Chapter 341

Chapter 341: Amphibious Tactical Armor

Soon, a complete set of fully enclosed tactical armor wrapped around Lin Mo, and with a barely audible sound, two amber lights lit up near his eyes. They differed entirely from the blue lights of the "Longyan," offering greater concealment. This was a low-light source suitable for land combat. The entire helmet featured a new processor that integrated more functions than the "Longyan" and expanded its land combat capabilities.

Hiding on the side of his thigh was a solid-state vanadium battery that allowed the "Dragon General" digital system to operate at full capacity for 72 hours, while the simplified mode could last for 240 hours. Compared to lithium-ion batteries, vanadium batteries have a larger storage capacity and a longer lifespan, with virtually no limit on charge-discharge cycles and no memory effect, making it a high-performance military battery far surpassing civilian standards.

Moreover, Lin Mo had never worried about energy issues with his equipment. As long as the gold giant dragon was willing, he could detach a special unit that would supply the "Dragon General" system with almost unlimited power.

Although the gold giant dragon was not a lightning creature, it could generate electricity through reactions between metals and its instinctual magnetic field. While it could not match the terrifying output power of lightning, it was sufficient to support current human warfare equipment needs.

As Qiu, who was upgrading the J-15 "Dark Sabre" carrier-based aircraft, looked up, he was startled by the sight of Lin Mo in the "Dragon General." "Oh! What is this? Ah, Instructor Lin, how did you wear this? What exactly is it?"

"Dragon General!" Lin Mo raised his arm effortlessly, feeling no weight at all. This was due to the synchronized coordination system that detected muscle activity and bioelectric responses. When he tensed his muscles, he received a power boost that increased with effort.

Before donning it, this tactical armor weighed no less than 25 kilograms. With a large application of non-metal composite materials, it felt lighter than both "Kua Fu" and the "Future Warrior." In the absence of external combat modules, the basic tactical armor appeared thin and sleek—almost similar to a long-sleeve shirt—due to its design favoring aerodynamic conditions. Some aircraft cockpits are so cramped that overly bulky tactical armor simply won’t fit.

"Dragon General? Is it really the Dragon General?" Qiu had heard about Henghai Defense’s highly confidential collaboration with Shenyang, developing advanced digital combat individual armor. He never expected to see it in person today.

"That’s right! Very good!" Lin Mo allowed Qiu to touch his "Dragon General" while he operated the tactical helmet, constantly adjusting it to his preferences. Suddenly, he kicked off and appeared fifteen meters away, causing Qiu to stumble back in shock, rubbing his eyes and exclaiming, "Instructor Lin, did you just teleport or fold space?"

"What high-tech is this?" Clearly, Lin Mo’s speed in appearing fifteen meters away surpassed Qiu’s ability to visually track him.

"No, no, I just moved a bit quickly." Lin Mo shook his head, testing the maneuverability gain. He was very satisfied. The "Dragon General" utilized high-tech materials and technology, easily rivaling the mystic steel armor that had been consumed by the Gold Coin and even surpassing it; it adapted better to the combat styles of this world.

"Is this really a pressure suit?" Qiu’s eyes widened as if they might pop out. He adjusted his glasses, watching Lin Mo leap around the hangar in the "Dragon General" as if he had superpowers.

In Qiu’s mind, the individual combat suit worn by pilots should belong to the category of pressure suits, and an advanced one at that. How could Lin Mo jump around like a monkey? Even ordinary pressure suits are considerably heavy!

With a gun in hand, one could carry out special missions like a superhero. Was it really that exaggerated? It seemed wasteful to use it only in the cockpit.

Whether it was wasteful or not was uncertain, but the cost of this tactical armor would not be less than that of a fighter jet. Lin Mo had no knowledge of what Henghai Defense had to say about it.

After all, would the country send the soldiers a bill for these provisions?

"No, no, no!" Lin Mo seemingly appeared in front of Qiu again like a phantom, shaking his hand, "This is a dual-use digital intelligent individual armor for land and air combat. With the power boost, once a person wears it, their strength and agility will greatly enhance with every movement."

Pressure? That was just the most basic function of this tactical armor. The pressure suits piloted by aviators were vastly inferior to this tactical armor, comparable to the difference between a simple cotton tank top and a medieval knight’s heavy steel armor.

Lin Mo was extremely pleased with this outfit. With the "Dragon General," he could confidently showcase the might of the Dragon Knights to the world without pretense. The "Dragon General" amphibious individual tactical armor became Lin Mo’s best shield.

