68: Chapter 68 Interstellar City Project

This man stood among a crowd of fawning financial magnates, appearing like a crane among a flock of chickens.

When Chen Mu saw him, his spirits lifted; the man's eyes lacked the flattery of the others, instead resembling an X-ray machine that seemed eager to scan Chen Mu from head to toe.

It was the suppressed fanaticism and stubbornness of a scientist seeing alien technology.

“Ball Chief, I don't need to introduce this one, do I? Elon Musk.” President Trump patted Elon Musk on the shoulder. “The world's richest man, my good friend, and the founder of SpaceX. Of course, SpaceX's business might be pivoting now!”

Ignoring President Trump's business-oriented mutual praise, Elon Musk spoke directly and urgently: “Mr. Ball Chief, I have carefully studied the public data of your fleet's collective deceleration at the edge of the Kuiper Belt. I have a question for you.”

Chen Mu nodded. “Please, speak.”

“Your propulsion system doesn't seem to rely on any known principle of reaction force.”

Elon Musk's speech began to accelerate, like an engine with its valves wide open. “If you are achieving 'inertialless deceleration' by somehow directly manipulating spacetime curvature, then according to the Einstein Field Equations, such manipulation must produce a local gravitational wave pulse.”

“But I analyzed all the LIGO data from that period, and the data shows absolutely nothing.”

“So, does your propulsion method not involve changing spacetime curvature at all? If so, does it mean that the assumptions in our Blue Star Standard Model regarding gravitons transmitting gravity are wrong?”

Chen Mu looked at him, his mind practically spinning because he couldn't understand a word Elon Musk was saying.

However, the smile on Chen Mu's face didn't waver. Steady as an old dog, he employed a 'topic diversion' technique: “Mr. Elon Musk, have you looked at the mecha technology I gave you earlier?”

Elon Musk froze for a moment, clearly not expecting the sudden jump to mecha technology. “I have.”

“How much did you understand?”

“About ten percent. I can barely understand the power core part, the material science part is completely incomprehensible, and the control system part is also...”

His voice gradually softened. “It's as if it's written in a mathematical language completely different from ours.”

Chen Mu nodded, then reached out and gently patted Elon Musk's shoulder like a kind mentor.

He said earnestly, “Then first master what you can understand on the ground. Don't always think about reaching the heavens in one step. As for space matters, we'll talk once you can build a mecha that can actually fly into space.”

Elon Musk opened his mouth, wanting to press further about the gravitational waves, but Chen Mu had already turned away.

At that moment, a swarm of reporters surrounded him like sharks smelling blood.

Leading them was that white-haired reporter from CNN, whom Chen Mu had called on during the White House press conference. Today, his eyes shone with the light of journalistic idealism:

“Mr. Ball Chief! You mentioned at the United Nations General Assembly that you would open 'first-level interstellar trade right' to Blue Star. The global audience is very concerned: how exactly does this interstellar trade work? How will goods be transported? Who will transport them? Who pays the shipping? Is there after-sales service?”

Chen Mu glanced at him. Although there was no such item as 'interstellar trade' in the system mall, it wasn't a problem. If it didn't exist, he could just make it up on the spot.

He walked smiling onto the temporary podium set up for the banquet, the spotlights following the tips of his hair.

Below the stage, three thousand pairs of eyes looked up in unison.

Chen Mu picked up the microphone and cleared his throat. “As for this so-called interstellar trade, it's actually quite simple.”

“We will build a Spatial Teleportation Gate between our interstellar station on Guga Planet and Mars.”

“This will make it convenient for the soldiers of our expeditionary fleet to return to the home planet for leave, and also for us to bring delegations from other subject civilizations to visit Blue Star.”

“Once the teleportation gate is built, we will open an interstellar orbit from Mars to Blue Star, specifically for transporting personnel and materials from all parties.”

The audience was met with a deathly silence at first, followed by a collective intake of breath.

Spatial teleportation technology, expeditionary soldiers returning home for leave, alien delegations visiting Blue Star... every keyword hit these politicians and magnates like a physical blow.

Immediately, a Saudi representative raised his hand, his diamond ring sparkling so brightly in the light it made eyes ache. “Mr. Ball Chief! Then how should we trade with those alien civilizations? We can't just use gold or oil, can we?”

