Chapter 41: The Fourth Training Session

So that was their intention...

There was no need for Huang Xing to continue explaining. With his lips slightly parted and his head gently tilted back, Wu Qingchen had already more or less understood the staff group's plan.

Seeing Wu Qingchen fall into concentration, Huang Xing stopped speaking. He also lightly tapped the seat in front, causing the specially modified car to slow down and move more smoothly, so as not to disrupt Wu Qingchen’s thoughts.

Wu Qingchen did not notice any of this.

Unconsciously, Wu Qingchen’s expression gradually relaxed.

At the moment he was urgently awakened, faced with the endless miseries of the medieval world, Wu Qingchen had believed that he and his family were undoubtedly caught in an extremely perilous situation.

But now, recalling everything in light of Huang Xing’s detailed analysis—or rather, the staff group’s—he realized that this “extreme peril” could be broken down into just three rather troublesome difficulties: “torrential rain,” “household labor,” and “summer corvée.”

Moreover, following the solutions proposed by the staff group, Wu Qingchen quickly understood that none of these three difficulties was truly insurmountable.

First, “torrential rain” could be avoided simply by taking shelter under a tree or finding an excuse to go home.

Second, “household labor” could be managed by treating the family’s cow, thereby speeding up its recovery and restoring their labor capacity.

As for the “burden of summer corvée,” it turned out this could also be delayed by seeing to it that some of the village’s plow oxen were injured, thus forcing the authorities to postpone their demands.

In this way, the plowing of their allotted fields would be taken care of, the lord’s work could be pushed back, and his father, elder brother, and himself would be much relieved...

Wu Qingchen’s brow gradually smoothed out.

Wait a moment...

Suddenly, his brow drew tightly together again.

“Director Huang!” Before Huang Xing could turn his head, Wu Qingchen blurted out anxiously, his tone urgent: “There’s a problem with the last point! If many of the village’s plow oxen are injured, the work on the lord’s land will be delayed, but so will the villagers’ own fields. That would mean a huge problem with the village’s food supply next year... And if the lord suffers such a big loss, he might just raise taxes or increase the autumn and winter corvée... In that case—”

“It’s all right, all right...” At this point, Huang Xing exhaled in relief, having been startled by Wu Qingchen’s agitation. He waved his hand. “Everything you mentioned has already been considered in the approved plan, and there are subsequent solutions as well. Besides, some of the problems caused by the injured oxen aren’t just trouble—if viewed from a different angle, or properly exploited, these issues can actually become opportunities. In fact, some of them are even part of the plan itself...”

“What?”

“There’s not much time. This topic is part of the afternoon session; we’ll explain it in detail then. For now... we’ve arrived.”

As he spoke, the special car came to a gentle halt. Huang Xing stood up. “Wu Qingchen, please step out and prepare for the first subject in today’s training.”

The first subject?

Wu Qingchen stepped out of the car. The convoy of special vehicles had stopped beside a rough wooden bridge, next to a newly formed stream created just two days ago. The water was already quite clear, the pebbles scrubbed clean by the flow, and fresh shoots of waterweed swayed in the current.

To Wu Qingchen’s right, a dozen paces away, stood several dozen short-statured soldiers, numerous doctors in white coats, and dozens of sharp, energetic professionals in suits. At the far end stood four actors dressed as characters from the medieval world, hooded, in simple robes and wooden clogs.

These four actors were all portraying the same person.

Someone Wu Qingchen knew extremely well, someone unforgettable, whose mere scent would have been enough for him to instantly call out both nickname and real name:

Nickname: “That damnable one.”

Name: The Cowherd.

Was the first subject somehow related to this scoundrel?

Wu Qingchen’s steps faltered slightly.

At that moment, Huang Xing circled around the car to stand beside Wu Qingchen, while two soldiers carried equipment and a display screen over from the special vehicle.

“All right, Mr. Wu...” Huang Xing activated the equipment, pointing to the screen while keeping his eyes fixed on the group a short distance away. “As always... before we begin, let’s briefly discuss the subject. As you can see, and as the title says, today’s first subject is assassination and attack. The target is right there in front of you—the Cowherd...”

“But...” Glancing at the screen Huang Xing was pointing to, Wu Qingchen immediately frowned.

With a sharp wave of his hand, Huang Xing cut off Wu Qingchen’s question. “That’s right. In the medieval world, you’re only about fourteen years old, and due to malnutrition and lack of scientific training, your body is very weak. Against a grown man, your chances would be grim. And because your body is directly tied to all of humanity, any direct confrontation—especially violent physical conflict—is something every nation’s staff group is doing their utmost to avoid.”

“However, avoiding it at all costs doesn’t mean giving up entirely...” As he spoke, Huang Xing kept his eyes narrowed, his cheeks coloring with intensity as he looked at the four “Cowherds.” “For some unforeseeable dangers, for certain threats with malicious intent, you must possess skilled counterattack techniques—you must master killing skills with absolute advantage...”

