Their conversation had changed quickly. Yun Xi turned her head and gave him a sideways glance. "There is still a difference between studying medicine and being a sniper spotter. Maybe someday, when it's just the two of us, we will encounter a formidable sniper, and you will need a professional spotter, won't you?"
After a pause, she realized that he was not willing to let her face war. However, no one could guarantee that there would be no unexpected situations in their future.
"Even if that were the case, I could handle it. I don't need your help!"
"Young Commander, are you afraid that I won't be able to cooperate with you, or are you afraid that I will beat you? After all, we are both students of Instructor Yan."
In the face of his insistence, Yun Xi could only use reverse psychology to trigger him.
Nonetheless, her method only made Mu Feichi laugh. He let go of her hand, pushed his hands back, and looked at her domineeringly. His deep black eyes locked her in his sights.
"If you can beat me, I will be delighted. It would be my honour and pride that my wife is better than I am. I can't wait to show the whole world how capable my wife is. If you are better than I am, I would be happy to live off you."
"..." Yun Xi wanted to put her head in her hands. She really could not find any adjectives to describe his roguishness.
For someone who stood in the highest position, it was common to feel pressured and threatened. It was especially true when another person surpassed them. However, he was the opposite, and he was proud of it.
Any other man who had been accused of living off a woman would pull a chair and challenge others to a fight. She had never seen someone like him who relished the idea.
If it had been a little white face with no spine who had said it, it would be a different matter altogether. However, Mu Feichi was the most bloodthirsty and vital man in Jun Country. If he said he wanted to live off her, no one would take him seriously.
Seeing her annoyed and helpless look, Mu Feichi could not help but chuckle. He raised his hand to stroke her head and helped her to her feet.
"Since you want to experience what it's like to be my spotter, I will fulfil your wish."
As long as he could give her what she wanted, he would satisfy her as long as he could.
"Huh?" Yun Xi looked at the man who had suddenly changed his mind in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Go change into your camouflage uniform. I'll take you to the training base and let you experience what it's like to be my spotter."
"Really? You will take me there?" Instructor Yan had taught her how to be a sniper and a spotter. She had already experienced being a sniper in actual combat back in the rain forest, but she had never experienced actual combat as a spotter.
Because he disagreed with her being a spotter, she did not expect him to let her experience it. Wasn't he afraid that she would want a mile after being given an inch?
She could not figure out how this man thought. He was so capable and powerful and the depths of the things he had to concern himself with were more far-reaching than the seas.
What she did not know was that for Mu Feichi, even if she wanted his life, he would not blink an eye.
Mu Feichi took his phone and called Li Zilan, Qi Yuan, and Feng Rui and asked them to assemble at his training base.
He had three private training bases, one in the east next to the river, and occasionally he allowed his team members to conduct river-crossing and frogman training there.
The other two training bases were in the west. One was an abandoned building 25 miles from the city, and the other was an abandoned military base.
This time they were going to the abandoned base, which was closely packed with buildings and completely deserted. It had the elements like the antiterrorism training for snipers in the city did, so the actual combat drills there were perfect.
Soon, the helicopter outside the training camp stopped. Mu Feichi came out of the equipment room with the gear and looked at the sniper rifle she was holding. His dark eyes behind his sunglasses looked troubled.
Nothing was following the path that he had planned. She was destined and determined to join him on the battlefield.
In his villa, Jiang Qilin stood up from his wheelchair with the support of a cane. Without really thinking about it, he rubbed his thighs with his slender hand. He looked out at the shimmering lake from the picture window.
After more than three months of recovery and rehabilitation, he could finally stand up on his feet again when he had thought he was going to stay paralyzed forever.
This miracle would probably come to be known as a legend in the medical field.
No one would ever imagine that the person who had created this miracle was a young girl.
Jiang Qilin also doesn't know where and how he got the confidence to trust her.
And now, lo and behold, she has ended up living up to his trust in her and has healed his legs.
But it's still not quite the time for Jiang Qilin to openly stand up in public. He's been sitting in a wheelchair for many years, and now he was going to have to re-establish most of his relationships.
Although he didn't stop working diligently during this time, he had become less influential since he'd lost his status as the heir of the Jiang family.
The Jiang family was considered one of the four wealthy families and were very important on the military scene. The internal structure of the family was complicated, so if he wanted to regain his control in the family, he must get support from people who were willing to help him.
"Young Master..." Jing Yi came into the living room with a document in his hand. He pulled up a chair for Jiang Qilin, leaving the wheelchair where it had been.
