Chapter 19: Breaking the Record
Jiang Chenyan met Xie Huaijin’s muzzle without fear.
He knew the other man was just putting on an act. In front of so many people, he wouldn’t truly fire.
Xie Huaijin sneered, the muzzle still trained on him. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll blow you away right now?”
“Not afraid.” Jiang Chenyan’s voice was as calm as still water.
Xie Huaijin stared at him for a few seconds before throwing the gun onto the table. He looked at the person beside Jiang Chenyan. “Where did you pick up this patient? Did you hit him?”
Ji Xuan, suddenly called out, was completely stunned. He didn’t know how to react, but what Jiang Chenyan said next nearly scared him witless.
“Do you think everyone is like you, always letting their fists do the talking?”
Ji Xuan: “…”
Those words completely ignited Xie Huaijin. He stepped forward, gritting his teeth. “You’re so fucking arrogant! I ask you, what was the meaning of that photo Shen Shiyue sent me yesterday?”
“No meaning,” Jiang Chenyan spoke flatly. “We were misunderstood. Our hands were fast.”
Xie Huaijin’s chest heaved with rage, and his knuckles turned white. He practically squeezed the words through his teeth: “Jiang Chenyan, you are the first person who has dared to challenge my bottom line again and again.”
“I actually didn’t want to challenge your bottom line,” Jiang Chenyan spoke the truth. “From beginning to end, you’ve been the one holding onto us and not letting go.” It was exhausting to deal with such a lunatic.
“So what if I am?” Xie Huaijin stared down at Jiang Chenyan. “I just want to mess with you. I just won’t allow you to leave my sight.”
He took a half-step forward, his voice pressed very low. “Tell me, why am I like this?”
Jiang Chenyan frowned and took a step back to create distance. “How should I know? You’re probably sick.”
Surprisingly, Xie Huaijin seemed stimulated and let out a low laugh. The laughter was light and cold, giving Jiang Chenyan goosebumps.
He finally understood why Mu Si’an was interested in Jiang Chenyan. Who wouldn’t be interested in such a vivid, stinging thing? He had enough kick when resisting, a sharp tongue, and was easily ignited.
Forget Mu Si’an—judging by Shen Shiyue’s previous reactions, it was likely he also had designs on Jiang Chenyan.
Xie Huaijin had previously wondered why, with his own capabilities, he couldn’t investigate Shen Shiyue’s identity. Later, he used his connections and informants to find out that Shen Shiyue was no ordinary person; his background was very solid.
“Have you ever played with a gun?” Xie Huaijin suddenly curled his lips and asked Jiang Chenyan.
Jiang Chenyan frowned. He didn’t like the look of that smile; it felt like mockery. Before transmigrating, he was a law-abiding citizen. Leave aside real guns, he hadn’t even touched toy guns much.
In the corner, Ji Xuan’s heart was in his throat, and his back was already soaked in cold sweat. He was just a small character; to think he would see two big shots clashing in his lifetime.
In the Empire, firearms weren’t strictly prohibited. For children from military families, they grew up handling guns and were long since used to them.
The Star Network rumored that Jiang Chenyan’s family was quite well-off. Logically, a child from such a family should have come into contact with various types of guns.
But facing Xie Huaijin’s question, Jiang Chenyan only pursed his lips and didn’t speak for a long time.
Xie Huaijin raised an eyebrow. “What? Never tried?”
“None of your business,” Jiang Chenyan shot back. He paused and added, “I certainly can.”
“Oh? Then let’s give it a try.” Xie Huaijin pressed his tongue against his back teeth. “Let’s compete.”
Jiang Chenyan didn’t respond, first turning to Ji Xuan. His tone was unusually soft. “He’s still injured. Send him out first.”
He truly hadn’t touched a gun before. If he failed in the competition with Xie Huaijin…
In short, he couldn’t lose face in front of his new teammate.
“What a nuisance.” Xie Huaijin clicked his tongue in impatience. He turned and asked Ji Xuan, “Are you leaving?”
“No, no. I’ll stay here and wait.” Ji Xuan waved his hands hurriedly. He couldn’t hide the anticipation in his eyes. He was truly curious what it would be like when these two competed.
Jiang Chenyan looked at Ji Xuan’s “spectator” look and then at Xie Huaijin, who was waiting to see him make a fool of himself. He was left with nothing to say.
Jiang Chenyan asked himself two questions in his mind: What to do when the teammate doesn’t follow? What to do when they think I’m amazing?
He comforted himself by thinking that a casual competition would be fine; losing didn’t matter since not many people would know. However, as the two squared off, a crowd actually gathered to watch.
Jiang Chenyan: “…”
Seeing this, the arc of Xie Huaijin’s lips grew wider, and he couldn’t hide his laughter.
“How do you want to compete? Do you set the rules, or do I?”
Jiang Chenyan looked at the surrounding crowd and suppressed the annoyance in his heart. “You decide.”
