Chapter 76: Departure and Journey

During this period, when it came to combat skills, Lin Yan had only taught Li Gang the 120-meter rapid-fire drill at the very beginning, and after that, nothing directly related to fighting. Occasionally, she would point out his shortcomings during their sparring sessions, but that was all. Lin Yan had once told him that advanced firearm techniques and combat skills could not be mastered in a short time, and that it was better to spend that time cultivating the Guidance Technique to improve his strength more quickly.

Whether it was firearms, swordplay, or hand-to-hand combat, Lin Yan only imparted the most basic, foundational knowledge. So apart from daily sparring with Lin Yan and learning some practical knowledge from her now and then, Li Gang found himself with more and more free time each day.

Yesterday morning, he completed one final test of the 120-meter rapid-fire drill. All sixty targets were hit. Score: 100 points. Total time: one minute and twenty-seven seconds. Overall evaluation: excellent.

After that, Lin Yan officially told him that from then on, apart from their fixed half-hour sparring session each day, she would no longer interfere with his training schedule, his methods for improving his strength, or how he wanted to arrange his day. Sparring would also be reduced from twice daily to once a day, always half an hour before dinner, alternating between bare-handed close combat and cold weapon sparring.

Li Gang understood well that it wasn’t that Lin Yan had nothing left to teach him, but rather that beyond the basics, anything else would yield little improvement in the short term and only waste the time he could be spending on cultivating the Guidance Technique. After all, Lin Yan herself dedicated most of her day to cultivating the Guidance Technique and did little else.

Since his last contact with Huang Feng, neither of them had reached out again these past few days, as if nothing had ever happened between them.

After washing up, Li Gang stepped outside his dormitory. The sky was still dark; the eastern horizon was just beginning to lighten with a faint gray.

He started by practicing several sets of military boxing, then moved on to repeating the Eight Steps of the Wandering Dragon. Though the basic punches, palms, kicks, and grappling techniques were ordinary, his execution was powerful and infused with a unique energy. The Eight Steps followed seamlessly, one move flowing into the next.

There’s an old saying: “Practice the forms but not the strength, and all is wasted in old age.” But this didn’t quite apply to the Chosen; they only needed to practice the forms—their strength could be rapidly enhanced through the Guidance Technique. As his four basic attributes continually improved, even simple techniques would become formidable in real combat.

5:30 a.m. Dining hall.

As always, Lin Yan arrived punctually, right on time. She glanced at Li Gang and said calmly, “You’re up early today. I saw you practicing outside when I woke up just now.”

Li Gang nodded. “I’ve been working on the Mind Chapter recently. Yesterday, I managed to grasp the second stage. As my mental strength increases, I find I need less sleep.”

Lin Yan gave him a once-over and saw him quickly avert his gaze, a slight sigh escaping her inwardly. She’d been rather frustrated these days—Li Gang seemed to avoid her eye at crucial moments, and even looked at her much less than before.

“It’s not just that,” Lin Yan analyzed further after a moment’s thought. “Your daily training intensity doesn’t keep pace with your physical fitness, so you aren’t tired enough to need longer rest.”

They chatted about the Guidance Technique and growing stronger as they prepared breakfast together. After eating, they each found a quiet corner to cultivate the Guidance Technique.

Usually, it was only when Lin Yan shut her eyes to practice the Mind Chapter that Li Gang dared to watch her openly for a long time.

Around 9 a.m., as Li Gang finished a round of the Mind Chapter’s second stage and opened his eyes, he found Lin Yan sitting cross-legged not far in front of him, staring off into space.

“Sister Lin, why are you here? Is there something new you want to teach me?” he asked, a little surprised and puzzled.

Normally, if Lin Yan intended to teach him something, she would let him know during a meal so he could prepare himself. She never showed up so abruptly.

“No, I just think you’ve pretty much mastered the basics, and you’ve got a handle on all three second-stage fragments of the Guidance Technique. Do you have any plans now? Or do you just want to stay here and train endlessly?” Lin Yan snapped out of her daze and looked at him.

