Pinnacle of Skill

"Xie Ting, that was very well done."

Xie Ting left the obstacle-shooting course and walked back as his Huashan teammates cheered for him.

"By the way, what's the military record for the 300-meter obstacle-shooting event?" someone asked.

Xie Ting did not relax because of their praise. He had a feeling that even though he had performed exceptionally well this time and achieved an outstanding result, the enemy could not be underestimated.

Naturally, he knew the record time by heart.

"Thirty-seven point five-two seconds, held by Gene Sheridan of the U.S. military. But we generally don't think much of that record. I watched footage of his attempt. It wasn't anything special—he simply forced his way through with the strength of a High-level General."

Xie Ting said coldly, "Although this event doesn't restrict strength, High-level Generals normally wouldn't participate. Besides, during obstacle shooting, the sensors on the training uniform record every attack you take. A result only counts if it stays above the passing line. But the U.S. uses different standards from us. By our standards, his result would be invalid."

A High-level General's speed and neural reaction time were certainly formidable, but when one also had to hit moving targets and reload at least twice, insufficient familiarity with the weapon would disrupt one's rhythm and lead to injuries from the course's attacks.

Under the rules, each magazine was loaded with only twenty rounds.

Each type of attack was then multiplied by its corresponding coefficient to simulate one's physical condition if this were a real battlefield. Exceeding the warning threshold meant disqualification.

Huaxia and the U.S. did not use the same coefficients.

So although Xie Ting was four seconds slower than the record, he did not think highly of its holder, Gene Sheridan.

He loved guns, while Gene merely loved showing off.

Xie Ting looked toward Lin Yan, who was already standing at the starting point, and silently thought, Can you surprise me?

Or are you just an arrogant brat?

"Second Lieutenant, may we begin?"

The staff member on the training ground asked as he prepared to start the timer.

"No problem." Lin Yan gripped the G50 Assault Rifle in his hands and activated his data-analysis ability, only to discover something interesting.

Within his mind, the Mind Palace simulated the entire obstacle-shooting course. Every blade of grass, every grain of sand, every stone was as clear as the lines on his palm.

Does this count as cheating?

No, no. A little peeking doesn't count as hacking.

"Standing position, ready—time starts now!"

The instant the staff member finished speaking, Lin Yan shot into the randomized obstacle course like an arrow released from its bow.

"What?"

A barrage of gunfire rang out without end.

The Huashan group watching from the sidelines were all stunned. Xie Ting's performance had given them a psychological advantage, and they had thought that even if Lin Yan's result was impressive, at most he would be evenly matched with Xie Ting.

But once Lin Yan began, they realized it was nowhere near that simple.

The obstacle-shooting course was ablaze with artillery fire.

Lin Yan darted through the bombardment and the bullets sweeping in from all around, constantly adjusting the angle of his body.

They were not live rounds, but getting hit would still mean immediate disqualification.

Two moving targets shot out from the side.

Lin Yan did not even look at them. Two gunshots rang out, and both targets were hit perfectly.

A shell flew toward a spot not far from him. With a boom, it exploded in a massive burst of fire.

Lin Yan had been prepared. He immediately dropped prone and rapidly changed magazines even as he hit the ground.

If Xie Ting made people feel that everything was under his control, then Lin Yan gave them the impression of a flawless strategy meticulously calculated by an intelligent program.

Not a single movement was wasted.

Not a single decision lacked consideration.

For moving targets with irregular trajectories and speeds, aiming became a step he could simply disregard. Lin Yan only needed a glance to determine when and where a target would arrive, then find the perfect balance between moving, evading, and firing.

At the right moment, he did not even need to look again. He only had to shoot at the predicted location.

"This guy..." Xie Ting's face showed utter shock.

This performance had completely exceeded his imagination.

In terms of speed, Lin Yan had not used Ghost's movement technique. He was merely displaying the level of an ordinary Intermediate Warrior.

Yet that was precisely what made the impact on Xie Ting even greater.

This was not Gene Sheridan forcing his way through with the strength of a High-level General. In a sense, this was an entirely different path.

The Pinnacle of Skill!

