Rebirth: Controlled Nuclear Fusion

Part 191：Conspiracy

The photographer responsible for capturing the scene also noticed the mysterious light spot. Before he could react, he received instructions from his superiors. Hastily, he zoomed in with a high-power lens to track the object, enlarging the image. However, the speed of the light spot was so swift that, in the live broadcast, the audience could only catch a blurry afterimage. The photographer adjusted the focus to its maximum, but the image remained unclear. Still, he discerned that it appeared to be a cylindrical shape.

The photographer immediately reported what he had observed to his superiors. In the capital, several high-ranking officials were taken aback as they analyzed the photographer's report. From the available information, they concluded that the object was a missile. The realization shocked them all. Without hesitation, the chief contacted the northwest military district of the Dragon Country.

"General Liu, does your radar show any unidentified flying objects?" he asked urgently.

A few seconds later, General Liu's voice came through the phone. "No."

"No?" The officials were left momentarily stunned. The missile had been clearly captured on film, yet the radar showed nothing.

"General Liu, there's a missile at approximately 8,000 meters above you!"

"A missile? Impossible. Our radar only shows the image of the Flying Dragon No. 1 rocket," General Liu responded.

"Use your district's telescope to check the direction of Flying Dragon No. 1!"

General Liu hurried to the military district's observatory, focusing the telescope on the rocket's trajectory. To his alarm, he spotted a mysterious light dot.

Suddenly, anxiety overtook him. The northwest district of Dragon Country was under his jurisdiction, and yet an enemy missile had appeared overhead without their knowledge. Moreover, it seemed to be targeting the Flying Dragon No. 1 rocket.

"General One! Should we activate the anti-missile system?"

"It's too late now!" General One replied with a helpless tone.

Indeed, the light spot had already neared the Flying Dragon No. 1 rocket, and activating the anti-missile system would likely result in the destruction of their own rocket.

General One quickly made a call to Jiang Fan. In the Dragon Elder's laboratory, Jiang Fan and his team were also observing the mysterious light on the live broadcast. However, they couldn't ascertain its nature from the footage. Just as they were speculating, Jiang Fan's phone rang.

Seeing it was General One, Jiang Fan immediately answered.

"Jiang Fan, it's bad. The light spot is a missile, and it's targeting the Flying Dragon No. 1 rocket. The thousand-ton propulsion system was your design-do you have any way to avoid this?"

"A missile?" Jiang Fan was stunned by the news.

His expression turned immediately serious. "Connect me to the head of the rocket launch control room."

"Understood."

General One quickly established a link to Liu Tianhang, the chief commander of the launch control room.

Without wasting time, Jiang Fan issued his command. "Increase the fuel tank output by 150%."

"150%? The fuel tank nozzles can't handle that much power-it will cause problems!" Liu Tianhang protested.

General One, however, sharply ordered, "Follow the order."

"But..."

"Hurry, or it'll be too late!"

Liu Tianhang was about to voice more concerns, but Jiang Fan interrupted him. The output of 150% would yield a thrust of 1,500 tons—an immense power, and Liu Tianhang wasn't certain the rocket could withstand it. However, there was no other option. If the missile hit, the Flying Dragon No. 1 rocket would explode.

"Increase the fuel tank output by 150%."

...

In the live stream of the Beautiful Country, Professor Bai Yanlang watched with smug satisfaction as the two light spots drew closer. The missile had been launched by the Beautiful Country, and to avoid detection, they had used newly developed stealth materials, enabling the missile to bypass Dragon Country's radar systems.

The missile was closing in on the Flying Dragon No. 1 rocket. Once the rocket was destroyed, everything would turn to dust, and no one would know it had been a strike from the Beautiful Country.

This plan had been set into motion as soon as Dragon Country had announced the launch of its thousand-ton propulsion rocket. Their principle was simple: whenever another nation surpassed them in space technology, they would ruthlessly strike to maintain their dominance in the field.

As the two light spots neared, international viewers in the live chat began to mock Dragon Country.

Sakura Nation Viewer 1: "Finally, all that waiting wasn't in vain. The surprise is here, haha..."

Kimchi Nation Viewer 2: "I've never seen a rocket explode. I'm kind of excited now!"

Beautiful Country Viewer 3: "This light spot looks like a UFO. Maybe the aliens can't stand Dragon Country and want to bomb them, haha..."

Beautiful Country Viewer 4: "Brothers, ten seconds left, they're about to collide! Get ready to make a wish when the shooting star falls!"

Dragon Country Viewer 1: "Damn it! I see this is your Beautiful Country's doing, deliberately trying to destroy our Flying Dragon No. 1 rocket!"

Dragon Country Viewer 2: "The Beautiful Country is so treacherous!"

After a flurry of chat activity, the room grew silent. Everyone focused intently on the two light spots, now almost overlapping.

Just then, the tail of the Flying Dragon No. 1 rocket suddenly erupted in a blinding flash of light.