Lake drove Betty along, but he did not return to his home in Arlington County right away.
Why?
Lake wanted to take it slow. If he went back at around one in the afternoon, he would have to listen to Karen nag him for the entire afternoon, and probably into the evening as well. Since he had to go back sooner or later, why not go later?
Perfect.
Betty wanted to go shooting, so Lake drove her straight to a shooting range near Arlington County.
"Wow!"
Lake removed the target sheet and looked at the nine holes within the bullseye. After exclaiming in surprise, he turned to Betty, who had just taken off her earmuffs, and said, "Not bad. Your marksmanship has improved."
Who knew why Betty in this life was so fond of studying things, and also... guns.
Maybe it was because of Lake.
When Lake had been serving in the military, he would meet Betty whenever he was on leave. Betty would pester him with questions about interesting things in the army, and somehow, over time, he had ended up bringing her to the shooting range.
As time passed.
Betty's marksmanship... could not be considered good, but it was not bad either. At the very least, at her current level, she never missed within ten meters. Within a hundred meters, if the target was stationary and she was given enough time to aim, she would not miss either.
Beyond a hundred meters?
She was probably three parts skill and seven parts luck.
Betty blinked at Lake. "Big Brother, let's compete."
Lake was slightly stunned. "What?"
Betty said, "Let's have a competition."
Lake raised his head and glanced at the sky. It was not even dark yet. Why had she already started dreaming?
Still.
Lake thought about it. He had nothing better to do anyway, so he said to Betty, "Sure."
Five minutes later.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
The moment the target was secured in place, Lake looked at Betty, who had just prepared to load her gun. He fired immediately, emptying ten rounds within two seconds.
The NYPD's glorious record was emptying a magazine within three seconds.
Lake was a full second faster than the fastest record.
Betty stood beside him with her mouth wide open. She looked first at Lake, who was staring at her, then at the target being reeled back toward them. There were ten holes in the bullseye.
This...
"I'm not playing anymore!"
Betty threw in the towel. What was the point of competing? She had not even finished loading her bullets, while Lake had already finished shooting.
Even bullying someone had to be done within reason.
Betty stomped her foot. She did not even bother taking her sky-blue defensive pistol and walked straight out of the shooting range.
Lake was stunned.
Half an hour later.
On the way home again.
Lake sighed as he watched Betty examine the two miniature copies of the target sheets in her hands with satisfaction.
What did it mean to deceive oneself?
Betty had undoubtedly embodied it perfectly. One of the two target sheets in her hands had ten holes in the bullseye, while the other had eight.
Lake's was the latter.
But...
Even though Betty knew Lake had deliberately gone easy on her, she still seemed very happy.
Her brain was remarkably...
Still, it was understandable. Otherwise, no woman with a normally functioning brain would look for a man ten years older than herself, especially when that man was a poor scientist.
"By the way."
Lake suddenly raised his eyebrows and glanced at the storage compartment in front of the passenger seat. "You've been keeping your pistol in this car? Do Karen and the others know?"
Betty looked at Lake and smiled. "Of course not. Mom would never allow me to use a pistol. I bought this with the money I earned from working part-time. It cost me nearly three thousand dollars. I keep it here. Do you think Dad would look inside when he had nothing better to do? Besides, you said it yourself: the most dangerous place is precisely the safest place."
Although Betty had been born into a military family, Karen was not a soldier. General Ross did not object to Betty's fondness for guns. After all, knowing how to shoot was a good thing, and she could protect herself. Unfortunately, Karen still had the final say at home. After she confiscated the three guns General Ross had given Betty one after another, Betty secretly used her own earnings to buy this EAA compact women's defensive pistol from Stark Industries.
It even came in multiple colors.
As a result...
Once it was released, it became a dark horse on the ranking of America's favorite firearms among women the very next month. This also made the traditionally tough-guy Stark Industries realize that although they were an arms company, they could still make great strides in the women's market.
From then on, Stark Industries released an adored firearm or piece of weaponry for women almost every year.
For example... custom-color pistols.
For example... military-grade folding knives, allowing you to protect yourself even while cutting fruit.
In short, Stark Industries' current sky-high market value was supported by the women's market to a significant extent. At the very least, women accounted for a quarter of it.
When Lake heard Betty say this, he opened his mouth as though he had thought of something. With an ominous feeling, he said, "I suddenly realize that taking you to the shooting range might have been a mistake. How about you go take a shower at Grandma Susan's house next door first?"
Damn it, they had been shooting so enthusiastically at an indoor range that the smell of gunpowder was all over them.
When Lake had first seen Betty skillfully take her gun out of General Ross's car, he had thought she had already been allowed to use it again. Now it seemed that had been nothing but an illusion.
He had already been about to go home and face Karen's nagging. If she found out that he had taken Betty shooting right after returning—
Wow.
He probably would not get any sleep tonight.
But...
He did not even get the chance.
Just as Lake had started driving, intending to skip his own house and head straight to Grandma Susan's next door, Karen happened to walk out of the house.
Lake stepped on the brakes.
The next second.
As Lake turned off the engine, he said to Betty in the passenger seat, "Take out your perfume and spray yourself. Spray on plenty. Karen has a very keen nose."
When he was twelve and smoked, he had drunk three glasses of water before going home, chewed five sticks of gum, and borrowed some perfume from a female classmate who had secretly brought it out to spray on himself.
As a result...
Karen had seen through him the moment he got home. Even now, Lake still could not understand which part of his operation had gone wrong back then.
This was probably women's intuition.
He got out of the car.
Lake smiled and waved at Karen, who was standing at the door and seemed to think Ross had returned.
Karen was stunned at first, then cried out in delighted surprise, "Lake."
Then.
Karen walked down the stairs and embraced Lake when he came over. She complained somewhat, "I don't even know whether I should feel sorry for you or be happy for myself. You only come home after getting your heart broken."
Lake: "..."
Betty had just gotten out of the passenger seat. Upon hearing that, she immediately let out a laugh. "Mom, I told him the same thing. So we should pray for him. Hopefully, he'll get his heart broken once a month."
"Get lost."
Karen rolled her eyes at Betty. "Do you really want your brother to die alone?"
The two of them played off one another, leaving Lake extremely awkward.
Just then.
A woman walked out of the house.
A stranger.
An assassin.
Lake's pupils constricted sharply.
The woman's pupils constricted sharply the instant she saw Lake.
Friends, Lao Mi has gone back to work. What about you?? Sob, sob, whimper, whimper!!!!
Before you continue