Chapter 344: Science Advances Through Failure

After nearly two months of continuous experimentation, Wu Qingsong had barely managed to find a suitable formula for propelling projectiles. However, he was well aware that, given the inconsistent purity of the three raw ingredients, this formula might prove unreliable with the next batch of materials.

A greater issue lay in the leakage of gas from the gun chamber, the uneven strength of the gun barrel, and the flintlock mechanism—which was proving to be a major headache for him.

Flint wasn’t difficult to find, and he had confirmed through tests that striking flint against iron could indeed produce sparks. However, with no skilled blacksmiths at hand and no high-quality materials available, simply turning his concept into reality was a massive challenge. This mechanism likely required a spring, as well as a structure to cover the gunpowder pan that would automatically open when struck by the flint. But Nagrand lacked the refined iron necessary for making springs, and there were no craftsmen capable of turning this seemingly simple yet highly intricate design into a functional product.

Previously, the frequent barrel explosions were due to his poor workmanship in drilling the ignition hole into the gun barrel. But the poor quality of the barrels themselves was also a significant factor. Given these limitations, Wu Qingsong’s vision was impossible to realize. In frustration, he even designed an explosive crossbow—a modification of the miniature ballista used by the mousekin. Instead of a standard bolt, the front end was replaced with an iron sphere filled with black powder.

A fuse extended from the iron ball, and before firing, the squad leader would judge the necessary length and ignite it. After multiple adjustments, the iron sphere with an attached shaft could fly relatively steadily through the air, but its explosive power remained questionable—at least, Wu Qingsong wasn’t satisfied with it.

This even led him to consider using a miniature trebuchet to launch these fuse-lit grenades. Instead of using ineffective iron shells for fragmentation, he thought of using double-layered paper shells coated with pine resin and packed with iron beads to enhance lethality.

However, this concept was still only on paper. Now that he had discovered a water-element magic user, it was time to attempt a more advanced form of self-destructive experimentation.

“Can you extract the water from this acid?” he asked the newly discovered ratgirl, who had barely begun to grasp the concept of magic. “No rush, take your time. This stuff is dangerous. Your first priority is to protect yourself.”

During his attempts to refine saltpeter, he inevitably had to heat solutions to induce crystallization. Through sheer boredom during these processes, he had accidentally noticed that heating saltpeter to a high temperature produced a gas with an acidic smell.

Despite his mediocre chemistry knowledge—and having forgotten much of it after years in this world—he immediately realized that this might be his only opportunity to produce nitric acid.

Thus, he tried to construct a rudimentary sealed apparatus using available materials: a clay crucible for heating at one end and a tube leading into water at the other. This setup allowed him to collect a liquid that he was fairly certain was dilute nitric acid.

However, he had no way to concentrate it further. Whenever he tried heating it, the air became filled with its acidic odor, suggesting it was decomposing.

Lacking the necessary knowledge, he had no idea how to remove the excess water from his dilute nitric acid. Even after continuously heating saltpeter to introduce more of what he assumed to be nitrogen oxides into the solution, the resulting acid remained too weak to trigger the nitration reaction needed for making nitrocellulose.

Wu Qingsong suspected this was due to concentration issues, but without a method to produce more potent nitric acid, he was forced to abandon his attempts at making guncotton.

Now, however, he saw a glimmer of hope.

“Take your time. No rush.” He did his best to smile reassuringly at the girl. But he failed to notice that the eagerness on his face had already made her silently resolve to fulfill Apostle Wu’s request as quickly as possible.

A few days after receiving this task, the girl returned with the completed product.

The nitric acid she had produced was extremely concentrated—by Wu Qingsong’s recollection, it could even be classified as fuming nitric acid.

However, her condition was visibly poor. Alarmed, Wu Qingsong quickly summoned Alice, instructing her to use Holy Light to heal the damage to the girl’s lungs caused by inhaling too much acid vapor.

Chemistry is indeed a high-risk industry… not something for ordinary people to mess with.

Wu Qingsong wasted no time in procuring the best cotton he could find, carefully soaking it in the precious acid.

But…

The cotton fibers turned slightly yellow and brittle, yet when he removed and dried them, hoping for a dramatic ignition test—

Nothing.

Another failure?

‘What the hell… where did I go wrong?’

Ram and the others, observing his expression, quickly deduced that things had not gone as planned.

“It’s okay,” Ram reassured him. “At least this acid can be used as a pretty effective weapon.”

But that did little to lift Wu Qingsong’s spirits.

Using his hard-earned concentrated nitric acid as mere acid grenades? That was blasphemy!

‘Do I need a catalyst?’

He couldn’t help but suspect it. But the truth was, he had no clue where to even begin.

***

With his dreams of instant technological advancement shattered, Wu Qingsong had no choice but to return his focus to black powder.

Though unreliable, history had proven it effective—humanity had used it in firearms for centuries, meaning it was at least a workable solution.

This time, he abandoned the impractical goal of achieving rapid progress and instead started from the most primitive matchlock musket. Unsurprisingly, this quickly led to success—after all, the design was straightforward.

However, what he created was less a firearm and more of a miniature cannon. When combined with the mousekin’s improved ballista, it quickly demonstrated practical value.

“What’s the point of this?”

People struggled to understand.

The firepower seemed slightly superior to a regular crossbow, but it also appeared far more cumbersome.

Load the gunpowder, place the match cord, tamp it down, load the projectile, tamp it down again, adjust the angle, ignite the match cord…

The only advantage was that it required less brute force to operate compared to a crossbow, reducing the necessary manpower from twenty individuals down to ten. But the preparation process was much more complicated, and most of the materials weren’t exactly cheap.

“You just don’t understand,” Wu Qingsong muttered with a wounded heart.

The historical replacement of bows and crossbows by firearms had been a gradual process. Unfortunately, he currently lacked any truly convincing results to show them.

A strange mix of intellectual superiority—the feeling of being the only enlightened person in a world of ignorance—and a melancholy at not being understood by the masses washed over him.

With a long, dramatic sigh, he lamented, “The burden of knowledge is mine alone to bear.”