Tl: Hua

Chapter 69

Ji Xuan verified the key and entered the shooting range.

Shooting in the relay race was entirely different from the regular match in the first half. Each contestant was separated, and the shooting range condition was simulated with a simulation pod.

The light before his eyes suddenly dimmed, and hot, humid air rushed at him. Overlapping insect chirps and intermittent beast roars followed. Tall ancient trees and tangled vines abruptly shielded the simulated sun, leaving only scattered spots of light filtering through the dense canopy to cast swaying shadows on the soil covered in fallen leaves and moss.

It seemed he had drawn the rainforest map.

[Mars Military Academy, Ji Xuan, entry qualification confirmed.]

[Preparing for a test shot.]

Ten moving targets simulated as armored beetles burst out rapidly from the shadows in all directions, accompanied by an irritating buzzing sound.

Ji Xuan picked up the standard-issue pistol on the central weapon rack, weighed it, and raised the gun to fire a single shot at the armored beetle closest to him.

Bang! Bang!

The movement trajectories of the armored beetles were all different. Some simply scurried in straight lines as if they were afraid they wouldn’t be hit. But once they became tricky, they could dash and dodge through the dense foliage without any regular pattern, appearing quite intelligent.

The first two shots of the rapid fire were mediocre, with the two hit beetles crashing into the ground. But soon, as the flight speed of the beetles increased, Ji Xuan’s shooting movements also gradually became clumsy.

First, to aim at a target making a high-speed turn, he fired three consecutive shots before barely hitting it. Then, he tried to predict the movement of a beetle that was playing hide-and-seek around a pillar, but the result was two consecutive shots hitting the bark, leaving only two charred black marks.

In the end, for the ten test targets, he used a full eighteen bullets to clear them all, and his time was also quite average.

Seeing this, the audience in the main live stream immediately voiced their opinion:

[18 rounds… I could do that too.]

[See, an Omega’s dynamic vision and ability to adapt to complex environments are just fatal flaws. No matter how much they hype it up online, you’ll know if it’s a thoroughbred or a mule once you take it out for a walk.]

[Just waiting for his ammunition to run out during the official match and for him to retire early, hehe.]

[The Eagle student next door has also entered; 10 out of 10 in the test fire phase. It looks like Mars is really going to fall from grace this year.]

The wave of mockery and pessimism almost drowned out the screen, but unexpectedly, not a single student from Mars Military Academy came out to rebut.

Ji Xuan put down the gun expressionlessly. His thick eyelashes cast a small shadow in the glow as his eyelids drooped. Then, he took a deep breath and raised his hand to signal that he was ready.

[Test fire phase ended]

[Competition officially begins]

[Ammunition allotment: 70 rounds]

[Total targets: 60]

[Countdown 3, 2, 1—]

As the system prompt fell, the simulated rainforest map suddenly came to life.

Dozens of armored beetles swarmed out frantically from the treetops, bushes, and various unexpected corners. The difficulty of the moving targets in the official match was far higher than in the test fire. That group of beetles utilized the thick tree trunks and ubiquitous vines to the extreme, with straight dashes, circling interference, and erratic flight… looking for even a few seconds was enough to make one’s head spin.

The live stream chat was still buzzing with comments, with many people waiting to see what would happen.

The Eagle contestant in the neighboring map had already taken the lead by hitting five moving targets. At this rate, he will inevitably overtake Ji Xuan and finish the second event first.

But Ji Xuan remained unhurried, and even his breathing frequency did not change in the slightest.

Actually, for him, capturing the movements of his surroundings was perhaps the simplest thing in the world.

After all, if any other person encountered assassination attempts in various places every single day, they would likely develop such sharp perceptions as well.

He raised his gun, and with a “bang,” leisurely shot down an armored beetle approaching him from behind.

Then, he made a move that no one expected.

He let out a soft breath and closed his eyes.

