"That's right, they've all been used up," Jing Mingqiu shrugged. "The subsequent attacks were launched by the army's air defense missiles. You didn't think our country's air defense relied on fireworks, did you? This isn't a movie."
Atley Sam was speechless, stumped by the retort.
Morui Xue, watching the scene unfold through the live broadcast, couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle.
"Oh dear, Ah Qiu seems to have learned some bad habits."
"But this makes him even more charming. I like him even more."
"I need to work harder to keep up with him."
With that, Morui Xue pulled out a book titled "Management" and began to study it diligently.
Two minutes later, with the help of his assistant, Atley Sam calmed down. He let out a couple of cold laughs.
"Heh, don't get too cocky. Modern warfare is three-dimensional. Your Dragon Country's fighter jets are simply not up to par. Even if you managed to temporarily hold off my Great American fighter jets through some trickery, that's merely a stalemate."
"Although this military exercise doesn't involve naval combat, you're also far from a match for us on land. Don't think you can get arrogant just because you have a few mechs!"
"Mechs are nothing more than oversized toys!"
"In the ensuing iron tide, I will show you who the sole master of Blue Star truly is."
After delivering his fierce words, Atley Sam flicked his sleeves and departed, ordering the waiting tank brigades to join forces with the infantry and launch an attack on the Dragon Country's position.
Jing Mingqiu sat in his seat, observing the massive Great American army through the eyes of his robots. The corners of his mouth involuntarily curled upwards.
"Good, they've come. If they hadn't arranged for a ground assault, all the effort I put into making these remote-controlled robots would have gone to waste. While controlling them through a screen lacks the same feeling as being on the field, the combat effectiveness of robots is far superior to that of real people!"
Although the area had been cleared in advance, this military exercise was taking place on a tropical island with exceptionally lush vegetation.
The Great American tank brigades were advancing under the protection of infantry when a volley of dense gunfire suddenly erupted nearby.
A large number of Great American soldiers were instantly hit, while others quickly took cover, using the tanks as shields to attempt a counterattack.
"Bang bang! Bang bang bang!"
The intense gunfire intertwined, and the sensors on the Great American soldiers were continuously triggered, emitting colored smoke. They could only regretfully withdraw from the exercise.
Meanwhile, on the Dragon Country's side, despite being hit numerous times, they held firm, with not a single soldier having their sensor triggered!
"This is unreasonable!" the Great American commander noticed this and, furious, stormed up to the elevated platform where the leaders of various countries were gathered.
"I accuse the Dragon Country of cheating! They deliberately sabotaged the sensors, causing their soldiers to not be counted as eliminated even when hit by bullets!"
This statement was broadcast live to the entire world, which immediately erupted in an uproar.
"What! How could something like this happen? Dragon Country people are indeed cunning villains!"
"This is an international exercise. Investigate thoroughly! A thorough investigation is necessary!"
"I'm sorry, I am from Dragon Country, and on behalf of all Dragon Country people, I apologize to the world."
...
Seeing this false accusation about to be forced upon him by the "public intellectuals," Jing Mingqiu intervened.
"Heh," Jing Mingqiu sneered, walking up to the Great American commander. "Getting hit by bullets and dying – that's an old story from how many years ago? Did your place only just get internet access?"
The Great American commander had studied Chinese, but he hadn't lived in Dragon Country, so he didn't understand Jing Mingqiu's online slang.
His eyes widened, and he put on a show of extreme anger, pulling out a screenshot and displaying it to the camera.
"Getting hit by one or two bullets in a non-vital area might not kill you, but with this many bullets hitting one person, even if he's wearing heavy body armor, he'd be riddled with holes!"
The onlookers, through the camera, saw the figure whose body was completely surrounded by bullets and were about to nod in agreement when Jing Mingqiu, with disdain, spoke.
"That's not necessarily true. Body armor can't withstand a large number of bullets, mainly because it can't dissipate the impact force, and it doesn't protect the entire body."
"However, if you look closely, our soldiers are all wearing mechs. These are specially designed assault mechs that not only cover the entire body, but the frontal armor thickness has reached three centimeters. Coupled with a special force-dissipation system, not only can they withstand ordinary rifle fire, but even machine-gun barrages will not harm the soldiers inside."
To prove his point, Jing Mingqiu specifically showcased videos from numerous mech tests, clearly demonstrating the defensive capabilities of these heavy military mechs against conventional bullets.
While these looked impressive, the data was clear. Conventional rifle bullets could only penetrate six millimeters of steel plate within a hundred meters.
Don't overestimate the power of bullets just because cars in movies are full of holes after a burst of fire. Setting aside artistic license, most car exteriors are made of aluminum, which is no match for steel in terms of strength.
Keep in mind that the average armor thickness of conventional tanks is around four centimeters. In real warfare, except for a few weak points like the periscope, tanks never fear concentrated fire from infantry.
The Great American commander refused to accept this answer and continued to bluster, "This is all fake, staged. Three centimeters of steel plates joined together would weigh thousands of pounds. Never mind if it could even move; such a heavy weight supported by just two legs would sink directly into the ground."
"After so many years, has there been no progress in Great American materials science?" Jing Mingqiu displayed a look of pity. "I said the mech's thickness is three centimeters, but I didn't say it was made of steel plates. Do you not have alloys with higher strength and lower weight?"
"What alloys?"
As the Great American commander opened his mouth, Jing Mingqiu interrupted him, "Never mind, let me broaden your horizons today. Do you have a gun? Lend me one."
At the military exercise site, nothing was lacking, especially not weapons.
After receiving approval from the highest leader of Dragon Country, a security guard brought over a handgun.
Jing Mingqiu took the pistol. With a flick of his left hand, the mech hidden beneath his clothes rapidly transformed, covering his entire arm.
"Watch this!"
Jing Mingqiu aimed at his left hand and fired several shots in quick succession.
A series of sparks flew.
After the bullets were expended, Jing Mingqiu first displayed his mech, which bore only slight scratches, then retracted the mech, revealing his uninjured left hand with a look of pride.
"What I'm wearing is just a simplified version, and it's already enough to withstand close-range pistol fire. The soldiers are wearing the full version. What are mere rifle bullets compared to that?"
Atley Sam pushed the now-dumbfounded commander aside and stepped in front of Jing Mingqiu. "I suspect the gun in your hand has also been tampered with. If you want me to believe that mechs can truly be bulletproof, you'll have to stand there and let me fire a magazine at you with my own gun!"