162: Chapter 162 This military uniform looks familiar?

The massive fuselage of the Y-20 cast a long shadow over the temporary runway, and the roar of its four turbofan engines made the entire camp tremble slightly.

He Jun, leading the key officers of the First Company of the National Defense Force, had long been lined up on the tarmac waiting. When the massive rear cargo door slowly opened, everyone held their breath.

A group of Chinese soldiers, clad in desert camouflage and exuding a calm and capable air, marched down in perfect unison, led by a high-ranking officer with a commanding presence. He walked up to He Jun and gave a crisp, clean military salute.

"The situation is urgent. I am the person in charge of this mission, Ge Zheng. Unload the supplies immediately; we will conduct a weapons demonstration right here!"

"Welcome! Thank you for your hard work!" He Jun returned the salute firmly, and the two shook hands briefly but powerfully.

Without any small talk, rows of dark green military supply crates were quickly opened, and the contents made the eyes of the National Defense Force soldiers present pop.

There were no conventional rifles, only "heavy hitters"!

Rows of PF-97 thermobaric rocket launchers, the perfect tool for urban assault. Sets of QN-202 micro-missile systems, a "pocket sword" operable by a single soldier. What shocked them even more were the dozens of FN-6 man-portable air-defense systems; this meant their ground unit finally possessed the ability to deliver a lethal counterattack against low-altitude targets for the first time!

"All key personnel, come over!" Ge Zheng waved his hand, and several technical instructors immediately stepped forward to begin a live-fire demonstration.

One instructor shouldered a PF-97 thermobaric rocket launcher and aimed it at a target adobe house specially built three hundred meters away.

As he pulled the trigger, the rocket roared out with a trail of fire, precisely piercing through the window of the house.

Instantly, a dull explosion rang out, followed immediately by a massive orange fireball that erupted violently from the doors and windows, engulfing the entire house.

A visible shockwave expanded outward, the roof was completely blown off, and the walls collapsed with a roar as if crushed by an invisible giant hand.

The terrifying power that burned away all the air made all the watching soldiers feel parched with dry throats.

Immediately after, another instructor set up the QN-202 micro-missile system.

He tapped a few times on a terminal the size of a tablet computer, locking onto a scrapped pickup truck being used as a target one kilometer away.

He softly ordered: "Launch." A missile only as thick as an arm whistled out of the launcher, silently tracing an almost invisible arc through the air.

Everyone stared intently at the real-time feed on the terminal screen, watching as the missile struck the driver's cabin of the pickup truck accurately from a first-person perspective.

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a crisp cracking sound. A precise and lethal hole was punched into the target area of the pickup truck, and the dummy target inside vanished instantly. Precise, covert, and lethal!

The entire demonstration process was shockingly efficient.

As soon as the demonstration ended, Ge Zheng said to He Jun: "There is no time for systematic training. I have dispatched several technical instructors to accompany you; they will take on the responsibility of teaching you how to use and maintain the equipment on the road, ensuring you can master it before making contact with the enemy."

"Thank you so much!" The heavy burden in He Jun's heart was lifted.

Meanwhile, the new combat uniforms and individual gear had also been distributed.

The soldiers changed into their new gear as quickly as possible. When the one hundred and fifty tall, rugged soldiers, wearing uniform Type 21 desert camouflage and holding various advanced weapons, reassembled, the entire unit's demeanor had been completely transformed.

They had finally completed the first step of transforming from a Police Force to a National Defense Force.

However, behind this fresh new look was a rapid shrinkage of the national treasury funds.

In Beijing, inside Lin Zhou's temporary office, the face of the Minister of Revenue, Chen Yuan, was longer than Changbai Mountain.

"My Lord, the bill has arrived." He slammed a financial statement onto the table.

"Renewing the soldiers' contracts cost 130 million USD. Urgently purchasing this batch of high-tech military equipment cost nearly another 150 million! My Lord, do you remember? Last year, our 'Atmospheric Water Generator' was a global hit, and it was hard work to bring about 100 million USD in net profit to the treasury. Everyone said we were rich then. But now? We've only fired two 'silver bullets,' and we haven't even seen the enemy yet, but this money is not only all gone, we've even dipped into our reserves!"

Chen Yuan was heartbroken: "The liquid funds in our national treasury have already dropped from over 700 million to just over 500 million! If this war really starts, won't the money just flow out like water?"

Lin Zhou looked at the report, but his face remained expressionless.

"Old Chen, this money was well spent." He tapped the personnel expenses on the report. "What we bought isn't just a one-year contract, but the morale and the determination of this army to fight to the death in the most critical battle of the future. As for the weapons, they are the capital we need to survive."

He raised his head and looked toward the direction of Bir Tawil: "If money is gone, we can earn it back; the gold mine is right there and it won't run away. But if our people are gone and the position is lost, we will truly have nothing left."

"This isn't just a question of gold mines and money anymore; it's a question of our national positioning. Whether we fall into becoming a colony at the mercy of others, or become a power that makes people wary—this is the first test."

"We might not win; we might even lose miserably. But at the very least, we must let people know that if they want to come and cause trouble, they need to have a strong set of teeth!!"

Chen Yuan sighed and said nothing more. He understood this logic, but watching the numbers in the account rapidly decrease, he instinctively felt a pang of pain.

Just then, on the front line of Bir Tawil, the First Company of the National Defense Force, having finished changing into their new gear, received orders to deploy to the gold mining area.

"Attention, everyone!" He Jun stood in front of the formation, his voice ringing out loud and clear. "Target: 'Ironforge' gold mining area! Before the enemy arrives, we must build an iron fortress there that will make them bleed! Advance at full speed!"

One hundred and fifty fully armed soldiers and several Chinese instructors quickly boarded off-road vehicles and military trucks, kicking up clouds of yellow sand as they sped toward the target area deep in the desert.