HLM -Chapter 1426 An Event Brought About by Second-Hand Weapons

After the gun shop opened, Sunset Town became lively once again. Residents coming to buy guns were as casual as people strolling through a supermarket.

Because Wang Bo is ethnically Chinese, there are quite a lot of Chinese immigrants in the town. Nowadays, when people immigrate from China, their first choice is no longer big cities like Auckland or Wellington, but Sunset Town instead.

The New Zealand branches of the four major investment banks analyzed this phenomenon and concluded that, following Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin, New Zealand is very likely to see a fifth major commercial hub—the Sunset Town business district.

Chinese immigrants are either wealthy or highly skilled. After arriving in Sunset Town, they work hard and diligently, providing a strong boost to the local economy.

These immigrants—especially those from mainland China—had basically never had the chance to even touch a gun before. To them, firearms were mysterious and full of allure.

When the shooting range had just opened some time ago, aside from tourists, the largest group of customers were the new Chinese residents. Now that the gun shop had opened, Chinese residents were the most enthusiastic, flocking in to choose and purchase firearms.

Li Xing offered customization services. After buying a handgun, customers could purchase additional accessories according to their personal preferences and modify the weapon—for example, changing the grip color, front and rear sights, trigger assembly, and so on.

Naturally, customization was not cheap. Some options used grip panels made of rare woods or ultra-light alloy slides, making the handgun look cooler and feel lighter in the hand, which of course meant spending more money.

For those unwilling to pay extra, there were still affordable choices, such as the ISSC .22-caliber pistol, priced at only four hundred dollars.

In New Zealand, buying a gun is not an activity exclusive to men—women can also purchase handguns. Among civilian firearms, there are even versions specifically modified for female users.

Li Xing could also perform secondary customizations: grips could be changed to match the colors of handbags, clothes, or high heels, and there were even grip sets inlaid with rhinestones.

As a result, the police station became unusually busy over the past few days as well.

Browsing a gun shop might feel like shopping at a supermarket, but buying a gun is not like buying groceries—you can’t just grab what you like and walk out. A complete set of purchase procedures is required.

To buy a gun in Sunset Town, one must first be a permanent resident of the Canterbury Region. The scope can be expanded to all of New Zealand, but buyers from outside Canterbury are subject to more extensive background checks.

Second, the buyer must have a firearms license. After submitting a copy of the license along with a survey questionnaire to the police station for record-keeping, the purchase can proceed.

This questionnaire is issued by the gun shop and includes information such as name, address, phone number, and driver’s license number. It isn’t difficult to fill out.

If someone doesn’t have a firearms license, they can still buy a gun—but they must fill out an additional questionnaire. This one includes questions about criminal history, arrests, prior offenses, history of alcoholism, drug abuse, and mental illness, among other things.

This questionnaire is much more cumbersome. It must be issued by the police station, which also conducts the investigation.

Without a doubt, having a firearms license makes buying a gun much more convenient. Moreover, without a license, even if you buy a gun, you can only keep it at home as a collectible—you’re not allowed to take it out and use it.

Firearms licenses are still processed at the police station. As a result, many residents lined up to apply for licenses, forcing Wang Bo to arrange police overtime to handle the workload.

About a week after the gun shop opened, Li Xing called Wang Bo and asked him to come over to discuss something, saying that someone had come by to pitch a proposal.

Wang Bo assumed it was a weapons supplier. After all, New Zealand had relaxed civilian firearms supply restrictions, and many international arms manufacturers had branches in the country.

But it turned out to be more complicated. Li Xing explained, “This is Mr. Young Zane. He’s the head of a firearms control association. He wants to sell us second-hand weapons and also organize an event.”

Wang Bo was the real veteran behind the gun shop, and Zane clearly knew this. Upon arriving, he warmly shook hands with Wang Bo.

“May I ask what kind of event you’re planning?” Wang Bo asked curiously.

Zane smiled and said, “Well, Mayor, you know the inherent danger of weapons, but many members of the public do not. We hope to let them understand the true nature of firearms.”

Wang Bo nodded. “What you’re saying makes a lot of sense.”

In fact, after seeing how enthusiastically residents were buying guns, he had already been worried about this issue. Many immigrants had never been exposed to weapons before, and he didn’t know what choices they might make when faced with conflict after acquiring guns.

This was one of the reasons Sunset Town had waited so long before opening a gun shop. But solving the problem couldn’t rely on shutting itself off. Even if Sunset Town didn’t sell weapons, there were plenty of gun shops in Auckland and other cities, and residents could still buy guns.

They could even purchase weapons online—after all, the first guns he bought himself were ordered online.

However, online shopping and in-person shopping are different. Firearms have a powerful real-world impact. The desire to purchase after seeing one in person is very different from looking at images on a webpage.

Hearing this, Zane said happily, “Exactly. So we want to run this event in all gun shops across New Zealand. We sell second-hand guns, and besides the price tag and description, each gun also comes with an ‘identity profile.’”

“For example, this M1911—about fifteen years ago, at the beginning of the 21st century, someone used this very gun to shoot and kill five elementary school students in New York State, USA.”

“And this USP—compared to its siblings, it looks compact and even cute, doesn’t it? But ten years ago, someone used it to carry out a massacre in a welfare institution in Brazil, with a horrifying death toll of twenty people!”

Wang Bo thought for a moment and said, “You’re planning to put this information on the weapons? Actually, we could label the guns with this information ourselves.”

He understood now—Zane was using the pretext of an event to promote their second-hand guns.

Seeing that Wang Bo had seen through his intentions, Zane gave an awkward smile. “Our guns are cheaper—they’re second-hand. And in an event like this, second-hand guns are more persuasive. Everyone knows a new gun hasn’t killed anyone yet, but with an unknown second-hand gun, who knows?”

Wang Bo considered this, then lowered his voice and asked Li Xing, “Are second-hand guns reliable? I don’t want to get sued someday because a gun someone bought blew up the moment they took it home and injured someone.”

Li Xing replied, “Among second-hand mechanical items, guns are actually the easiest to assess. Uncle Bing, his son, and I can easily determine a gun’s wear level and whether it’s still usable.”

“And the business?”

“It’s doable. Selling second-hand guns has higher profit margins.”

Wang Bo wasn’t particularly concerned about profits. What interested him more was the event Zane had proposed.

With Li Xing’s agreement, Wang Bo nodded and said, “Mr. Zane, I think we can give it a try. Perhaps we can become partners.”

Zane was instantly overjoyed. He gripped Wang Bo’s hand and shook it vigorously. “We’ll go back and prepare the weapons immediately. Rest assured—even though they’re second-hand, they still have real functional value!”