Chapter 49: The Moonlight Project Unveiled


    The truth behind the incident was revealed to the whole world.


    Surprisingly, there were not many countries that actively criticized the EU, because too many of them were involved.


    The three countries that indirectly supported the three main axis countries ounted for more than half of the EU’s poption and had more economic and political influence.


    The most they did was express regret, and only Russia, India, and Korea were critical.


    The US pointed out the EU’s mistake vaguely, but tried to keep a poker face.


    They knew about the situation.


    They knew about China’s lobby and that Russia would be the key point.


    But they didn’t tell anyone because they wanted to assert their presence.


    How would he think of the US, who threw a veto in the face of the EU’s pressure?


    He wouldn’t be at least disappointed.


    The US never intended to manage the superconductor jointly with other permanent members.


    ―China was excluded and Russia was weak in basic power. Japan was not on good terms with Korea. Therefore, if we can exclude the EU, our influence will increase.


    There was a rumor that apuse was heard in the White House when Yu Ji-ha finished his press conference.


    The EU was a traditional ally of the US, but recently China’s influence was not negligible.


    They were in a crisis of breaking their honeymoon rtionship, so the US had to control their expression.


    But one picture ruined the US’s good mood.


    It was a picture of Putin with Yu Ji-ha that was posted on the Russian Federation’s Twitter ount.


    They took a picture with a huge unobtanium ore and an engine that looked like a fighter jet behind them.


    The White House flipped out when they confirmed the identity of the engine.


    “Mr. President, this is an ion thruster!”


    “Are you sure? If it’s this size, we can put it in a drone, right?”


    “It’s easy to scale up or down in Starfield. That’s what they proved.”


    Starfield had only provided test versions to the Korean Navy, saying that it was still under development.


    But it went all the way to Russia.


    “I’m going crazy.”


    It’s not easy to scale up or down a jet engine and get the same efficiency.


    In the case of turbofans, you have to erge the des first, which is not easy at all.


    You have to change the material and consider the exhaust gas efficiency of the engine.


    But ion thrusters seemed to be able to design them simply.


    If they apply that tremendous efficiency and thrust shown by Terra Heavy Launcher to Russia’s aircraft and drones…


    “I’ll call Korea right away… No, I’ll call him myself.”


    He made a call, but a strange sound came out.


    ―The power is off. Beep~ After connecting to voicemail…


    “What is this?”


    His aide was dumbfounded.


    “Didn’t he break his phone at the press conference? He doesn’t seem to have a spare.”


    “I will give you 30 minutes. Connect me with Chairman Yu no matter what.”


    Fire fell on his aides’ feet.


    Meanwhile, the EU had no room to care about this atmosphere outside.


    It was as if a nuclear bomb had exploded.


    The entire EU member states rose up and med Germany.


    It was more hateful to have a traitor inside than an external force that attacked them.


    ―Germany showed its true colors!


    ―They betrayed the EU and bowed down to a singlepany. Give up your leadership position!


    ―Oppose Germany! Oppose Nazis!


    The Nazi talk was always a repertoire when Germany was criticized.


    It would probably continue for 100 years.


    As they attacked from all sides, Germany remained silent.


    Their stock prices maintained stability in a situation where Europe’s stock markets plummeted as a whole.


    Especially carpanies were able to breathe a sigh of relief.


    ―The premium electric car line was matched with ck metal. If it had been dyed, it would have been a terrible situation.


    ―We should be prepared for an increase in fees. The Si Group’s secretariat is asking for fee renegotiation.


    The German car industry was willing to ept fees as much as possible.


    It was lucky enough that ck metal batteries were notpletely banned.


    ―France and Italy’s car industries were hit hard. We can increase our market share if we take this opportunity. We can afford fees as much as possible.


    Germany was in such a situation, while France alone suffered a disaster.


    Britain was also banned, but their car industry was in ruins anyway.


    And they were not part of the EU anymore, so they had rtively less burden.


    But France was on the front line, so it was not a situation where they could keep silent.


    Rudy Alebeck, the French president, personally attacked Germany.


    ―Germany’s betrayal is uneptable. Germany not only broke the unity of Europe, but also left an indelible wound on Europe’s security. Apologize immediately and solve the problem!


    As if responding to this, the French media also opened fire.


    They attacked Germany very harshly, but Germany’s reaction was lukewarm.


    ―It was France who fell for China’s temptation and took the initiative. We don’t think it’s the EU’s identity to pressure one individual by sticking together.


    The German media also responded, and the two countries had a fierce war of words.


    One French broadcaster even argued that they should close the border immediately.


    As they attacked each other, they couldn’t avoid the history of deep resentment.


    ―Before France talks about the peace of mankind, how about apologizing to Haiti first? Where else do you get 80% of the national budget by iming the cost of modernizing the colony?


    ―The world would have been more peaceful if you hadn’t bypassed the Maginot Line!


