Chapter 10

In the pot, a small spoonful of black granules burst into flames, rapidly releasing heat, and white smoke rose up, burning out completely within a second, leaving behind a thin layer of residue.

A smile appeared on Rain's face, satisfied with his results.

The black powder he had prepared had not yet reached its maximum power, but due to the purity of the raw materials, he lacked the tools to purify them and could not accurately measure their chemical composition. This was the best he could do.

Despite this, it was sufficient for making bullets.

Sealing the prepared powder in a jar, Rain immediately set about making a gun.

He opened the 3D structural diagrams on his phone and flipped through the unlocked firearms.

Pistols were ruled out first because of their small caliber and the use of black powder bullets, which limited their lethality. Additionally, the parts of a pistol were more intricate, making them harder to manufacture and requiring higher quality metal materials.

Rifles were also out of the question. The few unlocked assault rifles and submachine guns were all gas-operated automatic weapons that could not use black powder bullets, as they would jam after the first shot.

There were two sniper rifles, but they were also unsuitable due to the high requirements for materials and precision.

The only option left was a shotgun, also known as a "scattergun."

Rain, who often played games, naturally knew the saying: "Before a scattergun, all are equal."

Shotguns had a large caliber, strong firepower, and a wide area of effect, making them suitable for close combat. Rain had only fired a gun once at a shooting range, and his shooting skills were about the same as an ordinary person who had never touched a gun. If he were given a pistol or a rifle, it would be too difficult to use, and he had no confidence in hitting an enemy at close range.

But if he had a scattergun in his hands, his chances would be much higher.

Moreover, black powder bullets were suitable for shotguns, though the downside was the large amount of smoke after firing, which was unavoidable and had to be overcome.

Among the unlocked 3D structural diagrams, there were three or four shotguns. After excluding the gas-operated semi-automatic models that were not suitable for black powder bullets, Rain finally chose the most familiar and classic shotgun—Remington M870!

This shotgun was pump-action, requiring manual loading, with a capacity of seven rounds. It had a compact structure, reliable performance, and was the simplest to manufacture.

Rain had used this gun in many games.

Being a mechanical engineering major, he could figure out the structure of the M870 even without the 3D diagrams, but it would take more time.

In his field of vision, the M870 was completely disassembled into parts: the barrel, trigger, tubular magazine, screws, springs, foregrip, wooden stock... all the parts, large and small, added up to 71 in total.

Rain carefully observed all the parts, disassembled and reassembled the gun several times, and demonstrated the firing mechanism and the process of ejecting and loading shells. He quickly memorized the structure of the shotgun and categorized the parts, deciding their manufacturing order.

Zoltan's workshop was stocked with many metal materials, including sheets, steel pipes, and various types of springs, all of which could be used to make a gun.

"Fortunately, this world has guns and the profession of gunsmiths. Otherwise, just manufacturing a qualified spring would have been a challenge for me," Rain thought to himself, deciding to start with the barrel.

Before that, he needed to start the machine tools and learn how to operate them.

He fiddled with the steam-powered machine tools for a while, understanding their functions and operation methods. He shoveled some coal into the boiler, lit it, heated it, and soon the boiler emitted steam, and the machine tools began to operate.

Chug chug...

The flywheel turned, steam rose, and the machine tools emitted a rhythmic grinding sound. This noise, which most people found unbearable, sounded like a pleasant song to Rain.

He installed the cutting tool, secured the barrel, and began to cut.

Time always passed quickly when he was immersed in his work, and he even forgot to eat.

"Rain, why are you still here?"

It wasn't until Zoltan burst into the workshop and shouted, telling Rain to turn off the steam-powered machine tools to avoid disturbing the guests upstairs, that he realized it was almost midnight, and he had spent the whole day in the workshop!

His stomach growled, and a strong sense of hunger washed over him, making his limbs feel weak.

He removed the coal from the furnace, and the steam-powered machine tools gradually quieted down.

Zoltan scolded Rain a few times, then picked up the recently processed barrel, initially just out of curiosity. When he saw it clearly, his expression changed.

"Did you process this?"

Zoltan gently caressed the barrel. With his years of experience, he could see the extraordinary quality of the barrel.

The dark barrel gleamed, clearly treated with a special process. One end was milled with threads, the cut was neat and smooth, with no defects. The other end was cut in half, leaving only half. Although he didn't know what it was for, the craftsmanship was impressive.

