Options
Bookmark

Chapter 148

Previously captured, the [Thorned Beast] Fred, the [Hidden Earth Beast] Yi, and others later captured, including the big-nosed man, and the [Shadow Demon] Rose, were not directly killed by Yashan but were given a chance for transformation.

The transformation process was simple. In the first step, they were required to thoroughly memorize the beliefs of the ‘Temple Forest Society,’ then analyze the meanings word by word and write reflections or similar expressions.

The second step involved treating them as laborers, assigning them the most challenging and tiring tasks, utilizing their abilities to contribute to the city, allowing them to feel the beauty of construction and the evil of destruction.

The third step, the most crucial, was to confine them for several years, eroding their determination, and then releasing them.

These individuals could choose not to comply, resist, or even attempt to escape. However, the shackles on them would soon release a strong electric current to make them obedient.

In more severe cases, they would be confined to a small dark room for three days.

As the sky began to brighten, dozens of people, shackled and dressed in striped clothing, marched in orderly fashion, shouting loudly: “Love the people, love life, reform, and start over…”

[Thorned Beast] Fred, while reciting the slogans, cursed internally, “What kind of nonsense slogans are these? I can’t believe I’m chanting this rubbish. It’s a disgrace! Someday, when I regain my freedom, I’ll make them pay a hundredfold…”

“Zap~”

In the moment when Fred lost focus, two arcs of electricity flashed, and he immediately fell to the ground stiffly, convulsing, with wisps of smoke emanating from his open mouth.

Others, upon witnessing this, shuddered and concentrated even more on chanting the slogans.

Among them was the fourth-level mutant, Shadow Demon Rose.

She had become terrified of the electric shocks and had behaved extremely obediently during this period, not harboring any feelings of resentment.

She had tried to escape, using her Shadow Demon abilities to disappear into the shadows at night, but it was futile. Every time, she was quickly brought back by a man in the city named ‘Boss Wei’…

After being confined in the small dark room several times, Rose completely surrendered. ‘Boss Wei’ was not someone she could afford to provoke.

As for Fred’s companion, the Hidden Earth Beast Yi, upon seeing Fred’s miserable state, averted her eyes, pretending not to have witnessed it.

What could she do? She was desperate too. Why did they come to this mysterious city in the first place?

And why hadn’t An come to rescue them? According to what others said, An was already dead and wouldn’t come back. But she didn’t believe it. An couldn’t have died like that. An would definitely come to rescue them!

……

To make a “Sniper Cannon,” the key lay in the manufacturing process of the barrel, which had high overall requirements for the steel.

It was impossible to complete such an item within the group of Zhu Hua People. So, Su Hao had to compromise and lower the steel’s requirements.

After all, when in use, he could reinforce the barrel with the “Hardened” and “Barrier” runes, so the problem wasn’t significant.

The only trouble was accuracy.

There was no good solution for this. He could only create a rough model and have the blacksmith fine-tune it bit by bit to meet the accuracy requirements.

After several days of tinkering, Su Hao finally completed a barrel.

This relieved Su Hao, as the following components were much simpler.

Three days later, Su Hao, accompanied by Yashan, arrived outside the city with a strangely shaped rifle. Su Hao raised the rifle, its butt resting on his shoulder, and first activated the “Distant View” rune inside the scope cylinder.

The function of this rune is similar to that of a telescope, allowing for light refraction. After Su Hao’s adjustments, it can fully replace the scope of the rifle, and the magnification can be adjusted at will.

“First, calibrate the bullet drop point!”

Today, Su Hao had two objectives when he brought Yashan outside the city. One was to calibrate the large rifle, and the second was to teach Yashan how to use it.

After teaching, they would head straight to the Lingyun City to confront the Tiansha Gang.

Su Hao produced two steel prongs and stuck them into the ground. He then mounted the large rifle and tested its feel, which was excellent.

A finger-sized steel conical bullet was generated in his palm, adorned with the “Hardened” and “Sonic Break” runes, and then loaded into the breech from the back.

“Click-click!”

He rotated the bolt, pushing the lump of iron marked with the five-fold “Secondary-Explosive” runes into the barrel, locking it against the thick bullet.

