The news about Musk's attack did cause a huge public reaction, and he was treated as a victim of some kind of grand conspiracy, but unlike in the past, this time, no one doubted Huaxia's head.

The reason is obvious, Huaxia can indeed profit from it, but it is definitely not the party that makes the most profits.

Instead of doubting Huaxia, it is better to suspect the top management within SpaceX, or other American commercial rocket companies that have the opportunity to gain more market share and more benefits because of Musk's death and SpaceX's turmoil.

Far from it, blue origin alone has had direct conflicts with SpaceX and even with Musk in the near future.

After all, the two companies also chose the general direction of rocket recycling, while SpaceX went faster, and at the same time, Elden, the president of blue origin, repeatedly accused Elon Musk of "stealing" BO's rocket recycling technology in public channels, accusing him of being a market cancer that was morally corrupt, started by financial fraud and hostile takeovers

Originally, this is nothing, after all, in the shopping mall, especially in a relatively "individualized" shopping mall like the United States, the management of the company attacks each other, which is not a big deal at all.

But the bad thing is that after the FBI investigation, it was found that what Elden said was true.

There was indeed a commercial espionage case between BO and SpaceX, which was 5 years ago, and the case had even been filed and submitted to the FBI.

But in the end, the case was suppressed, the file was tampered with, and the then person in charge was quickly transferred to other departments shortly after handling the case, and now they are all retired

As for who, or rather which department, is putting pressure in the middle, the answer is self-evident.

However, no one cares about this anymore, and for the detectives who are investigating the case, there is only one most important thing now, that is: to find out the murderer of Musk as quickly as possible, find out the organization behind him, and wipe out this organization.

Be quick.

Otherwise, the issue will be more than "the dignity of the law" and "the stability of the market".

After this start, the already precarious business competition environment will quickly and inexorably fall into the abyss.

Before, Huangshi and Tyson were just roaming on the edge of the law, relying on a few licenses and a few license documents to attack each other, but if even Musk can be killed, then do they have any concerns about killing small characters like them?

Based on this, the FBI, USSS, and even JSOC got involved, and they quickly approached Elden.

Theoretically, it is impossible for the Joint Special Operations Command to participate in such a scenario, after all, the scope of their activities is mainly overseas.

But now that they have appeared, it means that the "characterization" of this incident has been removed from the scope of the original "murder case" and officially turned into "Operation KBZY with a major threat to the country".

Therefore, it is impossible for Elden not to cooperate-—— he does not dare.

So, in his office, an informal investigation was first initiated.

The first thing we can rule out is the time of your crime, and I have to say that the chain of evidence is very complete."

"But that's not the point, with an identity like you, it's impossible to kill people with your own hands."

"The point is, we have retrieved all of your call logs and found that you have been in frequent contact with a personal defense company in Ukraine for some time, and have also signed a three-year security contract with them."

"It's unusual, in a country where private forces are most prosperous, and you have to go looking for Ukraine's help, don't you think it's a bit too obvious?"

"Whether in terms of strength or the difficulty of contract execution, they are not as good as PMCs in the United States."

"We have to doubt your motives."

The first to speak was an F.B.I. agent, and his questions were extremely sharp, but Elden had been prepared for them.

"It's not a question of strength."

Elden replied.

"On the one hand, what I need is not a PMC, not a so-called private arm, but a personal defense service that can protect me closely, so firepower and strength are not the criteria for my judgment."

"I don't have many enemies, and I don't plan to take revenge on anyone, but I have to promise that if one day I become the target of revenge against some people for some ridiculous reason, I will survive their actions."

"So, to put it bluntly, what I need is someone who can block bullets for me, the kind without hesitation!"

"And this company in Ukraine, they happen to have a lot of experience and success stories that are enough to convince me."

"During the drive, all 12 of their employees were killed to protect the VIPs, and even gave up the opportunity to shoot back – this is the bodyguard I wanted."

"It's all real, and the execution of the contract is always available, so I don't think it's suspicious."

"If you're going to doubt me, you'd better find a better place to get in."

Hearing Elden's words, the FBI agent nodded slightly.

Then, JSOC on the side preemptively spoke:

"Let me interrupt first, the action against Musk is a KBZY attack, do you agree with that?"

JSOC's way of asking questions is very artistic, he doesn't expect any useful clues from Elden's mouth, he just wants to anchor the nature of the incident in Elden.

In this way, if it is really found that he is related to the attack in the future, then the official can deal with it with the most fixed authority.

However, Elden does have a clear conscience.

So he replied very dryly:

"This was definitely a KBZY attack, and in fact, I never thought it was an 'assassination' caused by commercial interests, and the people who did it targeted the whole industry, the whole market."

"The impact of this incident on us is even less than that of a 911."

"Look at the financial markets, we're all on the verge of collapse."

"It's understandable that you're investigating me, but what I want to say is that I don't have to, and it's not possible, to kill him, it's better to shift the focus to other directions, find out the murderer as soon as possible, and solve this problem"

The informal questioning about Elden ended quickly, and out the door, JSOC was the first to make a judgment.

"It certainly can't be him, he doesn't fit into a KBFZ pattern of behavior at all."

"We also think it's not him, the investigation is just a routine, let's go back and continue the investigation, if there are clues, I hope we can communicate with each other."

"Understand, now is not the time to fight for credit."

It was rare for several people present to stand on the same front and reach an agreement, and just as they were about to say goodbye and leave, their mobile phones rang almost at the same time.

The information came from different sources, but they only glanced at each other and realized the seriousness of the problem.

"Let's go!!"

At the same time, at sea.

Nine minutes earlier, Artemis 2 had completed its launch, and the Falcon-9 rocket had entered the launch recovery process.

