The Wolf of Los Angeles.

Boca Chica, Texas.

At SpaceX's launch site, the latest Falcon rocket, paired with the Starship spacecraft capable of roaming in space, stands tall beside the launch tower, awaiting launch.

Today marks a significant step in Hawke and Musk's mission to return to the Moon and Mars. A private spacecraft carrying Earth life will travel through space for about twenty hours before returning to the atmosphere and landing in the Texas wilderness.

Inside the command center, the final preparations are proceeding smoothly.

Hawke and Musk invited a large number of celebrities to participate in their so-called space roaming plan.

Leonardo DiCaprio and James Cameron arrived in Boca Chica yesterday and are currently sitting in the spectator stands, discussing something in hushed tones.

Not far away, Mr. Dong and his daughter, who had received the invitation, were curiously fiddling with the VR equipment.

On the other side, First Lady Claire, accompanied by her assistant Krish and several senior executives from the Clean Water Foundation, gazed curiously at the large rocket outside the window.

In the back row, people from the Indian aviation authority ISRO and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) had just taken their seats, led by Abhishek.

The entrance to the lobby was a bit chaotic, with two representatives from an animal protection organization negotiating with people from SpaceX.

The passengers on the starship for this launch were three pigs.

Animal rights activists, drawn by the smell, approached the pigs and began advocating for their so-called rights.

They don't care whether people live or die in space, but they don't care about pigs.

Hawke and Musk entered the lobby from their office and encountered these people first.

A woman stopped Musk and shouted, "Elon, you have to give us a promise and an explanation!"

Compared to the unfamiliar face of Hawke, Musk, as a top tech influencer, is more likely to attract attention.

Musk said, "I've mentioned this to you before, and I'll say it again here, that pigs have a high degree of similarity to humans in terms of physiology. These pigs will be SpaceX's first group of space tourists, and they will be properly cared for after they return to Earth."

Undeterred, the woman pressed on, asking, "What are you going to do with them?"

"These pigs were purchased from a meat pig farm," Musk said bluntly. "When they return from space, we will send them back to a professional farm with a thank-you note and a donation. We trust that the farm will euthanize them in the best way possible and then send them to the slaughterhouse."

The members of these animal protection organizations looked at each other, speechless for a moment.

Hawke strode quickly toward the stands.

Erica, who came with him, said in a low voice, "This is a very impressive environmental performance art piece."

Hawke casually remarked, "The pigs are floating peacefully in the spaceship; they'll definitely love their new home."

The two went to the spectator stands, greeted the crowd, and sat down between Claire and Leonardo.

Cameron picked up the VR device on the table and asked, "It also has a panoramic viewing mode?"

Hawke simply stated, "Once launch begins, we'll be able to observe the reactions of the experimental animals inside the starship from a first-person perspective. And once the starship enters orbit, we can look down upon Earth from its viewpoint."

Cameron, who has always been interested in these technological devices, said, "This arrangement is excellent and enhances the realism of the experience."

At this point, he added with some regret, "I've been to the deepest ocean trench, but I've never been to space."

On the other side, Mr. Dong took the initiative to speak: "With the speed of technological development here at Hawke, you won't have to wait too long before you can personally visit space."

Leonardo looked at President Dong: "You've always liked trying new things, would you be interested in coming up for a look around?"

Mr. Dong's inner self is not as reckless as he appears. He said, "I am too old and need to wait for a more mature opportunity."

Hawke knew this couldn't be forced, so he said, "When you go to space someday, you can do a stand-up comedy show for the whole of America."

Leonardo chimed in, "A world record achievement, great idea."

Mr. Dong was quite tempted by the idea; an opportunity to attract attention and gain prestige was exactly what he desperately needed.

He laughed and said, "If pigs can travel in space, our era of interstellar travel won't be too far away."

Cameron stroked his beard and said, "I hope that day comes soon."

At this point, Abhishek, an Indian, couldn't help but interject: "One of these pigs is from India. We Indians have also realized our space dream."

