Wenyu Wuhuan

Xue Ming returned the Radiant Stone to the Radiant Road and entrusted Lingweng with the task of reforging the two battered rings.

Without the Radiant Stone, Xue Ming lost her right to ride in the carriage, but Lingweng immediately crafted another piece of jewelry for this quasi-king. At Ming De's strong insistence, it was something specially prepared for the Big Sister.

After settling Bailu and Xiao Qi in, he boarded the train to the Dead Puppet Agency with Little Finger.

Along the way, Little Finger kept asking the Holy Father in his mind all sorts of questions, his heart full of curiosity.

This child was hardworking and diligent at [JoeStar], and followed Xue Ming's instructions. The renovation of the healing room in the club was the fastest, and Xue Ming rarely had contact with him, and they barely even exchanged a few words.

Nevertheless, Little Finger always regarded Xue Ming as his benefactor, someone who had given him a second chance at life.

This adoration had been amplified to an extreme degree until Armin returned from Niflheim and began to undergo a qualitative change, then effortlessly defeated John Borg, the Thumb of a century earlier, as cleanly and efficiently as sweeping up kitchen and bathroom trash.

All of this made Little Finger even more convinced that the Gunsmith was the Holy Father Mother of the Madness Butterfly Guiyi Sect, plus the Holy Spirit [Fragrant Dream], that is, the Holy Trinity.

Hearing these superstitious words, Xue Ming immediately told his little finger to drink more hot water and not to stay alone all the time. He also opened Pinduoduo and asked Feng Jiali in her female form to cut the price a couple of times. The little guy had no intention of responding to this, as the child's thinking had not been fully corrected yet. A Ming didn't have any good ideas, so he decided to send him a set of Marxist classics and Mao Zedong's Selected Works later.

The VIP carriage on the train still belongs to Teacher Victor, but this time he's not there. No one knows where he went. It's probably because the number of criminals arrested by the Lapis Lazuli Guards surged around the harvest season, and this juror in the courtroom had an increased workload, leaving him no time to travel.

After arriving at the Dead Puppet Agency, Xue Ming went to McDonald's's to get some food for Little Finger, while he went to a nearby farmers' market to get some fresh vegetables and meat to deliver to Commander Jessica. He always brought a gift when he visited.

Upon learning that Jiang Xueming was coming, Jessica arrived early to see him. She waved to Xue Ming at the diversion gate, but her expression immediately turned strange when she saw Xue Ming's bald head.

Jiang Xueming asked, "Brother Jie?"

Jessica immediately replied in fluent Chinese, "Yes! It's me! Hey, how did you recognize me?"

Jiang Xueming answered without hesitation, "I calculated it by the dates. You and Nanami switch every six months. Isn't that perfect?"

Jessica smiled and lifted her handbag, opened the box, and saw a weak and powerless Nanami greeting the two guests.

Upon witnessing this scene, Little Finger's mental state plummeted, and he felt a strong force coming from his arm as Jiang Xueming dragged him into the main hall of the council.

The two handed over their documents, went through the procedures, and followed Officer Jessica back to the office. As soon as they opened the door, Little Finger heard a terrifying grinding sound coming from the Holy Father's Barry.

The last time Xue Ming almost burst into tears.

He hadn't expected that after more than a year, Jessica hadn't made any progress at all—the ashtray was still the same shape, the floor was covered in grease, and there were all sorts of dirt and scraps of paper.

"I didn't expect you to have changed at all!"

Jessica immediately forced a smile, pulled a noose from her Molle bag, as if to say, "At least I didn't hang myself this time"—and then said, "Changed, changed a little bit! Just so-so."

There are some changes inside the house.

--In addition to the ceiling fan-shaped <Sunny Day> teru bozu pendant, there are also rats and cockroaches.

Because Commander Jessica needed to bring food to the people in the B14 living quarters, this office was also used as a warehouse, so naturally, the number of cockroaches and rats increased.

The office is so messy not because the old lady is lazy, but because she is too busy to clean it. The cleaners at the Dead Puppet Agency's station don't take jobs here because they don't want to be in contact with the dead. With no one cleaning it, it naturally becomes the filthy place it is today, covered in grease.

Last time, Meteor helped fetch water; this time, Xue Ming's little helper is Little Finger.

After tidying up Commander Jessica's office, Xue Ming received G26 and P90. As usual, fully armed, he once again entered the Dead Puppet Agency City.

