Chapter 8: Grinding Away

"Railway communication—signal lights, signal flags;
"Green light—the train is permitted to pass through the station without stopping."
"Red light—stop outside the station."
"Yellow light—slow down; one yellow light means stop upon entering the main track, two yellow lights mean stop upon entering the side track."
"White light, purple light—same as a red light, must stop outside the station."
...
Rustle... rustle...
As he flipped to the last page of the "Railway Signaling Rules," a crisp sound echoed 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 the skill point by one.
Li Aiguo clenched his fists in excitement.
Sure enough, the system never lies to a transmigrator.
The maximum score for each subject is one hundred.
Now that his Steam Engine Driving Technique is at 21 points, he only needs to read 78 more books to upgrade his steam engine expertise to the maximum.
Maximum score means complete mastery of the technique; one becomes a top-tier expert in that field.
In terms of a machinist's standards, a maximum score is even a level higher than an eighth-grade machinist, capable of truly hand-crafting a nuclear bomb.
Damn, this system is incredible!
Perhaps...
A thought stirred in Li Aiguo's mind, 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-Dimensional Foil Manufacturing Technology: 0;
He looked down at his "1" skill point, suddenly tilted his head, and a slight smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Since he can add points, why not add them directly to the Third-Generation Fighter Jet Manufacturing Technology?
In this era, the internationally deployed fighter jets are still second-generation, represented by the American F-4 and the Soviet MiG-21.
Domestically, due to a very weak economic and industrial foundation, the country still uses old first-generation fighters, such as the J-6 fighter.
In modern warfare, air superiority is the key to battlefield control. 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, one is basically a sitting duck.
This assertion has been proven by countless wars in the future.

If he could obtain the technology to manufacture third-generation fighter jets and pass it on to the authorities, he might be able to change several humiliating historical events in the future.
Having transmigrated into this era, if he didn't do something, wouldn't he be no different from a salted fish?
With this thought, Li Aiguo did not hesitate. 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."
"..."
Hmm?
No response?
Li Aiguo frowned and looked closely, only to discover that the option for "Third-Generation Fighter Jet Manufacturing Technology" was dimmed, with a small "+" sign in front of it.
There was a small explanatory note next to it, just like a game hint.
"Prerequisite skills missing."
Prerequisite skills?
Li Aiguo: [Subway old man looking at phone.jpg]
What the hell, was this dog system made by Tencent?
As a Level 3 "Xinyue" member, Li Aiguo was all too familiar with these consumer-baiting tactics.
To get the most powerful, the most awesome skills, one has to pay to unlock the prerequisite skills.
In this dog system, one must use skill points to max out all the prerequisite skills first.
Phew...
Let's see, what are the prerequisite skills?
He let out a long breath, a 1950s-era Xinyue member, and bravely clicked the "+" sign.
Aircraft aerodynamic design skills; flight control skills, engine design skills, material manufacturing process skills, weapon system integration skills; material science; manufacturing processes...
Densely packed, over a hundred items.
And that wasn't all; these options also had "+" signs in front of them.
Phew...
He let out a long breath, the former Level 3 Xinyue member, and clicked the "+" sign without hesitation.
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;
...
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, he didn't have any skill points anyway; looking was a waste of time.
At this moment, Li Aiguo felt as if he had entered one of those 'If you're a brother, come and hack me' games.
The +99999 Dragon Slaying Sabers in those games were mighty and domineering, very attractive, but his account only had one dollar.
Reluctantly, Li Aiguo returned to the previous panel and looked back at Steam Engine Driving Technique.
"+1"
Without any sound or light effects, Steam Engine Driving Technique: 21 ⇨ 22.

A wave of dizziness hit his brain, and Li Aiguo couldn't help but squint.
The discomfort vanished quickly, and a wealth of strange knowledge appeared in his mind.
That knowledge instantly turned into crystalline fragments, disappearing into his mind to become part of his permanent memory.
"The reversing gear of a steam locomotive doesn't just control the forward and backward movement of the locomotive; it also manages the reversing mechanism, regulating the steam delivery volume and cutoff ratio of the steam valve to the cylinder..."
With this knowledge, Li Aiguo was certain he could score five points higher on the exam.
Indeed, what suits you best is the best.
The road must be walked one step at a time; buns must be eaten one bite at a time. One can't become a big fat man in one mouthful, and a big fat man has to lose weight bit by bit.
As for the third-generation fighter technology, there was no hurry; waiting ten years was fine.
...
After confirming the system's efficacy, Li Aiguo began his "grinding" journey of reading.
Grinding books wasn't just flipping through pages; 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, Li Aiguo mastered the knowledge within it.
As such, grinding one book required a significant amount of time.
Fortunately, with the system's blessing, Li Aiguo's current reading and comprehension abilities had increased exponentially.
The "Railway Signaling Rules" he just finished was relatively thin, taking only one hour.
Li Aiguo calculated that a standard technical book, which had twice the pages of the "Railway Signaling Rules," would take two hours to grind.
78 books meant 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 entire day, Li Aiguo finished eleven books.
Late at night, darkness enveloped the capital.
Every household lit their electric lamps, each light reflecting a different mood.
Li Aiguo was feeling rather depressed at this moment.
He put down the book and stared blankly at the ceiling.
It wasn't that he was tired.
After all, as a diligent person, acquiring knowledge was a happy process, far more fun than games.
The problem was that there weren't that many books left in the house.
Li Aiguo originally had over twenty books from the Railway Technical Institute, but some 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 rascal must have secretly sold the books for money.