Wasteland Commander-Chapter 386 - 77: Satellite Launch

Su Jing is dead!

And he died at the hands of his own people!

The guests at the banquet were shocked by the news; they couldn’t believe it.

But the fact was unavoidable: Zheng Gang killed Su Jing, and then Li Mo retaliated for Su Jing and ended up perishing together with Zheng Gang.

Moreover, two of Su Jing’s main officers were caught in a violent altercation with two Level 3 Mutants and died a senseless death.

This outcome made Su Qiao very satisfied.

At least on the surface, these people weren’t killed by her men; they died from internal strife.

Of course, many would suspect this outcome, but it didn’t matter anymore. Su Jing was dead, and she had no direct involvement, so Su Jing’s army had no immediate reason to revolt.

This chaos lasted all night, and after Su Jing’s death, his army split into factions, some suggesting avenging Su Jing, some advocating leaving Yuanjing.

At the critical moment, Su Qiao brought out the Imperial Seal.

The Imperial Seal symbolized the royal heritage of Qin Han. Seeing this, tensions gradually calmed.

After a struggle and hesitation, most people chose to accept reality and pledge allegiance to Su Qiao.

However, a few squads felt this was Su Qiao’s orchestrated assassination, refused to surrender, and chose to leave Yuanjing.

Yuanjing wasn’t the only domestic base city; they could join other forces supporting Su Jing and raise their flag as warlords.

They could even use the excuse of avenging Su Jing to oppose Su Qiao’s rule, which was essentially rebellion.

Su Qiao was unable to control so many people at once, so she could only turn a blind eye to those choosing to leave that night.

Right now, controlling Yuanjing was her top priority.

Once she gained full control of the largest base city domestically, she could choose to become an Empress.

But she didn’t forget one thing: after resolving matters on Su Jing’s side, she immediately announced the ennoblement of Ye Fan, appointing him as a Prince of the Qin Han Empire and acknowledging his status at Dawn Island, Divine Dragon Province, Loose Province, and even Qi Lu Province.

In fact, Su Qiao wanted Ye Fan to stay and help her stabilize the situation in Yuanjing, but Ye Fan chose to leave.

"Your Highness, I will send someone to Yuanjing to prepare for the issuance of Light Yuan, hoping that when you ascend to the throne, you can declare Light Yuan as the common currency of Qin Han."

Su Qiao nodded, "This was my promise to you, and I will fulfill it. I hope that in future domestic or international affairs or wars, the Dawn Army will advance and retreat with me together."

Ye Fan agreed, having Su Qiao as the legitimate royal and his ally would make the road ahead much smoother.

Just as Ye Fan was about to leave, Su Qiao gifted him a present.

She had people temporarily collect a whole cartful of gold and silver jewelry.

"Ye Fan, I honestly don’t know how to thank you for this time. The national treasury reserves of Gold can’t be used, but I temporarily gathered some within the city, combined with some savings, all now entrusted to you as my token of thanks."

Ye Fan looked at the full cart of jewels and felt very delighted.

Su Qiao was thoughtful, knowing he had been collecting gold and silver for a long time, and prepared such an amount.

He had daily income, like occasionally the Dawn Army capturing a jewelry store or daily arms sales, averaging about seven to eight hundred thousand in income daily.

But this gesture from Su Qiao was worth far more than just dozens or even millions.

"Thank you, Princess, Ye Fan accepts it. During this period, I’m heading to the desert to research satellite launches. If successful, I might invite you to witness the occasion, which will benefit everyone."

He waved his hand to have the car driven away, then turned to leave.

Su Qiao watched Ye Fan’s departing back, her beautiful eyes full of reluctance.

If she were an ordinary civilian woman, she would probably like someone like Ye Fan.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t; she bore the burden of restoring the Empire.

She had a secret: her father never designated a crown prince. Many people asked him who would be the crown prince, but he never said.

When the apocalypse arrived, her father mutated directly.

Actually, Su Qiao was by his side before her father mutated.

When her father still had his senses, he handed her the Imperial Seal and told her to take on his burden and continue on as Empress.

Unfortunately, few witnessed this event, and those who did were soon infected by her mutated father, forcing Su Qiao to flee for her life.

This was the biggest conflict between her and her second brother; he didn’t have the Imperial Seal and suspected she had it, attempting to kill her numerous times.

Having seen the world’s warmth and coldness, this frail girl underwent a transformation, resolute to restore the glory of Qin Han and reestablish the Empire. For this goal, she even dared to confront her second brother, could set aside personal feelings, and even went from being someone who wouldn’t harm an ant to having blood on her hands.

This was her destiny, the meaning of her existence, with no one able to change the belief in her heart.

Until she completes the restoration, she won’t consider personal matters.

