Target Practice

Daisy had a headache. Neither the him from her past life nor the her from this body's previous life had liked studying, but in this world, not studying simply wasn't an option.

Anyone doing well in this world basically had an advanced degree. Iron Man, Hulk, Professor X, Mr. Fantastic—every last one was either a doctor or a professor. Even Black Panther, with nothing better to do, had gone and earned a PhD in physics from Oxford University.

The villains were the same. Doctor Doom, Doctor Octopus, and even Madam Gao, who had just been driven off, claimed to speak "all" languages. They were all top students.

Daisy was currently limited by her knowledge, and her ability development was still at a very low level. At first, she had only wanted to study scientific knowledge, but she saw that disguises, hand-to-hand combat, electronic equipment operation, and even the hacking techniques she was already skilled at were all on the course list. Giving up knowledge unavailable anywhere else seemed far too wasteful.

Knowing she had just arrived, the staff handed her several study plans as though introducing meal packages. They were all courses subdivided according to different specializations. Daisy gave them a quick look. There were at least fifty courses in total!

It felt as though two little people were fighting inside her head. One told her to just learn a few things, then rely on her abilities to conquer the world. The other reminded her how dangerous the future was. Who knew when the knowledge she learned now might save her life?

After considering it again and again, she asked Sharon, "Do you think it's stressful to take so many courses at once?"

Sharon apparently hadn't expected Daisy to be so ambitious. She had been trained since childhood and had always known what path lay ahead of her. Under her elders' plans, she had always been cultivated according to the most optimized arrangement. She was clearly different from someone like Daisy, who had started halfway through. Sharon could take every course because her foundation was solid, but she couldn't casually draw conclusions for someone else.

Realizing that her earlier words might have been misleading, Sharon thought for a while before explaining, "The pressure will definitely be high. You need to judge based on your own circumstances, and the tuition will also be very expensive."

Seeing that Daisy wore neither makeup nor jewelry, Sharon guessed that she wasn't well-off. That was why she tried to discourage her by bringing up money.

Daisy ate, drank, and had fun every day, yet she was actually very poor. As one of the hidden poor, she naturally wasn't wealthy.

But Director Fury had said this tuition would be completely waived. She felt that the promise of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Director was still trustworthy. Beautiful women's words couldn't be trusted, but the Director clearly didn't fall into that category.

With no financial pressure at all, she only worried whether she could handle so many courses.

In the end, she made up her mind and handed over her student card. "I'll sign up for all of these courses."

On the way back to their rooms, Sharon felt a little embarrassed, as though she thought she had led someone astray.

"How are your shooting and combat skills? If you're already qualified in both, you can reduce the general courses and focus your energy on specialized ones," the blonde beauty suggested.

Daisy was a little surprised. There were general courses and specialized courses here too?

She didn't want to brag that she had taken down three enemies with four bullets, so she modestly said she was merely average at both.

Sharon was skeptical. Women were naturally at a disadvantage when it came to firearms and fighting, and unlike Sharon's tall, broad Western build, Daisy didn't look like she had much strength.

Wanting to help this new neighbor face reality, Sharon practically dragged Daisy to the underground shooting range.

Huh? Looking at the cafeteria around the corner while she herself had to take an elevator underground to practice shooting, Daisy felt like crying without tears.

To avoid earning a reputation as nothing but a freeloader, she could only follow Sharon along in frustration.

At the same time, she silently grumbled that these foreigners were terrible at socializing. How pleasant it would have been to chat over a meal. Why insist on building rapport at a shooting range...

Still, she couldn't refuse the other woman's goodwill. Enduring her hunger, she followed Sharon to the shooting range.

"What kind of handgun are you good with?" Sharon asked.

Without recoil being an issue, every gun was the same to Daisy. She could even handle large-caliber revolvers, but there was no need to show off her abilities right now. She chose a 9mm Glock 17, a gun generally better suited for women.

But upon seeing the handguns, she realized she ought to own a personal sidearm. The 92F she had looted from the gangsters earlier was really rather mediocre.

Large-caliber weapons always got the blood pumping. Harley Quinn's Chiappa Rhino revolver over in DC was pretty cool. She should find a chance to modify one for herself.

While she was choosing a gun, Sharon had already put on her glasses and earmuffs, picked a shooting lane, and fired ten shots at the target in rapid succession.

All ten were bullseyes.

"Amazing!" Daisy's admiration came straight from the heart. This was what the results of hard training looked like.

But she wasn't intimidated either. She put on her protective gear, stepped up to the lane, and it felt as though she had returned to those days at the very beginning of her transmigration, practicing at the gun range.

Without using her abilities, she held the gun in both hands and fired ten shots at the target in rapid succession. Every one was a bullseye as well.

Miss Carter was a little surprised. Did every random trainee she ran into have such sharp shooting skills now?

Still, it was only a small surprise. Agents were all decent shots. Even logistics personnel focused on experiments could fire a few rounds if they encountered combat.

"Want to try moving targets?" she asked casually.

Daisy really wanted to say they should go eat, but under the other woman's eager gaze, she still picked up the gun.

She surveyed the surroundings from the corner of her eye. There weren't many people training, but nearly all of them could hit every shot. Unless she made bullets curve, she couldn't do anything too outrageous.

"Bring it on," she agreed calmly.

It was a fairly common setup. Targets representing criminals and hostages would pop up from time to time, but unlike an ordinary shooting range, they didn't move at a stupidly uniform speed. Instead, they followed some kind of computer-controlled irregular pattern. The several targets accelerated and decelerated without warning, and sometimes the hostage targets even moved in front of the criminals.

Sharon demonstrated again. Who knew how many times she had practiced this? She smoothly shot down ten criminals and passed with ease.

But it was much harder for Daisy, who had learned through unconventional means. Fortunately, her overall physical qualities surpassed those of ordinary people, and her reaction speed made up for her lack of experience. Ten gunshots later, she had also taken down ten criminals.

Only then did second-generation agent Sharon Carter realize that her neighbor was no ordinary person. Daisy hadn't mentioned such excellent shooting skills when she introduced herself earlier. Did ordinary New Yorkers all shoot like this? If so, there probably weren't many ordinary people in New York City.

Sharon believed Daisy had lied, at least in part. In her view, there had to be a deeper meaning behind her superiors arranging for the two of them to be together.

Actually, Daisy had thought of this issue long ago. The moment she learned Sharon Carter's name, she had guessed the answer. That was also the main reason she was standing here hungry, keeping Sharon company while shooting targets.