Chapter 951: Over One Hundred Billion Worth of Contracts
Translator: Min Editor: Rainystars

"Mr. Jiang, I am the chairman of the Hua Aerospace Science and Technology Group. Here is my business card. I heard that you have leased out a port to SpaceX. Do you still have plans to rent out additional ports? Our offer will definitely not disappoint you!"

"It is my honor! Mr. Jiang is young and achieved! I am the president of Yike Real Estate Group. This is my business card. I heard that there are two thousand acres of land in the external space station yet to be developed on Celestial City. We have more than 30 years of experience in real estate development. I hope Mr. Jiang can seriously consider our group. Whether it is capital or technology, our strength is proven!"

"...I am the president of Bigo Aerospace. Haha, it's been a long time since we have seen each other. At Silicon Valley, I shook hands with you... We have extensive research in the field of inflatable spacecrafts, are you interested?"

"..."

After the question period, it was open floor discussion.

When Jiang Chen walked down from the podium, he was surrounded by a group of entrepreneurs. All kinds of business cards were stuffed to him one after another. Of course, the invited visitors were all elites. Even if they were enthusiastic, they still maintained courtesy.

There were nearly 370 companies from all over the world who expressed their interest. There were also 50 companies that signed agreements on the spot. Following SpaceX, Hua Aerospace Science and Technology Group also signed a port lease agreement for a price of 170 million XND, leasing a port large enough for five small and medium-sized aircraft to be docked for ten years. Ten years later, the company would have priority in the renew of the lease.

The Russian Aerospace Group subsequently leased three ports to develop its own spacecraft.

This kind of cooperation with state enterprises offered far more diplomatic and political significance than economic significance, so Jiang Chen offered a reasonable price. After all, after renting a port, and then transporting things to the port, they must go through the space elevator. Every kilogram of material delivered to space must pay a transportation fee to Celestial Trade. Although it was not much, it was a stable source of income.

However, the real profit came from the cooperation with companies from all over the world.

For example, Yike Real Estate Group, the company with a market value in excess of 100 billion directly offered 1.5 billion XND, and bought the development right of an external space station with an area of 700 acres. They ambitiously planned to turn this 700 acres into the most prosperous business district in the entire city.

Converted into a per square meter cost, it was already higher than the price of some cities' top real estate location. Celestial City wasn't even open to the public as the risks are self-evident, yet it generated an absurf premium.

However, the boss of Yike Group had other ideas. He sent the group's best expert to visit Celestial City, whether it was the convenient transportation or potential commercial development value, the land was worth the money.

Although the hefty price certinly pained him, if the 700 acres of land turned into real estate, merchants all over the world would rush to stay in his commercial estates, and banknotes would flow in from every continent.

It was not just Yike Group that possessed ambitions, but Yida Group was preparing to invest in the construction of cinemas in Celestial City. Additionally, the Intercontinental Group, and the ArcelorMittal Group were planning to lease the six by four interface.

As the world's largest steel producer, ArcelorMittal Steel Group was the leader in the steel market. After seeing the video of Stingray P-1 mining released by Celestial Trade, they immediately saw the broad market prospects of space mining.

It didn't matter if they didn't posses the technology. With enough money, they could outsource the design of the space station. With the power of capital, as long as the technical conditions were sufficient met, those challenges were not challenges at all. After the birth of the space elevator, Silicon Valley had too many aerospace companies undergo a difficult transformation.

Celestial Trade left them another opportunity. After the end of the forum, there would be plenty of companies willing to invest. Designing space stations with different functions would become an alternative profitability model to replace commercial satellite launches.

...

The sea breeze swayed by and brought away some of the heat.

A unique sightseeing tower was built by the seaside not far away from Future Building. The working environment of Future Group was very relaxed, and many employees chose to dine here during their lunch break. But as the night was approaching, the place was getting quiet.

Jiang Chen stood beside the railing as the tides raged. He lit a cigarette and silently gazed at the ocean. His thoughts drifted away with the breeze.

Tonight, he signed contracts worth at least 60 billion XND. Later, because there were too many people, he left the other tasks to Xia Shiyu and other company executives, and slipped out of the venue.

Now this number should have at least doubled. Xia Shiyu was much better in business negotiation compared to him. He was looking forward to the development of the outer space resources. At the end of the forum, could this figure exceed 100 billion?

Whether it was 60 billion or 100 billion, converted into US dollars, counting his previous income, all investment in the space elevator had been recovered. After paying off the loans from Future Bank, the tightened cash flow of Future Group for over a year finally became alleviated.

With the completion of the space elevator, Jiang Chen felt that the burden on his shoulder had also lightened.

The space elevator appeared more than 50 years earlier compared to history.

This way, even if one-day mankind must face the colonization ship from Harmony, human civilization would stand a fighting chance.

Jiang Chen suddenly smiled.

He found the idea of worrying about something more than a hundred years later, too...

For a while, he couldn't think of any words to describe himself.

Then, a windbreaker appeared on his shoulders.

Jiang Chen turned back and met a pair of sapphire eyes.

"Don't catch a cold."

Her hair was blowing in the sea breeze. Ayesha was standing behind him

"Mhmm." Jiang Chen smiled and responded to her gentleness. "Thank you."

"What are you thinking about?"

"I should... not that. Just some things related to the future."

Not far away, Ye Yunfei also stood on the beach, watching the two people who were leaning together.

She was wearing a light blue evening gown with a glass of champagne in her hand.

To be honest, she was very surprised.

The Space Resources Development Forum completely changed her impression of him.

Entrepreneurs present were more cunning than the sly foxes. Igniting their investment fervor with just a speech was even harder than convincing a mouse to catch a cat. Even with her experience, she had to admit the speech was indeed a classic.

Originally, she thought that he was just a lucky new money. She didn't expect him to have such an ability...

She suddenly felt that he was not so annoying after all.

As for her intimate feeling...

She swore, she only had a little bit of feeling for him.

Thinking of what her father said to her on the phone, she finally decided to try to take the initiative and approach Jiang Chen. However, when she saw the scene of the two embracing, the determination she just formed faded with the wind.

Her closed lips opened, and Ye Yunfei slowly let out a long breath.

"This is good too."

Her words were inexplicable. She tilted the glass in her hand slightly, pouring the champagne into the sea before turning away without any hestiation.

Chapter 952: Change the World
Translator: Min Editor: Rainystars

Leaving the contract signing work to Xia Shiyu didn't mean that Jiang Chen could escape from all the formal gatherings. At the end of this business forum, as the host, he must of course go up to the stage and present a concluding remark. Then, he must shake hands with each visitor at the door of the venue.

"Hello, Mr. Jiang." A smiling young man stepped forward and respectfully extended his hand while still being quite far away.

His face didn't look familiar, so Jiang Chen held his hand and asked in confusion.

"You are?"

"I am Ye Ziqi, the president of Ye Group. I have long heard of Mr. Jiang's name. Although I signed a cooperation agreement with you, it was unfortunate that I didn't get to meet you. So, I just wanted to say hello." Ye Ziqi shook Jiang Chen's hands and gracefully smiled.

It turned out to be a member of the Ye family.

After carefully searching through his memory, the Ye Group seemed to be engaged in aerospace engines and industrial machine tools. The group was a listed company with a state-owned background and a market value of more than 50 billion. Before the forum, the group already contacted Celestial Trade multiple times.

It seemed that Hua's decisionmakers gave them directions. They were interested in electric propulsion technology and ion jet cutting technology of the Stingray P-1, and even offered an astronomical price of 1.8 billion XND. However, the two parties didn't reach an agreement in the transfer of technology, and they took a step back. Finally, they targeted the RM-320 rocket engine that Celestial Trade already sold to Russia.

The material used in the combustion chamber that withstood 500 atmospheric pressures could achieve an astonishing 1:300 Thrust to Weight Ratio (1), as well as fuel that was several times more powerful than dimethylhydrazine (2). Although the era of chemical rockets was over, the technology could still be used for the engines of missiles and aircrafts.

