Armor-piercing bullets don't believe in carbon-based monsters

Chapter 155 Fuxi's Heart

The sun is rising and the morning mist is flowing in the dilapidated steel forest.

The branches of the mutant banyan tree penetrated the wing wreckage that was more than ten stories high, like countless blood vessels pulsating between the iron-gray bones.

As he walked across the ground covered with loose soil, Chen Jian heard a hollow echo coming from under his feet.

This steel behemoth, which has been entangled by the roots of a banyan tree for three centuries, is still emitting its dying groans.

“Radiation index 207.”

The Geiger counter in Lei Jie's hand lit up red. He looked at the crack in the cabin that looked like a hideous scar not far away and continued to speak:
"The radiation source is the engine of this thing."

"Four-engine design, same as the Tu-119."

"But it's clear that the engine structure of this plane is brand new - it's very strange, if the plane was on fire when it made the emergency landing, why can't we see obvious burn marks here?"

"The engine that caught fire has been jettisoned."

Chen Jian pointed to Huanshan not far away and said:

"That's the real radiation center. There are two such rings of mountains. That means it had already jettisoned two engines before the forced landing."

"This plane -- this flight formation must have encountered an unexpected emergency and was forced to make an emergency landing here."

As he spoke, Chen Jian turned on his tactical flashlight.

The bright beam of light penetrated the humid air, reflecting the faded August 1st military emblem on the inner wall of the plane.

The fluorescent spores of some kind of vine drifted along the crack and gathered into a misty galaxy in the cabin.

Chen Jian had already put on an air respirator, and white mist was condensing on the simple mask of his protective suit.

In his blurred vision, he saw rows of honeycomb racks on the bulkhead.

The size of each hexagonal cabin is large enough to accommodate a large main battle tank. Although the hatch has been weathered and rusted like a mottled relief, it still maintains a cold, hard and firm posture.

When the flashlight swept across the huge engine compartment in the middle of the cabin, Chen Jian saw two holes that penetrated the ground and crystallized nuclear fuel rod fragments scattered in the cabin.

The scattered fragments glowed with an eerie green light, unreservedly releasing its power that was enough to kill all organic life.

But it is obvious that 300 years have passed and the energy it contains is no longer what it once was.

Chen Jian did not rush forward, but walked around the huge machine before speaking again:
"It is a very large transport aircraft, it has a weapons configuration, but it does not carry nuclear weapons."

"Like the four bombers we found at other locations, they were carrying all conventional weapons."

"Obviously, this was a ferry mission, not an emergency combat mission."

"All the planes belonged to the 10th Air Division. At that time, they tried to transfer these five planes to other airports. The decision-making process must have been extremely hasty, so no fighter jets were sent to escort them."

After Chen Jian finished speaking, Lei Jie shook his head and said:
"maybe."

"It's true that the four bombers' mission was a transfer flight, but it's hard to say about this transport plane."

"It was clearly fully loaded and all the compartments were filled."

"That means it is indeed shipping these things somewhere else, and they must be very important."

"Under these circumstances, it cannot have been without fighter escort."

"It's just possible that the fighter jet didn't encounter an accident, didn't crash, or didn't make an emergency landing here with these five planes."

"Makes sense."

Chen Jian nodded slightly, pinched the mask of the protective suit, wiped the goggles with the built-in fluff, and continued:
“But now comes the problem.”

"If it's a transport mission, what is it transporting?"

"You'll find out once you go in and take a look."

Lei Jie raised his foot and climbed up along the vines at the crack in the cabin. Chen Jian followed closely behind him, while Xie Liu jumped into the cabin with a few leaps, shouting:
"Let me take a look first, wait a minute!"

Lei Jie paused for a moment, and after Xie Liu had observed the area and confirmed that there was no danger inside, several people entered the cabin one after another.

Looking from the inside, the cabin space of this aircraft is surprisingly large.

There are tracks on the ground for loading and unloading cargo, and the mechanical arms on the roof of the cabin hang low like giant tentacle.

"This is definitely a strategic transport aircraft - so what should the code name be? Y-40?"

When Lei Jie finished speaking, Chen Jian shook his head and said:
"Maybe it's the Y-100."

