20demayo Chapter 0050: Failed! Failed again!
Chapter 0050: Failed! Failed again!
The composed company commander casually remarked, "They didn't manage to dig it up; Zheng Yingqi refused?"
"He refused?" Hong Xingguo was surprised to hear this. For an ambitious soldier, going to the regimental headquarters was a huge opportunity, let alone being recruited by a technical sergeant like "Gun King". How could he refuse?
Gao Cheng repeated Zheng Yingqi's words with a smug look on his face. Hong Xingguo was more and more surprised as he listened. He never expected that Zheng Yingqi would have such awareness and understanding!
"Good, good, good!" Hong Xingguo exclaimed excitedly, adding, "I never imagined that the shy boy I saw during my home visit would become so outstanding!"
"Our Seventh Company is a place where the excellent become even more excellent!" Gao Cheng said proudly.
The results were announced, and the audience erupted in commotion. No one had expected the gap between the others and Zheng Yingqi to be so vast…
In Class 7, someone asked Cheng Cai:
"Chengcai, how many points can you hit at this distance?"
Everyone knew that Cheng Cai was an unofficial trainee, so many people pricked up their ears, eager to hear his answer. Cheng Cai thought for a moment and said:
"I fired three shots and hit the target three times."
"Wow!"
"No wonder he was trained by the Gun King!"
The soldiers were amazed. Cheng Cai revealed a reserved, smug smile. He wasn't lying, but he also didn't mention the time—the time he hit all three shots, the total time was 31 seconds.
"His Class 3 has Zheng Yingqi, and our Class has Cheng Cai!" the Class 7 monitor proudly declared.
Wu Liuyi, who was not far away, secretly laughed when he heard the Seventh Squad Leader's open declaration. The Seventh Squad Leader dared to say such a thing. Wasn't he afraid of biting off more than he could chew?
At this moment, the six people on the field entered the preparation stage again, and someone immediately urged Wu Liuyi, "Hey, Deputy Squad Leader Wu, the third event is about to begin, hurry up and tell us!"
Wu Liuyi explained:
"This is the most difficult part, which is extreme shooting—from 750 meters to 1000 meters, there is a target every 50 meters, a total of six targets, and ten chances to fire. The qualification requirement is to hit the first two targets."
Holy crap!
The soldiers exclaimed in amazement. 750 meters was a distance beyond their imagination. Looking at the soldiers' expressions, Cheng Cai suddenly felt extremely aggrieved—why wasn't he on the field today? He could hit the first three targets!
On the field, Zheng Yingqi looked at Gan Xiaoning, who was preparing.
Gan Xiaoning was still feeling down about missing the target, and the pressure had increased immensely because of it. After all, he had lost face in front of the entire company—he had lost face for the training team, for Meng Jianguo, and for the Third Platoon!
"Have you heard that joke?" While loading the ammunition, Zheng Yingqi said to Gan Xiaoning, "There was an eighty-year-old man who was bragging to people that he got his 20-year-old wife pregnant. Then someone said that he was hunting in Africa when a lion suddenly pounced on him. He took his umbrella, aimed at the lion, and fired a shot. The lion was shot and died instantly."
"Was the lion killed by someone else?" Gan Xiaoning asked curiously.
Zheng Yingqi stared at Gan Xiaoning in shock: "Shouldn't you be paying attention to the eighty-year-old man and his twenty-year-old new wife?"
Gan Xiaoning finally understood the cryptic joke and couldn't help but laugh.
"Feeling better now?" Zheng Yingqi said after Gan Xiaoning stopped laughing. Gan Xiaoning nodded, and Zheng Yingqi patted his shoulder, saying, "Just perform normally. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. We're all comrades in the same company. How much pressure can there be? The battalion and regimental commanders aren't here. What are you afraid of? Soldiers of the Steel Seventh Company should be fearless!"
Nothing could make the soldiers of the Seventh Company more "fierce" than these words. Gan Xiaoning nodded fiercely: "Yes, the soldiers of our Steel Seventh Company should be fearless!"
At Meng Jianguo's command, the six men immediately took their firing positions and prepared to fire in a prone position.
This was the last item in the assessment, and also a long-term goal and assignment that Meng Jianguo left for the training team members. Once Tanmen could easily hit the target at 1,000 meters with the complicated formulas, they would have completed the assignment and graduated.
Bang
Zheng Yingqi was the first to fire again. He fell to the ground after the gunshot at the 750-meter target, then he looked at the next target, fired, and aimed again...
