23: Chapter 23 The Soul Blade's Opponent

In April, spring returns to the land.

Construction has begun on the "Super Telescope" bunker complex for the sensing system.

The site was chosen not far from a military base in Yanjing; as a key area for the capital, it was already heavily guarded!

This way, the dispersal of protective forces was avoided, which the military considered very practical.

On the other hand, it also showed the military's emphasis on the "eyes" of the Prism Tower.

After completing the Soul Blade mecha warrior mission, Chu Ge turned his attention to arranging the assembly of the Neutrino Detectors.

Chu Ge had already tinkered out the first finished product of its core High-energy Accelerator before the new year.

The rest was simple; Chu Ge acted as a supervisor, arranging for the engineers to assemble it according to the blueprints.

It was just that the data had to be precise to the smallest detail.

There was no other way; the military was in a hurry, construction on the bunkers had already started, and the reserved dimensions for the detectors at the very bottom were fixed.

If it was built too large later, it would be a major hassle if it couldn't fit and required rework.

As for the follow-up after the installation of the Neutrino Detectors, including the networking with the Prism Tower, Chu Ge simply didn't bother with it.

He was stretched thin; Academician Chen wished he could split him into eight pieces to directly synthesize the Interstellar Fleet and go build greenhouses across the Milky Way.

...

That day, Chu Ge was bent over testing data.

Academician Chen rushed over, shouting his name from afar.

"Chu Ge, Academician Chu, Major Chu?"

"I say, Academician Chen, you can just call me Xiao Chu from now on. People who don't know might think you're calling for three different people."

"Haha, Xiao Chu, I've never seen anyone grumble about having too many honors. You're the first."

"Haha, what's the matter, Academician Chen?"

"The Northwest Experimental Base is ready; we can prepare for the experiment!"

"Good."

"How do you plan to get the Soul Blade over there?"

"Just fly it there!"

"No, such a precious thing is still in the testing phase. You want to fly it directly? What if something goes wrong?"

"What could go wrong? The key is that it's over 50 meters tall and weighs more than 1,000 tons. Even if you disassemble it for land transport, it would take a whole convoy to haul! Air transport would be even more exaggerated."

"A convoy it is then! I'd rather spend more money than let anything happen to the Soul Blade."

"Alright, you arrange it!"

Chu Ge surrendered!

A day later, after giving a series of instructions, Chu Ge followed Academician Chen and the others as they set off with the convoy.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe the convoy's scale as luxurious.

More than 20 military and police vehicles cleared the way in front, over 10 transport vehicles were in the middle of the convoy, and more than a dozen military trucks with guards carrying live ammunition brought up the rear.

Armed helicopters bristling with weapons roared overhead.

All civilian vehicles along the route were cleared; on both sides of the streets, Yanjing's citizens were packed, stopping to watch.

"Whoa, is this going to be an exercise?"

"Probably. Look, even the WZK-20 attack helicopters are out!"

"It doesn't look like an exercise; it's more like they're escorting some important equipment. Look at those heavy trucks in the middle."

"Yeah, I think so too, but we can't see anything at all!"

"Nonsense, have you ever seen any country parade its new equipment through the streets as soon as it comes out?"

...

In the convoy, the disassembled Soul Blade was covered with camouflage canvas, so indeed, nothing could be seen.

"Academician Chen, why do I feel like the Soul Blade is your godson?"

"Crap, even a biological son wouldn't get this treatment! This is a national investment of hundreds of billions! What kind of son is worth that much?"

"Alright, even a golden son isn't worth this much!"

"It's just, Xiao Chu, I don't know if I should say this?"

Academician Chen suddenly looked at Chu Ge seriously and spoke hesitantly.

"Go ahead."

"It's just, the funds for building the Soul Blade—wouldn't it be better to build another set of Prism Towers?"

"No. One is for defense, the other is for offense; there's no comparison."

Chu Ge was resolute.

"Alright, maybe I'm getting old, and my vision really isn't as long-term as you young people's!"

...

Yanjing is nearly 2,000 kilometers from the Northwest Experimental Base. The convoy sped all the way and actually arrived in less than 18 hours.

Before leaving, Academician Chen had given the order: no stopping midway, eating, drinking, and everything else had to be done on the vehicles.

This forced everyone to empty their bodies in advance, as no one wanted to handle personal business on the vehicles.

So as soon as they reached the base, the more than 200 people in the entire convoy all rushed toward the toilets.

The base's garrison personnel were all left dumbfounded...

The Soul Blade was unloaded and assembled by Chu Ge's research team.

Chu Ge, Academician Chen, and the others walked straight to the command hall.

"Xiao Chu, can we test it today?"

"It's unlikely today. The time is too tight, and reassembling the Soul Blade takes time."

"And after assembly is complete, Li Gang and the others need to perform inspections. After all, it's manual assembly, so mistakes are inevitable. It's safer to check it once."

"Mhm, that definitely needs to be done carefully!"

"Academician Chen, you've finally arrived. Oh, this must be Chu Ge, Academician Chu, right?"

A burly man with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a military uniform walked over with large strides.

"Wang Yi, Division Commander Wang, you guys actually arrived faster than us."

"Haha, of course. Who else but us, the Fist Division!"

"Come, Chu Ge, this is Wang Yi, the commander of the 115th Heavy Armored Division of Group Army A, with the rank of Major General!"

Academician Chen gave a grand introduction to Chu Ge.

"Division Commander Wang, this is the youngest Academician of our Ordnance Research Institute, Chu Ge, with the rank of Major!"

"Salute!"

Chu Ge faced Division Commander Wang and gave a standard military salute.

"Salute!"

After returning the salute, Division Commander Wang began to scrutinize Chu Ge, only looking away once Chu Ge started to feel embarrassed.

"Xiao Chu, you'd look even more handsome in a military uniform. Want to try it on?"

"I..."

"You what..."

Academician Chen interrupted irritably, turning to glare at Wang Yi. Division Commander Wang looked up at the lights and started to laugh it off.

"Is that light not very bright? Haha..."

Chu Ge and Academician Chen looked at each other and smiled.

Wang Yi had brought his team this time to act as the "imaginary enemy," which was also his old specialty.

Many of the crack units with the toughest styles and the best equipment in the military regions were often used as "imaginary enemy" units.

During exercises, they were usually marked as the Blue Army, and then various divisions and brigades would take turns acting as the Red Force.

The Blue Army is as solid as iron, while the Red Force flows like water.

Red versus Blue, the truth is seen on the battlefield. It is said that the Blue Army has always lost less and won more.

This kind of confrontation can be used to temper both sides' units, explore campaign tactics, and test new training outlines. It can also verify the reliability and deficiencies of equipment.

This was exactly the job of Wang Yi's 115th Heavy Armored Division.

Their visit to the experimental base this time was by order of the China General Armaments Department to test the capabilities of the Soul Blade.

Division Commander Wang didn't hold back, bringing over more than half of the division's personnel and equipment.

A heavy armored regiment of 4,500 men, equipped with 180 of the latest 11A2 main battle tanks, 27 40-round 122mm modular rocket launchers, and 27 sets of CSA-113 gun-missile combined air defense systems.

A heavy artillery regiment of 3,000 men, equipped with 18 8-round 370mm heavy rocket launchers, 12 6-round regional tactical surface-to-surface missiles, and 81 155mm/LP78 self-propelled howitzers.

An aviation regiment of 3,000 men, 36 WZK-20 heavy attack helicopters, several general-purpose helicopters, and a Special Operations Brigade.

Plus various other support units...

At this moment, they were lurking somewhere within 100 kilometers of the experimental base, quietly waiting for the "prey" to appear.