Jerome Bonaparte relied on being the only time traveler in this timeline, with the advantage of understanding future warfare trends, to reorganize the internal structure of the Rifle Research Institute.

Led by the Mauser Clan (main members Paul Mauser, William Mauser), let's tentatively call them the Aubendorn Faction, they continued the research on bolt-action rifles (Jerome Bonaparte fixed the research focus on repeating bolt-action rifles) and metallic cartridges.

The local faction, led by Alfonso Chasebo, shifted their research topic and devoted themselves to studying multi-barrel rapid-fire weapons.

This grouping had both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage was that it helped foster a sense of competition between the groups, accelerating the research process. The downside, naturally, was also related to competition; if the competitive awareness between the two groups became too strong, it could easily provoke conflicts between them, slowing down the research progress.

Therefore, Jerome Bonaparte deliberately set a red line, allowing healthy competition between the two groups. If any member dared to use tricks or hinder others, Jerome Bonaparte would invite them to the West Icehouse Restaurant under the Mechanical Command (which was also introduced to France during the construction of the Mechanical Command) for a sit-down.

Jerome Bonaparte's calm and unruffled demeanor, combined with his frosty words, sounded a warning bell in the hearts of the staff within the research institute. No one dared to defy a monarch who spoke with divine authority.

"Rest assured, I will strictly supervise them to prevent them from doing anything out of line!" Anderson Mauser assured Jerome Bonaparte.

"That's good!" Jerome Bonaparte nodded and said to Anderson Mauser, "I don't want any one of you to spark friction over trivial matters, thereby affecting the entire team's progress!"

Then, Jerome Bonaparte once again encouraged everyone in the institute, promising them that all their efforts would be richly rewarded.

Accompanied by Anderson Mauser, Jerome Bonaparte left the institute.

Even though it was already winter, the weather was unusually hot. The sun at three in the afternoon shone through the thin, continuous layer of pale white clouds onto the earth. Jerome Bonaparte and Anderson Mauser walked on the cement pavement under the scorching sun, and the coats meant to shield them from the cold had now become "sweat inducers," with sweat the size of soybeans slipping from their temples down to their cheeks, covering their cheeks and ears in a layer of rosy color under the sun's rays.

Jerome Bonaparte and Anderson Mauser continued walking along the concrete road until they reached an intersection. Jerome Bonaparte stopped and said to Anderson Mauser, "Let's part here!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Anderson Mauser slightly bowed to Jerome Bonaparte and then turned to leave.

Jerome Bonaparte stood alone at the intersection, seemingly waiting for someone. Ten minutes later, on the road to his left, the person he was waiting for appeared—Bashirio.

"Your Majesty, please forgive my lateness!" Bashirio bowed and apologized to Jerome Bonaparte for being late.

"It's nothing!" Jerome Bonaparte smiled faintly, responding lightly, "Everyone gets entangled with trivial matters and misses appointments at times. By the way, where is Professor Wu Ci's lab? I didn't see it on my way here!"

"Your Majesty, please follow me!" Bashirio promptly responded to Jerome Bonaparte.

Bashirio and Jerome Bonaparte first headed west, and after arriving at the second intersection, they moved north, quickly reaching a house.

This was a two-story villa, located in the northwest of the Northern Industrial Park, a standalone residence far from the employee housing area.

The owner of this villa was none other than Professor Wu Ci, who discovered methylamine.

Just as Jerome Bonaparte and Bashirio were about to step into the villa and enter its interior, an ear-piercing explosion was heard from within.

Jerome Bonaparte and Bashirio's faces changed instantly, and Bashirio immediately protected Jerome Bonaparte behind him.

"Quick! Go in and save people!" Seeing the situation, Jerome Bonaparte pushed Bashirio aside and ran straight toward the inside of the villa.

No one understood better than him what this explosion signified.

Seeing Jerome Bonaparte, who put aside his royal stature to enter the villa, Bashirio could only follow Jerome Bonaparte into the villa.

When Jerome Bonaparte and Bashirio reached the stairs leading to the second floor, a choking scent generated from the gunpowder explosion wafted from the second floor to the first floor.