"What's happened?" Jiang Qilin looked at Jing Yi, and his sharp eyes fell on the documents as Jing Yi passed them to him.
"The date of the open bidding for the old town redevelopment has been set. I have checked which companies are participating in the bidding. The first company to join was the Huo Corporation, which was no surprise. The remaining companies are those that wish to participate in the collaboration, and these are the detailed profiles of the companies.
"One of them..." Jing Yi paused, coughed, and then continued, "a branch of the Qiao Corporation is participating in this bidding, and the Young Commander has sent a message saying..."
"What did he say?" Jiang Qilin suddenly raised his head. He knew that if the Huo Corporation was going to participate in this project, the Mu Corporation would never get involved. So it can't be good news for the Young Commander to send a message about it.
"He said that Miss Yun is making use of this old town redevelopment project to push this branch of the Qiao family up the ranks. She is planning to let them gain the power to fight for the helm of the family, so they are asking us to consider backing out and giving up this project."
It's a project that will be worth billions of dollars. So if they were to work with the Huo Corporation, they would be able to get the best benefits out of it.
The Jiang Corporation had joined the public bidding. And with the presence of these other companies, the chances of the branch Qiao Corporation winning would be pretty small.
Now that the Young Commander had sent this message so urgently, he had probably found out through his networks about the few businesses and corporations under Jiang Qilin.
"Pushing this branch of the Qiao family up the ranks..."
Jiang Qilin started weighing the pros and cons. He then remembered the little girl's determination to turn Jingdu upside down, and he began looking forward to the day it would happen.
Moreover, he owed it to her that he could stand up again.
This project would be bound to bring wealth to the company. And for a businessman like him, who would think and put all his best interests first, it was an opportunity that he wouldn't want to miss.
But it's different for him now, as it would have been impossible for him to stand up again if not for this young girl.
He will always keep his gratitude and what she did for him in mind. Even if he has to repay her in other ways, he would do his best to accomplish whatever she wanted.
"Jing Yi, I want to see the day when she turns Jingdu upside down. It's not impossible to break the balance, and I could probably do it too with some tricks. But once the balance in Jingdu is broken, one would need to control the situation and resolve any conflicts. And for that to happen, the person must be capable and would need to have some tricks up their sleeves."
"I understand. And even if the skies were to crumble down, Miss Yun Xi will still have the Young Commander at her back."
"Yes. But since Miss Yun has decided to do it herself, she probably doesn't plan on getting any help from the Young Commander."
Jing Yi can't help but think about how excited this young girl was that day when she talked about blowing up the system. He chuckled lightly. "Indeed. So your instructions for this..."
"We'll do as she wishes."
The helicopter landed on an empty field next to an abandoned, dilapidated building. Mu Feichi passed Yun Xi all the equipment he'd brought, including sniper rifle bullets, binoculars, a laser rangefinder, and more.
Yun Xi took the three rounds of bullets he passed to her. She looked up in shock after checking through the equipment and turned to look at the man loading the sniper rifle.
"Sir, these are real bullets!"
Yun Xi did not expect this. It was training, but Mu Feichi had brought her to a battle with real bullets.
She suddenly felt like they may have gone too far with this.
Yun Xi doesn't know if Mu Feichi was trying to scare her on purpose or if they always trained like this. She suddenly felt an invisible wave of pressure overcoming her.
After Mu Feichi had loaded the bullets, he turned and saw Yun Xi, who was still sitting there stunned. She was probably too surprised and unknowingly panicked, revealing all her emotions right now.
"Babe, are you nervous?" Mu Feichi placed his hand on Yun Xi's neck, and he could feel her pulse-pounding. "Let's go back if you are scared."
"I'm not scared. However, I was a little surprised that you are testing me in a battle with real bullets."
"Didn't you want to experience how a spotter functions in a battle? If we don't do it with real bullets, you won't understand really how dangerous this is. But you will find out once you get on the field."
Yun Xi knew that the situation on a battlefield was ever-changing. So, not only does a battle with real bullets make it more challenging for her, but it's also extremely dangerous.
Yun Xi felt her stress levels rising, and she felt a little unprepared.
Mu Feichi glanced over at Yun Xi. This battle was something she had to overcome, so he could guide her but not replace her.
"Li Zilan and Qi Yuan will be our enemies, and both sides will have a sniper and a spotter. Two rounds and we need to kill our enemies within the set time frame."