Since Jiang Chen could sell the RM-320 to Russians, he certainly was not stingy to sell the engine to Hua enterprises with a broader market. The Ye family also paid a hefty price for this technology. They offered a 7.5% stake in the Ye Group as a price in exchange for the RM-320 engine and related technical information.

Although the Ye Group's annual profit was only about 300 billion XND, but after obtaining the full set of RM-320 technology, its expectation of future appreciation was high. They didn't just manufacture aerospace engines, but were also involved in military projects such as missiles and aircrafts. Future Group obtained shares in the Ye Group in exchange, but because of the sensitive projects involved, those shares only possessed dividend rights and could not be sold to the secondary market within the next two years.

"Mr. Ye is too modest, and it's our pleasure to work with you in developing a vast Hua market."

There were not much small talk as after the two brief exchanges, Ye Ziqi took the initiative to say goodbye to him. The Ye family's new star left a good impression on Jiang Chen, at least a better than Ye Yunfei. This certainly reversd the image of Ye's new generation in Jiang Chen's mind.

The children of an established family were not all ordinary after all.

Then he sent away a few batches of guests. Scanning the empty venue and the cleaning staff working diligently, Jiang Chen slowly let out a long breath and sat down.

A glass of water appeared in front of him.

Jiang Chen looked up and met Xia Shiyu's sight.

Her black hair was tied up and with some slight touch ups, her eyebrows were particularly charming. In a beautiful black dress, it didn't hide her natural beauty, but added a sense of glamour.

Xia Shiyu smiled gracefully and whispered, "You must be tired, have some water."

Jiang Chen paused a second and did not grab for the glass of water. Instead, he massaged his eyebrows as if he had just seen an illusion.

"It seems that I am really tired."

Xia Shiyu didn't understand for a second and then understood the meaning of Jiang Chen's words. She immediately gave him an angry stare and shoved the cup into his hand. Then she groaned, "Whatever."

Jiang Chen took the cup with a grin and took a sip.

"This is more like you."

"What do you mean, can't I be gentle and considerate?" Sitting opposite of Jiang Chen, Xia Shiyu's eyebrows raised while pouting.

If other people in the company saw the meticulous CEO Xia display such a cute expression, they would be in complete shock. However, Jiang Chen knew that this was her usual relaxed state.

The distant expression was just the disguise of excessive self-protection.

"Of course not," Jiang Chen smiled and took another drink of the water before putting the cup aside. "How did we do?"

When it comes to work, a proud smile appeared on Xia Shiyu. "A total of 130 billion XND contracts were signed, and the extra money is enough to build another Penglai city."

Jiang Chen smiled and shook his head. "One Penglai City is enough. We don't have to payback the loans from Future Bank yet. The space elevator has been completed, and investors are quite confident in us. Payback half and we'll invest the rest of the money in our lunar colony."

"You don't seem surprised?"

"Surprised by what?"

"We received 130 billion. If it is converted into US Dollars, it would be nearly 150 billion US Dollars, and it is all cash." When Xia Shiyu said this, she was quite amazed.

One hundred and fifty billion US dollars.

Four years ago, she never thought that she would have achieved this one day. If she didn't meet him, her best situation would just be a project manager in a small company. She would be worrying over a small project in the thousands of dollars while trying to persuade all kinds of strangers to stay calm...

"It is just 130 billion Xin New Dollars." Looking at the fascinated Xia Shiyu, Jiang Chen smiled. "In fact, after the establishment of the Xin Reservse, money is just a figure to us."

If someone else said this, Xia Shiyu would just roll her eyes, but when Jiang Chen said this, she didn't feel this way at all. Instead, she felt that he was only explaining a fact.

He has the final say in the amount of currency this country prints, what else is money to him other than a figure?

Of course, although this is the case, he didn't have freewill over the money printer. The issuance of banknotes required special procedures for approval, and it was necessary to disclose the news one to two months in advance, and the printed banknotes belonged to the New Reserve. The additional currency could only be provided to banks registered in Xin in the form of loans.

Printing excessive banknotes would cause inflation. Without an open and transparent regulatory mechanism, the monetary system itself wouldn't be able to obtain sufficient credit, and wouldn't be recognized by its own nation, let alone the international community.

Xia Shiyu scoffed and didn't want to see Jiang Chen showing off.

"Well, Mr. Richest Man, now you are as powerful as a country. So, what is your next goal?"

As she said this, she lifted the glass in her hand and put it below Jiang Chen's nose, using it like a microphone.

Jiang Chen smiled and grabbed her hand.

"Change the world."

(1) A high thrust to weight ratio means that the aircraft will have high acceleration and thrust and a high rate of climb. (Source: NASA)

(2) 1,1-Dimethylhydrazine is a clear colorless liquid and used as a rocket propellant. (Source: U.S. National Library of Medicine)

Chapter 953: 6X4 Standard and Controlled Nuclear Fusion

The Space Resources Development Forum came to an end, and it also kicked off the capitalist's interest in the space market. A total of six large-scale external space stations with an area of more than 2,000 acres were leased to developers around the world. All development work had yet to begin, but space tourism and space property already occupied the big screens on Times Square.

Jiang Chen even heard that Yike Group has already sold 2,000 residential properties on Celestial City before even transporting their construction equipment to Ange Island.

Although most of the living space was in the ring part of Celestial City, not everyone enjoyed the idea of living in small units. The wealthy who pursued a certain quality of life didn't care about the money. They cared more about having the ability to overlook the entire city and to gaze into the starry night.

With nearly more than 5 billion US Dollars in revenue, Yike's CEO almost fell off his chair and immediately called Jiang Chen to express his gratitude.

It was only the beginning. By the time the 700 acres land were fully developed, the income from various shopping malls wouldn't be any less than the income of 2,000 residential properties in this district.

On the other hand, the "six by four standard" became a buzzword on online search engines.

Six meters in length and four meters in width, the dimensions of the space station interface in Celestial City. If nothing else, the "six by four standard " proposed by Celestial Trade would become the standard for all space station interfaces in the Interstellar Age and beyond.

The power of habit is astonishing, especially for a civilization. Unless unsolvable defects existed, the standards accepted by everyone were basically impossible to change.

Just like the not-so-perfect USB interface, it dominated the entire Personal Computer era.

With the details of the "six by four standard" being disclosed, many space station design companies were established.

These companies were mainly concentrated in Silicon Valley, most transformed from aerospace companies engaged in rocket or satellite design. These companies specialized in providing space station design solutions and qualification verification to companies interested in establishing their own space stations but didn't possess the technical expertise to do so. Even SpaceX launched a similar service, and the first project was to help the UA Steel Company design an automated steelmaking space station.

The business forum of Celestial Trade directly gave birth to an industry with a scale of more than 10 billion US Dollars.

The aerospace-related majors which were not considered popular prior, but after this forum, it gradually started gaining recognition, and even more related majors, such as space station design, biosphere engineering, spacecraft design, and others, were born.

Coro University undoubtly was on the frontier in the aerospace field.

With a strong reputation, the university was initially established to export talents to Celestial Trade began to be favored by other large enterprises with the completion of the space elevator. Although its international academic crediential was still not first-class, it was already leading in the commercial field.

...

The Lunar colony.

A cargo spacecraft inscribed with the trademark of Celestial Trade steadily landed on the cemented tarmac. The staff member who had been waiting for a long time operated the robotic arm and unloaded the cargo box from the abdomen of the spacecraft. At the same time, more than a dozen people wearing spacesuits walked down from the spacecraft. They were led by a staff member and were walking towards the colony.

It was already the fourth group this month.

After the completion of the space elevator, the transportion to and from the Moon no longer used disposable rockets. Instead, they were replaced by cargo spacecraft capable of vertical liftoff and landing. The original supply mission that occurred every several months now became multiple times in a month.

Another intuitive change was that there were more and more people in the colonies now.

From the first few dozens to the first one hundred, now there were 500 people in the moon colony. In addition to some engineers and scientists, many of them had careers completely irrelevant to colony construction. Some were journalists, musicians, and painters, and some were just ordinary people...

Standing in the colony, Tang Weijie looked at the new colonists from the distance. He did not understand the purpose of bringing so many people here, but he believed that the decision made by Celestial Trade executives would definitely be meaningful. It was just that as the colony administrator, he didn't understand it.

