Chapter 79

Chapter 79 Close Combat

After listening to Yi Shaoqing’s suggestion, Gu Ning was quite troubled.

The so-called “clingy tactic.”

Before the apocalypse, she used this method on Lu Jiazhi. Back when Lu Jiazhi hadn’t moved, Gu Ning would visit his house every day. Later, when he moved farther away, she still made sure to visit at least once a week. Don’t be fooled by her current demeanor; she used to be a clingy,撒娇 little girl. After the apocalypse, Gu Ning grew up at an incredibly fast pace. After discovering Lu Jiazhi’s relationship with Jiang Yu, she put on a tough exterior, her性格 becoming colder day by day, to the point where even laughter became rare.

And this was only three months later.

Gu Ning held a spoon in her hand, watching Ji Jiuzhe walk over with a plate, her gaze somewhat unfocused.

Ji Jiuzhe walked with a straight face, not looking around. His tall, slender figure moved like a straight pine tree, his卓越气质 and unfamiliar face making him stand out among the soldiers, who knew he was from the Five-Star Brigade. He carried his plate and sat down next to Yi Shaoqing, across from Gu Ning, giving her a slight nod as a greeting before starting to eat.

Gu Ning seemed indifferent, but in reality, she was carefully observing him every time she glanced up.

His expressionless face appeared冷峻, even his sharp eyebrows and lowered eyelids exuded a sense of锋利, giving off an侵略感. Even while eating, he sat upright, and every movement, from picking up tofu with his chopsticks to putting it in his mouth, was precise and meticulous. Unlike Yi Shaoqing’s playful demeanor or Zhuang Chen’s casual attitude, Yin Sang wasn’t in the食堂 for comparison, but his端正 demeanor didn’t come off as rigid, thanks to his气质.

Perhaps Ji Jiuzhe’s气场 was too strong. Aside from Zhuang Chen and Yi Shaoqing chatting and laughing, even Zhang Xiaobai, Zhong Xu, and Chen Gen at the same table didn’t dare speak much, focusing on their meals instead.

With someone like this, even speaking required勇气. How could she possibly use the “clingy tactic” on him?

Looking at his端正 demeanor, if she spoke now, he might even scold her for talking during meals. Gu Ning couldn’t help but hesitate. If she really wanted to learn close combat from him, would she constantly be受气? But then again, if he was as skilled as Yi Shaoqing said, enduring a few scoldings might be worth it.

Yi Shaoqing, biting his spoon, glanced at the expressionless Ji Jiuzhe and then at the equally expressionless Gu Ning, muttering to himself.

After the meal, they all left the食堂 together.

Yi Shaoqing suddenly said to Gu Ning, “Gu Ning, didn’t you say yesterday you had something to talk to our队长 about? We’ll go ahead, and you can catch up after you’re done talking with him.”

Gu Ning was caught off guard, looking at him in shock. Yi Shaoqing blinked at her a few times, then dragged Zhuang Chen forward. Zhang Xiaobai and the others, not understanding what was going on, just gave Gu Ning a strange look before following.

Ji Jiuzhe, however, stopped and looked down at Gu Ning. “You have something to say to me?”

Gu Ning felt inexplicably nervous, but she quickly composed herself. “I heard from Yi Shaoqing that you’re the best at close combat. So, I wanted to ask, after joining the Five-Star Brigade, can I learn close combat from you?”

Ji Jiuzhe seemed to already know what Gu Ning was going to say, so he refused almost without thinking. “No.”

Gu Ning had prepared herself for rejection, but she didn’t expect it to be so简洁利落, without any explanation. Still, she wasn’t surprised and remained坦然, as if it were completely理所当然.

Of course, Gu Ning felt a bit disappointed, but she had anticipated that the path to becoming his student wouldn’t be easy. However, since there would be many opportunities to interact with him in the future, she also had many chances to change his current attitude.

Next was the交接 with the部队. Since Gu Ning wasn’t a soldier, there wasn’t much to交接. She just went back to her room in the小白楼 to pack up her things. Zhuang Chen even特意 drove the car to pick her up. Gu Ning’s好感 towards Zhuang Chen came from her post-apocalyptic experiences, but Zhuang Chen’s热情 towards Gu Ning left her somewhat puzzled.

At this point, Gu Ning didn’t know about the恩怨纠葛 between Zhuang Chen and Yin Sang, so she didn’t realize that Zhuang Chen’s好感 towards her largely stemmed from the fact that Gu Ning had made Yin桑 so狼狈.

Along with Gu Ning, Zhang Xiaobai, Zhong Xu, and Chen Gen also packed their行李 and boarded the Five-Star Brigade’s专用车.

Ji Jiuzhe was driving the red越野车. When Gu Ning got back into the car, she felt a bit唏嘘, but this feeling might never be shared with anyone. Thinking about it, Gu Ning suddenly felt a bit孤单.

Ji Jiuzhe glanced at Gu Ning’s专注 profile in the rearview mirror, his eyes filled with深思.

The drive took nearly two hours.

When Gu Ning got out of the car, she couldn’t hide her惊讶. It was hard to imagine that the Five-Star Brigade’s金永分部 would be in such a place.

It was a双层独栋大别墅,占地极广, with no other houses around. The entire property was surrounded by a three-meter-high围墙, and after passing through the铁门, there was a夸张的前院 filled with草坪 and层层叠叠的绿植 on both sides.

When they reached the大门, Zhuang Chen直接 swiped her hand on the感应板, and the door opened. As she walked in, Zhuang Chen said, “Later, you’ll all need to input your掌纹 into the system.”

