The reason Chen Jian reacted so strongly to the weapon that was thrown out was because he was just too familiar with it.
And not only him, almost all the other members of the four-person squad simultaneously locked their eyes on the object that hit the ground with a thud.
Before Chen Jian could speak, Shen Yue impatiently rushed forward, pulled that thing out from the pile of bones, wiped off the dust with a few quick strokes and said:
"Damn, it's really a QN-202, a sleeve arrow!"
"There are at least six missiles in here, just not sure about their maintenance status..."
As he was speaking, Shen Yue unzipped the backpack.
But unexpectedly, as soon as he exerted force, the already decayed backpack completely disintegrated.
This situation made Chen Jian immediately frown.
If the outside is already rotten like this, could the inside be any good?
And indeed, after Shen Yue took out the six mini-missiles one by one, everyone could see that the situation wasn't promising.
The surface of the missile bodies showed obvious signs of weathering and corrosion. Fortunately, the equipment backpack was a relatively sealed storage container, so the missiles hadn't completely turned to scrap.
"Can they still be repaired?"
Chen Jian stepped forward and asked.
Lei Jie, who was also watching Shen Yue's actions, shook his head and said:
"Hard to say. From the state of preservation, the shell seems relatively intact, and the overall sealing shouldn't be a major issue."
"But whether the propellant inside has absorbed moisture or whether the electronic components can still function is another matter."
"Either way, we can take it back and give it a try."
"The principle of this thing is quite simple, the most crucial part is just an infrared sensing chip, plus a flight control chip."
"If the chips aren't damaged, there's a good chance it's still usable."
"But I'm a bit curious... where did this thing come from?"
"How could I possibly know?"
Chen Jian shook his head and told Shen Yue to pack it up first. At this moment, Xu Lie, who had been searching around, noticed their actions and curiously approached and asked:
"What did you find?"
Chen Jian didn't hide anything. Instead, he pointed to the sleeve arrow missile on the ground and said:
"Just this."
Xu Lie looked down, astonished:
"What do you want this for?"
"Do you know what it's for?"
Chen Jian countered.
"Of course I know, a sort of special shell."
"There used to be a lot of these. For a while, Jinling City's weapon market was flooded with them."
"But the problem is, almost no one knew how to use this kind of shell. Even if you found a matching barrel to launch it, its trajectory would bizarrely deviate from the target."
"The people of the Mechanical God Sect said that's because they hadn't found a way to appease the Mechanical Soul."
"But I always thought this might be a cheap expendable."
"Perhaps its original function was to fly erratically once launched and cover the enemy with dense artillery fire?"
"But if that's the case, its power seems a bit insufficient. It's not as strong as the large-caliber cannons made by the Mechanical God Sect."
"So, this is probably what they call a 'chicken rib,' right?"
Chicken rib?
Hearing that word, Chen Jian couldn't help but want to laugh.
You call this thing a chicken rib?
Weighing only 20 kg in total, one missile is just 1.2 kg, with a range of 2000 meters and TNT charge of 150 grams. Back in the time I came from, some military fanatics with severe firepower phobia even replaced traditional TNT with CL-20, claiming one shot could send an M2 flying...
And you say it's a chicken rib?
It's just because you don't know how to use it!
It's not meant for area bombardment; its original function is to target something at a super-long distance, use thermal imaging guidance to deliver the explosives right into the target's mouth, blowing it sky-high along with teeth and bones!
Chen Jian shook his head, ignoring Xu Lie, and directly gave the order:
"Search the area, see if there's a launcher."
"Understood."
The three of them nodded immediately, while Xu Lie kindly advised:
"You're not really going to take this thing back, are you?"
"This thing is useless, and you can't sell it for a good price in the market."
"Instead of that, why not look for batteries here? Batteries are the real good stuff... "
"Batteries are indeed good things, but this isn't bad either."
This time, Chen Jian didn't contradict Xu Lie but continued to ask:
"Is there any power generation equipment in Jinling City?"
"Of course there is, but almost all of it is monopolized by the Mechanical God Sect, and even if you want to use electricity, you need batteries first. Otherwise, where would you store the electricity generated?"
"Very reasonable!"
Chen Jian gave a thumbs up, impressed by Xu Lie's logic.
"Haven't any of you ever thought about making your own generator?"
"... That's one of the Mechanical God Sect's biggest secrets. Do you think they'd make such technology public?"
Goodness, even something like a generator has become one of the biggest secrets.
To what extent has technological discontinuity reached in this world?
---- However, speaking of which, this does align with Chen Jian's understanding of the post-apocalyptic era.
Knowledge closely related to survival and daily life will be preserved through generations, while more advanced knowledge gradually gets lost.
Everyone knows how to replace a battery, and the vast majority know how to connect the two poles with a wire.
But how to build a generator, draw circuit diagrams, repair precision electronic equipment? Nobody knows anymore.
No wonder Xu Lie's description of "electricity" left Chen Jian confused. Most likely, he thought of electricity as something like water or fuel...
Chen Jian clicked his tongue, then turned to Lei Jie and said:
"Look around for motors, magnets, and such."
"We might have to rely on ourselves to charge our equipment."
"Understood."
Lei Jie nodded and said:
"Leave it to me."
"Rest assured, as long as there are people, you can always find the materials needed to build a generator."
"Then it should be fine."
Chen Jian patted Lei Jie on the shoulder reassuringly, intending to say more, but just then, Shen Yue, who seemed to have blended into the surroundings, suddenly shouted.
"Captain! Come and see this!"
Chen Jian took a couple of steps to stand behind Shen Yue and looked in the direction he was pointing.
It was a tightly locked metal box, and from the slime on it, it seemed that the mother creature had caressed it not long ago.
But other than that, he found nothing unusual.
"What's wrong? Can't open it?"
Chen Jian looked at Shen Yue, confused, and Shen Yue tapped his smart goggles, reminding him:
"Check the readings."
Chen Jian frowned slightly, directing his gaze to the environmental readings on the goggle display.
And there, one number kept oscillating between white and yellow.
30 CPM.
40 CPM.
60 CPM.
80 CPM.
This was the ionizing radiation level of the surrounding area.
The background radiation level in this area was roughly around 30 CPM, and when it exceeds this value by twice, the system triggers a yellow warning.
And clearly, the system's warning was about the seemingly small metallic box.
In that instant, Chen Jian felt like he was struck by lightning.
1102, launch silo, abnormal radiation levels...
What's in this box, could it possibly be...
A nuclear warhead??