Chapter Thirty-One: Training

Faced with the disappearance of the Grimace and Luo Si, Wu Jue and the others felt an unusually subtle sense of unease. These two dangerous individuals had escaped, and there was no telling when they might return to cause trouble again.

After personally re-inspecting the barbed wire surrounding the restricted area, Wu Jue said, "We need to speed up our progress and find a new refuge as soon as possible."

Xiao Yang replied, "I'll get the machines running and see if I can dig up more useful information. At this point, we should try to contact the outside world quickly. Who knows what the situation is elsewhere?"

Wu Jue nodded. "Go ahead and do what you need to do. With An Yi and me here, there shouldn't be any trouble for now."

Princess An Yi nodded as well. "I'll stay a while longer. Leave everyone's safety to Wu Jue and me."

With that, they split up to carry out their respective tasks. Xiao Yang focused on studying the equipment left by the Heavenly Execution Tribe, while Wu Jue began to reorganize and resettle his companions, thoroughly refurbishing the prison area.

In his spare time, he instructed Xiao Han and the others to continue their physical training, strengthening their bodies. He himself also devoted more time to practicing the unique martial arts of the Great Forest Temple that he had not entirely mastered before.

In the past, Wu Jue had never dared to be greedy; he was only proficient in a dozen or so martial techniques. Now was the perfect time to carefully study the disciplines he had neglected before.

With the formidable power of the "Yi Sui Sutra," his learning speed increased dramatically. To complement his use of firearms, he deliberately combined the "Plucking Flower Finger" technique with the "Arhat Staff" style.

This allowed him to reload swiftly and fire at targets efficiently while shooting.

Moreover, under Huron's guidance, Wu Jue also grasped a unique gun-flipping technique. This involved integrating a special method into his shooting, enabling him to control the trajectory of bullets at will and execute various astonishing shooting maneuvers.

For this purpose, Wu Jue even discussed his findings with An Yi. She, disliking firearms, laughed at him and said, "I truly don't care for these human weapons. Changing magazines is such a hassle. Give me a spear, and I can defeat all you men."

Wu Jue replied with a smile, "That's not quite right, An Yi. We have to keep up with the times, or there's no way we can handle such complex and ever-changing situations."

He recalled the time he fought against the cult; Desai had relied on all sorts of dark arts to kill many of his fellow disciples. If one only used orthodox methods, how could one combat such cunning enemies?

Wu Jue began practicing his shooting technique, using the besieged zombies as targets. Sometimes, he would deliberately aim at several zombies lined up in a row, circling around to shoot the one at the back. At other times, he would attack swiftly while on the move, increasing his accuracy.

At first, Wu Jue's success rate was not high, but he persisted in his training, honing both his movement and judgment. Gradually, his success rate improved day by day.

Until one day, he flipped his hand and shot a zombie straight through the head; the bullet pierced its body and struck down another zombie behind it.

Nearby, Xiao Han exclaimed in astonishment, "Gun-flipping! So the legends are true—if your skills are high enough, you really can reach this level. Master, you have to watch 'Wanted.'"

"'Wanted'? What is that?" Wu Jue was still marveling at his own achievement when he heard Xiao Han's praise, feeling a bit lost.

Xiao Han nudged him. "Just come and see! It's a sci-fi blockbuster—thank goodness Xiao Yang still has a copy. I just watched it yesterday."

Pulling him along to Xiao Yang's workshop, they found Xiao Yang, who had recently made some breakthroughs and had started chatting and relaxing with others. When he saw Wu Jue and the others arrive, he put down his work and said, "Master, are you here to check up on me? Don't worry, I've made a lot of progress. I believe we’ll soon be able to contact nearby cities and learn about the situation elsewhere."

Wu Jue waved his hand. "Of course I trust you. Xiao Han dragged me over to watch a movie. Honestly, I have no idea what it's about."

Xiao Yang laughed, "You still have time for movies? If it weren't for the power plant here, you wouldn't be able to watch for long anyway."

Despite his words, he set up a computer for them and played the movie Xiao Han mentioned.

Wu Jue watched attentively and finally understood what Xiao Han meant by "gun-flipping." It turned out to be a kind of superpower from the West, allowing one to control the bullet's path with the mind to hit the intended target.

Though the film was simple and action-packed, Wu Jue found it quite inspiring. With his years of martial arts experience, he realized that the direction hinted at in the movie was precisely what he sought—to perfectly combine martial arts with modern firearms, so as to cope with even harsher situations in the future.

Wu Jue set this as his goal, and clarity filled his mind.

At that moment, Xiao Yang excitedly informed him, "Master, I’ve established a special communication channel. It’s in a rural county near Tianhai City. It seems there’s a group of survivors there sending out distress signals."

Wu Jue stood up. "What a coincidence—could it be a trap?"

Xiao Yang shook his head. "I’m not sure yet. I’m searching for nearby surveillance footage, but unfortunately, none is available. Otherwise, we could verify it."

"Then we have to go and take a look," Wu Jue agreed, deciding to go himself.

Just then, someone came to report, "Master, a survivor has arrived outside the prison seeking shelter. Sister An Yi went to check and asked us to inform you."

Wu Jue frowned—how could a survivor show up at a time like this? The coincidence was suspicious.

He left Xiao Han and Xiao Yang to continue analyzing the message and went out to see for himself.

Outside the prison, An Yi was questioning the newcomer—a man in his thirties, looking very weary, sitting on a bench near the gate. He said, "I never expected to find other survivors in the city. This is such a surprise. You shouldn’t stay here; our place is much safer. You should all move over there."

"You mean there’s a small, isolated town to the southwest that’s currently safe?" Princess An Yi pressed, puzzled. "Then how did you end up here? Were you driven out?"

He waved his hand. "I came out to look for supplies, but my car broke down. I had no choice but to walk here for help. I didn’t expect to find so many people alive."

Seeing this, Wu Jue interjected, "Aren’t you worried about so many of us coming over? Resources are tight in this chaotic world."

The middle-aged man glanced at him, a bit stunned by Wu Jue’s monkish appearance, then replied, "Master, you may not know, but people in the mountains are always hospitable. Even before the apocalypse, we’d invite passing travelers in as guests. Now that the world has truly ended, how could we cope alone?"

He hesitated, then added, "There’s something awkward to admit—most people in the village are from the same family. If things go on like this, I dread to think what future generations will be like. So we actually welcome survivors, provided they haven’t been bitten."

He even managed a bit of humor at the end.

Wu Jue’s intuition told him the man was telling the truth, and this confirmed Xiao Yang’s earlier discovery.

It seemed necessary to visit that town, so he said to the man, "Stay here and rest for the night. We’ll arrange for someone to escort you back. Whether or not we come depends on everyone’s decision."

Wu Jue did not intend to force anyone to go, especially since he himself wanted to stay behind and complete some unfinished tasks.