National Survival: I Supported the Dragon Nation by Hunting Dinosaurs

(This chapter is somewhat technical; the written description may not be able to visually demonstrate the principles. The author mentions that it includes a diagram of how to make a homemade grenade.)

(Those interested can join the discussion: how would we have made more lethal grenades during the prehistoric dinosaur era?)

(All ideas are based on the author's own thinking and ideal conditions. If you have different opinions, please feel free to discuss them, but please refrain from criticism! (Please!))

[Discussion area!]

The night was as dark as ink, and the campfire inside the cave was burning brightly.

The aroma of fish soup had not yet completely dissipated in the air.

"Are you full?"

Zhang Li's gaze swept over the three of them: "Now that you've eaten, let's get to work."

With a wave of his hand, Zhang Li opened the storage space.

Charcoal powder and sulfur blocks were neatly stacked on a flat stone slab.

Inside the live stream, the breaths of hundreds of millions of viewers froze.

The moment has finally arrived!

"Brothers! Everyone stand up! Where's the chemistry class representative?"

"It's finally starting! Is this the legendary 'one part saltpeter, two parts sulfur, three parts charcoal'?"

"Upstairs, that's a joke! If you actually mixed it that way, you'd only hear a bang, it wouldn't kill anyone!"

Zhang Li looked at Wang Qiang and Li Yue: "Listen carefully, the production of black powder cannot tolerate the slightest carelessness."

Especially now, without instruments, feel is everything.

"Brother Qiang, you're in charge of grinding the charcoal. I need it ground to a fine powder, like flour. The finer the powder, the faster it burns and the more powerful it will be."

"Huang Xiaoying, you're in charge of the sulfur. Grind it to the extreme as well."

"Give the saltpeter to Li Yue."

The three had a clear division of labor, and the only sound in the cave was the soft grinding of stones.

Zhang Li explained in a low voice, "The standard military black powder formula is usually 75% potassium nitrate, 10% sulfur, and 15% charcoal."

"But the purity of our current raw materials does not meet industrial grade standards, especially charcoal, which is highly hygroscopic."

Zhang Li grabbed a handful of charcoal powder and felt the fine granular texture.

"Therefore, we need to make some fine-tuning."

"74% saltpeter, 14% charcoal, 12% sulfur."

Zhang Li's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable sense of authority: "This ratio can maximize the detonation rate and combustion intensity."

Inside the studio, Professor Li, a physics professor, adjusted his glasses, his eyes filled with admiration.

"So professional! Absolutely professional!"

"Zhang Li took into account the impact of ambient humidity and purity on the combustion rate."

Increasing the proportion of sulfur can lower the ignition point, and increasing the proportion of charcoal can aid combustion!

Soon, the three powders were carefully mixed together.

Zhang Li did not use a metal container, but instead gently stirred with a wooden stick.

This step is the most dangerous.

Any tiny spark of static electricity could send the entire cavern soaring into the sky in an instant.

As the pile of grayish-black powder gradually took shape, the viewers in front of the screen subconsciously held their breath.

"Done."

Zhang Li carefully packed the mixed gunpowder into a ceramic jar and sealed it to prevent moisture.

But he didn't stop.

"Brother Qiang, watch the house. I'll be right back."

Zhang Li turned and disappeared into the night outside the cave.

The All-Seeing Eye is activated!

The dark jungle became clearly defined in his vision.

This time, he was looking for plants.

【Cycas fern (varietal): A common fern in the Jurassic period, with hollow stems, highly lignified fibers, and a hardness approaching that of hardwood.】

"It's you."

Zhang Li strode over, brandishing his dagger.

He specifically selects cycad stems from those that are older.

Remove the head and tail, leaving only the hollow middle section.

In just ten minutes, he chopped more than twenty pieces.

The live stream chat was filled with question marks.

"What's the point of setting up a shrine? To chop wood?"

"Wait a minute, this thing is hollow, it won't even last long when used for burning."

Xu Zhiping stared at the screen and stated his deduction: "It's the outer shell!"

"We have gunpowder, but to make it lethal, we need a sealed container to generate high pressure!"

"These cycad stalks have hard outer walls and are naturally hollow in the middle; aren't they just like natural grenade casings?"

This statement caused an uproar across the internet.

"Holy crap! A plant grenade?"

"That's incredibly imaginative! Making hand grenades from whatever's available?"

However, Professor Li, who was standing next to him, frowned.

"It's theoretically feasible, but... there's a fatal problem."

Professor Li pointed to the image on the screen and said in a serious tone: "Detonation mechanism."

"With explosives and a casing, how do you detonate it? Light it with a torch? That's simply too late in actual combat!"

Furthermore, how should the fuse be made? What if the fuse's burning speed is uncontrollable and it explodes before being thrown?

"In primitive environments, ignition and fuse design were an unsolvable problem!"

