The completion ceremony of the space elevator took place the next day.
More than a dozen cruise ships lined up in the northern Galapagos Islands, and people on top of the deck could clearly see the tower sky ladder.
The Ecuadorian President stood on the deck and delivered a remark, shook hands solemnly with Jiang Chen, President of Celestial Trade, and signed his name on the two agreements. From today on, the space elevator located off the coast of South America was officially open to traffic, as it took on the burden of shipping business to the synchronous orbit in the Western Hemisphere.
As the focus of attention for the public, the national flags of both countries, as well as the flag of Celestial Trade, were hung on the vertical train as it slowly accelerated into the sky, and marked the first train. To celebrate this great occasion, all major cities in Ecuador set off fireworks at the same time, and people in front of the TV opened champagne as they celebrated today like a holiday; celebrated the continent welcoming a new era.
“On behalf of the Ecuadorian people, thank you for everything you have done.” At the end of the ceremony, the President of Ecuador firmly held Jiang Chen’s right hand and said in a sincere tone. “Allow us to give you the most honorable sincerity, you’re always a friend of the Ecuadorian people!”
Media from all over the world recorded this historic scene together with the camera lens.
From today on, the cargo ships from the Mediterranean would no longer need to cross the Atlantic Ocean, cross the Panama Canal, and then sail into the Pacific Ocean to the remote Pannu Islands. The “Port Marchena” on the synchronous orbit now served as a subsidiary port of Celestial Trade and transported goods from the Western Hemisphere.
…
Three full days passed since the completion ceremony, and the dozens of cruise ships anchored here dispersed one after another. A private yacht approached the Marchena Island, not far from the space elevator. There was a watchtower and a small port on the island, and soldiers on duty could be seen from a distance.
The nationality of those soldiers was naturally not Ecuador, but from Xin on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.
Based on the agreement between Celestial Trade and Ecuador, Marchena Island was leased to Celestial Trade at a price of 1 million Xin New dollars as a concession area for a lease term of 50 years. If neither party did not pose any objections after fifty years, the lease was automatically renewed every ten years.
This small island located in the northern part of the Galapagos Islands was close to the equator. The island covered an area of 130 square kilometers. This place was practically undeveloped as no one lived on the island and there was only an inactive volcano. The surrounding water was deep, which acted as an excellent natural port, but also a natural scenery area.
As early as the Xin-UA War, the island was handed to Xin from Ecuador and served as a strategic fulcrum for Xin in South America. The location provided supplies to submarines and marines active in the waters near North America.
With the end of the Xin-UA War, Celestial Trade gradually withdrew its troops from the island. Now only a force of 50 remained on the island, who were mainly responsible for patrolling this region, maintaining the safety of the space elevator project, and combating pirates.
“Very beautiful island,” Loki stood on the yacht while he said with his eyes narrowed, “It is a bit wasteful to use it as a military base.”
“The military base is only temporary. It will be more beautiful in two years.” Jiang Chen smiled and then continued after a short pause. “We will build a floating island around this small island and expand its area first to about ten times bigger. We will then move a population in and turn this place into the Penglai of South America, a free and open port.”
The aluminum alloy and titanium materials needed to build the floating island could be obtained through the space elevator. Especially foam aluminum and other alloys that required the use of rare earth minerals, the outputs on the Moon were considerable.
“Really? Then I have to remember this.” Loki also said with a smile.
In fact, even without Jiang Chen’s words, he had already begun to prepare.
In the nearby Galapagos Islands, such as Isabela Island, San Salvador Island, and other islands, all the free land was bought by the B City Consortium as early as six months ago. Loki’s idea was simple. If Marchena Island started to prosper with Celestial Trade’s presence, then Isabella Island just had to follow in its footsteps.
In fact, even now, this investment already paid off.
As soon as the space elevator was completed, the value of the land he had acquired went up more than ten folds. In order to maintain a strategic relationship with his partners, he reduced a portion of the land certificate to the partners of B City Consortium, and now the entire Galapagos Islands were monopolized by real estate developers from Wall Street and Coro City Financial Avenue.
As for investors in Ecuador, they could only be envious, but they were afraid to complain. Even the government behind them was just like a small fish and shrimp in front of the huge international capital.
The slightest movement could drop the economic index of a small country by double digits, which could lead to the president or minister of economic affairs taking the blame and stepping down.
“If I go bankrupt, at least I will leave a way out for my grandchildren.” Loki felt the sea breeze blow into his face and said with his eyes narrowed.
“Don’t be so pessimistic,” Jiang Chen smiled lightly, and said in a relaxed tone, “Our plan is perfect, with the Xin Reserve as your backing, quantum computers providing big data support, and Future Bank also providing you with the maximum allowable help, what else are you worried about?”
While it sounds nice with so many things backing us, aren’t we the ones charging in the front?
Loki smiled bitterly in his mind but did not say anything.
Just yesterday, he injected the DNA telomere extension agent under the guidance of the medical staff of Future Biology. Although there were no obvious changes, he already started to feel his physical condition improve.
This was specifically reflected in his blood sugar and blood pressure levels.
His personal doctor even stated in surprise that his physical condition has returned to at least the same level as a forty-year-old.
“It is my habit to be pessimistic before I win. Compared with which bottle of champagne to open when I celebrate, it is more realistic to consider what to do after failure.” Loki shrugged and stretched out his right hand, “Wish me luck.”
“Best of luck,” Jiang Chen smiled while he held his right hand, “the future President of the World Bank, I am waiting for your good news.”
Two days later, a silver Aerospace G100 disappeared into the horizon.
With a secretly drafted contract, Loki returned to Manhattan Island in Nouveau York.
Since the reconstruction of Manhattan Island, the B City Consortium moved from B City’s Financial Avenue to here, and the former Morgan Building was replaced with a new sign as the headquarters of the First B City Bank.
Loki, who just returned to Wall Street, did not sit for too long before he sent an invitation to the big capitalists on Wall Street for a discussion. Companies such as Chase Bank with close relationships with Future Bank were all invited without exception.
The meeting lasted for a whole week, and no one knew the details of the discussions. What the outside world saw was just an announcement led by the First B City Bank and endorsed by Wall Street’s top executives after the meeting ended.
In order to promote global economic and trade exchanges and hedge against a series of potential risks to the world economy such as exchange rate fluctuations, 20 banks and investment banks, including First B City Bank and Chase Bank, announced the establishment of the World Union Reserve.
As soon as the announcement came out, the world was shocked…
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login