The firing range was on an empty field behind the exhibition hall. It had targets at only 300 metres and not further. However, the distance of 300 metres was already a difficult distance for most assault rifles – not many had an effective firing range of 300 metres. Anything beyond this distance was unprecedented.
Ye Kun, Mu Jianfeng and Xia Lei went to the firing range, as well as Ling Han and the military representatives. As for the reporters, purchasers and onlookers… there were too many to count.
An employee of Hanwu Weapons brought a Shenwu assault rifle over, and it looked exactly the same as Thunder Horse Military Factory’s Gust assault rifle. The measurements, the look, and the caliber were virtually the same. It would be extremely difficult to tell the two guns apart when put together.
This made Ling Han and the military representatives waver. The guns looked exactly the same, and there was no telling who made what. They could not tell which gun was better either, since the two guns had the same ammunition on top of looking exactly alike.
Ling Han pulled Xia Lei to one side and said worriedly, “Xia Lei, both your guns look the same. The ammunition is the same too. Can you guarantee that yours is better than Hanwu Weapons’ gun? If there’s no difference in the specifications, and Ye Kun has the patent, you’ll have to take the fall when he insists that you stole his patented technology.”
Xia Lei laughed. “Don’t worry, Brother Ling. I won’t have any rebuttal if their gun is as good as mine, and I’ll take the rap.”
Bang bang bang!
The shooter from Hanwu Weapons shot at the target at 300 metres, and all three bullets hit the target, right in the centre.
“That’s a good gun!” said a military representative in praise. He walked over. “Hand it to me. I want to try it out.”
The Hanwu Weapons employee handed the Shenwu assault rifle in his hands to him and stepped back.
Bang bang bang…
The military representative shot at the target, and most of the bullets hit it. However, the firing speed and power was apparent.
“This is a good gun! It’s more powerful than the AK47, and more stable. Not bad, not bad. It’s the best assault rifle in China.” The military representative who’d tested the gun was not shy with his praise.
Ye Kun and Mu Jianfeng could not help the smile on their faces when they heard those words. The stone which had been weighing on their hearts fell to the ground.
“See that? Same design drawings, same gun. Does Xia Lei think the gun he manufacturers will be better than ours? Dream on!” said Ye Kun with a laugh.
Mu Jianfeng spoke softly, “This should end now. I don’t want to see that punk Xia Lei’s face any longer. His greatest mistake was entering the arms dealing industry. Is this a market for him to play in? How childish.”
“Good, good. Our troops should be equipped with this gun.” The military man put down the Shenwu assault rifle, then walked to the corridor. “Mr Xia, let me try your gun.”
Xia Lei handed the Gust assault rifle in his hands to the military representative.
The man looked the Gust assault rifle over, then shook his head. “This gun looks exactly the same. I can dare guarantee that it will have the same results.”
Conversations started around them.
“If the gun is exactly the same, then won’t the capabilities be the same?”
“How did this happen?”
“If that’s the case, then we really can’t tell who copied whom.”
“Ay, Thunder Horse Military Factory is in trouble now.”
These words all reached Xia Lei’s ears but he did not react. He kept the same faint smile on his face and exuded confidence.
“Don’t hold on to hope, Xia Lei,” sneered Ye Kun. “Accept your fate when the gun testing is over.”
“My fate? Heh heh.” Xia Lei chuckled. “Please try the gun, Sir.”
The military representative gave Xia Lei a look and released the safety. He started firing at a target.
Bang bang bang…
Bullets shot from the muzzle, and every one of them hit the target. The gun fired faster, was more powerful and most amazingly, the Gust assault rifle only shook slightly though it had fired so many bullets!
Even a handgun had a greater recoil than this!
The description of the Gust assault rifle had claimed almost zero recoil, and it was true.
The military representative testing the gun did not stop firing till the magazine had been emptied. He gaped at the Gust assault rifle in his hands and was struck dumb for quite a while.
It was quiet all around him too. Everyone’s eyes were on the military representative and the Gust assault rifle in his hands.
“This… How is this possible?” Ye Kun finally came to his senses. He had an odd look on his face.
Mu Jianfeng’s expression was heavy. “Didn’t you say that there were no problems?”
“H, How would I know! You saw it yourself – the guns are exactly the same.” Ye Kun was getting anxious. He flipped frantically through his memories, looking for any mistakes which could have been made, but he could not recall anything.
Just then, the military representative snapped back to his senses and laughed loudly. “A miracle! A miracle! It’s a miracle!”
He had said ‘miracle’ three times!
Ling Han hugged Xia Lei unabashedly. “Haha! Good one, kid! A gun like this is undoubtedly the best assault rifle in the world!”
