Warhammer: Rebuilding the Golden Age Starting with Farming

Chapter 26 The Bottom Nest Pleasure Car

Andy stood in a giant, newly cleared workshop, holding a holographic blueprint in his hand.

This workshop was probably used to repair heavy mining machines before; there are still those overhead crane tracks weighing several tons on the ground.

But ever since the inventory that the Mechanics Cult painstakingly scavenged out of garbage ran out, this place has been filled with the prayer supplies of the oil enthusiasts.

But now, this place has become Andy's private modification workshop.

He wanted to build a vehicle, and a proper APC armored personnel carrier!

In the Warhammer universe, the prototype of the APC is called the "Chimera," which is the main vehicle of the Astronautical Army.

It's sturdy, durable, can hold 12 people, and can even wade through water.

But the original chimera was too complicated.

Multi-fuel engines, amphibious propulsion systems, sophisticated fire control radar...

These things simply cannot be produced with the current level of industrial capabilities in the shelter.

Especially that damn amphibious thruster, it's full of precision seals and high-pressure pumps, and modern machine tools can't even cut a decent O-ring.

So, Andy made a bold decision to simplify.

If you cut off the amphibious function, where would you find a river wide enough for the bottom nest to swim in? You can just go around the acid lake.

Cut off the fire control radar. These days, warfare relies entirely on visual observation. Why bother with radar? A bigger searchlight is better than anything else.

We should also remove the laser gun array. Those things not only consume a lot of power but are also troublesome to maintain. It would be better to open more firing ports so that soldiers can fire their own guns.

Finally, what remained was a bizarre "Chimera - Youth Edition," which Andy called the Bottom Nest Happy Car.

After finalizing the design, Andy disassembled a heavy mining truck chassis that he had borrowed from Dr. Birdbeak.

This chassis was originally designed to haul tens of tons of ore; the main beams were as thick as Andy's thigh.

Andy simply cut off the rear half to shorten the wheelbase and increase ground clearance.

Then there's the power system.

The original engine was still usable, but Andy thought it had too little horsepower.

He rummaged through the pile of scrap and found two high-powered industrial diesel engines, originally intended for generator sets. They had incredibly high torque, but their speed was a bit low.

Andy didn't care about anything else and directly connected the two engines together, plus the high-octane fuel he got from Dr. Birdbeak.

Take a look!

Twin engines, eight cylinders, turbocharged!

This car could practically fly when it's moving!

Of course, the Chimera doesn't win by horsepower; its real strength lies in its armor.

Ordinary steel plates cannot stop explosive guns, let alone thermoelectric weapons.

Unfortunately, Andy happened to have a few shape memory alloy steel plates on hand.

This material is typically used to protect against strong acid corrosion and high-pressure gases. It is extremely hard and has the property of self-healing after being heated.

Andy cut the steel plates into angled armor blocks and welded them around the vehicle body.

To increase its defensive capabilities, he also sandwiched a layer of high-density industrial rubber between the armor layers.

This rubber was also one of the first products that Andy had synthesized using sulfuric acid and organic solvents.

Don't underestimate this layer of rubber.

It can effectively absorb the shock wave of an explosion and prevent fatal fragmentation after being penetrated by an armor-piercing projectile.

What ultimately emerged was the prototype of the so-called composite armor.

Finally, there's the weapon system.

After Andy's ingenious design, a fully enclosed rotating turret was welded onto the roof of the vehicle.

And so, Andy shoved another twin-mounted heavy logging rifle into the machine.

To increase sustained firepower, Andy didn't use belt ammunition; instead, he designed a huge drum magazine that could hold a thousand rounds.

Andy added a flamethrower to the front of the vehicle.

The flamethrower's fuel tank is directly connected to the auxiliary fuel tank in the vehicle. With just the press of a button, it can unleash a 30-meter-long fire dragon.

When dealing with gang members who like to use sheer numbers or dense swarms of Tyranids, the flamethrower is always the best friend.

