Translator: Min Editor: Caron_

At the end of January, with the end of the United Nations Outer Space Development Summit, the space elevator sent 400 staff members to Celestial City.

Most of them were the beneficiaries of the space volunteer immigration policy introduced by Xin. After several months to one year of training, they were now signed by Celestial as employees, receiving an enviable salary. They had already started in various positions at the space station.

At present, the entire Celestial City was still in a semi-closed state. Before it opened to public, there were still many civilian infrastructures that required further improvement. On the other hand, the micro-gravity laboratories began construction in collaboration with Hua and Russia, and both countries generously paid construction funds in full.

Of course, it was based on the current exchange rate and conducted in Xin’s currency for settlement.

During this half-month period, companies from Hua, Russia, and even the UA across from the Pacific Ocean sent their respective salesmen to Coro Island to engage with Celestial Trade.

From the highly anticipated ticket presale, they already saw the prospects of space tourism and the business opportunities behind it.

Some of them were international hotel chains like the Hilton Group, while some were space companies like SpaceX interested in port leasing. Even McDonald and KFC all came for the fun of discussing the expansion of their businesses in Celestial City.

Due to the excessive number of companies coming for engagement, Jiang Chen simply announced the convening of the Xin Space Resources Development Forum. He sent invitations to interested companies and individuals with the plan to host a forum at Future Building in early February.

…

In the large circular conference hall, there were dozens of round tables scattered in an organized manner. Fine wine and expensive champagne were placed on top of the tables. The slightly dim light created a mysterious atmosphere at the venue as well as a hint of silence.

Not all the attendees were handsome men and beautiful women, but all of them were successful businesspeople and entrepreneurs. Anyone picked by random could be the chairman or president of a multi-billion company. A Versace boutique suit might not even be more expensive than the suits worn by the waiters pouring champagne between the round tables.

At that very moment, the industry leaders gathered together in groups of three and five, whispering and exchanging opinions amongst themselves while waiting for the business forum to start. Most of the people were there for the same purpose—to establish a relationship with the person who was hosting his forum…

In the darkness, soft light illuminated. In front of the venue, Jiang Chen in a suit walked to the front of the stage and reached for the microphone on the podium.

“Welcome, everyone, to the Space Resources Development Forum held by Celestial Trade. I am representing Celestial Trade to express my gratitude for your presence.”

Jiang Chen bowed.

Modesty always made people feel good, and there was a round of applause.

Waiting for the applause to quiet down, Jiang Chen paused, and he started on the topic of the day.

“I believe that you’ve already conducted your research before your arrival. At the last United Nations Outer Space Summit, we proposed a framework for friendly cooperation. Celestial Trade will serve as a permanent neutral party, providing companies in any country with a platform to develop space resources…”

In his near half-hour speech, Jiang Chen first explained the size of the space market. The tourism industry alone, based on the market assessment by the Future People Group think tank, was more than 100 billion XND. The prospect of space mining was even more incalculable.

“… Some time ago, our company’s spacecraft captured the Bennu asteroid to the Earth-Moon system. And in the middle of last month, Future Mining launched its long-awaited asteroid mining program. According to our estimates, the asteroid has reserves of iron and titanium minerals in the tens of millions, and the economic value is more than 20 billion XND.”

When Jiang Chen spat out the figures, he could clearly feel that everyone in the venue was holding their breaths.

Just an asteroid with a diameter of 500 meters had a value of more than 20 billion. Not to mention in the solar system, but there were countless asteroids in the vicinity of the Earth-Moon system. Now, in the eyes of these capitalists, those asteroids were no longer asteroids, but flying treasures!

Many people secretly took out their phones and texted their assistants. What Jiang Chen didn’t know was that because of his words, on Wall Street, which was tens of thousands of kilometers away, stock prices of space companies with space mining expectations like SpaceX all soared.

There was only one reason for this, someone was increasing holdings of these companies.

Of course, Jiang Chen wouldn’t pay attention to the fluctuations of the stock market. His full attention was on the business forum where countless capitalists were gathered.

Seeing that the bait he tossed out already exceeded expectations, he smiled, used a provocative tone, and said, “Ladies and gents, we’re entering a new world! A new continent that hasn’t been claimed and is several times wider than the Americas. The unknown never means absurdity but infinite possibilities. Now it’s a trillion or even hundred trillion-dollar cake in front of us. Although we can only cut a small piece now, I believe that with the participation of all of us, we will have more than we could ever imagine!”

When the enthusiasm of all investors was ignited, Jiang Chen naturally introduced the specifics of cooperation.

In addition to the projects such as port leasing, warehouse leasing, space station development, and space elevator transportation, Jiang Chen also tossed a large piece of cake in front of everyone. It was the leasing of the six by four space station interface!

Other than some special space stations, the space station of Celestial used a interface of six meters in length and four meters in width.

According to the size specifications of Celestial Trade’s external connection, any company could design its own space station to meet its own business needs. As long as the company reported to the Celestial City Management Committee, which was responsible for the operation and maintenance, the drawings and prototypes must be sent for safety monitoring and qualification certification. Then the space station could be attached to the interface and begin operations in Celestial City.

The ore processing unit designed by Future Mining was based on this rule.

Celestial Trade had more than ten thousand interfaces divided between the gravity section, gravity-free section and low gravity section used to connect external space station modules. In addition, between space stations, the units could also be connected to each other through a specific interface. In other words, this circular city had almost unlimited room for expansion.

Compared to the solitary space station floating in the orbit, the type of interface the space station offered had considerable advantages. Not only did it offer convenient transportation, but it could also enjoy the water, electricity, and oxygen supply from Celestial City at a lower price. The city itself offered living spaces for space stations that required staff, so there was no need to waste valuable space to establish a separate living area.

Going to work at the station would be as convenient as walking to work!

All the capitalists looked at Jiang Chen in front of the podium with lust in their eyes.

The proposal from Celestial Trade meant that everyone present not could only participate in the space tourism industry, but they also had the opportunity to participate in the development of space resources together with Celestial Trade!

Obtain cheap minerals and resources from asteroid mining, then produce a large number of low-cost goods through Celestial City’s factory then transport them to the surface through the space elevator…

Of course, while they were tempted, the people present there were all elites and didn’t express their emotions.

Projects involving hundreds of billions of dollars of investment couldn’t be decided just on a whim. Very few companies’ shareholding structures were as stable as Future Group; even the chairman of the board couldn’t just ignore the opinions of other shareholders within the company.