Reborn in 2011, I am the chief designer of aerospace.

The speaker representing the Dongguo Space Agency was Director Sun of the Development Planning Department, whose name was Sun Liancheng.

Song Xingye felt the name sounded familiar, but couldn't immediately recall where he had met it before.

After Director Sun finished his polite remarks, it was finally Usky Antonov, the commander of the Baikonur Cosmodrome and a general of the Aerospace Forces, who gave the final speech.

Usky Antonov has an inverted triangle face and a body that's pretty much the same from every angle, like a vodka barrel that's come to life.

What's most striking is his shiny black skin, so dark that it makes him seem unlike an Eastern European.

Li Fengxian privately said that he looked like a big black bear.

After the leaders finished their perfunctory greetings, everyone raised their glasses in toasts, smiling broadly, and the atmosphere became lively.

During the meal, Song Xingye saw the big white goose again, being pestered by Sergei Popovkin.

Fueled by alcohol, the latter clung to the white goose like glue and affectionately called her "Zoya".

Just then, Cossack music started playing in the hall, so Sergei stood up and invited the white goose to dance.

"Beautiful Zoya, tonight you are the only star in Baikonur..."

The old, frivolous chief designer was in a great mood on the dance floor. After all, who wouldn't be happy to be able to hold such a slender and exquisite beauty in their arms?

Big White Goose kept dodging and weaving. According to her personality, she should have slapped him long ago, but when she thought about his identity as a key figure in this mission, she had no choice but to hold back.

As Sergei danced with great enthusiasm, he lavishly praised her beauty, saying that he was completely captivated by her looks and charm...

He grasped her delicate right hand with his thick, hairy left hand, absentmindedly wrapped his arms around the slender waist of the white goose, and inhaled deeply the fragrance emanating from her neck.

Looking at the white goose's bright red beak, Sergei felt an irresistible urge to kiss it.

But under the watchful eyes of everyone, he could only wear a gentlemanly smile and occasionally crack what he thought were humorous jokes, but the white goose remained unmoved.

Although the Russians around them were envious, no one dared to offend the chief engineer in the strictly hierarchical Baikonur base.

"Tsk tsk, that old Russian is really sleazy."

Watching from afar, Song Xingye saw that "Zhuoya" looked like she was about to vomit from the stench, then turned to gossip with Li Fengxian.

"Didn't you say she had a powerful background? She still has to dance with that old lecher? She's not all that great!"

Li Fengxian shrugged and said, "No matter how powerful her background is, in a launch mission, the chief designer is the ultimate authority, unless she leaves this industry altogether."

As we were talking, a woman in business attire walked over with a wine glass in her hand.

"Hello, I'm Yue Miaomiao, a reporter from CCTV, reporting on Firefly-1!"

The girl smiled brightly and invited Song Xingye to dance.

Li Fengxian, standing to the side, was so envious his eyes almost popped out of their sockets, frantically winking and exclaiming, "Wow, Xiao Song, you're really charming!"

Unfortunately, Song Xingye was oblivious to romance.

He knew nothing about ballroom dancing and wasn't in the mood for it, so he waved his hand and politely declined Reporter Yue's invitation.

Yue Miaomiao was somewhat surprised, but she didn't dwell on it and turned to walk towards the others.

Li Fengxian, who had already struck a pose like a peacock spreading its tail feathers and waiting to be invited, watched helplessly as the beautiful reporter floated past him without even giving him a second glance.

"Damn! Am I really that unattractive?"

Li Fengxian looked deflated, like a punctured balloon.

Song Xingye smiled and ignored the guy.

……

The day after the banquet, Song Xingye continued to mingle with the experimental team.

Under the guise of assisting, he went through all the technical documents he could access once again.

Undoubtedly, nothing was gained.

After lunch, Song Xingye put down his chopsticks and let out a long sigh.

This can't go on forever; we need to change our approach.

I wish I could see the real thing in person.

