Chapter 45: Wait, What About the Bullet?

The inspection results came out quickly—the precision exceeded expectations, with an error of less than 0.1 millimeters; this was a level of precision simply unimaginable in the era of manual machining.

More importantly, the entire machining process took only ten minutes, whereas manual machining for the same steel pipe would require nearly an hour.

"Chief Engineer Li, this is incredible!" Factory Director Lou said, shaking Li Mingyuan's hand excitedly.

"At this speed, our production efficiency will increase by at least six times!" Li Mingyuan smiled modestly: "This is just the beginning; once the real Numerical Control System is developed, efficiency can be increased by another ten times."

The workers looked at one another, seeing shock and disbelief in each other's eyes.

This kind of technology had simply fallen from the sky, completely exceeding their imagination.

Someone even pinched themselves quietly to confirm they weren't dreaming.

"Comrades, this is just the first one. We must retrofit ten such machine tools within a week to form the first Semi-automatic Production Line!" Factory Director Lou announced loudly, and the workers erupted into enthusiastic applause and cheers once again.

Li Mingyuan, however, was already considering the next step of the plan; there were still several items of great difficulty on the list of key components for the Numerical Control System.

Just as Li Mingyuan was thinking, a commotion suddenly came from outside the door.

Everyone turned to look and saw several people in military uniforms walking in, led by a stern-faced middle-aged officer.

Factory Director Lou saw them and immediately went up to greet them: "Section Chief Zhang, you've come!"

It turned out to be people from the Military Industry Department coming to check on production progress, and they had unexpectedly arrived just in time for the debut of the Semi-automatic Machine Tool.

Section Chief Zhang stood in front of the machine tool, his whole body as if under a freezing spell, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

He reached out to touch the retrofitted machine tool, his lips trembling slightly, and he was unable to speak for a moment.

"This... is this something our factory developed itself?" Section Chief Zhang finally found his voice, though his tone remained unsteady.

"It was designed by Chief Engineer Li," Factory Director Lou introduced proudly, "From blueprints to the actual object, it only took three days!"

Section Chief Zhang rubbed his eyes vigorously, as if he couldn't believe everything before him.

Looking at the finished steel pipe, his fingers brushed over the perfect rifling unconsciously, feeling the machining precision that was almost impossibly accurate.

"Comrades, start it up once; I want to see this miracle with my own eyes!" Section Chief Zhang's voice trembled slightly, the expression on his face more shocked than if he had seen an alien.

Li Mingyuan pressed the start button, and the machine tool began to operate automatically once again.

When the finished steel pipe was removed, Section Chief Zhang was completely speechless; his mind seemed to have stopped functioning.

"This... this is simply... a revolutionary breakthrough!" Section Chief Zhang muttered to himself, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead, "Chief Engineer Li, do you know what this means?"

Li Mingyuan smiled slightly, "It means we can complete the task ahead of schedule, and with better quality."

Section Chief Zhang turned his head abruptly, staring at Li Mingyuan with burning eyes, "With this, how long will it take you to complete the task?"

"Give me ten days," Li Mingyuan said with confidence, calculating the data the system had given him, "In ten days, we will be able to complete the entire production task."

"Ten days? Impossible!" Section Chief Zhang retorted instinctively, but looking at the machine tool running automatically, his tone softened, "Is it really possible?"

Li Mingyuan said nothing more, only nodding.

After Section Chief Zhang left, the atmosphere in the workshop remained immersed in the lingering shock.

The workers discussed this miraculous Semi-automatic Machine Tool in small groups, their eyes filled with disbelief.

Li Shouzheng suddenly slapped his forehead, his expression changing abruptly.

"That's not right! The gun issue is solved, but what about the Bullet?"

Factory Director Lou's smile also froze on his face, and he turned sharply toward Li Mingyuan.

"Chief Engineer Li, we originally agreed on two hundred thousand rounds of Bullet, this... this is simply impossible to complete!"

Several old Technician looked at each other, and cold sweat broke out instantly.

"With our current equipment, we can produce at most five thousand rounds a day; even in twenty days, that's only one hundred thousand rounds..."

"It's over, it's over. We can make the guns, but the Bullet can't keep up; this mission is still a failure!" Chen Dezhong rubbed his hands, his face turning pale.

The entire workshop went quiet instantly; the previous excitement vanished, replaced by deep anxiety and helplessness.

The corners of Factory Director Lou's mouth twitched, as if he were already considering how to explain this dilemma to his superiors.

Li Mingyuan looked at everyone's expressions and calmly pulled another blueprint from his briefcase.

"I have also considered the matter of the Bullet."

He spread the blueprint on the table, and everyone immediately crowded around.

It was a design for a strange machine that looked a bit like a combination of a sewing machine and a stamping press, but with many components of unknown purpose.

"What... is this?" Factory Director Lou asked in confusion, his finger hovering over the blueprint, unsure of what he was seeing.

"Bullet Automatic Manufacturing Machine." Li Mingyuan's voice was calm, but the effect was like dropping a bomb on the Silence of the lake.

"What?" an old Technician exclaimed, his eyes wide as copper bells, "Bul... Bullet Automatic Manufacturing Machine? Does such a thing exist in this world?"

Li Mingyuan nodded and began to explain the blueprint in detail.

"This machine can automatically stamp the shell, stamping ten at a time, then automatically assemble the bullet head, gunpowder, and finally seal it..."

His finger traced the blueprint, pointing out the details of each link.

As the explanation deepened, the air in the workshop seemed to solidify, and everyone held their breath.

"This... this..." Chen Dezhong's fingers trembled as he pointed to a piece of data on the blueprint, "Five thousand rounds... per hour?"

Li Shouzheng didn't even notice his glasses sliding to the tip of his nose; his mouth was open wide enough to fit an egg.

"Five thousand rounds an hour... ten hours of work a day... that's fifty thousand rounds... four days is two hundred thousand rounds!"

Factory Director Lou stumbled and nearly fell, only to be supported by a worker nearby.

"Chief Engineer Li... are you sure this isn't a dream? This... this..."

An old Technician with forty years of experience actually sat on the ground with a "thump," his face full of shock, his lips trembling and unable to speak; he just kept shaking his head, as if refusing to believe everything before him.

"This kind of technology... this kind of technology..." Li Shouzheng's voice changed pitch, "Even in the Polar Bear, I've never heard of such a thing!"

The workers in the workshop seemed to have been cast under a spell; some pinched their arms, others blinked hard, as if to confirm they weren't dreaming.

A young worker even cried out in excitement, tears streaming down his cheeks uncontrollably.

"Li... Chief Engineer Li," Lou Changzhang's voice was trembling, "can this machine... really be built?"