The dozens of newcomers looked left and right as everything here was so fascinating for them. When they passed a space farm, someone even exclaimed out loud... However, only he could hear his own exclaimation.

Compared to a few months ago, this colony on the surface of the Moon was already taking shape. In addition to mines and space farms, most living areas and work areas were connected by pipes embedded in the ground.

From a distance, it was like a bunker connected by trenches. This design could effectively reduce the threat of meteorites before the breakthrough of shield technology. After all, there was a lack of atmosphere on the Moon, and the pits and holes on the surface showed the frequency of meteorites.

The entrance to the colony was two valves.

Just like the design of most submarine facilities, after crossing the first valve, the vacuum buffer chamber was filled with air, then when the second valve opened, the group continued to move forward. After taking off their space suit and bathing in the locker room, they changed to casual wear with jet holes on key joints.

Then everyone gathered in the square in the middle of the colony.

"Well, newcomers, look this way." Tang Weijie clapped his hands and signaled for everyone to look at him. "You are the fourth batch this month. First of all, I wish you a happy life on the Moon." In addition, I have to say, you will miss life on Earth."

"Take an hour or two every day to go to the gravity room to avoid osteoporosis (1). Obey the colonial discipline as anyone who engage in a brawl will be expelled. Remember to bring your ID card at all times as that is your identification and is used at any given moment. This is all you need to pay attention to. Feel free to ask any questions now."

When he just finished, someone raised his hand.

"What about our luggage?"

"It will be sent directly to your residence, any more questiones?" Tang Weijie asked.

Seeing no one respond, he paused and said.

"Very good. If you have any questions, you can ask them through the personal terminal. Ask the AI or ask a psychiatrist. Only these two people are free at anytime. Someone will take you to receive your daily necessities and bring you to the living quarter."

"Before that, let's check the list first..."

The list check was completed swiftly, and Lu Fan got his ID card.

The soft graphene card felt smooth, like a Future phone, it could be rolled up and worn around his wrist. The card had his name on the front and the words [Power Engineer].

Under the guidance of the instructor, Lu Fan received his daily necessities and a room key. In a room the size of 30 square meters, he saw his suitcase.

But he hadn't had time to unpack his luggage before he began to reminisce about his life on Earth. As he was standing by the window, his door was knocked on.

"Lu Fan? Power Engineer?" The middle-aged man in a colonial uniform examiend Lu Fan from head-to-toe and talked to him in a questioning voice.

"Yes." Lu Fan nodded politely and asked, "Is there a problem?"

After receiving a positive answer, the middle-aged man suddenly grinned and patted him on his shoulder.

"Haha, you are finally here! Let me introduce my self, my name is He Biao."

"The colony is ready to replace the circuit. In order to prevent issues, the power department has been short on people. I just applied to the headquarters to send a power engineer here some time ago. I didn't expect you to come so quickly! Come! Leave your luggage for now."

"Wait, replace the circuit? Why are we suddenly changing the circuit?" Lu Fan was confused.

In his impression, this colony was only established less than half a year.

"The colony plans to build two new mines. The power generation of the solar power station can no longer handle the load. The headquarters ordered that we put that equipment into use. The colony will no longer lack electricity, but on the other hand, before the end of the month, we won't have any free time."

When he said this, He Biao did not look resentful at all.

Life on the Moon was very boring, not working was more boring than working. To alleviate the loneliness, they could only chat with the psychiatrist, or use a beauty robot manufactured by Future Heavy Industries to vent their desire. After hearing that the power shortage problem could be solved and the colony could start building some entertainment facilities, it was no surprise he was so enthusiastic.

Although the newly arrived Lu Fan did not understand his emotional state, a word caught his attention

"Equipment? What equipment?" Lu Fan asked.

No more power shortages? Before he came, he studied the power consumption of the lunar colony. The electricity consumption of 500 people in the district was even higher than that of a small town of 10,000 on the Earth. Although the surface of the Moon is bright, a day and night is close to four weeks in Earth time. For this reason, Celestial Trade had to invest in building a large number of solar panels, as well as power storage units. Power alone consumed nearly 50 million XND per month.

When He Biao heard Lu Fan's question, he laughed and looked at him with a smug look.

"Do you know what the Lunar Soil Collection Center produces?"

"Rare earth?" Lu Fan wondered.

"Although it certainly produces that, it also produces something else!" He Biao smiled mysteriously and lowered his voice. "We produce Helium-3, and we have already produced tons of it!"

Lu Fan took a moment to think about it before the expression on his face turned into disbelief and shock.

Helium-3!

Controlled nuclear fusion?!

And it could be used to generate electricity?!

(1) Osteoporosis is a bone disease that occurs when the body loses too much bone, makes too little bone, or both. Astronauts who spend many months on a space mission can lose, on average, 1 to 2 per cent of bone mass each month (Source: NASA)

Chapter 954: Nuclear Fusion Power Station

Translator: _Min_ Editor: Rainystars

The Lunar Colony Ground Command enter was bustling.

Today was a historic day. The nuclear fusion generator placed on the surface of the Moon would officially be powered on. It not only meant that the shortage of electricity in the Lunar Colony would no longer be a problem, it also signaled that the excess power could be sent to Celestial City through long-distance power transmission and then to Earth.

"Ready?"

"Of course."

"Let's get started." Jiang Chen nodded and gestured to Kelvin that he could start.

The entire command center was like clockwork. Everyone all put ten times and twenty times their usual effort and fought in their positions. The parameters on the big screen in the center were flashing, and the nuclear fusion generator a few hundred thousand kilometers away was monitored here.

"The magnetic confinement device has been activated and helium-3 fuel has been loaded into the reaction chamber!"

"The magnetic confinement device is operating normally."

"The super fluid thermal cycler is activated... operation is stable."

"Deuterium fuel is loaded!"

"..."

"Ignition!"

All the lights turned green, and Kevlin immediately pressed the red button. In the holographic screen, the progress bars were instantaneously filled, and the power output instantly reached an astounding 5,000MW. In the spherical reaction chamber dozens of kilometers away, the magnetic confinement device already turned into a blinding ball of light, and its internal reaction temperature reached an extraordinary ten million degrees!

It was no exaggeration to say it was a small Sun.

If the violently reacting atoms broke through the magnetic confinement, its power would be no less than the detonation of a million TNT-equivalent hydrogen bombs. If it were placed on the Earth, it would be enough to erase a metropolitan from the map.

However, everyone had full confidence in the device.

As early as the completion of Penglai City, Celestial Trade already secretly put the nuclear fusion generator into operation. It was also not their first time initializing a nuclear fusion generator set, the difference was that the nuclear fusion generator was manufactured by Future Heavy Industries and located hundreds of thousands of kilometers away.

5,000MW was far from the limit of this nuclear fusion generator set. As the fuel tank continued to be filled, the output power of the electric energy climbed higher. The reaction temperature also exceeded 15 million degrees, and after a slight fall, it stabilized at 14 million degrees.

Kevlin sighed in relief and a smile finally landed on his face. He picked up the intercom on his shoulder and announced to everyone.

"No. 01 nuclear fusion generator is successfully in operation!"

There was a burst of cheers in the command center, and the staff members walked down from their positions, cheering and celebrating.

Jiang Chen was also delighted.

Unlike most nuclear power plants, Celestial Trade abandoned the inefficient steam turbine power generation design after absorbing the apocyalpse's technology. Now, they used a more advanced thermal ion reactor.

To put it simply, the cathode and anode poles were connected by wires, the cathode was heated to release the electron beam, and the anode absorbed electrons to form a circulating circuit. However, the whole set of equipment was certainly not as simple as its description. Just like a simple nuclear power station generated electricity by boiling water, the technical expertise involved was far more than just boiling water.

How to solve the power generation limitation, how to recycle the heat absorbed by the anode and use for power generation... These were the problems that needed to be solved by the modern world. If the world didn't go on a tangent, then in another thirty to fifty years, controlled nuclear fusion technology would also be born here, and most would still be using steam turbines to generate electricity. Just because neutrons could easily be absorbed by light materials, a second-loop heat exchanger could be eliminated compared to nuclear fission.

