Chapter 563.2: It's Still A Rifle!

Hearing her voice and the strange nonsense she just blurted out, Chu Guang nearly choked on his own spit, but he managed to maintain the dignity of a faction boss and nodded solemnly. "Thank you. Please set it here."

It was getting harder and harder to keep a straight face in front of the players.

"Okie!" Yaya curled her lips into a happy smile and breezed out the door like a gust of wind.

It was obvious the quest reward was substantial.

Chu Guang glanced at the black tea on the tray and sighed, "Little Seven."

A figurine sitting on the corner of the desk tilted its little head, feigning ignorance. "

Hmm

?"

"..."

Forget it.

At least among all the players, Yaya counted as one of the more proper types. She wouldn’t add anything weird to a drink.

If a few of those other fools like Mosquito or some shit had brought it in, he would have hesitated even with Little Seven observing from the side.

Chu Guang lifted the cup and took a small sip.

Milk had been added to the black tea. The tea flavor was faint, replaced by a gentle sweetness. It was different from the tea he usually brewed himself, and different from the tea Elisa served him.

As he held the cup, he noticed a note pinned under the tray. In a playful scrawl, it read: "Sugar cubes and milk added to the black tea, I hope it suits your taste. Even if you’re busy, don’t stay up too late. Remember to rest. (^_～)"

This girl...

Chu Guang shook his head with a smile, but warmth quickly filled his chest.

Even if the motive was to boost favorability and unlock hidden quests, it still felt nice to be cared for.

He had been in Boulder Town for days and had only returned the night before. He felt like a tightly wound spring that hadn’t stopped for a second.

It suddenly occurred to him that perhaps it wasn’t just the cup of tea. Making him wait 15 minutes might also have been a kind of thoughtfulness.

Although he couldn’t picture Eberts being considerate, based on his tour of Boulder Town Arms Industry, surgeries usually didn’t require Eberts to be physically present.

Standing in the operating room to admire engineers open up an organism was merely some perverse hobby of that weird AI.

Looking at things from another angle brought unexpected amusement. Chu Guang decided that during the wait for Eberts, he would set work aside for a bit, sip the sweet tea, and sort through memories from his time in Boulder Town unrelated to business.

Perhaps because of the tea in his hand, his first thought was of Elisa.

The young girl sometimes asked him questions about management in her spare time, and as thanks for imposing on him, she politely served him black tea she had brewed herself, always sharing some overbaked cookies as well.

That polite, adorable girl was popular with everyone.

It was especially so with the aunties in the city hall kitchen, who treated her like their own daughter and often taught her how to cook. These were skills she never had the chance to learn before, and she studied them happily, without a hint of fatigue.

Diligence was a remarkable talent.

Chu Guang had a hunch she might become someone extraordinary in the future.

He was even more certain after learning she had decided to go to Camp 101 with Xiaoyu and Pai to study.

The three of them seemed to have formed a deep friendship at the festival. Xiaoyu had even said she would introduce Xia Yan to her.

Elisa was also curious about the life of mercenaries. Perhaps they would become good friends.

Thinking of Boss Xia, Chu Guang felt a twinge of guilt.

According to Xiaoyu, she was tinkering with something impressive, saying she wanted to give everyone a surprise, and had even skipped the celebration.

Though Xiaoyu hadn’t described what that impressive thing looked like, Chu Guang could guess it had an 80% chance of being related to exoframe.

Perhaps he shouldn’t have joked about asking her to build a suit, but clearly she had taken that seriously.

He rarely forced anyone to do something beyond their capability, whether native to the world or a player from another.

That once fun-loving, snack-obsessed, world-class slacker had become so diligent and studious she even skipped such a fun celebration, something he hadn’t expected at all...

"It seems I’ve disturbed you." A sudden voice came from the desk. Half immersed in a column of holographic light, Eberts bowed slightly in salute.

Those azure eyes woven of light carried a trace of amusement.

Setting down his teacup, Chu Guang looked over. "No, I was waiting for you."

"Was that so?" Eberts smiled faintly, speaking with urbane elegance. "Then, honored administrator, how may I serve you?"

Chu Guang said nothing. With a light swipe of his index finger through the air, he sent over the combat footage shot by the Burning Corps.

As he stared at the Mutant Human corpse lying miserably in a pool of gore, an odd expression appeared on Eberts’s face, as if admiring an interesting work of art.

He rubbed his forefinger against his chin and murmured with interest, "Ah... the smell of blood. What did I say?"

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Not in the mood for the neurotic act, Chu Guang cut straight to the point. "I want your opinion on these cybernetics implants."

"... With no specimen, only photos, it’s hard to be definitive." Sliding a finger across the images, Eberts critiqued with relish. "But the design philosophy is quite creative. One could even say... it was practically tailored to the characteristics of Mutant Humans."

In other words, it wasn’t salvaged and bolted on. The implants were factory-original.

Which showed that the force backing the Mutant Humans possessed not only reliable cybernetic augmentation technology but also the capacity to produce it.

Chu Guang frowned.

What concerned him wasn’t the technology the enemy had mastered, but the information implied behind it.

