Above the Seven Towers

Chapter 23: Two options

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Luo Ling glanced at Zhang Hong, as if glancing at a trash can in the corner, and said calmly: "After all, communicating with a group of violent natives is a dangerous job, so it is natural for us young people to take the lead. Moreover, we have to go on business trips and stay at a certain place from time to time. The old people can't bear the fatigue of traveling."

She looked at Zhang Hong and said with a half-smile, "Teacher Zhang, you are a young and strong man, and you will be our main force in the future. There are two important positions suitable for you. One is to go to the town of Frollo to do business with the natives; the other is to go into the mountains with the expedition team and check the surrounding products. Pick one."

"This mission is simply inexplicable." Zhang Hong said unhappily, "Business is the business team's job, and exploration is the geology team's job. Why do we have to step in?"

"They don't understand Spanish. How do they bargain? How do they communicate with the mountain people they meet?"

Zhang Hong was very anxious when Luo Ling looked at him. He wiped his forehead with his sleeve and said excitedly: "This is too dangerous! We are the only ones who can speak Spanish. We should be protected talents. This is asking me to risk my life again! I won't do it. I want to quit..."

"I'll go, I'll go!" Du Mei interrupted Zhang Hong and raised her hand high. "I'm going to join the expedition team. Don't underestimate me. I'm a veteran hiker and have been on many outdoor adventures. I have experience in mountain climbing and camping."

"I'll go." Ding Lunquan's voice was a little rough, but he seemed very honest. "After all, this place is different from Earth, and some experience may not be useful. It's better to leave the exploration to men with stronger bodies. Besides, I've participated in camping before."

"I'll go to the station." Teacher Liu, who had been silent, finally spoke. She didn't seem to be in good health and her face was a little pale. "My waist and legs are not very good, so I really can't go on an adventure. But I can still look after the stalls and do business."

"You are truly ignorant and fearless. I have fought the natives face to face, and they are savages who eat people without leaving any bones. You may even have to pay with your life for these jobs." Zhang Hong was unable to understand why these people volunteered to take on dangerous tasks.

Xiao Chen looked at Zhang Hong's performance and sighed in his heart. It seemed that Li Jia's evaluation was quite reasonable. This teacher Zhang really couldn't recognize the reality and didn't know what kind of situation everyone was in. He was about to refute, but the weak teacher Liu spoke first: "Teacher Zhang, we all know that these tasks are dangerous, but do you realize that if we don't take these risks, we can't survive in our current situation? These tasks must be completed by someone, and these people are between you and me."

"That's right. As a girl, I am willing to take responsibility. I don't know why some men are so cowardly." Du Mei commented with disdain, and she glared at Zhang Hong after she finished speaking.

Luo Ling didn't say anything, just looked at Zhang Hong with everyone else. Zhang Hong looked around a few times, but in the end he didn't dare to look at everyone, and his eyes avoided and looked away.

"Okay, I've thought about this before. Let's take a look at the allocation plan. Teacher Liu is in poor health, Xiao Du is a young girl, and you are both majoring in Spanish. The two of you will be responsible for language training, and the relatively idle personnel in other groups will be arranged to learn Spanish. Xiao Chen and Ding Lun will go to the expedition team to explore the underground maze and the surrounding environment. Zhang Hong will go to the trading team and follow them to the town to trade and open a shop." Luo Ling finally announced.

"Why didn't you tell me about the teaching task just now? I can do that too." Zhang Hong stood up and asked anxiously.

"A woman can be competent if she teaches a little. Good steel should be used on the blade." Luo Ling answered slowly.

"What about you? Do you teach too?"

Luo Ling smiled slightly. "As for me, I will also join the expedition team. There are three expedition teams in total, and we need exactly three people. Do you want to switch with me?"

Zhang Hong was startled, and felt his face getting hot. He suddenly stood up and walked out the door without saying hello.

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"Ha, ha, hey, hey..." A chorus of shouts continued to be heard from the school playground.

Wang Jiyuan walked slowly on the periphery, looking seriously at dozens of young men off the field practicing using spears under the guidance of a sturdy middle-aged man.

Every time the middle-aged man made a move, the young men behind him followed suit. Although the moves were the same, the spears in the middle-aged man's hands seemed to be alive. Every time he stabbed, it was like a dragon emerging from the water, so fast that it was hard to see clearly, and so sharp that it seemed to be able to penetrate the air. The young men were much worse. Except for a few in the front row who looked like they were doing it, the others were either not moving in the right direction or not strong enough. Although they were also "humming" vigorously, they really didn't have any murderous intent. In addition, these spears were obviously homemade and looked strange, making the whole team look even more chaotic.

The middle-aged man performed the movements twice, and when he saw Wang Jiyuan coming, he let the young man practice on his own and ran over with a spear in hand.

He was Ji Yijun's father, Ji Xun. Three days ago, he took the initiative to ask to join the escort team. In the following day, he used a spear to easily deal with two wild boars that rushed out to attack the caravan. His spear skills were amazing. This made Wang Jiyuan look at him with new eyes.

