Thunderclap Project

Xu Yanqiu's words still echoed in Lin Yuan's ears as he sat in the weapons testing workshop of 811 Institute's western district.

February 9, C.E. 71.

Four days after the Black Armor Project began, the Thunderclap Project advanced in parallel.

A row of cross-sectional warhead models lay on the long table in the workshop, increasing in size from left to right. The largest was nearly as wide as an adult's fist.

Three people sat across from him.

Ammunition design team leader Fang Heping was in his early forties, with gunpowder residue permanently embedded beneath his fingernails. To his left sat structural mechanics engineer Lu Cheng, and to his right was propulsion systems expert Song Huaiyuan.

All three stared at the blueprints on the table, each wearing a different expression.

Fang Heping spoke first.

"Director, I've worked in ammunition for twenty years. It's inevitable that ballistic weapons will be phased out on MS-class battlefields."

"Why?" Lin Yuan leaned back in his chair.

"Phase-Shift Armor." Fang Heping tapped the tabletop. "The Atlantic Federation's GAT-X series, the GuAIZ Series that PLANT is about to mass-produce—their armor modules are all moving toward energy-based defenses. Fire a solid round at them, and you won't even scratch the paint."

"So you think beam weapons will rule the future."

"Beam rifles, beam sabers, positron cannons." Fang Heping spread his hands. "That's where the entire world is headed. If 811 Institute pursues ballistic weapons, we'll be going against the tide."

Lin Yuan did not rush to argue.

He reached into his pocket and took out a small metal cylinder, roughly the length of his index finger, with dense spiral grooves etched into its outer surface.

He stood the cylinder upright on the table.

"What's this?" Fang Heping leaned closer for a look.

"A conceptual warhead model." Lin Yuan spun the cylinder with his fingertips. "The casing contains a high-density alloy penetrator. After hitting the target, it doesn't punch straight through. Instead, it detonates after a delay. Once the penetrator pierces the first layer of armor, an internal rocket drive carries it deeper, then the core charge detonates at a preset depth."

Fang Heping frowned.

"Delayed penetration followed by an internal blast?"

"Exactly. Once Phase-Shift Armor runs out of energy, it's just ordinary alloy. But even if it still has energy, this warhead isn't designed to penetrate it."

Lu Cheng cut in.

"If it doesn't penetrate, what's the point of hitting it?"

"Shockwave transmission." Lin Yuan turned to him. "Phase-Shift Armor can stop the projectile from penetrating, but it can't stop the stress waves created on the armor's inner surface by kinetic impact. A high-density penetrator hits the armor at supersonic speed. Even without piercing it, the shockwave travels inward through the armor structure. What happens to the person in the cockpit?"

Lu Cheng closed his eyes briefly.

"Internal organ trauma. Fractures. Loss of control."

"Right." Lin Yuan pushed the cylinder toward Fang Heping. "I don't need to punch through the enemy machine's armor. I only need to make the pilot inside lose combat capability within five seconds."

Fang Heping picked up the cylinder and examined it for a long while, running his fingers over the spiral grooves.

"Rocket assistance plus a delayed fuse means extremely high chamber pressure. Ordinary barrels won't withstand it."

"That's why it's called a project."

Song Huaiyuan had remained silent until then. At last, he spoke.

"Director, how do we solve the backblast issue with rocket-assisted ammunition? If an MS uses this weapon in an enclosed compartment, backblast could damage the user."

"The rocket only ignites after the round leaves the barrel." Lin Yuan pulled a sketch from a folder and handed it over. "The delayed rocket grain ignites fifteen to twenty meters after the projectile leaves the barrel. At close range, it relies on initial velocity from chamber pressure. At medium range, it relies on rocket acceleration."

Song Huaiyuan studied the sketch, the lines between his brows deepening.

"The timing precision for this delayed ignition has to be extremely high. A difference of a few hundredths of a second is the difference between killing yourself and killing the enemy."

