Please pull the trigger for this world one more time.

At night, the weapons science teaching and research room was brightly lit.

"It seems that this is the problem."

Wearing white cotton gloves, Mo Zian looked at the layer of powder scraped from the gun barrel by his fingertip and said with certainty, "The bullet was damp, the tail powder did not burn completely, and it was carried by the gas to the gas collecting device, which blocked the gas collecting port and caused the barrel to explode."

The air was slightly still for a few seconds.

"This design is unusable, let's abandon it," Jiang Lu said regretfully.

"Why, Teacher Jiang?" Zhao Shengnan asked, puzzled. "I think it works really well."

"Because the requirements for bullets are high," Mo Zian replied. "We're using stockpiled bullets, and with the two spring rains a few days ago, the bullets are bound to be a bit damp."

"Why not just replace the bullets with non-damp ones?" Zhao Shengnan still didn't quite understand.

"Although we're not exactly in the far north, we're still in the north-central part of the empire, and we're inland, so the environment isn't particularly humid. What about when we get to the southern border?"

Mo Zian continued, "That is the front line against the Chenhuan Empire, and also the place where a large-scale conflict is most likely to break out. The climate on the southern border is notoriously humid."

On the other hand, the empire has been at peace for several years now, and there seems to be no indication that it will start a major war in the near future.

Once war breaks out, regardless of who they fight, the bullets used by soldiers will undoubtedly be stockpiled ammunition that has been stored for an unknown period of time, making barrel explosions almost inevitable.

"Ah!" Zhao Shengnan's face also showed a regretful expression. "So that's how it is. It's so useful..."

"Zi'an is right." Jiang Lü said to Zhao Shengnan, "If we go to the northwest of the empire, the problem may be more serious. If the fine sand enters the gas inlet, the explosion will be even more severe."

"Teacher, what's the next step in making the changes?" Mo Zian asked.

"Let's discuss the results of this experiment first." Jiang Lu composed himself, his tone becoming firm again. "Zi'an, let's start with Number A."

"Okay, teacher." Mo Zian took out his notebook. "The design and technology used on the A-type are mostly mature, so there are basically no obvious shortcomings."

However, according to the test results, the tripod design was highly controversial, and the speed of carrying and changing the ammunition belt was significantly slower than our newly designed drum magazine.

Moreover, the recoil of the 1.55-inch machine gun bullet is still a bit too great, and its power is somewhat redundant for squad firepower.

However, the most crucial design feature, the "quick-change barrel," was a great success, and the handle also performed very well.

Upon hearing the latter two points, Jiang Lü became noticeably more excited. "Well, then the initial plan is to remove the tripod and replace it with a bipod. We can discuss the other designs later. Let's talk about the second one first."

"The biggest advantage of the Type B is undoubtedly its maneuverability, but it seems that the 'energy gathering' mode is not yet usable." Mo Zian said, referring to the notebook. "The second biggest advantage of the Type B is its portability, which is very convenient for carrying and for combat marches."

As for the drawbacks, besides the gas leakage caused by pulling the crank handle in the "gas-collecting" type, there's also the issue of a high aiming baseline.

"In other words, the initial design is successful, but the later design seems to be incomplete." Jiang Lu raised his eyelids and looked at the two people in front of him. "What are your opinions? Which one should we keep?"

"I think the rear lift handle is pretty good." Zhao Shengnan gestured with her hands to show a few positions. "It's really convenient when performing tactical maneuvers, and I think the high aiming baseline isn't insurmountable."

"The students think that both can be kept," Mo Zian said, expressing his opinion.

"Oh?" Jiang Lu looked at Mo Zi'an with a slight brightening in her eyes. "Tell me in detail."

"Yes, teacher."

Mo Zian took out a drawing from the side and pointed to it with a pen, saying, "This is what the student thinks: the design of the rear handle can be improved. It can still be a one-piece design, which is more sturdy, but the height of the rear handle can be reduced and the length can be increased to be the same as the length of the receiver."

