After the past two days of study, she felt that making bullets with alchemy was actually a very simple matter.
Albert had once said that the most basic steps of alchemy, which remained constant through all its variations, were 'Understanding,' 'Decomposition,' and 'Reconstruction.'
You could think of 'Understanding' as learning—grasping the interconnectedness of things and knowing exactly how to use the materials in your hands.
'Decomposition' was even simpler. Whether it was using a hot fire and a cauldron to brew herbs, or using a mortar to crush dried snakes, insects, rats, or ants, it was all a process of decomposition. The main goal was to release the mana or medicinal properties needed from within.
'Reconstruction' was the final product, like the potion itself.
Lan Qingyou tried drawing an alchemy circle. She placed a piece of iron ore on it, using the circle to 'decompose' it into debris, and then rearranged the iron molecules within that debris to form a pure iron block.
While it sounded simple, the actual operation was far from easy.
Lan Qingyou’s forehead began to bead with sweat as she pressed her hands onto the glowing alchemy circle.
Currently, only she knew what was happening inside through the feedback of her mana.
A few minutes later, the light of the alchemy circle faded, and a smile finally appeared on Lan Qingyou's face.
Two piles of things now sat within the circle.
One was a circular pile of gray ash on the outer ring, while inside the small circle drawn in the center lay a silver-white object about the size of a thumb.
Lan Qingyou picked it up and checked it with her Identification Glasses, her smile widening.
Iron with 90% purity was already usable.
This meant the alchemy circle she had drawn was functional.
After sweeping away the debris from the stone slab on the floor, she took out the lead ore, copper ore, and other minerals Shang Chuan had given her and began refining them in batches.
Once the refining was complete, she moved on to shaping the casings and bullet heads.
Because of the differing technical standards, the casings she made were much thicker than the samples she had received from Shang Chuan. This significantly reduced the space for gunpowder inside.
However, it didn't matter; this was exactly what Lan Qingyou had expected.
Only after completing these steps did she begin researching gunpowder.
To be honest, Lan Qingyou had done no research on the stuff and knew very little about it.
She recalled the steps of alchemy.
It was impossible to create something like gunpowder or a primer without understanding it first.
But that didn't matter; Lan Qingyou already had a backup plan.
She first marked numbers on each casing with ink, then brought out her explosion potions.
One drop, two drops, three drops...
She carefully dripped varying amounts of the explosion potion into the differently numbered casings, then placed them on the alchemy circle to fuse the casings and bullet heads.
The characteristic of the explosion potion was that it would detonate upon intense shaking or impact.
This trait was identical to how gunpowder burning and exploding acted as the thrust for a projectile.
This was why Lan Qingyou felt it was highly feasible.
【Explosive Bullet (E-)】
【Effect: Has a certain chance to cause a small-scale explosion upon hitting an enemy.】
【Description: A 7.62mm bullet with extra punch at no extra cost. Using it to take out your enemies should be a very satisfying experience.】
Hmm?
Was there something wrong with the Identification Glasses?
Lan Qingyou blinked at the description panel, then thought about the explosion potion inside the casings.
It was probably because of that, right?
The fact that this other world even knew what a 7.62mm bullet was made Lan Qingyou smile slightly.
The world will of Karim certainly knew a lot; it seemed it had communicated quite a bit with the world will of Blue Star.
Whatever, she would make a few more and see the results.
Lan Qingyou then manufactured ten bullets, each with a progressively larger charge than the last.
Once all ten rounds were ready, she sent them over to Shang Chuan.
Lan Qingyou: “Each bullet is marked. Try them out to see which one works best, then let me know.”
Shang Chuan: “No problem.”
As soon as Shang Chuan received the bullets, he sent them to Elu'er for test firing.
Meanwhile, Lan Qingyou took out a fair amount of iron ore and refined it into iron plates.
What she wanted to do now was see if she could manufacture an alchemy base out of the iron plates.
If she could, she wouldn't have to keep going to Li Huai for stone slabs, nor would she need to sweep out stone fragments every time she finished an alchemy session.
A significant amount of broken stone slabs that she had tossed out the door had already accumulated at the roots of the giant tree beneath her shelter.
However, Lan Qingyou was disappointed.
It seemed an iron alchemy circle base wasn't that easy to make.
Even with her Identification Glasses, she couldn't tell where the problem lay.
Thus, she had to set the matter aside for the time being.
Not wanting to remain idle, the disappointed Lan Qingyou picked up the crossbow she had retrieved earlier.
She had always assumed that no matter how great the threat, she would be fine as long as she was flying in the sky.
But Shang Chuan's firearms, the crossbow in her hand, and the longbows and shortbows she had seen when choosing her starter tools all seemed capable of threatening her while she was in the air.
They looked ordinary enough now.
But what about the future?
These were only the lowest-level E-grade equipment. There was no telling how far D-grade or C-grade weapons might be able to shoot.
Ping! Ping! Ping!
A message from Shang Chuan arrived.
Shang Chuan: “The gun exploded.”
Lan Qingyou: “...What happened? Give me the details.”
Shang Chuan: “The chamber suddenly exploded while trying bullet number nine.”
Lan Qingyou: “What about the other bullets?”
Shang Chuan: “Number eight was the best; it even triggered an explosion effect.”
Lan Qingyou: “Uh... you can't blame me for that. They're alchemy bullets with explosive effects. You should have Identification Glasses too.”
Like hell I'd believe you.
Shang Chuan was already regretting asking Lan Qingyou to make bullets.
Before, he had thought they were just bullets and that an alchemist should be able to make them.
But now he realized that if an alchemist wanted to play tricks on you, you couldn't even catch them in the act.
Did Shang Chuan have Identification Glasses?
In fact, he didn't.
Since he basically never went out, he had no use for such a degraded product when he had the system screen's identification.
That was why he had sold them to Lan Qingyou to maximize his profit.
However, it was precisely because of the system screen's identification that he knew what those bullets were, which had made him quite happy at first.
It wasn't until Elu'er reported the chamber explosion that he realized he had been completely played by that girl.
In his view, Lan Qingyou's goal was to destroy his firearms to ensure her own safety.
So, was that really Lan Qingyou's plan?
Yes.
There was no need for doubt; just as Shang Chuan suspected, that was exactly what Lan Qingyou had intended.
Because she could not tolerate such a threat existing near her.
Rate on N.U.
