Those who face the wall, but are in the Nascent Soul stage.

Chapter 3, Military Theory, no longer exists.
The communication with the Trisolaran civilization failed, which was within Luo Qing's expectations.

The conditions he proposed weren't harsh; they were simply to keep the Trisolaran fleet out of the Oort Cloud and to get the Sophon out of the solar system.

He didn't make the Trisolarans kowtow to him or apologize to humanity.

'The Trisolarans are even more unreasonable than demonic cultivators...'

As Luo Qing rode on Air Force One, watching the two F-22 fighter jets flying alongside him outside the window, he pondered deeply.

'So far, I've only demonstrated a small ability to manipulate macroscopic matter and transmit telepathic messages. While the Trisolaran civilization has noticed me, they don't see me as a threat.'

'The Thunderous Barrier Array was merely a small demonstration of array formations combined with modern technology, and it didn't attract the Trisolarans' attention.'

'This is not good news. It suggests that the Trisolaran civilization's level of advancement may very well exceed humanity's worst-case scenario predictions.'

In fact, due to his fear of Zhi Zi's surveillance, Luo Qing had never revealed his true combat power as a peak Nascent Soul cultivator in this realm. He was able to take the position of the fifth Wallfacer mainly because of his small skill of transmitting his divine sense.

When human society learned that everything would be monitored by the Sophons, it fell into a prolonged state of pessimism. Luo Qing's demonstration of telepathic communication directly led the desperate humans to elevate him to the throne of the Wallfacer.

Unsure of the Trisolarans' true power, Luo Qing was the most compliant with the Wallfacer's rules among the remaining four Wallfacers. Aside from occasionally appearing as an idol in the currently popular cultivation culture, he spent most of his time meditating and cultivating his inner energy.

True meditation in seclusion.

There's one thing the wallbreaker said that's true: he is indeed the most tormented of all the wallbreakers. After all, the person being monitored often meditates for ten days or half a month without saying a word. Who can stand that?

"Professor Luo Qing?" someone spoke, interrupting Luo Qing's thoughts.

“Mr. President, please speak.” Luo Qing came back to his senses and smiled at the American president.

He was able to board Air Force One simply because he was going the same way as the president, and of course, it was also the result of the president's strong, repeated, numerous, sincere, and enthusiastic invitation.

There's an unspoken rule among Wallfacers that they don't meet each other in private, so Luo Qing didn't return with that Wallfacer Luo Ji—mainly because it wasn't on the same route, and Luo Ji was going to Northern Europe.

Now it is a time of 'war', and the security measures are different from the past. In addition to the two F-22 fighter jets flying outside the window, Luo Qing can sense at least six other fighter jets flying not far from Air Force One.

The president was somewhat exasperated. His main reason for inviting Professor Luo Qing was to have more conversations with him. He had been curious about this mysterious monk for a long time, but the latter remained silent as soon as he boarded the plane. Although he knew that being cautious in speech was the minimum requirement for a Wallfacer, this was just too quiet.

They're using me as a human defense against the Trisolarans.

"Professor Luo Qing, there's something I'm curious about. Could you please answer my question?"

"Of course, not if we're not talking about the Wallfacer's Code."

"What are your next plans? Do you intend to reveal your true identity to the public? Your previous live television broadcast with the Wallbreaker caused a great stir."

"This is already considered semi-public, let's just let things take their course from here on out."

"I understand. Also, Chairman Sai told me earlier that the Trisolarans seem to be trying to communicate with you privately?"

"Yes."

What are your thoughts on this?

"It is foolish to believe the enemy's strategic deception."

"Then I'm relieved. All the major powers are worried that you will be deceived by the Trisolaran civilization."

"This worry is unnecessary."

"I heard that you displayed many superpowers at the Wallfacer PCD performance review meeting?"

"Yes."

"I really envy those who are here... Not attending this performance review meeting is the most foolish mistake I've made since becoming president." The president stamped his foot in regret. "I'm really extremely curious about you and the cultivation power you represent."

