Improvement

After more than five months, the second-phase expansion plan for the Central Africa Space Base had been completed. It had expanded from 400 square kilometers to 600 square kilometers, and the new quantum computer had also been assembled.

Computing power and productivity had both increased further. Due to a series of factors, including the replacement with Nuclear Fission Batteries, the manufacturing cost of the T-series robots had also risen substantially. At the same time, because some production lines had to be diverted to produce tactical support equipment, the annual output of T-800s was now only around twenty units, while T-1000s numbered around five units per year. Non-combat robots had a monthly output of around thirteen units. The total number of T-800s had reached twelve, while there were two T-1000s in total, including the original one.

The output of T-series robots had always been low, but that meant high quality. With Nuclear Fission Batteries replacing their power source, both Terminator models had undergone major redesigns. The old T-800s and T-1000s would soon be sent back for orderly reconstruction. As for the T-800 alone, it was now nothing like its former self. In close combat, a dozen or so punches powered by nuclear energy could smash a Knight-type Honkai Beast to death, while casually swatting an Assault-type was effortless.

In team combat, T-800s operating in groups of three would be equipped with squad-level heavy firepower. Besides ordinary rocket launchers and the like, they also had an ultimate weapon—the Tactical Nuclear Missile. It had once been an extreme product designed to deal with massive armored formations, yet unexpectedly, it was now being used against Honkai Beast swarms.

In an abandoned city in Central Africa, the sound of projectiles tearing through the air rang without end. One plasma cloud after another burned through the bodies of Honkai Beasts. Plasma Rifles were much quieter than traditional chemical-powered rifles, though they still made some noise. At that moment, a group of T-800s was carrying out a cleanup mission. It was purely an experimental mission; there was no way three T-800s could clear all the Honkai Beasts from a city that had once housed five hundred thousand people.

The smaller Honkai Beasts were either beaten to death by titanium-alloy iron fists or blasted into a black-and-white, charred mess by Plasma Rifles. The remaining thick-skinned Temple-types continued to resist stubbornly, and these large Honkai Beasts were precisely the kind most difficult for T-800s to handle.

The large Honkai Beasts showed no sign of dwindling during the cleanup; the more they killed, the more there seemed to be. The three T-800s drew Type I electromagnetic rifles from their backs. They were called rifles, but were really closer to sniper rifles. However, since they could fire fully automatically, they were still classified as rifles. Armor-piercing rounds with a muzzle velocity of 2 km/s punched through one Temple-type shield after another. Even after penetrating the enormous white shields, the bullets had not lost most of their kinetic energy. Carrying fragments of the white shields with them, they tore into the beasts' bodies and burst blossoms of white flesh across the Temple-types' forms. Yet this did not greatly affect them. Their massive bodies could withstand nearly a thousand penetrating shots.

The three T-800s fired at them nonstop, yet only managed to incapacitate one or two among the many large Honkai Beasts.

Three T-800s were still under far too much pressure when facing a Honkai Beast swarm. If even one Temple-type caught up to them, all three T-800s would be finished.

The T-800s leaped across the reinforced-concrete jungle like agile apes, while the Honkai Beasts behind them pursued relentlessly. The ground trembled beneath the trampling of these colossal creatures, and the aura of civilization emanating from the T-800s filled them with disgust.

The cramped view suddenly opened up. Not far away, the towering City Monument stood in the middle of an open space. The once-pristine white granite pavement had turned dim and cracked after being neglected for so long. Plants from the green belts had broken through the barriers humans had set for them, their green and purple branches spreading into the cracks in the granite.

The central city square was right ahead. One T-800 glanced back. The Honkai Beasts had not caught up yet. It set the gun case from its back on the ground, took out a shoulder-fired nuclear missile, then accelerated at full power and ran as far away as possible. The other two found cover and sheltered from the shockwave, striving to complete the mission without suffering damage.

The sound of the Honkai Beast swarm running grew closer and closer, and the trembling of the earth became clearer. The T-800 unfolded its compact reconnaissance drone. Its rotors spun, generating lift and carrying the drone into the sky.

Almost there!

The reconnaissance drone continuously transmitted images back to the central computer. The beasts charged forward wildly, kicking aside abandoned vehicles blocking the roads. Many already-decayed buildings collapsed under their rampage, and the fallen reinforced-concrete debris crushed many Deadwalkers and small Honkai Beasts.

Qin Su had already calculated it. When the Honkai Beast swarm charged into the central square, the nuclear rocket would reach the ground at exactly the same time.

"Thump!" Its exhaust flame drew a long arc across the night sky. The T-800 threw down the rocket launcher on its shoulder and ran. In just a few seconds, nimble Assault-type Honkai Beasts had already caught up to it. "Clang!" The T-800 swept a harassing Assault-type beside it into the dirt with a sideways punch. Once the swirling dust dispersed, the Assault-type's body floated down like dented paper and soon died completely.

In the movie world, T-800s could only run at 35 km/h, but the T-800s here could run at 60 km/h. Yet no matter how fast it ran, it could not escape the kill radius of a nuclear weapon, because the Tactical Nuclear Missile had an effective kill radius of two kilometers. Under normal operating conditions, a T-800 could have run outside that range. But plans could not keep up with changes. In just a few dozen seconds, the T-800 could not possibly get two kilometers away. Running at full speed could only minimize the damage it suffered.

The T-800 leaped forward and slid behind a collapsed building. A dazzling white flash lit up the entire night in an instant, turning one corner of the pitch-black abandoned city as bright as day. A mushroom cloud gradually rose over the central square. Sand and gravel flew through the air, glass shattered under the shockwave and scattered across the ground, and the plants in the green belts were first ignited by thermal radiation before being snuffed out by the shockwave almost immediately afterward. The city center had become a flat expanse of ruins. Most Tank-types had turned into charred meals, but many Temple-types still clung to life.

The power of the atom had given humanity confidence in conquering nature. Even Herrschers had no choice but to fear this world-ending flame. Perhaps atomic weapons had never truly had a chance to shine in the fight against Herrschers. But that did not mean they were useless. A Herrscher might neutralize a nuclear missile or cause it to lose its target, but no Herrscher had ever dared to face the power of the atom head-on.

The two T-800s that had long since escaped the kill radius ran back to rescue their companion buried beneath the building debris.

PS: As for the size of Honkai Beasts, please use the main story and the animated shorts as the standard. Just compare Herrscher of the Void Kiana and Mei with Temple-types in the animations, and their scale will be clear. Tank-types may, of course, be very large. As for the giant Honkai Beasts in the early black-and-white manga, just treat them as the Third Honkai's Herrscher-associated beasts. That avoids contradictions and provides a reasonable explanation.