Those who face the wall, but are in the Nascent Soul stage.

Chapter 57 Saturation Exercise (Two-in-One) (Please continue reading)
Three hours ago, the jointly formed "United Nations First Fleet" had already assembled at its designated location. After several months of integration, the joint fleet has far exceeded its expected size, with a significant increase in active-duty military equipment.

Unlike the initial use of decommissioned warships to make up the numbers, the warships participating in the exercise later became increasingly advanced, with many being active-duty vessels. This included the Zumwalt-class destroyer equipped with an electromagnetic railgun, which was also used in this exercise, which was bound to be costly.

The United States Navy still holds an overwhelming advantage over other countries in terms of naval strength, and in this exercise, US ships accounted for half of the total number of participating vessels.

The major powers realized that traditional navies were like the setting sun in the future, no longer meaningful for continued existence, so they simply brought them all out to play a big game with the Wallfacers.

On the vast Pacific Ocean, ships of all sizes, from aircraft carriers of 100,000 tons to armed speedboats of 100 tons, are scattered across the azure sea like silver seashells scattered on black paper.

Independent family compound outside the Fifth Ring Road

In the living room, the lights were soft, and several members of the Futurist school sat around the television, which was broadcasting live footage of the 'United Nations First Fleet' assembling, with their own aircraft carrier group flashing by.

“The ‘Qin’ conventional-powered aircraft carrier, the ‘Han’ conventional-powered aircraft carrier, and the ‘Zhufeng’ nuclear-powered aircraft carrier—only three carriers in total, and they’ve all been thrown out. It’s heartbreaking. It’s one thing for the US, with its vast resources, to send out three, but we’ve followed suit with three as well.” An elderly man in black with gray hair shook his head with some distress.

The young woman sitting next to me pushed up her glasses and said, "If the 'Tang' hadn't been dismantled and the 'Ming' hadn't been built yet, there could be five aircraft carriers here."

The organizer of this Future Historians Conference, and also the host of the living room, Zhang Beihai's father, chuckled and said, "I think it's pretty good. They've made up their minds to get rid of all this junk. It shows that the higher-ups are more clear-headed than anyone else—they won't need it anymore anyway, and they'd rather dismantle it and sell it for scrap metal than bother with it."

"That's what I say, but I still can't bear to part with it." The old man in black stared at the screen.

"Dongfang Hui, you're really getting worse as you get older. Look how open-minded Mingxi is. You're not even as good as your daughter."

Dongfang Mingxi gave Zhang's father a sweet smile.

Another middle-aged man in military uniform frowned and pondered as he watched the scene on TV: "Actually, neither fleets nor missiles are designed to target small, high-speed targets. Is this exercise designed by Luo Qing really related to the future confrontation with the Trisolaran civilization?"

"Xiao Chu, how do you know that the enemies facing the future human space fleet won't be small, high-speed targets?"

In response to Mr. Zhang's question, Chu Hongye replied, "According to observations from the Hubble Space Telescope, the size of a single warship in the Trisolaran First Fleet is probably around the size of the Bird's Nest stadium. This would be considered a giant warship in space. Naturally, future human space warships should also be at this level."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Zhang shook his head: "You've misunderstood. Our research on future warfare models absolutely cannot apply existing experience. The catapults used by the Mongols during their westward expansion were larger than modern main battle tanks, but could they withstand artillery fire? The answer is obvious."

Chu Hongye scratched his head.

The old man in black stared intently at the screen. He said, "Yes, current weapons and equipment are mainly designed based on Earth's environment and conventional warfare. But in space warfare, facing unknown technologies, these are obviously meaningless. Fighting against cultivators might provide us with some ideas."

Mr. Zhang peeled an orange and said while eating it, "It seems you haven't rotted to the bone yet."

The old man in black shook his head: "Old Zhang, I'm a radical. Right now, I just feel sorry for the aircraft carrier. That was my dream when I was young."

Mr. Zhang chewed on an orange: "Then you're not as good as me. I dream about spaceships now."

Dongfang Mingxi poured tea for each of the bigwigs in the living room: "Uncles, have some tea, let's not think about things that are so far away, let's watch the exercise."

A scholar of military theory took the hot tea that was handed to him and said with a smile, "Mingxi, of course we should think about things far in the future. Isn't that what the school of futurist historians does?"

Dongfang Mingxi tilted her head: "It seems so."

