Chapter 116: The Sniper Battle (Please Add It to Your Bookshelf)

When Xu Qiang heard Jin Zhengyang introduce himself, he froze for a moment and turned to Lin Fan. Lin Fan gave a slight nod, clearly telling him that he had been the one to reveal Xu Qiang’s skill with sniper rifles to Jin Zhengyang.

Xu Qiang was no fool. He naturally guessed that his commander wanted to see how good his marksmanship still was.

Indeed, Xu Qiang had correctly read Lin Fan’s thoughts. Lin Fan really did want to find out whether Xu Qiang was still as formidable as he had been back then, and whether he was worthy of the title “King of Snipers” bestowed upon him by a member of the Falcon Special Forces.

The soldiers below knew very little about the Falcon Special Forces. Falcon was one of the nation’s more secretive units, and ordinary people had no idea it even existed. Only a general such as Jin Zhengyang might have the qualifications to know of it. Thus, the soldiers paid no attention to where Xu Qiang had come from. All they knew was that he belonged to a special forces unit.

But they had heard Jin Zhengyang clearly when he called Xu Qiang the “Sniper King,” and a trace of doubt inevitably arose in their hearts. Aside from being tall and powerfully built, Xu Qiang did not seem to possess anything particularly remarkable.

Soldiers all possessed a certain pride and stubbornness. They acknowledged the strong, but only after witnessing their strength with their own eyes. Since their general thought so highly of this man, they could not help imagining how glorious it would be to beat Xu Qiang to the ground in front of him. Then they would become the true “Sniper King,” while also earning their general’s admiration.

“Who’s going first?” Xu Qiang glanced at the soldiers, who were all itching for a challenge, and called down to them without expression.

Since his commander wanted to see what he could do, Xu Qiang naturally had to show his true ability. He could not allow his former title of “Sniper King” to be diminished.

Lin Fan could tell that, like himself, his brother enjoyed life in the military. At that moment, Xu Qiang was suffused with the unmistakable spirit of a soldier.

After Xu Qiang spoke, the soldiers exchanged glances. Then, amid a chorus of nudges and shoves, a burly man in his early thirties stepped forward. Since he had been training moments before, he was wearing nothing but a tank top, and the muscles across his body stood out sharply.

“I’ll go first. Let’s compete in the weapon you’re best at—the sniper rifle.”

The big man was perfectly clear about his intentions, and it was obvious that he had great confidence in his marksmanship.

Seeing him step forward, Jin Zhengyang said with a smile, “He joined the Blue Banner Army at twenty. He’s thirty-one this year and has served as a sniper for eleven years. His skill is the best in the entire Blue Banner Army. I wonder which of you will prove superior, Brother Xu?”

Although Jin Zhengyang did not say so outright, Lin Fan could hear the confidence he placed in the burly man.

Lin Fan gave a symbolic smile but said nothing. He had no desire to argue with Jin Zhengyang. The facts would speak for themselves, and he believed his brother would not disappoint him.

The two men lay prone on the grass, each holding a Type 88 sniper rifle. They focused intently as they adjusted their scopes and studied the bull’s-eye in the distance.

The Type 88 5.8-millimeter sniper rifle was the first in the world to employ a small-caliber round in a sniper rifle. Its bullet had a high muzzle velocity and an effective range of eight hundred meters. At a distance of one thousand meters, it could penetrate a three-millimeter-thick A3 steel plate with complete reliability.

Yet Xu Qiang and the burly man were now shooting from one thousand meters away, clearly beyond the weapon’s effective range. At six hundred meters, the Type 88’s bullets were already beginning to drift. That was precisely what made this a true test of a sniper’s skill.

The gunshots rang out almost simultaneously. Both men struck the bull’s-eye dead center.

“It’s a draw, Brother Lin,” Jin Zhengyang said, clearly pleased with his soldier’s performance. At least the man had not embarrassed him.

Lin Fan merely smiled faintly and said nothing. He knew that when two soldiers competed, there would always be a winner. Since the burly man was also an excellent sniper, he would surely find a way to settle the matter without Xu Qiang needing to say anything.

Seeing that Xu Qiang, like himself, had hit the bull’s-eye, the burly man realized that he had finally found a worthy opponent. He glanced at Xu Qiang and said, “Let’s try fifteen hundred meters. We don’t have to hit the bull’s-eye. Whoever scores more rings wins.”

He did not sound especially confident as he said it. He had no idea whether he could even hit the target at that distance, let alone the bull’s-eye. But he was determined to decide the winner, and this was the only method he could think of. If both of them missed entirely, then at least it would prove that he was no worse than his opponent.

Jin Zhengyang watched the two men expectantly. He, too, wanted to see what the Falcon operative was capable of—to find out what truly distinguished a man trained by the nation’s special forces from one of his own soldiers. In ordinary terms, did the other man have an extra nose or an extra eye?

As for Lin Fan, he kept his eyes on the field. A cigarette rested between his lips, and a faint, confident smile remained on his face.

“Fine. No problem,” Xu Qiang answered readily.

Since his opponent wanted to determine the winner, Xu Qiang would naturally not refuse. Rejecting a challenge was an insult to any soldier.

The two men once again lay prone on the grass, their target the distant red bull’s-eye. Xu Qiang calmly carried out each step of a sniper’s preparations. The fifteen-hundred-meter distance did not cause even the slightest trace of panic; instead, it seemed to fill him with anticipation.

In the past, he would never have reacted this way. But he had not touched a sniper rifle in a very long time, and he did not know whether he could still hit the bull’s-eye. Xu Qiang could see that his commander’s abilities had grown steadily over the years. As Lin Fan’s brother, he naturally refused to fall behind.

As for the burly man, the confidence he had shown when challenging Xu Qiang again had clearly weakened. Anyone observing closely would have noticed that his palms were already beginning to sweat. He knew that he had no hope of striking the bull’s-eye, so all he could do was pray for a little luck. If he could merely hit the target, that would be a blessing.

Perhaps it was all psychological. After all, this was a distance of fifteen hundred meters, and Xu Qiang might not necessarily be better than him. The burly man’s condition improved considerably once he thought of that.

But when he noticed how calm and composed Xu Qiang remained beside him, his heart began to tighten with unease once more. He knew this was no time to dwell on such thoughts, however, so he quickly adjusted his breathing and prepared to fire his best shot.

From beginning to end, Xu Qiang remained completely focused. He paid no attention whatsoever to his surroundings. He did not want to disappoint Lin Fan. He had to live up to his title—the “Sniper King.”

“No, this is impossible. It can’t be. How could you have hit the bull’s-eye? How could you?”

The burly man’s face was filled with disbelief.

The gunshot rang out, and, as usual, he missed the target. In all the years he had served as a sniper, he had challenged the Type 88 to hit targets at fifteen hundred meters many times. Without exception, he had missed every single time.

If Xu Qiang had merely hit the target, he would not have been so shocked. But Xu Qiang had struck the bull’s-eye—the bull’s-eye!

How could he possibly remain calm?