Zhou Ziwei was startled by the sudden noise and rolled his eyes in exasperation...
Volume 3, King of the City, Chapter 551: What exactly happened?
The ear-piercing alarm sounded again, but Zhou Ziwei was shocked to hear the content of the alarm. It turned out that this alarm was from a different system than the previous one. One was an automatic navigation system, while the other was an automatic defense system.
Reminded by the alarm, Zhou Ziwei immediately looked up through the window and saw two small black dots rapidly approaching at a visible speed.
Zhou Ziwei instantly increased his vision to ten times its normal level and clearly saw that the two black dots approaching at high speed were indeed two menacing surface-to-air missiles.
The alarm sounded, saying that three unidentified flying objects were heading towards the plane. That meant there was another one, but the viewing angle through the window was limited. The last one was probably coming from behind. Looking down at the radar scan on the plane, sure enough... there was also a bright spot representing an unidentified flying object rapidly approaching from behind the plane.
One missile followed by two others, and three missiles attacked upwards in a triangular formation, seemingly intending to detonate simultaneously around the aircraft.
The other side originally said that the planes would land at a designated military airfield and that they would have fifteen minutes. If the planes did not land at the designated location within fifteen minutes, then missile attacks would be launched. However... it seems that only five minutes have passed at most, and the other side's missiles have already started hitting us. It seems that they are not stupid. As soon as they see that you have even deviated from the flight path, it is obvious that you are preparing to defect. Do you think they can just wait for you to escape the country before they suppress you?
Although the four agents did not have Zhou Ziwei's exceptional eyesight and could not clearly see the missile that was constantly magnifying in their field of vision outside the viewing window, they could see it clearly from the radar scan. Immediately, the four men's faces turned ashen.
The aircraft they are currently piloting is not a fighter jet, but a small military transport plane. While the plane may be fast, it lacks maneuverability and is completely unable to dodge missiles that move like the wind.
Besides... nowadays these missiles basically use automatic tracking technology. Even if you have superhuman piloting skills, it won't help at all. Even if you can dodge a missile attack with your extraordinary skills, those missiles can turn corners. If you miss after the first attack, they can circle in the sky and continue to crash into you. That's basically a fight to the death. How can you possibly dodge it?
Zhou Ziwei, however, was rather unimpressed. It seemed that the American devils were also quite stingy, only firing three missiles at once. He had thought that the American devils were rich and powerful, firing hundreds or thousands of missiles all at once, which would be spectacular and a free fireworks show.
Of course... even though there are only three missiles now, Zhou Ziwei will not take them lightly. As soon as he saw the three missiles getting closer and closer, he took out three black iron blades in his hand and then suddenly fired them at the top of the cockpit.
With a "whoosh," three tiny, transparent holes appeared on the roof of the plane. However, the black iron blades were as thin as paper, and although they pierced through the fuselage, they did not cause much damage to the aircraft.
Under Zhou Ziwei's control of his soul power, the three black iron blades met the three missiles that were rapidly approaching the aircraft at an extremely high speed, almost at the speed of light. The paper-thin black iron blades pierced through the fuses and automatic tracking devices at the front of the missiles without any suspense. Then, they swept past at a wave-like vibration frequency, and in a short time of less than 0.01 seconds, they cut all three missiles in two as if they had been dissected.
"Boom—" After the three black iron blades had successfully struck and flown far back to the top of the aircraft, the three missiles finally exploded with a deafening roar.
However, the three missiles were more than 200 meters away from the aircraft, so the explosions did not cause any damage to the aircraft. At most, the explosions only caused some instability in the surrounding airflow.
"Ah...it exploded...those three missiles seem to have exploded before reaching their intended location."
One of the agents, after a brief moment of stunned silence upon hearing the deafening explosion outside, immediately shouted excitedly.
The others also wore expressions of surprise and delight. Although they knew that even if they had miraculously escaped the first wave of attacks, they still couldn't escape their ultimate fate, they still chuckled with a hint of schadenfreude: "Looks like another quartermaster is going to be court-martialed, hahaha... Three missile fuses malfunctioned in a row, there's obviously something fishy going on here, hahaha..."
