High-speed targets scattered in every direction as Guan Feng fiddled with the tuning stick in his head. However, the interval between each of Tang Qiuqiu’s shots only got shorter and shorter.
Instead of looking to the hit rate counter that was constantly updating on the monitor, his gaze was fully focused on the girl in front of him.
It was just as Cillin had told him. Tang Qiuqiu possessed an outstanding talent that border-lined on instinct. She was calm and decisive, and each shot was taken with near total confidence and zero hesitation.
She truly was a natural born shooter. Neither her upbringing nor her age mattered in the slightest.
Cillin smiled when he saw that Guan Feng’s eyes were growing brighter and brighter. He was certain that his teacher would be feeling much better for the foreseeable future.
Some time later, Guan Feng finally pressed the off button and returned the shooting range to its original outlook. Tang Qiuqiu shot the older man a confused look before lowering her gun a little reluctantly. She greatly enjoyed the shooting practice, and there were very few things she could complain about the conditions of the shooting range. It really did feel like she was fighting in the middle of a jungle. She would be even happier if the target had been shaped like humans. It was because she had killed far more humans than she did animals in her career.
Tang Qiuqiu walked to the shelves and deposited the PTS K back into its box. Then, she began removing her safety gear.
“You’re the first person ever to put on safety gear in my shooting range. Why’s that? Do you not believe in your own skill?” Guan Feng asked.
Tang Qiuqiu shot Cillin a glance before turning toward the older man and replying, “I don’t trust you.”
Guan Feng was the one who gave her the gun, so why on earth would she trust it fully? She had even taken a moment to feel it in her hands and confirm that it was as safe as the one Cillin had given her continuing with her task.
Two, no two guns were the same even if they were the exact same type and model. To use a gun that wasn’t hers was like meeting a stranger for the first time, strange and untrustworthy. It wasn’t until she fired a couple of shots and grasped its “temper” did she begin to feel more comfortable.
Guan Feng didn’t get angry with Tang Qiuqiu. In fact, he spent a long time speaking with her about guns. Cillin gave Wheeze scritches under its chin while the duo enjoyed a fruitful conversation with each other.
Guan Feng was so delighted that he even broke his own rule and allowed Czedow to enter the house. Surprise flashed across his features when he laid his eyes on the robot for the first time, but he didn’t pry beyond what might be considered rude. He was no longer the leader of the Black Viper, so he wasn’t keen on heaping unnecessary responsibilities on own his shoulders. Right now, all he wanted to do was to speak with little Tang Qiuqiu. The more he spoke with her, the more he became curious about her story.
It was rare that Guan Feng was in such a good mood, and Tang Qiuqiu’s performance was impressive to say the least. That was why he announced that he had accepted Tang Qiuqiu as his disciple on the very same day.
For obvious reasons, not anyone could to become Guan Feng’s disciple. The gunmaker had become even more famous than he was before due to recent events, and a lot of people hoped to join him and partake in the benefits. He rejected them all, of course. Guan Feng was the kind of man who followed his heart’s desire to the letter, not to mention that he wasn’t lacking in fame, wealth, soft or hard power. With that in mind, why would he ever mistreat himself to accommodate the demands of others? Oh, you think you can pressure me into accepting your baby little boy? How about I shove my boot up your ass instead?
His ridiculously high standards showed just how special Tang Qiuqiu was. She was neither a master of many things nor a strong fighter like Cillin, but her talent in shooting more than made up for all of her weaknesses. In fact, the older man felt like he had lucked upon a priceless treasure, and he could not wait to see how far she would go.
“Oh right, I have something for you, Cillin. It’s about time you do some work since you’ve been away for so long.”
Cillin caught the e-card Guan Feng threw at his direction and pressed a button. A hologram displaying a short paragraph immediately flashed out of the card.
“An invitation letter?”
It was an invitation letter to become an exam instructor for the selection tests. Now that he thought about it, it was almost time for the affiliated schools’ selection tests. The organizer had sent many people the same invitation because they could always use more manpower.
