Chapter 6: 006 Firearms Maintenance

"It's your turn."

Song Ying handed over the machine gun to Bai E indifferently, his tone not betraying the slightest fluctuation.

Knowing that Bai E was a newly created artificial human, he didn't deliberately make things difficult for him and merely used a fixed target to verify his strength.

He demonstrated for Bai E first, hitting a 200-meter fixed target: eight bullets hit the bullseye, two hit the nine ring—that was his capability.

Two hundred meters was the limit of the shooting range, not his own.

Exceeding the range limit didn't mean that he couldn't attack, just that neither accuracy nor attack power could be guaranteed anymore.

Bai E calmly took the machine gun, his gaze shifting away from Song Ying's head.

[Song Ying (Human) (Teammate) — Using "Lucky Shot" to kill can drop: Guaranteed (Fresh Meat*2400, Battle Experience 1500 points); High Probability (Mastery: Light Firearms Specialization Level +1, not exceeding level 4); Possible (Skill: Firepower Suppression, Expertise: Far-sighted Eyes)]

The Light Firearms Specialization level +1 in the loot, which couldn't exceed level 4, made him wonder if that was his actual level.

Of course, he didn't plan to kill his teammate, and even if he wanted to, he was powerless to do so.

The "Lucky Shot" charge on the panel had turned into 0/100 (Unusable) after he blew up the target.

After all this time, he hadn't seen even 1 point of charge recover; he wondered what the conditions for charging were...

His thoughts returned to the machine gun in his hands, its item attributes virtually identical to the machine gun he had obtained before, with only a slight difference in the traits—

[Trait: Severely Worn, Primitive Maintenance, Shooting Accuracy -10%, Attack Power Reduced -5%, Durability Rapidly Declining...]

[...Durability 10/20.]

Clearly, the frequency of combat for Song Ying and that of the examiner soldier were incomparable.

More frequent combat led to worse weapon conditions.

A thought flickered, and the "Knowledge: Firearms Maintenance" that had dropped when he blew up the target came to mind.

[You possess "Knowledge: Firearms Maintenance." Would you like to pay 100 general experience points to improve understanding?]

[Yes!]

The 100 general experience points given by the side quest for being a new recruit could be used right here.

Since he learned that this world was that of Galaxy Online, everything he read on the official website about it surged to the forefront of his mind.

In this world, there were three types of experience—general experience, battle experience, and special experience.

Special experience was the collective term for experiences like Light Firearms Specialization experience, Close Combat Mastery experience, Heavy Firearms Mastery experience, and so on, which could only be used to upgrade a single specialization level and was normally acquired through "training."

Battle experience, as the name suggests, could be obtained by killing enemies in "combat," similar to "experience" in traditional games, and could be used to upgrade all kinds of specialization abilities, even including other combat-related skills.

It was essentially a universal type of special experience, its only disadvantage compared to special experience being that it could not be created out of nothing.

Special experience could progress from nothing to mastering level 1 of a specialization, whereas battle experience could not. It could only continue upgrading the level of an existing specialization of at least level 1.

As for the final type, general experience, it was the highest grade of experience that could enhance any combat or non-combat related abilities.

It was usually achieved through "quests," but just like battle experience, it also could not create something out of nothing when it came to upgrading combat-related abilities.

However, when it came to enhancing "knowledge," "technology," and similar non-combat related abilities, it could be used from level 0 onsite, provided the requisite knowledge was possessed.

Right now seemed to be the opportunity to make use of "Knowledge: Firearms Maintenance."

[You have learned "Firearms Maintenance Level 1," and have also received 1 tech point.]

[Firearms Maintenance (Level 1): Maintenance of light firearms, restore 3 points of durability to the target, with a cooldown time of 24 hours.]

Removing the bullets from the chamber and securing the safety, Bai E began to inspect the barrel and chamber closely...

"What are you doing?"

Song Ying was puzzled—it was the first time Bai E had seen an expression of surprise on his face.

It was like... his wife had been stripped bare for all to see.

Bai E found it amusing.

"Your gun… it's very badly worn."

Bai E said softly, squinting at the dark interior of the barrel as he tapped it with his fair fingernail.

"..."

Song Ying tensed visibly, "What's wrong?"

"When you use it to shoot, haven't you felt anything odd?"

Bai E paused, his tone slightly halting as he knocked against the steel barrel, "If you don't maintain it properly... it will break."

"I..."

"You had noise when you were shooting just now." Sёarᴄh the ηovёlFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"You..."

"I'm fixing it for you."

Bai E stepped forward and replied first.

"..."

Song Ying was instantly dumbfounded, his face showing a complex mix of emotions.

Doubt, anticipation, confusion, surprise...

It was as if a palette of colors had been overturned.

"Where's the screwdriver?"

"I... I'll go get it for you."

"Gun oil."

"Right here."

"Cleaning cloth."

"Here."

...

Bai E disassembled the gun by himself, meticulously maintaining it piece by piece.

In the real world, you can't accomplish everything just by reading a list; after gaining the necessary knowledge, Bai E only understood how to do it. The actual operation still needed hands-on action.

[You have performed maintenance on the target, restoring 3 points of durability.]

[You have completed a maintenance, "Firearm Maintenance Experience" +3.]

[Current Firearm Maintenance Experience 3/300, at 300 points you can master "Level 2 Firearm Maintenance".]

[...Durability 13/20.]

[Trait: It has just received a thorough nourishment, despite being long-neglected, it still has some inaccuracy, shooting precision -8%. It is yearning for its next... (Cooldown time: 23 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds)]

"Hoo~"

Bai E blew on the gleaming gun body he had just wiped down and picked it up, ready to aim.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Three bullets in burst fire mode came out one after another, easily hitting... the dead center of the target.

[You have inflicted minor penetration damage on the target, durability -1.]

[Successfully hit the target center, "Light Firearms Specialization" experience +3] (Stacked)

[Current "Light Firearms Specialization" experience 137/1000...]

(Not bad luck...)

Bai E set down the machine gun and saw the silhouettes of the other three teammates approaching.

"How is it?"

Shan approached first, asking Song Ying.

Song Ying took back his own machine gun from Bai E, caressing it as if touching a lover...

He could feel his precious weapon revitalized.

"It's great!"

Having slung his precious weapon back on his body, Song Ying grasped Bai E's hands enthusiastically, "Please, you must join our squad."

["Lucky Strike" charge +1.]

The teammates all stared at the side of Song Ying's face, full of disbelief—

He's defected just like that?

"..."

Bai E was momentarily taken aback, then revealed a gentle smile, "Thank you."

...

Did I fully integrate into the world of "Galaxy Online" just like that?

Bai E's gaze passed through the glass, looking at the sky outside the shooting range.

Whether my entrance into the world of "Galaxy Online" is an isolated case or a widespread phenomenon remains uncertain.

If this is a game, then why do I have no memory of the process of entering the game, nor can I leave at will?

Yet if it's the real world, the guiding voice, quest system, and panel skills... these things seem too magical to be true.

I wonder... have any other players with reservations come in?

Outside the window, a thunder dragon passed through the gloomy clouds, illuminating a small portion of the land...