Chapter 465: They Really Came

The Chief laughed coldly: "Give them some verbal support, but do not make any substantive commitments. Let the Star-Spangled Country deal with this mess."

He walked back to his seat, his gaze sweeping over the two high-ranking officials: "The most important thing is that I want a comprehensive report on Li Mingyuan. His background, educational history, social connections... every possible piece of information. I want to know who this person really is, and where his knowledge comes from."

404 Military Base, Li Mingyuan's office.

Li Mingyuan stood before the window, looking at the busy base personnel outside. Department Head Zhang pushed the door open and entered, his face filled with undisguised excitement.

"It's a huge success!" Department Head Zhang walked in almost skipping, "The entire international community has exploded! The White Elephant Country has completely forgotten about the Yajiang Hydropower Station; they only care now about whether 'Changfeng-Yi' will land on their heads!"

Li Mingyuan smiled slightly: "As expected. Humans are always like this; faced with a greater threat, they will quickly forget smaller troubles."

"The most interesting part," Department Head Zhang continued, "is the reaction of the Star-Spangled Country and the Beijixiong Guo. They are both angry and afraid, yet they can do nothing about us. Their Expert Group is analyzing day and night what our so-called 'highly unpredictable trajectory' and 'component detachment' actually mean."

Li Mingyuan turned around, a cunning light flickering in his eyes: "Let them keep guessing. Sometimes, the fear of the unknown is more intimidating than a known threat."

He walked to his desk and picked up a document: "How is the latest progress on the 'Kunpeng' project?"

"Proceeding according to plan," Department Head Zhang reported, "Manufacturing points for each module have been activated, and raw materials and equipment are being secretly deployed. Thanks to the cover provided by the Yajiang and 'Changfeng-Yi' incidents, the outside world has barely noticed these abnormal flows of supplies."

"What about the 'Beidou' system?"

"The first satellite has completed final testing and is ready for launch at any time. Production of the subsequent 7 is also accelerating."

Li Mingyuan nodded with satisfaction: "Very good. Using the cover of this international crisis, we must accelerate the progress of these two key projects. By the time the White Elephant Country and the international community recover from the shock of 'Changfeng-Yi', we will have already taken a giant step forward."

Department Head Zhang hesitated for a moment: "However, Chief Engineer Li, will 'Changfeng-Yi' really be test-fired in three days?"

Li Mingyuan smiled mysteriously: "Of course, we keep our word. But as for its flight path..."

He walked to the map and lightly traced his finger along the northern edge of the White Elephant Country: "Let them continue to fear, until the moment of launch. Fear itself is the most effective deterrent."

"Then what about the 'component detachment'?" Department Head Zhang asked curiously.

A flash of shrewdness crossed Li Mingyuan's eyes: "That is precisely the finishing touch. Let the intelligence agencies of the Star-Spangled Country and the Beijixiong Guo guess wildly; whatever possibility they think of will be more terrifying than the actual situation."

He paused and added: "Also, notify the Wajiaobu to release some moderate appeasement signals, indicating that we will ensure the safety of the test launch and will not threaten the territorial security of any country. But keep the tone vague to leave them enough room for imagination."

Department Head Zhang looked at Li Mingyuan with admiration: "Chief Engineer Li, this move of yours is played beautifully! It not only resolved the Yajiang crisis but also allowed 'Kunpeng' and 'Beidou' to accelerate in the chaos, and more importantly, it further intimidated the Star-Spangled Country and the Beijixiong Guo."

Li Mingyuan smiled slightly, his gaze looking into the distance: "The real show is yet to come."

Three days of waiting was, for the White Elephant Country, simply an endless nightmare.

"Twelve hours left..." Inside the White Elephant Country's air defense command center, the duty officer's eyes were bloodshot; he had been working continuously for nearly forty hours. Along the entire northern border, all Radar Stations and air defense units were at the highest state of alert; yet, everyone in their hearts knew a cruel fact—they had no way to deal with "Changfeng-Yi".

On the streets of the capital, shops had long been bought out, the exodus from northern cities continued, and the government had to deploy the military to maintain order. Di Gan hid in the underground command post, his face ashen, as if he had suddenly aged ten years.

"Your Majesty, the Star-Spangled Country just replied that they cannot provide any substantive help and can only 'closely monitor the situation'." The Foreign Minister's voice was filled with despair.

Di Gan gave a bitter laugh, "How ironic, the day before yesterday they were still passionately supporting our protest against the Yajiang Hydropower Station, and now they can only 'closely monitor'."

"The Beijixiong Guo side is about the same; they said they cannot provide technical assistance and suggested we 'remain calm'."

"Remain calm?" Di Gan almost laughed out loud, "An intercontinental Missile that might carry a nuclear warhead is about to fly over our country's airspace, and they tell us to remain calm?"

Inside the air defense command center, everyone understood that this night was destined to be sleepless.

Meanwhile, at the Long Country's Xibei Jidi, the atmosphere was completely different.

"Countdown 12 hours, all systems checked, 'Changfeng-Yi' is in good condition, launch preparations are ready."

Li Mingyuan stood before the large screen in the control center, his eyes as calm as water. The surrounding technicians and officers bustled about, each of them wearing a nervous yet excited expression.

"Chief Engineer Li, the White Elephant Country has gone crazy." Department Head Zhang walked to Li Mingyuan's side and handed him the latest intelligence, "They have mobilized almost all air defense forces, partial evacuations have been implemented in three major northern cities, international airports are paralyzed, and the stock market has plummeted by 40%."