Zhou Ziwei sighed helplessly. These idiots... they really think those three missiles exploded on their own, don't they? Sigh... what naive kids...
However, Zhou Ziwei was too lazy to brag to them that it was all his doing. Let them fantasize all they want! If they still didn't realize that he was the one who did it in the end... then Zhou Ziwei could only be secretly delighted while severely despising their intelligence.
In fact, Zhou Ziwei didn't want to be too high-profile. If he did something so outrageous and no one knew it was him, then he could only laugh to himself.
"Warning, warning... Twelve unidentified flying objects are heading towards this aircraft, and a collision is expected in fifteen seconds..."
The piercing alarm had barely subsided when it started blaring again, immediately causing the four agents, who had just been feeling happy, to look utterly dejected.
Zhou Ziwei, however, remained completely unconcerned, and with a flick of his wrist, ten more black iron leaves appeared in his hand.
This is the maximum number Zhou Ziwei can use right now. Although he obtained a total of eighteen Black Iron Leaves this time, several of them were damaged due to the collision with the fireball spell, and some even broke apart.
Those damaged iron leaves are unusable, so we have to put them away for now and use them again when we have the chance to refine them later.
Currently, there are only thirteen U-Tieye missiles that are basically intact. Although only twelve missiles attacked this time, Zhou Ziwei estimated that after this round of attacks failed, the next round of missiles would be overwhelming. In that case, Zhou Ziwei would eventually have to use all his means. In fact, for Zhou Ziwei, the difference between a dozen missiles and hundreds of missiles should not be significant. Anyway, he doesn't need to blow up hundreds or thousands of missiles at once. As long as the first dozen or so explode, the ones that follow will explode one after another.
Hehe... You old Ms are rich, aren't you? Let's see how much money you have. If you keep throwing missiles around the sky without regard for cost, I'll just reimburse you for it all.
"Boom boom boom..." A series of explosions resounded in all directions. Just like last time, the missiles fired from four directions would explode as soon as they entered within two or three hundred meters of the aircraft. However, the explosion of three missiles was somewhat less powerful than the explosion of twelve missiles. Under the influence of this violent explosion, the aircraft was like a lone boat adrift on a stormy sea, tossed up and down, and almost lost control.
However, when the four agents discovered that their aircraft had miraculously survived, they were utterly astonished. They then exchanged glances and burst into laughter: "Fantastic! It turns out their entire batch of ordered missiles were defective! Hahaha..."
Zhou Ziwei was utterly speechless, but he also admired the imagination of these guys. Well... you can keep fantasizing! If you can really fool yourselves, then you guys can continue!
Just as Zhou Ziwei had predicted, less than five minutes after the bombing failed, the cockpit alarms blared again. This time, the aircraft's built-in radar scan showed that a total of sixty missiles were being fired at this location almost simultaneously.
Zhou Ziwei frowned slightly this time. Just now, only twelve missiles exploded, and the plane was tumbling around in the air like a broken ball. What would happen when all sixty missiles exploded at the same time? Would the plane still be controllable?
Zhou Ziwei decisively waved his hand, pulled a strange little iron ball off his body, and threw it onto the autopilot. At the same time, he communicated with Xiao Xin's artificial intelligence in his mind: "Xiao Xin, take over control of this plane immediately. After the big explosion, I'm afraid no one will be able to control this plane anymore. It will all depend on you from now on."
"No problem, don't worry about me!" Xiaoxin immediately assured him, then excitedly controlled several plugs to emerge from his body and connect to the input and output systems on the autopilot console with a "pop! pop!" sound.
"Ah... what... what is this?" The lieutenant colonel, who was piloting the plane himself, was startled when Zhou Ziwei threw an iron ball in front of him. When the iron ball landed on the control panel, several tentacle-like things popped out in a series and connected to some ports on the control panel as if they had eyes. He was so frightened that he jumped up from the control panel as if he had seen a ghost.