"Kill them? This..." How was she going to do that?
"Why are you so nervous? I am the one firing the gun, not you! But since you are my spotter, you must do a good job. Don't make the wrong judgment, lest I get killed."
Mu Feichi paused for a moment. He pinched her cheeks and decided to scare her further. "Babe, these are real bullets. You have to stay calm and steady."
"No, I can't do this. Even if it's just to injure them. I give up."
"An arrow that has been released will not turn back." Mu Feichi turned around and pulled her toward the abandoned building, not giving her any chance to change her mind.
"I'll give you ten minutes. Prepare yourself."
Mu Feichi pulled Yun Xi along and got to the roof of the abandoned building. He then took her to the top of the water tank. She was still hesitating, even after he'd finished setting up the sniper rifle.
"Many times, you won't feel the stress and tension from threats of dying if you are not using real guns and bullets."
Mu Feichi patted her shoulders and pushed her in front of him. He then adjusted the position of the sniper rifle and placed it directly on her shoulder.
Standing in front of him, Yun Xi felt as if she was being forced to do something she wasn't capable of doing. She stood stiffly in front of him while he used her shoulder as a stand for the gun.
Yun Xi tensed up as she stood in front of him.
While Mu Feichi, who stood behind Yun Xi, was relaxed as he adjusted the level instrument and scope on the sniper rifle.
"Looking at how you are now, I guess Lord Yan did not impart all his skills and knowledge to you."
"He only taught me to shoot at my enemies, not at my friends."
"So, to a certain extent, you only barely passed his standards. If Yan Shuo saw you right now, he would probably pass out from anger."
"..." Yun Xi slowly calmed down and steadied her nerves after hearing what Mu Feichi said.
"My skills are poor, but that's on me. Don't blame Instructor Yan for not teaching me well."
"Yeah? Then show me how bad your skills are."
Yun Xi took a deep breath, and she closed her eyes to gather her emotions and thoughts.
She wasn't afraid of his mockery, nor was she afraid of embarrassing her instructor. But she needed to be calm when facing this tricky situation to make the right decisions.
Also, based on Mu Feichi's character, he wouldn't fool around with the lives of his comrades, even if they were using real guns and bullets.
Mu Feichi knew better than anyone else that there were differences between friends and enemies.
Yun Xi opened her eyes suddenly after she'd thought about it. She held up the laser rangefinder and binoculars. She then began searching for the team's targets hidden at the high points around her.
She knew very well that her opponents would also be looking for her while she searched for them.
They were all aiming to spot their enemies faster and more accurately than one another and also to shoot to kill quickly and ruthlessly.
Before she could find where her enemies were hidden, a bullet flew through the air and hit the wall in front of them.
There were some dilapidated walls around the water tank. However, the building had been abandoned long ago, and the walls had almost completely collapsed. Only a portion of them was left standing in front of Yun Xi.
She could see that these thin red brick walls would fall over once they got hit by three or four more bullets.
Without the walls in front of her, that bullet would have hit her right in the thighs.
Their opponent had fired directly at the wall in front of her. When the bullet hit the bricks, it stirred up a wave of dust.
Yun Xi closed her eyes a little when it happened, and her heart began pumping rapidly.
"Don't move!" Mu Feichi reminded her as he pressed down harder on her shoulders with the gun.
Yun Xi bit her lips, and she didn't dare to move at all. Looking at where the bullet came from, she immediately tried to identify the position of their opponents. Using her rangefinder, she scanned through the different levels in the building.
After looking around, Yun Xi could not find her target in any of the higher location points.
Then right at that moment, a second shot hit precisely on the same spot as the first shot.
Yun Xi initially stood calmly on the spot. But after they fired at her twice, she felt her palms sweat, and her breathing became erratic.
She knew that Li Zilan wouldn't put a bullet through her head. But Yun Xi started thinking that if she were in a real battle and bullets were flying over her head, would she still be able to stand like a tree and do a proper job as a spotter?
While facing the dangers of getting killed, having a no-fear attitude was pretty difficult.
It's no wonder that Mu Feichi said that if they didn't use real guns and bullets, no one would feel the real threats and pressures of getting killed.
Completing a task under tremendous pressure was not something an ordinary person could do properly.
Sensing Yun Xi's nerves and fear, Mu Feichi narrowed his eyes, and a cold glare flicked across them.
The corners of Mu Feichi's lips turned up into a faint smile, and he began speaking in a calm voice.
