Super technology leader

"As expected, there's still no announcement of a launch delay. Looks like it's going to launch on time. Heh, you didn't have super-heavy rockets decades ago, and you still won't have them now."

Taro Chonaga sneered, watching the uninterrupted live broadcast on TV.

"The power of technology... you'll never understand."

Saying that, he took out his phone and made a call. "Hey, Park Bu-seong, what have you found on your end? Have the rabbits left the rabbit hole?"

"No, Taro. The rabbit hole is quiet. Those rabbits are probably running around in circles, busy as can be."

"That's good. Be careful. This isn't an oil desert, after all," Chonaga instructed.

"Don't worry. I'll treat you to a fun time at a brothel when we get back."

"Haha, good," Chonaga said happily. "There are five minutes left until launch. This is our last call. Remember to dispose of the phone. See you at the rendezvous point later."

"No problem. See you later."

After chatting, the two said one last sentence: "Victory forever belongs to America!"

Then he hung up, took out the SIM card, snapped it in half, smashed the phone to pieces, and flushed it down the toilet bit by bit.

With two minutes left, Chonaga sat next to the laser cannon he had cobbled together, turned it on, confirmed that it was aimed at the theoretically weakest part of the Long March 9 rocket body, and began to wait.

On the other side, targeted search orders had been secretly issued to various police stations, police substations, and armed police detachments, instructing all patrol teams to pay attention while patrolling.

Hearing the conditions to watch out for, a young policeman who was resting after lunch and had now been called into a meeting suddenly thought of something and immediately reported what he had encountered that morning to the station chief.

"Mada, are you serious? You saw people matching these conditions this morning?"

The station chief asked the young policeman excitedly.

He had to be excited. If they really caught them, it would be a major accomplishment!

This wasn't some ordinary petty thief, but an international spy, and one who had come to sabotage the launch of the Long March 9.

Mada, the young policeman who had told the senior officer about his morning patrol observations at noon, saw the station chief's excitement and quickly added, "Uh, Chief, it's just a possibility, because the people who fit these conditions weren't just one person, but several."

"Oh."

Hearing that it was only a "possibility," the station chief calmed down, sat down, and told Mada to sit down as well. "Come, come, a possibility is fine too. Tell me in detail."

"Chief, we recorded it with the law enforcement recorder at the time. How about we watch it while we talk?" Mada said, scratching his head.

"Yes, that's good. Go get the recording. We have some sharp eyes here at the station. Let's all take a look."

"Yes, Chief."

A few minutes later, Mada pointed at the screen and said, "This morning, Li-ge, Zhang-ge, and I went on patrol and checked a hotel. Several foreigners were staying at this hotel, from East Asia and Southeast Asia. They said they were here to watch the launch of the Long March 9."

"Li-ge, Zhang-ge, and I checked their luggage and found that they had no problems, except for some clothes, laptops, cameras, lenses, and other valuables. One of the Sakura Country people brought a super-large lens, or maybe a telescope. I'm not sure. Look, it's this..."

"Hiss, that's really big."

"It does look like a telephoto lens."

"No, I think it looks like a civilian astronomical telescope, because I bought one for my son."

"Let's not talk about what it looks like first. Did you notice? When Xiao Ma was about to check it carefully, the other party refused."

"Refusing is normal, right? If it's a lens, this kind of lens is very expensive and precise. People usually don't let others touch it..."

"No, it's not the same. Although that action was slight, it didn't look like a refusal. It was more like a deliberate dodge. Xiao Ma, rewind 5 seconds and slow it down..."

These old policemen were all veterans. They definitely couldn't beat gangsters head-on, but they had spent their entire lives in the streets and alleys, dealing with family matters, and their eyes were extremely sharp. They quickly discovered the problem.

Plus the "slow-motion" skill, more and more details were discovered.

Spies are still people, not machines. Even if they are hidden deeply, they may still reveal themselves, and sometimes it's not even their own problem. Various external factors and accidents can still expose them.

The policemen analyzed all the recordings, and it had to be said that old policemen were old policemen. They noticed many details at a glance, and then after slow-motion, bingo!

