"You should all be familiar with this. It's a pulse-ray analyzer. It can determine the overall mechanical properties of any alloy from the metal's spectral characteristics. Once I test it with this, you'll give up!"
Dr. Chen attached the pulse-ray analyzer to the mecha's calf with a click.
The metal here was the same as the metal on its arm.
The front of the square instrument had a panel resembling a tablet computer.
A line of small text appeared on it.
"Pulse scan in progress..."
Elder Wang and Elder Hua stood nearby, watching Dr. Chen operate it.
Neither of the two elders said anything.
They quietly waited for the instrument to produce its results.
If, as Dr. Chen claimed, this instrument could analyze the overall mechanical properties of every alloy, they very much wanted to know just what level the mecha's alloy had reached.
After all, they had only known that it exceeded the testing limit programmed into the machine, without knowing exactly how far that limit went.
"Beep, beep, beep..."
"Spectral analysis complete! Reading data. Please wait..."
Hearing the analyzer's voice, Dr. Chen immediately burst out laughing.
"Elder Wang, Elder Hua, the results will be out any moment. Don't be too discouraged. Our country may be behind right now, but we'll catch up someday. Haha..."
"Beep, beep, beep... Based on intelligent spectral analysis."
"This alloy is a new type of alloy. Its composition cannot be determined."
"Overall mechanical properties rating: 389."
"Reference comparisons: tungsten steel, 17; diamond, 20; graphene, 24; sulfurized carbyne, 66."
Hearing that number, Dr. Chen's head buzzed.
It instantly exploded, blasting his brains into a pot of mush.
The test results completely exceeded his understanding of physics.
The hardest substance in the world, sulfurized carbyne, was only 66. What did this 389 of yours mean?
At that moment, Dr. Chen's cognition hit a wall.
He could no longer think.
His entire worldview had been overturned.
Elder Wang's eyes were filled with shock. Even though he had prepared himself, that number still frightened him.
It was too freakish!
Zhang Liang saw the shock covering Elder Wang's and the others' faces, their eyes nearly popping out.
Puzzled, he asked quietly from the side,
"Elder Wang, what's with that number? What does it tell us?"
"Little Zhang, do you know what alloy fighter jets use?" Instead of answering directly, Elder Hua asked a question.
"Most mainstream developed countries currently use titanium alloys," Zhang Liang answered without thinking.
"Titanium alloys have a mechanical properties rating of only 12! In other words, Eagle Sauce's F-22 might as well be made of paper against this mecha!"
Elder Wang's words shocked everyone present.
Gasps filled the room.
Everyone understood what a monster the F-22 was.
It was Eagle Sauce's most advanced stealth fighter, and the number of comparable fighters that could rival it could be counted on one hand.
It was not sold to other countries, making it the trump card among Eagle Sauce's trump cards.
Yet now, before Crimson Sky No. 1, it might as well be made of paper???
They could no longer breathe!
They couldn't catch their breath!
The researchers grew dizzy one after another, their steps unsteady.
They could no longer stand steady.
This alloy was far too savage!!
"To give you another example."
Elder Hua picked up where Elder Wang had left off and continued,
"Put this mecha at the center of the Hiroshima nuclear explosion back then, and it might only get some scratched paint! No panel beating needed. Just spray on a little paint, and it'd be as good as new!"
"Hiss-"
Countless people sucked in breaths so sharply that they nearly punctured their lungs.
People with weak hearts couldn't take such explosive information.
This material was too formidable!
Some even thought of building ten more mechas like this to form an aerospace combat strike group.
Would the leaders of countries like Little Japan and Eagle Sauce suffer insomnia every day afterward, unable to sleep?
An aerospace combat strike group of this caliber would have a relatively easy time killing a prime minister or president or two!
"No! That's impossible!"
Dr. Chen suddenly shouted, recovering from his shock.
Several threads of blood crept into his eyes, and he appeared extremely agitated.
