32: Chapter 32 Lumberjack Gun

Fire Seed Shelter, Surface Camp.

"Creeeeak—Bam!"

A battered bicycle charged straight into the camp gates, plowing deep furrows into the sandy ground.

Niuma Squad was back.

However, unlike their high spirits yesterday when they brought back the Ork corpses, the faces of these five people were solemn today.

The moment they entered, they didn't even bother to park their vehicle properly before broadcasting at high volume on the camp channel.

"Everyone, brothers, something big has happened!"

Ming Shen pushed up his dust-covered glasses and shouted loudly,

"To the northwest, about fifteen kilometers away, there is a massive Ork camp."

"The perimeter of the camp has steel walls over ten meters high. At a conservative estimate, the number of adult Orks inside is definitely over two hundred and they're still gathering. As for Gretchin and Squigs, there are too many to count."

As soon as these words were spoken, the players who were busy moving bricks and mixing mortar all stopped what they were doing.

The entire camp was silent for a full three seconds.

Then.

What erupted wasn't fear, but a burst of fanatical cheering that nearly blew the roof off.

"Holy shit!!! Two hundred?!"

"Brothers, we're rich! Two hundred Orks, at a hundred points each—that's a super gold mine of twenty thousand points!"

"Did the game just spawn the entire beginner village's experience packs right in front of us? The damn developer is finally doing something right!"

Looking at this group of players whose eyes were glowing green and whose heads were filled with nothing but points and gear,

Ming Shen covered his face in agony.

"You blind fools, can you let me finish?!"

Ming Shen roared in exasperation, suppressing the crowd's noise.

"The most lethal thing isn't the number; it's those Orks. They've freaking got guns."

"We heard the gunshots with our own ears. They've entered the era of firearms. With the scrap metal in your hands, how do you expect to take on two hundred adult Orks with guns? Use your heads!"

This time.

The players finally felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over them, and their fanatical mood cooled down slightly.

"The Orks... have guns?"

"Isn't that a bit too hardcore? The enemy's tech tree evolves automatically?"

While the players unfamiliar with the Warhammer lore were shocked by the Orks' evolution speed,

Inside the main control room on the first basement floor of the Shelter.

Lin Li was staring intently at the verbal intelligence sent back by Niuma Squad on the screen, feeling like he was about to grind his back teeth to dust.

"Two hundred adult Orks, and the number is still increasing..."

Lin Li sucked in a breath of cold air in his heart.

Unlike those heartless players, he didn't just see this as a pile of points.

In the universe of warhammer 40,000, two hundred Orks gathering together would definitely cause a terrifying qualitative change.

The WAAAGH field would amplify exponentially as the number of Orks grew.

Among these two hundred Orks, a massive Orc Warboss with explosive combat power would definitely be born.

Even perverted special units like Mekboys and Painboys might spawn.

Once that Orc Warboss unified the camp and launched a Great Waaagh! charge with hundreds of Orc Boyzs equipped with firearms and thousands of Squigs and Gretchin,

What about that unfinished, crappy wooden wall on the surface of the Shelter?

It would be razed to the ground in half an hour.

Even if the players could revive infinitely, they would be spawn-camped and unable to get out.

"Firepower, it's still a lack of goddamn firepower."

"If the Orks discover this camp and all come to raid it, trying to repel them with light firepower is just a pipe dream."

"When that time comes, it won't be as simple as being spawn-camped."

"Wait until those Orks say, 'I fink dis door can open'..."

The long-absent threat to survival emerged once again.

Lin Li paced back and forth in the main control room anxiously.

"Relying only on that single worn-out Matter Constructor in the camp, even if the players queue up, they can only hand-craft a dozen semi-automatic pistols a day at most. How the hell are we supposed to fight a war like this?"

Lin Li suddenly turned his head to look at STC-73 floating in mid-air.

"73! Can we build an automated production line on the second basement floor? What's the progress?!" Lin Li's tone was urgent.

73's crimson optical lens flickered, its mechanical voice carrying a punchable hint of arrogance and pride.

"Creator, please do not measure the industrial crystallization of the great Golden Age with your inferior carbon-based efficiency."

73 said coldly, "The production line has long since been set up. Although limited by space and materials, it can only be considered a crude miniature module, it is more than enough to produce what you call heavy firepower ammunition."

"Great."

Lin Li's eyes lit up.