The Indians spent a considerable amount of money this time in order to fit their own pigs into the cockpit of the Starship spacecraft.

Hawke has always valued his financial backers, saying, "Today is a moment to remember, both for the history of Indian spaceflight and for the history of human spaceflight."

Several Indian scientists who came to visit immediately began to flatter each other.

Although he couldn't understand Hindi-style English very well, Dong Zong looked at this group of gibberish Indians and thought of Tom Emmer's last election.

The support of several Indian associations was also a factor in Tom Emmer's victory.

Mr. Dong may not know the exact percentage, but he is very clear about one thing: the number of Indians in high-tech companies across the United States is constantly increasing.

Mr. Dong asked his daughter in a low voice, "You've been in Los Angeles for so long, have you noticed that Hawke and Brian have close ties with Indians?"

Eni's work in Los Angeles was far from successful. Several meetings with Hawke yielded no results, and she eventually gave up and gave up.

But she wasn't completely ignorant, and replied in a low voice, "Hawker's West Coast Technologies recently reached a trade agreement with the Indians, involving satellites and military products. It's said that this deal is worth nearly $50 billion."

Upon hearing this figure, Mr. Dong's eyes reddened slightly. This single deal was worth more than his entire group's total annual revenue.

Before Inee could finish speaking, she continued, “Hawker’s foundation is also collaborating with Indian billionaire Anil Ambani to develop a massive international school program with a total investment of tens of billions of dollars.”

Mr. Dong is absolutely certain that Indian names will be added to the Dong Group's list of future partners.

Unlike these men, First Lady Claire never participated in the conversation about the men.

She came here this time entirely because the two companies have in-depth cooperation on environmental protection projects and want to continue this cooperation.

Erica, as Hawke's companion, is primarily responsible for socializing with Claire.

The two sides quickly moved from discussing the Birdball Project in California to the UN project that Hawke had mentioned.

Claire also made an appointment with Erica to speak with Hawke alone after the launch.

An electronic voice then sounded in the command center.

Launch is ready, and the countdown will begin soon.

Hawke and the others turned toward the huge window, looking at the Falcon rocket that was about to ignite, and the Starship spacecraft mounted on top of the rocket.

As the countdown ended, flames shot out from the bottom of the rocket, which then rose into the sky.

Before long, it was only faintly visible to the naked eye. Cameron, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Mr. Dong, among others, all put on VR glasses.

Hawke and Erica were no exception; through VR glasses, they had a clear view of the interior of the starship's cockpit.

There's really nothing to see; it just shows three terrified pigs strapped in with seatbelts.

Out of respect for the sponsor, one of them was also painted with the Indian flag.

Wearing VR glasses, Cameron couldn't stop talking, saying, "I really want to sit in it and experience it for myself."

No one responded to him, because everyone had seen that those pigs were not having a good time at all.

After a period of waiting, the starship broke out of the atmosphere, entered its designated orbit, and began orbiting the Earth.

The VR glasses come with a camera switching function, which can switch between the camera inside the cabin and a wide-angle camera outside the cabin.

Hawke pressed a button, and the view in front of him quickly changed to an angle overlooking Earth.

Although I've seen similar scenes many times through television and movies, witnessing them in person using VR is still incredibly impressive.

The mysterious outer space, a realm yet to be conquered by humankind.

Inside the starship cabin, the seatbelts were released, and three pigs floated up, letting out terrified cries as if they had encountered a natural enemy.

Meanwhile, Musk immediately had someone take a high-resolution screenshot and post it on Twitter.

I posted three pictures each of a pig floating inside a starship and looking down at Earth.

This top tech influencer didn't forget to add a caption.

"Pigs walked in space before humans, that's so cyberpunk!"

Considering the animal rights activists still remaining in the lobby, he wrote a few more words.

"Thank you to the pigs for their sacrifice for humanity. They float peacefully in space, collecting data on various muscle responses for us."

All of these pigs have data sensors implanted in their bodies, and the researchers below will receive various data fed back from space in real time.

The Starship is operating smoothly in its designated orbit, and the launch phase has been a success.

