On the deserted island south of Ange Island.
Leaving behind the thick smoke behind, Celestial Trade's rocket flew into the clear blue sky.
Following the launch of this rocket, it also marked the official launch of the first quantum communication satellite for Xin and even for the entire human race. Of course, the public didn't know the true nature of this satellite. Celestial Trade didn't explain the satellite's use of "non-classical information transmission quantum communication technology". It only stated that the satellite used innovative technology to control the delay of Wi-Fi access to 20 ping.
The satellite would provide free Wi-Fi service to all of Xin as part of the social welfare of the citizens. While it would increase the public's perception of Celestial Trade, it would also significantly improve the tourism rating of Pannu Islands.
Also, because of the wide coverage of the satellite and the large amount of unused service interfaces, Celestial Trade's Aerospace Technology Center was currently negotiating a partnership with Australia's largest telecommunications operator, Telstra, to provide paid Wi-Fi service to the eastern part of Australia.
"I can't believe I'm standing in this damned place watching you play with rockets again."
The observer of the United Nations International Aeronautics Organization, Henry, was wearing sunglasses as he stood outside the rocket launch site. He looked at the empty launch pad in boredom.
It was February, but the air on Coro Island already carried the scent of summer. This heat was especially obvious on this island that was close to the equator. Seeing there was no media around, Henry took off his suit jacket and hung it on his arm.
"24 launches a year. If you think that's too much money, you can donate some to the Red Cross."
"I'm also doing charity work. As for the Red Cross … I don't have that much money to spare. "
It was no secret that the Red Cross had a bad reputation in Hua. Any "imported product", whether it was an advanced product or an ideology, would have some good or bad mutations in the process of localization. So to Jiang Chen's mockery, Henry, a protestant who took out a portion of his salary every month to do good deeds, only snorted and didn't say anything else.
"Every time I step on this island, I feel like I'm exiled from the civilized society," Henry muttered to himself as he watched the rocket take off and the smoke dissipate.
"You should feel lucky because this is the starting point of humanity, the center of the future universe."
"Right here?" Henry pointed at the bare gravel under his feet and said sarcastically, "Unless the future of mankind is to dry salted fish on the beach."
Jiang Chen could understand Harry's resentment. After all, if it weren't for Xin's year-long launch plan, he wouldn't have been transferred from the prosperous Capital to this place. Twice a month, he would stare blankly at the column of smoke.
But the idea of drying salted fish … somehow poked a funny bone in his body.
So Jiang Chen patted him on the shoulder and laughed.
"Then you can treat it as a vacation in Hawaii in the western Pacific, although this vacation might be a little long. You enjoy the hospitality of a five-star hotel every day. If I were you, I wouldn't complain so much. "
Henry glanced at Jiang Chen, turned around, and walked toward the port.
He had already confirmed that today's launch plan had nothing to do with intercontinental missiles. Half of his work for the month had already been completed, so there was naturally no need for him to stay on this island any longer. He just wanted to get back to the hotel, change into clean clothes, and drink two glasses of cold beer at the bar.
The travel budget given by the United Nations was only enough for him to stay in a hotel, but Celestial Trade didn't mistreat him. Not only did they arrange for him to stay at Future Group's headquarters, but they also covered his meals and even gave him a monthly transportation subsidy of 50,000 USD.
Fifty thousand USD was enough to buy a decent car!
For Jiang Chen's persuasion, Henry initially rejected it, but then he accepted it. Since he had to write two reports every month, it was quite tiring for him. As for the satellites that Celestial Trade launched, he turned a blind eye. He skipped the process of inspecting the key components and directly filled in the form as "conventional commercial communication satellite".
In any case, from his point of view, it was impossible for such a small cube to carry any dangerous combat components.
And the structure of the rocket was indeed unrelated to the intercontinental missile.
…
Originally, it was only Country F that was critical of Xin's launch plan. But after the MLL Island missile crisis, the UA and its allies also began to criticize Xin's rocket launch plan.
After the peace agreement came into effect, the UA pressured Xin through the United Nations to require Celestial Trade to announce the number of intercontinental missiles and report the number of missile silos.
Jiang Chen, of course, didn't agree and proposed a corresponding condition. Unless the UA announced the coordinates of all intercontinental missiles in the country, Celestial Trade would never disclose any information about the missile silos.
[Are you kidding me? Do you think I'm stupid?
If I tell you everything, how am I supposed to play this game!]
Later, the UA made a new request to Xin to provide strong evidence to prove that they didn't possess weapons of mass destruction, such as the T virus pathogen.
This was difficult to prove unless the United Nations observers dismantled each warhead and examined it.
Xin's response was also direct. The virus vaccine was developed by Xin's company, Future Biology. As the main contributor to the fight against the T virus, Xin rejected the illogical accusation.
Illogical? Indeed illogical.
Since the content of the negotiation was confidential, the UA couldn't provide strong evidence to prove that Celestial Trade used the virus as a bargaining chip and threatened them on the negotiation table. But then again, even if there was evidence, the UA would never admit that they chose to compromise to some extent and sold out the interests of Country F.
But even so, the UA Defense Department's white paper still didn't include Xin as a key target. Since the small country with a population of 30,000 was too small, even if it caused a lot of trouble in the region, it didn't affect UA's hegemony.
The UA was more worried about Xin moving closer to Hua.
If that really happened, the island chain they worked so hard to build in the South China Sea would no longer exist. But based on the current situation, Xin didn't seem to have this plan. Although space activities were extremely mundane, they didn't hide the launch process, which made the UA Defense Department feel reassured.
But while they were reassured, the Capitol still maintained the most basic vigilance against Xin that possessed intercontinental missile launch technology. The CIB's activity on Coro Island increased significantly in order to search for the non-existent weapons of mass destruction …
…
The second launch mission was a success without any suspense.
After Jiang Chen said goodbye to Henry, he saw that it was getting late, so he canceled the plan to go back to Future Group.
On the way home, Ayesha reported to Jiang Chen about the work of the Security Bureau.
"Among the UA tourists visiting Coro Island this month, it has been confirmed that two are CIB agents, or at least hired by the CIB."
"Is there any espionage?"
"Not yet." Ayesha shook her head.
"Then keep an eye on them for now. Compared to the CIB, I'm actually more concerned about the situation in Yoto … Is there any results on Takeda Pharmaceutical? "
"Not yet …" Ayesha lowered her head with some regret. "In the staff list, we didn't find the name Tanaka Yoshihiro."
"Is that so? Looks like they did a good job of confidentiality, "Jiang Chen said nonchalantly as he looked at the street passing by.
This could only mean two possibilities. One was that Takeda Pharmaceutical had nothing to do with Kurofune, but it was absolutely impossible. The other situation was a bit more dangerous, which was the cooperation between Takeda Pharmaceutical and Kurofune, with the participation of the Nippon government. After all, in terms of confidentiality, a private company doing this without considering the cost was a bit out of line.
"I'll send more people —"
"No need." Jiang Chen shook his head, paused, and then said, "If I didn't guess wrong, they will soon make a new move. Your main task now is to ensure the national security of Xin and prevent Kurofune from infiltrating the country. On this point, Celestial Trade's soldiers can cooperate with you. "
"Understood." Ayesha nodded seriously.
The Stinger missile and the virus that sacrificed an entire city had fully demonstrated the organization's determination to kill him.
However, Jiang Chen didn't feel the slightest fear.
What kind of death threat hadn't he encountered before? In the apocalypse, countless Roshans and mutated humans died in his hands, let alone zombies. He even faced the more dangerous Death Claws head-on, why would he be afraid of a few rats?
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