Chapter 54: Section 54 - Indifference to Life and Death
What college student hadn't undergone military training? Strict ones had military training throughout the first academic year. The ancient scholars' Six Arts—rites, music, archery, charioteering, literature, and mathematics—had long been revived. Even if not mastering all, mastering one was essential.
Rites: socializing, negotiating, foreign languages
Music: singing, playing instruments, lyric writing, composing
Archery: firearms, bows and arrows, artillery
Charioteering: horse riding, vehicle driving, boat piloting, aircraft piloting
Literature: soft and hard pen calligraphy, writing
Mathematics: mental arithmetic, abacus, logic, statistics, reasoning
If one couldn't master even one, let alone graduate, they couldn't even get a certificate of attendance.
The college students, selected through stringent assessments from elementary to high school, were called the "pride of the Ivory Tower." This was no exaggeration. Those with slightly weaker learning abilities were directly eliminated and relegated to vocational schools at most obtaining an associate degree.
Nowadays, it was no longer an era where undergraduates were as common as dogs and PhDs roamed the streets; after all, the population base was right there. Even with strict demands on higher education quality, there was still a sufficient number of talents available.
For Chen Fei, firearms operation was a basic military training subject for college freshmen, although it was almost never used at home, so it wasn't too unfamiliar.
Teacher Shen Fei was the same. Upon arriving at the elementary school in the Xingdu Kush Mountain Area, she had automatically locked in this skill, extremely proficient in firearms operation, and had chosen a replicated version of the Type 95 automatic rifle for self-defense.
Once the nation's precious flowers went abroad, they all turned into man-eaters. The true high elimination rate of elite education started to show its effectiveness.
"Qiong En! Qiong En?"
The person who heard no response started to get suspicious, and just then, Chen Fei suddenly appeared within his line of sight.
The man's eyes abruptly widened, and his mouth opened as if to shout.
"He..."
Bang, bang, bang!
Three consecutive gunshots rang out in the cave, exceptionally ear-splitting.
The distance between them wasn't even three meters, no shots missed, and seeing three blood spots bursting from the other person's chest, taking advantage of the warmth, Chen Fei hurriedly rushed over to frantically search him.
He gained another pistol, two magazines, an AK-47 of unknown origin, and several hand grenades. Right there, he switched from the pistol to the automatic rifle, upgrading his armament, which made him feel even more secure.
According to the information revealed by the guy who had whipped him with a belt earlier, not only he, but also Teacher Shen Fei and perhaps the elementary students, had been tied up here.
What exactly did these guys want to do?
Very aware of the advantage of striking first but knowing it wouldn't last long, Chen Fei didn't have time to think much longer and planned to rescue Teacher Shen Fei before those unidentified armed people could react.
If there were others, he'd have to play it by ear. He'd save whoever he could. If he couldn't save them, he could only blame his own misfortune.
The gunshots inevitably alarmed the other armed personnel.
"Who's shooting? Qiong En? Francois?"
The response was a small object that bounced over from the rock wall, hopping along the way.
A blinding flash of brilliant white light suddenly made the whole world explode... Boom!
An earth-shattering explosion!
Despite being prepared, the violent blast wave still nearly threw Chen Fei off his feet.
The shockwave pushed him back several steps, and he fell to the ground with a thud.
The Disabling Bomb detonated in such a nearly enclosed space within the depths of the cave had its power not just incrementally but unexpectedly amplified by quite a substantial margin, an unforeseen ordinary impact.
Damn, that's solid!
Even though he covered his ears, the shock still left Chen Fei dazed. He bit his tongue hard and shook his head vigorously to bring himself back to a sharper awareness, immediately rushing forward with the recently confiscated AK-47 in hand.
He hadn't noticed that at some point, he had begun to regard human life as grass, facing bloodshed as though it was commonplace, or even normal.
To be indifferent to life and death, if you can't bear it, fight!
If you're going to fight, fight until you're out cold!
Screw you!!!
The gunfire raged chaotically, and Chen Fei responded with a barrage of bullets at the sight of the armed men, showing no mercy whatsoever.
