Nightmare Despair

Chapter 82 The debt of gratitude can never be repaid

The car's silver body shimmered under the neon lights of the night as it headed straight for the dark and gloomy suburbs, soon leaving only the moonlight as its companion.

Thirty minutes later, the engine roar gradually subsided, the tires rolled over the gravel, making a slight friction sound, and the car stopped.

Zhou Kai looked out the window.

The rampant growth of vines and trees almost completely engulfed this abandoned, unfinished building.

Having been abandoned for only a few years, apart from the steel and concrete skeleton, there is almost no trace of human existence left here.

In a few more years, even the skeleton will probably be crushed by the rampant plants, and it will completely return to nature.

But he keenly noticed that there were several fresh tire tracks on the ground, indicating that the place was not as desolate as it appeared.

"The young lady certainly has unique taste, setting up a shooting range in a place like this..."

Zhou Kai squinted. Although the night was dark, the outline of the building a hundred meters away was still clearly visible in his field of vision.

Yang Hao smiled, made a gesture, and the driver started the car, slowly driving into a disguised entrance:
"There's nothing we can do; Mr. Jonah is very fond of the young lady."

"This housing project was touted as a new generation of housing engineering back then, and its underground parking lot not only provided parking but also had a level 3 disaster resistance capability."

Disaster relief? I think it's more like preparing for nuclear disaster.

Zhou Kai pursed his lips, listening to Yang Hao continue:

“Mr. Jonah has transformed this entire area of ​​several thousand square meters into a private shooting range. Besides Miss Fischl coming here to play, the group’s security team also comes here regularly for live-fire training.”

"You can come anytime in the future, just let me know in advance."

After getting off the bus, Yang Hao led Zhou Kai into the underground area. He patted Zhou Kai on the shoulder and said that he had some miscellaneous things to take care of, then turned onto another side road.

The surface is a desolate wasteland, but the underground is quite different.

After walking only a few dozen steps, the view suddenly opened up before me.

"There are quite a lot of people."

Zhou Kai glanced around and saw that the huge space was divided into several sections, and in each section, people wearing tactical vests were testing different firearms.

Not just firearms...

'Are they testing the performance of bulletproof shields and armor? And... what's that?'

Zhou Kai's gaze was drawn to two figures.

It was in a semi-enclosed space, where two people wearing black tight-fitting combat suits were dodging rubber bullets fired from all directions.

Their movements were so fluid they defied physics, weaving and twisting through a hail of bullets, each dodge perfectly timed, like dragons soaring through the air.

Although the muzzle velocity of rubber bullets is not as fast as that of live bullets, at such close range, they are too fast for the average person to perceive with the naked eye.

The two men, however, seemed to be strolling leisurely, and not a single bullet could touch the hem of their clothes.

"Such quick reflexes, such agility... But I should be pretty close to that too."

Zhou Kai calmly assessed the situation in his mind. If he went all out, he could probably achieve the same result. He just didn't know if the two of them had already used their full strength.

'Cyborgs? This is the second time I've seen them… As expected, for these powerful elites at the top of the pyramid, such things are no longer a novelty.'

Before Fischl could spot him, Zhou Kai abruptly withdrew his gaze, waved from afar, and said with just the right amount of surprise and admiration, "Miss, your secret base is so cool!"

These words precisely blocked Fischl's teasing remark that she was about to make, and she couldn't hide the smugness on her face.

"Hmph, you have good taste. Envious, aren't you?"

Zhou Kai nodded immediately, his smile sincere: "I'm so envious, so incredibly envious."

This young lady's temper is really like that of an immature child...

Fischl immediately sensed the perfunctoriness in his words, causing her smile to fall again.

"Weak warrior, your envy is completely unfounded!"

As she spoke, she raised her leg as if to kick Zhou Kai.

Zhou Kai simply turned his body slightly to the side, and the wind from his foot brushed past his trouser leg as he easily dodged it.

Missing her kick, the young lady blushed instantly and huffed angrily, "I'm not messing around with you anymore, let's get down to business... Come here, I'll personally teach you how to handle a gun today!"

……

Facing the dozen or so probing gazes within the firing range, Zhou Kai followed Fischl into the deepest part of the range.

This is an absolutely private territory. Apart from Fischl and her personal trainer, Zhou Kai is the first outsider to set foot here.

The lights inside were brighter than those outside, and the walls were covered with all kinds of firearms, from pistols to rifles, and even a few well-designed compound bows, all within easy reach.

In the distance, fixed and moving targets are scattered in a staggered pattern, ranging from twenty to one hundred meters.

Every detail here screams four words: professionalism and extravagance.

It stood in stark contrast to the desolate ruins on the ground.

"What are you looking at, you weakling martial artist? Are you dumbfounded?"

Fischl waved his hand in front of Zhou Kai's eyes.

"I have all the common guns on the market. Choose whichever you want to learn to shoot... I can do anything."

