Chapter 40: Half a Year
“Bang，bang……”
In the basement of the Eagle Eye Shooting Range, gunshots rang out at an unchanging rhythm, not a fraction of it affected by the fact they were fired in succession.
Fifty-meter fixed target, fifty-meter moving target, pistol, rifle, obstacle shooting, moving shooting, magazine changes — each action was impeccably standard.
“Clap，clap.” A round of applause sounded.
“Zhou Ming，although you weren’t the best shooter I’d ever seen, you were definitely the fastest learner when it came to shooting.”
A man in his thirties, wearing a tight short-sleeve shirt with a holster strapped to each thigh, spoke.
A sharp glint showed in his eyes as he praised Zhou Ming’s shooting performance.
“Coach Li，you flatter me.”
Zhou Ming replied humbly to the coach who had been teaching him shooting.
It was already June.
Six or seven months had passed since Zhou Ming had returned from the wilderness, and during that time Zhou Ming had improved his strength by various methods.
Beast Taming, meditation, martial arts, shooting — though the training felt somewhat scattered, the insecure Zhou Ming had not stopped for a moment.
After mastering the secret third form of Mad Python Martial Art, Zhou Ming practiced martial arts while also finding places to train his shooting.
Although Qinshan Base didn’t allow hot weapons, that didn’t mean one couldn’t practice shooting; a shooting range was the best legal place to practice firearms.
Since he began training in martial arts, by late April Zhou Ming had been practicing martial arts in the mornings, shooting in the afternoons, and meditating at night — his days were very full.
Occasionally he had meals and drinks with Wang Yan, and he had visited Xiao Yun at the Qinshan library a few times.
Xiao Yun had by then become the deputy head of the Qinshan Library, and she no longer spent all day receiving readers like before.
As for her parents, both former teachers, they had been transferred to senior positions in the Qinshan Base Education Bureau.
Zhou Ming wasn’t surprised by this. If Xiao Lei could be promoted and change jobs sooner to become an Official Rank Beast Tamer, their family’s standard of living would have risen further.
It could be said that because of Xiao Lei, Xiao Yun’s family had achieved a cross-class leap.
Putting his firearm away, Zhou Ming sighed at how quickly time had passed — another half year was gone.
“You leaving?”
Coach Li guessed Zhou Ming would be going when he heard him had booked the underground shooting room to test his shooting scores.
From the first time Coach Li had seen Zhou Ming, he’d known the man was not ordinary.
“I’ve dawdled long enough. I should get moving, otherwise I’ll run out of money for food.”
This was no lie.
Besides expenses for martial arts and shooting, to ensure his meditation wouldn’t be disturbed, Zhou Ming had spent a lot of Alliance Coin in the Black Market and in legitimate Beast Tamer shops inside Qinshan Base.
If he kept living off his savings like this, he might have to return to South District.
“Right. As a Beast Tamer learning shooting here, you’re likely preparing to roam the wilderness more effectively.”
“But even though you’ve learned shooting and martial arts, I hope you’ll be careful after you leave the base.”
Coach Li admired Zhou Ming’s effort and his constant striving toward his goals. After interacting with him for a month or two, he noticed Zhou Ming basically had no time for entertainment.
“Thanks for your concern，Coach Li.”
With his martial arts and shooting training and his collection of various Beast Tamer knowledge, Zhou Ming knew the power gap among Apprentice Beast Tamers was the largest at that stage.
The weak might not be able to handle an ordinary person with a gun; the strong could sweep through a fully equipped squad of soldiers.
After chatting for a while, the two parted; Zhou Ming left the Eagle Eye Shooting Range, his six months of preparation finished again.
Stepping out of the shooting range, the scorching June sunlight hit him.
Squinting, Zhou Ming flagged a taxi and told the driver to head south of the city.
Because of the weather, a faint odor hit him when he arrived at the pet market in the southern district, but it did not stop the pedestrians willing to buy pets.
Looking at the bustling pet market, Zhou Ming felt a little wistful. He had been away from the Dog’s Home for a long time; he thought he’d visit Sister Wu after finishing his business.
She was the only one Zhou Ming felt was worth visiting.
After glancing at the pet market, Zhou Ming walked toward a nearby alley — he had lost count of how many times he’d come here.
“A customer’s here.”
Long Hair, who opened the door, immediately became enthusiastic; Zhou Ming was a major customer.
“Come in, big brother has been waiting for your arrival.”
“You mean you’ve been waiting for the money in my bag，don’t you.”
Zhou Ming teased Long Hair, who seemed to be in charge of opening the door.
“Not at all，not at all.”
“Please，come in.”
Long Hair didn’t know how to respond to Zhou Ming’s joke.
Zhou Ming said no more and walked inside with practiced ease.
“Bro，you finally came.”
Hearing the commotion at the door, Brother Snake was about to check when he saw Zhou Ming enter.
“If you’ve got good stuff this time, I’ll definitely come.”
This visit wasn’t just for one or two Ironthread Snakes.
After having left his contact with Brother Snake before, Zhou Ming had suddenly received a call from him about a mutant Ironthread Snake; Zhou Ming had become interested and, after leaving the Eagle Eye Shooting Range, had come straight here.
“Let’s talk inside.”
Brother Snake didn’t immediately mention the mutant Ironthread Snake; instead, he brought Zhou Ming into an inner room.
“You’re not here purely for business this time，are you.”
Seeing Brother Snake escort Zhou Ming into a single room rather than leave his men around, Zhou Ming understood this snake purchase would be troublesome.
Brother Snake hesitated for a moment with a troubled expression before answering.
“I want to hire you to kill two people.”
When those words fell, Zhou Ming’s face stiffened, then he smiled and said，“Brother Snake，you must be joking. Murder is illegal.”
“I’m not joking. I don’t know what you do exactly, but I feel you can help me，and the mutant Ironthread Snake you want is in those two people’s hands.”
“What do you mean？”
Hearing the mutant Ironthread Snake wasn’t with them, Zhou Ming’s eyes narrowed instantly; a dangerous aura filled the room.
“Guh.”
Feeling that dangerous aura，Brother Snake shivered inwardly, but he also knew he hadn’t picked the wrong person this time.
“My brother seduced my wife and secretly shorted me goods.”
“And then？”
Zhou Ming wasn’t satisfied with that explanation — another man being cuckolded was not his concern.
“When I discovered it, those two immediately ran off with my money and the mutant Ironthread Snake.”
“They hired a hunter squad to escort them out of Qinshan Base.”
“I want you to kill them. Besides the money and that mutant Ironthread Snake on their bodies going to you, I’ll give you an extra one million Alliance Coin.”
At the end, Brother Snake’s voice carried intense hatred.