Chapter 176: Three Models

The white-haired general took the telegram, his brows locked in a frown as he quickly scanned the contents.

As he read further, his expression grew increasingly grave, finally turning as pale as paper.

"What is it, Old Zhao?" a general asked, leaning in close.

The white-haired general looked up, surveyed everyone present, and spoke in a low, solemn voice: "Baitou Mountain has officially requested our military intervention."

This sentence exploded among the crowd like a bomb. Everyone was stunned, and then a wave of noisy discussion erupted.

"So soon?"

"The Star-Spangled Country's speed of attack is even faster than expected!"

"Can Baitou Mountain really not hold on anymore?"

Li Mingyuan stood to the side, feeling heavy-hearted.

According to the history in his memory, there was a window of about two months after Baitou Mountain officially requested aid.

Two months... the time was truly too tight.

"Gentlemen, I must return to headquarters immediately to report." Zhao Shikun put away the telegram, his expression stern. "Chief Engineer Li, please arrange for the mass production of the Cloud Bomb as soon as possible."

"Yes, Chief," Li Mingyuan replied, standing at attention.

"I will go to headquarters with you," said Zhou, who was standing next to Zhao Shikun, and several other high-ranking officers also stated they would rush back to headquarters immediately.

In the blink of an eye, the officers at the firing range hurried away from the scene, leaving only Li Mingyuan and a few technical personnel from the research institute.

"Chief Engineer Li, what do we do now?" Weapon Group Leader Wu Zhe asked cautiously.

Li Mingyuan took a deep breath: "Return to the research institute. From now on, we are entering the highest level of combat readiness."

It was already evening by the time they returned to the research institute, but no one suggested resting.

Li Mingyuan directly gathered all the Hexin members of the Weapon Group and the Manufacturing Group to hold an emergency discussion in the conference room.

"Time waits for no one; we must immediately begin the design finalization and mass production preparations for the Cloud Bomb." Li Mingyuan stood before the whiteboard and quickly sketched out three different design plans for the Cloud Bomb.

"We will advance three models simultaneously: the Air-dropped Type, the Launch Rack Type, and the Individual Rocket Launcher Type."

"Chief Engineer Li, the Individual Rocket Launcher Type? Can such a high-powered weapon really be carried by a single soldier?" a technician asked in surprise.

Li Mingyuan nodded: "Yes, the key lies in miniaturization and simplification. We aren't seeking maximum power, but maximum practicality. The effective payload of the Individual Rocket Launcher Type Cloud Bomb is only 5 kilograms, but it can still play a huge role when hitting enemy tank armor groups or bunker positions."

He quickly drew a device resembling a rocket launcher on the whiteboard: "The inspiration for this design comes from frontline anti-tank rocket launchers, but the interior is filled with Cloud-Explosive Mixture. It can form a high-temperature, high-pressure zone within a range of 5-10 meters, enough to destroy a medium tank or a bunker."

The technicians in the conference room watched as Li Mingyuan drew increasingly detailed design diagrams on the whiteboard with fluid ease, and they were all filled with wonder.

This speed of creation simply did not seem like a level achievable by a human.

"All three groups will proceed simultaneously; we must have detailed design plans by tonight!" Li Mingyuan turned to Wu Zhe. "The key difficulties are the Fuse System and the safety mechanism; I will be responsible for that, while you handle the shell and assembly process design."

The meeting lasted until late at night, but no one complained of fatigue.

When the others left with their respective tasks, Li Mingyuan remained in the office alone to continue perfecting the most critical Fuse System.

The Fuse System of the Cloud Bomb was the core of the entire weapon; it had to be both sensitive and safe, capable of detonating the gas mixture at the right moment while remaining absolutely stable during storage and transport.

This was a nearly contradictory technical challenge.

At three in the morning, only Li Mingyuan remained in the laboratory.

His desk was covered in blueprints, and beside his hand were several prototypes of small mechanical devices.

"This damn fuse..." Li Mingyuan rubbed his aching eyes, staring at the disassembled mechanical parts in front of him.

This was his seventh time adjusting the structure; the previous six times all had varying degrees of problems.

In the future, such problems could be easily solved through microelectronics technology, but in this current era, one had to rely on pure mechanical structures to achieve complex logical functions; it was like using Stone Age tools to manufacture products of the Industrial Revolution.

"Wait..." Li Mingyuan suddenly had a flash of inspiration, grabbed a pencil, and drew rapidly on the paper. "If I use a dual mechanical trigger, combined with a delayed friction ignition..."

His hand could barely keep up with the speed of his thoughts, and a brand-new fuse structure soon appeared on the blueprint—simple yet ingenious, utilizing the kinetic energy generated by impact to activate two mechanical triggers in sequence, while avoiding accidental triggering in unexpected situations.

"That's it!" Li Mingyuan slapped the table in excitement and immediately set to work making a prototype.

Just as dawn was breaking, he finally completed the sample testing of the Fuse System.

After ten consecutive impact tests, the fuse performed excellently, being both reliably activatable and stable during simulated transport vibration tests.

"Done." Li Mingyuan leaned back in his chair, exhausted but satisfied, only then feeling the fatigue in his body.

Working through the night left his eyes bloodshot, but he felt a sense of accomplishment in his heart.

Just as he was preparing to take a short nap, the office door was pushed open, and Minister Zhao walked in hurriedly.

"Mingyuan, you haven't rested yet?" Minister Zhao asked with concern, looking at the desk full of blueprints and parts.

Li Mingyuan stood up and rubbed his eyes: "I've solved the fuse problem for the Cloud Bomb; we can start mass production now."

Minister Zhao showed a satisfied smile, but then his expression turned serious again: "Pause the Cloud Bomb for now; there is a more urgent task. The higher-ups have ordered the immediate promotion of your Bamboo Fiber Bulletproof Cotton Jacket technology for emergency production nationwide."

"Bamboo Fiber Bulletproof Cotton Jacket?" Li Mingyuan was stunned, then understood the severity of the situation.

In his technical proposal, the Bamboo Fiber Bulletproof Cotton Jacket was a lightweight piece of personal protective equipment. Although its protective capability could not compare to a steel Bulletproof Vest, it had the advantage of being light and flexible, making it more suitable for large-scale equipment, and crucially, it could also provide warmth.

"Yes, the frontline has already begun suffering from the Star-Spangled Country's air strikes, and a large number of soldiers are casualties due to shrapnel and stray bullets. The higher-ups believe your Bamboo Fiber Bulletproof Cotton Jacket can significantly reduce these types of casualties."

Li Mingyuan immediately realized what this meant—Long Country was already preparing for a potential large-scale entry into the war.

"I understand, I will arrange it immediately."

Two hours later, the large conference room of the research institute was packed with people.

Technical leads from over forty large textile factories across the country had been urgently summoned here, their faces filled with confusion and curiosity.

"Comrades, thank you for being able to arrive in such a short time." Li Mingyuan stood at the front, surveying everyone.