Chapter 19: Chapter 7 Archery
This time, Ji Xinghuo chose to walk.
Chang'an's urban planning was extremely excellent, achieving complete separation of pedestrians and vehicles. Most cars were driven on elevated superconductive highways, with few vehicles on the ground. The specially designed surface roads were also enclosed, occupying only a small area.
Therefore, the spaces between buildings were transformed into continuous city parks, where a large number of trees and flowers were planted, resulting in a high degree of greening and a beautiful environment.
However, there were simply too many people in Chang'an.
Qishan District was considered quite remote, and though it was now just past two in the afternoon, still, as Ji Xinghuo walked on the park path, there were many pedestrians coming and going.
Some walked leisurely and chatted, some hurried by, zipping past in power shoes.
There were also couples sitting in secluded flower bushes, whispering sweet nothings to each other.
There were even more people walking alone like Ji Xinghuo, who, after having lived in this community for a few years, would occasionally encounter familiar faces on the road and nod to each other in greeting.
But that was it.
Ji Xinghuo didn't know them, and they didn't know Ji Xinghuo. It was both polite and distant.
Ten minutes later.
Ji Xinghuo arrived in front of a venue about a dozen stories tall, the sign outside reading "Qishan Wutong Archery Hall."
"I've arrived."
He sent a message at the entrance.
Suddenly, a tall and thin long-haired young man rushed out from the archery hall, exclaiming with surprise, "Xinghuo! I thought you were kidding me, but you really came!"
"Yunhai."
Ji Xinghuo also smiled, bumped fists with the other person, then hugged and let go.
Lu Yunhai was a classmate from the same class, one of the few best friends Ji Xinghuo had in college, whom he saw almost every day before graduation.
For that graduation trip, Lu Yunhai had brought his girlfriend along as well.
"You doing okay now?" Lu Yunhai asked with concern, having heard from Ji Xinghuo before that he often experienced insomnia after returning from the trip.
"I've solved it," Ji Xinghuo revealed with a somewhat mysterious smile, "My condition now couldn't be better."
"Oh?"
Lu Yunhai stepped back to take a closer look, at first skeptical, then astonished, "You've become a Mutant?"
Ji Xinghuo nodded.
"Damn!" After his surprise, Lu Yunhai seemed to find it normal and his face was filled with envy. He punched Ji Xinghuo's shoulder hard, "I knew it, you were definitely going to become a Mutant. You should've taken this step years ago, otherwise Wu Qifeng would not have remained so arrogant until graduation."
Wu Qifeng was also a classmate of theirs, a friend and a competitor.
However, Wu Qifeng had excellent talent, successfully fused with an Alien Species in his freshman year of college, and even chose the strong Professional Template "Gravity Warrior," dominating the spotlight in the class during his university years.
"Which Professional Template did you choose?" Lu Yunhai asked curiously.
"Ranger."
"Why Ranger?" Lu Yunhai was taken aback.
He knew Ji Xinghuo very well, having never heard him mention choosing to be a Ranger before, which was far from what he expected.
"Wasn't your goal to be a 'Titanium Cobalt Dragon Man'? Why did you give up?" Lu Yunhai couldn't help shaking his head, "You weren't rejected for a Transcendent Ability application, were you? That would be such a pity."
The Titanium Cobalt Dragon Man was a unique profession of the Asia-Pacific Community, rare in number, Superior in strength, and one of the world's top Professional Templates.
Any Titanium Cobalt Dragon Man was at least a Super Mutant in the future.
In terms of strength potential as well as rights and status, Titanium Cobalt Dragon Man was far superior to Ranger, with a world of difference between them.
"I didn't apply, just changed the plan," Ji Xinghuo said without much explanation.
Seeing he didn't want to say more, Lu Yunhai tactfully did not probe and laughed, "Ranger is good too, no worries about finding a job."
Only then did he realize, looking suddenly enlightened, "No wonder you came to me!"
"You work at the archery hall, who else would I look for if not you?" Ji Xinghuo spread his hands.
The main weapon for a Ranger is the bow and arrow.
A Ranger in the early stages, at least before becoming a Super Mutant, relied on archery for seventy percent of their strength, which was not only essential to master but also required continuous practice.
Lu Yunhai had practiced archery since he was young, his Archery Skill was exquisite, and he was the vice president of the archery club in college.
In his second year, Lu Yunhai tried to fuse with an Alien Species and become a "Hunter," a profession very close to that of Ranger, also primarily using a bow and arrow and having a War Pet, which could be seen as a hunter.
Unfortunately, Lu Yunhai's fusion attempt failed.
However, Lu Yunhai did not give up. After his body recovered, he began part-time work off campus to save up for a second fusion with an Alien Species, continuing until now.
After graduation, Lu Yunhai officially became a coach at the archery hall.
Ji Xinghuo wanted to learn archery and immediately thought of his good friend. Moreover, it was close to home, so of course, he wanted to increase Lu Yunhai's performance.
When Lu Yunhai heard he wanted to learn archery, he looked quite proud.
"Back then you didn't want to join the club, and now you have to pay to learn archery from me. Regretting it, huh? Heh heh..."
Ji Xinghuo immediately felt annoyed, "You have to give me a discount."
"Alright, alright, I'll give you the most favorable price." Lu Yunhai had his fill of teasing, feeling cheerful, "Follow me."
He led Ji Xinghuo into the archery hall.
Along the way, encountering colleagues and students, many of them called out "Coach Lu" to him, indicating his considerable status in the archery hall.
"You're doing pretty well," Ji Xinghuo teased.
"Of course," Lu Yunhai boasted, "Although I'm not yet a Mutant, if it's just about archery skills, I can rank in the top five here in the hall, even compete for the top three, with only the director firmly ahead of me."