Chapter Forty-Six: Contest of Cold Steel

Chen Hao squeezed the trigger in a calm and measured manner. After firing his hundredth round, he received a system notification: "Player Chen Baxian, thanks to your persistent practice, your shooting attribute has increased by 1 point."

In the county town of Penglai, round-nosed bullets cost twenty copper coins each. With each of Chen Hao's group firing 300 rounds, purchasing the ammunition themselves would have cost sixty silver dollars. What had originally been a routine competition task became an opportunity for free practice, thanks to a loophole Chen Hao had spotted and exploited.

When he fired his last bullet, the system prompted him again: "Player Chen Baxian, thanks to your persistent practice, your shooting attribute has increased by 1 point."

Three hundred rounds of shooting practice allowed all six of them to improve their shooting attribute by 2 points—a remarkable gain. After reviewing the target statistics, Captain Steve looked at them with a mocking expression, exclaiming, "My God! Three hundred rounds for a score of forty-eight? I swear I've never seen such a miserable result—not even a raw recruit could be this hopeless."

"Oh! And here’s an even more astonishing one—three hundred rounds for a score of twenty-two. Even if you weren’t aiming, you couldn’t possibly do this badly, could you? The ‘Sick Man of East Asia’ is truly a wonder!"

The one who scored forty-eight was Chen Hao; the one who scored twenty-two was Lin Xiaofeng, whose shooting attribute was only seven. Though the six of them had been in high spirits after their attributes increased by two points, Captain Steve’s words instantly soured their mood.

Captain Steve’s level was obviously high; beating him at military skills would be exceedingly difficult. Lin Xiaofeng and the others had little hope of victory on their side. At that moment, Chen Hao stepped forward and asked, "Captain, does bayonet combat count as a military skill in your army’s infantry manual?"

"You mean bayonet fighting?" Captain Steve replied with an exaggerated look. "Certainly. I’m quite fond of bayonet fighting myself—it’s the kind of bloody, manly combat I admire. Are you thinking of challenging me to a bayonet fight?"

Chen Hao shook his head. "I want to compete with you in close-quarters combat, but not with bayonets. We Chinese prefer to use broadswords."

With that, Chen Hao drew his Yanling Saber. The gleam of its blade caught Captain Steve’s attention, and his expression turned curious. Quickly shedding his uniform jacket, he said, "A Chinese who dares face me in close combat is a true man. I accept your challenge."

The two of them stepped to the center of the training ground. Captain Steve fixed a bayonet to his Mauser G98 rifle and said, "Chinaman, I prefer real blades and live ammunition—no blunted bayonets for me, if you don’t mind?"

Chen Hao swung his Yanling Saber lightly. "My saber is sharpened as well; I have no objections. But, Captain, since this is a wagered duel, wouldn’t it be a shame if there were no stakes?"

"Stakes?" Captain Steve laughed heartily. "Excellent! I like your confidence. Whatever you want to wager, I’ll match you."

Chen Hao replied coolly, "What I hold is a treasured Chinese blade. If you win, I’ll forfeit it to you. I imagine that returning home with a Chinese sword won in a bayonet duel would be quite the trophy, wouldn’t it?"

Captain Steve nodded. "A fine wager. What would you have me put up in return? How about my Mauser G98 rifle?"

Chen Hao shook his head. "If I’m lucky enough to win, first, you must apologize to the six of us. Second, you’ll teach me the skill of cartridge reloading, and give me the hand-press and other equipment required for reloading rounds."

"Heavens! Do you Easterners practice witchcraft? How did you know I know how to reload cartridges?" Captain Steve looked at him in astonishment. "You have a keen eye, Chinaman. Of everyone in the garrison, I’m the most skilled at reloading ammunition."

"If you can beat me, I’d teach you the skill even without your asking. Since you’re wagering your broadsword, I’ll put up my reloading equipment as the stakes."

If Chen Hao hadn’t set the wager, he might have learned cartridge reloading from Captain Steve upon victory, but would not have obtained the necessary equipment. The equipment itself was expensive and would require an NPC to purchase it from abroad—something that could not be accomplished in the short term.

Lately, Chen Hao had been eager to practice his marksmanship, so he was especially keen to obtain the reloading equipment. The broadsword in his hand belonged to Wang Wu, not him, but he dared to use it as a wager because he was absolutely confident.

From memory, players who completed this quest only needed a hand-to-hand combat skill of forty-two. At this moment, with his Bloodbath special skill, Chen Hao had forty-six points in hand-to-hand combat. Captain Steve, though formidable as an individual soldier, excelled mainly in marksmanship; his melee skill was only forty.

In the game, Western NPCs were much stronger than Chinese NPCs at shooting, so for the sake of balance, the system made Chinese characters stronger at close combat.

With the stakes set, the duel began. Captain Steve lunged forward in a bow stance, thrusting his bayonet straight for Chen Hao’s chest. Chen Hao swept his Yanling Saber upward, knocking the bayonet aside, then twisted and slashed diagonally toward the captain’s shoulder.

It was Steve’s first time facing a Chinese fighter in close combat, and he was unaccustomed to the Eastern style—after only two exchanges, he was already flustered. As soon as Chen Hao landed his first strike, he pressed the attack with a seamless flow of basic sword techniques, forcing Steve entirely onto the defensive.

After five steps of retreat, Steve’s face turned crimson; in his pride, retreating during a bayonet fight was a disgrace. He parried Chen Hao’s blade aside with his rifle, then stepped forward and lunged with all his strength.

Chen Hao instinctively leaned back, swinging his Yanling Saber along the length of the rifle.

As the blade swept toward him, Steve hastily let go—the rifle clattered to the ground. Chen Hao closed in, pressing his saber to Steve’s neck and sneered, "Captain, you’ve lost."

Captain Steve took his defeat with good grace. He brushed the blade from his neck and said, "Chinaman, I honor my wagers. I’ll teach you how to reload cartridges right now."

"Player Chen Baxian, NPC Steve wishes to teach you the 'Cartridge Reloading' skill. Do you accept?"

Chen Hao accepted, and a new skill appeared on his list: Cartridge Reloading: Novice (1/100). Recover used cartridge cases, refill with powder and primer, and produce new rounds. Success rate at novice level: 50%. Reloading speed: 5 rounds per minute. Note: This skill requires cartridge reloading equipment, spent cases, powder, mercury fulminate, and bullets. Reloaded rounds may cause weapon jamming, and using black powder may accelerate barrel wear.

At last, Chen Hao had learned the skill he had long dreamed of. Five cartridges per minute meant three hundred per hour. When the skill reached advanced level, he could reload ten rounds per minute.

Six hundred rounds per hour—not only would he never lack ammunition for target practice, he could also earn a tidy profit from his skill.

Of course, for leveling up, Chen Hao would never use his own reloaded rounds; a jammed bullet during a level grind could be fatal, and reloaded rounds greatly increased wear on firearms.

(P.S.: Cartridge reloading is not this simple in reality, and hand-reloading ten rounds per minute is impossible. The game exaggerates it as a skill. Today is Monday—please click, recommend, and help me get onto the homepage of the new book rankings.)