Chapter 14: Guidance

Because when they reached County Town No. 02011 the sky had already darkened, Lei Hong did not schedule any hunting that night.

The squad members paired up to take turns on night watch, while the others seized the time to rest and recover stamina.

The first night‑watch shift was manned by Lei Hong himself, with Zhou Yang on duty.

Though it was called night watch, there was little danger, since on this 24‑story rooftop, once the Route was sealed, ordinary monsters could not climb up.

"Lei Shu, I'm going over there to practice spear technique."

Zhou Yang told Lei Hong a quick word, then walked off a bit farther, carrying his Long Spear.

For more than a month he had been following the tutorial to practice the spear art "Apocalypse," mastering fifteen footwork patterns and twenty‑one thrust techniques.

Zhou Yang's heart fluttered at the words, "How could I have forgotten about him!"

Several squad members gradually got up and began sorting their gear.

Hearing his urging, Zhou Yang finally sheathed his Long Spear and ran over.

"Lei Shu, hurry and tell us!"

Instantly, he was startled, as if struck by a bolt of lightning, his eyes suddenly brightening, "Could it be"

"Incoherence"

When he saw Zhou Yang, not far away, still excitedly brandishing his Long Spear, he wore a contemplative expression.

"No, no"

"Yeah, at this rate, after another one or two missions, Zhou Yang will probably surpass us!"

He furrowed his brows, the Long Spear in his hand swaying slowly, his legs powering along a special footwork of swift turns and leaps; on the rooftop, wind gusts rustled around his position, the spear's shadow multiplying.

He exhaled, seized his black Long Spear and sprinted toward the distance.

"I do have a rough idea; let me give you something to consider."

"Those who learn from me live; those who imitate me die!"

Yet, whether due to the short practice time or some other reason, when he applied the footwork and thrusts from the secret manual against an opponent, he always felt a certain awkwardness.

Zhou Yang silently closed his eyes, recalling the principles described in the Apocalypse manual—spear moves like a snake, limbs swift, strike flesh with split spear, press the shaft deep, circle as the primordial spirit, fragment forms into use, rapid successive strikes, hardness and softness in harmony.

He began to move slowly, raising the Long Spear horizontally in a thrusting pose, then his footwork kicked in, following a unique trajectory with the spear forward, and in the blink of an eye he surged four or five meters ahead.

Zhou Yang asked, puzzled.

Excited, he felt no sleepiness at all and practiced spear all night on the rooftop!

And the results were gratifying!

Hearing that, Zhou Yang's eyes lit up; he really asked the right person?

Now he can barely match the footwork from the manual against an opponent, and his body technique has indeed improved considerably.

"Thanks, Lei Shu, you rest first; I'll go practice a bit more!"

"It's clearly done according to the steps in the manual; where's the problem then?"

Lei Hong, who was on night watch with him, asked with a smile.

In his feeling, that sense of incoherence still persisted, preventing him from unleashing his full power.

Lei Hong gently shook his head, showing an "as expected" expression.

The hot‑bodied, handsome‑faced machine‑gunner Zhu Xia shook her head and feigned a heavy sigh.

"I'm really too stupid!"

Lei Hong nodded lightly, laughing, "It seems you've realized that the two of you have different physical stats; habits and reactions inevitably differ. If you copy the manual verbatim, I dare say even the ultimate manual will have parts that don't suit you!"

Seeing this, Lei Hong stopped beating around the bush and asked directly:

"Tell me, are your height, wingspan, leg length, and the length of the weapon you usually wield exactly identical to those of the manual's creator?"

Zhou Yang immediately retorted, "How could that be?"

"He's already more talented than us, and works harder; how are we old guys supposed to survive?"

This Lei Shu is a war‑general‑level Warrior, whose combat experience and perspective surely far exceed ours; perhaps we could ask him for advice?

With that thought, he immediately described the problem he'd encountered to Lei Hong in detail.

That feeling is indescribable; it's simply that many times he can't truly unleash his full power at will.

Soon, a sharp wind‑cutting sound rang again from the other side of the rooftop.

Zhou Yang's brows furrowed.

The night passed quickly.

"Then that's wrong!"

Young people just have vigor; after a whole night of grinding they're still so full of energy!

Zhou Yang was puzzled.

"Especially you, Chen Chong, stop going to those shady places of the HR Alliance in the future!"

After hearing Zhou Yang's account, Lei Hong thought for a moment, then offered his view.

Beside him, Chen Chong sighed and echoed.

"As the old saying goes—'Those who learn from me live; those who imitate me die,' that's the principle!"

After a night of spear practice, he not only showed no fatigue but his eyes shone startlingly bright!

Two hours later, it was time for the shift change; Zhou Yang sheathed his Long Spear and walked toward Lei Hong and the others.

At that moment, the second‑watch pair Zhu Xia and Chen Chong had arrived to take over, and upon hearing the distant wind‑cutting sound, they couldn't help but show admiration.

"That's false, Captain; I'm such a proper person, how could I go to such places? You're slandering me."

Hearing that, Zhou Yang felt a sudden jolt, and his mind instantly cleared!

So that's how it is!

He had been strictly following the manual, practicing meticulously, yet he had precisely fallen into a misconception!

Right, the two of us have different heights and leg lengths; if he takes three steps forward and I take three steps forward, can the distance be the same?

Right, shouldn't it be like this?

Captain Lei Hong shouted.

That night, he repeatedly contemplated and tried all twenty‑one stabbing techniques, eleven cutting techniques, and fifteen stepping techniques from the Mysterious Stone secret manual, while making appropriate fine adjustments to make them suit himself better.

Since hearing Lei Hong's guidance, Zhou Yang immediately understood the key to his recent gun technique's lack of coordination.

How's the training going?

Zhou Yang, hurry over, we're about to set out!

The burly Lei Hong chuckled, glanced at the two, and said, "Only now do you feel the blow? Then you should have been training harder all along."

After two hours of practice, the sense of sluggishness in his gun and footwork still hadn't found its root, and he felt rather frustrated.

Lei Hong chuckled and went on.

"Don't rush."

"Captain, is that Zhou Yang practicing the gun?"

Moreover, when facing different enemies, the attack distance and habits change during battle; no enemy stands still like a target for him to hit!

"Wrong?"

"I haven't seen exactly how your cultivation manual describes it, but from what I saw when you were training just now, your gun and footwork were definitely following the manual strictly, right?"

After countless attempts, the previously sluggish feeling when using the gun technique was greatly reduced, his body's coordination and agility also improved, and a faint stronger force seemed to be brewing within his body.

He sensed that if he kept adjusting and trying like this, once he could fully integrate all footwork and gun techniques with himself, perhaps that would be the moment he truly mastered the first level of Mysterious Stone.

(End of chapter)