Crossbows on Earth were standard controlled weapons, and civilians basically had no access to them.
It was only because his former employer had taken him out for entertainment that he had occasionally visited a shooting range and handled modern crossbows.
The crossbow made from the blueprint was yellow, silver, and black overall, giving off a cold, mysterious air.
Two small brass discs hung on either side of the crossbow, responsible for pulling back the nylon string.
The simple opening-and-closing mechanism in the middle was used to load the bolts!
Su Mo tried it out and found that it could load five bolts at once.
Although the crossbow could not fire continuously and needed to be restrung after every shot, its ammunition capacity was more than satisfactory! After bracing the crossbow, Su Mo began using the cocking device to draw the string.
The first bolt smoothly slid into the firing chamber.
Suppressing his excitement, Su Mo took one unit of wood from his inventory, made it into a wooden board, and placed it in a corner of the shelter.
He aimed at the board and pulled the trigger.
Whoosh! With a muzzle velocity no lower than that of a small police pistol, the bolt struck the wood in an instant.
"Holy shit, no wonder it was cast directly into shape. This power is a little ridiculous."
Looking at the bolt that was still trembling slightly, Su Mo quickly approached the wooden board lying on the ground.
He flipped over the board, which was a full six centimeters thick. The sturdy bolt had pierced through it, half remaining on the front and half protruding from the back.
Although this power could not compare to the high-precision crossbows made by the major arms companies in the civilized era, it was definitely no weaker.
If that chameleon from before had taken a hit like this, it probably would have died on the spot.
"Let's try again."
Having suddenly obtained such a powerful weapon, Su Mo was unable to contain his excitement.
However, he also knew that although the crossbow was tremendously powerful, that power depended on steady accuracy.
Just now, Su Mo had aimed at the exact center of a one-meter-by-one-meter wooden board, but when he fired, his hand shook and the bolt struck the upper-right corner, nearly missing the target.
That much deviation had occurred at a distance of only a dozen meters.
The accuracy at fifty or a hundred meters would be even more troublesome.
From accuracy to power, trajectory, and the feel of shooting, as well as how to draw the string, Su Mo began firing and experimenting slowly.
Bolts were not consumables. Basically, a bolt fired into a wooden board could be recovered and reused more than five times.
Only after many uses would the bolt begin to undergo slight shape changes.
Besides, five bolts required only two units of wood and one Iron Block, which was completely affordable.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Shot after shot, Su Mo studied and judged the angle at which he raised his hand and the precision of his aim.
Su Mo's proficiency soared.
At shooting clubs on Earth, such extravagant training would cost tens of thousands a day, but in the apocalypse, he could squander resources without restraint.
With every shot, Su Mo sought neither speed nor force, only accuracy.
After repeatedly pondering it twenty or thirty times, Su Mo shifted his attention to the physically demanding task of drawing the string.
Drawing a crossbow had always been a major problem.
Not to mention the Hunting Compound Crossbow in his hands, which was designed for rapid cocking.
Starting with the earliest crossbows—the stirrup-style cocking mechanism—all crossbow enthusiasts had continually researched ways to make cocking easier.
Later came hand-cranked gear mechanisms, pulley systems, and specialized cocking devices.
The efficiency of cocking had grown higher and higher! After cocking it thirty or forty times in succession, Su Mo felt his arms grow sore and weak. At the same time, he had measured his current maximum speed.
For the first three bolts, he could complete the cocking, aiming, and firing process within one minute.
After that, each bolt required between thirty seconds and one minute of preparation.
After ten bolts, each one required at least a minute and a half to complete the entire sequence.
"If I could modify it to use electric cocking, that would be perfect."
Thinking of the powerful upgrades in the Doomsday Survival System, Su Mo's heart burned with anticipation.
He focused his attention, called out to the system mentally, and stared at the crossbow.
