Ka-boom!
With the sound of an exploding shell in the distance, the target board one kilometre away was reduced into dust by the ZTZ100. The 150-mm smoothbore main gun was the largest calibre of its kind. With the same armour, the ZTZ100 main battle tank was able to shred through his opponent’s defence armour while the opponent’s shells were unable to scratch its armour.
Plus, its ceramic reactive armour was able to withstand 155-mm calibre main gun attacks from one kilometre away. Even the main guns of the M1A3 weren’t of 140-mm calibre and its ceramic reactive armour was only able to withstand attacks from a 140-mm calibre main gun. The ZTZ100 could easily blast other tanks into oblivion while not taking a scratch from any one of them!
Ka-boom! Ka-boom! Ka-boom! Ka-boom!
A string of another four explosions rang. The ZTZ100 fired five times within thirty seconds, each of them hitting the designated targets with perfect accuracy. What was even more impressive was that the thirty seconds had included time for its turret adjustments!
Destroying the five targets wasn’t difficult at all. Xia Lei didn’t even need to feel anxious as the radar and fire control system had helped him navigate around seamlessly.
Before the soot and smoke had even blown off, the observation platform was already filled with exciting discussion.
“That’s impossible! It doesn’t make sense for a solo driver and an automatic reloading system to be able to hit all five target within thirty seconds!”
“It was able to show pinpoint precision with targets two-thousand metres away. What’s the difference between this and a sniper?”
“I’m beginning to think that even the American M1A3 won’t stand chance against China’s Type 99 main battle tank!”
“Does this mean that a new king of the tanks is born?”
Though they weren’t keen on accepting reality, the solid proof of ZTZ100’s invincibility was placed on a silver platter right in front of them. There was no way they could brush the truth aside anymore!
Their bewildered comments were translated for Huang He’s ears, feeding his ego.
In the past, China would have to beg and plead to buy technologies from Russia. Most often, the technologies sold were outdated and no longer used. They would cap their most advanced equipment and technologies to be out of reach, refusing anyone to get a hold of it. Why? Well, it was because they didn’t want China to grow stronger. When China bought over the outdated entities and improved it, everyone else would comment that the Chinese were nothing more than copycats. For years, the Chinese were under intense scrutiny and were hurled insults. Things were going to be different now that the Thunder Horse Organization had allowed China’s military industry to pick up its pace. Soon, Russian technology and even American technology would need to stand aside!
Having one-upped his competition, Huang He as a soldier couldn’t help but feel proud!
Ka-boom! Ka-boom!
On the shooting range, the other tanks were also shooting at the targets. Comparatively, their practical performances were like giggly toddlers beside the ZTZ100. It was humiliating to watch.
Hattori Masao’s expression was gloomy as he watched the ZTZ100 in silence. As considerable foes, he wasn’t hoping to see China with such amazing tanks.
In the meantime, the ZTZ100 had come to a halt after completing its rounds.
Hattori Masao sent a look to his daughter behind him.
Hattori Mei nodded and raised her wrist gently. She whispered into her wristwatch, “You may begin.”
Immediately, three Type 10 Tanks began to approach the calm ZTZ100 tank on the shooting range. It quickly formed a triangular formation, effectively trapping the ZTZ100 inside of it. As soon as it got into position, the Type 10 Tanks aimed their main guns towards the ZTZ100.
The sirens in the tank blared off, prompting an automated voice to warn, “You’ve been targeted! You’ve been targeted!”
A 3D display formed on the radar, showing the three Type 10s that were dyed red by the system.
Xia Lei’s mind abruptly brought up the face of the Caucasian tanker! With no time to waste, he slammed on the pedal, bringing the stationary ZTZ100 into acceleration. Its gigantic body made it look like a track athlete, the sudden motion sending dirt flying as it lunged forward.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As the ZTZ100 began to accelerate, the three Type 10 Tanks opened fire towards it.
Ka-boom! A shell hit the ceramic reactive armour on the left of the ZTZ100 while another hit the right. One missed and hit the ground, blasting rocks and mud away.
Despite getting shot twice, the ZTZ100 hadn’t shown signs of stopping. It did not even slow down to recover!
If this were some other tank, the two shells would have already reduced it to debris!
Violent flames began to burn on the top of the ZTZ100. Within mere seconds, the tank’s automatic system extinguished the fire successfully.
Everyone else on the observation platform gaped in awe, save for the few Japanese.
“What the hell?! What are you trying to do?!” Huang He jolted and left his seat. He immediately dashed towards Hattori Masao.
Noticing the furious man, a few Japanese soldiers quickly shielded Masao.
The translator quickly restrained Huang He from the back.
“This must be a mistake! Something must’ve gone wrong!” Hattori Mei offered an explanation albeit jittery and nervous.
