It was not an exaggeration to say that Ye Jian had been progressing at a marvelously fast speed. The more knowledge she was exposed to, the faster she could absorb it. In private, Principal Chen and Grandpa Gen had been complimenting her numerous times, and they had become more confident in Ye Jian.
Unfolding the table and chairs for outdoor usage, Principal Chen motioned for Ye Jian to sit down. Under the scorching sun in the afternoon, he began to impart the theories of sniping to Ye Jian.
Snipers had so much to learn, from lurking to forming a shooting position, from accurately interpreting a map to taking aerial photos of the battlefields. Ye Jian also needed to learn how to enter and exit the battlefields covertly.
She had one and a half years before graduating from junior high. This time was enough for her to crazily absorb this kind of knowledge, which would be beneficial for her whole life.
“Shoot only one bullet, remember, never shoot a second bullet. Don’t give your enemy an opportunity to look for the direction of your bullets! If you can destroy your target by firing only one bullet, you are a winner in the sniping battlefields.”
“The first shot is a matter of life and death. You need to observe the direction of the wind, the weather, and the visibility. In the case of a long shooting distance, the wind speed and the bullet’s gravity will change the trajectory of the bullet. As the saying goes, a miss is as good as a mile. If you miss your first shot, you will alarm your enemy and expose yourself. And it is probably your enemy who will fire the second bullet.”
“Accurately measure the range, the wind speed, the bullet trajectory. And then rely on your instincts to complete your shot!”
While listening to the lecture of Principal Chen, Ye Jian used her slender hands to gently stroke the sniper rifle borrowed from the army. There was a serious look on her paint-smeared face.
She had begun to show the cold and fierce spirit that a sniper should possess.
In the evening, it was Grandpa Gen who took Ye Jian into the ammunition storage of the army. Apart from identifying the guns and ammo and quickly assembling the guns, she needed to combat against the soldiers in the army.
When it comes to combat, Ye Jian was inferior to other soldiers due to her younger age and weaker strength. But at other practices such as identifying guns and assembling a gun from a pile of scattered parts, the time she needed was no more than that of the top soldiers.
“The M16A3 assault rifle has the same shape as the M16A4, but the biggest difference is that it has significantly improved the innate flaw of the mechanical sight on the handle of the Amarette M16 series, so…”
Ye Jian raised the assembled M16A3 assault rifle in her hand and smiled at the soldier who was competing with her, “So, I won. Yours is not an M16A3, but an M16A4 semi-automatic rifle.”
Ye Jian raised her hand and aimed. She shot her first bullet from the loaded M16A3 semi-automatic assault rifle. Bang. The bullet hit the bull’s eye of the target.
The soldier who lost to Ye Jian observed the assault rifle in his hand while watching Ye Jian, who was still a student, fire her first bullet crisply and handsomely.
The rebound force generated by the bullet shot did not affect her shooting position. It was impeccably stable.
The soldier put down the gun in his hand. He was utterly convinced by Ye Jian’s performance!
Smilingly, he applauded and said to Ye Jian, “I admit my defeat. Unfortunately, you are still under 18 years old. Otherwise, we can have a real competition in the army.”
“I used a trick this time. You are still way better than me.”
The trick, which she referred to, was that she had depended on her memory. On the other hand, the top soldier in front of her could quickly and accurately assemble the guns, blindfolded.
The top soldier was also cultivated by Grandpa Gen. Every night, when Ye Jian arrived at the army, Grandpa Gen would ask these top soldiers to teach Ye Jian how to fight so that she could grasp their tenacity.