Looking at the gigantic, jet-black gun exuding a strong sense of technology in front of him, Pei Yan looked questioningly at Engineer Li, whose nose was beaded with sweat from excitement.
"This is an electromagnetic gun."
"An electromagnetic gun?" Although he had seen many sci-fi movies and had a rough guess about this object, Pei Yan still felt very surreal after Engineer Li spoke those words.
Engineer Li squatted down, gently stroking the gun body as he slowly explained, "Yes, an electromagnetic gun. Don’t think of it as too mysterious. This type of thing was made a long time ago, and the research level of electromagnetic cannons in our country is also at the forefront of the world. The technical principle of an electromagnetic gun is not complicated; it’s merely restricted by the energy source, affecting its practicality. Come on, try to see if you can absorb and transform it."
"Oh, okay!" With Engineer Li’s words, Pei Yan became interested. He bent down and touched the electromagnetic gun, a flash of blue light came, and in no time, the electromagnetic gun turned into a stream of black liquid and merged into his body.
Amid the crowd’s expectant gaze, Pei Yan shook his head in bewilderment and said, "It’s a bit strange. I want to demonstrate it, but my subconscious is rejecting transforming it into its original form!"
"It’s okay. Just judge accordingly with your ability and transform it into any form you can manage." Engineer Li’s eyes lit up as he eagerly approached and spoke.
Pei Yan nodded, closed his eyes again, and imagined the electromagnetic gun taking shape in his mind, allowing his internal abilities to release freely. Not long after, blue light shone from his hands, and two peculiar large revolvers appeared in his hands.
"Why are they handguns?"
"Yeah, and they’re considerably larger!"
"Could it have failed?"
The onlookers expressed their astonishment as Pei Yan looked at the large revolvers in his hands, just as shocked.
"Can I take a look?" Engineer Li reached out his right hand to Pei Yan, trembling slightly. Pei Yan handed him one of the guns without much thought.
As soon as he took the revolver, Engineer Li’s arm noticeably dipped; this thing was much heavier than it looked. Observing the coil-like protrusions around the gun barrel, he opened the chamber and carefully examined the entire gun.
While returning the revolver to Pei Yan, he turned around, took the clipboard from his assistant, squatted on the ground, and started sketching with a pen. Feeling uncomfortable, he simply sprawled on the ground, tearing off the scribbled paper and started anew.
Hu Wenjun quickly called for tables and chairs to be brought over, but Engineer Li, absorbed in his work, paid no attention to his surroundings. After a while, he again requested Pei Yan’s handgun, opened it, took calipers handed to him by an assistant, measured and recorded it carefully, and then lay down again to make amendments on the blueprint.
After a while, Engineer Li handed the completed template to Pei Yan, "Can you transform bullets according to the size indicated in this diagram?"
Pei Yan took the blueprint; it depicted a jujube pit-shaped bullet with detailed dimensions and views from multiple angles, allowing Pei Yan to quickly grasp what Engineer Li wanted him to produce.
"Yes, I can try!" Saying so, Pei Yan focused on the blueprint with one hand, and with the other hand extended, listened to the clinking as more than ten bullets emerged from his left palm, falling to the ground.
Engineer Li darted forward, picked up the bullets, measured them with calipers, and shook his head reluctantly, "There are still discrepancies in size, but it will do for now. Today, let’s do a test; if successful, I’ll have the factory create standard bullets for you to absorb and see if you can perfectly replicate them. Now load these bullets and see if they can be fired!" Bending down, Engineer Li scooped up the bullets, held them out to Pei Yan.
Pei Yan took the bullets and loaded them into the revolver, closed the chamber, and looked around blankly. Hu Wenjun immediately ordered, "Stand back! Make room and put some empty boxes on the table to serve as targets!"
Ten minutes later, facing the wooden boxes fifty meters away, Pei Yan raised his right hand, aimed, and pulled the trigger. The imagined loud gunshot did not occur; the bullet, upon leaving the gun barrel, only emitted a subtle and dull whizzing sound.
In the blink of an eye, a hole was pierced in the wooden box fifty meters away. Quickly, Pei Yan unleashed twelve bullets from the two revolvers, one after another.
Pleased, Pei Yan was about to ask Engineer Li how he performed, only to find all the staff around him were gone, having rushed to the wooden boxes fifty meters away to examine the outcome of the shooting.
Surrounded at the center of the crowd, Gu Shenghui and Elder Lin exchanged glances upon seeing the perforated wooden box, understanding the implication. They turned to Engineer Li and asked, "Engineer Li, what do you think of the gun’s power?"
"Far greater than a conventional handgun. Based on the damage effect, the effective range could be increased further."
"And this kid’s ability?" Gu Shenghui moved closer to Engineer Li and asked quietly.
"It matches my hypothesis; his ability is not only about absorption and fusion. He can enhance and transform the performance of absorbed items to achieve a higher level of technology." Engineer Li turned and looked far away at Pei Yan squatting and idly playing with bullets in his hand, speaking excitedly.
"It seems we need to accelerate the upcoming tests! Otherwise, we can’t fulfill the orders from above. Is the internal source extractor ready?" Gu Shenghui asked with meaning, shifting his gaze in the same direction.
"It’s been ready. As soon as he completes the first stage awakening and can externalize the internal source, we can proceed with extraction."
"Alright then, I won’t disturb your work any longer. You carry on!" After saying this, Gu Shenghui stepped back a few paces, blending back into the crowd with Elder Lin, quietly continuing to observe the test.
Returning to Pei Yan’s side, the revolver was once again borrowed for thorough study with his colleagues.
"Essentially, the principle isn’t much different, but where’s the power source?" Xiaosun mumbled, holding the revolver in both hands.
Engineer Li pointed to the gun’s trigger, "You, still not observant enough. Didn’t you notice the electric arc around Pei Yan’s mechanical finger during firing? He himself is the power source, the mechanical finger triggers the shot, instantly channeling high voltage into the gun to fire. It seems there’s some trick inside the stock too."
"Then doesn’t it mean only Pei Yan can use this weapon?" asked another female technician nearby, somewhat regretfully.
"Yes, but it also suggests a direction for our future weapon development. Pack these two electromagnetic revolvers into the safe, and later we’ll take them back to the lab to see if we can disassemble and study them," said Engineer Li, turning to Pei Yan. "Can we take this thing for research?"
Pei Yan tilted his head nonchalantly, "Of course, without you, I wouldn’t have this thing. Besides, I can always create another if needed, though I’m not sure if it’ll work away from me."
"That’s what we want to understand too, so we’ll take it back to study thoroughly. Now, try again and see if you can transform into the form of an electromagnetic rifle?"