Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 2594 Despair and Helplessness (Second Update, Please Subscribe)
On this day, the whole world was changed.

A violent explosion, like muffled thunder, echoed from the city center, and raging flames tore through the city's night. Thick smoke obscured the stars and moon, plunging the entire city into darkness.

In the darkness, the city was suffering unprecedented devastation; the signal tower of the communications center snapped in half, and countless cables fell with sparks; the power plant building collapsed with a roar, and rising steam mixed with dust shrouded the factory in a choking white fog; the substation was also destroyed.

Laser-guided bombs rained down from the sky, each one hitting its target with pinpoint accuracy, accompanied by a deafening roar. Solid buildings collapsed in the explosions, and machinery was reduced in the blink of an eye to piles of smoking scrap metal.

Although the bombing was not intense, and the explosions were intermittent rather than continuous, bad news kept spreading from the city.

All those destroyed were the most important and critical departments.

When this news arrived, the expressions of the air defense troops inside and outside the city were extremely complex.

They glared at the sky, roaring again and again:

"Where are the planes? Where are the enemies?!"

No one can answer.

There was a time when they protected this sky when the Americans wanted to raze the city to the ground with bombers.

At that time, even the Americans could not make them submit.

They launched missiles into the sky amidst electronic jamming, and we shot down B-52 bombers one after another.

At that time, they knew where the enemy was.

Knowing where the enemy is,

But now?
They had no idea where the enemy was or what they were feeling.
It is helplessness, it is despair.

Just minutes earlier, this air defense position had been reduced to ruins. Hundreds of drones, like a swarm of bees, took aim at the radar antennas under the cover of night, unleashing missiles or rockets at those rotating "long-range eyes."

Before the SAM-2 missile launcher could be erected, it was hit by an anti-tank missile launched by a drone. The explosion engulfed the entire launch site, and charred debris was scattered everywhere.

The Sam jungles that once terrified Americans were reduced to ruins before they even had a chance to launch missiles.

Only a very few air defense positions managed to escape unscathed, including the newly deployed S-300 air defense missile unit.

This was a "lifeline" that Moscow airdropped overnight by transport plane on the eve of the outbreak of war. From the commander to the radar operator, they were all Soviet soldiers.

Unlike the local air defense forces, these elite troops from the Soviet air defense forces were definitely the backbone of Soviet air defense. But at this moment, the command vehicle's hatch was tightly closed, and the air inside the vehicle was so oppressive that it was suffocating.

Although their excellent camouflage and mobile deployment allowed them to evade the initial drone strikes, a sense of despair permeated the carriage, and the oppressive atmosphere even gave people a feeling of suffocation.

Their radar became blind.

Their missiles became completely useless at this point.

Major Sergei stood inside the command vehicle, cigarette butts piled up around his feet, his eyes fixed on the radar screen.

On the green screen, there were only messy snowflake spots and occasional faint ripples, not even enough to outline the silhouette of a bird.

He took two deep drags on his cigarette, then threw the butt at his feet, stomping it out as he did so. His Adam's apple bobbed, and he asked:
"Did you find anything?"

The radar operator, his forehead covered in sweat and his expression anxious, said:

“I’m not sure, Major. There seems to be some signal, but it’s too faint for me to tell what it is. It could be birds, or it could be… noise.”

The moment the words fell, the command vehicle fell into a deathly silence, with only the buzzing electronic sounds of the instruments echoing in the cabin.

This is the reality they face.

It cannot be seen, nor can it be discovered.

Sergei pulled out another cigarette. The flame of the lighter flickered slightly, revealing to some extent his mood. The red dot of the cigarette glowed and faded intermittently. He took a deep drag, the acrid smoke causing him to cough violently. But only one thought kept churning in his mind:
How could this be?
Our radar couldn't even detect the enemy aircraft?
Just then, another earth-shattering explosion rang out in the distance. It was a heavy guided bomb dropped by a stealth bomber, someone said as the explosion occurred.

"That's... the train dispatch station."

Sergei clenched his fists tightly as he watched the explosion.

The current Rising Dragon is completely powerless to fight back.

Those stealth fighters roamed freely in this airspace, as if it were an empty field.

As for the "Sam Jungle," which once terrified Americans, it has now become a joke. They can only watch helplessly as disaster strikes, unable to even pinpoint the enemy's location.

"We can't just sit there and wait!"

Sergei suddenly growled and stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. He then gave the radar operator the order: this was the last attempt.

As Sergei gave the order, the radar operator's fingers flew across the keyboard, and the static and noise on the screen gradually faded away.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the screen, their breathing so heavy it seemed it would crush the carriage.

