Novel Bin Chapter 285 - Showing Off Archery Skills In Front of His Sister
Chapter 285: Showing Off Archery Skills In Front of His Sister
At a fast food restaurant in the otherworld, most of the seats were taken, and some people decided to get takeaway. Their business seemed to be doing well.
“Welcome! What would you like to order?”
A beautiful lady at the service counter smiled.
“For set number one, what meat is in the burger?” Chen Yiming looked up at the menu on the wall and asked.
“It’s high-quality beef from the cattle farm on the east side of the stronghold,” the lady explained with a sweet smile.
Chen Yiming glanced at the menu again and said, “From set number one to five, give me one of each.”
“Alright, please wait a moment.”
The lady wrote down the order and gave Chen Yiming a number plate.
Chen Yiming took the number plate. On it was the number 78. He turned around and left the service counter, found an empty seat and sat down.
About five minutes later, another young lady walked over with a plate filled with fried chicken, hamburgers and some fried snacks.
“The food you ordered is ready.”
The lady smiled and placed the plate on the table in front of Chen Yiming before turning to leave.
Chen Yiming picked up a burger and ate half of it in one bite. He muttered to himself,
......
“The farm has started operating so quickly. Looks like the stronghold’s development is going well.”
After swallowing the bite of burger he just took, he looked at the remaining half and continued, “It tastes pretty good. It’s just that they didn’t put much meat in it, so it can only be eaten as a snack.”
Most of the raw materials for the burgers and fried chicken in front of him had been transported from Jiangnan province. Only the meat was from animals that were brought to the otherworld to be raised here.
Even though the animals had not stayed in the otherworld for long, the quality of their meat had improved greatly. It was much better than what was produced on the blue planet.
“As long as the stronghold can continue operating for a long time, just the level of improvement in these simple things will be something that the cities on the blue planet can never compare to.” Chen Yiming sighed after eating another burger.
With the precedent of the Daxia Kingdom’s success, he could not help but think that the other countries were not stupid and would quickly copy their methods.
This way, for a long time to come, the attention of the blue planet would probably be focused on establishing strongholds in the otherworld.
However, there was still a problem, which was whether they had the ability to defend the stronghold for a long time. The humans had been on the defensive previously. They only needed to deal with the creatures from the otherworld who had accidentally entered the blue planet via the space-travel passages.
If all the countries opened up strongholds in the otherworld, it would be equivalent to humans taking the initiative to attack the otherworld. The conflict between the two sides would definitely worsen.
“Small countries will probably wait and observe the situation for the time being, but the other large countries will definitely not be willing to fall behind the Daxia Kingdom. The number of strongholds a country has in the otherworld will soon become a sign of the country’s abilities,”?he thought to himself as he ate the fried snacks.
The advantage of having a stronghold in the otherworld was too great. For example, if the Daxia Kingdom could have one in each province, the foundation of their martial arts would improve greatly in a year or two.
The increase in the number of disciples meant that more people would break through to the warrior realm. As this cycle continued, the overall strength of the Daxia Kingdom would increase.
On the other hand, countries that could not establish a long-term stronghold would not only stagnate, but would also face the risk of their young talents being lost to another country.
When there was a huge difference in strength between two neighboring countries, the weaker country might one day fall under the control of the stronger one.
…
Chen Yiming looked towards the sky as he walked out of the restaurant. The three balls above provided sufficient light for him as he walked towards the military camp.
Along the way, he saw the streets being renovated.
The original roads here were made from barren land. When the stronghold was first built, they were simply cleared of weeds and flattened. Now that the situation had stabilized, they began to use the cement transported from the blue planet to modify it.
In addition, there were also muscular workers everywhere.
Due to the fact that the gravity in the otherworld was about 10 times that of the blue planet, ordinary people would not be able to withstand it when they entered. Therefore, the lowest-level jobs in the stronghold, such as workers, waiters, and so on, were done by those in the disciple realm who did not like to fight.
Of course, it was impossible for those in the disciple realm to only receive a salary of 3,000 to 5,000 yuan. This also greatly increased the operating cost of the shops here, greatly increasing the price of goods.
Compared to Jiangnan City, the difference in prices was a huge amount.
Did Jiangnan province have the financial ability to lower the prices?
That was definitely possible. The current scale of the stronghold was limited, and it was equivalent to a small city. It could be said that it was not too difficult.
With the strength of the entire province, they could even provide subsidies to all the people who entered the stronghold such that they did not need to work and only needed to focus on their own cultivation. However, this was not beneficial to the long-term development of the stronghold. No one in power would want to do this.
Whether it was the banknotes on the blue planet or the contribution points on the stronghold, they were essentially a type of currency. Only by allowing the contribution points to circulate in the stronghold could the stronghold become a real city.
