A Century-Old Foundation

Chen Mo, an engineer specializing in heavy-duty mobile chassis, has spent years quietly developing domestic industrial equipment. Just as he suffers a setback at an industry expo, a century-old blueprint appears out of nowhere. He unexpectedly transmigrates to the late Qing dynasty during the First Sino-Japanese War, taking over the body of Kong Yiji, who has fainted after passing the provincial examination. In the dying days of the Qing, goods at the docks are moved by sheer human muscle. Armed with modern mechanical expertise, he plans to build a mechanical cargo-handling chassis in this impoverished, weakened era, hoping to sow the seeds of industry and find a path to national salvation. A hard-science-and-engineering take on transmigration to the late Qing. Volume One: The Spark in Luzhen.