Shooting Practice

Perhaps it really was Link's lucky day. The next morning at breakfast, Robert said:

"Link, I remember you mentioning a few times before that you wanted to learn how to shoot from me. Considering you've become a man now, I think you might be ready to try practicing."

"Really?"

"Of course. Today is the weekend, so I'll take you to the shooting range to have some fun."

"That's great, Robert! I've been waiting for this day for a long time."

The two changed their clothes, and Robert drove Link to a shooting range.

Of course, this wasn't just a shooting range; it also doubled as a gun shop. It was located outside of town to avoid complaints about the noise of gunshots.

The reason Robert brought Link here was that it was a designated partner location for the Town Police Station. The town's police officers basically practiced shooting here.

As the town's police chief, Robert was an old acquaintance of the owner, and coming here meant significant discounts on prices.

In Texas, it wasn't uncommon to see several guns in any given place, and carrying a gun on the street wasn't a rare sight; it was allowed by law.

It was precisely for this reason that Robert brought Link here to practice shooting.

The owner was a half-white old man in his fifties. Seeing Robert, he said, "Hey, Chief, who's this young man with you?"

"This is my son. He wants to learn how to shoot."

"He's a fine young man. This reminds me of when I was young. I was only fourteen back then and was already learning how to shoot targets here with my father."

"That's right, I also started learning to shoot around that age." Robert also said with a smile, "This is our tradition. Speaking of which, Link is a bit late in starting."

"Exactly, this is Texas. Speaking of which, Robert, are you planning to have him become a police officer too?"

"No, Link's dream is to become a scientist. As for learning to shoot, that's because of his interest."

"A scientist? Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Oh, that's not very Texas..."

The two chatted casually for a few minutes, then Robert called out to Link and they went to the shooting range in the back.

Everything is big in Texas, and shooting ranges are even more so. When Link and Robert arrived, at first glance, the shooting range looked empty, but there were scattered gunshots. Upon closer inspection, they found that there were at least five or six people practicing.

When Robert and Link arrived, an employee brought over a gun. Link glanced at Robert's service pistol, then watched Robert pick up the gun that was brought over, and asked:

"Aren't you using your own gun? I've heard people say that if you use your own gun more, you'll have a better feel for it."

"Alright, little rookie, it seems I need to teach you some common sense. Accuracy is simply built up through the number of bullets fired. Before you reach the limit of your own talent, you just need to shoot seriously and get used to the feeling of shooting.

So, if you want to quickly improve your shooting accuracy, the simplest way is to come here every day and practice dozens or a hundred rounds. Practice like this for a few months, and your shooting skills will naturally improve.

If you want to improve quickly, you'll need to shoot at least several thousand rounds, or even tens of thousands, within a few months. At that point, you'll inevitably have to replace the barrel, and after replacing the barrel, it will definitely have some impact on shooting. Besides, as a police officer, replacing a barrel also requires filing a record.

Therefore, for me, the most cost-effective way is to use their guns for most of my practice, and shoot a few rounds with my own service pistol every few days just to stay familiar with it."

Link suddenly understood: "So that's how it is."

"Of course, but you can only come here to practice shooting on weekends. If you want your shooting skills to improve quickly, perhaps you can wait until summer vacation. At that time, I'll talk to the owner, and you can come every day, but you'll have to pay for these expenses yourself. I know you've saved up quite a bit of pocket money."

As a veteran who hadn't given up practicing over the years, Robert was very familiar with everything related to firearms. Link followed him and gradually mastered the most standardized operations.

He spent a Saturday morning practicing shooting with Robert. Because his eyesight, reaction speed, and other abilities were up to par, he picked it up quickly.

However, just as Robert had said at the beginning, shooting accuracy required a lot of bullets to be fed. Even though Link learned quickly, he still needed continuous practice to truly achieve good accuracy.

Therefore, Link kept practicing until his wrist felt a little uncomfortable from the recoil before he stopped.

From that day on, Link gained a new skill: Basic Firearms Proficiency. To improve this skill, Link would set aside one day each week to practice shooting.

On Monday of the new week, when Link arrived at school in the morning, he noticed that everywhere he went, female students were pointing at him. Their gazes towards him were curious, surprised, shy, and evasive, and some were even batting their eyelashes. It could be said that these girls were several times more enthusiastic than before.

In contrast, the popular boys at school clearly showed increased hostility towards Link, as if they hadn't had a pleasant weekend, and the root cause was Link.

There were quite a few people who attended the party that day, and this was gossip about Link and Lena, so the spread speed was not ordinary. Under the constant rumors, everyone knew that Link was a man who could bring happiness to women.

However, Link didn't expect the impact to be so great. Some bold and enthusiastic girls even directly chose to ambush him.

It wasn't until lunchtime that Link finally managed to escape these enthusiastic entanglements and arrived at the library. Kevin Naber came over and said:

"Link, I have to admit, you are truly my idol. Your amazing performance that night has spread throughout the school. Many hot girls have come to ask me about it, and I also heard that Lena took sick leave. Did you take advantage of the weekend..."

At this point, Kevin showed a lewd expression, and Dan, who was next to him, couldn't help but show an interested expression, as if ready to listen to gossip at any time.

Link knew it was his masterpiece from the previous night, but he wasn't one to show off. He just shrugged and said, "I told you, I was just giving her extracurricular tutoring."

Regarding Link's attempt to cover up, everyone except Sheldon no longer believed him. They all knew that extracurricular tutoring could come in many forms.

Link didn't care whether they believed him or not. He sat down next to Sheldon and found that there was a math test paper in front of him, but the score was only a B+.

Knowing that Sheldon's grades were always perfect, getting only this score this time made Link a little surprised. After looking closely, he found that Sheldon's answers were all correct, but he hadn't written any solution process.

Therefore, he couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong, Sheldon? You actually forgot to write the calculation process?"

"Well, it seems only you care about the trouble I'm facing."

"This is just a small mistake, not really trouble, is it?"

"But this is the beginning of a descent into the abyss. Who knows what I'll degenerate into if this continues, becoming an addict or a lawyer."

Link didn't know how Sheldon equated addicts and lawyers, and Kevin said at this time:

"It's no big deal, Sheldon. You just forgot to write the solution process, it's not like you got it wrong. To be honest, for such simple problems, sometimes I find it troublesome to write the solution process."

"Oh, perhaps that's the main reason why you are still just a substitute member in the Math Olympiad Group, while I have already defeated the current captain of the Math Olympiad team..."

"But you've been kicked out of the Math Olympiad interest group!"

"Oh my god, who would want to participate in something like that..."

Seeing that the two were about to start an argument, Dan quickly said, "Sheldon, maybe you're overreacting. It's just a B+."

"No, from today on, I will no longer help the Football Team!" Sheldon said decisively.

Hearing Sheldon say this, Dan was stunned for a moment, then said, "But if that happens, maybe those girls won't talk to me anymore."

Kevin said, "Come on, Dan, we still have Link. I believe he'll be willing to introduce us to some hot girls, right?

And don't forget, just this morning, how many girls wanted to ask us about what happened that night."

Link couldn't help but complain, "So, just for a few smiles from those girls, you sold me out?"

Dan also said at this time, "I can't help it, besides, it's not bad for you, is it? This is the United States, it's not just boys who chase girls. When girls see your ability, they will definitely flock to you one after another.

And as your good friend, I will definitely get a chance. You know, I originally thought I wouldn't have such an opportunity throughout high school and even college, but now I believe I will definitely have a chance to succeed."