CHAPTER 416: CHAPTER 200: PENETRATION COMPANY, ATTACK!

"Zhang Tao agreed to our demands, but it was a limited agreement."

Standing in front of the catalyst furnace of the newly completed nitric acid production line, Lei Jie spoke to Chen Jian:

"This kid is really not a good person—He Shuo’s judgment was correct, he indeed plans to use monsters to balance us."

"They don’t want us or the Beast Tide to win; they want both sides to suffer under limited intervention."

"Driving the tiger to swallow the wolf, what he wants to do is no different from what Jin Cheng wanted to do before."

"It’s just that he might do it in a more covert way, or perhaps more... gently?"

"Indeed."

Chen Jian nodded.

"Once you are in the position of a Saint, all predetermined conditions cease to be effective."

"We originally thought Zhang Tao would be a revolutionary, but it turns out that power and status have corrupted him just the same."

"If there’s another time, if we strive to control the Mechanical God Sect through ’proxies,’ we must consider these aspects."

"We must completely separate power from reward. He can wield power, but cannot enjoy the benefits it brings."

"That’s difficult, right?"

"Of course it’s difficult."

Chen Jian laughed.

"Even in our time, no one or organization had truly managed a complete and thorough separation."

"It goes against human nature, against logic."

"But how should I put it? Isn’t progress inherently against human nature?"

"Moreover, in this world, the relatively savage environment grants us many more potential strategies."

"According to the terms of our era, our arsenal and toolkit are far richer than a ’civilized society environment’...."

"What are your specific ideas?"

Lei Jie asked out of curiosity.

"Simply put, open the path with ideals to subjectively limit the power holder’s intent on personal gain."

"On the other hand, use the simplest and direct ’extrajudicial power’ to suppress, objectively block the power holder’s pursuit of personal gain, or promptly punish and confiscate all profits when private gains occur."

"That’s why I say our toolkit is richer."

"Because in our era, killing was only permissible under the most extreme conditions."

"But now... it’s not as troublesome."

"This is pure authoritarian politics."

Lei Jie frowned slightly, paused for a few seconds, and continued:

"This heavily relies on the integrity of the top-level organization—if someday even we, even the Huaxia Army, lose our integrity, this system will naturally collapse."

"That’s definitely true."

Chen Jian sighed.

"So this is just a short-term transitional plan; I haven’t figured out our subsequent actions yet."

"Truly complex."

Lei Jie shook his head, clicking his tongue, then said:

"Compared to this, figuring out how to climb the tech tree seems simpler."

"By the way, since the nitric acid production line is complete, shouldn’t we start producing our own bullets and shells next?"

"Yes."

Chen Jian moved his slightly sore neck and then said:

"I’ve judged that since Zhang Tao has shown clear signs of delaying, it’s highly likely we won’t receive their ammunition supply until we’ve completely depleted ours."

"We must solve this ourselves."

"Now here’s the question, if I ask you to produce enough shells for us to use in a short time, do you find it challenging?"

Lei Jie thought for a moment, then replied:

"Not difficult."

As he finished speaking, a tree chart flowed onto Chen Jian’s smart glasses, clearly displaying all the materials and equipment needed to manufacture artillery shells.

"Our preliminary preparations were relatively sufficient, and materials are mostly complete."

"Copper, steel, mercury, nitric acid, natural fats... plenty in reserve."

"Even only counting the current inventory, it’s enough to make 300 to 400 shells for the 152 howitzer."

"And the production work at the back of base 011 has never actually stopped; we manufacture new materials every day."

"If the equipment arrives quickly, conservatively estimating, the materials we produce daily can make 30 to 40 shells."

"This number actually basically meets our ammunition reserve needs."

"Frankly speaking, we are unlikely to reach that stage—if we truly run out of ammunition and need to make shells for immediate use, we might as well drop a few nukes and be done with it."

"Indeed."

Chen Jian nodded in agreement, but then asked:

"But no matter what, 30 is too low a number, isn’t it?"

"Producing shells isn’t like making barrel tubes; as I understand it, even for the most complex shell fuses, we could use substitutes similar to M739’s suggested alternatives."

"Logically, these small precision parts shouldn’t be hard to manufacture with metal 3D printing technology available?"

"What’s limiting the production?"

"Glycerin."

Lei Jie shrugged.

"We don’t have petroleum, so we have to use natural fats through the saponification method to produce glycerin."

"However, we don’t have much natural fat either, so..."

"Damn!"

Chen Jian suddenly cursed, and Lei Jie looked at him puzzled and asked:

"What’s the matter?"

"It’s wasted!"

Chen Jian said bitterly.