Rebirth in the Dragon Kingdom: The Strongest Blade

The next morning at eight o'clock, in the operations room.

Twelve "Hidden Dragon" team members sat at a long table, with the leader standing beside a projection screen. The screen was playing an animation recreating yesterday's Blue Ocean Building operation—a production by the intelligence team based on surveillance footage and team member reports.

"From entering the building in Longyuan to eliminating all eight targets, it took eleven minutes and twenty-three seconds." Long Shou pointed to the timeline with a laser pointer. "This speed ranks among the top three in the team. But today we won't boast about the results, we'll only look for problems."

He looked at Lin Zhe: "Long Yuan, you tell me first, what were the shortcomings of this operation?"

Lin Zhe stood up and walked to the screen: "First, the method of entry was too direct. I chose to force my way in through the stairs. Although it's fast, if the other side has set up booby traps or warnings in the stairwell, it's easy to be exposed."

The animation shifts to a scene in the stairwell, where Lin Zhe continues, "Secondly, when dealing with the two targets in the first conference room, I chose close-quarters assassination. Although it was quiet, if a third person suddenly entered, I would be put on the defensive."

"Third," he paused, "and the biggest problem—I didn't confirm the detonation method of all the bomb vests immediately. It was only later, during disassembly, that I discovered two of them, in addition to remote detonation, also had vibration sensors. If I moved the body too much, it might have detonated prematurely."

A few seconds of silence fell over the meeting room. The new team members exchanged bewildered glances—how could such a flawless operation have three loopholes?

But the veteran team members nodded in agreement. Longya was the first to speak: "You're right. Especially the third point. When carrying out missions overseas, we often encounter enemies setting up multiple detonation devices. We were lucky this time, but we might not be so lucky next time."

Dragon Claw added, "I suggest that in similar situations in the future, we should prioritize using non-lethal methods to control the enemy, and then have explosives experts handle the explosives. Although it's slower, it's safer."

Long Jing adjusted his glasses: "From an intelligence perspective, we didn't know enough about our targets before this operation. We only knew they were suicide squads, but we didn't know their specific equipment or tactical habits. If we had known beforehand that they had received professional training, Long Yuan's infiltration plan might have been more cautious."

Everyone chimed in, dissecting what had been a successful operation into a riddled with flaws. But Lin Zhe listened intently, because that was the style of "Hidden Dragon"—always striving for perfection, always preparing for the worst.

The hour-and-a-half debriefing session identified seven details for improvement. The leader concluded, "Remember, we cannot afford to fail in any mission we undertake. Failure means the sacrifice of team members, exposure of the mission, and even damage to national interests. Therefore, we must meticulously refine every detail."

After the meeting, Longya leaned close to Lin Zhe and whispered, "Don't put too much pressure on yourself. You did a really great job yesterday. There are no more than five people in our team who can take down eight armed assassins by themselves without harming any hostages."

Lin Zhe smiled and said, "I know. But it's always good to be able to find the problem."

"That's the mindset." Longya patted him on the shoulder. "Come on, let's go eat. Aren't you supposed to go to the General Armaments Department this afternoon?"

At 2 PM, Lin Zhe and Long Shou left the base in an ordinary black sedan. They drove into a courtyard in the western suburbs with a sign that read "Northern Industrial Design and Research Institute".

Director Li was already waiting in the conference room on the second floor. This expert, in his fifties, had gray hair but bright, piercing eyes. Upon seeing Lin Zhe, he skipped the pleasantries and spread a stack of drawings on the table.

"Colonel Lin, we've encountered a problem with the knee joint transmission device on the individual soldier exoskeleton you submitted last time." Director Li circled a component on the drawing with a pencil. "According to your design, this miniature hydraulic system needs to withstand a pressure of 200 kilograms per square centimeter, but the materials we can find now can only withstand a maximum of 150 kilograms."

Lin Zhe walked to the table and carefully examined the blueprints and the material parameter table beside them. This problem had arisen in his previous life as well, and the solution then was—

"Use a carbon fiber composite material layered with a titanium alloy liner." Lin Zhe picked up a red pen from the table and quickly drew a structural diagram on the back of the drawing. "This will increase the weight by less than 10%, but the pressure resistance will be increased to 230 kilograms. However, the machining precision requirements are very high, requiring a five-axis CNC machine tool."

