pjbooks Chapter 230: Skills Acquired, Further Enhancing Victory
Chapter 230: Skills Acquired, Further Enhancing Victory
Chapter 230: Skills Acquired, Further Enhancing Victory
"That won't do either!"
Sheriff Dave immediately rejected Majack's proposal.
The reason is simple: if they succeed, everyone is happy; but if they fail, all the blame will fall on them.
Although America is a country that highly values individual heroism, after years of working in the police force, Dave has developed a different survival mode: he seeks no merit, only to avoid mistakes.
"Sir, the negotiation expert has arrived."
As the two were locked in a stalemate, a police officer led a black man in a suit and tie into the cordoned-off area.
"Good evening, Sheriff. You can call me Joe."
The other person gave a brief self-introduction, then looked at Ma Jieke with a questioning gaze: "May I ask who this is?"
"Jack Ma, a kind and helpful citizen."
"Are you kidding me!" Upon hearing his introduction, Joe immediately withdrew his outstretched hand, refusing to shake hands with the man: "Sheriff, did you authorize this person to come in? How can the police let ordinary citizens in, especially since he's Asian?"
No, what's wrong with being Asian? Did we eat your rice?
Upon hearing his seemingly racist remarks, MaJack didn't mince words: "Dude, I haven't even looked down on you because you're Black."
"What?" This left the expert completely baffled, looking utterly confused.
"Don't be angry, don't be angry." Seeing the two of them actually arguing in front of each other, Dave quickly tried to smooth things over: "Sir, here's the situation. Jack was the first to discover the suspect's whereabouts and rushed to the scene immediately, so he's very familiar with the situation here. I kept him here to help."
"Help?" Joe gave a dismissive look. "I think he'll just make things worse. Ask him to leave immediately. If ordinary citizens can all help, what's the point of having experts?"
"Enough, you idiot!" Looking at his arrogant face, Ma Jie shouted, "You've already wasted two minutes! Do you know what that means for the hostages? The people being held hostage in that carriage are pregnant women and children, not Captain America!"
Just as Joe was about to lose his temper, a woman's scream and the cries of two children suddenly came from carriage number 5.
Everyone immediately went to check and saw the pregnant black woman slumped on the ground, blood dripping down her legs, already staining a small patch of the carriage floor crimson.
"Mommy, Mommy, what's wrong? Mommy, waah..."
The twin girls cried loudly in fear, while their mother, pale-faced and powerless, looked helplessly at the rescuers in the distance.
"Don't come any closer, or I'll blow you up!"
Seeing someone break in again, Raul Howard waved the remote control in his hand, looking like he was about to detonate it at any moment.
"It's too late, old buddy. You keep him calm for me. Trust me, I won't mess this up."
Faced with this life-or-death moment, MaJack didn't care whether Dave agreed or not, and turned to run outside.
Dave quickly retreated, hesitated for a few seconds, and pressed the walkie-talkie: "Make an opening for him!"
"Sir, what are you trying to do?" Joe roared, furious. "I'm going to report you to our superiors! You're violating regulations!"
"I'm going to report you to my superiors too. You're treating human life like dirt!"
In Dave's opinion, this guy's so-called "negotiation expert" title is utter garbage.
Upon arriving at the scene, instead of immediately assessing the situation, he got into arguments with others, showing no regard for the safety of the hostages. Cooperating with such a person to solve a case is an insult to one's intelligence.
Rather than believing he can rescue the hostages, it's better to place your bets on Ma Jieke, since that guy always manages to pull off some unexpected victories.
"Make way, make way, please make way."
Pushing through the crowded onlookers, Ma Jie returned to the subway station with his composite bow on his back, followed by his beloved dog Bruce.
"Did you understand what I just told you?"
"Woof woof." (Understood)
The man and the dog ran off in different directions, with Ma Jieke heading straight for carriage number 2.
Each subway car is about 16 meters long and is usually interconnected, allowing passengers to walk from one end to the other.
So to avoid being discovered, he didn't dare get too close and planned to shoot from a distance.
Of course, the so-called long-range capability of bows and arrows is different from that of firearms.
For most hunters, a range of 30 meters or less is generally considered a safe shooting range; anything over 30 meters is considered long-range; and 40 meters...
Anything over 100 meters is considered a super long-range shot, and anything over 50 meters can only be called a wasteful shot, which is considered an extremely reckless act.
