Courtyard House: A Major Power's Heavy Industry, Hand-Crafted Nuclear Fusion

Winter of 1989, Northwest China, Base 001.

It was on the eve of Su Zheng's departure for Moscow.

A top-secret test that could change the world's strategic landscape is in its final countdown at the deepest part of the base—the underground launch silo codenamed "The Great Wall".

Outside, snow was falling heavily, but inside the underground command center, the lights were on.

"Old Chen, how's the data check going?"

Su Zheng, dressed in anti-static clothing, stood in front of the huge monitoring screen. Beside him was the old general who had once been in charge of the integration of nuclear weapons and missiles. At this moment, the old man's hands were gripping the handrail tightly, his knuckles white from the force.

"Everything is normal."

Old Chen's voice was calm, but the beads of sweat on his forehead betrayed him. "The inertial navigation unit (IMU) error is locked within 0.01 degrees. The onboard computer self-test has passed. The trajectory change engine has been refueled."

"it is good."

Su Zheng nodded, his gaze fixed on the huge cylinder in the center of the screen.

That was a Dongfeng-5B intercontinental ballistic missile.

However, unlike in the past, its warhead is no longer a blunt cone, but a more slender biconical structure with four micro-control surfaces.

This is the result of three years of secret cooperation between Red Star Electronics and the Ministry of Aerospace Industry—a terminal maneuvering warhead.

"Minister Su."

The old general suddenly spoke up, "Are you sure this thing will work? The US's 'Star Wars' program may be a hoax, but their 'Patriot' missile defense system is a real thing. If our missiles are intercepted as soon as they fly over, then our nuclear deterrent... will be greatly reduced."

"Don't worry, sir."

Su Zheng pointed to the warhead and said, "The US's missile defense systems, whether Patriot or the future THAAD, are all based on calculating the trajectory. They assume the missile flies in a parabola, calculate where it will pass, and then wait there to hit it."

"but……"

Su Zheng's lips curled into a cold smile. "What if our missiles don't follow a parabolic trajectory?"

"If it doesn't follow a parabolic trajectory, can it still be called a ballistic missile?"

"That's called...skimming on water."

……

Two o'clock in the morning.

"ignition!"

With a command given.

The earthquake trembled.

The silo cover slid open with a roar, and a huge column of white smoke rose into the air. The Dongfeng-5B, like a sharp sword, pierced the winter night sky and flew towards the Pacific test range thousands of kilometers away.

Meanwhile, in space.

A U.S. "keyhole" reconnaissance satellite has keenly detected the infrared signal.

Hawaii, U.S. Pacific Command.

The piercing alarm instantly resounded throughout the command center.

"Intercontinental ballistic missile launch detected! Launch point: Northwest China! Direction: High Pacific Ocean!"

"Calculate the impact point!" the commander roared.

"The computer is calculating... Estimated landing point: XX latitude North, XX longitude West. Interception probability: 95%"

The staff officer looked at the standard red parabola on the screen and breathed a sigh of relief. "It was just a routine test launch. Our Standard Missile-2 can easily intercept it."

However, at the very moment the missile flew out of the atmosphere and re-entered the atmosphere.

Strange things happened.

According to the laws of physics, when a warhead re-enters the atmosphere, it should fall along a fixed trajectory like a meteorite.

However, this warhead... moved.

It's like a raptor that was just sleeping and has suddenly woken up.

The tiny nozzles on both sides of the warhead suddenly spewed out flames, in conjunction with the deflection of the aerodynamic rudder.

It did not fall.

It's skipping stones...

At the edge of the atmosphere, in that blackout region filled with plasma.

The warhead used the shockwave generated by its high-speed flight to "jump" upwards suddenly, like a stone jumping on the surface of water!

Sanger trajectory!

"Sir! The target...the target is lost!"

In the command center in Hawaii, the staff officer's face turned pale instantly. "The radar lost track of it! It...it suddenly changed altitude and course! It's making irregular maneuvers!"