His thick, long eyelashes drooped completely, casting suggestive shadows against his fair skin. The clumsiness and awkwardness he had displayed during the test fire were entirely masked; he stood quietly in the center of the lush woodland, a pillar of sunlight sweeping across his profile, bathing his upright torso and straight legs, making his entire being look as holy and beautiful as a white porcelain statue.

[What is he doing?]

[Beauty truly is the greatest lethal weapon; suddenly I really hate the Alphas in the Mars Combat Department. Can they train seriously?]

[What’s up? Is he preparing to give up?]

After closing his eyes, all his senses were instantly heightened. Augmented by his mental power, everything in the vicinity once again had nowhere to hide.

The rapid vibration of every armored beetle’s wings, the disturbance of the air as they sped past, the subtle sound of them brushing against leaves… all of it formed incredibly clear movement trajectories in his mind.

Thus, he unhurriedly raised his hand and pulled the trigger.

“Bang!”

With a crisp, decisive gunshot, an armored beetle that was darting back and forth between two segments of vine exploded in mid-air.

“Bang!” “Bang!” “Bang!”

The rhythmic, dense gunshots echoing through the simulated map were enough to make one’s heart throb. Bullets “whizzed” through the gaps in the leaves, striking down targets attempting to duck behind rocks.

Ji Xuan raised his hand again; his tightly closed eyes were still “looking” forward, yet the muzzle pointed without hesitation toward the lush canopy overhead. An armored beetle that had just emerged from the foliage fell in response to the sound.

[Holy crap, master-level blind shooting…]

[It’s mental power! He used mental power! Just how strong does his mental power have to be to achieve this level?!]

[I seriously suspect he was acting during the test fire to bait people; luckily, I didn’t fall for it.]

[Maybe he was just getting familiar with the feel of that crappy gun; he doesn’t look like he could be such a wicked Omega, right?]

[He looks so relaxed, but using mental power like that must consume a lot, right? I feel like his face has gotten even paler… he’s handsome, but I can’t help feeling a twinge of pity.]

The students of Mars Military Academy finally held their heads high, swarming the remaining comments:

[I, who have been face-slapped before, am already used to this :)]

[Please, our former Rank 1 is one of the few 3S-grade in the Alliance; do you really think the person who could take him down is just some ordinary guy?]

[Just basic operations for our Xuan-mi.]

In the arena, the final armored beetle was pinned raw into a tree trunk by a bullet thirty meters away. Ji Xuan’s eyelids flickered and slowly lifted. His dark eyes were clouded with a mist from being closed for so long, yet his gaze remained indifferently calm.

The gun spun in his hand and, with a “clack,” was slapped back onto the weapon rack.

The electronic prompt sounded at the perfect time.

[Match ended. Time: 2 minutes 15 seconds. Ammunition consumed: 60 rounds.]

At that time, the Eagle student next door had only just cleared their thirty-fifth moving target, and nearly a third of the contestants had not even entered the arena yet.

Ji Xuan emerged from the simulation pod and collected the key for the combat arena from the staff. When he walked out of the shooting range, the students prepared to intercept him on the perimeter didn’t even have time to react.

The contestants from the first event who hadn’t started yet were no longer a threat; so many academies had redeployed their people to the route for the second event. However, most had only just arrived and hadn’t even caught their breath before they could only witness Ji Xuan sweeping past like a gust of wind.

Just as they were about to give chase, a massive crowd of people from Mars Military Academy blocked their way. Since they hadn’t split into multiple participating groups, they held an overwhelming advantage in numbers.

Ji Xuan’s path was smooth; aside from the roadblock robots controlled by the organizers that he could easily bypass, he didn’t even encounter a single intercepting student.

But he wasn’t surprised. The Alpha pheromones occasionally wafting through the air were far too familiar, and the golden hair flashing behind a nearby flower bed could be identified at a single glance.

Shaikh withdrew his hand, dragging the Lionheart Academy student he had just floored with a single palm deeper into the shadows of the greenery.

This was already the third group he had dealt with.

