Chapter 242: One-Handed Crossbow |
Qin Ziwen arrived at the Armory Department.
Inside the Ingenious Devices Workshop, Li Yue and the others were busy, the constant clanging of metal ringing out. Seeing him arrive, they immediately worked together to lift out the newly finished product.
Looking at the single-handed crossbow before him, its bow arms nearly 1.2 meters wide, its entire body pitch black.
Qin Ziwen stepped forward, grasped the crossbow body with one hand, lifted it upward, and gently hefted its weight.
"Twenty-eight jin heavy," Li Yue said from the side.
"Mm," Qin Ziwen could feel this crossbow was not light; for an ordinary person, it would be considered quite heavy.
"How's its power?"
"Three hundred meters," Li Yue raised a finger, "Within three hundred meters, it can penetrate four to five millimeters of wrought iron plate. Within a hundred meters, it can directly pierce through lamellar armor."
As he spoke, Li Yue took out an arrow and handed it over. This crossbow bolt looked peculiar; its arrowhead was more than just a single size larger than a normal arrow. It was entirely steel-cast, with distinct angular lines, the tip featuring barbs and blood grooves.
Qin Ziwen took it, his fingertips rubbing against the cold arrow shaft. "Can this thing be used in water?"
"It can be used when the sea beast surfaces to breathe or swims into the shallows," Li Yue replied.
"No, I mean, if you dive to the seabed, use this single-handed crossbow, can it function normally underwater?"
Li Yue thought for a moment. "Then the effective range would probably only be a dozen meters or so."
"This thing... it probably won't work well underwater," Li Yue shook his head honestly. "Beyond a dozen meters, it likely won't have much killing power. Seawater has resistance; even if the crossbow bolt has immense power, once the underwater range increases, its lethality becomes limited."
"What about a crossbow carriage?" Qin Ziwen suddenly asked.
Li Yue almost couldn't follow the logic. He abruptly looked up, surprised. "Boss, you want to move a crossbow carriage under the sea? Used a few times like that, it'll probably be ruined. Seawater is corrosive; it causes great damage to parts and wood."
Qin Ziwen said, "If it corrodes, we can rebuild it. But what about the killing power? Can a crossbow carriage maintain killing power twenty or thirty meters underwater?"
Li Yue discussed with several craftsmen around him, finally giving an answer. "Within that distance, a crossbow carriage should maintain sufficient killing power. Besides, a sea beast's skin generally isn't particularly hard."
Qin Ziwen nodded. As long as it was useful.
"If we're going to hunt sea beasts, I actually have an idea," Li Yue raised his hand, somewhat excited.
"Speak."
"Boss, aren't you planning to install crossbow carriages on the ships? We can tie some air sacs or empty barrels to the end of the crossbow bolts! Then, as soon as it enters the water, these empty barrels will create buoyancy, constantly draining its stamina."
Qin Ziwen pondered. "Having a string of these things hanging from its tail would affect the crossbow carriage's accuracy, right?"
"It has some effect, but it's not a big problem. If we're using a crossbow carriage to shoot, the target's size definitely won't be small. Shooting from high to low, as long as the distance isn't too far, it basically has little impact. Moreover, these empty barrels can also serve as buoys. Make the rope long enough, and they can help us locate the sea beast's position."
"Alright, you can work on that as you see fit," Qin Ziwen nodded, picking up the finished single-handed crossbow. Before leaving, he added, "By the way, you can also try designing an underwater-use catapult harpoon. It'll be useful later."
"Got it!" Li Yue patted his chest in assurance. "I guarantee completion of the task."
After Qin Ziwen left, Li Yue brooded, racking his brains. A flash of inspiration struck, and he suddenly clapped his hands. "I have an idea!"
Li Yue was somewhat excited. He felt he was practically the reincarnation of Lu Ban! Ever since coming here, when thinking about crafting devices, he always had endless inspiration.
Qin Ziwen arrived at the Giant Beast Breeding Center.
Just as he approached the shrubbery, a black shadow joyfully darted out, crashing headlong into his embrace.
Qin Ziwen was knocked back half a step. Stabilizing his posture, he patted the large head. "Little Black One, you've gotten heavier again."
The little fellow had been developing very quickly recently.
He was almost as tall as Qin Ziwen's chest. Perhaps due to being in its juvenile stage plus the building's growth acceleration effect, Little Black One had a huge appetite every day, changing almost day by day.
"Growing this fast, it won't be long before I can really ride you out," Qin Ziwen stroked Little Black One's head.
Thinking about it was quite interesting, riding on the back of a Tarbosaurus. Moreover, Little Black One was a mutated individual, its color different from ordinary Tarbosaurus, entirely pitch black with crimson eyes.
Little Black One made a gurgling sound in its throat, opened its mouth, and gently held Qin Ziwen's finger, covering his hand with drool.
He didn't know who it learned this affectionate licking habit from; he'd never heard of little dinosaurs liking to lick people.
"Alright, alright," Qin Ziwen withdrew his hand, wiping the drool on Little Black One's tender hide. "Come on, let's get you some exercise."
Within the residential complex, a large number of residents were bustling about densely outside.
At this moment, on the mudflats, quite a few people were gathering seafood, while others were casting fishing rods, angling in the water.
Noticing Little Black One beside Qin Ziwen, many people stopped. Someone took a small silver fish they'd gathered from a bucket, wanting to feed Little Black One.
Little Black One glanced at it, then lifted its neck high, its face full of disdain.
Perhaps because it was a Tarbosaurus with Gobi Desert bloodline, fish were almost absent from its diet.
It wasn't very interested in seafood.
"Guild Leader, when will you become a dragon knight?" someone shouted.
"Wait until it grows a bit bigger," Qin Ziwen laughed heartily, patting Little Black One's head.
After walking a few steps, he saw someone looking for him.
"Guild Leader Qin, Teacher Luo wants to see you," Zhou Xiaqing ran over, panting heavily.
Looking at Zhou Xiaqing's expression, Qin Ziwen guessed something. He realized that after this map transition, he seemed not to have seen Luo Gang at all.
Inside the room, a faint scent of traditional Chinese medicine lingered.
Luo Gang lay on his side on the bed, his lips pale, his gaze weak.
"What's wrong with you?" Qin Ziwen sat down beside him. "Trying to learn Liu Bei entrusting his orphan at White Emperor City?"
Hearing this, Luo Gang couldn't help but laugh, coughing violently.
Qin Ziwen handed him a tissue. Luo Gang covered his mouth. After quite a while, he recovered and spoke, "Discovered it before the transition. Lung cancer. Over here, no chance to receive treatment, no way to have surgery."
"Then why don't you use a treatment card?" Qin Ziwen found it strange.
Luo Gang's eyes held a trace of resentment. "Didn't you trade with me for it?"
Qin Ziwen was taken aback. That seemed to be the case. "Then you didn't use one yourself?"
"I could hold on for a while back then. Seeing you so anxious, I gave it to you guys first. I didn't expect these cards to be so hard to obtain."
Speaking to this point, Luo Gang also felt somewhat helpless. He originally thought treatment cards wouldn't be that difficult to get, but luck wasn't on his side. He waited until this map change, and still hadn't gotten one.
"I happen to have one here, an internal injury treatment card," Qin Ziwen took out an external injury treatment card and tossed it to him.
Luo Gang caught the card and immediately used it without delay.
After quite a while, the color of blood gradually appeared on his face.