Chapter 223 This is Schrödinger's success

Inside the ISRO control hall.

As the brilliant fireball on the screen gradually dissipated, turning into countless tiny pieces of space debris, the air in the hall seemed to be sucked dry in an instant.

That kind of oppression was like a giant boulder pressing on everyone's chest, making it hard to breathe.

All the scientists, engineers, and those officials who had originally prepared champagne to celebrate were now frozen in extremely comical, rigid postures.

Some had their mouths open, some had their hands raised, and some even remained in the middle of a hug.

Their eyes were hollow, as if their souls had been taken away by that explosion.

"It's over..."

Rajesh slumped in his chair, staring blankly at the screen.

In his mind, the image of that fragment with the red paper saying "Safe Travels" turning to ash in the fire kept replaying.

That wasn't just a piece of red paper.

That was his career, his pension, and perhaps even his freedom for the rest of his life.

'I knew it... I knew that 9999% was an ill omen...'

'Maybe... I shouldn't have withheld the final payment.'

Rajesh's heart was filled with despair and regret.

Damn curry speed, damn Singh.

To hell with curry speed, to hell with Singh.

Meanwhile.

Singh, the instigator of it all, had his face turn from ecstasy to a deathly pale, even showing a weird iron-blue tint.

His hands, covered in gemstone rings, were trembling violently.

"W-what... what's going on?"

Singh's voice was as dry as the grinding of rusty gears.

He turned his head and stared fixedly at Rajesh, his eyes filled with a predatory, murderous light:

"Didn't you say the success rate was one hundred percent?!"

"Didn't you say it was foolproof?!"

"Why did it explode?! Why did it explode in front of the whole world?!"

Facing his superior's interrogation, Rajesh opened his mouth but couldn't say a word.

In his heart, he wanted to say: 'You were the one who insisted on an early launch,' 'You were the one who insisted on believing that damn simulation data.'

But he also knew that saying these things now was meaningless.

The blame had already been pinned on him, and it was a massive scapegoat to carry.

Just then, Singh's secretary ran over in a panic, holding a vibrating satellite phone.

"Sir, a call from the President's Office... also, the reporters outside have gone crazy; they're demanding you come out and explain immediately..."

Hearing the words "President's Office" and "reporters," Singh shuddered violently.

He knew he was finished.

But as a seasoned veteran of the bureaucracy, his survival instinct erupted at this moment.

He couldn't admit defeat!

He absolutely could not admit failure!

Once he admitted failure, it would be political suicide—an admission that "curry speed" was a joke!

Singh's eyes rolled frantically, and his brain worked at high speed.

A few seconds later.

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressed his trembling hands, and straightened his expensive gold tie.

"What's the panic!"

He suddenly shouted. Although his voice still trembled slightly, it carried a bluffing authority.

"Who said we failed?"

Singh looked around and spoke in an almost hypnotic tone:

"Did the rocket take off? It did!"

"Did the rocket fly out of the atmosphere? It did!"

"Since it flew, it's not a complete failure!"

And besides, maybe a few of them even succeeded?

After all, there were sixteen satellites; maybe some were blasted into their designated positions?

He thought to himself.

The surrounding scientists were all staring at him blankly, speechless in their hearts.

'Big brother, the satellites have all exploded into fireworks, billions of dollars gone with a bang, and you're saying this isn't failure?'

But Singh didn't care about that.

He took a handkerchief, wiped the dense cold sweat from his forehead, and then forced a smile in the mirror that looked worse than crying.

"Let's go! To the press conference hall!"

"I'm going to tell the world the truth!"

...

Ten minutes later.

The ISRO press conference hall.

The place was already in a state of chaos.

Reporters from all over the world were like sharks smelling blood, their eyes shining with excitement.

That "fireworks display of the century" just now was the biggest news in the aerospace world in recent years!

When Singh appeared at the side door of the podium, countless flashes went off instantly, and the sound of shutters clicking merged into one.

"Mr. Singh! What was the cause of the explosion just now?"

"Does this mean 'curry speed' is completely bankrupt?"

"How much money was lost this time? Will you resign to take responsibility?"

The reporters' questions came like rapid-fire cannonballs, each one hitting a sore spot.

Singh walked onto the stage. Facing those dark lenses, he felt like he was standing on an execution ground.

But he still held on, leaning his hands on the lectern, trying to look composed.

"Ahem."

He cleared his throat.

"Friends from the media, please be quiet."

Singh spoke into the microphone. His voice was loud, but if you listened closely, you could hear the lack of confidence:

"I know everyone is very concerned about... the scene that just occurred."

"However, I want to correct one of your statements."

Having said that, he paused, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead again, and then said to the camera:

"We did not fail."

As soon as he said this.

The whole audience was in an uproar.

The reporters looked at each other, wondering if this man had been driven mad by the explosion.

