Chapter 123 Weapon
Yan Hao had played a huge role in Sheng Zhuo being able to become a level nine mech warrior, so when Sheng Heng told Sheng Zhuo that Yan Hao wanted zerg data, he agreed immediately without any hesitation, and when he submitted the application to General Admiral Sheng, it was approved the moment he saw that it was Yan Hao who wanted the information. Not only did he grant the specific body data of the zergs that Yan Hao asked for, he also included information that their legion had researched internally concerning the zergs.
This generous gesture showed gratitude towards Yan Hao, as well as showcased an even greater level of trust in him.
When Yan Hao received the data and opened it, he was surprised. He called Sheng Heng hurriedly, “I only asked for zerg body data, why did you provide so much? This should be confidential, right?”
“It’s what my father wanted to give.” Sheng Heng replied, unable to hold back his laughter.
“General Admiral Sheng?” Yan Hao was shocked.
“So you can go through them without worries.” Sheng Heng told him.
“But, I see that some of these data is related to ongoing Federal research. Is it really okay for me to have these?” Yan Hao asked.
“This is his thank you gift. If you refuse it, he won’t be happy.” Sheng Heng explained.
“A thank you gift?”
“Yes, perhaps you don’t realize it, but you’ve helped the War God Legion tremendously. Not to mention the past, even just considering what you did for my big brother has almost single-handedly changed the future of the War God Legion.” Outsiders might not know, but Sheng Heng himself understood. During that major battle ten years ago, his father had injured his hand and although it wasn’t as severe as his was, he really hadn’t been able to go to battle frequently. And just at this time, the War God Legion had needed a successor urgently, and his big brother was outstanding, having already become a lieutenant colonel even before he graduated from University, going on to achieve remarkable feats on the battlefield after graduation, soon rising to the promoted rank of Major General.
However last year, during the great metamorphosis in the zergs, an unexpected shockwave of mental energy had almost destroyed his big brother’s sea of consciousness, and if it weren’t for Yan Hao, how would there be the current level nine combat strength? So to put it dramatically, Yan Hao had saved the entire future of the War God Legion.
“It’s not as exaggerated as you’re saying.” Yan Hao never thought that his actions were of such great importance. He only felt that it was just treating a patient, because he had done this a lot of times in the previous life.
“It is. Xiao Hao, you’ve never realized your value.” The emotions on Sheng Heng’s face were somewhat complicated when he said this. It was precisely because he knew Yan Hao’s worth that he was fully aware of how lucky he was. He was very lucky, to have someone as outstanding as Yan Hao, like him.
“Xiao Hao, I love you.” Unable to help himself, Sheng Heng confessed to Yan Hao through the screen.
Yan Hao’s eyes suddenly widened. Even though he and Sheng Heng were a well-known couple, the three words ‘I love you’ seemed much harder to say than ‘I like you’ for some reason.
Yan Hao understood the meaning of ‘like’. He liked mechs, liked sunlight, liked his current life, and he liked Sheng Heng. However he didn’t understand the meaning of ‘love’. Which was why when he had confessed, he had said ‘like’ instead of ‘love’.
But at this moment, hearing Sheng Heng saying ‘I love you’, it was like a flower dropping a drop of nectar into his chest, sweetening his heart directly.
For the next month or so, the two of them continued with their busy schedules, with Sheng Heng continuing to battle on the frontlines and Yan Hao working on the R&D of the weapon.
He spent a week going through the zerg data and relevant analysis, extracted the information he needed, then attempted to design a weapon that was tailored specifically to target the zergs.
Then after he finished the design, he took it and ran to find Old Pang for guidance.
“You’re planning to design a weapon that can directly attack the zergs’ weak point on their abdomen?” Old Pang’s experience and wisdom caused him to understand the purpose of the weapon just by looking at Yan Hao’s design.
“Yes.” Yan Hao explained, “I’ve analyzed the body scan images of over ten thousand zergs and have found a pattern– and that is, even in battle, their bodies bulge subconsciously to protect the weak spot on their abdomen, that’s why mech warriors struggle to hit their weak point in combat, having to maneuver around to attack their abdomen to find the right moment to attack.”
“But please look at this.” Yan Hao continued, using his finger to swipe the virtual screen to display six to seven images of zergs in combat stances. “When the zergs adopt this pose during battle, the bulging part on their abdomen is forced to straighten. In other words, in this stance, their abdomen is vulnerable, hence if a weapon is designed to hit their weak point, it should be relatively easy during this posture.”
Old Pang listened quietly until Yan Hao finished before he spoke, “Your idea is quite good, but have you considered when the zerg would make this move and how to lure them into making it? If we have to wait, then this weapon isn’t very valuable.”
