Here We Go!

On the intercity bus to Mimir Hot Spring Market in the District 18, Xue Ming leaned against the window, looking at the tundra scenery outside.

Oscar didn't come along. The lapis lazuli wolf's herbalism mission was a long one, requiring him to stay in Saladin for more than half a year. Before leaving, the big wolfhound pitifully shed tears—because the big yellow rooster had returned to Saladin with him, and seeing that the priest was about to leave, it was anxious and started pulling at the wolf's hair with its paws.

Wolf Brother was no match for this griffin; he could only wait and see how fate would allow him to tame it.

Two days later, Xueming returned to Mimir Hot Spring Market with Jamie and his daughter. After settling them in at the Treeheart Apartment, Xue Ming finally breathed a sigh of relief—everything had been taken care of, and now all he had to do was patiently wait for Jamie's work.

Speaking of Jamie, this "rocket launcher," Xue Ming had some thoughts on it. Light infantry weapons, which are convenient for rapid marches, usually don't have much lethality. Using conventional bullets against the Calamity Beasts is of little effect, not to mention the Red Flash Butterfly of the Madness Butterfly Sect —these enemies with extraordinary soul power have ways to be immune to bullet damage, unless you shove the muzzle of a gun into their mouths and carry out a passionate [voice-slapping] execution.

Take the standard combat unit, Kang Que Conqueror, as an example. His Soul Power [Heaven and Earth Turning] is enhanced by the elixir, making its range and endurance incredibly powerful. It can apply different gravitational forces to the bullets to complete the evasion operation. Seven years ago at the Eureka Dome, Xue Ming fought against this formidable opponent and won the duel by endurance.

If conventional ammunition proves ineffective, Xue Ming will seek out explosives, especially thermobaric bombs, to deal with formidable enemies. The Red Flash Butterfly units, empowered by the Elixir, require more oxygen, and thermobaric bombs are extremely effective against them. Burning out the oxygen in a confined room can quickly reduce the combat effectiveness of these undead monsters.

He needs a type of Fragrant Dream that can be mass-produced, while retaining the lethality of the warhead and having a decent range.

At the exhibition, Jamie unveiled this rocket launcher, giving Xue Ming hope for the lightweighting of heavy firepower.

Another week passed, and while Xue Ming was chatting and fishing with Mr. Wen Bucai, Uncle Jamie handed in his answer. Carrying two weapon cases, he arrived at the northern tundra of the Hot Spring Market. On a cold, frozen lake, following the rows of small tents, he found the priest Wen Bucai ice fishing.

Uncle Jamie lifted the tent flap, panting as he squeezed near the stove, nestled close to the priest, and put the box down.

"Father Zhang Congfeng, I have prepared what you requested."

As he spoke, the old gunsmith took out a CZ-75 modified pistol from his toolbox. His earliest prototype was based on the CZ-75 because this pistol has a low sight line, making it easy to aim.

"This is its earliest form. Actually, the shape of the launcher isn't important—the propellant is."

Jamie patiently explained.

"For the past two months, I've been working on the contents of the rockets, overturning and starting over time again and again. Finally, I have a decent launching procedure. I've prepared two rocket options for you. Do you have time?"

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes!" Xue Ming had lingered at Mimir Hot Spring for so long just for this moment.

He quickly pulled Wen Bucai out, wanting Mr. Wen to come and witness the nameless man's new weapon.

Wen Bucai, clutching his fishing rod, couldn't move his legs. "I just baited the spot! Holy crap!"

The three arrived at the frozen lake, chose an open area, and Jamie took out several arrow-shaped bullets from his pocket, put them into the magazine, and loaded them into the gun—then handed them to the priest.

"Give it a try." Jamie nervously licked his lips. He had been adjusting and modifying this gun for several years, with many stops and starts along the way. Initially, it was a sailor's equipment for the Eureka City Hall, but later he was busy raising money for his daughter's illness, so he had no time to take care of this research project.

Jiang Xueming pointed his gun at the empty tundra and then pulled the trigger.

A deep red flame shot out from the muzzle, and then the arrow streaked across the dark sky like a straight meteor. It went faster and faster. Xue Ming immediately took out his phone and used the measuring tool. The arrow lost all kinetic energy after 1,200 meters and fell to the ground due to gravity.

"Its muzzle velocity is only 120 meters per second," Jamie explained. "It uses liquid hydrogen propellant, the primer is still the structure of conventional ammunition, and it is ignited by a firing pin."

"However, after flying thirteen meters from the muzzle, its speed will exceed four hundred meters per second, and it will get faster and faster after that. It is suitable for long-range combat, but..."

"But the shooting accuracy is terrible." Xue Ming stroked the handle of the gun, picking up where Uncle Jamie left off. "Once it exceeds the speed of sound, the trajectory of a rocket starts to become unpredictable."