The truth was, Li Gang’s cluelessness was making her anxious. In this base, apart from sparring and mealtimes—when they could actually talk—the rest of the time was spent cultivating the Guidance Technique in silence, with almost no communication at all. Their relationship, she felt, was making no progress.

But apart from an old childhood crush on a soldier, Lin Yan had never been in a real relationship and had no idea how to take things further. Lately, Li Gang didn’t seem to care about her as much as before, often avoiding her gaze. In the past, he would have watched her openly, never looking away.

Li Gang’s true thought was that staying here with Lin Yan, training together every day, was wonderful. But when he was about to say it aloud, he stopped himself. He suddenly wondered if Lin Yan was tired of staying here and wanted to leave—she must, or she wouldn’t have asked.

He quickly responded, “I’m fine with anything. I’ll do whatever you decide, Sister Lin.”

After saying this, he silently praised himself for his cleverness in not speaking too directly.

“No, this time I want to hear what you have in mind,” Lin Yan said, uncharacteristically gentle, shaking her head.

She wondered if she had been too domineering in the past, always making decisions for Li Gang, and that was why things between them had stagnated. Then she thought, men usually didn’t like overly strong women—they preferred gentle, obedient, and delicate ones.

A bit surprised that she’d returned the question to him, Li Gang thought for a moment and said, “Actually, I do have some ideas.”

Lin Yan smiled gently, pleased. “Go on, let’s hear them.”

Her smile made Li Gang’s heart melt; he was momentarily stunned, but with his high mental attributes, he quickly composed himself and looked away, though a faint blush still crept onto his cheeks.

Lin Yan took in his every move and was delighted, but when he suddenly looked away, she couldn’t fathom why he always retreated at such crucial moments. It was a bad habit, and she was determined to cure it.

“We should head south, first to YN Province. On the way, we can stop by the Southern China Military Region and see if we can find your new JGS bulletproof vest, or maybe a women’s version,” Li Gang said, opening the tracking map and pointing to the southwest.

He’d always felt uneasy that only he had the new JGS vest; he wanted Lin Yan to have one too, to greatly increase her safety.

Lin Yan nodded seriously. “That’s a good idea. I’ve been wanting to go back and take a look. And after that?”

Seeing Lin Yan agree with his suggestion, Li Gang grew excited and started to plan out loud. “After that, we could go this way, or that way—leave China and see the world. What do you think?”

He’d never traveled abroad, or even out of the province. Li Gang had always longed to see the world. His suggestion was twofold: first, to travel with Lin Yan and see different countries, so that no matter how this ‘game’ ended, he would have no regrets; second, if he ever had to fight another Chosen, he hoped it wouldn’t be someone from China.

He hadn’t decided which country to visit first, so he left several options open for Lin Yan to choose. In the end, it didn’t matter where they went—what mattered was going together.

Lin Yan’s eyes lit up, clearly interested. “That’s an excellent idea. I’ve always wanted to travel the world.”

After some discussion, they decided their first stop would be the Southern China Military Region, and the second would be Lin Yan’s hometown in MG County, YN Province. As for where to go next, they would figure it out along the way—there was plenty of time on the road.

2 p.m.

A military jeep left the gates of the base, driven by Li Gang, with Lin Yan in the passenger seat.

That morning, after finalizing their plans, the two split up to check their supplies—mostly ammunition and only one spare gun in case of emergencies; they didn’t take much else.

Li Gang wore the new JGS bulletproof vest under his combat uniform, with boots, gloves, and a helmet—the latter resting beside him rather than on his head. Normally, wearing all this gear at noon in August would be sweltering, but he was unaffected thanks to his high stamina.

Lin Yan’s gear was nearly identical, minus the bulletproof vest. After all, their next stop was a large military region, where there would be no shortage of supplies.

Heading south, their first destination was the Southern China Military Region.