Chapter 290: Armed
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Besides needing to buy a car, Li Du also needed to buy hunting equipment.
It had to be a full set, with a jacket, hat, sunglasses, boots, and most importantly, the weapons.
However, as he did not have a Green Card, he could not buy firearms.
Hans could, and before he entered the firearms shop, he said, "Let me know which gun you like. I’ll buy it for you."
With this, it was apparent that Hans truly regarded Li Du as his brother, and trusted him completely.
There were two items Americans generally did not lend others: their cars, and their guns.
If a borrowed car was in an accident, the owner would still have to pay for it. Guns needed to be especially well-managed—it would be trouble for the owner if any mishaps were to happen.
Car accidents mainly involved lawsuits and financial compensation. With insurance companies around, compensation could involve a little to a lot of money, depending on the circumstances behind the claim. However, if a gun were misused, it would lead to terrible criminal consequences.
For example, according to legislative regulation, if someone had loaned his gun out and the borrower had committed a crime, the gun owner could get in trouble along with the perpetrator.
That was to say, if Li Du gunned someone down with a gun that Hans let him use, Hans might get in trouble as well.
The firearms shop they entered was called "Veterans’ World." The boss was Maurice, a partner to treasure hunters. This was where Li Du had sold the Japanese machine gun they had gotten previously.
Although Maurice was very elderly, his memory was pretty good.
When they entered, he was attending to customers. Upon seeing the two of them, he immediately waved his hand, and said, "Got some good stuff again?"
Hans laughed, walked over and shook his hand. "No. This time around we’re giving you the opportunity to earn money."
Maurice said, "The good stuff you guys bring could allow me to earn more money."
"Have you sold the machine gun?" Li Du asked.
Maurice nodded his head. "Yes, sold it to a movie company based in Los Angeles. They’re filming a Pacific Ocean war movie and required an authentic Japanese machine gun for a close-up feature."
Hans gave him a gentle punch on the shoulder. "Wow, then you probably earned quite a bit."
Maurice declined to comment, laughed and said, "It was alright, gave me some food money. What do you need to get?"
Hans said, "First, get me some ammunition—um, I need .38 caliber and .45 caliber—500 of each."
Li Du was shocked. "God, why’re you buying so many bullets? What’re you going to do with them? Hunt zombies down at the end of the world?"
"You would need this toy to hunt zombies down, buddy!" A hunk standing next to them was rotating an M60 machine gun—the thick black gun nozzle was pointing at them in an intimidating manner!
Hans said, "Hunting season has begun. We’ll need loads of bullets. You don’t have the experience, so listen to me."
Maurice whistled to his staff to prepare the bullets, and then let the two of them browse around.
Not a fan of the military, Li Du was not familiar with weapons and firearms. After looking at a few gun racks, he could only recognize one gun; it was the king of ground warfare, the AK-47!
At 300 dollars, the price of the AK-47 was the lowest among rifles. However, there were some more expensive models, with the most expensive being 2,000 US dollars.
Hans asked, "You want this gun? Let me warn you first that this is not a good choice. Don’t be swayed by its reputation."
Li Du shook his head, "No, I’m not buying it. I’m just looking out of curiosity."
Hans took out a pistol from the counter and threw it at him. "This is for you. Get this, it suits you."
"What gun is this?" Li Du held it in his hand, and turned it around repeatedly, inspecting it.
The exterior of this pistol was silvery-white, and looked very beautiful. It was rather light—Li Du estimated it to weigh about two pounds; it was very comfortable to hold.
Hans introduced it: "The civilian version of the Beretta 92F. It’s not very powerful but its safety, comfort, and reliability levels are high. It’s suitable for rookies like you."
Li Du held it properly to get a feel for the gun. "Then this is it. I don’t need any others, just this one will do."
Hans was stunned. "Don’t need any others? You’re relying on this to hunt? This toy is for your self-defense!"
Li Du said, "I don’t need any others because I haven’t played with this before—my shooting skills will be crap."
"Then you can choose a shotgun," Hans said, "or an old-style hunting gun. That toy’s easier to use."
Li Du smiled and shook his head. "No, I have my weapon already. I don’t need them."
As Li Du spoke, he walked toward the wall and retrieved a crossbow from it.
This crossbow had a streamlined design, and was all black, with a silver edge. It was about 80 cm long, and 50 cm wide; made using synthetic materials, it felt heavy in his hands.
"The Black Mamba-C1 is a killer," the employee at the side introduced. "It is made using of the latest straight rail eccentric wheel technology. When fired, the speed of the arrow is so fast that you won’t be able to see it once it is released."
"What’s the material?" Li Du asked.
The guide patted the crossbow and said, "The arrow’s body is made of high-carbon polyester fiber. Very sturdy—it wouldn’t dent even under the weight of five tons.
"The bow is made of a variety of compound metals imported from Germany. In terms of both its hardiness and overall compression, it has far exceeded other crossbows on the market around the world."
Li Du nodded, then quickly put it down, and swiftly lifted it back up. It felt amazing; he then said, "Can I give it a try?"
"Of course, no problem," the guide said in delight.
Hans stopped him. "You don’t have a crossbow? Did I not give you one? Pterosaur Rage!"
Li Du said helplessly, "Pterosaur Rage is too small—it’s a hand crossbow. It’s fine for defense, but can’t really be used for hunting."
"Oh, right."
As they were leaving the firearms shop, they bumped into Maurice.
Maurice saw the crossbow he was holding in his hand, nodded, and said, "The Black Mamba-C1 is a vicious killer. The bow is made of an eight-wheel pulley block mechanism, and its range is very far. The use of the trigger-point system can make the crossbow feel light when firing, thus increasing the accuracy of the shot, as well as greatly increasing the life-span of the bowstring."
Hans said, "These are toys for p*ssies."
Maurice laughed out loud and said, "If you underestimate it, then you’re at a disadvantage. It’s a genuine Black Mamba, partner—the invisible killer, the black mamba!"
Black mambas might have been the most lethal snakes in the world, but they were most famous for their speed. Their attacking speed and movements ranked number one for their species!
At the range, the employee found them a target, then assembled the crossbow before saying, "Mr. Killer, begin your hunting journey!"
This crossbow had other accessories: military optical sight, laser sight, ballistic corrector, and many more; its assembly was more troublesome than assembling actual firearms.
However, these accessories were indeed functional: optical sight made use of the cross-zooming principle, and could make targets in the far distance appear clearer and more visible.
For hunting at night, it could be changed to an infrared scope. This was a set of accessories that could easily be swapped.