Chapter 45: Energy replenishment completed in half a minute—a terrifying ability to sustain combat!
The atmosphere over the vast exercise grounds was tense and heavy.
Sunlight filtered through the thin clouds, yet it could not dispel the solemn air permeating the land.
Everyone's gaze was locked tightly onto the imposing mecha on the exercise grounds.
This mecha was tall and fierce, its metal shell shimmering with a cold light under the sun.
It was as if it were a weapon of war that had traveled from the future.
Every one of its movements was filled with a sense of power, and each strike made people shudder with fear.
Just moments ago, in the intense battle, the First-generation Mecha had displayed incredible strength, single-handedly confronting multiple fighter jets and achieving terrifying results.
In less than ten minutes of engagement, the Eastern Theater Command had already had ten fighter jets sent back to base.
They had lost more than an entire fighter squadron!
If this were a real war, it would be a heavy blow for the Dragon Nation Air Force!
Exercise Commander-in-Chief Wei Jiantong stood in the Command Center, his expression serious and resolute.
He looked at the large screen in front of him, which displayed real-time footage of the exercise grounds.
Captain Zhao Kuo of the First Squadron contacted the Command Center, urgently asking about the situation with the mecha.
"Commander-in-Chief Wei, what is going on?"
"Wasn't the opposing mecha's energy already exhausted?"
"How can there still be subsequent attacks?"
"Is it possible that there isn't just one mecha participating?"
"Could this one in front of us be the opponent's second mecha?"
Captain Zhao Kuo's conjecture reached the ears of the other pilots simultaneously.
An atmosphere of despair began to spread.
They were quite resistant to the idea of two mechas participating in the field exercise!
One mecha was already difficult enough to deal with; if a second one came, what was the point of even fighting?
They might as well just surrender!
Of course, the Dragon Nation pilots were not cowards, but the key was that this wasn't real combat; their fighting spirit couldn't be fully ignited in this kind of exercise.
The most important thing was that the mecha was just too powerful!
The damage caused by its weapon system not only had a long enough range but was also incredibly powerful!
That terrifying beam of light from just a moment ago instantly took out eight fighter jets.
It still made them shudder with lingering fear!
Fortunately, this was just a field exercise; if they had encountered the opponent on a real battlefield, they wouldn't even know how they died.
Commander-in-Chief Wei Jiantong tilted his chin up slightly.
He also felt the burning gazes of the tactical experts and officers inside the Command Center.
They were also wondering just how many of the opponent's mechas were participating in this battle!
In fact, let alone them, if he hadn't been fully aware of the information about the field exercise, Commander-in-Chief Wei Jiantong himself would have wondered if the opponent had sent a second mecha!
He let out a breath, spoke with a firm gaze, and told them definitively:
"Only one mecha is participating!"
"The mecha you are seeing right now is the exact same one as before!"
As soon as these words were spoken, all the pilots in the Command Center fell silent!
They were all stunned, as if struck by a thunderbolt, their eyes filled with disbelief!
Especially the researchers in the Command Center.
They were certain that the energy fluctuations within Su Chen's mecha had weakened to an extremely low level following the intense attack just now.
The energy was indeed on the verge of exhaustion.
But this newly appeared mecha, although identical in appearance to the previous one, had unusually strong energy fluctuations!
This meant that the energy within it was extremely abundant!
How did he manage that?
After the researchers in the Command Center reported these findings!
Everyone's expression became even more grave!
They had sacrificed an entire squadron in an instant just to exhaust the opponent's mecha's energy!
Now, only a few minutes had passed, and the energy was abundant again!
If it really was the same mecha, then its endurance was simply too strong!
You have to know, even for their most advanced Fifth-generation fighter, after the energy is exhausted, just replenishing the energy alone takes twenty to thirty minutes!
Compared to the mecha, the gap was not just a little big!
Do not underestimate this difference of ten or twenty minutes!
This amount of time was enough for the mecha to destroy dozens of Fifth-generation fighters!
Commander-in-Chief Wei Jiantong did not want to dampen the pilots' self-confidence, but he also could not let incorrect information interfere with their judgment of the battlefield situation.
If they really established a hypothetical enemy—a second mecha—it would have an immeasurable impact on their subsequent actions.
Therefore, he repeated it once more:
"Only one mecha!"
"After this mecha was manufactured, it immediately began field testing!"
"Or do you think this mecha is something that can be found on every street corner? That you can just casually build a second one?"
Others might not dare to say so, but if it were Su Chen, it really might be hard to say... Director Zhao Kangbo thought to himself.
You have to know, the First-generation Mecha was something Su Chen had cobbled together in just two months!
It had been over a month since he manufactured the First-generation Mecha.
Because the first mecha required planning and design—after all, the first step is always the hardest—it had taken him two months.
If Su Chen wanted to manufacture a second mecha, he wouldn't need to spend that much time at all; in over a month, it was truly possible to cobble together a new mecha.
Of course, Commander-in-Chief Wei Jiantong was the overall commander of this exercise, and if he dared to guarantee it, then there was definitely only one mecha!
Unless the opponent violated the exercise regulations and sent out a new mecha!
But doing so would have no meaning whatsoever!
If they had decided to test two mechas from the very beginning, with the Dragon Nation's current strength, it would at most just be a matter of sending more fighter jets to cooperate!
There was no need to engage in sneaky little tricks!
And there was no need for little tricks either; the strength of the mecha was already right there for everyone to see!
"The Commander-in-Chief has already said it: the opponent only sent one mecha, so let's stop dwelling on it!"
Wang Feng's voice rang out!
"Maybe Su Chen disappeared for a while just now because he went back to base to replenish energy!"
"That's why we didn't spot him!"
Wang Feng's explanation struck them as absurd; replenishing energy to full in just a few minutes was simply too exaggerated!
But besides this explanation, there didn't seem to be any other reason that could make sense!
Although it was hard to believe, they had no choice but to believe it.
The opponent was truly ridiculously powerful!
Captain Zhao Kuo noticed his teammates' fighting spirit gradually waning, and as their captain, he had the responsibility to steady their morale.
He pondered for a moment, then suddenly said:
"Although the opposing mecha's endurance is terrifying, it cannot be denied that we almost seized the opportunity when his energy was exhausted just now!"
"This also shows that our Many-for-One Tactic is feasible!"
"We just need to continue using this tactic, and after Su Chen's mecha's energy is about to be exhausted for the second time, prevent him from returning to base to replenish energy; wouldn't that give us another chance?"
Hearing his words, confidence couldn't help but ignite in their hearts again!
Although it was quite difficult, it was still a good plan!
After all, they didn't seem to have any other options right now!
After determining the subsequent combat strategy, the team members' confidence was reignited.
Just then.
The radar began to flash frantically!
And this time, it wasn't just one, but many dots flashing simultaneously!
The frequency of the flashing was exceptionally fast!
Before the team members could even react, they heard a helpless voice coming through their headsets!
"Eastern Aviation New Fourth Squadron..."
"Wiped out!"