Age of Legends

Chapter 302 Seizing the Body
In 2001, March quickly turned into April.

Time flies. The classic lines from the January Spring Festival Gala skit, such as "You'll get numb if you stomp," "Take a few steps, even if you're not sick," "Oh my god, who can handle this!" and "What do you want a bicycle for!" are still ringing in our ears, and are still being said by people in real life.

On April 1st, as Zhang Chen stepped into the classroom, a bombshell announcement came: "There was a collision between two planes in the South China Sea!"

"April Fool's Day, you son of a bitch!"

"Holy crap, it really is!"

"I go!"

Zhang Chen remained silent amidst the deluge of news. The flapping of his wings, like a butterfly's wings, ultimately failed to change things at this level, or rather, those grander propositions were not yet subject to his will.

He also knew that such matters were beyond his control. Since the beginning of the new century, the United States had become increasingly vigilant towards the newly established People's Republic of China, whose GDP was growing rapidly by 7% annually. Its coastal espionage activities had intensified, increasing from approximately 200 intelligence gatherings within 50 kilometers of the mainland coast each year to five times a week. Faced with this arrogance and hegemonic behavior—a display of muscular power and military might—the military adjusted its response, conducting intensive interceptions and expulsions.

Wang Wei, piloting the J-8 fighter jet codenamed 81196, was sucked into the airflow of the EP3 propeller and collided with it. In a collision between a high-altitude, high-speed light fighter jet and a heavy propeller-driven reconnaissance aircraft, the latter is always at a disadvantage. Wang Wei crashed and parachuted, but the parachute failed to open.

The EP3 reconnaissance aircraft was damaged and, if it did not want to sink to the bottom of the sea, it was forced to land at Hainan Airport.

According to declassified documents and records from relevant US personnel, the US was most concerned about the intelligence-processing computer on board. The RASIN manual contained data on US military radio marker signals and intelligence on national weapons being collected. The onboard electronic warfare database also provided information on the location, number, and types of US radars worldwide. Intelligence that couldn't be destroyed in time also exposed encrypted information about the military's submarines and ballistic missile programs…

In conclusion, this event directly catalyzed the domestic military modernization process.

People are still focused on and discussing the rescue of the pilot by 100,000 soldiers and civilians on the 80,000-kilometer-long ocean. Only Zhang Chen knows that he never returned.

Years later, when a sixth-generation fighter jet covering an area of ​​about 400 square meters flew over Zhang Chen's head, the public still remembered the inspiration and shock brought about by this event.

When the People's Liberation Army Navy's three-carrier battle group sent out the signal in the vast ocean: "81192, the aircraft carrier decks are cleared, please return to port, please return to port!", the internet discussion was also heated.

Some people say that even if he flies back, he won't be able to land because the J-8 fighter jet doesn't have a tailhook and can't land on an aircraft carrier.

But in reality, people's beliefs have formed a giant dream catcher, trying to capture the missing fighter jet from 2001.

"I can no longer turn back. The road ahead is difficult. Do not let your guard down. For the sake of the stars and the sea, let us... keep moving forward."

...At that time, on the eve of China's accession to the WTO, 800 million shirts could only be exchanged for one fighter jet. The national economy was 1.335 trillion US dollars, ranking sixth in the world. At that time, if you said in a forum that China's GDP would surpass Japan's in the future, you would be criticized to the point of quitting the internet.

In April, a Qiong Yao drama called "Romance in the Rain" was broadcast. Zheng Xue and her classmates, along with Huang Huifen and Chen Xuran, were completely engrossed in watching it. Huang Huifen would lie on the sofa and watch the show every day after finishing her work, but she could only watch for ten minutes before falling asleep from exhaustion from going to work. In the past, when she was a factory worker, she could watch two episodes of the drama, but the next day when she went to work, Chen Xuran would excitedly come and tell her about the plot.

The girls in the class would discuss the plot, but within a few short months, they would fall into the "Meteor Garden" addiction again.

