Rebirth of Hong Kong Island, leading the technology war

Chapter 496 Launching a Probe to the Moon
Liu Ziyan and Gao Junli were talking, while Lu Ruian had nothing more to say.

Lu Ruian spends most of his time away from China, but that doesn't mean he's completely unaware of what's happening in China; in fact, he's quite knowledgeable about it.

"Running Man" is indeed very popular right now. It is the strongest reality show in the entire Chinese community on the planet Earth, without exception.

In other words, once this episode is filmed and broadcast smoothly, not only will viewers in mainland China see it, but also those in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, and overseas Chinese communities, and its popularity will soar rapidly.

When asked what would happen if this episode of the reality show didn't turn out well, Lu Ruian felt there was no possibility of that.

Thinking of this, Lu Ruian looked around at the surrounding environment: blue sky and white clouds, a colorful and dreamy bay, and... right, there was even a white sand beach. Every aspect of this place was perfect for taking pictures, and the effect would definitely be amazing. There was absolutely no possibility of failure.

What else can be said now?

All I can say is that Tenglong Island is truly amazing. If Lu Ruian were to objectively select the most suitable tourist destinations in the world, this place would certainly deserve a place, and its ranking would be quite high.

Whether Hu Jiangshan was lucky or the Hu family was too powerful, Lu Ruian was too lazy to guess.

The following day, Medina, the United States.

Medina is a small city, or you could say a beautiful garden town, located on the eastern outskirts of Seattle.

There is a beautiful lake here called Washington Lake, where Bill Gates' famous luxury villa is located.

This villa has a sophisticated and nerdy name – Utopia 2.0.

The Shangri-La 2.0 covers an area of ​​6132 square meters, or about 6.6 square feet, with beautiful scenery, nestled against the mountains and by the water.

The level of luxury here is beyond the imagination of ordinary people. It is equipped with a smart home system, a private library, a huge 60-foot swimming pool, and a living room that can accommodate two hundred people at the same time.

If you were to ask how much this place is worth, it would be beyond the imagination of ordinary people, reaching 120 million to 170 million, in Lighthouse Dollars. Converting that to Chinese Yuan... well, you can imagine for yourself.

In any case, the lives of the super-rich are beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

At this moment, in the library of this top-tier mansion, a young woman is sitting upright at a table reading a book, with a cup of British black tea beside her. Opposite her is a huge floor-to-ceiling window, offering the most beautiful view of Lake Washington.

This young woman is very beautiful and has a very elegant demeanor. She is Katharine Guise, Bill Guise's daughter.

Despite being one of the wealthiest second-generation rich kids on the entire planet, Catherine has an excellent reputation and public image. To outsiders, she gives off the impression of a science and engineering student, without any hint of being a spoiled brat.

Of course, this is also because Bill Guise is that kind of person, very academic and very STEM, and Catherine is like her wealthy father.

Catherine is genuinely reading here; she's not just posing for the sake of it.

Just then, the tablet computer on the table rang, requesting a video call.

Catherine looked at the applicant and recognized him as her good friend Liu Ziyan from Hong Kong, China.

Catherine immediately pressed the receive button, and after a brief loading of the image, Liu Ziyan's face appeared on the screen.

Liu Ziyan was wearing light loungewear, so she must be at home, since it was evening in Hong Kong.

Catherine waved to the other person in Mandarin.

"Hi, dear Ziyan, how are you?"

"I'm fine, Catherine. Are you reading? You're such a talented woman."

"You flatter me, Ziyan. There's an old saying in China: 'One is never too old to learn.'"

"My goodness, you're so young, you're far from old."

After a brief exchange, the two began to discuss serious matters.

As mentioned earlier, Liu Ziyan visited Hu Jiangshan's Tenglong Island at Catherine's request to see the completed Tenglong Island Resort. She even invited the very professional Lu Ruian to accompany her.

Liu Ziyan said, "Catherine, we went to Hu Jiangshan's island yesterday and also visited the resort."

Catherine asked curiously, "You must be tired. What did you think of it there?"

Liu Ziyan replied, "I must say, that island is really beautiful. I bet it's the most beautiful island I've ever been to."

"What about the resort? I want to know if it's really finished yet?"