At the same time, the same cheers also happened on the Lunar Colony hundreds of thousands of kilometers away.

A steady stream of electricity was transferred from the nuclear fusion generator to various parts of the colony, replacing solar generators that had to rest for two weeks after four weeks. The reaction temperature reached its limit and the fusion reaction could continue as long as the supply of fuel in the reaction chamber was maintained.

Although the tens of millions of degrees of high temperature was startling, this generator was far safer than the generator set of any nuclear power plant in the world. The thermonuclear reaction between helium-3 and deunterium only generated protons without radioactivity, so the use of helium-3 as an energy source didn't produce radiation, and even if an accident occured, the cost of rescue would be low.

In the worst case, due to the lack of oxygen on the Moon, and even if the reactor experienced a catstrohpic explosion, there would be no shock wave. The killing effect of nuclear weapons in a vacuum environment is extremely limited, far less intimidating than its TNT-equivalency.

"Congratulations." Jiang Chen smiled and shook Kelvin's hand. "Excellent execution."

"Thanks to for your confidence." Kelvin accepted the praise humbly.

After a pause, Jiang Chen continued.

"I intend to reorganize some of the business units of Celestial Trade."

Kevlin looked at Jiang Chen, puzzled. He didn't understand why he was telling him this. The Space Launch Center he managed was only a part of Celestial Trade and although it almost had no budget constraints, it was still owned by Celestial Trade.

Jiang Chen did not explain, but went on.

"The restructuring is mainly in the aerospace business. The rankings of the Space Launch Center will be cancelled and replaced by the newly established space department. The department is responsible for the Colonization Program and all projects in the group that involve the development of outer space resources."

"And I hope that you can serve the manager of the space department,"

Kelvin took a moment to digest his word before he was overwhelmed by joy.

"Thank you for your trust, I will not let you down!"

Jiang Chen smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

"I believe you won't let me down."

...

In mid-February, Celestial Trade spent 2 billion XND to acquire Pannu Power Company, which supplied power to all of Pannu Islands, and changed its name to Global Power Company, integrating its power generation companies and power grid units in Xin.

At the same time, the engineering ship of Celestial Trade once again sailed to the equator and started construction under the base station of the space elevator. It was ambitiously preparing to build a submarine cable extending from the equator line to Ange Island and merge it into the national grid of Xin.

Everything was paving the way for long-distance power transmission for the lunar nuclear power plant.

Jiang Chen apparently was not satisfied with just the domestic electricity market. At the same time as the construction of the submarine cable, he engaged in negotiations with the governments of Moro and Country F to open up their own electricity market.

With almost no hurdles, Jiang Chen easily convinced these two countries. Both Country F and Moro had agreed to cooperate with Xin to build transnational submarine cables and integrate them into the national grid. The electricity cost of Country F was the highest in the world, and was the definition of the poor getting poorer. Of course, they couldn't refuse Celestial Trade that could lower their electricity bill.

What's more, they didn't have the confidence to reject. The force of Celestial Trade had yet to complete its withdraw from City M.

As for Moro, Santos simply recognized himself as a younger brother, why would he refuse the request of the sovereign state? What's more, the recent rise in oil prices meant that the oil import nation was facing an imminent energy crisis, how could he reject his savior Jiang Chen?

After wooing Country F and Moro, Jiang Chen then began discussions with Malayasia...

Chapter 955: Are you sure you didn't add an extra zero?

Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia.

The sun was about to rise and a private jet landed on the runway of Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Five extended Lincolns were waiting outside the special terminal of the airport, and there were anti-terrorist secret service agents protecting the vicinity.

This special terminal usually remained closed to the public, and it was specially prepared for distinguished government officials. But now, it made an exception to open up for an entrepreneur with no official position. The Malyaisa government greeted the entrepreneur from Xin with the highest courtesy.

"Welcome, Mr. Jiang. As Malaysia International Trade and Industry Minister, I sincerely thank you for your contribution to the Malyasia economy." In the car, International Trade and Industry Minister Mustafa politely expressed his gratitude.

The New Malaysia Special District created an annual output value of 50 billion USD, accounting for almost one-eighth of the total Malaysia Gross Domestic Product. The backcountry of the poor Province of Papua suddenly became one of the most stunning economic and industrial provinces on the country's financial report. At least half of the output value contributed to the industry was from Future Group, it was no surprise Mustafa was so enthusiastic.

The vehicles quickly passed through the emerging international metropolitian that fused oriental culture with Western civilization. They headed to Putrajaya, 20 kilometers south of Kuala Lumpur. More than a decade ago, the Prime Minister's Office and the Federal Administrative Center moved here.

Compared to the bustling Kuala Lumpur, it was quieter here.

The vehicles stopped directly in front of the Prime Minister's Office. The red stone brick road paved all the way to the doorway of the dome building. The green vegetation and carved street lamps gave off a retro vibe.

Malaysia Prime Minister Razak was personally waiting at the door, with his aides, and politely ushered Jiang Chen into the building.

The group went into a reception room, and the black-haired middle-aged man invited Jiang Chen to take a seat, and then told the assistant to pour a cup of black tea for himself and Jiang Chen.

"What is the purpose of Mr. Jiang's visit?"

Thick white fog lingered above the black tea. Jiang Chen didn't touch the cup and instead was straightforward.

"For a win-win agreement."

Razak's face showed interest.

"Oh? What kind of agreement brought you personally here."

"According to your 2018 electricity consumption report announced by the Ministry of Energy at the beginning of this year, the total power generation in your country last year was 224.3 billion kWh, and the average cost per kWh was 0. 21 Ringgit. The energy cost compared with the previous year went up by a few points, am I right?" Jiang Chen asked with a smile.

Razak nodded, and spoke, "It's true... Are you worried that the energy situation in our country may affect the investment environment? You don't have to worry about it at all. We are next to Singapore, even if our electricity cost rises, other countries increase will only be higher, definitely not less."

Because Malaysia was located next to one of the world's three major refining bases, the country itself was a major exporter of oil and natural gas. Malaysia's power generation mostly depended on thermal power generation, supplemented by wind and solar energy. Although the price of oil was relatively cheap compared to other countries because of the lower cost of freight, the rise in oil prices in recent years still slightly raised the cost of electricity.

As early as 2015, Malaysia had proposed to build the first nuclear power plant in 2021. At that time, the Russian national nuclear energy company participated in the bidding. However, due to the surge in opposition, the location of the nuclear power plant remained to be finalized even to this day.

The problem of electricity consumption has plagued Malaysia for many years, and has never been completely solved.

Even without the report of the Ministry of Energy, Jiang Chen could clearly see this from Future Heavy Industries' financial report in the New Malaysia Special District. The change in electricity prices would be directly reflected in the production cost of steel and aluminum plants. Almost all industries with high pollution and high manpower demand were built in the district.

"But this is still a big problem, isn't it?"

The brows raised slightly, and after Razak indulged for a while, his brows returned to normal as if he had made some kind of a decision. He said, "We are willing to give a five percent discount on electricity in the special district. But this special treatment is not convenient to disclose, and you must fulfill the duty of confidentiality for this matter."

Jiang Chen shook his head.

"This is not a long-term solution."

Razak was caught off-guard, and then there was an unpleasant look in his eyes. Willing to make concessions on the price of electricity already showed sincerity, but Jiang Chen refused the offer without even considering it.

If it were not for the cooperation between the two sides that was important to Malaysia's economy, he would already have asked him to leave.

Although deeply disguised, Jiang Chen saw the dissatisfaction on Razak's face. However, he did not explain anything and continued on.

"Seeking special treatment is not the reason why I came here today. Since the problem lies between us, then what we need to do is solve this problem, not to ask for one-sided concessions."

Razak was somewhat uncertain after he heard this.

Not seeking special treatment? Why did you mention electricity prices? Could it be...

Suddenly, he speculated a possibility and looked at Jiang Chen with surprise. Jiang Chen then spoke up.

"We have made a major breakthrough in power generation technology–"

Jiang Chen didn't even finish when Razak said immediately.

