HLM -Chapter 1427 Ice Skating

After seeing Brother Yang off, Wang Bo was about to leave when Li Xing motioned for him to wait a moment. He then took out a small case and handed it over.

“What’s inside? Why so mysterious?” Wang Bo asked. He opened the case and saw two small tubes of different lengths inside.

When he saw the black tubes, he was startled. “Holy crap—silencers?!”

In New Zealand, many people protest that the government has been inactive on the issue of rampant firearms. With protests mounting, the New Zealand government finally “did something” and began controlling the sale of silencers.

To be honest, this is a classic case of a weak country having no real say in diplomacy. New Zealand’s gun proliferation isn’t due to government inaction so much as the influence of major European and American weapons manufacturers on decision-making.

Because the Māori people are traditionally fierce, valorous, and martial, the country has never had particularly strict controls on civilian weapons throughout its history.

European and American weapons manufacturers entered the market early. Now New Zealand is basically their farmland—how would they be willing to shut it down and stop harvesting profits?

These manufacturers don’t just sell firearms. Take Lockheed Martin, for example—they’re also one of the world’s top aircraft manufacturers.

Both New Zealand’s military and civil aviation sectors use products from Lockheed Martin. Under such circumstances, some government decisions are inevitably influenced by them. No matter how big or small the influence, it exists.

After regulating this and that, in the end the government only really cracked down on silencers. Now it’s not easy to buy one.

In the minds of most Chinese people, firearm silencers are mainly associated with assassins and gangs—killing without a sound—so banning them seems like a good thing.

But that’s not really the case. In New Zealand, it’s actually ordinary citizens who need silencers.

Aside from a few major cities, New Zealanders live very spread out. People might occasionally fire a couple of shots at open land to practice.

But gunfire is loud. The noise can easily disturb neighbors or be misunderstood.

Yet the government tightened control over silencers, which was the result of public protests. In the end, firearms enthusiasts could only swallow the loss in silence.

That was why Wang Bo was so surprised when he saw the silencers—he hadn’t expected Li Xing to be able to get his hands on them.

Li Xing smiled. “Don’t worry, use them with confidence. They’re legal. When I was buying gun accessories, I negotiated with the shop owner and got four silencers. Two for you—one for a handgun and one for a rifle. I gave Monkey a rifle one, and I kept a handgun one for myself.”

Wang Bo nodded. “Alright.”

The shipment that arrived more than ten days ago mainly consisted of firearms. The accessories had only just been purchased. In fact, weapon accessories are also a huge expense.

From optical sights and bore-sighting tools, to all kinds of firearm accessories, and various types of ammunition—holsters, backpacks, slings, belts, jackets, helmets, goggles, earmuffs, headsets, walkie-talkies, carrying cases, shoes, crates, and boxes.

And that’s not all. If a shooter wants to reload their own ammunition, you can also buy primers, bullets, propellants, reloading tools, and scales.

Of course, gun-cleaning solvents, gun oil, and all kinds of brushes are indispensable as well.

This year, New Zealand’s weather was exceptionally cold. After the heavy snowfall, although it didn’t snow again, temperatures dropped sharply.

Last winter, the old professors worried that the freshwater corals might freeze to death, so Wang Bo had them moved to the hot spring area.

Thankfully, they were moved back then. This winter was even colder than last year. Last year, the freshwater corals only had reduced activity; this year, the lake water froze over—if they’d stayed, they probably would’ve frozen to death outright.

Except for the hot spring area, the edges of Lake Hāwea were frozen solid, and the ice layer was quite thick.

As soon as Wang Bo arrived at work, he received a report saying that some kids had been seen skating on the lake.

Wang Bo thought, This is serious, and immediately drove over with Atulu to take a look.

When they went out, the wind was biting cold. The Māori big guy shrank his neck and muttered, “How long has it been since New Zealand was this cold? Twenty years, at least, right?”

Wang Bo said, “I saw weather experts say this is actually a good sign. The effects of El Niño on New Zealand are fading. During the Little Ice Age, New Zealand was completely ice-covered.”

Atulu said, “Well, I hope summer won’t be so hot then. Damn it—honestly, I don’t mind the cold, but summer heat is unbearable. My wife can’t stand it either.”

“Then tell your wife to lose some weight,” Wang Bo said. “Overweight people definitely can’t handle the heat.”

The Māori big guy gave an awkward laugh and shook his head. “I don’t want to die young.”

They got in the car and drove to the lake. At a glance, Wang Bo spotted the little girl in a pink down jacket happily sliding around on the ice.

Seeing this, he immediately shouted, “Dale! Aren’t you supposed to be at school?”

Dale turned pale with fright when she heard his voice and hurried toward the deeper part of the lake. But the surface was too slippery—after just a couple of steps, she slipped and fell hard.

Wang Bo was even more frightened and yelled, “Alright, alright! I won’t punish you this time—just don’t run farther in! Be careful, the ice might break!”

Besides Dale, there were more than a dozen other kids. When they saw Wang Bo appear, they also looked ready to scatter.

Worried that the ice might not bear the pressure and crack, Wang Bo waved his hand. “Don’t be afraid. I’m not here to drag you back to school.”

“Then what are you here for?” the kids asked warily, staring at him like little rabbits eyeing a big gray wolf.

Wang Bo glanced at Atulu and said, “We’re here to skate with you.”

Atulu shook his head vigorously. “No way, boss. I’m not going down there. With my weight, I might just break the ice.”

Dale stopped running and looked at him suspiciously. “Really, brother-in-law? You love lying the most. Are you really here to play with us?”

Wang Bo flew into a rage. “What do you mean I love lying? When have I ever lied to you?!”

“Then come down and play,” Ron beckoned.

Wang Bo noticed surfboards on the ice and stepped onto one.

Several kids also brought surfboards over. Holes had been drilled into the fronts of the boards, with ropes tied through them. They took turns pulling the boards while a child sat on top behind.

Wang Bo burst out laughing. He used to do this all the time in his youth. His hometown had many lakes and rivers. In winter, once the rivers froze over, they’d go ice skating.

That was also the only time of year they could skate.

But by fifth or sixth grade, they stopped playing like that—because one child fell into an ice hole and drowned.

The ice near the shore was thick and solid. Wang Bo stomped his feet and walked inward, carefully determining the safe area.

He then told Atulu to drive back and bring over Zhuang Ding, the Queen, and the others, explaining to the kids, “Dog sledding is way more fun. I’ve even won championships in dog sledding.”

“That’s right—the mayor was amazing in Alaska,” Ron nodded enthusiastically. “My brother watched your competition too. He said you’ve got quite a lot of fans.”

“Then why not use sled dogs? Where are the sled dogs?” someone asked.

Wang Bo thought about it and agreed. He said to Atulu, “Call the Mountain Store and have them send over the sled dogs.”