Chapter 24: Who is this guy? A Saiyan?

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“Quiet! Maintain order in the meeting!”

That evening.

The theater command conference room.

Huang Han strode through the doors, his gaze cold and severe.

“I have received orders from higher command to hold those responsible for this enemy aircraft incursion fully accountable.”

“The F-35 took off from its base.”

“Our radar failed to maintain continuous surveillance.”

“Worse still, we allowed it to penetrate our airspace.”

“For more than twenty minutes, we had no information whatsoever.”

“This proves that flaws still exist in our defense and control system, and that certain personnel have been derelict in their duties!”

Everyone lowered their heads, scarcely daring to breathe.

When your luck runs out, you cannot blame your parents.

Damn that F-35. It could have malfunctioned at any other time, but no—it had to lose its navigation near the border adjacent to the Qilin Theater and stray into our airspace.

Where were they supposed to take that complaint?

Higher command would not listen to explanations. As far as they were concerned, the air-defense system would have to take the blame.

The air-defense post, being the main force responsible for monitoring enemy aircraft, could not shirk its responsibility.

At once, the commanding officer of the Signal Support Unit rose to his feet.

“Chief of Staff, I request punishment!”

“Now that is the right attitude.”

Huang Han nodded in satisfaction.

Making a mistake was not frightening. What mattered was having the courage to admit it.

“All personnel who were on duty at the air-defense post today will be demoted by one rank and retained in their current posts under probation.”

“Everyone is to submit a written self-criticism before the weekend.”

“In addition, three months of allowances will be withheld.”

The lieutenant colonel saluted.

“Yes, sir!”

With one great burden placed upon their shoulders, the men of the Signal Support Unit finally felt at ease.

The fine and the written self-criticism were minor matters.

Even demotion was nothing serious; they would still retain their current positions.

After all, there had been an element of coincidence in this enemy incursion.

The chief of staff might have a sharp tongue, but he was soft-hearted and had not been excessively harsh.

His punishment of the Signal Support Unit was secondary. The real purpose was to issue a warning.

However—

The people at the far end of the conference room, from the Equipment Department, were not nearly so fortunate.

At worst, the Signal Support Unit had lacked sufficient capability. The Equipment Department, however, had been guilty of outright negligence.

Huang Han’s gaze settled on the group led by Zhang Mingrui.

“Certain comrades have allowed equipment management to fall into complete disorder.”

“As a result, wartime deployment was severely hindered.”

“Orders could not be transmitted to the company, nearly leading to grave consequences.”

“Their conduct was extraordinarily vile, and the harm caused was extraordinarily serious!”

The other officers felt a chill run through them.

Those words represented the harshest possible condemnation.

Most of them had heard something about Director Zhang’s conduct.

He had failed to maintain the vehicles in accordance with regulations.

When the enemy aircraft entered the country and an emergency mobilization was ordered, Vehicle Crew 013 had failed to arrive.

Worse still—

When the chief of staff himself had called to issue orders, the other party had simply hung up.

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Put mildly, it was dereliction of duty.

Put harshly, it was disobedience on the battlefield.

Director Zhang and the entire vehicle maintenance company had suffered spectacularly bad luck.

Was this not enough to strip them of everything?

They might even end up before a military tribunal.

Huang Han finished listing Zhang Mingrui’s offenses.

He gave the man not even a moment to catch his breath before immediately beginning to read out the disciplinary decision.

“Following deliberation by the theater command, it has been decided that Zhang Mingrui and Yang Hu shall receive formal demerits.”

“All other responsible personnel will receive verbal warnings.”

“You must all reflect deeply upon your mistakes.”

???

???

The men of the Signal Support Unit were covered in question marks.

That was it?

They had been negligent, yet they were being fined, demoted, and ordered to write self-criticisms.

Director Zhang and his people had allowed equipment management to collapse and had disobeyed orders in the midst of battle.

And they were receiving only a demerit?

Was that reasonable?

Someone immediately protested.

“Chief of Staff, Vehicle Crew 013 plainly hung up on you.”

“I know. You needn’t remind me.”

