28: Chapter 28 A Globally Acclaimed Landing
Dragon Country, Beijing.
The press conference hall of the National Space Administration was packed. Media reporters from all over the world had set up their cameras and equipment like heavy artillery, and the air was filled with a strange atmosphere mixed with anticipation, skepticism, and tension. Just a few hours ago, the official authorities of Dragon Country had suddenly issued an emergency notification to major global media outlets, announcing a major press conference regarding a lunar exploration mission.
When the time came, the spokesperson walked onto the podium with a calm smile, skipped any superfluous pleasantries, and went straight to the topic.
"Friends of the press, I now solemnly announce to the whole world on behalf of the Dragon Country National Space Administration: Our independently developed 'guanghan palace no. 1' lunar probe successfully achieved a soft landing in the pre-selected area on the far side of the moon at 3:27 AM Beijing time today!"
As soon as the words fell, the giant screen behind them instantly lit up, displaying an incredibly clear, finely grained photo of the lunar surface! In the center was the 'guanghan palace no. 1' lander bearing the Dragon Country emblem; its metal legs were firmly embedded in the lunar soil, with the desolate, unchanging craters in the background!
"Boom—!"
The entire press conference venue exploded, as if a bomb had been dropped! Gasps, the sound of shutters, and cries of disbelief nearly blew the roof off! Many foreign reporters were so shocked that they stood up directly from their seats!
The live broadcast signal instantly spread to every corner of the globe through major television stations and online platforms!
"This is impossible!" In the NASA control center in the Pretty Country, Chief Scientist Dr. Green screamed in a loss of composure, staring fixedly at the screen. "How could their technology possibly achieve a soft landing on the far side of the moon?! How did they solve the communication and navigation problems there?! Is this photo faked?!"
A short video played afterward completely shattered all doubts—the video showed the mechanical arm of the 'guanghan palace no. 1' unfolding flexibly, using a special drill to penetrate the lunar soil, and then placing the collected samples into a sealed container. The entire process was smooth and stable, demonstrating a high level of automation!
The Dragon Country spokesperson continued to announce: "According to preliminary analysis of the data sent back, this mission successfully collected deep lunar soil samples and verified new building material technology in-situ on the lunar surface for the first time. In the next step, 'guanghan palace no. 1' will continue to execute a series of scheduled scientific exploration missions."
New building material technology! In-situ verification on the lunar surface!
These words struck the international aerospace community like a heavy hammer! This meant that Dragon Country was not just making a simple landing; they were already making technical preparations for a more long-term presence!
The global internet was completely boiling over!
"Dragon Country is awesome! (Voice cracking)"
"We actually did it! The far side of the moon!"
"Hahaha, look at those who were naysaying before, does your face hurt?"
"Can someone tell me how they suddenly became so powerful?"
"Technological explosion! It's definitely a technological explosion!"
In stark contrast to the jubilation within Dragon Country was the collective speechlessness and panic of the Pretty Country and its allies.
NASA was forced to hold an emergency press conference. Facing aggressive questions from reporters about "how they viewed this technological breakthrough by Dragon Country," the spokesperson could only vaguely express "congratulations," while emphasizing that "more data verification is needed" and repeating the old tune that "space exploration should follow international rules." The tone was bitter, unable to hide the shock and disappointment.
The European Space Agency, the space research agencies of Japan, and others all downgraded the priority of their originally planned lunar exploration projects, because they discovered that the technological strength suddenly displayed by Dragon Country had already left them far behind!
Meanwhile, at CIA headquarters, inside the office of James Craig, the atmosphere had dropped to freezing.
Before him lay the report that the technical analysis department had worked overnight to produce, confirming that the news and images released by Dragon Country were authentic and accurate. The report also highlighted the exceptionally precise orbital control and landing accuracy of 'guanghan palace no. 1,' speculating that it might have adopted "revolutionary propulsion and control technology."
"Trash! You are all a bunch of trash!" Craig threw the report onto the table in a rage, his face livid. "What was your previous intelligence for?! Saying their space program had stalled?! You call this stalled?! This is riding a rocket and charging forward!"
His chest heaved violently, and the briefing about the Dragon Country college student Lin Mo, which he had ignored, surfaced in his mind once again. Once is a coincidence, twice is an accident, so what about this third earth-shattering breakthrough? Could it really be related to that inconspicuous student?
A chill rose from the bottom of his heart. He realized that he might have made the most fatal mistake of his career—underestimating his opponent and ignoring a most critical clue.
"Investigate! Investigate it clearly for me, no matter the cost!" Craig roared at his terrified subordinates. "I want to know what exactly happened in Dragon Country! That Lin Mo, and the source of all their suddenly appearing technology, what exactly is it!"
The eyes of the world, because of this successful landing, were completely focused on the East. With irrefutable facts, Dragon Country announced to the world the arrival of a new era. And what they relied upon was precisely that young man hiding in a rented apartment, who had just received a large amount of point rewards again because of [Significant Improvement in Civilization Influence].
Lin Mo looked at the points in the system that had become abundant once again, and the emergency mission progress bar that had advanced by another 5%, his eyes calm and determined.