Fifteen minutes later, high-ranking leaders from various departments of Long Country arrived at the meeting venue, and the conference officially began.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Second Artillery of Long Country, with a joyous expression, spoke first.
"Boss, is this Lightning Storm also Professor Jing's masterpiece? It's truly remarkable. It was brilliant to strike the Yasukuni Shrine!"
"However, there was no need to target the US Capitol. It was merely a scapegoat; whether it lives or dies is of little consequence. If we were to strike, I think it would be more effective to strike the Statue of Liberty directly. That would hit the US morale harder."
"Old Lu," the highest leader replied with a wry smile, shaking his head, "You've got it wrong. These two lightning storms were not caused by us."
Upon hearing this, the expressions of others changed drastically.
"Boss, if these two lightning storms were an accident, that would be one thing. But if someone has indeed mastered weather weapons and wants to frame us, then we're in serious trouble!"
"Indeed," someone else chimed in. "Right now, everyone believes that the lightning storms are Long Country's secret weapon. By controlling lightning storms and recklessly attacking other countries, they can instigate various conflicts and turn us into public enemies of the world."
The highest leader frowned deeply. "Not only that, they could completely control weather weapons and directly attack Long Country's homeland. Then, they could pin it on operational errors or even a 'bitter trick' on our part."
"In this way, we would not only suffer losses but also be blamed. If we wanted to retaliate, we wouldn't even know where to strike!"
Just as everyone was sighing in despair, Jing Mingqiu pushed open the door and emerged with disdain. "It's just a few thunder strike points. This is what they call a weather weapon? Boss, lend me two construction corps to assist, and I'll build you a real weather weapon."
"The people are not an issue; I'll arrange them immediately." The highest leader's worry turned to joy. "Mingqiu, before we begin construction, could you please explain what these thunder strike points are? Knowing your enemy and yourself is the key to victory."
"No problem."
Jing Mingqiu snapped his fingers, connected to the conference room's projector, and a video of the Yasukuni Shrine being bombed appeared before everyone.
After a quick playback, Jing Mingqiu drew a circle on the map, marking the location of the Yasukuni Shrine.
"The Yasukuni Shrine covers an area of 103,000 square meters. However, the areas attacked by lightning this time were only a few main halls where war criminals are enshrined, totaling no more than 10,000 square meters, less than a tenth of the total area."
"You don't even need nuclear or hydrogen bombs. A single thermobaric bomb would have a direct kill radius of over one hundred meters, with a kill range starting at 30,000 square meters, far exceeding this seemingly powerful lightning storm."
"As for the lightning storm that attacked the US Capitol, its power and attack range were even more negligible. According to US reports, the Capitol was destroyed due to a plane crash caused by loss of control, not by being directly struck by lightning."
After listening to Jing Mingqiu's analysis, everyone felt as if they had woken from a dream. The lightning storm, despite its impressive appearance, was actually not that powerful.
"Wait a moment," the Commander-in-Chief of the Second Artillery of Long Country called out to Jing Mingqiu. "Professor Jing, although its power is not great, its method of attack is too covert."
"If it's allowed to strike randomly everywhere, it will not only cause immense damage but also lead to the loss of many innocent lives."
"Covert?" Jing Mingqiu's disdain became more evident. "A crudely made weapon like this, how can it be considered covert? By slightly modifying the radar, one can detect the high-energy particle streams left by those two thunder strike points."
Jing Mingqiu gave Cang Yue, who was perched on his shoulder, a look. "Yue'er, activate the high-altitude radar and scan with the Aeslin special frequency to see where these two thunder strike points originated."
"Okay, Brother."
Cang Yue closed her eyes. A string of data flashed before her. The image projected on the screen rapidly changed, moving from the ruins of the Yasukuni Shrine, upwards, out of Sakurajima, across the Pacific, and finally stopping outside a heavily guarded military base in the eastern United States.
"As expected," the highest leader said with a look of sudden enlightenment. "No wonder the United States has been fanning the flames of public opinion to blame these two lightning storms on our country and propaganda to the world that Long Country possesses weather weapons."
"So, the real weather weapon is in their hands. They want us to be the scapegoat, to forcibly blame us for all the problems caused by the use of weather weapons!"
The highest leader patted Jing Mingqiu's shoulder, expressing great relief. "If it weren't for you, Mingqiu, seeing through their conspiracy, Long Country would have suffered heavy losses this time!"
Just then, Jing Mingqiu, who was looking at satellite cloud maps, suddenly frowned. "Something's not right, very not right. Boss, if it were just thunder strike points, with the current technological level of the United States, they might have been able to create them."
"Boss, look here," Jing Mingqiu pointed to a sharp tip emerging from the grass, surrounded by several magnetic-electric arcs. "This is the lightning-attracting device of the lightning controller. Although it's not a complete weather weapon and cannot control all weather."
"However, as long as the energy supply is sufficient, it is capable of controlling lightning and launching a lightning storm that covers the entire capital, turning the entire city into scorched earth."
The capital of Long Country ranks twenty-sixth in terms of area nationwide. It is not the largest city in Long Country, but its area reaches 20,000 square kilometers, encompassing twenty districts and four counties, with over twenty million people residing there.
The thought of such a tragedy potentially unfolding in Long Country sent a chill down everyone's spine, and they frantically pleaded with Jing Mingqiu for help.
"Professor Jing, what should we do?"
"The United States has always been insane. If they have mastered such terrifying weapons, they will definitely use them against Long Country when the time is ripe!"
What constituted "ripe time" was clearly explained by the highest leader earlier, and it need not be elaborated further here.
"Don't worry," Jing Mingqiu said calmly. "This thing consumes a huge amount of energy, and its recharge speed is slow. For small-scale use over ten to twenty thousand square kilometers, it's manageable. To cover an entire city, it would require at least a year of advance charging."
The highest minister of the Long Country's Ministry of Science and Technology tentatively asked, "Professor Jing, we've only just discovered this thing. What if it has already been charged for many years?"
"Rest assured," Jing Mingqiu glanced at the system's scan results. "This thing was just built not long ago, and the accumulated energy from the previous two attacks has already been largely consumed. It cannot launch large-scale attacks again in a short period."
"Before it accumulates enough energy, I will lead a team to build a true weather controller. If it dares to make a move then, I will counter it directly and let it know what it means to suffer the consequences of its own actions!"
With Jing Mingqiu's promise, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. After discussing some details, the secret meeting concluded, and everyone dispersed.
Jing Mingqiu activated his mecha, preparing to return to school to accompany his girlfriends to class. However, the highest leader stepped forward and stopped him.
"Mingqiu, I recall you saying before that with humanity's current technological level, it's impossible to create weather weapons."
"That's correct," Jing Mingqiu nodded gently. "To control weather, one needs to conquer high-energy particle physics, quantum mechanics of space, and over twenty other prerequisite research fields. Currently, humans cannot even perfectly predict the weather, let alone control it directly."
A gleam flashed in the highest leader's eyes. "If that's the case, it means that the United States has suddenly produced a technology that surpasses its era. Therefore, there are three possibilities..."