The emergency meeting lasted for three hours, with two breaks in between, and then, as was customary, they held a smaller, less attended meeting in the evening.
Lin Ju, whose lower back ached from sitting too long, counted the people still in the meeting room and found that, including himself, only six remained.
Zhong Cheng was the first to break the rules by lighting a cigarette. After taking several deep drags and exhaling a large cloud of smoke, he slouched in his chair, squinting his eyes:
"We talked a lot this afternoon, but the consensus is just this, wait and see, let the higher-ups make a decision.
But that's normal. A matter this significant isn't for us to decide. However, we need to prepare in advance to be less passive.
I want you all to consider a question first, why did NACA choose targets like Jupiter, Saturn, and even the farthest Neptune, which are so distant from the Solar System?"
