United States.

California.

SPACE-X headquarters building, the scene of the press conference.

Musk, dressed in a Silicon Valley style, is facing the audience at the press conference and the cameras in the hands of reporters from major media outlets, using his unique and incendiary voice to explain the future blueprint of Space-X.

At this moment, a futuristic bright silver bullet-shaped spaceship is printed on the screen behind him, with the blue planet and the infinite space as the background, dragging a narrow arc of light and soaring.

On the side of this spacecraft, in addition to the Space-X logo, the word BFR is also printed.

And the theme of this press conference is also centered around these three words.

“…… The main thrust rocket of the first stage will be powered by 31 Raptor methane rocket engines, while the second stage will integrate two sea-level engines and four vacuum engines, and the fuel bunker will be able to store a total of 240 tons of methane, with a maximum thrust of 1,000 tons...... Of course, none of this is the key to what I'm going to say, the focus is on the series of plans we have unfolded around the BFR spacecraft. ”

Speaking of which, Musk paused for a moment, glanced around at the audience and the camera, and continued.

"We will launch two manned spacecraft in 2024 to kickstart our program!"

There were bursts of exclamations from the audience, and the reporters carrying long guns and short guns also frantically pressed the shutter in their hands.

Space flight!

Even for the Americans, this is nothing new.

But exploring the stars and colonizing outer space is still so fascinating.

If it weren't for that, Star Wars wouldn't have become an American national movie.

Seeing that the atmosphere in the stadium had reached its peak, Musk pulled a smile on the corner of his mouth and raised his voice.

“…… Once the development of the BFR is complete, it will replace all the launch vehicles we have developed so far and become a spacecraft capable of performing almost all space missions. Whether it's from the surface to the Moon, or from outer space to Mars, we can do it with its power. ”

"It will redefine our understanding of spaceflight."

"It will also redefine our future!"

Later, Musk went on to talk about the advantages of the BFR spacecraft over traditional space rockets, as well as Space-X's blueprint for the Martian Village.

Amid a round of applause, the press conference came to an end.

The reporters at the scene rushed up and surrounded Musk who stepped off the stage.

Finally coped with all the interviews, and the corners of Musk's raised mouth gradually lowered.

After sending all the reporters away, he walked briskly back to his office. He sat down in his office chair and eagerly took out his phone and looked at it.

But seeing the line rising in the shaking on the screen, Musk finally breathed a sigh of relief, and the tense string in his heart gradually let go.

Feedback from the stock market told him that the launch went quite well.

The concept art of the BFR spacecraft has injected a shot in the arm for the tepid space market, as well as for the investors who believe in him.

Of course, it's too early to relax.

Nothing in the world of capital can be said well, especially for high-tech companies like them.

Whether an investor with money in his pocket can continue to support his dream depends to some extent not entirely on what kind of checks he can write, but more fundamentally on whether he can honor the checks he once wrote.

Fortunately, thanks to controlled fusion and lithium-sulfur batteries, the new energy vehicle industry as a whole is good, Tesla's stock price has risen gratifyingly, and investors' confidence in him has recovered a lot compared to a few years ago. But after all, aerospace is a new field, and even he is not 100% sure that it will always be so smooth.

At this time, there was a knock at the door, and a female secretary in professional attire walked in quickly.

"President, there's someone out there looking for you."

Musk, who was about to rest for a while, frowned.

"Who?"

The secretary hesitated for a moment and said, "They call themselves CIA ......"

"Guys from the CIA?" Musk hesitated slightly, and his index finger and thumb pinched the cap of the pen and played, "I don't remember I had an appointment-"

In the middle of the sentence, the office door was rudely pushed open, and two men in black coats walked in one after the other.

Casting a disgruntled look at the two, Musk stared at the two who came in without knocking.

"I don't think I gave you permission to come in, or did you get the court's authorization to investigate?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Musk, but the situation is urgent, I hope you can forgive me," ignoring the dissatisfaction on Musk's face, the black agent showed his ID and continued, "You can call me Aiden when we meet for the first time." ”

After staring at the black agent for a while, Musk's brows suddenly loosened and he leaned back in his chair.

Musk...... Anyway, you know me, so I won't introduce myself, do you want some coffee? ”

The agent who was following Aiden spoke, "No need, we're in a hurry. ”

"Okay," Musk said casually, looking at the female secretary standing next to the desk, "Alyssa, help me make a latte." ”

"Yes, Mr. President." The secretary nodded, turned and walked out the door.

Aiden: "......"

Agent: "......"

After about five minutes, the coffee was finally served.

Aiden, who didn't intend to waste time, asked straight to the point.

"We learned that about two months ago, Star Technology ordered a batch of parts worth $20 million from you, right?"

Musk thought for a while, and there was indeed such a thing, so he nodded.

"Yes...... I remember that the batch of parts wasn't on the prohibited entry, what's wrong with that? ”

Aiden went on aggressively: "The problem is not with the parts, but with what those parts are used for. ”

Not intimidated by his tone, Musk impatiently said: "What customers use to do is not our concern, and I suggest you consult customs for the rest." ”

frowned at Musk's attitude, but Aiden didn't say anything, and continued to take out a blurry photo from his arms and throw it on the table.

Seeing the space shuttle in this photo, Musk, who was originally not very high for this group of CIA agents, immediately sat up from his chair with great interest and moved forward a little closer.

"What is this?"

"Your customers, or future competitors. Its name is 'Xiangrui', which has a strange pronunciation. Aiden shrugged his shoulders and continued, "They are said to have adopted the latest electric propulsion system, and we are investigating the matter. ”

"Wait, electricity?" Musk opened his mouth and glanced at the man standing in front of the office desk with a foolish gaze, "Electric propulsion? Are you sure it's electric propulsion? ”

"I'm sure," Aiden nodded, "our intelligence sources are reliable, though not detailed. ”

Shaking his head with a smile, Musk sat back in his office chair.

The look of interest that still remained in his eyes had now turned into an obvious mockery.

"Officer Aiden, or Detective or Mr. or something, although I don't know much about the CIA's process of handling cases, but as a taxpayer, I sincerely recommend that you change to a more professional person to do these jobs...... Electric propulsion? Electric propulsion to send the space shuttle into the sky? Musk shook his head with a smile, "Even I can't brag about this kind of." ”

Aiden said with a solemn expression: "Can't electric propulsion do it?" ”

"It can't be done," Musk asserted without hesitation, "even with our most advanced electric propulsion technology, the thrust is on the order of N." And if you want to make a spacecraft run from the surface to outer space orbit, you must at least reach the order of KN! ”

Aiden and the agent next to him looked at each other.

The agent's lips moved.

That's what the people at NASA said...... Could it be that we are overthinking? ”

Aiden, who was deep in thought, had a solemn expression and did not speak.

He prefers to believe that he is thinking too much.

But when he thought of the name Lu Zhou, his nervous mood couldn't be relaxed......

.。 m.