"Nuclear... a nuclear weapon?!"
Tartaglia, having just revived, had hardly caught his breath or processed the lingering phantom pain of death before the words left Ryen's mouth, causing his face to turn instantly pale.
No wonder...
No wonder that launcher radiated a sense of despair and dread that pierced straight into the soul, echoing down to the deepest strands of his genetic code.
"Ryen... we have not reached such an extremity yet."
Zhongli suppressed the deep discomfort rising within his chest and placed a firm hand over the launcher in Ryen's grip.
"We can still rely on close-quarters combat. Our Dragon Cavalry remains operational, and the Iron Golems are still locked in battle..."
"If a nuclear weapon detonates, we cannot predict the true reach of its destruction. Worse still is the lingering curse it leaves in its wake..."
"Calm yourself. If released, the lands beyond Redstone Tech City will become an absolute wasteland at the very least."
With that, Zhongli shot a pointed look toward Ningguang and the others, signaling for them to intercede.
Understanding Ryen's intent, Ningguang and her companions cast aside restraint, rushing forward to hold him back while voicing their frantic objections all at once.
Ryen gently shook his head, his voice quiet yet unwavering:
"We lost over a thousand people tonight. Even with the Totems of Undying running at full capacity, four or five hundred will never wake again."
"We cannot afford further casualties."
"Rest assured. As terrifying as a nuclear weapon is, I have full confidence it will not touch Redstone Tech City."
"Furthermore, as for the genetic mutations caused in its wake, I have a way to resolve them."
Though hesitation still lingered in their eyes, Ryen offered a calm smile:
"People are our most valuable asset. We still need to develop many more modules in the future, and we have already bled enough today."
"Just accumulating the resources to revive these fallen soldiers will take a full month of effort."
"There is no reason to suffer additional losses."
"Besides... are you truly not the slightest bit curious about the ultimate weapon of mortal creation?"
Silence fell over the crowd.
Truth be told, a deep curiosity burned within every one of them regarding just how terrifying this weapon truly was.
Ryen had emphasized more than once that this was an absolute taboo.
They wanted to witness it, provided it took place safely outside Redstone Tech City.
At the very least, it would detonate in a remote, desolate location.
"Trust me."
Ryen gently brushed past Ningguang and the others, turning his gaze toward the lands beyond the fortress.
Under the rising dawn, over one hundred thousand zombies surged forward, rapidly closing in on Redstone Tech City.
The entire army had assembled upon the battlements, staring nervously into the plain below.
Redstone Tech City had exhausted its ammunition and provisions...
Ryen drew a deep breath and mounted the heavy launcher upon the edge of the wall.
The massive, pitch-black launcher with its sleek metallic sheen instantly drew every eye on the battlements.
That same taboo dread surged through the hearts of everyone present.
A high-tech single-frame eyepiece materialized over Ryen's vision.
His composure remained entirely untroubled.
A cold, mechanical voice echoed clearly beside the ears of all present:
"Direction, Northwest."
"Wind speed, calibrated."
"Distance, locked."
"Nuclear strike countdown initiated."
"Ten, nine, eight, seven..."
The countdown advanced in tandem with the marching horde while the morning sun slowly breached the ridge in the distance.
A suffocating pressure weighed heavily upon every chest.
Each descending number sounded like the deliberate footsteps of the Grim Reaper approaching.
"Three, two, one!"
Ryen blinked, suddenly turning his head with a slight grin:
"Watch closely. Here comes the greatest firework in the world..."
As his words faded, the unfeeling mechanical voice declared its final order:
"Code name 'Little Boy', launching."
Crimson fire erupted from the barrel as a massive black warhead arced gracefully across the sky, plunging toward the distant horizon.
The target point was exceedingly far, missing the main body of the zombie horde entirely.
A collective pause seized the crowd, many assuming Ryen had miscalculated his aim.
In that instant, Ryen pulled Klee and Ganyu tightly against his chest, deploying imaginary energy to seal their ears completely.
"Everyone! Cover your ears!"
Before the command fully registered, an indescribable wave of absolute despair washed across every soul present.