"Can it produce field guns? Or the kind of rockets that can carpet-bomb an area with rapid fire?"

"Rejected."

73 shattered Lin Li's fantasy without mercy.

"I must remind you that the physical space on the B2 floor is limited and lacks large high-pressure machine tools. The barrel strength required for heavy artillery and the synthesis conditions for rocket propellant are currently unavailable."

"Fuck," Lin Li cursed. "Then tell me, what can we build with these shitty conditions?"

"From the molds I currently have, I suggest producing large-caliber rapid-fire solid projectile weapons."

73 projected a precise blueprint of a firearm filled with violent aesthetics.

"This is a weapon that performed excellently among various factions during humanity's Earth era, and it has been improved with my data. It is called—the Heavy Stubber."

Lin Li stared fixedly at the holographic projection.

"Heavy Stubber?"

This thing was famous in the Warhammer setting.

Although its name suggested a logging tool, it wasn't used for cutting trees at all.

It was a rugged, durable, large-caliber rapid-fire machine gun.

"Its caliber is exactly 12.7mm."

73 continued to explain.

"It is perfectly compatible with the bullets currently being used and crafted by your group of laborers. Its structure is simple with a very high tolerance. Even in the worst wasteland sand and dust, it is not prone to jamming."

"That's the one!"

Lin Li slapped the computer desk, his eyes gleaming. "Make one for me first to see how it works!"

"As you wish. Production line initiating."

Following 73's command.

A low but powerful mechanical roar came from the workshop on the second basement floor.

In less than ten minutes.

"Click."

On the conveyor belt, a heavy firearm over a meter long with a ferocious and wild design was slowly delivered to Lin Li.

"So fast?!" Lin Li was completely stunned.

This was a large-caliber rapid-fire machine gun! Hand-crafted in ten minutes?!

73's optical lens flickered with a proud red light:

"The design of this production line is the perfect result of countless logical deductions I performed during my thousands of years of slumber."

"As long as you can provide sufficient materials, if this miniature production line runs at full power, one day is enough to arm a regiment!"

"Awesome!!!"

Lin Li was so excited he started swearing. With this production capacity, what was the Black Claw Clan? He'd just wash them away with a metal storm!

"Then what are we waiting for? Mass produce it! Build fifty for me first!"

"Creator, please remain calm."

73 heartlessly poured a bucket of cold water. "As I said before, the prerequisite is—sufficient materials."

"This Heavy Stubber consumed the last of the Shelter's high-strength alloy reserves. And to make it roar, we need a massive amount of propellant."

73 listed a checklist on the screen. "The black powder mixed by the players has too many impurities; it cannot provide the chamber pressure for rapid fire and might even cause the barrel to burst."

"We need pure sulfur, saltpeter, and a large amount of strong acid to prepare smokeless powder. Currently, our inventory for these is zero."

The smile on Lin Li's face instantly froze.

"Lacking materials again?"

Lin Li scratched his hair irritably.

He knew that relying on players to scavenge trash around the camp would take forever to gather enough.

"It seems... I'll have to make another trip to the Mountain Tribe."

"Since those rats have occupied the old era's mine, they must have a large amount of saltpeter and sulfur. If it really comes down to it, I'll buy their scrap metal as well."

"But before going to trade, I have to test the quality of this gun."

Lin Li stepped forward and grabbed the Heavy Stubber.

The moment he picked it up, he was stunned for a moment.

"Surprisingly light."

The gun looked cumbersome, but its actual weight was extremely well-controlled.

Lin Li looked closely and found that while its receiver and barrel were cold, high-strength metal, the stock and most of the external handguard were actually made of a sturdy black polymer material.

"The center of gravity is perfectly balanced. Even an ordinary person without power armor could hold it and perform short-burst suppressive fire," Lin Li praised.

But he didn't test the gun himself.

He was a 'keyboard developer'—top-tier at talking, but if he were to actually hold a machine gun and fire it, and the recoil wasn't suppressed or the low-quality powder caused a backfire, his glorious NPC image would be completely ruined.

"I need to find a professional, free guinea pig."

Lin Li carried the Heavy Stubber and stepped into the elevator.

Surface Camp.

Miracle Walker was sitting on a rock, wiping his elephant gun, which was a bit jammed due to heavy use.

"Walker!"

Lin Li's low, raspy voice suddenly sounded from behind him.

Miracle Walker quickly stood up and turned to give a messy military salute: "Administrator!"

