The private jet was considerably faster than the commercial airliner Chen Jue had taken before, and its luxurious interior made it feel like a business hotel moving through the sky.
Chen Jue watched the changing scenery outside, then glanced at Linglong, who was resting in her seat with her eyes closed. He thought, I wonder what price the Hong Mou Group paid to persuade Linglong to come, when she takes life and death so lightly.
John, meanwhile, had his headphones on and was idly flipping through the plane's satellite television channels, which were broadcasting news from various countries.
Chen Jue glanced over and saw several rocket launches in the news. Some were deploying Starlink satellites, some carried crewed spacecraft, and others were purely performance tests, including tests of rocket recovery technology.
Besides China, quite a few overseas countries had begun stepping up their exploration of the stars.
Even some private tycoons and major conglomerates had begun making frequent forays into civilian rocketry. The most prominent among them was Musk, the entrepreneur from Eagle Country known for manufacturing electric cars.
A community with a shared future for humanity? Chen Jue pondered this silently and looked outside again, where the white sea of clouds met the blue sky along a single line. Farther away, a faint trail remained from a rocket launch.
"John, the Hong Mou Group has deep pockets and interests in so many industries. Have you ventured into commercial spaceflight?" Chen Jue suddenly asked, interrupting John as he watched satellite television.
"Mr. Chen Jue, please forgive me for being a crude businessman. Spaceflight may be a dream shared by all humanity, but as far as its commercialization goes, I don't think we'll see any meaningful return on investment for decades."
"Although I've fantasized about going into outer space myself, or