Li Mingyuan glanced at the report, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly, "Even better than expected."

"What about the Star-Spangled Country and the Beijixiong Guo?"

"On the surface, they are putting on a calm posture, but in reality, they have already mobilized satellites and reconnaissance planes, preparing to monitor the flight data of 'Changfeng-Yi' throughout the process. They will definitely try to crack the principles of our Guidance System."

Li Mingyuan nodded, "Let them watch all they want; the key technology is in the software algorithms anyway, and even if they see the hardware, they won't be able to replicate it."

"That said," Department Head Zhang lowered his voice and leaned toward Li Mingyuan, "What does that 'component detachment' actually mean? Is there really something going to fall off?"

Li Mingyuan smiled mysteriously, "You'll know when the time comes."

Department Head Zhang shook his head helplessly, "You guy, so mysterious. By the way, the leader called and told you to pay attention to confidentiality and not to reveal the real purpose to anyone."

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Li Mingyuan smiled slightly, a hint of cunning flashing in his eyes.

Time ticked away second by second, and finally, the last hour of the launch countdown arrived.

Li Mingyuan stood in the center of the launch control center, and all the technicians and officers were nervously staring at their respective screens and instruments.

"Final check of all systems, Engine status?"

"Normal!"

"Guidance System?"

"Normal!"

"Special payload?"

"Normal!"

Li Mingyuan took a deep breath and turned to Deputy Commander Liu standing beside him, "Everything is ready, we can begin the final countdown."

Deputy Commander Liu nodded solemnly, his eyes flashing with excitement, "Start the countdown!"

"Ten, nine, eight..." Inside the control room, everyone held their breath, staring fixedly at the rocket launch pad on the big screen.

"... three, two, one, ignition!"

Amidst a huge roar, "Changfeng-Yi" dragged a dazzling flame and soared into the sky, piercing the firmament; the entire launch site ground shook, and the flames illuminated the darkness before dawn, like a rising Taiyang.

A burst of cheers erupted in the control room, but it quickly returned to a tense working state, with everyone staring at their screens, closely monitoring the Missile's flight parameters.

"First stage separation normal!"

"Entered the predetermined orbit, speed and altitude are both within parameter ranges!"

Li Mingyuan stood there quietly, as if all of this was under his control. On the screen, a red dot was flying toward the northwest at an astonishing speed, pointing directly at the northern border of the White Elephant Country.

Inside the White Elephant Country's air defense command center, a shrill alarm pierced the silence of the early morning.

"Emergency! Radar detected an unidentified flying object, altitude 80 kilometers, speed... My God, over 12,000 kilometers per hour!"

"Bearing?"

"Northwest direction, rapidly approaching our country's northern border!"

The command center was in chaos; everyone understood that Long Country's "Changfeng-Yi" had truly arrived, and it had arrived right on schedule, without the slightest deviation.

"Order all Anti-aircraft System units to enter the highest state of alert!" the anti-aircraft commander shouted hoarsely, even though he knew it was meaningless. Facing this kind of Missile, their Anti-aircraft System was as good as useless.

Digan stood before the large screen in the underground command post, his face ashen, watching helplessly as the red dot representing "Changfeng-Yi" approached the White Elephant Country border at an astonishing speed.

"It... will it really fly over our country's airspace?" he asked with a trembling voice.

The intelligence analyst nodded, his face filled with fear, "According to the current trajectory, it will enter from the northern border, sweep over our three main military bases, and then leave our national airspace from the southeast."

"And its altitude?"

The analyst swallowed, "This is the most terrifying part... it is descending; when it enters our national airspace, the expected altitude will drop to... below 30 kilometers."

"What?" Digan widened his eyes, "So low?"

"Yes, far lower than the flight altitude of a normal intercontinental Missile, almost as if it is deliberately... showing off."

The atmosphere inside the command post was heavy to the extreme; everyone held their breath, watching the red dot gradually approach the border.

"About to enter White Elephant Country airspace," inside the Long Country control center, the technician reported nervously, "Altitude has descended to 25 kilometers as planned."

Li Mingyuan nodded, "Execute special maneuvers, fly according to the predetermined trajectory."

"Understood!"

On the large screen, the flight trajectory of "Changfeng-Yi" underwent a subtle change, shifting from its original straight ballistic path to an elegant, wave-like trajectory, as if drawing a winding dragon in the sky.

"My God," a technician couldn't help but exclaim, "This precision... this control capability..."

The corners of Li Mingyuan's mouth rose slightly, "Now, initiate the 'special payload' release sequence."

The control room was in Silence, everyone holding their breath, watching this historic moment.

Above the northern border city of White Elephant Country, a piercing screech tore through the Silence before dawn.

"It's here!" the Radar Operator at the Radar Station said with a trembling voice, pointing at the bright spot approaching at an astonishing speed on the screen.

Subsequently, a hair-raising scene appeared—the "Changfeng-Yi" that had been flying at high speed suddenly decelerated, its altitude dropping to a staggering 12 kilometers, almost the cruising altitude of a jet fighter, and then, in a near-provocative posture, it slowly and leisurely flew over the airspace of White Elephant Country's important northern military base.

"My God... it's... it's circling!" the Radar Operator was almost about to faint, "It circled over our base!"

Indeed, "Changfeng-Yi" was like a proud eagle, leisurely circling once over White Elephant Country's most important military base before continuing to fly forward.