On April 10, 2014, there were only 24 hours left before the Falcon 9 rocket and the American Artemis lunar probe were launched into space.
Wyoming, Tyson Corporation headquarters.
Munster, the person in charge of the Yellowstone Farm project, was sitting in his office, watching the reports on TV with relish.
In the report, the female host was standing outside the launch site, pointing in the direction of the rocket, and introducing the progress of the launch in sentences that showed her "professionalism" as much as possible.
"The Falcon 9 rocket behind me has completed its final fueling. We can see that the crew is disconnecting the rocket and the fuel storage tank. They look very small - especially when they stand on While on this huge rocket.”
"According to the data provided by SpaceX, this rocket needs to be filled with 10 million pounds of liquid oxygen methane fuel, which is a huge number."
"If converted into gasoline, this is enough to drive nearly 10,000 family cars for a year."
Listening to the reporter's explanation, Munster shook his head disdainfully, turned slightly, and said to the waiting assistant:
"Today's hosts are becoming more and more clueless. Convert liquid oxygen methane fuel to gasoline? She may not have gone to college at all."
“But that’s what journalists are like, isn’t it?”
"Exaggerated, distorted, altered. The matter between us and Huangshi Farm has also been hyped into something we don't want to see."
"It was just a simple business dispute."
After hearing his words, the assistant shook his head helplessly.
Business dispute?
If it is really just a commercial dispute, it will not develop to the extent that one party uses the National Guard and the other party seeks help from the LMS.
Essentially, there was something wrong with the handling strategy of this incident from the beginning.
In fact, Munster doesn't need to worry about the little profit from the terms at all. If he can get the farm, will the subsequent benefits be less?
It's a pity that he doesn't want to, because he wants to drain the entire Dutton family.
Well, now, the originally smooth plan was messed up, and it even got involved with Chinese forces.
It is no longer possible to end well. The only thing that can be done is to continue the tough strategy to the end.
What kind of business behavior is this?
If I had known that this was the case, when the first conflict occurred, it would be better to just cause one or two attacks on the police and get rid of them all.
——
Of course, he couldn't say this in front of Munster, so he just replied:
"The essence is indeed a commercial dispute, but on the surface, the tactics used by both parties are too aggressive."
"Especially after we deliberately created a conflict, John Dutton has completely woken up. He will not stop, but will hope to make the conflict larger."
"After all, now that LMS is on his side, he is no longer afraid of our power."
Munster frowned, took a sip in his mouth, and was silent for a few seconds before speaking:
"We can only blame our soldiers for being too gentle - in fact, I said from the beginning that as long as there is a reasonable reason, even if they are all killed, it can be handled properly."
"But the people we sent actually relented. We had created such a perfect murder scene, and even waited until the Duttons entered the trap, but they didn't shoot them, but sent them to the police station."
"I can't understand their kindness - or is it your kindness?"
The threat in Munster's words was obvious, and the assistant quickly denied it:
"I wasn't going to give them a chance."
"The fact that they survived was entirely due to John Dutton's caution."
"He took off his gun at the first moment, without giving us a chance - and the police station near Huangshi, you know, they are all their people. Once inside, we can't do anything. .”
"So you're saying it was an accident?"
Munster stared at the assistant sharply, as if trying to find any hint of a lie in him.
"It was indeed an accident."
"What about the other time? Keith Dutton broke into a house privately, was it also an accident?"
".That's not an accident. The trap was perfect, but the terrible thing is that his combat skills are stronger than the people we sent."
"A retired Marine has better combat skills than an active police officer?"
"It's a SEAL."
the assistant corrected.
Munster fell silent for a moment, but on the TV, the female host was still chattering.
"The Artemis lunar exploration device will land at a predetermined location on the far side of the moon after orbiting the moon for several weeks, where it will use the most advanced long-distance communication technology to communicate with the Earth."
"Furthermore, the equipment carried by Artemis will automatically deploy and set up to build the first lunar camp in human history."
"In the follow-up, Artemis 2 will carry three astronauts to the moon to complete a 6-week scientific expedition there."
Munster glanced at the picture on the TV, then looked away again.
"No matter what, we must not allow John Dutton to retake Yellowstone Ranch."
"We are already extremely passive legally, and if we want to regain control, we must solve his biggest problem."
"Use special means - anyway, it's not like we haven't used it in previous conflicts."
Upon hearing this, the assistant's eyes became hesitant.
Yes, in the several conflicts between Tyson Company and Huangshi, they did use a lot of violence and caused casualties.
But no matter what, those conflicts are supported by a "reasonable" reason.
Boundary conflicts, provocations, quarrels, competition for women. In that wilderness, although these reasons may seem absurd, they are barely tenable.
But now, judging from Munster's intentions, he seemed to be planning to tear off the last fig leaf and go grab it directly.
Is this really possible?
Once handled improperly, it may even lead to the complete collapse of the entire global strategy.
So he opened his mouth to persuade:
"We probably don't need to be in such a hurry."
"Although we are already at a disadvantage legally, how long can we continue to delay them? Maybe John Dutton will die of old age in a few years."
"We have no time to waste."
Munster said decisively.
"The Artemis project is a signal - a signal that SpaceX, or I prefer to call it 'Musk's Army', is beginning to advance."
"You also know that he has just established a new digital agriculture company--that is, Star Farmer."
“They’re growing very quickly and have reached into Wyoming.”
“I highly doubt that if they achieve another landmark victory with the Artemis project, they will quickly seize large swaths of Wyoming’s resources.”
