I Have a Mansion in the Post-apocalyptic World (Web Novel)

Chapter 368: Tiger II

Translator: _Min_ Editor: Caron_

Jiang Chen took the elevator down to the fallout shelter. Just as he was about to send the nutrient supply sample to Wang Fangpin and look at the results of the Tiger II project team, he happened to encounter the two people he was looking for in front of the lab.

They seemed to be arguing over something.

“Bring in X1 bacteria inside the fallout shelter?! Are you crazy??!” Tiger II’s project lead Fang Wei shouted at Wang Fangpin.

X1 bacteria controlled the zombies.

“This is for experimentation, for science! And it’s not like you haven’t been injected with vaccines – why are you so scared?!” With spit droplets all over his face, Wang Fangpin roared.

The two were arguing furiously with each other. If it wasn’t for someone bumping into them and the guard standing by, the two “educated” people might erupt into a brawl.

“And then? Create an X3 or X4 immune to the vaccine?” Fang Wei said mockingly.

“Any experiments are designed safely; I only need a small strand of DNA. This is the distrust and bias of life science!”

“X1 bacteria was detected on the touch screen of the quantum computer in the lab – do you think it’s safe?” Fang Wei was enraged.

Due to the limited experimentation equipment inside the fallout shelter, there was only one quantum computer capable of handling experiment simulation. The computer was pivotal to research in the 22nd century as a lot of complicated calculation and data modeling could only be completed by it. Although Fishbone base offered a reward of fifty thousand crystals at Sixth Street for anyone who could find an experiment-level quantum computer, unfortunately to this day, no news was heard. Therefore, all 17 research projects had to use the single quantum computer in the fallout shelter.

“Oh my god, which dumb*ss didn’t wash their hands before they touched the screen? I will investigate this, but-, ahh, boss.” Just as he was about to erupt into another debate with his colleague, Wang Fangpin noticed Jiang Chen standing beside them and immediately shut his mouth.

The people in the hallway dispersed when they saw Jiang Chen.

“What’s going on?”

Wang Fangpin cut in front of Fang Wei to explain: “This is what happened. Because the seaweed project has stagnated due to a bottleneck, I asked the guards to collect some cells from the zombies’ neck to obtain X1 bacteria.”

“X1 bacteria? What does that have to do with the power-generating seaweed?” Jiang Chen was puzzled.

“Because X1 bacteria have high photosynthesis efficiency. To increase the conversion of sunlight in the seaweed, one of my researchers proposed a possibility that from the X1 bacteria’s nucleus, the DNA of the chloroplast could be implanted into the seaweed.”

“What if the seaweed ends up displaying similar characteristics of X1 bacteria?” Fang Wei interrupted with a sneer.

[Fu*k, that’s a big problem!]

Fang Wei’s words made Jiang Chen jump. He first thought that what Wang Fangpin did was right – research must be done at all costs. But when he remembered that this must be grown in the modern world, he instantly became worried.

He didn’t want “Resident Evil” occurring in the modern world.

“That’s impossible, you don’t understand genetic engineering.” Wang Fangpin’s face was red and steamy.

“But I understand the risk to technology.” Fang Wei immediately countered Wang Fangpin’s perspective.

“Enough, stop arguing.” Jiang Chen stopped their argument out of annoyance.

The two of them both shut their mouths. But from the way they stared at each other, they were clearly still heated.

After a pause, Jiang Chen looked at Wang Fangpin. “Transplanting DNA strands from X1 bacteria must be stopped now. Just like what Fang Wei said, research must be carefully designed and executed within safe boundaries. Any DNA samples injected with X1 bacteria must be destroyed.

“… Yes,” Wang Fangpin said reluctantly.

Seeing as he got the upper hand, the tips of Fang Wei’s mouth curved up proudly.

Jiang Chen patted Wang Fangpin’s shoulder and used an encouraging tone to comfort him: “It’s great to take bold, innovative leaps, but the amount of risk can’t be ignored. Also, here is a sample of the mass-produced improved nutrient supply. Take a look to see if it meets quality standards.”

Since his research was discarded, it would be natural for him to feel defeated, but Wang Fangpin wasn’t narrow-minded. After taking a deep breath, he bounced back from his negative emotions.

“Okay.”

He took the nutrient supply from Jiang Chen and left.

Then Jiang Chen turned to Fang Wei.

“Report this type of incident to the camp and in the future, don’t try to solve incidents like this privately. You’re not a barbarian – what can arguments solve?”

