Chapter 99: Big Guy and Small Pistol

Firearms, in the eyes of many within this realm, were viewed as little more than a bizarre species of spiritual artifact.

One could not underestimate the comprehension of these cultivators and martial artists; they could fathom even the formless, intangible concept of qi to its absolute core, to say nothing of tangible, concrete matter.

In the minds of the people of this world, there was always a familiar point of comparison.

The explosion of an artillery shell, for instance, found its counterpart in certain spiritual artifacts capable of detonating in a similar fashion.

As for firearms, they were seen as the natural evolution of bows and crossbows once pushed to a certain threshold—at least, that was how the vast majority of these otherworldly inhabitants understood them.

Thus, while these peculiar spiritual artifacts appeared wondrous and formidable, anyone who grasped their underlying principles of creation would realize they did not truly exceed the boundaries of known reality.

The sole distinction lay in the fact that firearms were not, strictly speaking, spiritual artifacts at all, nor did they require any specialized energy to function; they could be wielded by anyone.

From this, it was evident that when compared to mechanisms like the Immortal-Slaying Crossbow, firearms possessed an inherent advantage that no other spiritual artifact could replicate.

In truth, from the moment Resident Evil exploded in popularity, quite a few players had begun to take note of the unique advantages of these peculiar weapons, and some even harbored intentions of replicating them.

Yet, constrained by the chasm and divergence in culture and thought, many ultimately met with failure.

The root of their failure almost always manifested in the handling of the finer details.

In short, attempting to forge a firearm manufacturing technology that had already reached maturity was far from as simple as imagined, even in a world populated by cultivators.

Even when such weapons were produced, the brief span of development combined with the amateurism of their creators meant most were merely shoddy imitations, entirely unfit for refined circles, and plagued by the perilous risk of barrel explosions.

Consequently, many began to doubt whether this contraption could ever be perfectly replicated.

Of course, they were all unrefined craftsmen, and they remained entirely unaware that Fang Qi already held a rocket launcher in his possession.

After all, aside from those who spent their days lurking outside the doors of Fang Qi's internet cafe to gather intelligence, very few people actually knew of this.

Yet, exceptions existed to every rule, and there would always be those who achieved a measure of success in their imitations.

If one were to shift their perspective, using the original framework of a firearm as a foundation while utilizing the talismanic and array techniques of cultivators to perfect the mechanisms they could not yet master through mundane means...

"Little Martial Uncle Li, this is the spiritual artifact Miss Xu of the Xu family commissioned from us," a somewhat portly, middle-aged man spoke within the Blue Flame Pavilion, holding a silvery-white revolver in his hand.

However, this handgun resembled a revolver in appearance alone; its internal structure was vastly different. Take the ammunition, for example: this replica of a Magnum revolver utilized ordinary bullets that were relatively easy to forge, and in terms of quality, they were actually inferior to the standard rounds used in Resident Evil.

Yet, the exterior of the casings was overlaid with a layer of strange, intricate patterns. Similarly, across the frame of the entire handgun, special engravings of an identical style could be seen, silently proclaiming that the cost of this weapon was exorbitant, entirely incomparable to the manufacturing price of an ordinary firearm.

"How is it? Can it be mass-produced?" Although he had never played Resident Evil, Li Haoran, as an veteran player, at least knew what firearms were, and he likewise knew they were capable of mass production.

The middle-aged man shook his head and said, "For now, it remains far too difficult. To reach this standard, even with our artifact masters working relentlessly, it consumed a massive amount of time, and it has only just been completed."

They possessed neither lathes nor production workshops; relying solely on a few artifact masters utilizing the techniques of cultivators, they could gradually achieve the craft, but mass production was naturally out of the question.

To say nothing of the meticulous engraving of the formations.

"Miss Xu has arrived," a female disciple reported at that exact moment.

Li Haoran nodded. "Please show her to the testing chamber."

From the moment Xu Zixin first witnessed the might of the rocket launcher, she had questioned Fang Qi on whether it could be manufactured.