The power distribution facilities on both sides of the road looked unchanged, and the Inspiration Pressure coming from afar was still as heavy as a deep-sea monster. Even though Xue Ming had now become a morpho butterfly, the hairs on the back of her hands would still stand up due to inexplicable bioelectric activity.

Perhaps giants like those in Niflheim also existed in the ancestral palaces and Royal Court, a place very close to Mimir Hot Spring Market, and a few thousand meters further up is the paradise of the Red Stone People. The head of the wise giant Mimir/Mim became the great mine of the Golden Township, so it is likely that a behemoth of similar size also exists within the Dead Puppet Agency.

On the train, Jiang Xueming inquired about the military camps stationed in the City of Dead Puppet Agency.

"Commander Jessica, do you have any contact with the soldiers in the city?"

Jessica: "Never."

Jiang Xueming: "How much do you know about them? Last time we came here to explore with Teacher Victor, he was going deep into the Victor Royal Court to receive his armed employees, who were definitely soldiers from these military camps."

Jessica: "They're Stardust Warriors!"

Stardust Warriors

Within the railway system, in Muspelheim, or the remnants of the ancient giant civilization, there exist many dead runes. These runes create numerous undead creatures that evolve over long periods of time. If infected by the Vita Imprint, they gradually transform into monsters outside the biosphere.

Among the beta-class classified documents that Victor could access, the ancestral palace contained not only the remains of giants, but also mountain monsters that devoured the father's flesh and blood, as well as a large number of genetically engineered monsters, which were grotesque forms corrupted by the Vita Imprint after being crossbred with the mountain monsters' blood.

The "subordinates" that Teacher Victor mentioned to the two students last time—these monsters.

Below the low slope of the large water tower in Zone B14, the mound that Meteor and Xue Ming saw was also the remains of a giant buried in the mountain.

Its essence mixes with the soil and water, and the inhabitants, who drink this water and breathe the air of the Dead Rune region for a long time, are eventually transformed into crazed [Outlaw]. Lord Maddes Bruno, for example, is different. He absorbed the essence of a large number of [Outlaw] into his Bloodline Body. The Dead Rune within him is already a purified, second-hand product, possibly even third- or fourth-hand. Structurally, it is more similar to the body of Niflheim giant, with a clear rune center in the skull, which can move freely and travel to distant places.

[Outlaw] without a central talisman, like Nanami and the residents of Sector B14, will be captured by the area and turned into living dead forever once they grasp the essence of death.

The Stardust Warriors, mentioned by Commander Jessica, were once members of the Guangling Zhixi Assault Team. Before the modernization of the military, they came from various countries and armies. Their main responsibility was to deal with the supernatural units in various ruins.

The warriors who remain in the Dead Puppet Agency City have all become [Outlaw].

They were not used by any senator, nor were they under the command of Ming De. They remained in this place forever to prevent the ancient monsters deep within the ruins from escaping this terrifying prison, waging an endless war.

Only a very few VIPs can exchange a few words with the Stardust Warriors or become their friends. When David Victor last came here, he was accompanied by Stardust Warriors. They split up in the garden corridor of the Royal Court to create an opportunity for Victor to enter the Heavenly Palace's bedroom. In the end, they made a safe evacuation and completed their exploration mission without any major incidents.

These warriors were eccentric and experienced in combat, but extremely specialized, with all their combat experience focused solely on fighting undead monsters. They were taciturn yet their will was as firm as steel. Occasionally, a caravan would enter the city, carrying the warriors' surviving relatives, wives, or children coming to visit. These people were like jailers, guarding the gates of hell.

After learning this information, Jiang Xueming really wanted to meet these soldiers.

However, Officer Jessica advised Xue Ming not to overthink it.

"The intensity of the battle in the core area is extremely high. Didn't you say last time you came that you often heard roars coming from deep within the palace?"

Xue Ming: "Yes."

"If you bleed in this city and suffer extensive lacerations, you're very likely to be caught by the Runes and become [Outlaw]," Jessica continued. "If you really want to meet them, then live a few more decades and come here to collect a salary when you die of old age. If this city still exists, I'll watch TV series with you!"

Xue Ming remained silent.

