"Hello, this is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration!"
"Heh, I'm with the Air Defense Department. I'm calling to give you verbal notice: you people at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration had better get ready for a court-martial!"
"Shit! Have you been smoking too much weed? What the hell are you talking about?"
"You didn't report this satellite launch to our department as usual. Aren't you afraid of causing nationwide panic?"
"NO, NO, NO! We haven't had any launch missions lately. Don't spit blood and slander us!"
"Bullshit! The radar data recorded everything! You people at the space administration won't shed a tear until you see the coffin. We're taking you to military court!"
"Go ahead! You think your granddaddy at the space administration is scared of a bunch of dung beetles who can only crawl around on the ground?"
"This isn't over!!"
"Fuck!"
"Beep, beep, beep-"
After hanging up, everyone at the Air Defense Department was red-eyed with fury.
Those bastards at the space administration were absolute scum.
Not only had they launched a satellite without telling anyone, but they were being this arrogant about it.
They were only tough against their own!
Their fucking space technology had already been overtaken by Xia Nation, and they still had the gall to curse people out?
The more the Air Defense Department director thought about it, the angrier he became.
He couldn't just let this go.
If he did, wouldn't the space administration climb onto their heads and shit on them from now on?
He thought for a moment.
Then he placed a call to the Hexagon.
"Hello, please put me through to General Austin."
"Here's the situation, General. Just now, our radar detected an unidentified rocket taking off from the State of Alaska. We suspect there's a mole in the space administration collaborating with foreign spies, attempting to use this new route through space to steal our nation's core secrets!"
"Hiss-"
The person on the other end sucked in a cold breath, utterly shocked.
Zhonghai Military Research Base.
Ten Dongfeng Mengshi vehicles swept through the base gates in a grand procession.
The guards on duty stood ramrod straight, their expressions solemn as they snapped crisp military salutes.
They had spent years rotating through guard duty at the base.
They knew very well what sort of figures were riding in those military vehicles.
A few minutes later, Li Guozhong led more than twenty officers into the reception hall.
Elder Wang, Elder Hua, and the leaders of the base's relevant departments all rose to greet them.
At the sight, Li Guozhong immediately became flustered and hurried forward at a jog.
His rank might have been high, but he was hardly qualified to have the two elders rise to welcome him.
"Elder Wang, Elder Hua, please, you're giving me far too much honor!"
Li Guozhong stepped forward and shook hands with Elder Wang and Elder Hua in turn, saying uneasily,
"When you two enlisted, I wasn't even born yet! If you keep standing on ceremony like this, I'm never coming again!"
"Pfft!"
"Hahaha!"
Elder Wang and Elder Hua exchanged a glance and both laughed aloud.
"Guozhong, you brat, you still can't take a joke, just like when you were little."
Elder Wang looked at the thick-browed, big-eyed Li Guozhong, his gaze full of warmth.
Li Guozhong introduced the accompanying officers to the research base personnel.
Most were staff officers from division headquarters. Although they currently held virtually no key combat posts, they were young enough to have boundless prospects.
Elder Wang swept his gaze over them and likewise felt these young men were brimming with vigor, an excellent bunch.
Then he said,
"Guozhong, Elder Wang and I already know why you're here. Let's talk outside!"
Li Guozhong nodded.
He followed the two elders outside.
They reached an open area outdoors.
Li Guozhong got straight to the point,
"Elder Wang, the joint military exercise is coming up. I hear the Eastern Military Region has prepared a secret weapon. As for our side..."
Elder Wang smiled.
"Their Eastern Military Region has exoskeleton armor, but our Southern Military Region has made preparations too!"
"That's a relief!"
Hearing Elder Wang say this, Li Guozhong could finally put his anxious heart at ease.
"As long as the gap isn't too big, with our military region's solid strength and willingness to fight tooth and nail, we'll definitely be able to put up a fight!"
"Actually, the gap really is rather big!" The corners of Elder Wang's mouth curled upward.
"Well..."
