Our neighborhood has been transported again.

Chapter 179 The Power of the Vehicle-Mounted Crossbow (4K)

Qin Ziwen found Luo Gang and Zou Jianghe and showed them the video.

“It’s very dangerous in the east now. I’ve discovered that the giant desert worms have migrated here.”

After reading it, Luo Gang's expression turned solemn, and his face changed slightly. He thought of something: there was still one team that had not returned.

Zou Jianghe, who was standing nearby, was extremely worried and was now afraid to hear any more news.

Only after founding the Tongmenghui (Revolutionary Alliance) did he realize that starting a business is easy, but maintaining it is difficult.

"I will pass the notice down and make sure all the members are aware," Zou Jianghe said. "I've done a rough estimate, and it will take a day and a half to remove all the sand and dust from the community. That's assuming everyone in the community works. If we don't have enough manpower, it will take even longer."

Luo Gang said, "This is everyone's community, and everyone should contribute. I will also involve my classmates."

"President Zou, do you have any extra water here? We can purchase some."

"It's tough," Zou Jianghe shook his head. "Teacher Luo, I understand. I've coordinated things and we can provide you with about two thousand liters of water."

Upon hearing that it was only two thousand liters, Luo Gang fell silent.

If we conserve this water, it should be enough for the students to last for another two days.

Zou Jianghe said, "I know this amount of water is not enough, but we are currently facing a sandstorm. If we cannot find a new water source, everyone's water supply will be insufficient. Everyone should save some for their homes."

Luo Gang nodded silently; he understood.

Qin Ziwen pondered, and he actually came up with a method.

He can ride Red Hare and reach the oasis in three hours at most, provided he doesn't encounter any attacks. Then, he can activate a node in the oasis, allowing everyone in the community to reach the oasis through the node.

The downside is that it's too far from home, and the only way to get back is by migrating on foot.

It's a distance of tens of kilometers, too far.

Most of the day is spent on the road.

“We have to find new water.” Luo Gang looked at Qin Ziwen. “President Qin, we may have to move up the migration plan. If we wait until half a month later, we may not be able to hold on for that long.”

After thinking it over, Qin Ziwen agreed, "Teacher Luo, I can also sponsor you with 1,000 liters of water. I have already made a finished product of the vehicle-mounted crossbow. If we want to expand the scale, we will need some more materials."

Luo Gang said, "What material? Iron ore? I have some here."

Qin Ziwen said, "I don't need iron ore, I have that too. What I need are some car parts, like bearings and drive shafts."

Upon hearing that these things were needed, Luo Gang regretted that he couldn't help.

Zou Jianghe pondered, could these things be useful in making a vehicle-mounted crossbow?

They did indeed collect quite a lot.

Before the time travel, most of the cars parked outside had been dismantled, and many parts were removed. Although a lot of sheet metal was traded during the last transaction, most of it was just the outer sheet metal of the car body, and most of the internal parts were left behind.

Zou Jianghe said, "I can give you some for free. Can you use them to trade for the manufacturing process of the crossbow?"

Qin Ziwen shook his head and then said, "The vehicle-mounted crossbow is too dangerous, and the technology cannot be disseminated. However, if you need it, we can sell finished products after production is sufficient."

Upon hearing this, Zou Jianghe's eyes flickered, as if he had thought of something, before he finally nodded and said, "Okay."

After Zou Jianghe left, Luo Gang reminded him, "Once the finished product is sold, they can reverse-engineer it. With the finished product, it will be much easier for them to decipher it. I've heard of crossbows; the difficulty lies in some of the concepts, not in the technical aspects. Imitation won't be too difficult."

"Thank you for reminding me, I know." Qin Ziwen nodded, but in reality, the core of the vehicle-mounted crossbow was not just the blueprints, but also included a series of key elements such as materials, blacksmith shops, and furnaces.

At present, iron ingots forged through furnace bunkers and blacksmith shops have some special effects, such as toughness and strength that exceed those of ordinary metals. These special metals are used in some key parts.

If a crossbow is forcibly imitated and pieced together using some materials, even if it can be used with difficulty, it is prone to problems.

Of course, there might actually be experts who can solve these problems.

But this is also a good thing for the whole community, indicating that he has the potential to optimize the vehicle-mounted crossbow.

Seeing that Qin Ziwen understood the situation, Luo Gang said no more.

Qin Ziwen extended an invitation, "By the way, Teacher Luo, I'm going to test-fire my vehicle-mounted crossbow in the field later. Would you like to come and take a look?"

Luo Gang, who had just turned around, stopped in his tracks. He thought for a moment and said, "Okay."

