Cataclysmic Era: I can unlock the tech tree

"Professor, there's the stability issue with electromagnetic coil guns..."

A hint of worry flashed in Yevgeny's eyes as he said to Lü Yongchang, "Interstellar warfare demands extremely high precision."

"Even a slight change in the trajectory of the projectile can lead to a huge error in the end!"

Lü Yongchang nodded.

He was aware of this, which was why he initially chose the electromagnetic railgun.

The saying "a miss is as good as a mile" perfectly describes interstellar warfare.

Even a deviation of one micrometer can cause an error of tens or even hundreds of kilometers!

After all, electromagnetic railguns, unlike missiles, cannot adjust their direction in real time.

In space, unless there are abnormal circumstances, a projectile will only travel in a straight line.

Lu Yongchang pondered for a moment, then turned to Ling and asked, "Ling, can you complete this part of the work?"

"..."

After a brief wait, Zero responded in a calm voice, "Professor, the experimental data is insufficient to make a judgment."

"I need a lot of experimental data to refine the algorithm."

Lü Yongchang nodded thoughtfully.

Since it wasn't outright rejected, it seems there's still hope!

……

2037.7

Two months after the Starship Weapon System development project was launched.

A cannon barrel, over 30 meters long and 1.2 meters in caliber, lies quietly in a factory within Mars City.

Next to the cannon barrel was a huge base and various components.

Standing beside the cannon barrel, Lü Yongchang reached out and gently stroked the cold barrel, a hint of emotion in his eyes.

"Professor," Yevgeny's excited voice came from the side, "when will we test its power?"

Unlike Lü Yongchang, Yevgeny had only one thought about this giant cannon at this moment—when could he fire a shot and test its effects!

Lü Yongchang turned to look at Yevgeny, whose face was beaming with excitement, and shook his head with a look of exasperation: "What are you thinking about?"

"This huge thing definitely can't be launched from Mars!"

Putting aside its extremely exaggerated recoil, its abnormal energy demand alone could instantly drain the fusion reactor of Mars City.

In addition, there was the extremely exaggerated power of the shells.

Compared to electromagnetic railguns, electromagnetic coil guns have higher energy efficiency.

Thanks to this, the initial velocity of the projectile reached 6000 km/s in the simulation!

With a projectile speed of 6000 km/s, Mars City could not withstand such an attack should anything happen!

For safety reasons, the best approach would be to temporarily modify a Luan Bird starship, install it on a Luan Bird Type I starship, and conduct a test launch in space.

"...Alright." A hint of disappointment flashed across Yevgeny's face as he nodded slightly.

Looking at the electromagnetic coil gun that had not yet been assembled, Lü Yongchang recalled the prototype in the laboratory some time ago.

It was also an electromagnetic coil gun, but as a prototype, its power was not great, with the projectile speed reaching only 10 kilometers per second.

Its main function is to provide sufficient experimental data samples for zero, so as to improve the algorithm of zero.

Through that prototype, Lü Yongchang discovered a problem.

"The power is too weak..."

Lu Yongchang stared at the cannon barrel in front of him and muttered to himself.

"What?!" Yevgeny stared at Lü Yongchang in horror. "A shell traveling at 6000 km/s isn't powerful enough?!"

"No, I didn't mean that a single shell wasn't powerful enough." Lü Yongchang paused for a moment, then shook his head and explained.

"I mean, this weapon isn't powerful enough for interstellar warfare."

For starships that are hundreds or even thousands of meters long, unless a critical part is hit, such a minor injury will not affect the course of the battle at all.

Unless... it really is as he originally planned, a saturation attack with a metal storm.

However, this means that the cost of a war might exceed his expectations.

At that time, humanity will be nothing more than a wandering civilization. After a journey of 4.22 light-years, will it really still have so many ammunition reserves?

Even if such an attack method exists, it will only be used at critical moments.

Who starts a game of Dou Dizhu with a royal flush right from the start?!

Lü Yongchang sighed slightly and briefly expressed his concerns to Yevgeny.

"Snapped!"

Yevgeny slapped his thigh hard and looked at Lü Yongchang excitedly.

"Professor, you should have said so sooner!"

"I have a preliminary idea, would you like to hear it?"

Lu Yongchang looked at Yevgeny with suspicion, thought for a moment, and tentatively asked, "You... tell me?"

With permission granted, Yevgeny's excitement grew even stronger, and he said gleefully, "Professor, that's what I think."

"Since you feel the destructive power isn't strong enough, how about we just convert these projectiles into miniature nuclear bombs?"

"Our current technology should be able to do that!"

"..."

Inside the factory, all was quiet.

Lü Yongchang looked at Yevgeny beside him with disbelief.

So everything can be kernel-based?

However, after recalling the Soviet Union's use of nuclear bombs to extinguish fires and hydrogen bombs to eliminate nuclear contamination, Lü Yongchang suddenly felt that everything made sense again.

His lips twitched slightly: "Professor Yevgeny, you should know that the explosive power of a nuclear bomb in space is not as great as that on Earth."

Yevgeny completely ignored Lü Yongchang's objections, his lips moving rapidly as he continued speaking at an extremely fast pace.

"Professor, we don't need that so-called shockwave to cause harm!"

"Don't forget, shrapnel from exploding bullets can also cause damage."

"In addition, there is the nuclear radiation and electromagnetic pulse from a nuclear explosion!"

A hint of interest flickered in Lü Yongchang's eyes.

It has to be said, he was persuaded.

"Ahem!" He coughed forcefully, looking somewhat awkward, and said, "Well... let me verify it. If it works, we can manufacture a batch of projectiles containing miniature nuclear bombs."

Yevgeny's urgent voice rang out: "Professor, don't worry, I've already verified it with zero!"

As he spoke, Yevgeny pressed the wristwatch on his hand.

A holographic projection appeared in front of Lü Yongchang.

Looking at the detailed calculation process and simulation, Lü Yongchang's eye twitched again.

Goodness, they came prepared!

"Zero." Lü Yongchang turned to the camera beside him and said, "How are the mining robots performing on Earth?"

Zero's virtual image appeared to the side.

"Professor, due to environmental factors, only a small portion of the mining robots are still in operation."

"The Tower of Babel is no longer operational, but the Jianmu (a type of ancient Chinese tree) can still function normally."

Lü Yongchang's expression hardened.

"Let those mining robots mine uranium at full capacity!"