Li Guozhong hadn't noticed Elder Wang's expression. Hearing that the gap was rather big, his face instantly darkened.
The officers behind him also wilted like frostbitten eggplants, their heads drooping in dejection.
Their spirits plunged straight to rock bottom.
In modern warfare, whichever side possessed cutting-edge technology could firmly lock in victory.
Back then, Old Sa had assembled a million troops, fifty armored divisions' worth of tanks, and seven hundred aircraft.
With such formidable military strength, why had he crumbled at the first blow from Eagle Sauce?
He had lost on cutting-edge technology!
The War Tiger Cruise Missile, the Apari Helicopter, and the like had all been the bane of Old Sa's military equipment.
If the gap in cutting-edge technology was too great during this exercise...
It really could turn into a one-sided battle when the time came.
Thinking of Old Kong's face that just begged for a beating, Li Guozhong couldn't help clenching his fists hard.
"Phew-"
Li Guozhong slowly exhaled a stale breath and forced a rather unnatural smile onto his face.
"Elder Wang, Elder Hua, it's all right. There are plenty of hard battles in this world. Are we supposed to just let him slaughter us?"
"Even if Old Kong is a tiger, we'll still knock out two of his front teeth!"
Elder Wang and Elder Hua exchanged a glance and nearly laughed.
The two of them had deliberately kept him in suspense a little, actually wanting to see what attitude Li Guodong, this major general and division commander, would take when facing a disadvantage.
From the look of things, his attitude was pretty good. He still had some of the fighting spirit a soldier ought to have.
Seeing Elder Wang and the others smiling, a trace of puzzlement rose in Li Guozhong's eyes.
He was just about to speak.
Suddenly, a current of air poured down from overhead.
It made everyone's clothes flap sharply.
The officers looked startled and glanced around.
At that moment, Elder Hua smiled and patted the dejected-looking Li Guozhong.
"Guozhong, our secret weapon is here!"
"Where?"
Li Guozhong was feeling rather down.
There wasn't much enthusiasm on his face either.
He scanned the surroundings but saw nothing.
"There's nothing here. Why can't I see..."
"Back away! She's here!" Elder Wang suddenly barked, retreating two steps.
Before Li Guozhong could rouse himself...
A thin, drawn-out hum instantly rang out overhead.
The sky itself seemed to be sliced apart.
The earth was trembling too.
A fierce red light smashed down from above.
A burst of azure flame erupted on the ground.
A ring of invisible air surged outward in all directions with the force to topple mountains and overturn seas.
A fiery-red mecha gleaming with cold light blotted out the sky and sun.
Its fierce, overbearing design and the oppressive presence of a gargantuan behemoth...
Appeared starkly before everyone's eyes.
It instantly blew Li Guozhong's eyeballs apart.
He raised his head and stared fixedly at this steel behemoth.
His eyeballs quivered wildly, his heart hammered, and his blood pressure instantly shot up to 580.
He stood rooted to the spot like a statue.
Completely dumbfounded.
Could this fucking thing actually be our secret weapon???
The more than twenty officers and dozen-odd guards behind him also lost all control of their expressions.
Their mouths fell wide open in unison.
Their eyes bulged right out.
Their tongues stretched a meter long.
A savage aura surged into their bodies, charging from the soles of their feet straight to the crowns of their heads and instantly blowing their skulls clean off.
"Thud! Thud!..."
Some were so shaken that their legs refused to obey them, and they landed on their backsides.
A long while later.
Only then did everyone recover a little.
Li Guozhong huffed and puffed, gasping for breath.
After struggling to get the words out for ages, he finally exclaimed in a trembling voice, shock numbing him to his core,
"Holy shit, it's actually a mecha!"
Division Commander Li Guozhong, strict in his self-discipline, swore for the first time ever.
Yet the officers and guards beside him found it utterly normal.
Perhaps he had lost his composure too badly and wanted to say something to ease the atmosphere.
As if possessed, Li Guozhong immediately followed up with another question,
"Can this thing fight?"