Chapter 362 Building fire trucks with tanks? Threatening the Dragon King to make it rain?!

The office was deathly quiet.

Assistant Zhang sat frozen in his chair, his eyes fixed on the lines of absurd parameters on the screen, feeling as though his brain had completely stopped functioning.

The two conclusions echoing wildly in his mind seemed to have drained every ounce of strength from his body.

He knew that given his leader Liu Jianguo's status and position, it was absolutely impossible for him to be joking about such a project.

He also knew that this Factory Director Li, whom the leader held in such high regard, was the key figure in solving the 'stranglehold' problem of Eastern Country's high-end firefighting equipment.

But...

But even if he racked his brain, he couldn't understand what developing domestic firefighting equipment had to do with the chassis of a main battle tank.

What kind of firefighting equipment needs a main battle tank?

'Could it be... I misunderstood?'

'Firefighting... Firefighting...' The thought floated through his mind.

Assistant Zhang's mind raced, trying to find a logical explanation from the various meanings of those two words.

'Eliminating... preventing... fires?'

'Or is "Firefighting" some kind of code name for an operation?'

'For example... an abbreviation for "eliminating and defending against a certain firepower threat"?'

As soon as this thought emerged, he immediately snuffed it out.

No!

The Minister had said clearly over the phone that this was for rescue operations in extremely harsh environments—it was a livelihood project.

Then where exactly was the problem?

Assistant Zhang felt a throbbing pain in his temples.

He reached out a slightly trembling hand and rubbed his brow hard, trying to clear his chaotic thoughts.

But the more he thought about it, the more he felt the whole thing was utterly ridiculous.

It was as if a valve for complaining had opened in his heart, and countless absurd thoughts came rushing out like a flood.

'Build a fire truck? Using a tank chassis? What kind of logic is that?'

'How is this Factory Director Li's brain wired? Does he think all vehicles in the world are tracked?'

'Or perhaps the fire truck he designed has a built-in transformation function? Usually, it's a fire truck, but if it encounters bad road conditions at a fire scene, it goes "clink-clank-clink" and transforms directly into a tank to charge in?'

The corners of Assistant Zhang's mouth twitched uncontrollably.

He felt that if he kept thinking about it, he might have a mental breakdown.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and forced himself to calm down, starting his deduction from the most basic logic.

Fire trucks are used to put out fires.

Putting out fires requires water.

Tanks are used for fighting wars.

Fighting wars requires shells.

The only thing these two might have in common is... they both have a long tube?

One sprays water, and the other sprays shells.

Could it be...

Suddenly, a scene that even he found incredibly outrageous flashed through Assistant Zhang's mind.

'Could it be that they drive to the fire scene and find the hydrant has no water, or the hoses aren't long enough?'

'Then, the firefighters crawl out of the tank, face that big hundred-plus millimeter caliber tube, and shout:'

'"Fire!"'

With a 'boom,' a shell is fired, not to destroy the burning building, but...'

At this moment, Assistant Zhang's imagination broke through the stratosphere.

'But to aim that big tube directly at the clouds in the sky and fire a shot, threatening the Dragon King to hurry up and make it rain?!'

The moment this thought took shape, Assistant Zhang felt his world spinning.

He felt this was simply too preposterous.

This was no longer a question of whether it was scientific or not.

He even began to suspect if this Factory Director Li had escaped from some mental asylum.

However...

While his heart was screaming in protest...

Minister Liu Jianguo's serious face and that decisive command clearly surfaced in his mind once more.

"Whatever Factory Director Li needs, we give it to him!"

"No buck-passing or delays allowed, do I make myself clear!"

Recalling these words, Assistant Zhang's tumultuous heart was instantly doused with a bucket of cold water, turning completely calm.

He let out a long, deep sigh.

That sigh was filled with helplessness, confusion, and a hint of resignation as a subordinate.

He knew he didn't have the right to question it.

The Minister's order was the highest instruction; his only job was to execute it without compromise.

Even if the order sounded like he was being sent to deliver an urgent rain-summoning notice to the Dragon King.

Having accepted this, Assistant Zhang sat up straight again.

The expression on his face returned to its usual steadiness and efficiency, as if the person who had just been ranting internally wasn't him at all.

He reached out and picked up the red secure telephone on his desk.

His fingers skillfully pressed a string of internal extension numbers.

The call was quickly connected.

"Hello, Vehicle Allocation Center? This is Xiao Zhang from the Minister's office."

His voice sounded calm and professional, devoid of any personal emotion.

"I have an urgent request for the allocation of a special vehicle chassis. Please process it immediately."

As he spoke, he sent over the requirement document that made his scalp tingle through the internal system.

At the same time, he couldn't stop grumbling in his heart:

'Is this really for producing firefighting equipment? Why does it feel scarier than the anti-terrorism gear we develop...'

...

On the other end of the line.

The duty officer at the Vehicle Allocation Center fell into the same state of shock as Assistant Zhang after receiving the file.

"As... Assistant Zhang, are you sure there isn't a mistake in this request?" the duty officer's voice trembled slightly.

"No mistake," Assistant Zhang said succinctly.

"But... this... this is a main battle tank chassis! Which combat unit is this being allocated to?"

Assistant Zhang replied expressionlessly, "It's not for a combat unit. It's being allocated to a... Toy Factory in Lu Province for the research and development of new firefighting equipment."

"A... Toy Factory? Fire... firefighting equipment?"

The other end of the line went completely silent; Assistant Zhang could even imagine the other person's 'seen-a-ghost' expression.

"This is Director Liu's highest instruction. Execute it immediately," Assistant Zhang added one last line before hanging up.

He knew that the Vehicle Allocation Center alone wasn't enough.

To move equipment of this level, they also had to coordinate with the local military region.

He then dialed another number, connecting directly to the military region where Li Jiajun was located.

After a conversation similarly filled with shock and disbelief...

After repeatedly confirming that this was indeed a direct order from Liu Jianguo of the Imperial Capital's Ministry of Military Industry, the military region side, though equally pained, finally agreed to cooperate with the allocation.

After all, in their understanding, how could firefighting equipment possibly use a main battle tank? It was simply beyond imagination.

But an order was an order.

A top-secret directive to allocate a main battle tank chassis was quickly passed down through the various departments.

...

Meanwhile.

In another office within the Imperial Capital's Ministry of Military Industry building.

Liu Jianguo, who had just finished a meeting and was holding a teacup to soothe his throat, suddenly let out a loud sneeze without warning.

"Achoo!"

He put down his teacup, rubbed his nose, and muttered to himself in confusion.

"Is someone talking about me?"

After speaking, he suddenly felt a slight sense of foreboding, as if something beyond his control was happening.

However, the feeling was fleeting.

He shook his head and pushed the inexplicable sensation to the back of his mind.