"That's why I brought you in."

The workshop fell silent for more than ten seconds.

Fang Heping set the cylinder back on the table and tapped the table's edge a few times.

"Director, I have one condition."

"Go ahead."

"For the first test firing, we use an unmanned target platform. All personnel retreat at least five hundred meters. I can't guarantee the probability of a barrel burst will be below thirty percent."

"Agreed."

Two days later.

Underground test range, 811 Institute.

The first batch of small-caliber test rounds had been loaded into a scaled-down barrel mounted on an unmanned target platform.

Fang Heping stood behind a shelter five hundred meters away, clutching a remote firing trigger.

Sheng Lan stood beside him, her communications headset connected to Lin Yuan's office.

"Director, the test firing is ready."

"Fire."

Fang Heping pressed the trigger.

An orange-red flash burst from the muzzle. The instant the projectile launched, a muffled explosion came from the target platform.

It was not the sound of the round hitting the target.

It was the sound of the barrel itself.

Orange-red flames erupted from the rear of the barrel. Metal fragments scattered everywhere, and the target platform's mounting frame was overturned by the shockwave.

Fang Heping's face went pale.

"Barrel burst."

Sheng Lan pressed a hand to her headset.

"Director, abnormal chamber pressure. The test barrel ruptured. The projectile did not fully exit the barrel and detonated prematurely inside."

The channel was silent for three seconds.

"Casualties?"

"None. All personnel were outside the safety perimeter."

"What about the target platform data?"

Sheng Lan turned to Fang Heping.

Fang Heping leaned halfway out of the shelter and looked through binoculars at the distant wreckage.

"The high-speed camera on the target platform is still there. The data should have been saved."

"Director, the high-speed camera data is intact."

"Retrieve it. Analyze it tonight."

The communication cut off.

Fang Heping lowered the binoculars and rubbed his face.

"It's over. The very first shot blew up. If word gets out, 811 Institute won't have enough face left to lose."

Sheng Lan did not respond. She walked out of the shelter and headed toward the data retrieval point.

Fang Heping followed behind her.

"Director Sheng, do you think the Director will cancel this project?"

"He won't."

"How can you be so sure?"

Sheng Lan crouched before the data terminal and pulled up the high-speed footage.

In the footage, the internal rocket grain's ignition sequence was clearly visible 0.03 seconds before the projectile left the barrel. The detonation point was seven millimeters ahead of the design value, placing it precisely within the barrel's constrained section.

But the projectile itself retained its structural integrity until the instant before detonation.

The internal blast structure had not fragmented.

"Team Leader Fang." Sheng Lan pointed at one frame on the screen. "Look here."

Fang Heping leaned in and stared at that frame.

His breathing stopped for a beat.

"The delayed fuse triggered early, but the penetrator's internal blast-chamber structure is intact. The problem isn't the projectile design. It's the ignition timing."

Sheng Lan stood up. "The round is headed in the right direction. The barrel material and ignition control need to be redesigned."

Fang Heping rubbed the corner of his forehead.

"The Director expected it to explode?"

Sheng Lan closed the lid of the data terminal.

"He said something once. Failure isn't an obstacle. Failure without data is."

That night, the lights in Luo Qiming's office remained on for a long time.

The next day, an anonymous item appeared in an internal National Defense Committee briefing. Its general message was that 811 Institute's first weapons test had ended in failure, and that its budget efficiency was cause for concern.

Sheng Lan saved a screenshot of the briefing on the third page of her notes.

"Director, Luo Qiming has made his move."

"Soon." Lin Yuan flipped through the high-speed footage frame analysis report without looking up. "Let him jump around for another two days. Once the second test firing succeeds, he'll quiet down on his own."

Sheng Lan paused at the doorway.

"Director, what if the second one blows up too?"

Lin Yuan turned another page.

"Then we try a third time. Until it stops blowing up."