Spy-x-War Showdown
Chapter 199 - 198 Love at First Sight

Chapter 199: Chapter 198 Love at First Sight

It was as if they were chatting about trivial family matters; everyone appeared indifferent and normal.

Paul drank a cup of wine and walked into a bedroom by himself, while Brian took the medicine box for treating wounds and stood up to go to the bathroom. Charles stretched out his hand towards Yang Yi and said, "Come with me."

Yang Yi let out a breath and asked, "Is Paul okay?"

"He’s fine, just had the bad luck of getting grazed on the waist. Come on, follow me."

Charles led Yang Yi from the dining room into the basement.

Many American houses have direct access to the basement from the dining room or back door, although the so-called basement is often only semi-underground, used to store tools and the like, with direct entry from the back door or garage.

But Charles’s basement was slightly different. Charles had many tools in his basement, which was not unusual, but upon pushing aside a movable tool cabinet and opening a secret door, and nonchalantly switching on the light, there was a dark room filled with knives.

Yang Yi couldn’t help but exclaim, "So many knives! Are these all your collection?"

Charles shook his head and said, "No, not my collection. They are my works. In my spare time, I’m a knifemaker, but I never sell my creations. So over the years, a lot has accumulated here."

Looking at the dazzling array of knives, Yang Yi’s eyes lit up once again.

"I like knives and making knives, especially forging them. I have many Damascus steel works, but I particularly love feather patterns. The materials I usually use are T10 and L6, as well as 52100. However, I also make knives using the stock removal method, and I prefer using 154cm and aus8 when doing so. Which kind do you like?"

Yang Yi was stunned, then shook his head and said, "I don’t have a special preference for any steel."

Charles’s face was lit with a smile as he gazed at his works, saying, "There are nine hundred and seventy-seven knives here. I have my own workshop on a farm, with my power hammer, where I can forge and quench. Here, I primarily make knives using the stock removal method, to pass the time when I can’t get to my workshop. These are all pieces I’m satisfied with."

After speaking, Charles took a breath and confidently said, "Now, tell me what you’re looking for. I’m sure there’s something here that you’ll need."

Where Paul’s place mostly had mass-produced factory knives, Charles’s was full of custom-made, hand-crafted knives, which are of course easier to tailor to specific needs.

Yang Yi said in a deep voice, "I want a single-edged blade, not to exceed twenty-five centimeters in length, with no guard, for quick draw."

After pondering for a moment, Charles said, "A knife for an assassin, hmm, lots of choices. Take a look at these."

Yang Yi liked every knife he saw; it had to be said that Charles was an outstanding knifemaker.

Many of Charles’s works were adorned with striking patterns.

There were many patterned knives, and they were made in various ways. By folding and forging the same piece of steel back and forth, a subtle pattern could be formed, known as Huaxia’s historically well-known pattern-welded steel.

Folding and forging two types of steel with different carbon contents were even more likely to create patterns - more visible ones, too. If acid etching was used to reveal the patterns, they became even more prominent, and adding other metals like nickel to the mix could make the patterns even more lustrous.

Then there was the true Damascus knife.

A Damascus blade had to be made from wootz steel originating from India. Wootz steel is actually a type of cast steel with inherent patterns. If you cut open a wootz steel ingot, you could see the patterns, which meant a Damascus knife made from it would also possess intricate and beautiful patterns.

Having too many options made it hard for Yang Yi to choose.

However, Yang Yi’s eyes quickly fell on a small knife. The blade of the knife had a slight curve, but the curvature of the edge was rather exaggerated, looking like a skinning knife’s curve, yet the tip was very sharp.

It was an integral knife, meaning the blade and handle were mostly one piece, with two thin layers of wood covering the handle, making it not too thick but not thin enough to be uncomfortable.

It really is a wondrous thing, this love at first sight. Some things might not be particularly striking, yet they catch your eye and suddenly all other similar things lose their luster.

Yang Yi was experiencing just this—he had spotted a knife and instantly took a liking to it.

Without waiting for Charles’s permission, Yang Yi grabbed the handle of the knife and then he spun it around in his hand a few times.

"This is a Damascus knife. I had a broken blade from a Damascus longsword and used the tip to craft this small knife. It’s 23.6 centimeters in overall length, 2.5 centimeters at its widest, with a thickness of three millimeters. It’s light, sharp, and compact. At that time, I had a pair of desert ironwood burl iron slices that were beautiful but too small, perfect for this knife. But overall, there’s nothing particularly special about this knife."

After Charles finished speaking slowly, Yang Yi immediately said, "No, this knife is special!"

"Special? You like this knife?"

"Yes, I like it. This knife feels like an extension of my arm. Its weight, length, everything meets my needs. It’s perfect."

Charles nodded and said, "I see. This is the one you need, but you could take a look at the others."

Without any hesitation, Yang Yi said, "No need. I don’t have to look any further, this is the one! Is that okay?"

"Of course, this isn’t even one of my real creations; I just modified it a bit."

Charles still seemed somewhat disappointed as he pointed to his other knives, "Aren’t you going to look at the others?"

"No need to look. A good knife is all you need, just the one, and she’s all I need."

Yang Yi’s eyes never strayed from the knife in his hand.

Falling for an object is just like falling for a person; a single glance is sufficient.

And after that glance, nothing else can capture your focus.

So now Yang Yi truly needed nothing else—just this knife.

With a tinge of regret, Charles said, "You’ve even started referring to your knife as ’she’."

"Yes, I’ve already named her. ’Moon.’ In my hand, she is called Moon."

"Does this knife resemble the moon?"

"I just want to call her Moon."

The fact that Yang Yi had picked out this knife so directly, without even wanting to glance at his proudest creations, indeed left Charles a bit disgruntled.

But Charles didn’t say much; he just shook his head and said, "Just a reminder, this knife doesn’t even have a sheath."

Without any hesitation, Yang Yi said, "It doesn’t matter."

"Then let’s head upstairs, as you no longer need to stay here."

Once the door was shut and the tool cabinet pushed back into place, Charles spoke indifferently, "We may have moved a bit too quickly; perhaps Brian hasn’t finished his work yet. So, maybe you’d like to take a tour?"