Chapter 40: One Shot, and the World Fell Silent

Xing Xiaolong originally thought he would be satisfied with just a knife, but to his surprise, the silver ring proved far more impressive than the gold one, granting him a large-caliber revolver. Moreover, it was a rare tactical model—one with doubled stopping power.

The doubled lethality attribute came from the Titan Holographic Insignia, something Xing Xiaolong had never heard of before. But what exactly made this revolver “tactical”? Simply put, conventional firearms have fixed structures and can only accept specific, compatible accessories; they cannot accommodate modular attachments at will. Even if you had accessories, you couldn’t secure them to the weapon.

In contrast, tactical models—built on the conventional base but specially modified—feature multiple universal attachment points on the body, allowing easy installation of all sorts of modular accessories, produced by dedicated manufacturers. This adaptation responds to the demands of increasingly advanced technology and soldiers’ need for versatile weapons on the battlefield.

Consequently, firearms must be able to load various modular attachments that can be mounted or removed at any time, to cope with complex battlefield situations. Examples include optical sights (holographic, integrated red-green dot, laser, infrared, night vision), tactical flashlights, grenade launchers, bayonets, and more. All these require universal modularity; the typical slot-based accessories simply won’t work on tactical firearms.

After years of development, tactical firearms—whether rifles, pistols, or heavy machine guns—now come in standard, tactical, and even customized, upgraded tactical variants. The difference between them can be identified by one simple feature: the rail system.

Rails, also known as Picatinny rails or “fishbones,” are standardized attachment platforms installed on light weapons. The Picatinny rail is the most prevalent. The vast majority of modular accessories can be installed onto a Picatinny rail. In essence, “tactical” means multipurpose, quick, and convenient use—the advent of rails gave rise to tactical firearms.

Revolvers, though renowned for destructive power, near-zero firing malfunctions, simple structure, and ease of maintenance, suffer from low ammo capacity, short range, slow rate of fire, and heavy recoil. Few have bothered to design tactical revolvers—there’s little need, and it seems superfluous.

The “R8 Revolver” Xing Xiaolong received is modeled after the Smith & Wesson Model 327 TRR8 Tactical Revolver, one of the world’s few tactical revolvers. It measures 267mm in overall length, with a 127mm barrel, holds eight rounds, and weighs 1026g.

It is chambered for the .50AE heavy bullet, whose projectile weighs three times that of the standard 9mm Luger commonly used in pistols; the .50AE caliber corresponds to 12.7mm.

A true “big daddy” of calibers!

The Desert Eagle, known for its formidable reputation, fires the same cartridge. Don’t believe anyone who claims the Desert Eagle’s power is exaggerated—caliber and bullet weight translate directly to terrifying kinetic energy. It’s the “big daddy.” The impact from a small car at 80 km/h can’t compare to a heavy truck at 40 km/h.

Of course, pairing a small handgun with a large caliber has obvious advantages and equally obvious drawbacks. The recoil from firing a 12.7mm heavy bullet is such that unless your arm is as thick as the average person’s calf, it’s best not to attempt it.

Even if you somehow fired it, you wouldn’t hit your target!

At present, Xing Xiaolong still doesn’t know what the Titan Holographic Insignia does, whether it confers any special properties. But simply affixing the fourfold insignia, which doubles all attributes, is enough to elevate the R8 tactical revolver into a ferocious “R8 hand cannon.”

It could kill a bull in one shot—so what chance did the wolf before him have?

Suddenly bestowed a “divine weapon” in a moment of desperation, the darkness of despair was swept away by the light of hope. It’s easy to imagine how exhilarated and excited Xing Xiaolong felt now.

...

Though the teaching process seemed lengthy, in reality it took less than thirty seconds.

The giant wolf, deprived of meat for so long, seemed to have lost patience entirely; its movements grew wild, and only the metal-framed seat remained, which the massive wolf crashed against with thunderous clamor.

Outside, three more giant wolves began a frenzied assault, gnawing and pulling at the steel frame of the seat.

A sudden, sharp snap of metal rang out.

The left-side seat, once secured to the floor, was forcibly torn from its outer triangular steel bar by the combined effort of the four wolves.

Only the right support bar remained, squealing under the relentless shaking of the wolves—clearly, it wouldn’t last much longer.

If things continued this way, in less than three minutes the entire left seat would be dragged away by the wolves, leaving Xing Xiaolong exposed and defenseless. He could never take on the pack barehanded; he would inevitably become their dinner.

The four prairie wolves seemed to sense imminent victory, howling excitedly and growing ever more ferocious.

But just then...

A gunshot, louder and more violent than any ordinary firearm, exploded in the wreckage of the airliner.

Dozens of prairie wolves in the area were startled, abandoning the corpses they had been gnawing, all alertly turning toward the source of the sound.

In that instant, every wolf’s gaze was filled with shock, terror, and furious rage.

A wolf whose head and nearly half its body vanished along one line, as if crushed by a solid cannonball, crashed heavily onto the cabin floor.

The corpse, dying too suddenly, twitched and rolled out of the cabin, landing on the muddy, trampled grass outside.

Hot, steaming blood gushed forth, mingling with white brain matter, torn flesh, and shattered bone, flowing from what remained of its body. The abdominal organs, unrestrained, spilled out the gaping wound in its back.

Three meters away, another prairie wolf lay on the ground, severed cleanly in two, its abdomen missing—reduced to a spray of flesh and gore, howling in agony before death.

Dragging its half-body, viscera trailing, it struggled desperately on the muddy, rain-soaked earth.

“Damn, is this really a handgun? Are you sure it’s not an anti-materiel heavy sniper rifle? No, no, this thing is a damned anti-materiel sniper cannon!”

Right hand gripping the R8 revolver, Xing Xiaolong, splattered with blood and flesh, stared in disbelief through the opening in the cabin, his mouth agape, utterly petrified.

One shot!

Just a single shot!

The giant wolf that had squeezed in, hoping to make Xing Xiaolong its meal, had its head instantaneously shattered; the bullet’s force didn’t abate, crushing through its neck and into its back, everything in its path reduced to pulp.

Finally, the bullet broke the spine of a wolf three meters behind, severing it in two before burrowing into the earth—ending its terrifying debut.

Such monstrous, almost grotesque destructive power—who could possibly withstand it?