356: Chapter 356 Starlink Covers Asia

On May 15th in Command Center, Hainan, the sky was as clear as if it had been washed.

Inside the command center of the space launch site, a giant ring-shaped screen displayed the real-time status of the Low Earth Orbit. Blue dots were packed densely together like a sea of stars. Each dot was a Xingchen satellite. They moved slowly across the screen, weaving an invisible giant web along their respective orbits.

More than three hundred aerospace engineers sat at their workstations, staring at the screens before them. No one spoke; there was only the sound of typing on keyboards and the hum of the air conditioning. The air was thick with an atmosphere of tension and anticipation.

Chu Tianming stood before the main control console, holding a walkie-talkie.

The fifty-year-old CEO of Xingchen Aerospace wore deep blue work clothes. His hair was a bit messy, but his gaze was exceptionally focused. Behind him was a whole wall of countdown screens.

"Tianlong-17 rocket, countdown to satellite-rocket separation."

His voice spread throughout the command center via the speakers.

On the large screen, the rocket's third stage was coasting. In the footage sent back by the camera, the curve of the Earth was clearly visible, with the azure atmosphere looking like a thin layer of gauze.

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one—separation!

One hundred and twenty satellites popped out of the fairing simultaneously.

They slowly dispersed in the vacuum like seeds scattered into the universe. The solar panels unfolded one after another, reflecting fragmented glimmers of light under the sun.

Inside the command center, someone started to applaud.

Then, more people joined in.

Chu Tianming took a deep breath and said into the microphone, "The twenty-ninth launch mission of the Tianting Starlink is complete. Cumulative satellites launched: 3,480."

He paused, his voice carrying a trace of imperceptible trembling. "From today onwards, the entirety of Asia—from the Turkish Straits to the Bering Strait, from the Arctic Ocean to the Indian Ocean—is completely covered by the Xingchen satellite internet."

Thunderous applause broke out.

Aerospace engineer Liu Yang stood in the crowd, looking at the blue dots on the big screen. Forty-five-year-old Liu Yang had been here since the very first satellite, enduring twenty-nine launches, countless late nights, numerous failures, and infinite restarts.

He took off his glasses and wiped the corners of his eyes.

A colleague beside him patted his shoulder. "Old Liu, what's wrong?"

Liu Yang shook his head, his voice somewhat choked with emotion. "A year ago, when we said we would launch twenty thousand satellites in ten years, everyone thought we were crazy. Now, 3,480 satellites have been launched in just ten months."

The colleague smiled. "As for the rest, there are still five years left."

At 9:30 AM, a global live broadcast began.

The big screen switched to a map of Asia.

From Istanbul to Tokyo, from Novosibirsk to Jakarta, the entire Asian continent was shrouded in a giant web woven of blue dots. Those dots were so dense they looked like the most crowded galaxy in the night sky.

Chu Tianming said to the camera, "These 3,480 satellites can provide high-speed internet services to four billion people in Asia. The network speed is one hundred megabits per second, the latency is below thirty milliseconds, and the cost—is seventy percent cheaper than ground-based fiber optics."

Below the stage, reporters from all over the world were frantically taking notes.

A reporter raised their hand. "President Chu, can it be used in remote mountainous areas?"

Chu Tianming smiled. "As long as you have a mobile phone, you can use it. Even if you are at the summit of the Himalayas or on a lonely island in the South China Sea, as long as there is sky, there is a Xingchen signal."

At 10:00 AM on May 16th, the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir stood at the press conference, with a giant Malaysian national flag behind him. The eighty-year-old man was in high spirits, and his voice was loud and clear. "I announce that the entire nation of Malaysia will have free access to the Xingchen satellite internet. From today onwards, any Malaysian citizen can use the one-hundred-megabit-per-second satellite broadband for free."

Thunderous applause broke out below the stage.

A reporter raised their hand. "Prime Minister, who will cover the costs?"

Mahathir smiled, a look of relief in his expression. "Xingchen gave us the most favorable price—twenty ringgit per household per month, which is about thirty rmb. The government will cover this expense."

He paused, his gaze becoming profound. "The children in East Malaysia will no longer have to drop out of school because of a lack of internet. The villages in Sabah and Sarawak will no longer have to worry about signals. From now on, Malaysia will have no network dead zones."

In the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, Indonesian President Joko Widodo stood on a similar press conference stage. Behind him, the large screen showed a map of Indonesia's seventeen thousand islands.

Sixty-five-year-old Joko Widodo wore a white shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows, looking like a farmer ready to work in the fields. But his voice carried the authority of a leader. "Indonesia has seventeen thousand islands, six thousand of which are inhabited. In the past, half of these islands had no internet."

