Otherworld Bone Dragon Operation Guide

Chapter 108 The Power System of MK71

Miao Xin set the phone to reject all calls, and then, following the navigation, arrived at the warehouse of the manufacturer that dealt in the import and export of electromechanical products. After searching for a while, she easily found a 1000-kilowatt generator set with a rated output voltage of 480 volts and a frequency of 60 Hz, conforming to American standards.

Of course, this unit is powered by a diesel engine, and Su Ming only summoned the generator part to the other world.

But this is only part of the work. The generator needs to be connected after the Corliss steam engine, which involves the speed ratio. The required speed and torque of the generator are not the same as the output of the steam engine.

For example, here, the generator needs 3600 revolutions per minute, but the steam engine only needs 100 to 200 revolutions per minute.

Torque can be adjusted by the valves and working pressure of the steam engine, but speed needs to be changed by a gearbox.

Fortunately, the gearbox was within Su Ming's area of ​​responsibility; as a mechanical and electronic engineering major, this was his job.

He disassembled the gearbox connecting the Corliss steam engine and the drive shaft from the earliest power unit and completely modified it. Lacking suitable gears and couplings, Su Ming drew up detailed drawings and placed an order with a local parts processing plant.

Originally, it would have taken three or four days to arrive because the craftsmanship in Vietnam wasn't up to par, so the owner found a domestic counterpart to make them and ship them over. But Beianqi miraculously managed to handcraft them using only some simple tools and alchemical magic.

Although hand-made parts have much lower precision and a lot of flaws, they can be used as a substitute for debugging until the official parts arrive.

This made Su Ming look at her with new eyes. Bei Anqi, a humanoid machine tool, was the true innate master fitter!

****
After the Five Tooth escaped danger, the sailors began further repairs to the ship. They went ashore on Willow Leaf Island to cut down trees for repair materials.

Su Ming checked the Triangle's warehouse and found that fuel was running low, so he arranged for the zombies to go ashore to cut down trees. The usable materials were given to the Five-Toothed, and the branches and scraps were used for burning, so everyone could take what they needed.

Su Ming rewrote the logic controller program for the steam engine and generator, finally successfully linking the two devices together. He adjusted the generator settings, outputting the old American standard 440V, 60Hz current. This meant the MK71 heavy artillery could enter its final testing phase.

Su Ming felt a great sense of accomplishment, but he didn't know who to share it with. He could talk for an hour about the details and difficulties of this series of tasks, but to the two girls, everything Su Ming did was equally mysterious.

He poured himself a cup of tea, went up to the deck, and looked at the waves drifting on the sea and the azure sky.

Suddenly feeling homesick, Su Ming switched one eye to the little rascal's field of vision, found a Wi-Fi spot, and connected to the home security camera.

After letting his parents know he was safe and sound, and exchanging a few pleasantries, the two elders sensed from the atmosphere that Su Ming's situation had stabilized considerably. Su Ming told them that he had found a way to clear himself of suspicion and that everything was going smoothly.

The elderly people were much relieved.

After ending the call, Su Ming hesitated for a moment, but still told Miao Xin to discard the phone and move to a different location immediately.

This isn't a long-term solution; some things need to be addressed at their root. Su Ming pondered quietly for a while. With the MK71 about to be deployed, the other world would gain ample strategic flexibility. After that, they could calmly begin communication with the police, clarify the case, and address all this inexplicable situation.

So get to work! Su Ming finished his tea in one gulp and returned to the lower deck.

He directed the zombies to bring in mineral oil, and used previously purchased natural fibers to make a simple filter to carefully remove impurities and sediment from the oil.

Different types of mineral oil are used; some are used for gearbox lubrication; some are poured into hydraulic stations as a working medium; and some semi-solid ones are used as grease. "So that's how the mineral oil you bought from us is used," Beianqi said with great interest, helping to explain.

"These things are all refined from petroleum, right? Does your world produce a lot of oil?" Su Ming asked.

“It’s quite rare. It’s mostly produced from deep wells or mines, with an annual output of a few thousand tons,” Beanie replied. “Its uses are very limited. Dwarf factories and ships like to use mineral oil for rust prevention.”

"What about the other products from the refining process?" Su Ming continued to inquire.

“Just burn it, what’s the point of keeping it?” Beau Angie said. “The production process requires continuous heating, so this will reduce costs.”

Very well, the gasoline, diesel, and heavy fuel oil he had been longing for were used up as firewood.

He expressed his desire to purchase these "byproducts," but Angie Bessie told him that the oil refining industry is highly fragmented and lacks technical standards. A small portion might be possible, but it wouldn't establish a stable, large-scale supply chain.

Su Ming temporarily abandoned his idea of ​​buying oil to refine diesel, unless he found abundant shallow mineral resources or could establish a dedicated procurement system. So he settled for second best and started inquiring about coal.

“That’s a lot,” Beanie replied. “However, the coal-producing areas of the Eastern Continent are located on the inland side, far from the coastline. Do you use a large quantity?”

"Each purchase must be at least a thousand tons," Su Ming explained, "and it needs to be high-calorific-value, low-viscosity bituminous coal."

“This is troublesome. Transporting so much coal from the inland is time-consuming and costly,” Beianqi pondered. “There’s an undersea coal mine on Brown Gold Island with similar coal quality. But we don’t know the current production status or inventory. I’ll have someone inquire about it right away.”

"Thank you for your trouble!" Su Ming said, while reminding Bei Anqi to arrange for trustworthy people not to reveal that the request came from them.

"That's fine!"

****
With the power supply issue resolved, the MK71 heavy artillery was finally powered on and entered the joint commissioning phase.

Ammunition hoisting, loading, reloading, turret rotation, muzzle elevation—each action was tested one by one. Two more days passed, and the heavy artillery was finally ready for a complete set of simulated firing.

The cargo ship Ale finally arrived, along with the maritime rescue ship Blue Ark. The latter brought a large number of personnel and equipment, and will stay here to restore the Five Teeth's self-propulsion capabilities.

In addition to the custom-made 203mm shells and a large quantity of alchemical explosives, Su Ming also replenished some metals that were consumed in large quantities, as well as ores containing uncommon elements such as ilmenite, magnesite, borax, and monazite. The total amount of goods exceeded 100 tons.

The majority of the shells were high-explosive, filled with explosives and equipped with mechanical impact fuses at the top. These items were quite expensive, and together with other supplies, they just offset the cost of the rescue operation.

"The payment is settled, it's a pleasure doing business with you!" Su Ming said to Bei Anqi.

“Wait a moment, there’s another business deal to discuss,” Beanie said. “It’s a request from the Eastern Continent Chamber of Commerce; they want you to escort a fleet through dangerous waters.”

(End of this chapter)