Rejecting Tsinghua and Peking Universities: I Will Lead Harbin Institute of Technology to World Lead

Lin Feng stayed in the capital for three days.

He carefully stored the Peerless Hero Medal and the China Medal in a specially made safe. The safe was made of the same nano-composite armor as the Fuxi fighter jet and had a built-in triple biometric lock, so that it could be preserved intact even if it was hit by a tactical nuclear weapon.

It's not vanity, but responsibility—these two medals carry the hard work of countless comrades and the expectations of the entire nation.

On the morning of the fourth day, he contacted Zhao Weiguo: "Return to Shancheng."

Three hours later, the car entered the mountain city.

The moment I opened the door, the aroma of food wafted out.

"dad!"

"Big brother!"

Lin Sibin and Lin Chuxue rushed into Lin Feng's arms like two little cannonballs. His four-year-old son was already up to his waist, and his five-year-old sister had pigtails and big, bright eyes.

Shen Moran, wearing an apron, poked her head out of the kitchen, her eyes filled with undisguised joy: "You're back? Go wash your hands, dinner's ready in a minute."

Su Wenqing brought out the last plate of spicy chicken: "How long can you stay this time?"

"One month." Lin Feng picked up the two children. "At least one month."

The old man's eyes instantly reddened, and he quickly turned around, saying, "Okay, okay... a month is good."

At dinner time, the evening news was playing on TV.

Lin Guodong switched to the military channel, and a blurry image appeared on the screen—against a desert backdrop, a strangely shaped tank was firing. There was no muzzle flash, only ripples of distorted air, and a distant target exploded.

"Our station reports that the Ministry of Defense of the Free State announced today that it has successfully developed the world's first combat-ready electromagnetic railgun tank, codenamed Thor..."

The announcer's voice was calm and restrained, but the live comments scrolling below the news had already exploded.

The footage shows a close-up of the Thor tank: a boxy hull, a short, thick gun barrel, and a turret top covered with various sensors. Although blurred technically, its significant differences from traditional tanks are still evident.

"Damn it!" The old man slammed down his chopsticks. "The Free Nation has actually built an electromagnetic railgun tank before us! Once this thing goes into mass production, the landscape of land warfare will change again!"

Lin Feng watched the news without saying a word.

The news has now moved into an in-depth analysis phase.

Lin Guodong sighed: "The Free Country has developed electromagnetic railgun tanks, and they're going to show off their power again."

Lin Feng didn't say anything, took out his phone, and logged into the encrypted network.

Internal briefings reveal that the Free Nation's Thor project has actually been secretly underway for twelve years. A year ago, they broke through the miniaturization bottleneck of the electromagnetic railgun, three months ago they completed the first prototype, and what has now been announced is the third-generation improved version.

Since the Free Nation's electromagnetic railgun tank was revealed, online discussions have been in full swing.

The top trending topic on Weibo: #FreeNationElectromagneticGunTank#

[Oh no, the Free Nation has taken the lead again! How many more years can our Type 99A frigates hold out?]

[Can't our country stand up for itself?! Let's develop electromagnetic railguns too!]

[Don't rush, upstairs. Maybe we've been working on it for a while now, just haven't announced it yet?]

If it hasn't been announced, it doesn't exist! Let's face reality; some technological gaps can't be closed in the short term...

Pessimism, anxiety, resentment, expectation... all sorts of emotions intertwine online.

Three days after the public outcry subsided, the Ministry of Defense of the Free State officially issued an invitation.

"To promote exchanges among armies and showcase the achievements of modern army development, we hereby invite all countries to participate in this Global Army Skills Competition. Competition events include: individual soldier skills, squad tactics, equipment performance demonstrations, live-fire exercises…"

The invitation was politely worded, but everyone understood the subtext: Come on, let's see who is the king of land warfare.

China's Ministry of National Defense responded within 24 hours: "Thank you for the invitation. We will send a delegation to participate."

Short, concise, and devoid of any superfluous emotion.

But this response made international observers sense something unusual – given China's recent practices, if it lacks confidence, it usually declines on the grounds of conflicting training missions, or only sends observers.

Officially participating in the competition means... having a chance to play your cards.

"What cards do they have up their sleeve?" a general asked doubtfully at a Pentagon intelligence meeting. "Our intelligence indicates that China's electromagnetic railgun project is still in the conceptual stage, at least ten years behind us."

"Maybe they want to use a modified version of the Type 99A?" another person said. "I heard their Kirin heavy tank has good performance. Although it still uses a traditional cannon, its fire control system and protection are world-class."

"Traditional tanks are just sitting ducks in front of the Thor," the Secretary of the Army, who was chairing the meeting, sneered. "It's better that they participate; it'll show the world that the Free Nation's Army is still number one in the world."

The martial arts competition is scheduled for one month from now.

Location: Desert training ground in a neutral country in North Africa.

It has the most complete tank testing facilities, the most spacious live-fire range, and the most neutral observation team.

The world's attention is focused on this.

The day before the competition, delegations from various countries arrived one after another.

The Free Nation's Thor tank arrived by transport plane, and as it descended the gangway, flashbulbs of cameras shone like a sea of ​​stars. The tank was entirely dark gray, with a striking lightning bolt emblem painted on the gun barrel, exuding an imposing aura.

The Europa Union brought the latest Leopard 2A8, which, while still a traditional artillery piece, has been upgraded with an active protection system and a digital battlefield network.

North Bear Nation showcased an improved version of the T-14 Armata, emphasizing the design concept of an unmanned turret and centralized crew protection.

Most other countries' equipment consists of third-generation or third-and-a-half-generation main battle tanks, which pale in comparison to the brilliance of the Thor.

The Chinese delegation... was late in arriving.

"Could they have backed out at the last minute?" someone joked in the Free Nation delegation's camp.