Xie Huaijin spun the gun around his finger. “How about this? We’ll use laser guns and activate the simulation combat device. One round decides the winner. Whoever kills more simulated enemies wins.”
Jiang Chenyan’s fingers curled slightly. After a moment of silence, he nodded. “Fine.” He paused and looked at Xie Huaijin, adding, “Can you go first? I’d like to admire your technique.”
Hearing this, Xie Huaijin let out a low laugh. Those words were effective. “I didn’t realize you could use a word like ‘admire’.”
“Then, within the set time, we’ll see who kills more enemies. I’ll go first.”
Jiang Chenyan said nothing and nodded in agreement, only locking his gaze firmly onto Xie Huaijin’s movements.
The simulation device activated, and a virtual scene enveloped the two. The large screen in the training hall lit up, clearly projecting every detail in the field and Xie Huaijin’s posture as he held the gun.
The virtual scenes were randomly selected by the system: desert, jungle, grassland, etc. Xie Huaijin drew the grassland.
The crowd below was already boiling with discussion.
“Young Master Xie’s shooting is famously fast, accurate, and ruthless. He broke the record in the last competition.” The person beside him nodded in agreement. “Isn’t Jiang Chenyan just walking into a trap by choosing to compete with him now?”
“Could Jiang Chenyan have hidden strength?”
“Who knows. I think Jiang Chenyan is quite thin—skinny arms and legs. Can he even hold a gun? They’re quite heavy.”
…
The discussions grew increasingly unsightly, flooding into his ears. Ji Xuan frowned and called his name. “Jiang Chenyan.”
“It’s fine.” Jiang Chenyan knew what Ji Xuan meant, but currently being pushed onto the stage, he had no retreat. He had to compete; not doing so would mean he was a coward.
Xie Huaijin: “I’ve always been first on the school’s shooting leaderboard.”
Jiang Chenyan only flatly responded, “Mm. Got it. Hurry up and start.”
Xie Huaijin was moved to an angry laugh by this indifferent attitude. A cold arc hooked his lips. “I hope when this is over, you can still be this arrogant.”
As the words fell, he pressed the timer. He gripped the laser gun steadily, aiming the muzzle forward. The next second, countless phantom enemies emerged like a tide.
Jiang Chenyan didn’t stay, turning to retreat to the corner of the spectator stands. His gaze, however, remained locked on Xie Huaijin’s movements—from the angle of his arm when raising the gun to the force of his knuckles when pulling the trigger. He precisely memorized every detail.
The system’s mechanical voice appeared in his head: [Eh? What’s this commotion? A competition?]
Jiang Chenyan said nothing, only nodding lightly.
[A shooting competition? Holy shit! Gong 1’s shooting speed is way too fast! Host, you aren’t going to compete with him, are you?]
Jiang Chenyan: “Mm. You guessed right.”
[Can you actually win?]
Jiang Chenyan’s lips curled, and a light laugh escaped him. “What? You don’t believe me? I should be able to tie with him.”
System: [I don’t believe it. According to the settings, he’s the ceiling of the school’s shooting. Besides, you’ve hardly touched a real gun, and your experience with laser gun combat is zero.]
Jiang Chenyan casually shrugged. “Believe it or not. You’ll see.”
He truly hadn’t handled a gun properly, but ever since he could remember, he learned everything with startling speed. He could derive complex formulas after seeing them once, pick up unfamiliar skills after two practice sessions, and even had a near-photographic memory. He could memorize the six-hundred-word Li Sao in half a class.
Furthermore, he loved observing details. Even the arc of someone raising their hand or the rhythm of their force could be deconstructed and memorized.
Since middle school, regardless of the exam, Jiang Chenyan was always the steady first place in school, leaving second place tens of points behind.
He had thought that after transmigrating, all his skills would vanish, but they hadn’t.
His gaze returned to Xie Huaijin. The other had officially begun—raising the gun, aiming—every move was clean and crisp. One after another, the dark figures vanished under the laser gun.
In just a few minutes, he had cleanly killed many virtual enemies. This god-like operation made the crowd below boil with excitement. The cheers and exclamations nearly blew the roof off the training field.
Jiang Chenyan couldn’t help but think “holy shit” in his heart.
In the virtual scene, one didn’t just have to kill targets; they had to constantly guard against sneak attacks. The rules set a twenty-minute time limit. If hit once, time would stop and the test would end.
Xie Huaijin’s muzzle hardly made a mistake, and his movements to dodge attacks were effortless.
Everyone felt the competition was already decided.
“My god, this is too impressive! Did he break the record again?”
“How can the gap between people be this big? I feel like I could never reach that in my whole life.”
“So Jiang Chenyan is really going to lose, right?”
“Hard to say, but looking at this, the chance of Jiang Chenyan losing is definitely over ninety percent.”
“Don’t you think it’s strange? We’d never heard the name Jiang Chenyan before. It’s like he suddenly popped up.”
“Yeah. We’ve never seen him win an award. Maybe he just had good luck and won the ‘gene lottery’.”
