Chapter 029: Bear Kui’s Lightning-Fast Progress

The range manager, Old Tong, grinned from ear to ear as he collected the payment, thinking to himself that this was a rare, big-spending customer indeed. It had been years since he had encountered such a "mark."

Xiong Kui, brimming with excitement, grabbed the rented 98K and strode toward the 300-meter fixed-target firing line. With athletic grace, he dropped into a prone position, steadied his breathing, and instantly locked into the zone, peering through the iron sights of the 98K to fix his aim.

A series of crisp gunshots rang out. The bullets whistled like arrows released from a bow, piercing the bullseye with pinpoint accuracy. Shot after shot hit the mark without a single miss—a truly stunning display.

Watching the performance of this brute, Li Haibo was filled with amazement. He knew well that for a skilled marksman, constantly seeking out and adapting to the "feel" of different firearms was the key to refining one's craft.

"Hey, Bear," Li called out to him. "Don't just stick to prone shooting. Try a few other positions and get a feel for how the gun handles under different conditions."

Hearing the order, Xiong Kui gave a slight nod. He rose nimbly and began to fire from standing, kneeling, and various other stances. Every movement was fluid and natural; every aim was meticulous and focused. Despite the constant shifts in posture, his remarkable accuracy remained consistent. Each bullet acted like a precision-guided missile, striking the bullseye time and again and leaving behind a series of impressive, tightly grouped holes in the target paper.

Meanwhile, the others were practicing with pistols at their respective stations. While their performance wasn't as dazzling as Xiong Kui's, they were all immersed in the challenge and thrill of shooting—though their scores were, frankly, a bit painful to look at.

Hou Yong was still struggling, as he had last time; all his shots were clustering to the left. Li Haibo frowned and began to observe Hou Yong’s technique closely. Soon, he identified the problem: the placement of Hou Yong's index finger on the trigger was off.

He was pulling the trigger with the very tip of his index finger. This caused the force of the pull to naturally push the gun body to the left, which in turn sent the bullet's trajectory off-target. Conversely, if one reached too far and pulled with the base of the first joint, the gun would be pulled to the right.

Once the root cause was found, the solution was simple. Li Haibo walked over to Hou Yong, explained the error, and corrected his trigger discipline.

Following Li’s guidance, Hou Yong adjusted his finger placement and fired a few more rounds. The effect was immediate; the shots no longer clustered to the left, and his accuracy improved significantly.

Yang Chun’s problem, however, was more troublesome. His difficulty stemmed from a lack of hand strength, but his particular manifestation was unique. Usually, those with weak hands suffered from "nodding gun" syndrome—the muzzle would dip uncontrollably as the finger exerted force, turning an aim at the head into a shot at the feet.

Yang Chun was the opposite. Every time he squeezed the trigger, the muzzle would tremble violently and erratically, causing his bullets to stray wildly, as if he were merely "tracing the outline" of the target rather than hitting it.

There were two ways to solve this. One was long-term training to build hand strength, which required immense time and persistence. The other was to replace the gun's springs to lighten the trigger pull, though this had serious drawbacks. First, one would need a personal firearm, as modifying police-issued weapons was strictly prohibited. Second, even with a modified trigger, one had to be extremely cautious, as the slightest negligence could lead to an accidental discharge.

After everyone had fired a few dozen rounds, the initial rush of excitement began to fade. As they sat down to rest, Li Haibo looked at Xiong Kui and asked, "Well, Bear, you’ve fired quite a few rounds now. How are you feeling?"

Xiong Kui curled his lip. "Honestly? It’s pretty boring. I’m not bragging, but these 300-meter fixed targets—I’m hitting the bullseye every single time. There’s no challenge in it."

"Oh, really?" Li Haibo chuckled. "Then why don't you try something further away?"

Xiong Kui instinctively looked up toward the mountain opposite them. "Hey, look at that! There’s a bird over there!"

Hou Yong scoffed, "Are you crazy? It’s the dead of winter—what bird would be out here?"

Xiong Kui retorted, "You're the one who’s crazy! Don't you know many birds don't migrate in winter? It’s right there on the tree at the top of the mountain. How can you not see it?"

The others squinted in the direction he was pointing, but they all looked bewildered. Yang Chun asked, "Where? We don't see anything."

Li Haibo strained his eyes, then shook his head helplessly. "Honestly, I don't see it either."

Hou Yong laughed, "You're kidding! That’s at least 400 meters away! Who can see a tiny bird at 400 meters? I certainly can't!"

"Hmph, you guys don't believe me?" Xiong Kui said stubbornly. He raised the 98K, fluidly worked the bolt to chamber a round, and steadied his aim.

A few breaths later, a shot rang out. The group stared in shock as a puff of blood mist exploded from the treetop on the distant mountain, and black feathers drifted into the air like snowflakes. A flock of startled crows took flight, cawing in distress.

"Damn! He actually hit it! It was a crow! How did you do that? I couldn't even see the thing!" Yang Chun exclaimed, his eyes full of disbelief.

"Impressive, right? Watch this, I'll show you how it's done!" Xiong Kui said, glowing with pride. He quickly worked the bolt again, leveled his sights at the fleeing flock, and fired four more shots. He actually managed to bring down another one!

Li Haibo looked on, speechless. He knew his own limits; if it were a prone shot with iron sights at 300 meters, he could reliably score nine headshots out of ten. To most people, that was already the level of a master. But as for that crow on the treetop 400 meters away, he genuinely hadn't even been able to see it, let alone hit it.