    The two countries had caused a lot of trouble to the world as much as their influence.


    The more they attacked each other, the more it came back to them.


    As the two countries that could be called the de facto leaders of the EU fought, their influence was no joke.


    The EU Commission and even the Council were almost paralyzed.


    Italy and Spain tried to intervene, but they couldn’t make a sound against the offensive of the northern and eastern European member states who were aplices anyway.


    While Europe was burning like this, Britain quietly sent a special envoy.


    But Si Group not only refused his visit, but also issued this statement.


    ―Chairman Yu said that he has no reason to meet if any of the conditions he proposed are not met.


    Chairman Yu wanted the EU’splete surrender.


    However, it was not easy for the proud EU countries to ept that.


    The media of each country, after fighting and exhausting themselves, took a brief truce and offered these opinions:


    —ckmetal and Unoptanium hurt their bones, but they did not suffer fatal wounds. Let’s wait and see a little longer.


    —The ion beam nuclear fusion engine that Starfield proposed is likely to be a bluff. No country hase close tomercializing it, so it’s absurd to say that they have achieved aparable level in two years.


    —They can’t keep imposing sanctions on the EU forever. The US won’t just sit and watch.


    Regardless of what they said, Starfield announced a new n.


    It was the moon development project.


    …


    A next-generationunch vehicle carrying about 20 passengers soared from the Naro Space Center.


    Thisunch vehicle did not separate at all and left the Earth directly for the moon.


    It took only 50 hours to safely enter the lunar orbit.


    Now the passengers watched the process of robots mining Unoptanium on the lunar orbit.


    And a fairlyrge space station greeted them when they arrived at the Sea of Tranquility.


    An astronaut who was using a rover to transport ice from the lunar poles waved his hand at the passengers.


    And the passengers watched the process of loading helium-3 capsules mined from the space station onto theunch vehicle and returned to Earth.


    A five-day trip to the moon.


    This was part of the moon development n that Starfield had proposed this time.


    This ce was a convention center in Seoul, where space officials, bureaucrats, and CEOs of privatepanies interested in space from various countries were invited.


    The only ones excluded were all EU countries except China and Germany, and Britain.


    As people murmured, he stood in front of a video that was slowly ying.


    “What you have seen so far is Starfield’s moon development n,monly known as the Moonlight Project.”


    “The Moonlight Project includes everything you just saw. Helium-3 and Unoptanium mining facilities, facilities to mine and purify ice at the poles, docking lines andmunication satellites to carry cargo, and finally a space station.”


    As he mentioned one by one, a sophisticated CG video was yed on arge screen.


    The highlight was the space station located in the Sea of Tranquility.


    It was several timesrger than what the US had nned through the Artemis program.


    Is that really possible?


    As doubts grew among people, he introduced a newunch vehicle.


    “Let me introduce you. This is the New Terraunch vehicle that will beunched in May. It has three times more thrust than the existingunch vehicle and is smaller in size.”


    “Thisunch vehicle is nned as a manned spacecraft and can carry arge amount of cargo. The cost of transporting 1kg of cargo to the moon is less than $200.”


    The original $520 was unbelievably cheap, but they lowered it even more.


    At this rate, it bes a price that can try to develop the moon in earnest.


    While cheers appeared on the faces of the officials, American privatepanies that were selling expensive space travel products could not hide their embarrassment.


    They had been fighting over whether the boundary of space was 83km or 100km until recently…


    Now that Starfield’s project is underway, that doesn’t matter at all.


    He introduced what he said was thest thing: a space training facility around Naro Space Center.


    “Starfield is nning to build its own facility to train astronauts. Civilians who participate in moon travel will also be trained at this facility.”


    “A lot of funds are needed to carry out all these ns. And one agreement is needed. I know there are quite a few people here who boughtnd on the moon.”


    Some people chuckled.


    There were quite a few people who ownednd on the moon.


    Of course, it was nothing but an illusion that no one recognized.


    What does it matter if you can’t go there yourself?


    But things change a bit when the Moonlight Project starts.


    He pointed out one of them.


    “Mr. Bill Ryan, I read an article that said you bought a lot ofnd in the Sea of Tranquility, is that right?”


    The American businessman nodded his head with a smile.


    “That’s right. I have over 10,000 acres ofnd on paper.”


    “What do you think? Starfield’s space station may encroach on yournd.”


    “Well… If you need mynd, I will donate it to Starfield for free. But…”


    “I’ll put your name first on the list for moon travel reservations.”


    “That’s what I wanted.”


    Laughter erupted from the audience.


    They could have ignored it, but this shows how fair Starfield is.


    The worries of China and European countries were all in vain.


    Now people began to focus on his words and actions.


    The Moonlight Project was not just a n to colonize the moon.


    “The Moonlight Project is just a stepping stone for deep space exploration. A lot of technology and funds are desperately needed for this bold project…”


    The names and symbols of various space agencies and privatepanies, as well as national gs, appeared on the screen.


