Upon hearing the sound of a gunshot at such a time, Mark felt curious. Except for the merchant Huo Fen, Song Clan heiress Song Yue, and the mysterious archer Feng Wu, all the other customers only bought one single-shot pistol from the store.
Considering the identity and occupation of his top three customers, he didn't think none of them would be at this time and place. So, he felt like taking a look.
"Allen, can you scan the surroundings and find the humans nearby? I meant only humans." Mark asked the Android. He knew that this personal assistant of his can find the positions of the living creatures within 10kms but what he doesn't know is whether his radar can distinguish beasts and humans separately or not.
Unfortunately for him, only a piece of bad news is awaiting.
Allen shook his head, "No, Big Brother, I can only sense living creatures in general apart from trees."
"I see," Mark was disappointed a little bit but then, as another shot was heard from the same direction, he fell into thoughts, "based on the sound and environment, he/she must be around half a mile away. I just need to walk towards 2 o'clock but should also be careful about revealing my presence, just in case. Wait a second, why should I bother anyway? Can't I just mind my own business? After all, I'm only here to finish my quests."
Mark decided not to go. After asking Allen to scan the place, the latter replied that there are more than twenty creatures, just a couple of hundred meters away in the 11 o'clock direction.
Usually, the sector-9 region is filled with a variety of beasts like raccoons, monkeys, various types of insects, birds, etc…
So, Mark doesn't know what kind of beast he was going to encounter but since they are only in the realm of 1-circle, he wasn't worried. However, he was reluctant on using the pistol considering how he can alert the other humans.
But, after walking for ten or so steps, another sound resounded in the surroundings.
*Bang*
This time, along with the sound of a gunshot, Mark started to hear the screams of the creatures. Although it was very feeble, he felt irritated while feeling that he was running away.
When did he become such a coward? He reduced a mighty Song clan to such a state where even the royal family doesn't dare to interrogate me. Why should he be so careful because of some possibility?
"Argh… Fine… let's see who this guy is." Mark changed his direction and started walking in the direction of the sound. "Worse come to worst, I will summon Battle Tank and escape."
Allen, as usual, followed his master without complaining.
On the way, Mark heard at least ten gunshots. Except for the sound becoming bigger, he didn't feel any changes, especially the position. Mark assumed someone might be in training.
It was only after he reached the place did he finally realized that he was completely wrong.
There were two people. One of them is a familiar one, Feng Wu, the mysterious archer who killed Song Mansion's security head with a simple arrow, the one who made it possible for Mark to complete the quests and become a Spirit Warrior.
The second one is an unfamiliar little boy who had a black cloth over his eyes, blinding his vision while he was shooting at the target i.e. Feng Wu with a revolver.
It appeared to be like Feng Wu is training the boy by moving around to enhance the senses.
But, why at this time? If his aim is secret training, then, the gunshots that can be heard even from a mile away will easily give away the location. Maybe, it's because there won't be any disturbance at this time as everyone would sleep?
Mark had several thoughts as he proceeded to walk forward. Considering he's now the best customer in the store, he was more at ease.
It was at that moment Mark stepped on a broken branch that was on the ground while Feng Wu jumped high onto the branch on the other side. Due to the darkness around, the latter didn't find saw Mark or Allen until the boy's ears perked up and he changed the revolver from right hand to left and shot a bullet towards Mark.
Allen steps forward and blocks it with his body as an instinct.
*Ting*
A sound similar to that of a metal generated as the bullet pierced Allen's clothes and hit his body and fell to the ground without doing any damage.
"Hmm?" Feng Wu's expression changed to that of a frown as he looked in the direction the bullet was shot. "Where was little Chun aiming at?"
He activated his senses and found the presence of Mark. Feng Wu lightly kicked the branch and leaped towards the boy, landing in front of him. The boy sensing the presence immediately aimed the revolver at him.
Grabbing the weapon, Feng Wu opened his mouth, "Who is there? Come out from hiding."
