Gun Practice and Preparations

A week later, at a shooting club in downtown New York.

Ryan stood on the range with both hands on his gun, his expression solemn as he aimed at the target a hundred meters away and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The bullet struck the edge of the target in an instant. Ryan shook his head after seeing it and lowered the gun.

"Three rings. Not bad. You're improving very quickly—better than most recruits."

A middle-aged white man in military uniform beside him glanced at the target and spoke.

"Then I'm guessing they didn't waste as many bullets as I did, and they definitely didn't have a firearms master giving them one-on-one instruction."

Ryan knew his own situation best. All his so-called improvement had been fed by bullet after bullet. As for talent, he could only be considered slightly below average.

"Look at it this way: money is a kind of talent too, and it's one that many people dream of but can never obtain!"

The man's rebuttal caught Ryan off guard. He chuckled and patted the man's arm as the two headed toward the lounge.

The man in uniform was named John Brown. He had once served in the Navy SEALs and was now a senior instructor at this shooting club.

He had been guiding Ryan through various forms of training these past few days. On top of that, Ryan had paid him to help purchase certain military-grade items that ordinary people had trouble buying. They were not exactly friends, but they had become quite familiar with each other.

"By the way, I brought the things you wanted. But seriously, buddy, what do you need all that stuff for?"

In the lounge, John unscrewed a bottle of Coke, took a sip, and asked with some confusion.

Ryan had asked for all sorts of things—protective suits, parachutes, air quality detectors, and other items that normal people would never need.

They were not contraband, but they were difficult for ordinary people to purchase. Since the two had only recently met, John had not asked before. But now, he could no longer suppress his curiosity.

"They're for collecting and preparedness. I joined a survivalist group centered around the possibility that the apocalypse could come at any time in the future. You could call it a little personal hobby of mine."

Ryan's eyes lit up when he heard that the items had arrived, and he gave the excuse he had prepared long ago.

Once he had these things, his preparations before traveling to another world would basically be complete. All that remained was to settle his final attachment in this world, and then he could embark on the wondrous journey of traveling between worlds.

Wish me luck... Ryan encouraged himself inwardly.

"A group built around the possibility of an apocalypse at any time in the future? That sounds intere—"

Ring ring ring...

A burst of ringtone interrupted John. After giving him an apologetic gesture, Ryan rose and walked into the hallway.

"Hello, Ryan Garcia speaking."

Ryan's voice was steady as he answered the phone.

"This is Mocha. Your Aunt Rose asked me to invite you and Annie over to my place tomorrow for Christmas."

A rough yet familiar voice came through the receiver. Ryan paused slightly, then quickly smiled. "Even if Aunt Rose hadn't asked, I would've gone. How about seven tomorrow evening?"

"That works. I'll let her know. I heard that lately you've... never mind. We'll talk in detail when you come tomorrow."

The call ended. Ryan frowned slightly at Mocha's unfinished words, but quickly composed himself and returned to John.

"I'll head back for today, John. Thanks for helping me gather all these items lately."

Back in the lounge, Ryan thanked John, who was sitting on the sofa.

"It's nothing. Besides, you paid more than enough for this stuff."

John waved it off and got up to help.

Ryan had ordered quite a lot. Setting aside everything else, the parachutes and protective suits alone were too much for one person to carry. With John's help, however, they managed to stuff everything into the taxi's trunk in a single trip.

After saying goodbye to John, the taxi set off. Sitting in the back seat, Ryan could no longer suppress his excitement.

The world-travel option on the system panel tempted him every moment, like a beautiful young woman stripped bare.

Before, he could still force himself to restrain the impulse by telling himself that his preparations were incomplete and that traveling over there might be dangerous. But now, that reason no longer existed.

"Wait a little longer, just a little longer. There's one last thing to do, and I promised Uncle Mocha I'd spend Christmas at his house!"

He pinched his thigh hard to calm himself down. Just then, the taxi came to a stop. They had arrived home.

"What did you bring all this stuff back for?"

Annie, dressed in a white trench coat today, stood at the door and watched Ryan carry bag after bag into the house, asking in confusion.

"It'll be useful, of course!"

Ryan set the last of the items down with a slight gasp, gazing with satisfaction at the collection he had spent more than ten thousand dollars acquiring.

"Fine, don't tell me if you don't want to!" Seeing Ryan evade her question again, Annie pouted angrily and sat down on the sofa to watch television.

She had been very dissatisfied these past few days. Other than mealtimes and shortly before bed, she barely saw Ryan at all. For the rest of the day, he was nowhere to be found, leaving her all alone in this large house.

If Ryan had not apologized to her several times and promised that this would only last for a while, she would have started wondering whether he regretted adopting her.

"Annie, some things are very troublesome to explain, but I promise you that starting today, I won't leave you home alone like I did these past few days!"

Seeing Annie's unhappy expression, Ryan rubbed his nose and went over to coax her.

"Really?"

"Of course. I swear!"

Seeing the girl's doubtful gaze, Ryan raised three fingers.

"Tch. I'll believe you for now. I'm hungry, so go cook!"

Annie became a little embarrassed under Ryan's intense—or perhaps sincere—gaze. She abruptly got up and pushed him toward the kitchen.

"Hey... I got it... Stop pushing... That tickles!"

Feeling those little hands continuously pressing against his lower back, Ryan did not dare resist. He twisted his body and shouted.

Bang!

The kitchen door slammed shut. Watching Annie trot back to the sofa and resume watching television, Ryan rubbed his face in confusion, unable to make sense of the situation.

"Forget it. Maybe kids just suddenly get moody sometimes!"

Having barely found an explanation for Annie's strange behavior, Ryan stopped thinking about it and began cooking.

The meal was soon ready. When Ryan brought the dishes out and saw Annie looking as though she could hardly wait, he suddenly remembered Mocha's call from that afternoon.

"Annie, what do you think would make a good Christmas gift?"

Ryan served her a bowl of rice and handed it over as he asked.

In his previous life, he had barely celebrated Christmas at all. Besides, he had been in China, so he did not understand United States traditions or know whether there were any taboos to keep in mind.

"Christmas gifts?"

"There aren't really any special requirements, but who do you want to give one to?"

Annie accepted the rice from Ryan and asked curiously.

"Well, Aunt Rose invited us to her house tomorrow for Christmas. You know that we were only able to resolve all those troublesome matters so easily lately because of them. Since we're going over, we should bring some gifts to show our appreciation."

"Is that so..." Annie frowned and thought for a moment before saying uncertainly, "Maybe we could look at watch shops and jewelry stores? People their age should like those things, right?"

"Watch shops and jewelry stores?"

Ryan nodded thoughtfully and said nothing more.