IMAO Chapter 42

After finishing their meal, everyone walked to the training ground where three people were already waiting.

Jiang Yuan immediately spotted He Chuan, whom he hadn’t seen for several days. He Chuan had been absent lately, leaving them to train with Huzi. Although Huzi was quite skilled in teaching combat, he wasn’t as proficient in tactical training.

He Chuan didn’t notice their arrival. He was engaged in a quiet conversation with an unfamiliar man. They appeared to be quite close, speaking in close proximity to each other.

The man standing at the shooting range looked ordinary. He was not particularly tall, even shorter than Jiang Yuan and the others by half a head. His appearance was so unremarkable that he would blend seamlessly into any crowd.

The others clearly hadn’t met this man before either, all wearing confused expressions.

“Where’s our shooting instructor?” Cyril asked, puzzled.

Everyone else was equally confused. Their previous shooting instructor had been the best sniper aboard the Helios, but today, he was absent.

While everyone was wondering, He Chuan gestured toward the man, “Let me introduce Eric, your new shooting instructor. He’ll be in charge of your shooting lessons, while I’ll handle tactical training, and Huzi will continue with your physical conditioning and combat training.”

“Falcon Eric?” Cyril asked in surprise.

“Yes, that’s him,” He Chuan smiled. “It took quite some effort to get General Xu to let Eric come here. You must learn from him seriously.”

Cyril straightened his back immediately. “Yes, sir!”

Even Cyril’s father highly respected this sniper known as Falcon. Cyril never expected their temporary instructor change would bring them the legendary Falcon!

Eric seemed surprised that someone recognized him. He nodded slightly, and after brief introductions, they were acquainted.

Eric first had them run several laps to warm up, then said, “I’m not familiar with your previous training, so let’s start with target practice. I’d like to assess your individual skill levels.”

“Yes, sir!”

The shooting began with stationary targets. Jiang Yuan raised his gun and hit the bullseye. Ji Rong, beside him, did the same.

Cyril, who had been watching Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong closely, wasn’t surprised. After all, these were stationary targets. They could all hit the bullseye with proper focus.

They continued practicing for about ten minutes before moving on to moving targets, which gradually increased in speed.

Cyril fired shot after shot. This was his specialty. Even moving targets were simple for him. He lifted his chin slightly, knowing from previous classes that his peers’ skills were far inferior to his.

After shooting, Cyril glanced at Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong’s targets. Both also hit the bullseye.

Cyril raised an eyebrow. He wouldn’t lose at shooting. He continued firing as the training went on, and soon a crowd three layers deep had gathered to watch.

“Are these the students training on our ship?” a soldier asked his companion quietly, stroking his chin.

His companion shook his head, “I just boarded the ship myself, how would I know?”

“Let’s make a bet,” a brown-haired man approached the soldiers with a smile. “We’ll bet on who wins! The loser pays the winner 1000 star coins.”

The soldiers who had just returned to their posts smiled, “Sure.”

The brown-haired soldier grinned, “I bet on the redhead to win. What about you?”

“I’m betting on him!” one soldier pointed at Ji Rong.

“I’ll choose Number 7!” the last soldier said after some thought, pointing to Jiang Yuan’s position.

Just as they finished choosing, Huzi, who had nothing better to do, walked over and said to them, “You’ve been played. This guy isn’t just back from leave. He’s been on the ship for a while and has seen Cyril’s shooting scores. Even Monty praised Cyril’s skills.”

“Damn, you sneaky bastard!”

The two soldiers who had made the bet kicked the brown-haired man’s butt. Monty was the legendary sniper aboard the Helios who had been teaching these students.

The brown-haired soldier didn’t mind the kick, instead saying shamelessly, “A bet’s a bet!”

Huzi glanced at the soldier and said, “Mind if I join?”

The brown-haired soldier looked at Huzi hesitantly, “Sir, aren’t you just here to take our money?”

Huzi smiled slightly, “Don’t worry, I’m not betting on Cyril. I’m betting on Number 7, Jiang Yuan, to win.”

“Ah…” The brown-haired soldier fell silent for a moment. Having watched Cyril’s shooting classes recently, he had made up his mind. Gritting his teeth, regardless of Huzi’s intentions, he said, “Fine, let’s bet!”

Seeing this, other soldiers came over. Although it was just for fun, three or four more people joined the betting. 

Jiang Yuan stood in place. The moving targets were meant to simulate human speed. Even at their fastest, they weren’t beyond reason. Eight people, including him, Ji Rong, Cyril, and Gu Bai, could all hit the bullseye simultaneously.

Soon, the single-directional targets changed to multi-directional ones, and only six people could still hit the bullseye consistently.

When the multi-directional targets reached maximum speed, Huzi called out, “Let’s switch to flying discs. This is getting boring.”

“Yeah,” Eric responded flatly. The targets in the shooting range quickly retracted and stopped moving, replaced by flying discs.

As the flying discs launched, the remaining six people simultaneously fired at the colored discs flying through the air!

“Bang!”

A shot rang out, and a disc fell to the ground.

Jiang Yuan remained methodical and clearly unruffled. He didn’t fire first. Instead, he waited for a moment before shooting at the colored discs dancing in the air.

With a clang, another disc fell.

After multiple rounds, only Jiang Yuan, Ji Rong, and Cyril could still hit their targets consistently. The others lowered their weapons after using up all their shots.

“These three students are impressive, but they can’t determine a winner like this.”

