This assassin is upright

Chapter 454 Weapon Forger

"Forging weapons?"

Yu Zhun's eyes lit up slightly.

For him, the two daggers he had used for so long had become an extension of his body. Without a suitable weapon, his strength would be reduced by at least 30%.

So, having obtained the fifth-tier alloy, he was already looking forward to his new weapon. Unexpectedly, Black Hawk took the initiative to suggest that the next place they should go was a place where weapons could be forged for him.

"Boss, I might have to leave the team for a while." The rat suddenly spoke up. "From what you guys are saying, there might be a battle in the next few days."

"Forging weapons is none of my business, so I might as well take this opportunity to go to the cybernetic modification center and see if I can enhance my cybernetic body."

“Alright.” Black Hawk nodded, then after a moment’s thought, turned his gaze to Iron Tower. “Shall we have Iron Tower accompany you?”

“No need.” The mouse shook its head. “The Iron Tower can stay with you. He’s too big and will only attract attention.”

At this point, the mouse grinned.

"Boss, you know this place very well."

After saying that, he waved to the four of them, turned around gracefully, and quickly disappeared at the other end of the street.

“Don’t worry about the rat.” Black Hawk looked at Yu Zhun, who had turned his gaze away, and seemed to have guessed his thoughts. “The rat is a little different from the rest of us.”

"He probably didn't mention to you that he's from the City of Floating Ash."

"Huh?" Yu Zhun was taken aback. "A rat is a city dweller?"

Yu Zhun hadn't really thought of this.

After all, when Rat mentioned the City of Floating Ash, he either felt disgust or resistance; he was even the least willing person in the squad to enter the city.

Who would have thought that such a person would come from here?

“I don’t really know much about Rat’s past,” Black Hawk said softly. “I only know that he came from the City of Floating Ash, and later lost part of his body for some reason, becoming a cybernetic engineer and joining the excavation team.”

Black Hawk paused here, "Although on the surface the rat's modified prosthetic body only has one hand, in reality..."

"His heart is also a modified prosthetic."

"The heart?!" Yu Zhun's pupils suddenly contracted.

Unlike hands and feet, the heart is the source of life. Losing a heart means death. No one would willingly give up a vibrant heart and replace it with a cold, mechanical one. Therefore, the rat must have experienced a tremendous change.

Looking at the other two, it was clear that they already knew about this.

The atmosphere became somewhat silent along the way, until they were almost at their destination, when Black Hawk spoke again, "We're almost there."

"The person who forged the weapon is named Song Yan. He is an evolved being with special abilities, able to control the temperature of the flames with his mind."

"That's why he can forge high-grade alloys."

As he spoke, Black Hawk stopped in front of a blacksmith's shop.

Before even pushing open the door, Yu Zhun felt a wave of heat hit him, and there were also clear, clattering knocking sounds coming from inside the door.

When Black Hawk pushed open the door, the intense heat of the fire inside instantly entered Yu Zhun's eyes. A shirtless man was swinging a heavy forging hammer, intently forging a rough weapon.

After a long while, he picked up the rough weapon blank, put it into the quenching agent, wiped the sweat from his brow, and then noticed Yu Zhun and the others standing at the door.

Finally, his gaze fell on Black Hawk.

To be precise, it landed on the longsword at Black Hawk's waist.

"It's you!" The man laughed loudly and strode over.

“I remember you, the guy who forged longswords from fourth-order alloys.” Song Yan’s large eyes held a pure fervor.

"What brings you here this time?"

"I need you to forge a new weapon," Black Hawk said calmly.

"Just as I expected!" Song Yan laughed heartily. "I have absolute confidence in the weapons I forge. That longsword couldn't possibly have any problems requiring rework, much less reach the point of needing to be discarded so quickly, so..."

His gaze shifted to the other three people following closely behind Black Hawk. "Which of them needs a weapon forged?"

“It’s me.” Yu Zhun stepped forward, his eyes filled with a mixture of inquiry and curiosity as he looked at the other person.

He is indeed a very interesting person.

He seemed to have guessed everything, but his basis was only absolute confidence in the weapon he had forged, and the eagerness in his eyes seemed to be simply because he had the opportunity to forge a brand new weapon.

Such pure people are truly rare.

Especially in this chaotic world of intrigue and backstabbing.

