142: Chapter 142 Emergency Meeting

When Captain Yang Gang walked into the meeting room, quite a few people were already seated inside.

Looking around, most of them were middle-aged men, and there was no shortage of those with graying hair.

These were all renowned experts from various research institutes, some even being leading figures in the theoretical field of electromagnetics.

It could be said that if a missile were to hit this place right now, China's research in the field of electromagnetics would regress by at least a hundred and twenty years, directly returning to pre-liberation levels.

Captain Yang Gang followed behind Zheng Yi, ignoring the stern look from his teacher. He eagerly chose an empty seat next to Zheng Yi and sat down, not daring to speak out of turn as he looked up at the rostrum.

Sitting on the rostrum was the true heavyweight who had called today's meeting, an authoritative professor in the field of electromagnetics and a heavyweight figure in China's electromagnetic and firearms research—Professor Qin Taifeng.

Sitting next to him was a Middle-aged man in military uniform. Captain Yang Gang couldn't quite make out his rank and had never seen his face before, but he was at least a lieutenant general, a heavyweight from the military.

"Almost everyone is here. Guards, verify the head count and check the transfer orders."

The voice was deep; it was the military heavyweight speaking.

Hearing this, the guards in the meeting room stepped forward, counted the heads one by one, and then collected all the transfer orders from everyone. After careful inspection, they reported, "Reporting to Chief, thirty-six expected, thirty-six present. Thirty-six transfer orders collected."

"Destroy the transfer orders together."

"Yes, sir."

Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, the guards... burned the transfer orders.

Burning was only the first step; specialized personnel would subsequently process the ashes in detail until the contents were completely unrecoverable.

Looking at the blazing fire, everyone's expressions were very solemn.

They had only ever seen this kind of procedure in emergency contingency plans. This was a Level 2 contingency plan that would almost only be activated when the country faced a crisis. Above it, there were only Level 1 and Special Level contingency plans.

Those two levels would not be activated at all unless there was a full-scale war or a nuclear invasion.

In other words, what they were facing today was almost the highest level of contingency plan under normal circumstances. Activating this plan meant they had encountered an event threatening national security, or an event of equivalent level as determined by the Military Commission.

This caused the hearts of all the experts and scholars present to leap into their throats.

What on earth could it be that would make the military directly issue transfer orders to gather personnel? Those were transfer orders; failing to comply after receiving a transfer order would land someone in a military court, and the consequences could not be more severe.

"We are very sorry for inviting everyone here in such a hurry today," the Middle-aged man in military uniform said in a deep voice. "But the situation is urgent, and we had no choice. Please understand."

As if we have a choice not to understand, the experts grumbled silently to themselves.

"As for the specific details, we have also just learned about them. I will let Professor Qin explain it to everyone."

"Everyone."

Professor Qin Taifeng, who was sixty-five this year, spoke with a strong, resonant voice, not looking at all like an elderly man approaching his seventies.

"You are all experts in the field of electromagnetic physics, and a considerable number of you are master-level figures who have received national honors." Professor Qin Taifeng glanced slightly at everyone and smiled. "Reasonably speaking, I shouldn't be sitting here hosting this meeting. Although I have also received some insignificant honors, my understanding of electromagnetic physics is still not comprehensive enough."

A wave of good-natured laughter erupted from the audience.

It depended on who said it. If anyone else had said those words, it would have been showing off. But given Professor Qin Taifeng's status, saying such things was purely out of modesty.

"But I know that the burden on everyone's shoulders is very heavy and the pressure is great. I dare not waste your time, so I can only trouble myself with some trivial matters. Next, I will briefly introduce the general situation."

Professor Qin Taifeng looked at the middle-aged military man beside him, and the soldier nodded gently.

"First, please watch a video."

The guards around the room drew the curtains, and the projector began playing a video.

The moment the image appeared, it immediately captured the attention of many experts.

In the video, a soldier wearing a Chinese military uniform stood straight. However, his upright posture was not what attracted the experts; what truly caught their attention was the Weapon the soldier held in his hands.

That was an extremely oddly shaped Weapon. The very obvious grip and trigger on it allowed people to recognize its identity—this was a rifle.

But it was not an ordinary rifle.

Its barrel was surrounded by a thick casing, and the outer enclosure at the front of the muzzle even reached the length of the grip, turning the entire gun into a block, which looked extremely bizarre.

The soldier in the video seemed to have received an order. He raised the Weapon in his hands, assumed a shooting stance, and aimed at a target fifty meters away.

After a soft "puff-puff" sound, the target fell to the ground.

A voice rang out.

"Two hits, both penetrated."

The video ended there.

This is...?

Below the stage, Liu Weiming seemed to understand something, but before he could think about it carefully, the screen lit up again.

No one appeared in the video this time; instead, it showed a testing platform.

The photographer's camera was placed behind the test object, filming forward.

Liu Weiming could even see the target in the distance.

But what on earth was being tested this time?

Looking at the object on the platform, Liu Weiming was somewhat puzzled. Was this... a section of steel pipe?

A voice rang out.

"First test. Test power 1000W, test voltage 220V. Begin test."

With a soft "puff" sound, Liu Weiming immediately heard an impact sound coming from afar, very crisp, short, and rapid.

"Target penetrated."

"Conducting second test. Test power 2000W, test voltage 72V. Begin test."

There was another "puff."

This time, Liu Weiming clearly heard a violent impact.

"Target destroyed. Test concluded."

The video ended there.

What was going on?

Liu Weiming's first reaction was: Has the United States developed a new product again?

This possibility made him feel as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, chilling him from head to toe.

The United States had already developed mature and usable electromagnetic Weapons. If he wasn't mistaken, the first test was of this kind of Weapon, and the Electromagnetic Rifle developed by the Defense Department, which had a muzzle kinetic energy of just over 1000 Joules, was designed by drawing inspiration from this Weapon's design.

And now, the United States had developed an electromagnetic Weapon product with even more mature technology?

For a moment, Liu Weiming even felt a sense of despair, a deep feeling of powerlessness tightly enveloping him.

But then, he suddenly realized something.

The person in the second video was speaking pure Mandarin!

That kind of accent was not something those traitors in the United States could have. Moreover, even if there were Chinese-Americans, the United States wouldn't use Chinese when testing a Weapon.

Liu Weiming looked at the somewhat serious middle-aged military man on the stage, and then at the smiling Professor Qin, feeling a bit dazed for a moment.

What... was going on?