Hunting Compound Crossbow (Common) Description: A long-range combat tool. It has a slow loading speed, high initial velocity, and considerable lethality, making it an essential tool for surviving in the wilderness. Rate of fire: 140 m/s Range: 80 m (maximum lethal range), 165 m (effective lethal range), 330 m (maximum range) Upgrade Direction One: Upgrade the crossbow's materials, increase its draw weight, and reduce the pressure required for cocking. Requires Survival Points (180) Upgrade Direction Two: Upgrade the crossbow's materials, add an electric cocking device, alter its design, add automatic continuous-fire mode, and increase its ammunition capacity. Requires Survival Points (400) Introduction: Liberal arts students use Cupid's arrows to shoot into girls' hearts, while only science students use powerful crossbows to confess their love! Praise machinery!
"Holy shit."
With no cultural knowledge to draw on, one "holy shit" could carry him through anything.
At that moment, looking at the second upgrade option before him, Su Mo was somewhat shocked and excited.
When he had upgraded the wooden spear before, an electric device option had also appeared.
However, the electric device for the wooden spear and the one for the crossbow before him were worlds apart.
After adding the electric device, the crossbow's firing method would be completely transformed. It could not only fire continuously, but also cock itself electrically.
As long as he had enough bolts, Su Mo was confident that a single crossbow could give him the feeling of wielding a Gatling.
Moreover, this upgrade required only 400 points! At his current rate of progress, he would be able to gather that amount after surviving for around ten days.
By then, his combat power would rise sharply.
"It's a pity that it still needs electricity. If I can't generate electricity within a day or find a device that can convert energy into electricity, this thing is just useless."
Su Mo let out a long sigh.
Once again, he truly felt how important it was to restore electricity.
The reason technology had advanced so rapidly during the civilized era was, above all, the invention of electricity.
Electricity had allowed every ordinary person to truly experience the charm of technology.
But at the same time, without electricity—
Seeing Su Mo deep in thought, Oreo ran over, wagging its head as if saying, "Give me any difficult problem!"
"Oreo, I order you to generate electricity for me right now. This is your master's mission!"
Su Mo laughed heartily, called Oreo over, and held it in his arms while vigorously rubbing its head.
Poor Oreo still did not understand what electricity was. It only heard that it was its master's mission, and a glimmer of wisdom shone in its eyes.
From an angle Su Mo could not see, Oreo seemed to be thinking about something.
When Su Mo turned its head around to look, the clarity in Oreo's eyes had become cloudy again.
No Mutated Beast detected within a radius of one thousand meters around the player Uses today: 0/3
Having used up his last chance for the day, and with no Mutated Beast detected nearby, Su Mo carried a torch and walked outside.
The acid rain disaster would arrive tomorrow.
He needed to perform one final check to see whether the drainage facilities had been blocked by the sands blown across the plains.
"We must ensure one hundred percent safety!"
After telling Oreo to stand guard, Su Mo quickly made three torches and planted them in the ground.
The silver-white moonlight had originally been bright, but as the disaster drew near, it had also turned an eerie red.
The red light spilled across the ground and blended with the torchlight, creating an indescribably eerie and beautiful scene.
In just half a day, the sands on the plains had already covered the ground with a thin layer.
Taking out a shovel, Su Mo began clearing the drainage channel.
Once everything was finished and he had confirmed that the channel was clear, he returned to the shelter.
Lying on the bed, he looked by the torchlight at the sturdy Stone Gate, as well as the extremely smooth stone walls and floor.
On the final night before the disaster, Su Mo pulled up the bedding, and his breathing gradually steadied.
His ample confidence gave Su Mo complete assurance that he could face the disaster that was about to arrive.
However, beneath the deep night sky, which had already begun to grow colder—
countless people were still carrying torches across the land, begging to use their remaining time to prepare measures against the disaster.
Only a small number of people sat in their shelters with complicated expressions, waiting for the disaster to arrive.
Amid the intense sense of danger, apart from Su Mo,
no one was able to sleep this night.
Author's diary: A few friends in the author group agreed to write survival stories together. Shuang Mei's collection count exploded while running naked, Bro Dog's data rose steadily, Shan He's chapter output was countless, and Xianxian's writing skills were improving by leaps and bounds. Only me—I looked like I was going to die in the first round of recommendation misery~
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