The imposing Knight XV kicked up a faint trail of dust along the slightly bumpy mountain road, leaving the noise and vitality of Blackberry Ranch behind.
There was no longer any champagne or essential-oil face masks in the vehicle. Even the built-in refrigerator had been removed and moved to the base for use as a small fridge.
In their place now sat a weapons bag filled with the weapons Calista handled best.
Through the window, Calista's gaze passed over the reinforced checkpoints along the way.
As noon approached, the sunlight dispersed the thin mountain mist, lending a false trace of warmth to the late-autumn Great Smoky Mountains.
The vehicle stopped in front of Rock Fortress's main building.
Calista jumped out, but instead of heading straight for the dining area, she followed the clanging sound of metal and walked toward a stone warehouse in the estate's backyard.
The place had originally been used to store winemaking equipment and oak barrels. It was spacious and solid, and had now been converted into the base's weapon repair workshop.
When she pushed open the heavy wooden door, the smell of metal shavings and faint rust rushed toward her.
Several rechargeable work lights were lit inside, illuminating the central area brightly.
Two people were gathered beside the workbench.
Ancheta held a piece of fine sandpaper, his brows tightly furrowed as he carefully polished away burrs inside a rifle receiver.
Beside him was Carver, who looked as if Ancheta had dragged him in as free labor.
His usual showy, swaggering attitude, the one he seemed eager to display to everyone, was nowhere to be seen.
Carver was slightly hunched over, pinching a tiny part between his fingertips. It was a firing pin, visibly a little bent out of shape.
In his right hand, he held a small, delicate file, using the slightest movements to try to correct that tiny deformation bit by bit.
Judging from Carver's expression, this kind of meticulous work was probably more troublesome to him than clearing walkers.
A fine layer of sweat had already formed on Carver's forehead. One drop even slid down his sharply defined cheek, but he did not notice at all. All his attention was fixed on the tiny metal piece.
On the workbench in front of them lay a completely disassembled AR-15 rifle, its parts sorted by category on a clean flannel cloth.
A few different models of handguns were scattered nearby as well, also in a "dissected" state.
In the corner sat a small manual press and several obviously homemade molds. Beside them were a few freshly reloaded bullets that looked rather rough.
Calista's footsteps were light, but Ancheta noticed her at once and looked up toward the door.
Carver, however, was completely absorbed in the repair work until Calista spoke.
"Ancheta, are you trying to reload bullets?"
Carver was startled. His body stiffened slightly, and he abruptly raised his head.
When he saw it was Calista, he instinctively tried to straighten his bent back, and his usual roguish grin appeared on his face by reflex.
But Carver forgot that he was in the middle of delicate work. With that moment of distraction, the pressure in his hand shifted slightly, and the file scratched a shallow mark across the firing pin where there should not have been one.
"Damn it!" he muttered, frustration flashing across his face.
At that moment, Ancheta unceremoniously raised one grease-stained hand and slapped him on the back with enough force to produce a dull smack.
"Focus, peacock!" Ancheta growled, giving him a blunt glare. "Keep your hands moving, and stop fidgeting."
Carver grimaced from the slap, then lowered his head again and handled the stubborn firing pin even more carefully. His ears seemed to redden slightly, though it was hard to notice.
He muttered, "This thing is way too delicate."
Only then did Ancheta turn to Calista. He put down the sandpaper and wiped his hands on a rag. "Yeah, but progress is slow. We're doing everything by hand. If we wanted to make them in batches, we simply can't spare that many people right now."
"The tools aren't suitable." He pointed at the tools on the workbench. Although they were well maintained, the set was clearly incomplete, and some had obviously been modified by hand. "We lack specialized machine tools, like precision milling machines and lathes, to process replacement parts.
"What we can do right now is very limited. Mostly cleaning, simple polishing, and replacing highly compatible springs and small parts.
"As for core components like the one Carver is repairing now, the success rate is very low. Most of the time, repairing them is worse than leaving them alone, and may even create hidden risks."
Ancheta then looked toward the reloading equipment in the corner. "Reloading bullets is even more troublesome.
"Recovered cartridge cases have to be reshaped, the primer dents removed, new primers pressed in, propellant loaded, and finally the bullet seated.
"Every step requires specific molds and strict control. Right now, the biggest bottlenecks are propellant and primers.
"Our stock of original propellant and primers is limited. Taking them apart from old bullets is inefficient and risky, and the purity can't be guaranteed. That affects accuracy and reliability."
Calista listened quietly, then walked to the workbench. Her eyes swept over the metal parts gleaming under the lights before finally settling on the few hand-reloaded bullets Ancheta had pointed out.
She reached out, picked one up, and examined it carefully between her fingers.
The brass casing had fine scratches on its surface. The joint between the bullet and casing showed slight unevenness, and the primer looked as if it had been pressed in again.
The workmanship was indeed crude. Holding it in her hand, she could feel an unstable, knockoff-like quality to it.
"It can be used, at least," she commented calmly, then put the bullet back.
It looked about the same quality as the bullets Eugene had reloaded in the original storyline.
But this was already the limit.
Relying on this kind of small-workshop patching and high-risk reloading could never support the weapon and equipment demands of a growing faction, much less handle the large-scale conflicts that might come in the future.
Their current stockpile of weapons and ammunition was enough for now, but the apocalypse would last many more years. No one could say what would happen later.
This scene of scarcity once again made her think of the Knoxville Industrial Park in eastern Knoxville.
Lorenzo's face seemed to appear in front of her again, along with his complete weapon production line and the precision machining factory beside the industrial park.
The idea of reclaiming the industrial park and restoring production became clear and urgent again.
Not just weapons, but the daily necessities she had thought of before, and perhaps even more.
There were ready-made machines there, and possibly raw materials as well.
Only by taking control of that place could Rock Fortress truly possess a sustainable industrial heart and turn these makeshift repairs into stable, reliable manufacturing.
Calista's thoughts moved quickly, but her face remained calm.
She looked at Ancheta and at Carver, who had finally finished repairing the firing pin and was secretly letting out a breath of relief.
"Carver." Calista's voice immediately drew both of their attention. "How much do you know about Knoxville Industrial Park, the place Lorenzo used to occupy?"
Carver pondered for a moment. "Lorenzo was very cautious. When we scouted it, we didn't have a chance to get deep into the core area.
"But based on what we saw from the perimeter and the occasional bragging from his men, there are indeed several large factory buildings there, involving precision machinery, metal processing, and an area he had heavily defended that was suspected to be for weapon assembly and ammunition production lines.
"The Red Scarf Gang once mentioned an underground warehouse. Supposedly, there's a lot of good stuff stored there, including some rare metals and chemical raw materials that might be useful for reloading bullets.
"But the entrance is well hidden, and even Lorenzo didn't seem to have fully figured it out. As for the exact details… we'll need more thorough reconnaissance."
Calista nodded. She had already made her decision.
...
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