For now, Ye Fan is more of a partner to her.

......

After talking with Su Qiao, Ye Fan led the team away from Yuanjing and ventured deep into the desert once more.

Although the desert is said to be occupied by Celestial Food Country, the majority is still an uninhabited zone; this time, upon arriving near Xichang, he didn’t see any people from Celestial Food Country here.

Ye Fan chose a location in the desert, immediately setting up a production base vehicle, followed by a power plant, barracks, a spy satellite, including an airport, and the already built satellite launch center.

One battalion’s worth of troops was produced to protect this place, the airport maintained transportation here, and future visits could directly use transport aircraft.

The satellite launch center consists of three parts: primarily the control room and launch tower, and additionally a living area.

The launch center comes with a hundred staff members, automatically drilled an underground deep-water well, and secured living and water needs without issues.

With the foundation in place, Ye Fan’s already built two vehicles, the launch rocket and the artificial satellite, automatically appeared on the launch tower.

At this time, Ye Fan entered the control room to discuss with the engineers present.

"What functions do our launched satellites have?"

"Sir, each of our satellites can monitor the ground, provide satellite positioning for missiles, surface ships, and other weapons, offer navigation for transportation vehicles, and use satellite signals to expand television broadcast coverage. Satellite phones can also be used, in addition to some astronomical survey functions."

Upon hearing this, Ye Fan asked, "How were some foreign ships able to reach Qin Han recently? How do they locate themselves on the vast seas? Do they also have satellites?"

"That’s uncertain. The meteor shower before the apocalypse greatly damaged satellites, and most satellites were likely destroyed. Whether there are still surviving ones we can’t say, but regarding the arrival of foreign ships, most of them sail along coastlines, so they arrive slowly."

Ye Fan asked again, "If the enemy has satellites, can our satellites attack theirs and destroy them in space?"

"We can’t achieve that yet. It requires you to unlock the missile laboratory, conduct naval tests, and then upgrade to Major General, unlocking the aerospace laboratory for satellites to gain attack capabilities."

Ye Fan nodded: "Then how many satellites do we need to launch to cover nationwide navigation positioning? How many satellites for global positioning?"

"If it’s just Qin Han, about thirty satellites will suffice. Globally, we need roughly one thousand satellites to achieve cornerless positioning."

"National coverage requires thirty... That also costs quite a bit."

One satellite costs one million, but a carrier rocket is also needed; launching one costs two million, so thirty satellites require sixty million.

This isn’t a trivial sum for Ye Fan right now, but he’s not unable to afford it.

Su Qiao provided him funds that alleviated pressing needs.

Converting that funding yielded a total of fifty-five million.

Plus, Ye Fan himself had nearly twenty-five million, accumulating total funds to eighty million.

At critical moments, when spending money is necessary, Ye Fan wouldn’t hesitate.

"Let’s launch the satellites, based on the standard of thirty, prioritizing eastern regions, temporarily not monitoring the uninhabited western areas like the Highland Province, but focusing on other regions, such as Crescent Island, eastern and southern coastal areas, all should be included in the surveillance range. After all, our ocean is our future; to gain advantage in the future, we must acquire maritime rights."

Ye Fan’s current foundation is in the east; he must first grasp the situation in the eastern region.

The staff understood Ye Fan’s intentions, mainly inviting Ye Fan to personally ignite the launch.

Ye Fan stood at the ground command center’s console and personally pressed the launch button.

With a burst of flames, the massive carrier rocket lifted into the sky.

Flying higher and faster, it was gradually sent into its predetermined orbit.

The post-apocalyptic era’s first carrier rocket launched at the end of August.

This time, there was no live broadcast, no publicity; the rocket silently ascended.

The satellite’s orbit was already designed to focus on monitoring Qin Han’s east, not a circular global flight.

This monitoring isn’t surveillance, but providing navigation and positioning, laying the groundwork for the future military, civilian, and various developments.

The system’s launch success rate is one hundred percent; swiftly, the first satellite successfully ascended and entered its designated orbit.

Ye Fan stayed inside the control room for a few hours, confirmed the satellite’s successful launch, then immediately started building the second satellite and the second carrier rocket.

Another two hundred thousand spent, the second rocket lifted into the sky again, and the second satellite was sent into orbit.

After launching two satellites, time moved to the next day.

Ye Fan took a brief rest and returned to the command center to continue choosing satellite launches.

From late August, Ye Fan remained busy until August 31st.

He spent sixty million, succeeded in sending twenty-nine satellites into space.

When launching the thirtieth satellite, Ye Fan opted to start a television broadcast.

With the previous twenty-nine launches unknown to anyone, now he wanted to create the perception that the Dawn Army had just begun satellite launches.

The post-apocalypse requires stimulation; this stalemate balance also needs something to break it.