I changed the world.

Page 160

In the mornings in Redfield, a light mist hangs in the air. It's no longer the Industrial Revolution era, and technological advancements have greatly improved the air quality in Redfield, which was once known as the "Fog City." However, due to the local climate, the weather here is often overcast and shrouded in a thin mist. Of course, the fog in Redfield no longer contains the large amount of suspended particulate matter.

In the northwestern suburbs of Redfield stands a plain-looking 13-story office building, the headquarters of the Rune Space Agency, the "brain" of the world's largest civilian space agency. Every morning at 8:15, Vincent Carteris would appear punctually in front of the headquarters gate, and today was no exception. He habitually stopped in front of the gate, adjusted his tie, and glanced back with slight annoyance at a huge electronic billboard across the street, where a political advertisement promoting a certain member of the House of Commons was displayed on the large screen.

"Those damn politicians..." he muttered viciously, then strode into the building with a serious expression.

After passing through the security gate, Carteris, with a cool expression, slightly raised his chin to return the greetings from the staff who passed by him, and then walked towards the elevator.

Many people know that Director Carteris has been quite stressed these past few days because of next year's budget. Wherever Carteris goes, almost all the staff are busy and "working hard".

Of course, Carteris clearly didn't intend to cause trouble. He strode into his office, closed the door, and casually wiped the glass partition next to him, causing the entire pane to quickly turn black in one direction, making it impossible for his subordinates to observe him from the outside while he was observing their work.

Then, he sat down at his desk and picked up the phone...

“Hello… I’m looking for Congressman Kutzler, yes, this is Katris…”

There was a knock at the door. Carteris covered the microphone with his hand, turned around, and called out, "Come in." Then he turned back to continue his verbal sparring with the person on the other end of the line…

"Mr. Congressman, please listen to me... Yes, yes, I think it's necessary to increase the space agency's budget for next year by another 20% on top of the previously agreed-upon amount. You see, according to the information we've received, countries around the world are increasing their investment in deep space exploration, and we have many new projects planned for next year..."

“Mr. Carteris, something happened last night, here’s a briefing…”

Carteris recognized the man as Robert, the acting deputy director in charge of "planetary orbit exploration and space engineering," who, barring any unforeseen circumstances, would soon be taking over the role of his "predecessor," who was currently undergoing artificial heart surgery in the hospital.

He pointed to an empty spot next to the desk, indicating that Robert should put the "briefing" that looked to be dozens of pages there, while making a "very busy" gesture.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Carteris, this matter is rather urgent. Yesterday morning, several of our subordinate detectors observed abnormal celestial phenomena over the Sulu Islands of the Zhao Empire. In addition, some civilian detectors also observed this situation. Just now, some media outlets called to inquire about this matter..."

"Alright, alright, let's do it the same way as before. You see, I'm very busy right now..." Carteris had to cover the microphone with his hand again, turning to Robert and saying, "Get a few experts to come forward, give some damn reasons, and you guys figure it out yourselves..."

Looking at the pimples that had appeared on the director's lips due to internal heat, Robert moved his lips and continued with some difficulty, "However, just now, the Secret Intelligence Bureau also sent a coordination letter, requesting all the data on this abnormal celestial phenomenon from us."

Carteris was initially annoyed when he heard Robert continue to press the issue, but his anger quickly subsided when he heard the name of the Secret Intelligence Service. He covered the microphone and said, "Give me five minutes. Go to the next conference room and wait for me. Prepare all the documents."

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About five minutes later, Carteris strode into the conference room with a dark expression, indicating that the communication had not gone well. After sitting down at the head of the long table, he cut to the chase: "What kind of abnormal celestial phenomenon is this? Show me the data."

Robert quickly handed over the tablet computer that was placed in front of him. Carteris took the computer, swiped around on it a few times, and began to read the information on it.