It should be noted that the aircraft's automatic navigation system is now essentially paralyzed due to deviation from the flight path, and all flight controls are manually performed by the lieutenant colonel. If he were to jump at this moment, the aircraft would be in danger of going out of control.
However, after the lieutenant colonel jumped up, the aircraft only shook slightly, and then flew more steadily than before.
The lieutenant colonel realized his dereliction of duty and hurriedly sat down again. However, when he put his hands on the control stick again, he suddenly found that the plane was completely out of his control.
At that moment, the sixty missiles appeared rapidly in the field of vision like a swarm of locusts. The lieutenant colonel was filled with a deep despair and could no longer care whether the plane was out of control or not. Anyway, the plane was about to explode, so what did it matter if it was out of control or not?
Just as the lieutenant colonel had this thought in his mind, the missiles that had entered his field of vision immediately exploded into brilliant fireworks in the distance.
No way! They're really going to have a huge fireworks display... That's so generous...
The lieutenant colonel muttered to himself, somewhat at a loss. He wasn't stupid; he had actually seen Zhou Ziwei throw out some leaf-shaped objects, and he even saw the tiny marks left on the plane's roof. However, he still had only a slight suspicion and couldn't believe that the missile explosions were really related to those leaves that Zhou had thrown out earlier.
What exactly are those leaf-shaped things? Even a weapon with the power of a nuclear weapon wouldn't be used so many times, right? This...this...almost a hundred missiles exploded one after another. If those leaf-shaped things didn't work, could it be...could it be that the fuses on those missiles were faulty?
The lieutenant colonel felt a moment of confusion, and then felt the plane, surrounded by raging air currents, suddenly become like a ball thrown into a washing machine, uncontrollably tumbling up and down.
He was horrified and tried to grab the control stick to steady the plane, but after several attempts, he had no success. Then he remembered that the plane seemed to have become somewhat uncontrollable just before the explosion.
"Don't bother."
Seeing the lieutenant colonel frantically trying to control the plane, Zhou Ziwei could only helplessly rub his nose and say, "I've already let my assistant take over control of the plane. You guys don't need to worry about it. Find a place to stay, and it's best to fasten your seatbelts. It's about an hour's drive from here to the border waters. Just think of this as a roller coaster ride!"
"What?! Your...your assistant!" The lieutenant colonel was slightly taken aback when Zhou Ziwei said that his assistant had taken control of the aircraft. He glanced back but saw no one else. The fifteen men were still fast asleep in the rear cockpit, and it was clear that only they had been in the cockpit the whole time. There was no sign of Zhou Ziwei's assistant...
"It's him."
Zhou Ziwei pointed to the iron ball on the cockpit without any hesitation and said with a smile, "This is an intelligent program that can effectively help us to control the aircraft most rationally and perfectly in any situation. It is much more advanced than the lousy automatic navigation system installed on this aircraft."
"It... is this one thing? Can it... work?" The lieutenant colonel asked with great skepticism when he saw that it was just an inconspicuous iron ball.
"You're the one who's a piece of trash..." Who knew that his words would anger Xiaoxin? Suddenly, without warning, a huge eye appeared on the seemingly smooth iron ball. Then, the eye glared angrily at the lieutenant colonel, rolled its eyes wide, and then with a "click," the eyelid closed, and the huge eye disappeared, turning back into a round, smooth iron ball.
I was actually looked down upon by an iron ball.
The lieutenant colonel paused for a moment, then chuckled, somewhat speechless.
Then he remembered what Zhou Ziwei had just said. This is... what kind of intelligent program could be so human-like? Could it be... this is the so-called artificial intelligence that humanity has been researching all this time?
Upon realizing this possibility, the lieutenant colonel couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
Under Shin-chan's control, the violent airflow caused by the explosion did not have a significant impact on the plane. After a few sharp jolts at the beginning, the plane miraculously stabilized. Then, the flight altitude dropped slightly, avoiding a turbulent airflow ahead, passing through it at top speed, and then regaining the flight altitude to the original position.
