"So what do we do next?"
Since they were already here, they couldn't ask to be sent back; they could only follow along for now.
Xing Chen was actually quite happy; this was an opportunity to experience a main battle tank up close.
"Follow me, let's go to the warehouse to move some things first." Yu Bo waved his hand, signaling the others to follow.
Theresa leaned close to Xing Chen and asked him why he didn't want to build high-speed battleships.
"They're bulky, slow, and can't be hidden."
Just by looking at the navy's aircraft carriers, one could guess how foolish the idea of building ships on land was.
It would be better to build more combined brigades.
"So, you mean Kazdel won't build high-speed battleships in the future either?"
"No, Terra's high-speed battleships are still useful, but I'm not referring to high-speed battleships."
Terra's natural environment was too harsh; landships were not only weapons but also served a logistical purpose.
Riding landships could effectively prevent non-combat casualties. Relying solely on one's body or light armor, even being caught by the edge of a Catastrophe would cause problems, but with heavy armor protection, one wouldn't die from a mysterious AOE at least.
Furthermore, if a naval ship took a hit from an anti-ship missile, it might sink if it took on water. A landship, even if its internal structure was completely destroyed, could still serve as an artificial high ground.
"I think so too. It's better to build land aircraft carriers." Yu Bo, at some point, slowed his pace and came to their side. "It's not easy to build an airfield, and if there's a long-range blockade, you can retreat outside the blockade zone to launch fighters."
"According to you, missile cruisers are also good, after all, missile silos can't move. If you don't install other equipment, just install 256 vertical launch systems, and winning means firing all the missiles."
No matter how strong the paper performance, facing long-range missiles bolstered by a systemic advantage, it would be elbowed aside like a roadside attraction.
Moreover, compared to aircraft carriers and battleships, missile cruisers were much cheaper. This was extremely important for Kazdel, whose comprehensive national power was far weaker than other countries except Siracusa and Sami.
"Interesting. I have a gaming group here. After you leave, would you like to join?"
"Sure."
Xing Chen was only an enthusiast. If Theresa wanted to build an advanced army in the future, she could listen to the opinions of professionals.
The group arrived at the warehouse, which was already filled with the weapons to be tested.
"You academics should take a little less; we'll handle the rest." The tank crew members said to Xing Chen and the others, especially Theresa.
"Don't underestimate us."
With that, Xing Chen rolled up his sleeves, and Theresa followed suit.
The tank crew members just smiled and then handed the task of moving shells to Xing Chen and the others. They probably intended to finish their own work first, then come over to help with this side.
A 125mm tungsten core armor-piercing round was not light. For someone like Xing Chen, who severely lacked exercise, being able to lift one was a blessing.
After much effort, Xing Chen managed to move one, only to find the three behind him had gone silent.
He turned around and saw Theresa holding several boxes of shells in front of her, with several 120mm rocket launchers strapped to her back.
"Xing Chen, these things aren't hard to move at all." The girl, amidst everyone's shocked gazes, jogged over to Xing Chen and placed the shells in the designated position.
"These are all weapons used to hit heavily armored targets..."
"Then what's their penetration line? How many can one person carry?"
"At 2000 meters, 700-800 mm of vertical RHA, I guess."
"A penetration line of 700-800 doesn't seem like enough. No wonder they're so light."
How should he explain this? You couldn't just say 4000 defense equals 4000 armor.
Humans only had physical output; the only thing that could be linked to magical dots was radiation, which was rarely used on the battlefield.
Theresa wanted to try how her dust would fare against tanks, but she was eventually persuaded not to.
"No, I mean, are you a Baki Hanma?" Yu Bo walked up to the two, holding a shell.
Everyone present was a staunch materialist. If there was indeed evidence that Theresa was not from this world, they would certainly believe it.
But now, Theresa merely showed great strength, and their self-explanation was that she was exceptionally gifted.
"My strength isn't that great, really." As she spoke, she flexed her arm, and not much of a bicep bulge was visible on her smooth, delicate arm.
"Have you ever served in the military?" Yu Bo couldn't help but ask.
"No, I'm a farmer." A few months ago, she was an unregistered person with no identity whatsoever.
As for being a tailor, would that job develop such great strength?
"Then you really should be a tank loader. Your efficiency would definitely be higher than the Blackman autoloader from the Western University."
"What's a Blackman autoloader?" This wasn't her feigning a rural identity; Theresa genuinely didn't understand.
Seeing that she didn't get his meaning, Yu Bo looked at Xing Chen, who made a gesture indicating he couldn't do anything either.
With Theresa's divine assistance, Xing Chen's group finished faster than the tank crew.
Even elite veterans shook their heads at this efficiency. Were scholars that formidable now?
"So what are we testing now?"
"Do you see the panels over there?"
Xing Chen squinted. At a distance of about 400m, there were indeed several black panels. But these panels looked familiar, yet they didn't seem to be made of metal.
"Xing Chen, isn't that a carbon panel?" Theresa whispered to Xing Chen.
"The building material for landships?"
Theresa nodded.
Why use building materials as targets? They couldn't possibly be used to build tanks, could they?
"This is what I had them create by combining carbon nanotubes and Originium. We can't make it very thick yet, but its strength is excellent, and it's very light. It should work very well as a substitute for armor steel in the future."
"You're using carbon bricks for armor?" Xing Chen asked him incredulously.
"Why not? Its performance in all aspects is better than common metal materials, and it can also bypass some metal detection devices."
Then, Xing Chen and Theresa were pulled back into the bunker to observe the armor-piercing test.
With a loud bang, the tungsten-core armor-piercing round flew toward the target at an extremely high speed, and then... it pierced through.
It was roughly as Xing Chen expected, but Yu Bo wasn't angry. Instead, he went behind the target to inspect it.
The projectile core did penetrate the first layer of carbon bricks, then was broken by the second layer of armor.
"The effect is very good. Next, we'll test its condition after multiple hits."
"Um," Theresa raised her hand, "Can I try being the loader?"
"Miss, being a loader is not a simple job." It was tiring, but the loader clearly enjoyed his work.
"Isn't there an auto-loader?"
"Uh, Xing Chen, this vehicle is for testing; the auto-loader has been removed."
"Then let me load the shells. I see you all look quite tired."
Out of respect for Xing Chen and the others, the loader reluctantly agreed to let Theresa try.
She made a few mistakes at first due to unfamiliarity with the operations, but Theresa quickly grasped the knack.
The rest of the time was spent letting the experienced loader witness what it was like to be a cheat.
The 125mm cannon had a faster rate of fire than the 76mm cannon, but it still couldn't compare to the "Remnant Crossbow - Divine Speed."
Yu Bo was estimating whether the barrel could withstand it. The electroslag remelting technology was already very advanced, but Theresa's loading speed was still a bit too fast.
"It feels less strenuous than being a gunner; the rate of fire is too slow." Theresa climbed out of the tank, leaving the original loader in a daze. "If we change the placement of the shells, it should be able to fire even faster."
"This is unscientific." The original loader hold back ed for a long time before finally uttering this sentence.
"It's a position that doesn't require that much technical skill, and it just so happens we met someone with great strength," the tank commander tried to comfort his crew member, helping him find an acceptable reason. "Um, Miss Theresa, would you be interested in visiting our camp?"
The tank commander thought that if they couldn't compete in strength, then they could compete in skill.
Xing Chen and Theresa looked at Yu Bo; their actions were conditioned on getting his approval.
"That's fine, as long as you finish the work here."