Jerome Bonaparte and Bashirio immediately ran upstairs when they saw the situation, quickly arriving at the laboratory corridor. Standing in the corridor, they immediately saw the black smoke drifting out of the laboratory.

"Quick!" Jerome Bonaparte rushed into the laboratory.

The laboratory was in complete disarray, with the smell of gunpowder and burnt feathers filling the air.

Dr. Wu Ci was frantically waving his clothes in an attempt to extinguish the flames caused by the new explosion.

Seeing this, Jerome Bonaparte and Bashirio also removed their clothes to help Dr. Wu Ci put out the fire.

After a long five-minute "struggle," the three finally managed to completely extinguish the flames.

However, the faces of the three were inevitably blackened by the dense smoke.

Having completely extinguished the gunpowder, the three collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily without any composure. After a while, Jerome Bonaparte started to show concern for Professor Wu Ci's condition. He turned and asked with genuine concern, "Professor Wu Ci, are you all right? Were you hurt by the explosion just now?"

"By God's mercy! I am not seriously harmed!" Wu Ci leaned back, supporting the ground with his hands, breathing heavily while responding to Jerome Bonaparte.

"Good to hear! Good to hear!" Seeing that Professor Wu Ci was fine, Jerome Bonaparte breathed a sigh of relief.

After a short break, the three stood up again, looking at the devastated laboratory. Wu Ci shook his head with lingering fear, saying, "Ah! I underestimated the instability and power of nitrocellulose!"

"Everything has two sides! Nitrocellulose is like an untamed beast, and any carelessness can cause immense harm to those who study it!" Jerome Bonaparte also sighed and then changed the topic, "However, the more ferocious this beast is, the more it proves its inherent value! I believe that as long as we can tame this mad beast, we will usher in a brand new era!"

"Indeed!" Dr. Wu Ci wiped the sweat off his forehead with excitement and said, "If we can apply this energy, which is even stronger than black powder, to construction, like road building, it would certainly double the results with half the effort."

"That's right!" Jerome Bonaparte echoed.

However, unlike Dr. Wu Ci, Jerome Bonaparte did not entertain thoughts of contributing to architecture. His sole purpose for investing effort in nitrocellulose was to discover smokeless powder as quickly as possible, even if it meant sacrificing some lives.

The transition from paper cartridges to metal cartridges was a quantitative accumulation, while the shift from black powder to smokeless powder was a qualitative transformation.

In the original timeline, the Maxim machine gun, once considered almost useless, became the darling of the era after the invention of smokeless powder, and later, during World War I, it became the notorious widow-maker.

It can be said that smokeless powder gave rise to many weapons like the Maxim, turning war into an assembly-line slaughter under equal national strength.

"Your Majesty, did you order me to study nitrocellulose truly to benefit all of France, and not to let it serve war?" While Jerome Bonaparte was pondering the application of smokeless powder in warfare, Wu Ci's voice brought him back to reality.

Looking at the professor in front of him, who was about his age (Wu Ci was 36 and Jerome Bonaparte was 31), with a serious expression, Jerome Bonaparte touched his nose and fell silent. He didn't want to deceive Wu Ci, but at the same time, he couldn't explicitly state that nitrocellulose was intended for warfare.

Silence was enough to represent Jerome Bonaparte's attitude.

Indeed, Jerome Bonaparte's silence in Professor Wu Ci's eyes already signified consent.

"Your Majesty, I'm glad you were honest with me! If my invention can reduce the deaths of French soldiers and prevent my homeland from suffering the Tsar's invasion, then I am willing to devote my life to developing it!" Professor Wu Ci responded to Jerome Bonaparte as a true patriot.

"Professor Wu Ci, nitrocellulose is like a double-edged sword; you can use it for self-defense, but it can also kill! A blade is just a blade, without justice or evil. What matters is the wielder's mindset. I, like you, am a patriot. My dream is to make France great once more, to make every Frenchman stand tall when declaring 'I am French!'

From 1815 to now, we've lost too much: national pride, state dignity, and military honor! I must do everything in my power to reclaim all that France has lost!

I hope my soldiers can wield more powerful weapons for the nation, without having to charge under a hail of bullets," Jerome Bonaparte, not denying his "naïve" imperialistic values, appealed to Wu Ci's sense of nationalism.

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