Chapter 161: Indeed Not Human

Do you know what it feels like to be a star?

No no no, not just a star, but someone who everyone expects great things from, someone indispensable. Do you know that feeling?

It saves a lot of trouble, and that's just what Gao Yuan is feeling right now.

Because Xinghe is too important, too precious, too unique, so others shouldn't and wouldn't distract her with trivial matters like food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. She should focus all her energy, all her attention on the right places, like responding to the scientists' questions.

Now Gao Yuan is in the same situation.

The very important nuclear material is right there, but no one can retrieve it, and it seems that only Gao Yuan has a hope to do so—hence, he naturally receives the corresponding treatment.

Unlike Xinghe, who is so precious they fear she might melt in their mouth or break if they hold her too tightly, if Gao Yuan wants to do anything, he just has to speak up, and someone will immediately do it for him.

For instance, Gao Yuan needs special gear to carry his weapons. Hence, the best gear designer must tailor something for Gao Yuan right away, using the finest materials, the best workmanship, all to craft something unique for him.

Should it be like this? Actually, it should.

Many people pay attention to the weapons themselves, but overlook the importance of gear. Weapons are seldom used; it's carrying and storage that take up the majority of the time. Without a fitting bag or gear, carrying weapons during daily routines can become extremely painful.

As long as the base can meet the conditions, Gao Yuan can absolutely enjoy them.

The weapons are all made, and Gao Yuan's custom gear is ready, too.

It's essentially a tactical vest with an X-shaped rack on the back, where rotatable clips can change direction to secure Gao Yuan's swords, maces, axes, and hammers.

Gao Yuan doesn't want to hang the swords at his waist, which would impede his movement, so he places both the sword and mace on his back—the mace handle over his left shoulder and the sword handle over his right shoulder.

As for the axe and hammer, they're positioned at his lower back, within easy reach.

It looks quite like the outfit of warriors in the movies, only Gao Yuan's chest also has other racks, such as for a walkie-talkie, night-vision goggles, and hand grenades.

Gao Yuan doesn't have room on his person for a gun; every place that can hold something without hindering his movements is packed with hand grenades.

All sorts of hand grenades.

Right, and there's also Gao Yuan's indispensable psk waist pouch, along with his short knife he'll never part with.

But when Gao Yuan first fully armed himself for a trial of his special tactical vest, laden with all sorts of small items, people who saw him looked somewhat stupefied.

It's quite a unique look, not commonly seen.

"Can you... are you still able to move easily in that?"

The question came from Shi Lei, and beside him, there were at least a dozen special forces soldiers.

They weren't there just for the spectacle; they were there for essential pre-battle communication. After all, one can't head into battle without knowing their comrades' strengths.

Without answering Shi Lei's question, Gao Yuan raised his arms, touched the hand grenades on his chest, and drew his mace, but then he found it somewhat inconvenient to pull out.

"Is it still too long? Adjust the clip position for me, lower it a bit, start with three centimeters down."

With his back to Shi Lei, Shi Lei helped adjust the position of the clips for Gao Yuan.

After trying again, Gao Yuan said with a downcast face, "Are my arms too short..."

Shi Lei shook his head and said, "Either you shorten the length of the swords and maces, or... you'll have to find another way to carry them."

Thinking it over and trying different adjustments, Gao Yuan eventually gave up on the idea of carrying the swords and maces on his back.

Well, either shorten them or change the carrying method, because he can't draw the sword...

"The mace can be carried on the back, but not in the current sheath-like manner. It should be possible to draw it out with one pull, no need for aiming; just hang it on the clip. But it also needs to be easy to insert back, and it has to be robust enough for multiple uses without breaking after a few times."

The dedicated researcher immediately said, "Actually… we've anticipated this outcome."

The equipment manufacturer seemed to be holding back a laugh as he nodded and said, "We have backups, contingency plans. The issues you mentioned have been thoroughly debated and tested. We made some modifications to your design suggestion. If we can make the sheath's tail end tilt up when you draw your sword, you would be able to draw it out very conveniently. The same goes for the mace, except it would be even faster without a sheath because it's just a tubular clasp, but as long as it's movable, it would be much more convenient."