"The sniper is the puppet of the spotter, as they are only responsible for following the spotter's orders and pulling the trigger. When you are on a real battlefield, you must complete your task even if you get shot. Because a spotter is the sniper's second life, your abilities and observations will determine if I can kill our enemies or get killed instead. Therefore, I have absolute trust in you, and I have placed my life in your hands. Similarly, you must have trust in me too."
Only when the spotter and sniper cooperate and have complete trust in each other can they indeed be one body.
When Yun Xi understood what he meant, she calmed herself and steadied her breathing. She tightened her grip around the binoculars as she looked into them. Very quickly, she found the reflection of their opponent on a window at one of the high points far away from them.
"They are 1,300 yards away. Fire at your 3 o'clock, slightly to the left and behind a window. The wind speed is about five MPH, and it's coming from the south."
Once Yun Xi confirmed the sniper's location, Mu Feichi smirked. He tilted his head slightly as he looked into the scope and adjusted it. Then he fired a shot toward the window on his right.
Yun Xi saw through her binoculars that some yellow-coloured smoke started billowing from that window. The smoke was a signal indicating that they had hit the target.
The main reason they had been using real guns and bullets was not to kill anyone but to put the pressure of being in a real battle on Yun Xi.
Only in this way could Yun Xi genuinely experience the pressure she would face in a real battle.
Mu Feichi knew that Yun Xi was a brave woman. During the incident on the mountain, he could already tell that she did not fear death when she tried to block the bullet-headed for him without any hesitation.
But not being afraid of death was entirely a different thing from being tortured by the visions of death. The bloody scenes on a battlefield could significantly amplify one's fears and thoughts of death. Since she had chosen to work with him, then she would have to overcome this psychological hurdle.
Mu Feichi took down the sniper rifle he had placed on Yun Xi's shoulder. He then turned her around to face him. Amid the glaring light, his deep eyes were sharp and stern.
"So now, do you still want to be my spotter?"
Mu Feichi raised his hand, and he tipped Yun Xi's chin up so that he could meet her gaze. There was a light in his eyes, and his question hit her right in her heart.
Yun Xi tilted her head up a bit more to have a better look at him. She finally understood that it was not an easy feat to stand in front of Mu Feichi and be his eyes.
She would have to remain calm and still like a mountain as his spotter, even if real bullets were flying around her. As she thought about that, Yun Xi realized that Instructor Zilan was truly capable. It's no wonder she dared to throw bombs at her when they first met.
Life and death were probably something Li Zilan was no longer bothered with.
Today, Yun Xi truly understood the meaning of the saying, the brave ones are fearless, and the strong ones know no enemies.
"I am not someone who will back down."
"I know. But you are still far from being a professional sniper and spotter, so..."
Yun Xi raised her head to look at Mu Feichi. She thought he would ask her to continue working hard, but he said, "You should be a doctor. Be a military doctor, and you will still be able to work with me. If I injured myself on the battlefield, I would need you to treat me too. It fits nicely, as didn't you want to be a doctor?"
Yun Xi's eyes closed a bit and she chuckled and said, "Dreams can change."
Since she wanted to fight alongside him, it was no longer her dream to be a doctor, nor was it to take back control of the Yun family.
It was not worth her while going to any lengths and stopping at nothing for the Yun family. Liang Xiuqin was selfish, while Yun Yuanfeng was greedy. Her second aunt, second uncle, and grandfather were the only ones who treated her kindly. Other than them, she had never felt any warmth from the family.
She should make herself stronger and not the Yun family.
Even if she were to stand with Mu Feichi in the future, she would want to show everyone her true abilities and not the weak Yun family she belonged to.
"If your dreams have changed, then I shall follow your wishes."
Mu Feichi caressed her, doting and indulgent as always. It was as if he was determined to create the world she wanted for her.
"But for your wishes to happen, you have to stay alive and be with me forever. Otherwise, all this talk means nothing."
"..." Yun Xi felt her heart fluttering, hearing this sudden confession from Mu Feichi.
Yun Xi's eyes were shimmering with tears. His sudden confessions would always tug at her heartstrings. She would always believe that these were his promises to her.
And Mu Feichi had never let her down and he had always kept his promises.
Mu Feichi hoped that Yun Xi would be different from Instructor Zilan. Li Zilan could be fearless because she had nothing to lose or to worry about. But for Yun Xi, Mu Feichi hoped that she could live well, as one can only do when they want to stay alive.
There's no turning back in time, and you must stay with me forever.