144: Chapter 0144 Forest Chaos

"Light Body Technique!

Zero-Ring Sorcery can temporarily reduce mass. The projectile is a one-time consumable, so it only needs to be effective during flight!"

He quickly calculated on a piece of draft paper:

The Light Body Technique reduces an object's mass, which essentially lowers the gravity acting upon it. Combined with vertical ballistic angle correction, it becomes completely controllable.

He picked up a blank projectile made of black demonic iron and carved spiral grooves onto its surface with a carving knife:

"The charging activation array is set at the tail of the projectile. The residual heat from the gunpowder activates it upon exiting the muzzle, and the duration is long enough to cover the entire flight path."

Next, he addressed the issue of wind drift, tracing circles over the projectile model with his finger:

"The lateral wind force from the Westerlies...

What if the projectile spins at high speed?"

He spread out the blueprint for the miniature array of the Hurricane Rune and marked the spiral-shaped Demonic Energy channels with a red pen:

"Arranged in a 360-degree circumference, with a 0.5 millimeter gap between each loop...

The micro-airflow excited by the Hurricane Rune can make the projectile spin at 12,000 revolutions per minute, creating a gyroscopic stabilization effect that cancels out 80% of the lateral deviation!"

He even considered the extra benefits:

"High-speed rotation can also enhance penetration. The projectile can easily pierce the scales of a High-tier Wizard Apprentice-level Magic Monster. It might even injure a formal-grade Wizard!"

Li Size's breathing became rapid. He picked up a nearby flying message and injected Mental Energy into it:

"Flora, immediately help me acquire the schematic scroll for the Zero Ring 'Light Body Technique' on the Dark Web!"

He looked at the projectile blank on the experiment table, a confident smile playing on his lips:

"The problems of gravity and wind force... are finally solved!"

Immediately afterward, he moved to the other side of the experiment table, where the experimental model of the witchcraft firearm from his last test was placed.

There were still black scorch marks near the muzzle.

Li Size picked it up, pulled the trigger (on an empty chamber), imagining the muzzle flash and the roar.

If he were executing a covert sniping mission, such noise would immediately draw the enemy's attention.

He flipped open his experimental log, which mentioned using a 'Muffling Rune' and 'Cold Light Coating' to reduce exposure, but the Muffling Rune would weaken the explosive power of the gunpowder.

Furthermore, Flora had not yet successfully purchased it. The material for the Cold Light Coating, 'shadow spider silk,' was expensive and could only be bought on the Dark Web.

His fingertips brushed across the workbench as he recalled information left by Flora:

Lina mentioned last time that a batch of shadow spider silk was recently for sale on the Dark Web, sold by a smuggler from the Stirling Province.

Finally, he picked up a projectile sample and placed it under the microscope to observe...

The hardness of the mithril silver was sufficient, but the design of the tip was not sharp enough.

At such a long distance, it could not penetrate the protective sorcery of a High-tier Wizard Apprentice; this was also an area needing improvement.

Li Size had an idea:

The projectile would adopt a three-stage separation structure.

He quickly sketched the diagram for a three-stage projectile on the metal tabletop, the cold, hard texture of the black demonic iron transmitting through his fingertips.

He picked up a newly refined projectile blank and carved spiral grooves onto its surface with a carving knife.

The outer two separation casings were forged from high-purity black demonic iron, and each layer was embedded with a double Sharpness Rune. The golden lines of the runes emitted a faint glow under the rune lamp.

"When the first casing hits the target, it will shatter the surface defense with immense impact force,"

he murmured to himself, rubbing his fingertips over the runes on the casing.

"The double Sharpness Runes on the second layer will cut the energy structure of the defense layer, weakening its resistance by 60% before automatically separating."

The real projectile was hidden in the innermost layer, wrapped around explosive sulfur powder with a mithril core, and specific Alchemy Runes could be fused onto the projectile as needed, releasing penetrating Demonic Energy upon impact.

He taped the sketch next to the furnace. The light from the rune lamp cast mottled shadows on his sweaty face, his eyes filled with determination.

Felina walked up beside him, looking at the table full of blueprints and parts, and whispered softly:

"dear, do you already have a plan?"

Li Size turned back, a confident smile on his face:

"Five problems, five Breakthroughs. Each problem requires finding corresponding resources, which takes time and patience, but I already have a line of thought to solve them one by one."

The research and development of beyond-visual-range firearms was clearly not simple.

For the past few days, Li Size had been immersed in thinking about how to solve the technical challenges of beyond-visual-range firearms.

Meanwhile, Gelia encountered new difficulties at the police station...

The door to the Laboratory was suddenly pushed open, and a crimson police uniform burst into view like a flame.

Gelia's long hair was tied up in a high ponytail, the ends hanging beside her epaulets. Besides the silver service pistol at her waist,

a knight sword adorned with police badge patterns hung on her left side, the edge of the scabbard emitting a faint blue Demonic Energy sheen.

She walked straight to Li Size, her fingertips tracing the scorch marks on his work pants, and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind.

She buried her face deep into his back, her tone laced with exhaustion yet unable to hide her dependence:

"Husband, help me with something."

That service pistol was the witchcraft firearm "Blazing Flame" Li Size had custom-made for her, engraved with an array of runes for compressed Demonic Energy.

Its power was only slightly weaker than his commonly used revolver hand cannon "Fatal," capable of piercing the scales of a Zero Ring mid-tier Demonized Creature at close range.

Li Size set down the projectile in his hand, reached out, and wrapped his arms around her waist, his fingertips brushing against the gold embroidery on her uniform:

"My Deputy Director's wife, what troublesome matter have you run into now?"

His nose touched the top of her head, and he smelled a faint scent of cedar perfume mixed with the smell of gunpowder.

That was proof that she had just returned from a combat scene.

Gelia let him hold her, her fingertips unconsciously gripping the fabric of his work pants. Her fingers trembled slightly as they brushed over the scorch marks, and her voice was choked with suppressed sobs:

"Husband, the Magic Monsters in the forest... are getting weirder and weirder.

Before the New Year, they were just Terror Beasts traveling in small groups like the one we encountered last time. Now, the frequency of them escaping is getting higher and higher.

Last Wednesday, our patrol team encountered two Zero Ring High-tier Magic Monsters outside Fog Veil Town, along with over twenty low and mid-tier Magic Monsters.

All the forces the police station could mobilize were sent out just to barely repel them, and one of the High-tier Magic Monsters managed to slip away into the dense forest..."

Her eyes turned red, her nose felt sore, and her fingertips gently pounded his chest, her tone full of self-reproach.

"Three brothers... just gone like that. I didn't even have time to collect their bodies..."

Li Size's heart tightened sharply. He turned around, his fingertips gently lifting Gelia's chin.

Her eyes were still red, and undried tear drops clung to her long eyelashes, trembling slightly like dewdrops on a butterfly's wing.

His fingertips brushed against the gold embroidery on her uniform collar, now slightly blurred by tears.

"Don't blame yourself,"

his voice was extremely gentle, like the slowly flowing ripples of Demonic Energy in the Laboratory, "You've done very well."

He reached out and unbuckled the belt of her service pistol. The silver "Blazing Flame" made a faint sound as it gently landed on the soft cushion of the experiment table.

Then he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his embrace...

Her uniform still carried the dampness of the wilderness and the lingering scent of gunpowder. The metallic texture of the epaulets pressed against his chest, yet it made him feel incredibly real.

Gelia's arms wrapped around his neck, and the ends of her high ponytail swept across his cheek, causing a fleeting itch.