Got It

"What kind of thing? What are you talking about?"

Xiong Da hadn't understood Bai Yang at all. He stared at him in a daze and asked.

"It's..."

Bai Yang glanced left and right. When he saw no one paying attention, he quietly raised his right hand, pressed his index and middle fingers together, cocked his thumb, and silently mouthed a pow...

"Boss, you..."

Xiong Da's eyes widened as he looked at Bai Yang. He was about to say something when Bai Yang hurriedly cut him off.

"Shh, shh, shh... Keep your voice down, damn it!"

What was this, taking a leak? Shh, shh, shh...

Xiong Da looked around, blinked, and asked Bai Yang in a low voice, "Boss, what are you trying to do?"

"Ahem. I'm just curious. I want to get one and mess around with it. What, is that not allowed?"

Bai Yang lifted his chin and replied irritably. Then his tone changed, and he glared at the other man. "Hey, hey, I'm your boss now. Why all the questions? Just tell me whether you have a way to get one!"

Xiong Da frowned at Bai Yang, scratched his head, then scratched it again, and again...

"Is your dandruff acting up? Can you do it or not? Give me an answer already."

Watching him scratch and scratch, Bai Yang stepped away, worried that flakes would land on him. He curled his lip and grumbled.

"Boss, tell me honestly. When I transferred the compensation money to them before, the other side said someone had already spoken to them and they wouldn't bother us anymore. That person was you, right?"

Xiong Da suddenly asked, looking at Bai Yang.

"...That was quite a sharp turn. What does it matter? You still haven't answered my question." Bai Yang waved dismissively and rolled his eyes.

Since they were all in the know, spelling everything out would only spoil it.

"I can!"

Xiong Da nodded. Though his answer was only two words, Bai Yang's heart gave a little jolt.

Holy crap, it only took a thousand years, but I've finally found a way in! Though, to be honest, I'd never really tried to find one before.

"But, boss, I can only get you something this long at most. Anything longer than this is out of the question, unless you're overseas. You know how things are here."

As he spoke, Xiong Da gestured first to the length of a pair of chopsticks, then to half a meter or even longer...

Bai Yang immediately understood. Getting a pistol should be doable, but anything longer? Come on, bro, this is China. Those things hadn't vanished entirely, but getting your hands on one was harder than climbing to heaven!

"Wait, so you guys have connections overseas too?"

Bai Yang asked curiously. He'd long suspected they weren't exactly good people. The metalworking factory workers all looked like damn murderers. Honest factory workers? Who'd believe that? This place was more like a bandits' den...

"Heh heh..."

Xiong Da looked at Bai Yang with a dopey grin and said nothing.

Bai Yang shrugged. He knew damn well Xiong Da didn't want to let him in on all their secrets. They weren't close enough yet. But he wasn't in a hurry. You're all my people now. One day, I'll get you to spill every last secret!

"I want them now. Name your price!"

Bai Yang again glanced around as though he were being especially secretive, then looked at the other man expectantly. Something big could go down over there at any moment. He wouldn't feel safe without one on him. Once he had one in his hands, heh heh... The Che family? I'll make you spin like a wheel...

"How many does the boss want?"

Xiong Da came out with this question out of nowhere.

Holy crap! Bai Yang's hand twitched. That was pretty impressive. He was asking how many? Was he saying he could get Bai Yang a whole truckload if he wanted?

"Ahem. Ten or eight would be fine, but I wouldn't turn down a hundred or a thousand..."

Bai Yang rubbed his hands together, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Not that many. Ahem, boss, I'll try to get you two for now."

Xiong Da smiled awkwardly. He'd bragged too much, but inwardly he thought, Boss, are you planning to start a war? A hundred or a thousand? If that many weapons showed up in China, the fighter jets would be on their way in minutes...

"I'll be waiting for your news."

Bai Yang's expression turned serious. He left the other man with those words, clasped his hands behind his back, and stretched out on a lounge chair beneath a tree in the factory yard. His meaning was clear: Get this done first. I'll be right here waiting!

Xiong Da curled his lip, walked off to the side, and pulled out his phone to make a call.

"I knew it!"

Bai Yang had sharp eyes. He couldn't hear what Xiong Da was saying, but from the shape of his mouth as he talked, he figured he'd said "Brother Lang."

The rest was easy to guess. Xiong Da was definitely going through that stone-faced Old Wolf's connections!

Just as he'd thought, taking the roundabout route was the way to go. If he went straight to the stone-faced Old Wolf, the guy wouldn't even give him the time of day. But through Xiong Da and the others, heh heh, things were sure to work out!

Bai Yang had been hatching this plan ever since he found out Xiong Da and the others had ties to Old Wolf. Otherwise, why go to all that trouble—sending them orders, selling them the factory, and doing them favors? He could've done those things anywhere. Why mess around with a bunch of dangerous-looking people? Wasn't he afraid of them?

