Wei Tianyang looked at his empty right hand and suddenly felt a bit awkward.
He wondered if burning the item that had just been delivered to him right in front of the giver, would be considered a provocative act?
However, in the next second, the photo actually poked out a tiny bit from his palm, pushing up a small pointed corner of the bandage wrapped around his hand.
He unwrapped the bandage, only to see the photo pop out from his palm with a whoosh, grasped in his hand.
"Are you performing magic?" Li Bin asked with a smile.
"Little boys always like to show off, just like you when you were a kid," Du Yan said to Li Bin with a laugh.
Wei Tianyang guessed that his right hand could store some things to a certain extent, but he wasn't certain about how large the space in his hand was, and he wasn't skilled in the motions of depositing and retrieving items.
With the AK already in her hand, Du Yan had been waiting for a long time. Wei Tianyang hastily shoved the photo back into his right palm and then clumsily took the gun with his right hand.
This dark gun was somewhat heavy, not because of a magazine in the ammo well, but a large black drum. Moreover, as the buttstock had been removed, the gun felt top-heavy and unbalanced. The handguard, singed by fire, was somewhat damaged, and a ragged red scarf with blackened edges was tightly wrapped around it.
"I've picked up other people's guns before and couldn't fire them," Wei Tianyang said, holding up the gun with one hand, which was strong enough for the right hand to manage.
"Modern firearms all have pheromone recognition modules built into the grip and magazine. Of course, you can't use them. But our weapons have been cleaned," Du Yan explained.
"Cleaned? So, the module can be hacked?" Wei Tianyang asked.
"There's nothing that can't be hacked; just disassemble the grip. But at least that thing can prevent the enemy from resupplying on the battlefield," Du Yan said with a nod.
"I can tell you don't know how to use a gun. You haven't undergone military training, have you?" Li Bin, who had been silent for a while, said.
Scratching his head, Wei Tianyang frankly admitted it.
He had not undergone any training nor had any combat experience. Reflecting back, the few battles he encountered were all managed with superpower and brute force.
"Even though you have superpowers, I still suggest you learn to use a gun as soon as possible. Bullets are always faster than fists. Even official Superpower Special Department units are fully armed. I've heard... that using those abilities too much puts a great strain on the body," Du Yan said.
"We've said all that needs to be said, and we... are going to rest now. Remember our deal; you help us, and we help you," Du Yan added.
After she finished speaking, the crowd around them faded into darkness, and she and Li Bin also stepped out from the range of the candlelight.
Their figures became blurry and disappeared into the vague darkness like a mirage. In an instant, even the blue candlelight overhead dimmed.
Wei Tianyang looked up to see the chandelier being devoured by the darkness; the candles stuck on the ring looked as if they had never been lit.
The AK47 in his hand felt very real. He tried again to swallow the gun with his palm, and this time, it worked in one go.
The palm split open like a black whale's gaping mouth, engulfing the long gun in its belly in an instant.
He felt his forearm suddenly become a bit heavier, as if the gun was hidden inside his arm, sticking to the bone. He touched the inside of his forearm and could indeed feel the sensation of a hard object inside.
Wei Tianyang tried to adapt to this discomfort when suddenly a strong smell of coffee wafted into his nostrils.
"Ishmael? Is that you?"
He turned around to see Starbucks standing at the staircase.
Her hair was loose, and she was wearing a white long-sleeved pajama set, holding a flashlight and a pistol in her hands. Because she had drunk too much coffee, her whole body exuded the aroma of coffee beans.
"It's me. Be careful not to let the gun go off," Wei Tianyang said.
"I heard someone talking downstairs and thought someone had broken into the hotel. Why aren't you asleep yet? In the middle of the night, what are you muttering about alone here?" Starbucks asked.
"I'm talking to the dead," Wei Tianyang said with a smile.
He noticed a flicker of horror cross Starbucks's face, and her body involuntarily shuddered for a moment.
"Dead... Dead people don't talk. You must have been through a lot, maybe you're under too much mental pressure," Starbucks said.
She walked briskly forward and grabbed Wei Tianyang's left hand.
"Let's go, let's go upstairs to sleep. If you feel uncomfortable in any way, you can tell me. Don't run downstairs in the middle of the night anymore," Starbucks said consolingly.
Wei Tianyang nodded. He hadn't lied, and he hadn't offered an explanation, and thus the matter came to an end.
After returning to his room, he remained seated until late into the night without a hint of drowsiness, so he decided to familiarize himself with his new ability.
How much could his right arm hold?
To find the limits of the space, he tried swallowing the bed and the nightstand, but both attempts ended in failure.
He also tried to swallow the two broken cell phones and the file bag, and they didn't work either...
Later, he lowered his expectations and tore off a piece of toilet paper from the table, crumpled it up, and tried to swallow it.
It still didn't work.
Finally, Wei Tianyang realized that this right hand could only hold objects given by the deceased.
He clenched his fist tightly, then suddenly opened his palm, and an AK47 shot out from the center of it. He missed the catch, and the gun flew out like a swordfish, dropping to the floor.
The abrupt collision noise arose in the silent hotel, and Wei Tianyang froze like a startled rabbit, not moving an inch.
Fortunately... no one noticed.
Perhaps everyone was sleeping too soundly, or they might have thought someone's cell phone or some other object had accidentally fallen, so no one really paid much attention.
He hurriedly picked up the rifle from the floor and swallowed it back into his right arm.
No matter how many times he practiced, he still couldn't get used to the sensation, for the size of his palm was limited. Small objects like photos were manageable, but an AK47 was obviously much larger than his own hand.
Thus, when the rifle shot out of his palm, his hand would split open at two spots: the webbing of his thumb and between his middle and ring fingers...
The split would extend to the first third of his forearm, and his whole arm seemed to be cleaved into three parts.
This was terrifying, to say the least.
Also, when something so large suddenly sprang forth, it was very hard for him to catch it every time. If he aimed for speed, it would shoot out and fall to the ground.
If he was slow... not to mention enduring the eerie splitting of his right arm... in combat, such speed was unacceptable.
Was there a way to surprise the enemy and cut out the rifle both covertly and quickly?
He stared at his own arm, squeezed his fist, and felt the rifle stored within his forearm.
A peculiar feeling surged up.
It was as if... he could sense the position of the trigger...
Even when the gun wasn't drawn, it seemed that the trigger could be pulled under the command of his will...
Wei Tianyang paced back and forth in the room, contemplating.
Suddenly!
He spun around, extended his right arm forward, and opened his palm.
The barrel of the AK47 thrust out from the center of his hand in a flash!
The trigger was already in a firing position, and if he wanted, the barrel could fire all the bullets from the magazine!
"Learn to use the gun..." He retracted the barrel and clenched his right fist tightly, his lips curving slightly upwards.
Success.