Marksmanship Is Also a Craft (First Update)

Marksmanship Is Also a Craft (First Update) Xia Chujian tried hard to process San Zong's meaning, then frowned and asked, "You mean that because it has no smell, even if you've seen it once now, you still can't find it by scent?"

San Zong nodded frantically. "Yes, yes, yes! That's exactly it!"

He stared at the plant for a while longer, the surprise in his eyes deepening. "...This plant needs an extremely long growth period. It can grow for tens of thousands of years, even hundreds of thousands! It should be very rare, so why doesn't it have any smell?"

Xia Chujian thought to herself, Probably because it doesn't want freaks like San Zong to smell it...

Otherwise, how could there have been only one record of humans finding Kongsang in the Beichen Empire's million-year history? Yet she had found it!

Was she lucky, or was Aunt lucky?

Xia Chujian could not help letting her thoughts wander.

After a while, she pulled herself together, stared at the Kongsang plant, and asked in a low voice, "San Zong, if I let you grow this plant, are you confident you can grow it well?"

After a pause, Xia Chujian added, "Small Si Xi raised this plant. It was growing there before..."

Xia Chujian used her gun barrel to point at the spot where she had just overturned the little grass nest.

San Zong hurriedly crawled over on his knees and used his hands to brush aside the loose grass on the ground, examining it carefully under the beam of Xia Chujian's helmet light.

There was a small pit there, dug out by Small Dog. Faint little plum blossom prints could still be seen.

San Zong pinched some of the soil between his fingers and felt it for a long time before saying in disbelief, "...No wonder Small Si Xi managed to keep this grass alive... It's easy to grow! As long as it has light, water, and a little fertilizer, it'll be fine!"

Then he added, "...It's more than a hundred times easier to grow than Blood Kirin!"

"You're sure?!" Xia Chujian's eyes lit up, and even her voice trembled with excitement.

San Zong nodded heavily, his little pig face wearing the solemn expression of an expert. "When it comes to shooting, San Zong is no match for Female Sire. When it comes to farming, Female Sire is no match for San Zong!"

Xia Chujian: "..."

The corner of her mouth twitched, and she nearly could not speak.

Since Kongsang was so easy to keep alive and was not as delicate as Blood Kirin, Xia Chujian did not hold back.

She knelt on one knee, held one of Small Dog's front paws, and said solemnly, "Small Si Xi, come back to Mulan City with me. This plant will come back with us too, all right?"

Small Dog tilted its head at her, not knowing what she was saying.

But Xia Chujian held its paw and gave it a gentle shake. "If you don't say anything, I'll take that as agreement. Don't worry, I won't treat you badly. Your precious plant will stay alive, and I'll often make you... Egg Fried Rice."

She could not afford to make beef with silky egg, but she could guarantee Egg Fried Rice once a week.

Small Dog seemed to understand the words "Egg Fried Rice." It practically jumped up and licked Xia Chujian's mask.

Xia Chujian was delighted as well. She gently bumped her forehead against its fluffy little head.

She casually picked up Small Dog and let it sit on the barrel of her Submachine Gun.

Then she picked up Ping Qiong's helmet from the ground and put it on. "San Zong, hold on to this plant carefully. By the way, what about the Blood Kirin over there? Has it matured?"

San Zong carefully cradled the clump of Kongsang with soil still clinging to its roots and nodded repeatedly. "It has. It just matured! San Zong wants to ask Female Sire, do you also want to try growing Blood Kirin?"

"Didn't you say it was hard to grow?"

"San Zong didn't have the conditions before, but This Time, San Zong wants to bring back that humus soil too!" San Zong's eyes shone as he spoke. "San Zong thinks perhaps Blood Kirin is supposed to grow in this special humus soil that only the Exotic Beast Forest has!"

"Mm, that's a good idea. But how are you going to bring all that humus soil back?"

"...Female Sire, San Zong was thinking, could we use those round tanks on the Flying Vehicle that are used to store meat?"

"Why?"

"The round tanks for meat have temperature-control equipment. They can ensure Blood Kirin grows in an icy environment."

San Zong chattered all the way. By the time he, Xia Chujian, and Small Dog returned to Feng Qianzhan's Civilian Flying Vehicle, Xia Chujian had already approved his plan.

"All right, we'll start packing the soil tomorrow."

"Why wait until tomorrow? Can't we do it today?!"

"Don't you need to sleep?"

"San Zong isn't sleepy!"

Xia Chujian checked the time on her Smart Bracelet. It was only around ten at night, so it was indeed still early.

Besides, she was in an extremely excited state herself and could not really sleep either.

More importantly, she wanted to hide this Kongsang plant from the rest of the team.

So it was best to make preparations now.

She nodded. "Then I'll help you."

"No need, Female Sire! San Zong can do it alone!"

Xia Chujian recalled the two Alien Beasts that had flown away earlier. Worried that they might return, she insisted, "Blood Kirin is too important to me. I have to watch you pack it up."

San Zong could not argue with that.

In the Flying Vehicle's Storage Room, Xia Chujian emptied the round tank that had contained the Unicorn Cattle Meat. There was not much beef left, so she put half of it directly with the Luo Xu Province lamb.

