Returning to 1949, I decided to hand it over to the state.

Jiang Fan straightened up and shouted loudly at the group behind the cover in the distance:

"Ignition countdown! Everyone, head down and take cover. Remember, do not peek out!"

His off-key words of advice, if not spoken, would have been fine, but the moment they came out, everyone's hearts jumped into their throats.

Zhou Chunsheng, who was standing by to help, was especially terrified.

Zhou Chunsheng swallowed hard and stammered, "..."

"Mr. Jiang... should I find some cover too?"

Jiang Fan ignored him and waved his hand at him, signaling him to quickly get back behind the wall.

Everything is ready now, except for the final spark.

He then looked around to make sure everyone was hidden before pulling out a match and continuing to shout:

"Ready! Ten, nine, eight..."

As Jiang Fanzai counted down, He Xiying, Zhou Chunsheng, and a group of cadres hiding behind the brick wall couldn't help but nervously peek out halfway, staring at the simple launcher.

Under the moonlight, a soft "hiss" sound was heard.

Jiang Fan decisively lit the fuse.

"Zzzzz—"

As the fuse ignited and sparks flew out, Jiang Fan turned and sprinted toward the cover, sliding to Zhou Chunsheng's side and peering out to keep a close eye on the launch tube.

"Jiang... Engineer Jiang, is this thing reliable or not?" Zhou Chunsheng's voice trembled with nervousness, after all, this strangely shaped "cannon" was beyond his common sense as a mechanical expert.

Jiang Fan nodded without turning his head, his gaze fixed on the rapidly shortening fire line.

Although the fuse was left to be two meters long, it still burned at an astonishing rate per second.

He silently counted down the final seconds before the detonation...

「5、4、3、2、1！」

The moment the last silent recitation fell in my heart.

"Bang!"

A muffled thud came from inside the launch tube!

Immediately afterwards, a flash of light appeared, and a dark shadow shot up from the ground with a whooshing sound, drawing an arc through the night sky at an extremely fast speed before crashing down hard towards the target point on the distant hillside.

A brief, deathly silence lasting a fraction of a second.

"BOOM—!!!"

In an instant, a terrifying roar, like thunder from the heavens, erupted from the flat ground.

The small hillside, which had previously shown some undulating contours, was instantly engulfed by a ball of orange-red fire.

At the very center of the explosion, due to the extreme temperature and pressure, a terrifying, blinding white flash appeared for a moment.

The violent shockwave, carrying flying dirt and steel fragments, instantly turned the scene into a complete mess.

The echoes of the explosion gradually faded in the night wind.

Zhou Chunsheng hid behind the brick wall, cautiously peeking out half his face, staring at the scorched earth in the distance that was still smoking.

He swallowed hard for a long time before finally managing to squeeze out a complete sentence:

"My goodness... this thing is too ruthless!"

His words are by no means an exaggeration.

Everyone present, including the experienced He Xiying and the veteran cadres behind him who had witnessed countless battles, were all dumbfounded and staring blankly.

They were all veterans who had fought their way up in real battles, experiencing firsthand the power of Japanese Type 92 infantry guns, American M1 mortars, and captured Japanese grenade launchers.

But when they tried to recall the earth-shaking scene just now, they couldn't find any conventional light weapons that could produce such a terrifying commotion.

The few kerosene lamps on the hillside that were used as targets had long since vaporized and disappeared in the sea of ​​fire.

The entire surface of the slope looked as if it had just been hit by a meteorite, with a huge crater and wisps of smoke rising from the surrounding area.

After the smoke and dust had completely subsided, Jiang Fan stood up from behind the bunker and peered into the direction of the explosion.

He then went around to the side of the bunker facing the direction of the explosion and was surprised to see countless dents made by shrapnel on the thick brick wall.

"The kill radius is... really wide."

Jiang Fan himself gasped inwardly.

He truly hadn't expected that the added ingredient would be so potent.

In his previous life, when he was watching science videos online, he only saw footage of "gas cylinder mortars" on the battlefields of the Middle East, which claimed that one mortar could destroy a four-story building.

But witnessing this earth-shattering event firsthand today still sent a chill down his spine.

"If this thing were used on the battlefield..."

The scene was so beautiful that Jiang Fan didn't even dare to think about it too much.

But one thing is certain: if this shell were to hit, the enemy's machine gun bunkers and pillboxes would be completely destroyed, and the men and their guns would be turned into bloody pulp.

As he pondered, he swallowed hard, forcibly suppressing the shock in his heart, and turned to look at the figures behind him who were still in a daze.

The air was very quiet, and everyone was silent, deeply shocked.

After a long while, He Xiying was the first to come to her senses.

He let out a long breath before speaking, his voice still filled with undisguised horror:

"Comrade Xiao Jiang, this thing you've come up with... it's amazing! It's even more powerful than the Japanese mountain guns!"

As soon as he said this, the veteran cadres behind him excitedly echoed his sentiments.

"That's right! Back when we were fighting the Japanese, we captured their Type 89 grenade launchers. The grenades they fired would at most create a crater the size of a washbasin, but this big thing of yours could blow up half a platoon's bunker!"

Another cadre immediately chimed in excitedly, his tone filled with disbelief:

"Hey, you know what, this thing was really loud. We were hiding behind this bunker just now, and the explosion was so loud my ears are still ringing. It's just like when the Japanese heavy firepower hit us right in front of us back in the day!"

"That's right, that's right. The 60mm mortars used by the Kuomintang were just for show, but compared to this big iron can, they were worlds apart."

"Gentlemen, don't forget the most crucial point!" someone slapped their thigh.

"This thing doesn't pick and choose. Just put the base on the ground, fill it in, light it, and you can start firing. If you encounter a tough nut to crack on the front lines, just use this thing to take it out."

Everyone chimed in with their own opinions, becoming increasingly excited as they spoke, creating a lively and extraordinary atmosphere.

As Jiang Fan listened to these veterans, seasoned by countless battles, praising him so lavishly based on their bloody and fiery experiences, even his thick skin couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

He raised his hand and scratched the back of his head, coughed twice, then changed his mood, put away his smile, and said to He Xiying in a serious tone:

"Factory manager, as long as you and the senior colleagues feel that the power of this thing is not a problem, that's fine."

"However... now that we've successfully produced this weapon today, do you have any specific plans for converting it into foreign currency and selling it?"