248: Chapter 248 Lynx V-25 Multi-Purpose Infantry Fighting Vehicle

2:00 PM sharp.

The lights in the entire hall suddenly dimmed.

It wasn't a gradual fade, but an instantaneous blackout. Darkness enveloped the entire venue, with only the green emergency exit signs emitting a faint glow.

Low gasps came from the audience, but it quickly fell silent—everyone knew the main event was about to begin.

Three seconds later, a beam of cold white light shot down vertically from the thirty-meter-high ceiling, landing precisely in the center of the stage.

Gu Xinghe was already standing there within the beam.

He hadn't walked out from the wings, but seemed to appear out of thin air. His dark green military fatigues glinted with a metallic luster under the cold white light; his shoulders were broad, his back straight, and he stood as firm as a pine tree.

No music, no introduction, no welcome speech.

"I am Gu Xinghe," his voice came through the bone-conduction microphone, clear, calm, and devoid of emotion, "CEO of Xingchen Defense."

He paused for three seconds, his gaze slowly sweeping across the hundreds of faces below the stage.

Among those faces were expectation, doubt, disdain, and scrutiny.

"What is being displayed here today," Gu Xinghe continued, his speaking pace slow but every word like a nail driven into a steel plate, "is not a weapon."

He paused again, letting the words ferment in the darkness.

"It is the Balance of War Cessation."

As soon as he finished speaking, the large screen behind him suddenly lit up.

The image was of the pitch-black depths of outer space, stars twinkling. Then the perspective zoomed in rapidly, passing through the atmosphere, gliding over mountains and rivers, and finally freezing on a battlefield somewhere on Earth—ruins, smoke, and wreckage.

The image faded out, and four Chinese characters appeared:

Stopping War with Might

The first item: Lynx V-25 Multi-purpose Infantry Fighting Vehicle

A low hum of mechanical operation came from the stage floor. Three circular platforms, five meters in diameter, rose slowly, with a combat vehicle parked on each.

From left to right:

The first: Standard Infantry Carrier variant, with a remote weapon station on the roof, equipped with a 30mm autocannon and a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun.

The second: Field Air Defense variant, with a quadruple anti-aircraft missile launcher and a small phased-array radar on the roof.

The third: Anti-Tank variant, with a twin-tube heavy anti-tank missile launcher on the roof.

The three vehicles were basically identical in appearance, all featuring a low-profile design with sharp angles. The hulls were covered in composite armor, and the paint was the digital camouflage used by the Huaxia military.

"Lynx V-25, a modular tactical platform." Gu Xinghe walked to the first vehicle and patted the hull. "Traditional vehicle modifications require redesigning, testing, and production, a cycle of at least six months."

He pressed a button on the remote in his hand.

The large screen began a countdown: 5:00

Three teams of technicians in dark blue overalls rushed out from both sides of the stage, six people per team, with tool carts following closely behind.

"The Lynx's answer—"

The technicians began their work. Their movements were as skilled as surgeons:

The first team disassembled the roof weapon station module of the infantry carrier variant.

The second team disassembled the missile launch module of the air defense variant.

The third team disassembled the missile launcher of the anti-tank variant.

The sound of bolts loosening was amplified through the microphones, clearly audible in the silent hall.

Hydraulic rods rose, the mission modules separated from the hulls, and the guide rails automatically extended.

Then, they swapped:

The infantry variant hull was fitted with the air defense module.

The air defense variant hull moved to the anti-tank position and was fitted with the anti-tank module.

The anti-tank variant hull moved to the infantry position and was fitted with the remote weapon station.

The entire process was seamless, without pause or error.

The countdown ticked:

4:00... 3:00... 2:47

"Complete."

When Gu Xinghe's voice rang out, the three vehicles had finished their reconfiguration. The original air defense variant had become the anti-tank variant, the anti-tank variant had become the infantry variant, and the infantry variant had become the air defense variant.

Time taken: 2 minutes and 47 seconds.

Uncontrollable gasps of amazement erupted from the audience.

The face of Klaus Berg, the representative of Germany's Rheinmetall, turned very sour. He knew that changing modules on his company's "Puma" infantry fighting vehicle took at least four hours and required a specialized maintenance workshop and equipment.

The Lynx demonstration showed not just technology, but battlefield adaptability—on the front lines, three minutes could be the difference between life and death.

"But that's not enough," Gu Xinghe said. "Modularity is just a means; combat effectiveness is the goal."

The large screen switched to a live-fire test video.

The footage showed a firing range in the Northwest, where a Lynx V-25 was traveling at high speed over complex terrain. The hull jolted, but the 30mm autocannon on top remained steadily pointed at the target.

Two thousand meters away, a decommissioned Russian-made BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicle (with internal equipment removed to serve as a target vehicle) sat quietly.

"Fire."

The autocannon spat fire, with a rate of five rounds per second; shell casings fell like a waterfall.

The first shell hit the front of the BMP-3 hull, tearing through the composite armor.

The second hit the base of the turret.

The third, fourth, fifth...

Five seconds later, the BMP-3's turret was completely flipped over, and the hull was riddled with holes.

"30mm Cased Telescoped Ammunition; its armor-piercing capability is 1.8 times that of traditional 30mm shells." Gu Xinghe brought up a data comparison. "It can penetrate the frontal armor of a BMP-3 class vehicle at a distance of 2,000 meters."

He paused, then gave the price: "The basic model, including one infantry transport module, is priced at 3 million USD. Additional mission modules are 500,000 USD each."

Below the stage, procurement officials from the Saudi delegation had already begun calculating on their tablets.

Prince Fahd tilted his head slightly and whispered to the military advisor beside him, "Compare it with the American 'Stryker.' For the same price, the Stryker only has the basic infantry variant, and its modularity is far inferior."

"And the protection level..." the military advisor added. "The Lynx's armor layout looks more reasonable, especially the protection against top-attack threats."

They exchanged a look.

This vehicle is worth buying.