Chapter 49: Chapter 38: One More Shot

“Ow! Instructor, I’ve sprained my ankle!”

Not long into the run, another problem arose. A girl had fallen to the ground, clutching her ankle in agony.

Liu Jie fought through her own exhaustion and jogged over. After a quick inspection, her eyes fell on Zhao Rui, who was standing nearby.

“The burden falls on the capable. You can treat this, right?”

Zhao Rui set down the girl he was carrying and walked over. He crouched down to examine the fallen girl’s ankle. It wasn’t red or swollen; just a minor sprain.

He then said to the girl, “Relax!”

He grabbed her foot. With a deft application of force, he gave it a gentle twist and manipulated the ankle with his fingers before saying, “There. You can walk now, but take it easy!”

The girl on the ground heard him and quickly rotated her ankle. Just as he’d said, the pain was gone.

She looked both happy and resigned. “I don’t know whether to thank you or curse you. Now I have to start running again!”

Zhao Rui couldn’t help but chuckle at her words. “I can always make it worse again,” he said. “Want to give it a try?”

“No way! Hehe, thanks!”

The girl laughed, quickly getting to her feet. With her roommate’s help, she hurried forward.

Seeing the girl return as good as new, the surrounding students were all amazed. When they heard that Zhao Rui had fixed her sprained ankle with just a simple pull and twist, they couldn’t help but marvel.

Meanwhile, seeing the girl with the sprained ankle return to the formation, Zhao Rui hoisted the other girl back onto his back and resumed his jog.

Liu Jie watched Zhao Rui’s retreating, effortless figure and couldn’t help but smile. ’I never expected to have such an interesting student in my class.’

’A Fifth-level Martial Artist!’

Students like that rarely choose a regular major. They either apply to a Martial Arts Academy at a slightly lower-tiered school, or they choose a research major related to the Martial Dao.

’There really aren’t many like him.’

’I wonder what his plans are. Has he given up on the path of the Martial Dao?’

’Hmm, regardless, once this military training is over, I’ll make him the class monitor. Give him some responsibility!’

Zhao Rui didn’t know he had already been earmarked by his advisor as the future class monitor.

Right then, he was enjoying the girl’s delicate touch… er, her wiping the sweat from his brow.

In truth, he hadn’t shed more than a few drops of sweat. If not for the fact that he was training his physique, he wouldn’t even be sweating at all while circulating his Inner Power.

But the girl on his back felt she had to do something, so she kindly used the handkerchief from her wrist to dab at his forehead.

“Whooo!”

This scene was seen by the students running behind them, and they immediately started to hoot and jeer.

They didn’t know Zhao Rui was a Martial Artist. They only knew he had some medical skills and had treated two of their classmates.

Seeing this, they all shouted, “Hey ladies, piggybacks for rent! Who wants one? Sweat-wiping service every ten minutes! It’s a bargain sale!”

“Pfft, even if I let you, could you even run while carrying me?”

“Of course! You looking down on me?”

A playful girl immediately called out the most arrogant-sounding boy, insisting he carry her and run.

In front of everyone, the boy had no choice but to grimace and hoist the girl who had taken him up on his offer onto his back.

The girl wasn’t particularly heavy, but the problem was, he had to run while carrying her!

The boy gritted his teeth and only managed to run a few dozen meters before he was too exhausted to stand, nearly dropping the girl.

“What’s all this ruckus? You two, get to the side of the road! Give me ten push-ups, then rejoin the group!”

The instructor, who had been away on some business, happened to return at that moment. Seeing this, he immediately shouted angrily, putting a stop to their little drama.

Although the incident was over, the way the students looked at Zhao Rui had changed.

Because Zhao Rui made running with a girl on his back look far too easy.

The thought couldn’t help but pop into everyone’s mind: ’A failed Martial Arts Student!’

In the following stretch, two more girls fell behind. One had a leg cramp, and the other had low blood sugar.

Zhao Rui used his Inner Strength techniques to alleviate both of their symptoms.

For a moment, all the girls were looking at Zhao Rui with eyes full of adoration.

The five-kilometer run was not the end of this hiking military training. The distance from the school to the mountain campsite was a full fifteen kilometers.

This five-kilometer run was just an appetizer. The remaining ten kilometers had to be covered on foot.

The long line of students was like a winding dragon, stretching on endlessly.

With so many people, it was natural that quite a few students would fall behind. They were all managed by the military school medics and logistics staff following at the rear.

Unless you had a special condition, you had to make it there, even if you had to crawl.

Time passed, the distance shortened, and the scorching sun gradually began to set, losing its earlier tyranny.

“Everyone, halt! Rest in place!”

