Chapter 102 The Fake New Type of Fertilizer, the Real Clay Pot Grenade...
Lin Yue first spent a few days in the laboratory, and then mysteriously locked himself in the abandoned kiln in the most remote corner next to the firing workshop.
He publicly claimed that he was in seclusion developing a super catalytic fertilizer that could double the yield of Shifu potatoes and make Xingguang wheat mature overnight. This seemingly impressive title successfully fooled most of the unsuspecting residents. Some admired the mayor's composure in the face of crisis, still concerned about the farmland at such a time; others privately speculated that the mayor was under too much pressure and had gone mad; still others, like Old Bud, were full of anticipation, standing on tiptoe outside the kiln every day, eager to see what the magical fertilizer Lin Yue had described looked like.
Only Lin Yue himself knew that he was playing with fire, playing with a fire that could overturn the course of the war.
[Hope Town Strategic Weapons R&D Project (Top Secret)] - This is the code name Lin Yue gave to his secret project.
The core of the project can be summed up in just two words: gunpowder.
The idea had actually taken root in his mind when the Red Scorpion Army first besieged the city. It wasn't until he heard that the royal family had launched a campaign against the dwarves that he finally made up his mind.
Today, they possess more sophisticated iron tools, have a better grasp of fire and firing techniques, and, most importantly, have a reason to fight to the death.
"Norm," Lin Yue placed a bag of carefully selected sulfur ore from the mine and another bag of slightly cool saltpeter in front of Norm, "Uncle Stonefist said in his letter before he left that you are a good prospect and have a talent for materials. Now it's time to test your talent."
Norm gazed at the peculiar ore before him, his eyes gleaming with excitement. Ever since learning from the druid master how to use the power of nature to fortify the city's defenses, he had become completely fascinated by this mysterious art that could alter the form of matter and the properties of energy.
“Mayor,” he asked earnestly, “what exactly…are we going to investigate this time?”
“A kind of… magical powder that can… allow flames to… unleash extreme power in an instant.” Lin Yue thought for a moment and explained in a way that would be easier for the other party to understand.
Lin Yue didn't exchange his system blueprints for finished products. Firstly, the complete gunpowder formulas and weapon blueprints were ridiculously expensive, beyond his means. Secondly, Xiao Hei, who had transformed into a cat after the system upgrade, while still sharp-tongued, had unexpectedly unlocked a new function—real-time technical guidance and data analysis. In Xiao Hei's own words: "[This system, version V2.0, aims to cultivate the host's independent research capabilities, rather than rote learning. Appropriate guidance and correction are far more valuable than simply providing answers. Of course, if you insist on purchasing them with points, this system will not stop you.]"
The translation is: "Want to get something for free? No way. Want to save money? Use your brain."
Left with no other choice, Lin Yue had to bite the bullet and embark on a path of independent research and development filled with blood, tears, and hardship.
He began his initial mixing experiments, relying on the remnants of his memory that he had almost entirely forgotten from his high school chemistry teacher.
Over the next three days, Lin Yue and Norm took turns operating the experiments. Norm discovered that charcoal powder made from different types of wood produced drastically different results, so they experimented with charcoal powder made from pine, oak, and even starlight wheat straw. The most troublesome task was purifying the saltpeter. Lin Yue vaguely remembered that recrystallization was required, so they repeatedly dissolved, filtered, and evaporated the charcoal to obtain purer potassium nitrate crystals. Every night, flickering flames filled the kiln, their faces covered in soot, yet their eyes shone brightly as they meticulously recorded every tiny step forward.
"One part sulfur, two parts saltpeter, three parts charcoal... Yes, that's right, that should be the ratio,"
He and Norm ground sulfur ore and saltpeter into powder, then mixed it with charcoal powder.
Then, a small pinch of the mixed black powder was placed on the iron plate, and an ignition test was carefully conducted.
"Sizzle—!"
A thick plume of yellowish-green smoke suddenly billowed from the iron plate, instantly filling the entire kiln.
"Cough! Cough cough cough!"
Lin Yue and Norm were choked by the fumes, their eyes and noses filled with tears and snot, and they scrambled out of the kiln.
A chicken that had somehow slipped out from some corner and was leisurely foraging for food was unfortunately caught in the crossfire. Its eyes rolled back, and it fell straight to the ground, its legs in the air, convulsing uncontrollably.
[Fool. The sulfur is not pure enough; there are too many impurities. Incomplete combustion produced large amounts of sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. Recommendation: The sulfur ore should be heated and purified first.]
Little Black, perched on Lin Yue's shoulder, yawned and looked disgusted.
"Why didn't you say so earlier!" Lin Yue was practically furious. "And have you noticed that after you leveled up, you seem to be becoming more and more like a cat? It's disgusting, utterly disgusting. I condemn it, I strongly condemn it!"
[Our cat... well, that's how the system works.]