"Perhaps the transport plane malfunctioned?" the Europa officer speculated.

"Or... they didn't bring any new equipment at all, and they're too embarrassed to show their faces?" someone maliciously speculated.

Until six hours before the official start of the match.

A deep rumble came from the horizon.

It wasn't the sound of a transport plane's turbofan; it was a sharper, higher-frequency sound of air being torn apart.

Everyone looked up.

Three Fuxi aerospace fighters streaked across the sky like black lightning, performed a beautiful formation maneuver over the training ground, and then—landed vertically.

Yes, vertical landing.

Without a runway or taxiing, it hovered directly ten meters above the ground before slowly descending. The moment the landing gear touched down, it kicked up a cloud of dust.

The hatch opened, and members of the Chinese delegation filed out.

The leader was an army major general, who saluted the officials from the competition organizing committee who came to greet him: "The Chinese delegation has arrived on time."

The official returned the greeting blankly, but his gaze was fixed on the three Fuxi figures—this was their first public appearance outside of Chinese territory.

But what's even more shocking is yet to come.

Fuxi's abdominal cargo hold slowly opened.

A tank was slowly launched using a special support frame.

When they were fully exposed to the sunlight, the entire training ground fell into a deathly silence.

It wasn't the traditional, boxy design of the Thor; instead, it was a low, streamlined, wedge-shaped vehicle that almost touched the ground. The gun barrel was exaggeratedly long, its surface covered with cooling fins. The hull armor wasn't steel plates, but some kind of honeycomb composite structure that gleamed with a dull metallic sheen in the sunlight.

What's most unsettling is its eyes—the vehicle is surrounded by arrays of sensors, each slowly rotating like the compound eyes of a living creature, scanning everything around it.

Major General Hua walked over to one of the tanks, patted the armor, and his voice carried throughout the area through the loudspeaker:

"Chinese Army, new main battle tank, Xuanwu."

He paused, then added: "Electromagnetic railgun type."

Eight words, like eight thunderclaps.

In the Free Nation delegation, the general who had once asserted that "China is ten years behind" dropped his binoculars on the ground with a thud.

The officers in Europe fell silent.

The representative of the Northern Bear Kingdom rushed out of the chariot, ran to the edge of the cordon, and stared intently at the Xuanwu chariot.

The flashes in the press area paused for three seconds, then went off like crazy.

The live stream camera quickly zoomed in.

On screens, billions of viewers around the world saw a close-up of Xuanwu.

Over the training ground's loudspeaker came the calm voice of Major General Hua Xia:

"In accordance with the competition rules, we request to conduct a demonstration of equipment performance. Demonstration subject: beyond-visual-range precision strike."

He pointed to the other end of the training ground—where, fifty kilometers away, ten targets had already been erected at the shooting range.

"Xuanwu One, prepare."

The order has been issued.

The electromagnetic cannon barrel of the Xuanwu tank on the far left slowly rose. Inside the barrel, a faint blue light began to flow, a sign that the superconducting coil was charging.

There was no deafening roar, no billowing smoke or flames.

Only the sharp hiss of ionized air could be heard, like the low roar of a dragon in the abyss.

0.3 seconds later, a streak of light shot out, almost invisible to the naked eye.

Fifty kilometers, in less than twenty seconds of flight time.

On the large screen, live footage transmitted from the satellite was displayed:

The first target—a metal target simulating an M1A2 tank—was completely pierced, torn apart, and twisted into a pretzel shape.

The second, the third, the fourth...

Ten shots, ten hits, ten destructions.

Average interval: three seconds.

Firing complete.

The cannon barrel of the Xuanwu tank slowly lowered, and the eerie blue light gradually faded.

The training field was deathly silent for a full minute.

Then, applause rang out from the direction of the Chinese delegation—not a celebration, but a polite, understated applause.

But this bland applause felt like a slap in the face to the Free Nation delegation.

It was a slap in the face to everyone who thought the Chinese army had fallen behind.

The internet exploded at that moment.

In China, Weibo's servers crashed for the third time.

[What did I just see?! We have electromagnetic railgun tanks too?!]

[Xuanwu! What an imposing name! Guarding the land, indestructible!]

[It turns out the country had already built it! They just didn't announce it! They were waiting for today to expose their mistake!]

[Tears welled up in my eyes... This is the true strength of a great nation! No ostentation, no boasting, just a slap in the face when you've had your fill of jumping around!]

International public opinion was in an uproar.

The Times urgently changed its front page: "Eastern Dragon Unsheathes its Claws: China's Electromagnetic Guns and Tanks Outperform the Free Nation"

The New York Times headline was one of utter frustration: "The End of Technological Advantage: How Can China Overtake Others in Electromagnetic Railguns?"

The Asahi Shimbun's report was tinged with fear: "The Rules of Ground Warfare Have Been Rewritten: We Need to Reassess All Defense Plans."

On the training field, the head of the Free Nation delegation—the Minister of the Army—walked up to the Chinese Major General with a livid face.

"Congratulations," the minister said through gritted teeth.

"Likewise," the major general replied politely. "Your country's Thor is also excellent equipment."

This statement is more damaging than any sarcasm.

The rest of the day's matches became a one-man show for China.

Individual soldier skills? Chinese special forces break five records.

Squad tactics? The coordinated operations of the Chinese infantry squads in their drills flowed smoothly like clouds and water.

Live-fire combat? When the Xuanwu tanks appeared on the Blue Army's position, the judging panel immediately declared the Red Army the winner—"because according to the rules of a real battlefield, the Red Army tanks would have been destroyed before the Blue Army even spotted them."

The global army skills competition has turned into a solo show for the Chinese army.

Overnight, the name Xuanwu became a nightmare for all army generals around the world.