Chapter 154

The television in the Longyin Research Institute cafeteria usually only played news channels, but this morning, Wang Hao had secretly switched it to international news.

On the screen, the shore of a small fishing village in the northern part of Eagle Country.

Several fishing boats were capsized on the beach, a simple breakwater had also collapsed, and the rest was a mess left behind after the seawater receded.

"... It is reported that the missile wreckage that fell into the nearby high seas last night triggered a local tsunami, with a wave height of about 1.5 meters."

"This resulted in damage to over ten fishing boats and the destruction of some coastal facilities, but fortunately, there were no casualties..."

The reporter stood on the muddy shore, with several villagers cleaning up debris in the background.

Wang Hao held his porridge bowl, watching with relish: "Tsk tsk, a 1.5-meter tsunami, enough to wash your face. These reporters make it sound like the end of the world."

Chen Guang, sitting opposite, glanced at the TV:

"The shockwave energy conversion of missile wreckage entering the water has been calculated; if it falls in a shallow sea area, it can indeed trigger local surges."

"I can only say they were unlucky."

"They were unlucky?" Wang Hao almost spat out his porridge.

"Guangzi, that missile was fired by Eagle Country! If you ask me, those people in Eagle Country deserved it!"

"They wanted to see us make a fool of ourselves, but ended up getting their own shoes wet first!"

Zhao Kaiyuan sat down with his tray at this moment: "The International Maritime Organization issued a notice early this morning, calling on 'all parties to exercise restraint and avoid dangerous military tests in high seas areas'."

"Translated, that means: You can fight, just don't splash water on me."

"What's the reaction from Eagle Country?" Li Yang also walked over and sat down.

"The official statement is 'deep regret, willing to provide necessary humanitarian aid'." Zhao Kaiyuan pulled up the news on his phone.

"But their Navy spokesperson privately told the media that the missile lost contact because it was 'subjected to unknown energy interference'—they might as well have named us directly."

"What's our response?" Li Yang asked.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' standard rhetoric: 'We have noted the relevant situation and express concern for the affected public."

"Our side consistently advocates for the peaceful use of the high seas and opposes any military behavior that may undermine regional stability.'" Zhao Kaiyuan paused.

"But late last night, when our naval vessels were 'routinely patrolling' near the accident sea area, they 'happened' to salvage some missile wreckage fragments."

Wang Hao's eyes lit up: "Did you fish out anything good?"

"It's all shell fragments; the key components are probably already at the bottom of the sea," Zhao Kaiyuan said.

"But even if it's just the shell, material analysis can reveal quite a lot. Chen Guang, has your materials group already received the samples?"

Chen Guang nodded: "They were sent over last night. Zhao Gong and Master Li Kui led the team through an all-nighter, and the preliminary analysis report should be out soon."

As they were talking, Zhao Gong and Li Kui walked into the cafeteria one after the other. Both veteran masters had bloodshot eyes, but they were in high spirits.

"Old Zhao, Master Li, over here!" Wang Hao waved.

The two brought their porridge and steamed buns over and sat down.

Zhao Gong took a tablet out from his coat, unlocked it, and pushed it over.

"Take a look. The Eagle Country 'Vanguard' missile really spared no expense on materials."

On the tablet were various microscope images and spectral analysis data.

Wang Hao leaned over and took a look, immediately starting to whistle: "Yo, this skin material, titanium-aluminum-vanadium high-temperature alloy, and it's even doped with rare earth elements to improve high-temperature oxidation resistance."

"... This formula looks a bit familiar, doesn't it look a bit like the early discarded drafts of our 'Dragon Scale-2'?"

"It's not just like it, it's almost exactly the same," Zhao Gong took a sip of porridge.

"The difference is that their heat treatment process is better than our plan back then, and the grain size is more uniform."

"They must have improved the technical parameters of vacuum arc remelting."

Li Kui added: "And the thermal insulation coating, it uses a multi-layer gradient ceramic composite structure."

"The thermal expansion coefficient of each layer of material is carefully designed so that it won't crack or peel off at high temperatures."

"This approach is similar to the laser lens coating that Chen Guang and the others are working on."

"So they stole our technology?" Wang Hao stared.

"Not necessarily," Li Kui shook his head.

"When material science develops to a certain level, many ideas will lead to the same destination."

"One can only say that in the field of high-temperature ablation-resistant materials, everyone faces the same physical limits, so the solutions are naturally similar."

Chen Guang looked at the data carefully: "For us, the most valuable thing is their performance in actual application."

"No matter how beautiful laboratory data is, it can't compare to samples brought back from the battlefield, or rather, from actual combat tests."

"Indeed," Zhao Gong nodded.

"These fragments have experienced Mach 20 flight, laser irradiation, and sea-impact; every damage mark tells a story. For example, here—"

He zoomed in on the edge of a fragment: "The melting boundary of the laser ablation is very clear, indicating that our beam energy concentration is high enough."

"But look at this position, there are subtle 'spatter' marks on the edge of the melt pit, indicating that the material underwent some kind of phase change spatter under extreme heat... this might be a hidden danger."

