Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 584 - 577: New Type of Rifle

Chapter 584: Chapter 577: New Type of Rifle

"Besides, it’s time to update your weapons. There’s no need to keep using such outdated equipment." Wang Xu continued to speak, oblivious to the argument between the two.

"Our weapons don’t seem that obsolete, do they?" Luo’er asked.

His comment was accurate. The Advance Team’s weapons were mainly custom-made by the Northern Industry. Although the external appearance and internal structures did not diverge significantly from the original designs, some minor adjustments had been made.

More importantly, these weapons were manufactured using the most advanced alloys and composite materials, which significantly reduced their weight while ensuring their strength.

"Those will be replaced as well. I was worried that certain individuals with ill intentions might recognize you, but there’s no need for that concern anymore," Wang Xu said.

"Why is that?" Luo’er asked.

"The Origin Project has been revealed. Everyone in the world now knows about our covert undertaking. Even though we publicly state it as an effort to adopt mixed-race children of Earthlings and Otherworlders, anyone with a brain should realize that, under normal circumstances, successful birth of hybrid offspring between Earthlings and Otherworlders is extremely rare. It’s impossible that tens of thousands of subspecies have naturally bred in just over 20 years." Wang Xu shook his head, lamenting the situation.

"What are the implications of this revelation?" Luo’er asked with some unease.

"There will definitely be some impact. However, the top brass were quite shrewd; they abandoned the Origin Project before it was revealed and are preparing to launch the Mingming Plan. Compared to the Origin Project, the Mingming Plan would be much easier for Earthlings to accept," Wang Xu replied.

"Did the CIA do this?" Cheng Ziang suddenly thought of something and asked.

"Who else but them? They want to manipulate Western public opinion to pressure us, but they haven’t found sufficient evidence, so they can’t do anything to us for the time being," Wang Xu responded, shrugging nonchalantly.

"So, has the Advance Team effectively become semi-public now?" Luo’er asked after a moment of contemplation.

"Pretty much. Once we secure Lipei, we’ll need to increase our manpower significantly, so the Advance Team becoming public was inevitable regardless. Enough about that for now; come with me to the armory to see your new weapons." Speaking thus, Wang Xu led the group towards the armory.

The armory was the central sector of the sole structure in the base, closely monitored by numerous armed guards. Nothing could be taken from it without Wang Xu’s order.

After passing numerous checkpoints, they arrived at the armory, pervaded by the smell of gun oil. Tangmo and Baiyue, the two girls of the group, couldn’t withhold a frown and covered their noses, despite being accustomed to the aroma.

Wang Xu approached a polymer box, opened it, and pulled out a bullpup rifle to hand to Luo’er.

"This is the QBZ47 bullpup rifle, produced by Northern Industry, standardised in 2047. It fires 7.62X39mm rifle rounds, using polymer magazines. Of course, it is compatible with the widely-used AK magazines," Wang Xu explained as Luo’er inspected the rifle.

Luo’er evaluated the new rifle. It felt light and somewhat unreal, possibly due to the plastic-like sensation it imparted. Even when fully loaded, it probably wouldn’t weigh much. The overall design of the weapon seemed to be an amalgamation of the Tavor and the Type 95 rifles, with the charging handle located at the forward end of the rifle, tilted at a 45-degree angle, similar to the Tavor.

The rifle had a loaded chamber indicator, and Luo’er pulled on the charging handle, failing to locate the ejection port. Upon thorough inspection, he found the ejection port positioned directly above the trigger, at least ten centimeters from the magazine.

"How is it ejecting the shell casings?" Luo’er couldn’t help but inquire as he scrutinized the rifle.

"Ah, the ejecting mechanism is somewhat similar to the FN2000. The casings are expelled forward through a channel, pushed out of the ejection window by subsequent casings," Wang Xu explained.

