REIWA JIGOKUHEN - Chaotic Disturbance of Reiwa Era

Part 5: Will to Fight Back | Chapter 52

New Weapons

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Higashidori Village, Aomori Prefecture: Shimokita Experiment Station

A monstrous complex of metal parts, which could only be described as an abomination, was sitting on the ground. Suddenly, it let out a scream like a witch's doom. Light bullets shot out from the huge steel pipe that it carried heavily on its back and flew over the horizon. Another shot followed. The test site was filled with a thick cloud of white smoke, and it seemed impossible to see a single inch ahead. However, the ballistic trajectory was tracked with unmatched accuracy by radio and optical means.

"I still don't think it's accurate enough," Nishina, who was peering at the screen of his laptop, tilted his head.

The trajectory of the oversized rocket was really not very good. Although the range was quite long, the half-missile's accuracy was likely to be a distorted circle with a radius of about one kilometer, so it could only be used for harassing artillery fire.

At any rate, the rocket launcher under test was a monstrosity that Dr. Gerald Bull might have reincarnated in another world and taken on board, having forcibly assembled and manufactured by several companies that were no longer in business, including an oil pipeline whose sales partner had disappeared. In addition, what the rocket launcher itself was not clear. It seemed that a venture company under the umbrella of Ishikawajima Harima Corporation (IHI) spun out a consumer product, and it was true that it can be safely transported and fired as a bullet.

"Who in the world gave this to the go-ahead company?"

"Who knows? Let's just shoot it and see what happens," a fellow engineer looked at the readings of the gun itself and commented. "It looks like they are going to put it on a refurbished tanker or something, and probably no one expects it to be accurate. Still, if the target is big enough, it will hit something."

"One big target... could it be a city?"

"Actually, isn't that what they're for?"

"Is that a good idea?"

"Isn't that a good idea? I'm from Kamaishi, and I heard that during the war, the city was destroyed by the shelling."

"Well, you're not wrong."

He felt something nagging his mind, but Nishina agreed that it was so. In fact, they were fighting a real war. And with so many people suddenly dying, there was no reason not to retaliate against the people who carried it out. When he thought about it, this steel monster seemed somewhat lovable.

"Besides, if the mainland became a battlefield, wouldn't they realize that they couldn't win?"

"I think they're already looking at jet fighters and such."

"They don't see it. We have to make them think deep down that it would be better to just raise their hands and give us oil or food or something."

"And when that happens, will the steakhouses be back in business?"

"Yeah. We'll eat our fill then," his colleague laughed.

Nishina made up his mind. A few moments later, the test firing resumed and the oversized rockets soared high into the sky. It was quite a dependable sight, Nishina recalled.

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Narita City, Chiba Prefecture: Narita International Airport

"When you look at it like this, it's spectacular," Otani, who had been transferred from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to the research team, grumbled as he pecked at a rice-flour chiffon.