Chapter 1414: What Are Bombs Made Of?

"It's good that you weren't seen. Did you tell anyone else?"

The Soldier shook his head repeatedly: "Tribal Chief, we know how important this thing is. We didn't tell a soul, and as soon as we got back, we came straight to tell you."

Xuanyuan reached out to touch the Explosive Pack that was about to fall apart, but just as he was about to make contact, he pulled his hand back: "It won't explode, will it?"

The Soldier scratched his head: "Tribal Chief, it shouldn't, it really shouldn't. I didn't feel anything on the way here. The Huaxia bombs are stored just like this, so as long as there's no fire, it shouldn't explode, right?"

Xuanyuan thought that made sense, and since the Explosive Pack was still wet, he recalled the situation from last night and guessed that what explosives feared most was likely water. Given the current situation, Xuanyuan felt that what he should be worried about was whether this Bomb could still be used, not whether it would explode.

So, he gathered his courage and reached out to pinch the paper, peeling back the layers that were already falling apart. He discovered that inside, layer upon layer, it was packed with many things, such as sharp stone shards. This left him somewhat puzzled; it was impossible that the Bomb was just this—common stones found everywhere and pieces of Cement. No matter how he looked at it, it couldn't be a Bomb.

So he increased his force, and sure enough, when the final layer was torn away, the black substance was exposed before his eyes.

A little bit stuck to Xuanyuan's fingertip. He held it up to examine it closely, but he felt it looked a bit like Charcoal Powder. Yet, when he smelled it, he sensed something else—a very pungent, peculiar scent, a smell he had never encountered before.

He pondered for a moment, then put his finger into his mouth, attempting to discern the difference with his more sensitive tongue. This action terrified the Soldier and Limu; what if this stuff was poisonous?

But Xuanyuan only felt that the substance was like a type of soil, sour and sticky in his mouth. He couldn't taste any particular flavor, nor could he distinguish exactly what was inside.

Xuanyuan's excitement gradually calmed down. He also felt that this Bomb might not be so simple. Perhaps it was like Cement—it looked like a type of gray soil, but once water was added, without needing to be fired like Bricks or Tiles, it could turn into solid stone.

Perhaps this thing also required many complex processes to be made. Although he had no leads, he felt a bit more relaxed. At least it wasn't as if he had nothing to go on. Now that he had such a large Bomb, he would surely be able to find something different inside it, right?

Xuanyuan now felt the likely direction had to do with Charcoal. He let Limu take a look, and Limu also believed that Charcoal must be present inside. It was black, and the texture was somewhat similar; it was definitely Charcoal mixed with something else.

Thinking about it, Charcoal itself was the easiest thing to burn. If something else that burned even more easily were added, could it produce that explosive effect?

Now Xuanyuan had determined a direction. Regardless of whether it was right or wrong, he had to test this Charcoal. When he went back, he would add all sorts of things to Charcoal to test it. Since he couldn't identify the other ingredients, he would just experiment. The Xuanyuan Tribe had more abundant resources than Huaxia; as long as he tested enough, he didn't believe he wouldn't be able to figure it out.

Now that the paper wrapping was completely ruined, and Ramie Cloth wasn't the right thing to store a Bomb in—it would definitely leak and might get soaked—Xuanyuan immediately ordered someone to find a Pottery Jar to move the Bomb into.

But Pottery Jars were fragile, so after putting it in the jar, they had to pad it with Grass and place it inside a Bamboo Box so that Huaxia wouldn't discover this matter.

Xuanyuan and Limu handled the transfer of the Bomb personally, which allowed them to see the full picture of the Bomb clearly: inside, it was just the same black powder, with nothing else at all.

The Bomb was moved, but Xuanyuan didn't throw away the paper; he wrapped it all up and kept it together. This might also be an important component. It was impossible for them to have packed so many stones and such for no reason; there must be some special purpose.

There was also a piece of black rope, very short, extending from the Gunpowder to the outside of the paper wrapping. Xuanyuan recognized this as the thing used to ignite it. Looking at one end, it was a bit black, but it had basically been soaked through by the rain. Only the part inside the paper wrapping still held its shape.

This confirmed to Xuanyuan that the Bomb was definitely afraid of water. The reason this Bomb didn't explode was that it had been extinguished by the rain. He didn't discard that paper rope either, but packed it up with the rest.

Finally, Xuanyuan told the Soldier who had discovered the Bomb: "You have performed a great service this time. I will reward you well. But since there is this one, there might be others that were also extinguished by the rain. Continue to search. If you find any, bring them back secretly just like this and keep them hidden, understand?"

The Soldier, having received a promise of a reward from Xuanyuan himself, was instantly as energized as if he had been injected with blood. His face flushed, and he hurriedly thanked Xuanyuan, stating that he would go down right away to continue searching.

Finally, in this Tent, only a torn piece of Ramie Cloth remained. To destroy the evidence, Xuanyuan held it in his hand, exited the Tent, found the nearest campfire, and threw it straight in.

Ramie Cloth was flammable, not to mention that it was stained with some Gunpowder powder. As soon as it was thrown in, it flashed a few times, but there was no sound. This reminded Xuanyuan: perhaps if it was just powder, it would only flash like that and not explode?

The two of them, having finished handling everything, returned with a sense of relief, but unexpectedly, they ran into Lu, who was clearly in an even better mood, halfway there. Lu also smiled and greeted them: "Finished handling it? The great battle has just passed, so you still need to soothe the Soldiers."

Xuanyuan said awkwardly: "It's handled, it's fine now."

But he didn't expect that Lu would see his hands, which were stained with Gunpowder powder. Lu took one look and saw that there was black ash on Xuanyuan's clothes, but he didn't think much of it, instead pointing it out with a smile: "You two didn't go to put out a fire, did you? You have so much ash on you, and your hands are black."

Xuanyuan hurriedly looked at his hands, only then realizing he had forgotten about them. But since Lu hadn't recognized it, it was fine. It was possible that Lu had never seen what was inside a Bomb, which wasn't impossible. Xuanyuan didn't reply, as it was hard to find a suitable excuse, and simply smiled to change the subject: "Have you finished talking?"

"Finished talking. The Jiang Cheng Tribe has decided to join Huaxia. I've sent a Company Commander to go down with them to take a headcount and give them a heads-up in advance, so they don't cause trouble later.

But Xuanyuan, don't worry, Huaxia will certainly provide the compensation that is due. We wouldn't take advantage of you. Not to mention that you wouldn't agree, our Wang Ye wouldn't agree either—he would punish me severely!"

Xuanyuan's mouth twitched. Was that another subtle dig at him? But it didn't matter; the good news from just a moment ago made Xuanyuan unwilling to care about such minor issues.