The first part of the Q&A session ended simply, and Androff emerged victoriously. Even the senior officials sitting above couldn’t help but nod:

"So probability can be applied like this. Chief Designer Long, can we also use this method to build giant rockets?"

"..."

Androff continued with the second half, unveiling the H2 spaceplane and A100 nuclear thermal rocket engine—in showstopping reveals—as well as an integrated Moon landing strategy, astonishing everyone from start to finish.

These completely new fields had now been broached. Had China researched nuclear engines before? Certainly, there was even once a design for a fighter plane equipped with a nuclear engine, but all those projects ultimately remained on paper only.

A 100KN, or a fission space engine capable of delivering 10 tons of thrust was beyond judgement due to scarce experience.

The space bureau’s big shot had no choice but to remind:

"The principle of a nuclear thermal engine isn’t overly complex, but its manufacturing cost is exorbitant, and the level of danger is extremely high. Producing it requires special qualifications, and the reactor materials are prohibitively expensive."

"Thus New Yuan Aeronautics needs the support of the nation. The A100 consumes only 2 kilograms of liquid hydrogen per minute and nearly reaches a specific impulse of 26,000 seconds, which is hundreds of times that of a conventional engine.

If we install three engines on a 300-ton spacecraft, only 50 tons of fuel would be needed to complete the journey from Mars to Earth, which is impossible for a chemical rocket."

...

The nuclear thermal engine didn’t end up receiving support, as the government did not believe it needed something so powerful at the time, and the technical specifications were too intimidating. The old space veterans thought the risk was too high and politely declined after words of encouragement.

However, New Yuan’s array of future plans and the achievements they already had garnered respect and trust from most people, which met Lin Ju’s expectations.

Because after the conference finally concluded successfully, the real highlight began.

For the year 2015, the government would allocate 20 billion yuan to support future space projects, with 10 billion divided among private enterprises.

And the highest-ranking leaders, based on evaluations by experts, made a decision.

Of this 10 billion, New Yuan was awarded 8 billion.

An interest-free loan of 8 billion for ten years, to be repaid over 15 years after that, was essentially a giveaway.

Because senior leaders did not have deep understanding of the aerospace field, but New Yuan’s PPT was obviously much more captivating. Besides, they had already made progress and were not just talking big.

At the close of the meeting, Lin Ju even took a photo with truly high-ranking leaders, was patted on the back, and told, "Work hard, the nation is in need of young entrepreneurs with ambition and ideals like you," nearly making him float with pride.

It wasn’t just because he was appreciated, but also because the outcome of this symposium and the support funds were all gained by him altering the historical trajectory, making Lin Ju truly feel he might have made a significant impact on the future.

Then, a message suddenly appeared in his mind:

[As the owner of the Universe Voyage System, you have for the first time successfully influenced a nation’s space industry decision-making significantly;

You should recognize that venturing into the starry seas is humanity’s noblest aspiration, but simultaneously, everything on the ground also requires cherishing;

A long-term mission "Aim Higher" has been released: ’The moment humanity first looked up at the starry sky, the universe was within our grasp’ ’Since the day man saw birds, not one person has been unenchanted by flight’: Please use the base’s abilities to influence humanity as much as possible, guiding them to yearn for aviation and aerospace, and to expose more people to these fields;

Rewards: At 0:00 on January 1st of every year, a unified settlement will be conducted, and you will receive a certain range of technical or finished product support (without level limitation)

Note: The 2015 progress has been calculated starting from 0:00 on January 1st, please continue to work hard.]

"Boss, boss?"

Lin Ju caught Androff’s hand that was aimlessly waving in front of him:

"I’m fine, just spaced out for a moment."

"Oh? Were you thinking about how to spend those 8 billion because it’s too much? Don’t worry, although we lost the nuclear thermal engine, we can embark on the Martian base project, and certainly spend the budget!"

Androff hadn’t finished speaking when he twisted his burly frame with a speed that belied his size to dodge the kick his boss had aimed at him.

"Androff, do you think there’s a way to get people to spend money and invest in aerospace?"

Do the tasks assigned by the Universe Voyage System? Of course, they must be done!

Pay attention to the rewards from the system, which are not limited by grade!

If one were to directly draw a light-speed spaceship, wouldn’t that mean stepping straight into the interstellar age?

But completing the task was not simple; the system obviously wanted him to have a significant impact on human society. Randomly dragging someone off the streets for a space joyride to increase the numbers wasn’t really feasible.

Without much thought, Androff provided an answer:

"Competition, of course, competition! It was because of both World Wars and the Cold War that airplanes evolved from canvas and steel tube toys to supersonic jet fighters in just over 30 years, with the Valkyrie Bomber of the ’50s capable of three times the speed of sound;

And it was for competition that they spared no effort in aerospace development, from Tsiolkovsky providing the theory of rocket flight to Armstrong landing on the Moon, it only took half a century. Unlike now, where everyone is busy doing business, even pushing the Mars project back to 2050."

Lin Ju distilled two keywords: war, space race.

One was the aggressive development of aviation for an advantage in war, and the other was a desperate competition to show the superiority of their own systems, both of which had propelled aerospace to great advancements.

So, the system wants me to be a war merchant and create anxiety?

Shaking his head to dismiss the thought, Lin Ju also felt he likely didn’t have the power to sway global affairs, so it was better to be pragmatic.

"Boss, are you thinking of looking for investors now?"

"No, I want to contribute to the advancement of humanity’s spiritual realm!"

"Tsk~"

Lin Ju ignored the System Engineer who didn’t quite respect his boss and continued pondering how to persuade humanity to take some time to look up.

...

"Mr. Lin, may I ask..."

"Mr. Lin, I heard that..."

"Thank you, we do not accept interviews..."

With Androff leading the charge and the executives sacrificing themselves to protect him, the great and invincible Mr. Lin reached his loyal business car.

It’s rather embarrassing to say, but most of these reporters weren’t here specifically for the aerospace conference; they were here for Lin Ju.

But Lin Ju did not wish to show off in front of others, at least not now.

He now had to change his mindset; with New Yuan standing tall, it was best to be more cautious.

"Boss, are we going back?"

"No, seems like our astronauts and Abe’s are currently in the Capital?"

Proper astronaut training is quite complex. Flying parabolic arcs on a plane is just one part of it; professional training facilities are only available in Beijing.

Lin Ju, a post-90s who had once proclaimed, "I want to be an astronaut when I grow up," was very interested in the training base and might even meet astronauts who had been to space.

Going up to shake hands and take a photo, which could then be displayed on his office wall to boast about for a lifetime, sounds good, right?