Shooting Training 3

"That squad in the obstacle course survived purely by luck," Jin muttered, watching Shen Shouli take him out. What annoyed him even more was that Xu Lingqu had eliminated him last round, and now Shen Shouli had shot him. In a sense, this shooting exercise had devolved into a series of personal grudges.

Ironically, the less skilled students who had few enemies managed to survive because they were slower—by the time they caught up, everyone else had already emptied their bullets, and no one bothered to snipe them specifically.

Kai Ang stood nearby, chuckling at Jin's indignant outburst. He lit a cigarette, took a drag, and remarked to the bitter-faced students, "Luck is also part of strength. And remember: the tallest tree catches the most wind."

In such situations, the standout students inevitably became targets for everyone else.

Xu Lingqu picked herself up off the ground and rotated into the second round. When Liu Zheng handed her the rifle, she said solemnly, "One to one."

Xu Lingqu took the rifle in her hands. She was the tall tree Kai Ang had mentioned, destined to weather the storm. Nearly half the eyes were fixed on her, and countless muzzles were aimed her way, eager to claim her points.

While competing against Xu Lingqu, Liu Zheng was also racing against the other students. She wanted to take Xu Lingqu down before anyone else got the chance.

Just as she was swapping weapons, Xu Xiqin popped up out of nowhere, pouting, "Sis, why did you send me off?"

Seeing Xu Lingqu's name on the smart brain's notification, Xu Xiqin didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Then she switched her expression toward Jin, "Such a pity. I was two seconds away from taking you out, but Shen Shouli's shot landed a bit quicker than mine."

What should have been a straightforward shooting drill had turned into Xu Xiqin's showcase of dramatic face-changing.

Jin didn't bother bantering with her. Instead, he took advantage of the break to find Shen Shouli and settle a score. "Why did you snipe me? It's not like I took you out in the first round."

Shen Shouli calmly set down his rifle. "I know."

"You knew? Then why come after me? Why not go after Xu Lingqu? She's the one who shot you," Jin said, his excitement tapering off. He stared at Shen Shouli. "Unless..."

Shen Shouli: "...Unless what?"

"Unless you're too weak to even catch a glimpse of Xu Lingqu's back?"

"Get lost." Shen Shouli turned and left, leaving only that single word.

How rude. Jin made a mental note to file a complaint with General Shen someday.

Jin returned to the shooting range and, as usual, glued himself to Xu Lingqu's side. "This round, who are you going to pop the moment they show their head? Don't let Shen Shouli get away this time!"

Amid the pile of firearms, Xu Lingqu put back the rifle Liu Zheng had given her and picked up an old-fashioned revolver instead. She loaded three bullets, spun the cylinder, then turned to Jin. "Guess which shot has the bullet. That's the one I'll use to hit him."

In the middle of a tense, high-stakes shooting drill, Xu Lingqu was playing Russian roulette. She was an absolute madman. Jin's eyes lit up—this personality was right up his alley. He eagerly guessed, "The third shot."

Then he grabbed a weapon he liked. "If the third shot is empty, then I'll do the honors of offing him myself."

A breeze stirred, ruffling his red hair. The two stood at the shooting point—one black, one red, striking in contrast. None of the students running the obstacle course dared come near them. Together, they looked like grim reapers from the underworld, coming to collect souls.

One with "Wealth at First Sight" on his forehead, the other with "Peace Under Heaven"—with six bullets between them, whoever they aimed at was as good as dead.

Shen Shouli, standing in the middle of the field, felt an inexplicable chill run down his spine.

"But aren't you supposed to be going head-to-head with Liu Zheng? You can spare a shot for Shen Shouli too?" Jin asked as he settled into his shooting stance.

"The other five are for her."

Xu Lingqu's words had barely left her mouth when the Red Team started moving. She spotted Liu Zheng among the crowd. Like her hand-to-hand combat skills, this type of mobile training wasn't Liu Zheng's forte, which made it easy for Xu Lingqu to lock onto her.

But when she pulled the trigger, the first shot came up empty. Liu Zheng ducked behind cover. Judging by her tactics, she'd probably linger there for a while, since everyone had realized that the obstacle runners' best bet was to bide their time and hope for luck. Her current position was decent, so she'd drag it out as long as possible.

Seeing that, Xu Lingqu didn't waste any more time. For the second shot, she randomly targeted a bystander—not an empty chamber. One shot, one elimination.

The third shot came quickly. Xu Lingqu searched for Shen Shouli. He was sprinting fast, already separating from the pack and reaching the middle section.

His strategy was simple: rather than crouch around and get covered in dust like everyone else, he'd use his speed to finish things quickly.

Xu Lingqu narrowed her right eye slightly and squeezed the trigger for the third time.

Empty.

The instant he realized there was no bullet, Jin moved with full focus. His three bullets were all aimed at Shen Shouli, converging from three angles. Shen Shouli took the hits and was eliminated.

Jin grinned, showing all eight teeth. He turned back to Xu Lingqu just as she fired her fourth shot—another empty.

By then, Liu Zheng had moved out from behind the cover. The fifth bullet in the revolver—Xu Lingqu didn't bother taking aim. She simply raised her hand and fired, as casually as if it were an afterthought.

The bullet tore through the air, seemed to have eyes of its own, and slammed into Liu Zheng's shoulder.

Jin swallowed hard. From a technical standpoint, Xu Lingqu's form clearly lacked any systematic, standardized training—that much was obvious.

Yet she handled the gun with such skill that there could only be two explanations: either she had an absolute talent for marksmanship, or she had survived countless battles.

Either way, it was hard to wrap one's head around.

For the final bullet, Xu Lingqu spotted Tang Muwen, the one she'd meant to shoot last round but hadn't been able to track down. A flick of her wrist, and the sixth shot was away. All three shots this round had hit their mark, earning her another three points.

Jin only got the single point from Shen Shouli, but he was more than satisfied. He was treating this exercise as a game among friends now. Next round, he decided, he would definitely take down Xu Xiqin too.

Liu Zheng picked herself up off the ground. Without a word, she walked over to Xu Lingqu. Just as she was about to say something, she looked down and saw the gun in Xu Lingqu's hand.

It wasn't the one she'd given her. It was a revolver.

"...The gun I gave you was fine," she said, her voice a little sulky.

"I know. This one just feels more comfortable," Xu Lingqu said, giving the revolver a little wave. During the apocalypse, there'd been a period when mutant beasts had targeted the armories and munitions factories. All production resources had been funneled into food supplies, so firepower was in desperate shortage. Besides the few blades produced by the end-of-days research institute, Law Enforcers had only old-stock weapons to rely on.

She wasn't lying—she really was used to it. But in Liu Zheng's eyes, it felt like a slap in the face.

Liu Zheng took the revolver from Xu Lingqu's hand.

"Next round, I'm using this too."