"This thing is an extreme long-range strategic delivery tool, with a huge payload, ultra-long range and ultra-long endurance. I can't even imagine what its combat scenario would be like."

"The most discordant thing is the nuclear-powered engine - bombers need long endurance to form a triad of deterrence, so why do strategic transport aircraft need long endurance?"

"The distance from point A to point B is so short, and refueling and maintenance can be completed during the loading and unloading process. Is there no point in nuclear power at all?"

“It doesn’t exist.”

Lei Jie nodded thoughtfully, and then said:
"So this isn't actually a transport plane."

After he finished speaking, Chen Jian nodded suddenly.

"So, this is a prototype or experimental model of an aerial carrier?"

"That's most likely the case."

Lei Jie pointed to the hexagonal cabin on the bulkhead and said:

"There are 24 cabins on both sides in total, and judging by their size, they are not big enough to accommodate a fighter jet larger than a medium-sized one."

“But it’s more than enough to accommodate drones.”

"The main combat use of this thing must be airborne early warning, and it also has the strategic support functions of air command, strategic transportation, and drone delivery."

"It makes sense when you think about it - wait, that's going too far."

"How do I open this cabin?"

"Explode."

Chen Jian said decisively:

"The things inside are no longer useful. Too much time has passed and they have long since corroded away."

"The point is to see what's inside, not to preserve it perfectly."

"Blow up the main locking structure, and its own weight should be able to press the hatch down."

"clear."

Lei Jie immediately stepped forward and began to deploy explosives. Chen Jian looked down at the time and warned:
"Radiation level is 240. We must evacuate in one hour."

"Roger that!"

Lei Jie immediately sped up his actions, and after a few minutes, all the explosives were deployed.

Several people retreated outside the cabin. Along with the continuous explosions, the more ear-piercing sound of metal friction also rang out.

The hatch of the hexagonal cabin fell down heavily, and the tracks connected with the cabin bottom tracks to form a series of intricate paths.

After the smoke cleared, Chen Jian couldn't wait to enter the cabin, but the scene he saw stunned him.

“Not combat equipment.”

No tanks, no infantry fighting vehicles, no drones.

What he saw were simple packages that were stuffed into standard shipping boxes.

The wooden and plastic packaging had already been damaged and cracked - of course, it is also possible that they were not properly treated when they were packed and loaded.

The contents were exposed, and Chen Jian signaled Ji Xing to go forward and open the cover of the box. When 300 years of accumulated dust dissipated, everyone could finally see what was inside.

But at this moment, no one could tell the name of this thing on the spot.

"What is this. A tile?"

Lei Jie picked up a tile he mentioned, tapped it gently and said:

"It looks like some kind of metal material, and the surface is polished."

"Is this a bulletproof plate, or some new type of armor?"

Hearing his words, Chen Jian also picked up a piece and weighed it in his hand, then said:

"It's not too heavy, so it's probably not made of pure metal."

"Some kind of ceramic composite - really similar to a bulletproof plate, about the same width."

"This should be 30x30cm, right? If it's a bulletproof plate, why is it designed in a square shape?"

"That means it's not a plug-in plate, but a component of modular armor." Lei Jie put down the tile and rummaged through the box for a while before saying:

"This box is full of this stuff. Each piece is individually packaged, but the outer packaging has corroded."

"Mirror-polished armor anti-laser armor?"

"It's possible. Let's look at the next one first."

Chen Jian turned his head and looked at the second fallen carton. Without him saying a word, Ji Xing had already pried open the cover, and the contents inside made them even more confused.

A box of water pipes.

A box of stainless steel snake pipes with absolutely no signs of rust.

"Cooling device."

"This should be a water cooling pipe, but it is not made of brass, but stainless steel."

"What is it for? Why would you go to so much trouble just to carry this?"

Confused, Chen Jian tried to pick up a piece of water pipe, and after carefully examining it, he shook his head and said:

"There is a small hole on the top, which should be the outlet of high-pressure coolant or cooling gas."

"I don't see anything special, just a standard cooling pipe design."

"Reggie, what do you think?"

"That's how I see it."

