Sun Chuanting's brows knit tightly into a deep frown.
Lao Nanfeng stood beside him, watching the footage as well.
"Mr. Sun, how do you think this can be countered?"
Sun Chuanting considered it carefully for several seconds, then slowly shook his head.
"If we rely only on flintlock rifles and hand grenades, then those defenses are indeed impossible to break through. However—" he paused, "—we do not rely only on flintlocks and grenades. With cannons, those wooden barricades can be blown apart."
He continued gravely,
"In future operations, artillery must take priority. We must also prepare more heavy cannons."
Lao Nanfeng chuckled.
"Exactly. The Dao Xuan Tianzun sent us this footage precisely to remind us of that."
Sun Chuanting nodded.
"This video is extrely instructive. I'll turn it into a dedicated lesson for the cadets, so they never forget it. Weapons themselves are dead things—but people adapt. The enemy will constantly devise new and strange ways to counter our arms. If we underestimate them, people will die."
anwhile…
Back in Gao Family Village.
Bai Yuan, clad in flowing white robes, leapt down from the train.
It had been a long ti since he'd last returned, and a wave of emotion surged in his chest.
In recent years, his attention had been focused entirely on Luoyang, Xiaolangdi, and the Gao Family Village navy. Now that he was back, he found that Gao Family Village itself had changed yet again.
The population had clearly grown larger, and the villagers' spirits were visibly higher. Prosperity and cheer seed to hang in the air everywhere.
He had barely walked a short distance from the station when soone bowed deeply to him.
"Mr. Bai! Long ti no see."
Bai Yuan turned, recognizing the face only after a mont. He laughed.
"Oh—Gao… Gao… Gao what was it again?"
The man said quickly,
"I'm Gao Laba! Gao Laba, the rice-noodle shop owner."
"Ah! Yes, yes, yes—Gao Laba," Bai Yuan said. "I rember now."
They exchanged a few polite words, and Bai Yuan continued on.
Every so often, more people greeted him.
"Mr. Bai!"
"Mr. Bai!"
"Oh, you are…?"
"I'm Li Da."
"Ah! Yes, yes, yes—Li Da. I rember clearly now."
By the ti he finally reached the school, Bai Yuan felt as if his mory had just endured an endurance trial.
Even the gate guard recognized him.
"Mr. Bai, are you here to see Young Master Bai?"
Bai Yuan laughed.
"Indeed. I haven't seen my son in ages. I've co to challenge him to a duel—of mathematics!"
The guard imdiately made a strange face.
"Mr. Bai… perhaps you should challenge him to a shooting contest instead. As for mathematics—it would be best not to challenge the Three Scientific Titans of Gao Family Village."
If the guard hadn't said that, it would have been fine. But those words struck a nerve.
"Hmph!" Bai Yuan snorted. "Mathematics is one of a gentleman's Six Arts! I value it greatly. Why shouldn't I challenge my own son? Don't look down on !"
Fuming, he marched straight toward the research laboratory.
The guard watched his back, shaking his head.
"The waves behind push the waves ahead… the front waves die upon the shore. Mr. Bai, take care."
Soon, Bai Yuan arrived at the most mysterious, profound, and baffling place in the entire school—the research lab.
The mont he stepped inside, he nearly tripped over a cannon barrel lying waist-high on the floor. Startled, he quickly stepped around it.
As he went deeper, he saw half-assembled steam engines, strange axles, and even a chanical leg ant for the mass-produced Dao Xuan Tianzun units.
After searching for a long while, he finally spotted Young Master Bai, huddled together with two other vaguely familiar n. The three were bent over a palm-sized tal disc, absorbed in discussion.
The disc had six holes.
At a single glance, Bai Yuan recognized that each hole was perfectly sized to hold a bullet.
He instantly forgot why he had co at all and hurried over.
"What are you researching?"
Young Master Bai heard a voice but didn't even look up, failing to recognize his own father.
"Repeating flintlock rifles," he replied flatly.
Bai Yuan froze.
"What?"
Young Master Bai explained patiently,
"Look—this disc has six chambers. Load six bullets into it, then attach it to the flintlock. Fire one shot, rotate the disc, align the next chamber with the firing chanism, and fire again."
Bai Yuan's eyes widened.
"Amazing! Brilliant! Quick—make one for !"
Young Master Bai said nothing, his brows only furrowing more deeply.
Another middle-aged man spoke instead.
"That won't be possible so quickly. The main issue is the rotating disc itself. Once added, it compromises the barrel's airtight seal. When fired, gas leaks through the gap between the revolving chamber and the barrel, weakening the bullet's force."
Bai Yuan turned.
"And this gentleman is…?"
"Song Yingxing," the man replied.
"Ah, yes, yes, yes—Song Yingxing," Bai Yuan said. "I rember clearly now."
Another man added,
"There's also the chanical issue. The recoil puts enormous stress on the barrel, and the revolving chanism could be damaged easily unless we further improve steel quality."
Bai Yuan nodded.
"And you are…?"
"Wang Zheng."
"Ah! Yes, yes, yes—you're Wang Zheng. I rember now."
The three scientists stared at the disc in silence, deep in thought.
Bai Yuan suddenly said,
"Then why not abandon the disc altogether? Use a magazine instead—a spring at the bottom pushing bullets upward. Each ti a shot is fired, the spent cartridge is gone, and the spring feeds the next round. Wouldn't that be chanically simpler? Easier to seal, less fragile?"
"Hm?"
All three n turned to stare at him at once.
Only then did Young Master Bai finally recognize his father. He jumped up and bowed deeply.
"Father—you've arrived."
Bai Yuan snorted.
"Hmph. I've been standing here forever. Is this truly the first ti you've noticed ?"
Young Master Bai broke into a cold sweat.
The other two ignored the family drama completely.
Wang Zheng's eyes lit up.
"Mr. Bai's idea is excellent. However, we currently use paper cartridges. With continuous firing, unburned paper residue could easily clog the barrel. Therefore, we could design a hinged chanism at the rear—manually open it to eject debris while simultaneously feeding the next round…"
The more he spoke, the more excited he beca, imdiately sketching designs.
On the wall, the portrait of the Dao Xuan Tianzun seed to grin.
He could tell that, without realizing it, the scientists of Gao Family Village had just stepped onto the developnt path of the Kalthoff Repeating Rifle.
Indeed—once the foundational principles exist, technological progress becos inevitable.
At that mont, Bai Yuan suddenly said,
"Right—enough about repeating bullets. I almost forgot why I ca."
Young Master Bai straightened.
"Please speak, Father."
Bai Yuan's expression turned solemn.
"A few days ago, Lao Huihui's heavy cavalry launched a sudden raid on Luoyang. At the ti, the Dao Xuan Tianzun was absent, so we couldn't deploy the Dao Xuan Tianzun's reconnaissance hot-air balloons. As a result, the enemy and our scouts arrived almost simultaneously."
He paused, face dark.
"This cannot continue."
"We need reconnaissance thods that do not rely on the Dao Xuan Tianzun."
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