In five minutes, it will land on the large barge-converted sea landing platform near the LZ-4 landing zone, west of Vandenberg Air Force Base.

This is a bold attempt, and although this is only the second recovery experiment of the Falcon-9, it has chosen "recovery at sea" rather than land recovery in an extremely radical way.

It is important to know that compared with land-based recycling, offshore recycling is much more difficult than terrestrial recycling due to various reasons such as wind and waves, meteorological conditions, platform stability, etc.

But SpaceX had to do it.

Because according to their previous budget, if they were to carry out land recovery, then they had to choose the flip recovery method, and also control the first stage rocket at the bottom before returning to the atmosphere, so that it would change direction during re-entry to reduce speed and stabilize the descent.

This direction is extremely fuel-intensive, and in order to achieve stable recovery, the booster also has to use three Merlin 1D engines for about 40 seconds of ignition, which requires at least 25-35 tons of additional propellant.

Overall, the cost of land-based recycling is nearly twice that of offshore recycling.

Moreover, in terms of flexibility in the selection of landing sites, it is far from meeting the standards of marine recycling.

SpaceX is already in an extremely difficult situation, and they must take this risk, if not to fulfill Musk's "last wish".

"Will this recovery be successful?"

On a monitoring ship not far from the recovery platform, a middle-aged man in a raincoat asked.

"There were no big problems, the wind and waves were minimal, there was little impact on the barge, and the weather conditions were almost perfect."

"The data parameters are normal, the descent orbit is normal, although it is only a sea recovery, but we have still carried out a first-stage rocket flip, and the speed of the Falcon has been significantly reduced."

"Normally, this recovery will not be any different from the last land recovery at the Vandenberg base, except that the landing area is a little smaller."

"But that's completely within our control, and in fact, we even have room for the width of the barge."

He was answered by a man in sunglasses, his eyes fixed on the empty sky, and in fact, this is why he never took them off.

Hearing his words, the man in the raincoat nodded silently.

"Sounds reasonable, but. I always had a sense of foreboding. ”

"A sense of foreboding? Yes, I feel that way too. ”

The man in sunglasses sighed.

"Actually, I already felt that way before Musk was attacked."

"I think things are going in a direction that we have absolutely no control over, and yes, SpaceX is moving very fast, working very closely with NASA, with the military."

"But in reality, we didn't really get the favor of the military because of the so-called 'technological superiority,' but because we were their best choice."

"The best cannon fodder."

The man in the raincoat corrected.

"That's right, cannon fodder."

"If it succeeds, it's all NASA's work, but if we fail, they'll quickly finish cutting with us and immediately find a new agent."

"Such an attitude is dangerous. If anyone perceives NASA's attitude, there is no doubt that we will be the most vulnerable targets. ”

The man in sunglasses finally lowered his head, and he reached out to take off his sunglasses, revealing a thin face and sunken eye sockets.

"You mean BO?"

The man in the raincoat asked.

"No, it's impossible for the BO to do such a thing, and even our enemies can't be in the commercial rocket industry. What they want is just to crack down on commercial companies and the federal government and put even more. More aggressive? ”

"That's how it goes, anyway, they're going to take out a group of people, replace a group of people, and then let the new people take control of the Federation."

"I see what you mean."

Hearing the man in sunglasses, the man in the raincoat nodded silently.

"We are a flag destined to be cut down. So, in fact, even if Elon is dead, it is not enough. ”

"Our recycling project is bound to fail. Falcon-9, it will definitely be destroyed. ”

"Whether it's this time or next time, right?"

"Yes."

The man in sunglasses replied very briefly, and then he continued:

"So, to be on the safe side, we should stay a little further away from this barge-—— a little farther away."

"Let's go back a nautical mile, this distance should be enough."

"One nautical mile back!"

The man in the raincoat immediately picked up the walkie-talkie, he was the on-site commander, but in fact, the real decision-maker was the man in sunglasses.

The observation ship quickly turned around and retreated, away from the direction of the barge, while at the same time, a dazzling star appeared in the sky.

The star kept falling, and the man in sunglasses could already see the shape of the star.

Falcon-9, began to land.

The first-stage propulsion engine constantly adjusts the attitude of the rocket so that it can maintain an optimal descent trajectory in the air and reach the predetermined landing range.

As the rocket gets closer and closer to the barge, the attitude of the rocket gradually changes from a small angle to a large angle landing.

It's like a semi-circular arc with the end of the arc exactly tangent to the perpendicular line of the barge landing platform.

Everything went smoothly and in an orderly manner, and even the man in sunglasses, who had just been extremely pessimistic, breathed a sigh of relief.

"Everything is normal, it seems that this time, we will not be cut down"

"Yes, it's about to land."

Two nautical miles away, the rocket had already reached above the barge.

The engine ignited again, and the speed of the rocket's descent was sharply reduced.

At the last 20 meters of height, the rocket landed smoothly on the barge.

There are no surprises.

"Soft landing!"

The man in sunglasses said happily.

"The first soft landing on the sea is a landmark event, and even if we fail in the future, we will not be so passive"

"Wait!"

The man in the raincoat shouted anxiously, interrupting the man in sunglasses.

"The locking device didn't start!!"

"What?!"

The man in sunglasses was shocked.

"What are you talking about?? We've just finished our self-check! ”

"Yes, but the locking device just didn't start, it's too late, the second locking failed, the locking system failed-—— it's not right, it's the power system that is damaged!"

The Falcon 9 was quietly erected on the barge.

Immediately afterward, it fell quietly in a leaning slope.

The flames rose into the sky, and it was a full ten seconds before the sound finally came to the ears of the two.

"It's over."

The man in sunglasses trembled.

"They have moved this flag, and they are going to fall"

(End of chapter)