"Thirty-seven point zero-two seconds! All fifty moving targets hit!"

Everyone fell silent. An Intermediate Warrior had broken a record set by a High-level General!

Qi Ze's mouth hung open as he exclaimed, "Junior Sister, how did you get to know him? He's practically a god!"

Wen Zhi'an did not answer, or perhaps she simply did not know how to answer.

She stared at the figure in the distance.

That reserved, immature young man appeared before her once again, yet he was completely different from before—confident, decisive, powerful, as though he had been reborn.

"Old Li, what do you think of that?" someone teased Li Jin.

Li Jin sighed. "Young people these days really are outrageous."

After all, no one had witnessed the seven shots that killed seven mid-level Beast Generals. Though he believed the report was authentic, it could never compare to seeing something with his own eyes.

He had watched Xie Ting's brilliant performance at the National Special Forces Competition two years ago, so he naturally had greater confidence in Xie Ting's ability. No matter how legendary Lin Yan's experiences were, they still lacked that sense of reality.

But after watching Lin Yan take on the 300-meter obstacle-shooting course, he finally understood what it meant to let one leaf blind one's eyes and miss Mount Tai.

Li Jin looked at the nearby Star Team. None of these young people seemed surprised by Lin Yan's result. Chu Wei was standing there laughing heartily, and everyone acted as though it were perfectly normal. Their confidence in Lin Yan was equally moving.

"How wonderful," he could not help saying.

"Old Li, what's gotten into you?"

"I'm just feeling sentimental. Look at them—they're so much stronger than we were at their age. How wonderful. Young people should be like this."

"Haha, things will only get better and better."

"What do you think?"

Xie Ting appeared very calm. "You're very strong. I'm not your match."

But no one knew what he felt inside. Since joining the military, he had never experienced such crushing defeat.

He was someone with extraordinary talent for firearms. From the first time he stood at a shooting range and pulled the trigger, he had possessed a special kind of confidence—that he would definitely hit the target.

A ten!

He gradually came to love that feeling and worked even harder to improve himself and his shooting. Sometimes, he had even thought that he had reached the pinnacle of this field.

That was why he had said that in the instant he pulled the trigger, he felt invincible.

But before this student soldier, who was far younger than him, that pride had been completely shattered.

Absolute suppression. Suffocating skill.

This was the so-called "Pinnacle of Skill" he had always pursued and once believed he had attained—true invincibility.

Lin Yan nodded thoughtfully and asked, "There's still the three-thousand-meter fixed-target event. Do you still want to compete?"

Xie Ting stubbornly said, "I want to lose completely."

He no longer had the confidence to convince himself that he could win.

But he still wanted to know exactly how strong Lin Yan was and just how vast the gap between them was.

Lin Yan gave a slight bow. "As you wish."

He asked the staff whether there was a suitable location, but ultimately received a negative answer. There was no such event in regular training. What kind of monster would require a sniper to make a three-thousand-meter long-range shot?

There was no such thing.

Finally, the staff member came up with an idea. "There's another training ground on the other side of the military district. If you aim at the fixed targets over there from this position, it should meet your distance requirements."

He then called the staff at the other training ground and arranged it with them.

Holding a pair of binoculars, he looked into the distance and said, "Straight ahead from here, those two flagpoles are roughly 3,200 meters away. Will that work for you?"

He then handed the binoculars to Lin Yan.

Lin Yan took one look. The red and blue flags on the two poles were flapping violently in the wind. The Mind Palace immediately began its simulation, its data constantly shifting according to wind speed and other factors. He then handed the binoculars to Xie Ting.

Xie Ting stared at the distant flags with a grave expression. The wind was strong today, making this an enormous challenge for him.

He said, "You go first this time."

"Sure." Lin Yan did not refuse. In truth, the result would be unaffected no matter who went first. With the Mind Palace's support, as long as something was theoretically possible, he could definitely do it.

He picked up the prepared Type 39 Sniper Rifle and lay directly on the ground.

Before anyone else could react, they saw him pull the trigger without the slightest hesitation.

The gunshot rang out.

In the distance, the blue flag fell in response!