Chapter 106 - 105: A Small Test of Skill

The tender grouper had many bones, but far fewer than freshwater carp.

Everyone was used to eating freshwater fish, so they handled the grouper with ease.

Jiang Si loved eating the meat from the fish’s tail most of all. There wasn’t much of it, but its texture was what she found most addicting.

Shen Baoying knew she liked the meat from the tail, so she deliberately scooped several tails for her.

Jiang Si’s attention was on the spicy fish sashimi. Qin Shen glanced at her bowl and thought Shen Baoying had accidentally given her so many fish tails.

He silently swapped his own bowl, which was heaped high with fish meat, for Jiang Si’s.

Shen Baoying caught sight of this and grinned so wide her smile nearly reached the heavens.

’Qin Shen is just so considerate.’

Even Jiang Linhai wore a look of appreciation, as if to say the boy had some of the same good judgment he’d had back in his day.

Everyone suddenly started smiling mysteriously, leaving Jiang Si, who was focused on devouring her food, completely baffled.

She turned around, and Shen Baoying said, "Eat your fish. It’s very fragrant and has few bones."

Jiang Si took a bite and nodded. "Delicious! The flavor is so fresh. Eating it with the sashimi is like a clash of ice and fire. Mom, you really know how to cook!"

Shen Baoying was praised so much she couldn’t stop grinning. "Eat up, there’s still plenty." She then served Qin Shen a large bowl of fish meat, worried that the few fish tails weren’t even enough to get stuck in his teeth.

After dinner, the group watched some survival shows together. Once they’d had some time to digest, it was time for their training session.

Everyone took their places, except for the injured Jiang Chengwu, who didn’t have to practice.

Jiang Si and Qin Shen were the coaches.

Although they were both coaches, Qin Shen’s skills were far superior to hers.

After changing into a practical set of athletic wear, Jiang Si was suddenly struck with the idea of sparring with Qin Shen.

She had been training hard to improve her skills lately and wanted to know if she had made any progress.

The last time, Qin Shen had taken her down in less than two moves.

His speed and the sheer force of his movements made it seem like he could crush her to death in the next second. It made her realize that her own skills, which she thought were decent after ten years of honing them in the apocalypse, were nothing—she was still just a rookie who could be taken down at any moment.

Jiang Si beckoned to Qin Shen with her finger and smiled. "How about we have a go?"

Qin Shen looked up, his expression serious. "Okay."

Jiang Si loved it when he was serious. ’That’s what true respect for an opponent looks like.’

The last time Jiang Si was taken down by Qin Shen, she was covered in bruises from just that one fall.

Now they were going to spar again, and Shen Baoying was extremely worried. She wanted to tell Qin Shen to go easy on her, but after catching Jiang Linhai’s "don’t meddle" look, she forced herself to hold her tongue.

If Jiang Si wanted to improve her skills, it was a good thing she had a ready-made teacher to practice with more often.

As the saying goes, you have to fall before you can get back up.

Jiang Linhai then said to Shen Baoying, "Mom is too old, so we can forget about her training. But you—you’ve been practicing for months and you still can’t even shoot straight. Watch them carefully and learn a few moves. It’s better than making Sisi worry about you."

Shen Baoying pouted. "Look who’s talking. It’s not like you can last more than a few moves against Xiao Shen yourself."

Lu Zhifeng overheard and laughed. "None of us can last more than a few moves against Xiao Shen. We definitely have a lot of room for improvement."

In terms of speed alone, Qin Shen could take them all out in an instant.

Niu Niu said, "I can’t even last one move. Am I useless?"

Jiang Chengwu, who was the same height as her while sitting, patted her head and comforted her, "When Niu Niu grows up, you’ll be as strong as your big brothers and sisters. Don’t be anxious. This is something that takes slow practice. Isn’t everyone here working hard at it?"

Niu Niu nodded obediently and said, "I’ll definitely practice hard so I can be as strong as my big brothers and sisters soon."

"Hahaha, good. We’ll all practice hard too."

Jiang Si’s movements were sharp as she launched the first attack at Qin Shen. He dodged backward, successfully avoiding it.

Jiang Si anticipated this and threw a kick, but Qin Shen caught her foot and yanked it back forcefully.

Jiang Si was pulled into a split. She arched her body and wrapped her arms around Qin Shen’s lower back in a reverse grip.

’Warm muscles. Feels pretty good.’

The onlookers were all mesmerized by their continuous string of movements, their eyes wide as they exclaimed, "So amazing!"

Qin Shen grabbed both of her hands and, using his immense strength, began to spin Jiang Si in a spiral.

Jiang Si tried to think of a way to break free. ’Damn it, I can’t struggle loose at all.’

The speed was dizzying.

Just when she thought she was about to be slammed to the ground and left black and blue by Qin Shen, just like last time...

Qin Shen suddenly stopped and set her gently on the ground.

Jiang Si lifted her dizzy head to meet Qin Shen’s calm, dark eyes and laughed. "I lost again. But it’s okay. I think I lasted a little longer than last time, so that’s progress."

Qin Shen seemed to be comforting her. "You don’t have to compare yourself to me."

After his mutation, his strength and agility far surpassed that of a normal person. Since her superpower wasn’t the same type, it was only natural that Jiang Si couldn’t beat him.

Jiang Si shook her head. "I’m not comparing myself to you. I just want to become stronger—even stronger than you."

’Only then will I have what it takes to protect the people I love.’

It was a good thing Qin Shen was on their side. If he weren’t, she wouldn’t have been able to save her family at all, even with her pocket dimension for hiding.

Qin Shen looked at her as if he had read her mind. "You will get stronger."

Jiang Si smiled, and Qin Shen reached out to pull her up from the ground.

The two of them standing together looked like a match made in heaven. The onlookers were so excited they were just short of waving flags and cheering for them.

Jiang Si caught their expressions out of the corner of her eye, and a hint of embarrassment flashed across her face. "Get back to training, hurry up!" she said quickly. "What are you all staring at!"

Everyone just smiled without a word, but their bodies complied. Those who were supposed to be practicing with guns went to practice with guns, those who were supposed to be holding a horse stance held a horse stance, and those who were supposed to be sparring went to spar...

Jiang Si and Qin Shen gave pointers from time to time. This made Jiang Chengwu, who was watching from his wheelchair, so envious that he rolled himself over to practice shooting with Zhang Qingfang.

His lower body was immobile, but he could still use his upper body to give his wife a few pointers.

They were only one day’s travel away from making landfall in the Northern Country, assuming the sea didn’t freeze over.

However, the closer they got to the Northern Country, the harder the ice became, and they had already encountered two blizzards along the way.

They nearly caused the Icebreaker’s engine to fail.

Fortunately, they made it through without any real danger.

Jiang Si estimated that if everything went smoothly tonight, they could reach the shore by eight o’clock.

Everyone was a little excited, wondering what the situation was like in the Northern Country.

If it was just extreme cold and no other disasters, they would be able to live very well.

On the yacht behind the Icebreaker, everyone had already started quietly worrying about their own supplies, afraid that the distribution would be unfair when it was time to disembark.

Even more people were worried that even if they received a lot of supplies, they wouldn’t be able to carry it all with them to search for their relatives.

Mike was entitled to a double share of supplies. He was afraid that he would face immense danger as soon as he left the yacht, and he was also afraid he wouldn’t be able to protect his supplies. After thinking it over and over, he said to the others who were planning to leave, "If you can help me find my grandmother, or even just bring back news of her, I’ll give you some of my supplies in return."