Chapter 316.2: Not Deep Enough? We'll Find Another Way To Penetrate It More!

Listening to Mosquito's muttering, Chu Guang conveyed his confusion to Vanus, who was standing nearby.

After hearing Mosquito's confusion, Vanus provided a concise response. "... The Army's main battle tank is the Conqueror 5 light tank. It isn't heavily armored, designed to deal with ordinary mutant creatures or survivor settlements. On the other hand, the Conqueror 10 heavy tank is designed to deal with adversaries with substantial industrial capabilities like the Great Rift Valley and Enterprise in mind."

"Composite armor, positive pressure triple-defense system, low electronic device dependency, endurance combat performance... These were the focal points of its design."

"Especially the armor. The Conqueror 10's hull consists of two layers of homogeneous steel with a layer of special ceramics and fibre between them. The surface of this layer also has lightweight, high-temperature-resistant porous materials. The metal jet from a typical armor-piercing round, after penetrating the first layer of steel, would disperse along the surface of the intermediate layer in the second layer, causing the jet to rapidly defocus."

"Simply discussing armor thickness is meaningless. The metal jet from an armor-piercing round cannot even breach the second layer. If it had been an intact Conqueror 10, even using armor-piercing rounds might not have worked, whereas a hard-core penetration round might have been more effective."

It was widely known that once a metal jet lost focus, its armor-penetrating capability would drop to zero, like a water hose with a broken nozzle.

Overwhelming opponents with enough numbers at a relatively low cost had always been the Army's strategic approach. The purpose of the Conqueror 10 tank was not necessarily to surpass the armor of the Great Rift Valley. Rather, it was meant to raise the cost their enemy needed to destroy it.

If any infantryman carrying a recoilless rifle could easily destroy a tank, the significance of armor would be lost.

The fact that it had been penetrated by the twelfth shot had largely been due to the tank being used as a target numerous times.

It was even possible that the metal jet from armor-piercing rounds had filled the deflection gaps on the intermediate layer's surface!

Chu Guang was not disheartened by Vanus' response. He just smiled faintly. "No worries. If dealing with the Conqueror 10 proves difficult, handling lighter and medium-sized vehicles shouldn't be a problem. Besides, even if the approach of using armor-piercing rounds might not work, we still have other methods."

Curious, Vanus asked, "Oh? Like what?"

Chu Guang looked at Mosquito. "Let's start testing Equipment Number Two."

Seeing the administrator addressing him, Mosquito quickly nodded. "Okay!"

The customer's dissatisfaction with the effectiveness of Equipment Number One was understandable, as he himself was not very content with its power.

However, it was not a major issue.

For the Conqueror 10, he had designed 2 sets of contingency plans. Using Tandem-Charge Armor-Piercing Shells with greater penetration depth was just one of them.

If penetration was not possible, then it was time for explosions!

The tank wreckage on the shooting range had already undergone significant strain, so Mosquito, accompanied by Chu Guang and Vanus, went to the testing ground for Equipment Number Two.

On the bare land, a reinforced concrete structure was erected, mimicking the shape of a tank. The entire construction simulated the hull's form and the arrangement of the road wheels.

After seeing it, Vanus did not say anything.

However, when his gaze fell on the aluminium alloy frame behind the shooting bunker and the hexacopter drone on the frame, he froze for a moment. "This is..."

Chu Guang had not spoken yet, but Mosquito began to introduce enthusiastically by his side, "This is the second equipment crafted by our Goblin Technology for Conqueror tanks, the 'Switchblade' suicide drone! Of course, I'd prefer to call it the Flying Anti-Everything IED!"

Vanus looked puzzled.

Even after looking at the simultaneous interpretation translation on the VM, he still could not understand what the crazy fuck was saying.

However, Mosquito was not really talking to him.

There was only 1 person who truly had the authority to make decisions and place orders for purchasing military equipment. That was the administrator standing by the side.

He only needed to keep the administrator pleased!

"... With a hexacopter structure that ensures manoeuvrability! Powered by solid-state hydrogen batteries for endurance! Thanks to the aerodynamic design of the shell, it can fold its rotors and glide without power after locking onto a target! We've enhanced the motor output power of the drone, so its maximum payload capacity can even reach 15 kilograms!"

"A 15 kilogram payload! Hehe, if it's all used to carry mixed explosives, its explosive power could rival 1 Tandem-Charged 155mm rounds!"

"We've designed 2 types of warheads for the Switchblade, which can be mounted on top of the drone or hung underneath for diving attacks. Due to the foldable rotors, our Switchblade can not only take off and land on flat ground but also be launched or dropped from the air."

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"In summary, this thing can counter both armor and infantry. Incredibly versatile! Very useful!"

The entire drone was roughly like an enlarged version of the Y-1 Firefly. Motors were produced by the Liszt factory, the carbon-nano-design was completed by the Scientific Expedition Team, and the control software was the masterpiece of Little Seven.

As for what Goblin Technology accomplished... It was primarily the aerodynamic design and the warhead design.

