What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 701 Right Hook (August 4200 Monthly Tickets)

Taylor's gaze lingered on the 400 megawatt power generation figure for a few seconds, then he paused and said, "400 megawatts, that's several times larger than the world's largest cruise ship, that requires..."

"At least 60 horsepower."

Tang Yi, standing to the side, added:
"400 million megawatts of electricity is equivalent to 500 megawatt generator sets, which is more than the electricity consumption of a city with a population of 50. Paradise City is a true floating city."

Taylor: "Conventional generator sets would be too cumbersome. Every inch of space on the ship is important. Nuclear power would be of higher value in the eyes of outsiders."

Tang Wen: "We are currently in contact with the Russians."

Taylor: "Actually, if the opportunity is right, the United States might be able to make an exception and provide the reactor unit for this floating city. This is inside information."

Tang Wen: "As far as I know, marine reactors are a key sensitive item in the list of items that are absolutely prohibited from export."

Taylor: "Oh...but we all know that the more sensitive something is, the better, the more money it makes. Rules aren't meant to make things comfortable for people like us."

You're back for the President's pre-midterm election rally, right? Give it a try, maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised.

The conversation with Taylor was fairly pleasant, but when Tang Wen hosted him at the Grand Bay Hotel, the news on the television in the lobby caught Taylor's attention:

"According to reports, radio frequencies around the world, including in many parts of my country, have been interfered with and occupied today. An organization suspected to be the 'Lost Empire' has issued a global telegram via radio, claiming that the Apollo moon landing was a hoax and that extraterrestrial civilizations exist. Our reporter learned from XX..."

Taylor's Chinese was so good that he stood there stunned until the report ended before he came to his senses. After exchanging a bewildered glance with Tang Wen, he cursed:
"These lunatics, can't they just let this damn world be a little more normal?"

Tang Wen nodded slowly: "Yes..."

……

Peanut Village, NASA Headquarters
The tape recorder was still playing the Lost Empire's broadcast audio on a loop, but what Chief Daniel found even more absurd was that a person with the ID "Horus" was forwarding a large number of "truths" on the BBS, including "details" and "insider information" that the broadcast and the telegram had failed to explain in detail.

Among them are seemingly genuine photos of UFOs (obviously fake), photos of Rauch looking down at Earth from outer space, Dr. Wernher von Braun's accusations of enslaving him with the Apollo program... There are hundreds of megabytes of fake information!

This is still a compilation version. In reality, Horus is forwarding fragmented information at will. It could be a photo or a dubious "record," which is already spreading rapidly online.

What angered NASA the most was undoubtedly the alleged moon landing hoax, and the accusations were particularly sophisticated:
The rockets are real, the spaceships are real, but they don't acknowledge that rockets and spaceships can land on the moon, leaving people speechless in their rebuttal.

Ordinary rumors are one thing, but the Lost Empire is a "well-known figure," and many small media outlets are vigorously promoting conspiracy theories for the sake of popularity, since the claim that the moon landing was fake is a perennial topic.

As for the Mayan civilization, it remains a classic topic for marketing accounts in later generations, and it is the same in this era; the 2012 prophecy has been circulating for more than a decade.

At this point, supporters of the fabrication theory were even more excited than ever, and protesters had begun to appear outside the space agency.

Some signs read "COME TO HERE," hoping the miracle of the lost empire's UFOs would appear over NASA to refute the claim. Others held up signs saying "Apology to the Maya" to exonerate the Mayan civilization. There were also old-fashioned signs about the moon landing being a hoax. But... the flat Earth theory?

"Can someone tell me why flat-Earth theorists are here too?"

Daniel also discovered that there are quite a few supporters of the flat Earth theory, who believe that the Lost Empire and NASA are frauds.

The chaos and unscrupulous media frenzy outside nearly broke him, finding it even more despicable than the slander from the Lost Empire.

But something even more disarming happened soon after: Scott Horowitz, the head of the manned spaceflight office, walked towards him with a dark expression.
"I just heard rumors that some senators are demanding we restate the Apollo program and issue a report to prove we really did land on the moon with a rocket." Daniel instantly transformed into a furious lion:

"What did you say? It's only been 26 years since the last moon landing. Many of them grew up watching the live broadcast, and some may even have been there counting down the countdown to the rocket launch. And now they're questioning the moon landing?"

Scott himself, a veteran astronaut and space shuttle pilot, also looked helpless about this:
"What's this? There are even lawmakers demanding that Prism Building open Area 51 to display our own flying saucers."

"Let's not talk about these guys... What do you think of Hans's power-on? We don't have any secret keys; it's like something out of a third-rate science fiction novel."

"God knows what they're up to... Didn't they say they were going to publicly display their flying saucers? It would be best if they displayed them over our heads, then we'd just shoot them down with missiles!"

Daniel clenched his fist forcefully:

"I believe in aliens, but UFOs? Mayan spaceships? To hell with them!"

……

After the Lost Empire once again energized the world, onlookers were shocked, conspiracy theorists rejoiced, UFO enthusiasts were overjoyed, and major good news came from the archaeological community in Nanmei.

The announcement of the upcoming UFO has replaced Gaijin's Paradise City as the top trending topic, with a large number of experts emerging to offer their comments.

Archaeological experts are seriously analyzing the anomalies of the Mayan civilization, whether the 2012 prophecy means a spaceship returning to Earth, and whether the content depicting a suspected spaceship in Mayan murals is actually true.

Some aviation experts have also analyzed the engineering feasibility of UFOs and then discovered—hey, it's actually quite possible!

Back in the 50s, the University of California, MIT and Prism Building jointly supported UFO research. It was powered by a turbofan and did indeed look like a flying saucer. It was called 'Z-9 Avrocar', codenamed "Flying Car," and was a genuine secret project that was only declassified a few years ago.

(This is it ↓)

The true situation of the 'Z-9 Avrocar' is unknown. Public information suggests that there was no follow-up, but under the influence of conspiracy theories, the ambiguous words of "experts" have left the audience with much to ponder.

Furthermore, considering the numerous images "Horus" has posted on BBS websites, the resemblance is striking!
It's confirmed, the evidence is conclusive!

The Prism Building was at a loss for words when faced with this bizarre news. They simply sent a spokesperson to the media to coldly announce that the entire telegram was false, that there were no aliens, no UFOs, and no secret keys, without offering any further explanation.

Some public figures who deliberately play dumb want to use the "UFO" and "moon landing hoax" to attack official authority and enhance their own reputation, but the Prism Building is clearly not an easy target.

But NASA was under immense pressure. Soon, a bunch of lawmakers and celebrities came forward with vehement claims of various “dangerous” pieces of evidence, implying to the media that there were many irrationalities in the Apollo program.

Left with no other choice, Daniel had to hold a press conference once again to prove that the moon landing was real, and he even invited Mr. Aldrin to the event to give a true account of what happened.

But this proved to be a terrible idea. Because there were too many people at the scene, and many conspiracy theorists were talking loudly about all sorts of nonsense, the 68-year-old Aldrin got red in the face and ended his speech early to leave.

Who knew that a guy would rush up to him with photos that humiliated the astronauts, but he clearly underestimated the astronauts' physical strength. Aldrin, in full view of everyone and witnessed by countless cameras, delivered a powerful right hook to the guy, and the busybody fell asleep on the spot.

This immediately caused a huge uproar, plunging Daniel into an even more troublesome situation.

(End of this chapter)