Amazing Saltpeter, Exchanging It for Information!
Saltpeter (high quality)
Description: High-purity saltpeter refined by "Su Mo," a novice craftsman, has a wide range of uses. It can be used to manufacture matches, gunpowder, Black Powder, glass, and food preservatives, among other things. For some unknown reason, its grade has been upgraded to excellent.
Special Abilities: Can produce nitric acid (concentration (95%↑)) or gunpowder (energy +50%).
Makes explosives (energy +50%)
Evaluation: Versatile, wide-ranging, and quick to take effect! But is it just unusable? (Righteous and stern!)
The system's pop-up attribute page was filled with the special abilities of saltpeter for the first time.
There are more than thirty uses in various aspects, and all of them have been enhanced to a certain extent.
But this wasn't what surprised Su Mo the most.
"So mixing Psionic Water with these things can produce so many changes?"
As Su Mo fiddled with the saltpeter in the beaker in astonishment, he still couldn't figure out how this thing possessed so many properties.
"But."
"If it's really as powerful as the system says, my Technology Tree is going to skyrocket!"
With his eyes fixed intently on the saltpeter powder, Su Mo's thoughts drifted to the Oil Well in Shelter Number Two.
Originally, after refining saltpeter and sulfur, and mixing them with charcoal, they could have produced the famous Black Powder, directly ushering in the age of firearms.
But now, a strange word popped into Su Mo's mind—"Picric Acid!"
It is also known as the famous "Yellow Explosive" (TNP) or "Picric Acid explosive".
Its main ingredient is "trinitrophenol," which is often confused with Nobel's "safe explosive," "TNT."
In 1771, the Englishman Peter Wolf synthesized a dye.
He mixed concentrated Sulfuric Acid, nitric acid, and phenol (possibly refined from crude coal tar phenol or indigo, though people at the time did not know about phenol) and obtained a bright yellow crystalline powder with a strong bitter taste, which was thus given the name "Picric Acid".
People at that time only used Picric Acid to dye clothes and make paint.
In the dye industry at that time, trinitrophenol was often simply called "yellow." People used Picric Acid to dye fabrics for a full 100 years, but never thought of how to make it explode.
In 1871, a clerk at a dye shop in Paris, France, encountered a problem: a stockpile of yellow dye seemed to be rusted shut and could not be opened no matter what he did. In desperation, the clerks decided to use the simplest and most brutal method to open the can—smash it!
Moreover, the hammersmith they found was a large iron hammer that cost 80 yuan.
This time, the hammersmith mustered all his strength and swung the hammer down!
Unexpectedly, the jar exploded with a "boom," and the entire dye shop was instantly reduced to dust, leaving only a group of survivors dressed in all sorts of colors groaning in the ruins.
After extensive investigation, the possibility of an unidentified explosive device hidden inside the can was ruled out, narrowing the problem down to the Picric Acid can. Suddenly, it dawned on them—"The yellow pigment was detonated by a hammer!!!"
This incident caused a sensation in society, and people were worried about the "yellow color".
But the French military at the time had a bright idea. This was clearly the best military weapon sent by heaven. The "yellow color" had proven its safety in long-term use, and it could also be easily mass-produced.
Subsequently, the Frenchman Eugene Turpin pioneered the "Picric Acid injection method" for artillery shells, and also gave it the name "melinite".
Many people may be unfamiliar with this term, but everyone is familiar with the Type 1897 75mm Field Gun, also known as Li Yunlong's "Italian Cannon".
Now that we have saltpeter to produce nitric acid, and sulfur and saltpeter to react and produce Sulfuric Acid, and we can also extract toluene from petroleum, "If that really works, my bomb Technology Tree will probably skip Black Powder and Nitrated Guncotton and go straight to the era of Yellow Explosive!"
Thinking about the explosives preparation methods his father had been talking about before he came, Su Mo instantly became excited.
Black Powder, in essence, is just a propellant; even when made into a gunpowder pack, it can only complete the two processes of explosion and combustion.
Unlike Picric Acid, once the shock wave from the chemical reaction is detonated, an explosive reaction first occurs at the detonation point, generating a large amount of high-temperature, high-pressure, and high-speed gas flow, which then triggers a shock wave in the explosive.
The shock wave intensely compresses the adjacent thin layer of explosive, causing an explosive reaction that generates a large amount of gas and heat, completing the detonation-bombardment-wave process.
They could even accumulate enough Picric Acid to make Explosive Pack and throw them into the Kobold Castle.
The blast wave, in just one round trip, will show the kobolds what divine justice is! "We'll try to repair the Oil Well tomorrow!"
At the workbench, Su Mo repeatedly stood up and sat down, his heart filled with turbulent emotions that were difficult to calm.
After pouring the purified 500g of saltpeter powder into a wooden container and placing it in the second bedroom, Su Mo returned to his workbench.
"I know the equation for purifying Yellow Explosive, and I learned the methods for preparing nitric acid and Sulfuric Acid in high school, so these are not problems. The key lies in the extraction of toluene from petroleum and the process of mixing and reacting to produce Picric Acid."
"Back then, Nobel killed his brother by making dynamite. Although Picric Acid is not as difficult to synthesize as nitroglycerin, it can still explode when exposed to high temperatures, friction, or impact. Moreover, it can react with iron, forming Picric Acid forming mercury salts, which can cause accidental explosions."