She left the other half outside to thaw so she could cook something tasty tomorrow.

This metal round tank, specifically used for storing food, was highly intelligent and even had an automatic cleaning system.

Xia Chujian let it clean itself for Twenty Minutes. When it was done, it was spotless inside and out.

San Zong carried the cleaned metal round tank out of the Flying Vehicle and hauled it to the place where they had found the patch of Blood Kirin.

The nine Blood Kirin plants had already matured, but only four had seeds. The other five had none.

Xia Chujian stood to the side with her gun in hand, watching San Zong carefully scrape out the humus soil layer by layer and place it into the metal round tank.

The nighttime temperature had already dropped to more than one hundred degrees below zero. Xia Chujian's gloves were not warm enough, and her fingers were nearly frozen stiff.

Fortunately, the ivory-white coat Aunt had given her was quite warm. Worn beneath her outer coat, it felt as if she were carrying a furnace with her, warm and comfortable.

As San Zong worked, Xia Chujian's thoughts began to drift.

She wondered why the coat Aunt had given her had actually been able to block that Assassin's Dagger. What kind of material could produce such an effect?

The Bulletproof Vest she wore closest to her skin had been issued by the Dark Night Hunter Association. It was made of Nanomaterial and could stop bullets, so it should be able to stop daggers too, right? But Feng Qianzhan was a Gene Evolver at the peak of B-rank Mental Strength. Could a Nanomaterial Bulletproof Vest really block a dagger thrown by a Mental Strength Expert? She still remembered the ferocious kinetic force behind it. It had truly been no weaker than a Sniper Bullet fired from the Judicator No. 7 Sniper Rifle! So why had that coat been able to block it? In any case, her battle with Feng Qianzhan had been the most thrilling battle Xia Chujian had experienced since becoming a Dark Night Hunter.

For the first time, she understood that Gene Evolvers with powerful Mental Strength really were different from Ordinary People.

What would she do if she encountered someone like that again in the future? After thinking it over and over, she had only one solution: keep practicing her marksmanship.

If her body could not evolve, she could only rely on learning a craft.

Marksmanship was also a craft. No problem there.

While Xia Chujian was lost in thought, San Zong had already gathered all the finest humus soil and put it into the large round tank.

Then he took out the four Blood Kirin plants with seeds, removed the seeds one by one, and planted them inside together with Small Dog's Kongsang, roots and soil included.

The other five seedless Blood Kirin plants, along with the four plants whose seeds had been removed, were stacked together and placed by Xia Chujian into a special freshness-preserving storage bag that could keep them fresh for up to a week.

San Zong carried the large round tank full of humus soil on his back and walked forward step by step.

The large round tank was half a person tall, nearly reaching San Zong's chest.

Yet he carried it steadily.

"Is it heavy? I'll help you lift it." Xia Chujian slung her gun over her back and reached out to help San Zong.

San Zong hurriedly shook his head. "It's not heavy. San Zong can carry it! San Zong likes carrying it! When San Zong thinks about being able to grow Blood Kirin alive, San Zong is happy!"

It was obvious that he was genuinely happy.

Xia Chujian smiled along with him, then immediately thought of a more practical issue.

She was silent for a moment before asking, "San Zong, Feng Qianzhan is dead. Can you still return to the plantation outside Mulan City?"

San Zong blurted out, "Of course! Why couldn't San Zong?"

Xia Chujian: "..."

She could not really explain why, but her intuition told her he could not.

After carefully choosing her words, Xia Chujian said tactfully, "I know the plantation's rules. You aren't allowed to leave casually. Once you leave, you'll be treated as an escaped resident."

In fact, all normal humans in Mulan City knew that Humanoid Slaves from the plantations outside the city could never leave for the rest of their lives. Once they did, Punishment Department enforcers could kill them on the spot.

San Zong froze for a moment. "But San Zong didn't escape by himself... The director told San Zong to go with that human..."

"Do you have proof?"

"What proof?"

"Proof that your director told you to leave. Smart chat records, an electronic pass, anything like that."

San Zong's face fell. "No... At least, San Zong doesn't have any."

Then he looked up and asked expectantly, "Would that bad guy have it? That Feng Qianzhan?"

Xia Chujian thought, Even if he did, I scattered Feng Qianzhan's ashes. Where am I supposed to look for it?

Besides, if such a thing existed, would Feng Qianzhan have left it in the Flying Vehicle instead of carrying it with him? Still, she said, "I can search the Flying Vehicle. If I can't find anything, you need to prepare yourself. You might not be able to return to the plantation."

"...Really can't go back? The director should be happy if San Zong goes back..." San Zong was still unwilling to give up.

His little pig brain was not so full of twists and turns. He did not understand why it had to be this way.

It was not his fault, was it?

Xia Chujian warned him word by word, "You can try, but there's a very high chance that if you try, you'll die."

"Die?"

"It means getting beaten to death."

San Zong: "..."

His whole body shuddered, clearly reminded of something unpleasant.

He fell silent.

The Second Update will be at one in the afternoon.