The fireball almost lit up space, and debris was about to fall into the Pacific Ocean, and you're telling me it wasn't a failure?

Facing the reporters' looks as if they were seeing an idiot, Singh gritted his teeth and threw out the divine logic he had just come up with:

"Yes, during the third-stage separation phase, the rocket did indeed experience some... unexpected thermodynamic phenomena."

"However, our rocket has successfully launched and verified the perfect performance of the first and second-stage engines."

"This shows that our design is largely successful!"

"As for that little interlude at the end..."

Singh's eyes flickered, avoiding the sharp gazes of the reporters:

"We are analyzing the data to find the cause of the malfunction..."

"Until all data analysis is complete, any conclusion about failure is unscientific and irresponsible!"

"Regarding the final result of the mission, we will announce it after the evaluation."

...

Once these words were spoken.

It wasn't just the reporters on the scene.

The CPUs of viewers all over the world watching the live broadcast were fried.

Especially the Netizens of the Eastern Country.

Everyone was already finding that spectacular fireworks display hilarious, but hearing The Director-General's speech, they burst out laughing even more.

The bullet chat in the live stream reached an unprecedented level of density at this moment.

"Hahahaha! I can't take it! My stomach hurts from laughing!"

"What the hell is 'unexpected thermodynamic phenomena'! An explosion is an explosion, yet he makes it sound so refined and unconventional!"

"'Largely Successful' haha, still largely successful? Your rocket has turned into a cadaver, and you're still calling it 'largely' successful?"

"Just tell me, is it 'largely' or not?"

"This move, this move is called redefining 'failure'!"

"As long as I don't declare failure, then I haven't failed! This logic is simply invincible!"

"Is this the legendary 'stubborn as a dead duck'? I've learned something today!"

The Netizens of the Eastern Country gave full play to their ingenuity and began to create memes frantically.

"Don't be a hater! This is Schrödinger's Success!"

A bullet comment emerged out of nowhere and instantly received countless likes.

Immediately after, more god-tier comments followed.

"Brilliant! Before the box is opened (data analysis finished), the rocket is in a superposition of 'success' and 'failure'!"

"I understand, I understand. In Curry Country, a launch mission doesn't just have two states of success and failure; it also has two superpositions: 'half-successful' and 'seemingly failed'!"

"Exactly! As long as they haven't held a press conference to confirm it, the satellite is still flying in the sky! Albeit in the form of fragments!"

"The Eastern Country really can't produce such giant fireworks; we admit we're inferior to Curry in this regard!"

"Damn, that's so wicked. Not only do Curry people cause trouble in the Ganges River, but now they're even going to space to relieve themselves everywhere!"

"I remember now. I recall which year it was, Curry finally managed to successfully launch a carrier rocket, but they forgot to load the satellite! Hahahaha, too funny!"

"Right, right, right! I remember that too! The rocket went up, but the satellite was still in the warehouse!"

"So this time they learned their lesson. The satellite was loaded, but they didn't want it to be too lonely, so they set off fireworks to liven things up?"

...

The carnival on the internet did not stop because the press conference ended; instead, it intensified.

Everyone was thoroughly amused by Curry Country's attitude of "celebrating a funeral as a wedding" and "being stubborn to the end."

Launch failure is a common occurrence in scientific exploration; at most, people would just feel a bit of regret.

But if you insist on being stubborn and saying you didn't fail, then it really invites ridicule.

...

Meanwhile, in the capital of the Eastern Country.

In the conference room of a certain military-industrial unit.

The big shots, who were originally serious and prepared to analyze the geopolitical impact of this launch accident, were now looking at each other with strange expressions as they watched the still-stubborn Singh on the screen.

Liu Jianguo was clutching the quick-acting heart-saving pills, originally fearing he'd be shocked by some amazing technology.

As it turned out...

He was amused.

"This..."

Liu Jianguo's mouth twitched, and he felt speechless.

He looked at that Curry Country Director-General who was still talking nonsense with a straight face and turned to his old comrade-in-arms beside him:

"Old Zhang, we were nervous for nothing."

"These people... their brain circuits are really different from ours."

"It's exploded into that state, and he can still say it's 'under evaluation'?"

Old Zhang also shook his head helplessly and sighed:

"Yeah."

"Thought it was a Pro, but it turned out to be a Noob."

"No, it's not even a Noob; it's just scrap metal."

"This kind of self-deception—who else can they fool besides themselves?"

The atmosphere in the conference room shifted from heavy to relaxed, even with a bit of theatrical mockery.

And on the internet.

The discussion about this launch was finally ended by a brilliant summary from a Netizen.

This sentence quickly climbed to the top of the hot search list, becoming the best footnote for this entire farce:

"Don't bother reasoning with them, and there's no need to analyze the data."

"Facts have proven—"

"Science can govern other countries, but it absolutely cannot govern Curry!"