Chapter 51: The Legendary Pistol with a 25x Scope?

To test his theory, Xing Xiaolong immediately equipped the bulletproof vest and helmet he’d drawn onto his character in the player panel. Then, he spent 2000 CF points in the game shop to purchase another bulletproof vest and took it out.

The vest slipped easily over his shoulders, and the bulletproof vest slot in the CF shop’s real-time player info panel didn’t get pushed out. He was wearing two vests at once!

Xing Xiaolong couldn’t help but marvel, “This is incredible—so you really can wear them simultaneously. When battle starts, I’ll just buy another helmet from the in-game shop. Even if the invisible set’s effect is halved, it’s far sturdier than just a single vest. If I could get a level-four or higher vest and wear one and a half at the same time, wouldn’t that be outrageous?”

He was excited at the thought of bulletproof protection that even sniper rifles couldn’t penetrate. With the added security of one and a half vests, the anxiety that had plagued him about joining the upcoming rescue mission was eased by more than half.

After all, he’d never participated in a real firefight before; it was perfectly understandable to feel some fear of battle.

Once he finished equipping all the items drawn from the CF shop, he had 47,460 CF points left. Next up was the CS:GO arsenal inside his silver ring.

Before the troops move, the supplies must arrive first—adequate preparation ensures victory.

He closed the CF shop and opened the CS:GO arsenal, clicking into the tutorial he hadn’t finished before. After nearly ten minutes of study, he finally had a general grasp of the arsenal’s functions.

Just then, Xing Xiaolong suddenly felt uneasy; something seemed off.

He opened his inventory and clicked the first item in the row of battle crates—the R8 revolver. After reading the description panel, the answer was clear.

[Name: R8 Revolver
Rarity: Basic, no effect boost
Skin Bonus: None
Stickers: Sticker | Titan (Holo) | Katowice 2014 *4
Sticker Bonus: Range +1000m, Penetration +100mm; four matching stickers double the effect, total boost: 8000m max range, 800mm penetration]

“8000 meters max range? 800 millimeters penetration? This is the sticker’s effect? A revolver that normally has a range of a few dozen meters has become a beyond-visual-range sniper rifle?”

Xing Xiaolong’s mind exploded; he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

He was dumbfounded!

He was thrilled by the CS:GO arsenal’s power—the rookie gift pack had given him something so monstrous.

And he was devastated to the point of wanting to cry blood; why hadn’t he read carefully before agreeing, foolishly sticking all the stickers onto a revolver?

It was a complete waste, like marrying a fairy to a toad.

If those four Titan holo stickers had been applied to a professional sniper rifle, increasing the range by eight kilometers and penetration by 800 millimeters, the intimidation it would exert on the battlefield would be unparalleled; everyone would fear it.

But alas, it was just a pistol.

Moreover, it was the least stable, least accurate, with the smallest usable surface area—a large-caliber revolver with no way to mount a high-magnification scope.

The 800mm penetration was at least somewhat useful, adding some damage—using it as a “hand cannon” felt good enough. One shot, one kid!

But this 8000-meter super range, on a revolver, was virtually indistinguishable from 80 meters.

It had a super impressive range, but lacked the accuracy, stable trajectory, and the scope needed to see distant targets, so it was as good as useless.

No matter how far you could shoot, you had to be able to aim; if you couldn’t even see the target, what was the point?

The thought that he’d squandered what no personal weapon had ever achieved—8000 meters max range—left Xing Xiaolong full of regret, enough to make him want to vomit blood.

He wanted to slap himself!

Why stick the stickers on a pistol? Even an assault rifle would have been better; with enough space for a scope, even a firewood Hanyang rifle could become the world’s most formidable, unrivaled sniper-assault rifle.

But it was too late now.

The deed was done, the fairy married to the toad; further agonizing over it would only add to his troubles.