"I can't guarantee that." Jamie looked troubled. "It would have been a huge effort if it had even fired. I don't have that much money to buy experimental materials, nor do I have that much time to study the aerodynamics of a rocket of this size—I can only try it little by little."

Xue Ming took a bullet from the magazine and carefully examined the shape of the bullet's tip.

--As Uncle Jamie said, it's already a great thing that this weapon can even fire anything, and it can maintain the projectile's flight attitude at subsonic speeds. But in supersonic environments, the liquid hydrogen warhead in its burning state reacts violently with the air. Relying on only one propulsion port to counteract the wind pressure is not enough.

This bullet still uses rifling to complete its spin motion and maintain its trajectory. This is the most scientific and cost-effective method in traditional firearms, and it has been tested in a lot of actual combat. However, if it is used to fire rockets, this amount of spin force is not enough. Not only is the number of rifling turns insufficient, but the cutting depth of the bullet is also insufficient.

Its power comes entirely from the propellant, and the thrust becomes stronger and stronger in the latter half of its flight. Once it exceeds the speed of sound, the trajectory of this projectile will tilt and deflect significantly to the left and right, turning into a banana-shaped trajectory that can't even hit a target fifty meters away.

Xue Ming fired a few more shots and confirmed that the bullets had obvious aerodynamic defects, but he did not lose heart.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Jamie felt extremely guilty. "I... I can only do this much. Why don't you take a look at the second ammunition option?"

The second munitions option is to replace the expensive liquid hydrogen propellant with pyroxene fuel.

--This is the publicly disclosed pyroxene engine system of the Transportation Department. As is well known, the trains in the underground world burn stone. In particular, the "Blessed Train" where Ming De's physical essence resides, their engines all consume stone.

White Stone represent pure energy. There are also a few train conductors with unique skills and special soul power who can use their own spiritual bodies to drive the train. Their consumption of radiant stones is extremely high, while the other train engines mainly use two types of fuel.

One type is the most common white crystal, which is produced by the train conductor and fireman using their spiritual bodies to activate the pyroxene engine, converting the natural spiritual energy in the white crystal into the engine's mechanical energy. The energy utilization rate is about 60%. A lot of dust and smoke are emitted after the white crystal burns. These dust crystals fall along the railway line along with the water vapor.

Another type is Wood Plark's pyroxene jewelry. The pyroxene of this bomber is very similar to his spirit. It is bloodstone rose quartz. This red stone has a higher energy density than white quartz, burns faster, and is more expensive.

Jamie pulled out a second gun, a redesigned, <Alien> weapon based on the heavily modified CZ-75.

This launcher simplifies the structure of many traditional Browning recoil mechanisms, leaving numerous pressure relief holes for the rockets. Overall, it looks like an L-shaped oval rod. To accommodate the large rocket magazine, its grip has a very large angle, making it more like an old-fashioned flintlock pistol.

Because these pyroxene rockets use solid fuel, they require psionic energy to ignite. Jamie specifically went to Galahad's online library to check the burning rate of bloodstone and made his own fuel ratio. However, since the old man didn't have a spirit body, the first shot still had to be fired by a psionicist.

When he received the gun, Xue Ming jokingly exclaimed, "Won't it explode?"

"No, I made a special exception; the barrel has a partial propulsion chamber," Jamie laughed. "It's absolutely safe. Traditional pistols have a hammer and pin reset mechanism, but this launcher doesn't have as many complicated parts. The most complex part is actually the design of the arrow. So, my first consideration was the weapon's safety."

Xue Ming drew his gun, ready to fire.

--Wen Bucai has already retreated back into his tent.

Xue Ming asked, "Why are you hiding so far away?"

Wen Bucai: "I used to file guns too, I'm terrified of them!"

"Alright." Xue Ming pulled the trigger.

This time, a bright golden-red flame shot out from the pressure relief port, and the gun barrel almost exploded into a large fireball.

The energy density of the bloodstone is much higher than that of liquid hydrogen. As soon as the big firework exploded, Xue Ming felt a scalding gas flow through his arm. He thought the gun had really exploded. It wasn't until the bullet was out of sight and he saw the charred marks on his down jacket, which were stinking from the flames from the gun's pressure relief port, that he came to his senses.

Wen Bucai: "What's the initial velocity? It's a bit too strong."

Xue Ming: "I can't feel it, I can't see it clearly."

Wen Bucai: "What does the speedometer say?"

Two speed measuring instruments were placed at the muzzle of a gun and on the frozen lake surface a hundred meters away.

The arrow, propelled by hibiscus bloodstone, has an initial muzzle velocity of 270 meters per second. After traveling more than 100 meters, it reaches an astonishing speed, exceeding four times the speed of sound.

