Chapter 51

Discussing and speculating, everything about Shenluo Valley had become a deep yearning in the hearts of a few people.

Unconsciously, the car had already arrived near the toll booth. From a distance, they could see Professor Wang resting at the entrance of a shop not far from the toll booth. Next to him was a young man in a police uniform, carrying a gun, who was probably around the same age as Shelin.

Shelin parked the car on the roadside parking line and then walked up to them.

"Captain!" The young man excitedly hugged Shelin, as they had served in the military together. Now Shelin had retired, and the young man had become a police officer.

"Thanks for the trouble." Shelin gave the young man a light punch on the chest, a rare smile on his face.

"No problem, anything you ask, Captain, I'll do it without hesitation." The young man smiled.

"Great! Where's your car?" Shelin asked.

"It's parked over there, a military off-road vehicle, even better than a civilian Hummer!" The young man said proudly.

"Good, your car should be more comfortable. Let the girls and Professor Wang ride in your car. I'll just put things in my car. Let Zhang Tianyuan and Xu Gang squeeze in, is that okay?" He turned to ask Zhang Tianyuan.

"No problem, who makes us young?" Zhang Tianyuan didn't mind. He was more concerned about what they would encounter on this trip than the car they would ride in.

"Ah! We're in for a rough ride, it's still a long way from Nandu to Dali Ancient City." Xu Gang sighed.

"What are we going to Dali for? Is Shenluo Valley near Dali?" Liu Mengxun asked. She was just tagging along for the excitement and hadn't been briefed on all the details.

"Yes, Shenluo Valley is near Dali Ancient City. Once we get there, we can relax a bit and adjust our mindset before deciding whether to enter Shenluo Valley." Professor Wang replied.

Since they were in a hurry, no one said much more. Following Shelin's arrangement, they got into the cars and started driving on the highway towards Dali Ancient City.

...

The car refueled several times, and Zhang Tianyuan finally learned that Shelin's comrade was named Wang Zhigang. Wang Zhigang also learned from Shelin that Zhang Tianyuan was planning to use a gun.

Wang Zhigang, hearing that Xu Gang had served in the military, had no objections to Xu Gang handling a gun. Even though he was retired, he had handled guns many times and would have no major issues.

But when he heard from Shelin that Zhang Tianyuan had only participated in military training at university and later learned shooting at a shooting range with classmates, he was a bit unhappy. He felt it was risky to give a gun to someone with such limited experience.

Several times on the road, he argued with Shelin, even saying in front of Zhang Tianyuan that an amateur with a gun was more dangerous than someone without a gun. If something happened, an amateur with a gun might be less useful than someone with a knife.

Later, Shelin said, "Since you put it that way, when we get to the military base, Zhigang, you can compete with Zhang Tianyuan to see who has better gun skills and who is steadier."

This seemed fair, but it was clearly disadvantageous to Zhang Tianyuan. Whether it was done to make Zhang Tianyuan look bad, they decided to do it.

Xu Gang wanted to object, but Zhang Tianyuan agreed, saying that an amateur with a gun was indeed dangerous and that they should test it to build trust, as it would be troublesome in dangerous situations.

Since Zhang Tianyuan agreed, Xu Gang had nothing more to say and had to agree as well.

When the car arrived at a military camp outside Dali Ancient City, Wang Zhigang was eager for Zhang Tianyuan to fulfill his promise.

"I don't require you to do much. We'll shoot beer bottles. Captain Shelin will throw them, and we'll each shoot ten. If I miss one, I lose. If you hit three or more, you win. Is that okay?" Wang Zhigang was very confident, having been a special forces soldier.

Zhang Tianyuan smiled and said, "That's not fair. Since we're competing, it should be fair. If we both hit ten, I win. That's already a concession on your part. If I miss one, I lose."

"Bro, are you crazy? Why make things hard for yourself?" Xu Gang couldn't understand Zhang Tianyuan's thinking.

Zhang Tianyuan knew what he was doing. His shooting skills were average, slightly better than an amateur. If he really shot beer bottles from 200 meters, hitting five would be his best performance.

But today, he wanted to make Wang Zhigang look bad. He had to be tough on himself. If someone tried to make him look bad, he had to stand up for himself and make the other person lose face.

Of course, he wasn't agreeing blindly. He had his own methods.

The Six-Word True Formula was a very powerful tool, depending on how you used it. The "Seek" formula, though it seemed to be only for treasure hunting, could also be used to lock onto targets like a satellite, just using different methods.

The "Identify" formula, which you might think was only for identifying treasures, actually had the ability to see through and detect subtle details, greatly enhancing Zhang Tianyuan's vision. Even with a scope, others might not see as well as he did with his naked eye.

If he couldn't hit ten beer bottles with this advantage and his own shooting skills, he might as well find a block of tofu and bash his head against it.

...

When the competition started, Lan Fenghuang, Mou Ying, and Liu Mengxun were watching.

Wang Zhigang shot first. As expected, he had the right to be proud. He hit all seven shots. Shooting beer bottles wasn't that difficult, especially at 200 meters, which was a piece of cake for a special forces soldier.

Wang Zhigang looked down on Zhang Tianyuan, so he lowered the difficulty.

But to his surprise, Zhang Tianyuan also hit all ten shots, and even faster. Most shockingly, all ten shots hit the bottom of the beer bottles, almost in the same spot.

"Ha, well done, bro, you're really hiding your skills." Xu Gang laughed, giving Wang Zhigang a smug smile.

Wang Zhigang was embarrassed. A professional soldier being outdone by a civilian was unacceptable.

He wanted to compete again, but Zhang Tianyuan didn't want to play along.

Zhang Tianyuan smiled and said, "I was just lucky. If we compete again, I'll definitely lose."

His words sounded good, but to Wang Zhigang, they were very irritating.

"Zhigang, now do you believe what I told you? That person is not simple. Don't look at his background, from a rural area, studying all these years, and working in an internet cafe after graduation, but he gives off a different vibe. If you weren't so competitive, you would have noticed." Shelin patted Wang Zhigang's shoulder to comfort him.

"Captain! I admit I underestimated him today." Wang Zhigang said reluctantly.

"Alright, no need to be so discouraged. If we really competed again, you would definitely be better. He knows when to stop!" Shelin laughed.

"Hmph, I think he's just showing off." Wang Zhigang coldly snorted. He couldn't stand Zhang Tianyuan, who wore glasses and looked refined, thinking he was a pretentious person.

At that moment, Zhang Tianyuan was surrounded by the three women, looking very content. Wang Zhigang wasn't wrong about him.

But after watching for a while, Wang Zhigang couldn't help but laugh and said, "Captain, now I feel more at ease."

"Why?"

"I thought Zhang Tianyuan was just a pretentious person, but he actually has some skills. This increases the chances of you all returning safely. Promise me, come back alive. Your living and fallen comrades are all waiting for you!"