There was no other way. During those five hours without being monitored by Zhi Zi, everyone could freely express their ideas. Luo Qing also demonstrated his abilities more than once. After the five-hour safe period was over, everyone immediately shut up.

At least until Zhizi's surveillance is lifted, the three to five hundred people present will have to keep the secret to themselves.

The president has questioned the American representatives attending the meeting more than once, and even summoned CIA officials attending the meeting many times, hoping that they could give him hints about what happened at the meeting.

Unfortunately, everyone remained silent.

Only Wade blinked at him.

The US president clearly wanted to say something more, but Luo Qing pointed in a certain direction inside the cabin.

The president immediately understood Luo Qing's meaning.

Zhizi is here.

He shut his mouth in frustration.

Seeing that the president had quieted down, Luo Qing also closed his eyes. Although he was meditating, his consciousness remained firmly locked on that dim spot of light.

I have a feeling that there's something fishy about this Zhizi.

...

In the Pacific Ocean, somewhere at the intersection of the International Date Line and the Tropic of Cancer, the 'Kuroshio' is cutting through the waves at a speed of 18 knots. This saury fishing vessel, built at the beginning of this century, now looks rusty. The 89-meter-long steel hull is full of repair marks and has an overall iron-red rusty sheen in the setting sun.

Recently, the USS Ronald Reagan Nimitz-class carrier strike group of the Seventh Fleet of the Pacific Fleet, 400 nautical miles away, the JS Kuroshio, which was operating under full channel silence, arrived at the waters that New York must pass through on its way to China without any instructions.

The fishing vessel 'Kuroshio' shows obvious signs of modification. The superstructure has been cut into three tactical platforms. Platform A is filled with supplies and miscellaneous items, while platform C has a yellow circle and a red 'H' drawn on it, which is a helicopter landing platform.

The central B gun position is equipped with a Flak 18 88mm anti-aircraft gun manufactured in Germany in 1943, also known as the 88mm anti-aircraft gun, which played a prominent role during World War II.

This World War II artifact was pulled from a museum and quickly given a new lease on life. The surface of the gun barrel is covered with a matte black coating unique to the Trisolaran ETO organization, and the gun carriage is welded to the deck via five sets of hydraulic struts.

Two additional recoil mechanisms were welded under the gun carriage to distribute the recoil force to the keel of the ship. Its maximum range was also surpassed by improvements in modern gunpowder and rifling, reaching 50,000 meters. In addition to the increased range, engineers also improved the hydraulic system of the anti-aircraft gun, allowing for single-person operation and flexible, rapid adjustment of the anti-aircraft angle.

Nothing else.

The captain of the 'Kuroshio' originally planned to install a Type 92 fire control radar, which he had acquired from the black market and salvaged from a retired destroyer, at the stern, but the master rejected his idea of ​​adding unnecessary features.

"Artillery crew, prepare—"

A long, drawn-out shout in Japanese, like a bronze bell tolling at dawn, echoed throughout the entire ship.

Shooting down Air Force One is indeed very difficult. The US president's aircraft is no longer the modified Boeing airliner of the past. The new Air Force One looks very much like the 'B-1B Lancer' bomber, with a maximum cruising speed of an astonishing Mach 1.6.

The eight extended-range F-22s escorting Air Force One also flew at Mach 1.6. What made it even more difficult was that two of the F-22s locked onto the lower abdomen of Air Force One, forming an impenetrable steel shield.

According to existing theories of human military warfare, anti-aircraft guns from World War II could not possibly threaten fifth-generation supersonic stealth fighters. The shells (after improvements) with a muzzle velocity of only 1600 meters per second could not even catch up with a fighter jet traveling at full speed, not to mention that this old-fashioned cannon had almost no modern sighting devices—after all, it was taken directly from a museum.

After the Judgment Incident, the Trisolaran ETO, severely weakened, failed to infiltrate the militaries of various countries. Acquiring this ancient weapon was already the result of their best efforts.

"Prepare to load!"

Another shout rang out, like the first tolling of a morning bell, lasting for a long time. Several stumbling sounds came from the 'Kuroshio' as the loader picked up a 24.5kg high-explosive shell and pushed it into the breech, the copper ammunition belt rubbing against the breechblock and sparking dazzling sparks.

