Chapter 14

The green-clad assassin came and went in a hurry, leaving no trace of his arrival or departure. Indeed, with a wave of his sleeve, he took nothing but a single crossbow bolt!

Old Qin was furious. He had previously sworn that if the assassin appeared, he would ensure that the assassin could not escape. Now, the assassin had vanished right under his nose, leaving him feeling utterly humiliated.

Zhao Chen was now lying on the ground, his body limp, his chest heaving violently. His eyes, wide and unfocused, stared at the sky above, which was a clear blue. After a while, his spread fingers would involuntarily twitch.

The scene he had just experienced filled him with extreme fear. In that moment of life and death, he had felt death's breath so close to him!

A long gash had been cut into his shirt, and as he lay down, the tear revealed a bright, shiny chainmail armor underneath. If it weren't for this chainmail armor, which he had bought from the supermarket just in time, he would have lost his life here.

"Old man, I have failed you!" Old Qin paced up to Zhao Chen, his face filled with guilt. "I underestimated that man's strength and pushed you out in a hurry. If it weren't for your chainmail, I would have no face to show to anyone!"

This was a bit too serious. The whole incident was due to him; the assassin had come for him. Old Qin had merely used a strategy to lure out the assassin and eliminate the threat in one go. Unfortunately, he had underestimated the bastard's strength.

Zhao Chen quickly got up from the ground, not daring to let a battle-hardened veteran like Old Qin bow his head in front of him. If this news reached Cheng Yaojin's ears, Cheng would surely tear him apart.

Cheng and Qin were brothers who had crawled out of a pile of corpses together, bound by a bond so strong that they might as well have worn the same pair of pants!

"Do you mean you intentionally let the assassin go?" When dealing with a battle-hardened veteran like Old Qin, you can't use logic to persuade him; you have to use provocation.

"Bullshit!" As expected, Old Qin's beard and hair stood on end, and he roared in anger: "I wish I could tear that scoundrel to pieces!"

"Then that's it. We don't even know each other, why should you apologize for that bastard?" Zhao Chen looked at Old Qin with disdain, curling his lip in a show of incomprehension at Old Qin's habit of apologizing for a criminal.

Old Qin was speechless at Zhao Chen's unreasonable words, and the guilt he had felt instantly vanished.

"Let me see your chainmail!" With the guilt gone, Old Qin's interest immediately shifted to Zhao Chen's chainmail. He had seen the assassin strike Zhao Chen with two powerful blows, and as an expert in weapons, he could tell the force behind those strikes.

To his surprise, those two devastating blows had been completely absorbed by the chainmail, leaving not even a mark.

"What for?" Zhao Chen's heart immediately went on high alert. Was Old Qin going to fall back into his old habits again?

This couldn't happen. The bastard might appear again at any time, and until he was thoroughly dealt with, the chainmail couldn't leave his body.

"You damn brat, do you think I'm as incapable as you imagine?" Seeing Zhao Chen's arms crossed and his wary expression, Old Qin was instantly furious. He slapped Zhao Chen's head and cursed, completely forgetting his previous bad behavior.

After being slapped, Zhao Chen confirmed that Old Qin wasn't having a relapse. He reluctantly took off his outer robe and stood there, allowing Old Qin and the soldiers to gawk at him like a panda in a zoo.

It felt disgusting, especially with a bunch of men drooling over him!

"Exquisitely crafted, a rare sight, it must be the work of a true weapon master!" When Zhao Chen revealed the bright, knee-length chainmail, Old Qin's eyes widened in disbelief, and he let out a series of admiring sounds.

This chainmail was made of true steel, with thousands of finger-sized steel rings linked together, creating a strong visual impact!

Hearing Old Qin's praise, Zhao Chen couldn't help but smile with pride. This chainmail was modeled after European medieval armor, made of tough material. He had sold all the gold he had panned over the past few days and spent over ten thousand dollars on it.

When he came out of Old Qin's house, he felt increasingly uneasy. He returned to his room, sold all the gold, and, with great pain, bought this chainmail before daring to walk out so recklessly.

Otherwise, he would have been crazy to put himself in such a dangerous situation. The facts proved how wise and intelligent his decision was. If it weren't for this chainmail, he would have lost his life today.

"Such a divine weapon, it's a waste to have it on a brat like you!" Old Qin couldn't stand Zhao Chen's smug look. Seeing the smug expression on Zhao Chen's face, he immediately let out a cold snort, extremely displeased.

Jealous! I won't argue with you!