Seeing the plane so agile, as if it had its own life, weaving up and down and perfectly dodging the attacks of unstable air currents, the lieutenant colonel and the others almost had their eyes pop out of their sockets.
Wow... artificial intelligence is really amazing... It's far superior to the old, rigid automatic navigation systems. What kind of intelligence is that so-called intelligent navigation system? It just follows a pre-set flight path relentlessly. Even if it detects unstable air currents, that broken intelligent navigation system will still blindly plunge into them without any flexibility. Therefore, under normal circumstances, the plane is still manually controlled. If you really let that intelligent navigation system fly the plane, it's like handing your life over to an idiot.
This must be true artificial intelligence, the legendary electronic life form with its own consciousness and intelligence, and the ability to make independent judgments...
The lieutenant colonel and the others gasped in shock. When they looked up at the smooth iron ball, a burning desire shone in their eyes.
Meanwhile, at a defense base in western M country, a short man dressed in general's uniform stared blankly at the scene of sixty missiles exploding simultaneously on a large screen, then slammed his hand heavily on the alloy table in front of him.
"Damn it, can anyone tell me what's going on? What's going on? Why do our missiles explode before they even reach their designated positions? What's going on?!"
Volume 3, King of the City, Chapter 552: I'll Blow You Up!
Hearing the general's furious roar, the other high-ranking officers at the bases remained silent. No one could tell him why. The missiles launched simultaneously from their various bases did not come from the same military factory, and the missile models were even different. Moreover, these combat supplies underwent a series of strict review procedures before being distributed to the various missile launch bases. Old M was extremely strict in his defense work from top to bottom. Even if someone wanted to cut corners or use inferior materials, they wouldn't dare to mess with these missiles. Otherwise, if they were caught, it would be equivalent to committing treason, and even a five-star general would lose his head.
Therefore, it was impossible for this to be a problem with the quality of the missile products. Before their third round of missile launches, they even sent technicians to quickly check the fuses of some of the missiles to be launched. They found no problems and then launched them, but the result was no different from before.
Each missile basically explodes between 200 and 250 meters from its intended target, and each explosion covers a large area. Even if there is a problem with the missile, it is impossible for every single missile, or even all missiles of different models, to have the same malfunction!
"General Clavel, I think... or... is there some high-tech equipment on that plane that's beyond our imagination, capable of remotely detonating our missiles?"
A senior colonel sitting below boldly put forward his idea, which was the only possibility he could think of. He couldn't think of anything else that could have caused the current situation.
"High-tech equipment beyond our imagination!" General Clavel paused for a moment, then glared angrily at the colonel and roared, "How advanced must that high-tech equipment be to be able to remotely control our missiles without anyone noticing? Does such high-tech equipment even exist on this earth? You idiot, have you been reading too many science fiction novels?"
The colonel had only dared to suggest a possibility when no one responded to General Clavel, but he was immediately met with a barrage of insults from the general. He was both embarrassed and angry, but dared not utter a word of rebuttal. He could only nod obsequiously and remain silent.
"Where are the people in the communications technology department? Have the satellite images come out yet? Have you made any new discoveries?" General Clavel roared for a while, and when no one responded, he angrily reprimanded the people in the technology department.
"Reporting, General!" A middle-aged civilian officer with only the rank of major hurriedly stood up and replied, "The satellite images have been received, but we can't see anything unusual yet. Several experts from the imaging technology department are working hard on in-depth image reconstruction processing, and we should have the assessment results within about thirty minutes."
"What...it takes thirty minutes just to do one image reconstruction?" General Clavel flew into a rage again, pointing his finger at the major's nose and yelling, "Are all the people in your communications department raised on shit? Thirty minutes...by thirty minutes, they'll be almost at the border! Why didn't you tell me it would take three days to get the results? Idiots, useless...you're all a bunch of useless trash!"
General Clavel slammed a folder on the table to the ground in a fit of rage. He then braced himself against the table, trying to calm his anger before coldly issuing the order: "Immediately cease missile attacks. I order... the X-845th Division to immediately dispatch a flight squadron for aerial interception... If possible, force the target to surrender and land. If necessary... you may also directly destroy the transport plane carrying the defecting target!"
