Chapter 448: Announcement

Star-Spangled Country, deep in the Nevada Desert, "Falcon Project" base.

Three o'clock in the morning, inside the brightly lit laboratory, the air is permeated with the scent of coffee, sweat, and despair.

"Damn it! Failed again!" Professor Wilson slammed his fist onto the lab bench; the seventh turbojet Engine pressure test just completed had failed once more. Inside the test chamber, the prototype worth millions of dollars had already turned into a pile of twisted metal wreckage.

"Calm down, Professor!" Doctor Mongomery rubbed his temples wearily; he had been working for 72 consecutive hours. "We still have time..."

"Time?" Professor Wilson let out a mocking laugh. "Do you know how far the Long Country has progressed? Intelligence says they have already finished their Engine tests! And we can't even reach the basic thrust-to-weight ratio!"

On the other side of the conference room, the experts from the Guidance System team were also locked in a fierce argument.

"Your algorithm is perfect in theory, but it simply cannot run on actual hardware!" Navigation expert Collins roared at the young MIT doctoral student. "Understand? We don't have a Computer powerful enough to handle this level of terrain-matching complexity!"

"That's because your thinking is too conservative!" The young doctoral student did not back down. "The people of Long Country can do it, why can't we?"

"The people of Long Country?" Collins sneered. "They have a damn Li Mingyuan! That guy seems to be able to conjure miracles out of thin air!"

Arguments broke out one after another throughout the base; the once-united team of scientists was falling apart due to continuous failures and pressure from the top brass.

The door was suddenly pushed open, and Defense Secretary Maxwell walked in with a gloomy face; the entire room went silent instantly.

"Gentlemen," his voice was as cold as ice, "the President called again this morning. He asked when our 'Falcon' would be able to fly. I said I didn't know. Do you know what he said?"

No one dared to respond.

"He said, 'Then go find someone who knows, for God's sake!'" Maxwell slammed his fist on the table. "Today is the 45th day past the deadline! I need progress! Substantial progress! Otherwise, you can all pack your things and get out!"

Doctor Mongomery took a deep breath. "Sir, we are trying a new alloy formula that, in theory, can increase the thrust-to-weight ratio by at least 30%..."

"In theory?" Maxwell interrupted him. "The people of Long Country are already conducting actual tests! Intelligence indicates that their 'Storm Heart' Engine might have a thrust-to-weight ratio reaching 8:1! This is fucking magic!"

The conference room was deathly silent, and the scientists looked at each other. A thrust-to-weight ratio of 8:1 was almost impossible under current technical conditions.

"Perhaps the intelligence is wrong..." someone muttered softly.

"Intelligence is wrong?" Maxwell sneered. "Just like it was 'wrong' that they couldn't launch a satellite before us? Wake up, gentlemen! Under the leadership of Li Mingyuan, Long Country is creating miracles, while we, the world's most powerful nation, are here discussing what is 'theoretically possible'!"

At the same moment, Beijixiong Guo, secret base in the Ural Mountains.

"This is your result?" The First Seat's voice was as biting as the Siberian wind; he held the latest progress report for the "Thunder Project" in his hand. "Three months, burning through funds equivalent to the annual budget of a medium-sized city, yet you don't even have a basic prototype?"

Academy of Sciences President Lebedev did not dare to raise his head. "Comrade First Seat, the technical challenges are immense... we have already achieved some breakthroughs..."

"Breakthroughs?" the First Seat repeated sarcastically, then violently threw the report onto the floor. "Long Country has already finished their Engine tests! And we haven't even finalized the design blueprints! This is what you call a 'breakthrough'?"

In the corner of the laboratory, several exhausted engineers continued their hopeless work. Engineer Karpov whispered to a colleague: "This cannot be finished on time; the laws of physics will not change because of the First Seat's rage..."

"Shut up!" His colleague looked around nervously. "Do you want to be sent to Siberia?"

Defense Minister Sokolov walked to the First Seat's side and said in a low voice: "Comrade First Seat, perhaps we should consider changing our strategy and focus on improving existing ballistic Missiles..."

"No!" the First Seat said decisively. "That will only keep us behind forever! If Long Country's 'Changfeng' succeeds, it will completely change the strategic balance! Beijixiong Guo must never accept defeat in this race!"

He turned to the scientists, his eyes flashing with a dangerous light. "I give you two weeks to produce substantial progress. Otherwise, you will all have a deeper understanding of the motherland's Yuandong region..."

The scientists turned pale; everyone understood this was no joke—failure meant exile.

Academy of Sciences President Lebedev tremblingly took an intelligence document. "Comrade First Seat, the latest intelligence... regarding Long Country's 'Changfeng Project'..."

The First Seat snatched the document and scanned it quickly, his face growing increasingly ugly. "This is impossible! They have already entered the final assembly stage?"

"The intelligence reliability is at the highest level, the source is 'Red Star'..."

The First Seat slammed the document onto the floor hard. "Li Mingyuan! It's Li Mingyuan again! Who exactly is this person? How could he achieve such a breakthrough in such a short time? Is he a devil?"

The laboratory fell into a deathly silence, with only the humming of equipment running.

Two weeks later, Washington, Star-Spangled Country Department of State press briefing room.

"... Our 'Falcon Project' has achieved a major breakthrough," the Department of Defense spokesperson said to the reporters with confidence. "The Star-Spangled Country will soon possess the world's most Advanced strategic strike capability..."

