I ask you to build tractors, but you build rockets?

The emergency meeting lasted three hours, with two adjournments in between, and then a smaller meeting with fewer people as usual in the evening.

Lin Ju, who sat until his back ached, counted the people still in the conference room, and there were only six left including himself.

Zhong Cheng took the lead in violating the regulations and lit a cigarette. After taking a few deep breaths, he exhaled a large cloud of mist. Then he sat crookedly on the chair and narrowed his eyes:

“I have said so much this afternoon, but I only have one opinion: wait and see for the time being, waiting for the higher authorities to make a decision.

But this is normal. Such a big thing is not something we can decide, but we must be prepared first so that we can not be so passive.

I would like to ask everyone to think about a question first: Why does NACA choose to target places far away from the solar system, such as Jupiter and Saturn, and even go to the farthest planet Neptune? "

"I don't know. I believe that the professionals at NACA must have made it clear how difficult it is to go to those places, but John still successfully gave a public speech. This shows that their internal opinions have been unified and they have made such a strong determination to do this. thing.

Even if they are deceiving us, there is still a lot of superficial investment in this plan, right? This price..."

Academician She is still in high spirits. He didn't speak much in the previous meeting, obviously to prepare for the current situation.

He Yun: "But besides Mars, only the satellites of these giant planets are worth landing. Mercury and Venus don't even have landing conditions... But I also think they are too ambitious. Even if we want to go there, it will be very troublesome. They have not said giving up Mars. Log in, right? Do you really have the energy left to do those things?"

"unless……"

Since he knew the truth in advance, Lin Ju, who was already a little sleepy, rarely took the initiative to speak in order to refresh himself:

“If you want the most economical way, you can build a larger spacecraft to carry more supplies, pass Mars and Jupiter in sequence and then return, completing two landing missions at once.

A space station of the size of the Advance, coupled with the XN90, can be achieved to a certain extent. "

He Ruan: "But does Ami have it?"

"It's not there now, but it won't be too far away. Although the starship has not been successful, there is no problem in changing it to a disposable rocket to ensure that it can be launched once a month. It is not difficult to achieve.

It is possible for the starship to be successful within 10 years. If it is also converted to nuclear power, it is not impossible to complete such a plan. "

Lin Ju, who was well prepared, began to discuss the various preliminary studies being conducted by NACA one by one, almost convincing everyone.

However, Zhong Cheng unexpectedly spoke:

"There is one thing. When communicating with us a few days ago, people from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration mentioned a recent incident. NACA suddenly asked them for the data and system logs of the ESA's Mars Express probe. It seems that it also added Concerns about 'Mars Express'.

The reason for NACA is to use the Mars probe to increase exploration of the asteroid belt and deep space, which seems to have something to do with the Constellation Project. "

While Zhong Cheng was speaking, his eyes accidentally fell on Lin Ju, who just leaned back on his chair in silence, looking like he was thinking.

Others couldn't connect the two things for the time being, so they discussed it step by step for a while and ended near 10 o'clock.

Lin Ju walked to the underground parking lot with his head sullenly, and found that Zhong Cheng, who had just walked towards the office, was also here, and his car was parked next to him. It seemed that he was packing his things and preparing to leave.

He said hello out of habit, but was stopped by Zhong Cheng.

Only then did Lin Ju realize that he was still smoking. When they got along before, he didn't remember that the other party liked smoking so much. Of course, it might be because it was not working time.

The lighting in the basement is very dim, and the cigarette flame is so bright that you can even see the details.

"What's the matter, Director Zhong?"

"It's nothing, I just suddenly thought of it. Is the... fire detector coming soon?"

"Ah... it's still early. We have to wait until at least October. We were only halfway through the flight when the route was corrected a few days ago."

Lin Ju woke up from his sleepiness instantly and tried to keep his tone calm.

The Lihuo detector carried a simple beacon weighing more than 100 kilograms when it was launched. After leaving the earth's orbit, it was dropped to simulate the signal returned by the real detector. It is still working normally, so he does not think there will be any problems.

It's normal to be concerned about Li Huo now, right...

Zhong Cheng took off the cigarette and stubbed it out with his fingertips skillfully. The two of them stood facing each other and couldn't see each other's faces clearly.

"That's good, but Lihuo is also our closest probe to Mars, and it is equipped with a 60-centimeter large lens set. You can send a few photos back when you have time. Anyway, the transmission power of nuclear power is powerful enough."

Not sure if it was an illusion, but Lin Ju felt that he heard a hint of teasing in it.

At the same time, his back tensed unconsciously, and even his neck became stiff.

Of course it is possible in theory, but in reality... the flying "Lihuo" is just a simple radio transponder.

Lin Ju, who had no room for rejection, was just about to squeeze out a forced smile and prepare to deal with it, but Zhong Cheng suddenly grabbed his arm, squeezed it twice, and said with a smile:

"Just kidding, at such a fast speed, you still need to protect the lens from being damaged by micrometeorites. But you have to go back and recuperate. See how hard these muscles are?

This person doesn't exercise often, and his muscles will become stiff if he sits in one position for a long time. When we were in the army, we always took hot baths. However, I recommend you to go for acupuncture, which has miraculous effects. Our military hospital is particularly good at this. Feel free to try it anytime, I have to do it once a week.

Well... I'm leaving, have a good rest. "

Lin Ju had no memory of how Zhong Cheng left. It wasn't until he sat on the bed that he suddenly realized that his clothes were sticky and sticky, and the joints all over his body felt sore when he moved.

He was no longer a novice who didn't understand society. He already knew intuitively that Zhong Cheng was staying specifically to wait for him. The purpose... was obviously the one he least expected to see:

Anomalies in Li Huo were discovered. How much was discovered is unknown, but Zhong Cheng must have known that the one flying to Mars was not a real probe, otherwise he would not have tested it like this.

But the direct management of "Lihuo" is the responsibility of the base. It only borrows the space agency's monitoring network and regularly shares data. In addition, the plan is strictly formulated and continuously improved in advance. There should be no possibility of leakage, and the insider is completely impossible.

This vague and uncertain situation forced him to rack his brains to think. He didn't know how long it took before he picked up his phone and started editing secret text messages.

It took a long time for the message sent by the editor to get a reply within a minute. Only when he saw Serev's reply did he realize that it was already three o'clock in the morning.

"We are all aware of the situation and have called Shanhai to conduct a comprehensive screening. We will complete the response before 6 a.m. and stay in touch at any time - Serev."