RNP Chapter 57 Governor Ma, I…
Chapter 57 Governor Ma, I…
What does Governor Ma want?
Her sister is truly baffling.
But whatever his motives are, it doesn't matter anymore. What matters is to clarify things immediately!
At 10:00 AM on the fourth day, in the press conference hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Eastern Region.
The press conference hall, which normally holds only two hundred people, was now packed with over four hundred journalists. Cameras and microphones filled every corner, the back rows were packed with people, and cameramen squatted in the aisles. Logos of every major media outlet in the world could be found throughout the hall.
The number of viewers on the online live stream channel exceeded 80 million before the press conference even started. This only includes the official channels and does not include broadcasts by television stations in various countries.
The air was so thick it felt like you could wring water out of it.
The reporters whispered amongst themselves, their voices low, but the murmurs combined to make the entire hall sound like a restless beehive.
This is the first public response from the East Korean government after three days of silence.
What will they say? Admit? Deny? Explain? Or...?
At 10:00 AM sharp, the side door opened, and Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ma Guocheng was the first to walk out, followed by two experts and technicians from the China National Space Administration.
Today, Ma Guocheng was unusually not wearing his signature dark suit, but rather a rather plain gray Zhongshan suit. He looked haggard with heavy eye bags.
He walked to the podium, but instead of greeting with a smile as usual, he directly opened the folder.
"Good morning, fellow journalists." Ma Guocheng's voice was hoarse, and his speech was slower than usual. "Today, I will be making a formal response on behalf of the Dongguo government to some recent inaccurate information circulating internationally regarding Mars exploration."
The audience fell silent instantly, with only the sound of camera shutters clicking like a torrential downpour.
"Three days ago, SpaceX's so-called 'live broadcast from Mars' event spread a large amount of false footage and information globally." Ma Guocheng raised his head, his gaze sweeping across the audience. "These images claimed to have discovered giant written symbols, suspected artificial structures, and... a giant hand in the Asidaria Planitia region of Mars."
He paused for two seconds, letting his words sink into everyone's ears.
"I hereby solemnly declare: These images are entirely computer-generated fake images, a malicious, premeditated, and deceptive propaganda campaign targeting East Korea."
An uproar erupted in the audience. Foreign journalists stared wide-eyed, while the East Korean journalists wore expressions of anger.
"To clarify the facts, the my country National Space Administration adjusted the orbit of the 'Wentian-1' Mars probe immediately and conducted high-resolution remote sensing observations of the Asidaria Plain region." Ma Guocheng turned to the side, gesturing to the large screen behind him, "Now, please watch the real images transmitted back by Wentian-1."
The screen lights up.
The image on the left is a screenshot of Ma Dugong's live stream.
Eight giant golden characters covering the plain read "By the mandate of Heaven, may your life be long and prosperous," while a black, inverted-bucket-shaped mountain stands tall with a stone stele ten thousand meters high.
The right side begins playing live images taken by Wentian-1. The same coordinates, the same area, the same surface outline, but those awe-inspiring man-made objects have vanished. Only a barren Martian landscape remains.
"This is a comparison of the same area at different points in time." A space agency expert stepped to the front of the stage and pointed to the screen with a laser pointer. "As you can clearly see, the surface features match perfectly, proving that the observation location was correct. But the so-called 'giant letters,' 'mountains,' and 'steles'... do not exist."
Experts switched images to show multispectral analysis, topographic elevation data, and material composition inversion results. "All scientific data indicate that the area is a natural Martian surface, and no abnormal structures or changes in material composition were detected."
A commotion broke out in the audience. Foreign journalists began whispering among themselves, some looking skeptical, others rapidly typing on their notebooks.
"This is impossible!" A reporter from West Hawk couldn't help but stand up. "The Endeavour's nine orbiters are taking pictures from different angles and transmitting them in real time. How could it be fake?"
Ma Guocheng looked at him, his eyes cold: "You'll have to ask Governor Ma about that."
"But there was no sign of the data stream being tampered with," another Europa journalist exclaimed.
