Tech Giants: Starting from Bankrupt Companies

210: Chapter 210 Three New Swords Under the Iron Curtain of Military IndustryApril 22nd, 9:17 PM, Shenzhen.

In the top-floor office of the Spark Technology Building, only a single desk lamp was lit. Outside the window were the brilliant lights of the city, but inside, it was so quiet that one could hear the low hum of the air conditioner.

Su Chen sat at his desk, watching the flickering stock market data on his computer screen. Xinghuo Electronics closed at 135 yuan, with a market value of 2.7 trillion, firmly holding the top spot in the A-share electronics category.

But he knew that in the face of true power, these numbers were as fragile as paper.

Ten days ago, the American Department of Commerce announced a seven-year ban on ZTE, shaking the entire Chinese tech industry. Although Spark provided a technical transfusion to stabilize ZTE, everyone understood: this was only the beginning.

Who would be next? Huawei? Or another Chinese enterprise?

His phone vibrated, and a notification tone sounded.

It wasn’t an ordinary notification sound; it was a deep, metallic electronic tone—one that only rang when the system appeared.

Su Chen looked up.

In the office air, a pale blue holographic projection emerged automatically, like light seeping out of the void. After three years, he had grown accustomed to this display of technology that transcended current levels.

The system panel expanded, and a cold mechanical voice rang directly in his mind:

【Strategic confrontation escalation detected. Unlocking ’Asymmetric Counterattack’ technology library.】

【Exchange Options:】

Hypersonic Air Defense Missile System ’Golden Crow’

Benchmark: Russian S-500

Interception Target Speed: Mach 15 (Current world’s fastest interceptor is Mach 10)

Interception Altitude: 3-150 km (Covers low-orbit satellites)

Key Technology: Thermal Barrier Coating (Sustained endurance at 2000°C)

Exchange Price: 4 billion system funds

Super Intelligent Attack Aircraft ’night owl’

Features: Stealth, AI piloting, Swarm coordination

Endurance: 72 hours

Take-off Method: Rocket-boosted vertical take-off (No runway required)

Payload: 2 tons

Exchange Price: 3.5 billion system funds

’war mastiff’ Armed Robotic Dog

All-terrain adaptation: 45° slope climbing, 1.5m water wading

Load Capacity: 200 kg

Swarm Intelligence: Autonomous formation combat for 100 units

Weapon Modules: 12.7mm machine gun / Anti-tank missiles

Exchange Price: 2.5 billion system funds

【Total: 10 billion system funds. Exchange now?】

Su Chen stared at these options, his pupils slightly contracting.

This wasn’t ordinary weaponry; this was the silhouette of future warfare.

Hypersonic interceptor missiles could shoot down low-orbit satellites—this meant the satellite network of the ’tianting project’ now had self-defense capabilities.

Intelligent attack aircraft with 72-hour endurance and no need for runways—this meant they could be deployed anywhere to wage asymmetric warfare.

Armed robotic dogs fighting in swarms—this meant using low-cost equipment to exhaust the opponent’s heavy equipment.

The system also thoughtfully provided an explanation for ’Asymmetric’:

【Under the current strategic landscape, a full-scale arms race with America is unrealistic. It is recommended to adopt an ’Asymmetric Counterattack’ strategy: use technological generation gaps, cost advantages, and innovative tactics to attack the weak points of the opponent’s system.】

Su Chen was silent for three seconds.

”Exchange.”

【Exchange confirmed. 10 billion system funds have been deducted.】

【Technical data has been stored in the safe via ’legal channels’.】

【Supporting talent will arrive within 24 hours: three chief engineers, each responsible for one of the three projects.】

The safe in the corner of the office made a soft ’click’ and popped open automatically.

Su Chen walked over and saw three black encrypted hard drives lying inside. Each was palm-sized, with silver serial numbers printed on the surface: ’2023-001’, ’2023-002’, and ’2023-003’.

The ’Year 2023’ on the labels was the system’s usual style—packaging future technology as a legacy that was ’already successfully developed but not yet disclosed’.

He picked up the first hard drive; it was very light but felt sturdy. The interface was custom-made, requiring specialized reading equipment.

His phone rang.

