Chapter 25: Rifle Testing

"This weight... it's a full two kilograms lighter than the American-made M1?" an expert weighed it in disbelief, his hands constantly adjusting for balance, "With it being this light, can accuracy be guaranteed?"

"A 30-round capacity? 30 rounds?" another expert opened the magazine well to inspect it closely, his voice changing pitch, "Our current main-force rifle only holds 10 rounds! This magazine design... it's too ingenious."

Engineer Wang, an old expert invited from the Hanyang Arsenal, discovered with surprise:

"An all-metal folding stock? This design... we have never seen it before. Folding it can greatly increase portability."

Although General Zhang's expression remained serious, a glimmer of excitement was already flashing in his eyes.

He frowned and asked, "It sounds good, but how is the actual shooting performance? Paper talk is useless; the key is how it performs in actual combat."

"Of course," Li Mingyuan nodded, "We will conduct a live-fire test right now."

The testing range immediately became tense and busy as staff quickly set up targets at different distances.

Facing the questioning gazes of the crowd, Li Mingyuan calmly picked up the Type 56 Rifle.

He loaded the weapon skillfully, his fingers sliding over the gun body with movements as natural as flowing water.

Standing at the firing point, his posture suddenly became professional and standard, and his entire temperament seemed to transform in an instant.

"This young man has at least received professional training," an old expert muttered, "His posture is very standard."

Li Mingyuan took a deep breath and aimed at the bullseye 100 meters away.

His gaze became sharp, as if a Falcon locking onto its prey.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Three crisp gunshots echoed across the range, and several experts picked up binoculars to observe the bullseye.

After a tester ran over to check, his expression became strange.

"How is it?" General Zhang asked.

The tester reported stutteringly: "Three shots... all three hit the ten-ring, and the bullet holes are almost overlapping!"

"Impossible!" an old expert from Fengtian blurted out, "This distance... this accuracy... let me see again."

Li Mingyuan did not speak, but simply continued to fire.

Seven bullets hit the exact same spot as if processed by a machine.

Ten bullets, ten ten-rings, and the bullet holes almost completely overlapped.

The experts on the field discussed it heatedly, their eyes wide open, filled with disbelief.

"This technique... it doesn't look like his first time shooting."

"The accuracy is too astonishing; which of our current service rifles could achieve this?"

Li Mingyuan turned to General Zhang: "Next, I will demonstrate the automatic firing mode."

He adjusted the firing mode, raised the gun, and aimed at a new target.

"Da-da-da-da-da—"

The sound of gunfire was like Lightning tearing through the air, rapid and powerful.

What shocked everyone was that the stability of the gun body was excellent, with almost none of the common muzzle climb.

Thirty bullets were all fired in just a few seconds, with the impact points concentrated within an area the size of a fist.

"This... this is impossible!" a senior military industry expert took off his glasses and wiped them repeatedly, as if doubting he had seen correctly,

"In automatic firing mode, this level of concentration... I have never seen it before!"

The experts looked at each other, their originally skeptical expressions having turned into surprise and confusion.

This completely exceeded the scope of their knowledge.

Li Mingyuan remained calm, as if all of this were perfectly normal. "Next, we will test the long-range shooting performance."

He walked to the 300-meter firing point, adjusted his posture, and raised the gun to aim at the distant bullseye.

This time his movements were slower, and his breathing control was extremely precise.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

After three gunshots, the experts immediately picked up their binoculars to observe.

The tester ran over to check and shouted in surprise: "All three shots hit the nine-ring or higher, with two of them being ten-rings!"

"Further! Further!" General Zhang was already completely captivated and commanded eagerly.

At 500 meters, Li Mingyuan still maintained an astonishing hit rate.

When the test pushed to 600 meters, conventional rifles were already approaching their effective range limit, but the Type 56 Rifle still maintained incredible accuracy.

"This is simply... this is simply the accuracy of a Sniper Rifle!" a veteran who had served as a sniper on the battlefield muttered to himself,

"I used a specialized sniper rifle, and even I couldn't achieve this level."

General Zhang finally couldn't help himself and stepped forward: "Let me try."

Li Mingyuan handed the gun to him and briefly explained the key points of operation.

General Zhang was a veteran soldier with rich experience in using firearms.

He raised the gun and fired ten rounds; although the accuracy was not as good as Li Mingyuan's, it was still far superior to any rifle he had ever used.

"The weight is at least two kilograms lighter..." General Zhang weighed the gun, "The recoil is more than half less... yet the range has nearly doubled..."

He put the gun down in shock, his eyes full of disbelief: "This... this is even more advanced than the Polar Bear's latest model! It's even better than the American M1 Garand! Is this really something we can produce ourselves?"

Li Mingyuan smiled slightly: "Of course, when I designed it, I specifically considered our country's existing industrial conditions. All parts can be produced domestically without relying on imports."

General Zhang's breathing became rapid, and he turned to the other experts: "Who else wants to try?"

Several senior experts scrambled to step forward to personally test this incredible rifle.

Everyone's expression after test-firing was quite spectacular, ranging from skepticism to shock, and then to a certain complex emotion—these veterans who had been in the military for many years seemed to have never imagined that domestically produced weapons could reach this level.

"Comrade Li," an old expert finally couldn't help but ask, "How did you do it? This combination of accuracy, reliability, and handling—I've thought about a solution for my whole life and never found one."

Li Mingyuan answered modestly: "I just stood on the shoulders of giants, absorbed the advantages of weapons from various countries, and optimized them for the actual situation of our military."

When the testing of the Type 56 Rifle came to an end, the atmosphere at the scene had already become exceptionally heated.

The experts discussed the test results from just a moment ago with excitement, occasionally casting looks of admiration toward Li Mingyuan.

Li Mingyuan, however, did not feel the slightest bit of pride; he simply and calmly took the second weapon out of the gun case—the Type 56 Submachine Gun.

This was a firearm with a smaller volume and a more ingenious design, its black gun body gleaming with a cold luster.

"This is the Type 56 Submachine Gun, mainly used for close-quarters combat, and it is especially suitable for urban warfare, jungle warfare, and use by special forces," Li Mingyuan introduced, "It is equipped with a 35-round Magazine, has a theoretical rate of fire of 600 rounds per minute, and an effective range of 150 meters."

A burly expert frowned, clearly carrying skepticism: "With such a small volume, I fear the range and power are quite limited, right? It looks like a toy gun."

Another veteran added: "I have used the German-made MP40 and the Soviet-style PPSh-41, both of which are much larger in volume than this; what kind of power could such a small gun possibly have?"

Li Mingyuan did not refute this, only smiling slightly: "You will know once you test it."