Chapter 8

In the following days, Chu Jun Gui was busy non-stop. He continuously traveled back and forth through the forest, delving deeper into exploration, expanding the known area, and preparing for the final advance into the valley.

A piece of good news was that he kept digging deeper in the area where he found the pyrrhotite and eventually discovered a small vein of ore. This vein contained copper and nickel. With copper, he could attempt to create some electrical equipment, and the supply of heavy machine gun ammunition was also secured.

Nickel is an important component of basic iron alloys. The day after finding nickel, Chu Jun Gui upgraded his axe, long saw, and arm shield dagger to a new generation. He finally overcame the predicament of having to change his axe every day.

However, what he wanted more was lead. Now, the constraint on his production capacity was no longer materials but energy. Although he could make more stellar energy panels, he only had two polymer batteries. These batteries were not something he could produce with his current resources, and even if the technology advanced several generations, he still couldn't make them.

Now he had a large amount of sulfuric acid, so lead-acid batteries became the most practical choice. However, after several days of searching without finding lead ore, Chu Jun Gui had to bow to reality and obtained a little lead by dismantling the materials from the survival pod, thus gathering all the necessary materials.

Fortunately, lead-acid batteries use more sulfuric acid, and the amount of lead he had was enough to make several battery packs, which together could be equivalent to three polymer batteries.

More batteries meant more production capacity.

In fact, during this process, Chu Jun Gui had already cursed Deep Space Energy's greed and lack of conscience countless times in his heart. Whether it was the printer or the refining machine, they claimed that other energy sources could be used, but in the survival stage in the wild, where could he find those advanced energy sources? In the end, he could only use batteries. If they had added an energy conversion and filtering component, he could have directly used the stellar energy panels.

However, if they added a component, wouldn't it increase the cost? With so many colonies, so many spaceships, and each spaceship having a survival pod, and each survival pod containing a basic survival kit, if they all added an energy conversion component, the additional cost would add up to an astronomical figure.

But Chu Jun Gui didn't believe that many people could survive for long with just two batteries. Not everyone had the ability to modify and design blueprints like he did.

Despite his complaints, the reality was that he couldn't yet create an energy component to match the printer and still had to rely on batteries to survive.

However, compared to the initial situation, his energy situation had significantly improved. He now had the equivalent of five batteries, making him a wealthy man. Some things he previously dared not attempt could now be done.

For example, the heavy machine gun.

With materials and energy, by the sixth day, Chu Jun Gui finally obtained the heavy machine gun he designed, along with... one hundred bullets.

In the task of manufacturing bullets, the printer's efficiency was shockingly low, and bullets had to be printed one by one. After spending an entire day, Chu Jun Gui decided he couldn't wait any longer and prepared to go out and explore with the limited ammunition.

He had lived in this area for many days, and his activity range had gradually expanded, finally attracting the attention of some entities. In the past two nights, he clearly felt something lurking in the distance, quietly watching him. Perhaps the wooden house was something they had never seen before, and they didn't immediately rush over but continued to observe. For two consecutive nights, they quietly left just before dawn.

Although Chu Jun Gui had some night vision capabilities, he didn't plan to leave the wooden house in the night, which was the environment where the other party excelled. Moreover, the observer was clearly not a single entity but a social species, which was more dangerous than a solitary predator.

However, with the heavy machine gun in hand, Chu Jun Gui felt more confident. Around noon, when the sunlight was abundant, he carried the heavy machine gun and headed to the area where the unknown creatures were lurking.

The area where the unknown creatures were hiding was full of boulders and low vegetation, with complex terrain, making it an excellent place for hiding and ambushing.

Chu Jun Gui spent the afternoon carefully searching the entire area and only found one trace that resembled a footprint. The imprint showed that the lurker had three-toed feet, was bipedal, and had sharp, retractable claws.

Based on other traces, these lurkers were likely about two meters tall and had considerable combat strength.

Chu Jun Gui circled the claw mark a few times, forming an idea, and then turned to leave. As he walked away, pairs of eyes slowly opened in the distant branches, watching his back.

Returning to the wooden house, Chu Jun Gui knew that he had probably invaded the hunting range of some predatory species. These predators might have basic intelligence but were not advanced intelligent beings and did not know how to use equipment. However, they moved in groups, combining speed and agility, and their explosive killing power was likely quite formidable. They were also very cunning and skilled at hiding themselves, and Chu Jun Gui only became aware of their existence when they started lurking around the wooden house.

According to the habits of predatory species, their patience was limited, and they would soon launch a probing attack.

Chu Jun Gui was not the type to sit and wait for death. As soon as he returned to the wooden house, he began preparations. A few hours later, he set up seven or eight traps around the wooden house and then stopped. Setting traps was a basic survival skill, and in Chu Jun Gui's hands, it was just slightly improved.

After setting everything up, he returned to the wooden house, extinguished the lights, and went to sleep. After lying down, he slowly turned over, sat up, and held the heavy machine gun, slowly loading the bullets. He pointed the gun through the wooden wall and began to wait.