Three days and nights.

Andy was like a tireless mechanic, hammering, welding, and cutting.

When this "Chimera - Youth Edition" finally came to market, it wasn't even painted. The exposed metal, along with the scorch marks at the welds, exuded a rugged, industrial aesthetic.

Andy got into the driver's seat and started the engine.

"boom--!!!"

The roar of the twin engines shook the entire workshop.

"Comfortable!" Andy was very satisfied.

With this thing, walking sideways across the bottom nest will no longer be a dream.

As long as it doesn't encounter a Leman Rustank equipped with laser cannons, or a true Space Marine Dreadnought, this vehicle is basically invincible.

……

……

After leaving the workshop, Andy inspected the implementation of each production line.

It has to be said that ever since Andy emptied Dr. Birdbeak's chemical raw material warehouse, the development of the shelter has been on a roll.

The chemical production line was the first to show results.

Gamma-9 and his team made the most of those dozens of barrels of sulfuric acid and nitrate.

The awkward situation of having to scavenge gunpowder from the scrap heap was finally over.

On the ammunition assembly line, workers are currently spooning that pale yellow nitrated starch powder into brass cartridge cases.

This new type of dual-base propellant burns extremely completely, leaving very little residue.

Every bullet produced is a deadly weapon capable of penetrating light armor.

The explosives production line next door was also busy.

Andy could see that Bauer was leading a group of people to make hand grenades.

They were making a simple fragmentation grenade by cutting up scrap steel pipes, sealing both ends, and filling the middle with high-energy explosives.

To increase its lethality, Bauer also mixed some heavy metal particles salvaged from discarded batteries into the explosives.

After the explosion, not only was there a shockwave, but countless pieces of toxic metal flew everywhere.

Even if someone hit by the explosion doesn't die, they will suffer and die a painful death from heavy metal poisoning within a few days.

Andy highly praised this insidious design!

Of course, some encountered difficulties.

For example, the rocket launcher project that Andy had high hopes for.

XPG-200 individual rocket launcher.

This thing looks simple, but in reality, there are a lot of problems when you build it.

First, there's the rocket engine nozzle.

It requires special ceramics or alloys that can withstand high temperatures, but the problem is that the current materials in the shelter simply cannot withstand that kind of instantaneous high temperature and high pressure.

The only usable stock, high-strength shape memory alloy, was all used by Andy to manufacture cars.

Several test launches were conducted, but the rocket either flew halfway before the nozzle burned through and it flew erratically, or it exploded directly inside the launch tube.

Secondly, there's the fuse of the warhead.

Piezoelectric fuses are too delicate; even with the assistance of STC, the yield rate of hand-made ones is still less than 10%.

It often happens that the shot doesn't explode, or it explodes in your hand before you can even shoot it.

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Andy had to temporarily halt the project.

"Stop all testing immediately!"

It seems that for now, sticking to guns and grenades is the most reliable approach.

However, this does not affect the leap in the overall strength of the shelter.

The shelters of today are no longer the refugee camps where people had to scavenge for a living.

It became a small warlord force with a complete light weapons production line, chemical raw material supply, and even heavy armored vehicles.

Andy stood on the high ground, watching all of this.

The sense of accomplishment from turning a pile of scrap metal into a product from scratch made his non-existent heart beat faster.

This is the joy of farming!

As long as you have the raw materials and the blueprints, nothing is impossible.

"Boss Andy!"

Just then, Bauer rushed over, his face showing a mixture of excitement and nervousness.

"It's done! It's done!"

"What's done?" Andy asked.

"That!" Bauer pointed in the direction of the pharmaceutical workshop.

"The first truly effective antibiotic, Andy Biochemical No. 1, has been successfully mass-produced!"

Andy's electronic eye lit up.

Although shelters can now start by selling other things, Andy Bio-Chemical No. 1 is the real hard currency.

With this, Andy had leverage to negotiate with the entire underworld and even the upper echelons of society.

"Let's go take a look."