Qi smiled bitterly in his heart but didn't say anything.
Just yesterday, under the guidance of Future Biology's medical staff, he injected the DNA telomere extension agent. Although there were no obvious changes for the time being, he felt that his physical condition was much better.
This was reflected in blood sugar and blood pressure.
His personal doctor was even surprised to say that his physical condition had at least returned to the level of forty years old.
"It's my habit to be sad before victory. Compared with which bottle of champagne to open when celebrating victory, it's more practical to think about what to do after failure." Loki shrugged and reached out his right hand. "Wish me a pleasant journey."
"A pleasant journey." Jiang Chen shook his right hand and smiled. "Future President of the World Bank, I await your good news."
Two days later, a silver Aerospace G100 disappeared into the sky.
With a secretly drafted contract, Loki returned to Manhattan Island.
Since the reconstruction of Manhattan Island, the B City Consortium moved from B City Financial Avenue to here. The former Morgan Building was replaced with a new sign and became the headquarters of the First B City Bank.
Without staying for too long, Loki, who returned to Wall Street, immediately sent invitations to the big capitalists on Wall Street, inviting them to discuss important matters. Companies with close ties to Future Bank, such as Chase Bank, were all invited without exception.
The meeting lasted for a whole week, and no one knew exactly what was discussed. What the outside world saw was only an announcement led by the First B City Bank and endorsed by Wall Street's big shots after the meeting ended.
In order to promote global economic and trade exchanges and hedge a series of potential risks to the world economy such as exchange rate fluctuations, the First B City Bank, together with twenty banks and investment banks including Chase Bank, announced the establishment of the World United Savings.
When the announcement came out, the world was shocked …
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