“Ah, forget it, forget it. That’s fate!” Xing Xiaolong chuckled bitterly, shaking his head to dispel the regret, pinning his hopes on the remaining crates, hoping to draw something dazzling to soothe his wounded heart.

Fearless Collection*5, Spectrum 2 Weapon Case*5, Glove Case*5, Fortress Battle Collection*1

All these were rookie gift crates!

“Damn, so expensive? Why not just rob someone?” He already knew that opening crates required buying keys, but he hadn't expected the prices to be so high.

The cheapest, the Fearless Collection, had keys priced at 1500 coins.

The Fortress Battle Collection, displaying an orange skin “Dragon Legend,” demanded a terrifying 15,000 coins for a key—ten times the price!

And at the key-purchase shop, the card reader clearly displayed the exchange rate: one coin equals one yuan.

Fifteen thousand yuan for a thrill, studded with diamonds?

Before leaving the country, Xing Xiaolong had given most of his discharge pay to his parents for their retirement, bringing just over 2000 yuan with him.

Now he finally understood what “pay-to-win” really meant.

He couldn’t afford these rich-people games; his whole family’s savings would only buy him the cheapest thrill.

Yet, for all his poverty, the enticing possibility of drawing “amazing” gear from the crates made Xing Xiaolong salivate.

The crates contained a vast array of weapon types, covering almost all firearms, and each had a skin and attribute bonuses.

From worst to best, they were:

Gray: Consumer Grade +1m range → Light Blue: Industrial Grade +5m range → Dark Blue: Military Spec +10m range → Purple: Restricted +50m range → Red: Classified +100m range → Orange: Covert +500m range → Gold: Contraband +1000m range.

Weapons of red grade or higher also got exclusive random extra attributes.

The specifics—penetration, stopping power, explosive damage, fire rate, projectile speed, or something else—weren’t listed, so Xing Xiaolong was kept in the dark.

Great items, limited by poverty.

After pondering for a few minutes, he couldn’t resist his itching palms; he put his bank card into the store’s terminal, entered 1500 in the pop-up window, and charged 1500 coins.

It all felt so real, just like swiping a POS machine; his phone even received a withdrawal notification from the Agricultural Bank.

But Xing Xiaolong couldn’t care less—now that he’d spent 1500 yuan, he was eager to try his luck.

The Fearless Collection contained sixteen weapons, the worst being consumer grade, the best restricted purple; nothing compared to the orange-grade ones.

But since his financial power limited his consumption, he could only rely on “European luck.”

Xing Xiaolong’s standards weren’t high, truly not high.

He urgently needed a good rifle. The two best guns in the Fearless Collection were the purple Emerald SCAR-20 and the FAMAS Pyro. Either would be fine.

“Goddess of Luck, God of Wealth, Spirit of Europe, give me a purple!”

Muttering mystical prayers for ages, Xing Xiaolong inserted the purchased key into the first Fearless Collection crate, turning it left.

“Ching ching ching ching…”

A crisp chain rattled as the lid’s square window appeared, showing the sixteen weapon images flashing by.

After about three seconds, the roulette finally slowed and stopped, landing on a purple weapon—

SCAR-20 Emerald!

“Holy crap, holy crap, I got it, I got it, one shot, I really am a super lucky guy, Spirit of Europe is just that powerful, ha…”

Just as Xing Xiaolong shouted with excitement, his laughter barely begun, suddenly—

His excitement drained from his eyes, his smile froze.

On the dazzling purple weapon, the Emerald SCAR-20, a dialog box popped up, displaying two lines of conspicuous red text:

[Red Star Street Sniper, Silver Rank Private; can only use pistols, SMGs, accessories, and knives. To use rifles, you must reach Gold Rank Corporal. Current honor points needed for promotion: 998,500.]

After what felt like an eternity, Xing Xiaolong, eyes red with fury, neck rigid, fists bulging with veins, roared in rage, “Drawn but can’t use it—what’s the point of this damn game?!”