“Yes,” Fang Wei replied, abashed.

Internal conflicts could only be solved by remaining neutral. Jiang Chen didn’t know any other methods to resolve strained relationships between researchers.

“Let’s not talk about this anymore. I heard the Tiger II’s design is completed, so I’m here to take a look. Could you show me the model?”

“Of course! Please follow me.” When he heard Jiang Chen ask about the research project, Fang Wei immediately became energetic and hastily walked to the computer room.

Jiang Chen followed him and saw the quantum computer.

The quantum computer was similar to the “gaming computer” he picked up at Fallout Shelter 005, but its computation power was clearly a level above the mixed algorithms supercomputer. The machine was the size of a van and connected by all kinds of wires and cords.

Just from its appearance, the quantum computer looked plain from the outside. But considering how carefully Fang Wei worked on it, it was easy to see how valuable this thing was.

Quickly, a blue light surfaced from the hologram device and formed a miniature model of Tiger II.

Different from the previous Tiger, the “Tiger II” was designed with a firing cannon. It had a length of 10.7 meters, a width of 4.1 meters, and the vehicle was rectangular in shape. The turret was located at the back of the vehicle with the barrel parallel to the front armor. It had a weight of 63 tons with the armor composed of A-type steel.

“The Tiger II battlefield positioning is a tank destroyer while also supporting the artillery. Its defense is mainly concentrated in the front and turret armor. In addition to the main cannon, on the top of the turret is a 10mm machine gun to attack targets in close proximity. Of course, words can’t reflect its actual combat ability – let me show you.”

After a brief explanation about the specifications of Tiger II, Fang Wei pressed another button on the control screen.

The hologram graphics began to change as a dessert appeared underneath the Tiger II. Seven sets of weight-bearing wheels under the steel armor began to rotate as the Tiger moved at full speed in the desert. The environment then changed from desert to city, city to forest.

“This is the model we created based on simulating real physical environments – it realistically replicates the combat ability of the tank. I’ll demonstrate the actual combat effectiveness of Tiger II.”

With a stunned expression on Jiang Chen’s face, Fang Wei proudly pressed a button on the screen.

Giant letters surfaced on the hologram.

[Battle Simulation]

The environment changed again as the Tiger II model reappeared in an empty desert. At the same time, four soldiers with “Python” anti-tank rocket launchers appeared in four different directions.

Four rockets launched simultaneously before they landed on the front, side, back, and turret of Tiger II. Flames engulfed the Tiger II, but when the smoke dispersed, only the back armor of the Tiger II received any kind of damage.

Jiang Chen had witnessed the destructive power of the Python before. The “chief” tank destroyed in the civil war had a massive hole blown in its front armor. Though he never personally experienced the war, he saw the image captured by drones from the rocket striking the target.

“Whether fighting against anti-tank weapons or weapons of other tanks, Tiger II is designed with survivability in mind. Of course, it’s not meant to be a tank, so I don’t recommend sending it to the front line to fight against the other tanks.”

Then Fang Wei demonstrated Tiger II’s survivability against other pre-war tanks, and the results were impressive. Other than being unable to defend against the “Wanderer’s” particle cannon, most of the tanks’ blows could be absorbed by the front armor of the Tiger II.

As for the power of the type-50 electromagnetic cannon, Jiang Chen saw it many times already so Fang Wei didn’t need to demonstrate it. Compared to the previous Tiger with its cannon on the truck, only the Tiger II’s armor was improved -the cannon itself didn’t change.

“What do you think? Are you pleased with the Tiger II?” Fang Wei already knew the answer from Jiang Chen’s expression, but he still asked proudly.

Compared to Wang Fangpin’s personality, Fang Wei was more extroverted. He had the pride of a scientist when he handled people and things. Although he restrained some of his personality in front of Jiang Chen, the dictator, his personality still subconsciously seeped through.

But Jiang Chen didn’t mind. As long as people viewed these traits as a weakness, he could accept it.

“Haha, I’m very pleased. What’s the cost?” Jiang Chen smiled in satisfaction.

“Everything is on this list.” Fang Wei handed Jiang Chen a graphene card.

<101 tons of iron, 10 tons of aluminum, 2.1 tons of molybdenum…>

The first few were okay, but the long list of rare metals gave Jiang Chen a headache. The lack of supply of the rare metals must be solved. It was still too difficult to fill industrials need by simply recycling.