Chapter 93

Over the course of three days, Dong Ku, in the Blind Man's Gully, calculated the trajectory of the Type 38 Arisaka rifle based on the impact points and set the aiming standard distance to 500 meters. The maximum range, excluding the calculation of wind speed and bullet trajectory deviation, could easily reach 800 meters. This was not the effective range but rather the distance within which the target could be accurately hit. With the silencer extended by nearly 20 centimeters, the Type 38 Arisaka's range now exceeded one kilometer, the only question being whether it could hit the target.

Three days later, Blind Man's Gully returned to its tranquility. One hundred newly calibrated Type 38 Arisaka rifles were ready for use. In the cave, only Dog Egg remained to calibrate the remaining two hundred rifles.

In Honey Mountain, Dong Ku looked at the hunters who had been undergoing live-fire training for nearly a month and said, "Each of you will receive ten thousand rounds of ammunition to be used within half a month. Those who fail to meet the standards will continue physical training, while those who pass will go out to fight the Japanese."

The hunters had endured over a month of intense training under Sun Tao, and they now had the appearance of soldiers. They looked at their new rifles, which had a new device attached but no mirror, and wondered why their treatment was different.

When they began shooting in a valley, they realized their targets were only 150 meters away, with the farthest being 300 meters. In contrast, Shunzi and his group's targets were over 500 meters away.

What surprised them most was that the new rifles made no sound, only a faint "puff" when fired. During night shooting practice, they could hardly see the muzzle flash.

Without the sound of gunfire, the hunters no longer feared attracting the Japanese, and they began to feed the rifles with bullets enthusiastically.

Shui Linglong and six students, however, were engaged in monotonous military training. Shui Linglong, with her martial arts background, was accustomed to such training and remained unaffected. The students, however, found the daily monotonous and arduous training unbearable, especially when they saw others practicing with guns, which made them even more restless.

After ten days of suffering, they finally could not bear it and strongly demanded to undergo firearms training, rather than continue with the boring tasks of marching, forming ranks, grappling, and running with weights.

Dong Ku glanced at Zhao Liqiang, who was leading the group. As a former new recruit, he knew this was inevitable. Without scolding the students, he called over Tiger, who was practicing shooting, and said, "If any of you can subdue Tiger, you can join them in shooting practice. Otherwise, your training will be doubled. Do you still want to practice with guns?"

"I'll do it! I don't believe I can't beat Tiger!"

Zhao Liqiang rolled up his sleeves and stepped out of the line.

Tiger stood straight, his gun by his side, not looking at Zhao Liqiang.

"Tiger, step out and put away your gun. Hand-to-hand combat, subdue the opponent within five seconds. If you fail, carry fifty pounds and run two laps around the valley."

"Yes! I guarantee to complete the task!"

Tiger slung his gun diagonally over his back and walked steadily to face Zhao Liqiang.

"Tiger, you're carrying your gun?!"

Zhao Liqiang saw that Tiger had not put down his gun and felt insulted, his face turning red with anger.

Tiger calmly said, "I was ordered to put away my gun, not to put it down."

"Fine!"

Zhao Liqiang gritted his teeth, glanced at Dong Ku, and got into a fighting stance.

Tiger remained still, his face showing no emotion.

Just as Zhao Liqiang was unsure what to do, Dong Ku looked at his watch and said, "You can start."

The moment Dong Ku spoke, Tiger took a step forward and was three meters away from Zhao Liqiang. He feinted with a punch, and as Zhao Liqiang raised his hand to block, Tiger's right foot kicked out like lightning, hitting Zhao Liqiang's abdomen with a loud thud.

The impact made Zhao Liqiang's face contort, and he was thrown back a meter.

"That doesn't count! You ambushed me..."

Zhao Liqiang struggled to break free from Tiger's hand gripping his throat, his face turning purple as he shouted.

Tiger released his hand, stepped back a few meters, and looked at Dong Ku before turning to say, "Your turn."