The five-fold “Secondary-Explosive” runes were the maximum power the barrel could handle once the runes were attached, stacking further could risk a barrel explosion.

Su Hao focused and first activated the “Secondary-Hardened” and “Secondary-Barrier” runes to protect the entire rifle.

Then, he slowly infused his blood energy into the “Five-fold Secondary-Explosive” while his eyes locked onto a stone 500 meters away using the “Distant View” scope.

Activated!

“Boom!”

A deafening blast rang out, causing Su Hao to shudder. Even with preparations, the powerful recoil still pushed him back two meters.

At the point 500 meters away, a cloud of dust and smoke erupted on the ground, while the stone he had targeted remained intact.

Yashan watched the whole process and couldn’t help but express his confusion, “Is that it?”

Su Hao observed the bullet’s impact point, calculated through small calculations, and then began to fine-tune the cylindrical barrel of the rifle. He turned the horizontal adjuster counterclockwise by fifteen degrees and the vertical adjuster clockwise by six degrees.

One more shot.

“Boom!”

Su Hao was pushed back two more meters, and this time, the distant stone shattered into pieces.

Su Hao furrowed his brows and muttered, “The power is acceptable; most mutants hit in the head won’t survive, even advanced mutants in the 【Shell People】 sequence with no defenses. However, the accuracy still needs some improvement.”

Then, he continued to adjust.

Another shot.

Su Hao’s vision shifted slightly as he locked onto a stone one thousand meters away.

Activated!

“Boom!”

The soil next to the stone burst open, but the stone remained intact.

Continued adjustments.

Another shot.

“Bang!”

The stone shattered!

Yashan’s eyes lit up; it seemed amazing!

“Next is two thousand meters!”

After several adjustments, Su Hao realized that he couldn’t hit targets beyond two thousand meters. After analyzing the reason, it wasn’t a lack of precision in the “Distant View” scope but rather wind interference affecting the bullet’s trajectory.

Su Hao wasn’t concerned about this; he could calculate and fine-tune it at any time using Little Light. However, this large rifle was meant for Yashan, and he couldn’t expect Yashan to understand concepts like free fall, wind speed, humidity, and so on.

“The bullets generated by the 【Steel Armor King】 are sufficiently strong but too light. They are easily influenced by external factors during flight, so the bullets need to be made heavier.”

Su Hao had considered this and had many steel bars the size of chopsticks with him.

Su Hao took out one, enveloped it in steel armor to shape it like a bullet, and then loaded it into the rifle’s breech.

He locked onto a stone two thousand meters away and took another shot.

“Boom!”

Su Hao shook all over, leaving two grooves in the ground beneath his feet.

The stone two thousand meters away instantly shattered.

“Hoo~”

Su Hao let out a long breath. The accuracy had finally improved. As for distances further than three or four thousand meters, he would deal with them once Yashan became more proficient.

Su Hao planned to demonstrate to Yashan once more. “Yashan, do you see that tree in the distance? The solitary tree on the small hill.”

The vision of the Zhu Hua people was excellent, and Yashan squinted his eyes, observing for a moment. He said, “Are you talking about the one with a little hollow on the side?”

Su Hao said, “Yes!”

Then Su Hao asked, “Do you see the big snake on the tree?”

Yashan remained silent.

To be honest, Su Hao hadn’t seen it either. He had discovered it using radar and then observed it through the “Distant View” scope.

Su Hao smiled and said, “It’s okay if you didn’t see it. Next, I’ll shoot that snake’s head from here, and we’ll make snake soup when we go back.”

Shoot the snake’s head from this distance? Yashan was full of doubt, but he instinctively nodded.

Boss Wei was amazing!

Comments 1

  1. Offline
    + 00 -
    Chapter 148

    The prisoners captured over the past few months—including Thorned Beast Fred, Hidden Earth Beast Yi, the big-nosed swindler, and even Shadow Demon Rose—were not executed.

    Instead...

    Yashan gave them an opportunity.

    An opportunity for reformation.

    ---

    The process was straightforward.

    First, they had to memorize the Temple Forest Association's Principles word for word.

    Not only memorization...

