Starting from Robinson Crusoe-Chapter 89 - 33: Detonation

Both the long-handled and short-handled axes are excellently crafted.

In comparison, the dagger packed inside seemed a bit rough.

The dagger has no sheath, a thick blade, and the handle is made from ordinary wood, with two mosaic studs embedded.

The end is detachable, containing a small file for sharpening the axe blade, making the dagger a multifunctional design.

The dagger blade's surface has a contour-like circular pattern that can be mistaken for modern Damascus Steel, but it's actually a laser-etched imitation.

On some online selling platforms, this imitation Damascus pattern is often a hallmark of cheap and inferior steel.

However, in the 17th century with backward smelting technology, modern ordinary steel was still considered "steel amongst steels," much better than the short knife Robinson carried around.

Covering the axe blade with a protective sheath, he forcefully twisted the two axes, ensuring they were firmly and tightly connected to the axe handle, without requiring wedge pins.

He nodded with satisfaction, placing the two axes, dagger, small hammer, and other rewards back into the carton.

Woohoo!

Feeling unprecedentedly joyful, Chen Zhou let out a long howl toward the sky and returned to the cave.

Walking past the sparse trees of the coastal area, he made his way to the forest at the foot of the mountain. Looking at the trees of varying thickness around him, he resisted the temptation several times but ultimately couldn't suppress the urge and took out the long-handled axe from the packaging box.

The carbonized dark brown axe handle fit perfectly into Chen Zhou's large hand, concentrating weight in the axe head, and feeling comfortable to grip.

Exhale~

He aimed at a tree trunk about the size of a bowl and swung the long axe.

With seemingly little effort, the axe blade embedded deeply into the tree root, severing more than two-thirds of the tree.

The wedge-shaped structure of the axe prevented it from getting stuck; with a slight shake of the axe handle, Chen Zhou pulled the axe out and then kicked the tree.

Already teetering, the tree root groaned in pain and tilted toward the ground.

Looking again at the gash made by the axe, it was smooth and flat, as if cut by a knife.

This indicated, for one, that the axe blade was sharpened quite thinly and was very sharp.

Secondly, it showed that the axe's design was suitable for chopping, especially adept at dealing with trees.

"Now, what tree can stand against me?"

With the long-handled axe in hand, Chen Zhou felt a chopping itch.

Using the felled tree as the center, all surrounding trees, regardless of thickness or height, suffered, except for a few towering trees that required multiple people to encircle them, which merely received a few harmless axe strikes. The other trees were hacked equally.

Tree trunks as thick as arms were chopped into several pieces, and those as thick as thighs fell after just a few strikes...

Clearing out the small trees in the vicinity and creating an open space in the forest, Chen Zhou finally put away the axe and calmed down.

The axe blade remained unharmed, showing no sign of chipping or rolling.

The polished axe face didn't even have scratches; it was only stained with green tree sap, reminiscent of bloodstains after a massacre.

"Really excellent!

This reward is so good that even if I got a phone case next time, I'd be fine with it!"

After wiping the sap off the axe face and packing it back into the box, without feeling any fatigue, Chen Zhou returned to the cave.

The mysterious reward undoubtedly gave the day a good start. He hoped the subsequent explosive work would go smoothly as well.

Using the pre-stored firestarter to light the oil lamp, he organized the small pieces of canvas, long firecord, hourglass, and the chisels and hammers used to carve the gunpowder channel, making sure everything was accounted for, before starting the first transfer.

Then, he transported two barrels of black gunpowder to the shelter construction site, considered well-prepared now.

The cave, scorched by fire the day before, still emitted a faint smoky smell, with earth mounds on the platform bursting open from testing explosion effects, scattering stones everywhere, leaving a mess.

The cave, originally dug more neatly with pickaxes and shovels, had been burnt to the point of losing its original shape. It was uneven inside, with residual sand and ash on the ground.

Gazing at the shelter that seemed bombed, Chen Zhou took out a piece of charcoal, drawing lines on the undulating cave walls. After identifying an appropriate location, he directly took out chisels, hammers, and crowbars to start drilling holes.

Trying out the explosion for the first time, he planned to use a small quantity to test the effect, to avoid excessive power leading to unnecessary danger. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

The entire installation hole for explosives had a diameter of about 30 cm, depth of 1.5 meters, with uniform front and back thickness.

Black gunpowder wrapped in dry canvas, with a fuse inserted, would enter from the hole entrance and go straight to the bottom, waiting for ignition.

Drilling a hole was much simpler than excavating an entire cave wall, and with the help of sturdy metal crowbars, Chen Zhou quickly completed this task.

Before placing the gunpowder, he carefully checked the fuse to ensure the end was completely buried in the gunpowder, fearing the appearance of a dud later, resulting in a "time bomb" that couldn't be dismantled or left untouched.

As he gradually inserted the gunpowder package, Chen Zhou also examined the firecord bit by bit, ensuring there were no broken sections or areas where the oil wasn't evenly soaked.

Any tiny detail could lead to issues during the explosion process, so negligence wasn't an option.

A firecord over two meters long, slowly burning for half an hour.

After confirming everything was normal, Chen Zhou took the prepared oil lamp and cautiously ignited the fuse.

The firecord was tightly woven, burning slowly. After ensuring it wouldn't suddenly extinguish, Chen Zhou closed the oil lamp's windscreen.

He ran out of the cave in small steps, heading eastward, retreating to a place safe from any potential rock collapse, where he took out the sand timer.