87: The starship exploded! A 'giant firework' worth billions!

In the global live stream.

The comments from Great Xia Country Netizens instantly flooded the screen.

"Here it comes! What did I tell you? India's components are bound to fail!"

"LMAO! Eagle Country probably bought India's 'scraps' and installed them on the starship!"

"Just waiting for the explosion! India absolutely deserves the 'Best Team Sabotage Award' for this one!"

Someone even screenshotted the comments previously posted by India's Netizens who were showing off.

The caption read "Massive Face-Slapping Scene," and the comment section erupted in laughter... Xia Academy of Sciences.

Li Jianguo's office.

The starship's live feed was playing on the large screen.

Li Jianguo, holding his teacup, paused and was momentarily stunned:

"Is Eagle Country trying to achieve a technological breakthrough, or just trying to create a joke?"

Lin Chen leaned back in his chair, looking perfectly composed:

"Heh heh! I actually thought Eagle Country had made a breakthrough in space technology."

"But in the end, this is all they managed?"

He had initially believed that Eagle Country truly had a major breakthrough in the space domain.

He had been planning to wait until it flew into near-Earth space.

To use it to test the performance of the enhanced Laser Cannon.

But instead, they messed up big time right at the start!

At this rate.

He wouldn't even need to intervene; that large iron bucket was guaranteed to explode.

"Little Lin, our white emperor aerospace fighter shouldn't have this kind of problem, right?"

Seeing Eagle Country's starship run into such issues, Li Jianguo felt a little worried.

"Don't worry! white emperor has a self-check system."

"If any component has an issue, it will detect it."

Lin Chen was full of confidence.

Putting aside everything else.

All the components of the white emperor.

Were personally involved in the processing by Xia Academy of Sciences Engineers.

The size and material of every single component underwent strict inspection.

No flaws were permitted.

While Lin Chen and the others were talking.

On the live feed screen.

The starship was about to give out.

Inside the starship cockpit.

Tom Rui's veins were bulging on his forehead.

He was still trying his best to stop the leak.

But no matter how hard he tried.

Given that India had used aluminum alloy to replace titanium alloy material.

It was all in vain.

In the end, the valve completely cracked open.

Only at this moment.

Did Tom Rui realize what the problem was.

He roared in anger:

"fuck!"

"The valve is made of aluminum alloy,"

"Musk, you killed us..."

Right after he finished roaring.

The starship's shaking became increasingly violent, and the numbers on the dashboard flashed red frantically.

The sky outside the window began to spin, and the orange-red engine flames flickered.

Suddenly.

A blinding white light exploded in the sky!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

A huge explosion echoed throughout the entire airspace.

The starship exploded directly in the air.

An orange-red fireball bloomed high in the sky, resembling a grotesque firework.

Debris scattered, carrying sparks.

Some pieces burned to ash before they even hit the ground.

The former starship instantly turned into a mass of burning scrap metal... Ground Launch Center.

Opden froze in place.

His eyes were wide as brass bells, and he repeated:

"It exploded... my starship... exploded..."

He never imagined in his wildest dreams.

That the starship's first test flight would end this way.

Even if it had flown out of the Blue Star and disintegrated in space.

They could have found an excuse to cover it up.

But now, it exploded immediately after takeoff.

And it happened during a live broadcast.

How were they supposed to 'justify' this to the entire world?

He suddenly raised his hand, pointed at Musk, and his voice trembled:

"fuck! Musk, didn't you say there were no problems?!"

Musk felt worse than if he had swallowed a dead fly.

He grabbed his hair with both hands and shouted hysterically:

"It was India!"

"It was their valve!"

"I said there was a problem early on!"

"But you insisted on launching..."

Hearing this, Durutt slumped onto the floor.

Looking at the fireball on the screen, his face was whiter than paper:

"It's over... everything is over..."

The India Engineer Kira.

Seeing this scene, was shaking all over in terror.

Yellow liquid even leaked between his legs, and he kept muttering:

"Impossible!"

"This absolutely isn't because of the valve."

"It must be some other problem..."

Opden turned to look at Kira and roared:

"Guards, seize this fraud!"

Kira was scared out of his wits and begged frantically for mercy:

"Don't arrest me! It's not my fault!"

"It was those fraudsters in India! It has nothing to do with me..."

Kira cried and shouted, tears and snot covering his face.

But the guards paid him no attention.

And dragged him away for interrogation... In the global live stream.

Eagle Country Netizens were completely devastated.

They felt like they had gone from heaven to hell.

The initial euphoria had turned entirely into wailing.

"No! My starship! My dream of landing on the moon!"

"Why did this happen? Why did it explode! Wuwu!"

"fuck! Replacing the valve with aluminum alloy?! Is Musk crazy?"

"We spent so much money, only to become a global laughingstock, damn it!"

"..."

Eagle Country Netizens furiously denounced Musk.

He went directly from being the light of humanity to a fraudster.

Sakura Country Netizens instantly wilted: "It's over... Daddy Eagle Country's starship exploded... how can we benefit now?"

South Korea Netizens were silent for a long time before finally uttering: "If only we had known... we shouldn't have mocked Great Xia Country..."

India Netizens immediately disappeared, afraid to show their faces again.

Great Xia Country Netizens were ecstatic.

"Good! It exploded well! This firework is better looking than the ones at the Spring Festival Gala!"

"This move by India is practically a 'secret ally' of Great Xia Country!"

"Eagle Country: If I had known, I would have begged Great Xia Country rather than seeking help from India!"

Someone even posted a "setting off firecrackers" emoji.

With the caption "Celebrating Eagle Country's 'Successful' Explosion of the starship."

The reactions from countries around the world were explosive.

King Satt watched the news and smiled as he spoke to the Prince:

"It's a good thing we didn't get involved with Eagle Country. It's safer to stick closely to Great Xia Country's 'thick thigh'!"

The President of Laik Country immediately posted a tweet: "Choosing a reliable partner is more important than anything else."

Media outlets in neutral countries reported:

"Eagle Country starship explosion exposes supply chain vulnerabilities; India components become the main culprit."

... Launch Center.

Opden recovered his senses and ordered with a grim expression:

"Durutt, announce this immediately!"

"Say that the explosion of the starship was caused by using components from Great Xia Country!"

Eagle Country has already become a global joke.

But they must drag Great Xia Country down with them.

Durutt frowned deeply and reminded him:

"Mr. President, won't doing this anger Great Xia Country?"

Opden glared at him and said dismissively:

"What is there to fear?"

"Our relationship with Great Xia Country is already at an all-time low."

"If we suffer, they won't get off easy either."

Pausing, he then continued to instruct:

"At the same time, investigate the specific cause!"

"If the investigation confirms that India's components were the issue."

"Demand 100 billion US dollars in compensation from them directly!"

Durutt was stunned for a moment, "Isn't that a bit much?"

Opden's eyes were filled with fury:

"They made us lose face worldwide and cost us over ten billion US dollars!"

"India must pay the price!"

Musk stood off to the side.

Not daring to speak.

Afraid that Opden would hold him accountable.

However, he also knew.

Someone definitely had to take the blame for this incident.

Musk could only pray that he wasn't the one who would take the fall.