Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 284 - 277: New Equipment_1

Chapter 284: Chapter 277: New Equipment_1

"Oh, snap!" Cheng Ziang’s voice was dripping with schadenfreude, seemingly seeing right through Melia’s thoughts.

Noticing an ominous stare, Luo’er turned his head to find Tangmo frowning at him with a disgruntled look, sending chills down his spine.

"It’s for the mission." Luo’er blurted out, unsure of his own thoughts.

"Doesn’t Princess Melia seem to have feelings for you?" Tangmo asked persistently, frowning.

"How can that be! I’m a half-elf, and she’s a princess of the Aud people. There’s no way she’d fall for me!" Even though Luo’er tried to dismiss the idea, he found his heart pounding and cold sweat trickling down his back.

Tangmo appeared hostile, and Luo’er instinctively knew that if the two girls started to get jealous, Tangmo’s current temperament would likely lead to a fight with Melia. It would surely be an embarrassment.

"You are a half-elf but you’ve been playing the field! I am the one who likes you the most, but you always seem to have a roaming eye." Tangmo grumbled with a stern face.

"When have I ever flirted? I’ve always been focused on our missions." Luo’er responded with a bitter smile and a helpless explanation.

Tangmo pointed her finger at him, her tip almost touching his nose, and grumbled, "It’s been over a year since we entered the Otherworld. Tell me, how many girls have you met?"

"But aren’t you the one I care about the most?" Luo’er replied with a bitter smile.

After hearing his words, Tangmo paused for a second before stepping back to ponder his statement, her lips curling tight into a smile. She hummed and quickly turned her face away, keeping her expression hidden and not giving up, "Even if that’s the case, you still can’t go around flirting with pretty girls."

Seeing her react this way, Luo’er breathed a sigh of relief. He had narrowly escaped. He couldn’t help but glare at Cheng Zian, who was clearly enjoying the show. Cheng Zian, on the other hand, spread his hands innocently in response.

"Our task this time is simple, reconnaissance on the army movements. There shouldn’t be too much risk. Before the mission starts we have two days to rest, during which our base will gradually deliver upgraded equipment." After calming Tangmo down, Luo’er continued, speaking seriously to the rest of the team.

"More new stuff? I find my gun quite useful, you know." Hu Daoke had grown fond of his RPK light machine gun and seemed hesitant about the news.

"It’s not about changing weapons, it’s about providing us with experimental Breaking Method bullets." Luo’er explained.

"Holy shit, Breaking Method bullets! Those are great stuff! The guys back at the base already made them?" Hearing the words ’Breaking Method bullets’, Hu Daoke immediately got excited.

In their last mission, the Advance Team was stalemated by the heavily armored knights for the first time. Even the high firing rate of their weapons couldn’t penetrate the knights’ Rune Armor which frustrated Hu Daoke. Now with Breaking Method bullets, he wouldn’t be afraid of those tin cans anymore.

"Does that mean I have to use a gun too?" Cheng Ziang asked, pointing at himself.

"Uh..." Luo’er was taken aback and fell into a dilemma as he’d forgotten to ask Wang Xu about Cheng Ziang’s weapon situation. He was unsure whether to let him stick with cold weapons or switch to a rifle.

"What’s there to discuss? Just get your broken sword welded and you can continue using it!" Hu Daoke butted in.

"I’ll go ask for you later." Luo’er promised.

However, he still felt that having someone use a cold weapon in the team might yield unexpected results. After all, they were in a realm filled with magic. Cold weapons still held considerable potential here. People like Yalunte could dominate the world with just a sword and be honored as Mr. Sword Saint by the people of the Otherworld.

"No need, it doesn’t matter what I use." Cheng Ziang gave a glance at Hu Daoke, then waved his hand.

Almost a year into their missions, Cheng Ziang had realized just how awkward it was to use cold weapons in the team. Luo’er often found it tough to assign firepower resources, so Cheng Ziang had started to consider abandoning swords as his weapons.

Although cold weapons were still the primary combat tools in the Otherworld, any discerning Otherworldly dweller would unhesitatingly choose Earth’s firearms as their own weapons. Hot weapons were inevitably going to replace cold weapons, a trend that seemed unavoidable in terms of civilization development.

"If there’s no more problems, everyone can get to their tasks. I have some things to handle," Luo’er said, turning his head towards Tangmo. "Moumou, you can let go now, I have things to do."

"No, what do you have to do?" Tangmo stubbornly held on.

"I have some work to deal with. Let go of me now!" Luo’er pleaded with a wry smile.

"Humph." Tangmo snorted, then pouted and said, "Once we reach Masya, you’ll certainly be smitten by that vixen Melia, so I have to ensnare you before that happens!"