The客厅 inside was非常宽敞. As soon as Yi Shaoqing entered, he dropped Gu Ning’s行李 and threw himself onto the沙发, saying舒服ly, “It’s good to be home. Zhuang Chen, show them around. I’m going to take a nap.” Then he turned over, facing inward, and ignored everyone.

Zhuang Chen rolled her eyes but didn’t bother with him, instead taking Gu Ning and the others on a tour.

The front part of the别墅 was for living, with the一楼 being normal活动休息室 and the二楼 being个人空间.

Each卧室 was非常宽敞, with all kinds of家具 and a简洁 but not空白装修风格. There were at least ten rooms on the二楼.

“Gu Ning, I’ve already reserved this room for you,” Zhuang Chen said, pointing to the room closest to hers. “Later, I’ll call to have the**用品 delivered. You can make a list of anything you need and any specific requirements.”

Aside from个人房间, there was also a公用大书房, half filled with books and half with a long table and chairs. Zhuang Chen said this was where they usually held meetings.

A走廊 on the二楼 led to the back building.

If the front building was for日常生活, then the back building was for训练.

Gu Ning粗略估计 it was at least 300 square meters,全部打通, filled with各种器械, including沙袋 and other健身器材-like things Gu Ning didn’t quite understand. What puzzled Gu Ning was that there was even a乒乓球桌 in the corner, a收纳箱 filled with各种网球拍 and羽毛球拍, and a射飞镖靶子 on the wall.

Zhuang Chen干笑ed, “We just play around when we’re bored.”

Gu Ning, Zhang Xiaobai, Chen Gen, and Zhong Xu exchanged looks, all满腹不解.

To be honest, none of the four of them really knew what the Five-Star Brigade did. They had expected to be taken to a集体训练场 like a部队, where they would undergo a艰苦的训练期. Instead, they were brought here, which was so different from what they had imagined that it didn’t make them happy but instead made them more忐忑不安.

Zhuang Chen said, “Don’t worry, other小队 should be sending people over in the next few days.”

Gu Ning frowned, “So, do we have to wait until everyone arrives before we can start learning anything?”

Zhuang Chen was taken aback by Gu Ning’s question, then smiled, “Don’t worry, if you’re eager, I can teach you later.”

“Really?” Gu Ning’s eyes lit up.

“You’re really strange,” Zhuang Chen said, “Just don’t cry later.”

Gu Ning just smiled without saying anything.

Later, Zhuang Chen took Gu Ning to the训练室.

“Do you have any功夫基础?” Zhuang Chen asked.

Gu Ning honestly shook her head.

“For me, close combat doesn’t have any special招式. The best招式 is whatever can伤害敌人 the most. I can only teach you my格斗技巧 through实战演练. So, try attacking me now,” Zhuang Chen said, standing there.

Gu Ning looked at Zhuang Chen standing随意ly, unsure where to start. She had never learned close combat, always relying on直接用刀砍, so when Zhuang Chen told her to attack, she didn’t know how to proceed.

“What’s wrong?” Zhuang Chen asked, seeing Gu Ning not moving.

Gu Ning felt尴尬 but honestly said, “I don’t know how to attack—”

Zhuang Chen’s expression turned古怪, “Then how did you make Yin桑 so狼狈? Just do to me what you did to her.”

Gu Ning’s face showed挣扎, then she sighed inwardly and charged at Zhuang Chen.

“What is Gu Ning doing?” Yi Shaoqing, who had somehow appeared to watch, said in诧异 as he saw Gu Ning charging at Zhuang Chen like a斗牛.

“Uh… maybe this is Gu Ning’s attack,” Zhang Xiaobai, Zhong Xu, and Chen Gen, also watching, said尴尬ly.

Gu Ning’s first attack ended with her being狠狠掀翻在地 by Zhuang Chen.

The three onlookers all had不忍猝睹 expressions.

Yi Shaoqing was惊愕, “How did she make Yin桑 so狼狈 like this?! Did she cheat?”

Gu Ning got up from the ground, thought for a moment, then said to Zhuang Chen, “Why don’t you attack me instead?”

Zhuang Chen was stunned, “What?” but quickly understood, “Are you sure?”

Gu Ning nodded.

Yi Shaoqing chuckled, “Tsk tsk,勇气可嘉.”

Once Zhuang Chen confirmed Gu Ning’s decision, she didn’t hesitate. With a quick拳, she aimed for Gu Ning’s面门, using only四分力气 to avoid injuring her. Zhuang Chen’s close combat skills weren’t the best, but her punches were fast. However, Gu Ning, now on the defensive, found her节奏. As Zhuang Chen’s拳 came, Gu Ning’s反应 was even faster. She侧身躲过 the punch, and in that末世-like moment, her eyes闪精光. After dodging, she蓄力 with her肘 and forcefully撞向 Zhuang Chen’s腰!

Yi Shaoqing’s嬉笑之色 vanished, replaced by惊愕, “Such a fast反应!”

What he didn’t know was that Gu Ning’s反应 had been honed through countless生死一线 moments, where a split-second decision meant the difference between life and death. How could she afford even the slightest mistake?

Zhuang Chen was equally惊讶, but she wasn’t flustered. With her丰富的实战经验, she侧身避过 Gu Ning’s attack and, with lightning speed, grabbed Gu Ning’s肘, then用力一翻!

Both were空手, and after about twenty来回, Gu Ning was once again击倒在地.

But unlike the尴尬 of the first time, this time her eyes were lit with excitement. She got up and兴奋ly said to Zhuang Chen, “Again!”