Chapter 41: Pie-Faced Grenade

Xiang Weiguo was indeed a realist, truly a man of his word.

In the ammunition depot, there were carts available, because if everyone had to move boxes of bullets by hand, the efficiency would clearly be too low.

When he came out, Xiang Weiguo was pushing a cart with a box of grenades, several boxes of bullets, and an 88 sniper rifle on it.

Now there were two 88 sniper rifles. The advantage of practicing shooting near an arsenal was first, you would never run out of bullets, and second, you could have any gun you wanted.

"Xiao Yuan, come here, this is for grenade-throwing practice. I don't have high requirements; just throw it to a distance of fifty meters," Xiang ordered.

Gao Yuan took the grenade without a word, threw it with a flick of his arm, then turned back coolly and said, "Look, that's at least 60 meters away, right?"

Xiang Weiguo folded his arms across his chest, calmly saying, "Didn't you understand what I said? I asked you to throw it to the 50-meter mark, not farther or closer."

Gao Yuan was taken aback for a moment, replying, "How is that even possible?"

Xiang Weiguo chuckled, then picked up a grenade and threw it. After the grenade landed, he said with pride, "My stride is 75 centimeters. Now I'll measure it for you, and if the error exceeds one meter, I'll concede defeat."

Gao Yuan was astonished once again, then shaking his head, he said, "There's no need to measure... I believe you can throw that accurately."

Xiang Weiguo clapped his hands and said, "Kid, you've still got a lot to learn. Did you really think being a bit more accurate with throwing stones makes you a genius?"

Gao Yuan looked around, then picked a cartridge case from the ground and threw it. Next, he picked up a grenade, pointed to the cartridge case over twenty meters away, and said, "Watch carefully!"

The cartridge case twenty meters away was barely visible, but Gao Yuan's grenade hit it directly.

A man needs his pride as a tree needs its bark; he certainly couldn't let Xiang Weiguo look down on him.

"Come on, your turn, let's see you do it!"

For the sake of his dignity, Gao Yuan started to heckle, convinced that Xiang Weiguo couldn't do it.

Xiang Weiguo stood there, silent for a moment, then with a face full of sympathy for a mentally challenged child, he said, "Do you even realize that grenades explode?"

Gao Yuan suddenly became stupefied. Xiang Weiguo patted his shoulder and continued, "This grenade throwing does serve a purpose, and it plays a big role in combat, but you do understand that in modern warfare, when distances are close enough for tossing grenades at one another, there isn't a high demand for precision in throwing, right?"

There were no words.

"Then do you know that there are occasional situations where high precision is needed, like throwing a grenade through a firing hole? But you're aware that we have grenade launchers, right?"

Truly, there were no words.

"See, a sniper, you know what that means, don't you? As for a grenadier with precise aim, I can't say they're a dime a dozen, but really... we're not lacking."

Gao Yuan took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "But you can't throw that accurately!"

"Hmm, indeed, but do you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because there's no need, so nobody bothers to practice specifically for that. However, don't be discouraged. I acknowledge that you have a talent for grenade throwing. For instance, not many can throw as far as you did, and to be both far and precise is also a talent."

Gao Yuan sighed and took a grenade from Xiang Weiguo, saying, "To cultivate this particular skill of yours, I need to add some extra training for you. We have plenty of grenades here, so practice your throwing, but not in the way you used to."

With the grenade in hand, Xiang Weiguo placed his hand on the pin and said, "The fuse of this grenade lasts for 3.5 seconds, which means that once you pull the pin, it will explode after a bit more than three seconds. So how far can a grenade be thrown? The record distance for a Type 67 grenade is 102 meters, but that distance is meaningless."

"Why is it meaningless?"

"Because of the detonation time. To throw it 102 meters, the grenade's initial speed must be over 33 meters per second, and the angle also has to be precise. However, since the fuse only lasts 3.5 seconds, the grenade will explode around 90 meters away at most. So it's impossible to throw the grenade that far in actual combat."

Gao Yuan shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Right, that's how it is."

"Throwing a grenade 30 meters is considered passing, 50 meters excellent, and you're certainly up to the excellent standard. But in actual combat, throwing the grenade accurately is even more important. You have a super excellent level of precision, and I believe that. But, can you really throw a grenade?"

"Sure, I can throw one."

"No no, what you were throwing were rocks, not grenades. Look carefully now, I'm going to throw a live one."

Xiang Weiguo looked around and then pointed to a half-body target, saying, "That target there, about forty-five meters away from me. The flight time should be controlled at around two seconds. So when should I throw it? Watch closely."

Suddenly, Xiang Weiguo pulled the grenade's pin and said in a deep voice, "One, two!"

After pulling the fuse and letting the grenade stay in his hand for two seconds, he threw it. It flew for roughly two seconds, then exploded mid-air, with the blast occurring just above the target Gao Yuan had indicated, with an error of about two or three meters. Nonetheless, the target was definitely within the grenade's lethal range.

A loud boom startled both Gao Yuan and Luo Xingyu.

Xiang Weiguo dusted off his hands and said, "Now do you understand how to throw a grenade? You need to control the throw's distance, speed, and direction and also pay attention to the timing to achieve the best effect. It takes practice, so take your time. I'll teach you how to throw a live one in a bit."

Gao Yuan picked up a live grenade, and Xiang Weiguo's smile returned. He squatted next to the prone Luo Xingyu, saying kindly, "Come on, let your brother throw grenades, and you just focus on shooting. Just think of it as shooting under distraction. Don't be scared of the explosion. You need to have solid mental strength."

While Xiang Weiguo was talking, there was a sudden loud explosion. He wasn't startled, but he still turned and shouted at Gao Yuan, "Who told you to throw a live one now!"

Gao Yuan pointed to the dissipating smoke in the air and replied, "Fifty meters, target, exploded in the air. And, by the way, mine exploded right above the target. Look, the target got blown away."

After speaking, Gao Yuan spread his hands and said, "Can't help it, with the hasty grenade, it's all about skill."

Xiang Weiguo started scratching his head and his cheek, reacting as intensely as if he had an allergy.

"Uncle Xiang, what's wrong?"

Xiang Weiguo said urgently, "Wait for me, let me think, just wait."

Xiang Weiguo ran out again, picked up the fallen target, and propped it back up; then he ran back and said, "Same distance, throw another one."

Gao Yuan picked up the grenade, pulled the pin, counted the time in his mind, and then threw the grenade. As it traced an arc through the sky, it hit the target and exploded the moment it fell.

This was a hasty grenade.

The target was utterly destroyed, and Gao Yuan pointed at the target's location and exclaimed, "You can't blame me for this! The fuse time on the grenade has a margin of error. The last one exploded in the air. If there were no error, it would have definitely exploded mid-air again!"

Xiang Weiguo scratched his head, pinched his ear, and then shook his head a few times as if in discomfort. Suddenly, he looked at Gao Yuan kindly and said, "The timing of the fuse does have a slight margin of error. Not bad, not bad at all, you threw it really well! Are you cold, Xiao Yuan? Do you want some hot water?"