Chapter 52

Chapter 52: Training New Projects – The Door to Rebirth in the Apocalypse

Volume 1 Chapter 52: Training New Projects

After leaving the neighborhood, Gu Ning turned into a small alley by the street. She reached a phone booth and dialed a number she had memorized.

After a melodious ringtone, a slightly drowsy, lazy, and somewhat impatient voice came through the receiver: “Hello?”

Gu Ning said, “Good morning, Method, it’s me.”

The voice on the other end, Method, seemed to wake up instantly: “Gu Ning?”

“Yes, it’s me,” Gu Ning paused, then continued, “I wanted to ask about the thing I asked you to do yesterday…”

Before she could finish, Method interrupted her: “It’s done. Come get the money.”

With that, he hung up.

Gu Ning looked at the receiver in her hand, now emitting a busy tone, and wondered if Method was upset.

“What’s wrong? Why the sour face so early in the morning? Who ticked you off?” Old Li, after fetching hot water, sat down opposite Method and said leisurely.

“Ah—” Method sighed, unusually not engaging in banter with Old Li. Instead, he slumped on the table, frowning and said, “I feel like an idiot.”

Old Li chuckled at this, “Hey! Sounds like something big happened!”

“Ah—” Method sighed again.

When Method went out to take the call, he had already decided in his heart to make it clear to Gu Ning that he wouldn’t help her with such things anymore. He felt like an errand boy. If she asked for his help again this time, he would firmly refuse, letting her know he wasn’t at her beck and call. He was busy too, okay?

Method rehearsed his speech in his mind and then walked over to Gu Ning, who was standing in the yard.

Before he could hand over the plastic bag, Gu Ning beat him to it by handing him a beautifully wrapped box.

“What’s this?” Method asked, instinctively taking the paper bag before inquiring, “For me?”

Gu Ning nodded, “Yes. I bought it when I passed by a cake shop. I don’t know if you like it.”

Facing Gu Ning’s subtly expectant gaze, Method forgot that he disliked creamy and sweet foods and instinctively said, “I like it…”

Gu Ning smiled lightly, “That’s good.”

Method paused, then handed over the black plastic bag, “Since you needed the money urgently, they knocked the price down a bit. It’s probably less than the market rate. Here’s seventeen thousand. For the remaining twenty thousand, give me your account number, and they’ll transfer it to you.”

Gu Ning took it, holding a thick stack of bills, she couldn’t help but sigh in relief and smiled, then took ten bills from the twenty thousand and handed them back to Method, “This is to pay you back.”

Method took the money and stuffed it directly into his pocket, then glanced at the black plastic bag in Gu Ning’s hand, half-jokingly and half-seriously said, “Aren’t you going to count it? Once it’s out of my sight, I’m not responsible if any is missing.”

Gu Ning smiled, then looked at Method and said, “Method, I don’t have many friends. I’m really glad to have a friend like you.”

Method was taken aback, moved by the sincerity in Gu Ning’s eyes. He sighed inwardly, then said, “I’m glad too.”

Gu Ning smiled, “I’ve been really busy lately. When I have time, I’ll treat you to a meal.”

Method said, “You should get yourself a phone first… It’s inconvenient to contact you.”

“Okay. I’ll call you when I get a phone. I’ll head off now.” Gu Ning waved at him and walked out with the plastic bag.

Method watched Gu Ning leave through the gate, then picked up the paper bag and stared at it, scratching his head. None of the speech he had prepared came in handy.

“Hey? A Golden Butterfly cake! I just saw that girl, it was Gu Ning, right? Seems like you two are getting along well, she even brought you a cake from so far away,” Old Li gossiped.

A policeman chimed in, “Captain Li, are you talking about that blonde girl who came yesterday? The one who was missing for three months? Is Method dating her? Wow, Method, you move fast!”

Method retorted, “What nonsense! I helped her out, and she bought me a cake to thank me. What’s wrong with that?”

Another policeman laughed, “Hey Method, I remember you don’t like sweets. I rushed here without breakfast, why don’t you give me the cake?”