"The fact that the data stream is not tampered with does not mean that the data source is real." Another expert from the space agency chimed in, "If the forgery occurs during the image generation process of the orbiter, then the transmitted data will be fake, which is not difficult."
The reporters in the audience were stunned.
"What I want to say is..." Ma Guocheng spoke again at this moment, "Times have changed. It is no longer an era in which one country monopolizes space exploration. Sometimes, when spreading rumors, one should also consider whether one has the capability to do so."
At this point, he slammed his hand heavily on the table, violently throwing a stack of documents onto it as if venting his anger.
"On behalf of the Dongguo government, I hereby formally announce," Ma Guocheng, having calmed his breathing slightly but still with a firm voice, "First, we strongly condemn SpaceX and its head, Ma Dugong, for their deceptive practices and demand a public apology to the world; second, we demand that international space regulatory agencies conduct a thorough investigation and temporary suspension of all SpaceX deep space exploration projects; third, Dongguo will launch its new generation high-resolution Mars probe satellite, Haotian, within one month to conduct full-domain high-definition mapping of Mars, ensuring the openness and transparency of space information and preventing certain countries or companies from using technological monopolies to fabricate lies!"
He paused, glanced at the camera one last time, and then said something that shocked the world.
"Lord Ma, I'll fuck your mother!"
After saying that, he closed the folder, turned around and left the press conference room without looking back.
The reporters were left standing there dumbfounded.
After a three-second silence, the online chat finally snapped out of its daze and began flooding the screen with messages:
Holy crap! Teacher Ma swore!
[Well said! This is unacceptable!]
Are the images of Wentian-1 real? Any experts have their analyses?
[As an astronomy enthusiast, I can confirm that the data from the Wentian-1 mission is publicly available. I just checked, and the Asidaria Plain is indeed empty.]
So, did Ma Dugong really create a massive CGI scam? What was his motive?
What else could they be after? They're crazy.
But... those scenes are too realistic, they don't seem like CGI...
[The person upstairs clearly doesn't understand technology; today's cutting-edge CGI is much more realistic than this!]
So...we were all tricked by Governor Ma?
[Damn it, give me my money back! I've been watching the livestream for three days straight!]
Westhawk, SpaceX headquarters, president's office.
Governor Ma stared at the live broadcast of the press conference from Dongguo on the screen, his face turning from ashen to deathly pale, and then from deathly pale to liver-colored.
"They...they said we're CGI?" He whirled around, looking at the tech team behind him. "Where's our data? Where's the raw data?!"
"Boss, all the raw data shows that the surround sound captured those images..." The chief engineer was sweating profusely. "We've checked it a thousand times—the transmission link, the image sensor, the data processing unit... there's nothing wrong with it."
"Why couldn't the Eastern Kingdom's Wentian-1 spacecraft capture those images?!"
"We...don't know."
Governor Ma slammed his fist on the control panel.
"Even without an orbiter, Endeavour can still take pictures from high altitudes."
"The Endeavour's orbit has shifted. We have adjusted the relevant parameters, but it will take about five more days to return to its initial position."
"Five days?!"
Governor Ma took a deep breath.
He knew he was in big trouble.
If this matter is not handled properly, his reputation, SpaceX's reputation, Xiying Aerospace Technology's reputation... will all be ruined.
A strange feeling welled up in his heart, as if... something had simply waved its hand and manipulated him, and the whole world, at will!
This feeling is awful!
He waved for the chief engineer to leave the office, stared at the screen for a while, and finally picked up his phone.
"Wilson, something's wrong. I have a feeling that the world has changed for the worse!"
After a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, someone said, "I understand, Mars..."
"The truth about Mars isn't important now. What's important is me, and the Pool of Faith!" Governor Ma interrupted him, "How's the Pool of Faith doing?"
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. "After the press conference in Dongguo, the impurities in the Faith Pool have increased significantly. The pressure on the filtration equipment equipped with the Holy Grail has increased, and it won't last long."
"I am just a businessman. I cannot go against the credit of a country, especially a superpower. I can only go with the flow."
He paused for a moment, then said, "Prophet, it's time to make a move."
The other person seemed to hesitate for a moment before replying, "I understand."