Armor-Piercing Munition: Face Me, Carbon-Based Monster!
Chapter 181 - 65: The Heart of Fu Xi

Chapter 181: Chapter 65: The Heart of Fu Xi

The sun rose, and the morning mist flowed through the ruins of the steel jungle.

The branches of the mutant banyan tree pierced through the wreckage of the wings, dozens of stories high, like countless blood vessels pulsing between the iron-gray bones.

As he walked over the dust-covered ground, Chen Jian heard a hollow echo beneath his feet.

This steel giant, entwined by the banyan roots for three centuries, still emitted a dying groan.

"Radiation level 207."

The Geiger counter in Lei Jie’s hand lit up red. He looked towards the jagged tear in the fuselage, resembling a hideous scar, and continued to speak:

"The radiation source is this thing’s engine."

"Quad-engine design, just like the TU-119."

"But evidently, the engine structure of this aircraft is brand new—quite strange; if there was a fire when it made an emergency landing, why don’t we see any clear burn marks here?"

"The burning engines have already been discarded."

Chen Jian pointed towards the encircling hills in the distance and said:

"That’s the true radiation center. There are two such formations, which means that before the landing, it had already discarded two engines."

"This aircraft—this flight squadron must have encountered an unexpected emergency, forcing a landing here."

As he spoke, Chen Jian switched on a tactical flashlight.

The bright beam pierced through the humid air, illuminating the faded military insignia on the interior wall of the aircraft.

Bioluminescent spores from some kind of vine floated in through the fracture, gathering into a nebulous star river inside the cabin.

Chen Jian had put on a breathing apparatus, the simple face shield of the protective suit fogging up.

Through the blurred view, he saw honeycomb racks aligned on the cabin walls.

Each hexagonal compartment was large enough to accommodate a massive main battle tank. Though the door was weathered and rusted like mottled relief, it still maintained a cold, firm posture.

When the flashlight swept over the massive engine chamber in the middle of the cabin, Chen Jian saw two holes reaching down to the ground and scattered crystalline fragments of nuclear fuel rods inside the cabin.

Scattered fragments emitted an eerie green glow, openly exuding a power capable of killing all organic life.

But clearly, after 300 years, its energy had long diminished to a shadow of its former self.

Chen Jian did not rush forward. Instead, after circling around the gigantic structure, he spoke again:

"This is an ultra-large transport aircraft, equipped with weapons, but it didn’t carry nuclear weapons."

"Like the four bombers we found at other locations, they all carried conventional weapons."

"It’s obvious this was a ferry flight mission, not an urgent combat mission."

"All aircraft belonged to the 10th Air Division. At that time, they attempted to redeploy these five aircraft to another airfield; the decision process must have been very hasty, hence no fighter escort."

When Chen Jian finished speaking, Lei Jie shook his head and said:

"Not necessarily."

"The four bombers were indeed on a ferry flight mission, but the transport aircraft is questionable."

"It was clearly flying at full load, all compartments filled."

"Which means it was indeed transporting these items elsewhere, and these items must have been important."

"Under such circumstances, it would be impossible to have no fighter escort."

"It’s just possible that the fighters encountered no unforeseen situation, didn’t crash, or didn’t land here along with these five aircraft."

"Makes sense."

Chen Jian nodded slightly, clenched the face shield of his protective suit with a built-in wipe to clean the goggles, then continued:

"But now here’s the problem."

"If it was a transport mission, what was it carrying?"

"We’ll know once we go in and take a look."

Lei Jie lifted his foot and climbed up along the vine at the fracture with Chen Jian closely following, while Xie Liu leaped into the cabin, calling out:

"I’ll take a look first; you guys wait!"

Lei Jie paused for a moment until Xie Liu finished his round of observation, confirming there was no danger inside, then they each entered the cabin in turn.

Looking from the inside, the interior space of this aircraft was astonishingly large.

Tracks for loading and unloading cargo lined the floor, while the mechanical arms on the cabin ceiling hung low like giant tentacles.

"This is definitely a strategic transport aircraft—so what should its codename be? Yun-40?"

As Lei Jie finished speaking, Chen Jian shook his head and said:

"Might be a Yun-100."

"This thing is an extreme long-range strategic deployment tool, with super large payload, ultra-high range, and ultra-high endurance capabilities. I can’t even imagine what its combat scenario should be like."

"The most incongruous part is the nuclear-powered engine—bombers need long endurance for triad deterrence, but why would a strategic transport aircraft need long endurance?"

"Cargo transportation from point A to point B is just a short leg; refueling and replenishment could be done during loading and unloading. The nuclear power’s significance doesn’t exist, right?"

"Indeed, it doesn’t."

Lei Jie nodded thoughtfully, then said:

"So this isn’t actually a transport aircraft."

As he finished speaking, Chen Jian suddenly nodded.

"So, this is a prototype for an airborne mothership... or perhaps an experimental model?"

"Most likely yes."

Lei Jie pointed to the hexagonal compartments on the cabin walls, then continued:

"There are 24 compartments in total on both sides, and from their size, they can’t fit a medium-sized or larger fighter jet."

"But, for drones, they have more than enough space."

"The primary operational purpose of this thing must be aerial warning, integrated with aerial command, strategic transport, and drone deployment for strategic support."