“Yeah! This must be an error!” Hattori Masao uttered the same explanation.
“Error your fucking ass!” Huang He cussed vehemently. “You’re declaring war! This is a declaration of war and we’ll see to the end of this!”
“General Huang, please allow us to investigate the matter before anything else. I’m sure we’ll give you a solid explanation for this!” A Russian official made a frantic attempt to calm the conflict.
On the shooting range, the three Tank 10 Tank hadn’t gone after the ZTZ100 and they hadn’t fired another shot towards it. One of the hatches soon opened and out came a tanker from its cockpit. From afar, everyone could see that the soldier was waving his helmet around.
All the signs had seemed to convince everyone that this was just an accident, that it was possibly a mere malfunction. But no one had bothered to ponder about why three tanks had malfunctioned at the same time.
“Look! Our tank soldiers are signalling us. This really was just a misunderstanding.” Hattori Mei forced an explanation. Unbeknownst to her, the woman’s forehead was already wet with cold sweat.
“Alright! Alright! A malfunction, right? I’ll make sure to have my soldier give them a bigger misunderstanding!” roared Huang He.
“No! Please don’t!” The Russian official was at wit’s end.
“I don’t care! I’m not buying any of your stupid lies!” Huang He went berserk. The man’s rage wasn’t sourced from the ZTZ100, it was Xia Lei who was inside the tank. Xia Lei was the right-wing of China’s military industry. What the Japanese had pulled was akin to destroying all hope for China’s rejuvenation. This was unacceptable!
Enraged, another Russian official shouted, “This is Russian territory! If you wish to fight each other, do that on your territory! If you refuse to back down, it would mean declaring war to Russia! I will have the anti-tank troops sent here right away!”
“Bring it on! It’s not like we hadn’t fought before!” Huang He yelled back.
“You…” The Russian man was at a loss for words.
Fight China? Even America hadn’t dared to do so, not to mention a tormented sanctioned Russia. Without China’s support, the situation in Russia would only worsen.
Surprisingly, Huang He was starting to calm down after losing his temper. The general hadn’t instructed his tanks to attack anymore.
Anyone was to be held accountable in their place. Huang He was a Chinese general. Approvals and advice must be obtained before he could open fire!
Noticing that Huang He was calming down, Hattori Masao quickly added on, “This really is just a big misunderstanding. I promise to give you an answer after a round of careful investigation.”
Huang He squinted at Hattori Masao coldly, saying nothing else.
The soldier standing on top of the Type 10 Tank was waving his helmet towards the ZTZ100 as he screamed something inaudible. Though his words were unclear, it wasn’t difficult to guess that he was explaining the situation to the ZTZ100.
“Xia Lei, why can’t you just die already?” Hattori Mei hissed internally.
Without warning, the moving ZTZ100 suddenly twitched.
Boom!
A fiery shell came shooting out of the 150-mm main gun.
Ka-boom!
A flash of red and white exploded, the soldier standing on top of the Type 10 Tank was instantly shredded into pieces. The Type 10 beneath him was tossed around vehemently, then followed by the destruction of its innards. The deafening sound echoed through the field, shaking the ground immensely with its sheer force!
“He...” Hattori Masao immediately jumped. “He fired a shell towards our tank and soldiers!”
As soon as he fell silent.
Boom!
Another explosion. The second Type 10 Tank was destroyed. The armour-piercing shell penetrated its frontal armour and steel plates, plunging itself into the cockpit before exploding.
The remaining tank quickly rushed off to the side.
“Quick! Stop him! Stop him now!” Hattori Masao roared at Huang He.
Huang He seemed unfazed, shrugging his shoulder with schooled nonchalance. “He’s not my soldier. I can’t order him to do anything. Why are you so agitated? I’m sure this must be a malfunction as well. Don’t fret, I’m sure we’ll be able to offer you a good explanation soon.”
Hattori Mei rushed to the front of the platform. The woman itched to do something but as soon as she was near the stairs, she halted.
If she had appeared in Xia Lei’s field of vision, what would the man do?
The answer was clear. Xia Lei would fire a shell at her!
The escaping Type 10 was an improved version that outperformed the other two Type 10 Tanks involved. But against the ZTZ100, the Japanese tank was literally no match. It wanted to run but the ZTZ100 had caught up to it within two minutes.
The turret of the ZTZ100 moved and locked its guns in the zooming Type 10.
“Make him stop!” Hattori Masao was desperate.
Huang He watched the tanks in the shooting range calmly, not bothering to entertain Hattori Masao.
Boom!
The Type 10 Tank exploded in the cruel blaze.
The ZTZ100 finally came to a stop.
Xia Lei picked up the transmitter given by the Russian organizers. There was a slight pause as he cleared his throat.
“This is a misunderstanding.”