Warhammer: The Time Traveler

Chapter 29 Electric Rifle
Chen Yu's purely technical appreciation of these bloodstained "trophies" sent a chill down the spines of everyone except Mann and Dorio.

Pila subconsciously touched her neck.

“You have completed the agreement.” Chen Yu put down the prosthetic body and turned to Mann. “As agreed, this is your reward.”

He walked to the weapon rack on the other side of the workshop and took down a strangely shaped weapon.

It has a long and slightly thick barrel, and the body is made of some kind of dark alloy. Its lines are simple and even a bit clumsy. At the rear, there is a huge hammer that needs to be manually cocked and a complicated capacitor structure. It looks more like an old flintlock gun in a museum or some kind of steampunk creation, which is out of place with the streamlined, high-tech firearms popular in Night City.

The gun's surface is covered with fine heat dissipation grooves and energy conduction patterns. The grip is covered with a non-slip black composite material, and the trigger guard is wide enough to accommodate gloved fingers. The whole gun exudes an aura that is a mixture of ozone and the cold quenching of metal.

“A portable directed energy weapon based on the principle of electrofusion,” Chen Yu handed the rifle, which was taller than Rebecca, to Mann. “I call it the ‘Electric Rifle’.”

Mann took the rifle; it was heavy and cold to the touch.

He examined the strange weapon closely, his brows furrowing slightly, clearly surprised by its retro appearance.

"It doesn't fire traditional warheads, but rather specially made alloy stinger bullets," Chen Yu explained, as a tentacle handed over three peculiar bullets, each about the length of a finger, shimmering with a silver-gray luster, and equipped with stabilizing fins at the tail. "The warheads contain superconducting coils and miniature energy buffers. Upon impact with the target, the impact fuse triggers all the electrical energy stored within the bullet, resulting in an instantaneous burst of ultra-high-intensity electromagnetic force."

He paused, the crimson lens sweeping across the crowd: "The effect is similar to detonating a small electromagnetic pulse grenade inside the target's body, but the energy is more concentrated. It can instantly burn out unprotected electronic equipment, and in organisms, it will cause annihilation damage to the nervous system and structural damage from the inside out."

It is highly effective against lightly armored vehicles and most cybernetically implanted individuals.

Upon hearing this, Mann's thick fingers carefully ran over the cold gun barrel, weighed the heavy, specially made bullets in his hand, and the doubt in his eyes was quickly replaced by surprise and solemnity.

He could imagine the terrifying effects this weapon would have in actual combat, especially against enemies who relied on cybernetic prosthetics and equipment.

“Good stuff,” Mann finally commented, his voice tinged with suppressed excitement, “though it looks a bit strange.”

He tried to simulate aiming and loading, and although his movements were a bit clumsy, he was very satisfied with the weapon's potential power.

“The ammunition requires a special manufacturing process, and currently I can only produce it manually,” Chen Yu reminded him, his tone calm. “Therefore, there are only these few. Use them sparingly, and replenish them when they are used up.”

"Understood." Mann solemnly put away the electric rifle and ammunition. "These kinds of powerful weapons are meant to be used in critical moments."

He knew the value of this weapon and would never waste it in ordinary firefights.

The transaction was completed, and the atmosphere seemed to ease somewhat.

Rebecca curiously tried to touch the electric rifle, but Pila nervously pulled her back.

Mann hesitated for a moment, glanced at his team members, especially Dorio and Falco, then looked at Chen Yu again and made an additional request: "'Boss,' your skills are unquestionable. Pira's injury, and Rebecca's eyes... we trust you. Could you perhaps... give us a complete overhaul of our prosthetic bodies?"

Many of these were cobbled together over the years, resulting in compatibility issues and underutilized performance.

Chen Yu's optical lens swept over Mann's thick subcutaneous armor, Dorio's reinforced tendons that were clearly supported by drugs, and the various types of sensors on Falco's body.

These inconsistencies were already recorded in his database.

For him, upgrading Mann's team would indeed improve their operational efficiency, survivability, and task completion rate, thus making them more efficient in serving him. It was a worthwhile investment.

“Sure,” Chen Yu replied quickly. “Your prosthetic system does indeed have a lot of redundancy, conflicts, and performance bottlenecks. After optimization, the overall combat effectiveness is expected to increase by more than 30%, and the daily maintenance cost will decrease by 15%.

His quick agreement relieved Mann, but everyone knew that this "boss" never did business at a loss.

"What is the price?" Mann asked directly.

The crimson light in Chen Yu's lens seemed to flicker slightly.

“I need a military-grade ‘Seanstein’ neural drive system,” he said, uttering the term. “Preferably the latest model from Arakawa or military technology, at least a product from within the last three years. The core processing unit and energy regulator must be intact.”

S.A.W.S.! The entire Mann team felt a chill run down their spines.

That was a truly high-end product, and one of the most strictly controlled items.

It can drastically accelerate the user's neural reflexes and perception, appearing to others as if it were teleporting instantly. It is a true trump card prosthetic body that can dance on the edge of a knife and seek survival amidst a hail of bullets.

Not only are they ridiculously expensive, but the acquisition channels are also extremely dangerous. Usually, only the company's elite troops or top lone wolves are qualified to equip them.

Chen Yu showed great technical interest in this prosthetic that can overload the nervous system: "I am very interested in its time dilation effect and the balancing mechanism of nervous overload, and I want to study it in detail."

Mann's brow furrowed deeply.

This requirement is much more difficult than getting a few bloodstained military cybernetic bodies.

This means actively hunting down a company elite or top mercenary equipped with Sianwistan, or finding a way through highly dangerous black market channels, either of which carries extremely high risks.

He paused for a few seconds, weighing the team's capabilities against the potential benefits.

Finally, he glanced at his companions beside him, whose eyes were filled with expectation, especially the longing for greater power and a higher survival rate in Dorio's eyes, and nodded heavily.

"Deal. We'll find a way to get our hands on S.A.S.L.S. As an advance payment, please help us with the debugging."

“That makes sense.” Chen Yu nodded slightly. “So, who’s going to start? Mann, you start. Your system is the most complex and has the most conflicts.”

He turned and walked toward the modified medical chair, which was covered with various interfaces and robotic arms. A mechanical tentacle gestured to Mann as if welcoming a guest.

Mann took a deep breath, took off his coat, revealing his upper body covered in scars and heavy implants, and lay down on it without hesitation.

The mechanical tentacles slowly descended as if they were alive, their cold tool tips gleaming with calibration light.

Inside the workshop, a new round of "upgrades" has begun.

(End of this chapter)