Chapter 4: 4 Off the Beaten Path

Joe Ga had many guns, but the ones he used most frequently were two Beretta 92F pistols, also known as the well-known United State Army M9 pistols.

There was also the powerful firearm he had configured for his own safety, an HK416D with a 10.5-inch barrel and a suppressor.

However, the one Joe Ga was currently assembling and adjusting was an old-looking SVD semi-automatic sniper rifle.

Over the past three years, Joe Ga had adapted to shooting with the pistols and automatic rifles he had made himself.

He couldn't quite say what level he had reached since he had never seen a real expert in live combat shooting, but when it came to target practice, Joe Ga felt that his skills were already up to standard.

This included an element of natural talent, but more so, it was the result of three years of uninterrupted practice and the gun sense developed from virtually free-of-charge ammunition.

With no one to instruct him, Joe Ga had no idea how real soldiers trained. His only option was to find top-tier shooting competition videos online and then set up a rudimentary shooting range at a secluded location outside Kamu. There, he would learn from the experts in the videos, simultaneously engaging in an imagined contest with them.

Joe Ga always felt that holding himself to competition-level standards might produce better results, and in fact, doing so was torturous for himself.

And it was this very torture that gave Joe Ga his highly precise shooting technique.

That's when he began learning to modify standard issue weapons, starting with lightening the trigger pull a bit, then improving the recoil spring, installing a muzzle brake, adjusting the barrel, and so on through a series of improvements.

Currently, using his modified Beretta 92F, Joe Ga's scores in simulated combat scenarios had come close to America's competition records.

Joe Ga himself didn't know it, but this achievement was astonishing because those who set records were using custom competition guns and ammunition without a need to consider real combat effectiveness.

But Joe Ga felt there was still room for improvement, so he kept finding ways to push himself. From physical fitness to strength, he underwent round after round of self-enhancement, achieving time after time self-transcendence, yet he himself did not feel much of it.

That's the advantage of having a goal – you know someone can do it, so you hope you can do it too.

Thus, when you have the conditions and the motivation, the physical hardship doesn't seem to matter much.

Real combat shooting is, in fact, a kind of aerobic exercise, and the pleasure derived from high-intensity activity is indeed very addictive.

Joe Ga had now settled on a specific pistol for himself, and his 5.56mm caliber HK416 had been completely modified as well.

Now he needed a semi-automatic sniper rifle that could extend the shooting distance to about 600-800 meters while maintaining high precision.

After much deliberation, he ultimately decided to start with an old-fashioned SVD, to begin practice immediately.

In Joe Ga's view, shooting was a gradual process, best approached from short to long distances because that was the most practical approach.

This theory was definitely incorrect since practicing handgun shooting and practicing with a sniper rifle did not conflict at all.

But Joe Ga's time was too limited; the nature of his work guaranteed risks, so he had no choice but to devote his limited time to the skills he most urgently needed to improve.

Many people think shooting is simple, but those who have never handled a gun can hardly imagine that after running 50 meters, you might not even hit a target 10 meters away with a handgun.

Without extensive practice, the handgun's effectiveness is at best like a big knife with a 5-meter range, more useful for intimidation than for hitting the target.

As for why he chose to modify the SVD—a rifle nearly obsolete—he did so partly because he felt its structure and general appearance suited his aesthetic preference. Meanwhile, tweaking such an old, outdated gun could also test his own modification skills.

It wasn't just about adding some extras, but rather making adjustments to the structure, appearance, and performance.

This was a very challenging task, and for a firearms modifier who prided himself on having learned the basics, it was a meaningful endeavor.

He kept the integrated design of the stock and grip, ditching that nauseating side-mounted scope attachment method, and instead adopted the Picatinny rail, making extensive use of high-strength engineering plastics, and finally, and most crucially, a barrel with electromagnetic acceleration effects.

The new barrel, a size thicker than a standard SVD's, had electromagnetic acceleration coils built into the barrel walls during the one-piece molding process, and then by connecting a wire to the lithium battery in the stock, bullets could be given a secondary acceleration.

This wasn't some wild idea from Joe Ga, it stemmed from the technology reserves in the Omnipotent Toolbox's microcomputer, and while the specific effects were unknown, it was definitely workable.

Because the microcomputer of the Omnipotent Toolbox had already simulated the finished product's performance, under optimal conditions, this barrel could increase the bullet's muzzle velocity by 20%.

Even if Joe Ga's craftsmanship was lacking, achieving an increase of 10% or even 5% was enough to excite him.

This device, of course, wasn't for sale to the public, as Joe Ga was still caught up in a competitive mindset, insisting that his gear had to be the best among its peers, and such transformation of decrepitude into wonder gave him a great sense of achievement.

Simply put, it was showing off, using the SVD to shoot farther and more accurately than others. Regardless of whether he received others' admiration, he was content to revel in his own delight.

He carefully assembled his custom SVD, checked the gun's structural precision with the microcomputer, then mounted a modified muzzle brake, followed by a 15x white light scope. Thanks to the sufficiently long Picatinny rail, he could also add a night vision scope attachment as needed in the future.

Joe Ga pressed ten specialized sniper bullets into several plastic magazines, looked at his handiwork with satisfaction, and finally packed it into a gun case, planning to test its effect at the shooting range that afternoon.

For the past three years, tight deadlines and inconvenient locations had prevented him from attempting targets beyond 400 meters; now, he finally had his chance.

As Joe Ga was organizing his firearms and preparing to head upstairs to make some lunch for himself, a phone call came to his business cell phone.

Looking at the incoming number, Joe Ga answered the phone with his still quite fluent Arabic, "Hello, this is Hu Lang!"

The raspy voice on the other end was very rude, "Hu Lang, when will the goods you promised us arrive?"

Joe Ga detected the discourtesy in the caller's tone and replied firmly, "The agreed delivery date is in ten days..."

The person on the other end paused, then softened their tone, "The situation over here isn't going well, I need sufficient weapons and ammunition."

Joe Ga frowned and said, "That's your problem, we've set a delivery time.

If I don't deliver the goods into your hands in ten days, then you can talk to me in that tone you just used."

Perhaps Joe Ga's firm stance gave the other party some confidence. The line went silent for a few seconds before the man spoke again, "I need to move up the delivery date.

If you can get the goods to me within five days, I can pay you an extra 30% for it." Sёarᴄh the NôᴠelFirё.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Joe Ga made a quick calculation and then nodded, "300,000 US dollars, plus a 30% rush fee, OK, that's reasonable!

But I must remind you, I only accept cash or gold."

"No problem, as long as you arrive on time, you won't be short of money, and we can talk about a bigger deal."