Xie Ting

They had only arrived at the Northern Military Region yesterday. Aside from themselves, no one knew Wen Zhi'an was Professor Wen's daughter. If they had not known each other, how would Lin Yan have known the name of the junior sister he mentioned?

"Senior Brother Qi Ze, if you wanted to watch, why did you drag me into it?"

A faint flush rose to Wen Zhi'an's fair face as she complained in embarrassment.

Qi Ze smiled awkwardly. He had assumed his junior sister would be too embarrassed to expose him in public, never expecting that they had known each other all along. This time, he had really embarrassed himself!

Lin Yan found it rather amusing.

He was not entirely devoid of consideration for others.

Though he did find it troublesome, since they wanted to watch the spectacle, it was no big deal.

He said to the other researchers, "If you don't mind, I may need to take up some of your time."

It was as if heavenly music had sounded in Qi Ze's ears, and he immediately forgot his embarrassment.

"Of course we don't mind. We're actually quite interested as well," an older researcher said with a smile.

He looked considerably older than even Wen Xiuyong, with the sort of face that seemed shaped by technical expertise. Just printing his photo on a work badge would make people think he had at least twenty years of professional experience.

He was clearly an old expert.

Lin Yan nodded and looked at the black-clothed young man who had challenged him. With a light smile, he asked, "May I ask your name?"

"Huashan Group Two, Xie Ting."

"Since you wish to compete with me, let's go to the training ground now."

Xie Ting looked at the handsome young man before him. Lin Yan was very calm, as though he were not accepting a challenge at all, but merely facing an ordinary game.

Xie Ting was indeed wary of Lin Yan's abilities, but seeing his attitude still made him feel as though his pride had been wounded.

He was being underestimated.

Xie Ting stared at the man before him, gritted his teeth, and felt an intense competitive spirit rise in his heart. He had to let him know how formidable he was!

The entire group headed to the training ground.

The Huashan members and researchers followed Lin Yan and Xie Ting into a selected training area, while Star Team stood guard around the perimeter to prevent unrelated personnel from barging in and getting hurt.

The view was wide and clear from there, and several colonel-ranked officers who had come to watch the excitement had gathered nearby.

"Is that Xie Ting? This should be fun."

Li Jin, commander of the 154th Regiment—the unit Lin Yan had originally been assigned to—saw Xie Ting in the field and said with a smile.

Someone asked curiously, "Huh? Old Li, you know him?"

Li Jin thought highly of Xie Ting and said, "I've seen plenty in my day. The year before last, I led our Northern Military Region team in the military-wide special forces competition hosted by the Southeast Military Region. Back then, he represented the Southeast Fire God Commando and won the shooting event. His performance was far beyond everyone else's. I'm telling you, his marksmanship was simply unbelievable."

"No matter how unbelievable, can it beat the one over there?"

That guy could turn an operation report into a mythological tale!

Li Jin stroked his beard, unable to decide who was stronger. Logically, Lin Yan had once been his soldier, so he should have supported Lin Yan. But Xie Ting's performance in that competition had left an extremely deep impression on him, so instinctively, he believed Xie Ting had a better chance of winning.

Lin Yan was simply too young.

In any field, being too young always made people question whether one was reliable enough.

"Actual combat and competitions aren't the same thing. I still think Xie Ting will win."

Listening to their discussion, Chu Wei giggled. "What do you all think?"

Li Tao answered without hesitation, "What kind of question is that? How could Lin Yan lose?"

He also used firearms, and through their recent interactions, he understood Lin Yan's shooting abilities better than anyone else.

He simply did not believe anyone could surpass that level.

Bu Xiangyang looked relaxed as he said with a smile, "Exactly. They haven't seen it before, but we have. How could he possibly lose?"

"What about the captain?"

Chu Wei wanted to hear Liu Mingxuan's opinion.

Liu Mingxuan glanced at Chu Wei, his gaze cool and his tone utterly flat. "A match without suspense."

That was how confident he was!

This was the ace of their Star Special Operations Squad. It did not matter whether Xie Ting was some military-wide shooting champion—he would still be crushed!

"How do you want to compete?" Lin Yan asked.

Xie Ting thought for a moment. "Three-hundred-meter high-difficulty obstacle-course shooting, and a three-thousand-meter target with the Type 39 Sniper Rifle."

"Fine."

The 300-meter obstacle-course shooting test required one to cross a 300-meter straight course within one minute. It contained all manner of obstacles, traps, artillery bombardment, suppressive fire, and more. Fifty moving targets would appear along the way, with no restrictions on their size or shape. Hitting more than forty-five counted as passing.

As for the Type 39 Sniper Rifle, it was the most common sniper rifle in the military, with an effective range of 1,200 meters. A fixed target at 3,000 meters was already more than twice its effective range, and with today's southerly wind at Force 4 to 5, hitting it would be even more difficult.

"Who goes first?"

Hearing that, Lin Yan replied, "I haven't received training in this area. You go first and give me a demonstration."

Xie Ting frowned. "If you haven't tried this before, we can switch to another event."

Lin Yan said calmly, "No Need. I'm confident."

It even sounded a little arrogant.

Xie Ting gave Lin Yan a deep look but said nothing more. He headed to the training ground's common room, put on his training gear, took a G50 Assault Rifle, and stepped into the dedicated obstacle-course shooting field.

Wen Zhi'an hesitated before saying, "He seems angry. Was it really okay for you to say that?"

"And you're unfamiliar with this event. Can you win?"

It was Qi Ze's first time seeing a military training ground, and everything felt novel to him. Hearing Wen Zhi'an's words, he looked a little concerned as well. "He does seem pretty formidable."

A Huashan member beside them smiled and explained, "You don't know this, but Xie Ting is fairly famous in Huashan."

"He performed exceptionally in the military-wide special forces competition the year before last and was recruited into Huashan. He's very talented, but he doesn't devote enough effort to cultivation. He spends all day studying different firearms, yet he still successfully became Promoted to battle general."

"Our group leader even criticized him, saying that as a martial artist, he should put his time and energy into the right things. Firearms were merely a transitional tool for him, not a necessity."

"But he was quite unconvinced. He said they should learn from the lessons of history, and that swords would be the ones ultimately eliminated."

"In the end, the group leader could not be bothered to manage him anymore."

"But honestly, he really does have skills. I heard he can even make Offset Rounds himself, and they really are somewhat more powerful than ordinary bullets. Someone once asked why he was so stubborn. He said he loved the instant he pulled the trigger. In that moment, he felt omnipotent."

Listening to Xie Ting's Huashan companion, Lin Yan watched the field before him.

There was no right or wrong in such matters. This passion deserved respect.

Amid artillery fire, traps, and obstacles, Xie Ting was as agile as a cheetah. His movements were fluid and effortless, and every shot was decisive.

The final result appeared.

"41.37 seconds! All fifty moving targets hit!"

Chu Wei did not know much about it, so he asked, "Li Tao, how is that score?"

Though Li Tao had great confidence in Lin Yan, he still acknowledged Xie Ting's strength. "Very impressive. I tried high-difficulty obstacle-course shooting before—58.06 seconds, with forty-six targets hit. I barely passed. My score was nowhere near his."

For this kind of test, every second gained represented an enormous difference. A gap of seventeen seconds was practically the difference between heaven and earth.

Wen Zhi'an looked at Lin Yan with some concern. She still hoped Lin Yan would win.

Lin Yan gave her a reassuring look and said with a smile, "Trust me."

He waved his hand, then headed off to put on his training gear as well.