Director Li's eyes lit up, but he immediately frowned: "We have five-axis machine tools, but programming is very troublesome for machining this kind of irregular structure. The experienced technicians in the institute said it would take at least a month to test it."

"It won't take that long." Lin Zhe thought for a moment. "I know someone who has written similar processing programs. If you need, I can ask him for help."

"Who?"

"Professor Liu from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the National University of Defense Technology published a paper last year on the machining of complex surfaces, and the algorithm mentioned in it is exactly applicable," Lin Zhe said. He knew Professor Liu from his time at the National Defense University; although he hadn't met him in person, he had read his paper.

Director Li immediately sent his assistant to contact him. Ten minutes later, the assistant returned and reported: "Professor Liu said he could help, but he wants to know the specific purpose of this component."

Lin Zhe and Director Li exchanged a glance. The Dragon Head spoke up: "Tell him these are joint components for a military robot, classified as Level A. If he's willing to participate, he'll need to sign a confidentiality agreement."

Twenty minutes later, Professor Liu called directly into the conference room. The old man's voice boomed, "Director Li, right? I've seen your design drawings, brilliant! Especially that stress dispersion structure, who came up with that?"

Director Li glanced at Lin Zhe and smiled, "A young comrade. Professor Liu, what do you think about the processing..."

"Give me a week, and I'll get the processing program working." Professor Liu readily agreed. "However, after it's finished, I'd like to meet the designer; I have some questions I'd like to ask."

After hanging up the phone, Director Li breathed a long sigh of relief: "Finally, a difficult problem has been solved." He looked at Lin Zhe with a complicated expression, "Colonel Lin, where did you learn all this knowledge? Some of your ideas are things that even we researchers who have been doing research for decades couldn't come up with."

Lin Zhe was prepared: "I usually enjoy reading, and I read all kinds of periodicals. Some of my ideas come to me in my dreams, and I write them down as soon as I wake up."

This was half true and half false. Although Director Li didn't believe it, he didn't investigate further—in the military industry system, some geniuses simply cannot be explained by common sense.

Over the next three hours, Lin Zhe helped the General Assembly Department solve four more technical problems. From the heat treatment process of special steel to the blade design of micro turbine engines, he always managed to provide practical solutions.

Finally, Director Li looked at the stack of newly printed "Optimization Plans for Qianlong's Exclusive Equipment" on the table and said with a wry smile, "Colonel Lin, you've added at least three more years of work for us. But..." He flipped through the design drawings, his eyes growing brighter and brighter, "If these can really be realized, our individual soldier equipment level can catch up with, or even surpass, the world's most advanced level."

Longshou interjected, "Director Li, the Dragon King's idea is to prioritize the development of several pieces of equipment suitable for overseas operations. The base can coordinate funding and personnel."

"Understood, understood." Director Li nodded. "I'll organize a special task force right away. But Colonel Lin, you'll have to be our technical advisor; there are some details you'll need to personally oversee."

"I'll be ready to cooperate at any time," Lin Zhe said.

It was already evening when we left the research institute. On the way back to base, Long Shou was driving when he suddenly said, "Do you know why the individual combat skills of the 'Hidden Dragon' team members are so high?"

Lin Zhe shook his head.

"Because our selection criteria aren't about choosing 'good soldiers,' but about choosing 'people who can change the course of the battle.'" The leader looked ahead, his voice calm. "An ordinary special forces soldier can skillfully use various weapons and complete tactical missions. But a 'Hidden Dragon' member must be able to influence the entire battlefield single-handedly, even when completely isolated and without support."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "For example, what you did yesterday, resolving a hostage crisis all by yourself. Or, if necessary, a member of the 'Hidden Dragon' team could infiltrate behind enemy lines and paralyze the command system of an entire division with a single computer. This isn't an exaggeration; it's something that has actually been done."

Lin Zhe recalled the tactical textbook he had written and deeply agreed.

"That's why the Dragon King attaches great importance to your equipment design plans," the Dragon Head continued. "Because good equipment can multiply the combat effectiveness of team members. Think about it, if a team member wears optical camouflage, tactical goggles, and operates a miniature drone, but carries only half the weight of the equipment they currently have—how long could they remain hidden behind enemy lines? How much damage could they cause?"