"Yes, General!" The officer in charge of relaying the order immediately relayed General Clavel's command and then reported, "Flight Squadron 124 of the X-845th Division will take off in three minutes and will intercept the target in the air in approximately twelve minutes!"
"Very good!" General Clavel clenched his fist tightly, gritted his teeth, and muttered to himself, "Until we figure out the cause of the missile self-destruction, deploying any more missiles is a waste. I'm sending an air force squadron to deal with you... I refuse to believe that a fighter squadron can't handle a military transport plane."
"Huh...it seems the missiles have stopped firing."
"Yes... It's been several minutes, and no more missiles have been launched. It seems that no matter how rich the M army is, they can't withstand such a barrage of bombardment. Every single missile is bought with money... And they know that no matter how many missiles they drop, it's just fireworks for us to see. If they continue like this, they're really a bunch of idiots."
Under Xiaoxin's precise control, this small military transport plane achieved unprecedented speeds, flying swiftly above the clouds at speeds approaching 1,000 kilometers per hour.
Without the harassment of missiles, Xiao Xin naturally had no need to make the plane dart up and down. So at this time, although the plane was flying very fast, it was more stable than ever before. If you didn't look out the window, it would be easy to forget that you were on a high-speed plane.
After several rounds of missile attacks, the mixed-race agents who had been lurking in the United States for many years, who thought they were doomed, now felt a heartfelt joy at escaping death. Moreover, they had basically realized that Zhou Ziwei had done all of this without anyone noticing.
Although their limited imaginations could hardly comprehend what was going on, why those missiles exploded before they even got close, and why they were detonating in rows and batches... it was simply too unbelievable.
The lieutenant colonel had long remembered the black iron leaves that Zhou Ziwei had once held in his hand, but which had miraculously disappeared. Although he remembered the black iron leaves and saw the cracks above the cockpit pierced by them, he still couldn't quite understand... what connection the missile explosions had with the leaves in Zhou Ziwei's hand.
If someone were to say that Zhou Ziwei blew up those missiles with a handful of leaves, then... they would probably all laugh their heads off. Can leaves really blow up missiles? Doesn't that mean even a tiny ant can challenge an elephant?
But if it wasn't those leaves, then how did Zhou Ziwei deal with those missiles? The four agents, including the lieutenant colonel, were all very curious and puzzled, but none of them asked Zhou Ziwei. They all knew... such mysterious matters must be top state secrets, and their ranks weren't high enough. Knowing too much about such secrets wouldn't be a good thing. That's why they had acted so foolishly earlier, insisting that the M army's missiles were all defective. In reality, they had served in the M army for quite some time, so how could they not know how much the M army valued these strategic materials? And who would dare to actually tamper with these missiles...?
Although these agents didn't say anything, their eyes were filled with gratitude and a hint of respect as they looked at Zhou Ziwei.
This kid is simply too extraordinary! How could he so effortlessly neutralize the enemy's missile attack? It's like turning enemy ships to ashes with a mere flick of the wrist... This young fellow may be young, but he already possesses the brilliance of Zhou Yu in his prime...
A few more minutes passed, and still no more missiles were fired. The agents were all pleasantly surprised, but only the lieutenant colonel looked worried.
Something unusual must be going on. It's possible that the M army has temporarily stopped because they found that the missile attack was ineffective. However, the lieutenant colonel doesn't believe that the M army would just swallow this loss in silence, given their usual style of doing things. They must have other methods up their sleeves.
From here to the border... even at this super-high speed that exceeds the normal speed range, it would probably take at least forty minutes to get there, and the next forty minutes... would probably be the most difficult part of their journey.
As the lieutenant colonel had expected, a few minutes later, several dark dots began to appear in the far distance of the sky. Then, through the viewing window, the people in the cockpit could clearly see with their naked eyes that it was a line of planes in a tight formation rapidly approaching.
"My God... so many planes... this must be at least the entire force of a flight squadron!"