Zhao Chen wasn't annoyed at all. He mentally despised Old Qin, immediately concluding that Old Qin was envious of the chainmail, which he couldn't obtain.

Old Qin, seeing the contempt in Zhao Chen's eyes, was furious and slapped Zhao Chen's head again, storming off. He realized he had unconsciously developed a habit of slapping people's heads, all because of this brat!

Watching Old Qin leave, Zhao Chen awkwardly returned to his wooden house. As soon as he entered, he collapsed into a chair.

High-flying experts, Zhao Chen had always thought, only existed in martial arts novels, fabricated by novelists. But today, seeing the green-clad man's fleeting movements, Zhao Chen knew he was wrong!

This bastard was a true expert. Thinking about what he had just experienced, Zhao Chen still felt a lingering fear. It was too dangerous. Without Old Qin and the fifty archers, even with the chainmail, he would have been doomed.

Old Qin was right; letting such a person go would bring endless trouble. You never know when this bastard might suddenly appear and strike a fatal blow. You can't stay in the house forever!

Zhao Chen clutched his head in pain, mentally cursing the bastard's ancestors. It was all so inexplicable! He still couldn't figure out why a madman would suddenly appear to kill him. It was truly inexplicable!

Self-pity was useless. This guy was like a venomous snake, lurking in the shadows, ready to strike at any moment. He had narrowly escaped today, but what about tomorrow?

He couldn't rely on others; he could only rely on himself. Zhao Chen clutched his head, recalling the scene. If he had had a gun, he could have taken out the bastard the moment he appeared.

The Time-Space Supermarket actually had guns, but he couldn't buy them now. There was an upgrade system inside, and many things that Zhao Chen coveted required certain conditions to be met before they could be unlocked. So, there was no hope for guns.

Without guns, he could only rely on crossbows. The crossbows of this era were too heavy and required great strength to draw, making them unsuitable for someone like him.

He needed a crossbow that was light, portable, and had a high killing power, ideally one that could take out the bastard with a single shot.

It was difficult! Once a crossbow was made smaller, its tension would decrease, and without tension, it would become a child's toy!

Zhao Chen rested his chin on the table, his fingers tapping the surface absentmindedly, his gaze unfocused on the empty ground outside. Suddenly, he sat up, slapping his forehead.

What a fool! It was just a tension issue! He had the Time-Space Supermarket; why not use springs to solve the problem?

One spring wasn't enough, so use two, and if two weren't enough, use three, four, five, six, seven, or eight. He couldn't believe this wouldn't solve the tension issue. Imagining a crossbow with seven or eight springs, Zhao Chen couldn't help but laugh maniacally.

Of course, seven or eight springs were just a thought. It wasn't that they couldn't be installed, but they were unnecessary. The tension of two springs would be sufficient to achieve the desired effect.

Deciding to act, Zhao Chen sat up straight and began drawing on the table. Since he had decided to use springs instead of sinew, he wanted to maximize the power of the springs.

Thus, that afternoon, everyone in the camp saw Zhao Chen constantly going in and out of his room, laughing maniacally at times and jumping around, cursing He San for being as stupid as a pig, unable to make such a simple thing.

Old Qin, holding a thermos, stood quietly in his wooden house, watching the scene through the window. He had already figured out that the brat was designing a powerful hand crossbow. He was curious to see what kind of strange thing the brat would come up with.

Finally, the hand crossbow was completed, but it looked incredibly ugly, awkward, and as if it was about to fall apart.

However, Old Qin's eyes were sharp. One look was enough to shock him, and he had an immediate urge to beat Zhao Chen to death.

A true killing machine! He had no idea what was in the brat's head, but every time a critical moment came, he would come up with something that shocked him.

Yesterday's steel-making technique was still on Zhao Chen's table, and now he had added this terrifying killing machine!

"How does this work?" Old Qin, with a dark face, looked at the three slots containing three crossbow bolts, resisting the urge to slap Zhao Chen. He took the hand crossbow from Zhao Chen and frowned.

Zhao Chen carefully moved to Old Qin's side, pointing to the trigger. This hand crossbow was designed based on the principles of firearms. Considering that the bastard could appear at any time, Zhao Chen had also added a safety mechanism.

When the string was drawn, the safety would be engaged. When needed, the safety would be disengaged, and the trigger pulled, releasing the four springs' powerful tension, which would immediately launch the three crossbow bolts.

Old Qin grunted, looked up, and saw a tree not far away. He immediately raised the hand crossbow, aimed at the tree, and pulled the trigger.

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