84: Starship in trouble! Indians come to the rescue!

NASA Headquarters Conference Room.

In the conference room sat the core scientists of the starship project, along with Musk.

Durutt sat in the main seat, his expression grim.

"The President just gave me an order!"

"The starship's maiden flight must be moved up as much as possible!"

"Advance it by one day and get a billion US dollars; mess it up, and everyone is out!"

Musk wore a gray hoodie, his hair messy, his fingers constantly rubbing his coffee cup.

Hearing the words "advance it," he suddenly looked up, his eyes full of helplessness.

"Director Durutt, that's impossible."

"The starship's sealing valves haven't been debugged yet, and the inventory of critical components is only enough for one test flight."

"If we advance it, the risks will double!"

An old scientist wearing glasses pushed up his frames, his voice low:

"Director, we haven't even finished the most basic pressure tests."

"During previous simulated flights, the valves had already leaked three times."

"Advancing it now is gambling with lives!"

Another blond scientist echoed:

"Exactly! Moreover, the precision requirements for titanium alloy components are extremely high; our own factories simply can't produce enough."

"We used to find Great Xia Country for processing, but now..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

The conference room fell into a dead silence.

Everyone knew that with the current relationship between Eagleland and Great Xia Country, importing components from Great Xia Country was impossible.

Durutt stared at them, his face growing darker.

"If Great Xia Country can't do it, find someone else!"

"They're not the only ones on Blue Star who can do it!"

But even in his tone, there was a lack of confidence.

If other countries could process them,

they wouldn't have needed to import from Great Xia Country in the first place.

Most importantly, the components processed by Great Xia Country were of good quality and inexpensive.

And they were always made with genuine materials, never cutting corners.

Just then.

A man in an orange shirt stood up.

He was a scientist who had immigrated from India, named Kila.

Kila suggested with a smile:

"Director, why don't we try asking India for help with processing?!"

"From what I understand, India's processing technology is also very advanced."

"My relatives back home also specialize in producing precision components, and the price is half that of Great Xia Country!"

As soon as these words came out, the conference room instantly erupted.

An old scientist sprang to his feet, glaring furiously:

"Kila, are you crazy?"

"India's processing technology? They can't even make ordinary steel parts up to standard!"

"The brackets we had them make last time deformed before they were even installed!"

The blond scientist also sneered: "Using parts processed by India? Our starship can directly declare failure!"

Other scientists also stood up to refute.

This showed how bad India's reputation was.

Seeing this, Kila's face instantly flushed red, and he forced himself to explain:

"It's different! This time it's different!"

"My cousin's factory has introduced new equipment, specializing in titanium alloy!"

"I guarantee, the precision will definitely be enough!"

Durutt looked at the arguing crowd, his face gloomy.

He turned to Musk and asked in a deep voice, "Musk, say something."

Musk sighed, leaning back in his chair, his eyes tired.

"Currently, there's no better option."

"The Great Xia Country path is blocked, and other countries either lack the technology or the production capacity."

"India... even if the risk is high, we can only try."

His voice was light, yet it was like a stone dropped into water.

The old scientist wanted to refute, but Durutt cut him off with a look.

"It's settled then!"

"Kila, contact your cousin's factory and immediately order a batch of sealing valves!"

"There's only one requirement: they must be delivered within 5 days!"

Kila was so excited he almost jumped up, nodding repeatedly: "Okay! I'll call right now!"

He pulled out his phone and quickly walked out of the conference room, muttering:

"This time, I'll definitely show you the strength of our India!"

Durutt watched his retreating figure, then looked at Musk, his brows tightly furrowed.

"Musk, do you really think they can do it?"

Musk shook his head, took a sip from his coffee cup, and gave a bitter smile: "I don't know."

"But now, we can only gamble."

"Gamble that India can be reliable this one time."

The scientists in the conference room all lowered their heads, no one speaking.

They all knew in their hearts that the chances of winning this gamble were minuscule... In the outskirts of Mumbai, India.

In a dilapidated small workshop.

The roar of machinery was deafening, and the floor was piled with scrap metal and oil stains.

The workshop owner was a bearded man named Sanjay.

He held an order in his hand, speechless:

"Titanium alloy sealing valves? And they have to meet NASA standards?"

"This Kila kid really knows how to brag!"

A worker next to Sanjay scratched his head and asked in a low voice, "Boss, we don't have titanium alloy material, what should we do?"

Sanjay sneered, patting the worker's shoulder: "No titanium alloy? Can't you just use aluminum alloy instead?"

"Paint it with titanium alloy colored paint, who would know?"

"The NASA people won't take it apart to check, as long as the surface looks good!"

The worker was stunned: "But... what if something goes wrong?"

Sanjay glared at him, his tone fierce:

"Something goes wrong? By the time they find out, our money will already be in our hands!"

"By then, who cares if their starship explodes?"

He picked up a paintbrush, dipped it in silver paint, and brushed it onto an aluminum alloy valve.

Sanjay hummed a tune while painting:

"Eagleland's money is so easy to earn, just a little fooling around and you can get tens of thousands of US dollars."

"Once this batch of goods is delivered, I'll buy a new car and marry a wife!"

The workers beside him looked on with envy.

Little did they know.

These aluminum alloy valves, painted with silver paint, were about to board Eagleland's starship.

They were about to carry Eagleland's dream of returning to the moon, soaring into space.

Moreover, for these components, Eagleland had paid tens of millions of US dollars.

While they only received tens of thousands of US dollars... Five days later.

NASA Headquarters.

Durutt and Musk were standing in the warehouse, looking at the newly arrived valves.

Musk picked up a valve, weighed it, and frowned.

"The weight is off, it's much lighter than the ones from Great Xia Country before."

Durutt smiled and patted his shoulder:

"Lighter is good, it reduces the starship's load."

"India's craftsmanship has improved, so don't worry about it."

Musk didn't speak, but a sense of unease rose in his heart.

He always felt that there was something wrong with these valves.

But time was running out; the starship's maiden flight date had to be advanced.

He could only suppress this unease and turn to walk out of the warehouse.

In another 10 days, the starship would launch.

He just didn't know.

This seemingly grand space journey was destined for tragedy from the very beginning.