Strong-arming

"My stake needs to be placed in my hands first," Gu Qingshan said.

Hui Shao stared at Gu Qingshan. "We haven't even started, and you already want to take my stake?"

Gu Qingshan spread his hands. "Look, there are so many of you. What if you lose and refuse to pay up? There'd be nothing I could do about it."

"If I lose," Gu Qingshan said, tapping his chest, "I won't be able to get away from all of you, either."

Hui Shao fell silent, mulling it over.

"If you're so worried about your money, why come out to play?" Gu Qingshan said with a smile.

He could already tell that this man was deliberately looking for trouble.

A spoiled rich kid he'd never met was picking a fight with him. That was strange.

Hui Shao said nothing.

His daily expenses were huge, and because he'd ruined his reputation, his family rarely entrusted him with any work. He'd never had much income.

He hadn't expected his opponent to be so sharp, shutting him down with a few words.

A person lived by their reputation. That was especially true of a noble playboy like Hui Shao. Now that Gu Qingshan had put it that way, if Hui Shao wanted to keep playing, he had no choice but to put up real money first.

Damn it. I absolutely can't let this brat get away with it.

At last, Hui Shao gritted his teeth. "Fine. I'll take your bet."

But once the words were out, something felt off.

He'd been the one forcing Gu Qingshan to compete in archery. So how had it started to feel like Gu Qingshan was the one forcing him?

Hui Shao took out a card and handed it over.

"It's an anonymous card. Transfer the Credit Points yourself."

That was all his allowance.

Gu Qingshan took the card and swiped it over his personal Light Brain, transferring the Credit Points.

Even a mosquito was meat; you could never have too much money.

Gu Qingshan handed the card back, his mood brightening.

"How do you want to compete?" Gu Qingshan asked.

Hui Shao said, "Free shooting for one minute. We'll compare our total scores. The higher score wins."

As he spoke, he snapped his fingers.

A middle-aged man in a club uniform pushed through the crowd.

"Hui Shao, leave it to me," the man said.

He looked at Gu Qingshan. "Hello, I'm Wu Sheng, three-time champion of the Federation Archery Competition."

"Not for much longer," Gu Qingshan said, sizing him up.

Before long, Gu Qingshan and Wu Sheng were each standing in an archery lane.

"Begin!" one of the instructors shouted.

Wu Sheng smoothly drew an arrow, steadied his breathing, pulled back the bow, took aim, and released.

Whoosh!

The arrow planted itself squarely in the bull's-eye.

Cheers and applause rang out.

"Ten points!"

"No wonder he's a three-time champion!"

"Nice shot!"

"Look at that form, that accuracy!"

A smile spread across Hui Shao's face, too.

They turned to look at the other lane.

Gu Qingshan had already fired three arrows. Each had pierced the edge of the target, neatly lined up beside the others.

The playboys burst into laughter.

"One point."

"He only scored one point."

"Wrong. Three one-pointers."

"Hahaha, this brat's hand is done for."

Gu Qingshan wasn't affected in the slightest. He drew another arrow and fired.

In the other lane, Wu Sheng took his time aiming, then finally shot his second arrow.

Bull's-eye!

Ten points!

Everyone cheered again.

Wu Sheng turned back with a smug look and raised his bow.

He glanced across at Gu Qingshan. The brat's hands were moving nonstop, and there were already seven arrows stuck in the target.

But they were all worth one point.

Wu Sheng shook his head and gave a derisive smile.

What good was shooting fast?

Seven arrows couldn't match a single one of his.

He drew an arrow, pulled back his bow, and continued aiming.

The competition went on.

Fifteen seconds passed.

Gradually, the cheers died down. The hubbub of people whispering to one another grew louder and louder, until it drowned out everything else.

Wu Sheng fired another arrow. This time, distracted by the chatter around him, his concentration wavered, and he scored only eight points.

Unable to help himself, he turned to look, wanting to see what was happening in the other lane.

The next moment, the bow slipped from Wu Sheng's hands and fell to the ground. He stood frozen in place, dumbstruck.

On the target opposite him, the arrows formed a line that seemed to keep advancing. They were planted in a neat circle around the very edge of the target.

Then came a second circle, slightly closer to the center.

Another perfectly orderly ring!

Then a third circle, closer still to the bull's-eye.

Gu Qingshan fired with exhilarating ease for fifteen seconds.

In just fifteen seconds, he had emptied all five quivers beside his lane.

"That's it," Gu Qingshan said.

Across from him, the entire target was covered in arrows, packed so tightly together that almost not a sliver of space remained.

Even the very center of the bull's-eye was crammed with arrows, leaving no gaps at all.

By contrast, Wu Sheng's target held only five arrows.

No matter how hard Wu Sheng tried, he couldn't have done what Gu Qingshan had in one minute.

Gu Qingshan put away his bow and turned to leave.

As he passed Hui Shao, Gu Qingshan paused. "Thanks for the Credit Points."

"My money is hot to the touch," Hui Shao said.

He turned to one of the people following him and ordered, "Go get the person in charge of the archery range."

Soon, the archery range manager came running over with several employees.

From a distance, the manager smiled ingratiatingly. "Hui Shao, what can I do for you?"

Hui Shao pointed his chin at Gu Qingshan. "My bow went missing. Later, I found it in this man's hands."

"That's right. This brat's a thief."

"Call the police. Have him arrested and thrown in jail."

"First, he needs to return Hui Shao's bow."

The crowd shouted over one another.

The manager looked at Gu Qingshan and said without hesitation, "Sir, please return the bow to Hui Shao."

He'd already been given instructions: there was something important he had to do today.

Gu Qingshan said, "I brought the bow myself. Go check the venue's surveillance footage. I never went near them."

The manager shook his head. "The surveillance cameras have been broken lately. Just return the bow to Hui Shao, or I'll call the police."

Before Gu Qingshan could do anything, the manager picked up his communicator and called the police.

Today, this man had to be put away.

Before long, several police officers entered the archery range.

First, they greeted Hui Shao. Only then did they walk over.

"You're suspected of theft. Come with us," one of the officers said bluntly.

Gu Qingshan looked at the officers, already getting a little annoyed.

"Are you really police? Where's the evidence?" he said.

His gaze swept over them, icy cold.

For some reason, a chill ran through the crowd. They all shut their mouths without thinking.

One of the officers instinctively put a hand on his sidearm.

This kid's a little strange, they thought in unison.