139: Chapter 139 Dragon Flame Selection

However, this internal friction must stop now.

Bang!

A loud crash echoed.

Su Mingyuan's palm slammed heavily onto the conference table. The table shook, and water splashed out of the cups.

The entire meeting room instantly fell silent.

Everyone turned their heads to look at the podium.

"Everyone, have you argued enough?"

Su Mingyuan's voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear and powerful.

"I know everyone wants to lead this project."

Su Mingyuan glanced across the room.

"Because you are all top experts in your respective Domains, and you all have sufficient qualifications and capabilities."

"However—"

His tone changed.

"We don't have time for internal friction."

"We only have seven days to build the mecha."

The meeting room remained quiet.

"Therefore, I will not hand the project over to any single unit to lead."

Su Mingyuan walked over to the whiteboard and picked up a marker.

"The Savior mecha will be split into 76 independent modules."

He began writing on the whiteboard, his pen tip moving rapidly.

"The body frame, 12 modules, assigned to Shen Fei, CSSC, and China First Heavy Industries."

"The weapon System, 8 modules, CASIC, Norinco, and the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences."

"The control System, 15 modules, Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tsinghua, Beihang, and Harbin Institute of Technology."

"The power System, 9 modules, led by Academician Zhou's team, in collaboration with various major mechanical research institutes."

"The energy System, 6 modules..."

"Materials processing, 14 modules..."

"System integration, 12 modules..."

The whiteboard was densely covered with writing.

76 modules, 200 units, 100,000 senior engineers, and nearly one million industrial workers.

Each module had clear technical specifications, timelines, and docking interfaces.

"All units will operate in parallel, and data will be shared in real time."

Su Mingyuan turned around and scanned all the experts present.

"No one gets to be the boss, because everyone is the boss."

"No one is allowed to slack off, because if a single link goes wrong, the whole project is finished."

He wrote the last line of words on the whiteboard:

"Time: Seven days."

The conference room was pin-drop silent.

"Everyone, do you have any other objections?"

Su Mingyuan asked.

No one spoke.

"Very good."

"Meeting adjourned. Each unit will return immediately and begin preparations."

The experts left one after another.

When walking out of the conference room, Shen Yang and Wang Haifeng exchanged a glance.

Both of them smiled.

"Old Wang, are you convinced this time?"

"Convinced my foot! Just wait and see, CASIC's progress will definitely be faster than yours."

"Then let's wait and see."

The two old men who had been arguing fiercely just moments ago walked away with their arms around each other's shoulders.

The next day, 6:00 AM.

Tianmen Base training ground.

The sky was just beginning to brighten, and a pale white streak appeared on the eastern skyline.

3000 Longyan Warriors lined up neatly on the drill ground.

No one knew why there was an emergency assembly.

There was whispering among the ranks.

"Why assemble so early?"

"I don't know. The notice came suddenly last night."

"Could it be to execute some mission?"

"It's possible. Look over there, Group Leader Su is here."

Su Mingyuan and Tao Zhe walked up to the high platform.

The large screen behind them suddenly lit up.

A huge humanoid silhouette appeared on the screen, then gradually became clear—

Silver-gray armor, streamlined appearance, dual-barreled cannons on the back, and weapons hanging all over the shoulders and waist.

44 meters tall, like a small mountain.

The whole audience gasped.

"F*ck..."

"What is this thing?"

"A mecha? For real?"

The whispering grew louder.

Su Mingyuan picked up the microphone.

The voice spread across the entire drill ground through the loudspeaker.

"Everyone, what you are seeing is the first true tactical mecha in human history."

The audience fell silent.

3000 pairs of eyes stared at the giant on the screen.

"In a few days, it will be born."

Su Mingyuan paused for a moment.

"And today, we are going to select the first batch of pilots."

The drill ground instantly exploded with noise.

"Pilots?"

"We're going to pilot a mecha?"

"Can this thing really be built?"

"Quiet!"

Tao Zhe's voice rang out.

The drill ground quieted down again.

Su Mingyuan continued, "There are two selection criteria."

"First, neural reaction speed must be within 0.15 seconds."

"Second, overload tolerance must withstand an acceleration of 8G or more."

He scanned the audience.

"Both of these are indispensable."

Tao Zhe stepped forward and added, "This selection doesn't look at military rank or seniority, only ability."

"Only the strongest people can pilot the mecha."

