Chapter 40

"Mad Rat" Green stood at the door of the tavern, the setting sun casting an orange-yellow halo around his silhouette. He said nothing, standing as still as a statue.

Zhao Mai stood up, pulled out the chair beside him, and gestured for Green to sit down. "I've been wondering where you were. It's good to know you're safe."

"A bunch of idiots captured me, and it took some talking to get back here," Green said with a grin, revealing traces of red blood between his teeth. "Those foolish thieves picked the wrong target, so they were willing to return these things."

Zhao Mai took the bag of salt without even looking at it and tossed it on the table. He reached out to touch Green's right shoulder, wanting to check the injury. From Green's grimacing expression, the injury didn't look good.

"You've dislocated your shoulder. I can fix it for you," said Sork, the dwarf, stepping forward and grabbing Green's arm. It looked like he was just messing around, but after a few "cracks" and "ouches," Green was able to lift his shoulder and move it normally.

"Thank you, Mr. Dwarf. Your skills are really impressive."

Sork chuckled, his beard curling slightly. "It's nothing. I used to swing a pickaxe, and I often dislocated my shoulder, so I became my own doctor. You should avoid using it for a few days and get plenty of rest."

Zhao Mai nodded. "Green, thank you. Let's sit down and have a drink. My Common Tongue isn't very good, so I need your help to translate."

"Sure, that's my job. You've paid me for it."

The dwarf remembered the main matter and placed his musket on the table. The heavy metal tube made a loud "thud," startling Zhao Mai, who thought it had gone off. Green, however, didn't react, clearly not knowing what it was.

"I don't really believe you know about muskets. I've never seen you with one before, so I need to test you," said Sork, proud of his invention. Even if "Mac" was someone he respected, he couldn't lower his standards. "Do you know how to use this thing?"

To be honest, Zhao Mai had never fired a gun, at least not one propelled by explosives. Water guns and the like didn't count. But even with zero practical experience, his theoretical knowledge far exceeded that of this world.

He picked up the gun, and the熟练的姿势让矮人都有些羡慕。他用手掂了掂重量，然后平端到眼前看了看，没有瞄准具便只能盲打了。这把枪采用了后装弹，就像真正的双管猎枪一样，打开一个机关就可以将枪管向下折。

"你都往里面装什么，可以让我看看吗？"

矮人从身后掏出一个小包，打开后放在 Zhao Mai 面前。Green 也好奇地凑过来看，但这些圆球和小纸包里看不出什么端倪。

用手捻了捻纸包，Zhao Mai 发现它们都有些潮湿，打开一看果然不出所料。"这都湿了，你怎么可能将铁球发射出去？"

"这种东西怕水？" Sork 一脸的惊讶。

一问才知道，矮人 Sork 一直生活在地底，之前从来没见过下雨，工作的地方也远离水源。他在获得这种可以爆炸的药剂后，只是根据工匠的直觉进行改良加工，从来就没做过环境测试。Sork 在地面旅行的时候，见到下雨兴奋不已，于是就把火药淋湿了。如果这还能被火绳点燃，那才是滑天下之大稽。

"这把枪还有非常多可以改进的地方，从发射机制、装填、弹药、密封等等方面。这不是一个一蹴而就的事情，我认为它可以作为一项终身工作来做。就算是以矮人的寿命来说，想要完善这种武器也需要一两代人。"

Sork 最希望听到的就是这句话——这是一项伟大的终身事业。他自认为是一个天才工匠，但制作刀剑和锤子并不能让他产生太多成就感，因为这些都不是他发明的。唯独这柄火枪，如果它很有前途的话，那么钻研下去，是很有可能让自己成为一代宗师的。

"我不是个工匠，只能从使用者角度来说说。" Zhao Mai 对矮人说道："这把枪，你现在的操作是打开机关，装填弹丸，塞上火药，压上火绳，端起来之后再瞄准，这一套动作是不是太繁琐了？如果你能用防潮易燃而且残渣少的纸，实现将弹丸和火药配装好，岂不是很方便？"

"那样，火药和弹丸不就混合到一起去了？方向就很难保证了。"

"你可以将它们包在一个纸筒里，中间用一层纸分隔开来。拿颜料标示出头尾，防止装反了，这样一来不就全解决了？"

矮人恍然大悟，嘴巴张成标准的鸭蛋形。过了几秒钟之后，他用手托住自己的下巴，这才能把嘴巴闭上。

就算是痛饮一桶美酒，也不会让 Sork 有这种醉醺醺、晕乎乎的感觉。他觉得自己心中灵感如同火山爆发一样猛烈，双手、双臂、全身的肌肉都在颤抖，就想尽快开始工作。"你这个说法太对了。"

"我只能提出一些改进建议，至于能不能做到我也不太清楚。" Zhao Mai 非常坦诚地说道："再比如，你可以加上瞄准机构，两个固定的突起就可以，这样便可以用眼睛瞄准，知道枪口的方向。弩和弓箭都做不到这一点，也许这就是未来发展的方向呢。"

矮人再次张大了嘴巴，他心中对 Zhao Mai 的佩服已经无以复加。如果他还能提出更好的想法，我就把他当做一辈子的导师，矮人 Sork 心中已经有了这样的念头。

"事实上，我刚刚又有了一个想法。" Zhao Mai 指着火绳部分说道："你为什么不用固定上铁片，然后用燧石去撞击。只要一个简单的拉伸回弹装置，就能解决打火的问题。当然，如果能用魔法加热铁片，需要点火的时候就探过去，你连火绳都省了。"

"请允许我叫你一声老师。" Sork 跳下椅子，绕着桌子冲过来，一把抱住了 Zhao Mai 的腰。被泥石流压住是什么样的感觉，Zhao Mai 这次算是知道了。心肺胃三个器官正在向喉咙中涌，肠子快要被向下挤出去了。可恨的是，储备粮在一旁欢快地摇尾巴，吐着舌头一脸兴奋快乐的样子，也不过来施救。

最终还是 Green 说了一句话，矮人才松开 Zhao Mai。"老师，你给我的启发实在是太大了，我现在就想去实践这些想法！"

Zhao Mai 顺了顺气，同时斟酌了一下语言，然后对矮人说道："我也就出出主意，动手能力很差，最多能在你设计的时候帮你出出主意。如果有铁匠铺，你觉得你用多长时间能再造出一把枪。"

"呃……如果材料齐全的话，我是指炉子、铁砧、模具以及几个帮手……两三天吧。"

"那还等什么？"

这是一股无以伦比的热情，矮人 Sork 还是第一次在别人身上感受到。他已经不知道该用什么来回报这种认同感。"我很乐意，很乐意，可我身上只剩下二十多个金币了。"

"都给我，我来解决这个问题。" Zhao Mai 说道："你就放心吧！"