As for the starship returning to Earth, that will have to wait until tomorrow.

After Musk announced the successful launch, a round of enthusiastic applause erupted in the hall.

Cameron, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Dong Mingzhu, among others, sent their congratulations to Hawke and Musk.

After shaking hands with Hawke, Abhishek immediately instructed his men: "Quickly send the relevant images back to India, especially the pig painted with the Indian flag. This is a great victory for India's space program."

The Indians, well-versed in the "victory strategy," responded and went to request the relevant photos from the space exploration company, transmitting them back to India immediately.

In less than ten minutes, these photos, along with related news, appeared on Indian online media.

When Indians saw the news, they thought their country's space program had made a breakthrough.

Dong Zong seized the opportunity to step forward and talk to the Indians: "Congratulations, the Indian flag has appeared in space."

Abhishek shook his hand with a smile: "This is a victory for cooperation between the United States and India."

At that moment, no one paid attention to Mr. Dong and the Indians. Several media outlets invited by Space Exploration began interviewing the project's leaders and technical officials.

Musk, of course, made a frequent appearance in front of the camera, and rather mystically announced – the next era of human civilization has begun!

Cameron and Leonardo will not leave Boca Chica for the time being; they want to witness the return capsule landing tomorrow.

After all, it's a rare opportunity to have a semi-real-world experience through VR.

Abhishek and the others stayed behind, preparing to take India's space hero pig away the next day.

Mr. Dong specifically sought out Hawke to discuss matters concerning the Indians.

Hawke could tell that Mr. Dong had some intention to cooperate with the Indians.

If it were someone else, they might worry that Mr. Dong would steal their clients.

But Hawke wasn't worried at all; on the contrary, he thought it would be best for Dong to invest heavily in the Indians.

In the quiet meeting room, Hawke said directly, "We are friends, and there's no need to beat around the bush. My company and foundation have profited handsomely from our cooperation with the Indians."

He told the truth, then added a lie: "Of course, the Indians will also benefit, which is why they keep asking me to cooperate. I value the Indian market very, very much. The British used to call it the jewel in the crown, and there's a reason for that. The country has a large population, is developing very fast, and has great market potential."

In recent years, India has been portrayed in mainstream American media reports, and through deliberate propaganda by individuals including Hawke, as a model of democracy, freedom, and rapid development in Asia.

Mr. Dong has not personally visited India in recent years, but the information he has seen in the media is basically consistent with what Hawke said.

He asked, "Are you still increasing your investment in India?"

Hawke continued to speak the truth: "A team from West Coast Technologies has finalized an investment agreement in Mumbai, India, for a factory with a total investment of over ten billion US dollars."

Mr. Dong recalled reading reports on this topic and said with a smile, "I am also prepared to have a good talk with the Indians."

Hawke said, "The huge profits make it impossible not to make this choice."

The current Dong Zong is not the former president, so Indians can swindle him without any qualms.

Mr. Dong then took his leave.

Hawke was just stating the facts of his side; whatever decision Mr. Dong made was his own choice.

Erica led Claire into the reception room.

Hawke stood up and shook her hand, casually complimenting her, "It's been a while, you look even more beautiful."

Claire smiled and said, "You're as handsome as ever."

She cut straight to the point: "The Birdball Project is completely finished. What about the new collaboration you mentioned last time?"

Hawke said, "I've come here today to discuss some related matters with you."

He took out a document published by the United Nations and handed it to Claire: "This is the latest African relief plan initiated by the United Nations Environment Programme, which is an auxiliary part of the Green Africa plan. The key part is water. My foundation has been cooperating with the Environment Programme and the African Union for many years and has always had a close relationship. Securing the relevant business will not be a problem."

Claire understood immediately and chimed in, "The Clean Water Foundation has world-class water experts who can provide comprehensive business support to ensure the smooth progress of the project."

Hawke, who was also going to Ethiopia, simply invited, "If you have time, we can go to Africa together with the UNEP commissioner." (End of Chapter)