Extra Chapter - Ji Lu Wushuang - Conflict

That night, Lu Qianqian received her first firearms lesson from Ji Wushuang.

The location was the underground storage room of the aid station.

Ji Wushuang took out the pistol seized from the bandits.

She disassembled it into a pile of components.

"Remember every part of it."

"Hammer, trigger, magazine, recoil spring..."

Her voice was cold and professional.

"Where we are going, we most likely won't need it. But in this country, you must learn how to use it. That's the rule."

Lu Qianqian reached out.

Her fingertips touched the cold steel.

She did not flinch.

She felt every component.

She wanted to remember this sensation.

To remember this thing that could bring death, but also bring a chance to survive.

"Your hands are very steady,"

Ji Wushuang said.

"That is the talent for becoming a good shot."

Lu Qianqian did not speak.

She merely practiced assembling and disassembling the weapon, over and over, under Ji Wushuang's guidance.

Until she could complete all the steps quickly even with her eyes closed.

Ji Wushuang said Lu Qianqian had the talent to become a good shot.

Then, Lu Qianqian was a natural-born markswoman!

Dawn.

An even more dilapidated pickup truck stopped at the back door of the aid station.

In the driver's seat was a middle-aged man with dark skin and wary eyes.

This was Omar.

Lu Qianqian shouldered her tactical backpack.

It now held spare magazines and a military dagger.

Ji Wushuang drove another vehicle, following behind Omar's truck.

Lu Qianqian sat in the passenger seat beside Ji Wushuang.

Annie stood at the doorway, watching them.

"Come back safely," she said.

Lu Qianqian gave her a firm nod.

The two vehicles drove into the morning mist.

Heading east the whole way.

The further they got from the city, the more bumpy the road became.

Traces of civilization rapidly vanished.

Replaced by endless desolate wasteland and the ubiquitous scars of war.

Along the roadside were the burnt-out wrecks of trucks, abandoned villages empty of people;

the very air was permeated with an aura of decay.

Omar spoke little.

He focused solely on driving.

And, from time to time, he would warily scan the surroundings.

Lu Qianqian also remained silent.

She sat in the passenger seat, gripping the pistol tightly in her hand.

She was familiarizing herself with its weight and feel.

Ji Wushuang drove attentively while simultaneously keeping a constant watch on the terrain.

After three hours of travel, the vehicles stopped before a dry riverbed.

"Ahead, we can't drive any further. We have to go in on foot."

Omar pointed towards the rolling hills in the distance.

"Cross those hills, and you'll be in Walu tribe territory."

"May God protect you."

Lu Qianqian and Ji Wushuang got out of the vehicle and began their trek on foot.

The Walu tribe was located in a basin surrounded by mountains.

Easy to defend, hard to attack.

Ji Wushuang hid the car in a concealed hollow.

The two shouldered their packs and started hiking.

The mountain path was rugged and steep.

Lu Qianqian was soon out of breath.

Two weeks of training had improved her physical stamina considerably.

But compared to Ji Wushuang, she was still far behind.

Ji Wushuang always walked three meters ahead of her.

Not too fast, not too slow.

Like a precise metronome.

She never turned back to hurry her, nor did she offer comfort.

But Lu Qianqian knew that if she stopped, Ji Wushuang would stop too.

This gave her immense psychological support.

The two crested the final hill.

The Walu tribe came into view.

Only, something seemed off.

It was quiet ahead, an eerily quiet.

No cooking smoke.

No sounds of chickens or dogs.

No, children's playful laughter.

Like a, ghost village.

Ji Wushuang halted.

She took out binoculars from her backpack and carefully observed the village.

"Something's wrong,"

she said,

"It's too quiet."

Her brow furrowed tightly.

"We'll enter from the west. There's a river there that can provide cover."

The two lowered their bodies and moved soundlessly towards the village.

The closer they got, the stronger the scent of blood in the air became.

Lu Qianqian's heart leapt into her throat.

They entered the village.

The scene before them made Lu Qianqian's face change dramatically.

There were many bodies on the ground.

Men, women, the elderly.

Even, children.

Some had fallen at the doorways of their own homes.

Others lay on the village's main path.

On every face was frozen an expression of terror.

Lu Qianqian clamped a hand tightly over her own mouth to stifle a scream.

Ji Wushuang grabbed her arm.

"Don't make a sound."

Her voice was as cold as ice.

"Hold it in."

Lu Qianqian nodded forcefully.

Tears, however, betrayed her and streamed down her cheeks.

Ji Wushuang pulled her into a relatively intact hut.

She crouched down and examined a body.

"Recently killed."

She glanced at the bullet wounds on the deceased.

Lu Qianqian's body began to tremble uncontrollably.

Lin Ke and Uncle Zhao...

Were they, still alive?

Ji Wushuang seemed to guess Lu Qianqian's thoughts and added,

"Judging by the number of bodies, most people likely managed to escape."

Right at that moment.

From the other end of the village, gunfire suddenly erupted.

The shots were intense, the sound of automatic rifle fire.

Ji Wushuang's eyes instantly turned razor-sharp.

"Over there, there's still fighting."

She pulled Lu Qianqian up.

"Stay close to me. Keep to cover."

Using the cover of broken walls and ruins, the two moved quickly towards the direction of the gunfire.

The gunfire grew louder.

They hid behind a low wall. Two groups were locked in intense firefight.

One group consisted of about twenty-odd men.

Their firepower was strong, and they coordinated well.

The other group had only three people.

They were pinned down behind an old dry well.

One of them was Uncle Zhao, in his fifties.

He held a rifle, returning fire with difficulty.

His arm seemed injured.

Blood stained half his sleeve.

Another was a young man.

That must be, Lin Ke.

The last was a tall, powerfully built black man.

He wielded an automatic rifle, firing with practiced discipline.

He was likely a member of the Walu tribe.

But their situation was precarious.

The superior force was flanking them from both sides.

Uncle Zhao and the others would soon be surrounded.

Lu Qianqian instinctively tightened her grip on her gun.

"What do we do?" Lu Qianqian asked.

Her voice trembled slightly with tension.

"Wait."

Ji Wushuang uttered only one word.

There were over twenty armed men here, not the five bandits from the market the other day.

Five men, Ji Wushuang could handle quickly.

Over twenty enemies, while also protecting Lu Qianqian.

Wiping them all out in a short time was nearly impossible.

Ji Wushuang's gaze swept rapidly across the entire battlefield.

Analyzing every enemy's position and the dead zones in their fire.

The encirclement tightened.

The black man seemed to take a hit to his hand, his firepower immediately diminishing.

The enemies sneered, slowly closing in.

They didn't seem intent on killing them immediately.

Or, perhaps they wanted to capture them alive?!

Now!

Ji Wushuang moved.

Bang! Bang!