Courtyard House: A Major Power's Heavy Industry, Hand-Crafted Nuclear Fusion

Yanjing Military Region, a field firing range.

The jeep sped along, passing three checkpoints, and finally stopped in an open area surrounded by mountains.

The air here is thicker with the smell of gunpowder than that of the steel mill, and the muffled roar of heavy machine gun fire can be heard from time to time in the distance, making people tremble.

Su Zheng jumped out of the car with his "Dark Night" rifle and saw a burly old man with graying temples standing under the sunshade in the center of the shooting range.

He was wearing an old military uniform without rank insignia and leaning on a cane. Although he was just standing there casually, the iron-blooded aura he exuded, as if he had fought his way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, made the surrounding air seem to freeze.

Surrounding him were several technical experts in white coats, as well as the operations staff officer Wang Dalei.

"Commander! The man has been brought!" Wang Dalei snapped to attention and saluted.

The old man turned around, his hawk-like eyes sweeping over Su Zheng before finally settling on the gun in his hand.

"It's a young child."

The old man spoke, his voice somewhat hoarse, yet carrying an undeniable authority: "I heard you shot down a sparrow from four hundred meters away while standing?"

"Yes." Su Zheng replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, his back ramrod straight.

"That's interesting."

The old man smiled, but there was little warmth in his smile. "Wang Dalei is a roughneck, easily fooled. But these men around me are veteran experts from the Ministry of Ordnance Industry. They say that although your gun is accurate, it's very likely a 'Lin Daiyu'—all show and no substance."

Su Zheng turned his gaze to the experts beside the old man.

The leader was an old man wearing thick glasses. Looking at the gun in Su Zheng's hand, he shook his head: "Young comrade, your design concept is very bold. The floating barrel and hollow stock can indeed improve accuracy. However, you have overlooked the most important point—the battlefield environment."

The old expert pointed to the muddy ground in the distance: "Our soldiers have to crawl in mud pits, soak in water, and roll in sand dunes. Your gun is as precise as a clock. A clock is accurate, but can you use a clock to crack walnuts? If even a little sand gets in, this gun will probably jam, won't it?"

"Exactly, with all these holes and openings (referring to the perforated design), how do you clean it once mud and sand get in?" another expert chimed in. "In weapon design, reliability is always the top priority. Without reliability, accuracy is a joke."

While the experts' words may be harsh, they are indeed wise and insightful observations. In this era, sturdiness and durability are paramount.

Hearing the expert's doubts, the commander nodded slightly and looked at Su Zheng: "Kid, what do you say? If this gun can only be used for target practice in the laboratory, then I don't want it."

Su Zheng did not offer any explanation.

He simply smiled faintly, picked up his gun, and walked straight towards a muddy ditch next to the shooting range.

"What is he going to do?" Wang Dalei was stunned for a moment.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Su Zheng made a move that sent chills down everyone's spine.

He loosened his grip.

"Pfft!"

The expensive and incredibly sophisticated "Dark Night" rifle fell directly into a stinking, muddy pit.

Not finished yet.

Su Zheng jumped in and stomped hard on the gun several times with his leather shoes, burying it completely in the mud until it was no longer visible.

"What are you doing! What a waste!" The old expert stamped his foot in distress. "These are precision instruments! How can you treat them like this!"

The commander's eyes suddenly lit up.

One minute later.

Su bent down and fished the gun out of the muddy water.

At this point, "Dark Night" had become a "fire poker," with the gun body, scope, and bolt gaps filled with black sludge, and muddy water was still dripping down.

Su Zheng didn't wipe it, he just flicked it around and then threw the gun into the water tank used for fire fighting next to him.

"Gulp."

The gun sank to the bottom of the water.

Su Zheng counted to three, grabbed the gun sling, and pulled the gun out.

Water gushed down the hollowed-out gunstock and the specially designed drainage channel.

"Snap!"

Su Zheng pulled the bolt.

Although the sound was not as crisp as before, and had a slightly rough feel from the friction of sand and gravel, it was still smooth to the end without any hesitation.

"Bullets!" Su Zheng stretched out his hand.

Wang Dalei reacted the fastest, throwing over a magazine.

Su Zheng caught it, pushed it into the magazine with a "click," and without even shouldering it, held the gun in one hand, aiming at a helmet fifty meters away—

"Bang!"

A shot rang out!

The helmet flew off with a thud, leaving a hole through it.

"It fired? It actually fired?" The old expert's eyes widened in disbelief. So much mud and sand had gotten in, how come the bolt didn't jam?

"It's not over yet."

Su Zheng threw the gun on the concrete ground, pointed to the two-and-a-half-ton jeep next to him, and said to Wang Dalei, "Staff Officer Wang, could you please drive over it?"

"What?!"

Wang Dalei was dumbfounded. "Engineer Su, this...this is unnecessary, isn't it? This is an aluminum alloy stock; what if it gets flattened?"

"Press!" Su Zheng uttered only one word.

Wang Dalei glanced at the commander. The commander nodded: "Press it!"

"boom--"

The jeep started up, its large off-road tires relentlessly crushing the mud-covered rifle.

"Creak—"

A sickening metallic scraping sound rang out.

After the car drove by, everyone gathered around it.

The rifle on the ground was still straight, and although the thin, hollow stock had some scratches, the structure was intact!

