Chapter 8: Grinding My Liver Away

“Railway communication—signal lights, signal flags;

“Green light—allows the train to pass through the station without stopping.”

“Red light—stop outside the station.”

“Yellow light—slow down; one yellow light means enter the main track and stop, two yellow lights mean enter the side track and stop.”

“White light, purple light—same as the red light, must stop outside the station.”

*Rustle, rustle.*

As he turned to the last page of the "Railway Signaling Rules," a crisp sound rang in Li Aiguo’s ears.

“Skill point +1”

His gaze landed on the system panel.

The panel had changed.

Steam Engine Driving Technique: 21.

Culinary Arts: 15.

Skill points: +1

Reading a book increases skill points by one.

Li Aiguo clenched his fists in excitement.

Sure enough, the system never lies to transmigrators.

The maximum score for each subject is one hundred points.

Now that his Steam Engine Driving Technique is at 21 points, he only needs to read 78 more books to upgrade the technique to the maximum score.

A maximum score means complete mastery of the technique; it makes one an expert in that field.

Using the standards of a machinist, a maximum score is even one level higher than an eighth-grade machinist—it would truly allow one to hand-craft a nuclear bomb.

Damn, this system is awesome!

Perhaps...

Li Aiguo’s heart stirred, and he scrolled down the system panel.

Fuel-Air Explosive Manufacturing Technology: 0;

Third-Generation Fighter Jet Manufacturing Technology: 0;

Aircraft Carrier Manufacturing Technology: 0;

Two-Way Foil Manufacturing Technology: 0;

He looked down at that "1" skill point, suddenly tilted his head, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

Since he could add points, why not add them directly to the Third-Generation Fighter Jet Manufacturing Technology?

In this era, the internationally deployed fighter jets were still second-generation, represented by the U.S. F-4 and the Soviet MiG-21.

Domestically, because the economic and industrial foundations were very weak, the country was still using old first-generation fighter jets, such as the J-6.

In modern warfare, air superiority is the key to controlling the battlefield. Mastering air superiority allows one to restrict the enemy's combat activities.

It can be said that air superiority determines the outcome of a war; whether it is the army or the navy, without air superiority, they are basically sitting ducks.

This statement has been proven by countless wars in later generations.

If he could exchange for Third-Generation Fighter Jet Manufacturing Technology and send it to the higher-ups, perhaps he could change several humiliating events of the future.

Having transmigrated to this era, if he didn't do something, wouldn't he be no different from a salted fish?

Thinking this far, Li Aiguo no longer hesitated. He temporarily gave up on the Steam Engine Driving Technique and manipulated the system panel to add the skill point to "Third-Generation Fighter Jet Manufacturing Technology."

“.”

Huh?

No reaction?

Li Aiguo frowned and looked closely, only to find that the "Third-Generation Fighter Jet Manufacturing Technology" option was dimmed, with a small "+" sign in front of it.

There was a small note next to it, just like a game prompt.

“Missing prerequisite skills.”

Prerequisite skills?

Li Aiguo: [Subway old man looking at phone.jpg]

Damn it, was this dog system made by Tencent?

As a level 3 Xinyue member, Li Aiguo was all too familiar with these methods of inducing consumption.

To get the most powerful, most awesome skills, you have to pay to unlock the prerequisites.

In this dog system, he needed to use skill points to max out all the prerequisite skills.

*Huu.*

Let’s see what the prerequisite skills are.

Taking a deep breath, the Xinyue member of the fifties bravely clicked on the "+" sign.

Aircraft aerodynamic design skills; flight control skills, engine design skills, material manufacturing process skills, weapon system integration skills; material science; manufacturing processes...

There were hundreds of them, densely packed.

And that wasn't all; there were "+" signs in front of these options as well.

*Huu.*

Taking another deep breath, the former level 3 Xinyue member clicked on the "+" sign without looking back.

This time, he chose the only one he could understand among these systems—manufacturing processes.

*Swish.*

A long list of subjects appeared instantly.

Machinist: 0;

Blacksmith: 0;

Welder: 0;

There were dozens of professional skills.

Some were ones Li Aiguo had never even heard of, such as "Seat Upholstery Technology."

Is the comfort of a fighter jet seat really that important? Does it need specialized upholstery technology?

Forget it, there are no skill points anyway, so looking is a waste of time.

At this moment, Li Aiguo felt like he had entered one of those "If you're a brother, come and hack me" games.

In those games, the +99999 Dragon-Slaying Sabers were mighty and domineering, very attractive, but he only had 1 yuan in his account.

Li Aiguo reluctantly returned to the previous panel and looked at the Steam Engine Driving Technique again.

“+1”

There were no light or sound effects. Steam Engine Driving Technique: 21 -> 22.

A wave of dizziness hit his brain, and Li Aiguo couldn't help but squint his eyes.

The discomfort disappeared quickly, and many unfamiliar pieces of knowledge appeared in his mind.

Those pieces of knowledge instantly turned into crystalline fragments, disappearing into his mind and becoming part of his permanent memory.

“The reversing gear of a steam locomotive not only controls the forward and backward movement of the locomotive but also controls the reversing device, adjusting the air supply volume and cutoff ratio of the air valve to the cylinder...”

With this knowledge, Li Aiguo was certain he could score five points higher on the exam.

Sure enough, what suits you is the best.

You have to walk the road one step at a time, eat steamed buns one bite at a time; you can't become a fat man in one bite, and a fat man has to lose weight bit by bit.

As for the third-generation fighter jet technology, there was no rush; it wouldn't matter if he waited ten years.

After confirming the system's efficacy, Li Aiguo began his life of "grinding" books.

Grinding books wasn't just flipping through them; it required reading every page and every word carefully, and understanding the principles contained within.

It could be said that for every book he ground, the knowledge inside was mastered by Li Aiguo.

As such, grinding one book required a lot of time.

Fortunately, with the system's blessing, Li Aiguo's reading and comprehension abilities had increased exponentially.

The "Railway Signaling Rules" he just finished was relatively thin, taking only 1 hour.

Li Aiguo calculated that a normal technical book, with twice the pages of the "Railway Signaling Rules," would take two hours to grind.

78 books would be 156 hours; if he spent eight hours a day grinding books, it would take twenty days.

And the exam was in fifteen days.

Time was tight, so Li Aiguo couldn't afford to rest. He pulled a new book from the drawer and started grinding again.

“+1”

“+1”

“+1”

“+1”

Spending the whole day, Li Aiguo finished eleven books.

Late at night, darkness shrouded the capital.

Every household lit their electric lamps, each one representing a different mood.

Li Aiguo was feeling rather depressed at this moment.

Putting down the book, he stared blankly at the ceiling.

It wasn't that he was tired.

After all, as a diligent person, learning knowledge was a happy process, much more fun than games.

The problem was, there weren't that many books left at home.

Li Aiguo originally had over twenty books from the Railway Technical College, some of which had been borrowed by Yan Bugui.

Yan Bugui's excuse was that he was also interested in driving trains.

Of course, that was a lie.

That old guy must have secretly sold the books for money.

(End of chapter)