Chapter 16: The Exoskeleton—Absolutely Stunning!
Originally, the dormitory area of Huake University had been noisy due to an inexplicable gunshot, but now it was utterly silent, as if one could hear a pin drop.
Beside the flower bed near the dormitory, a scene unfolded that one would typically only see in movies.
A burly man, towering and muscular, donned in a sleek, jet-black exoskeleton armor, raised his arms high and hoisted a small car above his head.
This sight resembled an ancient strongman lifting a massive cauldron.
The spotlight from a helicopter shone upon his back, and in that instant, all the onlookers were stunned into silence.
Zhang Hetao gripped the balcony railing, craning his neck out of the window, eyes fixed intently on the spectacle before him.
“An exoskeleton… this is actually real?!”
Below the dormitory, the arrest operation was still underway.
After being lifted by bare hands, Chen Haoran inside the car was already petrified.
The vehicle was gently set down.
“Xiao Ding, open the door!”
Once the car was lowered, two teammates immediately raised their weapons and approached.
Xiao Ding promptly opened the car door.
He stepped forward and dragged Chen Haoran out.
With the aid of the exoskeleton armor, Xiao Ding held Chen Haoran as if he were a mere chick.
“Search him!”
“Captain, we’ve found a USB drive, currently reading... Confirmed to be spaceship data!”
“Good.”
The team leader of the three-man squad nodded upon hearing this, his gaze at Chen Haoran filled with fury.
Damn this traitor.
If the enemy got hold of the spaceship’s orbital data, who knew what madness they might unleash.
“Do you know what crime you’ve committed?”
The captain showed no mercy to such a man.
He placed the USB drive into an evidence bag, sealed it tightly, then waved it in front of Chen Haoran.
“Th-this is mine! It’s my property! You can’t take it!”
“You have no right to take other people’s belongings at will!”
Seeing the USB drive in the captain’s hand, Chen Haoran trembled violently and snapped awake.
His expression panicked as he stretched out his hand crawling toward the captain, struggling and screaming, desperate to snatch the USB drive back.
Seeing he was still unwilling to give up, the captain pulled out a pitch-black ID card and displayed it before Chen Haoran.
“Chen Haoran, we are the National Security Agency. You are under arrest for treason, suspected of selling state secrets.”
“Na-national security!”
Panicked, Chen Haoran dodged the ID card, his whole body trembling before suddenly collapsing to the ground, sobbing bitterly.
“I-I regret it… I really regret it!”
“Hmph, if you had known this would happen, why did you do it in the first place?”
The captain snorted coldly and commanded sternly, “Drag him away, take him in for questioning!”
“Yes!”
Xiao Ding and another soldier immediately stepped forward, hoisting Chen Haoran toward the open door of the helicopter.
The three soldiers, clad in what looked like armor straight out of a science fiction film, escorted the prisoner and boarded the helicopter.
“Rat-a-tat-tat—”
The helicopter’s rotors spun wildly as the aircraft slowly ascended.
Soon, the helicopter vanished from sight.
Though the chopper had left, all the gawking bystanders still huddled at the window, stunned in place.
“Holy crap, that’s Associate Professor Chen from the Computer Science Department!”
Zhang Hetao’s roommate recognized the man being taken away and shouted in surprise, “What happened to him?”
“Must be serious—there was even gunfire just now!”
Now, even the dullest bystanders grasped the gravity of the situation.
The interception team had actually fired shots!
In China, once guns are fired, it’s never a minor matter.
“That exoskeleton, I think that’s the main thing!”
Zhang Hetao’s heart raced with unparalleled excitement.
He had just witnessed something incredible.
The full-coverage, metallic, powered exoskeleton armor.
Not just one, but three sets.
And one soldier had even lifted a small car with both hands using the exoskeleton!
It was simply... like a dream.
If anyone had told Zhang Hetao before today that such an exoskeleton existed in the world, and even in China, he would have laughed them to scorn.
But now, having seen it with his own eyes, he was utterly amazed.
Snapping back to reality, Zhang Hetao immediately checked the video on his phone.
Upon realizing no one warned him to keep it secret, he deduced with his experience: this was an authorized leak!
Awesome!
His eyes gleaming, he instantly posted excitedly in the military enthusiast group chat.
Atao: “Everyone, check this out! Holy crap, military gear just came to our school, guess what! So awesome! [Video]”
Admin “I’m Powerless”: “I really want to ask if Atao got arrested ‘smirk’.”
The admin had intended to tease Atao and ask about the scene.
But once he opened the video—
“Holy crap, holy crap???”
Mumu Fish: “Damn, exoskeleton armor?”
Charming Little Pool: “Whoa, isn’t that the National Security Agency’s code? That guy was literally lifted out of the car like a chick.”
In the military fan group, there were quite a few knowledgeable people.
As soon as Zhang Hetao’s video went up, the chat exploded with a flood of “Holy crap” messages.
Admin “I’m Powerless”: “This is not a movie, a person lifting a whole car—are we shooting a Marvel movie now?”
Charming Little Pool: “No way, that’s the National Security Agency’s code. That guy was literally carried out like a baby chick.”
Atao: “It’s definitely real, right at our dorm complex, and the person arrested was an associate professor.”
“There were gunshots on site, the scene was insane!”
Charming Little Pool: “What school?”
Atao: “Huake University, Area A dorms, just a few minutes ago.”
Charming Little Pool: “...Found it, damn, it’s real—it’s already trending. @Everyone, big news! [Link: ‘Exoskeleton spotted at Huake University, and this is why?’]”
Admin: “Wow, that was fast!”
Mumu Fish: “Cool, so damn cool. What model is that? Is it in active service? How’s the endurance? Man, my heart’s itching just thinking about it, that exoskeleton is insanely cool!”
“...”
The entire little military fan group, both silent and active members, were all blown away.
Of course, as the video spread,
the internet exploded.
Under that post on a popular social platform, people went wild discussing.
“Whoa, lifting a car with two hands, what a Hercules.”
“Is this some latest movie? The video quality looks like a phone’s. Damn, so cool!”
“Upstairs, could it be that this was filmed on a phone? According to my uncle’s aunt’s friend’s son, this just happened at Huake University.”
“That exoskeleton is real? Damn, cool!”
“Two-handed car lift, absolutely awesome. The guy inside the car must have been stunned.”
“I’d be dumbfounded too. Who would have thought there’d be such a car interception?”
“Fake! How’s that possible? Not even the US has developed such armor; how could China have it? I’d believe it if you said it was a fabrication.”
“Upstairs, are you the shepherd dog? Why not possible? Do Americans have an extra brain? Oh, well, fabrications might have that. Confirmed to be drunk on radioactive water. Next!”
“...”
Tonight was destined to be sleepless.
The National Security Agency’s tactical squad’s stunning reveal was like dropping a deep bomb.
It sent the already buzzing public discourse about the lunar mission into a complete frenzy.