"I didn't know you had this skill. You're not much worse than the best mechanical craftsmen in Longsund City," Zoltan praised sincerely. Even if he were to operate the machine, he wouldn't have done better.

"Thank you, boss."

Rain chuckled inwardly, amazed at his own level. He hadn't operated machine tools for years after graduation, but he hadn't regressed and had even improved.

However, most of the credit should go to the 3D structural diagrams on his phone.

He only needed to drag the 3D parts out and overlay them with the barrel to be processed, like having a physical object for comparison. Following the diagram made the task much easier.

"Call me Zoltan."

The dwarf corrected Rain's address, curious, "Rain, is this a barrel? Isn't it a bit too long? And the caliber is so large..."

Rain hesitated. He knew he couldn't hide it from Zoltan, who would eventually figure it out.

"Haha, if you don't want to say, it's fine. I won't steal your secret skills," Zoltan put down the barrel, smiling, "But if you finish it, I want to see it."

"Sure." Rain nodded.

After tidying up the workshop, Rain went to the hotel lobby and found that even at this late hour, a few tables were still playing cards, seemingly determined to play until dawn.

He ordered a large serving of potato stew with beer and sat alone at a corner table to eat.

Having not eaten for almost a day, the potato stew, which wasn't particularly tasty, tasted especially good. Rain enjoyed his dinner while watching the guests playing cards.

Several of them were extraordinary beings, including a familiar face, the Iron Guard he had seen on the street. He had thrown his shield and longsword on the floor, one hand holding cards, the other a wine glass, and was constantly spouting trash talk. His opponent's face was red with anger, but he dared not speak up.

"Hasn't he been playing since morning?"

"Is playing cards really that fun?"

Rain didn't quite understand, thinking he might try it out when he had the time.

Halfway through his meal, a figure entered the hotel. Zoltan, who was playing cards, turned and immediately threw his cards away, rushing over and calling out, "Roger!"

"Zoltan."

Roger's voice was very magnetic and pleasant to hear.

Compared to Zoltan's enthusiasm, Roger was expressionless, appearing cold and somber.

He looked like a young man but had grayish-white hair, tied back simply. He was extremely handsome, but had a scar over his left eye, as if caused by a wild beast's claw, running from his forehead down to his cheek. Fortunately, his eye was unharmed.

His eyes were also unusual, with amber pupils that were vertically slit like a cat's, which was quite frightening at first glance.

He wore light blue armor, half leather and half chainmail, of extremely high quality. A wolf head pendant hung from his neck, and he carried two cross swords on his back, the hilts slanting over his right shoulder.

This unique attire drew the attention of some of the guests playing cards.

"Hunter!"

Someone whispered in surprise.

Rain immediately understood. Hunters were a powerful extraordinary profession, but due to certain reasons, they had a bad reputation and were not well-liked, often being shunned.

The profession's characteristics were very distinct, especially the dual swords on their backs, which were almost exclusive to hunters.

At that moment, Roger's eyes scanned the hotel. Anyone who met his gaze felt a moment of stupor, inexplicably afraid, and involuntarily looked away. Even the extraordinary beings were no different, unable to withstand his gaze and dared not speak.

This scene made people tense, realizing that this was a very powerful extraordinary being.

Rain was also caught by his gaze but quickly lowered his head, pretending to eat.

The hotel lobby was quiet for a few seconds before returning to normal.

Zoltan wanted to hug Roger but found he couldn't reach, so he patted his arm and said happily, "Old friend, it's been almost ten years since we last met. Where have you been all these years, and why haven't you contacted me?"

Roger silently shook his head, seemingly not wanting to talk about his experiences.

He walked to the counter, removed his dual swords, and sat down, looking tired. He picked up the wine glass Zoltan offered and drank it in one gulp.

Rain sat far away, and the noisy hall drowned out their conversation.

He opened the camera function on his phone—also known as the "Soul Eye"—and glanced at the others, then casually looked at Roger.

The next second, Rain saw Roger's soul.

Then, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning, his body stiffening, as if he had seen something he shouldn't. It was like being blinded by intense sunlight, his eyes stinging and tearing up.

"Damn! What is this thing!"

Rain shouted in his mind, quickly turning off the Soul Eye and burying his head in his meal, swallowing his tears.

In that instant, he had vaguely seen a soul with over a dozen layers of golden structure, and deep within the soul, there were dozens of elemental runes!

"Is this guy a Legendary Hunter?"