Chapter 281: Steel Umbrella 2.0

The applause in the large conference room had not yet faded, and the sweat on Li Mingyuan's forehead had not yet dried, but his brain had never stopped running.

The excitement of creating "Longxin No. 1" was covered by a deep sense of worry—he knew too well what kind of international shock this disruptive technology would trigger.

The moment Minister Zhang's special task force left the conference room, Li Mingyuan was pulled aside by Lao Liu.

"Chief Engineer Li, I heard the Di Guo delegation just arrived in White Elephant Country yesterday. What kind of people are they?" Lao Liu asked in a low voice.

Li Mingyuan narrowed his eyes, "What level?"

"It is said that a Vice Commander is leading the team personally. In name, it is a visit, but in reality..."

"In reality, they are here to discuss how to deal with us." Li Mingyuan sneered, "Those dogs from Di Guo, they talk about peace on the surface, but behind our backs, they are preparing to stab us."

……

At the same time, inside the most luxurious hotel suite in the capital of White Elephant Country, a secret meeting was underway.

Will, the Vice Commander of Di Guo, and Patel, the Commander of White Elephant Country, sat opposite each other. The black tea on the coffee table had long since gone cold, but no one paid it any mind.

"Mr. Patel, our intelligence shows that Long Country has abnormal research and development activities in the Dongbei region." Will said straightforwardly, "They may be developing some kind of new weapon system."

Patel rubbed his meticulously groomed mustache.

"Yes, our intelligence network has also discovered a similar situation. This Li Mingyuan... seems to be a genius; my scientific advisor calls him 'the Magician'."

"The Magician?" Will raised an eyebrow, "That title is not simple."

"It is indeed not simple." Patel's expression became serious.

"A year ago, he was still an unknown little engineer, and now he has become a core figure in Long Country's military-industrial system. Our intelligence shows that the 'Steel Umbrella' anti-aircraft system he led the development of shot down seventeen of your bombers on the front line."

Will's face changed slightly, "That was an accident..."

"Then what about the rapid progress in steel smelting technology? What about the massive procurement of strategic metals like molybdenum, titanium, and lithium? What about their close dealings with Beijixiong Guo? Are these all accidents?" Patel sneered, "Mr. Will, Long Country is rising, and this Li Mingyuan is the key to their rise."

Will pondered for a moment, "So, you think we should take direct action?"

"No, not now; the timing is not yet ripe." Patel shook his head, "Long Country's vigilance is too high, and Li Mingyuan is under tight protection. We need a plan, a flawless plan."

"We don't have that much time." Will interrupted, radiating an air of impatience, "Our intelligence department just intercepted an encrypted communication. Long Country may have already successfully developed some kind of 'Integrated Circuit' technology, which could completely change the military balance."

"Integrated Circuit? What is that?" Patel looked blank.

Will's expression became unusually serious.

"Our scientists cannot explain it clearly either, but according to preliminary judgments, this may be a more disruptive technological revolution. Imagine if all of Long Country's weapon systems were retrofitted with this technology; their precision and reaction speed could increase tenfold or more."

There was dead Silence in the conference room, and Patel's face turned deathly pale.

"We must take action, immediately!" Will slammed his fist on the table, "Prepare to launch the 'Chessboard' plan."

A man in a dark suit walked out from the corner, "Sir, the 'Chessboard' plan is not yet fully prepared, the risk..."

"There is no greater risk than Long Country mastering this technology!" Will interrupted sternly, "I want to see an action plan within a week."

At the same moment, in the Military Department conference room of Long Country.

Li Mingyuan stood in front of the slide projector screen, reporting on the breakthroughs and application prospects of "Longxin No. 1" to the high-ranking Military officials present.

"This is why I believe we must fully push forward the 'Steel Umbrella 2.0' project." Li Mingyuan said, pointing to the blueprints on the screen.

"The Integrated Circuit Control System will increase our anti-aircraft reaction speed by at least three times, and the interception rate can reach over 80%."

