Chapter 355: 355
Ahn Suhyeong did not escalate the matter up to the level of an international dispute in the end . Even if he had the clout to do so, he was not willing to sacrifice his pride, and Xia Lei knew this . Besides, even if this incident was blown up it was still just a case of public security and brawling . Bureau 101 would cover for him because of his status .
Xia Lei did not regret it at all . Putting the matter of the bad blood between them aside, Ahn Suhyeong was a real enemy to Xia Lei not because he was a love rival in their courtship of a woman but because of that incident where he had colluded with the CIA to capture him .
There was a dead calm afterwards and Ahn Suhyeong and the Korean consulate staff did not come to make any more trouble . Xia Lei spent all his time and efforts on upgrading his lathes .
Shentu Tian-Yin did not call him during this period and he did not call her either . The incomplete kiss in her office at Angel Wings Building seemed to be just an impulse and there wasn’t anything behind it after they calmed down .
Sometimes he would quietly ask himself if he would become lovers with Shentu Tian-Yin, get married and have children .
There were two possibilities - maybe yes, maybe no .
If he did end up with Shentu Tian-Yin then he would definitely leave Annina, and wouldn’t go to Islamabad to rendezvous with Szlamy . He wasn’t the sort to be multi-timing and tasting the nectar of every flower he came across . Szlamy was an accident in the process of completing his mission and Annina… He could not bear to have her hurt again .
That was why he did not have a girlfriend yet whom he wanted to marry and have children with .
He then put these thoughts out of his head . It was better to let feelings sort themselves out naturally .
A month passed in the blink of an eye .
In this month, Xia Lei and Annina upgraded all the lathes in Thunder Horse Manufacturing to a standard which was comparable to the intelligent lathe of Josef’s that he had built in Thunder Horse Manufacturing .
With the lathes in place, the few production lines of Thunder Horse Military Factory begun to move . They produced handguns and also started producing sniper rifles and the matching ammunition .
Xia Lei received a piece of good news on the third day of full production . The branch company in Sichuan had also started production . Zhou Xiao-Hong called saying that the local government had taken care of some orders and that the overall situation was stable and positive . Xia Lei talked at length with her and instructed her on things .
Xia Lei was not worried at all about being taken advantage of with Zhou Xiao-Hong looking after things in Sichuan for the branch company . He did not need to worry whether the branch company in Sichuan had orders or not since he could just redirect some of the orders from Haizhu at any time . He could also get the branch company to manufacture the gun parts which did not require high precision processing, like gun stocks, magazines and so on .
Thunder Horse Manufacturing could be said to have gone on the right track for success in its expansion, and he was not a small boss who had to go about chasing others for purchase orders any more .
Following their current expansion, it was only a matter of time for Thunder Horse Manufacturing to become bigger and more established .
For there to be harvest there naturally had to be effort put into it . Xia Lei had not stepped out of the gates of Thunder Horse Military factory for this period of over a month, and he had lost quite a few kilograms too .
Annina was no different . She had been working alongside Xia Lei for this same period and she had also lost kilograms after they were done .
“Annina, I’ll take you out on a drive today and treat you to a good meal afterwards, okay?” said Xia Lei to Annina after they walked out of the workshop .
“Sure! I’ve long wanted to go out to sight-see . All this work has taken a toll on me,” said Annina happily .
Xia Lei smiled as he said, “I’ll take you to the Great Wall, then some roast duck . ”
“Thank you, Lukas . Every day with you is a happy day . ” Annina drew close and kissed Xia Lei on the cheek .
Xia Lei was used to it by now .
Qin Xiang came walking over, hand on hip, and he gave a cough . “Aw, you guys are too unfair . There are many boys in the factory who don’t even have a partner - are you two trying to stimulate them like this? They’re going to buy so many tissues that the price will go up in Bailu Town . ”
Xia Lei’s head was spinning . He quickly changed the topic . “We’re going out for a bit . Want to come with us?”
Qin Xiang shook his head . “Nah, count me out . What am I going to do when you two can’t keep your hands off each other? I don’t want to be a third wheel . ”
Xia Lei was wordless .
“Can I borrow Chairman Xia for a bit, Annina?” Qin Xiang looked smilingly at her .
Annina shrugged . “You guys chat . I’ll go get changed . ”
Qin Xiang walked to Xia Lei’s side after Annina left and said quietly, “You two can go out but be cautious . Ahn Suhyeong brought people over to cause trouble the last time and a man and a woman challenged me to go out . Do you still remember those two?”
Xia Lei fired up his memory bank and the images of the two people surfaced in his head, clear as crystal; he just didn’t have their names .
“There’s something wrong with them?”
“Most likely . Those two had the smell of killers - you know what it’s like . Only people who have killed a lot of people have that,” said Qin Xiang, “I had a feeling when they challenged me that if it were another place, and if it was just me and them I’d probably be killed by them . I’m a little afraid of them, so I’m coming to give you a reminder . That Ahn fellow is the type to want revenge . He came to your turf to fight you, so it’s impossible that he’d back down . Who knows - he may even be waiting for you to go out . ”
Xia Lei nodded . “I hear you . I’ll be careful . ”
“Take a sniper rifle with you . Say that it’s for testing,” said Qin Xiang .
