Kays Translations

Chapter 59: Explosives

Li Xian didn’t want to, but due to his inadequate knowledge of chemistry, he could only review and organize little by little. Naturally, this led to an obsession.  

However, under the guidance of Li Xian’s simple, even rudimentary thoughts, and through the desperate research of numerous practitioners, soap finally emerged; glycerin also appeared, along with various acids and bases, and a small chemical industry was finally born.

During the research period, Li Xian sincerely lamented—one must not underestimate the wisdom of others! This celestial realm has existed for countless years, and many things have been studied and explored; it’s just that there hasn’t been a systematic approach or scientific guidance. What was lacking was merely guidance! This further strengthened Li Xian’s determination to keep certain things secret, such as electricity and explosives.

While Song Xing was speaking eloquently, Li Xian had already made the final preparations.

Xu Ren was also curious, “Young master, in the past when we conducted research and experiments, we were afraid of explosions, but now we’re studying explosives.”

It wasn’t that Xu Ren’s character and intelligence had fallen back to childhood; rather, Li Xian had indicated—that the explosive power could even harm Golden Core experts, which piqued Xu Ren’s curiosity.

Previously, Li Xian had also made a small amount of gunpowder, but the explosive power of that small quantity wasn’t significant, so Xu Ren hadn’t paid much attention to it. However, now that Li Xian said this thing could harm Golden Core experts when it exploded, he was truly intrigued.

Of course, he was even more curious—young master, where did you learn about these strange matters? Looking at the row of glass bottles labeled with all sorts of names, Xu Ren felt a headache coming on.

Li Xian chuckled without explaining. Instead, he started a countdown: “Everyone, prepare for cover, 10, 9, 8…”

As Li Xian counted down, he inspected the surroundings to check for any oversights. This was explosives after all; once detonated, it couldn’t be stopped midway like a spell—though such spells were rare.

“…3, 2, 1, 0! Start!”

Li Xian personally activated a small fire array, igniting the fuse of the gunpowder mixture and detonating the makeshift detonator made from gunpowder.

With a loud boom, a massive shockwave suddenly spread out. Li Xian felt debris swirling around him, the world spinning, and his insides trembling violently.

Thud…

Li Xian realized he had fallen to the ground; fortunately, he could still feel his body. But was this explosion a bit too powerful? Indeed, although Li Xian had never personally detonated yellow explosives in another world, he had witnessed many explosions. A mere one hundred grams of explosives should never have such power! It had tossed him, a near-master at the tenth level of Qi Refining, and even the person crouching behind the steel plate, ten meters away.

This was abnormal!

That said, coming to this world seemed to be an abnormal situation as well; the rules here appeared to be quite different.

However, increasing power was ultimately a good thing! 

Li Xian, lost in this blissful fantasy, endured the trembling and protests of his insides. Nearby, numerous groans could be heard; at least Li Xian had been somewhat prepared, while the others had not been prepared at all—they couldn’t believe that this seemingly small pile of yellow powder, without any spiritual energy fluctuations, could possess such power.

Cough cough… Xu Ren, with a flushed face, struggled to get up, looking both embarrassed and frightened. In any case, the “Minister of Strategy” was quite a mess.

Since he had been prepared, Li Xian had already climbed up and, seeing Xu Ren’s disheveled appearance—with his beloved “feather fan” now turned into a “feather fork”—couldn’t help but laugh. “How does Sir feel about this power? If ten kilograms of such explosives exploded, would it harm a Golden Core stage cultivator?”

Xu Ren gritted his teeth, “If you had a ton of such explosives, even a Nascent Soul stage expert would spit blood. But don’t be too proud, young master. While explosives are good, they are ultimately just external objects; cultivation is the foundation.”

“Thank you for the reminder, Sir.”

Seeing everyone had stood up, Xu Ren’s expression turned serious as he said, “Everyone, you’ve all witnessed the power of this explosive and the power of chemistry; I needn’t say more.”

Everyone understood and swore an oath. Although such oaths bound everyone, they also fostered mutual trust. For a team, mutual trust was the most important thing.

Li Xian was generous and immediately promised a substantial reward, still offering 30% of the sales profits. The Brilliant Stars Group had undergone internal reforms, and communication within the group began to adopt a transactional approach.

For instance, if the textile sub-factory wanted to obtain a loom from the machinery sub-factory, it would have to follow internal pricing. Similarly, if the machinery sub-factory needed materials or bearings from the smelting sub-factory, it had to adhere to the same process. This method was the best way to facilitate communication within the group, promote internal exchange, stimulate competition, and drive research.

Thus, explosives would be sold to the armory in the future, with 30% of the profits distributed to everyone.

Thirty percent of the profits was quite high, but Li Xian was more than willing! Money was endless! As long as he united these people around him, wealth would flow in the future! If these individuals suddenly left, it would create another competitor for Li Xian! In that case, the loss would not just be 30%; his life might even be at stake!

Currently, the Brilliant Stars Group had a clear regulation: if an individual made a significant breakthrough in research, they would enjoy 5% of the profits, with the remaining 25% allocated to the team. If the team successfully conducted research, then the entire group would share 30% of the profits.

After everyone finished swearing, Li Xian stepped forward again. “Since the explosives research has been successful, everyone, listen up.

“Establish a chemical industry sub-factory responsible for all chemical research, including explosives. Liu Dongbao, you are in charge! Note that this explosive is toxic and can be fatal in severe cases, so take care with safety during production.”

“Yes!” Liu Dongbao, a soldier with only his thumb and index finger remaining on his left hand, was now brimming with enthusiasm.

“Yang Qianjiang, you are responsible for establishing the armory! The armory will operate independently, only taking direct orders from me and the planning department.”

“Yes!” Yang Qianjiang, a general who had lost his right arm up to the elbow and his left thumb, was once again filled with fighting spirit after sharing stories with Li Xian.

During these days, Li Xian had explained the characteristics and technical requirements of firearms to Yang Qianjiang and others. Concepts related to handguns, submachine guns (light machine guns), heavy machine guns, automatic and semi-automatic rifles, sniper rifles, as well as artillery and explosive shells had been discussed countless times.

Now that the explosive research was successful, and with the yellow explosive being resistant to being deciphered, the dream of weaponry seemed to ignite fiercely, burning within themselves and consuming the world.

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