Chapter 15: Anomalous Radiation

Chapter 15: Abnormal Radiation

Chen Jian's intense reaction to the thrown weapon stemmed from his deep familiarity with it.

Not only him, but the other three members of the squad almost simultaneously fixed their gazes on the object that had thudded to the ground.

Before Chen Jian could speak, Shen Yue rushed forward impatiently, yanking the item from the bone shards and brushing off the dust with a few swipes, saying:

"Damn, it's really a QN-202, a sleeve arrow!"

"There are at least six rounds left, though I don't know how well they've been maintained."

While speaking, Shen Yue unzipped his backpack.

But unexpectedly, as soon as he applied force, the already rotting backpack shattered completely.

This sight made Chen Jian furrow his brow instantly.

If the outside is already this rotten, could the inside be any better?

And indeed, after Shen Yue extracted the six micro‑missiles one by one, everyone could see the situation was grim.

The missile casings showed clear signs of weathering and rust; fortunately the storage pack was relatively sealed, so the missiles hadn't turned to dust.

"Can they still be repaired?"

Chen Jian stepped forward and asked.

Lei Jie, who had been watching Shen Yue's actions nearby, shook his head and replied:

"Hard to say; judging by the storage condition, the shell is still fairly intact and the overall seal should be okay."

"But whether the propellant has absorbed moisture and if the electronic components are still usable is another matter."

"Either way, we can bring it back and test it."

"The principle of this device is simple: its core consists of just an infrared sensor chip plus a flight‑control chip."

"If the chips aren't damaged, they'll probably still work."

"Still, I'm curious where this thing came from."

"How would I know?"

Chen Jian shook his head, gesturing for Shen Yue to pack the item up, when at that moment Xu Lie, who had been rummaging nearby, noticed their movement, walked over curiously, and asked:

"What did you find?"

Chen Jian didn't hide anything; he pointed to the sleeve‑arrow missile on the ground and said:

"Just this."

Xu Lei lowered his head, looked, and exclaimed in disbelief:

"What do you guys want this for?"

"You know what this is used for?"

Chen Jian countered.

"Of course I do; it's a special kind of shell."

"There are tons of them around; for a while the weapon market in Jinling City was flooded with these shells."

"But the problem is that hardly anyone uses these shells—even when paired with the barrel found alongside them, they fly off on a bizarre trajectory and miss the target."

"The Machinists' Creed folks say it's because they haven't yet found a way to appease the machine souls."

"But I suspect they're just cheap consumables."

"Maybe their original purpose was to be launched, fly wildly all over, and then blanket the enemy with a hail of fire."

"If that's the case, their power seems a bit lacking—still not as strong as the large‑caliber guns the Machinists' Creed produces."

"So perhaps this is what they call a 'useless trifle' after all?"

"Useless trifle?"

Hearing the word, Chen Jian couldn't help but smirk.

"You call this a useless trifle?"

"Combat weight only 20 kg, each missile 1.2 kg, range 2000 m, TNT payload 150 g; in the era I came from, certain military hard‑liners suffering from firepower‑deficit anxiety even swapped the traditional TNT for CL‑20, boasting that a single shot could launch a whole fleet of M2s into the air."

"And you call this a useless trifle??"

"It's only a useless trifle because you don't know how to use it."

"It's certainly not sweeping the floor; its real role is to lock onto a target from extreme range, using thermal‑imaging guidance to drive the explosive straight into the enemy's mouth—teeth and bone blown apart."

Chen Jian shook his head, ignored Xu Lei, and gave the order directly:

"Search the area, see if there's a launcher."

"Understood."

The three nodded at once, while Xu Lei, trying to be helpful, advised:

"You're not really planning to take this back, are you?"

"It's useless; you couldn't sell it for anything on the market."

"You'd be better off looking for batteries here—batteries are the real treasure."

"Batteries are indeed valuable, but this isn't bad either." Chen Jian, this time not refuting Xu Lei, added:

"Does Jinling City have any power‑generation equipment?"

"Of course it does, but almost all of it is monopolized by the Machinists' Creed, and even if you wanted to use electricity you'd first need a battery; otherwise where would you store the power they produce?"

"That makes perfect sense!"

Chen Jian gave a thumbs‑up, admiring Xu Lei's wisdom.

"Have you never thought about building your own generator?"

"That's one of the Machinists' Creed's biggest secrets—do you think they'd share that technology with the world?"

"Good grief, a generator has become their biggest secret."

"Just how deep does this world's technological rift go?——"

"Having said that, this actually fits Chen Jian's understanding of the post‑apocalyptic age."

"Knowledge tied closely to survival and daily life gets passed down generation after generation, while the more arcane stuff gradually fades away."

"Everyone knows how to swap a battery; most people know how to use a wire to connect the two poles."

"But nobody knows how to build a generator, how to draw a circuit diagram, or how to repair precision electronic gear."

"No wonder Xu Lie's description of 'electricity' leaves Chen Jian baffled—he's probably thinking of electricity as something like water or fuel."

Chen Jian clicked his tongue twice, turned to Lei Jie nearby, and said:

"Look around for a motor, magnets, anything like that."

"Our gear needs charging; we'll probably have to do it ourselves."

"Understood."

Lei Jie gave a nod and said:

"Leave it to me."

"Don't worry; wherever there are people, we can surely scrounge up the materials needed to build a generator."

"Then there's no problem."

Chen Jian patted Lei Jie on the shoulder, relieved, about to say more, when Shen Yue, who had been rummaging around as if he'd blended into the surroundings, suddenly shouted.

"Captain! Come look at this!"

Chen Jian took two steps to stand behind Shen Yue and looked in the direction he was pointing.

It was a metal box locked tight; from the slime on top, it seemed the mother creature had just caressed it not long ago.

But aside from that, he noticed nothing unusual.

"What's wrong? Can't you open it?"

Chen Jian looked at Shen Yue, bewildered, while Shen Yue tapped his smart goggles and reminded:

"Check the readings."

Chen Jian furrowed his brow slightly, his gaze falling on the environmental values displayed on the goggles.

And there, a number flickered between white and yellow.

30 CPM.

40 CPM.

60 CPM.

80 CPM.

These are the ambient ionizing radiation levels.

The background radiation for this area is normally around 30 CPM; exceeding twice that triggers a yellow warning from the system.

And obviously, the system's warning now pertains to that seemingly small metal box.

In an instant, Chen Jian felt as if struck by lightning.

1102, launch shaft, abnormal radiation.

What this box holds, could it possibly be

a nuclear warhead??

(End of chapter)