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“It’s interesting, but as long as it doesn’t concern us, it’s fine. Regarding the aircraft matter, have the military send someone.”

The White Emperor space fighter was easy to pilot, as long as you didn’t intentionally crash it into the ground. The main issue was maintenance, and that was something they couldn’t handle off-site.

Tang Rui had no problem with lending the aircraft.

But as he had mentioned, it would be challenging to maintain the White Emperor away from his facility. It meant that they would have to completely rely on Red Lotus for any maintenance work.

Thus, if they wanted to put a satellite in orbit, they had to send someone over.

Tang Rui wasn’t particularly interested in traveling back and forth between the Earth’s surface and outer space. It was like driving a car—if you asked someone to drive somewhere for fun, they’d probably agree, but if you asked them to run errands, it’d be a different story.

Besides, even if he were willing, the higher-ups might not approve.

“Alright, I’ll contact the higher-ups about this.”

Lin Chao had no objections to Tang Rui’s plan, as long as Tang Rui didn’t try to fly into outer space on his own.

Currently, it was the perfect opportunity to secure control of orbital space.

However, outer space was an extremely perilous place, unforgiving even to the most experienced of astronauts.

Tang Rui returned to his laboratory, took out his phone, and wanted to check the day’s top trending topics.

The top trending topic was about a celebrity divorce.

Tang Rui clicked on it.

To be honest, he had no idea who these two celebrities were.

The second news item was about a space disaster.

Just as Lin Chao had said, Japan was taking the blame, and the top executives of the bankrupt company issued a collective apology.

Tang Rui also checked the news on the internet.

The news media had a unified narrative: An operational error from the Japanese company led to the space disaster.

There was no mention of space fighters or even the slightest hint of classified information.

It appeared that classified information was well-concealed.

With such a significant event occurring and no other news in sight, it meant one thing: the consequences of this incident had not fully unfolded, or the international community had not figured out how to proceed.

It wouldn’t be long before things got complicated.

Tang Rui put down his phone.

He didn’t need to concern himself with these matters. It wasn’t his place to think about them. He didn’t have a thousand eyes to keep an eye on everything.

What he needed to focus on was preparing for the worst-case scenario, a military confrontation.

That was something he was quite good at.

When the time came, he could deploy a Death Star, aim it at their heads, and ask them what they intended to do.

After that, they wouldn’t want to do anything anymore.

In the end, there was only one truth in this world: might made right. Everything else was nonsense. The ultimate truth always resided within the firing range of the big guns.

“Red Lotus, display the design of the previous cargo spacecraft model, not the second one, but the first one.”

Tang Rui was ready to continue his research on his private spacecraft.

Actually, he should refer to it as a private spaceship now. With the SEG unit, considerations like size and tonnage were no longer limitations. Even the atmosphere was no longer a concern. The only factors limiting spacecraft performance were power and materials. Even propulsion systems weren’t a significant issue.

“Master, with the SEG anti-gravity magnetic field, aerodynamic layout is no longer a significant concern.”

“I know. So, please convert the sci-fi and visually appealing spaceship designs from the internet into models and project them. I want to have a reference.”

“Understood. I am generating spaceship models.”

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Tang Rui hadn’t finished designing his private spacecraft. If he needed to consider aerodynamic layout, he would have completed it long ago. However, not having to consider aerodynamics left him somewhat at a loss for how to proceed. No one had designed a spacecraft for space travel.

He could only draw inspiration from movies and animations.

It left him wondering where to start.

He had already designed over a hundred different exteriors, each of them quite good. This abundance of choices left him feeling conflicted.

“Master, Lin Chao is calling.”

Just as Tang Rui was pondering how to proceed with the spaceship, Red Lotus reported that Lin Chao was on the line.

“Connect the call.”

“President Tang, do you have time right now? The military sent a colonel who wants to meet with you.”

“I have time. I’ll head over now.”

Tang Rui didn’t hesitate; he had a bit of a headache trying to figure out the spaceship design, so taking a break sounded like a good idea.

He left his laboratory and went to Lin Chao’s office.

In the office, an army colonel was sitting on the couch, enjoying tea with Lin Chao.

“President Tang, may 1 introduce Colonel Han Shu.”

Seeing Tang Rui enter, both of them stood up, and Lin Chao introduced Tang Rui to Colonel Han Shu.

“President Tang, nice to meet you. I hope I’m not intruding.”

Tang Rui reached out his hand as well. They shook hands firmly.

They all took their seats again.

Lin Chao prepared a cup of tea for Tang Rui.

“I’m not sure what business you might have with me, Colonel Han,” Tang Rui asked directly.

“I’m here to consult with you about some high-tech weapons, Tang Rui.” High-tech weapons?

That didn’t sound right.

“No need for formalities. We can discuss and learn from each other. But I’m curious why you’ve come to me. I’m not a military expert.”

“Perhaps you haven’t heard, but based on the information we have, the Americans are getting ready to make a move.”

“What? America is making a move against us?” Tang Rui was taken aback.

“It’s not against us directly, but they are not exactly for us either. Let me explain.”

Colonel Han Shu organized his thoughts and explained the situation, making Tang Rui understand what was happening.

In a nutshell, Tang Rui’s recent activities in space had stirred up the Americans. After three days of research, America was preparing to make moves on multiple fronts.

The first front was economic, which included sanctions and trade wars, something they had experience with in the past.

The second front was in the field of education. America’s Ivy League universities would no longer admit Chinese students. To attend these universities, Chinese students would need green cards or would have to become American citizens. Policies for attracting talent to study there would not be relaxed.

The third front was military, not direct aggression but rather the recruitment of allies to provoke on their behalf. The tactics involved making promises and deceiving smaller nations, similar to what they had done with the former Eastern Bloc, enticing them with empty promises.

Furthermore, America was forming a space alliance, recruiting smaller nations to contribute financially while America conducted the research. The goal was to eventually take these smaller nations into space, possibly to Mars.

In summary, America was restless and seeking to make its mark..