Lin Zhe understood this logic. This is why countries in his previous life spared no expense in developing high-tech equipment for individual soldiers—the value of a super soldier could sometimes be equivalent to that of a company, or even a battalion.

Back at base, Lin Zhe didn't rest but went straight to the training ground. Long Ya and several team members were doing indoor close-quarters combat training. Seeing Lin Zhe, Long Ya waved: "Come on, we just need someone to play the bandit."

Lin Zhe joined in. The training scenario simulated a hotel corridor, where Lin Zhe, playing a "bandit," had taken a "hostage" to a room, and Long Ya's attack team was to break in from the corridor.

In their first drill, the Dragon Tooth team employed standard assault tactics—flashbangs, breaching doors, and crossfire. Lin Zhe had pre-positioned tripwires in the room, and the Dragon Tooth team triggered a "booby trap" training laser simulation as soon as they entered, resulting in their complete "death."

The second time, Longya changed tactics, rappelling down the outer wall and breaking through a window. However, Lin Zhe had placed vibration sensors at the window, detecting the attack in advance. After another round of firefight, the attack team suffered heavy losses once again.

The third time, Longya simply didn't rush in. Instead, he had someone downstairs use lasers to simulate sniping and "kill" the bandit played by Lin Zhe through the window.

Training ended, and Longya took off his helmet, his forehead covered in sweat: "You're too cunning, kid. You even managed to come up with a vibration sensor?"

"Anything can happen in real combat overseas," Lin Zhe laughed. "And if I were a terrorist, I would definitely be prepared for all sorts of ways to break in."

"That makes sense." Longya wiped his sweat. "However, Longyuan, I've noticed that you're particularly meticulous when you're on the defensive. For the next overseas mission, if it involves stronghold defense, you can serve as an advisor."

As the two were talking, Long Jing walked over, holding a tablet computer: "Long Yuan, I've read the third chapter of the tactical textbook you uploaded to the learning system, the part about electronic warfare..."

Her eyes lit up, clearly interested in the content: "Is your method of modifying civilian walkie-talkies into broadband listening devices really feasible? We tried a similar method overseas before, but it didn't work well."

"It depends on the walkie-talkie model and the local electromagnetic environment." Lin Zhe took the tablet and pulled up a document he had written. "Here I've listed a few key parameters. If the signal strength is insufficient, you can add a homemade parabolic antenna; the material can be made by cutting open an aluminum can..."

Long Jing listened attentively, nodding occasionally. Several team members also gathered around, all showing great interest in this "homemade high-tech" method.

This is the daily routine at the "Hidden Dragon" base—training, learning, and research. Everyone here is a jack-of-all-trades, and everyone yearns to become stronger.

At 10 PM, Lin Zhe returned to his dorm and turned on his computer. There was a new email in his inbox from Zhang Xueying, containing only a few lines:

"I saw on the news today that the Blue Ocean Building incident has been resolved, and the police said they killed all the terrorists. I know it was you. Be careful, I'm waiting for you to come home. — Xueying"

Lin Zhe felt a surge of warmth as he read the email. He replied, "Everything is fine, don't worry. I'll contact you after training. Take care and get some rest, don't stay up late. —Lin Zhe"

After sending the email, he walked to the window. The base was underground and had no real windows; this "window" was actually a high-definition display screen showing the night view of the ground in real time—the lights of Jinghua City stretched out in the distance.

This era is still very backward, and this country is not strong enough.

But he is changing all of this, little by little.

From border defense company to special operations team, and then to "Hidden Dragon"; from training syllabus to equipment design, and then to tactical innovation.

In this life, he wants to ensure that the soldiers of this country have the best equipment, the most scientific training, and the strongest combat power.

He wanted to make those enemies who dared to violate the border pay ten times or a hundred times the price.

What he wants to protect is not only this country, but also the people he cares about.

Lin Zhe took a deep breath, turned around and went back to his desk, opening a new document.

The title is: "Roadmap for the Development of Individual Combat Systems in the Next Five Years".

The night is still long, and the work must continue.

But this time, he wasn't fighting alone.