Chapter 211: Laser Immunity Achieved!
Should I be the one to say it?
Ran Ge was a bit stumped. The Executive Officer hadn't given him any instructions on this before he left.
Fortunately, he was streaming live, so he could first see what ideas the enthusiastic netizens had.
"You know, that thing!"
"Cangyuan Super Cannon, Level 1 Launch Prep 3====0"
"Micron-scale carbon-based drones are in position, approximately 300 million in number."
Damn it—you guys want to see me fail the mission and get humanely destroyed, right?
Facts proved that idiotic netizens were no help at all.
It was definitely too late to ask the Executive Officer for instructions. The other party had already asked a question, so according to general diplomatic etiquette, a reply should be given as soon as possible.
Ran Ge knew he could use "I need to consult on this" to prevaricate, but that would be too lame! I'm an Investigator, not a human-shaped walking repeater. His brain spun rapidly.
"You will gain sincere friendship from Cangyuan. I believe this is enough to express our sincerity!"
Ah, yes! That'll do.
No commitments, but keeping all possibilities for cooperation open. After all, the protection hasn't landed yet, but the credits you earn from Cangyuan through trade are real money.
We're here to discuss cooperation, not to bow down to some space mob.
Many times, people just need to be a bit thicker-skinned and bolder.
"Oh, is that so? Then I very much look forward to him visiting me soon."
Anya's tone carried a hint of sarcasm. It was clear she wasn't entirely satisfied, but she wasn't angry either.
"Alright, I'm very satisfied~ As a response, I'll first offer my own gift."
She waved, signaling Ran Ge to come closer and listen carefully.
"Galan's warships rely heavily on 'Moras' missiles in combat. They claim these missiles are the most advanced in the entire universe, with no competitors, and are entirely self-developed."
"But in reality, the Galans purchased patents for a third-tier missile, already phased out by the Super Democratic Empire, years ago. After modifying the outer casing and re-branding them, they became their own Moras missiles. The overall performance of these missiles is only two-thirds of the Super Democratic Empire's original version."
The bullet screen once again reached a small peak.
"Heh heh—I knew it."
"I knew a force this strange wouldn't have top-tier weapons."
"This taste is so familiar~"
"It seems the Super Democratic Empire is the true powerful nation, at least one tier stronger than a Star Alliance first-tier power."
Anya continued: "Of course, to be fair, 'Moras' is indeed a relatively advanced weapon in the Star Alliance. It's a warp missile. When traveling at high speed in warp mode, it's very difficult to pursue and intercept."
"However, like all other warp engines, Moras missiles cannot activate warp near a planet's gravitational field. At this point, they can only fly in conventional mode, and the warp engine becomes dead weight that offers no help to maneuverability. The missile will therefore become heavier and easier to intercept than interstellar torpedoes of similar size."
So that's how it is.
It seems every weapon has its imperfections.
Ran Ge realized this information was extremely important and needed to be thoroughly investigated.
"So, does that mean the Galan fleet will try to avoid gravitational fields and fight in 'deep water' areas?"
"Not necessarily," Anya said.
"Why? Aren't their missiles—"
"Galan's naval generals are mostly second-tier citizens, raised from childhood with praise and service from subordinates. This has had an indelible impact on their personalities. A significant portion of them—"
Anya pointed to her forehead.
"There's a big problem here. Their level of optimism and arrogance is beyond what you can imagine."
"Alright, then what about the Apollo warship? Is there anything we need to pay attention to?"
Anya first called her assistant, whispered some specific parameters, and then spoke again.
"The Apollo warship's main weapons are carrier-based aircraft and laser cannons. The long-Ran Ge high-power laser cannons use the blue light spectrum, and the beam wavelength set before this voyage is 475 nanometers; the short-Ran Ge defensive laser wavelength is 1175 nanometers."
Laser wavelength... Is this important?
Ran Ge graduated with a computer science degree and wasn't too familiar with this area, but he didn't dare to be negligent and immediately transmitted the information back home through the player community.
On the Li Star industrial ship, Jubian, upon receiving the news, was ecstatic and immediately came to the captain's cabin.
"Executive Officer, a major intelligence breakthrough has occurred on New Hope!"
"Oh?"
"Ran Ge just met 'Queen of Purgatory' Anya. She probably had spies planted within Apollo long ago. Now, through her, we know the exact laser frequencies of the Apollo warship!"