But it's still the same old problem. It's already incredibly lucky that it can fly over the two swing arms of the speedometer. Xue Ming fired a few more shots, but this time he couldn't see a single one. The bullets with fiery tails were like mischievous little sprites, starting to do Brownian motion when they were about fifty meters away from the muzzle. One of them even became a rocket, flying ten meters away from the muzzle and shooting straight into the sky.

The most outrageous thing is yet to come--

Jiang Xueming decided to lie prone on the ice to launch the missile, hoping to figure out its horizontal trajectory.

The aerodynamic design of the projectile only included the wind-breaking surface; it had no tail fins. Even with all of Jamie's machinations, he could only add a slight curve and threads to the warhead to suit its spin.

When firing while maintaining a low, prone position, the muzzle flash of the bullet almost set Xue Ming's hair ablaze as it left the muzzle.

In the blink of an eye, a golden-red spark suddenly bloomed on the smooth ice surface. The arrow struck the cold ice with a loud whistling sound. Like a drill, it spun rapidly, carving a deep crater in the more than 50-centimeter-thick ice layer. It drilled for more than 30 seconds before losing momentum.

When Xue Ming ran about twenty meters away and found it at the edge of the pit, it was still spinning.

Xue Ming held the scalding hot bullet in his hand. "Now we've found the problem."

"When a rocket breaks the speed of sound, it produces a sonic boom. There are many turbulences in the air, such as wind caused by temperature changes or dust particles. These are all affected by the huge sound waves. They are like water flow in the air. The reaction force of the water flow is transmitted to the rocket, interfering with its flight trajectory."

"When a conventional rifle bullet accelerates inside the barrel, it exceeds the speed of sound due to the propellant gases. After leaving the muzzle, it does not need to deal with the interference caused by the sonic boom resonance of the firearm, and subsonic bullets do not need to consider the supersonic boom."

"The only exception is this rocket that's getting faster and faster, just like the large rockets that send satellites into space; it needs to counteract the resonance phenomenon caused by its continuous acceleration."

Jamie: "Let me think of something else. Should we make it a tail wing? Or..."

"Thank you, Jamie." Jiang Xueming decided to call it a day; the gun still needed further modification and redesign.

--Its pressure relief port needs to be adjusted in orientation. The warhead can be filled with about 70 grams of thermobaric agent, or even Universal Elixir. The launch section needs to be modified. It needs to advance the tail flame port to obtain strong spin centering force.

"I'm very satisfied with your gift." Xue Ming didn't accept the two sets of firearms. Jamie's idea was correct, and that was enough. Just by looking at it, he could memorize the exploded diagram of the engineering sample and then slowly build the finished product himself.

He returned both boxes to Jamie exactly as they were.

"Take this to Eureka and show it to the Naval Weapons Design Bureau. I suddenly don't want it anymore. I'm a psychologist, and I only wanted this thing out of curiosity, just to play with it a few times."

"Ouch." Jamie was filled with shame, thinking it was because his skills weren't good enough, "I'm not very good at it. Just..."

Xue Ming comforted him, "You are an exceptionally skilled gunsmith. Not everyone can make weapons from scratch, especially light weapons—to achieve something that will be remembered for generations, passed down for a hundred or two hundred years, is something probably only Browning could do. But if no one tries, it will always remain Browning. This spirit deserves encouragement."

"Hey! What kind of mess is this?" Jamie replied, annoyed.

Xue Ming continued, "Why don't you spend more time with your daughter? How's Benni been these past few days? Are there any lingering effects?"

When Jamie talked about her daughter, she immediately forgot her work troubles.

"--She's siding with outsiders! Always speaking up for outsiders! I said, how could she like a criminal? A member of the War Gang at that! The one who killed her mother!"

Xue Ming interrupted, "People should always be given a chance to reform themselves."

With that, Jiang Xueming took Jamie back.

After his brief conversation with Mr. Wen Bucai, Xue Ming boarded the train back to the Nine Realms without incident.

Upon arriving at the familiar House of the Rising Sun, just a hundred meters or so away was the entrance to the Nameless Club. Knowing in advance that her husband was coming back, 9527 had been squatting by the doorway, wearing a pink fluffy nightgown. Every time she met someone, she would ask, "Have you seen my psychiatrist?" This made the guests quite uncomfortable, as they all thought the Nameless Club's mistress had gone mad again.

Actually, Xiao Qi isn't crazy; she's just driven mad by lust.

Upon seeing Wind God return, she didn't say a word, pulled her husband to the corridor of the snack shop, and seeing that no one was around, immediately rolled up Xue Ming's sleeve and bit into his arm.

"Hey! Hey!" Xue Ming shouted, "Hey! Hey! Hey! Watch out!"

"You fried dough stick! Go to hell!" Xiao Qi still had half a piece of her husband's meat in her mouth, so she couldn't speak clearly, "I've waited too long! I've waited until the iron tree blooms, until grass grows on the stone, until Brother Kun finished pecking at the rice, and Jason finished licking the noodles. My desire has burned through the locks in my heart! And you're finally back! Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

After saying this, the wife led the psychologist toward the guest rooms of the Council of Five Kings.