All color was stripped from heaven and earth.
A blinding, absolute white, bright enough to eclipse the sun itself, flooded the world.
It was as if a singular point had condensed in an instant, only to violently detonate and expand outward.
Beneath that brilliant flash, the morning sun turned dim and lifeless.
The instantaneous burst of light caused everyone's vision to lose focus, leaving nothing but a vast, empty void of white.
Zhongli raised a hand before his eyes, yet saw nothing...
"I... am blind..."
In the next moment, a deafening explosion shattered the sky, plunging the world into a vast, silent ringing.
A high-pitched tinnitus stripped away their hearing just as the flash had taken their sight.
Were it not for the unique physical enhancements granted by the rules of the Minecraft world, paired with the extraordinary strength of those present, staring directly at a nuclear explosion would have inflicted permanent blindness upon any mortal in Teyvat.
The sensory deprivation lasted only a brief moment.
Recovering their senses, the crowd slowly lowered their hands from their ears.
A colossal mushroom cloud rose into the distant horizon, blocking out the sun and sky like a typhoon cloud sweeping across the heavens.
A violent thermal shockwave surged across the plain, blasting the incoming horde off their feet instantly.
Those who regained their sight watched as the heatwave scorched the earth, causing it to crack and split while the zombies vanished into black cinders, leaving only scorched earth to prove they had ever existed.
An invisible ripple acted like the scythe of death, wiping out every trace of life in its path.
In that single instant, over one hundred thousand zombies vanished without a single survivor.
"Hold on to something!" Ryen called out loudly.
Before anyone could react, a violent tremor as if the heavens were falling and the earth was tearing open rattled the landscape.
The entire expanse of Redstone Tech City shook on its foundations.
Losing his footing, Venti tumbled straight onto the ground.
Yet he paid no mind to his unseemly fall, staring wide-eyed and open-mouthed at the rising mushroom cloud in the distance.
It looked like the cloak of the Grim Reaper, towering high as if mocking the fragility of all living things.
"What... what is that..."
Venti's voice sounded dry and raspy; the greatest bard of the mortal realm could not wring a single melodious note from his throat.
Ryen dispersed the imaginary energy blocking Klee and the others' ears.
"The pinnacle of human technological achievement, the ultimate construct that brings absolute equality to all beings."
"A nuclear weapon."
The mushroom cloud spread across the sky, obscuring their line of sight.
Yet through the haze, one could vaguely discern a vast, bottomless crater carved into the earth behind the cloud.
It was far deeper and more terrifying than any chasm created by stacks of TNT.
"Tell me, could a thing like this slay a god?" Ryen retracted his gaze, looking toward Zhongli and the others with a faint smile.
Silence reigned for a long moment as Zhongli nursed the lingering ache in his ringing head, slowly shaking his head.
"I could not withstand it... Simply witnessing it from afar brought blindness and deafness. Its outer shockwave reduced tens of thousands of creatures to ash and shook an entire city to its core."
"I cannot imagine what taking a direct hit would entail."
"Is this truly the pinnacle of mortal technology? The wisdom of humanity... is terrifying beyond measure."
Ryen shrugged, stowing the launcher away.
"This is merely top-tier technology for a terrestrial civilization. Out in the vast starry sea, it amounts to very little."
"Within the core detonation zone of a nuclear weapon, all organic life is carbonized instantly, and all water vaporizes."
"The yield on that warhead was quite small, affecting a radius of four or five kilometers at most, which is why I dared to use it."
"With a larger yield, entire continental plates would be shifted."
"As for taking a direct hit..." Ryen smiled, looking at Zhongli with an amused glint in his eye.
"The core temperature of a nuclear blast reaches up to one hundred million degrees Celsius, roughly four to five times hotter than the core of the sun. Do you think the Heavenly Principles could endure that?"
Zhongli remained silent before giving a decisive shake of his head.
"In my view, no living entity could withstand such raw destruction. This is an absolute taboo weapon. If memory serves, Ningguang possesses one as well, does she not?"
Zhongli glanced toward Ningguang with visible apprehension.
