My experience of grinding in another world

Chapter 152 Steady
Not far from the laborers' camp, on the banks of the Bailang River.

Chen Mu had no idea when the Jinghong Gang would attack. These past few days, he hadn't dared to stray far from his fishing spot to cultivate his Yinming Silk.

Humming an unknown tune, holding a silver fish in his hand, a sword flashed and disappeared from his sleeve.

Scaling, gutting, washing, and marinating—the silverfish were quickly processed.

With nothing else to do, Chen Mu casually skipped a stone across the water.

Whoosh!
Puff puff puff puff... Puff!

The small pebble skimmed across the water's surface, heading straight for the opposite bank more than ten meters away. With a soft "plop," it chopped off a section of a reed.

"I've already reached the other side! Ha!"

Then he grabbed a handful of pebbles and scattered them.

"With a handful of pebbles in my hand, ten miles of reeds bow their heads!"

Just as I was getting into the swing of throwing, a sudden realization dawned on me.

It took Chen Mu a long while to come to his senses.

On the gray wall, the throwing proficiency value disappeared.

This technology, derived from ordinary flying locust stones, has finally reached its historical limit. It also gained an additional effect—locking.

Chen Mu picked up a pebble and looked towards the opposite bank of the river.

Under the moonlight, a reed stands tall, swaying in the wind.

The moment the target was identified, all sorts of information—what he saw, smelled, heard, and felt—rushed into the depths of his mind.

The locking ability operates in places he cannot perceive.

The information integration and calculation were completed in the blink of an eye, and a surge of emotion was quickly fed back to Chen Mu.

He simply followed this faint impulse and instinctively threw the stone.

The next moment, the pebble appeared next to the reeds that stood out from the crowd.

The edge of a pebble, coming at breakneck speed, lightly touches the reed stalk, causing it to tremble slightly before quickly disappearing into the distance.

"It really can hit exactly where you point it," Chen Mu exclaimed.

The idea was conceived, the pebble was thrown, and his idea was perfectly realized.

"Little Chen's Flying Daggers never miss?" Chen Mu sighed helplessly, "It's a pretty good ability, but unfortunately it can't break through armor."

Ultimately, it's just ordinary throwing ability; the initial velocity determines the power, range, and direction of the throw.

It cannot penetrate armor, nor can it turn corners.

Chen Mu felt somewhat regretful.

The so-called "locking" is nothing more than calculating and predicting to the greatest extent possible.

The farther the distance, the less accurate it becomes.

But he quickly cheered up. After all, another skill had reached its limit.

Grinding skills and grinding experience, just the moment he reaches the top, brings him a powerful sense of satisfaction.

"If I could get my hands on an armor-piercing magic weapon in the future, it might actually become a divine skill," Chen Mu thought with a smile.

……

He was happy for a long time before he came to his senses about grilling fish, eating fish, and growing chives.

Bai Miaojin and Cuicui only appeared when the whole process was almost complete.

"I thought you weren't coming, that you were all leaving." Chen Mu shrugged, grabbed ten live fish from the wooden bucket, and began to process and marinate them.

"Eat first, then I'll cook more."

"I went to see an acquaintance and they made an introduction," Bai Miaojin nodded slightly in greeting and explained casually.

“That man, Cheng Yi, is from Qingfeng Temple. Xiao Bai, you shouldn’t have introduced him to Shangguan Ji.” Cui Cui picked up a grilled fish, blowing on it as she muttered complaints.

Sincerity? Or a scapegoat?

Chen Mu couldn't help but pause in his movements.

“That guy followed the rebel king Chao Fang, but now he’s secretly coming to see Shangguan Ji. He must be up to something,” Cui Cui muttered, wrinkling her nose.

"I'll just stay out of it," Bai Miaojin said calmly.

Chen Mu narrowed his eyes; this Taoist priest was quick.

Having abandoned his Daoist principles and integrity, he immediately switched allegiance to King Chao for the sake of the Thousand Machine Token.

