128: Plasma beam cannon

At the captain's invitation, Jiang Xin stepped into the core area—the cockpit.

There were no traditional instrument panels or physical screens here. Instead, a panoramic immersive holographic projection display system covered the entire front and side walls, complemented by a holographic tactical interactive interface in front of the pilots. The seats for the four pilots (the captain and three co-captains) were arranged in tiers, providing an excellent field of vision. The VR projected clear three-dimensional maps of the battlefield situation, flight parameters, weapon status, and more. The pilots operated the craft with gesture recognition, voice commands, and a few touch panels, making it highly efficient.

“Welcome, Red Alert Supreme Commander Officer Jiang Xin, to the cockpit of the Red Alert-apollo aerospace fighter. I am the fighter's intelligent tactical auxiliary AI, ‘apollo,’ at your service.” A calm, clear synthesized electronic voice sounded, and a majestic holographic avatar of a golden sun god appeared on the projection in front of Jiang Xin.

“Take me to outer space to have a look!” Jiang Xin could hardly hide his excitement, his voice trembling slightly.

“Understood, Commander!” the captain responded steadily, exchanging a look of confirmation with the other pilots.

“Increase Gravitational Field Modulation Engine power to 75%, maintain a 1G environment in the cabin!”

“Command confirmed. Gravitational Field Modulation Engine power increased to 75%. Cabin gravity field stabilized at 1G standard.”

“Calculate optimal trajectory, activate Particle Thrusters, target: Low Earth Orbit!”

“Command confirmed. Optimal trajectory calculation complete. Particle Thrusters initiating preheating... Ignition!”

As the captain's order was given, the thruster nozzles at the rear and under the wings of the fighter instantly lit up with a dazzling deep blue light. The low hum suddenly increased, transforming into a powerful roar of energy! However, under the precise regulation of the Gravitational Field Modulation Engine, the cabin remained as steady as the ground; Jiang Xin only felt a slight and continuous sense of thrust from his seat. The apollo fighter jet, in a nearly vertical posture like a sharp sword piercing the heavens, accelerated rapidly!

“Acceleration 5G... 10G... 15G... apollo reports: We have surpassed an altitude of 100 kilometers and entered outer space! The cabin gravity field remains stable.” A co-captain reported calmly. In just dozens of seconds, the fighter had broken through the constraints of the atmosphere.

“Continue climbing, enter the designated Low Earth Orbit!”

“Command confirmed. Thrusters continuing to accelerate... Orbital parameters matched... Entering designated orbit!”

Through the panoramic VR in front of the cockpit, the magnificent curve of the Earth unfolded before his eyes. Against the deep background of the universe, the giant blue planet rotated slowly, surrounded by white clouds, with the outlines of continents and oceans clearly visible. Its grandeur and vastness made even Jiang Xin, who commanded thousands of troops, feel his own insignificance and a tremor in his soul.

“apollo, report position.”

“The apollo fighter jet is operating stably in Low Earth Orbit, orbital altitude 300 kilometers, inclination 42 degrees. Currently located above the Western Pacific.”

Looking down at the home planet that had nurtured human civilization but was now being ravaged by the zombie virus, a strong sense of responsibility and mission welled up in Jiang Xin's heart. Such a magnificent home must never be allowed to sink amidst the roars of zombies! His determination to end this catastrophe was firmer than ever before.

“Test the main weapon system!” Jiang Xin said in a deep voice; he wanted to witness the power of this Red Alert future technology with his own eyes.

“Commander, please designate a test target.” A co-captain responded quickly.

“The lunar surface, find a suitable crater rim.” Jiang Xin pointed to the holographic image of the moon displayed on the projection.

“Command confirmed. Calculating transfer orbit... Activating thrusters, target: Earth-Moon Transfer Orbit!” the captain ordered.

The apollo fighter jet accelerated again, gracefully breaking free from Earth's gravitational pull and embarking on the journey to the moon. Under the effect of the high-efficiency thrusters, this 380,000-kilometer journey was greatly shortened. When the giant gray planet filled their entire field of vision, the details of the craters, lunar seas, and rugged mountain ranges on its surface became crystal clear.

“Entering low lunar orbit.”

“Orbit established. Suitable target found: located at the edge of the Sea of Tranquility, a relatively isolated basaltic mountain with a relative height of about 250 meters.”

The fighter adjusted its posture and lowered its altitude, the target mountain highlighted and magnified on the projection.

“Prepare the Plasma Beam Cannon!”

“Understood! Opening the Plasma Beam Cannon Weapon Pods... Charging system initiated!”

The Weapon Pods under the wings opened completely, and two thick, long barrels flickering with eerie blue energy arcs extended fully, pointing at the target. The complex magnetic field containment coils inside the barrels began to work, emitting a high-frequency hum.

“Connecting to the Nuclear Fusion Reactor... Energy transport pipes opened... Magnetic field containment force field established... Injecting Plasma Working Fluid (deuterium-tritium gas mixture)...”

The space around the barrels began to warp due to the powerful electromagnetic fields and high-energy particle streams. The eerie blue light grew brighter and brighter, even condensing a visible, leaping stream of ionized particles in front of the muzzles.

“Charging complete! Magnetic field containment stable! Ready to fire at any time!”

“Target locked: middle of the mountain! Fire!” Jiang Xin ordered decisively.

The co-captain pressed the fire button heavily.

There was no deafening explosion (in the vacuum environment), only two extremely concentrated and stunningly bright streams of eerie blue plasma shot out from the muzzles! At the preset magnetic field focal point in front of the muzzles, the two plasma streams merged precisely into a single, thicker, higher-energy-density lethal beam of light!

This energy beam, composed of ultra-high-temperature plasma traveling at the speed of light, hit the target mountain in the vacuum!

At the moment of impact, the atoms and molecules of the rocks directly hit were instantly ionized and decomposed under the extreme heat, sublimating directly from solid to plasma state! This process was extremely rapid, as if the matter had simply “disappeared” into thin air.

The high-temperature region around the core of the beam caused the rock to expand drastically, while the massive internal stress generated at the boundary between heat and cold triggered a violent fracturing.

Although there was no air in the vacuum to transmit a shockwave, the violent jet of particles produced by the instantaneous vaporization and ionization of matter was itself like a directional energy explosion, violently hurling a large amount of molten and fragmented rock in all directions!

Under the shocked gaze of Jiang Xin and the crew, the middle section of that 250-meter-high mountain was sliced through as if by an invisible giant sword burning with blue flames! A terrifying gap instantly appeared at the contact point, its edges showing a molten glassy state (formed by the rapid cooling of melted rock). A massive amount of rock matter was directly vaporized, accompanied by countless glowing molten fragments and dust clouds hurled in all directions. The entire process was completed within hundredths of a second, leaving behind only a shocking, dozens-of-meters-wide through-hole and a mess of steaming molten lava flats in the surrounding area.

The cockpit was silent, save for the slight hum of the instruments. Jiang Xin stared at the clear marks of destruction on the projection, the eerie blue afterglow reflected in his eyes.