Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 136 - 126 Divine Artifact

Chapter 136: Chapter 126 Divine Artifact

Saying it a thousand times is not as effective as demonstrating it just once.

Gao Yi took a pistol in front of Li Jie and fired a round, using a Glock 17. He fired forty bullets, trying to shoot as closely as possible to the way it would be done in actual combat.

"You shoot just fine, see? That’s quite good."

Li Jie felt that Gao Yi’s shooting was decent, at least not as bad as Gao Yi himself had described.

"While you can’t be called a good marksman, for someone who has been exposed to shooting for less than half a year and who hasn’t maintained professional training for long periods, your shooting is quite acceptable. A hit rate of over seventy percent while moving is not bad."

Li Jie, who possessed the typical rigor of a science and technology student, meticulously inspected each target after Gao Yi had finished firing, marking the bullet holes. He said to Gao Yi, somewhat puzzled, "Your technique is fine, and while your talent is limited, it’s still at the normal level for most shooters. Although you’ll never win a shooting championship in your life, it’s enough for combat and personal protection."

Peter and the others weren’t there because they had indeed started fulfilling the duties of the action team and were truly busy.

The only one who came with Gao Yi to the shooting range was Lin Xianghua, so they could speak more openly.

"Actually, I am an assassin!"

Gao Yi revealed his true identity to Li Jie with utmost seriousness.

Li Jie looked at Gao Yi with a puzzled face, somewhat shocked, "Assassin?"

"Yes, I am an assassin, not a mercenary or a spy, just an assassin."

Li Jie became even more confused, asking oddly, "An assassin can command the US Army, can command the Iraqi Defense Army? Have assassins become this powerful nowadays?"

"Uh... It’s difficult for me to explain this to you, but I really am just an assassin. So, my gun skills now are not good enough. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t, they’re not stable. And an assassin often only gets one shot, or might be surrounded by many people. If I can’t ensure that each bullet hits, then I can’t consider the gun to be a reliable weapon."

Li Jie fell silent, looking at Gao Yi for a long time. After thinking deeply, he finally said with confidence, "When you fire the first shot in real combat, does it tend to drift to the right?"

Gao Yi thought about it and replied, "It seems so."

"It definitely does because you’re very strong, but you can’t keep it steady. When you shoot, having extra strength is sometimes not an advantage. The lighter and smaller the pistol, the more this weakness is amplified. This means it takes you longer to re-aim."

"That’s right."

Li Jie continued, "Since you’re an assassin, you’ll need to consider using a compact gun for easy carry. I have a chart here; take a look at it and choose the smallest size you can accept. But I must explain in advance that the smaller the gun, the harder it is to control, with fewer caliber options. The larger the gun, the easier it is to control, with more choices in caliber and magazine capacity."

Gao Yi took the mobile phone Li Jie handed over. It was a chart showing pistol sizes with annotations for caliber and magazine capacity.

Gao Yi had used a PM before. In terms of size, the PM was not too small and was considered mid-range on this chart. There were many smaller guns than the PM.

After looking it over, Gao Yi hesitated for a moment, saying, "My requirement is accuracy. Accuracy is more important than anything because if it’s absolutely not possible to carry a gun, then even the smallest gun cannot be taken. And if carrying a gun is possible, then no matter how big it is, no one will check, so I can ignore the demands for portability and concealment."

Li Jie visibly relaxed at this statement and immediately said without hesitation, "Your problem is very simple to solve. A competition gun custom-made to fit your hand can perfectly make up for your deficiencies. Basically, with your current skill level, I can guarantee a hundred percent hit rate within twenty meters. You can greatly shorten practice time by compensating with optimized equipment rather than having to train for muscle memory."

"That would be fantastic."

Li Jie was somewhat excited as he expounded, "There are so many full-size competition pistols to choose from. You’ll see in IPSC competitions; the most used base guns in the unlimited modification division are the 1911 and its derivatives. My recommendation is to use a 2011 as your base model, and if you’re not concerned about silencing and size, you can use calibers like 5.7 or 4.6mm to reduce recoil and improve bullet trajectory."

"Okay, okay, that works."

Leaving professional matters to the professionals, now Gao Yi doesn’t need to think about anything else but nod in agreement.

Li Jie, with the assurance of an expert, continued, "Attach a massive compensator to the muzzle which will nearly eliminate recoil. Order a customized brass or steel flashlight mount to add weight, enlarge the magazine well, and use a competition-grade single action trigger. Consider aluminum or steel grips, and a red dot sight might be mounted directly onto the frame. Don’t bother with a charging handle... omit the charging handle, otherwise, this gun will truly be impossible to carry on your person."

A barrage of technical terms, most of which Gao Yi didn’t understand, for this gun as described by Li Jie would be akin to a Christmas tree—decidedly ornate with attachments.

This kind of gun would be fine for competitions, but nobody used one for actual combat.

But Gao Yi was different; he needed such a gun.

"Okay, your decision."