The farther the distance, the more kinetic energy the arrow loses, and the trajectory of the projectile will drop, severely reducing both accuracy and damage.
After roughly calculating the distance, Ma Jieke moved to the connection point between carriages 2 and 3.
In this way, the range is about 35 meters, which makes it less likely to expose the position and also prevents too much kinetic energy loss. In addition, since this is in a closed space, there is no need to consider the interference of wind deviation on the arrow.
Taking a carbon arrow from his quiver, Majek immediately gripped the release and drew his bow. 30 pounds was nothing to him; once he was out of practice, he would need at least 50 pounds.
At that moment, the mentally ill man was pacing back and forth restlessly with his back to him, and Dave was trying to communicate with him, but was interrupted again and again.
While waiting to stack the [Focus] level, Ma Jie calmly adjusted the shooting angle, but the guy was like someone with ADHD, unable to stop for a moment.
Even worse, the little girl he had taken hostage had spotted him and pointed in his direction, calling out.
Whoosh! Without the slightest hesitation, the moment the release mechanism was released, the carbon rocket detached from the taut bowstring and propelled forward with its powerful kinetic energy, passing through two subway cars in succession.
The surroundings were completely silent, with only the vibration of the bowstring and the sharp sound of arrows tearing through the air.
The target instinctively turned around and looked down to find his chest pierced by a sharp arrow, the shaft deeply embedded in his body, the fletching trembling slightly.
Almost the instant he was shot, Bruce, who was crouching and hiding under the subway seat, pounced and bit the back of Bruce's hand that was holding the remote control.
With blood splattering everywhere, the sharp dog teeth pierced through the flesh and fascia, penetrating further into the bone crevices.
"Ah!!!" A series of piercing screams followed, the sound waves engulfing the entire carriage.
Sheriff Dave, who was closest to the scene, rushed over to help and pinned him to the ground.
Once he confirmed that the target was incapacitated, Ma Jie picked up the pregnant black woman in a princess carry and ran out of the carriage.
"Doctor! Doctor! Someone, come quick!"
He shouted loudly, and even faster than the emergency responders were the media reporters stationed outside, who waved their cameras and flashes went off one after another.
That's how the Los Angeles news media is; they're most enthusiastic about reporting crime scenes, and every now and then they'll fly helicopters to broadcast live footage of high-ranking officials outwitting American police officers.
"Sir, thank you. You saved my life and my child."
The pregnant Black woman lay on the stretcher, tears welling in her eyes, holding Ma Jie's hand tightly, unwilling to let go.
"Stay calm, ma'am. You are not out of danger yet."
Ma Jie gave her a few words of advice, watched her being put into the ambulance, and was just about to leave when he felt someone tugging at his pants.
As he looked down, the twin girls were looking up at him, each holding out their little palms, revealing a gummy candy wrapped in a candy wrapper.
"Hey, it's you two little guys."
Ma Jie instinctively squatted down and patted their little heads: "Don't worry, Mommy will be safe."
"Mmm." The two nodded obediently, stood on tiptoe, and kissed him on the cheek from both sides.
"Woof woof."
Seeing this, Bruce exclaimed twice as if to take credit, and immediately enjoyed VIP treatment.
"Big brother, what's this dog's name? It's so brave."
The two little girls reached out and touched the dog, petting it while asking questions out of curiosity.
"Bruce," MaJack replied.
"Hi Bruce, thank you for saving me and my mom. You're the coolest dog in the world."
"Big brother, will I ever see it again?"
Just as Ma Jie was wondering how to answer, nearby medical staff came over.
"Sir, according to regulations, I need to take you and these two children to the hospital for a medical examination."
"Go on, go find your mother." Ma Jie pinched their little cheeks. "I don't need to, I wasn't hurt at all."
The twins were then taken away, and before getting into the car, they kept looking back at him. Although they couldn't express themselves as clearly as adults, you could see the purest and most beautiful blessings in the world in their obsidian-like eyes.
When Sheriff Dave led the suspect out of the train car, a deafening roar of applause and screams erupted from the crowd, and reporters went into overdrive, snapping away at the top of their lungs.
After handing him over to his colleague, he strode over with his obese body, looked at Ma Jieke whose clothes were covered in blood, and laughed like a 300-pound child.