"It's you, little brother." Song Yan smiled and held out his hand to Yu Zhun. "Let me see your hand."

Yu Zhun did not understand his meaning, but still stretched out both hands.

Song Yan examined it carefully, seemingly confirming the dimensions, before asking, "What kind of weapon do you need? Do you have the materials?"

"While I can provide some materials needed for forging weapons, I personally recommend that you..."

Before Song Yan could finish speaking, his mind was completely drawn to a purplish-black light that appeared before his eyes, and his eyes widened suddenly.

Having worked with metal forging for a long time, Song Yan had developed an incredibly keen eye for metal materials. He recognized what it was at a glance.

A fifth-order alloy of extremely high value!

In an instant, Song Yan's already burning gaze became even more intense.

"What a grand gesture!" He suddenly stepped forward and held the fifth-grade alloy in his hands, almost pressing his eyes against it, carefully examining every line and pattern on it, his eyes filled with deep fascination and infatuation.

After taking a deep breath, he suddenly looked at Yu Zhun.

"Was it really made by me?"

“…Yes.” Yu Zhun’s lips twitched slightly.

The other party's demeanor was rather unreliable. If Black Hawk hadn't told him beforehand that this guy named Song Yan was very skilled in forging, he would have already turned around and left with the fifth-grade alloy.

"How much does forging cost?"

"No need!" Song Yan waved his hand without hesitation. "What more could I ask for than a weapon that can be forged from fifth-grade alloy?"

With that, Song Yan took the fifth-order alloy and turned to walk onto the forging table.

It wasn't until he deftly fed a whole block of alloy into the heating furnace that Song Yan realized he seemed to have forgotten something.

"Um... what did you want to forge again?"

"Two daggers." Yu Zhun's lips twitched again.

"Two daggers..." Song Yan's gaze returned to the heating furnace, watching the fifth-order alloy inside rapidly turn red-hot. His mind raced, and he quickly nodded. "Just enough." "Wait, I'll begin."

"It can be done in half a day at most!"

After saying that, Song Yan picked up the heated fifth-order alloy from the furnace and began hammering it with a forging hammer.

"Captain, is this guy reliable?" Yu Zhun couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

"Don't worry." Black Hawk nodded slightly, not surprised by Song Yan's series of actions. "Although he has very strong forging skills, Song Yan's forging has many shortcomings because his forging methods are too primitive."

"Some relatively special weapons, which can only be made using stamping methods, cannot be forged here."

"That's why Song Yan doesn't have many guests."

"He himself is obsessed with forging. Even when there are no customers, he will contact forging shops on his own to continuously improve his skills."

At this point, Black Hawk pointed to a pile of things in the corner of the forge.

Yu Zhun then noticed that they were all weapon blanks made of various high-strength alloys forged to different stages, some of which were almost ready to be used.

"For this reason, Song Yan is very welcome to forge high-grade alloys." Black Hawk paused for a moment. "I used fourth-grade alloys to forge for him before and also enjoyed a very good discount. Of course, I was a little surprised that he directly waived the cost of fifth-grade alloys."

"But you don't need to worry about his skills."

“Song Yan can handle cold weapons like daggers perfectly well.”

“Also…” Black Hawk paused for a moment, “Although Song Yan said it would take half a day, this guy is a quick-draw artist. Based on his previous forging speed, he can finish it in one or two hours at most.”

Upon hearing this, Yu Zhun looked at Song Yan. In the short time it took him and Black Hawk to exchange a few words, the alloy in Song Yan's hand had already split in two, and one half already had the general outline of a dagger blade, which proved that what Black Hawk said was true.

“In that case, let’s wait here,” Yu Zhun said slowly.

After all, it was a weapon that he would be using soon, and probably for quite some time, so Yu Zhun still hoped to witness its creation firsthand.

In addition, the longer he stayed here, the more he felt that he was gradually increasing his tolerance for high temperatures, which could be considered as becoming stronger in a certain sense.

"Then Iron Tower and I will go find a place to stay for tonight," Wolf Fang said calmly, arms crossed.

“Go ahead,” Black Hawk nodded. “Find a safe place, after all, we’ll be staying here for four more days.”

Wolf Fang gave a "no problem" gesture and left with Iron Tower.

Inside the large forging room, only Yu Zhun and Black Eagle, who had casually found a place to sit and wait, and Song Yan, who was diligently forging, remained.