Zhao Liqiang struggled to stand up. His competitive spirit as a young man made him endure the pain in his abdomen, take a deep breath, and charge forward with a roar.

Tiger stood with his feet apart, his eyes locked on Zhao Liqiang. As Zhao Liqiang's fist came down, Tiger took a step forward, grabbed Zhao Liqiang's wrist with his left hand, and in a flash, grabbed his throat with his right hand. He then stepped forward, tripped Zhao Liqiang's leg, and pinned him to the ground.

"You're dead!"

Tiger tightened his grip, and as Zhao Liqiang's face turned blue, he released him and stepped back, saying, "You're dead."

"Cough... cough..."

Zhao Liqiang coughed violently, staring in shock at Tiger, who had stepped back, and lay there, forgetting to get up.

"Tiger."

Dong Ku called out.

"Here!"

Tiger stood at attention, and the other five students looked at him in shock.

"Five seconds have passed, and you failed to subdue the opponent. Now put down your gun and choose an opponent for hand-to-hand combat. There is no time limit. After it's over, you will carry fifty pounds and run five laps. If you fail, the punishment will be doubled."

"Yes!"

Tiger shouted, placed his gun at Dong Ku's feet, turned to face the students, and said, "You can all come at me together. If you can subdue me, you can join the shooting practice."

"Damn!"

Yu Lei and the others, who had just been amazed by Tiger's swift movements, felt their pride deeply wounded by his suggestion to come at him together. They all roared and, without considering that Tiger was younger and outnumbered, charged at him with their fists.

The moment they charged, Tiger moved like a fish, taking a few steps into their midst. Using his elbows and knees, he struck out, and one by one, they fell. In less than a minute, five more students lay on the ground, in addition to Zhao Liqiang. They were in much worse condition, unable to struggle to their feet.

"Tiger."

Dong Ku called out as the fight ended.

"Here!"

Tiger stood at attention and relaxed his stance.

"Comrades, you were too rough in your sparring, especially as a squad leader. Now carry fifty pounds and run five laps."

"Yes!"

Tiger picked up his gun, ran to the weighted vest, put it on, and began his punishment run.

"Is this also a punishment?"

Zhao Liqiang looked at Dong Ku in confusion, muttering, "Not subduing the opponent is a punishment, and subduing them with too much force is also a punishment. Is this fair?"

"Really twisted..."

Yu Lei spat out a mouthful of blood and muttered.

"Everyone, form a line!"

Sun Tao, who was preparing to go hunting, shouted as the students muttered.

Zhao Liqiang, hearing Sun Tao's shout, reached out to pull his bruised and grimacing classmate, and they struggled to form a line.

"Target: weighted vest, ten pounds each, run ten laps! Finish and have lunch!"

"Ten laps..."

Zhao Liqiang and the others felt dizzy, almost falling over. One lap was about two kilometers, and ten laps would be more than enough to cross Harbin and back.

But with Tiger's fifty pounds and five laps as an example, who dared to object?

Seeing the students struggling to run to the weighted vests, Shui Linglong couldn't help but laugh, "Brother Dong, aren't you being a bit unfair? How can they beat Tiger, who has practiced martial arts and stood in stances?"

Dong Ku turned and said, "Call me Captain."

"Yes!"

Shui Linglong playfully stuck out her tongue and said, "Yes, Captain Dong!"

"You..."

Dong Ku was at a loss with Shui Linglong.

"What about you? Why don't you challenge me, and let these students do it?"

"Challenge me? Your opponent is me. Do you still want to challenge?"

Dong Ku said sternly.

"Who would dare to fight you..."

Shui Linglong deflated.

"Not fighting me? That's fine. You can fight those who are practicing with guns. If you can subdue them, you can practice with guns. Don't you want to practice?"

"Conspiracy..."

Shui Linglong looked at Dong Ku, sensing a hidden agenda in his smile.

"What? Afraid?"

Dong Ku's smile disappeared, and he asked.

"What's there to be afraid of?"

Shui Linglong blurted out.

"Alright, if you win, you can practice with guns. If you lose, you will double your training like them."