Therefore, very few martial arts practitioners who entered the otherworld came from ordinary families.
Only by developing the stronghold into a real city and expanding the human territory would there be a chance to gradually reduce the price of goods, so that young people from ordinary families could also stay in the otherworld for a long time to cultivate.
When he passed by a shop selling martial arts equipment,
Chen Yiming thought about how Chen Yingying was still a little girl. Practicing archery as a form of long-range attack might increase his sister’s confidence in combat.
Thinking of this, he walked into the shop.
“Welcome.”
A middle-aged man was wiping the dust off his weapon when he saw a customer enter the shop.
“Show me your bows and arrows,” Chen Yiming said.
The middle-aged man led the way to the area where bows and arrows were displayed. He introduced, “Our shop has bows that weigh 100 pounds for the entry level disciple realm, to bows that weigh 1,000 pounds for the warrior candidate realm. You can take a look and see which type you like.”
The customer was a young man who was about 18 years old, so the middle-aged man did not introduce the bows used by warriors.
“Let’s go with that silver 500-pound bow,” Chen Yiming said as he pointed at it.
The middle-aged man was delighted when he heard this. He liked customers like this kind of rich young master very much. They were generous with their money and never bargained.
It had to be known that a bow was different from other common weapons. Because there was no need for close combat, the speed of wear and tear was relatively lower.
The price of items in the stronghold was much higher than in the large cities in Jiangnan province, so bows were especially difficult to sell. On the other hand, arrows were a best-seller.
There was a rule that allowed one to enter and exit the otherworld only once every week. Consumables like arrows would inevitably be used up as long as they left the stronghold to explore the otherworld, and they were often unable to be retrieved.
Therefore, arrows sold well in the shops.
“Do you need some arrows to go with it?” the middle-aged man took out the silver 500-pound bow from the glass cabinet and asked when he handed it over.
Chen Yiming took the bow and checked it. “Bring out your best arrows.”
The middle-aged man was overjoyed again. What kind of luck did he have today? He had encountered a rich youngster who did not even bat an eyelid when buying goods.
Soon, a silver arrow with a threaded surface was handed to Chen Yiming.
“This is the best armor-piercing arrow in our shop. The arrowhead is made from biomaterials, and its hardness and sharpness far exceed that of ordinary arrows,” the middle-aged man explained.
Chen Yiming picked up the arrow and examined it. He realized that the workmanship was exquisite, and ordinary arrows couldn’t compare to it.
If this type of arrow was used to practice archery, the effect would definitely be very good due to its stability. This would help his sister master archery in a shorter time.
“Give me 200, no 500 arrows!”
“How… how many!” The middle-aged man was a little confused, and his voice became stammering.
These were not ordinary arrows. They were usually used as trump cards and were hidden until the critical moment of a battle. One would suddenly switch from ordinary arrows to these special arrows to deal a fatal blow to their prey.
It was already not bad if he could sell more than 10 to 20 arrows at a time. Usually, only martial arts factions would buy in bulk and get more than 100 arrows at a time.
Furthermore, the martial arts factions could make their purchase in the province. He had never seen anyone buy a large number of items from the stronghold at a markup.
The middle-aged man suddenly remembered that he did not have 500 arrows in the shop’s inventory. There were only 200-over arrows. His expression changed from joy to regret.
“Do you not have enough stock to give me 500 arrows?”
The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment and sighed. “There are less than 300 arrows in our inventory.”
Chen Yiming nodded. “Pack everything for me.”
Soon, the bow and arrows were packed into large boxes. Chen Yiming paid the bill with his contribution points, which was the currency of the stronghold.
He walked out of the shop with a large box in each hand.
…
Carrying the two large boxes, Chen Yiming arrived at the military camp where his sister and the teachers and students of the martial arts academy were staying.
The military camp was located in a wide area to the west of the stronghold. This was the location of the military force in the stronghold. Soldiers and martial arts experts from the military took turns to defend the stronghold.
It was lunch time, and the entire camp was relatively peaceful.
After Chen Yingying received the news that her brother had returned, she rushed over and saw him with two large boxes. “Brother, you’re finally back. What did you buy?”
Chen Yiming placed the two large boxes on the ground and said, “It’s nothing much, just a bow and some arrows.”
“Brother, are you going to practice archery too?” Chen Yingying asked curiously.
“How is that possible? Those are for children. I prepared them for you.”
Chen Yiming’s tone was calm, as if this was how it should be.
Chen Yingying’s mouth formed an O shape when she heard this. She squatted down excitedly and opened the box.
When she saw a silver bow and a full box of silver arrows, Chen Yingying’s eyes lit up. She said sweetly, “Brother, these are all so beautiful. I like them very much.”
“It’s good that you like them. Remember to practice your archery and master it,” Chen Yiming continued with his hands behind his back.
