Chapter 18: Mutual Instruction

  The whole night, the wolves did not follow to harass, letting everyone feel much more at ease. The next morning, everyone woke up one after another and saw Zhao Wuji sitting cross-legged on a large stone, his expression naturally solemn. The morning sunlight shone on him, adding a few touches of elegance to that sunny face, with a gentle and refined temperament.

  Everyone had practiced the hard qigong that was popular in the military, and their eyesight was not bad. They knew that Zhao Wuji was also practicing some kind of internal martial arts, so they didn't disturb him, each busy preparing breakfast.

  Half an hour later, the fragrance of fish wafted through the air, and Zhao Wuji woke up naturally, still full of energy, not feeling sluggish at all despite a night without sleep. A night's cultivation was too important for Zhao Wuji.

  It must be said that Zhao Wuji's martial arts comprehension is very high, a night of continuous thinking and analysis, fully digesting and absorbing what Gangzi taught, and transforming it into his own thing, finally combining it with his self-created Beast Fist, making his fist method more perfect and effective.

  Although the military's free combat technique is very advanced, Zhao Wuji didn't need to practice it, as he already understood it. His self-created Beast Fist had been deeply ingrained in his bones and soul, and its power was even stronger than the military's free combat technique. Besides, there was no need to learn other fist techniques, as having too many wouldn't make him any better.

  Of course, the theory of free combat in the military is indeed the result of several generations of soldiers, it's extremely subtle and practical, no doubt filling the gaps in Zhao Wuji's martial arts theory, a night of epiphany, his cultivation can be described as rapid progress, this made Zhao Wuji overjoyed.

  A gentleman keeps his abilities hidden, waiting for the right moment to act. Zhao Wuji's martial arts skills had improved greatly, but he didn't show them off everywhere; instead, he just gave Zhangsun a grateful glance and joined the crowd eating breakfast.

  Twenty minutes later, everyone packed up, cleared the traces of their stay and set off. Along the way, they didn't encounter any danger or enemy pursuit, which made them even more relaxed.

  At noon, everyone climbed to the top of a mountain peak, looking at the undulating mountains in front of them, knowing that the road ahead was still very long. After Zhang Peng gave the order to rest on the spot, everyone started to busy themselves, preparing food.

  Zhang Peng let Zhao Wuji help him gather some firewood and kindling, and they lit a fire together. As the flames rose, Zhao Wuji noticed that Zhang Peng had stuck a straight branch into the ground and placed a stone at the top of the shadow cast by the branch, which piqued his curiosity.

  Zhang Peng saw Zhao Wuji's curious expression and said, "Let me confirm the direction. Although the general direction won't be wrong, after walking to this point, I need a precise location to determine the specific route for the next step."

  After a while, the others returned from hunting, and it was actually a wild boar. They skinned it, cut off its two hind legs, made a simple rack, and roasted them.

  Ten minutes later, Zhang Peng put another stone at the top of the shadow and then aligned the two stones in a straight line, looking around.

  Zhao Wujie curiously asked, and Zhang Peng explained, "The direction of this line is east-west, and the vertical direction is south-north. The end facing the sun is due south." As he spoke, Zhang Peng pointed ahead and said, "Look, our Western Military Region is located at a position about 4 or 5 degrees southeast," and as he spoke, Zhang Peng drew an arrow on the previous cross.

  Zhao Wuji knew that this direction was the orientation of the military district, which was also the route they had to take. So, Zhao Wuji followed the direction of the arrow and looked ahead, except for mountains and more mountains, one after another, without an end in sight. To walk in a straight line, they would probably have to climb over several high mountains.

  At this time, Zhang Peng took off the enemy's military uniform he was wearing outside and drew directly on his clothes with charcoal. Before long, a topographic map appeared, which was exactly what he saw in front of him. Where were the mountains, where were the canyons, what shapes they were, all clear and distinct. With this topographic map, even if you are not at the bottom of the canyon, you can grasp the direction well.

  After having a barbecue, everyone cut some wild banana trees. The core inside was very rich in water content. Zhangzi didn't like the taste and somehow collected some wild grapevines, kiwi vines, and wisteria vines. They cut off a small section, and there was a lot of liquid flowing out. After drinking it, they cut off the previous section again, repeating this process over and over.

  After replenishing water, everyone continued to move forward. Along the way, as long as they guarded against wild beasts, they could walk with ease. Therefore, everyone walked with more peace of mind, taking turns opening roads and standing guard, rotating shifts to rest, in order to ensure their robust combat effectiveness.

  Zhang Peng pulled Zhao Wuji behind him, explaining the theory and techniques of single-handed combat to Zhao Wuji. Last time's surprise attack, Zhao Wuji witnessed Zhang Peng's ability, especially that strange footwork that couldn't be hit by bullets, was very envious, and took the opportunity to ask for advice, Zhang Peng didn't hide anything, so he pulled him behind to explain.

  "In the hail of bullets from the enemy, you must not move in a straight line. If you do, the enemy will grasp your pace and rhythm, take aim with the right lead, and you're done for. You have to move in an S-shape or zigzag, making it hard for the enemy to get a bead on you." Zhang Peng said this while demonstrating the footwork and techniques of evasive maneuvers, which were written in blood by generations of soldiers.

  Zhang Peng again explained to Zhao Wujie what is straight body advance, what is bent body advance, and how the action key points are, how to jump into the trench in action and quickly protect himself and counterattack, how to break through under the enemy's dense firepower, how to crawl forward and so on.

