Deep within the Jiuquan base lies a top-secret hangar codenamed "Suirenshi".
The heavy alloy door slid open slowly, and a rush of cold air, carrying the smell of engine oil and metal, wafted out.
The powerful lights on the top of the hangar were turned on one by one, like a spotlight on a stage, focusing on the silent steel structure in the center.
The streamlined fuselage is covered with a cold, dark blue coating, as if it has drawn on the chill of the deep sea.
The most eye-catching feature is the pair of sharp, triangular wings with slightly upturned wingtips, exuding an aggressive geometric beauty.
Along the leading edge of the wing, the smooth spine on the fuselage, and all the way to the tail nozzle, dark golden energy circuits, like living blood vessels, are deeply embedded in the metal, flowing with a restrained yet powerful sense of strength under the light.
"Starflame," prototype number zero. It lay dormant, not yet activated, but the oppressive aura emanating from its futuristic technology made everyone standing in the observation corridor hold their breath.
Mingzhao stood at the very front, still wearing that faded old shirt, his slender figure forming a strange contrast with this national treasure.
Her gaze swept calmly over every detail of the fighter jet, as if she were examining a precision instrument.
Zhang Mingyuan stood beside her, his eyes burning with passion.
Beside him were the head of the Jiuquan base, several core military experts, and military representatives responsible for this verification test launch. Everyone was on edge, their palms slightly sweaty.
This is the ultimate verification of the "Starflame" main weapon system and a silent declaration of national dignity.
"Report: 'Starflame' ground energy core fully charged! 'Kuafu' guiding array preheating complete! Target area: Taklamakan Desert, coordinates locked! Requesting instructions!"
The control tower's suppressed excitement came through the communicator.
Zhang Mingyuan took a deep breath and looked at Mingzhao. Mingzhao nodded almost imperceptibly.
"Execute it." Zhang Mingyuan's voice was firm and resolute.
---
Buzz—!
A deep, steady hum of energy filled the hangar.
The dark gold patterns on the wings and spine suddenly lit up!
It was no longer a restrained halo, but a blazing light flowing like lava!
A massive amount of energy was pumped from the core deep underground and surged wildly along a specially designed superconducting wire into a retractable diamond-shaped cannon beneath the belly of the "Starflame" machine.
The cannon muzzle slowly emerged, aimed at the huge launch channel reserved in the hangar roof, beyond which stretched the cloudless Gobi Desert sky.
Inside the cannon's muzzle, dark golden energy was highly compressed and swirling, forming a terrifying sphere of light that radiated an intense heat!
The reinforced glass windows of the observation corridor emitted a faint buzzing sound due to the high-frequency vibrations of energy.
Everyone felt an invisible pressure bearing down on them, making it difficult to even breathe.
"Energy peak stable! Reached 120% of theoretical output! Locked securely!"
The voice from the control tower trembled with disbelief.
"emission."
Mingzhao's voice remained clear and cold, piercing through the roar of energy.
The next second!
A golden spear of light, condensed to its extreme and seemingly tearing apart space, roared out from the muzzle of "Starflame"!
There was no deafening roar, only a sharp, soul-piercing howl that tore through space!
The light spear pierced through the hangar's ceiling passageway in an instant, shooting straight into the sky!
Wherever it passes, the air is ionized, leaving behind a brief, distorted vacuum trail!
Its speed exceeded the limits of what the naked eye could perceive, like a divine sword of punishment, traversing hundreds of kilometers and crashing straight into the heart of the Taklamakan Desert!
---
In the virtual venue of the global summit, a carefully edited and uniquely angled "live footage" is playing on a huge circular screen.
In the scene, three thick golden beams of light descend from the sky and strike the Taklamakan Desert, stirring up a huge mushroom cloud of sand and dust.
Immediately afterwards, the scene quickly switched to the sky above the Jiuquan base in China, where a blurry, distorted beam of light flashed by.
The U.S. representative, Mike Howard, dressed in a suit and tie, stood at the podium with a professional, yet pitying, sneer on his face. Behind him, a huge virtual screen was fixed on the three exaggerated mushroom clouds of sand.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Mike's voice, delivered through simultaneous interpretation, resounded throughout the hall, filled with a theatrical expression of heartbreak.
"This is the dangerous signal we just received from China, the so-called 'peaceful rise'! An unprecedented and extremely destructive energy weapon test!"
He suddenly waved his hand, pointing to the deliberately distorted image behind him:
"Look at this power! Look at this audacity! At a critical moment when the United Nations is calling for the peaceful use of outer space technology and a joint response to the stardust crisis, China is secretly developing this strategic weapon that could threaten the entire world! This seriously undermines the strategic balance and poses a huge threat to the cause of peace for all mankind!"
He paused, his gaze sweeping across the various expressions of the representatives in the room, then his voice suddenly rose, carrying a strong accusation:
"As for that so-called 'Starflame' prototype they mentioned? And that... well, 'magical' beam of light just now?"
Mike's face broke into an exaggerated smile, a mixture of mockery and contempt.
"Special effects! Clumsy Hollywood-style special effects!"
He announced it loudly, as if stating an unquestionable truth.
"Using a phenomenon of residual stardust energy that we don't yet fully understand, coupled with meticulously designed stage lighting and post-production, this is a deceptive propaganda campaign! Its purpose is nothing more than to bluff and cover up its enormous backwardness and incompetence in conventional military technology fields, especially in the crucial stealth and long-range strike technologies that determine the outcome of modern air combat!"
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