Indeed, each trade has its master. This tactical vest-style combined equipment had shown that Gao Yuan's assumptions were impractical.

With an embarrassed smile, Gao Yuan donned the new tactical vest. When he instinctively tried to place the knife on his right shoulder, the staff member said, "Put it on the left side, and draw it out in the most comfortable posture when you need it."

Gao Yuan gripped the knife handle that protruded slightly from his left shoulder and naturally drew the knife. At that moment, his hand moved forward in a swinging motion. If it was a fixed sheath, he wouldn't be able to draw the knife, but now the sheath's fixing point was movable, allowing the tip end of the sheath to tilt up high.

Gao Yuan smoothly and effortlessly drew the knife, following through with a swing that traced a streak of light in the air.

"Wow, this is good! This is really good."

Gao Yuan couldn't stop praising, and then the staff member continued, "Are you left-handed?"

"No."

"Then you would still draw the mace with your right hand even though it's on your right shoulder. Try it, drawing with your right will be smoother, but the left can still do it. If you want to wield weapons with both hands, that will not be a problem either."

Gao Yuan tried it and sure enough, it was the case. Drawing the knife handle with his right hand from the left shoulder felt comfortable, and it was also seamless to draw the mace from his right shoulder. Then drawing the mace with his left hand was just as smooth, but trying to draw the knife sticking out from his left shoulder with his left hand was uncomfortable.

After drawing his weapon several times, Gao Yuan exhaled and said, "I'm convinced, truly convinced. This is good, it won't break easily, right? What material is used for the moving parts?"

"Springs, they're easy to replace. With your strength, you shouldn't even notice the resistance of the springs."

Gao Yuan was extremely satisfied, so satisfied that he nodded and said, "Yes, definitely. I can't feel any resistance at all. This equipment is perfect."

After speaking, Gao Yuan looked at Shi Lei and said, "I'm ready. We can leave anytime you say, just like this."

For someone used to handling guns, accepting the method of discarding firearms to instead use knives, maces, axes, and hammers was somewhat difficult.

Shi Lei hesitated for a moment, then speaking in a low voice he said, "You must have forty pounds of gear on you right now, right? I just want to know, can you still move around easily? After all, if you're using cold weapons, agility is very important, isn't it?"

No amount of talk could dispel Shi Lei's doubts, so Gao Yuan smiled, nodded at Li Jingang and Panxin, and then leaped vigorously into the air.

Two meters high maybe, vertically.

He jumped straight up, then landed heavily back down, astonishing the elites among the elite.

Gao Yuan also wanted to try if the combat vest affected his movements. Of course, that was just an added benefit; the main purpose was to show Shi Lei his strength.

Shi Lei's mouth dropped open, then he promptly shut it and after nodding several times, he said in a deep voice, "Mhm, mhm, this is good. This really works."

Li Jingang smacked his lips and then whispered, "Told you so, he's not human now, and you guys didn't believe it."

Shi Lei, feeling a tad embarrassed, said, "It's not that I didn't believe it, it's just that looking at the data alone still made me feel uneasy."

Brimming with confidence, Gao Yuan said, "What else do you guys want to see? Tell me, and I'll demonstrate."

One special-forces soldier asked, "Why do you carry so many hand grenades? Aren't guns better?"

Panxin said expressionlessly, "Haven't you read the report? He's very precise with grenade throws."

Gao Yuan smiled proudly again and said, "Correct, human-shaped grenade launcher, with a scope too. Impressive, right?"

Soldiers have their own way of interaction. In front of these special forces, you shouldn't show off unnecessarily, but also don't hide your abilities – pretending to be a tiger by acting like a pig is foolish. Letting your comrades know your strength and specialties is what's important.

"I won't be throwing grenades now. I'll just run a couple of laps to show you, so you'll get a direct understanding," Gao Yuan said.

No sooner had he spoken than he suddenly took off, running at his top speed, and then he ran back.

When Gao Yuan stood at the starting point again, a special-forces soldier whispered, "Confirmed, he really is not human…"