Lin Li nodded expressionlessly and tossed the meter-long, aggressively designed Heavy Stubber over.

"Catch."

Walker scrambled to catch the gun.

When he saw the gun's design, felt the perfect weight distribution, and noticed the exaggerated 12.7mm large-caliber feed port on the side,

His eyes instantly lit up like two hundred-watt light bulbs!

"Is... is this for me?!" Walker was practically drooling.

"I have a glorious mission for you."

Lin Li put his hands behind his back, his tone aloof.

"Test the performance of this new weapon. Let me see if you 'Seeds' are worthy of wielding the Shelter's heavy firepower."

"Mission will be completed, sir!!!"

Walker was trembling with excitement.

He was a veteran military buff and a shooter game expert. With a little tinkering, he figured out the gun's feeding logic and safety mechanism.

"The caliber is also 12.7mm! Perfectly compatible!"

Walker excitedly pulled a spare 15-round long magazine from his tactical belt. With a crisp "click," it slid smoothly into the Logging Gun's side feed port.

"Old Liver! Get me a target!" Walker roared.

The surrounding players had long been attracted by this cool-looking heavy weapon and gathered around.

Liver Emperor cooperatively ran to a corner of the ruins and dug out the Ork Boy skull they had brought back yesterday.

He dashed to a spot fifty meters away and placed the skull on a large rock.

"Fifty meters! Target, Ork skull!"

Walker took a deep breath.

He didn't choose a prone position; instead, he stood firmly with his feet staggered and pressed the thick stock tightly against his right shoulder.

His thumb flicked off the safety.

"Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!"

Walker pulled the trigger without hesitation!

The deafening gunshots instantly tore through the camp's silence! A half-meter-long jet of hot flame erupted from the muzzle!

"Holy shit!"

The watching players were so startled by the massive gunshots that they covered their ears, their eyes full of fanatical shock!

In one second, five large-caliber bullets whistled out!

The excellent recoil spring design inside this Heavy Stubber significantly offset the terrifying recoil of the 12.7mm rounds.

The muzzle climb was steadily suppressed by Walker within a very small range.

On the distant rock, stone chips flew everywhere!

"Cease fire!"

Walker released the trigger. The barrel emitted a pungent smell of gunpowder smoke and glowed slightly red.

He slung the gun behind his back and dashed toward the target fifty meters away like a gust of wind.

A few seconds later, Walker ran back to Lin Li, clutching the Ork skull excitedly.

"Reporting, Administrator!"

Walker pointed excitedly at the three regular bullet holes on the skull.

"This gun is perfect! Extremely high precision, with very little spread during rapid fire at fifty meters! And the weight is surprisingly light; it can definitely be carried by a single soldier!"

He swallowed, a hint of regret in his tone: "The only problem is... the ammunition."

"Although three of these five shots hit, because our hand-crafted black powder doesn't burn sufficiently, the muzzle velocity isn't high enough. So these 12.7mm bullets didn't actually shatter the skull; they just punched three holes through it. The power is a bit lacking."

Lin Li looked at the skull and understood.

"The gun is fine. The problem lies with our gunpowder. 73 was right; we must get strong acid and purer minerals to prepare smokeless propellant!"

Lin Li calculated silently in his heart.

On the surface, he nodded with satisfaction.

"Test passed."

Lin Li waved his hand generously, pointing at the Heavy Stubber in Walker's hand.

"This gun is yours. Use it well, and do not bring shame to the Fire Seed Shelter."

Walker froze for a moment, then burst into a wild laugh of ecstasy, the wrinkles on his face smiling like a blooming chrysanthemum.

"Thank you, Administrator! Thank you, Administrator! I promise to use it to beat the crap out of those Orks!"

As soon as this was said.

The dozens of players watching nearby instantly exploded!

"Holy shit!!! Why him?!"

"Shady developer! Corruption! Absolute corruption!"

"How can he just get a rapid-fire heavy machine gun for free! We have to pay in installments just to buy a pistol at the armory! This isn't fair!"

"Protest! I'm quitting! Unless you give me one too!"

Facing the players' angry protests, Lin Li sneered, not falling for it at all.

"You want it? Fine, exchange your points for it."

A moment later, a weapon named [Heavy Stubber - Modified] appeared in the armory, priced at 200 points. It was currently out of stock but available for pre-order.

That wasn't too expensive, but the bullets were a whopping 3 points each...