Chapter 125: Move Away
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Seeing the gun, Hans’s eyes shined even brighter. He instantly exclaimed, "Sh*t, a Japanese machine gun! Awesome, even though it’s just a junk gun!"
Li Du had done some research on the mess of steel beforehand. Just like those papers, this machine gun also belonged to the Japanese military.
It was famous in the battlefields in China; the notorious Type 92 Heavy Machine Gun.
The chest contained a well-preserved optical sight piece for the gun. Li Du placed his eye on the sight and looked outside. The view was clear and crisp.
As he continued gazing at the scenery through the scope, he asked, "Is this really a junk gun? This gun is really good. It’s accurate and has a high killing ability. See, it even has an optical scope."
During the designing of the Type 92 HMG, to achieve one of the military ideals of executing high-precision killing, this gun was equipped with an optical scope similar to sniper rifles.
In addition, to prevent the loss of accuracy due to heavy recoil from the repeated firing, the machine gun was also equipped with a strengthened tripod.
The first time this gun was put to use was in the battlefields in China, which caused the Chinese military to suffer under its fire.
As most people knew, the main purpose of a heavy machine gun was to suppress the other army. On the battlefield, no one would ask for a machine gun to be accurate as long as it had enough presence.
But the Type 92 HMG had a high accuracy. With a standard accuracy of 30 percent and above, even when used as a firepower suppression, it was much easier to hit their targets than other HMGs.
After Li Du’s question, Hans laughed out loud. "What’s the point of being accurate? It’s firing speed was too slow. The gun was also too heavy. Once it was discovered, it was easy to destroy them with artillery!"
"Also, with such a short firing range, even without artillery support, they could be destroyed with other machine guns at further positioning. The point of HMGs was to provide firepower to suppress the other army; if someone was to attack them with even heavier firepower at a further distance, do you think they could aim at them?"
Li Du was right, and Hans was right too. They were just speaking from different perspectives.
In the battles in China, the equipment of the communist army was poor. Their HMGs needed to be water-cooled. Coupled with supply deficiencies, the soldiers could not properly solve their water rationing issues; how could they solve the issues of having to replace the water of the machine guns?
In such circumstances, the Type 92 HMG could mercilessly kill their opponents, and the Chinese military could do nothing about it.
When it came to the battles in the Pacific Ocean, when the Japanese met with the Americans, the situation changed. The American military had all sorts of machine guns; M2 Browning, M1919 series and even the tough M2HB. Their firing range all exceeded the Type 92, so they could suppress the Type 92 on contact.
Thus, Hans said that this was a junk machine gun, and wasn’t strong in actual battles.
There was nothing much to debate about, so Li Du changed the topic and asked, "Then is this gun worth much? It’s still an old gun, right?"
Hans nodded excitedly. "Yeah, this thing is worth quite a bit. Although it’s a junk gun, due to its poor durability, there aren’t many of these left. The rarer they are, the more expensive they will be!"
Li Du knew about this. Once the Japanese army surrendered, they did not make any more of these guns. In the war, only about 40,000 of these were made, with at least 30,000 being used in the battles in China.
When they reached the borders of America, these guns became even fewer in number.
However, the gun was still relatively famous in America. The Pacific battle was one of the worst wars that America had participated in in the recent years. The others being the North Korean war and the Vietnam War.
When the Japanese army had swiftly claimed the Malay Archipelago, the Philippines Archipelago, and other territories, they set up an elite defensive line. The Type 92 was claimed to be the King of Defense in some areas.
America had a television series called "The Pacific," and this gun was commonly seen in the battles.
Also, in Peleliu, Iwo Jima, and Saipan, the Type 92 guns—in their half-submerged state—had delivered heavy blows to disembarking American troops.
As the sparks from the muzzle were relatively small, by the time that the American troops found the source of the firing, fallen bodies were already all over the ground. The most troublesome aspect was the Japanese snipers, as they were hidden behind the cover of Type 92 firing.
These historical moments had brought some fame to the Type 92 in America. Many World War II weapon collectors and gun shops were interested in them.
Hans called a gun store and enquired. They told him that if this gun were still in working condition, it would be worth at least 20,000 dollars. If all the parts were original, then the value would double!
Li Du brought Godzilla over to continue clearing up the storage unit, while Hans was assembling the HMG in high spirits.
After about half an hour, a series of rumbling noises made by tires on the road reached their ears. Lil’ Rick, Reginald, and the rest of their crew appeared at the entrance of the storage unit.
Reginald and the rest were pushing the small boat with tires that Li Du had previously seen. Lil’ Rick walked over to them haughtily. The treasure hunters that stayed crowded around.
Li Du knew the guy was here to intimidate them, so he crossed his arms and just stared coldly.
Lil’ Rick pointed to the truck and said, "Whose car is that? Move it away, or else don’t blame me for being rough!"
Li Du said, "Are your eyes blind or what? Can’t you just drive around the side of it?"
Lil’ Rick raised his chin and said, "Your eyes are blind. Can’t you see what I have here? An amphibious craft—do you know how much it’s worth?"
Li Du said, "I don’t know, and I don’t want to know."
Lil’ Rick patted on the bow of the boat. "Are you really stupid or what? Leaving such a small gap in the road; what if it scratches my craft? Can you afford to compensate for it?"
A treasure hunter at the side said, "Li, just move it away—that craft is worth over 10,000 dollars, and someone has already agreed to buy it."
"It’s 15,000. This is a great one. Look at the motor, just as good as new. I bet it’ll work once it gets in the water."
"One thousand five hundred for such a unit. Dog Ears really lives up to his name. His information channels are too wide."
Lil’ Rick glanced sideways at Li Du. "Hear that? This guy is worth 15,000! I spent 1,500 to get something that’s worth 15,000, and you guys just spent 1,000…"
Hans’s voice cut him off. "Move away, move away! All of you move the hell away!"
Another series of tires rumbling reverberated in the air, and this time the screeching was even louder.
A pitch-black muzzle was pointed forward. A thick and firm tripod was supporting the heavy body of the machine gun, the structure bulky and surrounded by a deadly aura.
What had an even stronger deadly aura was Godzilla, behind the machine gun. His bulky build meshed together with the HMG, and multiplied the strength of their deadly aura.
Hans pointed to Lil’ Rick, and Godzilla immediately pointed the muzzle at him. Then with his large hand, he engaged the gun and pulled the trigger. Ka-pah: the crisp sound of the bullet shot out.
Being pointed at by the HMG, Lil’ Rick’s forehead immediate broke into sweats. He screamed, "F*ck you!" and instinctively jumped to the side.
Godzilla turned the body of the gun. The black hole of the muzzle was still pointing at him.
The other treasure hunters jumped in surprise. Someone exclaimed, "D*mn! A heavy machine gun—these two fellas are really lucky—they’ve picked up a heavy machine gun!"
"It’s not just an ordinary heavy machine gun; it’s the Type 92 HMG from the Japanese. It has a history of more than 70 years. It’s an antique gun!"
"They got it for cheap!"
"It’s worth at least 20,000—that’s even more expensive than the amphibious craft!"
Lil’ Rick’s face turned green, and a bad expression that was never before seen.