"Wait, wait," Jiang Xueming asked, "Where's our baby?"

"The eldest is watching TV on the second floor, the second is playing on his phone, the third is reading Harry Potter, and Zheng'er and Red Sister went to learn Latin dance," Xiao Qi answered fluently.

Jiang Xueming: "Zhengyang is playing on his phone? How old is he? I don't even play on my phone, how dare he?"

"Oh!" Xiao Qi finally realized, "Shall we go take a look?"

The two parents then slipped away to the side of the salon and squatted down where the second child couldn't see them.

Jiang Xueming was a little worried. "Is he playing a game?"

Xiao Qi: "He just needs to relax occasionally. He only has two hours of game time on holidays, and he's very polite."

Jiang Xueming: "What are we playing?"

Xiao Qi: "Meteor taught him, it seems to be some kind of five-on-five team game."

Jiang Xueming pondered, "Oh, he doesn't swear, does he? I often hear A Xing yelling and cursing, just because he gets angry over games. My coaches, like Brother Zong Zhu, Brother Wenlan, and Bao Quan, all get angry when they play games. I even saw a little boy in Saladin Town before, and he was like a completely different person because of playing this kind of game."

"I want him to control his emotions and verbally abuse others politely," Xiao Qi said.

Jiang Xueming: "If you're going to swear, then swear. Why can't you be polite?"

As they were saying this, the two heard Jiang Zhengyang open a voice chat and shout in a sarcastic tone.

"Jungler! If you don't come help me soon, I'm going to take over your spawn point!"

Xue Ming: "Tsk"

Xiao Qi felt slightly embarrassed.

Xue Ming: "Wife, you might as well teach him Cantonese."

Just then, Meteor, drenched in sweat, ran down from the second floor.

His eyes lit up the moment he saw the priest; he was shirtless, as if he had just been through a major battle.

"Oh!~ Feng Ge!~"

It's inappropriate for Meteor to call Xue Ming by his real name, so he can only refer to him as "Feng Ge."

Xiao Qi tried to pull her husband away, but she couldn't because the meteor's strength had increased again. The guy held onto Xue Ming's arm tightly, not giving his good brother any chance.

"Hey! Sister-in-law! Can I borrow this psychologist for two hours?"

Xue Ming whispered to Xiao Qi, "It'll be quick, just two minutes."

Xiao Qi replied playfully, "It's your decision."

Meteor ignored Xiao Qi's winks and gestures.

He's always been the one who can't read the room.

"Father, I recently went to Pankrasin Palace to practice, and it was so exciting!"

Jiang Xueming replied with a grin, "Well, how were the results?"

"I didn't even get through the door," Meteor said proudly, head held high. "But Master Beowulf taught me a lot! How about a couple of moves?"

Jiang Xueming: "I'm just a psychologist, the General of Tears."

Meteor quickly lowered his voice. "How about we spar a bit in private?"

"You have two minutes left," Jiang Xueming said, timing her. "Just the second floor?"

Meteor was overjoyed. "Sure!"

With only fifty seconds left in the two-minute countdown, Meteor finally cleared the fighting area of everyone else. It felt wonderful to be back in the ring with Ming Ge to practice.

He thought that the bond between the two was like that of Sasuke, Naruto, Sakuragi, and Rukawa—a relationship of mutual pursuit and encouragement. The moment he stepped into the ring and got the boxing gloves, the kid was completely ablaze with passion.

"Hey! Come on! It's been ages since we've had such a great fight!"

In his excitement, A Xing immediately revealed a major flaw. What he didn't know was that Xue Ming's understanding of Beowulf was far superior to his own. From the most basic Pankrasen combat techniques and footwork to the application of striking techniques, Meteor couldn't catch up with Xue Ming's learning progress with just over two months of special training.

"Uppercut!"

The entire process of closing in, roaring, and applying pressure was completed, leaving Meteor deeply shaken.

"You didn't retaliate when I had such a huge opening? Have you ever been through drug rehabilitation?"

The deliberately exposed flaws were sweet bait, but Xue Ming never touched them.

Let's start the second round--

--This time they're serious.

"Take off! Uppercut!~"

The meteor had just started moving, its front foot hadn't even landed yet, and the next second it was in the infirmary.

The intermediate steps were omitted, which was a good balance of detail and summary for his brain's memory. The transition was almost seamless; from throwing a punch to landing, his body was already in the first-floor medical station, where his classmate Little Finger was now in front of him with a stethoscope.

After thinking for a long time, A Xing finally managed to squeeze out a witty remark.

"I didn't press ESC! Why isn't there even a results animation? Is it a Soul Might attack?!"