This anti-aircraft shell was also handcrafted by an eighth-level fitter, an external member of the ETO organization. There are a total of eight such precious shells.

If the essence of modern warfare theory is to "shoot farther and more accurately," then at this moment, this 88mm gun has achieved two key accomplishments: "shooting far enough" and "shooting very accurately."

"Aim and prepare—"

This was the third and final round of shouting. Like the tolling of a bell, the voice deflated, became hoarse, and quickly ceased. The commander no longer needed to give any further instructions; all the necessary information had already been projected into the gunners' pupils.

[Target speed: 1920 km/h (standard Mach 1.6)]

[Lead distance: Azimuth 247°12', Elevation +78°37']

[Spacetime curvature compensation: -0.003c/m]

The information provided by the sophon was complex, but it seemed to understand that there were limits to the data that the human brain could analyze, so it gave the gunner more specific indicators.

As the gunner subconsciously began to adjust the angle of the anti-aircraft gun muzzle, a black progress bar appeared in front of him, with a simple '↑' arrow marked in the center of his field of vision.

As the gunner raises the muzzle, the progress bar slowly fills up, but when the muzzle is too high, the progress bar drops rapidly.

The improved 88mm gun from the ETO is very maneuverable.

This is a very simple video game. The gunner quickly mastered the game's mechanics and, guided by the '↑↓←→' indicators in his pupils, completed the achievement of filling the progress bar for the first time.

【ignition】

Two large, blood-red characters suddenly appeared in the gunner's pupils.

When the firing pin strikes the primer, a chamber pressure of 2,500 bar releases the shell, unleashing a burst of flame reminiscent of artillery fire from the last century.

This old World War II machine, precisely guided by the Trisolaran civilization, struck the 'Raptor' cruising at an altitude of around 10,000 meters with the comical flair of an archer firing into the sky. This jarring contrast between the ancient and the modern made the crew of the 'Kuroshio' hold their breath until a faint burst of fire erupted in the sky, at which point they cheered.

21世纪美国空军的传奇五代机F—22猛禽，于公元2015年4月3日上午9点，被纳粹德国在1943年制造的88毫米高射炮击落。

Thus, the theory of generational suppression in the history of human armaments no longer exists.

[Target wingman destroyed. Prepare for second round of artillery fire.]

Zhizi issued the order for a second round of artillery fire.

Although the exact time of Guzheng's actions is not explicitly stated in the original novel *The Three-Body Problem*, it can be inferred from some plot clues:
Ye Wenjie's arrest occurred at the end of the first book, during her participation in the ETO conference. In the prologue of the second book, *The Dark Forest*, it's mentioned that Ye Wenjie met Luo Ji before attending the ETO conference, and Evans's last communication with the Trisolarans predates this meeting. After receiving the last message from the Trisolaran world, the Trisolarans lost contact with the ETO, and Ye Wenjie was subsequently arrested.

Evans's death: Evans died during Operation Guzheng, but his death occurred after Ye Wenjie's arrest. The book mentions a period of time between Ye Wenjie's arrest and Operation Guzheng. During this period, the Global Operations Center formulated a plan to seize the Trisolaran information aboard the "Judgment Day," ultimately implementing Operation Guzheng. Considering these factors, it can be inferred that Operation Guzheng occurred around early spring in the Northern Hemisphere in 2007, presumably on March 27th.

Thus began the first year of the Crisis Era for humanity.

Overall, based on the original plot and related background information, the first year of the Crisis Era is 2007, which is a reasonable time estimate.

The Wallfacer Project began in the third year of the Crisis Era.

In that year, the Planetary Defense Council's nineteenth meeting announced the final list of Wallfacers, marking the official launch of the Wallfacer Project. At this time, the Trisolaran fleet was 4.21 light-years from the solar system. That is, the year 2009 AD.

The novel is set in 2015, which is the 9th year of the Crisis Era, and the sixth year that the Wallfacers have been in office.

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(End of this chapter)