Jessica started yelling again, "Don't think too highly of these guys! The Boss only started forming the Stardust Warriors' chapter when the Ancestral Palace was hit by a cataclysmic earthquake—after that, all sorts of trash were dumped here, even death row inmates with exceptional combat skills would be brought here to be transformed by the chapter into jailers in hell."

"Is the BOSS trying to raise a Gu King?" Jiang Xueming was shocked.

"When I was alive, this place was jointly governed by NATO and the Warsaw Pact. There were many people from the Philosopher Foundation here." The vehicle entered the city and headed towards the B14 ironworks family quarters. Jessica continued, "The troops were also composed of Russians, Japanese, United Kingdom, and Americans. To this day, I don't know what the Stardust Warriors are like."

After the family dormitory building was renovated, Jiang Xueming felt a strange sense of malice for some reason.

That malice seemed to come from another settlement located further away, beside the winding B13 mountain road.

Jessica noticed that Jiang Xueming hadn't moved for a long time and looked worried, so she immediately explained, "They're from the neighboring community. They're just jealous because our doors and recreational facilities have been renovated! It's normal, you'll get used to it."

That resentment almost transformed into a powerful spiritual pressure, manifesting as the malevolent gazes of over three hundred undead, making Jiang Xueming's hair stand on end. It came from further down the low mountain, heading towards Block B14.

Putting aside these trivial matters, Xue Ming walked straight into the residential area and saw many notices with suggestions attached to the iron nets on both sides of the Tennis Court and ping-pong tables.

There is information he left when he last visited this place, as well as a lot of information added by later passengers to fill in the gaps.

Upon arriving at Officer Jessica's dormitory, Xue Ming mentally prepared herself and followed the officer inside, focusing intently on protecting her back molars. The anticipated hellish drawing didn't materialize; Aunt Li, the cleaning lady, frequently came to clean the officer's room, sparing Xue Ming the trouble.

After Xue Ming and Little Finger put down the ingredients, he rushed to the workers' recreation room, asked his old friends at the ironworks, grabbed Foreman Eric, and demanded a redesign of the weapon. He threw his the Unworthy Work design on the table, along with three sets of engineering blueprints.

Immediately afterwards, Little Finger couldn't understand what these people were saying.

What material, what yield strength, what ultrasonic process?

What is the projectile diameter, what are the ergonomic features, what are the tolerance standards and manufacturing limits?

The two veteran comrades, Polechev and Goncharov, had a sister unit relationship with the Lavochkin Weapon Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Most of the steel they smelted became the stamped steel casings that dealt a heavy blow to the Germans. They had some experience in weapon design. Later, they were transferred to work at the design institute of the space agency.

Looking at his own drafts, which were repeatedly revised and circulated among steelmaking experts from Britain, the United States, Japan, and Russia, Xue Ming marveled at the powerful learning ability and creativity of people in that era. Scientists in the Soviet Union were mostly polymaths; they could switch from nuclear physics and industry to agriculture or materials science, and after spending a few years in the library, they could immediately become knowledgeable experts.

These people, who accepted the [Philosopher Foundation]'s call to come to the underground world to carry out construction, were already highly skilled experts in their respective fields. Small-scale projects like light weapons design were no match for Erilik, the foreman. He was an aerospace engineer who had been laid off by NASA during the Cold War and came to the underground world purely to make money. For example, the ultrasonic processing materials proposed by Polechev were the industrial standard for Soviet spacecraft.

In just two hours, Chef Enrique cooked a meal for several old colleagues. As soon as they entered the recreation room, they saw a large blackboard covered with classical mechanics formulas, all revolving around the major topic of nine by thirty-nine caliber bullets, from which numerous gun model blueprints were derived.

Skilled Japanese craftsmen have already started piling up clay, preparing to take it to the factory to make parts.

With his large belly, Gancharov repeatedly measured Xue Ming's arm and waist lengths with a tape measure, wanting to enhance the ergonomics of the weapon. He even pried open Xue Ming's palms, wanting to measure every single finger clearly.

In their eyes, Xue Ming was a great benefactor of District B14 and also a great benefactor of Ming De. What they had done for Xue Ming was nothing at all.

Veteran employees of Nissan Sumitomo Metal have submitted their work on secondary weapon parts.

The steel wheels for high-speed trains in many countries are produced by this company. Fifty years ago, Edogawa Tatsuro came to his ancestral palace to make money and contributed much important knowledge about steelmaking to the city and the railway system of Ming De.

