Chapter 165: The Calm Before the Storm

Dragon Chant Research Institute cafeteria, 7:00 PM.

Wang Hao squeezed toward a window-side table with a tray piled high like a small mountain, then sat down with a thud that made the soup bowls on the table rattle.

"Nothing beats the taste of home-cooked food!" he said, stuffing a large piece of braised pork into his mouth, his speech muffled.

"In that place, the UAE, it's either grilled meat or flatbread all day long. It gave me, Brother Hao, internal heat!"

Li Yang sat opposite him, picking at fish bones: "The summary of the exhibition results is out."

"The total preliminary order value is 2.55 billion USD, with expected revenue from subsequent maintenance and upgrades."

"The Finance Department says this is the largest single revenue since the institute was founded."

"That's right!" Wang Hao said, looking smug. "Look who negotiated it! With this mouth of mine, Brother Hao could talk a dead man back to life!"

Chen Guang pushed up his glasses. A bowl of clear noodle soup sat before him, and a data stream scrolled on the tablet screen beside it:

"Orders are just the surface. More importantly, we established technical standards—closed systems, limited interfaces, and no cracking allowed."

"If these dozen or so clients follow them, it's equivalent to acknowledging our dominance over the system."

Zhao Kaiyuan brought his tray over and sat down: "But the pressure is coming, too."

"The cold-region version requested by the Bear, the urban management module for the Middle East, the compatibility testing for Western Europe... all must be delivered within six months."

"Production lines need to expand, manpower needs to increase, and the progress of the Energy Group's 'Xuanming' miniaturization project must be accelerated."

"What's there to fear!" Wang Hao slapped the table. "When has our Dragon Chant ever cowered? Just get it done!"

Feng Yan walked into the cafeteria at this moment, holding a tablet.

He grabbed a light meal at the window, carried it to the table, and sat down.

"Still working while eating, Brother Feng?" Wang Hao leaned over, trying to see the tablet screen.

Feng Yan turned the tablet around.

On the screen was a map of East Asia, marked with dense red dots and arrows.

"This is the situational map generated over the past week by 'Torch Dragon' integrating multi-source data from satellites, radar, and electromagnetic signals." Feng Yan zoomed in on the East Sea region.

"As for the Foot-Basin Chicken side, the Maritime Self-Defense Force has increased its sortie frequency by 240%, and their improved 'Shinshin' fighter jets have conducted seventeen test flights in the past three days—five times the usual number."

He switched to the southwest border: "The White Elephant has deployed two additional mountain brigades to the disputed area and equipped them with the latest 'Mountain Hound-Type 2' exoskeletons provided by Eagle Country."

"According to reconnaissance image analysis, the joint design of these exoskeletons is already 70% similar to our 'Chengshan'; they are likely the product of reverse engineering."

"Knock-offs?" Wang Hao sneered. "With their level of craftsmanship, what could they possibly copy? Walking piles of scrap metal?"

"Don't underestimate the enemy," Li Yang said.

"If Eagle Country provides technical guidance, the performance might reach the level of our first-and-a-half generation. Although inferior to the 'Bi'an', it still holds a crushing advantage over traditional infantry."

Feng Yan continued sliding the map, freezing on the South Sea: "The most critical part is here. The Carl Vinson carrier strike group is expected to arrive in the South Sea exercise area in forty-eight hours."

"Accompanying them are two 'Arleigh Burke'-class destroyers and one nuclear-powered attack submarine."

"And according to communication signal analysis, this fleet has conducted six encrypted coordination tests with the command systems of the Foot-Basin Chicken and the White Elephant over the past seventy-two hours."

The cafeteria suddenly went quiet.

Wang Hao put down his chopsticks, his expression rarely serious: "Brother Feng, you mean... they planned this?"

"The timing is too coincidental." Chen Guang took over, pulling up a data model on the tablet.

"I had 'Torch Dragon' perform a probability analysis. The probability of abnormal military activity occurring simultaneously in three directions, under normal international relations, is less than 0.3%."