  While demonstrating, Zhang Peng also mentioned some precautions, such as not running in front of your comrades or side by side, otherwise the enemy's bullets may hit your comrades even if they don't hit you; for example, when advancing a certain distance or without cover from comrades, find foxholes or tree trunks to hide and achieve cross-cover advance; for example, try to crouch down or squat down to reduce the area of your body exposed to bullets; before the next attack, grab some dirt and throw it to your left side then jump out from the right side.

  A teacher's seriousness, a student's meticulousness, and another day has passed unknowingly. Zhao Wuji has learned a lot more things, only lacking actual combat testing now, feeling very delighted in his heart.

  In the evening when we were setting up camp, everyone had just finished eating and suddenly the sky was densely clouded, indicating that it was going to rain. So, everyone quickly got into action and set up a simple wooden shed. It was very simple - we chose an open area, used four large trees as pillars, placed some smaller tree trunks on top, then added dry grass and branches, followed by a layer of mud and leaves, and repeated this process three times with dry grass and mud. By the time we finished, it had already started raining.

  The wooden shed is not small, the surrounding branches have been cut off cleanly, and the view has opened up a lot. The dry firewood collected earlier was piled together, enough for one night's use.

  Everyone sat around the bonfire, roasting and chatting idly, continuing to talk about individual combat skills and team cooperation skills. Everyone took turns speaking and used themselves as examples and demonstrations. Zhao Wuji could see that everyone was teaching each other things, and he felt deeply moved in his heart, lifted his spirits, and studied seriously.

  At night when on sentry duty, due to the location being less than ideal and with rain, safety issues had to be doubly emphasized, so it was decided that two people would take turns in shifts of three hours each.

  The first class was Zhao Wuji and Fengzi, which was also proposed by Fengzi. He said he wanted to exchange sniper tips with Zhao Wuji. Everyone knew that this was actually Fengzi's intention to formally teach Zhao Wuji his sniping skills.

  Zhao Wuji also understood Fengzi's meaning, and his heart was moved. He humbly asked for advice, and after organizing his thoughts, Fengzi said: "The key to being a sniper is to practice more. The conditions are not sufficient now, but when we get back, if you're interested, stay with us for one or two months, and I guarantee you'll surpass me. Then I'll share my insights with you."

  "The current international trend is to say that man and gun are one, that is to say, people and guns merge into a whole. At that time, the shooting method is already formed, but my view is different. Man and gun integration is not enough, sniper environment is changing, such as wind, rain, thunder and lightning will affect your performance. Therefore, I think man-bullet integration is the highest level, if you and the bullet merge into one body, isn't it possible to shoot wherever you want? Your archery ability is too powerful, just convert this feeling into sniper shooting, it's awesome."

  Zhao Wuji hesitated for a moment before saying: "Shooting arrows and guns have some similarities, I can feel that, but how do you understand the external environment you mentioned earlier?"

  "For example, the size of the wind, wind power and wind speed have a certain impact on the trajectory of the bullet. When aiming at the target, you need to adjust according to these factors." Fengzi said, taking out his sniper rifle to demonstrate.

  After practicing for a while, Zhao Wuji found that he grasped it quickly and said: "Specifically, let's talk about it when the conditions are ripe. For now, just having a feeling is enough. For snipers, determining the position of enemy snipers is also very important. The main methods include identifying positions by sound, judging from gunpowder smoke, possible hiding situations of snipers, bullet entry angles, rifle shooting ranges and surrounding terrain features."

  As he spoke, Fengzi further broke down the specific situation of each method. Zhao Wujie was indeed a man who had lived in the primeval forest for a long time, and he understood these things very quickly, often able to infer three from one example. This made Fengzi extremely happy, and before he knew it, three hours had passed.

  Shift change arrived, Fengzi sat aside, cultivating and comprehending the knowledge imparted by Fengzi earlier, digesting, understanding, and absorbing, another rewarding evening.

  The next morning, everyone woke up, and it was another peaceful night. After eating something, they continued on their way, taking turns talking to Zhao Wuji, occasionally checking how much Zhao Wuji had learned, and pointing out areas where he didn't understand, supplementing the explanation.

  ┅┅。

  In a certain office, Tang Zhiduan sat at his desk with a stern face, listening to the report of the middle school captain opposite him. After a moment, the report ended, and Tang Zhi calmly asked: "So, that big Peng bird disappeared, not only can't we find it, but also the enemy hasn't found them?"

  "Yes, Minister." replied Commander Truthfully.

  "Good, I have a feeling they're still alive and doing well," said Tong Zhikun firmly.

  "Captain Zhang's fiancée has asked me three times already and is very anxious. How should I handle it?" Colonel Zhong asked.

  Tang Zhi was silent for a moment, then said: "Not for the time being, the fewer people who know about their situation, the better. Who knows, telling Xiao Ni might even put her in danger. Let's wait three more days and see, I estimate that there will be good news within three days."

  "Alright, I'll handle it," said the regimental commander: "Captain Zhang has gone big this time. The enemy mobilized a mountain division and still couldn't hold him back. This matter has shocked the whole world. Captain Zhang has really given us face."

  "Yes, after returning, we must think of a way to protect them well. The enemy has lost face internationally this time and will not give up easily." Tang Zhi sank into thought.