The media reluctantly cooperated by recording these clichés; no one truly believed these hollow statements. Ever since the successful launch of the "Explorer 2" satellite, the Star-Spangled Country had been trying to rebuild the prestige lost in the space race, but with little effect.

A senior reporter from the *Washington Post* scribbled in his notebook: "Another performance without substance. Sources reveal that the 'Falcon Project' has actually encountered severe technical difficulties..."

Just then, an assistant hurried to the spokesperson's side and handed over a note. After reading it, the spokesperson's face changed drastically.

"The briefing is suspended," he said stiffly. "There is an emergency that needs to be handled."

The reporters looked at each other, whispering. What could make the usually composed Department of Defense spokesperson so flustered?

At the same moment, Moshi, *Truth Daily* editorial department.

The editor-in-chief was reviewing tomorrow's front-page article—"Thunder Project: Beijixiong Guo's New Generation of Strategic Weapons." The article described at length the "huge progress" and "imminent breakthroughs" of Beijixiong Guo in the field of strategic weapons.

"Too empty," the editor-in-chief frowned. "Add some actual content; the readers aren't fools."

The deputy editor-in-chief said awkwardly: "But the instructions from above are..."

The telephone rang suddenly; the editor-in-chief picked it up, his expression changing from impatience to shock.

"Are you sure about the source?" he asked in a low voice. "Directly from the Kremlin? Okay, I understand."

He hung up the phone, his face deathly pale. "Stop the presses, tomorrow's front page needs to be changed. Long Country... Long Country is going to conduct an intercontinental Missile test fire..."

There was an uproar in the office.

Long Country, Central Building, Li Mingyuan's office.

Li Mingyuan leaned lazily on the leather sofa, toying with a document in his hand—the draft of the announcement about to be released by the Long Country Wajiaobu.

He read the short and sternly worded content, a satisfied smile curling the corners of his mouth:

"To test new achievements in national defense science and technology and to safeguard national sovereignty and security, Long Country will conduct the first live-fire test of a new type of intercontinental strategic weapon system on May 15th at 10:00 AM, in the 'Jiaoshi Island' sea area of the Western Taipingyang. The test will be open and transparent throughout, and observers from relevant countries are invited to witness it. Passing vessels and aircraft are requested to avoid the relevant airspace and sea areas."

"This wording... is direct enough," Li Mingyuan said to himself. "It lives up to the style of the older generation, being able to say 'come look at my muscles' so officially."

The office door was knocked, and Minister Zhang walked in, his expression grave.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Minister Zhang lowered his voice. "'Jiaoshi Island' is too close to the Star-Spangled Country's Taipingyang military base chain; this is simply..."

"A naked provocation?" Li Mingyuan finished for him, his smile deepening. "That's right, it is a provocation. Let those self-righteous guys get a taste of having someone brandish a big stick at their front door."

"But this could lead to..."

"War?" Li Mingyuan shook his head. "It won't. The Star-Spangled Country won't start a war over a single Missile test, especially when they aren't sure of our strength. On the contrary, this will force them to re-evaluate their strategy toward Long Country."

He stood up and walked to the window, overlooking the night view of the capital. "Besides, our 'Changfeng' is already prepared, isn't it? The timing is just right."

Minister Zhang took a deep breath, "Yes, the first 'Changfeng' Missile has completed final assembly and testing; all indicators meet expectations, and even exceed them."

"Then proceed according to the plan," Li Mingyuan's voice was firm and confident, "It is time to let the world see that Long Country is no longer a weak nation to be slaughtered at will, but a strong nation capable of determining its own destiny."

"This announcement will be released at eight o'clock tomorrow morning sharp?"

"Release it on time," Li Mingyuan nodded, a dangerous glint flashing in his eyes, "Let the Bullet fly for a while."

The next morning, the announcement from the Wajiaobu of Long Country was like a thunderclap, instantly shaking the entire international community.

Washington City, Tuoyuanying Bangongshi.

"How dare they?!" The President's roar echoed throughout the room; he slammed the porcelain vase on the table onto the floor, sending fragments flying, "This is a naked provocation! It is an insult to the backyard of the Star-Spangled Country!"

Secretary of Defense Maxwell turned pale with rage, "This is an act of war! Their choice of 'Jiaoshi Island' is completely intentional! It is less than 500 kilometers away from our Pearl Chain base!"

Director of Intelligence Foster said urgently, "We need to immediately assess the actual capabilities of Long Country. If the 'Changfeng' Missile is truly as the intelligence indicates, possessing a 5,000-kilometer range and ultra-low-altitude penetration capability..."

"That would mean our Pacific base chain has no defensive capability," the President said coldly, his voice trembling with anger, "Long Country's missiles can easily break through our defense lines and directly threaten our homeland. This is the greatest security threat the Star-Spangled Country has faced since World War II!"

He turned to Maxwell, "Mobilize the Pacific Fleet; I want to see carrier strike groups patrolling near the test-firing sea area! At the same time, raise the alert level of all military bases!"

"Should we issue a diplomatic protest?" the Secretary of State asked.

"Protest?" the President sneered, "Long Country has calculated this very clearly; their actions are perfectly legal on the surface. Test-firing on the high seas, providing advance notice, and they even fucking 'invited observers'! This is a naked humiliation!"

Everyone in the office could feel an unprecedented sense of crisis. The failure in the space race was already embarrassing enough for the Star-Spangled Country; if they fell behind again in the field of strategic weapons, the world order would be completely rewritten.