CH 54
Jim began performing some complicated operations on the identity bracelet on his wrist and gusts of whirlwinds appeared in the underground shooting range. Simultaneously, there was some mist to simulate the real outside world as much as possible.
At the same time, the mist was also changing the temperature and humidity of the air, making it difficult for one to make calculations to shoot with precision.
The targets in the distance were also replaced with smaller targets and the targets began to move in random speeds and motions.
Just like before, there were ten targets in the same environment, but the difficulty was multiplied several times.
“David, you have thirty seconds. If you can’t complete the round of shooting within that duration, it will be considered a failure!” Jim said in a deep voice after making all the preparations.
He had a solemn expression that made everyone around them press their lips together and remain silent.
Maron seemed to have realized something as he looked at David in a gloating manner.
“Begin!” Jim exclaimed loudly. The identity bracelet on his wrist showed the projection of the 30-second countdown.
David was fully focused. At this moment, he was just like the Sniper Armorer in the illusion. Three seconds later, he launched the first shot, followed by two consecutive shots.
The three targets were the closest together. When he was calculating the bullet trajectory. He simply removed some deviations and got rid of the need for repeated calculations and analysis.
Jim’s expression was tense, and he looked at the display on his identity bracelet. Delight and disbelief were written all over his face.
After three seconds of calculation and analysis, David fired three more shots, followed by another three-second pause. The last four were shot consecutively as well.
To be honest, having experienced the real Eye of Death in the illusion, he could fire ten shots in a row as long as he used techniques to suppress the recoil, even though it was strong. At most, he could use special techniques to release the recoil on his body after the shooting was over.
Hence, the difficulty of that shot lied in having to quickly calculate and analyze the effects of the surroundings, so as to come up with the best trajectory in the shortest amount of time.
If he was not using the Eye of Death replica, but another sniper rifle, he probably wouldn’t be able to do it with that much accuracy. Since he was primarily using the Eye of Death replica, he did not need to test the gun at all.
The weakened performance of the replica of the Eye of Death was only a proportional decrease in the performance of the authentic Eye of Death. At a range of 600 meters, the reduction had little to no effect.
David stood up and shook his somewhat numb shoulders. At the end of the day, it was the first time he had unloaded. There was nothing wrong with his technique, but it was not the best.
“David, do you know what you’ve just passed?” Before Jim could report the results, Maron, who had been standing next to Jim and watching the display screen of the identity bracelet on Jim’s hand, hugged David and yelled.
“What did I pass?” David asked as he pushed Maron away in response to his excessively intimate action.
“David, you passed the Star Federation Military Sniper range test!” Jim’s voice was filled with disbelief. However, the results displayed before him were not to be doubted.
It took David only 15 seconds to complete that assessment.
“Is this the range assessment for a Military Sniper?” David didn’t quite believe it either. Although he had fused the Sniper Armorer Knowledge Orbs, he had only been trained to perform calculations and analysis in a virtual environment. He had never put it to test in the real world before.
That was his first time using a sniper rifle, but he had passed the Military Sniper’s range assessment straight away.
“David, I need to explain it to you. This does not mean that you have the combat ability of a military sniper. The range assessment is just one of the many military sniper assessments!” Jim went out of his way to elaborate.
However, he did not mention that those who could pass the range assessment would basically pass the entire military sniper assessment because that was the most difficult to pass.
He had thirty seconds to suppress the recoil of the sniper rifle while shooting ten small targets that moved quickly and irregularly. He also had to achieve results above the 95-ring in an environment where there were chaotic winds and mist. It was definitely a tough feat to achieve such a performance.
Soldiers with talent in sniping would have to train rigorously for several years before they could attempt the assessment.
“Jim, does this Eye of Death replica belong to me now?” asked David who was not too concerned about the military sniper assessment. The only thing he was concerned about was the ownership of the Eye of Death replica.