“Get lost, get lost, get lost!”

“Haha, see, you can’t bear to part with it. Last time a girl gave you a cake, you shared it with everyone. It really depends on who gives it, right, Old Li?”

“Exactly.”

Meanwhile, Gu Ning didn’t waste any more time. She hailed a taxi and headed straight to the military base.

After putting the plastic bag into her bag, Gu Ning felt a bit more relaxed. If she got the chance in the future, she would try to bring more sellable items to work towards getting out of poverty.

By the time she arrived at the base, it was already past nine.

Third Brother was standing at the gate, looking around. When he saw Gu Ning getting out of the taxi, his eyes lit up, and he complained, “Gu Ning, why are you so slow?”

“My home is far from here. It takes two hours to get here. I left at seven,” Gu Ning said as she handed over the money she owed Third Brother, “Here’s the money I owe you.”

Third Brother took the money and said, “Don’t waste any more time. We’re starting a new project today.”

Gu Ning asked curiously, “What new project?”

Third Brother said mysteriously, “You’ll know when we get to the shooting range.”

At the shooting range, Zhang Xiaobai and others warmly greeted Gu Ning, also complaining about her late arrival.

“We’ve already gone through one round. It’s really tough,” Zhang Xiaobai said.

Gu Ning’s curiosity grew heavier.

Third Brother took the binoculars from Zhang Xiaobai and handed them to Gu Ning, saying, “Zhai Jun is up next. Pay attention and estimate the gap between you and him.”

Gu Ning took the binoculars and nodded, then looked over at Zhai Jun, who was holding a gun, ready and waiting.

Gu Ning’s arrival silently added a lot of pressure to the Second Company.

A soldier signaled Zhai Jun to look over.

Zhai Jun glanced over, his expression somewhat grave.

The Second Company’s Captain, Zhang Yueguo, also didn’t look too pleased.

The First Company’s Captain, Zhou Zilai, however, greeted Gu Ning with a smile. The soldiers from the First Company hadn’t seen Gu Ning before, but they had obviously heard about her from Zhou Zilai. They were all curiously looking over.

Soon, one after another, colorful hydrogen balloons rose from a hundred meters away, and everyone’s gaze focused on them.

Gu Ning was surprised to see the hydrogen balloons, initially thinking they were to be shot at with guns. But upon closer inspection, she noticed that each balloon had a fist-sized round cardboard attached below it, with circles drawn on it like a target. To the naked eye, it was impossible to see clearly, but with her enhanced vision, Gu Ning could see a red dot on each.

Third Brother said, “Last year, the Five-Star Brigade did this. Twenty bullets, and the best score from our three companies was hitting six out of ten targets, with only one bullet hitting the bullseye.”

Zou Ming said shamefully, “Last year, I only hit four. My best this year is six.”

Zhong Xu said, “Last year, I hit five. This year, my best is eight, but I’ve also had scores as low as one or two.”

Zhang Xiaobai giggled, “I wasn’t here last year. This year, my best is eight, with two hitting the bullseye, but that was just luck. I couldn’t even see where the bullseye was; the balloons were flying too fast.”

Hearing this, Gu Ning felt an invisible pressure.

While they were talking, Zhai Jun had already fired several shots.

The process was to first hit the cardboard, then shoot down the balloon. If you hit the cardboard but the balloon flew away, it didn’t count.

Twenty bullets, ten for balloons, ten for cardboards.

You had to hit the cardboard first; otherwise, even if you hit the balloon without hitting the cardboard, it wouldn’t count.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Several gunshots rang out in succession, with pauses of about three to five seconds between each shot. The balloons kept rising, reaching over ten meters in about ten seconds. Any higher or farther, and the cardboard would be completely out of sight, leaving only the balloon to aim at by feel. But with limited bullets, each shot had to count, so a balance had to be struck. Through the binoculars, Gu Ning saw the cardboard swaying and occasionally spinning in the air, making it indeed hard to aim.