"Perhaps I can obtain the preparation method of Picric Acid through transaction intelligence, and then, through system upgrades, obtain a better and safer method!"
Having figured this out, Su Mo no longer hesitated and immediately brought up the Game Panel to find a contact person.
After scanning through all his friends' lists, Su Mo finally focused his attention on the line marked Shen Ke.
Focus your attention and open the chat panel.
[Su Mo: Hello Shen Ke, do you have time to chat? I'd like to make a deal!]
After the message was delivered, Su Mo continued to sit at his workbench, waiting quietly.
Sure enough, less than five seconds later, Shen Ke's video popped up on the other end.
The video call connected with a buzzing sound, and Shen Ke's slightly tired face appeared on the screen.
"Wow, Mr. Su Mo, your shelter has developed so fast! It doesn't look like a wasteland at all; it looks more like the Brick House back in my hometown!"
Bright lights.
Clean and tidy partitions.
In the distance, Big and Little Spark and Oreo are still playing and frolicking on the ground.
Look at yourself.
The dilapidated wooden house was lit by homemade torches that produced thick smoke, and through the windows, all was pitch black.
Every now and then a gust of wind would blow in, carrying black smoke into the room and causing people to cough.
"Not at all, I've only achieved some success because I've been lucky. Compared to you, it's nothing." With a wave of his hand, Su Mo quickly ended the pleasantries and got straight to the point.
"I'd like to make a deal with you. You know about Yellow Explosive, right? They're Picric Acid. I think you might have someone there who knows the formula and how to make them, right?"
"I know, I know, that's not a problem. If we had enough raw materials, we would have made them all. Do you have any raw materials nearby?" Shen Ke said without much thought.
After all, this thing isn't that difficult. Compared to TNT, RDX, or thermobaric bombs, Yellow Explosive are basically not difficult to make as long as you have the raw materials.
But what's missing for this stuff is the raw material!
The reason why ancient China failed to develop explosives was that oil was difficult to extract.
Oil is not found everywhere, and as a top-tier strategic resource, it was clear that no oil had been discovered near Shen Ke's refuge.
"Ahem, well, I got these raw materials from a treasure chest. I happened to have some stored up, so I thought I'd make some explosives for self-defense."
Su Mo remained unfazed, spouting nonsense with his eyes wide open.
However, there's no need to explain too much; it's just a transaction, so let's leave it at that.
Shen Ke on the other end nodded. "So what are the items for this trade? Is it still Psionic Water?"
"No, this time I'll trade you intelligence—intelligence about otherworldly creatures!" Su Mo smiled confidently and waved his hand.
"I'm afraid I can't make that decision myself; I need to consult with my superiors," Shen Ke said with a troubled expression. After receiving Su Mo's approval, she hung up the phone.
A short while later, when the call was reconnected, two stern-looking middle-aged men were sitting on the other end of the line, with four recorders sitting behind them, looking nervously at the camera.
"Hello, Su Mo, we have approved your deal. You just need to provide information about the otherworldly creatures, whether we already know it or not. We will then provide you with the complete recipe and preparation method."
Nodding, Su Mo wasn't afraid that the other side would run away, and he slowly and directly told them about the warrior kobold, the Warlock Kobold, and the White Robed Kobold he hadn't figured out yet.
In this process, Su Mo omitted some details of the battle, only describing the spellcasting methods of the Warlock Kobold, the combat strength of the warrior kobolds, and the information that the kobolds brought supplies with them when they descended.
The four recorders were writing furiously, Su Mo could observe the shock on their faces as more and more information leaked out.
Even the serious-looking middle-aged man sitting on the left repeatedly asked about several details during the process.
"Okay, Su Mo, thank you for your contributions to humanity. Your intelligence is very useful. The China Shelter will gradually disseminate this intelligence. You have no objections to that, right?"
"No, no." After saying that, the group hurriedly stood up, while Shen Ke sat back down.
While the other person was preparing the Picric Acid, the two started chatting casually.
"By the way, Shen Ke, who was that person sitting on the right just now? They seemed a bit strange." After changing the subject a few times, Su Mo changed the subject and asked about the question he had just asked.
The man on the left was decisive and sat upright, while the man on the right initially looked presentable, but after a few minutes he started sitting loosely.
"The biggest suspicious point is that when I mentioned the kobold information earlier, although he looked shocked, his micro-expressions seemed to suggest that he already knew it."
"Oh? You mean Chairman Ying? Ying Tianlong is the chairman of the civilian Self-Help Association. His family is quite large. When they came, more than twenty people were thrown together. They are the main force of our 'Tundra' shelter!" Shen Ke said with a simple smile, without any attempt to hide his identity.
"Tundra?"
"Yes! This is the name of our shelter. Of course, if we get first place in disaster relief again next time, we will still use the name Huaxia. This title can only be used by the first-place shelter. At other times, we will refer to it as Tundra."
Having obtained the information he wanted, Su Mo immediately changed the subject, moving the conversation towards some aspects of daily life.
A short while later, Shen Ke's trade request popped up.
Looking at the flowchart detailing the Yellow Explosive in the traded items, Su Mo smiled under the light.
A flash of light, and two sheets of paper filled with writing appeared on the Work Table! Dear readers! Happy weekend! Hahahaha~