Just as the experts were questioning the matter, Zhang found some semi-dried ferns in a shady crevice in the rocks.

This plant has very long fibers that are extremely tough even when dry.

He patiently peeled off the fibers and twisted them into thin ropes.

"lead?"

Some people in the comments section understood it.

"But... can this thing be used as a fuse?"

"Semi-dry plant fibers, they'd be hard to light, wouldn't they? The burning speed is completely unpredictable. What if they burn too fast? Wouldn't the spirit explode?"

Professor Li also shook his head: "This kind of crudely made fiber rope is extremely prone to breaking. On the battlefield, a dud is more terrifying than having no gun at all."

"Don't rush, watch Li Shen's move!"

Zhang Li returned to the camp with a pile of materials.

At this moment, Wang Qiang, who was by the campfire, had already put some of the lumps of sulfur into a small earthenware jar as instructed, and placed it on the edge of the fire to bake.

Zhang Li took the pottery jar and stared intently at its contents.

As the temperature rises, the yellow solid sulfur begins to melt, turning into a pale yellow liquid with excellent fluidity.

"Now!"

Zhang Li moved extremely quickly, swiftly removing the pottery jar from the flames.

He immersed each of the crumpled plant fiber ropes into a pale yellow sulfur liquid, allowing the fibers to fully absorb the sulfur, and then quickly lifted them up to dry.

Inside the studio, Professor Li's eyes practically popped out of their sockets.

He Jiong was startled: "Professor Li, what's wrong?"

Professor Li pointed to the screen: "Look at the color of that sulfur solution!"

"Sulfur has a melting point of around 115 degrees Celsius. Within this temperature range, sulfur has the best fluidity and can perfectly penetrate into the fiber."

"Once the temperature exceeds 160 degrees Celsius, the sulfur becomes viscous, turns dark brown, and becomes brittle upon cooling, making it impossible to adhere!"

"Zhang Li actually managed to pinpoint that fleeting optimal temperature control point with the naked eye!"

"The fiber rope soaked in sulfur is not only waterproof and moisture-proof, but also burns at a stable and even rate!"

"This is a textbook example of homemade fuse making!"

Inside the cave, Zhang Li cut the dried sulfur fuse to the appropriate length.

Next comes the assembly stage.

He took out the Neon Stone Orthomorphite that Wang Qiang had picked up during the day while mining.

This stone is extremely hard and has sharp edges.

"Brother Qiang, smash it!"

Zhang Li handed it to Wang Qiang: "Smash it into pieces the size of a fingernail, the sharper the better."

This is shrapnel.

Although they lacked cast iron casings, the hard rock fragments, propelled by the explosion of black powder, were just as lethal as shrapnel.

Everything is ready.

Zhang Li picked up a hollow cycad stem.

First, fill in a layer of gunpowder and compact it.

Add rock fragments

Repeated several times...

This loading method ensures that during an explosion, shrapnel will fly in all directions without any blind spots.

Finally, insert the pale yellow sulfur wire into the very center.

Seal the top with a thin piece of wood, leaving only the lead wire exposed.

"Is it done?" Wang Qiang looked at the object in his hand, somewhat hesitant. "How... do I start it?"

Zhang Li smiled mysteriously: "Don't rush, there's one last step. The step of infusing the soul."

He selected two types of stones from the space.

One type is pyrite mined from caves.

Another type is the nephrite syenite collected today.

He inserted the two stones into the top of the stem.

Then, pyrite was placed above the lead end.

Then insert a thin piece of wood with a hole drilled in the middle, and thread the lead through the hole in the wood.

Next, place the piece of neon orthoclase on top of the wooden piece.

Finally, a horizontal piece of wood was inserted to completely separate the two stones.

This horizontal piece of wood, with one end sticking out, has been polished into the shape of a pull ring.

"This is……"

The studio was completely silent.

Everyone was trying to understand this mechanical structure.

A few seconds later, Professor Li exclaimed in surprise.

"This is a truly ingenious design!!"

"This is the most basic principle of pull-to-fire firing!"

"That horizontal wooden piece is the safety pin!"

"When Zhang Li pulls out the safety pin, the suspended piece of anephrite syenite will come into contact with the pyrite below!"

"At this point, all you need to do is grab the end of the grenade's tail and swing it vigorously!"

"Intense friction and impact will generate extremely hot sparks!"

"And these sparks will directly ignite the fuse!"

"This is a primitive—hand grenade!"

After hearing the explanation, the live stream chat exploded.

"Physics + Chemistry + Engineering, Li Shen is defying the heavens!"

I'd call it—a plant-based grenade!

Inside the cave.

Zhang Li held the crude creation in his hand and nodded in satisfaction.

He looked at the three of them.

"I call this thing a plant grenade."

He gently stroked the wooden piece that served as a safety pin.

"Now it's time to test its power!"