"Xing Chen, you're a genius!"
In Tara's factory, Helen and a group of workers were genuinely marveling at the weapons Xing Chen had brought.
Using an automatic gas-powered reloading mechanism designed by a friend, leftover Orirock slag from factory production, and rejected parts from a stamping machine, Xing Chen assembled a weapon that was quite impractical for humans.
"Hmph!!!" Xing Chen laboriously lifted the Boltgun from the workbench and handed it to Helen.
Helen took the Boltgun, and with a slight effort, she lifted the weapon, which was about a third the size of her head, with one hand.
"Ammunition," Helen said, and Xing Chen handed the magazine and bolts to another worker, who assembled them and gave them to Helen.
Ready, Helen aimed the mechanical sight at a scrap metal box four hundred meters away.
After a muffled thud, the bolt was successfully fired.
"Xing Chen, isn't the flight speed of this big gun's bullet too slow?"
"Perhaps. After all, the quality of the propellant, the length of the barrel, and the seal aren't very good. It's already good enough that it can be fired at subsonic speed."
"But I saw it fly so slowly; one could easily dodge it."
"Then you can try burst fire mode. As long as the barrage is dense enough, those Victorians won't be able to dodge."
Helen nodded and switched the firing mode to burst.
"Bang bang bang---"
Unlike single-shot mode, the recoil during continuous firing still made Helen's body slightly unsteady.
"How does it feel?"
"I think those Victorian *Tara slang* won't be able to dodge this gun's fire."
While the two were chatting, other workers brought over boxes made of Originium Iron from a distance.
The surface of the boxes was left with bullet holes of different sizes. Based on the depth of the holes and the residue inside, Xing Chen concluded that the detonation rate of this magazine of bolts was probably only about half.
"If it explodes upon impact, killing those Victorians shouldn't be a problem," Helen also stepped forward to inspect. "But if it doesn't detonate, it might just leave a bruise. Of course, I'm talking about situations where vital spots aren't hit."
In other words, if it doesn't hit, the splash damage alone might not cause effective harm to Victorian soldiers.
"Then we'll just have to trouble you all to aim a bit more accurately." Xing Chen shook his head. Having achieved this much, he could truly say he had done his best. "Oh, right, how many people do we have now?"
"A little over a hundred people, all workers from various factories and farms. I've calculated that with our weapons and ammunition production, arming them is more than sufficient."
"How sufficient is 'more than sufficient'?"
"One gun per person, twenty rounds of ammunition."
His combat experience from his own world couldn't be directly applied to Terra, but he couldn't help but feel that this equipment was a bit scarce.
"Xing Chen, let me ask you something, should we try to win over more Tara people from the town? Their relationship with the Victorians isn't good either."
"There's no need for that."
The group of over a hundred people didn't even include all the workers in town. However, these individuals were all recruited by Xing Chen and Theresa, primarily the latter, one by one, so their loyalty and determination could be relied upon.
As for the remaining Tara people in town, he believed there were certainly still those with firm resolve. But if they continued to expand, the probability of exposure would greatly increase.
History and reality both told Xing Chen to believe in the power of the masses, but not to trust their wisdom too much. Even when his own country became one of the world's top nations, there were still people who would fawn over third-rate countries.
If his own country was like this, the actual situation of these bizarre countries on Terra was simply unimaginable.
As long as a single lackey appeared, his plan would be 100% ruined.
He and Theresa would not die, but if their actions caused others to lose their lives, a normal person would feel some guilt.
"As soon as a single traitor appears, we'll all be doomed. So I want to rely on us as much as possible."
"But, even if we temporarily drive out the garrison in town, without the support of more people, it will be difficult for us to withstand their counterattack."
"I know, but as long as we temporarily drive out those Victorians, we can force those with wavering resolve to join us, and then slowly guide them to firmly follow the same path as us."
After Xing Chen finished speaking, he gazed at the more influential workers in the team.
"I support Xing Chen," Helen was the first to declare.
"I support him too," William said afterward.
With the support of these two, the other workers felt it improper to say anything more and all supported Xing Chen.
"Very good, I'll explain the attack plan. I intend to start operations at 4 AM next Monday. Because, according to my family's reconnaissance, the Victorian nobles and garrison officers here will hold a banquet on the weekend..."
...Sunday night, a sudden downpour.
As the clock struck twelve, the Victorian nobles and officers, along with their wives, left the opulent palace in the town center.
As the motorcade gradually disappeared into the night fog, the streetlights outside the city center extinguished one by one.
Xing Chen and Helen, disguised as Orirock power line workers, opened the sewer next to the mayor's residence.
"Ugh---"
A pungent odor wafted over, and Xing Chen couldn't help but retch, while Helen, who was with him, seemed completely unaffected.
He had no night vision, and in the pitch-black pipe, he relied entirely on Helen pulling him along.
"We're here." Helen suddenly stopped. As the Orirock lamp was lit, a rusted iron grate appeared in their vision.
"Good." Xing Chen nodded. "Listen for the thunder. When the thunder sounds, we'll both use our strength to pry it open."
Xing Chen said that, but in reality, he couldn't hear a thing. But that wasn't important, because he wasn't the one doing the actual prying.
When the thunder sounded, Helen opened the drainage passage inside the mansion.
In the even narrower space, the two could only crawl, bent over, through the water that submerged their lower bodies.
After crawling for an unknown duration, a slab different from its surroundings suddenly appeared above their heads.
"Is this it?" Helen asked Xing Chen.
"Two more slabs, if what that handyman said is correct." Xing Chen tried hard to recall the topographical map he had memorized.
After crawling a bit further, the two arrived at the correct infiltration point.
Helen pushed open the slab and found themselves in a garden, with neatly trimmed bushes and a pond with scales nearby.
The two crouched low, quickly moving to the next hiding spot according to their training.
Just then, a maid hurried past, holding an umbrella. The two quickly lay flat on the ground. The pitch-black night and Theresa's specially made black clothes successfully deceived her eyes.
After the maid passed, the two continued to move. Rapidly maneuvering between various hiding places, they soon approached the main house of the mansion.
Just as the two were about to open the side door, the maid from earlier appeared again.
Helen immediately reacted, covering her mouth. Just as she turned her head to ask Xing Chen what to do.
A cold glint flashed. Xing Chen drew the Assassin's dagger and pierced the maid's brow.