A thought suddenly flashed across Chen Yingying’s mind. She remembered that not only did she need to practice her swordsmanship every day, but she also had to take the time to comprehend the concept diagram. Now, she also had to learn archery.
This… this pace did not let her get any rest!
At the thought of this, the beautiful bow instantly lost its appeal. If she had known this would happen, she would have kept her feelings to herself.
Chen Yiming pretended not to notice the change in his sister’s expression and continued, “You’re still quite a while away from comprehending the concept diagram. Archery is a long-range form of attack, so I’ll be less concerned about your safety. You can also slowly adapt to combat after mastering archery and find a rhythm that suits you.”
When Chen Yingying heard this, she still wanted to reject him. She pouted and said, “But how can I find the time to practice archery? Moreover, there’s no suitable archery teacher here. Teacher Cai and Teacher Zhao don’t use bows and arrows.”
“What’s difficult about that? I’ll teach you.”
Of course, Chen Yiming had never learned archery before, but he could cheat with his materialized spiritual power. As long as he could give Chen Yingying some confidence, he could find someone from the military who knew archery to teach her later. It would be easy for him to be his sister’s teacher for the time being.
Chen Yingying had no reason to refute him this time, but she still looked unhappy. When she thought about her daily cultivation plan and the addition of archery practice, she felt that her life was rather meaningless.
Chen Yiming let his sister carry the bow while he picked up the large box containing the arrows. The two of them walked straight to the shooting range of the military camp.
Because technological weapons from the otherworld could not be used, the shooting range in the stronghold in the otherworld was not for firearms, but for bows and arrows.
Facing the empty shooting range at noon, Chen Yiming thought to himself that he was lucky. Without a true archery expert present, he wouldn’t make a fool of himself.
If Chen Yingying doubted him, he would not admit it. He would just try his best to trick her.
“Shoot a few arrows first. Let me see your level.”
Chen Yiming decided to let his sister go first. This way, he could observe the situation.
“The school taught me basic archery, so I… just learned the standard posture. Brother, don’t laugh at me later,” Chen Yingying stammered.
“Come on!”
Chen Yiming stood two to three meters away with his hands behind his back.
From the beginning to the end, he was filled with confidence. Those who did not know better would really think that he was an expert in archery.
Chen Yingying took out an arrow from the box and faced the target 100 meters away. She nocked the arrow on the bowstring and pulled it back. In an instant, she recalled the basic archery techniques taught in the martial arts academy.
She adjusted her posture slightly, and Chen Yiming noticed this detail.
“Swish!”
The arrow shot out, drawing a parabola in the air and hit… the stone wall at least a meter away from the target.
The armor-piercing arrow was very powerful. It pierced through the stone wall like it was tofu. The wall did not seem to pose much of an obstruction to the arrow’s path at all.
“…”
Chen Yingying looked embarrassed.
Her aim was too far off. She did not even hit the target, let alone the center of the target.
Chen Yiming suppressed his laughter and glanced at his sister. With a calm expression, he said, “Your posture is passable. I’ll shoot an arrow. Watch carefully.”
“I didn’t even have time to practice properly.”
Chen Yingying defended herself in her heart and handed the bow to Chen Yiming with a red face.
Chen Yiming stepped on the yellow lines drawn on the ground. The distance between the yellow lines and the target was exactly 100 meters.
“I’ll demonstrate for you today. 100 meters? No, that’s too easy. I’ll shoot from 300 meters away.”
With that, he picked up three arrows from the box at once. In order not to let his sister see through his pretense, his speed was extremely fast. He drew the bow and shot out the arrows, repeating the same process twice.
In Chen Yingying’s eyes, only the afterimage of his movements could be seen. In the blink of an eye, all three arrows were shot out. They were connected tip to shaft and flew towards the target in the same trajectory.
After firing the arrows, Chen Yiming returned to the position with his hands behind his back. In reality, he had already controlled the entire situation with his spiritual power and was constantly adjusting the trajectory of the arrows.
The first arrow hit the bullseye. The second arrow hit the tail of the first arrow, and only after breaking through the first arrow did it hit the bullseye. The third arrow was just like the second arrow.
In the end, only one arrow remained at the center of the target, and the first two arrows were perfectly pierced.
“Brother, how did you do it!”
Chen Yingying’s mouth opened wide in surprise.
“No other way but through practice,” Chen Yiming said calmly.
After he finished speaking, he almost couldn’t hold back his laughter. Fortunately, he forcefully held it in and his sister didn’t notice.
At this moment, Chen Yingying realized how amazing archery was and no longer rejected it.
She thought to herself that if she could learn to be as good as Chen Yiming, she would be able to use only long-range attacks in the future. It would be safe for her, but also allow her to deal a large amount of damage.