"There's no way our Xia Nation could produce a superalloy that even Eagle Sauce hasn't developed. That's reality! We have to face reality!"
"My judgment can't be wrong. I believe in myself!"
"I'll bet this pulse-ray analyzer has malfunctioned!"
Elder Wang slowly frowned, his gaze toward Dr. Chen now displeased.
Things were already perfectly clear, yet Dr. Chen still insisted on saying this. That was truly hard to justify.
People needed to recognize reality and keep their feet on the ground.
But that didn't mean they had to keep their heads bowed and remain meek forever!
Hadn't Eagle Sauce's advanced technology been driven forward by one genius scientist after another?
Why couldn't their own country produce a genius??
"Hehe, looks like this instrument is broken too. Sorry about that! I'll bring a new one over in a few days, and we'll test it again!"
Ignoring the unfriendly looks around him, Dr. Chen gave a couple of dry laughs.
He disengaged the instrument's magnetic attachment, removed it, and tossed it aside.
He kicked it hard twice.
"Domestic instruments, after all. They just don't last! From now on, I'll have to buy imported ones, no matter how expensive they are!"
With that, he shook his head helplessly.
At those words, even his apprentice Zhang Liang clenched his fists.
This was blatant biting of the hand that fed him!
Just as he was about to argue, a voice thundered overhead.
"You foreign-worshipping traitorous dog! Have you been kneeling so long you can't stand up anymore? I'll send you to your Eagle Sauce masters right now. Never come back!"
The voice came from the audio communications system atop the mecha, and although it had a mechanical quality,
They could still tell that Wang Yixue had said it.
As her words fell, a muffled particle hum sounded.
The dormant mecha's eyes abruptly erupted with two dazzling beams of red light.
A mechanical voice rang out inside the mecha.
[Piloting authorization confirmed] [Coolant injection complete] [Miniature hydrogen engine startup complete] [Phased-array situational awareness system startup complete] [Crimson Sky No. 1 Mecha startup successful!] [Pilot in position] [Awaiting deployment...]
The succession of voices resounded like mighty bells.
They shook Dr. Chen until his scalp went numb and his eyes felt ready to burst.
Even after the voices had ended, he was still trembling slightly.
His eyes were filled with panic and disbelief.
He stared blankly at the mecha overhead, half stupefied and half witless.
He babbled, "How... how did it come alive???"
Having finished playing around in the cockpit, Wang Yixue had just put on the holographic helmet when she heard Dr. Chen's absurd remarks below.
She immediately flew into a rage.
So everything about Eagle Sauce is wonderful, huh? No problem!
I'll send you over there right now!!
"How did it come alive? Ask your Eagle Sauce masters in a moment!"
Leaving him with those words,
Wang Yixue controlled the mecha and extended its sharply angular arm.
It seized Dr. Chen in its hand.
The pain instantly snapped Dr. Chen out of his daze.
He frantically cried for help,
"Elder Wang, hurry and save me! This thing's out of control!"
"Elder Hua! Elder Hua! Hurry and make this thing stop! It's about to crush me to death! I'm a pillar of the nation. Any harm to me is a loss to the country!"
Elder Wang and Elder Hua looked at each other, exchanging glances.
For no apparent reason, they began discussing the operating principles of hydrogen engines.
They acted as though they couldn't hear the cries for help beside them.
Seeing this, the surrounding researchers instantly understood and unanimously busied themselves.
It was as though piles of work had suddenly appeared in their hands.
Every one of them was thoroughly absorbed in their work.
Occasionally, they glanced toward Dr. Chen, faintly muttering, "Serves you right."
"What are you doing? Have you all gone deaf?"
"I told you to hurry up and save me! Can't you hear?"
"Believe it or not, I'll report this to the higher-ups later! You're all bullying me!"
Dr. Chen screamed hysterically, but no one paid him any attention.
Just then,
The mecha made a sound that unsettled him even more.