Chapter 269 - 242: One-Handed Crossbow
Qin Ziwen arrived at the Military Equipment Supervisor.
Inside the Divine Machine Workshop, Li Yue and the others were busy at work, the sound of CLANGING incessant. Seeing him arrive, they immediately worked together to carry out a newly finished product.
He looked at the Single-Man Crossbow before him. Its arms were nearly 1.2 meters wide, and its entire body was painted black.
Qin Ziwen stepped forward, gripped the body of the Crossbow with one hand, lifted it, and gently tested its weight.
"It weighs about thirty-one pounds," Li Yue said from the side.
"Mm." Qin Ziwen could feel that the Crossbow was not light. For an ordinary person, it would be quite heavy.
"And its power?"
"Three hundred meters," Li Yue said, holding up his fingers. "Within that range, it can pierce through four to five millimeters of wrought iron plate. Within one hundred meters, it can penetrate Zha Armor directly."
As he spoke, Li Yue took out an Arrow and handed it over. The Crossbow Arrow had a peculiar appearance. Its head was a full size thicker than a normal arrowhead and was cast entirely from steel. It featured sharp edges, a barb at the tip, and a blood groove.
"This is a Whale Hunting Arrow, made specially for shooting Sea Beasts. It’d be difficult to score a fatal shot in one hit with this One-Handed Crossbow, but it can cause continuous bleeding."
Qin Ziwen took it, his fingertips rubbing against the cold shaft of the arrow. "Can this thing be used underwater?"
"It can be used when a Sea Beast surfaces for air, or when it swims into the shallows," Li Yue replied.
"No, what I mean is, if I dive underwater, can this One-Handed Crossbow be used normally in the water?"
Li Yue thought for a moment. "The range would probably only be about ten-odd meters."
"This thing... I’m afraid it won’t be very effective underwater," Li Yue said, shaking his head honestly. "It would probably lose most of its lethality beyond ten-odd meters. The seawater creates too much drag. No matter how powerful a Crossbow Arrow is, its range and killing power are severely limited underwater."
"What about a Crossbow Wagon?" Qin Ziwen asked suddenly.
Li Yue almost couldn’t follow his logic. He snapped his head up in surprise and said, "Boss, are you thinking of moving a Crossbow Wagon underwater? It would probably be ruined after just a few uses. Seawater is corrosive and very damaging to the parts and the wood."
Qin Ziwen said, "If it corrodes, we can build a new one. But what about the killing power? Can a Crossbow Wagon maintain its lethality within twenty to thirty meters underwater?"
Li Yue discussed it with a few craftsmen around him and finally gave an answer. "Within that range, a Crossbow Wagon should be able to maintain sufficient killing power. Besides, the skin of a Sea Beast isn’t usually that tough."
Qin Ziwen nodded. As long as it was useful, that was enough.
"If we’re going to be hunting Sea Beasts, I actually have an idea." Li Yue raised his hand, somewhat excited.
"Speak."
"Boss, aren’t you planning to mount Crossbow Wagons on the ships? We could tie some air bladders or empty barrels to the end of the Crossbow Arrows! Then, as soon as it enters the water, the empty barrels will create buoyancy and constantly drain its stamina."
Qin Ziwen mused, "Having a string of those things hanging off the tail will affect the Crossbow Wagon’s accuracy, won’t it?"
"It will have a slight effect, but it’s not a big problem. We’ll be using a Crossbow Wagon, so the target is bound to be huge. We’ll be shooting down from above, so as long as the distance isn’t too great, the impact on accuracy will be minimal. Plus, these empty barrels can act as buoys. If we make the rope long enough, they can help us track the Sea Beast’s position."
"Alright, I’ll leave it to you to figure out." Qin Ziwen nodded, picking up the finished Single-Man Crossbow. Before he left, he added, "Oh, and you can also try designing an underwater Ejection Fish Spear. It’ll be useful later."
"You got it," Li Yue said, slapping his chest in assurance. "I guarantee I’ll get the job done."
After Qin Ziwen left, Li Yue was racking his brain when inspiration suddenly struck. He slapped his hands together. "I’ve got it!"
