Chapter 300: Chapter 217: Man-portable Active Phased Array Radar and Half-Guns
However, Li Xiang felt it was better to be conservative. A few tens of thousands of posts and several hundred emails would be enough. Anything more would be overkill.
After all, the Apocalypse was still nine years away.
With the nation’s resources, five or six years of advance preparation would be sufficient. Any earlier, and it might just cause panic, chaos, and instability, which would be counterproductive.
By issuing a wave of warnings each year, people would be more likely to accept it when the time finally came, especially with the addition of abnormal weather and disasters.
But when Jiang Cai’Er went online to check, she shrugged and said to Li Xiang, "We don’t have to anymore."
"Huh?" Li Xiang was surprised.
Jiang Cai’Er pulled up a few web pages to show him.
It turned out that many social media accounts were already hyping up an impending ice age or a brutally cold winter. Some were even claiming the Apocalypse was coming and Earth would be destroyed.
Li Xiang had thought they might be Reincarnators, too.
Jiang Cai’Er, curious herself, investigated them. She hacked their phones and eavesdropped, only to discover they were purely in it for the online traffic.
For the few she was unsure about, Jiang Cai’Er easily found their home addresses. At night, Li Xiang took her to stake them out, and after some covert observation, they confirmed none of them were Extraordinary Beings.
The two of them discussed it and decided that even if others were already spreading warnings, they should still do their part.
So, Jiang Cai’Er took control of various accounts and made numerous untraceable posts online.
She also sent emails to government websites and even to some influential figures in the Imperial Capital, but they all vanished without a trace, garnering no response.
They figured there was just too much fake news online for anyone to believe them.
These days, fake news was rampant, mostly driven by profit and the pursuit of online traffic. People would make up anything.
This was especially true for foreign websites, including some official ones. Many had no restrictions, allowing anyone to go on and fabricate a news story. It was a form of information warfare, designed to mislead and confuse.
On one battlefield, for instance, someone used this tactic to spread fake news claiming a certain unit had routed or that a command post had been wiped out. The posts were made by people posing as insiders. The government forces, intimidated by the seemingly credible reports, panicked and chose to retreat. As a result, Zulani took Damascus without firing a shot.
Then there were many Chinese nationals, both at home and abroad, who would repost fake news from foreign sites with an air of great importance, or simply fabricate their own stories for clicks. With added video editing and other tricks, the sheer variety was dazzling. How could the average person possibly tell fact from fiction?
Jiang Cai’Er activated her "Quantum Computer" ability. After a detailed calculation and analysis of all factors, she advised Li Xiang to wait a few years. Formally reporting it five or six years before the event would be best.
Although Li Xiang was quite powerful now, he had too many family members and relatives to protect. He truly couldn’t afford to provoke certain malevolent people in power. Not unless he was prepared for a fight to the death.
As for the old patriarch of the Xu Family, he needed to be observed for a while longer.
As Li Xiang was heading back after dropping Jiang Cai’Er off at school, he got a call from Xu Xuan. Xu Xuan told him he’d emailed him a wedding invitation. He and Zhang Youyou were getting officially married during the National Day holiday and sincerely invited him to witness their momentous occasion.
Li Xiang congratulated him and confirmed he would be there. He planned to use the opportunity to get in touch with the Xu Family’s patriarch and improve their communication and understanding.
Besides, Li Xiang didn’t consider himself particularly strong. A speed of only 5 Mach was nothing worth mentioning.
Dongda had many missiles that exceeded 10 Mach, and countless more that could travel between 5 and 10 Mach.
With his current power, he could run rampant in smaller, weaker nations, but back home, he still needed to lay low for the time being.
In his past life, when the Apocalypse arrived, the entire world descended into chaos. Many people carved out their own territories, and many powerful Extraordinary Beings staged rebellions and usurped authority. Who knew how it would play out this time.
The question "Are kings and generals destined by birth?" was practically engraved in the bones of his countrymen.
When those Extraordinary Beings could move mountains and part seas, why would they continue to toil like beasts of burden?
It was a dark era. With countless external factors and widespread chaos, the power of the "old world" governments was completely unable to maintain control.
The Underground City controlled by the Xu Family was considered a relatively decent and orderly faction among the many that existed.
Still, reporting it five to six years in advance would be very useful. At the very least, in the initial stages, sufficient preparation could preserve a great deal of the nation’s strength.
Xu Xuan was now a key partner for Li Xiang. He provided powerful support in the jadeite industry, saving Li Xiang a lot of trouble. His cash flow was now abundant, exceeding five billion.
Of course, Li Xiang’s current net worth wasn’t particularly conspicuous in the country. Companies worth billions were a dime a dozen, and which of their major shareholders wasn’t a billionaire? But when it came to liquid cash, few could compare to him.
Li Xiang and Xu Xuan chatted about business for a while before Li Xiang asked him for a favor.
Xu Xuan was straightforward and asked what he needed.
Li Xiang said he wanted a man-portable active phased array radar. He’d seen one at an airshow but didn’t know if a private citizen could purchase it.
Xu Xuan thought for a moment, then said, "No problem. Leave it to me."
"I’ll transfer you the money for it," Li Xiang said.
