I built an armada.

The head of the cabinet tapped his fingers lightly on the table, lost in deep thought.

He had considered this issue.

However, the current reality is that he has neither the means nor the ability to purchase warships from the Eagle Tribe military to make up for his lack of naval power.

The reason for this can be traced back to the previous cabinet government.

As is well known, after all those events, the previous government clearly favored the Longxia tribe.

From the perspective of the current cabinet leader, the previous cabinet leader was definitely a traitor.

They offered to sell out their own country's interests in exchange for the support of the Longxia tribe.

Just as the Longxia tribe was busy competing with the Eagle tribe in space, Kato encountered an unexpected accident, so much so that he suddenly resigned before even completing the most basic handover.

Although these remnants of the old regime have survived several purges, their roots in this country are simply too deep.

Even after so many cleansings, some residual toxins still remain in the world.

Taro Kato's departure was so sudden that the entire government was thrown into chaos during this period.

This gave these people the opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

Their rise to power was also a coincidence, coupled with the support of the Eagle Tribe.

It's clear from the public approval ratings that these people have no way of gaining public support.

Moreover, although Taro Kato himself is no longer alive, he still cultivated a group of his own political forces.

With the support of the Longxia tribe, this political force is a force to be reckoned with in the country.

They are now restricted in what they want to do.

Let alone approving a budget to buy warships, even if they have any slightly dangerous ideas, they will be immediately suppressed.

He is able to sit firmly in this position thanks to the support of the Eagle Tribe.

However, the Eagle Tribe can only offer them very limited assistance at this moment.

It's already quite an achievement that they've managed to stay in their positions so securely.

Trying to push through any more clauses that favor the Eagle Tribe would be like trying to climb to the sky.

The cabinet chief sighed.

Sensing that something seemed off, he cleared his throat and composed himself.

"Gentlemen, this is our most difficult time, but we are not without anything."

"At least for now, the Dragon Summer Tribe is still busy competing with the Eagle Tribe in space, and their warship exports are also a top priority..."

"Therefore, I believe that the Longxia tribe will not actually devote too much energy to targeting us."

"This gave us the opportunity to fish in troubled waters."

"As long as we can seize the opportunity, we should be able to recover our strength quickly."

"As for public opinion in the country..."

"These things are not important at all."

Even general elections can be manipulated and controlled by people, so what are so-called opinion polls?

The current cabinet leader is half right.

The Longxia tribe is indeed not able to devote much energy to them right now.

But this does not mean that these people can do whatever they want.

The reason why some people were able to take power was mainly due to the Longxia tribe's consideration of stabilizing the mindset of the Xiong Ying tribe.

Surely no one really thinks that the Longxia tribe, with its current strength, is unable to influence the internal elections of the Donghuang tribe?
To put it bluntly, the Longxia tribe simply doesn't care.

Regardless of whether your government favors the Longxia tribe or the Xiong Ying tribe.

As long as you follow the Longxia tribe's plan and behave yourselves without causing trouble, the Longxia tribe doesn't care which side you're closer to.

In fact, for the Longxia tribe, at certain times, a government that is close to the Eagle tribe can actually make the Eagle tribe lower its guard.

As long as the interests of the Longxia tribe are not harmed as a whole, it is fine to give them some leftovers.

It has been mentioned before that the Eagle Tribe cannot fall, at least it cannot suddenly disintegrate now.

When a person is dying, any external stimulus can trigger a stress response.

If an Eastern Wilderness tribe that leans towards the Eagle Tribe can make the Eagle Tribe more relaxed, then the Dragon Summer Tribe wouldn't mind creating a false impression for the Eagle Tribe.

Of course, all of this is predicated on the Longxia tribe possessing sufficient strength.

If the Longxia tribe were willing, crushing the Donghuang tribe would be no more difficult than crushing an ant.

"My suggestion is that we can try to gauge the Eagle Tribe's opinion."

The cabinet chief ultimately made the decision.

"Of course, all contacts and discussions must be kept confidential and absolutely cannot be leaked!"

Everyone in the meeting room nodded in agreement.

……

Ten minutes later, the minutes of the meeting were already on Zhang Zhaoxin's desk.

The meeting minutes were so precise that they showed exactly when the cabinet leader wiped the sweat from his brow and when he took a sip of water.

I'm afraid even the so-called confidants of the cabinet leader don't know as much as Zhang Zhaoxin does.

Zhang Zhaoxin sneered at the clownish behavior of these people.

"Ignore it, continue monitoring."

Zhang Zhaoxin placed the meeting minutes on the table, and someone immediately came out and sealed them away.

"Without our permission, even if they buy ten aircraft carriers, they will have no way to sail them to our homeland."

"However, if they really insist on buying some junk, we have no reason to stop them."

Zhang Zhaoxin lightly tapped the table with his finger.

The current situation in China is relatively sensitive.

Due to the sudden rise of the Longxia tribe and various complex international political factors, the current economic situation of the Eagle tribe is very poor.

At this moment, they urgently need a large blood pack to restore their health.

Those small-nation allies simply couldn't meet the Eagle Tribe's enormous needs.

The Longxia tribe is no longer the Longxia tribe that took whatever it wanted from the Eagle tribe more than a decade ago. Naturally, they would not help the Eagle tribe recover at the expense of their own interests.

Needless to say, in Europe, even if the Eagle Tribe wanted to recoup their losses, they might not be able to get much out of it.

After counting and counting, it seems that only the Eastern Wilderness Tribe in the whole world can help the Eagle Tribe recover its losses in one country.

Alternatively, they could force a trade war with the Longxia tribe by killing a thousand enemies while losing three thousand of their own.

While this approach cannot reverse the economic decline within the Eagle Tribe, it effectively diverts attention from external conflicts. The Dragon Summer Tribe certainly does not want to see this situation arise.

