254: Chapter 254 A National Treasure: Equipped for the Entire Army

Evening, the signing hall of the Ministry of National Defense.

The air inside the hall seemed to have frozen.

A red carpet stretched from the entrance to the front of the podium, with twelve honor guards standing solemnly on both sides, their military posture as upright as pine trees.

A massive national emblem hung at the front of the hall, reflecting a solemn golden glow under the spotlights.

Behind the podium, more than a dozen generals stood in two rows.

Stars glittered on their shoulder boards.

The lowest rank was Major General, and the highest were two Generals—one of whom was Zhao Weiguo, the 58-year-old Minister of the Equipment Development Department of the Ministry of National Defense, an Army General who had participated in commanding multiple major military exercises.

A dark green velvet cloth covered the long table, upon which rested two contract documents.

Each was five centimeters thick, bound in an exquisite leather cover, with the national emblem and the words "Top Secret · Internal" hot-stamped in the center.

Su Chen stood on one side of the long table, wearing a dark suit without a tie.

This was his first time stepping into the core area of the Ministry of National Defense, and his first time facing such a high-profile signing ceremony.

But he stood straight, his gaze calm.

"Mr. Su." General Zhao Weiguo walked to the opposite side of him and extended his hand.

The two shook hands, their grip firm.

"Minister Zhao, thank you for your trust," Su Chen said.

"Trust is something you earned with your technology," Zhao Weiguo said in a deep voice, "but signing this contract means taking on the burden of national defense. This is not a commercial cooperation; this is a historical responsibility."

He gestured for the staff to open the contract.

The large screen simultaneously displayed the key terms:

"New Era Army Main Battle Equipment Replacement Plan (Phase I) Procurement Contract"

Party A: Ministry of National Defense of China

Party B: Xingchen Defense Co., Ltd.

Signing Date: May 4, 2018

Procurement List:

sabertooth hx-30 Main Battle Tank

Quantity: 1,000 units

Unit Price: 9 million USD (Internal procurement price)

Delivery Schedule: 300 units in the first year, 350 units in the second year, 350 units in the third year

Total Amount: 9 billion USD

Lynx V-25 Multi-functional Infantry Fighting Vehicle

Quantity: 5,000 units

Configuration: 3,000 Infantry Transport, 800 Air Defense, 800 Anti-Tank, 200 Command, 200 Reconnaissance

Unit Price: 2.7 million USD for the base model, including five major modules

Total Amount: 13.5 billion USD

Peregrine Falcon S-15 Short-range Air Defense Missile System

Quantity: 400 sets

Configuration per set: 1 Command Vehicle + 4 Launch Vehicles

Unit Price: 27 million USD

Total Amount: 10.8 billion USD

Comet Air-to-Air Missile

Quantity: 10,000 units

Configuration: 8,000 Combat Missiles, 2,000 Training Missiles

Unit Price: 1.2 million USD

Total Amount: 12 billion USD

Venus Medium-range Ballistic Missile

Quantity: 100 units

Configuration: Top-tier version (including advanced AI mission planning module)

Unit Price: 10 million USD

Total Amount: 1 billion USD

Supporting ammunition, maintenance equipment, training simulators, technical documentation, etc.

Total Amount: 13.7 billion USD

Total Contract Amount: 60 billion USD (approximately 420 billion rmb)

Delivery Deadline: All to be completed within three years

Payment Terms:

30% paid after signing (18 billion USD)

30% paid after the first year of delivery is completed

25% paid after the second year of delivery is completed

15% paid after all acceptance checks are completed in the third year

A low gasp echoed in the hall.

Even the generals present were seeing such a large-scale single equipment procurement contract for the first time.

60 billion USD, equivalent to one-quarter of China's annual military budget, exceeding the combined military spending of 140 countries globally.

"Three years to complete the replacement of one-third of the entire army's main battle equipment," Zhao Weiguo said in a low voice, looking directly at Su Chen, "Young man, that's a lot of pressure."

Su Chen opened the last page of the contract; the signing pen was already placed to the side.

It was a specially made fountain pen, with the Great Wall pattern engraved on the body and a 24K gold nib.

"Xingchen Defense will not fail this trust," Su Chen said, then leaned over to sign.

The moment the nib touched the paper—

Click, click, click!

The camera flashes of over thirty designated media outlets lit up simultaneously, illuminating the hall as bright as day.