"Have it!"

The radar operator suddenly exclaimed in surprise, pointing to a corner of the screen:
"Northwest direction, altitude 8,000... there are three weak signal sources moving at high speed! Yes, they are airplanes!"

Sergei's pupils suddenly contracted, and he quickly moved closer to the screen, staring intently at the three points of light that were almost blending into the background noise.

They were moving very fast, so they obviously couldn't be birds. Just then, a signal suddenly amplified.

"Signal amplification!"

"Calculate the ballistic parameters!" Sergei's voice trembled slightly with excitement.

"Lock the target!"

"Parameter calculation in progress..."

The operator's fingers flew across the keyboard, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead.

"Signal remains unstable... Lock failed!"

Sergei's heart sank. The radar signal was too weak to guide the missile to a precise lock. It was like trying to catch a speck of dust in the wind with the naked eye—visible, but impossible to grasp.

Even if there is occasional signal amplification, it is only for a moment. Although the reason is unknown, it is only a momentary event.

These soldiers from the Soviet Union did not give up; they kept adjusting their tactics in an attempt to lock onto their target.

But during this process, everyone's brows furrowed in worry; it was an attempt that seemed to offer no hope.

Meanwhile, on the streets of Thang Long city, residents stood blankly, gazing up at the night sky dyed red by the firelight.

Explosions rang out one after another, rattling the windows, but not a single stray bullet was visible on the streets, nor a single gunshot rang out. The destroyed buildings were all vital institutions such as radio stations, communications centers, and power plants, while residential areas remained intact, and even the shops along the streets were safe and sound.

Some people stood on the rooftop, tiptoeing, looking in the direction from which the explosion came, their faces filled with confusion as they gazed at the flames burning there.
"Do those foreigners' bombs have eyes? How come they hit so accurately?"

Someone looked up at the night sky and murmured to themselves:
"Where's the plane? We can't see a trace of it."

Others held their children, hiding under the eaves of houses on street corners, their eyes filled with fear and confusion.

They could feel the shockwaves of the explosion and see the towering flames, but they couldn't feel the direct damage of war, which was completely different from the bombing raids they had experienced with B-52 bombers.

This bombing was a precise, surgical strike.

For ordinary people, this is undoubtedly extremely fortunate; at least they don't have to worry about their own safety.

"found it!"

Inside the command vehicle, the radar operator's exclamation broke the silence. Pointing to a stable spot of light on the screen, he said:
"The target has shifted southeast and is approaching the military airfield! The signal strength briefly increased, enough to complete a lock-on!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Sergei roared:
"Launch the missiles! Two!"

"emission!"

"emission!"

Commands sounded one after another, and the S300 missile launcher outside the command vehicle suddenly rose up. Two missiles suddenly popped out of the dark green missile launch tubes, and the moment the missiles shot out, they trailed dazzling tail flames and soared straight into the sky.

The moment the missile's exhaust streaked across the night sky, the entire position was completely exposed. But Sergei no longer cared.

The most important thing is to shoot down the Night Shadow in the air.

His eyes were fixed on the radar screen, watching the two missiles fly towards their targets like arrows released from a bow.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

Time seems to stand still at this moment.

Everyone in the command vehicle held their breath.

However, just as the missile was about to hit its target, the dot on the radar screen suddenly disappeared.

"Target...target signal has disappeared!"

The radar operator's voice carried a hint of despair:

"Missile has lost guidance; self-destruct sequence activated!"

Two brilliant sparks flashed across the distant night sky. Those were the lights that burst forth as the missiles self-destructed.

Sergei slumped into his chair, as if all his strength had been drained away in an instant. He stared despairingly at the sky outside the window.

How could this be?
You can't see it, and you can't hit it...

My God, why is this happening?

At this moment, someone reminded him:
"Major, we need to relocate immediately. The drones... we've been exposed, and they're very likely to attack us!"

"Let's move..."

Sergei slowly closed his eyes. At this moment, his feelings were complicated, and it wasn't just because of the stealth fighter that couldn't be intercepted.

Furthermore, under the threat of drone attacks, they actually needed to conceal their presence as much as possible to avoid being attacked.

As the missile battalion moved once again, Sergei, sitting in the vehicle, looked at the people on the roadside, his feelings a mixture of emotions.

For the past seventy-two hours, they have firmly believed that they will win, but little did they know that the battle had already been decided in silence.

Now, every minute after the explosions of war is torture for them.

This despair, this helplessness, was something Sergei had never experienced before, and the shock he and his comrades felt at this moment was also unprecedented...

(End of this chapter)