Cataclysmic Era: I can unlock the tech tree

The communication was established quickly.

"Professor Lü, we have arrived at the designated location." Upon seeing Lü Yongchang, Zhao Zijie asked urgently, "We are currently 5072 kilometers away from the asteroid. Shall we begin the attack?"

Lu Yongchang's expression turned serious, and he nodded, saying, "Begin the attack!"

The moment the order was given, Zhao Zijie forcefully exhaled a breath of stale air from his lungs.

"First, auxiliary observation!"

5000 kilometers away, an asteroid with a diameter of 100 kilometers stands against the backdrop of the dark and deep universe.

Without the help of various high-precision observation equipment, it would be impossible for the human eye to see the target, let alone aim at it!

"Received!" A slightly stiff voice rang out in the cockpit.

Then, the holographic image on the control panel changed, and an irregularly shaped asteroid appeared before his eyes.

Without the slightest hesitation, Zhao Zijie said, "First, activate the aim assist function."

A green crosshair suddenly appeared in the holographic image.

Aiming assist function is now enabled.

Zhao Zijie swallowed hard, then gently moved the control stick, aiming the green crosshair at the target asteroid.

"Gao Yang, activate one electromagnetic cannon."

Zhao Zijie stared intently at the holographic image in front of him and said in a deep voice, "Don't start the other four yet."

"Let's test the power of one shell first."

Under the watchful eyes of all the pilots inside the starship, he pressed the button to fire the electromagnetic cannon.

A slight tremor came from the deck beneath my feet.

The operating power of the nuclear fusion reactor at the stern of the starship instantly surged!

The most powerful energy in the galaxy is concentrated in the fusion reactor.

The electrical energy generated by the magnetohydrodynamic generator flows through circuits made of superconducting materials to a superconducting magnetic energy storage device located at the bottom of the starship.

Within milliseconds, the superconducting magnetic energy storage device responsible for supplying power to the main gun was filled with electrical energy.

Immediately afterwards, the program on the onboard computer was run, precisely controlling the magnetic field strength of each coil inside the electromagnetic coil gun.

At the same time, the bullet was loaded!

Under the constraint of the magnetic field, the projectile floats silently inside the gun barrel without making any contact with it.

The next moment, the one-meter-diameter projectile, propelled by the powerful magnetic field, hurtled forward at high speed!

In a very short time, the projectile passed through the 30-meter-long acceleration barrel.

The bullet leaves the barrel!

"Projectile launched!"

"Initial velocity 6127 km/s!"

Gao Yang stared at the holographic image in front of him, and the moment he saw the data, he shouted loudly!

At that moment, Zhao Zijie suddenly held his breath, his eyes wide open, staring intently at the image of the asteroid in front of him!

0.5 seconds, 1 seconds, 2 seconds...

wrong!

At a distance of 5000 kilometers, a collision should theoretically occur within one second!

"What's going on?!" Zhao Zijie shouted anxiously, looking at the asteroid that was still "going its own way" on the screen. "Is the projectile successfully launched?"

"Captain Zhao Zijie, the projectile was successfully launched five seconds ago." A rigid voice rang out in the cockpit.

Gao Yang looked at Zhao Zijie with a somewhat grim expression: "Captain, could it be... that we missed?"

Zhao Zijie's expression changed slightly, and he turned to look at the screen he was aiming at.

The asteroid sat quietly in the center of the crosshairs.

"No, aiming is fine." Zhao Zijie turned his pleading gaze to the holographic projection beside him.

On the projected screen, Lü Yongchang sighed softly.

"As expected... controlling this electromagnetic coil gun is still a major problem."

"Zero! Take control!"

The moment the words were spoken, a familiar synthesized electronic voice rang out from inside the starship.

"Understood, Professor!"

"Starship control has been taken over; we are analyzing the trajectory of the previous projectile..."

"Adjusting the control program..."

"Adjustments complete, resume firing!"

Before Zhao Zijie could react, another bullet shot out of the cannon barrel!

One second later.

"...Launch successful, target missed."

"Data readjustment in progress..."

As the sound of "zero" rang out, the main gun barrel fired more than ten projectiles in succession.

Zhao Zijie's eye twitched, and after exchanging a glance with Gao Yang beside him, he sighed with a hint of helplessness.

Is the accuracy... a bit too poor?

Just as everyone was disappointed with the performance of the electromagnetic cannon, a powerful flash appeared on the asteroid in the holographic image!

As countless rock fragments flew everywhere, the asteroid's trajectory underwent a dramatic change!

"...The 16th test was a success; the projectile hit its target!"

The news of zero reports arrived late.

"Did it...it worked?"

Zhao Zijie's Adam's apple bobbed as he stared intently at the holographic image in front of him.

The light gradually faded.

A huge crater appeared on the surface of the asteroid.

Although this projectile did not cause the asteroid to disintegrate, everyone could still feel the immense power of the electromagnetic cannon!

"Wait... why was there a flash?" Gao Yang asked belatedly. "It looks like the effect was similar to an explosion?"

"It's very simple."

Lu Yongchang's voice rang out from the side: "We installed miniature nuclear bombs inside these projectiles. They are not very powerful, about the same as the one that hit Hiroshima back then."

Gao Yang: "..."

Zhao Zijie: "..."

"Nuclear bombs?!" Gao Yang's eyes revealed deep fear. "Professor Lü, are you saying that the tens of thousands of warheads we brought are all loaded with nuclear bombs?!"

Zhao Zijie looked at the cabin behind him, his face pale.

They actually survived for more than ten days with tens of thousands of nuclear bombs!

"Calm down, calm down," Lü Yongchang said cheerfully. "It's not that exaggerated."

"Out of tens of thousands of warheads, only a few hundred contain miniature nuclear weapons."

"Don't worry, we've taken ample safety precautions, nothing will happen."

"..." Silence reigned inside the starship.

Zhao Zijie took a deep breath to calm his turbulent emotions.

"Professor, shall we continue firing the projectiles?"

"Of course." Lu Yongchang, appearing on the projected screen, looked surprised. "What? You want to bring these nuclear bombs back?"

[Activating all electromagnetic coilguns...]

The lights in the cockpit dimmed.

One second later, the surface of the asteroid in the holographic image lit up with a blinding light!

Before the light faded, the main interface of the holographic projection turned red.

The sound of zero followed.

"alarm!"

"Asteroid disintegration observed!"

"Full-power rapid-fire mode activated!"

A deep humming sound rose from below the deck!

Under Zero's control, the five electromagnetic cannons somehow managed to fire like Gatling guns!

Within the deep, dark universe, bursts of light shone!

That was the scene of a projectile carrying a miniature nuclear bomb colliding with asteroid fragments!

Zhao Zijie and Gao Yang stared in disbelief at the silent scene before them.

At that moment, they seemed to see a microcosm of future interstellar warfare.