"Is it nuclear power?"

Jiang Chen nodded and said, "It is indeed nuclear power."

"Although I personally hope that you can participate in the bidding for the nuclear power project, I have to remind you that Malaysia's nuclear power project has not yet finalized its site selection so far. At least until 2025, the nuclear power plant project is unlikely to start construction." Razak shook his head.

"Although it is nuclear power, it will not be built in your country." Jiang Chen smiled.

"Then where?" Razak frowned.

"It'll be built in the sky," Jiang Chen said, pointing his finger at the ceiling. "You only need a cable from Coro Island to New Malaysia, and your country can enjoy cheap electricity."

"Do you mean to connect Xin's grid with Malaysia's grid? This is impossible." Razak shook his head. "The grid is related to national security. Our diplomatic relations with Xin are good, but we have not yet trusted each other to merge the grid."

"It's not the power grid, it's just a simple sale of electricity." Jiang Chen spread his hands and continued to persuade the president, "Like buying and selling natural gas, our electricity price will be much cheaper than your domestic power generation cost."

Looking at Razak, who was in deep thought, Jiang Chen went on.

"How about hearing my offer first?"

"How much?"

"0.05 Ringgit per kWh"

Jiang Chen's nonchalant responded created a shockwave in the mind of the Malaysia Prime Minister. To the point where he almost gasped.

"Are you sure you didn't add an extra zero?"

Chapter 956: Power ExportAgreement

Translator: Min Editor: Rainystars

Most people believed that nuclear power was cheaper than most power generation methods.

In fact, it was a misconception.

According to the survey conducted by Bloomberg New Energy Financial Consulting, the global nuclear power plant's power generation cost averages 14 cents USD per kWh, which almost costed the same as solar power generation. Compared to the cost of 8.2 cents of land-based wind power and high-efficiency natural gas power generation, the cost of nuclear power was much higher, and even higher than thermoelectricity power generation using coal, natural gas, or oil.

Nuclear power could alleviate electricity shortages, but it would not effectively reduce electricity prices. In particular, the safety of nuclear power plants received increasing media attention. In order to prevent serious nuclear accidents such as core melting, nuclear power plants must spend more on safety maintenance, so power generation costs always trended upwards. Unless the size of the nuclear power plant increased drastically could some of the costs be saved through scale.

Under such circumstances, it was no wonder the 0.05 Ringgit Jiang Chen offered stunned the Malaysia leader. No power generation that existed in the world could reduce the cost to such a degree.

In other words, if the price of electricity could really be this cheap, there was no need for other energy sources.

If Razak learned about the actual cost for Celestial Trade, he would be even more shocked. The cost for Celestial Trade was around one-eighth of the offer. Helium-3's proven reserves on the Moon were around one million tons and 100 tons would be enough to supply the world for one year. As for the deuterium needed for the reaction, the reserves in the ocean were even richer. As long as the refining technology is in place, the cost could be completely negligible.

The Prime Minister was completely dumbfounded by the offer.

Trying to calm his breathing, he was silent for a while before he finally spoke again.

"Can't you build that nuclear power plant in our country?"

Razak made up his mind. Even if all the Malaysian parliament voted against the nuclear power project, he would convince those members one by one to agree to this project. It was too important for Malaysia! Not only would this affect the cost of living for the people, but the price of electricity directly affected the cost of industrial production. If the price of electricity could be reduced, more international companies would come invest!

Moreover, the annual financial subsidies made by the Malayisa government on the electricity bill could be completely removed. The hefty budget could be moved to education, medical care, and other more critical fields.

However, Jiang Chen shook his head.

"It doesn't make any sense to build a nuclear power plant in your country. The mineral needed for the nuclear power plant comes from the Moon and it is not very convenient to transport... In short, building this nuclear power plant in space has far more advantages than building it on the surface. What's more, in space, we don't have to worry about nuclear accidents at all."

Jiang Chen's words made Razak silent again.

On the one hand, he was really convinced by Jiang Chen's offer, but on the other hand, he was worried that this might force Malaysia local power companies to go bankrupt. Then, Malayisa would no longer be able to escape the cheap electricity supply from Celestial Trade.

Jiang Chen was not in a hurry. He leaned back on the chair leisurely, and sipped on the tea.

The tea cooled down a bit. While he enjoyed the tea, he quietly waited for Razak's answer.

It woule be best to receive a positive answer from the prime minister. If this didn't work, he would have to spend some time to contact Malaysian politicians and offer sufficient benefits to force the Prime Minister to compromise on the grid problem.

In addition, with his control over Future 1.0 and virtual reality networks, he could utilize many necessary means. He just needed to let the Malayisan people know that they could have enjoyed 0.05 Ringgit electricity, but because of the under-the-table transaction between the prime minister and other "black-hearted businessmen", cheap electricity could not enter the domestic market...

Jiang Chen quietly looked at Razak and waited for him to make a decision.

After waiting for about ten minutes, the prime minister was relieved and said.

"It is no problem to build a submarine cable. It is no problem to connect the New Malayisa Special District's grid with the Malyaisa grid. But in the first year, we are willing to import 26-30 billion kWh of electricity. The specific plan will be discussed with the National Electric Power Bureau and TNB Power Company."

26 billion kWh was equivalent to ten percent of the annual electricity consumption of Malayisa. According to the export price of 0.05 Ringgit, the Malaysian power grid would pay 1.3 billion Ringgit in foreign exchange for a year, equivalent to 400 million XND.

As for TNB, Malaysia's power giant, the company managed the grid of the country. Jiang Chen believed that this highly profitable agreement offered no ground for them to refuse.

Jiang Chen believed that in less than a year, TNB would shut down several high-emission power stations, and then take the initiative to ask for more.

Buy 0.05 Ringgit electricity and sell it for 0.1 Ringgit. They would basically be earning free money.

Pleased with the result, Jiang Chen left the Prime Minister's Office. Celestial Trade Malayisa Subsidiary had already sent a convoy parked out at the door. After Jiang Chen got in the vehicle, he told the driver to send him to Hilton Hotel.

Because he had to negotiate specific contracts with the National Electric Power Bureau and TNB Power Company for submarine cables and power export, he had to temporarily change his plan, and decided to stay for one more day in Malayisa.

Going straight to the hotel counter, when he pulled out the black diamond card that Nasseta gifted him, the hotel manager immediately freed up a presidential suite for him and courteously escorted him to the door of the room.

Jiang Chen took off his formal clothes and took a shower, changed into a casual outfit, and sat on the sofa in the living room.

He opened a bottle of red wine, turned on the home theater, and randomly picked a film that he had not seen before.

Guns and blood were always the theme of Hollywood action movies, and were the most attractive to the audience. It was also Jiang Chen's favorite genre to watch.

Without explosions, would it be called a Hollywood blockbuster?

After watching for about thirty or forty minutes, the film was just about to reach its climax as a vigilant gun battle was about to unfold. Jiang Chen was concentrating on the screen while enjoying the thrill, but the sound of the alarm rang by his ear.

Alarm bell?

Jiang Chen looked around before focusing out the window.

This alarm didn't come from the home theater, but from outside on the street.

"What happened outside? Why are there so many alarms, there are at least six or seven police cars."

With curiosity, Jiang Chen paused the movie, and went to the window. In front of the shopping mall half a street away, and a row of police cars with red and blue lights blocked the entrance to the mall.

Jiang Chen held a peculiar expression on his face.

What a coincidence. I was watching an action film, and there is a confrontation outside.

Chapter 957: Hostage Crisis
Translator: Min Editor: Rainystars

The hostage situation alerted the Kuala Lumpur Police Headquarters and the Malayisa federal government 20 kilometers away. The Chief Sheriff of Kuala Lumpur rushed to the scene, followed by the head of the National Anti-Terrorism Office, the anti-terrorism experts from the military, as well as the Prime Minister's chief of staff, Miesba.

Not far behind the police's explosion-proof vehicles, these people urgently convened an operational meeting to discuss how to deal with the terrorists in the mall.

