Chapter 3: Now We Have Guns
Taihai City is the political center, economic center and cultural center of the South Taihai government's jurisdiction. After more than 200 years of development, Taihai City has become the largest gathering place for Han people overseas, with nearly one million people living here.
The Luo Mansion is located in the southern part of Taixing City, with a collection of exquisite buildings, pavilions and gardens. The area is filled with artificial hills, ponds and water features, as well as high-rise buildings and grand architecture that shines brightly. It's clear that this place is not for ordinary people, but rather for those of high social status.
"Master, why are you going out? Manager Wu has instructed that the old master is seriously ill and you should stay at home as much as possible during this time to minimize your outings." A petite and delicate maid saw her young master rushing towards the Luo Manor gate with several guards and hurried over to persuade him.
"Huh? When did Wu Da become the one who can order me around? How, as the young master of the Luo family, I'm still being monitored and imprisoned by a group of underlings?"
In her heart, she cursed Wu Ya Chen, the great general manager who was not a good thing. Luo Kai didn't care about the little maid who was trembling with fear because of his tiger-like appearance, and with a wave of his hand, he ordered two temporary soldiers from his father's firearms team to open the way, and they walked straight out of the mansion.
Seven twists and eight turns later, Luo Kei's group arrived at a small alleyway.
Here, dozens of warriors have been waiting for a long time.
He was the leader of these dozens of elite warriors, and he looked like he was only in his early twenties. His surname was Luo, and his name was Zhennan. He was originally a poor and unknown orphan with no surname or family background. Later, he received support from Mrs. Luo Kai's mother and barely made ends meet. He was able to write and fight, knew how to repay kindness, and joined the army after which he was deeply valued by General Luo and cultivated as a trusted aide.
Lu Zhennuan's mind was preoccupied with his father's safety, and he took a step forward, respectfully saying to Lu Kai: "Young master, I don't know if the Southern King's condition has improved. Recently, the Xiao family has been active frequently, and their wolfish ambitions have already been revealed."
"Hmph, none of them are good people. With Father ill, Wu the housekeeper, Wu the old dog, relies on being the elder in the family and that woman's support, everywhere using reason and rules to suppress me. And then there's Xiao Bo from the Xiao family, don't even mention him or I'll be so angry I'd want to crush his bones to dust. Forming cliques and pursuing private interests for decades, harboring evil intentions, his heart is detestable. The most hateful thing is that he's also with that woman..."
"Now the Luo Manor has become a den of filth and corruption, let's not mention it. In any case, I'm not planning to return there."
"Master, won't you go back? The Southern King is still recuperating there."
"No need, with Dong Guanjia and Mr. Hu taking care of things, a group of jumping clowns wouldn't dare to commit such a disrespectful act, let alone the fact that they won't be able to jump around for much longer." A flash of murderous intent flickered in his eyes, inheriting the decisiveness of Lu Zhanyi, the Marshal of China. Luo Kai, who had been harboring restless factors in his heart, had already begun to possess a leader's demeanor.
"Dong Guan's abilities are unpredictable, and Mr. Hu has the talent to control the world; with these two men in charge, people's minds can be at ease." Knowing that his father was safe, Luo Zhenhuan felt relieved.
"Don't mention that, what I asked you to prepare yesterday, did you get it? Today those things are of great use." Luo Kai looked around and didn't see any cargo carts nearby, so he couldn't help but ask.
"Don't worry, young master, everything is in the carriage outside the city. You'll see it as soon as we leave." Luo Zhenhuan said with a confident face.
"Alright, let's set off, today I'll show you something good."
Lu Kai was eager to try, thinking that he himself had not done his old job for a while in his previous life, but didn't know if his skills had deteriorated.
"Haha, I'll make you kids worship me to the point of prostration." Luo Kai fantasized as he walked out of the alley with Luo Zhenhuan, and soon found two horse-drawn carriages not far away. The group set off towards the suburbs in a grand manner.
After traveling for a while, several people got off the carriage and arrived outside a military camp tens of kilometers away from the seaside.
The barracks are extremely large, and compared to its area, the number of people in it is really sparse. As the saying goes, "when things go against the norm, there must be a ghost", and indeed, inside the largest building in the barracks, there is another world.
Luozhen Huan knew that there was a secret underground beneath the military camp, but he didn't know the specific situation. This time, being able to enter and take a peek, it's hard not to feel curious.
Down the stairs through a well-sized hole, Luo Zhenhuan felt like he had entered a world of steel and iron, just like Liu Laolao entering Daguanyuan, too much curiosity and too many misunderstandings filled his mind.
Compared to Luo Zhenhuan, Luo Kai was familiar with the road and quickly brought Luo Zhenhuan to the few machines that were still operating in this factory. Here, nearly a dozen workers were busy at work.
Affected by the atmosphere inside, Luo Zhenhuan immediately fell silent and followed closely behind Luo Kai with a straight body like a bodyguard.
Luokei walked directly towards the person in charge of this group as soon as he arrived.
"Yan An, how's the progress?"
The person called Yan An by Luo Kai had a common face, with an average height of 1.7 meters, a hoarse voice, eyes filled with bloodshot, wearing a blue-black work uniform, and a pair of thick-boned hands covered in calluses.
Luoke knew that Yan An, despite his honest appearance, was a crazy person at heart. He had an almost obsessive love for mechanics and inventions. This could be seen from his hoarse voice, the bloodshot eyes, and his pure blue work uniform stained with dust and grime.
"Young master, we haven't disgraced your teachings. Following your instructions, we were able to produce qualified parts yesterday, but the scarcity of materials has restricted our production speed. So far, only two finished products have been produced."
Luoke nodded, being able to see the finished product today was beyond his expectations, and he couldn't help but feel excited.
"It's done so quickly, where is the gun? Let me take a look at how it was made."
The processing level of the barrel has a great impact on the performance of the gun, especially in terms of accuracy. The processing of rifling, twist rate, and bore all involve high-precision instruments. However, with several state-of-the-art CNC machines, precision is not a problem. What really gives Luo Ke a headache is the foundation of making guns - materials. The barrel needs to withstand tremendous pressure and intense friction during work, so the material selection for making barrels is very strict. Generally, hard alloy steel containing elements such as tungsten and manganese is used. If conditions permit, tungsten or chromium can be plated on the inner wall of the barrel to increase its lifespan. It is clear that it is currently impossible to smelt such high-quality alloy materials, so Luo Ke is satisfied with Yan An and his team's ability to find suitable materials and produce finished products in a very short period of time.
"There, by the wall, I was just thinking of asking someone to call you over to inspect our work, didn't expect you to come." Yan An's face was full of pride, for a workaholic like him, others' affirmation was their lifelong motivation.
Lu Kai raised the long gun that was almost as tall as himself, and pulled the bolt to aim with ease. For a master of this path like Lu Kai, he could understand its performance eight or nine out of ten with just a few simple actions after picking up the gun.
"Young master, what do you think?"
Although he also wondered why Luo Kai's entire set of actions seemed effortless, Yan An was more concerned about whether his own efforts would be recognized.
"Ah, it's fine now." Facing the strange gazes of the people around him, Luo Kai touched his nose, looking embarrassed. As for his own nearly adult-like strange energy, Luo Kai also found it quite strange. In fact, after integrating the memories of the original owner of this body, Luo Kai had some idea about the source of this power.
"It's not easy!" With a sigh of emotion, Luo Kai grasped his long gun and couldn't help but feel a sense of invincibility with the gun in hand.
———————————————————————————————

