Plastic Materials

A weapon could become an extension of the human body. A man might not have sharp fangs or claws, but he could turn a wild beast with both into food with weapon in his hand.

Yang Yi would be the man with a weapon in the scenario while the Boxing King was a wild beast. So, Yang Yi needed a weapon. Since he didn't have a weapon, Yang Yi could only make one to improve the odds of him obtaining victory.

Being assigned to garbage disposal gave Yang Yi an opportunity make a weapon because it was the only convenient way for him to get materials. Yang Yi would have had to find another way to obtain a weapon if he didn't get the job.

After gathering all the materials, Yang Yi picked up the larger shovel and thoroughly cleaned it.

Chris swallowed and quietly asked, "Can a plastic bottle really be used? Wouldn't it be too brittle after you melt it?"

Yang Yi laughed and answered with confidence, "There are many different types of plastic. Not all plastic will become brittle after you have melted and hardened it. Polyethylene is one of the exceptions."

Yang Yi placed a plastic bottle carefully on the shovel head and then used the handle to hold it inside the furnace. At such a high temperature, the furnace burned at a thousand degrees Celsius, the plastic bottle deformed rather quickly.

Yang Yi quickly pulled the shovel out and tried blowing out the fire on the small puddle of plastic. However, it ended up being a futile attempt because of the size of the flame. So, he could only place the shovelhead back into the furnace until the plastic puddle completely vaporized.

The melting temperature of polyethylene was somewhere between one hundred sixty and one hundred eighty degrees Celsius. So, melting a plastic bottle would definitely take time.

The shovel head turned red after being placed inside the furnace for a long time. Yang Yi had no choice but to place the shovel on the ground and wait for it to cool down. After sometime, the shovel color started to change from bright red to dark red before turning back black. Yang Yi then placed another plastic bottle on the shovel carefully.

Although the shovel had reverted to its original color, it was still hovering around four hundred degrees Celsius. Thus, the plastic bottle started to melt immediately. Soon after, smoke started before it burst into flames.

The fire didn't last long though and soon after the second plastic bottle stopped melting. Yang Yi shook his head while saying, "No, don't stop burning!"

Chris only took a quick glance at him before continuing with his work.

Yang Yi could only place the shovel head along with the plastic bottle back into the furnace again but this time he didn't wait for the plastic bottle to melt completely. He quickly pulled the shovel head out after placing it inside the furnace for a short time and repeated the process multiple times.

The plastic bottle soon turned into a puddle of liquid and started to emit an unpleasant smell. Yang Yi nodded in satisfaction when he saw the melted liquid. He placed the shovel back into the furnace and this time he intended to vaporize the contents.

Chris couldn't help but ask, "Why are you still burning it?"

Yang Yi shrugged when he replied, "I'm still experimenting. A weapon made out of pure plastic isn't reliable. It won't be able to pierce anything if it's too thick. If it's too thin, it will just bend if it's too soft or snap apart if its too brittle. So, I will need to reinforce the plastic with other materials to make sure it's strong and not brittle.

Next, Yang Yi picked up a wooden stick he had found earlier and laughed, "This is what I need."

"What can you do with a wooden stick?"

Yang Yi placed the stick inside the furnace and quickly retrieved it after it started burning.

He waved the stick a few times to extinguish the fire before he plainly said, "It's not a stick. I'm using it to make charcoal. The melted polyethylene is still too soft. So, I'm going to add charcoal to it. Not sure if it's going to work but I believe it will definitely make the polyethylene harder."

After the wooden stick cooled down, he crushed it into pieces and grinded the pieces on the ground until they were a powder. Yang Yi only managed to obtain a little charcoal powder using this method but it should be more than enough for his purposes.

Adding charcoal powder to make the plastic stronger was just speculation on Yang Yi's part since logically speaking adding a foreign substance into the plastic would change its structural integrity. Of course, Yang Yi could always incorporate a different type of foreign substance. If there wasn't any charcoal powder, he could just use crushed stone. The only reason Yang Yi used charcoal powder was because it was easier to get.

Yang Yi was experimenting right now because he hadn't done this before and he hadn't seen anyone do it.

He placed another plastic bottle on the shovel head and placed it into the furnace again. Yang Yi's action were much smoother now that he had done it a few times.

Once the plastic had melted and started to release an unpleasant smell, he poured the melted plastic into the potato chip canister. The charcoal powder was added after. Yang Yi stirred the contents together with a stick until it was well mixed and pulled the stick out. Then, he had to wait for the mixture to cool down.

When the mixture reached a temperature he could touch, Yang Yi put on a pair of gloves, broke the canister and started to shape it. It was first stretched into a thirty centimeter long stick and then one end of it was shaped into a pointed tip.

So, Yang Yi ended up having a triangular plastic shiv. The weapon was about as thick as a thumb. He had to control the thickness when shaping because if it was too thick, it would be difficult to pierce anything deeply due to a higher resistance but if it was too thin, it would either snap or bend.

The most stable and fitting shape for a weapon meant for stabbing was a pyramid. Moreover, it was also a shape that was easy to make with two hands.

Yang Yi tried to make the edges as smooth as possible before it fully hardened. Since the weapon was made mostly of plastic, he didn't dare make the edges too sharp and tried to give the weapon better structural strength instead.

Once it was completed, Yang Yi stabbed the weapon into the ground. He would rather re-forge the weapon than use a weapon whose performance he was uncertain of.

The shiv tip was slightly deformed when he pulled it out but it didn't break or bend. If the same force was applied while stabbing a human, it was enough to pierce their stomach.

Yang Yi was very satisfied with the result. He finally had a deadly weapon and it was also longer than the typical weapons made by other inmates.

However, he still wasn't entirely satisfied with the length. A weapon became an inch stronger with every extra inch. Thus, Yang Yi was planning to create a longer and a more practical weapon. Plus, he already knew what weapon he was going to make next.

Yang Yi had recalled the two hits he'd received from the guard's truncheon. So, it wouldn't be a bad idea to make a truncheon since it was lethal and easy to conceal.