"Moumou, it’s really impolite to talk about the princess like that." Luo’er said, frowning.

"You’d defend her against me?" Tangmo pouted and asked angrily, almost ready to burst into tears.

"Alright, alright, I’m already smitten with you, I won’t like any other girls, please let me go!" Seeing her about to cry, Luo’er comforted her helplessly, also pulling his arm away from her hug.

After freeing himself from Tangmo, Luo’er signaled to Cheng Ziang to catch up, then quickly left the resting area without daring to interact with Tangmo anymore.

Cheng Ziang followed him, and the two reached an empty corner in the corridor. Cheng Ziang looked at Luo’er’s distressed expression and joked: "Your life is really great, surrounded by girls every day."

"Look who’s talking, it’s all because you’re a chatterbox!" Luo’er glared at him and sighed regretfully, "All the while I was thinking of you, trying to find out about Mr. Sword Saint’s situation."

"What’s his situation exactly?" Cheng Ziang’s curiosity sparked upon hearing about Yalunte.

"Before I tell you, I want to ask you something. Honestly, do you really believe that Mr. Sword Saint is your father?" Luo’er asked.

Cheng Ziang paused, thought for a moment, and then replied, "To be honest, I genuinely hope so, but according to the headquarters’ theory, with my appearance, it’s more likely that my mother is from the Otherworld."

"Then, you probably don’t need me to tell you the answer, right?" asked Luo’er.

Cheng Ziang sighed deeply, looking somewhat dejected. He gestured dismissively and said, "No need. I had a feeling about it before I asked. This time, I just wanted to dispel my own illusions."

"Don’t be so down. Your master is as good as your father, isn’t he?" Luo’er comforted him.

"Thanks!" Cheng Ziang forced a smile and nodded his head.

"It’s okay, I’ll talk to Wang Xu. Whenever Mr. Sword Saint arrives, I’ll arrange for him to notify us so that you two can meet." Luo’er said.

"Never mind that, let’s meet if fate brings us together." Cheng Ziang shook his head.

"What, aren’t you going to learn his swordsmanship? We could find an opportunity when performing a commission mission to let him guide you." Luo’er suggested.

Cheng Ziang sighed, then confessed, "To be honest, I’m wavering. I’m not sure if I should give up using cold weapons and start learning how to use firearms. After all, many times, there’s a sense of helplessness when you need to allocate firepower in the team, because of me."

"It’s not absolutely necessary for you to be our firepower. We already have me and Little Ke as our firepower, with Yue’er as our sniper, the team’s system is pretty reasonable. You don’t need to join in." Luo’er explained.

"Regardless, I’m sick of being at a loss during fights. If I can get fire guns this time, then I’ll use them. As for swords, I’ll just keep them as a hobby," Cheng Ziang decided.

"If you’ve put it that way, I can’t find any reason to persuade you otherwise." Luo’er sighed and patted his shoulder.

The team spent the next two days waiting for their new equipment. After Luo’er had been revealed to have been shot, Lin Wei scolded everyone in the Otherworld Weapons Research Center from top to bottom. They had once confidently claimed that the Rune Armor they made could resist close range gunfire.

But Luo’er’s experience aboard the Valan airboat revealed their bluff. He bled profusely after being shot, and using magic to stop the bleeding led to severe damage to his body.

Although there were personal reasons for Luo’er being shot, the weapons research center still shared their portions of blame. If they admitted that their equipment could not directly resist gunfire, the headquarters would have equipped personnel with bulletproof plates.

The clothes Luo’er was wearing when he was shot were sent back to the academy for analysis. The research center was given the shortest possible time to find the root cause and resolve the issue to avoid it happening again.

Lin Wei dared not inform Luo Qishan about Luo’er being shot because he feared it would frighten the old man into illness. Despite leveraging the Origin Project to get to this position today, he wasn’t a cold and ruthless individual. Luo’er’s father once saved him on the battlefield, a debt he has never forgotten.

Two days passed quickly, and the new weapons and equipment arrived at the base on time. Luo’er stroked the intricate runes on the bullet heads and felt they were like works of art, so precious he couldn’t bear to use them.

Due to Tangmo’s sensitivity as a mage, she checked the runes on the bullet heads and confirmed that they were indeed operational. While in Haiya Academy, she had once criticized the academy’s Breaking Method bullet rune markings for being haphazard. Now, she was finally satisfied.

Although Tangmo changed her behavior, she still remembered her past, which provided some relief to Luo’er. It seemed Tangmo was still Tangmo, just perhaps a bit shaken by the events of that day, hence her clinginess.