"There are nine terrorists in the mall who control the fourth, fifth and sixth floors. They captured a total of 79 hostages," Chief Sergeant Meyaki anxiously reported.

"When is our anti-terrorist force coming?"

"They are on the way. What about the cameras in the mall? We need to confirm the location of the hostages and the layout of the mall. Where are the contractors who built the building? Find them, I need the drawings of the building." The anti-terrorism expert examined the map provided by the person in charge of the mall, then said with a deep frown. "This is useless."

The map for tourists didn't offer any value. It didn't identify the location of the cameras, let alone the building's load-bearing structure and other critical information. Without knowing the load-bearing structure, if they encountered any situation where they were required to blast through, the amount of charge used and the risk associated would be up to their own judgement, which undoubtedly increased the risk of action.

"We have already contacted the building contractor. They said that they will send the drawings within half an hour. The hostage location... This is a bit difficult," Meyaki answered while sweating profusely.

"Difficult?" Gafael, the head of the National Anti-Terrorism office, frowned.

"The terrorists planned this carefully. They not only cut off the power to the building, but also cut off all connections between the monitoring line and the outside. We can't see anything..." said the person in charge of the mall building.

These terrorists were prepared.

The chief of staff, Miesba, looked at his watch and looked at the direction of the Hilton Hotel. He took a deep breath and walked over to Gafael.

"Listen, I need you to solve this problem in the shortest possible time and in the cleanest way."

Gafael immediately shook his head. "The shortest time? Don't bullsh*t me, there are 79 hostages. Unless the Prime Minister is willing to take responsibility for the safety of the hostages, there's no way this will be quick."

Miesba lowered his voice, "I know it's hard to do, but there is a foreign guest in the Hilton Hotel next door, and an extremely important one."

"A foreign guest? Which one?" Gafael frowned.

"The rich man from the New Malaysia Special District, you should know who it is. And just now, he and the Prime Minister agreed on a big deal involving more than one billion dollars in value related to electricity and TNB." Miesba took a deep breath and looked to the mall. "We can't let the other party be concerned about our investment environment. We must solve this hostage crisis in the shortest time, otherwise... Someone has to stand up and take responsibility in the end."

Gafael's scalp felt a little numb as he cursed out.

"These damn scums, why did they pick this time and this place!"

"Ask them this question once you capture them, if you can take them captive in the first place." With a sigh, Miesba looked at his watch again and then looked at the Chief Sheriff, "Have someone appease the foreign guest's emotions. At least let him know that this is just an accident and does not represent the security of the country..."

...

On the twenty-first floor of the Hilton Hotel, which overlooked the entire situation, Jiang Chen moved a chair over and sat beside the glass window to examine the situation with great interest.

It was much more interesting than the movie.

The police force surrounded the entrance to the mall with police vehicles. They nervously hid behind the vehicles that acted as covers. Police officers wearing bulletproof vests and used megaphones to speak to the terrorists inside the mall behind the explosion-proof vehicles.

The Kuala Lumpur Police closed the scene and evacuated the street. The entire street was blocked off, including the entrance to the Hilton Hotel.

There were still many people unafraid of death.

Outside the police line, the crowd surrounded the scene and formed a dense circle. In addition to reporters, many citizens filmed the situation. With so many cameras directed at them, the police officers were feeling the heat. As a major metropolitan in Southeast Asia, the hostage situation was going to make international headline!

Jiang Chen called the bodyguard downstairs and asked him to learn more about the situation.

Not far away, the police force and the terrorists entered a stalemate, the hostages in the mall forced them to be extra cautious, but the demands of the terrorists were simply unacceptable.

Soon, the bodyguard called back and reported the situation downstairs to Jiang Chen.

In short, those terrorists were no ordinary terrorists at all, but equipped with automatic weapons and bulletproof vests. A total of 79 hostages were held in the mall, most of them were mall staff and shopping tourists. The terrorists demanded that the police immediately release 110 people who were detained in prison for being suspected of planning and participating in terrorist attacks. If the police didn't release the prisoners, they would kill one person every hour.

The Malayisa government would never release those prisoners.

If they established the precedent to compromise to terrorists, it would be a nightnamre in the future. And the terrorists inside this mall clearly did not intend to escape. If they confirmed the safety of their associates, they would probably explode everything the next second.

The Malayisa Police were helpless and requested reinforcements from the anti-terrorist forces stationed in Kuala Lumpur. Soon, two armored vehicles arrived and two Black Hawk helicopters hovered around the mall. Anti-terrorist units wearing black combat uniforms entered the scene and surrounded the mall.

There seems to be no further actions?

Jiang Chen yawned, and when he was about to go back to his room, his watch shook twice.

The holographic screen opened, and the bodyguard standing at the door appeared on the screen.

"The Prime Minister's chief of staff, Miesba, and Kuala Lumpur's Chief Sherrif, Meyaki, are at the door and they want to see you."

Jiang Chen took a second to think of the reason and immediately understood their intentions, so he nodded.

"Invite them in."

"Yes." The bodyguard wearing sunglasses nodded and ended the communication.

Soon, the door opened, and a slim man with a European face in a suit walked in. Behind him was an Asian in a police uniform.

Miesba apologized as soon as he entered the room.

"Mr. Jiang, I am sorry that we meet again in this way. There is a hostage incident in mall across the street. I am sorry that our mistakes have affected your travel. If you have any arrangements to go out at night, we can arrange an armored vehicle to escort you from the door to the police line."

"No need. I understand your difficulties and I sincerely hope that the hostages in the mall will be safe and sound." The apology of the chief of staff was very sincere, and Jiang Chen did not give him any trouble. He expressed that he didn't mind the situation.

But at this moment, Jiang Chen focused on the sheriff behind him.

His eyes moved around and an idea suddenly appeared, so he smiled and said.

"Can I learn more about the situation? Are the hostages in the mall still fine?"

Meyaki's heart clanked as Mr. Jiang asked about the situation.

Meyaki had to bite the bullet and respond with honesty. "The situation is already under control. After the anti-terrorist forces arrive, we will soon start the rescue operation. It is only because of the monitoring system-"

Miesba glanced at Meyaki, and the sheriff immediately realized that he said too much and quickly closed his mouth.

Although the sheriff quickly closed his mouth, Jiang Chen had already heard the information he wanted to hear.

Jiang Chen smiled and nodded, then looked at the chief of staff.

"Monitor? Maybe Celestial Trade can help you."

Chapter 958: An Idiotic Question

Translator: _Min_ Editor: Rainystars

Jiang Chen's proposal somewhat shocked Miesba, but soon he shook his head and declined.

"I express my gratitude for Mr. Jiang's good intention. Malaysia has a professional anti-terrorist force; we don't need foreign counter-terrorism forces' help."

As a private military company, Celestial Trade gained a far more notorious name compared to Blackwater International, Triple Canopy, and DynCorp. The three most classic battles were Pannu Islands coup, independence of MLL Island, and Moro's self-defense.

The combat power the company displayed was not inferior to any army of any country.

This army nominally acted as a mercenary force and Xin's national defense contractor. In reality however, no countries regard this army as a mercenary force, but viewed it as a regular army outside the formal establishment. Although the hostage incident in Kuala Lumpur put the Malaysia Prime Minister in a tight situation, the situation was far from requiring the help of foreigners.

However, after understanding what Miesba meant, Jiang Chen shook his head. "You misunderstood what I meant."

"Oh?" Miesba raised an eyebrow and looked at Jiang Chen with a questioning look. "What is Mr. Jiang's proposal?"

"Terrorists have occupied the mall, taken control of the monitoring inside the building, and cut off the connection. If I didn't guess wrong, they must also have the standby generators in the building under control. Even if the building's power is cut off, they can also maintain the power supply of the building for a long time. Under such circumstances, it means that your anti-terrorist forces have to carry out the rescue operation under the eyes of the terrorists. Am I right?" Jiang Chen said with a smile

"We have contacted the building contractor of the building and will soon be able to obtain the architectural drawings. We have professional anti-terrorism experts and this is our own problem. Mr. Jiang should not worry about it." Miesba shook his head.

