12: Is this thing called a slingshot?

"A slingshot?!"

Shangguan Zhibiao's voice sounded like a rooster being strangled—sharp, distorted, and filled with absurd bewilderment.

He stared fixedly at the red, cheap-looking children's toy in Chen Xi's hand, which reeked of thick plastic.

He felt as if his worldview had been repeatedly ground into the dirt over the past hour, shattered into a QR code so fragmented it couldn't be pieced back together without a scan.

First, it was a broken sickle that could cut through iron like butter.

Then, a bottle of mosquito repellent that could bring the dead back to life.

And now, facing a Type 92 Infantry Gun three hundred meters away that was capable of tearing down this entire building, you fucking pull out a slingshot?!

Are you planning to launch yourself as a cannonball?!

"Nonsense! This is absolute nonsense!"

Trembling with rage, Shangguan Zhibiao lunged forward, intending to snatch the "toy" from Chen Xi's hands.

"Mr. Chen! This is no time for jokes! The brothers down there are holding the line with their lives! You..."

"Let him try."

A calm voice interrupted Shangguan Zhibiao's roar.

It was Xie Jinyuan.

He remained by the window, binoculars raised, without turning his head.

His voice betrayed no emotion, yet it carried an unquestionable decisiveness.

Shangguan Zhibiao froze mid-motion.

He looked at his commander's back in disbelief, his mouth hanging open, unable to utter a single word.

Has the commander... gone mad along with him?

The surrounding Soldiers, who had also been about to step forward and intervene, were stunned in place, exchanging bewildered glances.

Chen Xi ignored the commotion behind him.

He simply held the red slingshot, weighing it in his hand as if testing its feel.

Then, he crouched down.

Under the gaze of everyone—including the millions of viewers in the livestream whose eyes were a mix of mockery, confusion, and curiosity—he reached out and began rummaging through the pile of rubble at his feet.

Like a child playing in the mud at a construction site.

He was very serious.

Picking up stones one by one, then discarding them one by one.

This one was too big.

That one was too small.

This one was too irregular, which would affect the aerodynamics.

At this moment, the comments in the livestream completely gave up on logic.

[I declare that Master Xi has gone insane. Everyone can go home now.]

[Wait... is he really picking out pebbles? Does he actually intend to use that thing to take out a cannon?!]

[Show some respect to the guy above. Master Xi is more serious about picking stones than I am about picking a wife.]

[You really know your metaphors, buddy.]

[I have a bold theory... could Master Xi be looking for a piece of Uranium-235?]

[I have an even bolder theory: Master Xi himself is a weapon of mass destruction, and the slingshot is just the trigger.]

Finally.

From a pile of debris, Chen Xi pinched a small pebble, roughly the size of a thumb's fingernail.

It was a piece of ordinary Bluestone, its edges somewhat rounded from the blast's erosion.

He placed the pebble in his palm and nodded with satisfaction.

"You'll do."

He stood up and walked to the blasted-open window.

He didn't rush to act, but instead raised his binoculars again to confirm the target's position one last time.

Three hundred and twenty meters.

Wind speed, Northwest, Level 3.

The Japanese machine gun nest was set up on a broken wall, with two Soldiers—a gunner and an assistant—working in perfect coordination. Tongues of fire spat out continuously, pinning down several fire points on the second floor.

In a depression in the ruins behind the machine gun nest, the four-man crew of the Type 92 Infantry Gun was working with clear division of labor.

A gun captain was holding binoculars, observing the impact points.

Three gunners were frantically adjusting the firing parameters, preparing for the next round of shelling.

To take out that gun, he first had to eliminate the machine gun nest providing cover.

Otherwise, any attempt to get close would be shredded by that type 92 heavy machine gun.

"Mr. Chen," Xie Jinyuan's voice sounded beside him, "how certain are you?"

He lowered his binoculars, the look in his eyes behind the lenses as heavy as water.

Chen Xi didn't look back.

He simply placed the small pebble gently into the slingshot's leather pouch.

"One hundred percent."

His voice was very soft, yet it carried a matter-of-fact confidence that nearly made Shangguan Zhibiao choke.

"Bragging..." Shangguan Zhibiao muttered instinctively, but his voice was so quiet only he could hear it.

Because he saw that Chen Xi had already drawn the slingshot.

Those two red rubber bands, which looked incredibly fragile, were pulled into a full moon shape.

Something incredible happened.

The thin rubber bands showed no sign of deformation or trembling as they were pulled back; they were taut like steel wires. And the red plastic frame didn't show even a hint of bending under such immense tension.

Only Chen Xi could see it.

The moment he drew the slingshot, a pale blue, high-tech auxiliary aiming interface instantly popped up on his retina.

[Target Locked: Japanese Type 92 Heavy Machine Gunner]

[Distance: 324.7 meters]

[Wind Speed: 4.2m/s (Minor Impact)]

[Gravity Correction: Completed]

[Ballistic Prediction: Generated]

A red, slightly curved virtual ballistic line extended from the slingshot's pouch, spanning the distance of over three hundred meters, and finally landed precisely on the top of the Japanese machine gunner's helmeted head.

A red crosshair flickered there incessantly.

"Deep breath..."

Chen Xi's gaze became incredibly focused.

At this moment, his entire presence seemed to merge with the surrounding environment.

The sound of the wind, the sound of artillery fire, the breathing behind him... everything drifted away.

In his world, only the flickering red crosshair remained, along with the living target three hundred meters away about to be claimed by the Grim Reaper.

Shangguan Zhibiao held his breath.

Xie Jinyuan's knuckles turned white from the force of his grip on the binoculars.

In the livestream, the millions of viewers who had been frantically joking seemed to have been frozen by a spell; the comments thinned out as everyone stared wide-eyed, waiting for the absurd outcome.

They wanted to see Chen Xi make a fool of himself.

But deep down, they were faintly hoping for a miracle.

Finally.

Chen Xi let go.