hsntnovel Chapter 46: A Single Straight Line Blocked at Both Ends
Chapter 46: A Single Straight Line Blocked at Both Ends
"After recovering the Xuan Nu and Zhen Tao formations, the fleet will continue its routine patrols to protect our territorial waters and the safety of our fishermen, and to annihilate all invading enemies!"
As the narration in the video plays, rows of Xuan Nu unmanned aerospace fighters and Zhen Tao ground effect vehicles are being recovered in an orderly manner.
At the same time, the audience can clearly see the pristine hulls of the Xuan Nu unmanned aerial vehicle and the Zhen Tao ground effect vehicle...
Despite the intense bombardment just now, neither the Xuan Nu unmanned aerial vehicle nor the Zhen Tao ground effect vehicle had a scratch!
Is it really that terrifying, or is the live stream footage fake?
Furthermore, the saturation fire interception just now was merely the final performance of the Xuan Nu and Zhen Tao formations; it wasn't out of control!
After the audience came to their senses and relaxed, various questions surfaced in their minds. However, if what had just happened was true, then there were two things that were absolutely certain.
First thing: The navy now has the power to suppress a global combined fleet!
The reason is simple: it's too hard!
Both the carrier-based Xuan Nu unmanned aerospace fighter and the Zhen Tao ground effect vehicle are too tough!
Because of their toughness, both can act as shields to help the fleet defend against low-powered weapons like drones or artillery shells that rely on sheer numbers, or as striking forces to tear through enemy defenses and create opportunities for a decisive blow for the fleet. They can even launch suicidal ramming attacks...
The cost of a Xuan Nu unmanned aerospace fighter or Zhen Tao ground effect vehicle could not possibly exceed that of a warship, right?
Also, aren't both of them produced faster than warships?
More importantly, there's no one there!
Everyone knows whether Zhentao is unmanned or not, but the Xuan Nu unmanned aerospace fighter jet is definitely unmanned.
This means that a single Xuan Nu unmanned combat aircraft can not only destroy a warship together with it, but also cause casualties to a large number of enemy crew members, while all the friendly forces pay is a bunch of gifts from nature!
In this way, let alone trading one fighter jet for one enemy warship, even if it's five jets for one, it would still be a huge profit!
The second thing: Our transoceanic amphibious landing capability is unmatched!
Ground effect vehicles already possess extremely strong landing capabilities, and now, coupled with their exaggerated defensive capabilities...
Unless coastal defense artillery is deployed along the entire coastline, there is no way to prevent the landing of weapons-laden personnel by ground effect vehicles in Zhentao!
Besides, our side doesn't only have the Zhentao ground effect vehicle as a new type of weapon. In the sky, there are Luan birds, Xuan Nu and Hu Ben. On the ground, there are high-speed tanks, fortified mechs, linear cannon tanks, and when necessary, the mechs of Zhenyue can also participate in the battle.
With a combined approach of land, sea, and air, is there any shore we can't reach?
As a result, even before the live stream ended, topics about revenge and recapture quickly rose to the top of the trending searches and then spread around the world in a very short time, making some people tremble with fear and weep silently.
闹？
After recovering Xuan Nu and Zhen Tao's formation, the live broadcast switched to the army's oath-taking ceremony.
As for the Air Force...
Is it necessary to show it again?
Therefore, after the army's oath-taking ceremony was broadcast live, the official spokesperson appeared on screen and delivered a powerful final statement, concluding the broadcast: "Given the escalating global geopolitical competition and the continued tension in the surrounding security situation, we hereby solemnly declare: From this day forward, any provocative act against us by any country, any force, or any entity shall be regarded as a formal declaration of war against us!"
Now that things have been said to this extent, would those people still dare to cause trouble at this time?
They're rotten, not stupid!
So, those people could only weep silently, and look at the Tax Lord with resentment...
The reason the situation has developed to this point is precisely because of his words and actions.
Even if they couldn't gain anything from the University of Tokyo by making a scene with them before, it would still boost their approval ratings, so they wouldn't lose anything.
And now?
Whether they make a fuss or not, they can't gain anything from Dongda University and will only lower their own approval ratings. They'll lose out big time!
They were resentful, and so was the tax collector: Dongda University is so boring, it doesn't even share mecha technology and progress together.
That's not all, what's even more outrageous is that he was just joking around, but the University of Tokyo actually took it seriously?
That's so unfunny!
Just as Wan Shuiye and his colleagues were feeling resentful, RAND Corporation and the Center for National Security (CNAS) jointly released their latest strategic research report, leaving Wan Shuiye and his colleagues caught in a dilemma.
The report is long, but it can be summarized in two sentences.
My first point: Without using nuclear weapons, a direct confrontation with the University of Tokyo right now would be a certain defeat; a future confrontation with the University of Tokyo would be a death sentence with no chance of victory.
The second point: The military blockade imposed on Tokyo University in the past is not only ineffective now, but has become a burden. Continuing to maintain it will only do more harm than good.
Although many people are aware of these two issues and have spoken out about them, they are powerless to influence the overall situation.
The joint report by the RAND Corporation and the Center for American Security is quite different...
The RAND Corporation is no ordinary company; it is one of the pioneers of modern think tanks and the birthplace of brainstorming. It once predicted the launch of the first artificial satellite by the polar bear with an error of no more than two weeks, and also accurately predicted a series of earth-shattering international events such as table tennis diplomacy, the Caribbean missile crisis, the Great Depression in the United States, and the unification of Germany.
Moreover, the RAND Corporation has produced many top executives of key U.S. departments, a large number of professors from top universities, and authoritative experts in various industries. It is one of the world's leading institutions for decision analysis and has been hailed by many authoritative organizations as a "brain concentration camp" and "super military academy" of modern think tanks. It is also the U.S. military's core "external brain," its official strategic think tank, and the ceiling of military simulation.
The New American Security Center is a top-tier think tank on par with the RAND Corporation. The difference lies in its focus on niche areas, specializing in cutting-edge military technologies such as intelligent unmanned combat, aerospace fighters, and the militarization of AI, making it highly professional.
Therefore, their joint report is highly authoritative, extremely influential, and can even change the overall direction of the situation.
That's why the tax collectors and their cronies are in such a precarious position...
Without RAND's joint report, the tax collectors could still stubbornly claim to the public that they had the strength to fight and a good chance of winning, and then find an excuse to send the joint fleet to the high seas to wander around for a while, spend public money to enjoy the sun, and incidentally drop a few warplanes to make some extra money.
After dragging it out for ten days or half a month, once the public outcry has died down, they can easily find a way to let the combined fleet go back to their respective homes and mothers, ending the matter quietly.
In this way, they can at least salvage some of their support.
However, this method has now been blocked by RAND's joint report.
If they back down and dare not send out the joint fleet, it's a small matter of losing face; the real fear is that their political enemies will firmly label them as "weak, incompetent, and treacherous," thus ending their political careers.
So, the tax collectors are stuck in a dilemma: they can't go out, and they can't stay put.
Just when Tax Master Wan and his colleagues were at their wits' end, at a loss, and even somewhat desperate, a perfectly timed staircase leading down to their feet appeared silently at their feet, filling them with ecstatic joy.