"Of course it is your own problem, but we can provide you with better equipment and increase the success rate of the rescue." Jiang Chen smiled at Miesba and then looked at the chief sheriff. "The drones manufactured by Future Heavy Industries, are you not interested?"

...

The distance between Coro Island and Kuala Lumpur was not very far, even for a passenger plane, it was a two to three hour journey.

Jiang Chen made a phone call and ordered New Moon Island to prepare the equipment and aircraft. Two beta-2 police drone terminals, as well as more than 20 drones, were loaded onto the transport aircraft, along with a Celestial Trade drone expert.

The chief of staff called the prime minister, and soon Prime Minister Razak approved Celestial Trade's participation in the hostage rescue. Kuala Lumpur was the capital of Malaysia. Now the media all over the world focused on how the government could resolve this incident.

It was no exaggeration to say that the outcome of this hostage crisis would affect the national image, tourism, and investment rating for at least five years, or even longer.

On the one hand, the Kuala Lumpur Police Force negotiated with the terrorists through negotiation experts to calm the terrorists while on the other hand, they were working with the special anti-terrorist forces to prepare for the rescue of the hostages.

After hearing that Miesba had asked for foreign aid, the head of the National Anti-terrorism Office, Gafael, scoffed at the idea, saying that his subordinates did not need those toys at all. As long as they saw the architectural drawings of the mall, they could easily sneak into blind spots and then save the hostages.

However, after getting the architectural drawings, his expression suddenly changed for the worse.

At least from the drawings, it was almost impossible to approach the hostages without disturbing the terrorists. And based on the drawings, there were too many places where the hostages could be!

It was not just him, even the anti-terrorism expert from the army gave a helpless look after studying the drawings.

The media were waiting for their news outside the cordon. They had been preparing for a long time.

Should they start the rescue?

Just as Gafael and anti-terrorism experts were sweating profusely in the temporary command room, an explosion-proof car stopped in front of the temporary command room, and a man came in.

After Gafael saw him, he frowned slightly.

"You are?"

"This is my business card."

The man said distantly as he took the toolbox next to the map, leaving Gafael feeling bewildered.

Soon, Miesba came in and explained.

"This is a drone expert from Celestial Trade."

Gafael frowned, "I said, I don't need those gadgets."

"Then do you have a better plan?"

The words made Gafael stop, he couldn't respond.

Seeing the stubborn head of the National Anti-terrorism Office speechless, Miesba continued,

"The Prime Minister asked you to resolve the problem within five hours. There is still one hour left. If the terrorists execute the hostages, will you take responsibility?"

Cold sweat dripped from his forehead, and Gafael moved his stiff neck. He finally caved in and nodded.

"Okay, let him try."

When the drone expert of Celestial Trade arrived, he just glanced at the map and took a few photos. He then turned away from the command room and dragged the equipment out of the vehicle and prepared for work.

Gafael watched him play with the equipment. He couldn't see anything intriguing about this, so he spoke up.

"The noise of the drone will attract the attention of the terrorists. You are risking the life of 79 hostages."

"Our drone are noiseless," the drone expert said emotionlessly.

Gafael stared at him as if he was staring at a monster.

The drone is noiseless? Are you kidding me?

However, just as he was about to say something, the drone expert quickly took action to shut him down.

The drone terminal deployed on the road quickly opened the cover on the outer casing. A palm-sized drone flew out from inside and steadily hovered over the drone expert's hand.

Unless it was extremely close, the noise was barely distinguishable.

Instantly, he was deeply ashamed of his action.

While they were all four rotor-wing drones, the embedded aluminum alloy fan blades of Future Heavy Industries did not make loud audible noise like the drones available in the market. It was like an invisible hand holding the drone from below.

The drone expert told Gafael with his actions the fascinating limit of technology.

Locking his eyes on the drones, Gafael said with astonishment, uncertainty of the reality in front of him.

"Where are you going to... let these little guys in?"

Gafael immediately realized that the question he asked was plain stupid.

[Were? The central air conditioning vents? The maneuverability of this drone could go anywhere?]

The central air-conditioning in the mall extend in all directions, and the drones could easily go in where people can't! Want to determine the location of the hostage? It is too easy!

Sure enough, the drone expert also felt that the question was idiotic and did not answer.

He took the tablet and uploaded the scanned map into it, then set the flight path of the drones along the central air conditioning duct. A dozen drones flew out of the terminal and rushed into the dark mall.

After doing all this, the drone expert looked at the bewildered Gafael, and calmly said,

"Tell your people to prepare themselves. It's time to get to work."

Chapter 959: Drone Orders

Translator: _Min_ Editor: Rainystars

It was a battle without suspense.

Ten drones followed the central air-conditioning duct and quickly arrived at the fourth, fifth, and sixth floors controlled by the terrorists. They identified the location of the hostages through the camera and ambushed above the head of the terrorists.

The Malaysia counter-terrorism forces immediately formulated an execution plan based on the intelligence detected by the drone. They divided into five teams and attacked the weak parts of the building, and began their operations simultaneously.

With the cooperation of the sudden attack by drones, more than 30 special forces rushed into the building with lightning speed, killing several terrorists and ended the battle in just eighty seconds.

All 79 hostages were rescued, eight of the terrorists were killed on the spot and the remaining two were captured.

Yes, there were a total of ten terrorists.

The Malaysia police's information was incorrect. There were more than nine terrorists, one of the terrorist disguised themselves as a tourist and stayed together with the other hostages with explosives in his jacket.

If it was not for beta-2 police drone's quick reaction in executing the terrorist attempting to detonate the explosives, this hostage rescue operation may have ended in failure.

Thanks to the help of the beta-2 drone, the hostage crisis was solved.

Afterwards, the prime minister and King of Malaysia expressed their gratitude to Jiang Chen and Celestial Trade for their help. All the media that arrived at the scene also expressed their amazement at the police drones that contributed greatly in the hostages rescue!

The Nouveau York Times on the other side of the ocean even gave the drone a name of "anti-terrorism holy grail".

Gratitude was just gratitude after, if it were not for the benefits after, Jiang Chen was not be that bored to give out a helping hand.

Sure enough, just after he and TNB negotiated the power export agreement and the construction of the submarine transmission cable, the Malaysian police chief came to see him, hoping to order a batch of beta-2 drones.

The total value of the order was over 20 million XND.

The 20 million XND order was not a big order to Future Heavy Industries, but it was definitely a good start. For a long time, this kind of police drone with the capability to carry light weapons was unable to penetrate into the foreign market. Compared to working with foreign companies, the police departments were more inclined to work with domestic equipment suppliers.

This hostage incident undoubtedly brought good publicity for the beta-2 drone.

With the cooperation of beta-2, the Malaysia Special Forces suffered no casualties and rescued all 79 hostages from terrorists equipped with sophisticated gears. Even among the cases of success story in counter-terrorism operations around the world, this would be considered an impressive achievement.

The countries plagued by terrorism would certainly be interested in the beta-2 drones.

...

Hundreds of thousands of kilometers away, on the Lunar Colony, more than a dozen vehicles were working around a football-field-sized open space. The steel frame was being built, and the workers in spacesuits moved around the construction materials like kangaroos. They attached the frame together with a low-power metal jet welding torches.

At the center of the site was a hexagonal platform.

On a dark and sturdy outer shell were scaly drums. Each of the protrusions was about the size of a thumb and they were neatly arranged into a net that covered the entire hexagonal outer casing.

"...the connection is normal."

With a sigh of relief, Lu Fan raised his hand and rubbed his forehead.

He was not really sweating. It was just a habit he has whenever he solved a big problem. But this time, he touched a heavy helmet.

Still processing his action, Lu Fan immediately smiled awkwardly and tossed the device into the toolbox, ready to return to the colony.

It had been more than a week since he came here.

The closer you are to the universe, the more miniscule you feel.

After the initial craze, Lu Fan began to remember his life on Earth just as the director had said. The feeling of legs bound to the ground by gravity could only be felt in the gravity chamber.

Passing through the buffer chamber, he hung his space suit at the door, pulled out his ID card and swept it on the scanner. Then, he took a can of coffee from the vending machine. In space, he still had to pay, but his salary was several times higher than on Earth, so there was no need to carefully budget.