Having learned from their first experience, they began a second round of experiments. This time, they heated the sulfur ore in a sealed ceramic jar, taking advantage of sulfur's low melting point to separate it from impurities, thus obtaining sulfur powder with higher purity.
Reignite.
This time, there was no choking smoke; the black powder suddenly burst into flames. The flames were quite strong, but... that was all.
"This...that's it?" Nom looked at the rapidly burning ashes, his face full of disappointment. "Mayor, didn't you say...to unleash the greatest power of the flames? This fire...is stronger than the smoke from before, but it feels...like it has no strength."
After thinking for a moment, he commented with an extremely scientific and rigorous attitude: "It can't even be blown by the wind."
Lin Yue: "..."
[The charcoal powder particles are too coarse, resulting in insufficient contact area with the oxidizer and a slow combustion rate. Recommendation: Use a water-powered stone mill for prolonged, fine grinding. Also, add a small amount of starlight wheat straw ash during mixing as a combustion aid.]
Xiao Hei offers another sharp critique.
Then came another flurry of frantic activity.
This time, they finally succeeded halfway.
"Bang!"
With a muffled thud, the black powder instantly burst into flames, creating a shockwave that nearly scorched Lin Yue's eyebrows.
"There's...there's wind!" Norm exclaimed excitedly.
"But it's still not powerful enough." Lin Yue touched his cheeks, which were burning from the heat, and frowned. This level of power would only scare a rabbit at best.
He recalled his earlier remarks that the problem lay in the confined space and the strength of the shell.
"I'm such an idiot!" He slapped his thigh. "Norm, we were wrong all along. We shouldn't have let it burn directly, but rather we should have locked it up so that the cage holding it would be blown away with it at the moment of the explosion."
So they found a sturdy earthenware jar with a narrow mouth and a small belly, and carefully poured in the newly prepared black powder.
Then he had Tie Niu bring over a large pile of scrap iron pieces and nails collected from the blacksmith's shop, which he also stuffed into the pottery jar, filling it to the brim.
Finally, they sealed the mouth of the pottery jar tightly with a slurry mixed with clay and a little cement, leaving only a small hole through which they inserted a hemp rope soaked in saltpeter solution as a guide.
The first truly functional grenade in Hope Town—a terracotta pot grenade that looked like a pickle jar filled with garbage and had a post-apocalyptic punk style—was born just like that.
"Let's go! Let's test the power of this grenade!"
Lin Yue picked up the heavy pottery jar, and with an excited Norm, secretly slipped out of town and came to a quarry in the distance that was used to extract building stone.
He found a sheltered, open rock face, carefully placed the clay pot grenade on the ground, and pulled out the long fuse.
"Norm, stay away!"
"Mayor, please be careful too!"
Lin Yue took a deep breath and lit the end of the fuse with a flammable medium.
"Sizzle—!"
Sparks flew from the fuse, and it burst into flames!
Lin Yue was so frightened that he scrambled behind a huge rock.
Time seemed to stretch out infinitely at that moment.
Then…
"BOOM—!!!"
A deafening roar, like a bolt from the blue, suddenly erupted from the direction of the quarry.
Immediately afterwards, the earth trembled violently.
The entire town was startled by the sudden loud noise and tremor.
During training, the guards instinctively sought cover on the spot, the bricks in the hands of the construction workers fell to the ground, and the cooks who were preparing lunch in the canteen were so frightened that they dropped their spatulas.
"Enemy attack?! It's an enemy attack!"
"Where did that sound come from?!"
"Quick! Go check it out!"
Gray and Li Ge, who were supervising the defenses on the city wall, reacted immediately. Their expressions changed, and they grabbed their weapons, leading a squad of elite blue-vested soldiers, rushing frantically towards the direction from which the explosion had come.
When they rushed to the quarry in a great hurry, the sight before them left them all frozen in place.
In the center of the quarry, on what was once a relatively flat and hard rock wall, a huge gap with a diameter of more than three meters had appeared. It was pitch black and still emitting wisps of blue smoke.
The gap is surrounded by a dense network of holes, like a honeycomb, with countless pieces of iron and pottery embedded deep in the rock.
Beside the crater that had been blown to pieces, Lin Yue and Norm, two guys covered in soot and with their hair singed and curled up, looking like they had just climbed out of a chimney, stood there dumbfounded, supporting each other.
Their faces wore a wild smile, a mixture of lingering fear, shock, and boundless ecstasy, as if they had won the lottery.
"We...we did it..." Lin Yue rubbed his ears, which were still ringing from the shock, and said in a hoarse voice, "Norm...we...we did it..."
Gray and Li Ge looked at the massive, destructive crater, and then at Lin Yue and Norm's dazed, survivor-like expressions. For a moment, they didn't know whether to be angry or shocked.
Only Little Black, perched on Lin Yue's shoulder, disdainfully shook off the dust that clung to its body and offered a nonchalant comment:
The power is barely acceptable. It's just that it's too noisy.
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