He paused. "Today, Xingchen satellites cover every single island. Any Indonesian, as long as they have a mobile phone, can access the internet."

Below the stage, a tribal representative from Papua Province stood up. Dressed in traditional attire with paint on his face, he spoke excitedly.

The translator said, "He says that for the first time, their village has a signal. The children can see the outside world now. On behalf of the entire tribe, he thanks Xingchen and the Indonesian government."

Joko Widodo's eyes reddened slightly.

The next day, on the streets of Tehran, Iran, it was as bustling as any Middle Eastern city. Car horns honked, street vendors shouted, and the call to prayer from the mosques echoed in the air.

But inside an ordinary internet cafe, the atmosphere was completely different.

The owner, Ali, stood behind the counter. Fifty years old and sporting a thick beard, there was an unmistakable sense of pride in his eyes. He pointed at the satellite receiver on the wall. "Before, due to US sanctions, we couldn't even access international websites. Now, with Xingchen satellites, no one can stop us."

The internet cafe was filled with young people.

One young man was wearing headphones, watching a Chinese movie using the Xingchen satellite. Another girl was on a video call with her older sister in Germany. On the screen, the sister held a newborn baby, smiling from ear to ear.

Ali smiled. "The US aircraft carrier is right there in the Persian Gulf. But so what? We're using the network from the sky."

May 19th, Hanoi.

In the press conference hall of the Ministry of Information and Communications of Vietnam, Minister Nguyen Van Hung stood on the stage. Fifty-five-year-old Nguyen Van Hung came from a technocrat background and had always been cautious in his speech.

But today, his voice carried a hint of excitement. "Broadband fees across Vietnam will be reduced by seventy percent."

The reporters below the stage gasped.

Nguyen Van Hung explained, "Because Xingchen satellites are here. Ground-based fiber optics must lower their prices; otherwise, no one will use them."

He paused and smiled. "This is the benefit of market competition."

On the 20th, Bangkok, Manila, Phnom Penh, and Vientiane. Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, and Laos simultaneously announced their connection to the Xingchen satellite internet. The entire Southeast Asia was linked together.

South China Sea.

As the sun set, the sea surface shimmered with golden light. The US "USS Ronald Reagan" aircraft carrier strike group was patrolling the South China Sea, the massive steel beast carving a white wake across the water.

On the deck, a young sailor leaned against the railing, holding a phone.

Jack was twenty-five years old, from Ohio, and had been serving in the Navy for four years. His blonde hair was disheveled by the sea breeze, and his blue eyes carried a hint of exhaustion.

He was on a video call with his family.

"Mom, I'm in the South China Sea. Yeah, on the carrier. The signal? It's great, using the Xingchen satellite."

On the other end of the line, his mother's voice came through, tinged with worry. "Xingchen satellite? Isn't that Chinese?"

Jack smiled, a hint of self-mockery in his expression. "Yeah. A US aircraft carrier using a Chinese satellite to make calls. Isn't it ironic?"

His mother was silent for a moment. "Stay safe."

Jack nodded. "Don't worry. Anyway, for now, a fight won't break out."

In The Pentagon War Room in Washington, the atmosphere was so heavy it felt like it could drip water.

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper stood before the large screen. Sixty years old, he wore a deep blue military uniform, his face grim. Beside him was the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, also looking solemn.

On the large screen was a map of Asia.

The entire Asian continent was shrouded in a red coverage area.

Milley pointed at the map, his voice low. "The red area is the Xingchen satellite coverage range. From Turkey to Japan, from Siberia to Indonesia, it's all covered."

Esper was silent.

Milley continued, "What do we still have in Asia?"

Esper smiled bitterly. "Aircraft carriers. And a few military bases."

Milley asked, "Is it enough?"

Esper shook his head. "Not enough. Carriers will leave, and bases will be withdrawn. But the satellites will always be in the sky."

On the top floor of Xingchen Headquarters, in Su Chen's office, the view outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was of Shenzhen Bay.

Su Chen stood by the window, looking at the distant horizon. He wore a simple white shirt and black trousers, with sleeves rolled up to his forearms.

Lin Wan pushed the door open and entered. "President Su, The Pentagon's report is out. The US will strengthen its military presence in Asia, sending more troops to South Korea, Japan, and Singapore."

Su Chen didn't look back. "Military presence? They still have aircraft carriers. The carriers are still wandering around the South China Sea."

Lin Wan smiled. "But the sailors on those carriers are using our satellite network to call home."

Su Chen turned around and smiled as well. "Then let them keep wandering in the Pacific; we'll keep making money from them."

He walked to the window and looked into the distance.

"Aircraft carriers will leave. But satellites, sooner or later, will cover this planet."