"Xiao Bai, are you being foolish? By introducing him, you've already gotten involved. If things go wrong, Shangguan Ji will definitely come after us." Cui Cui looked at Bai Miaojin with exasperation.

"It's alright." Bai Miaojin held the wooden plate and ate the grilled fish slowly and calmly. "He wouldn't dare."

Chen Mu snapped out of his daze. The top expert of Nanyang Prefecture isn't even worth his attention? Brother Mengjiang, you're truly imposing!
"That's right, he can't even beat you, so he definitely wouldn't dare to cause us any trouble." Cui Cui belatedly realized.

Yes, this is no delicate young girl. It's a terrifying, intelligent ghost!
But... is he sincerely coming to see Shangguan Ji?

Chen Mu frowned slightly; he suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Is this Daoist Chengyi going to pledge allegiance to Shangguan Ji?" Chen Mu asked cautiously, feigning curiosity.

"I don't know." Bai Miaojin shook her head indifferently.

“I know.” Cui Cui smiled. “He gave Shangguan Ji a defense map, wanting Shangguan Ji to launch a surprise attack on Chao Fang’s camp.”

Chen Mu: “…”

This move... seems familiar.

"He said that Chao Fang had obtained the Jinghong Gang's defense map and was preparing to launch a surprise attack on the Jinghong Gang."

"As long as Shangguan Ji seizes the opportunity, he can take the chance to severely damage Chao Fang."

Chen Mu's mind went blank; he was a little confused.

No, I need to sort this out!

First, Chao Tianwang is going to launch a surprise attack on the Jinghong Gang;
The Jinghong Gang will most likely launch a surprise attack on the Tangshan army.

Now, with sincere intentions, they've invited the Tangshan army to launch a surprise attack on King Chao...

What a perfect ring...

Perfect my ass!
Chen Mu was completely numb.

All I did was send out a defense map, how did it turn into this situation?!

This world is truly surreal! Three parties are constantly fighting each other; how chaotic will it get?

This is absolutely terrible!
……

The headquarters of the Jinghong Gang.

Jin Wuduan's appreciative deployment map.

"I didn't expect Master Zhang to have such methods."

Zhang Ye cupped his hands excitedly and said, "It's just a trivial skill, please excuse my poor performance."

“This is no trivial skill.” Jin Wuduan looked left and right.

"The brushstrokes are delicate, the characters are lifelike, and most importantly, they are realistic."

"Such painting skills are beyond even the best painter in Nanyang Prefecture."

"Master Zhang, please don't be stingy with your ink and brush. You must paint a portrait of me when you have time!"

"I'll definitely be available when I have time, I'll definitely be available when I have time." Zhang Ye said with a forced smile.

You can ask me to wield a broadsword, but asking me to draw a portrait? Isn't that making things difficult for me?

But he can't say it yet.

Once you've explained the deployment map, there's no way to explain it further.

"I've noted down Zhang Tangzhu's merits. Is there anything you'd like to ask for?" Jin Wuduan asked with a smile.

Zhang Ye immediately snapped back to reality.

He had been thinking about this for a while, and he immediately said with a generous expression, "It's my duty to serve the gang. I'm not picky."

Jin Wuduan nodded with a smile.

"My brother, whom I recently reassigned as the leader, has uneven martial arts skills and poor teamwork. This may affect our operation tomorrow night."

"I wonder if the gang leader could be so accommodating as to allow me to take these brothers to the labor camp to guard prisoners and transport supplies?"

Jin Wuduan's smile widened: "Alright, you go with Sheng'er. He's going to the Tangshan military and civilian labor camp."

Zhang Ye was overjoyed.

The labor camp was nothing more than a group of coolies.

Despite their large numbers, they were not strong militarily.

They'll surrender immediately if you just scare them.

They went there to help guard prisoners and transport supplies.

"We finally regained our position as hall master, we can't afford to be reckless again!"

"This wave has finally been stabilized."

(End of this chapter)