Chapter 35: Training is Over
"Not bad, not bad at all. Looking sharp." Shawn said with a smile, looking at Carl.
Carl, however, got embarrassed and said in a troubled voice, "Brother Shawn, what do you mean 'looking sharp'? I always look like this."
Shawn burst out laughing. He only straightened his face after wiping the corner of his eye. "Alright, no more joking. Go put on the gear I prepared for you. We're continuing with the next part of the training."
Following the direction of Shawn's finger, Carl looked at a primitive bow lying quietly in the corner. Next to it was a leather quiver containing about 20 crude wooden arrows. This was the Lv. 5 bow Shawn had crafted after upgrading his crafting skill. The damage wasn't high, but it was more than enough for Carl to use.
Compared to firearms, Shawn felt that weapons like bows and arrows were also suitable for Carl. If it didn't work out, it would be fine to switch to other weapons later when they got to the Prison.
Seeing that Carl was geared up, Shawn nodded in satisfaction. Carl's right arm was partially exposed along with his shirt, while the rest of his body was covered in wood armor. With the bow and quiver on his back, Carl's figure looked even taller and leaner. Shawn had also found a dark-colored bracer for Carl to wear on his right hand. With that, Carl's gear was complete.
He led Carl downstairs. The Red Tyrant was parked diagonally across from them. The two got in, and Shawn drove toward the highway.
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On the highway.
"Using a primitive bow isn't complicated, and it doesn't take too much strength to draw. The main thing is to maintain accuracy."
"You've never learned archery, so it's better to start from the very basics."
After the horde had passed, there were still a few walkers wandering on the highway; the rest had been carried away by the horde. Shawn pointed to a walker approaching in the distance and said to Carl, "There are five steps to shooting an arrow."
"Holding the bow, nocking the arrow, drawing the bow, aiming, and releasing."
"When holding the bow, your center of gravity should be low, and your grip should be moderate. Too much or too little force will affect the stability of the arrow after it's released."
"Nocking the arrow must be steady. The draw weight of this bow should be suitable for these arrows..."
Shawn explained the basic points of using a bow to Carl in detail. A primitive bow couldn't compare to a crossbow. It wasn't as powerful, nor was it as easy to use. But its advantages were that it was lighter and had greater mobility, which was perfect for the smaller-framed Carl.
"Slow your breathing, adjust the angle of your aim based on the target's distance. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. The walkers are your perfect training partners."
Shawn leaned close to Carl's ear, whispering as he helped him adjust his aim.
With a sound like a sharp whistle, 'swoosh—!'
The arrow firmly embedded itself in the walker's eye socket. The walker collapsed to the ground with a thud.
"Although a primitive bow isn't as powerful as a crossbow and can't easily penetrate bone, hitting weak spots like the eyes or mouth can still effectively kill walkers, and even humans."
"Besides that, when attacking humans, there are also the neck, kidneys, the back of the knees, and the inner thighs. These areas can quickly incapacitate an opponent, leaving them at your mercy for a short time."
Shawn narrowed his eyes. Carl replied in a soft voice, "I understand, Brother Shawn."
Carl began to practice on his own. It seemed to take only one afternoon for him to go from crookedly hitting a walker's chest to landing a shot in its mouth. Shawn and Carl worked together, killing the remaining walkers on the highway.
Until the seventh day.
An arrow flew through the drizzling rain and hit a walker squarely in the ear canal, piercing its brain.
"Brother Shawn, that's where we hid from the horde," Carl said.
Shawn followed the direction of Carl's finger and saw an open space ahead. It must have been cleared by Rick and the others when they first arrived. Not far from there, a pallet of unopened barrels of drinking water sat quietly. Shane was the first to discover it, but because of the horde, they hadn't had a chance to retrieve it yet. After all, the camp had enough food and water, so there was no need to make a long and risky trip.
Shawn took the opportunity to move all the barrels of water onto the truck. Then he siphoned some gas from the abandoned cars and poured it into the fire truck's tank. Only then did the two of them continue forward.
After about two kilometers, the broken-down cars became visibly scarcer, scattered here and there on the highway. After another 500 meters, Shawn's eyes lit up when he saw a white cargo truck that had crashed through the highway guardrail.
He went to the back of the truck. Seeing the securely locked cargo bay, Shawn gave Carl a hand signal. After several days together, Carl and Shawn had already developed a tacit understanding. Carl nodded, drew his bow to its full draw, and aimed it right at the cargo bay.
Shawn raised his sledgehammer high and smashed it down on the cargo bay's chain.
'DUANG~~'
The chain fell to the ground with a clang, the sound echoing for several hundred meters.
Shawn strode forward and yanked the cargo doors open!
'Rustle, rustle—'
The foul-smelling walkers he expected didn't rush out. Instead, what followed was the sound of countless plastic packages hitting the ground. Innumerable small cakes poured out of the cargo bay, piling up on the ground.
Shawn's face lit up. He happily picked up a package and looked at the product information on the back.
"After all this time, it's still edible."
Looking at the expiration date, Shawn tore open a package and handed it to Carl, then opened one for himself. The moment it entered his mouth, a fresh, milky flavor spread, followed by a faint hint of vanilla.
"Vanilla flavor."
"Brother Shawn, mine is... strawberry flavor," Carl said, his speech a little unclear.
It had been a while since either of them had tasted these flavors, and they had been craving them.
He then drove the fire truck over and tossed all the small cakes into the truck to take with them.
Sitting in the driver's seat, Shawn suddenly relaxed and let out a long breath.
"Do you remember what day it is since we left the camp, Carl?"
"It's the seventh day, Brother Shawn!" Carl's eyes sparkled as he replied with anticipation.
"Let's go, back to camp!"
"Back to camp!!" Carl raised his primitive bow with one hand and couldn't help but let out a cheer.
The training was over. Carl could finally go back and see Lori and Rick. He just didn't know if they had been worried sick about him, being gone for so many days...