Chapter 2: Let's Start the Experiment

In the No. 3 shooting range of the space station, a young man stood quietly waiting.

With short white hair and brown skin, he appeared slim and youthful, but one should not underestimate him—he was Alan, the head of the Defense Division of the space station.

As the department responsible for protecting the space station, the members of the Defense Division were under immense pressure. Alan not only withstood this pressure but also proved his worth through his actions, earning the respect of the Defense Division members, who affectionately referred to him as "Big Brother."

The reason Alan, despite his busy schedule, made time to wait here was...

"Good morning, Alan. Sorry to keep you waiting," Gu Tang greeted as he walked in.

"Good morning, Mr. Gu Tang. It's no trouble at all; I'm honored to assist with your experiment," Alan replied politely.

Gu Tang's position as a Special Researcher was one thing, but his status as Black Tower's assistant conferred even greater authority. Black Tower's exact words had been, "He can do whatever he wants, and don't try to understand it because even I don't."

Essentially, the space station was merely Black Tower's private warehouse for housing followers and curios, a place she didn't particularly care about. Given that Gu Tang was considered more valuable than the entire space station, it was easy to imagine the level of power and status he held there.

Thus, whenever Gu Tang had a need, even the head of the Defense Division had to comply and assist with the experiments.

"I was delayed by a fight between some researchers during breakfast. I mediated for a bit, which took some time," Gu Tang explained the reason for his tardiness.

"Such a thing happened? It seems I wasn't supervising well enough. I'll check on it right after this experiment and ensure it doesn't happen again," Alan promptly replied.

Gu Tang waved a hand dismissively. "It's fine. I didn't expect to see two female researchers fighting two male researchers—it was quite entertaining."

"What? What exactly happened?" Alan was taken aback.

"Alright, let's not dwell on trivial matters. Let's get on with testing this new equipment I developed," Gu Tang said, pulling out an oversized gun from his waist pouch.

The gun was nearly a meter long and had a rugged, wild appearance, with various mechanical parts violently pieced together. Alan even noticed layers of tape wrapped around it, exposed wires, and a large power source jammed inside. On closer inspection, the front wasn't even a gun barrel but half a metal pipe.

"Uh, can this really be used?" Alan, though accustomed to assisting Gu Tang with experiments, was still deeply shocked.

Gu Tang tapped his head with a finger. "Haha... just a few days ago, my genius brain came up with some brilliant ideas."

"Wh-what ideas?" Alan regretted asking, suspecting he might be blown to bits by this gun.

"As long as it's a firearm, accuracy is always pursued. But I devised two methods to bypass this issue," Gu Tang elaborated enthusiastically. "One is to mount more barrels and magazines, firing at higher speeds in a burst. With enough bullets, you're bound to hit something."

"...And the other?"

"Use a larger barrel and bigger ammunition to blast in the general direction of the enemy. With sufficient power, you're bound to blow something up."

"..."

"You must be eager to try, right, Alan?" Gu Tang's typically stoic face showed a rare smile as he looked at Alan.

"Eager isn't the word I'd use; more like scared out of my wits..."

Alan wiped sweat from his forehead.

"Alright, let me demonstrate first," Gu Tang said, lifting the gun.

Alan watched as Gu Tang grabbed a handful of different-sized bullets, forcibly loaded them, and pulled the trigger.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The deafening gunfire, like thunderclaps, exploded in Alan's ears, making his head buzz.

The massive gun spewed a terrifying storm of bullets, shredding all the targets to pieces.

Alan swore the number of bullets fired far exceeded what Gu Tang had loaded.

The total volume of bullets fired was even greater than the gun itself.

Minutes later, the gunfire ceased, and the shooting range returned to silence.

Naturally, the targets were obliterated, and even the wall behind them was covered in blackened cracks, as if hit by a missile, emitting wisps of black smoke.

"Not bad. I'll call it the 'Burst Gun No. 8'," Gu Tang nodded approvingly.

"Mr. Gudang, you've named several previous guns the same. Why not call this one No. 9?" Alan asked.