    They also had to explain the meaning of every sentence and write reflections on what they had learned.

    ---

    Second, they became laborers.

    They were assigned the hardest and most exhausting construction work, using their mutant abilities to build the city.

    The goal was simple.

    Let them experience the joy of creating...

    And understand the ugliness of destroying.

    ---

    Third...

    The most important step.

    Long-term imprisonment.

    Years of confinement would gradually wear down their hostility before they were finally released.

    ---

    Naturally...

    Anyone was free to resist.

    Or refuse to cooperate.

    Or attempt escape.

    But the rune shackles fastened around their wrists and ankles quickly taught them obedience.

    A powerful electric current would surge through the restraints.

    For especially troublesome prisoners...

    There was an even harsher punishment.

    Three days...

    Locked alone inside a completely dark room.

    ---

    At daybreak...

    Dozens of prisoners dressed in striped uniforms marched through the streets wearing heavy shackles.

    They shouted in unison,

    "Love the people!"

    "Love life!"

    "Reform yourself!"

    "Begin anew!"

    ---

    As Fred mechanically repeated the slogans...

    He cursed inwardly.

    "What ridiculous nonsense..."

    "I'm actually shouting this garbage."

    "What humiliation."

    "Just wait..."

    "Once I regain my freedom..."

    "I'll repay all of this a hundredfold!"

    ---

    Zap!

    The moment his concentration wandered...

    Blue arcs of electricity erupted from his shackles.

    Fred immediately collapsed onto the ground.

    His entire body convulsed violently.

    Thin wisps of smoke drifted from his open mouth.

    The surrounding prisoners shivered.

    No one dared lose focus again.

    Their voices instantly became much louder.

    ---

    Among them...

    Even Shadow Demon Rose had become completely obedient.

    She now feared electricity more than death itself.

    During this period...

    She had tried escaping countless times.

    Using her Shadow Demon abilities, she disappeared into the night.

    Yet every single attempt ended the same way.

    She was always captured.

    Always...

    By the same person.

    Boss Wei.

    After experiencing the small dark room several times...

    Rose completely gave up.

    Boss Wei was someone she simply could not fight.

    ---

    Nearby...

    Hidden Earth Beast Yi watched Fred's miserable condition.

    She quietly turned her head away.

    Pretending she had seen nothing.

    What else could she do?

    She was equally desperate.

    Why had they ever come to this strange city?

    And...

    Why hadn't An come to save them?

    Everyone claimed An was already dead.

    She refused to believe it.

    An couldn't possibly die.

    He would definitely return.

    He had to.

    ---

    ...

    Meanwhile...

    Su Hao was busy building Yashan's weapon.

    ---

    The greatest challenge in manufacturing a Sniper Cannon was the barrel.

    It required steel of exceptionally high quality.

    Unfortunately...

    The craftsmanship available among the Zhu Hua people simply couldn't meet those standards.

    So Su Hao compromised.

    He lowered the manufacturing requirements.

    After all...

    He could reinforce the barrel with Second-Level Hardening and Second-Level Barrier Rune Arrays.

    Durability wasn't the real issue.

    Accuracy was.

    ---

    There was no shortcut.

    He could only produce a rough prototype...

    Then have the city's blacksmith gradually refine it until the tolerances became acceptable.

    After several days of repeated adjustments...

    The barrel was finally completed.

    Su Hao breathed a sigh of relief.

    Compared to the barrel...

    Every other component was easy.

    ---

    Three days later...

    Su Hao and Yashan stood outside Temple Forest City.

    Between them rested a strangely shaped firearm.

    Su Hao lifted it onto his shoulder.

    Inside the scope...

    He activated the Distant Vision Rune.

    Rather than using glass lenses...

    The rune bent light itself.

    After repeated improvements...

    It completely replaced an optical scope.

    The magnification could even be adjusted freely.

    ---

    "First..."

    "We'll calibrate it."

    Today's trip served two purposes.

    First...

    Zero the sniper rifle.

    Second...

    Teach Yashan how to use it.

    Afterward...

    They would head directly to Linyuan City to settle matters with the Tiansha Gang.

    ---

    Su Hao planted two steel supports firmly into the ground.