Lei Jie spread his hands helplessly and walked straight to the third box.

The third package was filled with various fasteners including bolts and nuts, which was nothing surprising.

However, after this round of observation, they were basically able to confirm that the plane was transporting parts of some kind of device.

Judging from the existing clues, it is possible that it is some kind of protective device, or some kind of unassembled weapon.

The things in the other boxes become the key to solving the puzzle.

Without any hesitation, Chen Jian immediately instructed Ji Xing to pry open all the remaining boxes.

Most of the stuff in these boxes is fairly "piecemeal," and is clearly in its original, unassembled state.

The men found more armor plates of similar size, but obviously made of different materials, as well as a large number of optical fibers and beam splitters.

As the boxes were opened one by one, a vague guess emerged in the minds of Chen Jian and Lei Jie.

When the last box was opened and they saw the sealed box under the thick package, even though they hadn't opened the box yet, they both already had the answer in their hearts.

"Open it?"

Reggie asked.

"open it."

Chen Jian nodded, then reached out and twisted the safety bolt of the sealed box, opening the sealed box.

Six small glass balls lined up in a sealed box appeared in front of everyone.

"This is."

Xie Liu, who was standing by, looked at the glass ball in the box curiously and asked tentatively:

"Is this some kind of potion?"

"Do not."

Chen Jian shook his head and said:
"This is a target pill."

"Target pill? What is it?"

"Fuel for inertial confinement fusion."

Chen Jian took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, then said in a heavy tone:
"This plane is carrying a complete set of inertial nuclear fusion devices!"

"No, it shouldn't be called a complete set."

"There are only laser drive systems, target chambers, and target pellet systems here."

“It is transported from the main components including the first wall, and other energy output systems are not included.”

"But even if there are only these, it is amazing enough."

"Is the size of this device considered a small fusion reactor?"

"It's micro."

Lei Jie said:

“If all are assembled, the total area of the whole system will not exceed 100 square meters, and the height should be about five to six meters.”

"Compared to the fusion devices we had at the time, it was incredibly small."

"How big is the American INF device? How many tens of meters high?"

"It's not that high, but the Shenguang II in China is not small anyway."

Chen Jian picked up the target pill in the sealed box, observed it carefully and said:
"It's still usable, but it won't be easy to fill it with fuel."

"It's not that it's not easy, it's simply impossible."

Lei Jie shook his head and said:
"We simply don't have the ability to produce deuterium and tritium gas. Even if we can find it, the filling steps are beyond our technical level."

"To be honest, being able to recognize this thing is already our limit."

"It's harder to put it together and use it than to fly to the moon by stepping on my left foot with my right foot."

After he finished speaking, Chen Jian couldn't help but sigh in disappointment.

But then he spoke again:
"It doesn't matter. At least we got the clue."

"This plane is indeed carrying out a certain transport mission, and this mission is to transport the fusion device stored in the 10th Air Division base to a certain place."

"Where do you think their destination will be?"

"Judging from the route, it is undoubtedly Jinling."

Lei Jie said without hesitation:
"After the catastrophe, Jinling must have made some big moves."

"I always felt that their disaster recovery measures were perfect, but not uniform enough."

"It's like every department is working on their own, just trying to do their part."

“This is totally different from the style I’m familiar with.”

"At a time like that, how could they be so... negative?"

"They will do something big at all costs."

"Jinling may be the place where this big event will take place."

"Yes, I think so."

Chen Jian glanced at his watch again, then said:

"It's almost time, let's retreat first!"

"You can't take anything else with you, just take the sealed box!"

"understand!"

Everyone took action immediately, quickly packed up their equipment and exited the cabin.

Without staying too long, Chen Jian led the team to evacuate without any reluctance.

When the giant transport plane behind him gradually disappeared, a question suddenly popped up in his mind.

Is this fusion reactor the so-called "Fuxi" device?

No, this is not possible.

The Fuxi project is led by 096, and they are not engaged in nuclear fusion.

It is very likely that this is the energy source of the Fuxi Project and the Fuxi Device.

This is just Fuxi's heart.

Is its main body in Jinling?
(End of this chapter)