“But...” Wu Qingchen frowned even more deeply.

“Look below, look at the next part...” Huang Xing interrupted him again. “Of course, mastering these skills will take a long time—they’re for the long run. Given your physical condition in the medieval world, the range of techniques you can use is quite limited, so the current focus is on escape skills, and deadly or stealthy surprise attacks...”

“But...” Wu Qingchen was growing impatient.

“Don’t worry, the command center has arranged everything. The training will not be dangerous... and it’s certainly not a waste of time. Just think: if your escape route is ever threatened, or if the process of injuring the cattle is discovered by the Cowherd, these skills—escape, ambush, surprise attack—will be your biggest advantage. Of course, such extreme situations are nearly impossible, but having these skills will help you regulate your physical state during the plan, establish psychological dominance, and lessen anxiety or hesitation...”

“But...” Rubbing his eyes, Wu Qingchen’s voice became hesitant.

“What’s wrong? Can’t do it? Or can’t steel your heart?”

Noticing Wu Qingchen’s hesitation, Huang Xing ground his teeth, staring at the Cowherds a dozen paces away. “Mr. Wu, you’re mistaken—terribly mistaken! To feel sympathy or hesitate in the face of someone who has simultaneously murdered seventy billion humans, caused immense property loss, and triggered violent social upheaval, is itself a crime! No matter the nation, no matter the people, no matter the legal standards, such a beast should be dragged into the street and executed for a week! And only with a heavy machine gun would that be enough!”

“But...” Huang Xing’s voice was so loud that Wu Qingchen’s faint protest was almost inaudible.

“No more buts!” Huang Xing straightened up, finally tearing his fierce gaze away from the four Cowherds and turning to the group beside them. “See the white coats and suits? The white coats are the most professional psychologists in China; the suits are the country’s top salespeople. If you really can’t bring yourself to do it, we’ve set aside half an hour for adjustments in today’s schedule...”

“But...”

Taking advantage of the meaningful pause, Wu Qingchen finally managed to get his “but” out in its entirety: “But Director Huang, the subject shown on the display is treating the cow!”

Forty-One: The Fourth Training (Part Two)

“Ahem!”

Hearing Wu Qingchen finally speak his mind, Huang Xing abruptly lowered his head to check the display.

The next moment, he suddenly broke into a violent fit of coughing, his right hand darting over the controls to switch the screen.

“Ahem... All right... There, it’s fixed. I apologize, Mr. Wu, let’s continue...”

Noticing Huang Xing’s brief embarrassment, Wu Qingchen felt no urge to laugh. Instead, he was momentarily dazed.

For someone like Huang Xing to be so agitated as to make mistakes—just how deep did humanity’s hatred for the Cowherd run?

That question was soon answered.

The training began.

An hour later, sitting in a chair brought over by a soldier, Wu Qingchen was slightly out of breath.

In that hour, following the coaches’ instructions, Wu Qingchen learned seven carefully chosen ways to ambush and surprise an opponent.

A few steps away, the four Cowherd actors had undergone dramatic transformations.

The one on the far left bore clear red marks around his neck, some even seeping blood.

The next had dozens of small, densely packed holes in his robe at the waist—obviously from sharp implements.

Another had a swollen, bruised face, his features battered and covered in welts and wounds.

The one on the far right was soaked through, his robe covered in mud and grass seeds.

Clearly, in just one hour, these four Cowherds had endured repeated demonstrations by the trainers and Wu Qingchen’s own practice.

Yet, though battered, the four actors still stood upright, faces expressionless.

And despite their sorry state, these “Cowherds” were not the worst off from Wu Qingchen’s hour of training.

A dozen paces away, from the crude wooden bridge all the way to the fork in the path, the ground and grass, even the thorns, were spattered with thickening blood.

On both sides of this crimson trail, another dozen “Cowherds” lay scattered—some decapitated, some impaled, some torn apart, some with gaping chests—each in a state more gruesome than the last, all equally incapable of ever rising again.

Just after awakening from the medieval world, when the ambush and surprise attack training was decided, a certain foreign staff group had immediately submitted a proposal:

Given the extreme danger of the current crisis, and the significance of this combat training, Wu Qingchen’s practice should use live targets for assassination drills, to maximize realism and effectiveness.

They even attached a volunteer list, along with a document stating that a prison transport plane had already taken off and would arrive in seven hours.

Of course, the command center wasn’t so deranged as to seriously consider this. Wu Qingchen, in his current state, could never have endured such “real” training; the proposal was rejected without hesitation.

However preposterous, the proposal’s underlying logic was shared by all the staff groups.

While live targets were out of the question, the “corpses” strewn about a dozen steps away had been fabricated on the same principle: the logistics department, using plastic, silicone, and other special materials, had urgently produced realistic human dummies.

“Special materials” here meant that, to simulate real combat as closely as possible, the logistics team had pulled out all the stops to create props that looked and felt like real human bodies—muscle, bone, anatomy—all meticulously replicated.