These media were all domestic official media: Xinhua News Agency, People's Daily, CCTV, PLA Daily... No foreign media were permitted to enter.

This image would spread across the globe within two hours.

After Su Chen finished signing, Zhao Weiguo took the pen and signed his name on the Party A line.

Then came the stamping process.

Two officers with the rank of Senior Colonel walked forward holding trays.

The trays were covered with red velvet, on top of which were two official seals:

Left: Official seal of the Ministry of National Defense Equipment Development Department, eight centimeters in diameter, made of copper.

Right: Official seal of Xingchen Defense Co., Ltd., slightly smaller.

The two picked up the seals simultaneously and pressed them into the ink pad.

"Stamp!"

The two seals fell almost simultaneously.

Thud—

The sound echoed in the hall.

The ceremony was complete.

Zhao Weiguo grasped Su Chen's hand again, this time holding it tightly: "Mr. Su, from today on, you are no longer just a private enterprise. You are a pillar of the defense industry and the cornerstone of national security."

"Understood," Su Chen nodded solemnly.

The signing ceremony only lasted fifteen minutes, but everyone knew that these fifteen minutes would change many things.

7:00 PM, CCTV News Broadcast studio.

Anchor Li Zimeng was adjusting her tie.

She arrived an hour early tonight because she had received a notification: there was major news that required special handling.

The teleprompter displayed today's press release, but the last item was clearly in bold font, marked with the words "Special Report."

"Countdown, 30 seconds," the director's voice came through the earpiece.

Li Zimeng took a deep breath, adjusted her posture, and her expression became solemn.

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1... Start!"

"Good evening, viewers. Today is May 4, 2018, the 19th day of the third lunar month. Next, we broadcast an important message..."

She paused for a second, allowing her tone to become more solemn:

"This afternoon, the Ministry of National Defense and Xingchen Defense signed the 'New Era Army Main Battle Equipment Procurement Contract' in Beijing. According to the contract, the Ministry of National Defense will procure various types of modernized equipment, including main battle tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and air defense systems, with a total amount reaching 420 billion rmb..."

The screen switched to the scene of the signing ceremony:

A close-up of Su Chen and Zhao Weiguo shaking hands.

Slow-motion footage of the contract being signed.

The moment the official seal fell.

Then came a three-minute featurette.

The featurette had no narration, only visuals and background music—a solemn march.

The first scene: The sabertooth hx-30 main gun fires, piercing through a reinforced concrete fortification 2,000 meters away.

In slow-motion replay, one could see the details of the shell penetrating the concrete and the steel bars twisting and breaking.

The second scene: The Peregrine Falcon S-15 air defense system intercepts a drone swarm.

Four launch vehicles fired simultaneously, sixteen missiles soared into the sky, and all sixteen targets were hit and exploded.

Multi-angle shots, including missile flight trajectories, the moment of target explosion, and the system command interface.

The third scene: The Comet air-to-air missile shoots down a target drone.

This was a declassified version of the footage, but it was still shocking: the missile launched from a J-20, accelerated at the terminal phase, performed a spiral maneuver, and finally hit the left wing of the Il-76 modified target drone.

Each scene was accompanied by concise data labeling:

"140mm main gun, 2,000-meter penetration equivalent to 1,100mm of homogeneous steel armor"

"Peregrine Falcon system interception success rate 100%, single-shot probability 92%"

"Comet missile maximum range 180 km, no-escape zone 40 km"

For the last five seconds, the screen suddenly switched.

No trailer, no narration.

That was a CG animation clip of the "Heavenly Bow-3" hypersonic air defense missile: the missile rushed out of the atmosphere to intercept a low-orbit satellite at the edge of space.

The moment the satellite exploded, the screen froze.

Then, the screen went black.

A line of white text appeared on the screen:

"Forging Sharp Swords for Peace"

The featurette ended.

Li Zimeng's face reappeared on the screen, her expression still calm:

"This equipment procurement will significantly enhance our military's modernized combat capabilities, providing a solid guarantee for maintaining regional peace and stability."

This sentence carried immense weight in diplomatic parlance.

"Maintaining regional peace and stability"—the subtext was: We have the capability to maintain it, and we have the determination to maintain it.

"Solid guarantee"—the meaning was: Whoever wants to disrupt peace must first ask whether these new pieces of equipment agree.

The News Broadcast continued to play the next news item, but the whole world knew that there was only one headline today.