Cillin took a look at the description and the listed remuneration. The money was one thing, but what really caught his attention was the list of benefits. Included in the list was the permission to procure materials from the RAS and so on.
The RAS was incredibly wealthy, and the large majority of their assets was reflected in their researches. For starters, they had a ridiculous amount of composite materials. Black Viper had their own unique advantages, but the RAS was by no means a weak institute. They had made many breakthroughs across the years and accrued a sizable amount of wealth. Cillin very much wanted the composite materials in their stock, which was why he ultimately decided to accept the invitation.
The empire’s academic community had undergone a reform since the emergence of Return. With the assistance of the imperial family, the three kings and the RAS, all three affiliated schools had made many changes to their exams as well as modified their test period and number of test applicants.
In the past, you could participate in the affiliated schools’ selection test only if someone had recommended you. You were not eligible to take the test if you had not received a recommendation card. It was that simple. Now though, participants could qualify for a spot via Return as well. Unlike the recommendation method, any applicant who qualified via Return was almost guaranteed to be the real deal because they had to compete against countless other experts for a spot, not to mention that the competition would be based purely on academic ability.
Although the new system was still criticized by many, it was without a doubt much better than what it used to be. At the very least, it gave more people the chance to shoot for the stars.
There were three of them and one cat when Cillin and Co had paid Guan Feng a visit, but now there were only two of them and one cat when they left. It was because Tang Qiuqiu had stayed behind to research the wonderful world of firearms with Guan Feng. The invitation letter had been directed at Guan Feng, and the irresponsible man had been ready to reject it like he always did. Fortunately for him—and unfortunately for Cillin—his student had shown up at the perfect time, so he decided to dump the responsibility in his lap instead. Cillin was perfectly qualified to be an exam instructor anyway, so why not?
Cillin was the type to treat his duties seriously once he had decided to accept them, so he made haste to wrap up all the tests he had missed during his absence. After all, it would be troublesome if he had leftover responsibilities when the selection test began. Thankfully, he was able to finish his make-up exam with relatively few trouble because Guan Feng had spoken to his teachers about this beforehand, and most of the teachers were aware that he was a very special case.
They treated Cillin the same as they would have any other student, and since he did well in all of his exams they had nothing to complain about either. It would’ve been insulting to do otherwise, not to mention that many of them did think very highly of Cillin. The young man had said what they were too afraid to say, did what they were too powerless to do, and even founded the single most concentrated and authoritative academic community in the empire. Return’s influence was easily much greater than the exchange forum the members of the RAS used internally.
After Cillin was done with his make-up exams, he wrapped up the miscellaneous stuff of his courses before finally getting ready to perform his duties. The selection test would be taking place at the moon not far away from the planet where the main campus of the affiliated schools were located five days later.
Czedow had borrowed Cillin’s library card. The robot had been reading and having a great time at the library of the affiliated schools during this time, so Cillin wasn’t concerned that he would grow bored any time soon. In fact, since Czedow did not need to sleep like a human does, he could often be seen reading in the library well into the night. It wasn’t long before every librarian in the library became acquainted with him, and it was even rumored among the students that Czedow made for a fantastic conversation partner. Long story short, the robot had become quite the famous person in the library.
After his preparations were complete, Cillin reported to the organizer with the invitation card. To be honest, the person in charge of the selection test wasn’t expecting this because Guan Feng hadn’t attended this event for a very long time. The only reason they still bothered to send him the invitation letter was because it had become a habit at some point, and there was the miniscule chance that Guan Feng might take offense if they stopped sending him the invitation letter.
The person-in-charge didn’t think that this term would be any different from usual, so he waited for the rejection letter practically the second he sent out the invitation letter. To his surprise though, the rejection letter never came. Since it was rumored that Guan Feng was in a foul mood as of late, some of his colleagues even wondered if the older man had forgotten all about it amidst his rage.
That was why he was completely confused when Cillin had handed him Guan Feng’s invitation card. It took him a good few seconds before he finally processed that Cillin was replacing Guan Feng as an exam instructor.