"Xue Ming, solving the recoil problem of a 9x39 bullet within one meter is an extremely difficult task. It might not be possible on the ground—but your weapon design concept has the potential to achieve it."

Like his other uncles, Dalang pieced together wooden parts to make models, his hands covered in clay, and talked excitedly.

"I don't know what you intend to do with this gun. It's a subsonic bullet, but different propellants and barrels can turn it into a supersonic, high-powered rifle round—for shooting people, or for subduing wild animals. The only problem is, how do we control this bullet?"

The three views of the pistol are on the blackboard, and its shape appears very exaggerated.

"Existing arms companies consider manufacturing costs when producing small arms, but we are different. We have built artillery, armored vehicles, airplanes and spacecraft—we have constructed steel-framed buildings that have withstood earthquakes and are designed to stand for a century. The requirements you have made are actually very easy to achieve."

Jiang Xueming nodded. Uncle Dalang was right. He came to the Dead Puppet Agency because he valued the craftsmanship of these steel magicians. Their knowledge of materials and their creativity in breaking through the limitations of thinking during the Cold War would surely lead them to find many solutions to overcome the limitations of light weapons.

No matter what kind of gun it is, its power is limited to the bullet.

--Matching the ammunition type to create an excellent firing mechanism is the key to becoming the king of guns.

Only soldiers have ever adapted to firearms because the large-scale military industry has to consider costs.

However, special missions in the underground world are extremely dangerous, and the value of the Butterfly Units is very high; custom-made units should be the norm.

The Senate comprised people from all walks of life, including scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, but it lacked a weapons design bureau. For Jiang Xueming, this represented a vast untapped market.

Edogawa Tatsuro unveiled the back of the blackboard for Xue Ming and revealed the key mechanism to everyone.

"The world's first semi-automatic shotgun used high-pressure ammunition, and had an extremely long recoil spring and shaft to absorb the thrust on the shoulder when the ammunition exploded. This recoil force causes the muzzle to rise, which is a recoil that everyone talks about and has mentioned many, many times."

The ingenious flat leaf spring design comes into view.

"A flat spring can solve this problem. In the same stroke and the same return distance, it can withstand greater pressure. 50CrVA or 60Si2Mn can be used."

"Flat springs require cutting, have a high scrap rate, and are very expensive. Modern car suspension shock absorbers are also cold-rolled from spring steel wire to reduce costs—there's no such thing as cutting and forming; it takes a lot of time."

"A flat spring alone isn't enough," said Polechoff. "Cutting the muzzle to make the flash blow upwards can reduce the muzzle twitch."

This is a simple yet ingenious approach, applied to the AK74M.

Jiang Xueming: "We have no shortage of money or time."

"Yes!" Gantcharov immediately said, "He has no shortage of money or time. If the receiver of this firing mechanism holds more than thirty rounds, the magazine will be very bulky, and the center of gravity will be too far back. If we make a stock or carbine, we will lose the handgun's advantage of being easy to carry. Design a good muzzle brake!"

Foreman Eric kept biting his pen, his brow furrowed, and remained silent.

It took me a very long time to understand that the 9mm caliber meant 9 by 39, not just a simple 9 by 19 pistol cartridge.

"Are you an Astartes warrior? Are you going to build a bomb gun?"

Jiang Xueming sternly corrected him. "The bomb gun is.70 caliber! Even the cheapest one is.60!"

Eric: "Oh, that's all right now."

Xue Ming finally spoke to the foreman in a low voice.

"If possible, is it possible to make it?"

Half a century ago, ironworkers from all over the world had a heated discussion about this little gadget.

Aside from being in charge of cutting materials, Xue Ming couldn't offer much help. To be honest, these old blacksmiths had a much better understanding of materials than he, a young man.

Weapons are not like toys. The STI·TTI2011 Combat Master and AK-12 Eye of the Blood Wolf that we manufactured before were based on mature blueprints. The firing mechanism was finalized after countless soldiers' combat experience. Titanium alloy only makes them lighter, stronger and more reliable. In essence, it does not improve ergonomics, nor does it increase the rate of fire or make them more accurate.

During the blueprint revision phase, Xue Ming also set two major themes for the future clubs and weapon kits.

One is called [Wen Yu], which refers to the primary and secondary weapons [that make the enemy more polite].

A weapon called [Wu Huan] refers to a close-combat weapon that signifies "it would be impolite to continue fighting."