In the face of 7.62mm caliber justice, there were never any heroes or valiant men.
One shot meant near death, if not crippling injury, let alone several shots; even an elephant would be brought down on the spot.
Seizing the opportunity, Chen Fei instantly took down four unsuspecting armed men disabled by the Disabling Bomb, their once brisk and arrogant demeanor during the school attack now nothing more than a pitiful scramble on the ground like dying dogs, weakly flailing their limbs as they awaited a bullet.
The remaining armed men, unaffected by the Disabling Bomb due to their distance, finally realized the situation and began to return fire amidst confused screams.
Bullets flew chaotically, striking against the cave walls, sending chips of stone flying in all directions.
Chen Fei was lucky, and braving the bullets, he risked a dash and found shelter in a small stone chamber, where he unexpectedly encountered Teacher Shen Fei.
Shen Fei was tightly bound just like him, but her legs were free, and she continuously delivered groin kicks to an armed man, strike after strike until the man's face turned pale, his body trembled uncontrollably, and he couldn't even scream until Shen Fei, seeing Chen Fei rolling in with a gun, slowed her kicks as if finally relieved, his eyes rolled back as he fell back like a rotting log, still utterly silent and convulsing weakly.
Hiss...
Seeing this scene, Chen Fei couldn't help but wince and took a sharp breath.
It looked like the man on the ground had nefarious intentions, but Teacher Shen caught him off-guard, and even if he survived, he would definitely be crippled.
Chen Fei quickly glanced at Shen Fei from top to bottom and hurriedly asked, "Teacher Shen, are you alright?"
"Don't just stand there, help me untie these ropes."
Shen Fei delivered another kick to the head of the unfortunate guy whose lower half she had kicked earlier.
Chen Fei quickly used his tactical dagger to cut the ropes binding Teacher Shen Fei.
Shen Fei picked up another AK lying in the corner of the stone chamber, swiftly pulled the slide, gathered a few hand grenades, walked over to the chamber entrance, and fired several shots blindly outside before saying to Chen Fei, "Shall we fight our way out?"
"Yes... be careful!"
Chen Fei was about to agree when, from the corner of his eye, he noticed a shadow moving at the chamber entrance. Without thinking, he stepped forward, shielding Shen Fei with his body while he raised his gun and pulled the trigger at the chamber entrance.
Suddenly, a figure with an AK-47 jumped out at the chamber entrance.
The gunfire violently flashed as Chen Fei and the figure chose to engage in a fight to the death, firing at each other at such close range, neither able to dodge the bullets, both subconsciously squeezing the trigger, emptying a magazine in seconds.
Shot!
As the gunfire ceased, the only thought in Chen Fei's mind was,
Damn... I'm screwed again!
Only a month into the job, and I've died twice already—my luck is cursed!
The unexpected shootout caught Shen Fei off guard, and by the time she reacted, the gunfire had already died down. She saw the man outside the chamber propped against the rock wall, helplessly seated on the ground, blood gushing out in great spurts, his chest mangled by 7.62mm bullets—beyond saving, even by a Daluo Golden Immortal.
The unhesitating Chen Fei, facing the enemy alone, was not much better off.
It was clear to her that his trembling body amid the gunfire had definitely taken hits.
If it weren't for Chen Fei shielding her, then by now...
"Chen Fei!"
Shen Fei cried out in agony, hurrying to embrace the staggering Chen Fei as he collapsed.
"Chen Fei, Chen Fei, are you alright?"
No living being, not even an elephant, could survive unscathed after taking so many bullets.
Only upon hearing Shen Fei's voice did Chen Fei finally come around and honestly admitted, "Uh... I'm fine, just a bit dizzy from your shaking."
He couldn't understand why in movies, those close to death always grimaced painfully with fierce expressions, yet when it came to his own imminent death, he felt nothing at all?
Was it really so painless that one could die just by closing their eyes?
He was completely unaware that he was being held in a full embrace by the soft and gentle Shen Fei.
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