"Comrade Li, isn't this number too exaggerated?" An old general asked with a frown, "Even the anti-aircraft system of Beijixiong Guo only has an interception rate of about 30%."

Li Mingyuan smiled slightly, "General, please allow me to give you a simple demonstration."

He took out a small box and opened it to reveal a simple Radar model and a "Longxin No. 1" controller inside.

"This is a simple demonstration device I put together last night." Li Mingyuan explained, "It can simulate enemy Missile attacks and our anti-aircraft response."

He turned on the device, and a small screen lit up, showing the simulated battlefield situation.

"Suppose the enemy launches 50 Missiles," Li Mingyuan pressed a button, and 50 red dots immediately appeared on the screen moving from left to right.

"The reaction time of a traditional Anti-aircraft System is about 3 seconds," he pressed another button, and some blue dots began to intercept the red dots, but they clearly could not keep up with the rhythm, "The final interception rate is about 25%."

The screen displayed: 13 interceptions successful, 37 targets hit.

"And after adopting the Integrated Circuit Control System," Li Mingyuan flipped a switch and restarted the simulation.

"The reaction time is shortened to 0.3 seconds, and the system can track and process multiple targets simultaneously."

This time, the blue dots struck out rapidly like a violent storm, intercepting the vast majority of the red dots in mid-air.

The screen displayed: 42 interceptions successful, 8 targets hit.

There was Silence in the conference room; everyone was shocked by this simple yet intuitive demonstration.

"Is... is this really possible?" The old general muttered to himself.

"Not only possible, but it will definitely be realized." Li Mingyuan said decisively.

"Di Guo is already plotting a new conspiracy, and we must complete our technological upgrade before they do."

The atmosphere in the conference room became unusually heavy.

"Then what do you think we should do?" The leader asked calmly.

Li Mingyuan took a deep breath, "First, strengthen security measures to protect core technology and personnel safety. Second, accelerate technology conversion to apply the Integrated Circuit to combat weapon systems as soon as possible, especially the Anti-aircraft System. Finally, and most importantly, we need a plan to lure the enemy."

"A plan to lure the enemy?" The leader's eyes lit up.

"Yes," Li Mingyuan revealed a cunning smile.

"Let the enemy think they have grasped our movements, lure them into the trap, and wipe out their spy network in one fell swoop. At the same time, we can spread some false intelligence to make them misjudge our technological progress."

The leader pondered for a moment, "This plan has risks, but it is also feasible. Good, do as you say. Minister Zhang, you are responsible for the security upgrade; General Wang, you coordinate the modification tests for the front-line Anti-aircraft System; as for the plan to lure the enemy... Comrade Li Mingyuan, this task is entrusted to you."

That evening, in Li Mingyuan's office.

"Di Guo will act soon, we must be prepared in advance." Li Mingyuan looked around at the six core members in the office.

"Lao Liu, starting tomorrow, the silicon manufacturing equipment you are in charge of must 'malfunction' and production must be suspended for a week."

"Huh?" Lao Liu looked bewildered, "Why break perfectly good equipment?"

"It's not really broken, it's a fake breakdown." Li Mingyuan explained, "We want the Di Guo spies to mistakenly believe that our technology has hit a bottleneck and lower their guard. At the same time, our real research and development will be moved to an underground laboratory."

"Director Wang, you are responsible for spreading some false intelligence, such as that the yield rate of the Integrated Circuit is less than 10%, far from reaching practical standards. Xiao Zhang, you are responsible for creating some fake technical documents, intentionally leaving errors and traps within them."

"Old Yang, you lead the team to continue improving the Lithography Machine on the surface, but in reality, we have already mastered sufficient technology. The real energy must be focused on the control system modification of the 'Steel Umbrella 2.0'."

"Engineer Liu, you immediately organize a capable team and begin the design work for the 'Longxin No. 2'. This time we are going to leap directly to a medium-scale Integrated Circuit with 256 Transistors; this will be a qualitative leap."

The office was in Silence, and everyone was stunned by Li Mingyuan's arrangements.