"What hidden danger?" Li Yang asked.

"If we encounter more heat-resistant materials in the future, our laser might need a longer irradiation time," Chen Guang replied.

"And the longer the time, the greater the unpredictability of the target's maneuvering, and the interception success rate will drop."

"So we still need to continue increasing laser power?" Zhao Kaiyuan frowned. "Then the energy problem..."

"Or change the approach," Wang Hao interjected.

"If the power isn't enough, make up for it with quantity! If one laser can't burn through, we'll shine ten together! We'll definitely be able to burn a hole in it!"

Zhao Gong glared at him: "Do you think this is a street barbecue stall?"

"Coordinated irradiation by multiple lasers, beam synthesis, phase synchronization, and thermal management are all big problems."

"Besides, can you afford the energy consumption of ten lasers?"

Wang Hao shrank his neck and buried his head in his porridge.

Breakfast ended in technical discussion.

At nine in the morning, Feng Yan convened a meeting of the core team.

On the large screen in the conference room, a montage of news reports from major global media was playing.

Eagle Country CNN: "... Experts analyze that this incident exposes the vulnerability of hypersonic weapons in complex electromagnetic environments, which may force the military to re-evaluate related plans..."

Europa BBC: "... The laser defense capability demonstrated by Longguo is shocking, which may change the rules of the game on the future battlefield..."

Eagle Country NHK: "... While the government demands compensation from Eagle Country for losses, it is also considering strengthening its own anti-missile capability construction. Defense Ministry officials revealed that the possibility of introducing more advanced defense systems is not ruled out..."

Mao Xiong TASS: "... Some comments believe that this is a challenge from emerging technologies to traditional military advantages. The trend of world multipolarity has been confirmed again in the field of military technology..."

Finally, there was an English report from Longguo International Television. On the screen, military experts were analyzing the strategic significance of laser defense technology, their tone calm but their words full of confidence.

Feng Yan turned off the video: "The public opinion war has already begun."

"The shot we fired last night is now being discussed by the whole world."

"Eagle Country wants to downplay the technical setback and shift the focus to 'missile malfunction' and 'tsunami accident';"

"Eagle Country is taking the opportunity to ask for money and technology;"

"Other parties are observing, evaluating, and choosing sides."

"What do we need to do?" Li Yang asked.

"Three things," Feng Yan held up three fingers.

"First, demonstrate technical confidence. Guangzi, the paper you prepared can be published."

Chen Guang nodded: "The final draft of 'A New Method for Turbulence Compensation in High-Energy Laser Interception within the Atmosphere' has been completed, and according to the plan, it will be uploaded to the arXiv preprint server this afternoon."

"The paper only discusses methodology and does not give specific parameters, but it is enough for industry insiders to understand that our technical route is feasible."

"Second," Feng Yan continued, "consolidate our defensive advantage."

"The Zhoushan test base must operate on a normalized basis, and at the same time, we must start selecting sites at other key nodes along the coast to plan the second batch of 'Torch Dragon Eye' deployment points."

"Old Li, you and Haozi cooperate to come up with a design plan for a mobile laser air defense vehicle as soon as possible."

"No problem," Li Yang said.

"Our preliminary idea is to modify the 'Iron Wolf' exoskeleton chassis and mount a small-to-medium power laser specifically to deal with low-altitude, low-speed targets, such as drones and cruise missiles."

"This can both reduce the pressure on the fixed array and improve the flexibility of the defense system."

Wang Hao added: "The mobile platform can also play 'guerrilla warfare'!"

"Today on this hilltop, tomorrow on that beach, so that the opponent's reconnaissance satellites can't guess our deployment positions!"

"Third," Feng Yan looked at Zhao Kaiyuan, "and this is the most fundamental: break through the energy bottleneck. Kaiyuan, if you need any support, just ask."

Zhao Kaiyuan took a deep breath: "Manpower, equipment, funding, the institute has already given enough."

"The biggest difficulties now are two: first, the magnetic field stability of the miniature tokamak device, and second, the long-term reliability of radiation-resistant materials."

"The former requires more powerful superconducting materials and more precise control algorithms, and the latter..."

He looked at Zhao Gong.

Zhao Gong took over: "The latter must find answers in the 'Dark Crystal'."

"The special structure formed by that deep-sea mineral in extreme environments may have unique tolerance to high-energy neutron irradiation."

"But the 'Dark Crystal' samples we have on hand are too few to do systematic research."

"Can the deep-sea sampling team go down again?" Feng Yan asked.

Li Yang shook his head: "The 'Jiaolong' mech has been undergoing deep maintenance and upgrades since it last returned."

"Moreover, that hydrothermal vent area in the SouthSea, after our last 'visit', may have already been targeted by the 'Confluence' or other forces."

"The risk of going again in the short term is too great."

The conference room was silent for a moment.

Chen Guang suddenly spoke: "Perhaps... it doesn't necessarily have to be the deep sea."