This was true heavy armor suitable for a knight!

"So powerful?" Seeing Lin Mo’s movements, which were both still and swift, Qiu felt a bit dizzy. After all, he was also engaged in high tech and gradually built some immunity to the astonishment he felt earlier. He continued, "You’re a pilot; why do you need land combat functions? If you eject, a SAR rescue team will come to save you! You wouldn’t have to move at all on the ground."

Lin Mo smiled slightly. This armor was specially designed for him and naturally suited his combat style. He replied to Qiu, "Of course! I like to do things myself. This tactical armor can fully defend against 12.7 millimeter caliber steel-core bullets from multiple angles, improving my survival rate on the battlefield. Besides close-range dogfights, I’m also very skilled in hand-to-hand combat."

The Dragon Knights are naturally adept at close combat, while ranged attacks generally relied on the giant dragon mounts. Occasionally, Air Knights with strong elemental affinities could pull off a few magical attacks, but this was very rare. Those with strong magical talent mostly transitioned to being magicians rather than pursuing the high-risk profession of Air Knight; they’d be better off safely casting spells from the rear.

"Well! Henghai Defense has been generous; they opened all development ports directly for me!" Lin Mo noticed that the tactical helmet’s HMD virtual display system had a DEBUG mode containing all development interface documentation and a complete system function library, which was not fully packaged and secured.

You might even say the "Dragon General" could serve as the most valuable prototype.

The grand vision of Henghai Defense and their trust in Lin Mo seemed to surpass what the Dragon Knights had imagined. They essentially laid their entire bank account and password openly in front of him.

Understanding the deeper meaning behind this, Lin Mo realized that while taking advantage of the "Longyan" improvement upgrade plan, Henghai Defense hoped he would directly test the "Dragon General." Meanwhile, they would gather usage data to assist in perfecting and upgrading this individual armor.

Starting from the top level, it became much easier to extend the development of individual digital tactical armor suited for Special Operations Teams and special forces, also benefiting future technological advancements.

Henghai Defense’s strategy involved initial difficulty before enjoying the rewards—an exceptional display of effort, indeed.

In the black metal bulletproof composite armor case, besides the basic set of "Dragon General" without weapons, he found a manual, a disc for driving and tuning software, several data cables, a backup battery and charger, an onboard oxygen mask multifunction port, and an emergency energy module the size of a brick, meant to store more energy.

Apart from lacking weapons and special external plugins, it was primarily configured for real combat and training.

Once Lin Mo donned it, he was reluctant to take it off. When he sat in the cockpit wearing the "Kua Fu," he felt particularly secure and didn’t need to worry about penetrating projectiles. Feeling safe allowed him to focus more on combat.

Moreover, this tactical armor was not only cool and stylish, but it also shielded him from the heat inside the hangar, serving almost like a personal air conditioner. Due to its physical energy conversion device, the "Dragon General" could directly convert heat exceeding 30 degrees Celsius into stored electric energy, simultaneously adjusting to cool or heat to maintain the user’s body temperature.

Even without an external power supply, as long as he was in a hot, bright, vibrating, or noisy environment, this physical energy conversion device could gradually accumulate energy for the battery. This device was particularly suited for harsh and extreme environments because no one could guarantee that there would always be power outlets available on the battlefield.

The "Dragon General" amphibious individual tactical armor caught the attention of the Marines stationed in the hangar, who were responsible for security. They gazed enviously at him. Wearing this would surely attract many admirers, resembling a futuristic soldier straight out of a science fiction movie! The treatment for aviators was indeed impressive.

With an uplifted mood, Lin Mo’s work efficiency soared. After shedding his mystic steel armor, he finally received a suit of armor comparable to the Dragon Knight’s battle attire. Wearing it felt remarkably fitting, and the functionalities were effortlessly accessible.

Upgrading thirty-one J-15 "Dark Sabre" aircraft wasn’t a task that could be completed in just a day or two. The maintenance crew used a production line approach, with each aircraft tethered to trailers, sorting through multiple processes simultaneously for disassembly, replacement, upgrades, and tuning.

As a fresh addition to the team, Lin Mo’s young strength greatly sped up the assembly line. After completing each aircraft, he personally flew the finished J-15 "Dark Sabre" for test flights.

Thanks to Lin Mo’s assistance, the engineers of the maintenance crew likely would have spent their entire holiday on the upgrades otherwise.