59: Chapter 59 The Prism Tower's Debut

"It should be a stealth aircraft. Wang Yun, transfer the telescope data over."

Chu Ge hurriedly sat in front of a computer, his hands crackling as he began to input commands.

"Yes! Academician Chu!"

The two coordinated perfectly, both typing rapidly on their keyboards as lines of program commands were entered.

"So-called stealth aircraft aren't actually undetectable by our radar. It's just that current radars scan small targets, and after judging them safe, the system automatically overwrites the data."

"After being specially treated with stealth coating, a stealth aircraft's radar reflection might be as small as a sparrow. Although current meter-wave radars can detect faint stealth fighter signals, those radars are too easily jammed and have extremely poor precision! Even if detected, effective interception is difficult."

Chu Ge explained to the people around him while operating the computer.

"Judging by its size, this intruding aircraft is a drone. I don't recall the Americans having any unmanned stealth reconnaissance drones."

"Could it be something they newly developed?"

Commander Wan hurriedly replied.

"It's possible."

Chu Ge hit the Enter key one last time and stood up. Everyone looked up to see a screen on the wall had been switched to the real-time monitoring feed from the telescope.

"It's about to enter China's borders. Commander Meng, should we...?"

Commander Wan, standing beside him, grew anxious.

Commander Meng simply smiled and waved his hand, then stared at the screen without saying a word, as if he were just waiting for it to enter the airspace.

...

In a small room aboard the destroyer USS Mustin, a temporary stealth drone control platform had been set up.

Captain George Wells stared intently at the screen.

"Captain, we are about to enter China's borders."

The drone pilot, gripping the control stick, said in a low voice.

"Good. According to the plan, circle around first, then head straight for that mysterious building. Maneuver carefully!"

"Yes, sir!"

At that moment, at an altitude of about 12,500 meters, an unmarked drone was cruising at high speed along the coastline. The next second, the stealth drone made a sharp turn, crossed the coastline, and flew straight toward Q City.

"It's in! It's in!"

Commander Wan said while staring at the screen. At this moment, everyone in the command center was staring at that screen. No one spoke; they were all waiting for Commander Meng's decision.

"Little Chu, you are the chief engineer of the Prism Tower and hold the rank of Colonel—oh, soon to be the same as Old Wan, haha. Right now, you are the supreme commander of this base, so you should be the one in command. Don't ask me; I'm from the Navy, and the state hasn't authorized me to oversee the Prism Tower Base. So..."

Commander Meng made a gesture of invitation. Beside him, Commander Wan started to say something but stopped, looking at Commander Meng with some confusion.

Chu Ge didn't answer immediately. He looked at Commander Meng, and after confirming that he wasn't joking, he looked back at the stealth drone's flight path on the screen and pondered for a moment.

"Fine. Since Commander Meng says so, I won't stand on ceremony!"

"All combat personnel in the Q City Prism Tower Base command center, you are now under my command!"

"Yes, sir!"

The officers and soldiers answered in unison, looking at Chu Ge with firm gazes, their hands placed on the control consoles, ready to input commands at any second.

"Good! Activate the Prism Towers according to procedure. Activate!"

The 12 Prism Towers were usually in a dormant state, coordinated by the telescope's main control center. If an enemy threat was detected, the telescope would wake up the Prism Towers at the appropriate locations one by one based on the number of targets and their attack paths.

"Report! Controllable Nuclear Fusion power input is normal!"

"Report! energy shield is functioning normally!"

"Report! Signal import and tracking are normal!"

"Good!"

"Wang Yun, immediately calculate the most suitable area for the Q City Prism Towers to attack. Simulate the drone's crash trajectory to minimize the risk of secondary damage as much as possible; we cannot harm the civilians below."

"Yes, Colonel Chu!"

Wang Yun gave Chu Ge a deep look and then saluted solemnly. Her figure disappeared from the screen; she must have leaned down to operate the computer.

Commander Wan, behind Chu Ge, looked at Meng Shichang, only to see him smiling and shaking his head, placing a finger to his lips and waving it gently.

Seeing this, Commander Wan seemed to understand something. He smiled slightly and began to focus on the screen on the wall.

In an instant,

"Colonel Chu, the computer simulation data has been transmitted."

Wang Yun returned to everyone's view.

"Good. Authorize the Q City Prism Tower Base for free fire!"

"Yes, authorizing the Q City Prism Tower Base for free fire! Report: Authorization complete!"

"Good."

Chu Ge stared at the large screen. The stealth drone was still circling, but he wasn't in a hurry. He was waiting. Q City was densely populated, and the supercomputer's results showed that only the area around the base was a safe shoot-down location, automatically marking a red zone. Once the drone entered this area and the command was given, the Prism Tower would strike immediately.

"Commander Meng, do you think that stealth drone will enter that red zone?"

The base's Commander Wan said worriedly while looking at the drone on the large screen.

"I trust Little Chu's judgment!!!"

Commander Meng replied without a second thought.

A few minutes later, the stealth drone that had been wandering on the periphery suddenly turned toward the base and flew straight toward it, its heading no longer changing.

Everyone stared tensely at the aircraft's trajectory on the large screen. In the hall, there was no sound other than the faint noise of the machinery running.

To say Chu Ge wasn't nervous would be a lie. His eyes were fixed on the aircraft, and his heart pounded faster and faster. As the plane drew closer, Chu Ge's hand slowly moved up, hovering over the bright red launch button.

Finally, the stealth drone on the screen plunged into the pre-marked red zone, and Chu Ge decisively pressed the launch button.

Looking again, the light circle on the screen had vanished. In that instant, no one had actually felt anything happen.

Although the Prism Tower didn't have the soul-shaking roar of cannons or missiles, it possessed an extra layer of mystery—a sense of invisible lethality that gave everyone goosebumps.

A dozen seconds later, the faint sound of an explosion echoed from around the base.

Chu Ge stood up, his hands covered in sweat. He let out a deep breath; his heart had been in his throat the whole time, and if he hadn't exhaled, he felt he might have suffocated.

Commander Meng looked at Chu Ge with burning eyes, patted his shoulder, and spoke with a voice as resonant as a bell.

"Colonel Chu, truly a hero emerges from the youth. You are steady, calm, and decisive. It's a real pity you aren't leading troops."

"How about I talk to the top leadership later? Why don't you just join our Navy, haha."

"Ah? I can't make that decision. You'd better ask Academician Chen from our Research Institute first, haha."

"Haha."

Everyone laughed heartily.

"Alright, Little Chu, Old Wan, let's go. Let's head out and see the results of our Prism Tower's debut."

Commander Meng didn't continue joking, even though he meant what he said.

"Yes, sir!"

Far away in Yanjing, Academician Chen was reviewing materials when he suddenly sneezed. He adjusted his slightly crooked glasses and muttered to himself.

"Did Little Chu leave the Research Institute today? Why do I feel so uneasy? Sigh, I'm getting old; my memory is really starting to fail me."