Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 343 White Emperor's Test Flight
Chen Xi, with his hands in his pockets, slowly circled the laser tank and noticed a very interesting detail.

This laser main cannon, capable of instantly melting a main battle tank, was not directly connected to the roaring plasma reactor inside the vehicle.

Instead, a set of uniquely designed energy batteries has been installed.

They were meticulously designed to resemble 120mm shells and neatly stacked in a magazine at the rear of the turret, similar to an automatic loader.

Each battery has a flashing blue indicator light at the end, showing its current energy status.

“Interesting…” Chen Xi crawled into the turret and carefully observed the design.

According to the instructions on site, after the main gun fires 8-10 times, the gunner needs to open the magazine and replace the energy battery, just like loading shells in a traditional tank.

This operation process almost perfectly replicates the traditional tank loading process, except that the shells are replaced with energy units.

He frowned, pondering the purpose of this design.

Logically, with the power output of a plasma reactor, it should be possible to directly power a laser cannon via cable.

But then he thought that the experts in the military's equipment department must have thought of things more thoroughly than he had.

"Safety redundancy?" Chen Xi muttered softly.

Indeed, physically isolating weapon systems and power systems is a wise choice.

In the event of an overload or short circuit in the laser cannon, at least the vehicle's power system will not be affected.

Moreover, the modular design makes maintenance easier on the battlefield—damaged batteries can be quickly replaced without having to tow the entire tank back to a repair shop.

In fact, this design concept is not uncommon in modern military equipment.

Just like the electromagnetic catapult on an aircraft carrier, although the nuclear reactor can provide almost unlimited energy, it still relies on supercapacitors to provide instantaneous high power output during launch.

After all, the peak power required for an energy weapon to fire often far exceeds the continuous output capability of the power system.

Having figured all this out, Chen Xi crawled out of the tank.

He felt that the exhibits in the land equipment exhibition hall were just so-so.

Regardless, he was an Imperial Inquisitor and Governor of a Subsector during the 40k era, and he could access various military equipment if he wanted to.

Especially since he's already driving a Titan in 40k, these pieces of equipment are just novelty to him; they don't really make him think they're that awesome.

So after getting his hands on Lao Lu's individual laser weapon for a while, he strolled over to the aerospace museum, wanting to see what eye-catching things were there.

When Chen Xi entered the Air Force exhibition area, he could clearly feel that the atmosphere here was completely different from that of the other exhibition areas.

The audience members walked around in twos and threes, their faces showing a hint of disappointment—after all, compared to the awe-inspiring laser tanks and bipedal mechs in the Army exhibition area, the Air Force area did seem rather deserted.

"Looks like the Air Force didn't get any new technology this time..." Chen Xi overheard an aviation enthusiast whispering to his companion, "Not even a decent new aircraft."

Just then, an announcement suddenly blared throughout the exhibition hall: "Attention everyone, a special display is about to take place in the runway area!"

Chen Xi looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the "White Emperor" aerospace fighter, which had been displayed as a concept model at previous air shows, was now being slowly pushed onto the runway.

The silver-gray fuselage reflects the dazzling sunlight, and its streamlined shape is full of futuristic appeal.

"My God! Baidi can really fly?" a young man wearing a press pass suddenly exclaimed.

The exclamation was like a bucket of cold water poured into a frying pan, instantly causing chaos in the entire exhibition area. Reporters rushed towards the photography area like madmen, some even knocking over display boards without bothering to pick them up.

Chen Xi watched as an elderly photographer with a full head of white hair frantically adjusted his tripod, muttering repeatedly, "My God, I can't believe I've actually captured Baidi's maiden flight in my lifetime..."

Not far away, several foreign military observers' expressions changed drastically, and they immediately took out their satellite phones and began to report in hushed tones.

One of the men, wearing sunglasses, was staring intently at the track, oblivious to the fact that his coffee cup had tilted and was dripping coffee onto his shiny leather shoes.

"This is impossible!" Chen Xi heard someone behind him gasp. "They really broke through the space engine technology?"

On the runway, the engines of the White Emperor fighter jets began to emit a peculiar humming sound, unlike any sound from any active fighter jet; the sound was more like the resonance of some kind of energy field.

Chen Xi narrowed his eyes, a slight smile playing on his lips—it seemed the Air Force wasn't lacking new equipment, but rather had been holding back a major surprise.

The White Emperor fighter jet, a concept product born from online cultural and creative IP, has been a popular topic of conversation among military enthusiasts for the past few years.

Whenever an airshow opens, you can always see netizens posting joking comments like "If you don't believe me, I'll really find out," but everyone knows it's just a joke.

After all, the design parameters of this fighter jet are ridiculously exaggerated. Performance indicators such as Mach 5 cruise within the atmosphere and integrated air and space combat seem like settings from a science fiction novel.

"This thing's propulsion system requires energy at least at the level of controlled nuclear fusion." Chen Xi recalled a tech enthusiast on a military forum analyzing it this way: "The design of that space engine alone violates existing laws of physics."

The comments section was filled with replies like "Just treat it as a sci-fi movie" and "Don't take cultural and creative products too seriously."

Even the most ardent military enthusiasts believe that the White Emperor is at best a "concept car" showcasing future aviation ideas.

However, at this moment, this fighter jet, which was once regarded by everyone as a "high-end collectible," is being carefully pushed onto the main runway by ground crew.

Even more shockingly, through the open canopy, one could clearly see a pilot in a new flight suit conducting final pre-flight checks inside.

His calm and unhurried movements were as if he were piloting an ordinary active-duty fighter jet.

"Holy crap! Are you serious?!" A young man holding a selfie stick suddenly blurted out a curse.

This sentence seemed to have flipped a switch, and the entire exhibition area instantly erupted in chaos.

Some people were rubbing their eyes frantically, some were frantically adjusting camera settings, and several military enthusiasts were so excited that they hugged each other.

When the engines of the White Emperor fighter jet emitted a peculiar hum unlike any other currently serving fighter jet, an eerie silence suddenly fell over the scene.

Everyone held their breath, their eyes fixed on the silver-white fighter jet.

As the engine roared higher, the fighter jet began to taxi slowly, and a deafening cheer suddenly erupted from the viewing platform.

"This is more magical than magic!" a middle-aged man wearing a baseball cap shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice trembling with excitement.

Several foreign journalists stared in disbelief at the scene, their cameras clicking away in rapid succession.

Meanwhile, the tech influencer who once asserted on the forum that Baidi would never be able to fly was now standing at the very front of the exhibition stand, his expression as if he had simultaneously seen a UFO and won the lottery.

As Chen Xi watched Bai Di accelerate on the track, he suddenly remembered that long-circulated joke: Just when everyone thought it was just a cultural and creative IP, it was created.

The plasma tail flame of the fighter jet drew a dazzling blue streak across the runway, and with a deafening sonic boom, the space fighter soared into the sky at an almost vertical angle, leaving countless jaws agape on the viewing platform and shattered sunglasses scattered on the ground.

(End of this chapter)