Li Jie looked at Gao Yi’s hand, "Hold your hand up, fingers spread."

Gao Yi stretched out his hand. Li Jie compared their hands’ sizes, then frowned and said, "5.7mm FN bullets and 4.6mm HK bullets are too long, resulting in a grip that’s too thick, and your hand won’t fit it well."

"What do we do then?"

Li Jie pondered for a moment and then said, "Use a shorter bullet that’s still powerful and performs well in flight... Use a .38 Super. Its cartridge is long, allowing for various powder charges. The grip size is no different from a standard one; it fits your hand. Plus, with a standard 2011 magazine, you can have 17 rounds standard, or slightly extend it to fit 20, without affecting anything."

"Alright, I’ll take your word for it!"

"But this kind of gun comes with many issues. I must warn you, first off, it’s extremely loud, especially with a compensator attached. If you fire it indoors, your hearing will be temporary impaired after two or three shots without ear protection."

The gun is too loud? Right, adding a compensator means no suppressor.

Gao Yi pondered for a moment, "No problem."

"The second issue, this gun is terribly unreliable because everything is made from competition-grade parts, manually polished. Thus, if the gun falls into sand, or if sand gets into the hammer and slide gaps, it’s guaranteed to jam."

Gao Yi thought about it; he wouldn’t take this gun into battle. He didn’t need and wouldn’t be crawling around in the sand, so he could ignore this flaw.

"Still no problem."

"The third and most important issue."

Li Jie took a breath and said gravely, "This gun’s trigger is extremely light, lighter than anything you’ve experienced, and you have no concept of it. So, if the gun falls to the ground, it will discharge, with a one hundred percent chance of firing upon impact. So, if you intend to carry it concealed on your person, it’s best not to chamber a round."

Gao Yi hesitated this time.

A real combat gun is supposed to be as simple and reliable as possible, with reliability being far more crucial than accuracy. In other words, the most important attribute for a combat and defense gun is to prevent accidental discharge.

But Gao Yi felt this flaw was acceptable.

If dropping it causes it to fire, then don’t drop it.

As a joke, no one who could hit the things in Gao Yi’s hand existed in this world.

"No problem! Let’s do it!"

Li Jie nodded, "This is the first time I’ve made this kind of gun. It’s quite a challenge. Eh, the interior surfaces of the gun can be coated with NP3, TIN, or chrome plating, while the exterior surface can be plated with NP3 or TIN. Which do you prefer?"

"Which is better?"

"I personally like NP3. It has a nice, light gray color, and its performance is superior. It has no drawbacks except for the price."

"Then NP3 it is!"

Did Gao Yi care how much it costs? He waved it off, asking, "How much will it all cost?"

"With top-of-the-line parts for everything, it would be around sixty thousand dollars."

That was indeed very expensive, not just regular expensive. But Gao Yi’s budget was aimed at spending two hundred thousand dollars.

Gao Yi hesitated. Li Jie spread his hands, "If it’s too expensive, I can lower the budget. The performance difference won’t be much. Also, my quote doesn’t include my labor costs. I’ll do it for free. You saved me, so I have to repay you somehow."

Gao Yi exhaled, "Are you sure this is the highest, best, most expensive configuration?"

Li Jie paused, then affirmed, "Yes."

"Make it. How long will it take to finish?"

"One month, which is already fast. Many parts need to be custom-ordered, and I can’t apply the NP3 coating myself; it has to go to the factory. If you want the top-notch, laboratory-grade work will take even longer."

"Expedite it. I can pay extra. Can I get the gun in ten days?"

"Uh..."

Li Jie calculated for a while, then lifted his head with the characteristic rigor of a technical man and said, "Not counting transit time, the fastest I can do is twelve days. Many components aren’t simply assembled right after making. I need to fine-tune them. I also have to test and match multiple components to pick out the best set. I can guarantee that this gun will have a dispersion within a one-centimeter circle at thirty meters. In other words, you’ll hit whatever you aim at, with no more than two millimeters deviation."

Lin Xianghua couldn’t help but exclaim, "Is that even possible? That can’t be..."

Li Jie glanced at Lin Xianghua, "You know nothing about my capabilities. With my gun, the only variable will be the shooter’s skill, never the gun’s accuracy."

Gao Yi didn’t hesitate, "Do it! I’ll arrange for a plane to take you back today. Don’t worry about passports or Green Cards; you’ll fly back to the United States on a military plane this afternoon to make my gun."

Li Jie whispered, "And you say you’re just an assassin?"

Gao Yi could only chuckle. At that moment, his phone rang. He picked it up to hear Grins’s cheerful voice, "Saibu’s value is tapped out. Do you want him alive or dead?"

"Alive."

Of course alive. Alive is valuable, and who knows, the employer might even pay more.

It’s been three days, and the Secret Action Bureau finally drained Saibu of his value. Now Gao Yi could finally complete his assassin’s mission.

After the toil, it’s time to reap the rewards. How wonderful.