Chapter 88: New Trouble

Chapter 88: Chapter 88: New Trouble

"Huh?"

Xiang Yi looked at the object in his hand, struggling to comprehend.

The rifle’s original stock, barrel, and magazine structure had all vanished. The bullet-firing mechanism had been transformed into a tool with a similar structure.

Xiang Yi quickly opened the panel to check and found the two words "Impact Drill" displayed clearly on it.

The Blood Crystal effect he had just enhanced was still there. Xiang Yi swiped another piece of pork from Master Chang’s fridge to test it.

’But isn’t using an impact drill to turn an enemy’s flesh and blood into a Blood Crystal a little too absurd?’

"This is garbage."

Xiang Yi casually tossed the impact drill aside.

It seemed that although Spiritual Enhancement had three options, not all of them would produce good results. He had to consider the inherent nature of the object being enhanced. His previous line of thought on Spiritual Enhancement had been correct.

It would be best to continue doing so in the future, unless there was a special need.

However, Xiang Yi was still very curious. What would happen if he used the ’Equipment’ affinity for the Spiritual Enhancement of a rifle?

Even though a rifle had just been ruined by the ’Tool’ affinity of Spiritual Enhancement, didn’t he have another one?

Xiang Yi took out another 5.56mm military rifle.

This time, he didn’t plan on wasting a Blood Crystal.

He went straight for [Spiritual Enhancement], chose the [Equipment] affinity, and then, from the six available options, picked the most baffling one: [Protection].

During the Spiritual Enhancement, the firearm’s change in appearance was even more dramatic than any previous enhancement.

It stretched, grew, and widened from its original size of a few dozen centimeters until it was taller than a person.

This instantly filled Xiang Yi, who had just been trying it out, with anticipation.

And when the Spiritual Enhancement was finally complete...

A stationary machine gun turret with a gun shield on the front appeared before him.

The structural design was also quite unique. Every part seemed to be reinforced. Besides providing protection for the operator, the rifle itself now had many structures to protect itself.

The rifle mounted on the turret was no longer the original 5.56mm rifle, but a machine gun chambered in 7.62x54mmR.

On the panel, he could see that it had not only gained a turret module allowing 360° rotation but also a protection module in the form of a gun shield that provided near-total frontal protection.

It had transformed from a personal weapon into a piece of equipment that required an operator in a fixed position.

Its frontal firepower far exceeded what it had before.

Although it didn’t seem to have any extra devices like an auto-aiming system, Xiang Yi suddenly had an idea.

He had just found a Biological Signal Sensing Device while rummaging through the junk in the scrapyard...

Xiang Yi immediately returned to the warehouse and dug out the discarded Biological Signal Sensing Device.

At the same time, he also found a gyroscope and a positioner in the junk pile.

He repaired all the damaged individual components and reassembled them.

The gyroscope was installed at the base of the machine gun turret, the positioner was connected to the scope, and the Biological Signal Sensing Device was used to link the two.

After some simple debugging, Xiang Yi unloaded the machine gun turret and connected it to a power source.

At Xiang Yi’s command, Shi Tie walked in front of the machine gun turret. It didn’t react.

But as soon as Xiang Yi entered the range of the Biological Sensor on the turret, the muzzle successfully began to track his movements.

"It works!"

The sensing device was only responsible for detecting and outputting a signal; the positioner and gyroscope would automatically adjust the turret’s position based on that signal.

This was the simplest form of auto-aiming. It couldn’t distinguish friend from foe, but it could shoot any living thing in front of it.

’I just need to adjust the gyroscope to make it automatically pan left and right, expanding its scanning range.’

’Then I’ll add a small switch to the trigger, set it to pull the trigger three seconds after the Biological Sensor detects a creature, release it after five seconds, and then, if it’s still locked on the target after another three seconds, pull the trigger again.’

’That should do it.’

Xiang Yi quickly implemented all his planned modifications using his Spiritual Energy, then moved the machine gun turret outside the factory, facing the side with the mountain of junk, and also attached the ammo belt he had.

’When Master Chang gets back, maybe I can test it on some pigs, chickens, or lizards.’

Having just finished with the 5.56mm rifle, Xiang Yi turned his attention to the 7.62mm rifle.

He once again went straight for a Spiritual Enhancement, selecting the same [Protection] option.

Just as he expected, the 7.62mm rifle once again transformed into a similar machine gun turret, but with an even more brutal caliber.

Judging by the size of the magazine and the diameter of the muzzle, the spiritually enhanced 7.62mm rifle had been converted to a 12.7x99mm caliber.

Ammunition of this caliber also has another name: .50 BMG.

This time he didn’t bother with any fancy tricks like a Biological Sensor. Instead, he directly detached the .50 heavy machine gun from the turret mount.

"Shi Tie, come hold this."

Shi Tie picked up the heavy machine gun that Xiang Yi couldn’t even lift, gripping it firmly in his hands.

Although his overall movements seemed a bit slower, he was by no means slow.

"This is a mobile turret..."

Judging by the structural design of the heavy machine gun’s body, its rate of fire was at least one thousand rounds per minute.

’What about ammunition?’

Spiritual Enhancement could only enhance the bullets already in the gun’s original magazine at the same time; it couldn’t fully load it.

Xiang Yi couldn’t enhance bullets by themselves, either. They didn’t count as mechanical equipment.

’Looks like I’ll have to buy some.’

Xiang Yi took out his terminal and opened a Dark Zone website the robot had told him about.

The robot’s shop was on it.

Without a second thought, he ordered 2,000 rounds of .50 BMG at 90 Federation Coins per round.

As the deposit was paid, the robot quickly sent Xiang Yi a message through the website: "Did you rob the military? Why do you need this caliber?"

"Something like that. Can you make them or not?"

"I can. They’ll be ready in two days. Should I deliver them somewhere, or will you come pick them up?"

"I’ll pick them up myself."

"Alright."

He closed the terminal.

Xiang Yi turned his gaze to the other un-enhanced items he had.

Like the Biological Sensor and the Spiritual Energy Fluctuation Detector.

However, although he didn’t feel mentally exhausted, he didn’t have enough energy for another round of unique modifications plus a Spiritual Enhancement.

Master Chang still hadn’t returned, and Xiang Yi couldn’t just wait around doing nothing.

As it happened, he had another idea.

When he was reviewing high school courses earlier, he had actually only reviewed one subject called Mechanical Principles.

The textbook for this course was called *Mechanical Creations*, and it contained an article that briefly explained the principles of Power Armor, giving a simple lesson on its structure and operational mechanics.

It even assigned a homework exercise to build a mechanical arm by hand.

Right now, he had the materials, the tools, and the skills.

Xiang Yi definitely had to give it a try.

But just as he spent some time getting everything ready, he suddenly heard the noisy sounds of vehicles coming from the scrapyard outside.

’Is Master Chang back?’

Xiang Yi put down his tools, walked out of the workshop, and looked outside the factory.

He discovered that the main gate to the scrapyard had been rammed down. A hovering, motorcycle-like vehicle was parked inside the scrapyard, and behind it, five old-fashioned vans—a model Xiang Yi was extremely familiar with—were filing in one after another.

Xiang Yi had no idea how these vehicles, which should have only existed in his era, had survived until now.

As soon as the vehicles came to a stop, a huge crowd of people swarmed out—at least forty of them.

The man on the hover-motorcycle seemed to be the leader. He shouted to the people around him, "That old bastard went out for the day! Let’s move fast, get it done, and get out!"