The Ultimate War Of The Apocalypse
Chapter 543 - 536 Not that I Don’t Want To

Chapter 543: Chapter 536 Not that I Don’t Want To

Ram’s expression was somewhat abstracted, his voice drifting. It was evident he was remembering something, or someone, and it moved him deeply.

"Preacher, preacher..."

After Rabbit murmured twice, he suddenly said, "Could it be that guy? You know, the one we searched for a long time and couldn’t find. Has he become a doomsday preacher? Uh, that suits his style, transformed from a lone wolf into one seeking more companions. No wonder we couldn’t find him."

Gao Yuan said in surprise, "What? You actually know him? You can even bump into acquaintances here? Isn’t that too coincidental? Could it be some sort of conspiracy? What are the odds of that happening, do you really think it’s normal?"

Ram smiled reluctantly, then whispered, "I don’t know him personally, but we’ve had spiritual communion for a long time. I once sought him out to learn the skills of iron sight shooting because people said he was a master at it. Indeed, he is a master. At a distance of 200 meters, using a .22 caliber rifle with its own iron sights, he could accurately hit a prairie dog’s head. Do you know how difficult that is?"

Gao Yuan first shook his head, then immediately said, "Very hard?"

Ram nodded and then said in a low voice, "As far as I know, there are currently only two people in the world who can do it."

Gao Yuan was shocked and said, "Ah, that skillful? Who are they then?"

"One is him, and the other is me."

Gao Yuan pondered Ram’s words, then suddenly understood and said quietly, "You’re bragging, aren’t you..."

Ram shook his head, still looking reflective, and said, "If it were someone else, I’d suspect it might be a conspiracy because too many coincidences make things seem less simple. But if it’s that Marmot Killer, then everything seems normal. He has passed on his survival philosophy to many people, then his influence spread to others, creating a number of small survivor camps in the highlands near Denver, in the Rocky Mountains. An isolated survivor might not speak of the Marmot Killer, but if a whole region is influenced by him, then it’s quite normal to hear his name."

Ram digressed and Gao Yuan gave a wry smile, "I meant, is it really that hard to shoot a prairie dog at 200 meters with a .22 caliber? Since you didn’t find him, where did you learn it from?"

Ram thought for a moment and said, "I lived there for half a year by myself, living like an ascetic, no, like an end-days survivor, hunting only with a .22 rifle. Gradually, I figured out how to aim and shoot using only iron sights."

Gao Yuan whispered, "I just want to know how difficult it is because hitting a target at 200 meters doesn’t seem hard, even without a scope... I mean, King Kong and the others are pretty accurate."

Ram smiled, and Rabbit laughed as well, and then Rabbit shook his head and said, "It’s different, don’t you know about .22 caliber?"

"I don’t..."

Rabbit laughed and said, ".22 caliber bullets are very small, even less powerful than 9mm pistol rounds, usually used for targets within a hundred meters. At 200 meters, the bullet’s trajectory drops significantly, its velocity is slow, and wind drift is substantial. Let me put it this way, shooting a target the size of an apple at 200 meters with .22 caliber bullets tests a shooter’s all-around capability. It’s a systemic project."

Gao Yuan nodded as if he understood, because in the realm of shooting, his level was a bit too far from Ram and Rabbit to fully grasp why shooting marmots with a .22 was so difficult.

"Without having met face-to-face, nor having ever communicated, the existence of the Marmot Killer indeed helped me overcome the last shortfall in my shooting skills. My teacher Fedor once told me, if possible, to minimize the reliance on auxiliary devices. The simpler, the more reliable. Hmm, I think I’ve managed to do that."

The news of an acquaintance made Ram filled with emotion. He waved his hand and said, "I truly hope the Preacher is still alive. I hope there’s a chance to meet him again. I really want to know what heights he’s reached in shooting."

In that moment, Gao Yuan felt Ram was like a master swordsman yearning for a worthy opponent.

After another delay, confirming the conversation was unlikely to continue, Ram gestured and said, "Let’s move on, remember, everything you heard here today is a secret. Without permission, it’s absolutely not to be disclosed."

After a brief reminder, everyone got in the car and continued on their way, but Rabbit turned to Ram and said, "Brother Yang, is the situation in America really as the survivor said it was?"

Ram sighed endlessly and asked, "On what foundation is America’s superpower status and global hegemony built?"

Rabbit didn’t hesitate to say, "On the dominance of the US Dollar, oil hegemony, relying on a powerful military, mainly the navy, and then its leading position in all areas around the world..."

Rabbit stopped before finishing, looking at Ram and saying, "I get it, the navy’s gone, the air force is no more, there are few troops stationed in America itself, mainly the National Guard, but the National Guard was utterly ineffective in the war against the aliens. And there’s another critical factor, which is that America’s military is different from Shenzhou’s. When Shenzhou’s Army provides disaster relief, they bring tools; America’s military brings guns during disaster relief, doing work centered around maintaining order and suppression."

Gao Yuan said, "I have a question if we now know that Poseidon had issued an early warning and Shenzhou was able to build refuges and research vaccines in advance, why couldn’t America?"

Ram looked at Gao Yuan and said, "It’s not that they didn’t want to, but that they couldn’t... That’s why we decided to build a base here because I truly believed Little Egg, oh, that’s what Poseidon said. So, I prepared a back-up plan for myself. But while the American Government did take some precautions, they couldn’t cover all the people, because not every country can act as swiftly as Shenzhou once a decision is made. America, haha, by the time their Congress decided to allocate funds for building large-scale shelters, the Serpent People were already here."

Gao Yuan said distantly, "So America just collapsed like that?"

Ram looked at Gao Yuan with a half-smile, "No, America still has at least a hundred thousand troops, enough supplies to feed two hundred thousand people for a hundred years, inexhaustible weapons and ammo, and safe, dispersed large underground shelters. However, these facilities are only provided to America’s privileged elite."

This differed from the situation Gao Yuan was familiar with. He said with some skepticism, "How do you know this?"

Ram fell silent for a moment, then hesitantly said, "Because... I guess I’m part of America’s elite."