"Why make it so complicated?" Luo’er checked the mechanism and found that it indeed functioned as explained. Nevertheless, he wasn’t particularly fond of overly intricate weapons, even though moving the ejection port forward would effectively avoid the interference of gunpowder smoke on the shooter’s vision.

"The Northern Industry originally intended to design this rifle as a caseless one. But, the head honchos insisted on first developing a rifle that could fire cased ammunition due to the ubiquity of AK ammunition in the Otherworld. The current design is also in preparation for future modifications into a caseless model. The improved version of this rifle is currently in development and should be ready for mass production soon," Wang Xu explained.

"Wow, this gun is so light. But come to think of it, we’ve never seen this gun before. It seems like no one at our station uses it either." Hu Daoke weighed the gun in his hand and asked.

"Hmm, it’s true that not many people use it. This gun was finalized in 1947. Back then, the headquarters ordered five hundred of them to stock the frontline command. You guys were supposed to be issued these guns when you entered the Otherworld, but we ended up letting you choose your own due to concerns about secrecy," Wang Xu replied.

"So, this gun hasn’t seen any real combat yet?" Luo’er asked.

"You could say that," Wang Xu nodded in response.

Hearing this, Luo’er couldn’t help but sigh, then he muttered, "Sigh, the bunch at the Otherworld Research Center really pisses me off..."

"Actually, they’re now researching improved models. Your experience with them can be used to guide their improvements," Wang Xu said.

"But are they reliable?" Luo’er held up the rifle and took a quick aim. The rifle used aperture sight and had a long Picatinny Rail on top of the magazine, suitable for mounting optical sights.

"Absolutely, even the poorest quality finalized weapon would not be unreliable," Wang Xu assured him.

"Can I take it to the shooting range and try it out?" Luo’er asked, looking at him.

"Go ahead. Pick a new one, there’s plenty to choose from," Wang Xu said, waving them on with a gesture.

"Instructor, what should I use?" Hu Daoke pointed at himself and asked.

He was the support of the Advance Team, responsible for suppressive fire and isn’t likely to use a rifle with a thirty-round capacity. Without a heavy barrel and machine gun bullets, his suppressing effect would be greatly reduced.

"No worries. The gun is modularly assembled. You can find a suitable model and modify it slightly," Wang Xu replied.

"But..." Hu Daoke showed a troubled face. Frankly speaking, he didn’t like this new gun much. If he had to choose, he would prefer his RPK.

"Instructor, what about Yue’er?" Tangmo asked, pointing and waving at Baiyue.

Baiyue was a sniper and obviously wouldn’t need a rifle. Even if she wanted to switch, she couldn’t assemble a sniper rifle from a Type 47.

"As for Baiyue," Wang Xu hesitated for a moment before saying, "I think it’s best that we keep things as they are, but your role might need to change."

After having gone over the combat reports from the Advance Team over the years, Wang Xu realized that they hardly ever needed a sniper. The Otherworld had a high coverage of vegetation, so most of their battles were skirmishes in the jungle, where the advantages of a bolt-action sniper rifle couldn’t be brought into play.

During the Vietnam War, the American military equipped their troops with the highly accurate M14 rifles, but they were still largely outmatched by the Vietnamese troops armed with AK47s, mainly because they were often engaged in jungle warfare. In such battles, the precision of M14 was completely useless. Instead, the firepower of the AK rifles shone brightly, forcing the Americans to hurriedly counter with M16s.

Although the Advance Team did need precise long-range firepower, they didn’t need a sniper. With only five members in total, it wouldn’t make sense to have four of them revolving around the sniper. That would basically turn the Advance Team into a sniper squad.

Therefore, considering all the factors, Wang Xu suggested that Baiyue change her role from a sniper to a marksman. This way, a slight compromise in precision and range could be made to address the longstanding issue the Advance Team had with firepower.

Baiyue didn’t object to or feel dissatisfied with Wang Xu’s proposal. She too had sensed that in many combat situations, she was unable to play a significant role. Her rate of fire was her biggest hindrance, making her feel powerless at times.

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