In low Earth orbit, five hundred kilometers away, in the dead silence of space.
An impenetrable interception net woven from thirty-six space-based laser platforms hovered silently.
Each platform weighed around eighty tons, its main body consisting of a massive laser emitter.
They were powered by fusion reactors, with Spirit Stone crystals serving as energy buffers and amplification mediums.
Their lenses were forged from Special Ore mined in the Law Zone.
They were heat-resistant, corrosion-resistant, and highly transparent, able to maintain optical precision even after hundreds of continuous firings.
Deployable solar sails extended from both sides of the platforms, but compared to the fusion reactors, they were merely backup power supplies.
The true energy core was the fusion reactor, with an output equivalent to a medium-sized city's annual electricity consumption.
The instant Western Continent ballistic missiles broke through the atmosphere and were detected by space-based early-warning satellites via infrared signals, the fire-control data had already been transmitted to every platform through quantum communication links.
The interception order was issued.
All thirty-six platforms fired at once.
High-energy laser beams poured down from space, precisely striking the body of every missile.
The missiles' casings melted instantly under temperatures of tens of thousands of degrees.
The nuclear warheads inside were destroyed before they could detonate, turning into countless fragments that scattered through space.
A deathly silence filled the underground bunker.
On the screens, hundreds of dots representing their own missiles were rapidly going dark.
The commander-in-chief stared at the screen, those vanishing dots reflected in his pupils. His lips parted slightly, but he could not utter a single word.
"Report! The space-based laser platforms are maintaining continuous fire! Our missiles are being destroyed in batches in outer space!"
"Report! Launch Units 11, 17, 23, and 29 have all lost contact! They are suspected to