"You know, the state government has no credibility at all. They only care about profits."
"So, what we have to do is swallow the benefits as quickly as possible."
"This is a big time when sharks in the water are scrambling for food. How can we be hesitant at a time like this?"
The assistant let out a long sigh.
He had to admit that Munster's judgment was correct.
Star Farmer has only been established for a few months, but its development momentum is extremely rapid.
It is conceivable that in the future, it will definitely be the biggest opponent of Tyson Group.
It's okay to swallow as much food as possible.
But after he sorted out the connection between these things, he always felt a little ironic.
John Dutton.
A cattle farmer.
His final fate was actually decided by a rocket ship in Florida that was about to fly to the moon.
Yellowstone Farm.
John Dutton gasped and sat down on the lush grass. In front of him was an adult bull with all four hooves tied.
He had a tired but satisfied smile on his face, and standing behind him were security personnel from the LMS wearing military body armor and carrying heavy shotguns.
His son Keith stood beside him relaxedly, biting a grass root in his mouth, and HK-416 hanging loosely behind him. It was obvious that compared to the tension two months ago, they had completely gotten rid of the pressure from Tyson Company. threats of force.
Of course, this does not mean that they are completely safe. Harassment and provocation will still occur. Even his grandson has been threatened.
But at least direct firefights haven't happened in a long time.
This made him understand something:
Sometimes, to make your enemy cease fire, you don't need to actually fire, just have enough firepower.
And coincidentally, LWM has such firepower.
During a certain chat, the captain in charge of security "accidentally" revealed that they could even get an armed helicopter.
Although it is only a retired model of the military, it is definitely not something that can be challenged by the light firepower that Tyson Company can dispatch.
Therefore, he lived a very leisurely life.
Of course, such leisure comes at a price - namely, the deal with 555 Fulton.
He has promised the other party that after taking back the Huangshi Farm, he will share the farm management rights with the other party and respect the other party's decisions on land use and industrial development.
Even such a decision may subvert the traditional way of operating the farm.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh.
——
Well, times will always change. At least, in 555Fulton’s plan, the cattle still have to eat grass.
That's enough, isn't it?
He looked at Case aside and said:
"You participated in the entire negotiation with 555 Fulton. I think that after reaching an agreement, I can leave the subsequent management work to you."
Hearing his words, Case couldn't help but frown.
"Dad, you know, I'm not good at business things."
"It doesn't require you to be good at it."
John interrupted him without any doubt and continued:
"I just hope I have a son I can trust to watch over my farm, instead of completely falling over to our enemies like Wes did."
"...He just had no choice."
Keith's tone was a little low.
He is actually not as "resentful" to his brother as his father thought.
He knew that Wes had indeed made a big mistake, but this mistake was not his intention.
In a sense, he is also trying to protect the family and the family within the family.
However, the method he chose seemed a little weak in John's opinion.
"A last resort? Maybe."
"But this at least proves that his vision is not as good as yours, right?"
"His failure to see through the enemy's tactics was enough for me to make a decision."
"Okay. But I think he should take his share."
"Of course, there's nothing to say. No matter what, you are all my sons."
John replied calmly.
After experiencing ups and downs and dangers for such a long time, his mentality has already changed.
He no longer wants to be a "hero", he just wants to spend his old age peacefully within his own principles.
The radio nearby was playing the latest news, and the female host was interviewing the president of SpaceX. They talked about everything about moon landings, heavy rockets, and entering space. John didn't really understand the meaning of those contents. He just found it interesting. .
".Decades later, are we finally going to the moon again?"
"It sounds like a reincarnation. You know, I lived through that era. I saw Neil Armstrong land on the moon."
"I never thought that something like this would happen again when I get older."
"You're lucky - maybe this moon landing will be different from what you've experienced?"
"Maybe, but I can't figure out the difference."
Keith flipped the safety of HK416 thoughtfully, pondered for a moment and then said:
"They're going to build a base on the moon to collect the nuclear fuel, helium-3, that's how the word is pronounced."
"Anyway, it's still related to nuclear fusion."
"Sometimes, I feel that there is some connection between these things, as if the fate of our farm is actually linked to nuclear fusion."
"This time the moon landing may have something to do with us sooner or later."
"How can this be?"
John couldn't help but laugh.
"We are just farmers. Is it possible that they still plan to send us to the moon to herd cattle?"
Keith also had a smile on his face, and he was about to chime in with a few jokes, but the next second, his pupils suddenly narrowed.
He watched helplessly as a blood flower bloomed on John Dutton's body.
The latter seemed to be unconscious. He just staggered back two steps, and then looked down at his chest in confusion.
There was no blood flowing there.
The location where the blood flowed out was in the abdomen.
It was only then that the sound of gunshots reached his ears. The security personnel on the side reacted faster than Case and threw the two of them down.
Then, violent gunfire rang out.
No one knew the exact location of the attackers. They just wanted to use the sound of gunfire to cover John and Case's departure.
Keith threw himself on John and blocked the direction of the projectile with his body.
Not far away, more security personnel were arriving, but John's eyes were wide open.
He looked straight at the sky.
There, a ball of fire was slowly rising.
The direction the firelight was pointing was the extremely bright moon.
Amidst the chaotic gunfire, a female voice on the radio could be faintly heard.
"Artemis is flying towards the moon. In a few minutes, it will leave the atmosphere and enter Earth's orbit."
John closed his eyes slightly and spoke with difficulty:
"Fuck the moon."
His head fell on the grass, and the blood on the ground did not reflect the moon.
(End of chapter)