After asking Wang Jiyuan, he learned that Ji Xun was the head of the security department in the company. When he was young, he practiced Tai Chi and served in the army. His martial arts skills were quite good. Wang Jiyuan realized that guns and ammunition were limited. Before he could manufacture guns and ammunition, letting the guards learn to use spears could increase their combat effectiveness. So he asked Ji Xun to be the martial arts instructor of the guards. However, according to the current progress of the students, it will take a long time to learn something.

"Captain Wang, the kids have practiced well. What brings you here?" Ji Xun smiled innocently and walked in front of Wang Jiyuan.

"Old Ji, I bring you bad news. It seems that you will have to continue to be the coach of the imperial guards!" Wang Jiyuan joked helplessly.

"Is there a problem with making the gun?" Ji Xun understood as soon as he heard it.

"Well, I went to the industrial group and the technology group several times. The conclusion I reached is that we cannot produce earthen rifles in the short term. Not even flintlock rifles. The main reason is that there is no ready-made steel and gunpowder, and we don't have good equipment and technicians. It is possible to make some crossbows, but due to the limitation of steel, the quantity will not be large. Our defense here, except for the guns used in military training, will eventually have to rely on cold weapons." Wang Jiyuan said with some concern as he looked at the young man who was still stabbing on the sidelines.

Ji Xun also became worried when he heard this: "Except for Xiaojun and the girl named Ye Zi, the others have no foundation and are far from being qualified warriors. To be honest, if they don't have the advantage in weapons, letting them fight with the locals who are used to using cold weapons is just sending them to their deaths."

"There is no other choice. If you can't defend yourself, you will die." Wang Jiyuan said it very directly.

"Ah..." Ji Xun sighed.

"They don't consider themselves as soldiers." Wang Jiyuan found that as Li Xun ran away, some people over there started to slack off.

"It can't be helped. They were just ordinary students a few days ago." Ji Xun said with some sympathy, "It's not easy for them to take time out every day to practice for three hours under the scorching sun."

"Let my soldiers tell them what fighting is! Old Ji, arrange my people to fight against them. There may be unexpected situations at any time, and they may have to face the enemy. Just training like this will only harm them." Wang Jiyuan said.

"It's worth a try. I don't know if it will dampen the children's morale." Ji Xun agreed hesitantly.

"Since I came here, I've seen a lot of people with lofty ambitions, wanting to build a country and dominate the world. The thing this school has the most is ambition. It's time to give them a blow so they learn to be down-to-earth." Wang Jiyuan said calmly.

Soon, Wang Jiyuan called over ten PLA soldiers, all holding sticks in their hands, and stood opposite the student formation. Although they had not been trained in spears, they looked tough with sticks in their hands.

Ji Xun called the students who were practicing over and told them that they would have actual combat training with the PLA soldiers, and asked everyone to replace their spears with sticks.

"Let's practice with the PLA soldiers?" Ye Zi jumped up with joy, her two haphazardly tied braids shaking. She was wearing a military training uniform, and her figure was hidden by the thick and large clothes, but her agile figure looked full of beauty when she moved. In the past few days, she first joined the guard team, and then she was particularly outstanding in the training and was appointed as the team leader. It was just when she had nowhere to vent her excitement, and this proposal for practice was really to her liking. When she was practicing martial arts at home, the most worrying thing was that she had no opponent. Even when her grandfather taught her moves, he would give her a lot of concessions. Now she can actually "fight in a group" with a clear conscience, which is really exciting.

She was not the only one who was eager to make a move. Ji Yijun also rubbed his hands and encouraged everyone, "We have more than 40 people, and we have masters like Ye Zi and I. We must show them how powerful we are, so that they won't say that we are just for show." This sentence resonated with many people. Everyone has been training in a serious manner for a long time in the past two days, but the PLA soldiers who patrolled with them always didn't take them seriously. Even clay figures have their own characteristics, not to mention that they are all young men full of vigor and vitality

However, there were still some people who wanted to sabotage the show. One fat male student asked hesitantly, "They won't really hit us with sticks, will they? Won't our bodies be swollen after this?"

"What are you afraid of? If you want to learn martial arts, you must first learn to get beaten. How can you make progress without getting beaten? If you are afraid of getting hurt, it is better for you to step aside as soon as possible." Ye Zi refuted.

Unexpectedly, after she said that, the surroundings suddenly became quiet. Ye Zi saw fear and reluctance in the eyes of several people. After a commotion, several people really left the crowd with the fat man and stood aside as spectators. Ji Yijun said in her ear with some dissatisfaction: "Don't scare everyone, morale is important."

"Hmph, when the time comes, these people will be beaten and cry for their parents, and running away in panic will only hurt their morale. Remember! The main force is you and me, quality is more important than quantity!" Ye Zi replied in a low voice, and she said loudly to the others: "The other side has only ten people, and twenty of us will be enough. Any more will be unfair. Who of you is willing to fight?"

Ji Yijun glanced at her in surprise and asked, "What are you planning?"

Ye Zi whispered something to him, and Ji Yijun nodded repeatedly, saying happily, "Let's do it!"