Unit 1, Building 1, Apartment 802.

"Tingting, is there no water in the bucket?" a girl called out from inside the room.

The girl, wearing glasses, with her hair tied back and dressed in a blue-black plaid shirt, shook her head: "That's all. This morning was the last pot."

Looking at the empty bucket, the girl in the yellow dress who had spoken slumped to the ground and licked her dry lips.

There was a knock on the door. "Open the door."

"It's Sister Qiu." The girl sitting in the living room quickly sat up, went over and opened the door.

Outside the door, a short-haired girl with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a slightly round face walked into the house carrying a bucket of water. "This is the water we were allocated today. I just asked Xia Qing, and there isn't much water left. It's a fixed allocation every day."

"Sister Qiu, if you don't come back soon, I'm starting to think I'm going to die of thirst." The door opened, and a tall girl in hot pants fanned herself with a happy smile on her face.

Tingting glanced at her indifferently.

The girl in the yellow shirt leaned close to Tingting's ear and whispered, "Qin Siyao always finds excuses to get water, but she's always the most eager to drink it. Sister Qiu is just too nice."

Qiu put the water in the kettle and started boiling it.

She said, "Old Luo said that everyone will have to go downstairs to help clear the sand later. You can get the tools from the teaching building."

"Ah, we don't have to go." Qin Siyao pouted. "It's really tiring. I was so thirsty all day. Let those people clean up down there. It doesn't matter whether we go or not, since no one is supervising us."

"Bang!" Sister Qiu suddenly stood up and slammed her hand on the table. She turned to look at Qin Siyao, her voice filled with anger, "I've put up with you for too long!"

“You’re always lazy when you’re working. We’ve been here for almost a week and you haven’t even gone to get water once. When we were doing a big clean-up, you said you had your period and your stomach hurt. When we went out to collect supplies, you would say you were tired after working for a while and you wouldn’t do anything or do anything well.”

At first, I thought we were all girls and should help each other, but now I see clearly that you are just selfish!
We are all residents of this community; this isn't just one person's problem! Everyone else is clearing sand down there. If you don't go, and I don't go, and nobody goes, what will others think of us? You must remember, the place we live in is provided to us free of charge by others. People should know how to be grateful!

Hearing Qiu Jie's powerful speech, the girl in the yellow dress quietly applauded.

Qin Siyao's face turned pale and then red upon hearing this.

"I was only trying to help you all, and you don't appreciate my kindness." After saying that, Qin Siyao stormed back to her bedroom and slammed the door shut.

Sister Qiu looked at her coldly and suddenly said, "You should find somewhere else to stay. You're not welcome here. Otherwise, if everyone votes to kick you out, it will only make things worse."

Qin Siyao remained silent in the room.

After a while, she left with her luggage, her face cold.

After she left, Sister Qiu asked everyone, "Do you want to go clean together?"

The other three nodded like chickens pecking at rice, their attitude respectful.

Sister Qiu glanced at the group, a helpless look on her face: "Actually, I have a pretty good temper."

"Yeah."

"I heard from Lao Luo that there's a performance outside the neighborhood tonight. Do you want to go check it out together?"

"Okay, okay." "Sister Qiu, this is the performance you were talking about." The girl in the yellow dress patted her chest, looking curiously at the crossbow that was being pushed out of the car not far away, a display of violent aesthetics.

If it were her before time travel, she might have dismissed this matter with disdain.

But after more than a month of experience, the rough vehicle-mounted crossbow looked completely different to her.

"I didn't know before I came."

"Hey, Sister Qiu, isn't that your Cao Biansheng?" The girl in the yellow shirt tugged at Sister Qiu's arm and pointed to the boy pushing a crossbow cart not far away.

"Don't talk nonsense about what I call 'my family.' He and I are just high school classmates," Sister Qiu explained.

Not far away, Cao Biansheng was talking to the young man beside him, nodding from time to time.

Then, he seemed to receive some instructions and began operating the vehicle-mounted crossbow.

After setting up the three supports behind the crossbow on the ground and securing them in place, Yuan Ming assisted by turning the winch and placing arrows on it.

Not far away, fifty meters away in an open space, was their target: a dead tree.

A large group of residents had gathered outside the vehicle-mounted crossbow, staring at the somewhat ancient-looking device.

Here, it seems to have been revitalized.

"What do you think of the power of this vehicle-mounted crossbow?"

"I don't know, but this arrow looks pretty big. I reckon it could kill a cow with one shot."

"I think nailing him to the ground might be a bit difficult, but serious injury should be no problem."

