I'm The King of Business & Technology in the Modern World-Chapter 146: Strategic Shift

Moscow, Russian Federation – Ministry of Defense Headquarters

The meeting room wasn’t grand, but it was secure. The kind of place where real discussions happened—concrete walls, soundproofing, no windows, and one projector screen showing the footage that had now spread globally.

On the screen: a blurry, low-resolution video of a Titan Mk-I exosuit taking out armed militants in Northern Chad. The image was grainy, but the outline of the suit, the fluid movement, and the sheer efficiency of the takedown were clear enough.

General Sergei Volkov sat at the head of the table, flanked by advisors and senior officers. The room was silent as the video looped again.

"This is now the standard," Volkov said. "And we’re behind."

No one disagreed.

Across from him, Colonel Ivan Petrov nodded slowly. "Our current projects can’t match this. Not in mobility. Not in sync speed. Not even in durability."

General Volkov leaned forward. "What are we doing about it?"

Petrov flipped open a folder. "We’ve restarted full funding for Project Medved, our own exosuit initiative. But we’re missing key components—actuator control systems, lightweight armor composites, and neural integration tech."

Volkov didn’t need to ask twice. "Coordinate with Beijing. We’ll offer access to our research. In return, we ask for theirs."

One of the aides hesitated. "Sir, if we give them too much—"

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"We’re not competing with China," Volkov interrupted. "Not today. We’re both behind the Americans. That makes them our best chance to close the gap."

He turned to the cyber operations chief, Major Natalia Sokolov. "Any updates on Sentinel BioTech?"

She nodded. "Their firewalls are tight, but we’ve mapped their network architecture. There are potential entry points, but cracking them will take time. Their comms are encrypted end-to-end. They’ve learned from previous attacks."

"Keep working," Volkov said. "We don’t need everything. Just enough to start building countermeasures."

—

Beijing, People’s Republic of China – Central Military Commission

A similar meeting was underway in a secure facility just outside the capital.

General Wei Lijun, China’s Minister of National Defense, stood before a circular table where a dozen PLA officials sat reviewing the same combat footage from Africa.

"The Americans have moved past theory," Wei said. "We are officially entering a new phase of warfare."

Lieutenant General Zhang Wei, head of China’s Equipment Development Department, tapped on a tablet. "Our current exosuit prototypes under the Hǔ Program are promising, but not operational. We’re years behind."

Wei didn’t respond immediately. He looked around the room. "Then we close the gap."

He turned to another official. "Lin, how are we doing on intelligence gathering?"

Major General Lin Xia, chief of China’s Cyber Warfare Division, gave a quick nod. "We’ve intercepted fragments of Sentinel BioTech’s communications. Nothing complete. Their network relies on isolated systems and U.S. military-grade protection."

Wei frowned. "Any vulnerabilities?"

"There are always vulnerabilities," Lin said. "It just depends how far we’re willing to go."

"Go far," Wei answered. "Discreetly."

He turned back to Zhang. "Redirect resources. Accelerate field testing of the Hǔ units. Safety can be managed later. I want a working model in six months."

Zhang hesitated. "That would mean skipping multiple validation steps."

Wei’s voice stayed calm. "This is no longer about following protocol. This is about survival."

—

Moscow – One Week Later

A Chinese delegation arrived in Moscow under the cover of a bilateral defense summit.

What wasn’t on the agenda—but was discussed behind closed doors—was the formation of a joint development team between Russian and Chinese engineers and military planners.

General Volkov met General Wei in a private conference room. The atmosphere was cold but focused.

"We’re dealing with something the West will continue to expand," Volkov said. "We believe joint development will help both our nations maintain parity."

Wei agreed. "Our teams will share research, prototypes, and cyber-intelligence moving forward."

On the table between them were blueprints—Russia’s Project Medved and China’s Hǔ Program designs. Engineers from both sides worked through the night, matching specs, identifying strengths and weaknesses.

"We’ve got the stronger power systems," a Russian engineer explained. "But your sensor calibration is years ahead of ours."

One Chinese tech nodded. "And your onboard cooling system might solve our overheat issues."

By the end of the three-day meeting, the foundations of a joint initiative were laid. The two generals signed a sealed agreement to begin limited testing of hybrid exosuits using the best features of both programs.

Siberia – Remote Training Grounds

Two months later, the first prototypes of the joint exosuit initiative were tested by an integrated team of Russian Spetsnaz and Chinese special operations forces.

The suits were bulkier than the Titan Mk-I, less sleek, but still impressive. Their movements weren’t as smooth, but they were functional—climbing, sprinting, vaulting, and shooting with 70% of the responsiveness displayed by the Titans.

Captain Alexei Mikhailov, a veteran Spetsnaz commander, removed his helmet after a full run through the obstacle course.

"It’s not perfect," he told the technicians, "but it’s usable. With better weight distribution, it’ll be combat-ready."

Lieutenant Wei Chen, from the PLA, was equally optimistic. "This is already better than what we had six months ago."

—

Beijing – Cyber Operations Unit

Meanwhile, China’s cyber division had narrowed down a potential exploit in a third-party logistics contractor used by Sentinel BioTech.

"They don’t store weapon data," Lin Xia explained, "but they have shipping logs, facility access schedules, and some R&D timestamps."

General Wei reviewed the report. "That’s enough to start profiling development cycles. Keep digging."

He added, "Also begin tracking Matthew Borja. If he’s not government, he’s vulnerable. We need to know where he moves, who he meets, and what he’s planning."

—

Moscow – Ministry Briefing

Back in Russia, Volkov was briefing a small room of intelligence officers and tech advisors.

"We’ve confirmed that NATO is now requesting Titan deployments," he said. "Germany, the UK, even South Korea is asking for access."

He didn’t raise his voice, but everyone in the room knew what that meant.

"The West is consolidating power behind these suits. If we don’t match their pace, we’ll be negotiating from a position of weakness for the next decade."

An aide raised a hand. "Sir, do we engage in open development to show progress?"

"No," Volkov said. "Not yet. Let them stay focused on Sentinel. Meanwhile, we prepare."

—

Somewhere Outside Manila

Matthew Borja stood beside Angel on a small overlook above one of their satellite assembly facilities. Construction crews worked below, preparing for the next production cycle.

"They’re watching us now," Angel said quietly.

Matthew didn’t look surprised. "Let them."

"Russia. China. Maybe others."

"They’re too late," Matthew said.