With a blast from the instructor’s whistle, the five-kilometer cross-country run was finally over.

A crowd of students collapsed to the ground without any care for their image, gasping for breath.

Many of the girls’ training uniforms were soaked through, revealing their colorful undergarments. Sweat dripped from the hair on their foreheads, leaving them in a sorry state.

“Zhao Rui, thank you!”

Since the running was over, the girl on his back naturally no longer needed him to carry her.

The girl lowered her head slightly, looking a bit shy.

“It’s nothing. We’re classmates!”

Zhao Rui smiled magnanimously, then said a word to the instructor and the advisor before jogging back to his spot.

As soon as he got back, a boy next to him leaned over enviously and whispered, “How’d it feel?”

“How’d what feel?”

Zhao Rui froze for a second.

“Soft?”

“…”

After a break of less than ten minutes, the group set off again. The rest of the journey didn’t require running, so it was relatively easier.

But they had already run so far, and the students’ stamina was completely drained. Every one of them was exhausted.

Like a giant worm, the column of students slowly advanced toward the base.

It wasn’t until after four in the afternoon that Zhao Rui and the others finally arrived at the open-air military camp built on the mountain.

“All units, fall in! At ease! Attention!”

Following the instructor’s command, all the students began to reorganize into square formations by company.

“Next, we will line up and proceed to the shooting range. Each person gets two bullets. No one is to move without orders. Follow all commands!”

The instructor gave the order with a solemn expression. Live-fire practice was no joke.

The company waited in place for about an hour before it was finally their turn.

“Awesome! We finally get to handle a real gun!”

Everyone was thrilled. This was the real deal, not the toy guns they usually played with.

One by one, they excitedly lined up, picked up a rifle, and, under the instructor’s guidance, tried their hand at target practice by mimicking his actions.

As the continuous BANGS echoed, the shooting range was instantly filled with a tense and solemn atmosphere.

“Off target, off target! A one-pointer…”

“You guys are a real disgrace.”

The instructor looked at everyone’s scores, angrily grabbed a rifle, and fired twice in quick succession. BANG! BANG! Instantly, two nine-point shots appeared on the target for all to see.

“The instructor is so amazing! And so handsome! We love you, Instructor!”

With so many girls, they might be at a disadvantage in a competition, but they certainly knew how to liven up a team-building event.

Soon, it was Zhao Rui’s turn to shoot.

Zhao Rui picked up the rifle placed before him, feeling the coldness of the weapon. An impulse to just spray bullets surged within him.

’Damn it, do I have a violent streak or something?’

Zhao Rui’s heart skipped a beat. ’Maybe I watched too many action movies in my past life. They were just so damn satisfying!’

’In this life, gun control isn’t as strict. I’ll have to find a chance to really experience it.’

’What it means to lay down some suppressive fire!’

Reining in his thoughts, Zhao Rui followed the instructor’s directions, aimed at the bullseye, and gently squeezed the trigger. A powerful recoil immediately shot through his shoulder.

Zhao Rui slightly adjusted the force in his arms, neutralizing the recoil and keeping the muzzle of the gun pointed steadily forward.

With a single BANG, the bullet left the chamber and shot straight toward the target a hundred meters away.

“Nine points!”

As the score appeared, the surrounding students couldn’t help but cheer, especially the few girls Zhao Rui had helped. They were all ecstatic.

“One more shot!”

The girls clamored, each finding a good spot to watch Zhao Rui take his next shot.

It was hard to refuse their enthusiasm. Since he had one shot left anyway, Zhao Rui raised the rifle, followed the instructor’s earlier advice, and with a BANG, fired again.

“Ten points!”

An even better score this time.

The girls erupted in cheers; the boys fell silent.

No comparison, no pain.

The instructor was also a bit embarrassed. He cleared his throat, walked over, took the rifle from Zhao Rui’s hands, and said, “To get such a good score on your first try, not bad!”

After saying that, he raised the rifle to the bullseye and fired off a few shots in quick succession. BANG! BANG! BANG!

“Ten points, ten points, ten points!”

“The instructor is amazing! He’s incredible!”

This time, boys and girls alike joined in the cheering.

The spotlight instantly returned to the instructor. After all, he was a young man not yet twenty years old.

Zhao Rui rubbed his nose and quietly took two steps back.

“Nicely done!”

Liu Jie walked over, patted his shoulder, and said with a smile.

“A fluke. Pure luck.”

Zhao Rui smiled. ’It really was just a fluke,’ he thought to himself. ’Well, mostly. I guess I was just good at aligning the sights in my past life, and with my Inner Power foundation in this one, it’s just easier to get the hang of things!’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep