They returned before midday.
Bai Zihan didn’t rest.
After giving his helpers a short break and making sure the rescued family had food and shelter, he gathered a small crowd of civilians—stronger ones who hadn’t completely collapsed from fear.
Naturally, the idea of going outside again—into a city crawling with demonic beasts—was met with horror.
“You want us to what?!”
“Do you want to kill us?!”
“We’ll die the moment we step outside!”
…
The helpers he brought earlier stepped forward, dragging a tarp behind them.
With a casual motion, one of them pulled it off—revealing the severed, grotesque head of the molten-eyed beast Bai Zihan had killed.
Another helper held up the scythe-like tail of the lizard creature, its serrated edge still gleaming with blood.
“See this?”
One of them said, grinning.
“This ugly bastard didn’t even touch Captain Bai before it died.”
“Those things are terrifying,” another said, “but they’re nothing before our captain. We were with him—walked through half the city and back. No one even got scratched.”
The crowd went silent. Some stared at the monster parts in stunned disbelief. Others leaned in, half-curious, half-terrified.
“We’re also here to protect you if things go wrong. And don’t think you’ll stay safe just by hiding either. That equipment could increase our survival rate several times over.”
Many still hesitated, but after looking at the condition of the people who went with Bai Zihan, they were convinced that nothing would happen.
They also knew that it was all to increase their survival. Without much choice, they agreed to go with them to bring the equipment.
They formed two lines, armed with whatever they could scavenge, and set off again.
They followed the same cleared path, winding through ruined streets and collapsed buildings.
There were no beasts this time—only bloodstains and the remains of earlier kills.
The civilians didn’t speak much.
But looking at the destruction around them, everyone understood that they only had themselves to depend on.
They reached the forge and got to work.
Even with so many people, it took effort to pack everything. Weapons, armor, tools—anything remotely usable was taken.
They stacked equipment onto makeshift sleds, wrapped maces and swords in cloth, and tied damaged armor with rope.
They returned before nightfall, dragging their haul back into the shelter.
The People who were left behind rushed forward to see what they’d brought—eyes lighting up at the sight of real weapons and serviceable armor.
It wasn’t much, but it felt like hope.
And then, as Bai Zihan stepped through the doors, Hong Tao came rushing over, barely able to contain his grin.
“Captain Bai!” he said, panting slightly. “You’re not gonna believe this. I found someone!”
He gestured behind him.
A middle-aged man stepped forward. Muscular, soot-stained, with arms like steel rods and calloused hands that spoke of his hard work.
“This guy’s name is Lao Shen,” Hong Tao said proudly. “Was hiding in a collapsed house. He’s a highly skilled blacksmith—used to work for one of the merchant guilds. Even made some Yellow-Grade Artifacts before!”
Bai Zihan’s eyes widened for the first time here with a bit of excitement.
He hadn’t thought Hong Tao would bring someone like that.
And if he was someone capable of making Artifacts, then Bai Zihan knew that he was surely capable of making something like a gun.
The man gave a respectful nod toward Bai Zihan.
After all, at the moment, Bai Zihan was the leader of this place and something of a saviour.
“I saw the work you did clearing that path,” he said in a gruff voice.
“You keep me safe, I’ll get your gear fixed. Might even make something better, if you give me good materials.”
He glanced toward the monster parts being dragged inside.
“Those’ll do nicely.”
Bai Zihan’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the old blacksmith then at Hong Tao.
“Nice job!”
Bai Zihan complimented Hong Tao, who looked a bit embarrassed.
After all, he hadn’t done much—just went to a place that had already been cleared of demonic beasts by Bai Zihan and encountered Lao Shen by luck.”
“Mr. Lao, I want you to create a weapon.”
Lao Shen scratched his stubbled jaw.
“You want a custom blade?”
“No,” Bai Zihan said, shaking his head.
Then he crouched down, grabbed a stick, and with the tip carved a rough shape in the dirt.
It was… strange.
A long, thin cylinder, with a blocky base and a small rectangular extension underneath.
Then a secondary grip under the barrel, angled for stability. A sight on top. Vaguely familiar and utterly foreign.
Lao Shen frowned.
“What… is that? A crossbow?”
“Not quite,” Bai Zihan replied. “Imagine a weapon that doesn’t rely on bowstrings. No need to pull anything back. Just point and boom. A small explosion inside propels a metal projectile faster than the eye can track.”
He stabbed his finger at the end of the barrel.
“All the force comes from here. No Qi. Just physics!”
Lao Shen blinked, then squinted at the drawing again.
“And you want this… thing to fire a metal spike?”
“Or a ball. Or anything lethal enough at high velocity.”
He stood up and looked the blacksmith in the eye.
“It should fit in one hand,” he said, lifting his own.
Lao Shen scratched his head, muttering under his breath.
“Compact forge-fire combustion weapon… self-contained burst… small, reloadable chamber… hmmm…”
He turned to glance at the pile of scavenged materials.
“I could forge a pressure chamber using tempered beastbone and spirit-iron alloy,” he murmured. “Barrel could be channeled mithril or blacksteel… hmm… and the trigger mechanism…”
His eyes lit up.
“I can make this,” he said with sudden certainty. “Might take a few days. I’ll need more refined materials if you want it to be reliable. But is it really that important? I can make a better sword and shield. Should we waste time on something unknown?”
Having never seen such a weapon, Lao Shen thought it might be a waste of time—though he did find it interesting.
But at such a critical time, he didn’t think he should waste effort on something unproven.
Bai Zihan smiled.
“No, this is the most important thing. Perhaps something that could save this city.”
Lao Shen widened his eyes upon hearing that it might save the city.
Really?
He didn’t know.
But since Bai Zihan was the leader of the shelter, he figured he might as well trust him.
“Fine!”
Lao Shen agreed.
“I’ll get started on the prototype. You’ll get your first version in two days—assuming no one drops a beast on my forge again.”
Bai Zihan turned back to the crowd that had gathered, now sorting through armor and fitting weapons to trembling hands.
A few children peeked out from behind crates.
One of them—one of the boys rescued yesterday—held a dagger with both hands, like it weighed more than he did.
With his body, he couldn’t do anything to the Demonic Beast but it’s a different story if they had guns.
Even those little kids could kill a Demonic beast as long as he aimed properly.
That’s how he was going to kill every Demonic Beast. Give these people the means to fight back.
Hong Tao had also brought back potassium nitrate. Now all he needed was charcoal and sulfur to make black powder.
Then, with the gun Lao Shen would craft, anyone could take down those demonic beasts.
Time for those bastards to feel the power of a gun.