Huang Han was perfectly aware of it.

“Then why are they receiving only a demerit, while we are being punished so severely? You are being rather biased.”

Huang Han laughed when he heard this.

“Then let me ask you something. Did that enemy aircraft ultimately crash?”

“It did.”

“How?”

The officer from the Signal Support Unit answered reluctantly.

“Based on reasonable deduction, it must have crashed because of a malfunction.”

They had not been at the scene and did not know the exact circumstances.

They knew only that the aircraft wreckage had been found and the pilot was dead.

Taking the earlier information into account—

No trace of the F-35 had been found anywhere in the theater.

Nor had the participating forces opened fire.

Thus, the possibility that it had been shot down by friendly forces had been ruled out.

They could not understand what the aircraft’s crash had to do with Zhang Mingrui and the others.

Just as everyone sat there wearing puzzled expressions, Zhao Hengyan of the Second Aerospace Academy knocked on the door and entered the conference room.

“General Huang, our preliminary verification results are ready.”

“We have confirmed that the F-35 was shot down by the Red Flag-9.”

“At the same time, we tested the so-called quantum radar.”

“Its radar cross-section detection threshold was as low as 0.002.”

“It is truly astonishing.”

After hearing Zhao Hengyan’s report, Huang Han reached out and snatched the document from his hands, delight plain on his face.

The experts from the Second Aerospace Academy had worked around the clock to verify every word Wei Xiu had said.

The results were all contained in this report.

“So Wei Xiu was telling the truth.”

“Not only was he telling the truth…”

Zhao Hengyan spoke with profound emotion.

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“He was actually being somewhat conservative.”

“That Red Flag-9 system’s detection capabilities are approximately five to ten years ahead of ours.”

When he finished speaking, Huang Han’s throat visibly moved.

Five to ten years…

One had to understand that Zhao Hengyan was one of the finest air-defense missile experts in the field.

He had devoted his entire life to his studies, employed the nation’s best resources, and led its finest team.

Yet research into counter-stealth radar was still barely at the initial stage.

And Wei Xiu—

Through his own efforts alone, he had advanced the military’s air-defense capabilities by an entire generation.

“Chief of Staff, I have a request.”

Zhao Hengyan’s gaze was fervent, his excitement carrying an almost boundless longing.

“I hope you will hand Wei Xiu over to me.”

“I want him to join the Second Aerospace Academy.”

“At the same time, I will apply for a special admission slot for him at the Academy of Sciences.”

“A genius like him, with even a little training, will one day be worth an entire heavy combined-arms brigade.”

???

???

???

The officers listened, utterly transfixed.

One man was worth an entire heavy combined-arms brigade?

Chief Engineer Zhao truly spoke as though heavy combined-arms brigades were cheap rations.

He had never served in the military.

He had no idea how much a heavy combined-arms brigade was worth.

Only our nation, with its deep reserves, could afford to maintain such a force.

Abroad, a heavy combined-arms brigade was practically a bug in the system.

Building one required at least twenty billion to get started.

The saying that one brigade could destroy an entire country was no exaggeration.

What kind of person was worth an entire heavy combined-arms brigade?

A Saiyan?

But at that moment, Huang Han waved his hand.

“Chief Engineer Zhao, you are underestimating my heavy combined-arms brigades.”

“Even if this boy Wei Xiu cannot be properly trained…”

“At the very least, he is worth an entire group army.”

The moment those words were spoken, everyone present—including Zhao Hengyan—fell silent in astonishment.

One man worth an army. Even a peerless national hero could hardly surpass that.

The men of the Signal Support Unit were completely lost.

Who exactly was this Wei Xiu?

Chief Engineer Zhao had praised him extravagantly, while the chief of staff had practically raised him to the heavens.

“Chief of Staff, who is Wei Xiu? Did he save the world or something?”

Huang Han placed the documents on the table, his heart surging with excitement.

“This F-35 was shot down.”

“The unit that shot it down was Vehicle Crew 013 of the Red Flag-9.”

“Wei Xiu is the man who gave the Red Flag-9 counter-stealth capabilities.”