Chapter 52: The Wager

No one had called out the score yet, but the people standing behind were unaware of this.

Seeing her shaking her head, Xu Yang relaxed and laughed instead, "Take a look, you guys, she's really nothing special after all."

Xu Qiao ignored the voices behind her and simply lowered her gaze to look at the rifle in her hand.

Thinking about that previous shot, she realized that both the recoil force and the shooting intensity were far stronger than those of the firearms she was familiar with.

Since she had only just understood the operational method, a thought suddenly struck her, and she looked up at Cheng Yifei, "Do you know the specifications of this rifle?"

Cheng Yifei choked upon hearing this, momentarily not knowing how to reply.

They certainly had known, but that was back during their time in the recruit company, and having been away from the recruit company for so long, how could she possibly remember?

Thus, she subconsciously looked over at the squad leader.

Guan Yuqi also heard the question, and after a brief hesitation, she said, "The Type 95 assault rifle has a caliber of 5.8mm, adopts a bullpup configuration with good stability, high accuracy, a relatively short body, and excellent balance, making it convenient to carry for all-weather combat. The 5.8mm ammunition can pierce an 8-millimeter steel plate within 100 meters while retaining weak lethality, making it highly lethal."

"It features a bullpup structure, a gas-operated automatic system, and a rotary bolt locking mechanism. The firing mode can be adjusted between single shots and bursts."

Given the current circumstances, scoring fifty or sixty rings for her should not be a problem.

Listening to these words, the shock in Xu Qiao's heart was no less than when she first saw this advanced equipment.

"Bang!" The bullet hit the target directly.

She took a deep breath, though it seemed to be of little use.

Cheng Yifei, standing beside her, asked instinctively, "Weren't you supposed to be practicing? Why are you just shooting around?"

Xu Yang had felt a twinge of worry upon seeing her movements earlier, but upon hearing the score, she immediately burst into laughter.

Even so, though she couldn't achieve that level of mastery yet, hitting a stationary target was still well within her capability.

Seeing her actions, Xu Qiao did not urge her on, but merely turned her head to look at her.

With that, she raised the rifle and aimed at the target, and before the others could react, she fired shot after shot in rapid succession.

Xu Qiao smiled indifferently, "Are you trying to say I cheated?"

With a movement like that, Xu Qiao didn't even need to wait for the score to be called out to guess that the bullet must have flown completely off target.

Things had already progressed to this point, so backing down was practically impossible. Coupled with Xu Qiao's less-than-stellar performance just moments ago, her confidence returned once again.

"Target number two, 32 rings!"

No wonder the recoil just now had been so noticeable. Given her current physical strength, controlling it would require intensified training.

Picking up another rifle, she thought for a moment, walked over to a position with one empty slot in between, and stood ready.

She immediately looked over and said, "I scored a zero just now because I wasn't familiar with it. Once we really compete, there's no telling who will be stronger."

"You..." Xu Yang never expected that she would empty her magazine in such a manner, showing no sign of a genuine contest and acting as if she were merely playing around.

Yet, seeing this, Xu Qiao finally understood why Xu Yang had dared to challenge her despite having scored a zero earlier.

It was another nearly automatic burst of fire, with no pauses whatsoever.

Xu Qiao did not hesitate any further and continuously pulled the trigger.

She readjusted her stance and applied pressure, firing the next shot once again.

Hearing those words, it sounded like a provocation, yet it carried zero intimidation; mentioning that score of zero made them look like a pair of rank amateurs pecking at each other.

The momentum Xu Qiao had built up through this round of shooting faltered slightly, causing her hand holding the rifle to become even steadier—or rather, quite unstable.

"Target number one, 95 rings!"

A burst of laughter immediately echoed from behind, "Showing off like that, and I thought she was actually something special."

"Don't forget, you guys were the ones who came to this shooting range first, the score caller is the same person as before, and the rifles are the ones you were just using. What could I possibly have used to cheat? Magic?"

Xu Qiao desperately wanted to hold back her laughter, but she simply couldn't help it, "Then let's do it. Let's see who gets to scrub the toilets for the next two months."

It seemed that the zero from earlier was truly just an accident, and not indicative of her actual skill level.

There was no need to look to know that this was the direct result of Xu Qiao's influence.

"How is that possible?" Xu Yang stared at her in disbelief, "You..."

Ignoring their remarks, Xu Qiao looked straight at Xu Yang, "Let's begin!"

Of course, what she meant was absolute control—just like in her past life, treating the weapon as an extension of her own body, akin to swinging a fist.

Seeing that even the slightest provocation had affected her, Xu Qiao knew without waiting for the score to be called that she had already won the match.

Hearing this, Xu Yang let out a cold snort and turned her gaze back to her own target.

Setting a single-shot rifle to fire in bursts surprised everyone and made them turn to look at her in astonishment.

The gunshots rang out every few seconds. Compared to Xu Qiao's pace, hers was much slower, but according to her own rhythm, it was still rushed.

Xu Qiao was accustomed to rapid shooting, but Xu Yang was not; she needed to take her time and aim carefully for each individual shot.

Xu Qiao merely smiled, "What about me? Did we agree beforehand that nobody was allowed to shoot first?"

In Xu Yang's eyes, Xu Qiao remained an unskilled recruit, and a score in the twenties was surely her true level, so what reason did she have to be afraid of a competition?

"It uses two types of feeding devices: a 30-round plastic magazine and a 75-round drum magazine. By the way, its effective range is around 400 meters."

Sure enough, under that gaze, Xu Yang grew even more nervous, and as she fired a shot, her arm shook uncontrollably.

Perhaps she hadn't felt much beforehand, but standing right here—even standing directly beside Xu Qiao—she suddenly felt overwhelmed by tension, and her expression grew noticeably stern.

"Don't be scared. Two months will pass in the blink of an eye," Xu Qiao said with a smile as she collected another batch of ammunition, loading it skillfully with a sharp click.

Xu Qiao offered no explanation and simply signaled for them to call out the scores.

Xu Yang clearly wanted to adjust her state of mind, but the moment she looked up, she saw Xu Qiao still staring at her, surrounded by a crowd of onlookers.

Indeed, the gap between them was far from small.

Seeing her reaction, Guan Yuqi made a hand gesture toward the front.

Although the range was not significantly greater, on one hand, this was merely a standard infantry rifle with no extreme range requirements; on the other hand, being able to pierce an 8-millimeter steel plate at one hundred meters was something completely impossible in the past.

By the time Xu Yang regained her composure, her magazine was already empty and the rifle was dry.

She had no choice but to bite the bullet and keep pulling the trigger.

Thus, upon hearing those words, she stepped forward without further hesitation.

Firing shot after shot, the gunfire quickly died down.

Xu Yang clearly shared the same sentiment; the moment her first shot went off, her expression turned ugly.

A voice soon echoed from the distance, "Target lane one, 25 rings!"

Xu Yang froze, finally snapping back to reality. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but ultimately swallowed the words.

"Ahem..." Seeing Yang Xiaohan's grim expression, Guan Yuqi took the initiative to break the heavy atmosphere, "Alright, it's good for you girls to compete with each other to improve your shooting skills, but let's drop the rest."

Guan Yuqi was trying to smooth things over, but unexpectedly, Yang Xiaohan also recovered her wits and snapped, "Drop what? A bet is a bet, and they have to honor what they said. Two months of toilet duty, not a single day less."