Roger didn't argue with Lin Xinghai. Instead, he simply took down the pistol, ejected the magazine, and took out the bullets.
It was only then that Lin Xinghai noticed the bullets inside were larger than his thumb, and the entire magazine held only three rounds.
"These bullets are actually a type of miniature bomb. They're incredibly powerful, so to avoid injuring yourself, try not to shoot targets at close range."
As he spoke, Roger methodically twisted the bullet's tip three times. The round immediately began to beep, the sound growing increasingly urgent. A red light even started to glow from its tip.
"Besides being used as a bullet, it can also function as a hand grenade when necessary. Just do what I demonstrated," Roger said calmly. Only when the beeping became a solid tone did he toss the round out of the observation window.
KABOOM!
A deafening roar erupted, and the 50-ton Armored Vehicle shuddered violently. Lin Xinghai peered through the observation window and saw a crater, ten meters wide and three meters deep, appear a hundred meters away.
GULP!
He couldn't help but swallow, silently reminding himself, 'This is 200 years in the future. I can't judge anything by my old standards. A Hand Cannon that looks like a pistol is nothing to be surprised about.'
"What about a Speed-Type Optimized, then? What's the best weapon setup for them?" Lin Xinghai asked humbly, snapping back to his senses.
"You're a Speed Type?" Now it was Roger's turn to be stunned.
He had been watching from the side when Fang Tianhe was testing Lin Xinghai, so he knew perfectly well that the Power Lin Xinghai had unleashed was estimated at 20 points.
'That result was already shocking enough. If Lin Xinghai were a Strength Type, that would mean his Genetic Optimization Level was 20%, which would be barely understandable.'
'But if he isn't a Strength Type, but a Speed Type... then just how high is his Genetic Optimization Level?'
"Yeah, I'm a Speed Type," Lin Xinghai confirmed with a nod.
Roger took a deep breath, suppressing his shock. Since Lin Xinghai had already joined the Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps, there was no need to press for details.
He thought for a moment before saying, "For a Speed-Type Optimized to fully leverage their advantage in Speed, it's best to use lightweight weapons, such as daggers, short spears, or foils."
"In that case, you can choose this G-3 Type Tearing Rifle to make up for your lack of Attack Power."
"As for Physique Types, they excel at Defense and are more durable, so they can be flexible with their weapon choices."
"Of course, everything I've mentioned are just the conventional options. You should experiment a bit before making a final decision," Roger said.
Lin Xinghai thought it over and ultimately decided to trust the expert's advice. He picked up the Automatic Rifle—'no, I should call it the G-3 Type Tearing Rifle.'
"How powerful is this Tearing Rifle?" Lin Xinghai asked.
"Standard rounds can pierce a 10-centimeter steel plate. As for Special Bullets, their power is harder to gauge because they come in different Levels," Roger said.
After hearing that, Lin Xinghai caressed the Tearing Rifle in his hands, growing even more fond of it.
Seeing Lin Xinghai like this, Roger chuckled and continued, "Here's the user manual. You can take a look. As long as you don't flip off the safety, you can mess around with the gun as much as you like. When we get to Tianshan City, I'll give you some hands-on pointers. Now, go ahead and pick out a melee weapon for self-defense!"
Looking at the few compact weapons, Lin Xinghai finally picked up a dagger. "How about this one?"
"This is a Vibrating Dagger. It's probably the most powerful among these short-handled weapons." As he spoke, Roger took the dagger from Lin Xinghai's hand and pressed a protruding piece of metal on the hilt.
The entire dagger immediately emitted a low hum—the sound of high-frequency vibrations.
"This is the vibration mode. When it's activated, you can cut through rock with this dagger as if it were tofu. But the Energy consumption is terrifying. A full charge only lasts three minutes, max, so it's best to save it for critical moments," Roger explained.
Lin Xinghai's eyes lit up as he listened. He was incredibly glad he had joined a Mercenary Corps.
'Otherwise, if I were on my own, not only would it be dangerous, but who knows how long it would've taken me to get a decent piece of gear.'
Back in his seat, Lin Xinghai began flipping through the Tearing Rifle's manual. He skipped the sections on firearm disassembly and reassembly, jumping straight to the techniques, applications, and tips.
...
The convoy moved forward at high speed. The farther they drove, the more dilapidated the roads became. Even with the Armored Vehicle's superior off-road capabilities, the ride was incredibly bumpy, making it hard for Lin Xinghai to focus on the manual.
Suddenly, an alarm blared inside the vehicle. Lin Xinghai and the others snapped their heads toward the interior display screen.
The screen was large, but it was divided into multiple smaller displays, each corresponding to a different type of detector.
Right now, the sub-screen for the Zombie Detector was flashing red.
Red dots began appearing at the edge of the screen, the count finally stopping at thirteen.
Just then, Fang Tianhe's voice came over the vehicle's comms system. "Small zombie horde ahead. Thirteen total, with two Intermediate Zombies among them. First Squad, move in to handle it."
"Yes, sir!" Roger immediately replied.
Without any need for Roger's command, the First Squad sprang into action. The Armored Vehicle they were in accelerated, breaking away from the convoy and heading straight for the zombie horde ahead.
As for the other Mercenaries, some opened the vehicle's firing ports, while others climbed through the top hatch to the firing positions on the roof.
Thirty seconds later, the convoy met the zombie horde.
RAT-A-TAT-TAT!
A volley of gunshots erupted. Lin Xinghai noticed that the Mercenaries, trying to conserve ammunition, were using burst-fire. Their rate of fire wasn't particularly high.
After the first volley, five of the thirteen Zombies a hundred meters away were hit, but none of them went down.
They hadn't been hit in the head, and the most terrifying thing about a Zombie is its incredible Life Force. As long as the head is intact, they can keep attacking frantically even with severed arms and legs.
Lin Xinghai also noticed that these Zombies weren't slow at all. On average, they were running at 15 points of Speed.
'What did that kind of Speed even mean? It was one and a half times faster than a top sprinter from before I came here.'
Hitting a target moving at such high speeds was no easy feat.
Moreover, the frantic approach of the Zombies exerted an invisible pressure. Lin Xinghai could feel his palms already beginning to sweat.