The warriors' eyes lit up.

Seeing the excited expressions of everyone present, Su Mingyuan took a deep breath.

"Now, those willing to participate in the selection—"

"Take one step forward!"

"Swish—"

The sound of uniform footsteps.

3000 people, not a single one missing, all took a step forward.

No hesitation.

No backing down.

Su Mingyuan looked at the scene before him, his eyes feeling a bit warm.

"Good."

His voice choked up a bit, but he quickly returned to calm.

"Testing, begin!"

Testing area.

A row of silver-white test pods were neatly arranged.

"Number 1, enter the pod!"

The first warrior walked into the test pod. The pod door closed, and the screen lit up.

Directly in front were four colored buttons—red, blue, green, and yellow.

"Test rules," Tao Zhe's voice came through the earphones. "The screen will randomly flash signal lights, immediately press the corresponding button. 100 consecutive times, standard line 0.15 seconds."

"Understood!"

"Begin!"

The signal lights flashed faster and faster, the warrior's fingers moved rapidly, and sweat dripped down his cheeks.

100 tests completed.

"Score: 0.18 seconds. Unqualified, eliminated."

The warrior walked out of the test pod with his head lowered.

"Number 2, enter the pod!"

"0.21 seconds. Eliminated."

"Number 3!"

"0.19 seconds. Eliminated."

Dozens of people in a row were all eliminated, and the atmosphere on the drill ground grew increasingly tense.

"The standard is this high?"

"0.15 seconds, who can achieve that?"

"Quiet!" Tao Zhe glanced over. "If you're scared, it's still not too late to quit now."

No one spoke, but no one quit either.

"Number 17, Zhang Dabiao, enter the pod!"

Zhang Dabiao strode into the test pod, put on the helmet, and took a deep breath.

"Begin."

Red. Pressed instantly.

Blue. Green. Yellow.

The signal lights got faster and faster, and his hands got faster and faster too. His movements were completely invisible, leaving only afterimages.

100 times, completed.

Tao Zhe looked at the data, was stunned for a moment, and then smiled.

"Score: 0.12 seconds. Currently first!"

The drill ground erupted into cheers.

"Dabiao is awesome!"

Testing continued.

"Number 23, 0.14 seconds. Passed!"

"Number 41, 0.13 seconds. Passed!"

Two hours later, the first test ended.

Out of 3,000 people, 97 passed.

Centrifuge test area.

A huge centrifuge stood in the open space, 20 meters in diameter and 5 meters high.

97 warriors stood in front of it, looking up at this behemoth.

"This is high-G training equipment," Tao Zhe patted the centrifuge. "The rules are very simple. Starting from 6G, increase by 0.5G every 30 seconds. Persisting to 8G or above counts as passing."

He paused for a moment.

"But I remind you, exceeding human limits can cause fainting, cerebral hemorrhage, and even death. Act within your capabilities."

Although the words were spoken, no one quit.

"Number 1, enter the pod!"

The first warrior lay on the seat and fastened his seatbelt. The pod door closed, and the centrifuge rotated.

The monitoring screen displayed his status.

6G, the face began to deform.

7G, difficulty breathing.

7.5G, fingers trembling.

8G, lasted for 10 seconds, pressed the red button.

"Barely passed."

"Number 2!"

"Gave up at 7.5G. Eliminated."

Testing continued. Some lasted 15 seconds at 8G, some gave up at 7.8G, and others directly fainted at 8.5G and were rushed for emergency treatment.

"Number 17, Zhang Dabiao!"

Zhang Dabiao walked into the cabin, lay down, and fastened his seatbelt.

"Begin."

6G, calm expression.

7G, facial distortion, clear eyes.

8G, teeth clenched tightly.

9G, blood seeping from the corners of his eyes.

9.5G, fingers tightly gripping the armrests, knuckles turning white.

10.5G.

In the monitoring room, the doctor shouted, "That's enough! If you don't stop now, something bad will happen!"

15 seconds later, Zhang Dabiao pressed the button.

The doctor rushed forward to check: "Are you crazy?! 10.5G!"

Zhang Dabiao lay on the seat, grinning: "I just wanted to... see my own limit..."

The voice was weak, but his eyes were very bright.

"Score: 10.5G, lasted 15 seconds."

Tao Zhe recorded it, "You kid, you really don't want your life."

"Not wanting my life for the country, I'm happy to do it."