Doomsday: I Build a Space Fleet

Chapter 16: Cannon Repair, Martial Virtue Gradually Increases

"You forgot one thing: we don't have much copper for shells, but without copper, barrel wear and firing accuracy would be a big problem."

"We got a batch of cables from the factory. We'll melt them all down, make copper paint, and plate it onto the steel cartridge cases. That'll be enough to make a lot of ammunition."

Lorraine remembered the electronic components needed in the main gun repair materials he had checked earlier. He took the tablet from Ouyang Nian and asked the shipboard AI, "Does the 30mm gun have a fire control radar?"

This type of 30mm howitzer does not have fire control radar; its aiming function is accomplished by an optical sighting system.

"You really don't need to worry about it. It can't shoot very far anyway, so I'll leave it to you."

"You'll just have to wait and see!"

Watching the robotic arm begin hoisting the materials, Lorraine gave Diting the instruction: "Prepare to evacuate. The hoisting operation will be completed in 5 minutes."

"Received, evacuating in progress, expected to arrive in 3 minutes."

Having received the order, Di Ting returned to the dock silently.

Once the materials were hoisted into the warehouse and the deck was closed, Tengu charged forward, leaping onto the gunboat, with Di Ting following closely behind.

Lorraine parked the two trucks behind the fence before the horde of zombies arrived, then boarded a small boat and climbed the rope ladder onto the gunboat.

Following Lorraine's instructions, the gunboat left the dock and anchored in the middle of the river to continue the installation of industrial components.

The industrial component installation process will be completed in 6 hours.

"We don't need to keep watch tonight. Di Ting and Tian Gou are yours. If there's any emergency, just press this red button."

"Received." Di Ting climbed up the observation platform step by step, activated the thermal fusion night vision function, and surveyed the surroundings.

The night passed peacefully, but the zombies' behavior became increasingly bizarre.

The surveillance video from Diting shows that all the zombies are standing still, looking up at the slightly reddened moon in the sky.

Lorraine opened the intelligence system and looked at the information displayed on it.

1. There is a storage area for flammable and explosive materials located underwater in the western part of the industrial zone, containing a batch of explosives and detonators.

[2. Refresh time: 18 hours]

3. There is a small dock in the eastern part of the industrial zone.

[4. The blood moon is about to rise, countdown: 1 day, 11 hours, and 42 minutes]

"So that's what the tar lake on the west side of the industrial zone was for. I was wondering why there was a lake in the industrial zone."

Looking at the detonators mentioned in the intelligence report, Lorraine suddenly realized. He muttered, "I knew something felt off."

Then, looking at Ouyang Nian who had finished breakfast, he said, "You still forgot one thing: we didn't make anything to start the fire."

Ouyang Nian was taken aback: "Oh yeah, I was so excited to see the machining center yesterday. What about the artillery shells?"

"After repairing the 30mm cannon, I'll make the shell casings and warheads first. I see on the map that there's a flammable and explosive materials production area to the west, I'll go check it out."

"Those survivors said there's been no movement from the west at all, so be careful," Ouyang Nian said with some concern.

"It's alright. With Di Ting and Tian Gou around, we can definitely keep the enemy at bay from afar," Luo Lin said, using a slightly joking tone to dispel Ouyang Nian's worries.

As the order to dock was given, gunboat No. 1125 slowly moved.

Taking this opportunity, Lorraine looked towards the stern of the ship carrying industrial components. The drastically changed stern deck overnight startled Lorraine.

The entire aft deck was raised by one meter, and a passageway was opened on both the left and right sides. To avoid significantly affecting the firing arc of the 30mm gun, the entire 30mm gun was also raised by one meter.

Looking at the 30mm cannon located diagonally above the processing area, Lorraine quickly crawled into the maintenance hatch below the 30mm cannon. Seeing the scene inside, Lorraine breathed a sigh of relief.

During the modification, in order to prevent the vibration of the 30mm gun from affecting the processing equipment, shock-absorbing springs were installed around the 30mm gun base to minimize the impact of gun vibration on the processing equipment.

The ship docked, and Lorraine, along with Di Ting and Tian Gou, boarded the pier. They then started a truck and drove towards the western part of the industrial area to search for explosives.

Entering the western part of the industrial area, on the way to the lake, Lorraine did not encounter any man-made obstacles or traps, and Diting, who was on guard duty on the roof of the vehicle, did not find any watchtowers or similar structures.

Upon arriving at Tar Lake, Di Ting returned to the driver's seat through the sunroof, then jumped out of the vehicle to survey several factories surrounding the lake. Luo Lin opened the cargo box, allowing Tian Gou to guard the blind spots at the rear of the truck.

While Di Ting went to scout, Lorraine turned the truck around, pointing it in the direction he had come from—so that he could leave as quickly as possible if there was an emergency.

Lorraine sat in the car, waiting for Di Ting to finish scouting the surrounding area where zombies might be hiding. After confirming the area was safe, Tian Gou descended from the cargo box to the ground. The two, one human and one dog, searched for a passage down to the lake.

Before the search even began, Diting discovered a large, square crater beside the road. Using Diting's observation equipment, they spotted a lifting platform at the bottom of the crater, confirming that this was where the explosives were stored.

Afterwards, Lorin led the Heavenly Dog to circle the lake clockwise in search of a passage, while Di Ting circled the lake counterclockwise in search of a passage.

Before long, Lorraine discovered a steel door hidden in the grass in a place where the vegetation was somewhat sparse.

With the help of the Tengu, they opened the heavy explosion-proof steel door, revealing the dark passage below.

Di Ting led the way, with Tian Gou in the middle. Lorraine managed to keep up steadily at the back thanks to night vision goggles and the infrared light from Tian Gou's tail.

After a three-minute descent, Lorraine reached the underwater warehouse where explosives and detonators were stored 6 meters underground, and saw rows of explosion-proof steel doors marked with flammable and explosive symbols.

Then came the alarm from the Di Ting (a mythical beast).

"Commander, three underground passages have been discovered. The east-west passage has been heavily fortified with tripwires."

Lorraine stood at the warehouse entrance, watching the video transmitted by the Di Ting. He thought that this must have been set up by the surviving workers in the western region. This would explain why there was no activity at all in the western region, even though there was a factory producing explosives.

Di Ting guarded the entrances to the three passages, Tian Gou guarded the stairs, and Lorraine opened the only explosion-proof steel door with a roulette wheel, where he saw detonators and nitro explosives encased in shock-absorbing packaging.

Lorraine hung the explosives and detonators on the Tengu, and carried a box himself, shuttling between the surface and underground warehouses.

After two and a half hours of hard work, all the explosives in the underground warehouse were finally loaded into the cargo containers.

While resting in the car, Lorraine directed Diting to explore underground.

With the Tengu on guard, Lorraine focused all her attention on the images transmitted by the Di Ting.

A map that flashed across the screen caught Lorraine's attention, and she immediately instructed Di Ting to turn the view toward the map.

Looking at the civil defense markings on the map, Lorraine finally understood why there would be an underwater explosion-proof warehouse and a network of underground passages in an industrial area.