Despite Liu Qi's repeated provocations, Zhang Chen still spoke with Zhao Tao alone. He reasoned that as long as Zhao Tao was kept calm, Liu Qi wouldn't be able to cause any trouble, nor would he be able to use legitimate means to bring down Zhao Tao and his group. Zhang Chen and Zhao Tao discussed the future, envisioning what lay ahead.

This is when the first 3G mobile phone appeared, and the mobile internet, even more ambitious than the internet era, began to emerge. One can imagine that people in this era of rectangular button phones viewed video calls between people as something like magic or science fiction.

But when Zhang Chen and Zhao Tao discussed this possible future scenario, Zhao Tao was very firm: "I think it's possible that this will happen in the future. In the past, people needed to crank telephones and go through operators to make calls. Now, everyone uses mobile phones. I think in fifty years, we should be able to have real-time conversations and chats. But I don't know about the delay, since this thing requires satellites. At that time, will the sky be full of satellites? A huge amount of space debris! Densely packed and visible to the naked eye."

In fact, this kind of imagination about the future is widely seen in the discussions in "Science Fiction World". Zhang Chen used to buy every issue of this magazine. It cost five yuan at the newsstand. He would often go to read it after school when it was released. The headquarters was in Fuzhou. It is said that it often held writing conferences with the help of the Science and Technology Association.

Liu, whom Zhang Chen mentioned in his perfect score essay on Yude Education, has now become a focus of attention for Yude students. Last year, he published works such as "Take Her Eyes," "The Rural Teacher," and "The Wandering Earth," and has already gained fame.

In the Yude classroom, every issue of "Science Fiction World" is borrowed and read so many times that the spines are worn white. It has become a way for senior high school students to relax during breaks.

In Fuzhou, a city undergoing a period of transformation on the eve of its WTO accession, the Third Ring Road was still largely undeveloped land. Urbanization driven by the housing market was accelerating, and Huang Huifen stumbled upon it by chance. Having failed to acquire the textile factory plot (lot number 09) on the west bank of the Shahe River, she settled for the grain and oil factory staff hospital plot (lot number 01).

The internet industry was still in a downturn, and Zhang Chen seized the opportunity to acquire QQ's shares. However, at this time, the internet was still in a state of widespread despair, with mainstream media extremely pessimistic about the company. Meanwhile, Tencent was expanding steadily, bucking the trend with user growth. But the biggest problem was funding, leading to the looming concern that it might collapse soon. Therefore, future funding was a major issue. And who could truly know where this internet winter was headed?
In reality, troubles are also happening right under our noses. At the provincial television station, while Liu Qi is gaining fame as a land king, his lover Wu Yue is also causing trouble. Meng Lihui issued a program adjustment announcement to "enhance the channel's competitiveness." The announcement stated that a sister program called "Gold Medal Emotional Consultant" would be launched for "Emotional Mediation Room" to meet the growing demand for emotional counseling among viewers. The original "Emotional Mediation Room" program time slot was changed from the previous time slot to Tuesday and Thursday evenings, while the new program was scheduled for prime time on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Furthermore, to ensure the quality of the self-produced programs, all the personnel originally promised to "Emotional Mediation Room" were withdrawn and handed over to "Gold Medal Emotional Consultant." The vacancies in "Emotional Mediation Room" were to be resolved by the original program itself.

In fact, it's obvious to anyone with a discerning eye that Wu Yue is the one who's replacing Jiang Rong. She's completely swapped out Jiang Rong's original program time slot. Internally, she says it's just an adjustment and that Jiang Rong's program hasn't been canceled, but in reality, she's poached her and changed her program time slot. And to the outside world, she's claiming that the program has been revamped. Uninformed viewers, relying on their viewing habits, have no idea about these intricacies.

This is actually a common practice for many TV stations, but since Jiang Rong's program was contracted out, while Wu Yue's side was considered "one of their own," from the perspective of the TV station, no one would speak up for Jiang Rong.

Furthermore, from the perspective of the television station, having two programs can attract more advertising revenue and improve the station's efficiency. The station is unlikely to resist, especially since Meng Lihui pushed for it, putting Jiang Rong in a precarious situation.

　This chapter has been approved...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)