Compared to the portable drones that could fit in a backpack, the appearance of this Switchblade resembled the common agricultural crop protection drones often seen in the field.

After finally reading the translation on the VM, Vanus looked at Chu Guang before speaking in a strange tone, "So... This is essentially a remote-controlled drone with explosives strapped to it?"

Chu Guang was quite satisfied with the design of this thing and spoke with a smile. "Is it not allowed?"

Vanus remained silent for a moment before giving an uncertain response. "It's not that it's not allowed, but the conditions are extremely stringent."

"How stringent?"

Vanus answered cautiously, "It can only work under specific circumstances where the explosive energy is concentrated on the armor surface. If you just toss the bomb... I'm afraid a 10 kilogram warhead won't be enough."

The shockwave from most explosions dispersed in all directions. To achieve an armor-piercing effect, the explosive's energy must be conveyed as efficiently as possible to the armor surface, and the contact area needed to be minimised.

If the bomb was just thrown at the target, a 10 kilogram explosive might just chip off some paint, unless it was something like a hyper-fast 24,000 metres-per-second Metal Hydrogen explosive.

As for the Solid Hydrogen produced by the New Alliance...

Its power paled in comparison.

Chu Guang did not mind Vanus's skepticism. He simply smiled cheerfully. "... So, as long as specific conditions are met, a 10 kilogram warhead is enough to disable a Conqueror 10."

Vanus nodded. "The only weak point of Conqueror 10 is its chassis, where the hull armor is thinnest. However, you can't expect to always be that lucky to catch the enemy infantry off guard, so that you can break its tracks and plant explosives under the chassis."

Chu Guang did not say anything. He just waved his hand, signalling Mosquito to proceed.

Seeing the administrator's signal, Mosquito immediately rushed to the launch rack in excitement, shooing Killing Gods away.

How could he let others have this opportunity to showcase in front of their camp leader NPC?

"Step aside, step aside, let me handle it!" Mosquito waved his hands in excitement.

Killing Gods immediately became discontented. "What the hell! Wasn’t it agreed that I would be the one testing?”

Mosquito continued nonchalantly, "I said you'd test the armor-piercing rounds, not the Switchblade. Listen, buddy, this equipment has a high level of difficulty in operation. I'm afraid you can't handle it well. Let me take care of it!"

"@#%￥!"

It was not even a fixed-wing aircraft. There was no fucking difficulty in operating it, even more so considering Killing Gods had already tested it several times.

Killing Gods grumbled and walked away.

After shooing away the little guy who was standing by the launch rack, Mosquito immediately connected to the drone through the VM, synchronising the drone's camera feed onto the screen.

Target locked!

Flight path set!

Launch!

As the button was pressed, the drone lying on the launch rack shot forward like an arrow released from a bow.

The propellers roared. Everyone watched as the drone skimmed just above the ground, covering a few hundred metres in an instant, before crashing straight into the crotch of the concrete tank.

With a thunderous explosion, flames soared into the sky, and thick smoke billowed up some 20 to 30 metres, even lifting the concrete structure off the ground, splitting it into pieces!

As the dust settled, the ground was left with a crater several metres wide and scattered concrete debris. Even the steel reinforcements in the concrete were shattered into pieces and not a single intact piece could be found.

The onlookers nearby hurriedly dodged falling debris and rubble.

Standing next to Chu Guang, Vanus was completely dumbfounded.

A drone carrying a remote-controlled bomb dived under a tank?

This was possible?

No matter what you think about it, the cost of a drone and a remote-controlled bomb was much lower than that of anti-tank missiles.

"Nice!" With clenched fists, Chu Guang could not help but exclaim in admiration.

Even though the target was made of concrete, the extent of the power was such that even a genuine tank might struggle to emerge from the thick smoke unscathed.

Glancing at the approaching Mosquito, Chu Guang cleared his throat and put on a serious expression. "I'm very satisfied with Equipment Number Two. If the manoeuvrability could be enhanced a bit more, it would be even better!"

"I plan to purchase 100 units. Can you complete the order within a month?"

Upon hearing this, Mosquito immediately pounded his chest and made a solemn promise. "Don't worry, esteemed Administrator, Goblin Technology never disappoints its customers!"

Chu Guang looked at Vanus, his smile carrying a hint of pride. "What do you think? Is this level of power sufficient?"

Vanus cleared his throat and hesitated, then nodded. "... Perhaps? If your drones can make it to the target without being shot down."

The equipment's power was undeniable, but its speed could not match that of missiles and artillery shells. The noise from the propellers was also a significant issue.

However, solely in terms of power, even he could not find fault with it.

Anyway, if he were the one driving the tank, he definitely would not want something like the drone to hit under his rear end. After all, even if the tank could withstand it, the people inside could not!

Chu Guang looked at the concrete wreckage not far away, his face filled with a contented smile. "Don't worry about that. By the end of the month, we'll have at least 100 Switchblades, while our enemies have at most 20 or 30 tanks."

"Even if we used 10 drones to exchange for one of their tanks..."

"We would still be the ones gaining the upper hand!"