For the first three targets, Zheng Yingqi fired each shot about six seconds apart. But after the fourth target, his speed suddenly slowed down. The officers with binoculars held their breath and focused all their attention on Zheng Yingqi's target.
That's 900 meters!
At a distance of 900 meters, how many snipers in the entire 7th Company could accurately hit their target with an 85mm sniper rifle?
Moreover, Zheng Yingqi was using a Type 56 semi-automatic rifle, albeit a modified version, which was more accurate than the regular Type 56.
This time, Zheng Yingqi took an extremely long time to aim. This "extremely long" is in contrast to his previous quick aim. In fact, he only took about ten seconds to aim before decisively pulling the trigger.
Bang
With the crisp sound of the 56mm semi-automatic rifle, everyone stared intently at the target 900 meters away. A little over a second but less than two seconds later, the distant target suddenly collapsed to the ground!
"I won!"
"It's a real hit!"
"powerful!"
The officers are usually very composed, after all, they need to establish their authority in front of the soldiers. But this time, they screamed like children. The officers' screams were also a "report" to the soldiers. The soldiers of the Seventh Company also shouted in surprise—hit at a distance of 900 meters!
Shi Jin was as happy as a child. Nine hundred meters away, and with a 56mm gun, he actually hit the target. That's amazing!
According to the requirements, hitting the targets at 750 and 800 meters within ten shots would be considered qualified. Zheng Yingqi hit all of them with one shot, and even hit the target at 900 meters with one shot!
Those were his soldiers, how could he not be proud? How could he not be happy?
Zheng Yingqi, on the field, did not stop aiming because of the exclamations and cheers coming from not far away. Instead, he aimed at the fifth target, the human-shaped target 950 meters away.
He slowly adjusted the scope, focusing on the tiny target in the scope, then raised the muzzle. He felt the wind speed and made adjustments little by little. About thirty seconds later, he pulled the trigger.
boom!
Amid the gunfire, the officers with binoculars stared intently at the target. One second passed, two seconds passed, three seconds passed…
The target remained completely still.
Only then did they realize that they hadn't won.
"Didn't hit?" Hong Xingguo looked at the target in surprise. He thought he would hit it, so why didn't he?
Gao Cheng wasn't surprised, after all, Meng Jianguo had said long ago that after 900 meters, Zheng Yingqi would need luck to hit the target with his Type 56 semi-automatic rifle.
"That kid isn't omnipotent," Gao Cheng said with a laugh, seeing his partner's incredulous expression. Hong Xingguo smiled wryly, "I really thought that kid was omnipotent! Hey, hitting the target at 900 meters is already beyond imagination, how could I have had such high expectations of him?"
Gao Cheng thought for a moment and said, "This kid probably raised our expectations too high!"
Hong Xingguo nodded in deep agreement.
From the officers' reactions, the soldiers knew that Zheng Yingqi hadn't created a miracle this time. Instead, they breathed a sigh of relief. This kid was still a human being; he hadn't exceeded the bounds of humanity!
Cheng Cai felt a surge of secret joy—Zheng Yingqi, even you have your off days!
"What a pity." Shi Jin shook his head and sighed, then smiled bitterly. What's there to regret? Zheng Yingqi has already made most people despair. What's there to regret about such a result?
On the field, Zheng Yingqi, who missed the target, was not disappointed, but continued to calmly aim. Meng Jianguo kept watching Zheng Yingqi's expression. For Meng Jianguo, he didn't care whether he could hit the 950-meter target or not; what he cared about was his mentality after missing.
A qualified sniper should have the composure to remain calm even when faced with a collapsing mountain, but most snipers are easily affected by the failure of the first shot. Missing the shot is not terrible; what is terrible is that the mindset becomes problematic after missing the shot, and even the opportunity to follow up with a shot is wasted!
Zheng Yingqi, however, did not disappoint Meng Jianguo, as he continued to aim at his target as if nothing had happened.
boom!
Gunshots.
Two seconds later, the target...did not budge.
"Didn't get it again?"
The officers with binoculars seemed to accept the fact that Zheng Yingqi had failed to hit the target, and were not surprised by the failure—in fact, the other five officers had not yet hit the second target!
"You've missed two shots. Will you break down mentally?" Meng Jianguo asked curiously. Most people can barely maintain their composure after failing the first time and try again, but after failing twice in a row, most people's mental state will collapse. And a sniper's long-range shooting allows no room for the slightest slack!
Can Zheng Yingqi now calmly prepare for the third shot?
(Who said it was short and weak? This is yesterday's first update! Longer now? Stronger now? Can you give me votes now?! I'm begging investors! I'm begging! I'm begging with my pitiful luck!)