"But those big guys are another story. Even with earmuffs, they still make quite a racket."

"I don't like noise."

As Fischl spoke, he took two sets of professional noise-canceling earmuffs from the shelf next to him, put one on himself, and handed the other set to Zhou Kai.

"Wear it, it will filter out most of the noise except for human voices..." Zhou Kai took it and put it on like her: "Thanks, Miss."

Fischl was in high spirits, and Zhou Kai could almost guess what she was thinking at that moment.

You've been teaching me martial arts all this time, but now the tables have turned, and it's finally my turn to instruct you, isn't it?

This is not conjecture, but a reasonable inference based on her personality.

"I sense you're thinking something rude... Never mind, let's begin."

Fischl gave him a suspicious look, took two high-precision training pistols off the wall, and casually tossed one of them to Zhou Kai.

"It's for competitions, highly accurate, and with low recoil. You can try it out first."

Fischl put on his goggles, squinted, and had a knowing smile on his lips.

She couldn't wait to see Zhou Kai make a fool of himself.

After he's caught off guard and flustered, I'll show off my skills and let this kid experience what professionalism is all about.

"Hurry up, hurry up, what are you dawdling for?"

Fischl urged.

Zhou Kai shifted his shoulder uncomfortably, then picked up the gun.

Strangely enough, the cold gun in my hand didn't feel unfamiliar at all; it was as if it were an integral part of my body.

Zhou Kai exhaled, barely aiming, and casually raised his wrist, firing three shots straight ahead.

Hey, hey, hey.

Three crisp sounds rang out in a row, and on the target fifty meters away, within the six rings, three small, charred holes suddenly appeared, emitting wisps of smoke.

'Not bad... My hand is very steady, my sense of distance is very accurate, and coupled with eyesight far exceeding that of ordinary people, basic accuracy isn't a problem.'

"With all three combined, even without marksmanship skills, aiming, firing, and hitting the target are as simple as breathing for me."

'However… what I need isn't just a simple hit, but more precise, more lethal. For that, I need a true [gunsmanship] skill.'

Zhou Kai put down his gun and stood casually, waiting for the young lady's instructions.

The young lady's face was now completely frozen.

Her beautiful eyes were filled with grievance, her lips were slightly pouting, and she muttered softly:

"You...you're so mean! You said you wanted to learn how to use a gun? You already know how, don't you?"

Fischl slammed the gun on the table and glared at Zhou Kai listlessly.

She wanted to show off her skills... but this guy hit the target without even aiming. What's the point of teaching him?
Zhou Kai raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, mainly because he suddenly had a sense of déjà vu—this young lady was definitely a fearsome creature even in a nightmare.

Use your brain to deal with it.

He racked his brains and tentatively asked, "Is it possible... it's luck?"

"Yeah...luck!"

Fischl suddenly realized what was happening, and the grievance on her face instantly vanished, and she cheered up again.

"I knew it! How could anyone hit the target on their first try? Come here, I'll teach you the correct way to hold a gun."

As if nothing had happened, Fischl once again passionately took on the role of his marksmanship instructor.

Zhou Kai naturally had no objection to this, and from then on, he followed the young lady's rhythm throughout, playing the role of a clumsy but studious student.

Only occasionally, when he squinted and looked into the distance, his gaze would always fall on the two almost overlapping bullet holes on the 100-meter target...

Of course, it's best not to let the young lady know this little secret.

……

It was midnight.

You have received complete and systematic gunplay instruction, and you have acquired the skill: Gunplay (Shooting) lv0.

"The young lady's kindness can never be repaid."

Zhou Kai nodded slightly to express his gratitude to Fischl, but noted that the lack of background music made it seem less sincere. Perhaps next time he could prepare some music in advance, download it on his phone, and play it with voice control when thanking her.

Exhausted, Fischl waved her hand and yawned, saying, "Your existence is the biggest threat to my beauty sleep... Get lost!"

Zhou Kai gave an OK sign and turned to leave.

From now on, he can come here again anytime he wants through Yang Hao.

……

"I just want to study peacefully and improve myself... but there are always people pressuring me to speed up my progress."

Returning to the city in the same car we came in, the dull thud of the door closing felt like some kind of announcement.

The moment he stepped out of the car, the easygoing smile on Zhou Kai's face vanished instantly, replaced by an icy chill.

His gaze lingered for a moment between the entrance to the Android residential area and the main urban road leading to the river.

Zhou Kai decisively flagged down a taxi, his voice devoid of warmth.

"Go to the riverside, to the Xishan Hotel."

In response to questions in the comments: Yes, there is a bonus chapter for the first episode. It needs to go through the recommendation phase before it can be released. Therefore, it's crucial for all readers to keep up with the pace these next few days, especially VIP readers. Please, please see the latest chapter every day and vote with your monthly tickets. We can never repay your kindness without a bonus chapter.

(End of this chapter)