Hearing of such power was nothing compared to witnessing it firsthand.
At this moment, Zhongli felt Ryen's past descriptions had been far too conservative.
This weapon could never be overstated.
Ningguang pressed her lips together, sensing the nuclear weapon stored within her personal space, and spoke softly:
"That weapon will only be deployed as a last resort against the Heavenly Principles. On that, I give my word."
Zhongli remained quiet, offering no reply.
The sheer scale of a single nuclear detonation was difficult for anyone to process.
Forget individuals, an entire nation or even Teyvat itself could not survive such a blast.
"These are intended for large-scale battlefields anyway. Against the Heavenly Principles, hitting her directly would be difficult. She might not survive the blast, but dodging it would be simple enough for her."
Ryen shook his head, scooping Klee up into his arms with a warm smile:
"Did you see that, sweetie? True art is a giant mushroom!"
"Mhm! Klee saw it!"
Klee stared at the distant mushroom cloud with eyes full of awe and longing.
"Klee wants to make a giant mushroom too! Klee wants to make a Jumpy Dumpty that's even stronger than a nuclear weapon!"
"..."
Hearing those words, everyone's heart skipped a beat.
One nuclear weapon was terrifying enough, yet Ryen was actively encouraging Klee!
Was he even human?!
"Ryen! Do not teach Klee such things! Nuclear weapons are far too dangerous. If released in Teyvat, they would destroy cities and nations in an instant."
Jean looked at Klee with deep concern.
"We cannot bear such destruction. Ryen, do not act recklessly."
Ryen blinked, chuckling softly:
"Just a joke. This thing is far too dangerous, and I would never let Klee play with it. What if she got hurt?"
Jean glared at Ryen helplessly, not believing a word.
With how much Ryen doted on Klee, he would give her the stars and moon if she asked.
What was stopping him from handing her a nuclear warhead?
Jean grumbled inwardly, though a strange trace of envy toward Klee flickered in her heart.
"Seeing something like that completely shatters my martial spirit..."
Tartaglia stared at the mushroom cloud with a mixture of grief and indignation.
No matter how high he cultivated his martial skill, could he ever hope to withstand a blast like that?
Even Zhongli had stated outright that he could not.
"Human wisdom is indeed an infinite treasure! What the Akademiya pursued was wrong all along! We already possess immense wealth within ourselves."
"Why must we beg the gods for knowledge..."
Alhaitham looked up at the mushroom cloud in the sky with deep emotion, his eyes glistening slightly.
Whether it was from the blinding light earlier or a sudden realization of the value of mortal intellect, he could not tell.
Or perhaps...
It was simply the pride and wonder of witnessing the endless path laid out before humanity.
"Promise me one thing, Ryen..."
Zhongli took a deep breath, looking at Ryen with absolute solemnity.
"Unless it is an absolute necessity, never... never unleash a nuclear weapon in Teyvat, or in this world again."
"It is a taboo against life itself, a calamity upon the world..."
Ryen nodded, his expression turning serious:
"Everyone, drink some milk. Even if there might not be lingering radiation here, it is better to be safe than sorry. The pain of genetic mutation is far worse than death."
The crowd nodded repeatedly, pulling out buckets of milk to drink without delay.
The heatwave and shockwave were merely the initial layer of destruction; the true horror of a nuclear weapon lay in the invisible radiation that followed.
That power... was capable of twisting the very essence of life itself.
Ryen stood upon the battlements, scanning the vast expanse below with careful scrutiny.
Confirming that not a single zombie remained, he let out a long sigh of relief and raised his voice to announce:
"Now... let us celebrate, everyone!"
"The forty-nine days of catastrophe have come to an end..."
"We have won!"
Redstone Tech City remained silent for a long moment before an isolated cheer broke the quiet.
In the next instant, unprecedented cheers erupted across the entirety of Redstone Tech City.
The mushroom cloud slowly dispersed into the wind as the golden light of the morning sun pierced through the dark clouds, bathing the earth below.
The forty-nine-day zombie siege had finally come to an absolute close with a single earth-shattering explosion.