This does not mean that the Longxia tribe was afraid of the Xiongying tribe.

The Longxia tribe only needs to maintain the status quo to not only obtain a large amount of trade profits from the Eagle tribe, but also to watch the Eagle tribe gradually head towards its doom.

Why not?
Conversely, if the Eagle Tribe is pushed too far and they fight the Dragon Summer Tribe to the point of mutual destruction, even if they win in the end, who will compensate for the losses suffered in the process?
Therefore, the Longxia tribe is now intentionally or unintentionally indulging the Donghuang tribe.

On the one hand, it was to calm the minds of the Eagle Tribe and prevent them from taking any extreme actions.

On the other hand... it was also to lure out all the messy demons and monsters inside the Eastern Wilderness tribe.

Finally, do a final unified cleaning, which saves time and effort and solves the problem once and for all.

……

On the other hand, after a long period of preparation and numerous trials, the Eagle Tribe finally decided to officially launch a rescue spacecraft to bring back the two astronauts stranded in space.

These two astronauts have been in space for 360 days.

Just four days short of their goal, they would have been stuck in space for a full year.

Two months ago, Reeves had already announced that the rescue plan could be officially implemented.

However, many unexpected problems arose during this period, some responsible persons were forced to resign, and with changes in the project team and the upcoming election, the rescue plan was repeatedly delayed.

Today, a real rescue plan has finally been put on the agenda.

In any case, it hasn't been a full year yet, so it's not that bad on the surface... or maybe it's not that bad?
However, it's not all bad news.

With at least two more months to prepare, Reeves is now much more confident.

In space, Mark and Elisa learned of the plan.

When they learned that they could finally get off this damned International Space Station, both of them burst into tears of joy.

To ensure the physical and mental well-being of the two astronauts, and also to ensure the smooth progress of the rescue plan, ground doctors and psychologists spent a great deal of time communicating with them, explaining the details of the plan, the risks, and the necessary extravehicular transfer training simulations.

Neither of these two people are in particularly good health.

Especially since they spent a full year on the International Space Station, it had a significant impact on their health.

Mark's face shape has even undergone permanent changes, and it's uncertain whether it will be able to truly recover even if he returns to Earth.

Fortunately, their supplies have been relatively sufficient over the past two months, so they don't need to worry too much about food, drink, or training.

It's hard to say whether their physical condition is worse or better than it was two months ago.

However, the two of them still communicated and exchanged ideas with the ground team in a serious manner.

They also began, under the guidance of ground experts, to practice simulating transfer while wearing extravehicular activity suits, utilizing the limited space inside the cabin.

For the past two months, Reeves has been providing continuous technical and maintenance support to the International Space Station.

The condition of the International Space Station is much better than before.

Therefore, the tasks that these two astronauts had to perform during the entire rescue mission were much less difficult than originally planned.

Even so, both of them were exhausted after each training session.

However, neither of them has any complaints so far.

As long as they can be taken down, they'd be willing to double the training volume!
Three days later.

Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

The countdown to launch for this manned space rescue mission has officially begun.

On the launch pad, the rescue spacecraft stood silently.

It has to be said that Reeves is indeed a man of some talent.

At least on the surface, the rescue spacecraft launched by Reeves looks much more pleasing to the eye than the rockets and spacecraft previously launched by the Eagle Tribe, whether in terms of shape, design, or even the luster reflected from the metal.

Compared to the grand and solemn launch ceremonies of the Eagle Tribe Space Agency in the past, this launch ceremony was particularly low-key.

Perhaps out of fear of mission failure, the launch was conducted without inviting the media; the official announcement was simply published on an inconspicuous website.

Even the atmosphere at the launch site was very somber.

"Countdown 10, 9, 8... 3, 2, 1, ignition! Liftoff!"

Several hours later, the spacecraft successfully entered orbit.

What followed was a 30-hour-long pursuit involving precise orbital maneuvers.

To ensure the mission's success, Reeves even personally oversaw the mission control center.

Twenty-eight hours later, the rescue spacecraft's cameras accurately captured the International Space Station.

Seeing this, Reeves breathed a slight sigh of relief.

At this point in the mission, we can basically declare that we have succeeded halfway.

Once the connection is successful, the mission can basically be declared a complete success.

Under the command of the control room, the spacecraft was to slowly approach the International Space Station.

"International Space Station, this is the rescue spacecraft. We have reached visual range and are in good condition. We are ready to begin the final approach."

"Captain Sarah Miller said calmly."

"Received it. Seeing you all feels like a dream."

Mark's voice came through, his emotions complex.

Next comes the most dangerous part.

Although the International Space Station has been in much better condition after two months of continuous maintenance and technical support.

However, due to a previous accident, the International Space Station's attitude control system partially malfunctioned, resulting in some slow and irregular swaying of the International Space Station's flight attitude.

This shaking gradually decreased as the repair progressed.

However, under the current circumstances, the International Space Station and the rescue spacecraft are still unable to perform the automatic docking procedure.

Therefore, the rescue spacecraft must maintain relative stillness with the International Space Station at an extremely close distance before using its robotic arm to capture the International Space Station.

For this mission, the two astronauts who were stranded on the International Space Station have been taking turns performing extravehicular activities for the past two months.

The two of them welded a grab point onto the outer shell of the International Space Station.

If this grab point functions successfully, the rescue spacecraft will be able to dock with the International Space Station without expending too much effort.

If all goes well, they may even be able to fix some minor problems on the International Space Station by replacing parts.

If things don't go well, then we'll have to execute Plan B.

However, none of the people present wanted to see Plan B come to fruition.

Miller took a deep breath, switched to manual control mode, and slowly piloted the spacecraft toward the International Space Station. (End of Chapter)