Sword and Magic and Taxi

Junkrat Green stood at the door of the tavern, the setting sun shining in from behind him, casting an orange halo on his silhouette. He said nothing, as quiet as a sculpture.

Zhao Mai stood up, pulled out the chair next to him, and stretched out his hand to ask Green to sit down. I've been wondering where you were and it's nice to know you're okay now.

A group of idiots arrested me together, and it took a lot of effort for me to come back. Green grinned, and red blood could still be vaguely found between his teeth. Those stupid thieves have found the wrong target, so they are willing to return these things.

Zhao Mai took the salt bag and threw it on the table without even looking at it. He reached out and touched Green's drooped right shoulder, wanting to know the extent of the injury. Judging from Green's grinning expression, the severity of the injury is not optimistic.

You have a dislocated joint. I can cure it for you. Based on the principle that a friend's friend is his friend, the dwarf Sok stepped forward, grabbed Green's arm and shook it. It seemed like he was just messing around, but after a few Gaba Gaba and Ouch, Ouch, Green was able to lift his shoulders and move around normally.

Thank you, Mr. Dwarf, your craftsmanship is really good.

Suoke chuckled and raised his beard slightly. This is nothing. I used to dislocate my pickaxe frequently and have been ill for a long time. Please be careful not to exert force these days and get plenty of rest.

Zhao Mai also nodded, Green, thank you very much. Let's sit down and have a drink together. I'm not good at speaking English, so I need you to explain it to me.

Okay, this is my job too, you paid for it.

The dwarf got down to business and put his musket on the table. The heavy metal pipe made a heavy bang sound, which scared Zhao Mai and thought there was a fire. On the other hand, Green didn't react. It seemed that he really didn't know what it was.

You said you know muskets, but I don't quite believe it. I haven't seen you at a merchant before, so I have to test you. Dwarf Sok is very proud of his invention, even if Mike is Nor can he lower his standards for those he is willing to identify with. Do you know how to use this thing?

To be honest, Zhao Mai has never fired a gun, at least not a gun propelled by explosives. As for water guns and... whatnot, that doesn't count. But even if his practical ability is zero, his theoretical knowledge is far beyond this world.

When he picked up the gun, his skillful posture made even the dwarves envious. I weighed it with my hands, then held it flat in front of my eyes and looked at it. Without a sight, I could only shoot blindly. The gun is breech-loaded, just like a real double-barreled shotgun, with a mechanism that folds the barrel down.

Can you let me see what you put inside?

The dwarf took out a small bag from behind, opened it and placed it in front of Zhao Mai. Green also came over to take a look curiously, but he couldn't see any clues from the balls and small paper bags.

Twisting the paper bags with his hands, Zhao Mai found that they were all a little damp. After taking a closer look, it was as expected. It's all wet, how can you launch the iron ball?

Is this thing afraid of water? Suoke looked surprised.

After asking, I found out that the dwarf Sok had been living underground, had never seen rain before, and worked far away from water sources. After he obtained this explosive agent, he only improved and processed it based on the craftsman's intuition, and never conducted environmental testing. When Sok was traveling on the surface, he was excited to see the rain, so he soaked the gunpowder. If this could be ignited by a match rope, it would be the most ridiculous thing in the world.

There are still a lot of things that can be improved on this gun, from the firing mechanism, loading, ammunition, sealing, etc. This is not something that can be done overnight, I think it can be done as a lifelong job. Even if it is a dwarf's In terms of lifespan, it would take one or two generations to perfect this weapon.”

That's what Sock wanted to hear most—that this was a great lifelong undertaking. He considers himself a talented craftsman, but making swords and hammers does not give him much sense of accomplishment because he did not invent these. Only this musket, if it is very promising, then if you continue to study it, it is very likely that you will become a grandmaster.

I'm not a craftsman, I can only speak from the perspective of the user. Zhao Mai said to the dwarf: What you control now is to open the mechanism, load the projectiles, stuff the gunpowder, press the match rope, and then pick it up. Then aim, isn’t this set of actions too cumbersome? Wouldn’t it be very convenient if you could use moisture-proof, flammable paper with less residue to assemble the projectiles and gunpowder?”

In that case, wouldn't the gunpowder and projectiles be mixed together? It would be difficult to guarantee the direction.

You can wrap them in a paper tube and separate them with a layer of paper in the middle. Use paint to mark the head and tail to prevent them from being put upside down. Wouldn't everything be solved in this way?

The dwarf suddenly understood and opened his mouth into a standard duck egg shape. After a few seconds, he held his chin with his hand to close his mouth.

Even drinking a barrel of fine wine would not make Sok feel so drunk and dizzy. He felt that the inspiration in his heart was as violent as a volcanic eruption. His hands, arms, and muscles all over his body were trembling, and he wanted to start working as soon as possible. You are so right.

I can only make some suggestions for improvement. I'm not sure whether it can be done. Zhao Mai said very frankly: For another example, you can add an aiming mechanism, just two fixed protrusions, so that you can Aim with your eyes and know the direction of the muzzle. Neither crossbows nor bows can do this. Maybe this is the direction of future development.

The dwarf opened his mouth wide again, his admiration for Zhao Mai in his heart could not be greater. If he can come up with better ideas, I will regard him as a lifelong mentor. Dwarf Thok already has such an idea in his mind.

Actually, I just had another idea. Zhao Mai pointed to the match rope and said, Why don't you fix the iron piece and then hit it with flint. Just a simple stretch and rebound device can solve the problem. The problem of fire. Of course, if you can use magic to heat the iron piece, you can just stick it when you need to light a fire, and you won't even need a match rope.

Please allow me to call you teacher. Suok jumped off the chair, rushed around the table, and hugged Zhao Mai's waist. Zhao Mai finally knew what it felt like to be crushed by a mudslide this time. The three organs of the heart, lungs and stomach are rushing into the throat, and the intestines are about to be squeezed out. What's hateful is that Reserve Liang is wagging his tail happily and sticking out his tongue with an excited look on his face, but he doesn't come to rescue him.

In the end, Green said something, and the dwarf let go of Zhao Mai. Teacher, you have inspired me so much. I want to put these ideas into practice now!

Zhao Mai calmed down, considered his words, and then said to the dwarf: I will only give you ideas. My hands-on skills are very poor. At most, I can help you with ideas when you are designing. If you have a blacksmith shop, you can How long do you think it will take you to build another gun?

Uh... if you have all the materials, I mean the stove, anvil, mold and a few helpers... maybe two or three days.

What are you waiting for?

This was an unparalleled passion that Dwarf Thok had felt in someone else for the first time. He no longer knew what to use in return for this sense of recognition. I'm very happy, very happy, but I only have more than twenty gold coins left.

Give it all to me and I will solve this problem. Zhao Mai said, Don't worry!