As night fell, the temperature began to drop, and the wind grew stronger. Dark clouds drifted across the sky, blocking the already dim light.

Chu Jun Gui squinted his eyes to hide the faint glow in his pupils. Through the gaps in the walls, he could see greenish lights slowly approaching in the darkness.

Chu Jun Gui remained calm and patiently waited for the opponent to get closer. He was well aware of the performance of the heavy machine gun in his hands. After all, it was made without professional tools, and the material quality was subpar, so it had great power but poor accuracy. Moreover, he had limited ammunition, and each bullet was painstakingly made by himself, so he couldn't afford to waste them.

The green dots gradually approached, and Chu Jun Gui's gun barrel pressed against the wooden wall.

In the darkness, a black shadow suddenly leaped up, pouncing on the wooden house. Its long, sharp claws were almost invisible as they swept toward the house!

Thud! Thud! Thud! At almost the same moment, the dull sound of gunfire echoed, and the wooden wall exploded, spewing a long flame. The black shadow was hit as if by an invisible hammer and was violently thrown backward.

The black shadow landed and, with a flip, got up, crouching and staring intently at the wooden house.

"Still moving?" Chu Jun Gui marveled. At such close range, being hit by three bullets, not only did it not die, but it seemed ready to counterattack. These creatures were indeed tough.

However, the reason the heavy machine gun is the king of the battlefield is that it was never designed to solve problems with just three bullets.

Three-shot bursts are something assault rifles treasure.

With a roar, Chu Jun Gui kicked through the wooden wall, rushing into the night, the heavy machine gun continuously spewing fire, sweeping across the black shadows pouncing on him.

The first two black shadows were instantly blasted backward, and the third was already in front of Chu Jun Gui!

By the light of the gun, he could finally see what was attacking. They were bipedal, humanoid creatures with long limbs and sharp claws, but their heads resembled insects. The one pouncing at him had its mouth wide open, dripping greenish-yellow saliva, looking extremely terrifying. The stench of acid could be smelled from several meters away. If it bit down, it could probably take off half of Chu Jun Gui's head.

Facing the pouncing insectoid, Chu Jun Gui was not afraid. He turned the heavy machine gun, almost pressing the barrel against the insectoid's chest, and then firmly pulled the trigger!

The hot bullets, carrying terrifying kinetic energy, all hit the insectoid's chest. At such close range, even the muzzle flash could burn the insectoid, but it didn't fly backward. The first few bullets didn't even penetrate its body, stopping inside.

Chu Jun Gui gritted his teeth, determined, and pressed the trigger even harder!

The heavy machine gun relies on continuous fire, not bursts!

More bullets hit the insectoid's chest, and the hot metal stream quickly tore through its body, finally piercing through from the back. The insectoid's body was torn in half, and its upper body flew backward, landing with a thud.

Chu Jun Gui, excited by the kill, spat on the ground and proudly surveyed the surroundings.

These insectoids wanted to engage in close combat, which was foolish. Didn't they see he had a heavy machine gun in his hands?

He was a man who had mastered close combat with firearms, and in his hands, the heavy machine gun was an undeniable close combat god.

The remaining insectoids finally felt fear and turned to run.

Chu Jun Gui watched the direction they ran but didn't chase them, just sneered.

Two insectoids suddenly sank, stepping into traps, and immediately let out high-pitched screams. They jumped up as if electrocuted, leaping dozens of meters, but when they landed, their feet gave way, and they fell over. They quickly got up and fled, wailing as they went.

Their originally strong, long legs, now blackened and smoking, made them visibly suffer when they touched the ground, and they fell several times.

Chu Jun Gui was not surprised. No matter how strong these insectoids were, as biological entities, they could not be immune to the 98% pure sulfuric acid in the traps.

He had plenty of sulfuric acid these days, more than he could store.

A few lucky insectoids that didn't step into the traps managed to escape. Chu Jun Gui was not concerned; after this lesson, they probably wouldn't come back for a while. Even if they did, they wouldn't face the same simple, passive traps.

Seeing that it was still some time before dawn, Chu Jun Gui cleaned up the battlefield while searching his memory for advanced trap designs, hoping to find something like "Advanced Trap Layout 2.0."

Although he didn't find trap designs, after fighting the insectoids, he had a good understanding of their characteristics. It seemed that the surrounding area was their hunting ground, and by defeating these insectoids, there was nothing left for Chu Jun Gui to worry about.

Except for ammunition.

He spent another whole day printing another hundred bullets. Only then could he carry the heavy machine gun and set out to occupy the valley.

The small lake in the valley was the only water source nearby and was a must-occupy location.

Chu Jun Gui did not know that at that moment, a transport ship was entering the planet's orbit and beginning to descend to the surface.

Inside the ship's cabin, a tall, muscular man in military uniform faced over a hundred fully armed warriors, both men and women, and said in a deep voice, "The target area for this operation is a valley with a small lake in the center. After the airdrop, you will no longer be friends and comrades. Remember, everyone you encounter on the battlefield is an enemy! This battle will have only one victor!"

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