"But if some form of coordination exists, the probability rises to over 87%."

He pulled up a three-dimensional timeline, with three curves representing the military activity intensity in the East Sea, Southwest, and South Sea:

"Look at these peaks—almost synchronized. This is not a coincidence."

Zhao Kaiyuan frowned: "What do they want? Three-front pressure? To make us spread ourselves too thin?"

"More likely, it's a probe," Feng Yan said.

"Probing our reaction speed, troop mobilization capability, and... the deployment ceiling of our technical equipment."

He pulled up another file: "Domestic online public opinion monitoring shows that in the last three days, topics related to 'historical memory' have surged in popularity."

Old posts regarding the Foot-Basin Chicken's history of aggression, the southwest border conflicts, and the South Sea arbitration case are being forwarded in large numbers.

On social media, the public's emotions... are very agitated."

Wang Hao took out his phone and scrolled a few times; sure enough, he saw several trending hashtags:

#NeverForgetHistory #NotAnInchOfTerritoryCanBeLost #ThisGenerationMustHaveThisGeneration'sResponsibility.

In the comment sections, the most liked ones were:

"My grandfather participated in the War of Resistance; he said we filled the gaps with human lives back then. Now, it's time to fill them with technology."

"I cried when my teacher told me about the border conflicts when I was a kid. Now I have a son, and I want to tell him that this generation will settle the score."

"It's not that we want to provoke conflict; it's that some people have forgotten the pain."

Wang Hao looked at these comments, was silent for a few seconds, then cursed under his breath: "Those bastards... they specifically poke at our sore spots."

"This is part of psychological warfare." Feng Yan put away the tablet.

"Military pressure combined with public opinion incitement, trying to make us make irrational decisions driven by emotion. Or, at the very least, to distract our attention."

Researchers at other tables in the cafeteria also gathered around, listening to the discussion, their expressions turning grave.

Li Yang suddenly asked: "Brother Feng, can our mech troops handle all three directions simultaneously right now?"

This question made everyone look at Feng Yan.

Feng Yan did not answer immediately.

He opened the institute's internal deployment system, pulling up the equipment list and troop distribution map.

"'Bi'an-Type 2' mass-produced version currently has thirty-six units equipped, of which twenty-four are participating in joint exercises in the Northern Theater, and twelve are undergoing final tuning at the institute." He calculated quickly.

"If mobilized urgently, at most thirty units can be available within twenty-four hours."

"'Iron Wolf' assault-type exoskeletons have 120 sets equipped, scattered across three test units. Gathering them all requires forty-eight hours."

"'Flood Dragon' deep-sea mechs currently only have six units, all at the South Sea base."

"'Torch Dragon's Eye' laser defense system, the Zhoushan position is running at full power, while three newly built positions along the southeast coast are still being tuned and are expected to be operational in a week."

After finishing, he looked up at everyone: "On paper, our forces are insufficient. Especially if conflict breaks out on all three fronts simultaneously, existing forces must make trade-offs."

"Trade-offs?" Wang Hao stared. "Which side do we trade off? The East Sea? The Southwest? Or the South Sea? Which one can we afford to trade off?!"

"So we cannot trade off," Feng Yan said. "We must let them know that we won't trade off any of them."

He stood up: "Ten minutes from now, Number One Emergency Conference Room, emergency meeting. All project leaders to attend."

The order was quickly relayed.

The researchers in the cafeteria hurriedly finished their last few bites, cleared their trays, and left quickly.

Wang Hao muttered while walking out: "I, Brother Hao, only ate half-full... forget it, work, work!"

Li Yang pulled him back: "That test bomb of yours, the 'Kuafu-2', can it be fired now?"

"Theoretically, yes," Wang Hao said, "but it hasn't undergone full system testing yet. Why?"

"It might need to make an appearance."

"Holy crap!" Wang Hao's eyes lit up. "Finally going into real combat?!"

"Meeting first."

Number One Emergency Conference Room, 7:30 PM.