Soon, Zhai Jun had used up his twenty bullets. The burst balloons drifted down from the sky, with only one balloon floating further away. Soldiers collected the balloons Zhai Jun had shot down and brought them over.

The soldiers from the three companies eligible for the Five-Star Brigade selection all gathered around to inspect the marks on the cardboards.

Out of nine cardboards, eight were hit, one was a miss, and one was grazed by a bullet. Two shots hit the bullseye.

This was a pretty good score, but it clearly didn’t meet the Second Company’s expectations, as evident from Zhang Yueguo and Zhai Jun’s expressions.

Third Brother asked, “Gu Ning, what do you think? Should you go now or watch a couple more rounds?”

Gu Ning said, “I think I get the idea. Let me give it a try.”

Zhang Xiaobai excitedly handed her a gun, saying, “You probably haven’t played like this before. Don’t be nervous, relax. This isn’t the official assessment yet.”

Gu Ning took the gun and smiled, “Okay.”

Then she stood at the yellow line.

After trying to aim and getting a feel for it, she nodded at the soldier holding a small flag.

The soldier raised and then lowered the flag.

A red hydrogen balloon shot up a hundred meters away, and everyone held their breath, waiting for Gu Ning’s first shot.

In Gu Ning’s pupils, the yellow cardboard was reflected with crystal clarity. She aimed at the red dot in the very center and, without hesitation, pulled the trigger.

Bang! Gu Ning’s first shot.

Third Brother, holding the binoculars, clearly saw the yellow cardboard sway from the bullet’s wind, the bullet narrowly missing the cardboard.

Third Brother couldn’t help but exclaim in regret, “So close!”

Seeing Gu Ning’s first shot miss, Second Company’s Captain Zhang Yueguo’s expression eased slightly, and he sneered, “A miss is as good as a mile, Old Xie.”

Gu Ning had already tuned out the outside noise. She was fully focused. From the miss of the first shot, her brain processed a lot of information. She adjusted her stance based on this information and aimed again at the yellow cardboard. By then, the second balloon had already risen.

Zhang Xiaobai couldn’t help but shout, “Forget the first one! The second one’s up!”

Though annoyed by Zhang Xiaobai’s interruption, including Third Brother, everyone thought it was time to give up on the first balloon, which had already floated too high.

But Gu Ning wasn’t affected by Zhang Xiaobai. She remained focused, her gun following the rising balloon, and then she pulled the trigger—

Bang! Bang! Two shots rang out in quick succession, less than a second apart.

The burst balloon, along with its cardboard, fell from the sky.

No one looked at the burst balloon; all eyes were on the second balloon as the third one rose, and a soldier was about to release the fourth.

The two were only a meter apart.

Everyone held their breath.

Gu Ning concentrated.

Bang! Bang! Bang!—

Gunshots rang out in quick succession, accompanied by the bursts and falls of balloons. Except for the first balloon, none rose above ten meters, with less than two seconds between each shot.

This speed was fast even for regular target practice, let alone such a challenging moving target exercise. By the time the last balloon fell, the soldiers were still in shock.

The soldiers responsible for collecting the balloons brought all ten over, under the intense gaze of over twenty people, and ran over from a distance.

Then, one by one, they began inspecting.

With each count, the crowd grew more silent. Some cardboards were partially shot off, some were left with only the hole for the string. Although not every bullet hit the bullseye, compared to the soldiers who had trained countless times, this was Gu Ning’s first time participating in such a project! And she had achieved such a score!

The soldiers were too stunned to speak. To be precise, they didn’t know what to say to express their shock and disbelief.

After a long while, Zhang Xiaobai finally shifted his gaze from the pile of burst balloons to Gu Ning and said in awe, “Gu Ning, you’re a god!”

Zhong Xu added, “A true god.”

Zou Ming said to Third Brother with a bitter face, “Captain, maybe I should just go back to training tomorrow. It seems like there’s nothing left for me here.”

The soldiers from each company looked at the pile of burst balloons and yellow cardboards on the ground, then at Gu Ning, their expressions varied.