"Yes, Catherine, it's really finished. The completion rate is very high, you could even say it's 100%. However, I've talked to Mr. Hu, and they haven't recruited an operating team yet. It might take some time before they can start operating it."

Catherine thought for a moment and said, "The operations team? That's easy. So, you're saying the resort's facilities are excellent?"

“That’s right, very, very good. My friend who works at the headquarters of the chain resort hotel couldn’t find any fault with it, which means it’s really perfect. I took a lot of videos and photos, and I’ll send them to you now.”

As she spoke, Liu Ziyan sent over several videos and photos.

Catherine watched and talked with Liu Ziyan at the same time.

When Catherine saw the videos Liu Ziyan had filmed, her eyes widened in amazement.

"Wow, Ziyan, you're right, it's really beautiful there, the best place I've ever seen."

Even Catherine thinks Tenglong Island Resort is good; that's truly good.

To reiterate, for top-tier billionaires like the Guise family, what good places haven't they been to? Such luxurious places are nothing to them.

Catherine clearly has a strong liking for things with an Eastern style. While watching videos and looking at photos, she analyzed which dynasty of ancient China the style belonged to. She could even accurately identify the styles of the Tang Dynasty and the Qin and Han Dynasties.

Liu Ziyan smiled and said, "How about it? This resort is sure to impress you, isn't it?"

Catherine said with satisfaction, "Ziyan, you're right. I think this resort has great investment value. As for the operation team and promotion, I'd like to talk to Mr. Hu about it."

Judging from Catherine's expression, she's determined to invest in this project and plans to engage in in-depth cooperation with Mr. Hu.

Liu Ziyan said, "Okay, Catherine, remember to contact me if you come to Hong Kong Island."

"Of course, I also need you to be my tour guide."

"Oh? I wouldn't dare call myself a tour guide. You've been to Hong Kong Island so many times already, you don't need a tour guide at all. I can accompany you shopping anytime."

The two chatted for a while longer before Liu Ziyan, who was about to go to sleep, ended the video call.

Catherine opened the video Liu Ziyan sent again and liked it more and more. This antique style was so high-end that it was hard to tell that it was an imitation. It gave her a feeling of traveling through time.

Catherine decided to go to Hong Kong Island as soon as possible to talk to Hu Jiangshan and finalize the cooperation.

Just then, someone walked in; it was Catherine's wealthy father, Bill Guise.

Gus came over to Catherine, sat down, and looked at her with doting eyes.

"Catherine, darling, how are you feeling today?"

Catherine smiled and replied, "I'm fine, Father. Aren't you supposed to have a meeting today?"

"I've finished the drive. We talked for a long time, longer than I expected."

"Father, you don't seem to be in a good mood."

"No, it's just a bit complicated. Do you know the Hong Kong Space Launch Site?" "Which one are you referring to?"

Gus glanced at Catherine: "Of course, it's the one we built together with Speth X."

Is progressing poorly?

"No, no, no, actually it's going very smoothly and progressing very quickly. The basic construction could be completed as early as the second half of the year. All that's left is equipment installation and debugging. But the problem is that someone told me that this project will face strong competition."

Catherine chuckled: "So we still have to mention another space launch site on Hong Kong Island."

"That's right, it's Mr. Hu's space launch site. It's said to have incredibly strong technical capabilities, unimaginably strong. It's hard to imagine how anyone could compete with it."

Catherine asked curiously, "Is Mr. Hu's space launch site really that powerful?"

"This... is indeed very strong."

In fact, there were many things Guss didn't tell his daughter, not because he wanted to hide them from her, but because he was worried that knowing these complicated things would affect her judgment and ruin her good mood.

Bill Gates just had a meeting with several people, including not only partners but also Mr. Thomas, a senior official in the Beacon's intelligence department.

Thomas told Guise that the Tenglong Island space launch site possessed terrifying technological capabilities, even capable of blocking intelligence agencies' "cyber surveillance."

So-called network patrols are actually network attacks.

The only thing that could get the intelligence agencies involved was a top-level cyberattack, and the space launch site on Tenglong Island actually managed to block it, even causing losses to the intelligence agencies.