“Yeah, good idea . I’ll bring one then,” said Xia Lei, “This new model of sniper rifle was only tested indoors for basic functions and power . It hasn’t been brought out yet . This will be a good change to test it out . ”
“I’ll go get it for you . ”
“Hold on…” Xia Lei paused, then said, “You said just now that someone who has killed a lot of people have a smell . How about me - do I have that smell?”
“Let me smell you . ” Qin Xiang put his nose to Xia Lei’s neck .
Xia Lei stepped away . “I’ll go get changed . ”
Qin Xiang looked at Xia Lei’s retreating back and smirked .
After a short while, Xia Lei drove his Chevrolet Suburban towards the ancient Great Wall with one of the new of sniper rifles in the boot .
He wouldn’t have taken the gun if Qin Xiang had not reminded him to . He did not even think about how Ahn Suhyeong would seek revenge on him because this was China and he did not consider him a threat .
Annina was rather chipper . She found interesting topics to talk about on their road trip and her laughter didn’t seem to cease .
When they got to the Great Wall, Xia Lei took the plastic engineering box holding the sniper rifle out of the boot and carried it with him . He went to an area without any tourists with Annina .
It was not peak season so there were not a lot of tourists on the Great Wall but Xia Lei did not let his guard down . He scanned practically all the tourists on his way to the secluded place and did not find the two Korean people which Qin Xiang had mentioned .
‘It can’t be that Ahn Suhyeong would know right away that I’ve just come out of the factory, right? Qin Xiang might just be too sensitive . ’
“How much further, Lukas?” Annina bent and massaged her ankles . “It’s all stone steps . My feet can’t take it anymore . ”
They’d come to climb the Great Wall but Annina had put on a micro-skirt and high heels - no wonder she was tired .
Her skirt had no zipper and her bending exposed her black lace panties; the shape was obvious, yet mysterious and seductive .
Annina was not shy around Xia Lei but he didn’t feel comfortable staring at her there . He looked about for a bit . “Here’s good . ”
“Okay . ” Annina removed her high heels and her backpack . She took out a blanket from the backpack and laid it out on the ancient bricks, then dumped a big pile of snacks on it . Beef jerky, drinks, fruits, macadamia, pecans and so on tumbled onto the mat .
Xia Lei also put the plastic box down . He opened it and took out the new sniper rifle model .
This sniper rifle already had a name - XL2500 . The name was made up of the first English letters in each part of his name and the weapon’s effective shooting range .
This was not the sniper rifle he had modified personally, of course . It looked the same but the one he modified surpassed this sniper rifle by at least 1,000 metres in range . The XL 2500 sniper rifle he modified should be called the XL3500 .
The theoretical range of the XL2500 was 2,500 metres but the actual range was still unknown since this was the first test .
Xia Lei quickly installed the magazine and a . 22lr scope . He didn’t actually need things like scopes but this was a test and he needed to get the real numbers under normal circumstances .
“Hurry up with the testing, Lukas . Eat something when you’re done . ” Annina peeled an apple with a knife; she was warm and caring .
“I’ll just empty the magazine . I’ll be quick . ” Xia Lei raised the sniper rifle and placed it on the wall . He measured the distance with his right eye, then aimed at a tree 2,500 metres away with the scope . He fired .
Bang! A shot rang out and the XL2500 recoiled . A bullet went flying and hit the trunk of the tree he had aimed at two seconds later . The scope showed a large chunk missing from the trunk .
“How is it?” Annina put down the apple she’d peeled and went to Xia Lei’s side . She leaned on his shoulder and her bountiful bosom added pressure on Xia Lei’s back .
How was he to shoot properly with this positioning?
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Xia Lei fired three consecutive shots, with one second between each shot . The speed of the XL2500 was undeniable . The three shots tore the trunk of the tree 2,500 metres away apart and it fell with a crash in the forest .
“What’s the range?” asked Annina anxiously .
“2,500 metres, maybe more . ” Xia Lei bore with her booby-trap and set his sights on a tree further away . He squeezed the trigger .
Bang! The bullet hit the target again but there was some deviation from the scope .
Xia Lei fired more times till the magazine was empty of its ten bullets but he was unable to fell that tree .
The result of the test was out with just one magazine . The effective shooting range of the XL2500 was 2,600 metres and the probability of hitting the target beyond this range was low . But these numbers were enough to stand out on a global scale!
“Lukas, I want to shoot too . ” Annina’s hot breath tickled Xia Lei’s ear .
Xia Lei’s ear was tickled . “I’ll get you a magazine . There’s one more . ”
But Annina stuck to him and didn’t let him move . “I don’t want to shoot that gun . I want to shoot YOUR gun . ”
Xia Lei was speechless .
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