Shooting Practice

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

"Link, I remember you mentioned several times that you wanted to learn about guns from me. Considering you've become a man now, I think you can try practicing."

"Really?"

"Of course. It just so happens to be the weekend, so I'll take you to the shooting range and let you have some fun."

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

After changing clothes, Robert drove Link to a shooting range.

Of course, it was not merely a shooting range. It also sold firearms, and it was located outside town to avoid noise complaints from the gunfire.

Robert had brought Link here because it was a designated partner of the Town Police Station. Most of the town's police officers practiced here.

As the town's police chief, Robert was an old acquaintance of the owner, so he received a substantial discount here.

In Texas, a place where any random household owned several guns, carrying a gun down the street was nothing unusual, and the law allowed it.

That was precisely why Robert had brought Link here to practice shooting.

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

"This is my son. He wants to learn about guns."

"Fine young fellow. He reminds me of myself when I was young. I was only fourteen when I started learning how to shoot targets here with my father."

"That's right. I started learning at about the same age." Robert smiled as well. "It's our tradition. Come to think of it, Link is actually starting a little late."

"That's right. 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. Learning about guns is just an interest of his."

"A scientist? Are you sure?"

"That's right."

"Oh, now that isn't very Texas..."

After casually chatting for a few minutes, Robert called Link over and headed to the shooting range behind the shop.

Everything was big in Texas, and the shooting range was no exception. At first glance, it looked as though nobody was there, though scattered gunshots rang out. Only after looking carefully did Link realize that at least five or six people were practicing.

When Robert and Link arrived, an attendant brought over some guns. Link glanced at Robert's service weapon, then watched Robert pick up one of the guns that had been brought over and asked:

"You aren't using your own gun? I heard someone say that the more you use your own gun, the better your feel for it becomes."

"Alright, rookie. Looks like I need to teach you some common sense. Accuracy is nothing more than something built up through sheer bullet count. Before you reach the limits of your own talent, all you need to do is shoot seriously and get used to the feeling of firing.

"So, if you want to improve your shooting accuracy quickly, the simplest way is to come here every day and fire dozens or a hundred rounds. Keep that up for a few months, and your shooting will naturally improve.

"If you want to improve quickly, you'll need to fire at least several thousand, maybe even tens of thousands of rounds within a few months. At that point, you'll inevitably need to replace the barrel. Replacing the barrel will definitely affect your shooting to some extent, and as a police officer, I'd also have to file paperwork for it.

"So for me, the most economical approach is to use their guns for most of my practice. I only fire a few rounds from my service weapon every few days to stay familiar with it."

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

"Of course. But you can only come practice on weekends. If you want your shooting to improve quickly, perhaps you can wait until summer vacation. I'll speak to the owner then, and you can come every day. But you'll have to pay the expenses yourself. I know you've saved quite a bit of allowance."

As a veteran who had never stopped practicing over the years, Robert was very familiar with everything involved. Under his guidance, Link gradually mastered the most standard procedures.

Link practiced shooting with Robert for an entire morning that weekend. Since his eyesight, reflexes, and other abilities were already up to par, he picked it up quickly.

But just as Robert had said from the beginning, shooting accuracy had to be fed by a vast number of bullets. Even though Link learned quickly, he still needed continuous practice to truly achieve decent accuracy.

So Link kept practicing until his wrists felt faintly uncomfortable from the recoil before finally stopping.

From that day on, Link gained another skill: Basic Firearms Proficiency. To improve it, he set aside one day every week to practice shooting.

On Monday morning of the new week, Link had barely reached the school entrance when he noticed female students pointing at him everywhere he went. Their gazes held curiosity, surprise, shyness, and avoidance, while some even threw him flirtatious looks. These girls were several times more enthusiastic than before.

In contrast, the hostility toward Link from the more popular boys at school had clearly increased. It was as if they had had an unpleasant weekend, and Link was the source of it.

Quite a lot of people had attended that party, and the gossip concerned Link and Lena. It spread at an extraordinary speed, and amid all the rumors, everyone learned that Link was a man who could bring women happiness.

But Link had not expected the impact to be so great. Quite a few bold and passionate girls even chose to ambush him directly.

By lunchtime, Link had finally managed to shake off the enthusiastic entanglements and reach the library when Kevin Naber came over and said:

"Link, I have to admit it, you really are my idol. Your astonishing achievement that night has spread throughout the school. Lots of hot girls have come to ask me about it, and I even heard Lena took sick leave. Did you take advantage of the weekend to..."

At that point, Kevin wore a lecherous expression, while Dan beside him could not help revealing an interested look as well, as though he were ready to hear gossip at any moment.

Link knew it was the result of what he had done the night before, but he was not one to show off. He merely shrugged and said, "I told you, I was only giving her after-school tutoring."

Other than Sheldon, nobody believed Link's attempt at concealment anymore. Everyone knew there were many kinds of after-school tutoring.

Link did not care whether they believed him or not. He sat down beside Sheldon and discovered a math test paper in front of him. Yet the grade on it was only a B+.

Sheldon had always received perfect scores, so Link could not help being surprised by this grade. After examining the paper closely, he realized that all of Sheldon's answers were correct; he simply had not written out any of the solution steps.

So he could not help asking, "What's wrong, Sheldon? You actually forgot to write out the calculations?"

"Mm. It seems you're the only one who cares about the trouble I'm facing."

"It's just a small mistake. It doesn't count as trouble, does it?"

"But it's the beginning of a slide toward the end. Who knows what I'll degenerate into if this continues? A drug addict, or a lawyer."

Link had no idea how Sheldon had put drug addicts and lawyers on the same level, but Kevin said at that moment:

"It's no big deal, Sheldon. You only forgot to write out the solution steps; it's not like you got it wrong. Honestly, for questions this easy, sometimes I find it troublesome when I'm asked to write out the steps too."

"Oh, perhaps that's the important reason why you're still only an alternate in the Math Olympiad Group while I've already defeated the captain of the current Math Olympiad team..."

"But you've been excluded from the Math Olympiad club!"

"My God, who would want to join something like that..."

Seeing that the two were about to start arguing, Dan hurriedly said, "Sheldon, maybe you're overreacting. It's only a B+."

"No. Starting today, I won't help the Football Team anymore!" Sheldon declared decisively.

When Dan heard that, he froze for a moment before saying, "But then maybe those girls won't greet me anymore."

Kevin said, "Come on, Dan, we still have Link. He'll be willing to introduce us to a few hot girls, right?

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

Link could not help complaining, "So you'd sell me out just for a few smiles from those girls?"

Dan said at that moment, "I couldn't help it either. Besides, it isn't bad for you, is it? This is the United States. It isn't only boys who chase girls. Once the girls see what you can do, they'll definitely come flocking to you.

"And as your good friend, I'm sure to get an opportunity too. You know, I originally thought I would never have an opportunity like this throughout high school or even college. But now I believe I might actually have a chance to succeed."