Wu Liang's voice pierced through the roar of the machinery.
His hand gripped the massive ceramic insulating handle.
Outside the factory building, night had already fallen.
In the central plaza of the Black Rock Tribe, all the tribespeople had gathered at this moment.
They whispered in small groups by the bonfires, looking curiously at the wooden poles newly erected around the plaza and along both sides of the main road, with strange glass spheres hanging from their tops.
Wei Xian, Eliza, Florgloria, Alesha, and other high-ranking members of the Tribe stood at the very front of the crowd.
They were also waiting, their faces full of anticipation.
"Liang... can he really make the night light up?"
Lolia asked Florgloria beside her in a small voice, her little face full of expectation.
"If he said it, he can definitely do it,"
Florgloria said with a smile.
Inside the power plant.
Wu Liang slammed the massive knife switch closed!
"Clang!"
With a crisp, loud bang, the massive copper blades collided with the contact points, bursting into a string of dazzling electrical sparks!
At the moment the switch closed,
A light bulb atop a wooden pole in the plaza suddenly flickered.
Immediately after, dozens of light bulbs around the plaza suddenly lit up at the same time.
Beams of bright light instantly pierced through the night, illuminating the entire plaza!
"Wow—"
The crowd erupted into screams and exclamations.
Everyone was stunned, mouths agape.
They subconsciously shielded their eyes with their hands; it was the first time they had seen the Black Rock Tribe so bright in the middle of the night.
"Oh my god! It's lit! It's really lit!"
"Amazing! Long live Lord Wu Liang!"
"Long live! Long live!"
The people erupted into fanatical cheers.
And this light was still spreading!
As one knife switch after another was closed, streetlights along the road were lit one by one.
Like brilliant ribbons of light, they outlined the skeleton of the Black Rock Tribe.
The light illuminated the workshops, the residential areas, the academy, and even the high city walls.
"Wu Liang... he really did it..."
Eliza murmured to herself, stroking her protruding belly.
That's right, she was three months pregnant.
She felt as if the fetus in her womb also sensed this joy, as it moved slightly.
Just then, from the direction of the city walls, an even more dazzling and blinding beam of light suddenly lit up!
The beam of light sliced through the night sky, sweeping toward the pitch-black wilderness outside the city!
This was a searchlight specially made by Wu Liang, which he had ordered to be installed at the highest point of the city wall.
Wherever the beam went, the darkness was instantly dispelled.
Trees and rocks dozens of meters away were illuminated with crystal clarity.
Any beast or enemy lurking in the darkness would have nowhere to hide under this beam of light.
The Tribe's warriors stood on the city wall, their faces filled with shock and joy.
With this thing, what enemy would dare to launch a night attack on the Black Rock Tribe?
Wu Liang and Suina walked out of the power plant, looking at the brightly lit streets.
"It's so beautiful..."
Suina murmured, staring blankly at it all.
"This is just the beginning."
Wu Liang's heart was also filled with immense pride.
Suina turned around, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed Wu Liang's mouth fiercely with her burning lips.
The kiss was passionate and powerful.
After a long time, their lips parted.
Suina panted and licked her lips:
"Liang, come to my room tonight. I have more energy than that steam engine."
Hearing this, Wu Liang burst into laughter.
The popularization of electricity brought more than just lighting.
In the following days, small electric motors were manufactured and installed on various machine tools.
Drill presses, lathes, and grinders that originally required a steam engine to drive them through complex transmission shafts could now work independently with just a wire.
The industrial production efficiency of the entire Tribe instantly jumped to a new level.
At the chemistry lab.
With the help of electricity, fume hoods were installed in the lab, and several small electric centrifuges were buzzing away.
More importantly, in a corner of the yard, an electrolytic cell in continuous operation was constantly producing chlorine gas and sodium hydroxide.
"Leader!"
The group leader in charge of the lab greeted him respectfully.
"How are the Three Acids coming along?"
Wu Liang asked, getting straight to the point.
"Reporting to the Leader, hydrochloric acid can now be produced stably."
"As for sulfuric acid, following your Lead-Chamber Process, we have also successfully prepared it at a concentration of about sixty percent."
"As for nitric acid... because it requires concentrated sulfuric acid, the yield is still very low and the purity isn't high."
The group leader reported clearly and logically.
Wu Liang nodded; this progress had already exceeded his expectations.
Without any formal education, these people had managed to reach this step relying solely on a few handwritten textbooks he provided and their own drive to research; they were practically geniuses.
"Very good."
Wu Liang took a new blueprint from his robe.
"Next, your task is to manufacture this for me."
The group leader took the blueprint, which had molecular structural formulas and chemical reaction equations drawn on it.
The name labeled was: Glyceryl Trinitrate.
Below it was a small note: nitroglycerin.
"This... what is this?"
The group leader asked, puzzled.
"An oil."
Wu Liang's tone was very flat.
"This oil is extremely unstable."
"Just a small drop, subjected to slight vibration or impact, will produce an explosion a hundred times more violent than black powder."
A hundred times more violent than black powder!
Everyone in the laboratory was shocked.
"I need you to use the purest concentrated sulfuric acid and concentrated nitric acid to react with Glycerin in an absolutely low-temperature environment to create it."
Wu Liang pointed to a cooling device on the blueprint.
"This is a cooling circulation device I designed. Using a mixture of ice and salt, you can reach even lower temperatures."
"Remember, throughout the entire process, the temperature must absolutely not exceed ten degrees! Otherwise, we're all going to heaven!"
Cold sweat broke out on the group leader's forehead.
He finally understood why this laboratory had to be built so far away from the Tribe's residential area.
This wasn't just conducting an experiment; this was risking their lives!
"Leader... this thing is too dangerous..."
"I know it's dangerous."
Wu Liang's gaze was as sharp as a blade.
"Great rewards always coexist with risks."
"If our Black Rock Tribe wants to rise and not be bullied by others, we need to master the most powerful force!"
"The Alchemical Firearms we captured from the roland people used nothing more than the lowest grade of black powder."
"What I want is high explosives that can shatter mountains and blow steel into fragments!"
Wu Liang paused, his tone softening slightly.
"Of course, I won't send you to your deaths."
"I will personally guide you. Every step must be operated strictly according to the procedures."
Hearing this, the group leader finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"I understand, Leader! We will be extremely careful and will not fail your trust!"
"Good. From today on, the laboratory's security level is raised to the highest. Except for you core members, no one is allowed near!"
"I will send the most elite guards to set up a perimeter three hundred meters away."