After Xu An and Zhou Haimei finished breakfast, they said goodbye to Xu Yan and went to the training hall together.
Following Zhou Haimei to the horse farm, Xu An finally felt that his trading coins were not wasted.
On the vast grassland, many horses were kept. On the artificial grass, many people were galloping on horseback. Xu An had never seen such a spectacular scene in his life.
"There's actually a place like this on the lighthouse?"
Zhou Haimei smiled, "On the lighthouse, as long as you have enough trading coins, you can have anything you want. Some people even live more comfortably than before the apocalypse."
Xu An remained noncommittal about Zhou Haimei's words, recognizing it as the naked truth.
Earlier at home, Zhou Haimei had already reminded Xu An to change into clothes suitable for riding. Xu An followed Zhou Haimei, watching her walk directly towards a stable.
Zhou Haimei led out two tall, magnificent horses, one entirely black and the other entirely white. Although Xu An didn't know much about horses, he was captivated by their beauty.
"The black one is Tamo, and the white one is Ruyu. Here, Ruyu has a gentler disposition, suitable for beginners like you."
As she spoke, Zhou Haimei led the snow-white horse to Xu An. He didn't refuse; the horses here, apart from those for public rental, were all private property.
Even if she were to rent a horse now, the expedition race would be over by the time her turn came.
With Zhou Haimei's help, Xu An nervously stepped into the stirrups and mounted the saddle. Under Zhou Haimei's guidance, he gradually adapted to the rhythm of riding.
In less than half an hour, Xu An had basically mastered the knack of riding.
"Here!" Zhou Haimei tossed a handgun to Xu An in mid-air.
Xu An reached out, steadily catching the gun Zhou Haimei handed him, and began shooting at the moving targets ahead.
Xu An's aim was good, but he hadn't yet gotten used to the horse's jolting, and a few shots missed the bullseye.
They practiced like this all morning. By lunchtime, Xu An had completely grasped the essentials.
As they came out of the horse farm, even Zhou Haimei couldn't help but praise Xu An's learning talent, "Xiao An, you're amazing. You learned so quickly. I thought it would take you a few days."
"No, it's because Sister Mei taught me well." Xu An wasn't being falsely polite; Zhou Haimei was indeed a qualified teacher. She broke down all the key points of the movements very clearly, and Xu An remembered them all after seeing them once.
"But, Sister Mei, why is this competition about horseback archery?"
In Xu An's understanding, moving target shooting was like the kind in the training hall where the person doesn't move, but the target does.
It wasn't until they reached the horse farm that Xu An understood what Zhou Haimei meant by mobile shooting.
"From the information I've received, this mission might require horseback riding."
Xu An was also bewildered by this news, but the urgent priority now was to pass the competition. Once he truly joined the expeditionary force, all the mysteries would be revealed.
And so, for the next few months, Xu An trained with Zhou Haimei. Speaking of which, one must mention Xu An's coach.
The coach was particularly displeased with Zhou Haimei's unauthorized intervention in Xu An's training and volunteered to have a few rounds with her.
However, Zhou Haimei kicked him off the stage within three moves.
Watching the coach fall off the stage, Xu An silently tried to save face and realized that Zhou Haimei must have held back during the previous arena match.
His perception of Zhou Haimei's strength was renewed.
Time flew by. During this period of training, Xu An's progress was rapid. Not only that, but his relationship with Zhou Haimei also began to flourish. Zhou Haimei started coming to Xu An's house every day for meals.
Of course, she didn't just freeload. Not to mention that her guidance to Xu An was entirely free, she would also buy ingredients herself and eat with Xu An at his home.
Although Xu Yan kept saying it wasn't necessary, Zhou Haimei insisted on bringing food.
Zhou Haimei's social skills were always impeccable, and even Xu Yan praised her, finding her very comfortable to be around.
......
Through these days of relentless training, Xu An and the others finally welcomed the expeditionary competition.
There was a small interlude during this time.
He Ci's research institute came forward to explain the death of the dried corpse in the experimental field.
However, the cause of death was attributed to a rare disease, and the announcement did not mention anything about plants absorbing human vital essence.
Lying on the sofa, Xu An saw that the entire announcement absolved the institute of any responsibility.
But this was someone else's business, and Xu An didn't want to comment too much. The only noteworthy thing was that the efficacy of the plant was indeed as He Ci had said, with only half of its effects publicly disclosed.
Furthermore, it was not available for sale to the public. When someone asked in the comments section when the serum would be sold, the official response was that it was still in the research center, and the specific release date was uncertain.
Even so, this was enough to draw a large crowd of those who had heard the news.
One morning, as Xu An was leaving, Zhou Haimei was already waiting near the door.
"Let's go. Who are you fighting this morning?" Zhou Haimei asked about Xu An's draw results from the previous day.
They were fortunate enough not to be in the same group for the competition. The matches still followed the traditional draw method, with two participants facing off, and the winner advancing.
Xu An smiled, "I'm a bit unlucky. I drew Zhou Xiong."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Zhou Haimei's playful laugh rang out, "Your luck is really terrible, sister. You encountered Zhou Xiong, a strong contender for the championship, in the first round. Your hand is really that bad."
Xu An chuckled along, "Stop teasing. Do you have anything to tell me?"
"Tsk, call me big sister and I'll tell you?"
Xu An, helpless, playfully punched Zhou Haimei's shoulder.
"Sister Mei, stop fooling around!"
"Hahahaha, I won't tease you anymore. Zhou Xiong is powerful, but you don't need to fear him. Zhou Xiong easily gets carried away and likes to finish quickly. As long as you don't get caught up in his pace early on, take your time, keep circling him, and once you've endured three minutes, his stamina will drop significantly."
Zhou Xiong was also a regular at the training hall, and Xu An had seen him before. However, this person was always at odds with Zhou Haimei, so Xu An hadn't had the chance to spar with him.
But this person had betting pools at the training hall, with very high odds, making him a strong favorite to win.
As Xu An was thinking, Zhou Haimei pulled him onto the electric vehicle.
"What are you thinking about so intently?"
Xu An swiped his card, and he and Zhou Haimei found seats. "Nothing, just thinking about the competition."
"Relax, don't worry. By the way, your match has caused a stir at the training hall. Someone even opened a betting pool, and I've bet on you to win! Hahaha, whether I can make a fortune depends on you."
"What are the odds?" Xu An was also curious about his own win probability.
"1:1000," Zhou Haimei said sheepishly.
Xu An smiled indifferently, "It's okay, you'll definitely win."
Looking at Xu An's confident smile, Zhou Haimei inexplicably felt a sense of assurance from him.