Mercenary's War

Gao Yang arrived at the shooting range, an exceptionally large private range capable of ultra-long-distance shooting up to two thousand meters.

As the group disembarked, the shooting range was echoing with one gunshot after another.

Cui Bo, Phoenix, Jack, and four unfamiliar individuals were conducting test shots, with Phoenix as the shooter.

Almost everyone had a high-powered spotting scope in front of them, and Phoenix was test-firing a rifle on the ground that looked very familiar.

"How’s it going?"

Upon hearing Gao Yang’s words, Cui Bo first turned his head back but only nodded at Gao Yang before returning his eyes to the spotting scope.

Phoenix fired, and after a few seconds, Jack shouted, "Hit!"

After this shot, Phoenix put down the gun and climbed up from the ground, then she exclaimed with admiration, "What a gun!"

After speaking, Phoenix looked at Gao Yang, then nodded heavily, and said in a very affirmative tone, "It really is a good gun!"

For Phoenix, who was reserved, to express her feelings twice in a row showed that the gun really felt extraordinarily good to her.

Gao Yang first bumped fists with Jack, then smiled at Phoenix and said, "How is it good?"

Phoenix replied very seriously, "Try it, and you’ll know."

Gao Yang wasted no time. He rotated his neck, flexed his fingers a few times, and then said casually, "Let me give it a try."

Gao Yang went over and picked up the rifle, first touched the barrel, felt it was slightly warm—not too hot nor too cool, just within the optimal temperature range. He weighed its heft, considered its length, performed several gun-stocking actions back and forth, then shouted, "How heavy?"

"Twelve pounds exactly."

"Metric?"

"Equivalent to 5.45 kilograms."

"Length?"

"Contracted length is 980 millimeters, with stock fully extended 1210 millimeters."

"Range?"

"1500 meters can ensure a hit on a body target, at 1700 meters the spread diameter is 16 inches, at 1900 meters the spread is 20 inches, equivalent to..."

Answering Gao Yang’s question was Jack, who calculated carefully before nodding, "About 50 centimeters."

Gao Yang took a deep breath, loudly saying, "There’s still a significant chance of hitting a human body."

Jack chuckled, then continued, "The sight is 4X24 magnification, objective lens diameter is 40 millimeters, zeroed at 400 meters, dropping by one MOA every 200 meters."

Gao Yang exhaled, did a few lifts of the gun, pulled the telescopic stock back a bit, and after trying a few more times, shouted, "Let me try, shooting range from 600 meters to 1500 meters."

Starting directly from 600 meters, unsupported was impossible, Gao Yang lay on the mat Phoenix had just been on, found the target, and took his first shot.

Although it was the first shot, Gao Yang had a great feel for the gun, accurately hitting the target.

After shooting the first shot, Gao Yang surprisingly said, "Recoil is minimal, although slightly larger than the 7.62 caliber, it’s just a limited amount, very good."

After saying this, Gao Yang aimed again and continued shooting.

Target positions a hundred meters apart were shot consecutively, but as the magazine emptied, Gao Yang smoothly grabbed a ten-round magazine next to him and changed it, loudly stating, "Magazine swapping is convenient, very handy, excellent."

The shooting range extended further, Gao Yang adjusted the scope, magnifying the power somewhat, until he shot at an 1800-meter target, at which point he experienced his first miss.

Gao Yang put down the rifle, cleared the chamber, stood up, gazing at the rifle placed on the ground, contemplating silently.

No one made the slightest noise, until Gao Yang looked up again at Alexander and said, "This gun is extremely accurate, I can confirm it has achieved the limits of the .338 caliber, the recoil is controlled to be very small, allowing rapid successive shots, this surpasses any .338 rifle I know, but what’s the purpose of making such a rifle?"

Gao Yang raised a question many didn’t understand.

"The power of the 7.62 NATO cartridge is already sufficient for precision rifles, yet lacks effectiveness in long-range shooting. The .338 caliber bullet has significant power for targets within 1500 meters, but for targets beyond 600 meters, the control over the small recoil of the .338 doesn’t make sense for rapid shooting, because the time needed to find the target is already enough to stabilize the gun for a second shot. So, what’s the point of creating a rifle with surplus precision power for precise shooting and excess speed for long-range?"

Alexander replied seriously, "The situation you describe can be well accomplished with two rifles, but as a marksman, have you ever faced a target too far for your rifle’s range? Or have you experienced the frustration of slow firing speed with a large-caliber rifle at close-range targets? I’ve encountered this situation several times, so I wanted to build a gun that could achieve what only two rifles usually can, investing 100% money for a 1% performance gain, I’m willing to do so."

Gao Yang smiled, having indeed encountered similar situations, just before Yemen, when his Blade of Satan didn’t have enough range for the enemy on another hill, leaving only Cui Bo and Phoenix shooting while he watched. But if he carried a large-caliber rifle, his firing speed at medium-close range would drastically decrease.

"So you want to combine the work that two rifles could complete well into one rifle? I think every shooter could exploit this gun’s potential, so, what challenges did you face earlier?"

Alexander replied with a solemn expression, "Ten seconds, hit ten targets."

Gao Yang knew things wouldn’t be that simple, but he couldn’t help whistling and laughing, "Piece of cake."

"The shortest range for all target positions is one thousand meters, the longest is one thousand one hundred meters, distances between target positions are irregular, but cannot be less than fifty meters, nor more than one hundred meters."

Gao Yang’s expression changed immediately, exclaiming loudly, "That’s simply impossible!"

Alexander remained serious and said, "That’s why I need you."

Now Gao Yang truly felt it was impossible because Alexander’s requirements combined the firing speed of top marksmen at one hundred meters with the top accuracy of snipers at one thousand meters.

Those who don’t understand might think it’s merely aiming and shooting ten shots in succession, but those who do know it’s fundamentally infeasible.

Watching the dumbfounded Gao Yang unable to close his mouth, Alexander sighed, then said quietly, "That’s the bet, so I’ve come to you; now only you might be able to do it because everyone else has already failed."

Phoenix wasn’t usually talkative, but she looked at Alexander calmly and said, "You’ve lost; you should have realized this when you agreed to the bet."