The large screen displayed a map of East Asia, with three red arrows pointing toward the East Sea, Southwest, and South Sea respectively.

Attendees, in addition to the core team, included leaders of each project group:

Deputy Leader Liu of the Mech Group, young engineer Xiao Zhang of the Missile Group, several key members of the Energy Group, and Zhao Gong and Li Kui of the Materials Group also arrived.

Feng Yan stood before the main screen, skipping the pleasantries and going straight to the topic:

"Everyone is clear on the situation. Three directions, three forces, highly coordinated in time. This is not a coincidence; it is a planned probe."

He pulled up the probability model generated by 'Torch Dragon': "According to AI analysis, the probability of local conflict breaking out within the next seventy-two hours is over 65%."

"The form of conflict could be: escalation of naval confrontations in the East Sea, border friction in the Southwest, or close-in reconnaissance provocations in the South Sea."

"What is our mission?" asked Liu from the Mech Group.

"There are three missions." Feng Yan held up three fingers.

"First, demonstrate that we have the capability to respond to threats in all three directions simultaneously, breaking their calculation of 'making us spread ourselves too thin'."

"Second, demonstrate our technical advantage, letting them know that even with equal forces, fighting us will be a crushing defeat. Third—"

He paused: "Control the scale. We must counterattack resolutely while avoiding escalation into full-scale war. This is not showing weakness; it is strategic composure."

The conference room was quiet for a moment.

Chen Guang was the first to speak: "'Torch Dragon' can monitor all three battlefields simultaneously; computing power allocation has been optimized, and priority algorithms are ready."

"But it requires data link support from the front lines, especially in the southwest mountains, where communication conditions may be limited."

"Use drone relays," Li Yang said.

"Our newly developed 'Mechanical Dragonfly' micro-drones have a 12-hour endurance and can network to establish temporary communication channels."

Wang Hao raised his hand: "My 'Kuafu-2' test bomb can also be brought out for a spin!"

"Although it hasn't undergone full system testing, firing one to verify the trajectory is no problem!"

"Fire it into the uninhabited area of the Pacific to show off the range and speed, and scare them a bit!"

Zhao Kaiyuan frowned: "What about energy supply? If fighting on three fronts simultaneously, the number of 'Xuanming' power supply vehicles might not be enough."

"Allocate," Feng Yan said.

"Keep one power supply vehicle at the Zhoushan position, and deploy the other two mobilely."

"Use diesel generators as a temporary substitute in the southwest, and the 'Flood Dragon' mechs at the South Sea base can rely on ship-based power."

Zhao Gong spoke up: "I've checked the equipment status. The fusion reactor of the 'Bi'an-2' is running stably, but the newly equipped 'Dragon Scale-3' armor hasn't been tested in real combat."

"The low temperatures of the southwest plateau and the high-salt, high-humidity environment of the South Sea might affect material performance."

"Then bring enough spare parts," Li Kui added. "Zhao Gong and I will prepare maintenance kits overnight, three sets for each direction."

Tasks were quickly assigned.

The Mech Group was responsible for formulating the three-front deployment plan to ensure the thirty 'Bi'an-2' units could exert maximum efficiency.

The Missile Group prepared the launch procedures for the 'Kuafu-2' test bomb while checking the inventory of 'Falcon' EMP missiles.

The Energy Group allocated all power supply units and formulated emergency power supply plans.

The Materials Group prepared maintenance materials and replacement parts for various environments.

The AI Group optimized 'Torch Dragon's' multi-battlefield command algorithms to prepare for complex electromagnetic environments.

The meeting lasted forty minutes, efficient and pragmatic.

As the meeting adjourned, Feng Yan stopped the core team: "You guys stay behind."

After the others left, only seven people remained in the conference room: Feng Yan, Li Yang, Chen Guang, Wang Hao, Zhao Kaiyuan, Zhao Gong, and Li Kui.

Feng Yan turned off the large screen and opened an encrypted communication channel.

The screen showed the command headquarters of the Navy's East Sea Fleet, with Rear Admiral Lei Jindong sitting in the main seat, his expression serious.

