"Here, take a look at this."
"This is the laser lock. As long as you keep this lock engaged while drawing the bow, the string will conjure a laser arrow out of thin air for you to use. Just be careful—a nocked laser arrow can still do damage. Don't touch it carelessly, or you might slice a finger off~"
Inside the weapons testing range, Luca held a sleek, futuristic black longbow, explaining its features to Hawkeye, Clint Barton, in a relaxed tone.
As he spoke, Luca raised the bow, aimed at a distant target, and drew the string.
Between the empty bowstring, a deep crimson arrow materialized with a soft hum.
Then, with a muted thwip, he released.
The red arrow shot out like lightning. In an instant, the distant target was pierced through.
Wait, not just the target. The concrete wall behind it now sported a deep, scorched hole, perfectly circular and pitch-black.
Luca didn't stop talking through the demonstration.
"You saw the power. As for range~ the effective limit for laser arrows with this bow is around 550 yards. Air density might skew the data slightly, but honestly, I doubt you'll need to shoot that far in most situations."
"Also, a fully charged battery gives you about five or six hundred shots. You won't have to worry about running out of ammo halfway through a fight anymore~"
Luca hefted the longbow in his hand.
Just as Clint, eyes shining with excitement, reached out to take it, Luca chuckled mischievously and pulled it back.
"Hold your horses, I'm not done explaining~"
Clint froze, his hand hanging in mid-air, but a smile quickly returned to his face.
"It has more features?"
He thought having infinite high-power arrows on such a lightweight bow was already incredible.
But seeing Luca's expression, Clint's anticipation grew.
Luca didn't keep him waiting.
"I know you like using trick arrows to catch enemies off guard. As you saw, this bow works with regular arrows too. The draw weight is adjustable, and I assume you have plenty of your own custom arrows, so I won't worry about that part."
Luca opened the bottom compartment of the case on the table, revealing rows of neatly arranged metal arrowheads.
"But since I designed the bow, it'd be boring not to include some dedicated ammo."
Luca picked up an arrowhead, manually attached it to a shaft, and nocked the arrow.
Clint watched as red light began to rapidly gather on the gleaming silver tip.
"Charged Arrow. Basically, it channels the laser energy continuously into the arrowhead."
"If you fire it instantly, it packs about the punch of a standard hand grenade. I don't recommend that, though—it's a bit of a waste~"
"But if you charge it for 2 seconds..."
Luca released the string.
The arrow, tip glowing red, flew with a whoosh and struck the distant target again.
The next second.
BOOM——
A massive explosion erupted.
Red flames shot into the sky, and a violent shockwave kicked up dust, forming a small mushroom cloud.
Gale-force winds blew sand everywhere as Clint stared blankly at where the metal target used to be—and the blackened crater now in its place.
Through the ringing in his ears, he faintly heard the rest of Luca's sentence.
"Two seconds... yeah, that's roughly the power of a standard RPG."
"Theoretically, the charge limit is 8 seconds. But generally speaking, I don't recommend charging past 5 seconds..."
Clint, finally recovering from the shock of the explosion, turned to look at Luca, his eyes filled with sheer confusion.
Luca shrugged casually, choosing his words carefully.
"Ever heard of the Fat Man launcher?"
"What??"
"Uh, okay. You know the 'Ex-Wife' missile from Hammer Industries, right?"
For a split second, Hawkeye's slightly stunned brain wondered if Justin Hammer had been married twice.
But thanks to War Machine constantly complaining about Hammer Industries' unreliable tech, Clint quickly realized Luca was referring to the missile's nickname.
"Hammer Industries' Ex-Wife has a safety feature where if it doesn't travel a sufficient distance, it locks up and becomes a dud because the blast radius is too big."
"It's a dumb design, but it keeps the user safe."
"Personally, I think battlefield conditions require flexibility, so I didn't add that hassle. But a 5-second charge has a kill radius close to 110 yards, so... you get the idea~"
"One... one hundred and ten yards??"
Hearing this, Clint swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing.
Standard tactical missiles usually have an effective kill radius of 55 to 110 yards.
And that was just a 5-second charge. If he charged it for 8 seconds...
Suddenly, the pile of arrowheads in the case looked terrifying.
Luca ignored Clint's shock, pulled out a tablet, and continued.
"There are also laser scatter arrows, laser cutting arrows, and so on—all designed specifically for this bow. The manual and test data are all in here. Take your time reading it later~"
Without waiting for Clint to react, Luca shoved the tablet into his hands.
But as he handed over the longbow, Luca seemed to remember something. He turned the grip toward Clint.
"Don't forget to press your thumb here for the fingerprint lock. That way, the bow is yours and yours alone~"
Seeing Clint register his fingerprint out of the corner of his eye, Luca left the gear on the table and turned to Natasha, who had been watching the show with interest.
"So, how about it, Nat? Cap is clinging to his shield like a baby and won't trade. Your Widow's Bite isn't exactly a unique artifact like Mjolnir. Let me upgrade it for you—I promise you won't regret it~"
Yes, the reason Luca spent time designing this new bow for Hawkeye was partly because they were friends and he had jokingly promised him one.
But mostly, it was because Luca had his eyes on the heroes' 'props.' Under the guise of 'collecting,' he was running a 'trade-in promotion.'
Might as well herd two sheep while he was at it.
Asking for Hulk's pants or Cap's shield directly was a bit awkward, so his next target was naturally Natasha's Widow's Bite.
Unfortunately, Natasha didn't take the bait. Seeming completely indifferent to gear upgrades, she rolled her eyes beautifully at him, swayed her hips, and walked out of the testing range.
Seeing this, Luca could only shake his head helplessly and pick up the... glowing longbow that Hawkeye had just traded in.