Chapter 245 Paralyzed with fear on the spot!

"That... that information about Starlink Technology, isn't it good news?"

Zhou Weiguo asked this subconsciously, his voice full of confusion.

That technical data was practically a timely rain, enough to let their technical level in the low-orbit satellite field catch up to, or even surpass, the Ugly Country. If that didn't count as good news, then what did?

However, faced with his question full of confusion, Xiao Zhang shook his head.

"President Zhou, that data was something Minister Liu Jianguo asked me to help hand over; it counts as a friendly favor."

Xiao Zhang's tone was very calm, so calm that it was as if he were talking about a trivial matter.

"Now, let me officially state the good news I brought."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over every Expert present who was holding their breath, and then, he calmly dropped the first bomb:

"Our Eastern Country already has its own Starlink."

Silence.

The conference room was completely silent.

Zhou Weiguo and Chen Qiming were instantly even more stunned.

They widened their eyes, staring straight at Xiao Zhang, feeling as if their brains couldn't keep up.

'What does that mean?'

'Our Eastern Country... already has its own Starlink?'

Zhou Weiguo's heart skipped a beat, and countless thoughts collided in his mind.

'Could there be another unit secretly working on Starlink Technology just like us?'

He immediately thought of Eastern Country's consistent style of doing things—backups.

Yes, for almost all major strategic projects, Eastern Country would prepare more than one plan, just in case. This was an ingrained sense of crisis.

Just like the Big Mushroom Project back in the day, there wasn't just one team working on it.

'Could it be that, besides us, as the main force, there is another team pushing it forward at the same time?'

As this thought emerged, Zhou Weiguo's heartbeat instantly accelerated, and a huge wave of hope welled up in his heart.

If there really was a backup plan, and it already had results, then perhaps their current predicament would have a turning point!

"Could it be..." Zhou Weiguo leaned forward slightly, his voice trembling, "Could it be that the Starlink satellites have already been produced, and they have reached the stage where they can be launched?"

In his view, if another secret team had already completed the production of the satellites, that was the best, absolute best news he could imagine.

This meant they could immediately start launching to seize those orbits that were about to be occupied by the Ugly Country.

Although time was tight, there was finally a chance to fight for it!

...

The gazes of all the Experts in the conference room were also focused on Xiao Zhang, with hope burning in everyone's eyes.

However.

Faced with this room full of expectant gazes, Xiao Zhang once again shook his head.

That hope seemed to be blown over by a cold wind, and it dimmed instantly.

Zhou Weiguo froze; he leaned back into his chair, the excitement on his face quickly receding, replaced by a bitter smile.

He shook his head and said in a low voice: "I knew it; if there were one, how could I not have heard even a whisper about it."

After all, such a large project, involving satellite manufacturing, rocket coordination, and launch site scheduling, was link upon link; how could it be that easy.

As the head of the Eastern Country Satellite Network Group, if another batch of satellites had really been produced domestically, it was impossible for him not to know anything about it.

He was too anxious and had thought too wishfully.

...

The surrounding Experts also revealed expressions of disappointment; the hope that had just ignited was extinguished again.

Just when this feeling of disappointment was about to disperse.

That young man, who was excessively calm, spoke again.

The comrade from the Special Front looked at Zhou Weiguo, his voice not loud, but every word was crystal clear:

"It has already been successfully launched."

"..."

The bitter smile on Zhou Weiguo's face instantly froze.

He stared blankly at Xiao Zhang, his mind a complete blank, as if he didn't understand what these five words meant.

'Already... successfully launched?'

This thought flashed through his mind, but he completely couldn't comprehend it.

Not produced, yet successfully launched?

What kind of logic is this?

Are you playing quantum mechanics with me here?

No, this is even more mysterious than quantum mechanics.

He opened his mouth, wanting to ask something, but his throat felt like it was blocked by a ball of cotton, and he couldn't say a single word.

The next second.

Thump!

Zhou Weiguo only felt his legs go weak, all his strength seemed to be drained away, and his whole body uncontrollably slid down from the president's chair, collapsing onto the cold floor.

The huge sound was particularly loud in the quiet conference room.

Everyone was stunned by this sudden scene.

Vice President Chen Qiming and a few Experts who were nearby hurriedly and clumsily went to help him up.

"Old Zhou! Are you okay!"

However, Zhou Weiguo completely disregarded his image at this moment.

He waved his hand, not letting others help, and scrambled to prop himself up against the table leg, wanting to crawl up by himself.

His mind was a chaotic mess, countless question marks spinning wildly.

'What does successfully launched mean?'

'When was it launched?'

'What was it launched with?'

'How many were launched?'

Before he could even stand steady and ask,

The comrade from the Special Front standing in the center of the conference room looked at this room full of dumbfounded Experts and calmly dropped the ultimate bomb.

His voice remained steady, without a ripple, as if he were just giving a weather report.

"The Starlink constellation consists of 10,036 small satellites."

...

Thump!

Inside the conference room, Zhou Weiguo, who had just struggled to get up and hadn't even sat steady yet, once again slid straight down from his chair.

The action was exactly the same as the last time, and perhaps because he had experience, he slid even more smoothly and decisively.

And this time, he was not the only one "performing".

It was like pushing over the first domino.

"Thump!"

Vice President Chen Qiming, his eyes wide open, also slid down.

"Thump!" "Thump!" "Thump!"

In the conference room, those dozen or so usually prestigious satellite Experts and rocket Experts also seemed to have had their bones collectively removed, and all of them, without exception, slid straight down from their respective chairs, collapsing in a heap.

The entire conference room instantly became empty.

All that was left were the sounds of people falling one after another, and a silence.

What the hell?

Successfully launched?

And 10,036 of them?!