At the same time, a middle-aged man also passed through the buffer chamber and entered into the colony. After seeing Lu Fan, he said hello.

"How does it feel?"

"It was okay," Lu Fan said casually. "I felt like I went to Australia and became a kangaroo."

The middle-aged man laughed and put the toolbox aside.

"Yes, we are all kangaroos. Speaking of which, have you been to Australia? The kangaroos there are really fun, I mean the ones in the zoo, the wild ones are not friendly at all."

"I haven't been there. Maybe I will go after my three month shift," Lu Fan squeezed his eyebrows, "and learn from them about how to jump like kangaroos."

"Hahaha...!"

The middle-aged man was his boss, He Biao, the head of the power department in the colony. Although he was the boss, there was no concept of beauracracy here. The size of the colony now was around 500 people. Although new people joined in every once in a while, it was still a small place.

The entire power department only had twenty people.

These twenty electric engineers supported the entire colony's grid from the living quarter to the soilless room.

The two packed up their things and prepared to go to the cafeteria for lunch. To keep a good schedule on the Moon, it was important to keep track of time, so the sleeping and eating schedule could be maintained.

In the cafeteria, Lu Fan ordered a plate of curry beef, and sat across from He Biao. He could just see the work site from the window from where he sat.

Lu Fan frowned slightly and asked about something that bothered him. "You said... what exactly is that thing?"

He Biao thought for a second and looked at him strangely.

"The thing outside? You don't know?"

Lu Fan shook his head.

"No one told me, is this confidential in the company?"

He Biao smiled and shook his head.

"It's not confidential, because it will be put into use soon. But some time ago, the relevant information about that was indeed classifed as highly confidential."

Lu Fan was even more curious.

"What exactly is it?"

"A device that converts electrical energy into light energy, and then transports it hundreds of thousands of kilometers away."

"How is this possible!" Lu Fan couldn't control his voice.

Seeing other people in the cafeteria look in his direction, he quickly lowered his head and lowered his voice.

He Biao looked at the astounded subordinate and grinned. "Nothing is impossible. Although when I heard this for the first time, I was even more surprised than you. But after studying the entire drawings, you will not think that way."

He turned his eyes to the window and said longingly.

"If the test runs smoothly, this will become the first gift from the Moon to the Earth. And our colony will no longer be burning through cash!"

Chapter 960: The February Spent on Plane

Translator: _Min_ Editor: Rainystars

After staying in Kuala Lumpur for three days, Jiang Chen returned to Coro Island on his Gulfstream G650 and began preparing for his next trip.

Shortly after he returned, Celestial Trade sent a construction ship to the sea between Ange Island and New Malaysia Special District to begin construction work under the sea. It was much more troublesome to lay such a submarine transmission line than to build an overhead transmission line on land. However, for Celestial Trade that often engages in submarine engineering, it was not a big deal.

The person in charge of the project assured Jiang Chen that the transmission line would be completed by the end of March at the latest.

On the other side of the Moon Colony, the colonial director Tang Weijie also assured Jiang Chen through video calls to complete the laying of long-distance power transmission equipment by the end of February. From Celestial City, the device used to receive the laser was also under construction.

Kelvin guaranteed Jiang Chen that by the middle of March at the latest, the whole country would be able to use the electricity generated by the lunar nuclear fusion power station. Coro Nuclear Power Plant could finally be decommissioned form the historical stage after years of criticism .

...

Jiang Chen spent almost the entirety of February on his plane.

Following Malaysia's agreement to connect its domestic grid with the Xin, negotiations between Celestial Trade and Australia, India, Nippon, and South Korea were also in progress.

As Jiang Chen expected, the electricity price of 1.2 cents USD per kilowatt-hour was impossible to refuse. Some people speculated that Celestial Trade used solar energy, while others also speculated that there were a large number of isotope of uranium and thorium on the Bennu asteroid, but no one thought of nuclear fusion.

Because it was too difficult to achieve nuclear fusion, no material could withstand the tens of millions of degrees of reaction temperature required. The fabled cold fusion has even more demanding conditions to the point that was sounded more fictional.

In fact, even in the 22nd century, there was no material that could withstand tens of millions of degrees of high temperature.

If such a material did exist, flying into the Sun would not be a problem. After all, the internal temperature of the sun was only around 20 million degrees Celsius.

But in the not-too-distant future, a magical technology that confined particles into a certain space, while maintaining its own high temperature, while not making contact with other materials, was invented. Instead of a material container in the traditional sense, it was held by an invisible hand.

It was the magnetic confinement technology.

But even applying magnetic confinement technology, nuclear fusion power generation was still an almost impossible problem for most people. The device for constraining charged particles by magnetic confinement was born as early as the end of the 20th century. However, the use of magnetic confinement technology to constrain the uncharged helium-3 and deuterium involved particle science that couldn't be explained by present day physics.

All in all, the negotiations with Australia were quite successful. The Australian-side promised to build the submarine transmission line, but insisted that the construction and maintenance of this line must be handed over to Australian companies. Jiang Chen readily accepted this proposal. If it was really handed to the offshore construction team of Celestial Trade, they wouldn't be able to manage all the projects. They could only postpone the construction period after the completion of the transmission line between Ange Island and New Malaysia Special District.

Australia's annual power generation was almost twice that of Malaysia, close to 400 billion kWh. Moreover, due to institutional reasons, the Australian-side did not interfere in the negotiation with its own domestic companies like Malaysia did on the import amount.

Australia's electricity was basically monopolized by two major companies. AGL committed to the development of new energy source offered a lucrative deal. The company signed a contract of 100 billion kWh and obtained priority in the Australian market after Jiang Chen proposed the offer.

This southern hemisphere market would generate more than one billion Australian dollars in revenue per year for Celestial Trade.

As for India, the negotiations went even smoother.

As an emerging economy with the world's fifth-largest power generation, India's annual electricity subsidy remained an astronomical figure. Just when negotiating with India, Jiang Chen learned the definition of honing. Both parties already agreed on the price, but they strangely couldn't finalize the deal.

In the end, Jiang Chen simply gave the follow-up work to Future Bank's branch in India and then flew to Japan.

There were still many things he must do, and there was no time to waste in one place.

...

Europe, at the foot of the Alps, in a manor under the name of Rothschild, fruit farmers were working in front of rows of grape vines. The planting techniques they use were inherited from the traditional planting techniques mastered by the Medici family in the 14th century.

The Rothschild family firmly believed that only the traditional planting techniques could produce the most authentic wine. The red wine that flowed out of this winery were wines comparable to gold, and were sought after by the entire upper class in Europe.

Next to the vineyard, a man in a casual outfit was looking at the newspaper and sitting on a wooden chair made of rattan.

Without a close examination, no one would know that the Jewish man was the uncrowned king of the underground forces in Europe.

After the tragedy in Pilsner Syragogue, he integrated the power of Freemasonry and was indeed worthy of the title "uncrowned king." Among the level 33 members, his seniority was the highest. He was not only the one controlling the Freemasonry, but the one who owned the wealth of the Rothschild family.

However, at this moment, the young king had a melancholic expression.

A Mercedes-Benz was parked at the door of the winery, it was Johnson that stepped out. He was Rothschild's private bodyguard and his most loyal subordinate. He has been following Carmen since he was picked up by Rothschild from the French Foreign Legion.

He seemed to be one of the perpetrators behind the tragedy in Europe that shocked the world.

Without turning his head, Carmen flipped to the next page and asked casually.

"Did you take care of it?"

"Like a cold war machine," Johnson responded.

"All of them have been taken care of?"

Just two hours ago, all the voices of opposition within the EU were annihilated.

A curvature formed on Carmen's lips and he folded the newspaper.

The butler who stood by his side was slightly surprised. It was the first time he saw his young master smile.

Putting the newspaper aside, Carmen stood up and laughed.

"Where is our enemy? Did they notice?"

Johnson shook his head.

"Excellent."

Looking towards the Alps not far away, the smile on Carmen's face became even brighter, just like the snow that had just melted in the Alps.

"I should get going soon."