socalfunplaces Chapter 18: Dome Main Cannon
Chapter 18: Dome Main Cannon
"Big brother, why did you call me over in such a hurry? What's the matter?"
Thor arrived before he did, his booming voice preceded his arrival as he strode into the top-floor office of the Extreme Martial Arts Academy's global headquarters.
But as soon as he stepped inside, he stopped abruptly, as if frozen in place by a spell.
In the office, Hong Zheng stood quietly with his back to him in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the bustling Hongning Base City below.
He was still wearing that simple black training uniform, and his figure didn't look any different.
But Thor sensed something was amiss, something he'd never felt before.
Too ordinary.
The lightning bolt before him was so ordinary that even he, a lightning controller with an extremely keen sense of energy, could not detect the slightest energy fluctuation.
It was as if the man in the room could devour light, devour sound, and even devour the absolute nothingness of perception.
Thor's prized lightning-sensing field spread out, but it was like a stone thrown into the sea—it yielded no feedback whatsoever. He even had the illusion that if he took just one more step closer, his energy and his will would be completely absorbed by that seemingly frail figure, leaving not a trace.
This is a tremor that originates from the instinct of life.
The overwhelming surge of emotions within Thor made his usually fearless heart skip a beat.
He tentatively and cautiously took a step forward, his voice unconsciously lowering and carrying a dryness he himself was unaware of.
"Big brother...you...you've broken through?!"
Hong slowly turned around, a faint smile on his face. His eyes were as calm as a deep pool, yet they seemed to contain the entire starry sky.
"Please sit down."
Just two words, light and airy, yet they made Thor feel the air around him instantly thicken like mercury. An invisible, irresistible pressure surged from all directions—not energy oppression, nor mental pressure, but an absolute suppression originating from the level of life itself.
His planetary-level ninth-tier strength seemed so insignificant in the face of this pressure.
Thor instinctively tried to unleash the power of lightning within his body to counteract the oppressive feeling that made him extremely uncomfortable.
But the moment that thought arose, it was as if it had been extinguished by an invisible hand. The genetic energy within him became as docile as a lamb at that moment, unable to muster even the slightest thought of resistance.
In the end, all the emotions turned into a long sigh, filled with incredibly complex meaning.
"call……"
Thor plopped down on the sofa, looking as if all his bones had been removed. He looked at Hong in front of him, shook his head with a wry smile.
"Goodness... I really don't know whether to congratulate you or curse you out."
He knew that the gap between him and this man had once again widened to an unreachable, even despairing distance.
"Alright, it's not a big deal, is it?"
Hong smiled and casually waved his hand, instantly dispelling the invisible pressure that had been weighing on Thor's heart.
Thor felt himself come back to life. He took a few deep breaths and looked at Hong with eyes that no longer held any of the rivalry or resentment of the past, but only pure admiration.
"Alright, let's not talk about that anymore. It makes me angry." Thor waved his hand, forcibly shifting his attention away from the unpleasant matter of the power gap. "Let's get down to business. How's Project Dome of Light going?"
Upon hearing this, Thor immediately suppressed all his complicated emotions and his expression turned serious. He brought up a virtual screen on his combat wrist, and a complex three-dimensional structure was projected between the two of them.
"It's going fairly smoothly. The main framework is 70% complete, and the global energy supply network is basically in place. The guys in charge of the project are all incredibly motivated, like they've been injected with adrenaline."
He first reported the encouraging progress, but then his tone suddenly became irritable.
"But... Brother, we've run into a huge problem!!!"
"We've practically disassembled every ancient civilization relic we could find into parts! We analyzed and studied all the weapon systems inside, both usable and unusable. Then, by piecing them together, we finally created the most powerful orbital cannon that our planet can currently build."
"Bang!"
Thor slammed his fist hard on the special alloy table in front of him. The table didn't budge, but he was so angry that he stood up from the sofa and paced back and forth in the office.
"According to the simulations and calculations of those scientists, that thing's maximum power is barely enough to deal with monsters that have just broken through to the fifth or sixth tier of the planetary level. But if it encounters a ninth-tier planetary monster, it's practically useless, like scraping a finger! Not to mention the 'constant' level!!!"
He grew angrier and angrier as he spoke, then suddenly stopped, turned around and yelled at Hong.
"Big brother, do you understand what I mean? We're trying to build a super weapon that can supposedly slay gods using a bunch of firewood! This is completely unrealistic!!!"
"Without powerful enough cannons, our Dome of Light is nothing more than a fancy iron shell! It looks intimidating, but it's actually useless! If a huge thing really falls from the sky, this thing simply can't withstand it!!!"
This Thunder Lord, who was always fearless and even dared to confront the Beast King head-on, now had a face full of deep-seated helplessness and anxiety.
This is not a problem that can be solved by individual force; it is a fatal flaw in the technological level of the entire Earth's civilization, an insurmountable chasm.
Hong listened quietly to Thor's complaints, without any surprise on her face.
Earth's technological foundation is too weak; he had long anticipated this outcome.
"Sit down, don't get agitated."
Hong spoke calmly, his voice not loud, but it carried a calming power.
Thor was stunned. He looked at Hong with a puzzled and confused expression.
How do we solve this kind of problem? Are we just going to conjure it up out of thin air?
Hong didn't explain. He just looked out the window, his brain working at lightning speed, filtering, reorganizing, and deducing all the fragments of memory about the original plot.
Now, he is a star level.
Many areas that he couldn't access before due to limitations in strength or insufficient authority are no longer off-limits to him.
Soon, a location that he had deliberately highlighted in red font clearly appeared in his mind.
Site No. 12, an ancient civilization site.
He remembered clearly that on the Black Dragon Mountain X81 spaceship, which had been sleeping in the waters off Hawaii for tens of thousands of years, lay a B6-class laser cannon that posed a deadly threat to the Golden Horned Beast!
Now that I've broken through to the Hengxing level, it's time to go out and get used to the power I've gained after the breakthrough.
Thinking of this, a smile that was hard to decipher appeared on Hong's lips. He slowly stood up from the sofa, walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, and gazed into a distant direction as if his gaze pierced through endless space.
He looked at Thor beside him, who had a worried expression and was almost pulling his hair out, and slowly began to speak.
"I'll figure out a way to solve the weapons problem."
"Keep an eye on the light of the dome. Don't worry about anything else. Get the framework built completely first. And be quick about it."
Hong turned around, patted Thor on the shoulder, his tone calm but carrying an undeniable confidence.
"I'll go find you a main gun... one that truly deserves its worth."