Without a doubt, successfully rescuing hostages under such extreme circumstances is a great achievement in itself, and with media coverage and reporters reporting on it, a promotion is only a matter of time.
The two exchanged a knowing smile, their understanding unspoken. Ma Jie secretly glanced at the mission panel, and sure enough, the progress had reached 2/3. Once they captured one more outlaw, they could obtain a 7-star skill.
"Hey, let me in. I know both of them. Let me go."
Outside the yellow police cordon, a familiar voice suddenly rang out. When Ma Jieke's gaze was drawn to it, a blonde mature woman in a gray 0L suit was waving her hand vigorously at him: "Jack, it's me, I'm here."
""
"Sir, it looks like you've hit the jackpot today. You might even make it into the Los Angeles Times."
"Let her in." Sheriff Dave naturally recognized her as Melly Carolyn, the editor of the social news section of the Los Angeles Times.
She had previously been robbed of her bag by a biker gang in a poor neighborhood and angrily denounced the police for their inaction. It was only thanks to Ma Jie and Bu Bu that she was able to get her bag back, thus preventing old Dave from losing face.
"Quickly, set up the camera." With authorization from the police, Mary Caroline lifted the police tape and jogged off in her high heels, followed by the cameraman carrying the equipment.
"Hey Jack, I didn't expect to run into you here." As soon as they met, she greeted Jack Ma, her words carrying a hidden meaning: "Looks like you've solved another big problem for the police."
"No, the main character this time is Sheriff Dave." MaJack subtly led him in front of the camera: "You can understand by looking at the bloodstains on his body. The situation was extremely critical. If it weren't for Sheriff Dave's desperate struggle in the carriage, it would be a question whether I could have walked out alive."
After his embellished description, even Dave himself couldn't hold back anymore. But what could you say to a reporter? Could you take all the credit for yourself? That wouldn't bring any benefit.
In any case, the mission was accomplished. Rather than being a hero in the spotlight, Ma Jie prefers to stay behind the scenes.
After signing two internal police documents used for procedural purposes, he took Bruce and left the crime scene, disappearing without a trace.
Otherwise, how about we give you a big red flower, a certificate, and a medal?
There's no point in worrying about these empty titles; it's better to give a few dollars for real benefits.
Back home, Ma Jie took a hot shower to clean himself up, then sent the footage he had shot that day to Valentina, asking her to be his video editor.
Of course, it wasn't the kind of help that was given for free, since it would take up someone's rest time. Sister Na didn't stand on ceremony with him; if you do work, you have to get paid, and no one could find fault with that.
For the next three days, I continued to use the same method, only doing side quests worth around 3 stars to maximize my earnings.
I thought that during this time I would at least get the mission guidance and complete the challenge mission, but no matter how long I waited, it never came.
I had no choice but to give up for now and get the three high-quality skills first.
【Cartographer (Passive)】: When exploring the wilderness, permanently display the explored areas on the map.
In Ma Jieke's view, this skill is a must-have. You have to know that the filming locations of "Wilderness Solitary" are all uninhabited areas that are not covered by GPS, let alone hand-drawn maps. Even if they were, they would not appear in the ten equipment options. Therefore, when players leave the shelter to find food, especially when hunting, they must remember the way by sight or leave marks on the road.
Although Ma Jieke is not bad at directions, with this skill, he will not risk getting lost and can greatly improve his efficiency.
[Resource Exploration (Active)]: Explore the nearest natural resource points (edible fungi, best fishing spots, animal dens, etc.) and permanently mark them on the map. Cooldown: 3 days.
How to put it? It can only be described as absolutely terrible. Although the cooldown period is as long as 3 days, the food produced by a resource point should be able to last for 3 days, right?
If used properly, this skill can achieve seamless transitions, meaning you're either collecting resources or on your way to collect resources.
While other contestants were still going hungry for three days and nine meals a day, someone was already worrying about how to preserve and store the food they had too much of.
As for the last skill, Ma Jieke chose [Infrastructure Maniac Iv3].
The reason is simple: building shelters is a necessity for survival, and sleeping bags and tarpaulins alone cannot withstand the severe cold.
Therefore, its priority is far higher than skills such as [Fishing Master], [Trap Master], and [Archer].
Without a house, you'll freeze to death; lacking a way to get food, will you starve to death?