Of course, Thomas didn't say much about the extent of the intelligence department's losses, only that he hoped Guss would fully cooperate in the future if there were similar operations.

Guss remained noncommittal; he didn't want to cooperate with the Lighthouse intelligence agency, but if he had to take action, he could only give it a perfunctory answer.

What Gus was more concerned about was just how powerful the space launch site on Tenglong Island really was.

At this moment, Catherine said, "By the way, Father, I'm planning to go to Hong Kong Island soon."

Guss paused, then asked, "Go to Hong Kong Island? Why?"

“Do you remember when I mentioned it to you? Mr. Hu built a resort on Tenglong Island. I plan to go and talk to him. Perhaps we have an opportunity to cooperate.”

Guss frowned: "Build a resort on Tenglong Island? Why would Boss Hu do something like this?"

"I think this is part of the facilities at the space launch site," Catherine said.

Gus immediately understood.

Rocket launches are a novel experience for many people, including in the United States, where many people watch the spectacle from afar whenever SpeyX launches a rocket.

Gus found it increasingly interesting.

"That's a good idea. Mr. Hu is indeed very clever, but is he willing to cooperate with you?"

"I think he will agree."

Gus tapped his fingers on the table, looking thoughtful.

Catherine asked, "Father, what are you thinking about again? Can you tell me and share it with me?"

Gus cleared his throat. "Alright, Catherine, how strong do you think the space launch site on Tenglong Island is in terms of technology?"

Catherine laughed: "What? Was this what you were discussing in your meeting just now?"

"More than that, this is just one of the topics."

Is that a very important topic?

“Yes, it is indeed very important, but no conclusion has been reached. Catherine, you know, people in the United States have done some research, but it is indeed difficult to understand clearly.”

Catherine asked, "Why not just ask Boss Hu directly?"

Gus shook his head: "The answers you get from asking are unreliable."

This is part of the inherent logic of Westerners: if you have a question, you should go directly to someone who can answer it, and you can't trust anything they say.

Even if the answer we get is true, it's not the whole story; the other party is definitely holding something back.

As a Westerner, Guss also had this mindset: he believed that he had to do the research himself, because only what he found was the most reliable.

At this moment, Catherine thought for a moment and said, "Actually, there is a very simple way to understand the other party's technical strength."

Guss paused, then asked, "What method?"

Catherine said, "Why not just work with the Tenglong Island Space Launch Site?"

"cooperate?"

Guss pondered for a moment and understood what Catherine meant.

"You mean the order is for the Tenglong Island launch site?"

"Yes, and it must be a very difficult order, so that we can assess the maximum capacity of the Tenglong Island Space Launch Site."

Gus leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, then said, "Catherine, I must say, it is indeed a good idea. It's simple and direct, but very effective."

Catherine said happily, "I knew it! Things aren't as complicated as you think. If we go to him to cooperate, Mr. Hu has no reason to refuse."

“Alright, Catherine, perhaps you could talk to Mr. Hu about this first.”

Catherine didn't want to get involved in these matters, but after thinking about it, it seemed that her father didn't have a better choice. If she went to talk to Boss Hu herself, it would be too abrupt. She should at least talk to someone first before going to talk to him.

Catherine asked, "Father, what project do you plan to collaborate on with Mr. Hu?"

Guss said, "Like you said, it has to be a really difficult project. Just launching a rocket might not be enough. We need to launch at least a satellite. No, a satellite is simple enough. We need something even more difficult. Catherine, what are your thoughts?"

"Perhaps we could launch a probe," Catherine said.

"A detector? Detecting what?"

"The moon."

Gus was startled: "Catherine, are you kidding me? Launching a probe to the moon, do you know how difficult that is? Even the countries that can do it might not be able to gather three people."

“I know, but we don’t expect to be able to do it, Father, what do you think?”

"Ok?"

Guss now understood what his daughter meant. Whether or not they could actually send the probe to the moon was not important; what mattered was the attitude of the Tenglong Island launch site—whether or not they would accept the order.

If they don't accept the offer, it means the other party's technical capabilities are mediocre, and they can only launch a few satellites into low orbit.

If the other party dares to accept the order, it means they have some confidence. Then we can lower the conditions and gradually test their technical limits.

(End of this chapter)