It was Chen Feng, the Chief Engineer of Xingchen Military Industry.

”President Su, were you looking for me?” Chen Feng’s voice was steady.

”Old Chen, the day after tomorrow at 9 AM, Longyuan Laboratory. There’s something important,” Su Chen said. ”Bring the entire core team.”

”Understood. Do we need to prepare anything?”

”Prepare to... welcome a new era.”

April 24th, 8:50 AM, deep in the Gobi Desert of the Northwest.

This place was two hundred kilometers away from the Xian city area, surrounded by vast loess and sparse shrubs. From the surface, there were only a few unremarkable single-story houses, but underground—fifty meters deep—was one of the core R&D bases of Xingchen Military Industry: ’Longyuan’.

Chen Feng stood by the elevator entrance, followed by twelve core engineers. These people had an average age of 45 and were all elites from the military-industrial system; some were poached from the national teams, while others were re-hired after retirement.

The elevator doors opened, and Su Chen walked out, carrying a black briefcase in his hand.

”President Su.” Chen Feng saluted—it was a soldier’s habit.

”Engineer Chen, everyone, to the conference room.”

The conference room on the third basement floor had walls of reinforced concrete one meter thick, sandwiched with lead plates and copper mesh. It could shield any electromagnetic signal, ensuring absolute secrecy.

At the long conference table, Su Chen sat at the head, with Chen Feng in the first seat on the left.

”Everyone, I have three things to show you today.” Su Chen opened the briefcase and took out the three encrypted hard drives. ”This is technical data at the highest level of the Xingchen system. Secrecy level: Top Secret.”

He connected the specialized reading device and inserted the first hard drive.

The large screen lit up, and a red warning appeared first:

【Top Secret · Copying Prohibited · Destroy After Reading】

【Project Code: Golden Crow】

【Technical Source: National Defense Science and Technology Branch of Xingchen Academy of Sciences】

Chen Feng’s eyebrows shot up: When did R&D start? The Xingchen Academy of Sciences was only established two years ago.

But he didn’t ask—in the military-industrial field, you don’t ask what shouldn’t be asked.

The technical summary began to play:

’Golden Crow-1’ Hypersonic Air Defense Missile System

Design Objective: Intercept hypersonic flight vehicles below Mach 15 (including ballistic missiles, hypersonic cruise missiles, and low-orbit satellites)

Core Parameters:

Speed: Mach 15 (Maximum)

Interception Altitude: 3-150 km (Covers low Earth orbit)

Guidance Method: Active radar + infrared imaging + data link composite guidance

Warhead: Fragmentation (against aircraft/missiles) + kinetic impact (against satellites)

Technical Breakthrough Points:

Thermal Barrier Coating: Uses ’Xinghuo-9’ ceramic matrix composite material developed by Spark Materials, which can withstand 2000°C for 120 seconds. The world’s current most advanced coating withstands about 1600°C.

Orbit-shifting Engine: Miniature pulse detonation engine, capable of achieving 5G maneuvers within 0.1 seconds to intercept maneuvering targets.

Intelligent Warhead: Built-in AI chip, capable of identifying target types (aircraft/missile/satellite) and automatically selecting the optimal attack mode.

Video Demonstration: Simulated interception scenario.

A simulated ballistic missile is launched from 2000 kilometers away at a speed of Mach 10.

The ’Golden Crow-1’ is launched and hits the target at the edge of the atmosphere (100 km altitude) after 15 seconds.

Accuracy: CEP (Circular Error Probable) less than 1 meter.

The conference room was dead silent.

Chen Feng’s hands were trembling. He was a missile expert and knew what these data points meant.

The world’s current most advanced air defense missile system, America’s ’THAAD’, has an interception altitude of 40-150 km, a speed of about Mach 8, and a CEP of about 3 meters.

Russia’s S-500 claims to be able to intercept hypersonic targets, but its public data shows a speed of Mach 10 and a CEP of about 2 meters.

The parameters of the ’Golden Crow-1’ surpassed them across the board.

”President Su...” Chen Feng’s voice was dry, ”Has this data... been verified?”

”Ground tests have all passed,” Su Chen said. ”We are waiting for live-fire tests. The hard drive contains complete test reports; you can review them.”