Chapter 23: We were poor back when I was a child!

"Ding-dong! Please make your choice!"

"1. Obtain Perfect-level rifle marksmanship!"

"2. Obtain World-class rifle design!"

"3. Obtain World-class rifle manufacturing!"

The crisp system prompt rang out instantly!

Qin Yuan looked at the three options, his eyes brightening at once!

"There really is a Perfect-level marksmanship!"

Without a moment's hesitation, he made his choice!

"I choose 1!"

"Ding-dong! Congratulations to the host for a successful selection! You have obtained Perfect-level marksmanship!"

"Perfect-level marksmanship: Allows the host's marksmanship to be unerringly accurate within the effective range of any firearm; every shot finds its mark!"

"Damn! This Perfect-level marksmanship is truly terrifying! Does this mean I can hit every target I aim at?"

Qin Yuan couldn't help but exclaim, his eyes filled with immense surprise!

In an instant, his mind was flooded with even more sophisticated shooting techniques. These skills were honed through thousands of trials. Every movement, every aim, and even every breath felt as though it had been refined a thousand times over!

Qin Yuan had a feeling that with just a single thought, combined with his formidable physical strength, he could execute shots in any scenario—and they would be perfect shots! Every single one a bullseye!

"This feeling... isn't it just too terrifying?"

After carefully sensing his newfound marksmanship, Qin Yuan reached a conclusion. In two words: terrifying. In three words: absolutely terrifying. In four words: terrifying beyond measure!

"This level of marksmanship is certainly not something a normal human could achieve through training!" Qin Yuan couldn't help but sigh in wonder, shaking his head. There was no helping it; his marksmanship was simply too powerful—so powerful that even he was left in awe.

"Brother Qin Yuan, I've rested enough. Shall we continue? If we don't move now, I'm afraid we'll fall even further behind the main force."

Li Erniu wiped away his sweat, took a sip from his canteen, and looked anxious.

"Alright, Li Erniu, let's head out." Qin Yuan smiled, packed his gear, and set off with Li Erniu once more.

"Huh? Brother Qin Yuan, I was too tired to notice earlier, but I just realized... you don't seem to be sweating at all? We ran 10 kilometers in one go; aren't you tired?"

Li Erniu glanced at Qin Yuan. He saw that Qin Yuan still looked fresh and composed. There wasn't a single trace of sweat on his forehead, and he wasn't even panting! He looked completely unaffected!

Recalling the run, Li Erniu suddenly remembered that even while they were sprinting, Qin Yuan had been talking to him as if it were nothing!

"Holy cow!" Li Erniu widened his eyes in disbelief. "Brother Qin Yuan, your stamina... isn't that too terrifying?"

Li Erniu finally realized the truth. They had marched 10 kilometers at the same speed. He was exhausted to the point of collapse, feeling like he had lost half his life, yet Qin Yuan looked like he hadn't even broken a sweat!

"It's nothing special," Qin Yuan replied with a light, indifferent smile.

Was his stamina terrifying? Only Qin Yuan knew that the strength he displayed was merely the tip of the iceberg! As for just how terrifying it really was, even he wasn't sure until he pushed himself to his full potential.

"My goodness! Running 10 kilometers at top speed and you call that nothing special?" Li Erniu couldn't help but click his tongue in awe. "Brother Qin Yuan, you're too humble! You are the most humble soldier I have ever met!"

Qin Yuan raised an eyebrow. The most humble soldier? Were the guys in the Fourth Company all that arrogant? Was he just being humble because he spoke honestly about how he felt?

Li Erniu suddenly grew very interested. "Brother Qin Yuan, do you know? Actually, I’m not great at much, but before this, my stamina was arguably the best in the Fourth Company! Even the best soldier in the company now, He Chenguang—my good brother—couldn't beat me in physical fitness tests! As the Chief of Staff says, I'm naturally gifted! A born strongman, heh heh."

Li Erniu chuckled and scratched his head. "But in front of you, I'm nothing! I thought you wouldn't be able to keep up with my speed, but you ended up leaving me far behind!"

"You're the one who is truly naturally gifted!" Li Erniu asked mysteriously, "Brother Qin Yuan, can you tell me how you trained your stamina to be so terrifying?"

Qin Yuan raised an eyebrow; it seemed Li Erniu was quite eager to learn! Could it be that he wanted to push himself further and improve his fitness?

Observing him along the way, Qin Yuan noted that Li Erniu's stamina was indeed very strong—better than both Wang Yanbing and He Chenguang—but it hadn't reached a truly monstrous level yet. As for improving, perhaps he could get a little better through systematic training, but the room for growth was very small.

However, if Qin Yuan wanted to help him improve, he could certainly do it, as he possessed the Ant Strength Pill. Of course, he wasn't close enough to Li Erniu to give him such a precious item.

"That's a long story," Qin Yuan said, brushing off the question with a laugh.

"Brother Qin Yuan, just tell me a little. I want to improve myself too!" Li Erniu smiled foolishly, looking earnest.

"Alright, I'll tell you. Actually, there's no special secret." Qin Yuan continued walking easily with Li Erniu. "When I was a kid, I lived in the mountains. Because it was poor and transportation was difficult, we had to walk 10 kilometers to school every day. A round trip was 20 kilometers! At first, when I was small, I walked. As I got older, I started trying to run to school. Later on, I was sprinting!"

"I did that for over ten years without stopping! So... my stamina just ended up like this."

Qin Yuan provided a near-perfect explanation. "Actually, Li Erniu, I've tested my stamina before. Running 10 kilometers is no problem, but if I had to run much further, I wouldn't be able to handle it!" Qin Yuan added, just to make sure Li Erniu was fully convinced.

"Ah? 20 kilometers every day for over ten years? No wonder you're so amazing, Brother Yuan! I really admire you!" Li Erniu gave a thumbs up, then started counting on his fingers. "365 days a year, ten years is 3,650 days. 20 kilometers a day... that means you've run at least 73,000 kilometers! The circumference of the equator is only 40,000 kilometers! Brother Yuan, you've run enough to circle the Earth twice?"

Li Erniu was left dumbfounded! That was a truly terrifying figure!

Even Qin Yuan was shocked by Li Erniu's calculation... it seemed he had bragged a bit too much!

The two continued on their way. Qin Yuan occasionally shared a few "interesting stories" about life in the mountains, and the time passed quite quickly.

"Huh? The bushes up ahead look a bit strange!"

As they were walking through the jungle, during a brief rest, Qin Yuan noticed something unusual about the bushes to their front-left.

"What's going on?"

Qin Yuan raised an eyebrow and quickly pulled Li Erniu down, hiding behind a tree.

"Could it be that there are people in those bushes?" A thought suddenly crossed his mind.