"Nine? What's that? Sorry, I can't count that far."

"...."

"Alright, stop standing there like a fool. You try it out and give me your feedback."

Name: Burst Gun No. 8

Type: Weapon - Firearm

Level: 3

Effect: By feeding bullets, you can accumulate energy in the gun. Once the energy is full, it can unleash a powerful barrage, with power determined by the user's 'Passion' stat.

Evaluation: Forget about energy; what the heck is a 'Passion' stat?

Gu Tang's system had an automatic item appraisal function, though he seldom used it.

"Great, that's a day's work done. Time to slack off," Gu Tang said, returning to his quarters.

Though he'd only worked for an hour, that was quite an accomplishment for him.

The gun was handed over to Alan, who took it to the Research Division of the space station.

Gu Tang's inventions were so unique that even he couldn't replicate them, so other departments' researchers often reverse-engineered them to see if they could glean any useful insights.

Despite his Intelligence stat being a mere 3, Gu Tang continuously created various ingenious gadgets, thanks to a particular skill he possessed.

Skill: I Reckon This Could Work

Level: Guessing, maybe six million

Effect: Your inventions are no longer dependent on intelligence but on love and courage.

Evaluation: As long as you believe a pipe is a handgun from the bottom of your heart, you can use it to shoot bullets.

This skill wasn't even granted by the system; he came with it.

To put it simply, it's a reality-altering skill based on belief.

As long as Gu Tang believed wholeheartedly that he was creating a space battleship, the resulting contraption could indeed fly to the skies, even if it was just a raft.

Of course, there was a slight touch of instability.

Gu Tang believed he had extraordinary talent and wisdom, which allowed him to maximize this skill's potential.

He hadn't realized the skill's existence because he was illiterate. To be precise, he could only recognize characters with fewer than six strokes.

"Right, Asta mentioned that the Star Rail would be arriving at the space station today," Gu Tang remembered, glancing at the calendar on the wall.

"The trailblazers on the train are good people; maybe I can make friends with them..." He genuinely wanted to make friends.

Black Tower was a solitary figure who didn't need social interaction, but Gudang was a normal person.

The train had visited a few times before, but Gudang was usually busy assisting Black Tower with experiments and hadn't had the chance to meet them.

"This time, Black Tower is away, leaving me to slack off at the station. I can't miss this opportunity."

Gudang put on his headphones, played his favorite rock music, and lay comfortably on his bed.

"Yes, I need to show the trailblazers my scientific side first. Who doesn't like a scientist..."

He dreamt of a wonderful future where he had many friends.

Noise-Cancelling Headphones

Type: Daily Item

Level: 1

Effect: Can completely block out all external sounds.

Evaluation: Don't even think about it; you'll never invent something this gentle.

This was one of the system's rewards.

Slowly, as the rock music pulsated in his ears, Gu Tang drifted off to sleep.

At this hour, taking a nap was perfectly normal.

Shortly after Gu Tang fell asleep...

Beep! Beep! Beep!

A piercing alarm blared throughout the space station.

Red warning lights flashed continuously, dyeing everything in the station a vibrant red, signaling imminent danger.

Level One Alert! Level One Alert!

The space station has been breached by hostile forces! Defense systems are down!

All personnel, evacuate immediately to the nearest shelter!

Instantly, chaos erupted within the space station.

A woman wearing sunglasses gracefully approached her target.

A girl with a longbow and a young man with a long gun sprinted towards the depths of the space station.

The station master issued a series of emergency commands from the control room.

Alan fought valiantly, buying time for the researchers to evacuate.

The wheels of fate began to turn at this moment.

"Huff... huff..."

Gudang lay on his bed, breathing evenly, still lost in his dreams.

As mentioned earlier, Gudang's authority as Black Tower's assistant was unlimited.

This meant no one could enter his room to wake him—not even Station Master Asta.

Ding! Quest 'Journey Begins' activated.

Quest Objective: Board the Star Rail.

Reward: Randomly enhance an existing skill.