Chapter 104: Brigade Commander Gao

Although it was only the most basic mobility test, the visual impact of such a steel giant moving by its own strength was incomparable to any data report.

For several days, a festive atmosphere like the New Year permeated the inside of the research institute.

"See that? Brother Li! It can walk!" Wang Hao picked at the chicken leg in his lunch tray.

He gestured excitedly to Li Yang next to him, his posture even more excited than if he were a father himself.

Li Yang picked at the fish bones without lifting his head: "Basic movement only, the balance algorithm still needs optimization, and the joint buffer also has room for improvement. Distance to combat requirements..."

"Okay, okay, okay! I know you are strict!" Wang Hao hurriedly interrupted his technical analysis.

"But can we be happy for five minutes first? Just five minutes! Look at Guangzi, he even ate half a bowl of rice more yesterday!"

Chen Guang, who was drinking soup quietly opposite, pushed up his glasses:

"I was just calculating energy consumption and needed to replenish."

Feng Yan looked at this bunch of clowns and shook his head with a smile: "Stop being so glib."

"'Bi'an' being able to walk is a good thing, but like Lao Li said, this is just the first step of a long march."

"Next, integrating weapon systems, testing extreme maneuvering, perfecting fire control collaboration—none of these are easy tasks."

He knocked on the table: "Especially on your side, Haozi, the compatibility test between the propulsion backpack and the weapon platform must be tightened."

"Don't let it happen that when a missile is fired, you blow up your own thruster first."

"Brother Feng, don't worry!" Wang Hao patted his chest, leaving a mark with his oily palm on his work clothes.

"The thruster I built is definitely a brother to my missile, with perfect tacit understanding!"

"I guarantee it will hit whatever it points at, never infighting!"

Everyone burst into laughter.

The relaxed atmosphere didn't last long.

A few days later, an unexpected piece of news broke the institute's calm.

"Team Leader Feng, Brigade Commander Gao Hongbo of the 'Southwest Blade' Special Operations Brigade is here, the car is already at the door."

Secretary Lin walked into Feng Yan's office quickly, her tone carrying a hint of surprise.

"No notice beforehand."

Feng Yan's heart moved; Brigade Commander Gao visiting suddenly at this time clearly wasn't ordinary.

He stood up immediately: "I'll go receive him personally."

In front of the main building of the research institute, Brigade Commander Gao Hongbo was still in that crisp training uniform, his collar buttoned up meticulously.

He only brought two accompanying staff officers with him, no large group of people.

But the invisible pressure brought by his long experience on the battlefield made the surrounding air feel a bit heavier.

"Brigade Commander Gao! Why did you come personally?"

"And didn't say hello in advance, so we could prepare." Feng Yan greeted him, shaking hands with a smile.

Gao Hongbo shook Feng Yan's hand hard, with no expression on his face: "Prepare for what?"

"I just want to see your truest appearance."

"I heard your 'big baby' can move?"

Feng Yan's heart skipped a beat, secretly thinking it was indeed for "Bi'an."

He remained calm on the surface: "Yes, the prototype has just completed basic movement testing."

"Still in the debugging stage, many systems are not perfect..."

"Not perfect is just right!" Gao Hongbo interrupted him, his tone carrying the straightforwardness peculiar to soldiers.

"Debugging a thousand times in the laboratory is not as good as testing it once in actual combat."

"I came this time to give you a chance to test."

He signaled the staff officer behind him to hand over a document: "We just set up a comprehensive training ground in the brigade that simulates urban street fighting environments, and the facilities are still quite complete."

"I plan to let your 'Bi'an' prototype, which hasn't even warmed up yet, go in for a walk."

Feng Yan quickly browsed the document, his pupils contracting slightly.

What Brigade Commander Gao proposed was an asymmetric confrontation drill.

"Bi'an" prototype versus an "Iron Wolf" exoskeleton assault squad composed of twelve elite special operations soldiers!

"Brigade Commander Gao, this..." Feng Yan frowned slightly.

"'Bi'an' doesn't even have its weapon system integrated yet, and its movements are still raw. Confronting an experienced 'Iron Wolf' squad, isn't it too..."

"Too what? Too harsh?" Gao Hongbo's eyes were like torches, staring at Feng Yan.

"Team Leader Feng, you didn't build this thing to look at in a museum, did you?"

"The battlefield environment will be a hundred times harsher than this! The enemy won't wait for you to be prepared before they move!"

He patted Feng Yan on the shoulder, not lightly: "I know it's difficult, and there are risks."

"But real gold must be refined by fierce fire!"

"I just want to see if this mech you've been blowing up to the sky is really as godlike as you say!"

"Or just a piece of scrap iron that looks good but is useless!"

Feng Yan could feel the expectation in Brigade Commander Gao's words, but he also knew the risks involved.