Everyone looked at him.

"'Dark Crystal' is formed under high pressure, low temperature, and specific chemical environments," Chen Guang pulled up the materials science database.

"If we can reproduce that environment in the laboratory..."

"Theoretically feasible," Zhao Gong pondered.

"We have high-pressure chambers, and low-temperature systems are not difficult, but that 'specific chemical environment'."

"The ion concentration, pH value, and redox potential near deep-sea hydrothermal vents are extremely complex and dynamically changing."

"Simulating it is quite difficult."

"But it's worth a try," Li Kui said.

"It's better than taking risks in the deep sea again. And the laboratory environment is controllable; we can systematically adjust parameters to study the key conditions for 'Dark Crystal' formation."

"Then let's initiate the project," Feng Yan made the decision. "Old Zhao, Master Li, you two lead this laboratory simulation project."

"List the equipment you need."

"Guangzi, Kaiyuan, you provide support in computational simulation and energy requirements."

After the tasks were assigned, the meeting entered a free discussion session.

Wang Hao raised his hand: "Brother Feng, I have a question—if we are so high-profile, will it attract more thieves?"

"I mean, technology thieves."

Feng Yan smiled: "Haozi, do you think our technology is that easy to steal?"

"Not easy to steal, but there's always someone who wants to try," Wang Hao said.

"Just look at that missile wreckage from yesterday, how many pairs of eyes in the world are staring at that sea area now?"

"I bet that in the next week, that place could host an 'International Deep Sea Salvage Expo'."

"Let them salvage," Chen Guang said calmly.

"The key components are either buried in a trench thousands of meters deep, or have already been salvaged by us."

"What can they analyze from the remaining shell fragments?"

"But Guangzi, once your paper is published, doesn't that mean telling the whole world our technical route?"

"It tells them the route, but doesn't give them an accurate map," Chen Guang pushed up his glasses.

"It's like telling someone 'you can make bread with flour, water, and yeast', but not giving the recipe ratio, fermentation time, or baking temperature."

"They want to try to do it? Fine, let them try slowly."

Wang Hao thought for a moment and was amused: "Got it! It's like when I read wuxia novels as a kid, the master says 'the highest realm of swordsmanship is the unity of man and sword', sounds very mysterious, but if you really practice it?"

"You might not even find the way after ten or eight years of practice!"

"Something like that," Feng Yan nodded.

"Moreover, the more open and confident we are, the more we can deter those who want to have crooked thoughts."

"Because this means we are not afraid of being learned from; we have the confidence to learn faster than others and go further than others."

After the meeting, everyone returned to their posts.

Chen Guang uploaded the paper in his office.

One hour later, the number of downloads on arXiv exceeded one thousand.

Two hours later, his inbox began to receive emails from scholars all over the world, some asking about technical details, some proposing cooperation, and others... trying to fish for parameters.

He replied uniformly: Thank you for your interest, specific technical details involve national security and are inconvenient to disclose.

Zhao Kaiyuan and the energy group were immersed in the laboratory, arguing endlessly over the design drawings of the miniature tokamak device.

Some said the magnetic field coils should use traditional niobium-titanium superconductors, others insisted on trying new high-temperature superconducting materials.

Zhao Kaiyuan listened while recording, and finally said: "Make prototypes for both plans, we'll only know after testing."

Zhao Gong and Li Kui led the materials group to start designing the high-pressure reaction kettle for the "Dark Crystal" simulation experiment.

Li Kui calculated the ratio of various chemical reagents, while Zhao Gong proposed seventeen improvements to the sealing structure of the kettle body.

In his words, "At deep-sea pressure, even a small leak is a disaster."

Li Yang and Wang Hao were arguing loudly in the design room.

"The mobile platform must use wheels! Good passability!" Li Yang insisted.

"Tracked! Strong off-road capability!" Wang Hao shouted, "My 'Water Squirt Gun' needs to be able to go up mountains and into the sea, what if the wheels get stuck?"

"Tracks are too heavy, affecting maneuvering speed!"

"Wheels are easy to get flat tires!"

Finally, the two drew a plan each and prepared to test both models.

In the evening, Feng Yan received a communication from the Navy.

The Major General's voice sounded much more relaxed: "The International Maritime Organization just held a closed-door meeting."

"Eagle Country made concessions and agreed to establish a 'Pre-notification Mechanism for Military Tests in the East Sea High Seas'."

"Although it has no legal binding force, it is at least a gesture."

"Are they afraid?" Feng Yan asked.

"Hard to say if they are afraid, but they are definitely more cautious," the Major General said.

Feng Yan thought for a moment and shook his head: "Proceed according to the original plan. But notify the navy side and ask them to strengthen underwater monitoring in the test sea area. In addition..."

He looked at Chen Guang: "During the test, 'Torch Dragon Eye' should reserve 30% of its computing power to continuously monitor the surface and underwater electromagnetic activities in that sea area."

"If any abnormality is found, record it, but do not interrupt the test."

"Understood."

"Also," Feng Yan added.