"Don't say a word, Luo Qing has appeared!" said a taciturn retired general.

...

Luo Qing's appearance came without warning.

As the sunlight pierced the sea's surface, the figure in the blue robe appeared right in the center of the sea.

The morning light cut diagonally from behind him, casting the cloud patterns on the hem of his clothes onto the center of the sea.

—This is one of Luo Qing's few 'robe'.

This tiny figure was located at the core of the human fleet. Compared to him, the surrounding fleet array, which spread out in a ring, resembled a divination seal.

A live military broadcast spanning four light-years is unfolding simultaneously in two worlds.

"Target confirmed, coordinates X-600, Y-600, Z-000, stationary." The US fleet commander's voice crackled in the command channel. "Initiate first strike?"

"Proceed as planned." The Pentagon's joint command issued the order: "All countries may attack freely, first conducting conventional fire coverage to test the strength of the enemy's defenses."

率先开火的是日本“摩耶”号驱逐舰。九十六单元的MK-41垂发系统同时开启，8枚“标准-6”防空导弹与16枚“12式”反舰导弹拖着橘红色尾焰破水而出，在低空编织成密集的火力网。

"What the hell are those Japanese devils doing?"—Countless residents watching the live stream were stunned for a moment, then burst into curses.

"Putting that aside for now, how come the Wallfacer is floating on water?"

"Friends, I have a feeling that the movie we watched the other day might come true."

"Even a fool can see that this inexplicable global naval exercise is just for us ordinary people. Don't rush to smash your TV."

The television screen suddenly split into three parts: the leftmost image was an aerial view of the UN First Fleet's operations, the upper right image was a live broadcast from the Pentagon's remote command center, and the lower right image was a close-up of Luo Qing.

In the top left corner of the screen, below the icon, there is a prominent yellow circle with black text: 【Live Stream】

This unique camera angle quickly calmed down viewers watching the live TV and online broadcasts.

It's not a big problem; it was intentional.

The main screen then changed, and immediately the US aircraft carriers USS Kitty Hawk, USS Constellation, and USS John F. Kennedy began releasing their carrier-based aircraft almost simultaneously. Remotely controlled F/A-18 Super Hornets, armed with Harpoon missiles, sped away, forming a wedge-shaped attack array over the fleet.

There are three more carrier-based air attack arrays like this one.

When everyone saw the Russian aircraft carriers 'Kuznetsov' and 'Qin' operating in close coordination like sisters, their emotions calmed down.

Oh, so yours is on too. Then it's fine.

The first salvo from the UN First Fleet included various types of missiles, carrier-based aircraft, and electromagnetic interference waves covering the entire frequency band—these electromagnetic interference waves were naturally not aimed at Luo Qing, but rather to prevent the hidden Trisolaran rebels from taking the opportunity to cause trouble.

'Probing' level firepower.

On the screen in the Pentagon's command center, red lines representing the attack trajectory swarmed toward the tiny blue figure like a spider web.

“I’m certain this barrage could flatten the summit of Mount Everest,” a British general said, adding, “However, according to the intelligence provided by the Wallfacer himself, he is fully capable of getting out of the way before all the firepower is fully deployed.”

"Will he hide?" someone asked.

No one knows the answer.

In another distant world, Trisolaran researchers and classical military experts are also paying close attention to this 'war' initiated by humanity. For the Trisolarans today, analyzing all of Luo Qing's anomalous data has long been a part of their daily lives.

Luo Qing remained motionless as a sword light spread out in a ring, slashing across hundreds of kilometers. Wherever the sword light passed, missile groups and carrier-based aircraft groups exploded simultaneously, and the smoke and debris from the explosions formed a clear outline of sword energy in the vast Pacific Ocean.

This sword is worth $700 billion.

The $70 billion sword's edge dissipated just as it reached the boundary area of ​​this exercise—a radius of 500 kilometers.

The sky was completely clear.

The live stream on the bullet-screen website suddenly fell into an unprecedented state of no bullet comments, and internet traffic and interaction plummeted to a freezing point. At least for now, the human community was silent, silent only by the crying of babies and the clamor of the wind sweeping across the sea in the live stream.

Soon, the world's first live stream comment to react popped up.

"6"

One 6 brings up a thousand layers of 6.