Once "Bi'an" performed poorly in the confrontation, or even had a serious failure, it would not only hit the team's morale but might also affect the military's subsequent support.

But... wasn't this a perfect opportunity?

An opportunity to intuitively show the military the potential of "Bi'an"!

Feng Yan took a deep breath, his eyes becoming firm: "Brigade Commander Gao, since you trust us, then our Dragon Chant will take this task!"

"'Bi'an' prototype, participate in the confrontation drill!"

"Good! That's the spirit!" A trace of a smile finally appeared on Gao Hongbo's face.

"My staff will coordinate the specific time and place with you. Remember, I want to see the truest performance!"

After seeing Brigade Commander Gao off, Feng Yan immediately convened the core team to inform them of the situation.

"Damn! Directly fighting the 'Iron Wolf' squad?" Wang Hao exploded as soon as he heard it.

"Brigade Commander Gao is trying to give us a hard time! Our 'Bi'an' hasn't even touched a gun yet!"

Li Yang frowned, quickly pulling up the performance data and tactical characteristics of the "Iron Wolf" exoskeleton on his tablet:

"The 'Iron Wolf' squad of the Special Operations Brigade is equipped with mature improved models, and their mobility, firepower, and squad coordination are extremely outstanding."

"In a complex street fighting environment, they can use terrain advantages to conduct splitting, encirclement, and close-range surprise attacks."

"'Bi'an' currently lacks effective short-range defense and counter-measures, and there are blind spots in its vision..."

Chen Guang added: "The uncertainty of the confrontation environment is extremely high."

"Our sensors and control systems have not yet been tested in such complex electromagnetic environments and sudden interference."

Zhao Gong snorted: "What are you afraid of? Whether it's a mule or a horse, you only know after you take it out for a walk!"

"At worst, we lose a bit of face, and we'll change it when we get back!"

Feng Yan looked at everyone: "The risk does exist, but the opportunity is greater. This is the best stage for us to prove the value of 'Bi'an' to the military."

"We don't seek to defeat the 'Iron Wolf' squad, as long as we can show enough potential and show unique advantages different from existing equipment, it is a victory!"

He looked at Li Yang: "Lao Li, hurry up, prioritize integrating a set of non-lethal weapon modules."

"Even if it's just sound wave dispersal or strong light dazzlers, we must have the ability to fight back!"

"Understood, sound wave generators and multi-frequency flash modules can be added first." Li Yang nodded.

"Haozi, the short-range jumping and rapid turning ability of the propulsion backpack is the key to 'Bi'an's' mobility, it must be guaranteed to be stable!"

"No problem! I'll bring out all my housekeeping skills!"

"Guangzi, optimize the environmental perception algorithm, focusing on the visual blind spots and complex echo environments of street fighting."

"A new training dataset has been established and is accelerating iteration."

The entire Dragon Chant Research Institute was operating at high speed again, with a clear goal.

Making the fullest preparations for the "stress test" a week later.

The workshop was brightly lit, debugging, reinforcing, optimizing... everyone was holding their breath.

Wang Hao even got a small loudspeaker from somewhere and shouted at "Bi'an," which was being armored:

"Show some spirit! When the time comes, give those special forces gentlemen a good lesson and let them know what a dimensionality reduction strike in the mech era is!"

Li Yang dragged him away helplessly: "Don't add to the chaos, come help calibrate the leg hydraulic buffer."

A week passed in a flash.

This morning, the heavy transport vehicle carrying the "Bi'an" prototype, under the escort of the Dragon Chant team and military vehicles,

slowly drove into the comprehensive training base of the "Southwest Blade" Special Operations Brigade, which was hidden in the mountain col and known for its harshness.

Inside the base, the simulated town street blocks were broken walls and ruins, abandoned vehicles and fortifications were everywhere, and the air was filled with a faint smell of gunpowder and dust.

In the designated preparation area, "Bi'an" was carefully unloaded for final inspection and preheating.

Li Yang, Wang Hao, Chen Guang, and others surrounded the mech, doing final debugging.

Not far away, Brigade Commander Gao Hongbo and several brigade officers stood on the observation platform, observing this side with binoculars.

In the simulated street blocks further away, several agile dark gray figures could be vaguely seen flashing between the broken walls.

That was the opponent this time, the "Iron Wolf" assault squad, who had already entered the field in advance to familiarize themselves with the environment.

Wang Hao looked at those special operations soldiers who were as agile as cheetahs, swallowed his saliva, and whispered to Li Yang:

"Brother Li, why do I feel like I'm in the college entrance examination room?"

Li Yang checked the last data interface without lifting his head: "Calm down."

Feng Yan walked to the foot of the mech, patted the cold armor, and looked up at the sensor array on the head of "Bi'an," which had not yet been painted but already had a sense of majesty.

Everything was ready.

The confrontation was about to begin. ===== CHAPTER 105 =====