Chapter 294: They Must Have Integrated Circuits

He turned to the Intelligence Officer, "Report these circumstances to headquarters immediately and request technical support and new types of weapons. At the same time, all frontline units are to suspend large-scale offensives to avoid head-on clashes with Long Country tanks."

As more battle reports flooded into the rear headquarters, the enemy high command fell into even deeper shock and self-doubt.

In the emergency conference room of the Di Guo General Staff, the atmosphere was as heavy as solidified lead.

"Has this news been confirmed?" General Linke, the Chief of Staff, stared fixedly at the head of intelligence.

"Confirmed beyond doubt, General. The latest aerial reconnaissance photos show that Long Country's new tanks can indeed intercept our anti-tank shells. Frontline reports state that in the past 36 hours, our military has fired over 300 anti-tank shells, with an interception rate approaching 95%."

General Linke shook his head in disbelief,

"This is impossible... How could Long Country have this kind of technology? This sounds like... like alien technology!"

Colonel Johnson, a battlefield analyst, could not help but interject,

"General, according to our assessment, this technology is related to the rumored 'Integrated Circuit.' If it is truly as the intelligence says, capable of completing the entire process from detection to reaction in millisecond-level time, then... traditional anti-tank weapons will indeed be ineffective."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" the Deputy Chief of Staff asked urgently, "Are we just going to watch the Long Country tanks run rampant and be unable to do anything?"

The head of intelligence spoke with difficulty, "There is even more worrying news: Long Country is accelerating the production of this new type of tank; it is expected that within one month, they will possess over 100 of them. If we let them complete this deployment..."

No one dared to continue, but everyone understood what this meant: the balance of power on the front line would be completely reversed.

General Linke stood up, walked to the window, and turned his back to the group.

After a long while, he said in a deep voice, "Immediately initiate the 'Thunder' plan and deploy new heavy armor-piercing shells. At the same time, contact the Air Force; I want them to spare no cost and prioritize destroying Long Country's tank production bases and supply lines."

……

Meanwhile, the situation on the front line was changing drastically.

The Long Country tank brigade, under the cover of "Fierce Dragon" tanks, launched a large-scale counterattack against the enemy.

No matter how many anti-tank shells the enemy fired, they were easily intercepted by the Hunter-Killer System.

The tanks drove straight in, breaking through the defensive lines the enemy had painstakingly constructed.

Within one week, the front line had advanced nearly 20 kilometers to the south!

The enemy was forced to abandon multiple strategic strongholds, and the Long Country military pursued the victory, achieving brilliant results.

At the Frontline Command, Brigade Commander Sun pointed excitedly at the map,

"Chief Engineer Li, your 'Fierce Dragon' tanks are truly amazing! The enemy can't do a thing about them! At this rate, in another half a month, we'll be able to drive the enemy back south of the Equidistant Line!"

Li Mingyuan, however, remained calm,

"The enemy will not sit and wait for death; they will soon come up with new methods. We need more 'Fierce Dragon' tanks, and at the same time, we must develop the next generation of defensive systems."

"We need even more advanced ones?" Brigade Commander Sun widened his eyes, "These are already miraculous!"

Li Mingyuan smiled slightly,

"There is no end to technology; the enemy will improve, and we must also keep moving forward."

……

At the enemy positions, commanders at all levels were plunged into unprecedented chaos and panic.

"Those tanks simply cannot be penetrated!" a Company Commander shouted hysterically,

"We fired over twenty Rocket Shells, and they were all intercepted! It's like they have some kind of... magic shield!"

"My platoon suffered heavy losses," another officer reported,

"Long Country tanks charged into our positions, our rocket launchers were completely ineffective, and we could only fire with Rifles; it's simply a joke! In the end, we could only retreat..."

At the frontline Hospital, a large number of wounded soldiers were being brought in, their morale at an all-time low.

"It's useless, sir," a wounded soldier said despairingly to the officer who had come to offer condolences,

"Those tanks... they are indestructible. I saw with my own eyes our Rocket Shells explode in mid-air, not even scratching the paint off the tanks..."

Panic spread through the enemy ranks like a plague.

More and more soldiers began to doubt their own weapons and training; when facing Long Country tanks, many chose to flee rather than fight.

"No matter how we hit them, we can't penetrate them!" This phrase became the wail of the enemy on the front line.

In the rear of the enemy country, various emergency countermeasures were being formulated.

……

In the underground conference room of the enemy's Ministry of Defense, the emergency strategic assessment meeting had already been going on for six hours.

The air was stiflingly heavy; the ashtrays were piled high with cigarette butts, and coffee cups were scattered across the long table.

The Vice Commander, Wilkes, special representative of the Commander, sat at the head of the table, his expression as dark as iron.

On both sides of the table sat high-level representatives from the enemy's Military, Ministry of Technology, and intelligence departments. Everyone's face was etched with exhaustion and frustration.

"So, what is the conclusion?" Wilkes asked coldly,

"How did Long Country do it? What exactly is the principle behind their damn 'Hunter-Killer System'?"

General McMahon, the Military Representative, shook his head,

"Analysis of the wreckage sent back from the front line shows that the system relies on some kind of high-speed electronic computing device, capable of completing the entire process from target detection to firing an interceptor shell in milliseconds. This reaction speed... far exceeds our existing technology."

"This is unreasonable!" Wilkes slammed his fist on the table,

"Long Country's technological level is clearly at least twenty years behind ours! How could they suddenly take the lead in electronic technology?"

Doctor Hawkins, the Chief Consultant of the Ministry of Technology, a white-haired man in his sixties, had been listening in silence.

At this moment, he finally spoke, his voice hoarse but resonant.

"Because we made a strategic error, gentlemen. We have always assumed that Long Country was just a backward agricultural nation with only a rudimentary industrial base. We overlooked their research and development capabilities in certain key areas."

Everyone's gaze turned toward Hawkins.

"Especially electronic technology," Hawkins continued,

"Looking back at history, what was the deciding factor in the Second World War? It wasn't the number of tanks, it wasn't the performance of fighter planes, but Radar, code-breaking, and electronic navigation—electronic technology determined the outcome of the war. And now, Long Country seems to have grasped this key point."

"You mean, this... Integrated Circuit of theirs?" Wilkes frowned.

"Exactly," Hawkins nodded,

"According to the analysis of our scientific researchers, an Integrated Circuit may be a technology that integrates multiple electronic components onto a single Chip. Theoretically, it can increase the reaction speed of electronic equipment by dozens of times or even more, while simultaneously significantly reducing its size."

The conference room was in Silence, with everyone digesting the shock of this information.

The head of the Intelligence Department, Swanson, broke the silence,

"But the problem is, this kind of technology should not exist at the present time! Even our most advanced research laboratories have only explored this possibility in theory. How could Long Country already have applied it to the battlefield?"