"I may often see ghosts, but I don't want to see one," Xu Mu said, shrugging off Charles' mockery.
"When you have a body, can you withstand a shot from this thing?"
The epoch-making firearm was incredibly heavy, but Xu Mu, as if carrying a chicken, held the AWM to his chest with one hand. The massive gun was like a coiled tiger, fiercely aiming at Charles' heart, startling him.
Charles stared at the dark muzzle, a chill running through him. Even the flow of data seemed to slow. He seemed to recall something unpleasant and quickly drifted away:
"Of course I can, I've withstood countless attacks more terrifying than this."
"Oh," Xu Mu mused for a moment, not caring what kind of terrifying attack Charles was referring to. It had nothing to do with him.
He just really wanted to know how powerful this cool-looking weapon was, and how it compared to his hunting bow.
As if remembering something, Xu Mu reluctantly put down the AWM.
He had just remembered that no matter how powerful the gun was, he ultimately couldn't fire it in this place filled with gunpowder.
He put down the firearm, opened the weapon manual beside him, and quickly reviewed the knowledge about those weapons.
Time was limited, and what he could bring was also limited, so Xu Mu had to choose carefully.
"Body armor, safety first."
A moment later, Xu Mu opened his eyes, walked to the west wall, and took down a black iron vest, putting it on. He then took a deep breath, feeling a bit speechless:
"Didn't you say this thing was light? Why does it feel like it weighs at least eighty pounds?"
Charles coughed sheepishly:
"Limited props, some high-tech materials cannot be produced yet, so we can only use the most primitive cast iron instead..."
"But don't worry, the bulletproof effect is the same!"
Xu Mu was speechless. With such thick iron plates on him, it would be strange to be injured by anything else.
"Grenades, incendiary bombs, and night vision goggles..."
Xu Mu licked his lips and then went to the fourth box from the left, taking out three heavy projectiles and putting them into his backpack. He then slung the AWM over his back and finally put something similar on his head:
"Good stuff, it's indeed much clearer to see things in the dark," Xu Mu looked around the cellar through the night vision goggles with curiosity. The previously dim environment was now much brighter. Although the colors were a bit green, the visibility was much better than before.
"Should be enough, do I need to bring any rocket launchers or anything?"
Xu Mu pointed at the "horse-drawn carriage" parked in the depths of the cellar, his expression excited and serious, not looking like he was joking.
Charles sat leisurely on a box of ammunition, looking at Xu Mu as if he were an idiot:
"Rocket launcher? Are you planning to carry it up the mountain on your shoulder? Even in a divine drama, they wouldn't portray it like that."
"First find a place to practice your marksmanship well. If you miss a shot, you'll end up making a home in Cemetery Mountain!"
"Oh." Xu Mu walked to the cellar exit, stood before Wu Kui's corpse, and bowed deeply:
"Uncle Kui, your death will not be in vain."
After speaking, Xu Mu climbed out of the cellar along the steps and returned to the cabin. After he moved the bluestone slab back, he sprinkled some dust around it and stomped a few times before leaving with peace of mind.
...
"Where should I practice? In broad daylight."
Xu Mu looked at himself in the mirror, wearing a full set of gear. He could only be described as "peculiar."
He was even wearing more clothes than when he was on night watch. He would likely be the center of attention wherever he went, too conspicuous.
Perhaps he should take it all off first?
As soon as Xu Mu had this thought, Charles smiled mysteriously:
"No need to take it off. Let's go to the Heavenly Palace. There's only one person there, it's a large place, and there's also a shooting range."
"Heavenly Palace?" Xu Mu's mind raced. "What a high-sounding name. But there's no such place in the domain of the Ghost Night, is there?" httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
"Of course there isn't in the Domain of the Ghost Night, because this Heavenly Palace is in your consciousness."
"The Heavenly Palace you're talking about, is it the place I dream about every morning?"
Upon Charles' reminder, Xu Mu immediately thought of that mysterious and vast space, that magnificent and grand palace. He couldn't reach it, and the surrounding space was boundless.
But why did Charles say there was only one person there?
"Sit down, clasp your hands together, and try to use your will to go as far away from the sun as possible."
Xu Mu put the night vision goggles on the back of his head, then sat on the ground with his hands clasped, doing as Charles instructed.
"Clasp your hands together, with reverence, meditate, and you can reach the Heavenly Palace."
Xu Mu's consciousness spread towards the high sky, chasing the slowly descending sun. Little by little, he felt as if his consciousness had detached from his body. He saw the cabin, he saw the courtyard... The entire Fengqing Village, Daxi Mountain, and even the Domain of the Ghost Night were all within his sight.
And so he truly seemed to float towards the sun.
"Boom!"
With a loud bang, Xu Mu's body flew into a void, and then slowly gained substance. The intense light in front of him disappeared.
When he opened his eyes, he saw the majestic Heavenly Palace.
This time, it was not ethereal. Above the majestic palace, on a protruding dragon horn, a young man sat casually.
He had a delicate appearance, wore black robes, had a saber at his waist, and possessed a pair of milky white pupils.
Except for his eyes, he looked exactly like Xu Mu.
Or rather, he was Xu Mu, because after all, this body was not owned by a single soul.
"This is his home."
Charles patted Xu Mu's shoulder. He had been dormant here when he transmigrated. According to the other personality in Xu Mu's mind, this space existed because of his presence.
"The time flow here is the same as the outside, but the day and night cycles are different. Here, the red sun is rising, while in the Domain of the Ghost Night, it's probably sunset. And your training this time needs to be completed before noon."
With that, Charles waved his hand, and the mist in the vast space dispersed, revealing small buildings as complex as mazes before Xu Mu.
"I've used the characteristics of the Heavenly Palace to build training grounds, mainly divided into three areas: firearms, cold weapons, and alchemy."
Charles grabbed Xu Mu's arm and instantly floated to the firearms area. Rows of guns were displayed before Xu Mu.
"Practice your accuracy, just like you do when you draw your bow and hunt."
Xu Mu listened to Charles' words, nodded dazedly, and then, from the dazzling array of weapons, picked out the two firearms he had chosen.
—The AWM sniper rifle, and the Browning M1911.
"If it's like practicing archery, I just need to hit the bullseye, right?" Xu Mu first picked up the Browning pistol. Following the instructions in the firearm manual, he gripped the top and pulled it back gently, then heard a click, indicating it was loaded.
Now, he could fire. Xu Mu raised his arm to his right eye, then squinted his left eye and suddenly pulled the trigger all the way.
...
"Huh? Why didn't it make a sound, Charles?"
Five seconds later, Xu Mu lowered his arm, opened his tightly shut eyes, and looked at the pistol in his hand with surprise. He had clearly loaded it, so why was it like this? Was it broken?
The data stream above Charles' head slowly turned into a black crow and flew away. He had never felt so speechless.
"Host, before you fired..."
"Didn't you check if there were any bullets inside?"