"Commander Lei." Feng Yan nodded in greeting.

"President Feng, are you ready on your end?" Lei Jindong got straight to the point.

"Basically ready. But I want to confirm one thing—what is the bottom line from above?"

Lei Jindong was silent for two seconds: "The principle is: counterattack resolutely, but control the scale. You can hurt them, but you cannot break them."

"Especially in the direction of the Foot-Basin Chicken, historical grievances are too deep; once out of control, it could trigger a full-scale explosion of nationalistic sentiment, which does not align with our long-term strategy."

"Understood," Feng Yan said. "So in the East Sea, what we need to demonstrate is our 'precision control' capability. Paralyze without destroying, capture without killing."

"Correct." Lei Jindong nodded.

"In the southwest, the White Elephant is an accomplice, mainly cooperating with Eagle Country to apply pressure."

"The strike must be heavy, but leave room for maneuver to avoid pushing the White Elephant completely to the opposite side. As for the South Sea..."

He paused: "Eagle Country is the mastermind. Let them know that their carrier strike group has no chance of winning against our defense system."

"But give them a way out to avoid forcing them into a corner."

"Show strength, but don't exterminate," Feng Yan summarized.

"That is the meaning." Lei Jindong looked at the people on the screen.

"This degree is very difficult to grasp. Too light, and it won't achieve a deterrent effect; too heavy, and it might trigger a chain reaction. Your technical equipment is the key to grasping this degree."

Feng Yan took a deep breath: "We will do it."

The communication ended.

The conference room was quiet again.

Wang Hao scratched his head: "This job... is harder than just fighting a war."

"That's why we need technical superiority," Li Yang said.

"Only when we have absolute certainty in controlling the battlefield can we achieve 'hit as hard as we want, hit as light as we want'."

Chen Guang was already adjusting parameters on his tablet: "'Torch Dragon's' rules of engagement library needs updating. Add new constraints: adopt different lethality levels for different targets."

"East Sea, non-lethal priority; Southwest, moderate damage; South Sea, demonstrate capability but do not initiate attacks."

"My EMP missiles are coming in handy!" Wang Hao was excited.

"Specifically for those bastards in the East Sea! Paralyze them and drag them back; they can even serve as teaching materials!"

Zhao Kaiyuan looked at Zhao Gong: "Old Zhao, regarding our 'Xuanming' reactor, are you confident in its stability under continuous high-load operation?"

Zhao Gong took a puff from his pipe and slowly exhaled a smoke ring: "The lab has simulated extreme operating conditions."

"Running continuously for 120 hours, the output fluctuation is less than three-thousandths. The real combat environment might be slightly worse, but I'm 95% confident."

"Enough." Feng Yan stood up. "Everyone to your stations. The next seventy-two hours, there might be no time to rest."

Everyone stood up to leave.

Just then, Feng Yan's encrypted communicator vibrated.

He took a look, his expression changing slightly.

"Frontline report just received." He looked up, his voice low.

"A civilian survey ship from the Foot-Basin Chicken is in a standoff with our coast guard ship in the disputed waters, and the crew is using high-pressure water cannons to attack our side."

"The White Elephant border troops have crossed the line of actual control by fifteen kilometers, established a 'temporary observation point', and set up radar equipment."

"Eagle Country announced that it will conduct 'Freedom of Navigation Operations' in relevant areas of the South Sea, and carrier-based aircraft will conduct routine training flights."

He paused: "The time—all after 8:00 PM tonight."

Wang Hao looked at his watch: 8:20.

"They even synchronized the time," Li Yang said coldly.

Feng Yan walked to the window, looking at the lights lit up in the institute.

On the distant test field, several 'Bi'an-2' units were conducting night adaptability training, the silhouettes of the mechs appearing exceptionally tall under the searchlights.

He turned around, facing the team, his voice calm but every word clear:

"They planned this."

"Then..."

"Let's entertain them together." ===== CHAPTER 166 =====