Warhammer: The Time Traveler

Chapter 217 Nuclear Strike (Fifth Update)
The cold light from the main display screen on the bridge of the White Whale illuminated Arasaka Yorinobu's face as he stared at the intelligence he had just received.

The existence of the "Sage" in the abandoned town was revealed, along with some technical parameters of the military technology provided by the Lark.

Beneath his seemingly calm face, a barely perceptible smile flickered in his eyes.

Everything was unfolding according to his script.

His meticulously planned Relic chip theft case had all clues cleverly pointing to military technology, and now this intelligence from a rogue agent provided the perfect evidence to support his scheme.

He activated the encrypted communication line to the Tokyo estate.

As the screen gradually revealed Saburo Arasaka, the elderly patriarch was slumped in a specially made chair, his aged face appearing particularly gloomy in the flickering candlelight.

The life support system emitted a regular, soft hum, adding an eerie background sound to the standoff between father and son.

“Father.” Lai Xuan’s emotions were carefully adjusted, maintaining both respect for the family leader and appropriately revealing his anger. “We have obtained solid intelligence.”

The abandoned town was not only the enemy's technology research and development center, but also the source of their confidence in using military technology so arrogantly.

They not only confronted us head-on on the front lines, but even went so far as to audaciously plan the theft of the family's core technology.

He deliberately paused briefly during the "theft" to observe his father's reaction on the other end of the screen.

Saburo's wrinkled face remained expressionless, but his deep-set eyes narrowed slightly, as if scrutinizing every detail of his son's words.

“Conventional military means have proven ineffective.” Lai Xuan continued to exert pressure, while transmitting falsified operation records and intelligence assessment data to Saburo’s terminal. “This evidence clearly shows that military technology is using the technological advantage gained from the abandoned town to try to fundamentally shake our Arasaka’s dominance. This is the most blatant provocation against our family’s dignity.”

The communication line fell silent for a brief moment.

Lai Xuan could feel his father's scrutinizing gaze piercing through the screen, as if trying to see through his most secret plans.

He maintained a calm demeanor, but his fingers unconsciously tightened around the control panel.

He knew his father must suspect the truth behind the theft of the Relic chip, and might even have realized his own role in it.

But at this moment, he was betting on his father's obsession with the family's authority, and on this aging ruler's determination to kill a thousand innocent people rather than let one guilty person go free.

After a long silence, Saburo's chapped lips parted slightly, and his hoarse voice seemed to come from the abyss: "You seem... particularly concerned about this matter, Lai Xuan."

This statement is like a precise scalpel, hitting the nail on the head.

Lai Xuan felt a chill run down his spine, but he quickly steadied himself and replied, "Anything that threatens Arasaka's rule must be completely eliminated. This is my responsibility, and also my... mission."

Saburo's lips curled into an almost imperceptible smile, a smile that carried an all-knowing irony mixed with a strange approval.

He knew perfectly well what tricks his son was playing. The theft of the Relic chip was too coincidental, and the chain of evidence before him was too perfect to be suspicious.

But given the current situation, he needs a decisive decision to deter all the enemies who are eyeing him covetously, even if it means going along with his rebellious son's plan.

"Approved." Finally, Saburo uttered this word, his voice soft yet carrying undeniable weight. "Do as you wish. Let those who are restless remember the consequences of challenging Arasaka."

The moment the communication was cut off, Lai Xuan slowly exhaled a breath he had been suppressing for a long time.

He succeeded, but his father's meaningful look at the end made him realize that the battle between father and son was far from over.

But now, the most important thing is to ensure that the nuclear bomb, symbolizing destruction, falls as scheduled, pushing his meticulously planned game to its final climax.

Authorization granted. Inside the weapons bay of the Arasaka White Whale, a tactical nuclear warhead marked with a radiation warning symbol and the Arasaka family crest completed its final launch preparations. This devastating weapon, with a yield of 500 kilotons, was loaded into a specially modified delivery bay, the stealth coating of which gleamed eerily in the dim light.

The launch pod silently slid out of the launch tube and entered the skies above Night City. The tail thrusters ignited, a ghostly blue trail of flame tracing a fleeting path across the night sky. The launch pod broke through the clouds at incredible speed, adjusted its attitude, and swooped down towards its designated coordinates.

Inside the main control room of the abandoned town's workshop, Chen Yu's scarlet optical lens flickered slightly. On the radar screen, a high-speed approaching target was drawing near with an unusually large energy signature.

The threat assessment system instantly raises the alert level to the highest level.

"Tactical nuclear weapon detected. Trajectory calculation complete, hit probability 99.8%," the synthesized voice calmly reported.

Chen Yu's processing core responded immediately. The energy conduit system spread throughout the abandoned town's underground emitted a low hum, its output power increased to a critical level. Shield generator nodes across the surface simultaneously lit up with a blinding blue light, their energy output reaching its peak.

"Redistribute energy to maximize shield strength. Concentrate defensive energy at the anticipated impact point."

The instructions were executed instantly.

The translucent blue shield that had been shrouding the ruined town suddenly solidified, and the halo changed from a flowing state to a nearly solid deep blue barrier.

In the area of ​​the nuclear bomb's intended impact point, the energy density is enhanced to the theoretical limit, and the shield thickness is significantly increased.

Seconds later, destruction came.

The first thing to arrive was an intense white light, which instantly enveloped the entire world, as if a new sun had risen on the edge of the City of Night.

Immediately afterwards, the shockwave spread at an astonishing speed, accompanied by a deafening roar that tore through the air.

The enormous fireball rolled and expanded, engulfing everything around it.

The shockwave created a ring of destruction that rapidly expanded outwards from the epicenter, instantly vaporizing or hurling into the air any building debris, abandoned vehicles, or even the soil in its path.

The immense energy released by the nuclear explosion violently struck the shield of the abandoned town.

This time, the shield is no longer as solid as it was when blocking conventional weapons.

The thick blue light curtain began to flicker violently, and the energy ripples on its surface became wild and irregular.

Blinding arcs of electricity crackled and popped across the shield's surface. In the areas subjected to the greatest impact, the shield even showed visible deformation and localized thinning.

The energy reading in the workshop instantly exceeded the safety threshold, and the overload alarm sounded sharply.

Black smoke was emitted from some of the auxiliary shield nodes located on the periphery, and the internal components burned out under extreme load.

The shield stubbornly held up despite the impact of the nuclear explosion.

After the most intense few seconds of energy impact, the fireball from the nuclear explosion began to dissipate gradually, and the mushroom cloud slowly rose.

As the smoke and dust dissipated slightly, the ruined town still stood in the center of the scorched earth, now glassy. However, the blue shield protecting it was noticeably dim and flickered erratically, revealing its weakened state due to overload.

The world outside the shield has been reduced to ruins, while inside the shield, the main structure of the workshop remains intact.

The energy shield successfully withstood this devastating attack at the cost of significant damage.

(End of this chapter)