Xu Xuan replied, "Come on, man. What’s a little money between us? Are you looking down on me?"
"In that case, thanks."
"I’ll personally deliver it to you once I get it. I guarantee all the paperwork will be in order, so you won’t have to worry about any inspections," Xu Xuan said.
Li Xiang wasn’t worried about that. Xu Xuan was always meticulous.
Xu Xuan was highly efficient. Three days later, he and Zhang Youyou came over with some friends to visit the teahouse and tavern, and they brought the portable radar with them.
The radar weighed less than twenty kilograms, making it very light. It was designed to detect moving targets. Within a five-kilometer range, it could spot enemies even if they were well-concealed in difficult terrain. Within a ten-kilometer range, enemy armored targets were clearly visible.
It also had a real-time data transmission function, allowing it to relay information to drones, robotic dogs, and the like for instant information sharing.
It came with a tablet that was also extremely rugged—drop-proof and explosion-proof.
Li Xiang planned to set it up on the back mountain during the winter. That way, he wouldn’t have to worry about wild boars.
Then, once a boar was detected from a distance, he wouldn’t even have to lift a finger. He could just send his Spirit Pets to carry out a "precision strike."
Jiang Cai’Er, for her part, would hack into the radar and gain complete control over it.
When Jiang Cai’Er was around, she would operate it. When she wasn’t, Li Xiang would use the tablet, or he could entrust it to Lei Jiaming, Li Yucheng, or Jiang Jianguo.
Luo Feifei’s Insight Superpower was no weaker than the radar—in many cases, it was even clearer. However, her current Cultivation was limited, restricting her Insight to a radius of only twenty to thirty meters. Besides, in this era of peace, she couldn’t possibly stay with Li Xiang all the time.
Even if she wanted to, her mother would never allow it.
Xu Xuan also gave Li Xiang another "big gift": over a hundred firearms of various models. They were all real, but they were only halves of guns. Furthermore, they all came with complete paperwork and certificates, having been acquired through official, legal channels.
By "halves," it meant that each gun had been sliced down the middle, and he had received only the right-side halves.
Since Li Xiang’s place was an Apocalypse-themed Shelter, it had an "armory" in its design where many weapons would be displayed. Li Xiang had originally planned to buy a batch of realistic-looking plastic toys, but fakes were ultimately fakes; they lacked the right feel.
The ones Xu Xuan sent, however, were the real deal.
He also gave them to Li Xiang for free.
Xu Xuan privately revealed that this was because both he and Zhang Youyou had successfully formed their first Spiritual Power Vortex, and they were deeply grateful to Li Xiang. The gifts were just a small token of their appreciation, as they didn’t know what else he might need. But they promised that if Li Xiang ever needed anything in the future, they would do everything in their power to help.
They didn’t say what their Superpowers were, and Li Xiang didn’t ask. After all, the two of them weren’t his subordinates; they were just partners.
When Lei Jiaming and the others saw the firearms, they were quite surprised and very excited. They picked up the "half-guns" and couldn’t stop handling them, turning them over and over.
"It’s a shame they’re only halves. We can’t use them," Lei Jiaming lamented.
One of the security guards, trying to be clever, said, "Look, if they’re all halves, can’t we just put two of them together to make a whole gun?"
Lei Jiaming immediately smacked him on the head. "Are you stupid? They’re all right-side halves. How are you supposed to combine them? It’s like having a bunch of right shoes. How do you make a pair?"
"Ohh, I see. No wonder," the man said, finally understanding.
Another guard suggested, "We could make the other halves and glue them together."
"You numbskull!" Lei Jiaming kicked the man, not amused. "You think this is something you can solve with glue?" he cursed.
"Then what’s the problem?"
Lei Jiaming explained, "If you have the ability to make one half, you have the ability to make the whole thing. The issue isn’t whether we *can* make them, it’s that we don’t dare. We’re not licensed."
Because these real guns were only halves, they could only serve as display pieces, not functional weapons. This was one of the reasons the government dared to sell them legally.
The rough construction of the second-phase Shelter was nearly complete. He wasn’t going to furnish it just yet, since it was only a tourist attraction for now and no one would be living in it. Li Xiang planned to hang all these guns on the armory walls as a selling point.
Even though they were only halves, they would look just like complete guns when mounted on the wall.
The tourist flow to the scenic area was decent. For one, the natural scenery was beautiful. Two, the shops in the area were unique and offered great value. Three, Li Xiang’s own fame as an internet celebrity drew in visitors. And four, most importantly, there were two giant pandas nearby.
Giant pandas were a guaranteed crowd-puller.
At any tourist spot or zoo, pandas were the star attraction. Even if an establishment had no other animals, two giant pandas alone were enough to draw huge crowds of visitors.
What’s more, the ones near Li Family Village were completely wild.
Some people had tried to make a move on the two pandas, but Li Xiang was a member of the county’s political consultative conference, had friends at the provincial level, and was on good terms with the professors from the provincial expert group. That was how Tuantuan and its mother were able to remain here in peace.
But even if some fool did manage to take the pandas, Li Xiang could steal them back the very same night and teach the culprit a harsh lesson.