    The rifle rested securely upon them.

    He generated a finger-thick steel projectile.

    Onto it...

    He engraved Second-Level Harden...

    And Sonic Break.

    The projectile was loaded into the rear of the rifle.

    Click.

    Click.

    He rotated the bolt.

    Behind the projectile...

    He inserted another steel cylinder carrying five stacked Second-Level Explosion Rune Arrays.

    That was the absolute maximum the barrel could safely withstand.

    Any stronger...

    And the rifle itself might explode.

    ---

    Before firing...

    Su Hao activated Second-Level Harden...

    Then Second-Level Barrier...

    Strengthening the entire weapon.

    Using Distant Vision...

    He locked onto a boulder five hundred meters away.

    Blood Qi flowed into the Explosion Runes.

    Activation.

    ---

    BOOM!

    The deafening report echoed across the plains.

    Even prepared for the recoil...

    Su Hao was shoved backward nearly two meters.

    Far away...

    Dust erupted around the target.

    The rock remained untouched.

    ---

    Yashan blinked.

    "...That's all?"

    Ignoring him...

    Su Hao observed the impact point.

    After a quick mental calculation...

    He adjusted the barrel.

    Horizontal correction.

    Fifteen degrees.

    Vertical correction.

    Six degrees.

    ---

    Second shot.

    BOOM!

    Again he slid backward.

    This time...

    The distant rock exploded into fragments.

    Su Hao frowned.

    "The power is acceptable."

    "A headshot should kill almost any mutant."

    "Even advanced members of the Shell People sequence would struggle to survive."

    "But..."

    "The accuracy still needs improvement."

    ---

    Another adjustment.

    Another shot.

    Now...

    He targeted a boulder one thousand meters away.

    Activation.

    BOOM!

    The ground exploded beside it.

    The stone remained intact.

    More adjustments.

    One more shot.

    Bang!

    The boulder shattered.

    Yashan's eyes sparkled.

    Now...

    That looked impressive.

    ---

    "Next."

    "Two thousand meters."

    After several more attempts...

    Su Hao discovered the problem.

    It wasn't the scope.

    It was the wind.

    External airflow altered the projectile's trajectory.

    ---

    For Su Hao...

    This wasn't an issue.

    Little Light could instantly calculate bullet drop...

    Wind speed...

    Humidity...

    And every other variable.

    But...

    This rifle belonged to Yashan.

    He couldn't expect Yashan to calculate ballistics.

    ---

    "The Steel Armor King's steel projectiles are strong enough..."

    "They're simply too light."

    "They need greater mass."

    Fortunately...

    Su Hao had anticipated this.

    He produced a steel rod roughly the size of a chopstick.

    Covering it with Steel Armor...

    He reshaped it into a proper bullet before loading it into the rifle.

    Once again...

    He targeted the boulder two thousand meters away.

    ---

    BOOM!

    The recoil carved two deep grooves beneath Su Hao's feet.

    Two thousand meters away...

    The boulder instantly exploded.

    Su Hao finally nodded with satisfaction.

    Accuracy had reached an acceptable level.

    As for three or even four thousand meters...

    That could wait until Yashan became more experienced.

    ---

    He decided to give one final demonstration.

    "Yashan."

    "See that lone tree on the distant hill?"

    The Zhu Hua people's eyesight was naturally excellent.

    Yashan narrowed his eyes.

    After observing for a while...

    He nodded.

    "The one with the hollow in its trunk?"

    "That's the one."

    ---

    Su Hao smiled.

    "Good."

    "Can you see the large snake coiled around it?"

    Yashan fell silent.

    Truthfully...

    Su Hao hadn't seen it with his own eyes either.

    His radar had detected it first.

    Only then had he located it through the Distant Vision Rune.

    Smiling, he said,

    "That's fine."

    "Watch carefully."

    "I'm going to shoot off that snake's head from here."

    "When we get back..."

    "We'll make snake soup."

    Yashan looked at the tree two kilometers away...

    Then at the enormous rifle.

    He was full of doubt.

    But he still nodded seriously.

    After all...

    This was Boss Wei.

    If Boss Wei said he could do it...

    Then he definitely could.
    Read more