Mo Zian drew a schematic diagram on the drawing with a charcoal pencil. "You see, the space between the rear handle and the receiver cover is just enough for a finger to pass through. In addition, without the unique layout of the gas collection system, the aiming baseline will be greatly reduced."

Then, a pin-like roller is installed between the forehand handle and the gun barrel. This way, when the forehand handle is not in use, it hangs down to one side of the gun barrel, not obstructing the aiming line of sight. When in use, the pin is rotated to secure it.

Jiang Lü nodded in agreement, "It's a good idea, and adding another handle won't increase the weight much."

That's pretty much the final design; there's no need to compare it to anything else anymore.

The discussion continued until curfew, and it continued for the next few days as well.

Jiang Lüde wrote notes to Mo Zian and Zhao Shengnan to deal with the military police.

These days have been well spent and necessary. Jiang Lu finalized many details and, with the help of Mo Zian, redrawn the blueprints.

Jiang Lüde still chose to conduct the trial production of samples in the precision workshop of [United Eight Directions]. Mo Zian naturally could not follow this time, but fortunately, [United Eight Directions] did not lack workers.

A few days later, Mo Zian received a notification and led the group of people who participated in the test back to the firing range, where they saw the revamped weapon—

The finalized weapon adopted the automatic and locking mechanisms of the previous Type A, a detachable barrel, front and rear carrying handles, and a slightly modified bipod.

The ammunition feeding method was chosen to be drum magazine, and the bullets were also selected to be 1.55 micro-inch standard rifle bullets.

The test launch proceeded without incident, and the results were very satisfactory. However, one successful test is far from enough; further tests are needed next.

The upcoming tests will be very diverse, but they could also cause irreversible damage to the weapons.

Therefore, the factory of United Front Works temporarily produced more than a dozen more.

This time, however, Jiang Lü did not choose the precision workshop, but instead specially arranged for the ordinary workshop and ordinary workers to carry out the production.

The first test was a mud and sand test. The weapon was placed in sand and mud respectively, then taken out, tapped on the ground a few times, and then the bolt was pulled back.

The weapon was fixed at a distance, and a thin wire was used to pull the trigger. The weapon was successfully fired and emptied a magazine.

Next, rainwater testing was conducted.

Since it's impossible to wait until it really rains heavily to do this step, this step is actually just standing under the sprinkler and spraying with water mixed with a little white vinegar.

The same method involved simply tapping and shaking the receiver before loading the chamber and pulling the trigger, which also resulted in a successful firing.

Next came the impact test.

To put it bluntly, the first step is to throw it directly, like picking it up and letting it fall freely. The second step is to put it on the ground and kick it a few times.

Mo Zian accidentally kicked and broke the connecting shaft of the tripod, but the machine gun could still fire normally. However, Mo Zian could clearly feel that some of the moving parts inside the weapon were malfunctioning.

Because the firing frequency became uneven and there was a very obvious sluggishness.

Jiang Lüde believed that this level of damage was completely acceptable. After all, no one would really ruin their weapons like that on the battlefield—unless the personnel were very close to the explosion point. But at that point, whether the weapons were still usable was not that important, because the people were likely to die first.

After that came the shooting limit test and some minor experiments, and the weapon was also fine-tuned a few times.

The finalized weapon is approximately 220 microinches (1100mm) long and weighs 22 pounds (11kg) when fully loaded.

理论射速600发/分钟，有效射程1800丈左右（900m），一百丈（50m）3发子弹散步约为4.2微寸（21mm）。

It has a robust structure and good airtightness, and can adapt to weather conditions such as wind, sand, rain and snow.

Jiang Lu ultimately named it [Zhuge Crossbow-1].

Looking at the [Zhuge Crossbow-1] in the research room, Jiang Lu nodded in satisfaction, then asked, "What's the date today?"

"Today is the 79th day of the Dew Moon, teacher," Mo Zian replied.

"It seems we've arrived at just the right time."

Jiang Lude's tone became unusually confident, "Just watch, when the final bidding takes place on the 85th, let them see what's going on. You two will accompany me then, and I'll write you a leave request letter."

"yes!"

"We're looking forward to it!"