The military representative walked over and he was excited. “What is happening here, Mr Xia? The guns are the same, but their capabilities are vastly different.”
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Xia Lei was just about to speak when Ye Kun lost his cool and strode over. “Impossible! Please try our gun again, Sir. The same gun hit the target at 300 metres. How can there be such a great difference? There must be something wrong with this gun! It’s not a mass-produced gun but a modified one!”
“Is that so?” The military representative looked at Xia Lei.
Xia Lei did not reply. He took another Gust assault rifle from the hands of his employee, attached the magazine, opened the safety and shot at a new target.
Bang bang bang…
The Gust assault rifle shook slightly. All the bullets hit the centre of the target, ripping a hole through it.
Ye Kun’s lips moved but no words came out. He’d wanted to say that the gun in Xia Lei’s hands had been modified too, but it was laughable if he said it out loud.
Xia Lei did not empty the magazine. He pointed at a lightning rod on the top of a building in the distance and said, “Sirs, do you see that lightning rod over there? It’s about 1,000 metres away. The Gust assault rifle’s effective shooting range is 1,000 metres. I am going to use the gun in my hands to shoot that lightning rod now. You can observe my shooting with your binoculars.”
The crowd could not stay quiet at these words. This was a difficult thing to accomplish for a sniper rifle, let alone an assault rifle!
The military representative and Ling Han were tongue-tied too; they could not believe it.
A female employee of Thunder Horse Military Factory handed a scope to Xia Lei, and he attached it to the assault rifle with practiced hands.
The military representative suddenly said, “Mr Xia, if you hit that lightning rod at 1,000 metres, I’ll report this immediately – we must gave your guns!”
“Sure, that’s a promise, then!” Xia Lei raised the gun and took aim.
He didn’t actually need the scope but people would look at him weirdly if he didn’t use it. Besides, most people won’t be able to see a lightning rod at that distance, much less hit it with a bullet from a gun.
The female employees of Thunder Horse Military Factory handed the military representatives binoculars so that they’d be able to see Xia Lei’s shot.
Ye Kun and Mu Jianfeng could not help themselves either; they stared at the lightning rod through their binoculars.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out.
A thousand metres away, the lightning rod on the roof of the building sparked and shook violently. The straight rod had been bent out of shape by a bullet!
An amazing gun!
And an even more amazing shooter!
The venue was silent.
A whole ten seconds later, the military representative collected themselves.
“Hahaha! Mr Xia, you must sell your guns to us!” a military representative laughed loudly. The other military representative were excited too.
Ling Han patted Xia Lei on the shoulder. He did not say anything but there was a smile all over his face and respect in his eyes.
Shentu Tianyin was over the moon too. She had a share of some of Xia Lei’s glory too, and she was proud of him.
“This is not fair!” Ye Kun was panicking. The military representatives behaving this way meant that Xia Lei had the military order practically confirmed. What was Hanwu Weapons to do?
Ye Kun and Mu Jianfeng had caused trouble for Xia Lei time and again, trying to chase him out of this industry. Wasn’t all this effort to monopolise the market? Now, Xia Lei had actually managed to get the military order despite facing adversity. How could he accept this!
“Please, officers!” Mu Jianfeng could not hold back and he said, “Xia Lei has always been a marksman. This is not fair to Hanwu Weapons. We can get a marksman too, and use our Shenwu assault rifle to hit a target at 1,000 metres. You’ve seen it too, that the guns are actually the same. There is no difference in their capabilities.”
The military representatives lowered their voices in discussion, considering Mu Jianfeng’s suggestion.
“There’s no need for you to hit a target at 1,000 metres. Use your assault rifle to fire 500 rounds. If it can still hit the target at 300 metres then I’ll concede defeat.”
Ye Kun paused, then said abruptly, “You said it yourself!”
Mu Jianfeng shot a look at the shooter for Hanwu Weapons, and the man picked up a Shenwu assault rifle and started shooting.
Bang bang bang…
Bullet shells danced, clattering to the ground.
Every bullet was like a drum, thump thump thumping on Mu Jianfeng and Ye Kun’s hearts.
Why did Xia Lei say something like that?
Mu Jianfeng and Ye Kun were not fools. On the contrary, they were very smart and very crafty men and they knew that Xia Lei must have had his reasons for daring to say such a thing. However, this unknown reason was unsettling them and they could not sit easy.
Ye Kun still had no idea what had gone wrong. He’d evidently believed that Hanwu Weapons’ Shenwu assault rifle had no problems because it had passed the strict tests that they had performed on it.
Bang bang bang…
The gunshots continued.