Chapter 77

"Flying Army? The brothers in this gang are all ordinary people, they can't fly!" Sai Laohu thought his brother-in-law was up to something again and looked at the fat man in surprise.

"You little brat, if you don't speak, no one will think you're mute!" The fat man glanced at Sai Laohu and didn't bother to respond.

"Big Brother, this name is a bit, a bit... too rustic." Ma Duanzhang hit the sore spot of the "Flying Army" right away.

"Damn, get lost, all of you!" The fat man was furious, it was really impossible to communicate with these "rustic" guys.

Sai Laohu was a bandit, and Ma Duanzhang was a "rustic Eighth Route Army," two "rustic" people together, the fat man couldn't help but comment. But thinking about the time, it seemed that the "Guerrilla Song" would still take some time to come out. Should he brazenly plagiarize it?

Seeing the fat man getting agitated, the two didn't dare to speak. Sai Laohu was afraid of being punished with push-ups, which was a torture, and he could only do a few hundred at most. The problem was that doing a thousand would be a death sentence.

Ma Duanzhang was afraid that the fat man would keep all the spoils of war for himself and not give him a single bullet. This guy had nothing to do with the Eighth Route Army.

"Cough, cough..." Old Lei saw that the three seemed to be in disharmony, so he coughed a few times to draw their attention back to himself. Then he bowed to the fat man and said, "Sir, you have rid Xiaowan Village of this bandit scourge. Your kindness is like that of a parent. I am deeply grateful. I have prepared a humble wine at my home, and I hope you will honor me with your presence."

Old Lei's words were full of literary elegance, which made the fat man feel uncomfortable. But to avoid the two troublemakers, he glared at them and said fiercely, "You two are not allowed to follow. Each of you take your men and clean up the bodies, blood, and shell casings of those devils. We don't want the Japanese to find out and harm the innocent villagers!"

This was the fat man's excuse to get rid of Sai Laohu and Ma Duanzhang, but he also considered that if the scene wasn't cleaned up, the Japanese would definitely find out and harm the nearby villagers, which would be no fun.

He fought the Japanese, not to let them take revenge on these defenseless villagers.

Who knew that these words would elicit exclamations from all three. He didn't want to be a good person, but he had to keep up the act.

"What?" Sai Laohu was dumbfounded. Bandits didn't do things this way. After a successful raid, they would quickly leave. This guy, however, wanted to clean up the scene.

"Alright, I'll take the soldiers to clean up." Ma Duanzhang was straightforward, dragging the reluctant Sai Laohu away.

"Sir, your kindness and benevolence are a blessing to the people of Xiaowan Village!" Old Lei threw another compliment, making the fat man's face turn red. "Damn, I've become a good person by dealing with a bunch of bandits. I should do this more often."

"Sir, you are a good person!"

"Sir, your heroic spirit is a blessing to us all!"

"..."

The surrounding villagers also praised him profusely, and the fat man couldn't withstand the flattery. He was dazed and had forgotten all about the saying that "those who offer favors without reason are either villains or thieves." He led Monkey to Old Lei's house amidst the villagers' adoration.

Old Lei's house was one of the largest in the village, with high walls and a large courtyard. Inside, there were a few servants.

In the hall, two ancestral portraits hung on the wall, both dressed in Ming Dynasty attire. They sat in the grand chairs, and the servants served tea. The two chatted casually.

The fat man learned that Old Lei's ancestors were military equipment makers during the Ming Jiajing period and had served in the army of the anti-Wokou hero Qi Jiguang. They had even fought the Mongols. Whether Old Lei was boasting or trying to get closer, the fat man didn't quite believe it. Since he had some knowledge of cold weapons, he asked, "What kind of military equipment did your ancestors make?"

"My ancestors made bows in the army, and this skill was unparalleled at the time." Old Lei smiled in response.

The child was sitting on Old Lei's knee, staring at the fat man with big, watery eyes, sometimes pouting, sometimes sticking out his tongue, who knows what he was up to.

"Bows?" The fat man was taken aback, suddenly remembering the real matter at hand. He had given a blueprint of a military crossbow to Mr. Huang, which included all the metal and mechanical parts. However, this was only a half-finished product. He always carried another blueprint, which showed the wooden parts of the military crossbow. Only by combining the two blueprints could a fully functional military crossbow be made.

He always liked to keep a card up his sleeve.

Why use a military crossbow when a simple bow could also kill silently?

Training archers took too long. What if an archer had their period or was unwell, affecting their accuracy? Would they not use silent killing then?

Battles happened in unpredictable ways. Neither of the two times he had dealt with the Japanese had gone according to plan.

Therefore, a military crossbow, a silent weapon, was the best choice for special operations before he could get a silencer. A military crossbow didn't require extensive training; it just needed to ensure a straight shot within forty to fifty meters. If an archer was unwell, someone else could take over, and the accuracy would still be high.

This was why the fat man had gone to great lengths to develop a military crossbow. He had searched the entire city but couldn't find a suitable place. Either the bow's strength was insufficient, or the sinew didn't have enough elasticity. Just as he was about to give up, Old Lei's words gave him hope.

The military crossbow he had used before was made of carbon fiber, magnesium alloy, and engineering plastic, capable of piercing steel within fifty meters. In this era, he couldn't find carbon fiber, magnesium alloy, or engineering plastic.

So, he had to adapt to the available materials of this era. As long as the finished product could shoot straight within fifty meters, he could coat the arrowheads with deadly poisons. The more vicious and devious, the better, since it was for fighting the Japanese. There was no need to talk about humanitarianism or the Geneva Convention.

From the Battle of Shanghai, the Japanese had started using poison gas. Humanitarianism? Talking to the Japanese about it would make the fat man laugh out loud.

"Old man, you're joking. From what I know, General Qi Jiguang used more firearms. Your ancestors probably made bows for the Mongols." The fat man's face was mocking, and his words were sharp and biting. But he knew that flattery was not as effective as provocation. To test if Old Lei was genuine, he had to insult the old man's ancestors and force him to reveal his true skills.

Old Lei was indeed provoked to the point of fury, his beard almost standing up. However, instead of the expected struggle, the fat man received a kick.

"Ouch..." The fat man gasped in pain. The child, who had been sitting on Old Lei's knee, had somehow sneaked over and stomped on his shoe. Despite his young age, the child was strong, and the fat man was in cold sweat from the pain.

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