Fortunately, most academy students were still gathered at the exit of the shooting range and hadn’t had time to distribute themselves at various nodes along the route; the situation was much better than when he had burst out of the mecha arena earlier. Even so, the strength of the scattered students could not be underestimated. Shaikh leaned against the flower bed to catch his breath, and after confirming Ji Xuan hadn’t traveled too far, he followed silently.

“If I had known the first event was going to be this exhausting, I wouldn’t have swapped with you, Brother.”

–

Ji Xuan arrived outside the combat arena without hindrance.

Pei Yingye, leaning against the railing, was lazily biting on a lollipop. His arms were spread wide across the railing as he arrogantly occupied the best view of the arena. Seeing Ji Xuan’s figure from afar, he immediately turned around, “crunched” the remaining candy, and tossed the stick into a nearby trash can.

Ji Xuan even suspected that if the referee weren’t standing there blocking him, he would have probably jumped over the railing and rushed over.

Pei Yingye stepped forward with large strides. The first thing he did wasn’t take the key but lean in close and cup Ji Xuan’s face.

Ji Xuan was taken aback by this sudden action, and before he could react, a burning gaze boldly swept across his face.

“I saw everything on the broadcast screen just now.” His nose brushed against Ji Xuan’s, his voice pressed very low. “One shot, one kill. You are truly [censored] sexy.”

The two uncivilized words in the middle were reduced to a blurred whisper. This was the first time Ji Xuan had been forced to look someone in the eye in such a posture. The admiration and heat in Pei Yingye’s eyes were unconcealed, as scalding as fire. The nearby filming drone didn’t waste a single frame, perfectly recording every image.

Ji Xuan gave a lukewarm evaluation: “You’ve grown bold.”

Pei Yingye chuckled, released his hand, palm up, and eagerly beckoned with his finger.

Ji Xuan’s face remained expressionless as he calmly slapped the key into his hand.

Pei Yingye triumphantly closed his hand, clutching the key as he strode toward the combat arena, not forgetting to taunt, “Sorry, my teammate is too reliable, so I won’t be joining you all out here in the cold wind. See you inside.”

Other contestants: “…”

Seeing his smug behavior, Ji Xuan couldn’t help but let out a faint smile, the corners of his mouth curving slightly. He watched Pei Yingye’s back disappear into the entrance tunnel before walking straight toward the nearby temporary rest area.

Just as he sat down, a shadow fell over his head, and an unopened bottle of water appeared before his eyes.

“You’ve worked hard, Brother.”

Shaikh’s face wore a slight flush from the exercise, his golden hair dampened by a bit of sweat. His bright blue eyes stared at Ji Xuan. The words “I’m here to claim credit” were practically written in large letters across his face.

A high-grade Alpha, no matter how tired, would never fail to control their pheromones outside of their rut period. Shaikh was certainly not some selfless saint who did good deeds anonymously. The pheromones smelled on the road earlier were clearly a hint he had given; he wanted Ji Xuan to know what he had done behind the scenes, all for the sake of a response at this moment.

Ji Xuan even felt that the droplets on his face weren’t sweat but tap water used as a casual decoration.

Ji Xuan lifted his eyelids, looked at him indifferently, and took the water, but he did not give Shaikh the praise he wanted.

He twisted the cap and took a sip, ignoring Shaikh’s eager gaze. The smile on the latter’s face stiffened for a moment before he sat down beside Ji Xuan, feigning grievance.

“Brother,” he softened his voice, “don’t you have anything you want to say to me?”

Ji Xuan didn’t even look at him, simply saying, “Keep working hard.”

A short while later, the Eagle Military Academy student and Peniel arrived at the combat arena simultaneously. There were only five spots left for the third event.

Ji Xuan absentmindedly watched the light screen projecting Pei Yingye’s figure preparing inside the arena, completely failing to notice that a hundred meters away from him and Shaikh, two people were staring at him intently.

“It seems that everything you painstakingly built over these years has become a wedding dress for someone else.”

Ji Yan stared fixedly at Ji Xuan’s face. Upon hearing this, he gave a playful chuckle.

“I don’t think so.

“If it weren’t for me, who could have found anything better than them?”

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