Chapter 1085

The more solemn Lord Xuan Wuji's expression became, the more solemn General Ji Xia's expression grew as well, because she knew that the more difficult the mission, the greater the harvest she would reap upon completing it.

It was very likely that, once this mission ended, she could be promoted to full General.

"I need you to protect Lin Cheng from this moment on, at all times!"

"Lin Cheng the craftsman? Haven't we already… He's in the military camp, so how could…"

"No, I hope that from now on you can also protect Lin Cheng, in the identity of a retired soldier, secretly protecting him. You remain General Ji Xia of my Eternal Night Legion, and you may contact the Eternal Night Legion's intelligence department at any time. I will secretly dispatch people to follow you, providing you with assistance whenever you need it."

With the Empire's internal strife about to arrive, a talent like Lin Cheng was extremely likely to be drawn into it; for the Empire's future, he had to make preparations.

"Ye… yes! Commander."

Ji Xia had originally wanted to ask why, but the moment she recalled that her duty as a soldier was to carry out orders, she agreed at once without needing to ask why.

"I know what you're thinking — why? But what I can tell you is that Lin Cheng's existence will surely allow the Empire to grow even stronger. Before that, someone must protect his safety."

"The proof is this!"

Xuan Wuji displayed before Ji Xia the third blueprint he had been concealing; what was drawn on it was precisely the giant Gundam that Lin Cheng had drawn unconsciously. If his guess was correct, this should be the peak magical-conduit technology of humanity from the primordial era — the magical puppet.

But it was said that, at that time, magical puppets were magical-conduit creatures that did not require human control — one only had to issue commands. Yet Lin Cheng's planned giant Gundam project had someone operating it from within; this was simply a novel idea ahead of its time.

"This is…?" Ji Xia asked in confusion; she did not understand the meaning of the drawing.

"Humanity's peak magical-conduit technology from the primordial era — the magical puppet!"

If Lin Cheng could restore it, then he would surely be recorded in the Empire's annals; he believed Lin Cheng was even superior to that bunch of wastes in the Empire's Ministry of Works.

Rather than pinning hopes on that bunch of wastes in the Empire's Ministry of Works, it was better to believe that Lin Cheng might, within his lifetime, restore humanity's peak magical-conduit technology — perhaps that held more promise.

Lunchtime ended.

Lin Cheng once again threw himself into the modification work on the Master Jianong cannon; the corresponding ideas and blueprints were all in hand, and the initial design drawings were thus born.

Both the Master Jianong howitzer and the handheld rocket launcher were relatively suitable as improvements for the cannon.

Let's make the Master Jianong howitzer first — Lin Cheng made the decision swiftly. This was also the fastest decision he had ever made, purely because making a howitzer would be easier and more convenient.

"Next is the basic metal construction and the related work on the shells." He muttered a line. Such work was no easy task either; first, he had to conduct various experiments to find the formula for the most heat-resistant alloy material, while simultaneously carrying out the initial fabrication of the Master Jianong howitzer, as well as shell production and the proportioning of the internal gunpowder charge.

The work was all very troublesome, requiring constant experimentation.

More importantly, this work could only be completed by Lin Cheng alone; even if others were told, they might not necessarily be able to help.

"In short, let's start with the materials first."

Ordering soldiers to carry over a batch of metal materials, Lin Cheng began his refining tests inside the tent. On one hand, he conducted various heat-resistant material tests; on the other, Miss Qianhui carried out her own tests. The standard was also very simple: if even Miss Qianhui, going all out, could not melt it, then the heat-resistant material would count as qualified. Besides heat resistance, rapid cooling was also a key point.

Inability to cool rapidly meant the cannon barrel would overheat after repeated use, and overheating would likewise cause accidents.

"…Miss Qianhui, here."

Lin Cheng performed metal refining according to the traditional formula, then handed it to Miss Qianhui. Holding it in her hand, Miss Qianhui heated it slightly, and metal softening immediately appeared.

"No good!"

The first failure was also within Lin Cheng's expectations.

Continue.

Modern basic science and materials science clearly described high-temperature-resistant metal materials, primarily the refractory metals tungsten, molybdenum, tantalum, niobium, vanadium, chromium, titanium, zirconium, as well as the borides, carbides, nitrides, silicides, phosphides (Zhao's good ones), and sulfides of rare-earth metals.

Lin Cheng did not dare dream of rare-earth metals.

But metals like tungsten, molybdenum, tantalum, niobium, vanadium, chromium, titanium, and zirconium were common, occurring alongside other ores — for instance, ilmenite, which was widely distributed in the crust and lithosphere; titanium also existed simultaneously in nearly all living things, rocks, bodies of water, and soil.

What Lin Cheng had to do was extract from these ores the materials he needed, then refine and fuse them into ultra-heat-resistant metal materials, and finally carry out fabrication.

Experimentation was always accompanied by countless failures.

After failing countless times, Lin Cheng maintained his initial calm composure.

"Here, Miss Qianhui, try again."