Sucrose gripped the Gnosis tightly, closing her eyes to sense the Anemo energy in the air, while Albedo used Geo to trace the flow of power within the Gnosis itself.
Perhaps due to nervousness, she failed repeatedly to activate the Gnosis, accidentally linking instead with her own Vision. Yet in such close proximity to the divine artifact, she could indeed feel the Anemo elements buzzing more vigorously than usual.
"Could it be because you already possess a Vision? Let me try," Shen Qin said, itching to take the Gnosis. He shut his eyes, mentally compelling it to respond.
Gritting his teeth, he chanted inwardly: Connect! Connect! Connect!
He would've preferred reciting incantations in Mondstadt's ancient Latin or German—if only he knew any.
A minute passed.
The Gnosis remained motionless. Forced to admit he wasn't some "chosen protagonist" from fairy tales, where forbidden artifacts magically submit to their destined wielder, he opened his eyes in defeat.
Albedo observed dryly, "The way you clutched that Gnosis just now was like a man desperately squeezing toilet paper mid-squat."
Shen Qin: "..."
Sucrose giggled at the mental image before blushing furiously, her cheeks turning sunset-fruit red.
As Shen Qin prepared a retort, Albedo abruptly changed the subject: "I've theorized a possibility. Sucrose, remove your Vision and try again."
"Eh? O-okay!"
When Shen Qin returned after relocating Sucrose's Vision to another room, he found her hovering mid-air, the Gnosis in hand. A pale cyan glow enveloped her body; her pupils had morphed into the same ethereal green as Venti's. Her expression turned detached yet regal.
So imperious that Shen Qin nearly felt compelled to kneel.
"What's happening to her? Is she safe?!" he demanded, alarmed by this unrecognizable version of Sucrose.
"Perfectly safe." Albedo's own aura flared, severing the Gnosis's connection instantly. Shen Qin lunged forward, catching Sucrose as she fell.
"Sucrose! How do you feel?" he asked, panicked by her limp form, unaware her weakness stemmed purely from being held by him. Hidden against his chest, her face burned brighter than a Sunsettia.
Ahem
Albedo's pointed cough made her scramble upright.
"I-I'm fine! Just startled by the sudden fall," she stammered, refusing to meet Shen Qin's eyes.
Relieved, Shen Qin refocused: "What did you experience while channeling the Gnosis?"
Now analytical, Sucrose explained: "Upon connecting, my senses sharpened exponentially. The wind carried endless data—sounds, scents, shapes, temperatures... It was as though I beheld all of Mondstadt from above. I also detected two immense auras: one in Wolvendom, another in Stormterror's Lair."
"Moreover, I sensed boundless Anemo energy beneath us, ready to be harnessed at will!"
"Those would be leyline energies," Albedo mused. "Fascinatingly, the Gnosis's internal energy pathways share 60% similarity with Statues of The Seven. Yet it operate at multifold efficiency. Unlike Teleport Waypoints or statues, it's location-agnostic."
"Given a week, I can replicate its structure," he declared confidently. "However, it contains a non-elemental high-energy core, likely the true source of divine authority. My replicas will lack this... thus no godhood."
Shen Qin pressed: "But can your replicas provide portable, sufficient energy?"
"Absolutely. Leave the Gnosis to me. You handle the rest."
"Good. Sucrose, let's design the energy system together. Your firsthand experience should optimize its output..."
…
…
Five days passed in a flash. In the basement of the Knights, Shen Qin looked at the huge monster in front of him that was more than fifteen meters long and five meters wide and high. He was very excited. This was a real killer weapon. If it was running at full power, even the devil could not withstand a few shots.
It is essentially a grenade cannon, but Shen Qin made some small modifications to it.
The individual explosive weapon he developed previously used the explosion of gunpowder to propel the explosive bullet out, and then used the OVERLOAD reaction between lightning and fire to make a special reactive fuel.
So if the explosive cannon wants to achieve greater power, does it need stronger gunpowder and fuel? No, Shen Qin chose to use higher-dimensional plasma technology!
He arranged a plasma power structure at the turret position. After the energy structure with the Gnosis as the core transmitted energy to the power structure, the energy would be converted into a high-density plasma group. At this time, the repelling particles would bind the high-energy plasma group to the bottom of the barrel.
After the launch preparations are made, as long as the operator presses the launch button, the repulsive particles that bind the plasma group will dissipate instantly, and the plasma group will form a violent explosion in the barrel. The high pressure will push the 30 cm-diameter and 2 m-long shell out from the muzzle at a hypersonic speed of 5 km/s.
At the moment when the plasma ball explodes, the inside of the barrel and the surface of the shell will be covered with repulsive particles, so there is no need to worry that they will be damaged during the launch process.
After leaving the barrel, the plasma jet at the tail of the shell will increase the speed of the shell to hypersonic speed of 7 km/s within 1 second, so theoretically, the lethality of the shell can be maximized when the distance from the target is about six kilometers.
The 2m-long shell was also divided into four functional areas by him.
The first functional area is equipped with increased ammunition of Omnidirectional Thunder Bombs, Infernal Purgatory Bombs, and Absolute Zero Explosive Ice Bombs. After hitting the target, they will instantly release three kinds of elemental energy to destroy the elemental shield.
The second functional area is a high-strength alloy core that can penetrate armor or hard hard structures and carry the shell deep into the target.
The third functional area stores high-energy plasma clusters. When the alloy core is deformed, it will destroy the balance between the repelling particles and the plasma clusters. After one millisecond, it will release high-temperature plasma of tens of millions of degrees, destroying everything it touches.
The fourth functional area is the plasma jet, which has a theoretical working time of 10 seconds. It can make the speed of the shells begin to decay after they are fired at a distance of 66 km, and begin to fall under the action of gravity.
If the projectile method is used, the range of this modified grenade cannon can reach over one hundred kilometers!
That's right, Shen Qin also installed a terminal and an intelligent system inside it. If you provide an accurate coordinate point with it as the center outside its flat-shooting range, it will automatically adjust the barrel to the appropriate angle and accurately hit the target!
"What a beautiful war machine." Albedo did not hide his love for it. "Shen, does it have a name?"
"The Sun's Annihilator."