The blinding yellow light instantly occupied all the space in everyone's retinas.
That massive beam of light quietly and precisely shot towards the distant target that simulated a battleship.
The yellow energy beam quickly reached the target, and a strong wave of energy rippled through the area ahead.
The wreckage of the simulated ship rapidly disintegrated under the onslaught of the energy beam, revealing its internal structure.
And on the hull, there appeared a perfect circular hole, exposing the dark void behind it.
"Firing test successful, Mobile Suit energy levels normal, Backpack structural failure detected."
He Kui said, noticing that the massive Backpack structure behind the gun barrel had already shown signs of scorching, with the highly protective Gundanium Alloy slightly warped, a faint red glow flickering due to overheating, clearly rendered unusable.
"Second firing test commencing."
The Lorasia-class ship where He Kui was located launched a brand new Backpack structure from the launcher, quickly completing the docking through the quantum communication system of the Liberator Mobile Suit.
The Destroyer rifle, which utilized Force field technology in its barrel, was not directly damaged but was reinstalled onto the new Backpack.
Of course, although the Force field suppressed the energy direction within the barrel, modulating such a powerful Force field also consumed a tremendous amount of energy.
Fortunately, the Backpack was disposable, so He Kui simply integrated most of the power supply needed for the gun barrel into the Backpack.
Once assembled, another shot was fired.
Once again, a massive hole was left in the opposing battleship.
Generally speaking, that battleship should have exploded by now.
However, since it was just a test target, it would be too costly if it exploded with just a few shots.
"Basic testing completed."
He Kui said after switching to the third base.
In just two shots, several hundred million had already been burned, and continuing further would be meaningless.
"The extreme testing of the remaining Backpack is also underway, expected to be completed and delivered to Earth next week."
"Great!"
Upon hearing He Kui's report, Joule couldn't help but show a hint of suppressed excitement on her face.
With such a cannon, they could suppress any unit except for the light shield.
And the light shield could be countered by Z-Gundam, Freedom, and Justice.
With this weapon, they would have the advantage on the battlefield.
"Who are you planning to give it to?"
He Kui casually asked, following his usual curiosity.
"Dearka."
"That makes sense."
After all, it was a shooting system, so giving it to Dearka was reasonable.
"Tell him to cherish it and not to break it."
Although Joule had promised to give him an upgraded machine, this Liberator was still his child.
"I'll tell him."
Joule smiled and reached out her hand to him.
"Thank you, Director He, for your cooperation."
"Just doing my best."
He Kui replied humbly.
The two shook hands, appearing quite harmonious.
At that moment, Joule continued, "At the factory on the moon, we plan to increase production capacity."
Upon hearing this, He Kui immediately smiled.
"It is truly an honor to help alleviate the mining issues."
"Haha, then let's double the equipment and personnel, and we'll assign you a security team."
Assigning a security team meant that one of He Kui's Red Uniform Squads could also take it a bit easier.
"By the way, we also need to update the battleship units on Earth."
Within the atmosphere, ZAFT's fleet only had ordinary transport planes and desert flagships like the Raisebus.
There was a lack of aerial and naval power.
As a city representative specializing in battleship design, it was not hard to understand Joule's request.
"However, I have not participated in the development of battleships suitable for the Earth sphere."
Not only had he not participated, but he had never even developed a standard battleship.
"That's okay; if you have any ideas, just contact us."
After chatting about the moon for a short while, Joule excitedly left with the good news.
He Kui himself boarded the shuttlecraft heading to the asteroid.
"He Kui, will there be a turning point in the war on Earth?"
Shihe, who had been following He Kui in the shuttlecraft, asked seriously.
After all, it was a matter concerning the entire PLANT, and He Kui did not take it lightly.
"Although it is difficult to fight on the enemy's home turf, there will still be opportunities."
He Kui frowned slightly upon hearing this. Currently, the entire battlefield was bound to escalate with the use of nuclear energy, and if he wanted to protect what he wished to safeguard, he would need greater strength.
The images of Lacus and Luna flashed through He Kui's mind when his wristband vibrated.
"Lacus, I didn't expect you to come find me so soon."
At the Asteroid base, the place where he had shared his first kiss with Lacus, He Kui smiled.
"Lacus is here to congratulate He Kui on the success of his experiment."
Having just successfully completed the experiment, Lacus already knew. With the progression of the war, more and more people were aligning with Clyne's ideals and switching to the Clyne faction.
This kind of shift was not openly acknowledged, leading to an increasing number of hidden spies for Lacus in the future.
"Thank you."
"But continuing to fight like this has no future. He Kui should be very clear about this, as a weapon developer."
Lacus spoke about weapon development without any dissatisfaction or aversion, just using a calm tone.
"I know."
Every time a new weapon was developed, it seemed to only escalate the situation without any real effect.
Ultimately, his weapons had not played a decisive role in the battlefield.
Moreover, this war was already a quagmire; even his weapons could not break through the mire.
"I heard they are preparing a doomsday weapon, a massive gamma-ray weapon."
He Kui lowered his gaze, not allowing Lacus to see his expression.
He hadn't expected that Lacus, who had not left, would find out so quickly.
"How did Lacus find out?"
He Kui asked.
"The enormous deficit in military funding, along with a casual chat with one of the builders?"
Lacus did not hide it but continued, "If they really intend to create it, what do you think will happen, He Kui?"
"That would be a weapon capable of destroying the Earth with a single shot."
Lacus looked at He Kui calmly, her demeanor making one instinctively overlook her age and her overly cute appearance.
"Using that immense deterrent power, a ceasefire could be achieved."
"Yes, but what if one day the Atlantic Federation also acquires that weapon?"
The direct hit of gamma rays on Earth would not result in immediate death but would gradually reduce its habitability.
But what if gamma rays were aimed directly at the colonies?
(End of Chapter)