"Okay," said Little Yama King, taking the rifle. I showed her how to load it, aim, and then I stood in front of her, but she pushed me aside with the barrel.
"No need." Little Yama King's hands were far steadier than mine; she held the gun level, its muzzle perfectly still.
This showed her astonishing arm strength. Although she was a Red Aura cultivator, as the leader of the Yin Messenger's Department, she must have had some real skills.
*Bang!* *Clang!*
Little Yama King also hit the target with a single shot.
I applauded, "Excellent accuracy!"
Little Yama King looked surprised at her own shot and examined the rifle with confusion, muttering to herself, "If this were a battlefield, couldn't one fell the enemy commander right on the front lines!"
"Truly exceptional marksmen can indeed accomplish that," I replied.
"I'm afraid your contraption, even if it hits the forehead, the bullet might not penetrate," Little Yama King chuckled.
It seemed she still didn't believe how powerful a rifle could be with such little recoil and sound. I searched the secret harbor for a long time without finding anything suitable. Suddenly, I remembered that during dinner, Chen Ke had half a black pig in her freezer. This wasn't just any pork; it was said to be free-range from pigs raised at an altitude of two thousand meters. The meat was firm and juicy...
"Shuyao, wait for me a moment." I ran back, took the pork from the freezer, returned to the secret harbor, let it soften in the seawater for a while, then took it out. I fixed the pork onto a wooden frame and asked Little Yama King to shoot again.
A bullet passed through. The front only left a hole, but due to the cavity effect, the back was a large crater. Three of the pork ribs inside were shattered. I then found a piece of wood about three centimeters thick and tied it to the pork, simulating armor. I had Little Yama King shoot again. At this thickness, the wooden board offered almost no resistance to a pointed rifle bullet, resulting in the same level of damage.
I had seen armor in the underworld; it was lightweight and thin, mostly leather or paper armor, offering far less protection than this wooden board.
Only then did Little Yama King believe in the power of the rifle and agree to our mass production. I immediately called Shen Xingyue, who promptly contacted the ice factory. They began production that night, promising the first batch of firearms would be packed and ready by noon the next day, about 6,000 pieces. Shen Xingyue asked me where to deliver them.
I asked Little Yama King. She said any city god temple would do; she would send Yin Messengers to collect the shipment.
The ice factory was in Shengjing. I chose Old Cui's city god temple, as I was more familiar with the place and it would be easier to handle. Furthermore, the surrounding area was sparsely populated, being in the suburbs with only a few workshops. We could clear the people out.
We arranged for the transaction at 1 PM the next day. Little Yama King took the sample rifle with her directly.
Returning to the base, Yaoyao was playing with my dagger. I hadn't dared to bring it when meeting Little Yama King, worried she might take a fancy to it and ask for it. Shen Xingyue would have been furious.
"This thing looks good," Yaoyao commented.
"Xingyue gave it to me. Do you want it? I'll give it to you," I said. It was fine to give it to Yaoyao; we were almost inseparable, so it didn't matter who held it.
Yaoyao pouted, "Your little lover's token of affection? I don't want it. I still prefer my mandarin duck axes. Oh, by the way, Chu Qi was looking for you earlier."
"Oh, okay." I went to Chu Qi's room and asked what was up.
"Are you feeling the pressure?" Chu Qi asked.
"...What pressure?"
"Pressure about your martial arts, of course. Look at your thirty-two... oh, sixteen left. Sixteen subordinates, each an expert. Everyone else is above average. Only you, the leader, are a total noob," Chu Qi said with a laugh.
I shrugged, "I mainly contribute with strategy. But I still need to train, don't I? How about we train again tonight?"
"That's exactly what I was thinking. Call all the demons from Nine Immortals Cave."
"Alright." I summoned the Eight Demons. Yaoyao also tagged along voluntarily. With Zhang Xiaomiao and Zheng Bingbing, we went down to the secret harbor, stripped off half our clothes, and began our special training in the sea.
With a bunch of beauties accompanying me, I didn't feel so exhausted today. Moreover, more people began to gather on the shore. Daji, Xu Ran, Shao Chen, and Hai Huang also came down to watch.
Later, I lost track of time, only feeling more and more invigorated as I trained. In the end, it was only because Chu Qi was too tired that we concluded hastily.
I returned to my room. This time, I didn't feel any muscle soreness. Instead, by activating my muscles, I also awakened the two demon cores hidden within me. I felt incredibly energetic, as if I had just finished a half-hour warm-up before a soccer match. Yaoyao took a shower and came in. Before she could speak, I... I I...
The next morning, I even came out of Daji's room. I went to Chu Qi's room, dragged her out of bed, and pulled her to the secret harbor to continue training. We trained until 9 AM, and finally, feeling a little tired, we stopped.