From the crude bridge to the path’s fork, the sticky blood, the stench in the air, the scattered innards, even the unseeing heads—it was all nearly indistinguishable from a genuine massacre.

Such realistic props were not easy to manufacture. Even with vast resources, countless personnel, and top priority, the logistics unit only delivered them over twenty minutes after the combat training began.

For the first twenty minutes, Wu Qingchen and the trainers had no choice but to help the four live “Cowherds” with their makeup and effects.

“Phew...”

Just as Wu Qingchen’s breathing steadied, another logistics truck arrived, dropping off a new batch of freshly made “Cowherds.”

Good grief!

He glanced at the new arrivals, then down at his own blood-spattered, meat-flecked clothing.

Wu Qingchen, the blood-soaked butcher, wore a pained expression. “Do I... have to keep practicing?”

“Yes!” Huang Xing nodded. “Your proficiency isn’t there yet—you’re still far from the training goals...”

As he spoke, a staff member hurried over to quietly report something to Huang Xing.

This sort of interruption had happened several times that day.

Perhaps because this training was special and arrangements had been rushed, many matters required on-the-spot adjustment, with people frequently coming to update Huang Xing.

Sure enough, after a few quick nods, Huang Xing waved the staff member away.

“All right, Mr. Wu, you don’t need to continue the simulated assassinations for now. There’s a new change in the training...”

As he spoke, Huang Xing brought up content on the display screen. “According to the latest command center directive, the next phase of assassination training will be taken over by the United States. Look here—this is the just-received training plan. Take a look and see if you have any questions...”

“All right...” Wu Qingchen stepped to Huang Xing’s right, peering at the screen.

The US training plan was blunt and direct—no introductions, no statements of purpose—the very first line launched into descriptions of assassination techniques.

That was the word used: “techniques.”

And indeed, these were advanced techniques:

A pit by the roadside, set with a simple trap to pin the target’s joints, rendering him helpless;

A remote wood, where the target would trigger a trap, severing an artery for a swift death by blood loss;

Exploiting the target’s habitual patterns, making subtle changes to the environment he knows best, creating a killing ground that would only affect him;

And on and on...

So insidious...

After two minutes, when he reached the section on exploiting habitual psychology, Wu Qingchen felt a chill run through him.

The plan included diagrams.

This section detailed how to exploit the Cowherd’s habits: at a sharp bend on the mountain path he traversed four times daily, modify the thorns and vines to create a natural snare, then wait patiently for the Cowherd’s habitual tilt of the head as he tended the cattle...

Next: creating blind spots in the field of vision.

On a rarely traveled part of the lord’s land, pile up some branches and leaves to produce a sightline dead zone, then scatter a few loose stones along the path by the valley. After that, just wait for the “thud” as the Cowherd falls from above.

This... this... this...

So it turns out, to kill someone, you never need to confront the target, never even need to appear in his sight, nor worry about evidence, weapons, or such crude matters as bloodstains...

“Well... the democratic way of assassination really is different...”

Looking at the blood and flesh smeared all over himself, smelling the reek in the air, Wu Qingchen couldn’t help but shake his head.

“Mr. Wu...” Sensing Wu Qingchen’s shift in mood, Huang Xing shook his head as well. “These techniques are indeed subtle and much safer to use... But what you learned earlier is just as important. Don’t forget, the main purpose of this training is still to ensure that, when facing some unforeseen danger, some malicious threat, you possess skilled counterattack techniques and absolute combat superiority...”

“With that foundation...” Huang Xing nodded at the screen. “You’ll be able to use what’s in here more safely, eliminating potential threats ahead of time...”

As he spoke, the sound of trucks rolling in could be heard again from not far away.

This time, it was a convoy. Hundreds of soldiers disembarked, carrying dozens of massive glass panels like those Wu Qingchen had seen at the assembly hall before—only now, the panels were ten times larger. Working together, the soldiers drilled the glass deep into the ground, quickly assembling a glass cage on a scale Wu Qingchen had never seen.

Once that was done, they opened a small door on the far side, then unlocked the rear of the last tightly sealed truck, releasing more than a dozen fair-haired, blue-eyed but otherwise unremarkable men, all dressed in pocketless T-shirts.

These foreign men entered the cage, whereupon the soldiers shut the glass door and drilled it firmly into the ground, sealing the cage completely.

“What... what’s this for?”

“These are your coaches, here to help you master the techniques in the file... CIA overseas agents.”

CIA—I know, that’s the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States. Overseas agents—I know, their main job is assassination...

What I don’t know is...

“If they’re coaches, why lock them in a cage?”

Should he tell you it’s to prevent the Americans from making a move against you?

Should he tell you it’s to ensure there aren’t any terrorists inside?

Should he tell you it’s to keep anyone from abducting you from China?

Noticing Wu Qingchen’s puzzled, inquisitive look, Huang Xing frowned deeply, tilting his head back as if at a loss for words. Only after several seconds did he finally say, “These are American materials—even the cage is a democratic cage. How could you call it a prison?”