Chapter 522: The Startled Swan Skimming the Sea

In the center of the bay, "Kunpeng" cut through the morning mist like a silver Lightning, skimming over the calm water surface and leaving behind a straight "wave-free corridor." Inside the command center, everyone was immersed in the shock brought about by this unimaginable ground-effect flight, eyes fixed on the monitoring screens, hearts still pounding wildly from the high-speed flight just moments ago.

Li Mingyuan's voice came through the communication system, breaking the silence of the command center: "Everyone, we have just verified the maneuverability and speed of 'Kunpeng'; next, it is time to show its true fangs."

Minister Zhang was taken aback, subconsciously gripping the armrest beside him: "Lao Li, you mean..."

"Weapon test." Li Mingyuan's voice was calm and cold, like a judge pronouncing a death sentence.

The atmosphere inside the command center instantly became tense. The old general, the Military Representative, stood up abruptly, excitement flashing in his eyes: "Are we really going to conduct a weapon test? But the target..."

"It is already prepared." There was a hint of imperceptible pride in Li Mingyuan's voice, "Please look to the southeast, about eighty nautical miles away; there is a discarded old ship we placed in advance, codenamed 'Puppet.' It will be today's target."

The large screen in the command center immediately switched to a satellite overhead view, clearly displaying the solitary old ship on the distant sea surface. The Military Representatives exchanged a look of surprise—they did not know about this arrangement; it was clearly decided privately by Li Mingyuan and the highest level of leadership.

Inside the control cabin, Li Mingyuan steadily controlled "Kunpeng," adjusting it to the optimal attack position. His eyes were focused and calm, as if he had returned to the state of playing high-precision simulation games in his past life.

"Pangu, activate the weapon system and prepare the target data link."

"Weapon system activated, target data link established, real-time coordinates for the 'Puppet' target ship acquired." The Pangu System's voice rang out calmly.

The corners of Li Mingyuan's mouth lifted slightly: "Open Weapon Bay No. 1, prepare to launch the 'Sea Dragon-1' Missile."

"Weapon Bay No. 1 ready, 'Sea Dragon-1' Missile preheating complete, launch system charging... charging complete."

Li Mingyuan took a deep breath, his thumb pressing lightly on the red button at the top of the control stick: "Three, two, one, launch!"

Following his command, an inconspicuous hidden hatch on the left side of "Kunpeng" slid open silently, revealing the complex launch device inside. A small missile with a peculiar shape lay steadily on the electromagnetic rail, its tail already beginning to flicker with a ghostly blue light.

The next second, a flash of electric light streaked by, and the missile was ejected as if by an invisible giant hand, instantly breaking away from "Kunpeng" and rushing into the space between sea and sky. Its tail spewed a blinding blue flame, its speed increasing instantly, and in the blink of an eye, it became a small black dot in the distance.

What was even more shocking was that this missile did not climb and then dive like a conventional missile; instead, it maintained an ultra-low-altitude flight posture just a few meters from the sea surface, like a sharp blade skimming across the water.

Inside the command center, everyone held their breath, staring fixedly at the red dot on the large screen representing the missile. Even the well-informed military high-level officials had never seen such a bizarre flight trajectory.

"This... this does not conform to the principles of ballistics..." a military expert muttered to himself, his voice filled with disbelief, "At such a low altitude and such high speed, air resistance and sea surface turbulence should cause the missile to lose control..."

Minister Zhang could not help but interject: "That is because you do not understand the design philosophy of the 'Sea Dragon-1.' This is an ultra-low-altitude anti-ship missile designed personally by Chief Engineer Li, utilizing a brand-new aerodynamic layout and control system that can fully leverage ground effect to improve stability and range."

No sooner had he finished speaking than an even more incredible scene appeared on the large screen—the missile suddenly made an impossible sharp turn during high-speed flight, actually changing its course flexibly over the surging sea!

"How is that possible!" the Military Representative exclaimed, "How can a missile turn on the sea surface like a fish?"

No one could answer this question, because everyone was too shocked to speak. On the screen, that "Sea Dragon-1" missile continued to "snake" across the sea surface with unbelievable flexibility, as if showing off its maneuverability.

At the same time, Li Mingyuan in the control cabin kept his hands relaxed on the console, his eyes fixed on the tactical display screen in front of him. In his field of vision, the missile's flight trajectory, speed, and attitude data were updated in real-time, along with the precise location of the "Puppet" target ship.

"Pangu, activate terminal guidance mode."

"Terminal guidance activated, target locked, hit probability 99.7%."

Li Mingyuan smiled slightly: "Prepare to witness a miracle."

At this moment, the "Sea Dragon-1" missile had already flown nearly sixty nautical miles, with only about twenty nautical miles left to the target ship. Under the gaze of all the monitoring equipment, the missile suddenly performed one last high-difficulty maneuver—it dived sharply, sliding almost against the wave crests, and then, at the final moment approaching the target ship, it suddenly pulled up, flying toward the position below the waterline of the target ship at an incredible angle.

Everyone in the command center widened their eyes, watching helplessly as the missile, as if it had grown eyes, precisely hit the most vulnerable underwater hull section of the target ship.

After one second of dead silence, a blinding fireball erupted from the center of the target ship, followed by a water column and thick smoke rising into the sky. The entire target ship broke into two pieces amidst the violent explosion and sank rapidly.

Inside the command center, there was not a sound.

Everyone was too shocked to speak, eyes fixed on the target ship on the screen that had already begun to sink, their brains still struggling to process everything they had just seen.

This was not just a successful missile strike, but a revolution that completely overturned tactical concepts—beyond-visual-range precision strikes, high maneuverability in complex environments, precise hits on underwater parts... these were all unimaginable capabilities in the military field at the time.

"This... this is simply..." the old general finally broke the silence, his voice trembling, "this is simply..."

"This is the basic performance demonstration of the 'Sea Dragon-1' ultra-low-altitude anti-ship missile." Li Mingyuan's voice came through the communication system again, as calm as if he had just completed a simple daily task, "It can maintain stable flight in complex sea conditions, evade Radar detection, break through enemy defenses, and precisely strike targets below the waterline. The range can reach 150 nautical miles, and almost no existing ship can effectively defend against it."

"My God..." Deputy Minister Liu muttered to himself, "With this kind of weapon, our naval power has improved by at least one generation..."

The Military Representatives looked at each other, their eyes filled with both shock and ecstasy. They knew very well what this meant—Long Country could effectively deter any potential enemy's maritime power relying solely on this advanced missile, without depending on a massive naval fleet.

Li Mingyuan's voice sounded again, interrupting everyone's thoughts: "'Sea Dragon-1' is only a part of the 'Kunpeng' weapon system. Next, I will demonstrate its true core combat power."