Li Yue was thrilled. ’I’m practically the reincarnation of Lu Ban!’ he thought. Ever since coming here, he’d had a bottomless well of inspiration whenever he thought about creating new devices.
...
Qin Ziwen arrived at the Giant Beast Breeding Center.
Just as he approached a thicket of bushes, a black shadow joyfully shot out and slammed right into his chest.
The impact knocked Qin Ziwen back half a step. After steadying himself, he patted the large head. "Black, you’ve gotten heavy again."
The little guy had been developing quickly lately.
He was already almost as tall as Qin Ziwen’s chest. Whether it was because he was still a juvenile or due to the growth acceleration from the building, Black’s appetite was enormous, and he seemed to change by the day.
"Growing this fast, it won’t be long before I can actually ride you," Qin Ziwen said, stroking Black’s head.
’It’s a pretty cool thought, riding on the back of a Tyrannosaurus,’ he mused. ’And Black is even a mutated individual, with a different color from an ordinary Tyrannosaurus—pitch-black all over, with crimson eyes.’
A rumbling sound came from Black’s throat as he opened his mouth and gently took Qin Ziwen’s fingers, covering his hand in slobber.
’I don’t know where he picked up this habit of licking people from,’ Qin Ziwen thought. ’I’ve never heard of baby dinosaurs liking to lick people.’
"Alright, alright." Qin Ziwen pulled his hand back and wiped the slobber on Black’s tender hide. "Come on, let’s get you some exercise."
In the Gated Community, large numbers of residents were milling about outside.
At this moment, on the tidal flats, many people were gathering seafood, while others cast their fishing rods into the water.
Seeing Black next to Qin Ziwen, quite a few people stopped in their tracks. Someone took a small silverfish they had gathered from a bucket, wanting to feed it to Black.
Black glanced at it, then raised his neck high with a look of utter disdain.
Perhaps because he was a Tyrannosaurus with a Gobi Desert bloodline, his diet contained almost no fish.
He wasn’t very interested in seafood.
"Chairman, when’re you gonna become a Dragon Knight?" someone shouted.
"We’ll see when he’s a little bigger," Qin Ziwen said with a chuckle, patting Black’s head.
After walking a few more steps, he saw someone looking for him.
"Chairman Qin, Teacher Luo wants to see you," Zhou Xiaqing said, running over breathlessly.
Qin Ziwen looked at Zhou Xiaqing’s expression and guessed what was happening. He realized he hadn’t seen Luo Gang at all since the map transition.
He followed Zhou Xiaqing to a room toward the back of the third floor of the school building.
A faint smell of traditional Chinese medicine filled the room.
Luo Gang was lying on his side on the bed, his lips pale and his eyes weak.
"What’s all this?" Qin Ziwen asked, sitting down beside him. "Trying to pull a Liu Bei and entrust your affairs to me at Baidi City?"
Luo Gang couldn’t help but laugh at his words, which immediately triggered a violent coughing fit.
Qin Ziwen handed him a piece of paper. Luo Gang covered his mouth and only recovered after a long moment. He then spoke, "I found out before we crossed over. Lung cancer. Over here, there’s no chance for treatment or surgery."
"Then why didn’t you use a Healing Card?" Qin Ziwen asked, surprised.
Luo Gang gave him a reproachful look. "Didn’t you trade for it with me?"
Qin Ziwen was taken aback. That was right. "Then why didn’t you use it yourself?"
"I thought I could hold on for a while longer. Seeing how anxious you were, I figured I’d give it to you first. I didn’t expect these Cards to be so hard to get."
Luo Gang sounded a bit helpless as he said this. He had thought that Healing Cards wouldn’t be that difficult to obtain, but his luck was bad. Even after all this time, right up to the recent map change, he still hadn’t found another one.
"I happen to have one right here. An Internal Injury Healing Card." Qin Ziwen took out an Internal Injury Healing Card and tossed it to him.
Luo Gang caught the Card and used it without hesitation.
After a good while, the color gradually returned to his face.
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