Attempting to study a rocket launcher right at the outset was indeed far too difficult, but a handgun was a different matter. This particular weapon had been commissioned back when she was still playing Resident Evil.

Later on, the Blue Flame Pavilion had even dispatched people into the game specifically to study the nature of ammunition and firearms.

When Xu Zixin beheld the middle-aged man approaching with the silver revolver cradled in his hands, her eyes instantly ignited with brilliance. "You actually made it?"

The middle-aged man laughed helplessly. "Miss Xu, this piece cost my Blue Flame Pavilion no small amount of manpower and material resources. The fee is by no means low!"

"That is only natural," Xu Zixin agreed with a nod.

In truth, the players who progressed quickly through the game were fairly well-acquainted with one another, so Li Haoran and Xu Zixin were familiar enough to exchange greetings before Xu Zixin finally took hold of this magically modified handgun.

The middle-aged man brought over a tray upon which twenty bullets were arranged in neat, orderly rows. Gazing upon the delicate formation runes etched onto them, it went without saying that the cost of these items was steep, with a single round valued at several spirit crystals at the very least.

Commissioning a weapon like this, even for Xu Zixin, was an absolute bleeding of funds.

"Give it a try," Li Haoran said.

Regarding his family's artifact shop, Li Haoran still maintained a fair degree of confidence.

Xu Zixin nodded, took the weapon, and smoothly inserted a bullet into the chamber. Gripping the handgun with both hands, she aimed it toward a massive black boulder scarred with various marks, situated dozens of yards away.

Although its shape differed little from a regular handgun, it remained, in truth, a spiritual artifact. As her qi flowed into it, the intricate, fine lines upon the frame seemed to glow with a faint, white radiance.

Only then did Xu Zixin pull the trigger.

Swoosh!

The sharp, piercing shriek of an arrow tearing through the air rang out, and immediately following it, a massive burst of flame erupted upon the hard black boulder dozens of yards away!

As the gun smoke dispersed, a fist-sized hole was revealed within the dense texture of the black stone.

Xu Zixin let out a soft breath, appearing quite satisfied with such destructive power.

"Isn't that a gun?!" Business at the Blue Flame Pavilion was thriving, and several cultivators happened to be purchasing artifacts at that moment, witnessing this exact scene during the test!

It was truly manufactured?!

The few exchanged glances. Why did the power of this firearm feel even greater than the ones in Resident Evil?!

...

Xu Zixin possessed a particular fondness for novelties, which was why she tried every new feature in Fang Qi's shop. For instance, the class she played in Diablo was the Amazon, a choice no one else had touched.

"Once this lady masters Freezing Arrow, Fire Arrow, and Exploding Arrow, and pairs them with my artifact-version revolver... Hmph, hmph! No, in the future, they should be called freezing bullets, fire bullets, and exploding bullets..." At this thought, Xu Zixin grew exceedingly joyful, visualizing her future self wielding a flying sword in her left hand and a revolver in her right. As she walked into the internet cafe, she saw Fang Qi still sitting leisurely in his chair, enjoying a Haagen-Dazs.

"Owner!" In an excellent mood, Xu Zixin smiled brightly and produced a silvery-white handgun, placing it right before him. "Ta-da! Impressive, isn't it?"

It was early morning, and quite a few players were just stepping through the door, their eyes instantly catching sight of the handgun.

A chorus of startled gasps immediately erupted!

"A Magnum?!"

"Holy crap?!"

"This can't be real, right?! They actually made it?!"

One had to remember this was an item from the game! This was simply too incredible!

A few sharp exclamations instantly drew the gaze of many within the internet cafe.

"What does that amount to?" Fang Qi muttered, eating his Haagen-Dazs while casually pulling out a massive piece of hardware and placing it right in front of her.

Beholding the rocket launcher Fang Qi had produced, everyone's faces twitched in unison.

"..." They were utterly dumbfounded.

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Fellow students, please do not press for updates... The author writes rather slowly and truly cannot speed up for the time being.