“I’ve thought about that.” Yan Hao pulled up several dynamic videos, then paused them after they finished playing and said, “Here, here, and also here. I noticed that whenever this area of a zerg is hurt, they subconsciously extend their necks, making this move with a 90% probability.”
If this was about medicine research, a medicine that had a 90% success rate in healing where out of ten people, one might die, wouldn’t be considered a success. However this was a weapon, used on a battlefield. Hence if killing zergs meant that nine out of ten would die, then this weapon was a mass killing machine.
“But this move only lasts for a very short time, less than a second.” Old Pang reviewed the videos he had just watched. Even though most of the zergs in the videos did indeed do the move Yan Hao hoped for because of animal instincts, this movement was just a momentary shift, because they quickly returned to normal.
“This time is too short. If a mech warrior has to provoke the zerg to make this move, defend against their attacks, and aim all in one go, then the time frame is too challenging.” Old Pang voiced his concern. “Moreover, your idea relies on a one-hit kill scenario. If the first shot misses, and the warrior is too close to the zerg, they can easily get injured.”
“That’s why I plan to design an additional trajectory system.” Yan Hao turned to the back of his design, pointing to a curving arc. “Once it is determined that the zerg had assumed that stance from just now, then from a specific location, particle cannons following this trajectory can hit the zerg’s abdomen directly, with no additional aiming needed.”
“Zergs move super fast, so isn’t this target hitting like approach of yours too rigid?” Old Pang had now grasped Yan Hao’s idea fully. He wanted to use fixed-point attacks to make the zergs assume a that stance in a very short time, and with them doing that, the vulnerable part of their abdomen would lose protection momentarily, then he would design a fixed trajectory for the particle cannon which would make it target the zerg’s weak point on its own, effectively killing them.
However, all this planning was a bit too rigid. Zergs were living forms, and although they weren’t that smart, they moved, and they moved really fast. They wouldn’t just stand still for one to use as target practice.
“Master, I understand what you mean. I’m betting on timing.” Yan Hao continued, “You mentioned that zergs have quick reactions, and mech warriors’ reaction time is short, hence they can’t aim accurately. Similarly, if the speed of the bullet is fast enough, a zerg won’t be able to dodge.”
“No matter how fast a zerg’s reaction is, it can’t beat a particle cannon’s speed, and as long as one is close enough, they won’t be able to escape. I’ve made a dynamic demonstration diagram, please take a look.” Saying this, he tapped the keyboard gently and a 4D virtual video appeared.
In the scene, a mech and a zerg were facing off. The mech warrior fired three shots in a row at the zerg’s neck near its shell as it approached, and after the zerg assessed its body slightly, its neck popped out and its entire body stretched a bit. This move was the exact same one Yan Hao had showed Old Pang earlier, and just as the zerg struck that pose, the mech suddenly fired a golden particle light cannon into the zerg’s abdomen in a beautiful arc in the air with in an inverted parabolic trajectory.
Old Pang’s eyelid twitched.
“What’s your estimated trajectory time?” Old Pang asked.
“0.02 seconds.” Yan Hao replied.
“Equivalent to the time it takes a human to blink.” Old Pang thought about it for a moment then nodded, “Go ahead with your idea.”
“Master, do you think it’s feasible?” While Yan Hao had been confident when drafting this design, it was only now when he had received Old Pang’s approval that he was completely relieved.
“Unlike other parts of a mech, a weapon is something that needs to be tested on the battlefield.” Old Pang said with a serious tone, “Your ideas might work, or they could be easily avoided by the zergs, but for now, I can only say that your ideas seems feasible.”
“Do you think my design is too rigid, making it easy for attacks to be dodged?” Yan Hao could tell that his master wasn’t very confident in his overall idea.
“That’s not what I meant.” Old Pang explained patiently, “Your design indeed appears simple and lacks complexity, but sometimes the simpler something is, the fewer flaws it has. I once read a book that said, ‘The best martial arts are swift and unbreakable.’ If you can excel at something simple, then it becomes harder to defend against. I’m saying you should go ahead not because I don’t have confidence in you, but because I’ve never seen anything like this before, so it’s hard for me to judge. Xiao Hao, I hope your weapon succeeds because the simpler the operation, the less demanding it will be for a mech warrior, then its value will go far beyond what you imagine.”
Old Pang was a master of weapons, one who created powerful and precise ones. However it shouldn’t be forgotten that the primary purpose of a weapon was to hit its target. If it couldn’t hit the target, then no matter how powerful it was, it was useless.
The weapon designed by Yan Hao was fast and quick-firing, which meant its power wouldn’t be massive. However, if what he said was true and it could hit the weak point of a zerg’s abdomen accurately, then its lower power wouldn’t matter as long as it got the job done.
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Thanks for the chapter! A part of the unit could be specialized in provoking, another in using the new weapon?
Thanks for the update
Very welcome🤭