Chapter 284 First Batch of Equipment

A Deep Space Defense Force base in a certain area of the Southwest.

Ten mechs stood in neat formation in the massive assembly workshop, their silver-gray coatings gleaming with a cold metallic luster under the lights. Each mech was about five meters tall, with a streamlined appearance full of power, and precise hydraulic structures at the joints like the sinews of a beast.

Zhao Gang walked from the first mech to the tenth, his steps slow, his gaze deep.

Behind him followed a group of young soldiers in camouflage uniforms, all standing ramrod straight, their eyes unable to hide their excitement. They were the elite, hand-picked from the entire army, and in the future, they would pilot these steel behemoths to guard the newly built space elevator, and even further—the Mars Base.

"At ease," Zhao Gang finally stopped and turned to face his soldiers.

Swish—a perfectly synchronized movement.

Zhao Gang said nothing, silently watching them for ten seconds.

"Do you know what these are?" He pointed at the mechs behind him.

"Report!" The soldier on the far left of the first row shouted, "Mechs!"

"Nonsense," Zhao Gang glared at him. "I'm asking, do you know what this means?"

The soldiers exchanged glances.

Zhao Gang took a step forward, his voice deepening: "Seven years ago, I was a captain in the special forces. Back then, our best equipment was imported night vision goggles and domestically produced sniper rifles. When we did exercises, our biggest fear was that our equipment would be inferior to others. Once, when I was drinking with Lin Mo—who is now CEO Lin—I said, 'When will we have the kind of stuff you see in sci-fi movies?'"

He paused, looking back at the mechs.

"He said, 'There will be that day,'" Zhao Gang's voice suddenly became a little hoarse. "I thought it was just drunken talk. I never expected..."

He didn't finish, but everyone understood.

The workshop was so quiet you could hear the hum of the air conditioning.

"Attention, all personnel!" Zhao Gang suddenly raised his voice. "Stand at attention—right dress!"

The soldiers quickly lined up, their gazes uniformly fixed on the ten mechs.

"This batch of mechs is codenamed 'Kuafu,'" Zhao Gang walked to the first mech and patted its leg armor. "Starting today, they are officially equipped by the Deep Space Defense Force. You, gentlemen, are the first batch of 'Kuafu' pilots."

He scanned the group, his gaze lingering on each young face for a moment.

"Do you know why it's called 'Kuafu'?"

"Report!" It was the same soldier again. "Kuafu Chasing the Sun, pursuing light!"

"That's a myth," Zhao Gang shook his head. "The real Kuafu was a giant in our ancient legends who dared to challenge nature. What you are about to pilot are modern giants—steel giants that can go into space, descend into the deep sea, and walk on the surface of Mars."

The soldiers' eyes lit up.

"But I must warn you," Zhao Gang's tone shifted. "Being a giant is not easy. This batch of mechs just came off the assembly line, and many functions are still being tested and perfected. You are not only pilots but also test pilots—no, test drivers. Problems will arise during training, and there may even be dangers. Are you afraid?"

"No fear!" The sound was deafening.

Zhao Gang finally showed a hint of a smile: "Good, a bit of spirit. Dismissed, familiarize yourselves with the equipment. Simulation training starts this afternoon, and actual machine entry tomorrow."

The soldiers dispersed, gathering around their respective mechs, touching this and looking at that, like children with new toys.

Zhao Gang stood still, gazing at the ten mechs in a trance.

"General Zhao."

A voice came from behind. Zhao Gang turned and saw Lin Mo enter the workshop, followed by Chen Xueming and Li Xiao.

"CEO Lin? What brings you here?" Zhao Gang went to meet him.

"Just came to see," Lin Mo walked to the nearest mech and looked up at it. "For the first batch of equipment, I had to personally send it off."

Chen Xueming leaned close to the mech, his hand touching the hydraulic structure at the joint: "Engineer Shen's team worked three all-nighters, finally delivering on time. There was a small issue with the hydraulic system of the tenth unit during the final test yesterday, so it was replaced overnight."

"Is it fine now?" Zhao Gang asked.

"No problem," Li Xiao interjected. "I just came from the testing ground; all ten have completed the procedures. The data is even better than expected."

Zhao Gang nodded, then looked at Lin Mo again: "Are you really going to personally send them off? It's just an equipping ceremony; you, the great Chief Commander, don't need to make a trip for this, do you?"

Lin Mo didn't answer, instead asking: "What did you just say to your soldiers?"

Zhao Gang was startled: "How do you know what I said?"

"I listened for a while at the door," Lin Mo rarely smiled. "'Seven years ago, you said there would be that day'—I heard that sentence."

Zhao Gang's old face flushed: "Just said it casually."

"Not casually," Lin Mo looked at him. "Zhao Gang, thank you."

"Thank me?" Zhao Gang was puzzled. "Thank me for what?"

"Thank you for still remembering that night," Lin Mo's gaze fell on the mechs. "That day, we drank Erguotou, and you said your biggest regret was losing an exercise by half a second. I said, once the equipment gets better, you won't just win, you'll be able to go to space."

Zhao Gang fell silent.

A moment later, he said in a low voice: "I thought you had forgotten."

"I haven't forgotten," Lin Mo said. "Looking at these mechs today, I suddenly remembered. Back then, I was just a Ph.D. Student, and I barely believed my own words. But you believed."

Zhao Gang opened his mouth but said nothing.

Chen Xueming and Li Xiao stood by, silently.

In the workshop, the soldiers were still excitedly discussing the mechs. Someone climbed into the cockpit, and a cry of surprise came out: "Holy cow, this screen is bigger than my TV!"

Zhao Gang was snapped back by the exclamation and roared over there: "Be careful! Don't you dare break it!"

They quickly retracted their hands.