"Well done. But how will this help us?"
Lu Yuan also didn't understand the mystery and humbly asked for an explanation.
"It's like this!"
Finally, it was Jubian's favorite explanation segment again. He ceremoniously pushed his air-glasses.
"Anti-laser coating, as a defensive measure, essentially defends against laser weapons by increasing the armor's reflectivity!"
"Like adding a layer of mirror to the outside of the armor?"
Jubian nodded.
"Yes, Sir! But ordinary mirrors simply cannot withstand the energy density of megawatt-level lasers. They can only reflect for an instant, after which the reflective surface will be destroyed! This problem, even the technical reserves on the industrial ship couldn't solve, which is why new research and development were needed."
"The main brain's target product, gradually evolving on Emerald Star, is a broadband defensive coating, targeting various wavelengths from infrared to X-rays. It can be said that, apart from gamma-ray lasers, it provides excellent protection against other types of lasers, but the current development progress is only 12%."
Lu Yuan understood.
"You're saying that if we lower the requirements and make the product target a narrower laser frequency band, research and development will become easier?"
"Yes, it will become much easier! If we accurately know the enemy's laser frequency, with the technology on the industrial ship, we can already produce coatings with over 98% reflectivity. Combined with our current achievements on Emerald Star, the reflectivity can be increased to over 99.95%!"
That's close to laser immunity then. "Can't the enemy temporarily change laser frequencies?"
"Unless they dock, it's not easy to do! It requires changing the emitter!"
It seems that, at least at Cangyuan's current technical time point in the 24th-25th century, intelligence warfare is far more important than previously imagined. If the enemy's laser weapon frequencies can be known before a major battle, its significance is no less than the Allies breaking the German Enigma machine in World War II.
"The premise is that the intelligence provided by Anya is accurate," Lu Yuan murmured. "I don't think that's a big problem," Jubian said, "because even if the intelligence is wrong, the coating won't cause harm. Let's just take a gamble and try it."
"Indeed. Is the construction and manufacturing on time?"
Regarding this question, Jubian connected with Black Smoke, who was on Emerald Star, and Moto, who was playing fleet tailing, through the player community.
The research conclusion was that some of it was on time.
Perfecting this coating technology will take two to three days. After that, it will take about a week to manufacture the coating film equipment, then launch the equipment to the space dock with nuclear rockets.
Finally, it will take about three days to add the anti-laser coating to the key protective areas of the warship.
There are actually about 5 more days after that, but there isn't enough time. The two "Qinling" ships must be completed by then, all technology temporarily sealed, and all Sailors and pilot players participating in the operation must board the ships and begin adaptive training in the star system.
"Then how should damage control be handled if the uncoated parts are hit by lasers?" Lu Yuan asked.
"The answer is to start rolling immediately!" Moto replied.
"Huh?"
Moto: "I know, it sounds like a joke, but large anti-ship laser cannons need to continuously illuminate the target to cause sufficient damage. Therefore, the ship's rolling motion will distribute the laser's energy over a larger area of the armor, preventing the armor from being quickly burned through. The wealth key merchant fleet has always handled it this way before."
"Alright then…"
It seems that the tactical skills of space warships cannot be entirely copied from real-world navies; they are full of imagination.
Cangyuan still has a lot to learn in the future.
"Then let's go with this plan." Lu Yuan finally made the decision. This was also the last design modification for "Qinling" before its official launch.
At this point, Cangyuan's warship protection standards gradually came to light.
Against kinetic weapons, there was the kinetic shield that could only be recovered through archaeological means in the Star Alliance space; against laser weapons, there was the anti-laser coating.
When engaging warships of the same class, these two technologies could even allow Cangyuan to achieve basic immunity to "physical" and "laser" attacks.
The only remaining threat was nuclear warheads launched by warships and fighters.
However, the efficiency of nuclear weapons in space is much lower than within an atmosphere. As long as there isn't a direct hit or an explosion at extremely close Ran Ge, the warship's armor plates are tough enough to withstand heat and radiation.
At this moment, the Apollo-Galan Joint Punitive Fleet was still advancing rapidly along its route. The commanders of each ship were planning how to punish and slaughter the natives in various ways after their victory, in order to restore corporate reputation or help their party's prime minister win re-election.
They knew neither what kind of opponent they were heading towards nor that they were being followed.