Super technology leader

The massive factory buzzed with activity. The doors on both sides were opened, and the rocket's body was hoisted by cranes onto specialized large transport vehicles. As one vehicle left, another entered, and the crane placed another section of the rocket body onto it.

Due to the size of the rocket body, the loading process was slow.

No one present showed any impatience, as this was the standard procedure for rocket transfer, allowing no room for carelessness.

Even Chen Jing, who was usually very busy, came to observe.

After all, as the company's first finished carrier rocket, and one capable of directly reaching the moon, she felt she had to see it.

"I think you've become much more composed recently," Chen Jing said, approaching Tang Chao.

"Recently? How recent?" Tang Chao glanced at her before returning his gaze to the first-stage rocket body being hoisted onto the vehicle.

"Since returning from America, perhaps? Did that event have such a big impact on you? Don't let it leave you with any psychological trauma."

"It definitely had an impact. After all, I experienced a gunfight and felt bullets flying past me. As for psychological trauma, it simply doesn't exist," Tang Chao said nonchalantly, arms crossed.

Chen Jing scrutinized him, but couldn't detect anything unusual.

In the months since his return, he had either plunged into the workshop or taken Zhang Qin and Zhang Liyan to various aerospace companies and machinery factories to check on the production of parts.

He had been constantly busy.

And he hadn't engaged in any of his previous shenanigans.

The kind of situation where he'd spend a pile of money without her knowledge and then suddenly present the company with a major project hadn't happened.

This had saved her a lot of worry.

Seeing Chen Jing's gaze return to the hoisting operation, Tang Chao chuckled inwardly. It seemed the "experienced a gunfight" excuse was genuinely effective. Even though his recent behavior differed from before, people would attribute it to his experiences in America.

Not only would they not suspect him, but they would also advise him to take it easy.

It felt incredibly satisfying.

After watching the scene for a while, Chen Jing turned her attention back to Tang Chao, finally focusing on his head.

"Say, isn't your hair a bit long?"

"Hmm?"

Tang Chao touched his hair, pulling the strands in front of his forehead straight down, and found that they covered his eyes.

There was no helping it. From the end of June to the beginning of November, over four months had passed, but he had spent nearly two years on and off on Kerbin.

He often had the little green barber give him a haircut. The little green barber even had to wear a mech suit to reach him.

And to be on the safe side, he always calculated the time when getting his hair cut, and he had cut it several times since returning to Earth.

But it was impossible to be perfectly precise. Sometimes his hair would be slightly longer or slightly shorter.

He initially had a standard short haircut, but gradually let it grow out a bit, so that slight variations in length wouldn't be too noticeable.

"Maybe, I've been too busy lately. I'll get it cut when I have time," Tang Chao said, his mind racing to find an excuse, and then quickly changed the subject.

"Actually, I think I look good with long hair. After all, my good looks are undeniable, and I studied art. I even wanted to be an artist. What do you think about me styling a ponytail like you?"

He even tossed his hair playfully after saying that.

Chen Jing: "..."

Zhang Qin, standing behind them, covered her mouth and giggled, but was immediately called away by Chen Jing to handle some of the rocket transfer procedures.

The launch site for this test flight was the Binhai Launch Center. Although the "Chuhang-1" rocket's body was only two and a half meters in diameter, and the fairing was three meters in diameter, allowing it to be transported by train to any inland launch site, Tang Chao found it too troublesome, so he switched to Binhai directly.

This time, it would depart directly from the port of Jiangkou City, and the "Yuanwang-21" rocket transport ship would carry it south to the Binhai Launch Center, which was very convenient.

However, due to time constraints, the company's dedicated pier, which should have been built, had not yet been constructed, so these rocket bodies needed to be transported to a pier in Jiangkou City for loading onto the ship.

Tang Chao had decided to follow the entire process this time. There would also be a live broadcast during the launch, as this was the culmination of his efforts over the past few months, and he remembered that he was a UP master, so he had to give his fans some benefits.

Until now, his fans didn't know that he was the boss of Starlight Navigator; they only thought he was an employee of the company.

In fact, in the beginning, many people mistook his "Kerbin Navigator" account as the official account of Starlight Navigator, as the names were quite similar. It wasn't until the company applied for the official account with the blue lightning bolt that he restored his "true" identity.

After all, he was a personally verified A-po master, with the yellow lightning bolt.

While he was filming, Zhao Li came over.

Yes, this time the dispatch of Yuanwang-21 was also facilitated by Fuxing Investment.

After Zhao Li arrived, he stood quietly to the side, watching Tang Chao film the video.

Since the other party was so polite, Tang Chao couldn't be impolite. He stopped filming after a short while.

Seeing Tang Chao stop filming, Zhao Li said with a smile, "Tsk tsk, I have to say, Tang, your progress is really fast."

"Hey, a small rocket with a diameter of less than three meters, there's nothing fast or slow about it," Tang Chao said casually.

"It's not small. Your 'Chuhang-1' is on par with the Long March 3B carrier rocket, and even stronger."

Zhao Li said with a chuckle, then moved closer to Tang Chao, "But according to our intelligence, the progress of your main competitors is also not slow. You have to be careful."

Tang Chao was stunned when he heard this, and then said to Zhao Li, "Brother Zhao, you guys aren't using public resources for private gain, are you? You even pay attention to this?"

"Ahem, what public resources? We are a private company. For private companies to grow and develop, the collection of commercial situation...information is also very important."

After hearing this, Tang Chao looked disdainful.

Zhao Li looked indifferent. For those who do this work, thick skin is an advantage.

And how should I put it? Some things are indeed inconvenient for the authorities to come forward, but if there are private companies in China that can slap the faces of the other side in international competitions, the higher-ups are still happy to help.

After all, it's a private activity, it has nothing to do with my official side.

But joking aside, Tang Chao knew which opponents Zhao Li was talking about. As time passed, even though it had only been over four months, the number of participating teams had shrunk by more than half.

Now there were only 21 teams left, either small teams that had secured sponsorship, or large teams that were originally very strong, and integrated teams that used money to merge many small teams.

Of course, this would definitely not be the final number, the number 21 would still decrease.

With fewer teams, the situation became clearer and clearer. Not to mention that those large teams themselves had some pre-existing technologies, such as engine technology and complete parts manufacturing chains, even Tang Chao's "Kerbin Lunar Department" and Martin's "Babel Tower" were constantly releasing new messages.

One moment this test was successful, the next moment that one passed the test, like a competition.

Damn it, originally the big companies only saw other big companies as opponents, but how could these two suddenly emerging new companies fly so fast, as if they had added boosters!

They started investing money one after another.

The power of whaling was obvious, and all kinds of progress accelerated.

Good fellows, originally a two-year competition, it looked like a winner would be decided within a year.

This was one of the reasons why many small teams couldn't stand the pressure and withdrew.

Some small teams were unwilling to accept it and directly cursed in the media.

"This is malicious competition!"

"This is aerospace monopoly!"

"This violates the principle of fair competition!"

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