Traveling Back to the 1960s: The Entire Internet Teaches Me How to Build Missiles

Chapter 78: We can only proceed cautiously, feeling our way across the river.

The members of Team 501 were all talking at once, and even Zhou Yunxiao was staring intently at Qiu Xiaomei, as if he were admiring a peerless sacred object.

"This thing—only it deserves the title of a national treasure! The Xuanyuan Sword, the Pangu Axe, and the Eastern Emperor Bell are utterly pathetic!"

Zhou Yunxiao muttered to himself, when he saw Dean Lu take the pen out of the pocket of his Zhongshan suit.

It wasn't until Lu Guangda plugged the pen into the power source that he belatedly realized it wasn't a fountain pen, but a homemade Geiger counter.

As the Geiger counter approached the large box, something magical happened: everyone heard a clear "clattering" sound.

Chief of Staff Xu and Captain Mu were very curious, so they took the Geiger counter and brought it close to the box to test it, and all of them made a rattling sound.

Zhou Yunxiao asked Dean Lu, "Is this a uranium bomb? Not a plutonium bomb?"

The others turned around and listened attentively.

Lu Guangda nodded. "That's right, this is a uranium bomb. This is uranium that we refined ourselves at the enrichment plant in Jincheng!"

We had previously considered the plutonium bomb option, after all, Big Brother and the United States both started with simple atomic weapons like plutonium bombs.

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However, our equipment was too outdated, and our industrial conditions couldn't keep up. We only had a 10,000-kilowatt nuclear reactor, which could only produce two kilograms of plutonium per year. To gather enough fuel for one atomic weapon, it would take at least four years of continuous refining! Two weapons would take eight years!

But eight years is too long, and Project 596 must be pushed forward as soon as possible. So we boldly abandoned the plutonium bomb design and turned to researching uranium bombs, which are easier to obtain. We mobilized tens of thousands of prospectors before finally finding a high-quality uranium mine in the southwest region.

Yan Baoguo, who was on the other side, also came over and said in a rough voice, "Besides, the Westerners look down on us. They say that we can't possibly master uranium bomb technology within ten years, and at most we can only make plutonium bombs and set off small firecrackers! But they don't know that we have deciphered Big Brother's technology and also built three... what was that again in Jincheng?"

Yan Baoguo scratched his head and looked at Dean Lu.

Lu Guangda explained: "The three new gas diffusion plants are all thanks to a comrade on the covert front, let's call him Comrade Z. He obtained valuable data for us, which enabled us to produce enough weapons-grade nuclear warheads in a short period of time, resulting in Sister Qiu and Little Sister Qiu as we know them today."

As he said this, his gaze inadvertently swept across Zhou Yunxiao's face.

The latter winked knowingly.

Finally, Dean Lu said to everyone: "In short, this Qiu Xiaomei is the result of our tremendous efforts in researching, producing and assembling. It embodies the hard work of the entire Ninth Research Institute of the Second Ministry of Machine Building and thousands of supporting factories across the country."

"The first test explosion was of such difficulty as a uranium bomb. There is no international experience to draw on, so we can only proceed cautiously as we go."

"If we succeed, we can stand tall; if we fail, the West will laugh their heads off! It's no exaggeration to say that these boxes in front of us are our lifeline! We must protect them with our lives!"

"No matter what goes wrong, neither of us can afford it, and we will both become sinners in history. So—I entrust the rest to you all."

Lu Guangda had more important things to do, so after giving a few brief instructions, he left in a hurry, leaving only a student named He Chenggong to assist the 501 team in their escort operations.

Zhou Yunxiao vaguely heard words like "Lop Nur," "Malan Flower in Bloom," and "40th Anniversary Gift," before the sounds gradually faded away.

After Dean Lu and Yan Ling left, He Chenggong continued coordinating with the team. He pointed to the four boxes and said, "The first three boxes are relatively light, weighing about 50 kilograms, 200 kilograms, and 300 kilograms respectively. The fourth box is the heaviest, weighing about 1.5 tons. To move it onto the train, we'll need to use a hand winch and an A-frame derrick, and we must minimize vibration to avoid unnecessary damage."