Less than half an hour later, Old Wolf, the stone-faced man, rode into the factory yard on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, dressed in camouflage. He spotted Bai Yang from a distance but didn't greet him, leaving Bai Yang, who had waved to him, feeling awkward.

We're already this familiar, and you're still treating me like this? You're making things difficult for me. Fine, I'll take it out on Xiong Da and the others. That's settled...

Xiong Da and the others were innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire...

Old Wolf and Xiong Da stood off in the distance, muttering to each other. Bai Yang noticed that when Old Wolf appeared, the factory workers grew much more restrained. The loud chatter from earlier had all but disappeared.

And although Xiong Da was a full head taller than Old Wolf, standing in front of him made him seem as if he were a head shorter.

"Tsk, this Old Wolf definitely has something going on. But what the hell does he do? An international thief? A legendary mercenary, or an assassin?"

Squinting, Bai Yang watched Xiong Da nod and mutter in front of Old Wolf like a grandson, and let his imagination run wild.

Old Wolf frowned at Xiong Da. "How'd you end up mixed up with that kid?"

"Heh heh, Brother Lang, it's a long story. I'll tell you about it another time," Xiong Da said awkwardly.

"That kid... Forget it. You're not an idiot. Watch your step. You finally got settled..." Old Wolf shook his head. "The stuff's here. I'm heading out. Let me know immediately if anything happens."

He took a silver-gray case off the motorcycle, tossed it to Xiong Da, then swung back onto the bike and rode off with a rumble.

He came and went in a flash. Old Wolf hadn't looked at Bai Yang even once.

But Bai Yang figured the guy was naturally wary and standoffish. Hadn't he ignored everyone else in the factory yard too?

Xiong Da waited until Old Wolf had disappeared completely, then picked up the little case and walked over to Bai Yang.

Bai Yang hurried to his feet, rubbing his hands together. His eyes were glued to the case in Xiong Da's hands, and they were even trembling. Holy crap, he was about to see one of those legendary things for real!

"Boss, let's go inside."

Xiong Da shook his head and pointed toward the warehouse.

Got it. These things couldn't be seen in public. Bai Yang rushed toward the warehouse.

Xiong Da followed him in, slammed the door shut, and turned on the lights. He placed the little case on a wooden table. It was a combination lockbox, and needed a code to open...

When the case opened, Bai Yang stared at what was inside, eyes wide and unable to look away.

Two black, icy-cold pistols lay on the foam padding inside, with several boxes of ammunition beside them!

"Holy crap, is this the legendary Desert Eagle?"

Bai Yang's eyes shone as he spoke. He reached out and picked one up. It was heavy and cold.

Xiong Da was covered in black lines.

"Boss, you've got it wrong. This is a Chinese QSG92 pistol. It's 199 millimeters long, weighs 0.76 kilograms, and has a fifteen-round, double-stack magazine. Its effective range is 50 meters. It uses Chinese-made DAP 9-millimeter pistol rounds. Within its effective range, it can penetrate a 1.3-millimeter-thick 232 steel plate and still go through a 50-millimeter pine board. If you use Parabellum rounds under the same conditions, it won't achieve the same result. Its features are..."

Holding the pistol, Bai Yang stared at Xiong Da. I don't understand any of that! And damn, you sound like a real professional.

"Cut the useless stuff. Just tell me how to use it safely."

Bai Yang waved a hand, interrupting Xiong Da's endless explanation.

Xiong Da's face twitched. Fine, he'd been winking at a blind man. He picked up the other pistol in the case, and Bai Yang watched in stunned silence as Xiong Da took it apart with a few clicks, then miraculously put it back together again.

"Ahem. That was just a reflex, completely automatic. I checked it just now; they're both brand new. Now, I'll teach you how to use it. First, beginners need to..."

An hour later, Bai Yang realized that getting your hands on a gun didn't make you a badass. Ignore some of the finer points, and you could accidentally hurt yourself.

Those actors on TV made it look so cool, shooting bang, bang, bang, like they were all sharpshooters. It was all fake. According to Xiong Da, becoming a sharpshooter took mountains of ammunition and high-intensity training, among other things.

That was too much trouble. Bai Yang didn't want to become a sharpshooter. He'd be satisfied if he could hold a gun and scare off enemies well enough to protect himself.

What a modest ambition...

"Now that you've got the basics down, boss, want to try firing a couple of shots?"

The QSG92 pistol twirled around Xiong Da's finger as he looked at Bai Yang.

"Here?"

Bai Yang's eyes widened.

"Don't worry, boss. They're all our people. I'll have them turn on the machinery and make a racket. The machinery will cover up the gunshots. It'll be fine."

Xiong Da was clearly even more eager than Bai Yang...

"All right, let's fire off a few rounds."

Bai Yang wasn't afraid either. Bring it on. Who's scared? We can both get hurt... uh...