Clearly, the Torch Church hadn’t started researching how to enhance Mutant Humans with cybernetics only after arriving in Brocade River Province.

The field-ready kit had already been refined to maturity.

Those fanatics had likely tangled with Mutant Human tribes in other regions of the wasteland long before that.

They provided food and breeding beds for the Mutant Humans and systematically made them stronger.

Watching the change in Chu Guang’s expression, Eberts smiled slightly. "It seems that little detail didn’t escape your eye, so I won’t belabor the reminder."

Chu Guang looked at him and asked,

"Mm. I’ll keep a close watch... By the way, how are the pieces of equipment I asked you to develop?"

"I was just about to report on that." Eberts raised an index finger and drew lightly in the air. Pale blue particles gathered into the shape of a distinct rifle.

At the same time, a set of tags appeared beside it with a brief introduction to the special weapon.

The whole gun looked broad and hefty; the unique foregrip-slash-handguard design made it resemble a real-world P90 at a glance.

However, the difference started there. The magazine did not sit on top of the gun. Like most traditional rifles, it slotted in front of the trigger.

Its most notable feature was its caliber. The bore of the gun was a full 19 millimeters! It could fire the legendary .75 caliber rounds in succession!

Although such a caliber was a bit absurd for an automatic rifle, it was still, strictly speaking, a regular gun, since the gun’s bore didn’t reach 20 millimeters.

Confirming the size of the gun wasn’t a typo, Chu Guang was stunned.

Well, hell!

Is this a fucking cannon-gun?!

"... XB-1 Heavy Rifle, a new product of Boulder Town Arms Industry! Naturally, any product from us is a premium product!"

Enjoying the look on Chu Guang’s face, Eberts continued his narration, "It’s worth noting that because the round uses a rocket-assisted principle, it undergoes secondary acceleration after leaving the barrel, which creates a safety distance of about 10 meters... Simply put, shooting too close reduces its power. 100 to 300 meters is the sweet spot, and a bit farther is fine."

"Its damage profile is different from a traditional rifle. You might think it’s like a grenade, but in fact it’s a shaped metal jet. It is more akin to an armor-piercing effect."

"I don’t recommend that ordinary people use it. Even with secondary acceleration, it has a massive recoil. The kick is substantial. If you don’t want to rattle yourself apart, pair it with a heavy exoskeleton or exoframe... Or you can be an awakener who focuses on muscle enhancement."

"Likewise, I don’t recommend using it on ordinary people. Most of the metal jet would blast out the back or the back of the skull... It’s wasteful. You’re basically using a cannon to kill a mosquito. It’s not efficient at all."

"On the other hand, against Mutant Humans or certain resilient Slime Mold... I would bet there won’t be a better product on the market! You could even use it on light vehicles. If you’re firing at a 20 millimeter steel plate, one shot will be enough."

"Because each shot produces three distinct sounds, it’s quite noisy to fire. How do you like the name Howler?"

Pulled back from his shock by the question, Chu Guang answered at once,

"I’ve no objection... Oh, and change the name from a Heavy Rifle to a Cannon Gun."

Eberts blinked, eyes lighting up with delight. "That name is excellent! It’s very evocative!"

Chu Guang’s expression turned a touch wry. Evocative was underselling it.

"... As expected, we’re kindred spirits. Serving you is the greatest honor of my life." Seeing Chu Guang remain silent, Eberts offered a compliment with a smile and continued, "By the way, the weapon has only just passed lab trials. If convenient, I would like it to see real combat, and then I’ll decide how to design the anti-Mutant Human exoskeleton and anti-Mutant Human Cybernetic Augments."

"That’s fine," Chu Guang said immediately. "I plan to dispatch the Jungle Corps to Brocade River Province to support the Burning Corps' operations."

"They will cooperate with your experiments. When necessary, you may use the terminal I gave you to issue side-operation tasks to them directly."

"Of course, whether to complete side tasks is their call. You should exercise that authority cautiously."

At this astonishing statement, Eberts stared at Chu Guang, mouth agape.

Seeing the AI dumbstruck into silence, Chu Guang frowned slightly. "What is it?"

"Nothing... No... I mean, thank you. This is fantastic!" Eberts clenched his fist, invigorated.

In the past century, no one had ever granted him such authority, not even dear Mr. Fang Ming had loosened the reins of command for him.

Now, his generous lord had done it without him asking!

For the first time, he felt such respect for an organic being... Maybe he should offer up the X-17 as well.

No, better not. He hoped this lord would accompany him longer. Some things had to be tempered with restraint.

Watching Eberts’ hologram wobble with excitement, Chu Guang furrowed his brows deeper, an odd look flickering in his eyes.

Little Seven whispered its concern into Chu Guang’s ear. "Master... Is this guy really okay? Is there something wrong with his AI core?"

To be honest, Chu Guang didn’t know either.

The AI of the wasteland was far ahead of him. To catch up with those old monsters, he was learning many things, little by little.

Eberts could perhaps be a trial.

That fellow was an AI designed entirely by another AI, a unique existence within the New Alliance in a certain sense.

"... You better keep a close eye on him."

Perched on the desk, Little Seven nodded silently. "

Mm

."