Chapter 53

Chapter 53

A single wager turned two training classes into just one—hers.

After the wired class left, the few remaining gathered around, laughing and chatting. “Xu Qiao, this is impressive! You scored such a high ring count?”

“Yeah, and your speed—you're almost firing in bursts. How did you manage that?”

Faced with their curious questions, Xu Qiao wasn’t quite sure how to answer. She couldn’t very well say she had undergone months of grueling training, even years of combat experience, to develop such skill.

Fortunately, Guan Yuqi stepped in to save her. “Alright, alright. If you want great marksmanship, it’s not something you ask about—you earn it through practice.”

“But she hasn’t practiced that long,” Xiaoyu said, pointing to the spent shells—just two magazines worth.

Xu Qiao sighed helplessly. “Well… maybe it takes a bit of talent?”

Seeing their incredulous stares, she quickly added, as if pleading for mercy, “Okay, to be honest, before joining the military camp, I used to visit the shooting range often.”

“Just the gun models were different, so I had to adapt.”

This explanation sufficed, and they finally understood. “No wonder! I thought there was no way someone could be that talented—only a few shots and already scoring over ninety rings. How’s anyone supposed to keep up?”

The group stopped pestering her and returned to their own targets.

Guan Yuqi then looked Xu Qiao up and down. “Your shooting’s really good. Did you really learn it all by yourself at the range?”

“Well… I did have a coach,” Xu Qiao admitted, realizing she had told a small lie and now had to cover it with another.

“But my coach was a bit unusual. My shooting method is different from others’.”

She wasn’t about to pass up this rare opportunity, so she nodded eagerly and returned to her position, firing another shot.

Xu Qiao herself felt the rhythm of shooting returning. With just fixed targets before her, there was nothing else to consider—just keep pulling the trigger.

Guan Yuqi didn’t press further, only nodding. “You’re doing well now, but we’ll see how the instructors train you later. You’d better practice more.”

Though good marksmen are forged in the scent of gunpowder, the camp where she trained lacked abundant supplies, and bullets were scarce.

The previous training had been designed to familiarize her with the novelties of this era.

Amid the slow and steady gunfire, there were always occasional rapid bursts.

Today’s training was about recapturing the feeling of her past life.

The more she shot, the more accustomed she became to the Type 95 in her hands. Even at such speed, she could still achieve perfect scores.

The others admired her while lamenting that Xu Yang could have chosen anyone else but her.

Hoping to feed her with bullets was unrealistic; she had to start from the fundamentals—carrying a rifle weighted down with bricks to build arm strength.

From learning the gun’s specifications and parts to assembling it blindfolded before even firing a shot.

She even slept clutching her rifle daily, until handling it felt smoother than using chopsticks—only then did she fire her first live round.

As the instructor said, “If you’re not familiar with your weapon as you would a friend, if you don’t treat it as your comrade, how can you expect it to deliver perfect shots for you?”

(End of chapter)