“David, this Eye of Death replica is yours to keep. I will help you settle the appropriate administrative paperwork so that you can have the legal ownership of this sniper rifle!” Jim said with a wry smile. He then continued, “You should be concerned about another issue. You are gifted in sniping. I heard from Maron that both you and him are aiming to enter Nan University. Well, you have a great possibility of becoming an armorer, which also means you have the possibility of becoming a Sniper Armorer in the future!”
The gaze in the eyes of the people around them changed when they heard him mention Sniper Armorer.
Pelan City was a small city that produced very few Sniper Armorers. Now that there was a potential Sniper Armorer beside them, they found it surreal.
Almost every armorer wanted to have a Sniper Armorer as a teammate because that meant that they would achieve more success in the battles.
In particular, they were in the wilderness of Planet Rocky with an environment with low-intensity Bugs. As long as they didn’t encounter hordes of Class 1 Bugs or Class 2 Bugs, a Sniper Armorer could basically guarantee that the entire team of armorers would receive gains.
They did not have to bear too much of a consequence. Even the Class 1 bullets fired by the Sniper Armorers could be retrieved with some time. Getting more gains with small payoffs was an advantage that the Sniper Armorer could bring to other armorers.
The Sniper Armorers would increase their safety as well. The one-shot-kill ability of the Sniper Armorer would greatly reduce the chances of the combat armorers getting injured.
“David, can we exchange contact numbers?” Jim asked David as he moved his identity bracelet closer to his.
“Sure, no problem!” David also brought his identity bracelet closer, and they exchanged contact numbers.
“I’ll take three days, at most, to complete the administrative processes and hand the Eye of Death replica over to you. You can’t take it with you yet!” Jim said with a smiling expression as he noticed that David had been staring at the Eye of Death replica from time to time.
“Jim, sorry to trouble you. I really like this sniper rifle, so I won’t stand on ceremony with you!” David exclaimed. He was genuinely grateful.
“I’ve set up a membership here for you, so you can come to hang out sometime in the future!” Jim said as he performed some operations on his identity bracelet.
“David, what else are you not good at?” Maron asked, looking as if he had suffered a huge blow.
“Maron, I just have some flair for learning. As long as you work hard, you can do it too!” David said with a wide grin.
Maron rolled his eyes at David. He did not believe the latter at all.
However, Maron didn’t dwell on it too much, and he soon forgot about what happened before. He had gotten used to suffering many blows anyway. Hence, he started to discuss with David his intention to loan the Eye of Death replica from him in the future.
Along the journey back home in the car, they discussed the distribution of the rights to use the Eye of Death replica, which David had not even obtained yet. They laughed and teased each other.
In the underground shooting range, Jim walked to the side and activated his identity bracelet.
“Father, David came to the shooting range today!” Jim said. It was clear that Lieutenant Eden was the one on the other end of the line.
“Jim, I owe David’s father, Hans, a favor. Do your best to satisfy David’s needs!” Lieutenant Eden said in a steady voice.
“I’ve agreed to give David the Eye of Death replica!” Jim answered.
“You must have your reasons for doing that, tell me!” Lieutenant Eden did not blame Jim for his decision. He knew his son’s character very well.
“David passed the Military Sniper range assessment!” Jim first stated the reason for his decision and then proceeded to tell Eden the entire process of David taking the test.
“You’ve done well. David has Hans’ connections and as long as he is talented, he will definitely be more than an armorer. I heard that Sir Galen had taught David individually for a few days. After that, he even praised David. Sir Galen has a good judgment of people, and I believe that David’s future is promising. It’s on your part to communicate with him more. I think Mayor Bernard also has the same idea as us!”
“Father, what about the administrative procedures for the Eye of Death replica?” Jim asked. Since he had Lieutenant Eden’s approval, he naturally did not have to think about a solution himself.
“We’ll use our city defense reserve rights. I’ll communicate with them!” Lieutenant Eden said after some thought.