Lin Mo smiled: "You, Commander, adapted faster than I expected."

"Adapt to what?" Zhao Gang gave a bitter smile. "Old Lin, do you know what I was thinking standing here just now?"

"What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking, back when I was in the special forces, I never dreamed I'd be commanding this," Zhao Gang pointed at the mechs. "Five-meter-tall steel giants that can fly, run, fight, and even go to Mars. This is stuff from sci-fi movies."

Lin Mo looked at him: "But you are standing here."

"Yes," Zhao Gang took a deep breath. "I am standing here. Not just me, but those lads too." He pointed at the soldiers, "They are all elites I hand-picked from various units, with an average age of twenty-three. In the future, they will take 'Kuafu' into space, to Mars, to guard everything we've built in twenty years."

Lin Mo nodded: "I'm leaving it to you."

"Don't worry," Zhao Gang patted his chest. "As long as I'm here, 'Kuafu' is here."

At two in the afternoon, the actual machine training began.

The training ground was a converted abandoned mining area, with complex terrain, scattered rubble, and several dozens-of-meters-deep mine pits. Zhao Gang stood on the command platform, watching the ten mechs perform formation maneuvers below.

"The formation is too tight!" he shouted into the intercom. "Number Three, watch your right! Number Five, slow down! Do you think you're driving cars?"

The pilot's voice came through the intercom: "Report, system indicates safe distance..."

"System is system, actual combat is actual combat!" Zhao Gang roared back. "In case of an emergency, you won't even have room to turn with that distance! Spread out!"

The mech team quickly adjusted, increasing the distance to twenty meters.

Chen Xueming stood next to Zhao Gang, watching the mechs move through the mountainous terrain, their tracked feet gripping the ground steadily. Occasionally, when encountering steep slopes, the hydraulic system automatically adjusted their posture, making them look like a group of true steel beasts.

"Your requirements are even stricter than during our tests," Chen Xueming said.

"Tests are tests, war is war," Zhao Gang stared down. "These lads are excited now, thinking they're invincible with these things. I need to let them know that even the best equipment needs a human to operate it."

Chen Xueming nodded, saying nothing more.

The maneuver training lasted three hours. Afterward, the ten mechs returned to the assembly workshop, and the soldiers jumped out, drenched in sweat.

"How was it?" Zhao Gang walked over.

"Report!" The soldier from the morning—Zhao Gang later learned his name was Wang Lei, the young worker Chen Xueming had rescued from the typhoon back then—shouted excitedly, "It's too powerful! The climbing ability is even stronger than a tank!"

Zhao Gang glared at him: "What's the use of strong climbing? I ask you, how many times did you look at the dashboard during the formation maneuver just now?"

Wang Lei was startled: "I... I can't remember."

"Five times," Zhao Gang said. "I was counting up there. Five times you looked down at the instrument, each time for at least two seconds. Two seconds, on the battlefield, is enough for you to die three times."

Wang Lei lowered his head.

"Do you know why I make you train?" Zhao Gang's voice softened. "You need to train until you know the mech's status by feel, without looking at the instruments. You need to train until man and machine become one, until this thing is an extension of your body. Only then can you be considered a true 'Kuafu' pilot."

"Yes!" Wang Lei puffed out his chest.

Zhao Gang turned to leave but suddenly stopped: "Wang Lei."

"Present!"

"You were rescued from a typhoon by CEO Chen back then, and now you're piloting a mech built by CEO Chen and his team. How does that feel?"

Wang Lei was stunned and looked at Chen Xueming, who was not far away.

Chen Xueming also looked over and nodded slightly.

"I..." Wang Lei's voice trembled slightly. "I want to go to space."

Zhao Gang stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled: "Alright, ambitious. Train hard, and when the Mars Base is built, I'll personally send you up."

That night, Zhao Gang didn't return to his dorm.

He sat alone at the entrance of the assembly workshop, watching the ten mechs glow faintly in the moonlight. His orderly wanted to get him a jacket, but he waved him away.

After sitting for an unknown amount of time, footsteps came from behind.

"Old Zhao."

Lin Mo's voice.

Zhao Gang didn't turn around: "Why haven't you left yet?"

"Leaving first thing tomorrow morning," Lin Mo sat down beside him. "Staying here tonight."

Zhao Gang tilted his head to look at him: "The esteemed Chief Commander, staying in our shabby base?"

"Shabby?" Lin Mo looked at the mechs. "With these things here, this place is the least shabby place in all of China."

Zhao Gang said nothing.

They sat in silence for a while.

"Old Lin," Zhao Gang suddenly spoke. "Tell me, can these things really go to Mars?"

Lin Mo didn't answer directly: "You just told that young soldier you'd personally send him up."

"That was just to humor him," Zhao Gang gave a bitter smile. "I'm fifty; how could I still go up?"

"What's wrong with fifty?" Lin Mo looked at him. "Academician Wang Zhenguo is eighty-eight and still calling me. He said, 'You go and see for me.'"

Zhao Gang fell silent.

"Zhao Gang," Lin Mo stood up and patted his shoulder. "You not only have to send them up, but one day, you yourself must go up."

Zhao Gang was stunned.

Lin Mo had already walked towards the dormitory.

After walking a dozen steps, he said without looking back: "Tomorrow I'll return to Beijing and launch the Unmanned Probe Mission. Once the probe lands on Mars and confirms a landing site, it will be your turn to take the stage."

Zhao Gang sat still, watching Lin Mo's back disappear into the night.

He watched the mechs for a long time again. "To Mars," he murmured to himself, then suddenly smiled. "My life, it's been worth it."

"To Mars," he murmured to himself, then suddenly smiled. "My life, it's been worth it."

Under the moonlight, the ten 'Kuafu' stood silently, as if awaiting that moment.