153: Chapter 153 Scrap Metal

Zhou Wen looked at Chen Xi, silent for a long time.

He could sense that the person before him was not joking.

But he also couldn't understand how a young man, solitary and in rags, could make such a bold claim.

"Comrade Chen." His tone remained gentle, but carried a hint of probing, "What... did you do before?"

Chen Xi smiled.

He knew that just saying it wouldn't make anyone believe him.

"Instructor Zhou Wen, could you take me to see your repair workshop?"

Zhou Wen was taken aback, not knowing why he suddenly brought this up.

But he still nodded, "Sure, it's right at the entrance of the village. I'll take you there."

The two walked out of the courtyard and headed toward the village entrance.

On the way, Chen Xi saw more things.

He saw a few soldiers sitting in a circle on an open patch of ground, dismantling an old rifle. The rifle's stock was already cracked and bound with wire, and the barrel was covered in rust.

"That's something we picked up from the battlefield," Instructor Zhou Wen explained. "We fix what we can, and dismantle the rest for parts to make do."

Chen Xi did not speak.

They arrived at the crude "repair workshop."

It was the same few shirtless men, still sweating profusely as they hammered a piece of red-hot iron.

Beside them, more scrap metal was piled up.

Chen Xi walked over, crouched down, and carefully examined the pile of "raw materials."

There were steel bars sawed off from railroad tracks.

There were exploded shell casings picked up from the battlefield.

There were iron scraps dismantled from discarded farm tools.

There were even a few steel rebars of varying thickness, sourced from who knows where.

"Comrade, don't look down on this junk," an older man wiped away sweat and walked over with a smile. "Our craftsmanship is not bad! Just a few days ago, we used these materials to fix three rifles!"

His tone was full of pride.

Chen Xi looked up at him: "What do you lack the most right now?"

"What do we lack the most?" The man was stunned for a moment, then scratched his head. "What do we lack? We lack everything! Good steel is what we lack the most! These materials of ours are all picked up from the Japanese; they're too soft. They don't work for gun barrels; they overheat after a few shots, and they jam while firing..."

He rambled on, his tone full of helplessness.

Chen Xi stood up and walked to the earthen furnace.

He looked at the red-hot charcoal fire in the furnace and the steel bar being hammered.

Then, he turned back and said to Instructor Zhou Wen, "Instructor Zhou Wen, if I told you that I could help you use this junk to forge rifles better than the Japanese ones, would you believe me?"

Instructor Zhou Wen was stunned.

The man at the repair workshop was also stunned.

Everyone around stopped their work and looked at Chen Xi.

For a long time.

Instructor Zhou Wen finally spoke slowly, "Comrade Chen, this... how is this possible? We have no equipment here, no technology..."

"I have it," Chen Xi interrupted him.

His hand reached into his chest.

[It's here, it's here! Master Xi is about to pull something out!]

[Hahaha, the long-awaited "a little bit of shock" segment!]

[The Japanese: Heard you use railroad tracks to make guns? Eighth Route Army: No, we use 3D printing now.]

[Instructor Zhou Wen's worldview is about to be refreshed...]

Chen Xi took out the 3D printing pen disguised as an [advanced welding torch] from his chest.

The silver-white body of the pen reflected a soft luster in the morning light.

"What is this?" Instructor Zhou Wen asked curiously.

"A welding torch," Chen Xi answered simply. "But it's not quite like the welding torches you've seen."

He walked over to the pile of scrap metal and casually picked up a palm-sized piece of exploded shell casing.

Then, he crouched down and placed the shell casing on a flat stone.

He turned on the switch of the [advanced welding torch].

A faint, pale blue light shot out from the pen tip.

Chen Xi's hand moved steadily, like the most precise machine tool.

The blue light traveled across the shell casing.

Wherever it passed, the hard metal began to melt, deform, and recombine as if it were modeling clay.

Everyone held their breath.

They stared with wide eyes, watching this inconceivable scene.

In less than a minute.

Chen Xi stopped.

That originally irregular, crack-filled piece of shell casing had turned into a perfect, shimmering silver gun barrel.

The inner wall of the barrel was smooth as a mirror.

The outer wall of the barrel even had intricate cooling fins.

Chen Xi stood up and handed the barrel to the dumbfounded man from the repair workshop.

"Take a look, see if it's up to standard."

The man took the barrel with trembling hands.

He held the barrel up to his eyes, looking at it carefully against the sunlight.

His eyes widened more and more.

"This... this..." His voice became stuttering with excitement, "This is... this is the German standard! An M24 barrel! It's even more precise than the Japanese Arisaka Type 38!"

He suddenly looked up at Chen Xi, as if looking at a deity.

"Comrade! How... how did you do this?!"

Chen Xi did not answer.

He just looked at Instructor Zhou Wen and asked calmly, "Instructor Zhou Wen, now, are you willing to take me to see your leader?"

Instructor Zhou Wen's mouth opened and closed, then closed and opened again.

His mind was a complete blank.

What had he just seen?

A piece of scrap iron turned into a perfect gun barrel?

This defied all his understanding of the world.

For a long time.

He finally swallowed hard and said in a hoarse voice, "Comrade Chen, please... please wait here. I... I'll go find the Company Commander! I'll go find the Company Commander right now!"

He turned to run.

"Instructor Zhou Wen." Chen Xi called out to him.

Instructor Zhou Wen turned back.

Chen Xi smiled, "No need to rush. I said I could help you fight the Japanese. This is just the beginning."

He looked at the surrounding dumbfounded soldiers and villagers, looking at the light of disbelief, yet filled with hope, in their eyes.

A sense of unprecedented reassurance welled up in his heart.

Here, there was no suspicion.

Here, there was no framing.

There was only the most simple, the most pure determination to drive the Japanese out of China.

And he would use his own way to protect this determination.

To let a prairie fire burn on this barren land, capable of consuming all invaders.