"There's someone else?" The boy mumbled to himself. He removed the blindfold.
Mark slowly walked towards them and answered him, "it's me, Mr. Customer."
As he got near to them, his face became visible, taking Feng Wu by surprise. "Owner Lu?"
As if the shock wasn't enough, his eyes then fell on Allen and this time, his heartbeat spiked up for a moment, "you are here too?"
? Earlier, he only sensed Mark and no one else. Feng Wu is a six-circle realm expert who is at an advanced stage and almost reaching the peak stage.
Considering how Allen evaded his senses completely, Feng Wu looked at him warily for a second before he shifted his attention back to Mark and asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to train a bit," Mark answered in a plain tone.
"Train?" Feng Wu felt confused.
"Come out, Chirpy." As soon as Mark spoke those words, a blue-colored sparrow with sparks dancing over its body suddenly materialized in front of him before it flew and landed on the shoulder, letting out a cheerful chirp.
Chirpy is the name he had given to the lightning sparrow while he was on the way to the forest. The lightning panther was named Nero.
"A summon? You are a summoner?" Feng Wu was naturally taken aback just like everyone would because of the extreme rarity of summoners. He knew that Mark is a spirit warrior when he saw him storing the sword in the inventory back then.
Since Mark didn't bring out the ether energy yet, Feng Wu didn't know what realm he is in but that isn't even the problem. The main issue here is that he cannot sense the presence of ether energy within Mark no matter how much he concentrated.
He darted his eyes to Allen and then at Mark for a few moments, feeling that the duo is too weird and had a lot of secrets. Meanwhile, the boy is also looking at Mark curiously after hearing his guardian's words.
Feeling the gazes on him, Mark calmly dismissed the lightning sparrow and said, "I'm busy with running the store all day. That's why I had to choose such a time to train myself. I didn't expect someone else is training at this time too."
Mark's comment clicked something in Feng Wu's mind and he remembered the existence of the boy who was hiding behind him. "This is my nephew, Long Chun."
Stepping aside, Feng Wu then introduced Mark to him, "Little Chun, this is Lu Zhen. Owner Lu is the one that sold this revolver."
"Eh? This weapon is yours?" The eight-year-old little boy seemed surprised by the new information before he corrected his tone and spoke in a dignified manner like some noble despite wearing commoner clothes. "The unique weapons from your stores are indeed praiseworthy, although they make too much noise."
Mark doesn't like someone to criticize his weapons even if he is a little kid but since Feng Wu is a good customer of the store, he decided to forgive the kid and even decided to give him a gift, to attract the interest of this archer.
"This is called a semi-automatic pistol or you can simply call it a pistol. This one has more capacity compared to the revolver." Mark put forth the handgun in his hands towards the kid with a smile, "it also has more range, although you can't do anything with the sound accompanied by the shot. Since you seemed like you have a talent in shooting, you can have it."
The kid took a glimpse at his uncle before taking it, "Thank you."
Mark no longer wasted time and left them to find the beasts and complete the daily quest. After both of them disappeared from their view, the kid looked at Feng Wu and asked in a curious tone, "Uncle, why did you lie? That mister seemed like a good man. Do you think he's not trustable? Is he a threat? Should I be wary about his present too?"
Feng Wu didn't answer the kid's question and said in a serious tone, "Your Majesty, if you such time to worry about such things, put it to improve your sensory skills. As for that pistol, I will store it for now. You can train with it, later."
Taking the pistol into his hands, Feng Wu stared at it. It looked like a mixture of a revolver and a single-shot pistol. A frown appeared on his face, "there's no opening or cylinder to load the bullets. What is this?"
Meanwhile, Mark and Allen were walking together. Mark suddenly stopped as he remembered something important. "Ah, I forgot to tell them about the magazine. Should I go back?"
Mark turned his head and stared at the direction he just walked from for a couple of seconds before turning back to the front and continuing to walk, "Nah, let them figure out themselves. After all, it is a present, not a sale."