244: Chapter 244 What the heck, a nuclear-powered electromagnetic rifle?

The entire internet was stunned at first, followed by a wave of confusion.

"Who is this?"

"A new defense contractor? I've never even heard of them before."

"The marketing copy is certainly bold."

Some people subconsciously felt that this was, in all likelihood, just another concept project packaged by venture capital.

After all, in the last two years, there have been too many "next-generation weapons" hyped up by countries around the world.

Things like all-terrain combat platforms, intelligent individual combat terminals, revolutionary small arms—their names were more intimidating than the last, but in the end, most of them were just flashy PowerPoint presentations.

But soon, the company released a second announcement.

There was still no long buildup.

No specifications.

No teaser trailer.

Not even a complete poster.

Only the product name.

Yet, those mere six characters instantly froze everyone who was watching the spectacle.

[Nuclear-powered Electromagnetic Rifle]

In that instant, let alone ordinary netizens, even the military enthusiast circle, who were originally joking around, went silent for two seconds.

Immediately after, the overseas internet exploded.

"??????"

"Nuclear-powered?? Electromagnetic?? Rifle?!"

"Seriously, do you guys not follow any procedures when naming products now?!"

"Damn it, don't tell me they actually made it."

"We believe Lu Li's hype, but you guys really need to think twice before you start boasting."

"Just hearing the name makes it sound like something the human industrial system couldn't possibly produce."

"If this thing is real, it's not a new weapon; it's a new species."

When the news reached the country, Su Qingxue had just finished reviewing the follow-up public opinion summary after the Nuclear Fusion grid connection that day.

She stared at those six characters, remained silent for a few seconds, and then slowly looked up at Lu Li.

"They are... trying to forcefully steal the spotlight back."

Lu Li sat on the sofa without speaking.

But his gaze gradually darkened.

He knew very well that since the other party dared to put the words "Nuclear-powered" directly in front of the product name, it was definitely not just to grab attention.

Because the words "Electromagnetic Rifle" at most represented an upgrade direction for some kind of individual firepower.

But the words "Nuclear-powered" were different.

That wasn't a performance modifier.

That was a signal at the systemic level.

This meant that what the other party really wanted to tell the whole world was not just that they had made a gun.

But rather—their mastery of energy cores had already reached another level.

Thinking of this, Lu Li's eyes darkened slightly.

As for the United States, their real cards were likely about to be revealed.

...

On the day the public video of the Nuclear-powered Electromagnetic Rifle was released, almost the entire world was watching.

Some were waiting to see a joke.

Some were waiting to see a concept video.

Others thought this was just another piece of capital-driven propaganda blown out of proportion by its name.

But as soon as the video started, everyone went quiet.

No CG.

No flashy editing.

No sci-fi movie-style gimmicks.

The footage opened to a wide, empty testing ground.

The wind was strong, and the ground was gray and white.

Several technicians in protective suits stood in the distance, while a soldier held a rifle with an extremely avant-garde design, standing quietly in front of the target.

The gun was pitch black, with glowing blue energy patterns embedded in parts of it, and its structure was clearly not following the traditional gunpowder firearm path.

Its appearance alone was enough to make one's scalp tingle.

A line of text soon appeared at the bottom of the screen.

[Medium Power Mode Test]

In the next second, the camera cut to the center of the target area.

A pig was hanging upside down in the air.

The comments flooded in immediately.

"Holy crap, are they for real?"

"Are they doing a live shot?"

"Don't spend all this time just to end up with a scratch..."

In the footage, the soldier had already raised the gun.

His movements were steady.

There were no unnecessary postures, nor any exaggerated buildup.

He simply raised the gun, aimed, and pulled the trigger in a very normal manner.

There was no ear-splitting blast like with traditional firearms.

Only a very light, very short, high-pitched hum of electricity.

A streak of deep blue light flashed and vanished in an instant.

In the next second, a charred, black hole violently burst open in the pig's chest.

It wasn't a normal penetration.

It was more like it had been scorched and burned through in an instant by some kind of extremely high energy.

A hole the size of a plate appeared directly in the entire chest cavity.

It was dead as could be.

At that moment, the global comment section seemed to have been hit with a pause button.

Two seconds later, it completely exploded.

"Holy f***?!"

"What the hell is this thing?!"

"Is this power too ridiculous?!"

"Almost no sound?!"

"This isn't a gun anymore, right?!"

"What exactly happened when it fired just now?!"

But the video wasn't over yet.

The footage soon cut to the second segment.

[High Power Mode Test]

This time, a decommissioned tank was parked in the center of the shooting range.

The soldier remained in the same spot, barely moving, only pushing the power adjustment dial on the gun to the highest setting.

The blue energy bar on the side lit up accordingly.

Immediately after, he pulled the trigger again.

Still, there was no exaggerated loud noise.

Only a blue light, brighter and longer-lasting than the previous one, landed instantly on the tank armor.

At first, many people didn't even understand what had happened.

But just a few seconds later, the spot where the armor was hit quickly turned red and then white, and then, as if drilled through by an invisible high-temperature drill, it collapsed, leaving a large hole.

The whole process took less than five seconds.

The video specifically gave a close-up.

The soldier holding the gun was terrifyingly steady from start to finish.

There was no noticeable recoil.

No muzzle climb.

There was none of the footage one sees when firing traditional heavy firepower where the whole person shakes along with it.

It was as if he just raised his hand and pressed a button.

And then the tank was burned through.

The world, at that moment, truly lost its voice.

If the Dragon Country's last military parade, which showcased Robots and mechs, made everyone realize for the first time that "future weaponry" was stepping out of sci-fi movies, then this Nuclear-powered Electromagnetic Rifle was smashing that impact right into everyone's face in the simplest, most brutal, and most direct way.

Because it wasn't a large piece of equipment.

It wasn't a giant platform in a laboratory.

It wasn't a heavy weapon that required an entire system to operate.

It looked like a killing weapon that could truly be held in the hands of a single soldier.

And this kind of thing, even a tank couldn't withstand.

The comment section went completely crazy.

Military enthusiasts and tech geeks were the first to explode.

"This is no longer just an upgrade of ordinary firearms; this is a generational shift in individual firepower!"

"If even tanks can't withstand it, the logic of the battlefield is about to change!"

"Low sound, light recoil, ridiculous power—this f***ing kills off many traditional individual weapon paths!"