Augmentation and Combat

Going to the shooting range?

Chu Fei was overjoyed.

What man didn't love guns!

Especially in the current environment.

He had no idea what they were going to do at the shooting range, but going was the right choice.

At the shooting range, sporadic gunshots rang out. Mostly, veteran craftsmen were tuning firearms.

As they walked, Huang Gang said, "Before entering Dawn Academy, had you heard of the three words 'Gun-Fu'?"

"Isn't that name everywhere? If the hunters in our village didn't know a few Gun-Fu techniques, they'd be too embarrassed to call themselves hunters."

Captain Huang: ...

After taking a few steps, Captain Huang asked faintly, "Then tell me, what techniques do people usually use?"

"There's Quick Draw, for rapidly drawing, aiming, and firing.

There's Wind Listening and Positioning, for shooting behind you.

There's Level Shooting, which improves frontal shooting accuracy.

There's Gun Whipping, for unexpected attacks.

There's Left-Hand Shooting, which increases attack power and gives you more trump cards.

There's Bullet Dodging, so even if you're being aimed at, you can still evade.

And there's..."

Chu Fei went on and on.

Huang Gang listened with a smile.

Once Chu Fei had finished, Huang Gang laughed. "Sounds pretty good. Though they're childish little games, it isn't easy to form them into a system."

Chu Fei: ...

"Not convinced? Fine, let me ask you this. Take this Level Shooting technique. Suppose your target is a zombie, one hundred meters away and walking straight toward you. How would you calculate it? How high should you raise the muzzle?"

Chu Fei blinked. "Brace the stock against your shoulder, aim at the zombie's chest, and fire. That's all there is to it."

Huang Gang said faintly, "At a hundred meters, if the zombie is 175 centimeters tall, it should look about 17 millimeters tall to the naked eye.

"Your village uses an old-model Cobra Rifle. Its bullets begin to drop at around 24 meters, and their speed gradually starts decreasing.

"According to the formula given in Chapter 12 of Ballistic Calculations, the bullet's final velocity will drop to 712 meters per second, with a drop of roughly 0.56 meters.

"Considering that you must hit a zombie in the head to ensure a kill, and the head is a target about 20 centimeters in diameter, you need to aim 0.46 meters above its head, not at its chest.

"Furthermore, you need to calculate the zombie's movement speed, the wind speed, and so on. At a hundred meters, though, the calculations can be simplified.

"So, in summary, the hit rate of your so-called Gun-Fu is less than one percent. You only hit anything because your guns are poor quality and the bullets fly everywhere. If the guns were any better, none of you would hit a thing."

Chu Fei: ...

You're right. I have no rebuttal.

After arriving at the shooting range, Huang Gang picked up a gun and said to Chu Fei, "I remember you repaired this gun. You even cut off two coils from the spring. Do you remember its basic specifications?"

Chu Fei immediately rattled off a series of figures.

Huang Gang nodded. "You remember them well. Based on this data, can you determine what kind of battlefield this gun should be used on?"

Chu Fei was taken aback, then shook his head.

Huang Gang said, "This gun can be used in combat between 100 and 300 meters. Any farther, and its accuracy is insufficient. Any closer, and its rate of fire can't keep up.

"It is suitable for small-scale conflicts involving fewer than fifty people, or ordinary hunting and the like.

"If used in a large-scale war, it would be at a disadvantage."

Chu Fei fell into thought. He faintly felt that an entirely new world was slowly opening a crack before him.

Under Huang Gang's guidance, Chu Fei came to understand the gun anew and scored a perfect ten-ring shot at fifty meters.

"Not bad. You're very talented!" Huang Gang was highly satisfied. "Starting today, I'll teach you Augmentation Combat Arts!"

But Chu Fei was puzzled. "Captain Huang, didn't you say last week that you would teach me Gun-Fu?"

"Good memory. Gun-Fu is an important component of Augmentation Combat Arts.

"Ordinary people may think that practicing Gun-Fu simply means practicing marksmanship, but that is the most superficial understanding.

"Since Gun-Fu is part of an augmentation combat system, you should look at it from a higher perspective. Only after grasping the bigger picture should you work on the details."

Chu Fei nodded thoughtfully.

Captain Huang continued, "If Semi-Awakened want powerful combat strength, they can only take the augmentation route.

"Many ordinary Awakened who want even greater combat strength still rely on augmentation.

"In fact, even powerful Awakened favor the power of augmentation.

"So what, exactly, is augmentation?"

What was augmentation?

Chu Fei considered it. "Prosthetic limbs and things like that, things that can improve combat strength."

"What you described is augmentation in the narrow sense. Today, I'm going to tell you about augmentation in the broad sense, as well as Augmentation Combat Arts.

"So-called augmentation in the broad sense refers to all external attachments beyond one's own body.

"This includes prosthetic limbs, implanted weapons and equipment, biological chips, organ transplants, and more.

"Even genetic modification can be called genetic augmentation.

"Guns and other items carried on the body can also be considered the most basic form of augmentation.

"And Augmentation Combat Arts is the art of pushing this external equipment to its limits to enhance combat strength."

Chu Fei nodded, rapidly absorbing the knowledge. These were essential survival skills in the apocalypse, firsthand knowledge from those struggling on the front lines. The academy could not provide such things.

Huang Gang spoke more and more smoothly, his words pouring forth without end. "I told you last week that I was preparing to teach you the True Intent of Gun-Fu. In fact, that is also the True Intent of Augmentation Combat Arts.

"So what is at the core of True Intent?

"Two things.

"First, defy instinct!

"Second, calculate like crazy.

"Actually, these two things are connected."

Chu Fei thought silently.

Human instinct was laziness, the desire to simplify everything!

When doing things, people estimated, settled for close enough, went by what felt right, and so on.

That was naturally fine with cold weapons.

But in augmentation combat, such thinking was unacceptable.

Augmentation combat had several characteristics: combat speeds so fast there was no time to blink, beyond-visual-range attacks, highly mobile warfare, diverse weapons and attacks, a heavy reliance on science and technology, complex logistical maintenance, and so on.

Therefore, to fully unleash the power of augmentation, one needed insane calculations!

Ballistics had to be calculated!

Attack angles had to be calculated!

Attack intensity had to be calculated!

Weapon durability had to be calculated!

Defense and evasion speed had to be calculated!

Physical stamina and energy reserves had to be calculated!

Ammunition stocks had to be calculated!

Enemy combat strength had to be calculated!

So the core of Augmentation Combat Arts was calculation! Calculation! Fucking calculation!

To calculate faster and more accurately, one also needed to introduce vast amounts of knowledge, especially mathematical knowledge.

And once you calculated, you naturally defied instinct.

Time passed bit by bit. When the High Wall blocked out the sunlight, Huang Gang finally stopped teaching. "Let's stop here for today. The main thing you need to remember is this: beware of instinct!

"Human instinct is the result of billions of years of life evolving. It is deeply rooted.

"As the saying goes, it is easier to change rivers and mountains than one's nature.

"But instinct is not entirely bad, nor is science and technology entirely beneficial.

"As for how to balance instinct and science and technology, that is something you need to think about."

Chu Fei nodded slowly, deeply satisfied.

They said that one conversation with a wise man was worth ten years of reading, and it truly made sense.

One afternoon of instruction had not only taught Chu Fei a great deal, but had also increased his Wisdom Dewdrop by three drops!

There was still some time before dinner, so Chu Fei asked about something else.

"Captain Huang, do you know about the 'Superbrain Potion'? I heard it can optimize the brain's neural system by three percent for a month."