The world seemed to be awakened by this single "6," the internet erupted in a frenzy, and people in front of their televisions shouted and screamed. A torrent of "Holy crap!" in various languages ​​formed an irresistible flood, carrying humanity's most basic emotions and primal mating desires, brutally assaulting the reason of the four billion people watching the live broadcast. Following the announcement of extraterrestrial civilization, the second black swan event to trigger global public opinion had occurred. For many with a basic understanding of physics, it signified the collapse of their modern scientific era.

Once the pyramids collapse, it's a direct plunge to the bottom. People's reason didn't even linger in the scientific era of the Enlightenment or the Renaissance; instead, it went straight back to the mythological and religious period, through the rudimentary scientific era of ancient Greece.

Ding Yi said, "Luo Qing has breached the bottom line of human reason."

Wang Miao said, "Extreme individualism is about to emerge, which may well lead to a new religion. How about the name 'Bailo Puritanism'? I could apply for the position of Pope."

Ding Yi shook his head: "You're wrong. A living person cannot become an object of individual worship."

But Ding Yi also said: "But a woman will always remember her first man. Look, Luo Qing is the first man of this woman, 'humanity'. The initial pain is short-lived, the trembling beauty will continue, and the aftertaste will be endless."

In the Pacific, the fleet's attacks continued.

"Electromagnetic railguns, prepare! Hypersonic missiles, prepare! Intercontinental ballistic missiles, prepare!"

Three littoral combat ships coordinated to lock Luo Qing in the center of an equilateral triangle. The Zumwalt-class destroyers, which have been criticized since their inception, have become the warships with the most potential to put pressure on Luo Qing in this war due to their improved electromagnetic gun weapons and high-rate-of-fire, high-kinetic-energy projectiles.

The 12 electromagnetic railguns deployed on the three Zumwalt-class destroyers simultaneously charged, their muzzles emitting blinding blue light. At the same time, a large number of hypersonic missiles, moving in a wave-like pattern, flew in from the east.

—If Luo Qing's sword light continues to strike in a flat, sweeping manner, then these Dongfeng-17 hypersonic missiles, by flying in waverider orbits, do indeed have a chance to bypass the sword light's interception and complete their strike mission.

In addition to the dense electromagnetic kinetic energy projectiles and the hypersonic missiles that skipped across the water, the Russian-made "Avangard" intercontinental hypersonic missile, loaded with non-nuclear explosives, also fell from the sky at a speed of more than Mach 20 from an altitude of 100 kilometers, as if by divine punishment.

The three major powers are making efforts in their respective fields!

Electromagnetic projectiles tear through the air at a speed of 11000 meters per second, and the sea surface is plowed with deep trenches by shock waves—this is the fastest and most powerful weapon among human conventional weapons, and theoretically it can penetrate 2000 millimeters of homogeneous steel armor.

The sonic boom clouds created by the waverider hypersonic missiles bring dense shrieks to the sky, while the intercontinental ballistic missiles vertically pierce through the clouds at an altitude of 40,000 meters, like divine punishment falling from the sky.

The first thing to hit Luo Qing was the electromagnetic cannon projectile. When the projectile reached Luo Qing, golden runes spread around him like ripples. The metal core melted into liquid the moment it came into contact with the runes, and scattered into the deep sea like shattered golden raindrops.

Hypersonic missiles and intercontinental ballistic missiles also failed to work. Looking at Luo Qing, who remained motionless at the center of the explosion, the Russian general at the Pentagon clenched his fist: "What did I tell you? Without nuclear weapons, you can't even break through the defenses!"

The other party didn't even try to dodge.

The relentless bombardment from humans continues.

As previously stated, almost all countries used all conventional weapons except nuclear weapons, including some of their most advanced technologies, and even ball lightning weapons.

But when sixth-generation fighter jets and stealth bombers began to appear on the other side of the Pacific, and high-powered laser satellites in space began to project high-energy lasers at Luo Qing, the atmosphere at the Pentagon clearly became somewhat strange.

The American lieutenant general looked at Jiang Xingchen strangely: "Jiang, you're not hiding these things to use against us, are you?"

"It's for ETO," Jiang Xingchen said.

"Do we need this to fight ETO?" The U.S. lieutenant general pointed at the red lasers falling from the sky, raising his voice eight octaves.

“ETO has the advanced technology of the Trisolarans, we must be wary.” Jiang Xingchen said seriously.

Unfortunately, neither the attacks from stealth bombers or sixth-generation fighters, nor the bombardment from high-powered laser satellites in space, could cause the cultivator the slightest harm.