Stepping out of the restaurant, you'll find yourself on high ground, overlooking almost half of the launch site, with the frozen Syr Darya River meandering through it.

The Baikonur Cosmodrome is like a mirage on a dry, empty grassland.

Song Xingye walked down the stairs and strolled along a path on the empty street.

The Baikonur Cosmodrome and the city of Baikonur form a vast complex, covering an area the size of six port cities, yet with a population of only tens of thousands.

Along the way, there were dilapidated old houses everywhere, some of which had been abandoned for who knows how many years.

At an intersection, Song Xingye also saw two statues with peeling paint, one of Korolev and the other of Gagarin.

Several bouquets of carnations were placed on top, and the card was signed by a NASA astronaut.

On one side of the intersection is a straight avenue paved with gray bricks, which is the only way from the residential area to the launch area, and is lined with poplar trees on both sides.

Song Xingye stopped in front of the first tree; the Russian text on the sign was already blurred.

Yuri Gagarin planted this tree himself in 1961!

When Song Xingye translated this Russian sentence, he couldn't help but feel a sense of awe, never expecting that this tree was such an ancient relic.

As you walk along the avenue, the trees grow shorter and shorter; they were planted by those who came later.

Each tree represents an astronaut who flew into space from here.

At the end of the road is a gentle slope with a circular observation platform.

Looking into the distance, more than a dozen huge launch towers stand tall against the horizon.

Song Xingye narrowed his eyes, searched the map in his mind, and quickly located workstation number 45, two kilometers away.

That will be the departure point for Firefly 1.

White clouds of liquid oxygen vapor rose above the tower, like breathing.

It seems the Russians are conducting a static fire test on the first stage of the rocket.

The rocket that carried Yinghuo-1 was a Zenit-2SB, jointly developed by R country and Kiev.

This is an environmentally friendly rocket that uses liquid oxygen and kerosene as fuel; the Russians only charged a symbolic fee.

The price of 20,000 yuan per kilogram of payload is practically a steal in the aerospace industry.

"What a pity... I didn't see the Firefly-1 detector... It should be locked up in the Russian factory."

Song Xingye sighed subconsciously, "Rockets are quite cheap, but it's really unpleasant to entrust a strategic project like Dongguo Mars Exploration to a completely uncontrolled supply chain. It's like being at the mercy of others."

If the Long March 5 rocket were finished by now, there would be no need to travel all the way to this godforsaken place, Baikonur…”

As he was complaining, a sudden inspiration struck him.

and many more!

Am I overthinking things?

Why insist on finding problems with Firefly-1?

What if the problem isn't with the East at all, but with the Russians?

The Zenit rocket responsible for transportation, and the Phobos probe that served as the main payload...

If any part of the process fails, Firefly-1 will also perish!

Song Xingye's mind suddenly cleared.

This is why we couldn't find the reason before—

Because he looked in the wrong direction!

Just as he was about to turn back and revise his plan, he suddenly heard a series of rapid breaths behind him.

Then came a terrified scream in Russian.

The moment he turned around, his scalp tingled with fear.

Suddenly, the leash that the big white goose "Zoya" was holding was broken, and a magnificent black dog barked twice and leaped out like an arrow, heading straight for Song Xingye.

The black dog was unimaginably large, its entire body covered in well-developed muscles, and it ran like a whirlwind.

Holy crap!

Upon seeing this, Song Xingye turned and ran.

The dog seemed to have taken some kind of poison, refusing to stop no matter how much the white goose called from behind. All that could be heard were the sounds of tree branches breaking and claws slamming heavily on the ground.

Song Xingye was cornered in a tree. The big black dog repeatedly lunged at his ankles, but he managed to dodge it by lifting his foot.

If he had reacted even a fraction slower, he probably would have needed a rabies shot.

When the big black dog couldn't catch anyone, it paced anxiously under the tree, barking and making whimpering sounds.

But it wasn't a roar; to Song Xingye, it had a... friendly connotation.