Amidst the resounding hammering and constant sparks, two daggers were taking shape at an astonishing speed.

Finally, as Song Yan attached a suitable handle to the dagger blade and performed grinding and polishing operations, the two blades, gleaming with a purplish-black light, were completely completed, resembling the fangs of a venomous snake in the dark.

"Young man, come and take a look!" After admiring his masterpiece, Song Yan smiled and strode towards Yu Zhun. "This set of Viper's Fangs will satisfy you."

"The fangs of a viper?" Yu Zhun casually took the dagger, but before he could even try it out, Song Yan stopped him.

"Wrong, wrong!" Song Yan waved his hand. "I used the wrong hands."

Upon hearing this, Yu Zhun noticed that the two daggers he was holding were actually different. One of them had a coarser blade and a rough, saw-like edge.

Such a blade can deliver greater cutting force and cause greater tearing damage to the wound.

The other dagger is longer and thinner, and the tip of the blade has a special structure designed to make it better for piercing.

“Because fifth-grade alloy has sufficiently high strength, I made some special designs during the forging of these daggers.” Song Yan’s face was full of pride. “I observed your hands.”

"The muscles in your right thumb are more developed than those in your left thumb, which means you are more accustomed to using your right hand to chop."

"With this in mind, I designed a more convenient rounded serration for your right-hand dagger. This design can significantly improve the cutting effect without sacrificing the weapon's strength."

"As for the weapons on the other side, I have enhanced their piercing power."

"A very good design." Yu Zhun gripped the two daggers, gestured with them in the air, and then nodded in satisfaction.

As Song Yan said, he was indeed more accustomed to slashing with his right hand.

After all, what he used to hold in his right hand was the [Netherworld Mourning Demon Blade] with its bold and expansive design, while the [Netherworld Fleeting Bloom Demon Blade] in his left hand was more slender and agile in design.

This habit, under the influence of the mutation inducer, naturally caused slight differences to appear in his hands.

When Song Yan first met Yu Zhun, he was able to discern this fact just by glancing at Yu Zhun's hands, which was enough to prove that Yu Zhun indeed had considerable forging experience and skills.

More importantly, these two new weapons were much more handy than the previous daggers, giving Yu Zhun an unprecedented sense of ease, as if he had already fought with these two weapons many times.

He had this feeling because the weapon handle fit perfectly into his palm at that moment, without leaving any gaps.

This was also something Song Yan observed during the forging process.

“The captain is right,” Yu Zhun said sincerely. “You are indeed a very skilled blacksmith.”

"Haha, of course." Song Yan smiled smugly. "Take your weapon with you. I hope it can stay with you for a long time."

“After all… each weapon is like my child.” As he said this, a hint of melancholy and sadness appeared on Song Yan’s face.

"Thank you very much."

Yu Zhun spoke sincerely, then fixed the matching scabbard to his waist. Feeling the heavy weight on his waist, he felt a little more at ease.

"You're welcome!" Song Yan laughed heartily. "If you really want to thank me, then please introduce me to more business!"

"Especially for forging this kind of high-grade alloy, no matter how much or how little."

"If I have the chance, I will." Yu Zhun nodded with a smile.

“They’re gone,” Black Hawk said calmly. “Iron Tower sent a message saying that he and Wolf Fang have found a place for us to settle down.”

“Okay.” Yu Zhun nodded slightly, waved to Song Yan beside him, and then followed Black Eagle as they turned and left the forge.

The moment Black Hawk stepped out of the forge, his expression quickly darkened.

"What's wrong?" Sensing something was amiss, Yu Zhun was slightly taken aback. The joy he felt at acquiring a new weapon quickly faded, and his expression became serious.

"Those words were meant for Song Yan," Black Hawk said in a deep voice, then paused slightly.

"The actual problem is with the rats."

"A rat?" Yu Zhun's heart tightened. The thought of the other man going alone for prosthetic surgery made him anxious. "What happened to him?"

“It’s not clear yet.” Black Hawk shook his head. “Wolf Fang and Iron Tower have already gone there, but Wolf Fang just asked me for help.”

"It seems that the two of them alone are not enough to solve the problem."

At this point, Black Hawk looked at Yu Zhun, "So, we need to go over to the rats' side right now."

(End of this chapter)