"Do you guys have some misunderstanding about siege weapons like crossbows? They are siege weapons, used for attacking cities." Someone who knew a little more about them stood up and said, "Don't even mention a cow, as long as you can hit its torso, even an elephant will die."

A loud shout came from afar, "Release!"

The next moment, the crossbow on the vehicle was released.

"Bang!!!"

There was an explosion.

Fifty meters away, the withered tree that would take two people to encircle snapped in two in an instant.

The long crossbow bolts left long afterimages as they disappeared into the distant sand dunes, kicking up clouds of dust!
Although it is a dead tree, its bark is extremely hard due to years of wind and sun exposure.

But it was as fragile as a piece of paper in the face of the crossbow bolts.

It broke instantly without any resistance.

The crowd fell silent for a moment, then erupted in cheers.

Some people, with tears in their eyes, laughed heartily.

Some people raised their arms, clenched their fists, and shouted loudly.

The surrounding area erupted in cheers.

This is a powerful weapon against wild beasts, and it is also their courage.

Seeing this, Luo Gang couldn't help but smile.

He knew that under intense pressure, a person's nerves would become like a taut string, and over time, they would become increasingly irritable, sensitive, fragile, and easily angered.

They are prone to going to two extremes, either becoming increasingly aggressive and irritable.

They either escape or retreat, avoiding all social interaction and responsibility.

This change is gradual and subtle; some people may not even be aware of it themselves.

An inspiring message can ease the tension of many people, which is why he wanted his classmates to see it.

Zhou Xiaqing came to Luo Gang's side and asked, "Teacher Luo, can we also make a vehicle-mounted crossbow?"

"It will be difficult in the short term because we don't know the specific structure of the vehicle-mounted crossbow. Of course, we can deduce it from the appearance of the finished product, but that will take time," Luo Gang shook his head.

Zhou Xiaqing looked at Cao Biansheng, a hint of emotion flashing in her eyes.

Previously, they had been discussing in private that Cao Biansheng had "fallen out of favor" by being sent to the Qin Alliance by Teacher Luo, but seeing Cao Biansheng's spirited demeanor while operating the crossbow today, she realized that perhaps when Cao Biansheng went to the Qin Alliance, he embarked on a path different from theirs.

At 8 p.m., the second crossbow was freshly produced.

But no information has been found all day regarding suitable dragon prey.

Du Yu remained calm about it, as if he wasn't the one doing the extreme challenge.

"Instructor Du, you're too calm. You're making us feel like eunuchs around the emperor," Qin Ziwu said helplessly.

"Why?" Du Yu asked curiously.

Qin Ziwu said seriously, "The emperor isn't worried, but the eunuchs are."

Du Yu laughed loudly, "To be honest, I was also quite nervous. But I am deeply grateful for all of you who have gone to such lengths for me and for your kind intentions. Now that we have done our best, whether we succeed or not is up to fate."

Qin Ziwu sighed, "You really are like a monk."

"Instead of wasting time on unrealistic expectations, we should calm our minds and wait for the right time," Du Yu said with a smile.

"Boom bang bang."

A rapid knocking interrupted their thoughts.

A pretty young woman stood outside the door, her voice tinged with anxiety: "Hello, is President Qin here?"

"What are you looking for him for?"

Zhou Xiaqing said, "I came here on behalf of Teacher Luo because I have an urgent matter to ask for his help."

"Oh, I remember now, you're the one next to Lao Luo, I've seen you a few times." Qin Ziwu suddenly realized, and pointed outside, "My brother went out, he should be downstairs shoveling mortar right now."

Zhou Xiaqing quickly nodded, "Thank you."

Du Yu stood up and followed behind her, nodding as he said, "Let me lead the way."

"Then I'm sorry to trouble you."

At the edge of the south gate of the residential area, Qin Ziwen was using a modified, crude shovel to push a large clump of dust outside the gate.

The south gate originally had a downward-sloping ladder, but now the ladder is mostly buried in dust. Walking along this path, you can exit the community.

Seeing that the president of the Qin Alliance had also rolled up his sleeves and was working with everyone, praise could be heard from all around.

But some people couldn't stand it and scoffed, "Isn't this just a show?"

This statement was quickly refuted. "Ha, President Qin's efficiency is equivalent to three of yours. What are you complaining about? I've been watching for a while now. He's as strong as an ox. He can do the work of several people. No wonder he can be the president."

"Wait a minute, so that's why you're working so slowly. Turns out you've been watching others work the whole time!"

"What are you saying? What are you saying? How did I stop working? I call it working slowly, continuously, and rhythmically!"

(End of this chapter)