The Uses of Aim

The Uses of Aim

Just as Xue Jing and Li Ge reached the school gates, Li Ge suddenly patted Xue Jing on the shoulder and pointed grimly at a student walking straight toward them.

"He's here! That guy is Zhou Juncheng, the lackey who's always hanging around Pei Youguang."

The newcomer had shoulder-length hair and a lazy gait. To show off his individuality, he wore his uniform all crooked and sloppy, with the top two buttons of his undershirt undone, no tie, and his jacket sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He held a cigarette between his fingers, apparently thinking he looked pretty cool, his face brimming with smug self-satisfaction.

"You're Xue Jing, right? You know Brother Pei, Pei Youguang? He wants to see you about something. Come with me."

When the student came before Xue Jing, he was a little too short, yet unwilling to lose momentum. He could only crane his head high and speak down his nose at him.

"..."

Li Ge's expression grew increasingly grave. Though he had already decided to follow his sense of loyalty and stand by Xue Jing, now that the moment had arrived, immense fear still churned in his heart.

Xue Jing lowered his head slightly to look at him and smiled. "Let's go."

That excessive calm made the student involuntarily reveal a hint of surprise.

In the past, what student wouldn't shake like a leaf upon hearing that Brother Pei wanted to see them? This guy could actually smile? Still, seeing how compliant Xue Jing was, he had nothing more to say. He merely grunted and took the lead toward the school gates.

Xue Jing and Li Ge followed him. Many students witnessed the scene, and the usually bustling school entrance after class became strangely much quieter.

Only after the three gradually disappeared did people begin discussing it.

"That's Zhou Juncheng, Pei Youguang's lackey. Are they bullying someone again?"

"Who's the guy following him? He's so handsome."

"You don't even know Senior Xue Jing? Did you spend two years at the affiliated high school for nothing? He's the universally acknowledged school heartthrob."

"Pei Youguang looks like he's going to bully him. What do we do?"

"Tell a teacher?"

"No way. Pei Youguang's family has too much influence. Telling a teacher won't help, and he'll hold it against you!"

The school gates erupted into an endless uproar of discussion.

"Jing Ye, why don't we run?"

On the way there, Li Ge followed behind the student and whispered softly to Xue Jing.

"We're taking side streets, and there are fewer and fewer people around. They're definitely taking us somewhere deserted. If something happens, we won't even be able to call for help!"

Xue Jing looked helplessly at Li Ge, who was both cowardly and loyal. It really wasn't easy for him to be this scared and still follow all the way here.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "I need you to do something for me."

Li Ge froze. "Go ahead."

"Do this..." Xue Jing whispered a few words, then took the phone from his pocket and handed it to him.

Li Ge accepted the phone and nodded.

The student leading the way did not notice what the two 'lambs to the slaughter' behind him were doing. As he smoked, he thought about how he would deal with Xue Jing later.

The chance to bully an Elite Class student who usually stood so high above everyone else filled him with a twisted thrill.

Just like that, the three entered a dark alley.

Xue Jing raised his eyes and looked ahead.

It was a very old alley, the surrounding walls built from bricks and tiles. Their colors were dark and weathered, their severe oxidation making it obvious that they had been there for many years.

Trash littered the ground, and a faint stench lingered in the air. At the end of the alley stood five or six students wearing affiliated high school uniforms, most of them puffing away at cigarettes. The plump youth at their head had his back to Xue Jing, striking a pose, while the people beside him stared at Xue Jing with ill intent.

As though they had been waiting for Xue Jing to enter, the plump youth, Pei Youguang, slowly turned around. His triangular eyes fixed on Xue Jing as he took a hard drag from the cigarette in his mouth, then immediately tossed it to the ground and crushed it beneath his foot.

"Xue Jing... right?"

He spoke in a low voice.

As soon as he spoke, the student lackeys beside him grinned viciously and pulled out baseball bats, wooden clubs, knives, and other weapons.

They had long mastered this routine of intimidation. Usually, by this point, the students they had called out would already be begging for mercy. Some had even wet themselves on the spot from fear.

Yet they discovered that this time seemed to be different.

Xue Jing said nothing. Unhurriedly, he took off his suit-style school uniform jacket and handed it to Li Ge behind him.

Then he undid the buttons at the cuffs of his shirt and slowly rolled up both sleeves, exposing the clearly defined muscles of his forearms.

Li Ge swallowed hard. He was extremely frightened, but he still followed Xue Jing's earlier instructions. Holding the jacket, he retreated several meters, took out the phone, activated the camera, and aimed it at everyone in the alley.

"..."

"Huh? What's this kid trying to do?"

Before Pei Youguang and the others could figure it out, Xue Jing suddenly lowered himself slightly into a runner's starting stance.

In that instant, Pei Youguang inexplicably thought of the nature programs he had watched, of a tiger crouching low as it gathered strength before pouncing on its prey.

Then, he saw it.

The 'tiger' lunged at them like a cannonball fired from its barrel.

In almost the blink of an eye, Xue Jing launched forward like an arrow loosed from its bow, crossing several meters to reach Pei Youguang and the others. He swung a fist into the face of the student standing at the front with a loud bang. The student's upper body snapped violently backward. His baseball bat slipped from his hand, and he fell to the ground without even making a sound, instantly passing out.

"Fuck, get him! Take him down!"

Pei Youguang immediately cursed in fury. The others beside him came to their senses as well and charged at Xue Jing with their weapons.

Xue Jing's gaze remained calm as he watched the clubs, knives, and other weapons 'slowly' hurtling toward him.

After activating the Aim skill, Xue Jing discovered that his eyesight had improved tremendously, both his static vision and dynamic vision.

Especially when he concentrated, his dynamic vision surpassed anything he had possessed before, even giving him an ability similar to 'bullet time.'

This was the source of his confidence in his combat ability. The physical conditioning brought by Fitness and Running could not make him much of a fighter. Against armed opponents, one stab would put him out of commission immediately. But after gaining Aim, the dynamic vision that made everything before his eyes slow down gave him insight like a martial arts master's, as if he had activated a Sharingan.

That was what gave him the confidence to face Pei Youguang and the others alone.

Of course, his greatest support was still Twin Life. That extra life gave him the capital to act as recklessly as he pleased. He had nothing to fear.

After darting aside several times to evade the armed attacks, Xue Jing found an opening. His eyes flashed as he leaped backward to dodge, then threw a punch that precisely grazed one student's chin.

The accuracy granted by Aim could be used not only for throwing objects, but also for Combat.

In fact, Combat was an activity that demanded tremendous precision. Though the distance of a punch was short, accurately hitting an opponent capable of dodging amid a chaotic fight was no easy task.

Therefore, the accuracy of one's punches was also an important measure of a fighter's combat strength.

And now, despite having barely any real combat experience, Xue Jing's punching accuracy had reached an absurd level under the enhancement of the Aim skill.

Aim, a skill that appeared on the surface to be useful only for throwing and shooting, in reality provided an utterly terrifying boost to unarmed combat ability.

The student struck on the chin immediately felt his brain sloshing back and forth inside his skull. The world spun upside down, and he collapsed limply to the ground.

"Chen Hao, what the hell are you doing? Are you putting on a show!?"

That punch had been too fast and too concealed. Aside from Xue Jing, who threw it, and Chen Hao, who received it, no one noticed. Pei Youguang only saw Chen Hao swing a baseball bat, have Xue Jing dodge it, then immediately crumple to the ground as though he were acting. He could not help but curse loudly.

"Fuck, all of you move aside. I'll do it!"

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