These several "unfamiliar" foreigners were probably a gang. The things they carried seemed normal, but if we assume that the "lens telescope" was part of a laser weapon, then at least one of the things the others carried could be used to support it.

Before, they didn't think about it this way, but once they did, their thinking logic couldn't stop.

"I think we're at least 70% sure. Mada, Lao Liu, take a trip, as a normal patrol and inspection, to check the situation."

After making a decision, the station chief began to assign tasks, but immediately felt that it was unreliable, so he added, "Like this, leave someone to watch the house. We'll go in plain clothes. If anything happens, rush in immediately."

After saying that, he still felt that it wasn't safe, and finally said hesitantly, "No, no, now is not the time to compete for credit. The situation is different. We must tell the aerospace center and let them send professional people to assist us."

"Yes! Chief!"

After receiving the orders, everyone immediately began to act. The station chief personally contacted the aerospace center, Mada and Lao Liu had already set off, and the others changed into plain clothes.

Afraid of messing things up, they didn't try to take the lead, but they still wanted to get some other credit.

Xiao Ma drove the police car first, and the policemen who had changed into plain clothes were very careful. They didn't drive from the station, but took taxis and buses to the scene after coming out.

"Countdown 30 seconds!"

People at the aerospace center were getting more and more nervous, counting down second by second.

The spy was also getting more and more nervous, watching the launch broadcast on TV, his finger already hovering over the launch button.

The police were also nervous, chatting normally with the hotel owner, complaining that the rocket was about to launch and they were still patrolling, and then watching the surveillance under the pretext of watching the live broadcast.

Soon, the old policeman keenly noticed an abnormality and nodded slightly to Mada.

90% sure!

The audience at the scene and in front of the live broadcast were also nervous, clutching their hearts, praying.

In the launch hall, Tang Chao guaranteed that there would be no problem with this launch, and stood calmly at the back, watching the screen and listening to the countdown.

"10 seconds!"

"10!"

"9!"

"8!"

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"

The countdown ended, and the zero commander immediately pressed the button.

"Ignition!"

The button was pressed, and the launch pad and rocket outside were activated simultaneously. Sparks flew out, immediately igniting the fuel and oxidizer ejected by the engine.

At the same time, the signal spread throughout thousands of households, and everyone watching the live broadcast saw this scene, including the spy, Taro Chonaga.

He also pressed the button of the laser emitter hard.

"Fire!"

No dazzling green or red light was emitted, only a faint smell of burning.

The series of battery packs smoked.

The lens and front end of the laser emitter glowed slightly red.

Mixed together, it was like an asphalt road at two o'clock in the afternoon in midsummer, the smell was unpleasant, and the air was steaming, forming a rolling heat wave, and the space in front of the lens seemed to be distorted.

"Boom-"

Accompanied by a huge roar, blazing flames spewed out from the rocket engine nozzle, and the water pool below immediately evaporated into a huge cloud of steam.

"Beep-"

"Liftoff!"

"Liftoff time: Yao-liu hours, fifty-two minutes, forty-five seconds, zero point three milliseconds..."

The rocket stayed on the launch pad for a few seconds, and after the thrust was fully opened, the rocket was slowly pushed off the ground by the huge thrust.

For a few seconds, the laser emitter was still working, but the battery was running out, and at most in a few more seconds, the laser emitter would stop working.

But it didn't matter. Watching the rocket slowly lift off on TV, Taro Chonaga showed a victorious smile.

"Fly, fly, the higher you fly, the more beautiful the fireworks..."

"Bang-"

The door was suddenly kicked open!

"Don't move, police!"

"Don't move!"

"Hands up!"

This sudden change did make Taro Chonaga panic for a moment. He knew that he had been exposed.

But looking at the Long March 9 rocket that was flying higher and higher on TV, he suddenly laughed wildly again.

"Hahahaha-"

"Bloom, beautiful fireworks!"

The police who rushed in looked at the smoking battery and listened to his piercing laughter, their faces were very ugly, and they pressed him to the ground!

However, the people in charge of counter-espionage at the aerospace center looked at the crude laser emitter and the smoking battery with calm faces.