Chief of Staff Xu laughed and said, "Dean Lu accepted you as a student; your name deserves at least seven-tenths of the credit, right? A resounding success!"

May you achieve immediate success!

Everyone burst into laughter.

However, the pleasant atmosphere did not last long, and the top-secret Operation 501 still required a high level of vigilance.

The mobilization meeting was held in a large conference room at the Jinyintan base. Yan Baoguo presided over the meeting, which was attended by a seven-person task force, researchers led by He Chenggong, and officers and soldiers from various units.

Yan Baoguo said solemnly on the stage: "The current situation is very serious. The eyes of the whole world are on us. Testing an atomic weapon is a major event. It affects the whole world. Railway lines and highways in various places are being mobilized. We can't hide it."

"Therefore, we must prepare for the worst. The test missile has already been secretly sent to Lop Nur, and although the backup missile is not needed, its importance is equally self-evident—it is our confidence going forward!"

"Meanwhile, Westerners are actively working to stop or delay our Project 596, especially after our recent major moves, they've become even more panicked!"

These words immediately made everyone tense and uneasy.

Fortunately, Yan Baoguo quickly smoothed things over, saying, "But thankfully, our elder brother wasn't swayed by their sweet talk. This buys us valuable time, and we must hurry to complete the experiment!"

"Although the backup ammunition is not the enemy's primary target, the comrades in the escort team must still be vigilant—"

At this point, Xu Qianxue, representing the Dongfeng Base, said, "We will do everything in our power to ensure the completion of the mission, and we swear to live and die with Qiu Xiaomei!"

Yan Baoguo nodded in satisfaction, and then exchanged views with Chief of Staff Xu on various emergencies during the transport.

Everything, big or small, such as air raids, train line malfunctions, and bandits boarding trains along the way, was taken into consideration, and contingency plans were developed for each one.

Such security issues will be addressed by Yan Baoguo and Staff Officer Xu.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yunxiao, Li Difeng, and the technical backbone of the Second Division held a small meeting with He Chenggong to discuss the technical risks of transporting backup missiles.

After all, transporting atomic weapons was unprecedented in the East; no one had ever experienced it before.

Fortunately, the first test missile had already been transported out, which provided the 501 Squad with some experience, so they wouldn't be too constrained.

He Chenggong said at the small meeting: "At six o'clock this morning, the special train transporting Sister Qiu departed along the Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway, with Dean Lu personally escorting it. He sent me a telegram, emphasizing the potential shock absorption issues of the special train, and hoping that we could resolve them during the transportation of backup ammunition."

At this point, He Chenggong pulled over a blackboard and drew a simple sketch for Zhou Yunxiao and Li Difeng: "The special trains transporting the Qiu sisters were all disguised and modified boxcars, using conventional methods of transporting munitions, which involved packing aluminum boxes with thick wooden boards and filling the interlayers with large amounts of cotton yarn, sawdust, etc."

"The outermost layer is then bound together with canvas and thick hemp rope, and secured to the steel latches on the chassis of the carriage to maintain stability —"

Zhou Yunxiao carefully examined the simple line drawing, making sure that viewers in the live stream could also see every detail from his perspective.

He asked, "Can't this shock absorption method meet the requirements for transporting an atomic bomb?"

He Chenggong shook his head. "Initially, when Dean Lu and everyone discussed it, they thought there would be no problem transporting it this way. But judging from Sister Qiu's transportation situation on the first day, it was clearly a mistake."

"Dean Lu said that the railways in the Northwest use short rails, which causes trains to make a regular 'clunking' impact when they run. Although this impact can be offset by shock absorbers, Dean Lu discovered that it also generates low-frequency vibrations that can be directly transmitted to cargo, especially precision equipment like detonation lenses!"

"Because the feedback from the detonation lens to vibration is at the micrometer level, if resonance causes a tiny displacement or friction of the internal explosive charge during long-distance transportation, it could lead to the core being rendered unusable, or in severe cases, it could cause a secondary detonation of conventional explosives inside the carriage!"