"What?!"

The commander rushed to the screen.

The once clear red trail suddenly turned into a tangled mess.

The warhead veered left and right, and at one point even performed a violent overload maneuver of up to 15G!

This is not a ballistic missile at all!

That's a manned fighter jet! No, even a fighter jet can't do that!

"What about the missile defense system? Intercept it!"

"Unable to lock!"

The operator pounded his fist on the keyboard in despair. "The computer can't calculate its trajectory! Its next move is completely random! Our interceptor missiles... all of them missed!"

……

over the Pacific Ocean.

That lone warhead, after completing this dazzling series of "dances of death".

Finally, it spotted its target.

It was a huge target floating on the sea.

Inside the warhead, the guidance core, specially made by Red Star Electronics and integrating an N52 magnet gyroscope and a Loongson processor, issued its final command.

dive.

The bullet pierced straight down at twenty times the speed of sound.

boom!

A water column reaching a height of 100 meters rose from the sea surface.

Although it was not equipped with a nuclear warhead, its enormous kinetic energy still triggered a small tsunami.

The target was instantly shattered.

Meanwhile, on the US observation ship hundreds of kilometers away, everyone remained silent.

They stared at the last disappearing dot of light on the radar screen, speechless for a long time.

They knew that from this moment on...

The missile defense system that the United States spent hundreds of billions of dollars to build has become a pile of expensive scrap metal.

Faced with absolute speed and maneuverability, all shields are as fragile as paper.

……

Base 001.

When the message "target hit" came.

The old general did not cheer.

He simply took off his military cap with trembling hands, faced the screen, and gave a military salute that lasted for a full minute.

"I've got this..."

The old man's voice choked with emotion, "Only now can we truly stand tall."

"yes."

Su Zheng helped the old man up, saying, "We used to have swords, but our swordsmanship wasn't fast enough, and we were easily blocked. Now, our swords are not only fast, but they can also... perform magic tricks."

"This is—the Sword of Damocles."

Su Zheng stared at the bizarre trajectory of the ballistic missile on the screen. "It's hovering overhead, ready to fall at any moment, and... it's unstoppable."

"This technology..."

The old general calmed himself down. "Was that your idea too?"

"No."

Su Zheng shook his head. "It was Qian Xuesen's idea back then. I just... helped him replace the abacus with a Loongson chip and the wood with titanium alloy."

"and……"

A glint of light flashed in Su Zheng's eyes. "This is just the first generation. In the future, we will also develop 'waveriders' and 'hypersonic gliding.' We want to make our express delivery so that no company in the world can refuse it."

……

The next day, at the airport.

An unmarked Tu-154 passenger plane has started its engines.

Su Zheng stood on the gangway, taking one last look at the land covered in ice and snow.

"Feeling at ease now?" Ye Xinyi stood behind him and straightened his scarf.

"I feel at ease now."

Su Zheng laughed, "With this 'dog-beating stick' at home, I can confidently go to other people's houses to 'move things' now."

"Is it dangerous to go to Russia this time?"

"Danger."

Su Zheng's smile faded. "That place is a chaotic vortex right now. KGB, Mafia, black marketeers, oligarchs... all sorts of monsters and demons have come out. We have to snatch food from the tiger's mouth, and even... pull the tiger's teeth out."

"but……"

He patted his chest; it was a top-secret list kept close to his body.

Tu-160 bombers, Akula-class nuclear submarine technology, RD-180 rocket engines, and the list of hundreds of top scientists from the Russian bear country...

"These things are the last legacy that the red giant left to mankind. If we don't take them, they will be taken by the Westerners or rot in the scrap heap."

"We're not going to steal, we're going to... inherit."

"Inherit that former ideal, inherit that courage to break free from Earth."

"Let's go."

Su Zheng turned and walked into the cabin.

The plane taxis and takes off.

It flew through the clouds and headed northwest.