Compared to escaping into space from Earth Star, returning to Earth Star was much simpler. Under the influence of Earth Star's gravity, coupled with Li Xingkong's slight acceleration, he quickly adjusted his trajectory.
Carrying with it a lot of space debris, it flew towards Earth Star.
On Earth Star, inside the Space Agency of the Eagle Country.
Several astronomers were working leisurely. On the large screen hanging on the wall, they could see the image of the Divine Land lunar probe rocket that had just been launched. However, without close-range detection equipment, they could only use satellites that could observe its trail from a distance to continuously monitor it.
While the satellites were monitoring the rocket's position, the astronomers weren't so concerned.
After all, in their view, landing on the moon was of little value, especially since they had already been there many years ago.
They found nothing of value in the lunar soil they retrieved, so they never carried out another lunar exploration mission.
Now, their Space Agency no longer even has the capability to land on the moon again. The original technical foundation has long been sealed away in some archive somewhere with the passing of the older generation of scientists.
This surveillance was nothing more than routine action. As the world's most powerful nation, the Eagle Country has an extremely strong desire to control and monitor any industry and any matter.
Even if we can't control it, we must keep a close watch on it to prevent Divine Land from doing anything underhanded.
The technicians at the actual control console were fully aware of the situation, but even if they saw something, they were powerless to do anything about it, since the Space Agency's rocket technology had long been sold to private companies.
These few satellites in the sky are all they can use for monitoring now. Even if they need to launch a rocket, it depends on whether the old men in the finance bureau will allocate the funds.
Just as they were chatting and laughing, showing off the food and drinks they had bought with public funds, the alarm suddenly went off inside the bureau.
Red lights flashed throughout the observation room, and alarms blared.
This situation was extremely rare, and those present were unaware of what had happened. Fortunately, some of the technicians had solid theoretical knowledge and quickly went to the control panel that issued the alarm to check the situation.
"Holy crap, a meteorite!"
After only a quick glance, the technician immediately shouted, drawing everyone's attention and drawing them closer.
"A meteorite about 10 meters in diameter is falling towards Earth Star; it's already in Earth Star's near-Earth orbit!"
"Calculate where it crashed?"
Soon, people began to calculate the location of the fall.
"Over in Divine Land."
The group of people, who had been tense, immediately relaxed upon hearing the location of the meteorite's impact.
What does what happens in Divine Land have to do with their Eagle Country?
They'd be happiest to see Divine Land suffer.
"Check what's happening in Divine Land. If they don't make a move, rush to release a news story; I want it to appear in the trending topics in Divine Land immediately."
The person in charge present spoke up, saying that Divine Land couldn't possibly be unaware of such a matter, and if they remained silent, it meant they had a way to handle it.
However, using a meteorite to create chaos in society is one of the harassment tactics they can employ.
This strange meteorite was detected in Divine Land a long time ago.
After all, it appeared suddenly in near-Earth orbit without making a sound, and then began to fall. It's hard not to suspect that this is some kind of space-based weapon.
Fortunately, the rocket ship on the Wanli Shitang side was still in contact with Li Xingkong, and Li Xingkong had informed them before the operation.
Therefore, the operation to destroy the meteorite was suspended after it had just begun, and the focus shifted from the destruction plan to comprehensive monitoring.
Li Xingkong's existence was no longer a secret within the Earthly Capital, as he had already participated in the relevant plans. And those authorized to track this meteorite were the personnel on the Earthly Capital's side.
The Earthly Capital the capital had some understanding of Li Xingkong's abilities, but each time he demonstrated them, it was constantly challenging their Li Xingkong.
This was especially true for this operation; they were also eager to know just how strong Li Xingkong was now.
Of course, in case Li Xingkong is unable to handle the "meteorite" he brought, the ground is prepared to shatter it high in the sky.
As for whether or not to disclose the news of the meteorite's arrival to the public, in their opinion, there is certainly no need for it. After all, they have many ways to deal with such things, and this meteorite does not pose much of a threat.
Moreover, meteorites with a diameter of less than 10 meters will only have a little over 1 meter remaining after entering the atmosphere and rubbing against it. The damage caused by such a small meteorite is even less than that of a missile.
They weren't planning to mention it, but the news from the Eagle Country had already spread to the top of the trending topics in Divine Land.
"A meteorite with a diameter of ten meters is about to fall into Divine Land. How can we protect ourselves?"
"A meteorite that wiped out the age of dinosaurs is coming again. What would you do before the world is destroyed?"
Numerous eye-catching headlines quickly dominated the trending topics, and countless people had already caught the scoop.
Faced with this situation, people's first reaction is naturally one of extreme panic. After all, meteorite falls are extremely rare, and when it comes to this, the first thing that comes to mind is the extinction of the dinosaurs.
This news immediately caused quite a stir. Many people lost their focus on work, and some were even looking for nearby air-raid shelters and civil defense facilities to hide in.
Furthermore, many gunmen hired by the Eagle Country caused trouble in the comments section of these news articles, and the internet was in chaos. Many people came to the Divine Land authorities demanding an explanation.
This news naturally reached the Earthly Capital very quickly.
"These Eagle Country really have no patience to destroy us."
The decision-making power regarding how to respond in this situation has been handed over to Old Tang.
"First, issue a statement to the domestic authorities, saying that this is a newly developed meteorite capture device that is currently being tested, and that we have already taken sufficient precautions so that it will not affect people's lives."
Faced with this situation, the options are either to publicly acknowledge that the meteorite is real and that preparations are underway to strike it, but without notifying the public.
While this could be considered a valid reason, everyone has the right to know. What if the interception fails? Many people would not be satisfied with this explanation.
Old Tang also knew that this "meteorite" was not a real meteorite, but Li Xingkong had created. He had a lot of faith in Li Xingkong's methods, and since this thing was controllable, it could be regarded as Divine Land's latest space technology.
By portraying this incident as Divine Land experimenting with new technologies, they can maintain the public's sense of security. Coupled with demonstration videos of related interception capabilities, they can convince the public that they have made ample preparations.
After all, the reason people are making trouble is not because of any provocation from the Eagle Country, but because their own safety is not guaranteed.
Once everyone's sense of security is restored, then naturally there won't be any more trouble.
Li Xingkong had no time to watch the online entertainment; he was slowly increasing his speed and flying towards Earth Star.
It's not that he can't fly too fast, but that he needs to find the location of Divine Land before he can clearly see the entire Earth Star's topography.
To avoid having to rush into flight after entering the atmosphere, which would be inappropriate at that point.