The next ten minutes were a desperate display of human military technology.

Humanity has exhausted all available conventional weapons to attack Luo Qing: hypersonic missiles, electromagnetic railgun shells, high-energy lasers, saturation bombardment, ball lightning... There was even a destroyer that drove right up to Luo Qing's face and fired a burst of bullets at him with its close-in weapon system.

But it didn't work.

Only when there is an exceptionally large accumulation of damage can one see the faint golden light emanating from Luo Qing's body. Otherwise, most weapons cannot even produce this special effect of the wild boss.

"I'll apply to drop a nuclear bomb." The Russian made a phone call to the Kremlin and quickly received approval from the Russian president.

None of the representatives from any country tried to stop it.

Humanity lacks a hothead.

Soon, the Borei-class strategic nuclear submarine will break through the ice cap in the Arctic Circle and test-fire a Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missile in Luo Qing's direction.

"What is the yield of this nuclear bomb?" the U.S. lieutenant general asked.

"Not just one," the Russian general corrected. "The missile carries six independently targetable nuclear warheads."

The entire operations room fell into an abrupt silence as everyone turned to look at the Russian brigadier general.

"Six? Are you crazy! Japan only lost two back then, and you lost six?!" The American lieutenant general looked at his Russian colleague in shock, his face full of disbelief.

The Japanese representative, who was caught in the crossfire, hesitated to speak, but ultimately did not dare to say anything.

The Russian brigadier general shook his head: "Nuclear warheads can't be removed in advance. Be content. The target of this 'Bulava' MIRV was originally set for a major city on your US West Coast, but now it's been given to Luo Qing."

"Fuck!" the American lieutenant general cursed, gave him a thumbs-up, then rotated the thumb 180 degrees and finally pointed it at the floor of the operations room.

The Russian brigadier general responded by giving him the middle finger in return.

"Give Professor Luo Qing a heads-up. Tell him there are six low-yield nuclear bombs heading this way. If you're not confident, have him get out of the battlefield," Jiang Xingchen interrupted them, speaking calmly.

"I've already informed him via radio headset, and he said it's nothing," the communications officer said to the generals in the command room, taking off his headset.

The generals looked at each other in bewilderment.

As human firepower units disintegrated into countless sparks in mid-air, or were swept away by sword energy into pure metallic snow that fell in abundance, an intercontinental ballistic missile, not particularly fast, finally flew in from the northern horizon.

The intercontinental ballistic missile quickly split into six, heading towards Luo Qing's location.

At the end of this ten-minute barrage of firepower, the six wobbly tactical nuclear missiles suddenly stopped a few kilometers away from Luo Qing.

Luo Qing almost flashed above one of the MIRVs (Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicles), and with a light tap of his fingertip, fine cracks appeared on the metal surface of the nuclear weapon.

The second one, the third one, the fourth one, and the fifth one.

Luo Qing, who was almost teleporting, smashed all five nuclear bombs one by one. Without the internal stress-induced detonation armor, all five nuclear bombs became duds.

But there was still one last nuclear bomb. Luo Qing looked at the 100,000-ton TNT-class tactical nuclear bomb in front of him, hesitated for a moment, and finally decided to let the bomb explode.

With a steady hand, Luo Qing drew with both hands, and thousands of protective magic arrays intertwined around him.

A mushroom cloud that stretched across the sky appeared. The drone responsible for close-up shots of Luo Qing was engulfed by the nuclear explosion, but the live broadcast from the high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft immediately replaced the drone's perspective. Under the clear, intense light of the nuclear explosion, it was still unable to destroy the figure standing with his hands behind his back.

The tenth minute had not yet passed, but the Pentagon had already abandoned all attack orders.

Thank you for the 100 Qidian coins reward from the warm sunshine in the early morning.

Thank you Marshallnaz for the 100 Qidian coins.

Thank you Zhou Xixue for the 201 Qidian coins you've donated.

Thank you to Ziyourufeng for the 300 Qidian coins you've donated.

Thank you October Bell for the 100 Qidian Coins.

Water Bamboo wishes all the Golden Bamboos a Happy New Year in advance! Orz
(This book will be available on Sanjiang next Monday and on May 1st. Please look forward to it, dear readers. If you would be so kind as to subscribe, I would be extremely grateful. Love you all!)
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(End of this chapter)