Homo Sapiens

2:00 PM.

After having lunch at the base, Li Qingye returned to the control room.

Base Commander Wu Gang was busy with the launch preparations.

Dr. Buer, meanwhile, began to explain the so-called ”Venus” to him:

”This projectile has the same external structure as the Hongsawaddy-1, but we’ve installed 12 submunitions inside.”

”Twelve?” Li Qingye raised an eyebrow.

”Yes, 12 Sharp Arrow Missiles,” Dr. Buer replied.

Li Qingye was, of course, familiar with the Sharp Arrow Missile. It was a short-range missile developed by the Hongsawaddy Development Group.

The Sharp Arrow Missile weighed 330 kilograms, with an 80-kilogram warhead. It used a solid-fuel rocket engine, reaching a speed of 670 meters per second and a maximum range of 100 kilometers.

On paper, its performance didn’t seem particularly impressive.

But if the 80-kilogram conventional warhead were replaced with a Firefly-type nuclear warhead, its maximum yield could reach 50,000 tons.

It was designed this way to be easily configured as a cluster missile, for use in conjunction with large ICBMs and the like.

Now, installed in a shell for the Longge Lang Giant Cannon, the Sharp Arrow Missiles could be deployed in the same clustered fashion.

A short while later, once the metallic hydrogen propellant was loaded into the explosion chamber, Wu Gang immediately gave the order to prepare for launch.

BOOM! The explosion chamber detonated violently.

BOOM! The shell tore through the air, creating a powerful sonic boom.

The projectile shot toward the sky.

In an instant, the various satellites and radar stations already keeping a close watch on Hongsawaddy detected a distinct, fleeting signal.

Thanks to its extremely high initial velocity, the projectile crossed the Carmen line after 34 seconds, entering low-Earth orbit.

Suddenly, the projectile’s rocket engine ignited. But instead of ascending to a higher orbit like the last time, it began to rapidly circle the Earth at an altitude of 120 to 130 kilometers in low-Earth orbit.

During its flight, it also executed several rapid orbital maneuvers.

Following this winding trajectory, the ”satellite” Venus circled the Earth once and returned to the skies over the Ceylon Ocean, near Hongsawaddy.

At that moment, the ”satellite” Venus suddenly plunged into the atmosphere. Its rocket engine pushed to its absolute limit, causing its speed to skyrocket from Mach 3.5 to Mach 17.

After breaking through the upper stratosphere,

the Venus projectile instantly broke apart, separating into 12 large ”fragments.” Spewing flames, these fragments rapidly altered their trajectories, hurtling toward the sea surface with the inertial velocity of Mach 17.

Just then, 12 dilapidated fishing boats ”happened” to be in the surrounding waters.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!...

A series of impacts, like meteors striking down, smashed into the fishing boats with uncanny ”accidental” precision. In an instant, the boats were blown to smithereens, sending plumes of water soaring hundreds of meters into the air.

Inside the Gold Mining Town base.

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!

Li Qingye applauded everyone’s efforts. ”Beautifully done. This is the kind of power that guarantees we can rest easy.”

”To receive your recognition, Mr. Chairman, is our honor,” Dr. Buer said, equally overjoyed.

”You can issue the announcement now,” Li Qingye prompted.

Wu Gang smiled and nodded. ”Yes, sir.”

Shortly after, the Hongsawaddy-1 satellite, orbiting in low-Earth orbit, once again activated its open broadcast, transmitting electromagnetic signals toward Earth.

The content of the announcement, naturally, was a very sincere apology, stating that the Venus satellite launch had suffered a technical malfunction, causing it to fall into the Ceylon Ocean.

「The Pentagon.」

Inside the headquarters office of the National Reconnaissance Office.

SLAM! With a grim expression, Robert slapped the translated document in his hand onto the desk. ”Fuck! Fuck! This is a fucking demonstration of force aimed at us!”

[Hongsawaddy Development Group Emergency Announcement: Due to technical reasons, the launch of the Venus satellite has failed. After circling the Earth once, the satellite disintegrated and fell in the northeastern waters of the Ceylon Ocean, resulting in the destruction of 12 fishing boats belonging to the United Group...]

[We are deeply sorry for this incident. Fortunately, there were no crew members on board these fishing boats, and the United Group has already received corresponding compensation...]

Robert had been watching the radar and satellite monitoring data the entire time. The ”fragments” that separated when Venus broke up were clearly missiles.

He had even seen satellite photos showing the fishing boats being hit with precision by the missiles while on the move.

This was terrifying.

Normally, it was extremely difficult for an ICBM to achieve such high precision. Even if Hongsawaddy had preset the target area, this level of accuracy was still frightening.

What worried Robert even more was the missile’s speed.

During the atmospheric re-entry phase, it maintained a speed of Mach 13 to 17. That was simply too fast. Combined with its precision guidance and flight control technology, he realized that current missile defense systems were basically incapable of intercepting it.

The only way was to destroy its launch base before it could fire.

Robert glanced at the Gold Mining Town aerospace base on the satellite map, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes. He was already contemplating its destruction.

However, he was still mentally assessing the overall threat level posed by Hongsawaddy.

Striking Gold Mining Town now would mean a complete breakdown of relations with Hongsawaddy, and a decision like that was not his to make.

Nevertheless, Robert quickly wrote an analysis report, listing the threats from Hongsawaddy and concluding with a recommendation that the Pentagon develop a comprehensive surgical strike plan to choke Hongsawaddy out of existence.

「Tianzhu.」

「Delhi.」

Dharma, left battered and exhausted by the Assam War, also took a moment to learn about the satellite Hongsawaddy had launched.

The head of the intelligence department, Jia Mu, wore a worried expression. ”According to our aerospace engineers’ analysis, this is a satellite launched by a giant cannon, which can also be used to launch missiles.”

”A giant cannon?” Dharma frowned.

Jia Mu knew what Dharma was thinking. With a grave expression, he added, ”It’s just as you suspect. I believe the giant cannons in Assam are connected to Hongsawaddy.”

”Hongsawaddy?” Dharma’s eyes flickered with suspicion and uncertainty as he thought. Suddenly, he looked at Ceylon on the map. ’Hongsawaddy... Qingye Group... Ceylon... Could it really be them pulling the strings behind all this?’

Although Dharma had his suspicions, he felt utterly powerless at that moment.

As long as the situation in Assam was not stabilized, Tianzhu’s hands were tied. Compounded by the heavy losses their air force had suffered, he had no confidence in starting a war with Hongsawaddy.

Dharma was not like those inexplicably overconfident Tianzhu netizens. While many looked down on Hongsawaddy’s overall strength, he was extremely wary of it.

Going to war with Hongsawaddy now would also mean fighting Ceylon and the Luzon escort fleet stationed there. Siam might even get involved.

And now, Xiba was also stirring restlessly.

It was a situation where a single move could affect everything.

Dharma couldn’t afford the gamble, nor did he dare to take it.

This crisis was different from previous ones. If he mishandled it this time, Tianzhu could find itself besieged from all sides.

The satellite Hongsawaddy had just launched—and the missile test conducted under the guise of launching it—was a clear testament to the fact that Hongsawaddy’s military power could not be underestimated.

Dharma sighed to himself. He could only file this matter away in his mind and look for an opportunity to settle the score with Hongsawaddy later.

「Meanwhile.」

The other major powers, and even the regional hegemons, were also secretly assessing the aerospace technology of the Hongsawaddy Development Group and the threat posed by their method of launching satellites with a giant cannon.