“That’s right, who knows how long we’ll have to wait for someone to miss! They really deserve their selection. They’re far better than us.”

Huzi was also anxious. He’d been hoping to make a small profit off these soldiers. If there were no results, it would be meaningless. “Release multiple flying discs at once! Whoever hits the most wins!”

Eric glanced at Huzi and shook his head. “This is a test, not a competition.”

“But we should still rank them!” Huzi pressed shamelessly. He and Eric had met several times before and even shared drinks together, thanks to He Chuan. Their relationship was decent enough that he wasn’t worried about offending Eric.

Eric shook his head again, looking toward the three students on the field. To be honest, their performance had exceeded his expectations. He was curious to see which of them was truly the most skilled.

“You heard him. Multiple discs will be released simultaneously. Let’s see who hits the most,” Eric said in a calm voice.

The three stood on the field, with Jiang Yuan at the front, gripping his gun. When the discs flew out, he didn’t shoot immediately. Instead, he waited half a second before pulling the trigger!

“Bang!”

The moment Jiang Yuan pulled the trigger, the bullet shot from the dark barrel!

“Clang!”

“Clang!”

“Clang!”

After the gunshot, three discs hit the ground simultaneously!

Jiang Yuan’s action left everyone dumbstruck. Before they could process what had happened, he fired another shot, and two more discs fell with resounding clangs!

Cyril, who had been brimming with confidence, froze after firing just two shots, staring at the discs Jiang Yuan struck.

Ji Rong swiftly took down three discs with his speed. When no discs remained, he looked at Jiang Yuan, his expression unsurprised, as if this outcome was expected.

He had always been aware of Jiang Yuan’s strength. During their solo matches in Star Wars, he almost always died to Jiang Yuan’s long-range shots. Jiang Yuan’s marksmanship was terrifyingly precise, like a computer-guided missile that never missed. Ji Rong could only win by avoiding long-range combat and overwhelming Jiang Yuan with intense close-quarter attacks!

Seeing everyone’s shocked expressions and sharp intakes of breath, Ji Rong smirked. Surprised? Jiang Yuan’s shooting skills were leagues above them all! And half a league above himself!

“Holy shit, five discs with two bullets? Is that even human? Even Monty couldn’t do better than that!”

“How did he do it? There wasn’t even enough time to aim!”

“This guy… he’s too incredible!”

Even Eric didn’t expect such a display from Jiang Yuan. Beside him, He Chuan smiled at Jiang Yuan. “Well, Eric? The student I found for you isn’t bad, right?”

Eric: “Indeed, very impressive. He shows great potential!”

Eric glanced at He Chuan and asked, “You rascal, where did you snatch such an excellent student? Didn’t you already recruit all the best students from First Military Academy to train on the ship?”

He Chuan: “What do you mean ‘snatch’? They’re both first-year freshmen who volunteered to come.”

Eric lowered his gaze toward He Chuan. “Then what about the previous students? What happened?”

At those words, He Chuan’s previous smile vanished, replaced by deep concern. He lowered his voice, “I’ll tell you about it when we eat.”

Eric nodded. “Alright.”

Meanwhile, Huzi approached the soldier who’d been taking bets, rubbing his hands together. “Pay up!”

The soldier looked ready to cry. “Sir, you set me up!”

Huzi: “A bet’s a bet!”

“Hahaha, serves you right for trying to swindle us!”

“Karma at its finest!”

The brown-haired soldier: “Could I pay in installments… leave me some money for food…”

“Get lost! The cafeteria’s free. You won’t starve!” Huzi chuckled.

The brown-haired soldier: *manly tears* QAQ

He cast a pitiful, innocent glance at Jiang Yuan, eyes full of resentment.

Jiang Yuan awkwardly avoided eye contact with the soldier.

On the field, Cyril stared at the shattered discs in a daze. He knew this shooting technique. His father could do it, too. His father could even hit five or more at once. Of course, this was a matter of probability. Success depended on factors like disc trajectory and impact points.

Regardless of how many Jiang Yuan hit, he was definitely superior to Cyril!

This guy defied logic!

“Jiang Yuan, your marksmanship is too much!” Gu Bai said with exaggerated suffering. “How are we supposed to cope? It was hard enough having Cyril in shooting class, and now we have another monster like you!”

“Are you really this year’s freshmen… You’re not soldiers the instructors recruited because they were short-staffed, right?” Liu Shan joked.

Jiang Yuan smiled. With Alphonse, the super optical computer, missing a shot was physically impossible!

…

Morning classes ended, and lunchtime arrived.

He Chuan, Huzi, and Eric sat together and chose a corner spot. Only then did He Chuan quietly explain to Eric why Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong came.

Eric raised an eyebrow. “Still no news about that missing student?”

“None,” He Chuan shook his head. “He just vanished suddenly. Can’t find him anywhere in the country, facial recognition hasn’t picked up any trace. His family is frantic. The police are helping search, but there’s not a single lead!”

As Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong passed by with their trays, they caught fragments of the conversation despite the hushed voices. After sitting with their companions, they inevitably brought up the missing student mentioned in He Chuan’s discussion.

“Milo disappeared on his way home,” Gu Bai set down his utensils, his smile fading. “We were training here after the break instead of going home. Midway through, they gave us three days off because we were exhausted. Milo’s home wasn’t far from Apollo’s patrol zone, so he decided to visit during the break.

“After he left, he never came back. If only we’d accepted his invitation to go home with him…”

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