199: Chapter 199 The Invisible Grim Reaper, The Roar of Steel

Soon, the hilly terrain near the Menggong River Valley seemed as if an invisible giant hand had smoothed away all traces. Massive M1A2 SEPV3 main battle tanks, weighing over 70 tons, utilized advanced engineering machinery to silently drive into carefully constructed reverse-slope bunkers or reinforced jungle hideouts.

Adaptive camouflage coatings allowed their steel bodies to nearly merge with the surrounding environment, and their thermal signatures were significantly suppressed by special insulating materials. From a distance, there was only a silent mountain forest.

On a temporarily cleared landing pad further back, an apache attack helicopter squadron belonging to BigDecimal own's "Scourge Brigade" (the AH-64E "Guardian" model exchanged from the system) had finished loading munitions. Pilots were in the standby room for final terrain and mission briefings. Their mission was to provide lethal aerial fire support for the armored units when necessary and to hunt down any potential Indian attack helicopters.

As for Wang Yuanshan's "Strategic Rocket Force," they had already entered standby mode deep within the Bago Mountains further to the rear. Several DF-21D anti-ship/land-attack ballistic missile launch units had already been programmed with preset coordinates—coordinates that precisely corresponded to several key airbases, radar stations, and logistical hubs in northeastern India. In Wang Yuanshan's words: "My mission is to ensure the Indians' planes dare not take off, turn their eyes blind, and make their logistics a complete mess."

The first day of the standoff passed in a stifling calm. Only reconnaissance planes (including unmanned aerial vehicles) from both sides frequently brushed past each other over the border, engaging in silent electronic warfare and reconnaissance/counter-reconnaissance.

On the afternoon of the second day, the silence was broken.

Two Indian Air Force Su-30MKI fighters, in a two-plane formation, brazenly conducted a low-altitude, high-speed penetration reconnaissance along our side of the border, intending to gather detailed intelligence on the Myanmar Army's forward deployments. This was a common provocative and pressure-inducing tactic used by the Indian Air Force.

But their luck today was clearly not good.

Just after they cut into the border line, the wingman pilot, a second lieutenant named Raj, suddenly heard the lead pilot, the experienced Colonel Vijay, let out a short exclamation of surprise on the encrypted channel.

"Dammit! My radar warning receiver is going off! There's fire-control radar illumination! But... I don't see any targets on my radar screen!"

Second Lieutenant Raj quickly looked at his own radar screen; it was also empty. However, the piercing radar lock warning in the cockpit became increasingly rapid, making his scalp tingle.

"Where? Where is the enemy aircraft?" Raj's voice trembled slightly.

"I don't know! They might be behind and above us! Break! Perform evasive maneuvers immediately!" Colonel Vijay's voice carried a hint of undisguised panic.

The two Su-30MKIs immediately began violent maneuvers, releasing chaff and flares in an attempt to shake off the invisible death lock.

However, everything seemed to be in vain. The invisible ghost followed them like a shadow, maintaining a stable lock but delaying the launch of any missiles. It was like a cat playing with a mouse.

Finally, after three suffocating minutes, a cold, clearly electronically synthesized English warning sounded on Colonel Vijay's public radio channel:

"Indian military aircraft, you have illegally entered the airspace of the Federation of Myanmar. Turn back immediately, or you will be shot down. Repeat, turn back immediately."

Colonel Vijay's face turned ashen; he had never suffered such humiliation. The opponent had not only locked onto them but had also intruded into the public channel to issue a warning—this was practically slapping his face in front of everyone monitoring the frequencies!

But he didn't dare to gamble. The opponent could complete a lock without him noticing; the technological gap was obvious. If they stayed any longer, they might truly become fireworks in the sky.

"...We're leaving." Colonel Vijay squeezed these words out through gritted teeth.

The two Su-30MKIs turned their noses in embarrassment and accelerated away. It wasn't until they had flown dozens of kilometers back into their own airspace that the feeling of a thorn in their backs finally vanished.

"Still... no targets found on radar." Second Lieutenant Raj reported with lingering fear.

Colonel Vijay remained silent for a long time before finally speaking to the command center in the rear via the encrypted channel in a voice that sounded almost like a dream: "Reporting... we encountered an interception by suspected enemy stealth fighters... model unknown, performance... far exceeds ours. We... failed to complete the reconnaissance mission."

This report was like a bucket of ice water poured over the heads of the Indian forward command, who were just preparing for a major operation.

On Zhang Cheng's side, Zhao Yuxun looked at the information on the command screen showing "J-10 'soaring dragon' two-plane formation successfully repelled the intruders" and just curled his lip: "Those boys in the Air Force have stolen the spotlight again. It's time for the big guys in 'Titan' to stretch their muscles too."

The opportunity came quickly.

On the morning of the third day, a reinforced Indian armored patrol (a T-90S tank platoon, plus three BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles and a platoon of infantry), perhaps having received orders that they "must demonstrate presence and toughness," once again crossed the blurred line of actual control between the two sides. They moved about two kilometers into the Myanmar side and stopped at the edge of an open area called "Bison Slope," striking a provocative pose.

They didn't know that directly opposite "Bison Slope," behind a reverse slope less than 1,500 meters away, an M1A2 tank platoon (four tanks) personally commanded by Zhao Yuxun had already quietly aimed their muzzles at them.

The commander of the Indian patrol, a major named Singh (unrelated to Rajesh Singh), leaned halfway out of the T-90S commander's hatch, observing the silent mountain forest opposite with binoculars. The orders he received were to "show force and test reactions," and if necessary, "engage in cautious fire, but ensure we have the moral high ground."

"Major, it's too quiet over there," the driver inside the tank said. "There isn't even a bird."

Major Singh was also somewhat uneasy, but thinking of the powerful main force of the 33rd Mountain Corps behind him, he forced himself to remain calm: "Maybe they're scared and hiding. Turn on the radio and use the public frequency to demand that they..."

His talk was cut short.

The silence of the mountain forest opposite was suddenly and violently torn apart!

Four thick plumes of smoke and dust suddenly erupted from behind the reverse slope! Accompanied by the low, shocking roar of diesel engines, four behemoths charged out of their hidden positions at incredible speed, instantly completing their turns. Their heavy turrets rotated, and the long barrels of the iconic 120mm M256 smoothbore guns pointed darkly at the Indian patrol!

Sunlight hit the hulls and turrets of those tanks, reflecting the sharp-edged explosive reactive armor modules and the unique depleted uranium armor layering. The wedge-shaped armor on the front of the hull, the Commander's Independent Thermal Viewer (CITV) protruding from the right side of the turret... every detail caused Major Singh's pupils, also a tank expert, to suddenly contract, and his blood almost froze!