    But none of them included the country that caused this incident.


    How to prepare for terrorism


    The EU’s antitrustw rampage caused quite a stir.


    As a result, they used excessive force, but there were not many opinions that applying EU antitrustw itself was wrong.


    It was because Si Energy’s monopoly on ckmetal processing had some room for applying antitrustw depending on how it was interpreted.


    But when the EU copsed, the US quietly gave up on applying antitrustw.


    Korea had no intention of applying antitrustw in the first ce.


    Thew was weak, and they couldn’t pour cold water on apany that was doing well.


    Anyway, the EU’s application of antitrustw and Yu Ji-ha’s response left a deep impression on many people.


    —I thought individuals had to bow to the state, but now it’s not…


    ?It’s because of Yu Ji-ha, ordinary startups can’t do anything.


    ?Just pay some fines and don’t think about opposing the government.


    ?Wow, I feel patriotic.


    ?But isn’t it a bit vague to find the mastermind behind this? South Korea couldn’t even intervene.


    ?They did intervene. They expressed regret.


    ?How many countries care about that statement? The EU probably didn’t care either.


    ?South Korea is not weak, but strangelycks presence…


    ?Because there are stronger guys around. China, Russia, Japan+US…


    ?Shit, Northeast Asia is a hell gate.


    —But what happens now? Germany got out first and lifted the sanctions, what about the other European countries?


    ?They’re waiting. They seem to think that nuclear fusion and moon development n are bluffs.


    ?What if they’re not bluffs?


    ?They’re screwed…


    —The EU won’t copse or anything, but it’s certain that they’ll fall behind. Others are doing nuclear fusion and moon travel.


    ?No, the EU is already in ruins right now. Look at the stock prices falling. This is worse than the subprime crisis.


    ?That’s how important ckmetal and Unoptanium are~


    –Hey, isn’t it crazy that Yu Ji-ha can do all this? Even if he’s a genius, is it possible to do all this?


    ?ording to rumors, there’s a real Lucia in Si Group’s server.


    ?What does the real Lucia do?


    ?Artificial intelligence core. The Lucia released on the market is a degraded version with severely limited functions.


    ?Wow, if that’s a degraded version, the core must be awesome.


    ?I was joking about the singrity, but did it reallye??


    ?Maybe it did. We just don’t know…


    —Guys, but Yu Ji-ha didn’t do much of this himself…


    ?That’s true. ckmetal battery or ion thruster are not things he did because he was a genius. He just had those abilities.


    ?Drone algorithm or Lucia are real, but he wasn’t famous for that side.


    ?It’spletely different from being a little famous in Korea and leading the world.


    —If Lucia is really strong artificial intelligence, what happens?


    ?What happens? Lucia rules! Please make me your ve.


    ?A world ruled by artificial intelligence, what would that be like?


    ?Lucia seems surprisingly rational?


    ?She could rationally get rid of all humans. She said androids could rece them.


    ?Hey, I feel like the technology development trend has suddenly elerated?


    ?Yu Ji-ha is serious about


    ?I made a railgun in no time, so it’s not something I’m familiar with. I heard the US military was surprised by its specs.


    ?Who leaked the specs to the US military?


    ?Apparently, the Korean navy invited them and showed them the ion thruster demonstration.


    ?It’s because of the ion thruster photo that was posted on Russian Twitter. They must have been pissed that we gave it to them.


    ―I wish I could just use artificial intelligence to rule Korea instead of being president. They say there’s a Russian mainframe at Si Group headquarters.


    ?You’ve finally gone crazy.


    ?No, I just had that thought after listening to Russia. This shitty country ispletely rotten, so it needs to be turned upside down.


    ?Don’t take dictatorship lightly. The people worked hard to gain power.


    ?The bastards we elected with that power are all trash and useless. What has changed?


    ?When I checked with Russia, thewmakers were all talking nonsense on public broadcast without doing their jobs. Are these bastards really helping the country?


    ?The president said he would consider introducing Russia to the bankwork, and all thepanies andwmakers opposed it. Isn’t that a sign that they’re guilty?


    ?I wish they would all be overturned and punished severely.


    ?Our country is very lenient on economic criminals.


    ?That’s why Russia needs to y the role of judge too. After Russia was introduced to the arbitrationmittee, the insurancepanies couldn’t pull off their 7:3 bullshit anymore.


    The atmosphere had changed a lot from before.


    Those who used to shiver at the mention of dictatorship became passive.


    Everyone had Russia with them, so fact-checking became easier and they had to face the dirty reality of society.


    ―Anyway, the country looks doomed, so let’s push for the poison that has some possibility. We have to save it first before we can see anything.


    There were few people who said this, but there were also few people who criticized them harshly.


    That’s how much the mood had changed.


    And around that time, he was meeting with the owner of the Blue House who maintained it. div>