Su Zheng walked over, picked up the gun, and dusted it off.

He raised his gun and, through the scope that was still covered in mud but had a clear view (because the lens had a quick-release protective cover that had just been opened), locked onto a red flag on a hilltop 800 meters away.

"Eight hundred meters."

Su Zheng took a deep breath, gripped his gun, and aimed.

This time, he used a kneeling position.

After being soaked in mud, submerged in water, and run over by vehicles, will the zero point of the gun barrel change? This is the ultimate test of a gun's structural strength.

"Bang!"

Gunshots echoed through the valley.

A few seconds later, the target reporter's excited voice came through the walkie-talkie:

"Reporting, sir! The red flag... the flagpole is broken!"

Quiet.

A deathly silence.

The old expert who had just been questioning Su Zheng now had his mouth agape, wide enough to fit an egg. He walked over shakily, touching the still-smoking gun as if it were a monster.

"This...how is this possible? How can such a precise structure be so robust? This simply defies the principles of mechanics!"

Nothing is impossible.

Su Zheng said calmly, "Precision doesn't mean being delicate. When I was designing it, I took into account the long-stroke piston gas operation principle of the AK47 and increased the tolerance redundancy of the receiver to allow dirt and sand to go away. But in the core areas of barrel locking and firing, I used the highest precision fit. That's what you call 'rough on the outside but meticulous on the inside'."

"What a skillful combination of rough around the edges and meticulous attention to detail!"

"Snapped!"

The commander slapped his thigh and burst into laughter: "Great gun! It's a damn good gun! This is exactly what I've been looking for!"

He walked up to Su Zheng, looked the young man up and down, and the admiration in his eyes had turned into naked possessiveness:

"Kid, your name is Su Zheng, right? I think you're wasting your talents working at that steel rolling mill! Come work for me! Come to the military region, I'll make you the director of a research institute! And your rank will be directly promoted to lieutenant colonel! How about it?"

Wang Dalei, standing next to him, looked on with envy.

Starting as a lieutenant colonel is like taking a rocket!

However, Su Zheng shook his head.

"Sir, thank you for your kindness. But I cannot come."

"You think your rank is too low?" The commander frowned. "Then, Colonel!"

"It's not a matter of whether the official is high-ranking or low-ranking."

Su Zheng looked at the commander and said earnestly, "Commander, you think this gun is good because I made it by hand. But if we want all the soldiers in the army to use guns like this, it's not enough to rely on just my two hands."

"Our country's industrial base is too weak. Without high-precision machine tools and good materials, this gun can only be an art piece in the laboratory and cannot be mass-produced."

"I stayed at the steel rolling mill because it's at the forefront of industry. I want to build the machine tool that can produce this gun there, and refine the good steel that can make it. Only by laying a solid industrial foundation can we have as many guns as we need."

"If I came to the military region now, I would be a gun repairman. But if I stay in the factory, I'll be a 'hen that lays eggs'."

Su Zheng's words were resounding and powerful.

The scene fell silent again.

The look in the eyes of the senior experts as they looked at Su Zheng changed from shock to deep respect.

The commander remained silent for a long time, the sharpness in his eyes gradually turning into deep emotion.

He stretched out his rough, calloused hand and patted Su Zheng heavily on the shoulder: "Good! Good lad! You've got vision! You've got a good perspective! You're much better than a roughneck like me!"

"You're right. You can't do a job without the right tools. The country's industrial base is indeed our weakness."

The commander turned around and shouted at Wang Dalei, "Go! Bring me my 'Black Star'!"

Soon, Wang Dalei ran over carrying an exquisite wooden box.

The commander opened the box, inside lay a brand-new Type 54 pistol, its body black with a striking black five-pointed star on the grip.

"Since you're unwilling to become the director, we can't let you work for nothing."

The commander picked up the pistol and solemnly handed it to Su Zheng: "This gun is for you. Also, from today onwards, you are our Yanjing Military Region's 'Special Military Industry Advisor.' Here is your identification."

A red, gold-embossed certificate and a heavy pistol were handed to Su Zheng at the same time.

"Your gun license is all set. It's valid nationwide; you can carry it anywhere except the Imperial Palace."

The commander looked at Su Zheng and said domineeringly, "With this gun in hand, let's see who dares to bully you from now on! Anyone who dares to cause you trouble is going against me! They're going against the Yanjing Military Region!"

Su Zheng took the gun, feeling its cold and heavy touch, and a warm feeling welled up in his heart.

In this era, it is not just a weapon, but also a get-out-of-jail-free card, a talisman that grants unparalleled protection.

With it, those evil spirits in the courtyard will have to think twice before they try to do anything wicked.

"Thank you, sir!" Su Zheng gave a somewhat imperfect military salute.

"Alright, get lost! Go back and build me a machine tool! I'll be waiting for your good news!"

The commander waved his hand and laughed and scolded, but the admiration in his eyes was impossible to hide.

……

On the jeep on the way back.

Su Zheng sat in the back seat, stroking the texture of the Type 54 pistol in his hand, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

This trip to the military region was more fruitful than I had imagined.

This not only proved the value of "Dark Night," but more importantly, it gave him the strongest backer.

"Special Consultant..."

Su Zheng gazed at the fleeting scenery outside the window, his eyes deep and thoughtful.