No sooner said than done.
There were still a few hours until sunset.
Shawn simply had Tallahassee drive the Dixon Brothers back, while he himself took the ore to the forest outside the high walls of Alexandria.
Two Walkers were wandering in the forest. Shawn took out his great saber and dealt with them, then set up a forge on the spot.
Making gunpowder in "seven days to die" is actually not difficult.
Two parts nitrate powder and two parts coal, combined, make gunpowder.
If he had a 'Chemistry Station', the material consumption and crafting time could be reduced by 50%.
However, given the current situation, he would just make do for now. At most, he would spend more time digging for nitrate ore later.
Currently, one of the two raw materials for gunpowder, nitrate powder, was already available.
Shawn set up the forge, took out his Stone Axe, and began chopping trees in the jungle.
The trees in the Florida jungle were taller and thicker. Shawn needed to chop at least 20 times to fell one tree.
However, this was not a problem, because the materials obtained during felling also increased, with one tree yielding as much as three.
After felling one, Shawn did not rush to continue, but instead put all the wood from his system backpack into the forge to burn first.
The source of coal was even simpler than nitrate powder; he just needed to burn wood completely, and coal would be produced in the end.
Chop, burn, chop, burn, chop, burn...
Shawn continuously repeated this step. He threw 30,000 pieces of wood into the furnace in one go, then put the more than 7,000 pieces of finished coal into his backpack.
He looked up and saw that it was already dark.
The forge was burning, and from a distance, it was clearly visible in the jungle.
Shawn casually used forged steel to forge iron, making a metal partition to enclose the forge.
He then walked towards Alexandria.
After resting overnight, he came to check early the next morning, and several Walkers were surrounding the metal partition.
Perhaps the 'crackling' sound of the burning wood attracted them; they had scratched the surface of the metal partition in many places.
Pu--
Shawn chopped his axe into a distant tree trunk.
The sound immediately made the Walkers, who had been waiting around the forge all night, turn their heads.
They jogged over, and Shawn, unhurried, struck the tree trunk with another axe blow.
Seeing the Walkers getting closer, Shawn slightly sped up his chopping. He delivered the final axe blow just as the Walkers arrived.
Ka ka ka--
The tree trunk began to fall, leaning to the right and directly crushing the heads of the two Walkers at the very front.
They stumbled abruptly, falling to the ground without any further movement.
The tree trunk gradually disappeared, transforming into wood in Shawn's backpack.
After dealing with the last two Walkers, Shawn stepped forward and put away the metal partition, also placing the remaining wood from his backpack inside.
He glanced at the 'output grid', where 12,000 pieces of coal were quietly sitting.
The 7,000 pieces of coal from last night had already been mixed by Shawn with nitrate powder to make gunpowder.
Every 2 pieces of coal and nitrate powder make one piece of gunpowder, and one piece of gunpowder can be produced every 2 seconds.
Continuing to cycle between coal and gunpowder production, Shawn began synthesizing grenades and pipe bombs.
Grenades required mechanical parts, forged iron, gunpowder, and springs.
The material requirements were slightly higher, so Shawn only made 20 for backup, converting all the remaining materials into 'pipe bombs'.
By the afternoon, 300 'pipe bombs' lay in Shawn's backpack, and the forge was still continuously producing.
With the intention of not wasting time and maximizing production, Shawn collected some more wood and nitrate powder nearby.
When he returned, the forge had just finished producing. Shawn threw all the wood into it.
By sunset, Shawn already had 500 'pipe bombs' in his backpack.
"Let's stabilize a bit more, make some more before challenging the deep pit."
Shawn prioritized stability.
Although the deep pit was blocked by a large vehicle, Shawn intended to be prepared to eliminate at least 60% of the horde with his first move.
While bombs couldn't eliminate every Walker they affected, they could incapacitate most Walkers within the blast radius, preventing them from moving quickly in the first instance.
If he utilized the downward slope of the terrain and the Walkers' characteristic of being attracted by noise, Shawn might even be able to clear a wave of Walkers without taking any damage.
The forge continued to produce. After placing the partition, Shawn returned to Alexandria.
However, at the main entrance of Alexandria, Shawn saw a familiar face.
At the entrance.
Columbus got out of the car, his curly hair askew, and called out to the guard at the gate.
"Hey, can you open the gate?"
"You might not believe me, but I'm with a few rude guys."
"It's just that they came first, you know, men have those days, I went to take care of some personal business, and I just arrived now."
"Will you let me in, or since they're already here, can you notify them?"
Hearing Columbus's voice, the baffle on the second level of the gate moved first, but the person did not rush to open the outermost iron bars.
He first sized up Columbus. Perhaps seeing his shyness, the person lowered his voice and called out.
"I can let you in, but what do you have?"
Shawn followed the voice and found that the person was a member of the Search team, one of the few who were close with Spencer.
His words clearly implied he wanted to gain some benefit from Columbus.
"Tsk--"
Shawn was not surprised, he just scoffed at the person.
With such a combat unit, how could the Community not decline?
However, before Columbus could speak, Shawn walked straight up. Could he let his little brother, whom he had only recently taken under his wing, be bullied?
He patted Columbus on the shoulder, standing beside him under Columbus's surprised expression.
Shawn raised his chin at the Search team member: "Open the door."
"How did you..."
Columbus didn't finish his sentence when the gate opposite opened with a'swish swish swish'.
That person recognized Shawn, or rather, since the 'Beheading Operation' that day, Shawn's name had spread throughout the Community.
So much so that even the guards who were on duty on Shawn's first day recognized him.
Although they might not have seen Shawn's face, they knew Shawn was 1.9 meters tall, Chinese, somewhat domineering, and exuded an oppressive aura at first glance.
Conversely, if Shawn had spoken to him politely just now, he might not have been 100% certain that the man in front of him was Shawn.
Columbus's mouth slightly agape at the sight.
He looked at the open gate, then at Shawn.
His first thought was: Didn't Shawn just arrive here? When did he gain such influence here?
But before he could fully recover, he was already led into Alexandria by Shawn, who had an arm around his shoulder.
"There's food, hot water, and a private room here. You can go freshen up first."
Shawn led Columbus to the villa and pointed at Columbus's clothes.
Columbus had clearly not been doing well these past few days, but because of that, Shawn's tone when speaking to him was much gentler.
Shawn was about to ask Columbus about his situation over the past few days, but the next second, a shout came from not far away.
"Great, you're still in the Community."
Aaron walked over, grabbed Shawn's hand, and started pulling him: "Hurry, Diana is looking for you, there's an important meeting you need to attend."
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