Chen Mu smiled. “Just use your local Blue Star currencies. Any currency that circulates normally within the scope of Blue Star will do.”

“After all, their individual needs are different, and there's no standard for pricing. If trading with money, they will buy what they need from human society themselves.”

The President's eyes widened, his mind racing: if the aliens only accepted US dollars, wouldn't the dollar be deeply tied to alien technology? The dollar would take off instantly.

Meanwhile, the representatives of the Permanent Five couldn't sit still. None of them were fools; they all knew what this meant for their own currencies.

Before the audience could recover from the shock, Chen Mu continued to drop bombs: “Additionally, regarding the pilot site for interstellar trade, I've considered it. The location will be set in New York. I want to turn New York into Blue Star's first Interstellar City.”

“Oh my God!!!” The entire hall gasped.

As soon as Chen Mu finished speaking, almost everyone in the banquet hall pulled out their phones. The sound of phone calls rose and fell one after another.

“Immediately buy up all commercial real estate for sale in Manhattan! All of it! Don't ask about the price!!”

“Is there any vacant land left in Queens? What about Brooklyn? What? It dropped thirty percent last month because people were scared of the alien fleet? Buy it now! Buy it all!”

“Send the acquisition plans for all ongoing projects in New York to my email within half an hour.”

“What? A mysterious consortium from the Eastern Great Power just beat us to it? Raise the price! Double it!!”

The President also finished his call, his blonde hair trembling with excitement. “Ball Chief, do you know? I have several buildings in New York! Their value has at least tenfold now!”

Chen Mu smiled. “Then congratulations are in order, Mr. President.”

At this point, the now-calm Secretary of State raised his hand to ask a question, his voice still carrying a hint of a tremor: “Mr. Ball Chief, what about the rules for interstellar trade? There must be a unified set of rules for trading between civilizations, right? For example, tariffs, arbitration, intellectual property protection...”

“That's a good question.” Chen Mu picked up the microphone. “I must solemnly warn you all: in this interstellar trade, besides the prohibition of using force to buy or sell, there are no rules.”

The hall fell into a deathly silence once again.

“Because the laws, morals, and commercial habits of every civilization are different.”

“Some civilizations believe oral contracts are enough to bind everything, some believe contracts must be written in blood to have legal effect, and some don't even have the concept of 'ownership'.”

“Therefore, as the builders of the trade platform, we on Guga Planet cannot formulate a unified set of rules for thousands of vastly different civilizations.”

The wine glass in the Secretary of State's hand wobbled, nearly spilling red wine onto his tie. “Then what happens if a conflict arises? If the other party thinks the contract doesn't need to be honored, or if our intellectual property is stolen, or...”

Chen Mu raised his hand and pressed down slightly, signaling him to calm down.

“This is exactly what I was going to say next. Sometimes, having no rules is the greatest rule of all.”

He pointed to himself, the gentle smile still on his face. “Later, I will establish an Interstellar Court in New York City specifically to handle interstellar trade conflict matters.”

“And I, as the Blue Star Planet Chief and the Deputy Commander of the Guga Planet Ninth Fleet, will serve as the judge to make the final rulings for you.”

Everyone understood. There were no rules, but there was a judge.

And this judge was both the nominal supreme leader of Blue Star and a high-ranking Commander of the alien fleet. He was the rule; he was the law.

The President was the first to stand up. He held a glass of red wine high, the light passing through the glass turning the liquid blood-red, and then waved it above his head like a flag.

He shouted loudly, “For Blue Star! For the Ball Chief! Cheers!!”

Three thousand people rose in unison, raising their glasses, three thousand voices merging into one sentence: “Cheers to the Blue Star Planet Chief!!!”

Chen Mu stood on the stage, smiling as he raised his glass.

Just then, a loud bang came from outside the banquet hall.

A dull roar that made the whole earth tremble, like an ancient giant beast waking from deep underground.

The lights began to flicker violently. Everyone froze in place; some had wine splashed from their glasses, staining expensive formal wear, yet they remained oblivious.

Three thousand pairs of eyes looked out the window together, seeing the night sky of Washington turning an eerie dark red.