Let's Make a Bet

An Electric Propulsion System going into space?

Into space?

Holy shit, did I read that right?

Whether they were experts or company executives, everyone seated at the conference instinctively rubbed their eyes. But no matter how many times they rubbed them, the figures on the slide did not change.

The expert from the Aerospace Group who had presented earlier shook his head.

A representative of a private aerospace company that had just secured investment from Tencent looked torn between laughter and disbelief.

Exaggerating on a slide was standard practice, but this...

He had not even tried to make it believable!

As the strange silence ended, murmurs spread through the hall like a rising tide.

"Unbelievable..."

"Not unbelievable—impossible! I've never heard of an Electric Propulsion System with thrust in the kilonewton range! Even the latest AEPS Electric Propulsion System Rocketdyne designed for NASA only doubled the thrust of the XR-5 Hall Thruster."

"..."

Hearing the discussion below, the staff prepared to restore order, but Lu Zhou stopped them.

He waited quietly for the noise to die down, then said in a relaxed tone, "If you have questions, go ahead."

This was not the question period. The presentation had not even set aside time for questions. But he knew that unless he explained himself now, no one would listen to the rest.

Before long, someone raised a hand.

"I have a question."

Lu Zhou looked toward the elderly man and nodded. "Please."

The man slowly rose from his seat. After studying the slide for a moment, he looked at Lu Zhou and chose his words carefully.

"I've never heard of an Electric Propulsion System capable of producing thrust in the kilonewton range. Professor Lu, are you sure you didn't add an extra letter?"

Lu Zhou smiled. "I can assure you I didn't.