Chapter 303: The Enemy Is Baffled: Why Did the Planes Fall?

An enemy Captain tried to organize his soldiers to retreat in formation, but after shouting only a few words, a Long Country shell exploded nearby, blasting him into the air.

The soldiers completely lost their will to fight, dropped their weapons, and fled in all directions.

"God, what kind of devilish weapon is that?" an old soldier asked his comrade, trembling, "Why has all our equipment failed?"

"I don't know, buddy," the comrade replied in terror, "The Long Country people must have mastered some terrifying secret weapon... just like the Modi Shenpan..."

What made the enemy soldiers even more desperate was that the air support they were so proud of had been completely wiped out.

The scene where dozens of fighter jets had crashed became the most horrific sight on the battlefield—twisted fuselages, burning wreckage, scattered pilot corpses... all of it silently telling of the arrival of a catastrophe.

Meanwhile, the Long Country tank units were cutting through the enemy's defensive lines as easily as a knife through butter.

Enemy artillery, lacking the support of a Fire Control System, was completely unable to effectively intercept the fast-moving tanks.

Soon, the enemy's first line of defense collapsed, and the second line was also in jeopardy.

"My god!" a Long Country tanker exclaimed, "The enemy's tanks are like a pile of scrap metal! We don't even need to fire our cannons; we can just ram them and flip them over!"

Company Commander Zheng Hu looked through the observation port and saw an enemy tank flipped over in the mud, with several enemy tankers crawling out in a sorry state and raising their hands to surrender.

"This is even more satisfying than last time!" he shouted into the communicator, "Last time, the enemy's Rocket Shell couldn't penetrate our tanks, but this time, their tanks can't even move! Hahaha!"

At the frontline command post, Li Yunlong and his staff officers stared intently at the battlefield situation map.

As the frontline Scout continuously sent back reports, the red arrows on the map representing Long Country troops were rapidly advancing, breaking through one blue defensive line after another representing enemy positions.

"This is going even more smoothly than I imagined!" Li Yunlong said, beaming, "The power of the Graphite Bomb is much greater than I thought!"

"This is just the beginning," Li Mingyuan said thoughtfully, "The Graphite Bomb is only one type of technological weapon; in the future, technology will completely change the face of war."

"Chief Engineer Li, what kind of black technology is this, anyway?" Li Yunlong grinned broadly, "Even the enemy's planes can be knocked out of the sky; I'm impressed!"

Li Mingyuan smiled slightly: "Simply put, the conductive powder released by the Graphite Bomb causes all electronic equipment to short-circuit. The more the enemy relies on electronic technology, the more vulnerable they are."

"Brilliant!" Li Yunlong gave a thumbs-up, "You kid are practically a magician! Such tough guys on the enemy side, and all of a sudden they've all turned into scrap metal!"

On the battlefield, the Long Country troops' speed of advance was getting faster and faster.

The enemy had completely lost the ability to organize resistance, and large numbers of soldiers, lacking command, could only retreat blindly or simply surrender.

By three o'clock in the afternoon, the situation was completely clear—the enemy's frontline defense system had collapsed entirely, and large numbers of troops were caught in a chaotic retreat, leaving behind piles of equipment and a great many wounded.

The Long Country troops, meanwhile, were advancing like a hot knife through butter, pushing deep into the interior.

……

At the Di Guo rear command center, there was utter chaos.

Telegraph operators, Communication Soldiers, and staff officers ran about in a panic, delivering news of the frontline rout.

On the massive battlefield map in the center of the hall, the blue markers representing enemy positions were being removed one by one, replaced by red arrows representing the Long Country army.

General Maise looked ashen, sitting dazed in his command chair, his hands trembling slightly.

Beside him, officers of all ranks had faces equally filled with shock and fear.

"Give a full report on the situation," Maise forced himself to remain calm, though his voice trembled uncontrollably.

The intelligence officer took out a report that had just been compiled, but his hands were shaking so much he could barely hold the paper:

"Sir... sir, as of one hour ago, all of our frontline electronic equipment has failed, including but not limited to: all communication systems, Radar networks, the 'Lightning' interception system, the Electronic Control Device of tanks and armored vehicles, and the navigation and control systems of aircraft..."

"What are the specific losses?" Deputy Commander Major General Horst asked urgently.

The intelligence officer swallowed hard:

"The Air Force... the 3rd and 5th Fighter Squadrons have been wiped out, with 38 fighter jets crashed.

The armored forces have lost 176 tanks and 92 armored vehicles, most of which are paralyzed or on fire due to short-circuits in their electrical systems.

The 'Lightning' interception system has failed entirely, with none spared. Two frontline divisions have collapsed, and soldiers are fleeing in large numbers or being captured..."

General Maise slammed his hand on the table: "That's impossible! How could any weapon destroy all electronic equipment at once? This violates the basic laws of physics!"

Technical consultant Stanley was urgently summoned; he pushed up his glasses and explained, stuttering:

"Ac... according to an analysis of some samples brought back from the front, that black smoke contains fine conductive fibers; we suspect it is some kind of graphite-based material.

These fibers float in the air, penetrate the interior of electronic equipment, and cause a total short-circuit..."

"Graphite? The kind of graphite in pencil leads?" a general asked in disbelief.

"Ye... yes, but after special processing, it can form a Conductive Cloud in the air," Stanley explained,

"Theoretically, this weapon can indeed paralyze all electronic equipment in a short period of time."

The conference room fell into a dead silence.

Everyone was shocked by this explanation—such a simple principle, yet it had produced such a devastating effect.

"We... all of our electronic equipment is paralyzed, as if we've been cursed by witchcraft!" a staff officer couldn't help but say, his voice filled with fear.

"This is not witchcraft, it is science," Stanley said in a low voice, "The Long Country's technology has already far exceeded our imagination..."

General Maise covered his face with his hands and muttered to himself:

"This is impossible... this is unscientific... why would our planes fall like stones? Why would our tanks suddenly stall? Why would our interception systems turn into scrap metal in an instant?"

The atmosphere in the conference room grew increasingly bizarre, with some generals even beginning to discuss whether the Long Country had used some kind of supernatural power or Eastern sorcery.

Fear and superstition spread rapidly as scientific explanations failed to convince them.

"Whether he is human or a ghost," the head of intelligence said calmly, "the fact is that our frontline has collapsed, and we must take countermeasures immediately."

"Retreat!" General Maise finally made up his mind,

"Order all troops to retreat to the third line of defense. At the same time, urgently mobilize reserve forces to form a new defensive line."

"But General, this means we will be abandoning at least 30 kilometers of territory..." a staff officer reminded him.