72: Sword of Damocles

My God, this means we're completely standing tall!

Zhang Zhifei seemed somewhat excited, immediately standing up from the sofa and patting his own back in pride.

He quickly opened the comment section and eagerly posted a comment.

[Brothers, let's rise up!]

The comment section had long since become a haven of joy for the people of Dragon Country.

[Tonight at eight, let us witness the moment the Eagle Nation finally loses it!]

This comment garnered an astonishing 800,000 likes, with countless replies beneath it.

[It's solid proof, brothers. Star Sea definitely burned an alien's butt with a cigarette on the moon.]

[I haven't used the restroom all day. My mom took me to the doctor, and the lab results just came back. The doctor said my back is too stiff; I can't bend over anymore.]

[You shouldn't have mentioned that, upstairs. I was actually using the toilet. I saw the news halfway through and immediately stood up. Now... I'm washing my pants.]

[Star Sea is truly excessive; they can't even be bothered to put on an act for you guys anymore.]

[Big Brother, do they still need to act? Just stand on the table and shove a gun up their noses. Let's see if they dare say no.]

Amidst the anticipation of the masses, eight o'clock in the evening was finally approaching.

The atmosphere at the Star Sea press conference was exceptionally fervent; the venue was packed, and there was barely any standing room left.

Only ten minutes were left.

In the front row sat several industry titans specializing in new energy batteries. They were all sitting rigidly, occasionally wiping the beads of sweat from their foreheads, despite the comfortable indoor temperature of 26 degrees Celsius.

As the countdown reached the final ten seconds, the cameras and lenses throughout the venue were raised and aimed at the main electronic screen.

"Ten, nine, ... two, one!"

On the screen, an intercontinental ballistic missile slowly ascended, trailing a long exhaust plume. Its speed gradually accelerated, and in just a moment, it vanished into the clouds.

At this moment, the most anxious individuals were the politicians watching the live broadcast across the ocean.

They prayed inwardly that Dragon Country's experiment would fail, but reason told them that this kind of global display of military might inherently carried no possibility of failure.

The scene switched to a satellite perspective.

The missile flew for ten minutes, and everyone's hearts were pounding.

Some people were anxiously hoping it would land quickly, while others wished the missile would just keep flying, never opening that damned warhead compartment cover.

When the missile reached the predetermined target sea area, the warhead compartment cover finally detached.

Forty Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicles, like a goddess scattering flowers, plummeted rapidly toward their respective targets. Their extreme speed, exceeding Mach 20, meant they could hit the target ship on the sea surface almost instantly upon piercing the clouds.

It was in this very instant.

Three beams of red and white light, like an act of divine retribution, shot out simultaneously from three different orbital angles, almost without a difference in timing.

The first beam swept horizontally, instantly vaporizing twelve Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicles, which exploded in succession while still a thousand meters away from the target ship.

The second beam followed an extremely irregular trajectory, carving a bizarre path from top to bottom, immediately followed by the explosion of eighteen Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicles.

The final beam completed the mop-up. All forty Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicles, exceeding Mach 20, were successfully intercepted in the terminal phase.

The entire process took no more than 0.2 seconds—it was incredibly fast!

What the vast majority of people saw was three flashes of light across the sky, resulting in the bizarre, simultaneous explosion of the dense cluster of Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicles.

The entire press conference venue was silent enough to hear a pin drop. All the reporters present seemed to have been choked, wanting desperately to say something, yet they were collectively struck speechless.

After an unknown amount of time, a loud, high-pitched cheer finally broke the eerie atmosphere.

Immediately afterward, the Dragon Country press section erupted in earth-shattering cheers.

Among them, an elderly reporter with graying temples stood up excitedly, his eyes turning crimson.

"Did you see that? You all saw it, didn't you!"

Not far away, reporters from countries friendly with Dragon Country also showed expressions of delight.

After all.

When the Big Brother is doing well, everyone benefits.

In contrast, the Western media section could be described as having a black cloud pressing down upon it.

Just then, the venue lights rapidly dimmed.

In the center of the stage, the main electronic screen switched, displaying the product introduction PPT for Star Sea Energy Technology Company's [flint Civilian Version].

Su Jin, dressed in a black and white suit skirt, walked to the front of the stage, looking radiant and full of spirit.

Her gaze calmly swept over the crowd of industry titans below, her demeanor neither humble nor arrogant.

"Good evening, everyone."

"I am Su Jin, CEO of Star Sea Energy Technology Company."

"Next, I will introduce Star Sea Energy's first official commercial product. Please direct your attention to the large screen."

[flint High-Energy Battery Civilian Version]

Holding the microphone, Su Jin gave a detailed explanation, including the various potential applications for the future.

The electronic screen slowly switched, displaying the core parameters and finished concept design of the [flint High-Energy Battery Civilian Version].

When the reporters and industry giants in the audience saw the bold text on the parameters display [Energy capacity surpasses ordinary commercial lithium batteries by approximately 1,000 times].

Everyone's thoughts seemed to be frozen in that instant.

One thousand times!

What does this even mean?

If they failed to keep up with Star Sea's pace, they would be abandoned by the era.

Su Jin watched the audience's reaction, feeling intensely satisfied internally.

She continued her introduction.

"The safety and stability of the [flint High-Energy Battery] have undergone countless verifications and have officially passed certification by the relevant authorities."

"This product, which is an entire era ahead of the current industry, will officially launch on the first of next month."

Even laymen who did not understand the technology finally realized, after such a detailed explanation, that a desperate storm was brewing, poised to sweep across the entire energy industry. This storm would intensify until it crushed all the rules of the old era.

"CEO Su!"

"May I ask if Star Sea's energy technology is a collaboration with the Dragon Country government..."

"My dear reporter friend."

Su Jin smiled as she interrupted him, her gaze sharp as a knife.

"I already made myself very clear just now."

"The flint Battery is a civilian technology project independently developed by Star Sea."

"But what I meant was..." The reporter tried to press further.

"What I mean is."

Su Jin interrupted mercilessly again, forcibly pulling the conversation back to the product itself.

"Let us focus on the product itself."

"New energy vehicles equipped with the flint Module will no longer require charging in the future."

She paused, the corner of her mouth curling slightly, looking up at everyone in attendance.

"When the vehicle reaches the mandatory scrapping standard, the [flint Module] is guaranteed to still be ninety percent new; it can be removed and reused."

Below the stage, a wave of astonished gasps arose.

Sitting in the front row, the suspended hopes of the giants specializing in new energy batteries finally died.

They knew deeply that there was only one choice for survival: becoming Star Sea's downstream contract manufacturers.

This cake was simply too big; even if they could only take a small bite, they would definitely make a massive fortune.

Those closest to the water get the moon first. Since they could no longer profit domestically, they would aim their sights abroad.

Below the stage, third row.

"My God, how is this different from directly announcing the realization of controlled nuclear fusion?"

"This is even more powerful than controlled nuclear fusion."

"Nuclear fusion still requires massive facilities, but Star Sea has packaged this eternal energy into a mobile phone."

Su Jin stepped down and left, and the discussions among the audience erupted uncontrollably.

None of the reporters who managed to enter this venue were pushovers.

Although Su Jin continually avoided answering sensitive questions, the facts were already laid bare before them.

Star Sea provided the energy and materials that allowed Dragon Country to forge this Sword of Damocles hanging over everyone's heads.

It was even possible that the technology itself was provided by Star Sea.

At this moment, the main electronic screen went black, and when it lit up again, it had switched to a completely new PPT product display interface.

[carbon nanotube t-4 Civilian Version]