Chapter 15

Under the bright sun, this was the best day since spring began. A convoy of dozens of large carts, stretching for at least several hundred meters, stood out prominently on the official road. This was the Yang family's convoy, which could only be considered a small one, with dozens of beasts of burden and over a hundred people, including guards, making up a group of about two hundred. This was a common mode of travel in late Qing China. The emergence of railways and small steamships had changed more in the southeastern coastal regions, while in the vast inland areas, horse caravans and horse teams were still the norm, forming the foundation of Chinese trade caravans.

On the horse-drawn carriages, there were dedicated drivers. Besides Yang Yuanzhao, Yang Yue, and the shopkeepers, a group of people who were once known as "knights" or "escorts" now carried guns. In late Qing China, long guns were truly of various makes. This small convoy, with about a hundred people and dozens of guns, included numerous models from Russia, Germany, Belgium, Norway, Italy, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan, perhaps a dozen different types. Fortunately, it was just a small convoy; if it were in an army, the logistics pressure would be immense. Although a systematic logistics system had not yet been established, armies from various countries were trying to standardize their calibers as much as possible.

Yang Yuanzhao was a distinguished guest of the convoy, and his requests were naturally met. Soon, the blueprints for over a dozen types of weapons, including ammunition, were extracted by the integrated machine. In the most chaotic times of late Qing and the Republic of China, having an extra gun for protection was necessary for Yang Yuanzhao. In the future, if the industrial system reached a certain level, armed protection would be indispensable.

"Yang Yue, are we heading north?" Yang Yuanzhao asked, trying to determine the direction. A hint of surprise flashed in his mind. They had left the wilderness at 5 PM the previous day, and it was now 8 AM, a full 15 hours later. The machine had decomposed 100 units, or 800 cubic meters of material, generating 14,000 yuan worth of gold and silver. If he could replenish his supplies, he would have even more funds for his trip to Shanghai. Yang Yuanzhao's next plan was not just to grow cotton; it required a significant investment!

Yang Yue nodded and said, "Yes, we are heading north, on the official road to Suiyuan."

"Then let's stop at Beigang for a moment; I left something there yesterday!" Yang Yuanzhao said. Beigang was very close to the gold mine, less than three li away, and it would take only about ten minutes to reach on horseback.

Yang Yue knew that Yang Yuanzhao liked to wander around Baotou and the surrounding areas, so he did not suspect anything. Yang Yuanzhao successfully visited the gold mine, accompanied by a few of the convoy's guards. It took only about five minutes to cover the three li distance. He pretended to search for a while and took out a multimeter from the integrated machine. In secret, he had already excavated 800 cubic meters of material from three or four different spots.

These guards were from Shanxi and were unfamiliar with the area. Any local would have noticed that in just a few days, there were many new pits of various sizes.

The round trip on horseback took only 20 minutes, and he successfully replenished his supplies. When the convoy restarted, Yang Yuanzhao was almost beaming with joy.

The horse-drawn carriages continued on, leaving the Baotou area. The road conditions began to deteriorate, a common situation in this era. Near cities or well-traveled trade routes, the roads were slightly better, but in the wilderness, they were much worse.

Getting used to the surroundings could lead to a sense of fatigue. Yang Yuanzhao closed his eyes and no longer felt the jostling of the carriage. His entire body seemed to have merged with the integrated machine. Guns were a man's favorite, even if they were basic, ordinary firearms. Entering the synthesis pool, Yang Yuanzhao thought for a moment and loaded the blueprints for the German Model 1888 Commission Rifle, a standard German military issue before the Mauser. The famous "Chungzheng" rifle was derived from this model, influencing the entire Chinese gun family.

This Model 1888 Commission Rifle, whose blueprints had been replicated, was the best among the dozens of guns in the convoy. Only two leaders had it, while the rest had inferior models like the Water-pearl rifle. Most importantly, these guns had been used for many years, and few people in China paid attention to gun maintenance, so the rifling was almost worn out. China's industrial backwardness meant that most guns were imported, and even fewer people could maintain them. Even the Beiyang Army, which boasted of being the strongest in the late Qing and early Republic of China, failed to do this well.

Choosing the Model 1888 Commission Rifle, he selected 10 units, weighing about 40 kilograms. For a synthesizer that could produce 4 tons per hour, this was a simple task. However, when Yang Yuanzhao confirmed the selection on the virtual screen, a red warning appeared: "Warning: The item contains biological materials. The material warehouse lacks these materials. Do you want to input them or choose other materials?"

Dingdang's words made Yang Yuanzhao pause. Biological materials? Recalling the Model 1888, he realized that the stock was made of wood, which might be the biological material.

"Dingdang, is it because of the wood?"

"Yes, the transition from inorganic to organic materials involves many issues. Before level 8, synthesis is impossible. Please input biological materials, or the synthesis cannot continue."

"What about urea?" Yang Yuanzhao blurted out. Hearing Dingdang's words, he was deeply shaken. Urea was a crucial part of his cotton plan. If it couldn't be synthesized, his plans would be significantly affected.

Hearing Yang Yuanzhao's doubt, Dingdang seemed dismissive: "Urea is the simplest organic compound. It can be synthesized on Earth now, and it is a completely different concept from biological materials like wood."

Dingdang's explanation slightly relieved Yang Yuanzhao. It seemed that biological materials were categorized by difficulty, and wood was one of them. As he delved deeper into the integrated machine, many mysteries began to unravel. Could the integrated machine, at its peak, even create life? Wasn't creating life a taboo?

Perhaps, in the eyes of advanced civilizations, life was just a special form of matter. Future technology could synthesize large amounts of organic compounds but could not replicate any life. Despite the rapid development of cloning technology, it seemed to have hit a dead end, producing only headlines and no significant results.

Level 8, which Yang Yuanzhao had previously considered a simple level like levels 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, was now seen as almost impossible to achieve in his lifetime. From level 1 to level 2, it took about 100 decompositions, or a little over 16 hours. From level 2 to level 3, it jumped to nearly 10 times that, about 6 days. From level 3 to level 4, it was estimated to take 60 days. By level 5, it would take almost 2 years, level 6 would take 20 years, level 7 would take 200 years, and level 8 would take 2000 years. The history of Chinese civilization was only about 5000 years, and just upgrading the integrated machine to level 8 would take half of that. He might never see the integrated machine at its strongest in his lifetime.

Putting aside what he couldn't understand, the mystery of the integrated machine might require a long time to unravel. Perhaps the integrated machine itself had a way to solve these problems. For now, he needed to focus on the immediate issues. Since the gun stock material, being a biological material, could not be synthesized, he would have to find it ready-made. Yang Yuanzhao had little knowledge of firearms, but he had heard that gun stocks were generally made of jujube or peach wood. Jujube and peach wood were common in the north, but they were hard to find in the desert and wasteland along the way. Fortunately, it was almost noon, and they would reach Suiyuan by evening. As a major commercial center and the seat of the Suiyuan General, jujube wood should be relatively easy to obtain.