"Fine!"

Shui Linglong did not hesitate. These hunters were different from Tiger, who had been trained by Liu Zhong for two years and had become a skilled fighter. The hunters, on the other hand, had only undergone a month of physical training and learned the fourth set of military boxing. How strong could they be?

"You can't wear your Cloud Piercing Shoes; that wouldn't be hand-to-hand combat. Wait here, and I'll call them over." Saying this, Dong Ku turned and walked to the hunters practicing with guns a few hundred meters away.

"Pfft! I can win without my Cloud Piercing Shoes!" Shui Linglong waved her small fist at Dong Ku's retreating back.

"Stop shooting, form a line!"

Dong Ku shouted loudly.

The hunters, after nearly two months of training, could follow orders without hesitation. They quickly put away their guns and formed two neat lines.

"Now we will conduct a test. The tester is the new arrival, Shui Linglong." Seeing the hunters' puzzled faces, Dong Ku continued, "The test standard is that if you are defeated, you will receive double the training as punishment. The time limit is one day. If you are subdued, you will undergo double the physical training for two months in Honey Mountain before you can leave."

"What? Two months?"

"Isn't that being tortured by the instructor?"

"Exactly!"

All the hunters, upon hearing the punishment of double the two-month physical training, looked grim. They had been tortured by Sun Tao day and night, but who could blame them for not being as good as Sun Tao with a gun? They couldn't even outperform him in a stone-throwing contest, where Sun Tao alone broke eight out of ten stones, while the remaining two were undetermined and thus counted against them.

They didn't know that Sun Tao's gun skills, honed by hunting rabbits and pheasants in the snow, were far beyond their reach.

But if they couldn't beat Sun Tao, surely they could beat that seemingly weak and beautiful girl.

Dong Ku, seeing the hunters rubbing their hands, inwardly smiled. Subdue? It would be difficult to control these hunters, who had been tortured by Sun Tao and Liu Zhong for two months, without skilled grappling and combat techniques.

Sure enough, Shui Linglong's quick kicks left the hunters defenseless, but subduing them was as difficult as climbing to the sky. Without her Cloud Piercing Shoes, her kicks were fast but lacked the power to knock them out. Her martial arts, focused on agility and lightness, were not designed for combat. Without the shoes and the Swallow Dagger, she could easily win but not subdue them.

Moreover, the hunters, fearing the two-month punishment, fought with all their might, even if they were kicked repeatedly, they would endure the pain and continue fighting, refusing to fall.

After three consecutive opponents, Shui Linglong was so exhausted that she could hardly stand, let alone continue fighting.

"Shui Linglong, your task is not completed. Target: weighted vest, twenty pounds, five laps!" Dong Ku ordered without mercy.

"Run... I'll run..." Shui Linglong panted, the possibility of being tricked flashing through her mind, but she quickly dismissed it. The hunters were at most tough and could avoid vital points, occasionally striking hard, but it was not because of their superior skills, but because of her poor physical condition.

As Shui Linglong began her long run, Dong Ku turned to the hunters, who looked pleased with passing the test, and said loudly, "Are you still men? You can't even beat a girl. Look at you, you! You look like a pig's head. What does this mean? It means your training is not up to standard. From today, your daily physical training will be doubled. Find time to finish your shooting and turn in the shell casings. If you fail, I won't repeat it. Everyone, target: weighted vest, fifty pounds, five laps. No food until you finish!"

"High! Really high!"

Sun Tao, watching from the side, gave a thumbs up. He had learned another trick in training. There were no winners in today's two rounds of combat.

Dong Ku turned to Sun Tao, who was muttering, and said, "What are you looking at? Your task today is fifty tree chickens or pheasants, all birds. If you fail, you will run ten laps as punishment."

"I..."

Sun Tao swallowed his protest, picked up his sniper rifle, and ran out of the valley with an empty backpack.

To replenish the trainees' energy, his original task was twenty, but now it had been doubled. He could only blame himself for not going earlier...

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