…
Everyone was stunned. They knew Xie Huaijin was strong, but they hadn’t expected him to be this strong.
When the twenty-minute limit was up, the kill count on the screen froze at nearly 60. That averaged 3 targets per minute.
The silent Jiang Chenyan finally frowned. Looking at the numbers on the screen, a flash of imperceptible gravity appeared in his eyes.
After it ended, Xie Huaijin walked down from the simulation area. The exclamations and discussions from the sideline nearly drowned the training hall.
He walked straight to Jiang Chenyan in the corner. “Still want to compete?”
Jiang Chenyan looked up to meet him. Even after seeing the near-crushing score, he had to compete. “Of course.”
Hearing this, the smile on Xie Huaijin’s lips deepened. He didn’t say another word, only nodding slightly before turning to retreat to the spectator stands to wait for Jiang Chenyan’s next move.
Jiang Chenyan activated the simulator. The scene on the screen switched instantly, and a dense forest phantom expanded around him. Towering trees and low bushes were everywhere.
The advantage was that he could easily hide using the trunks and bushes to avoid the virtual enemies’ search. The disadvantage was that the foliage blocked his line of sight, and the laser gun’s shooting angle was limited. It would be quite difficult to kill enemies quickly.
Discussion broke out again:
[Choosing the forest? It seems Jiang Chenyan is doomed to lose. He can’t fight openly like Xie Huaijin in this environment.]
[Yeah. The woods are too thick; even aiming is difficult.]
Luck is also a part of strength. It remains to be seen if Jiang Chenyan can find a way to break the situation, though everyone has already defaulted to him losing.
Jiang Chenyan ignored the skepticism. He quickly scanned the surroundings. He had already quietly gripped the laser gun, his finger lightly pausing on the trigger as he began to observe everything in the woods.
The laser gun was indeed not light. Jiang Chenyan held it for a moment and then put it down.
The crowd below was confused. “What’s he doing?”
“His arm must be sore.”
Xie Huaijin: “…”
Ji Xuan: “…”
Tell me this isn’t real.
Jiang Chenyan knelt down, his fingers quickly brushing the soil. He heard the sound of faint footsteps not far away.
He looked toward the birch grove on the right. Without any hesitation, he turned and sprinted in that direction. The simulated enemies behind him noticed the movement and gave chase.
The crowd was stunned. “No way? Usually people chase the enemy; why is he running toward the trees?”
“Could he have just given up? A deserter.”
“To be honest, I don’t understand what he’s doing. But he runs pretty fast.”
“…”
Xie Huaijin’s gaze was locked onto Jiang Chenyan’s figure, his expression shifting. What exactly did Jiang Chenyan want to do? Seeing that half of the twenty-minute limit had passed, the man finally stopped near the birch forest. The crowd had long since lost interest and had even begun chatting among themselves.
Hardly anyone noticed Jiang Chenyan’s speed increasing. He used both hands and feet to climb onto a thick birch branch, hiding himself in the dense foliage.
The next second, Jiang Chenyan aimed his gun at the sky. A laser beam suddenly shot upward. The loud sound pierced the silence of the woods, and countless wild birds fled in panic.
The pursuing simulated enemies were all drawn over. The dark figures crowded toward the birch tree.
“What is he doing?”
“Yeah, I can’t grasp it at all.”
The system was also confused, unable to understand Jiang Chenyan’s operation: [Host, weren’t you going to run? Why did you draw them here?]
Jiang Chenyan didn’t answer the system. He just quietly observed from the branches. Seeing that the enemies surrounding the tree were no longer increasing, the virtual figures all raised their guns and aimed them squarely at his hiding spot.
Lasers were fired densely. If hit, Jiang Chenyan’s simulation challenge would immediately end.
Everyone thought Jiang Chenyan was crazy. Although it was a simulated environment, there was still a sensation of pain when hit—it was no different from dying once.
At almost the same time, Jiang Chenyan violently turned his muzzle and fired wildly at the birch trunk and the piles of dead leaves on the ground.
The loud sounds echoed through the training field. The high temperature of the laser instantly ignited the dry birch bark and dead leaves. The flames spread rapidly through the flammable vegetation. In just an instant, the screen went pitch black, only to be replaced the next second by raging flames that nearly swallowed the entire image.
Silence fell over the crowd, replaced moments later by an explosion of discussion and amazement.
“Where is he? You can’t see Jiang Chenyan at all in the flames!”
“Did something happen? This fire is too intense!”
“Holy shit! You can actually play like that? No one expected him to use fire as a cover!”
The people outside the simulator couldn’t see the specific situation inside. They could only hear the intermittent wails of the virtual enemies. Some grew so anxious they sat forward, desperate to know what was happening.
Finally, the fire on the screen gradually dissipated. When the image became clear, everyone was stunned.
Jiang Chenyan stood in the messy simulated scene. His hair was a bit messy, with several wet strands sticking to his face.
Only one virtual enemy remained. He didn’t give the other a chance to react, kicking out violently while raising his hand to pull the trigger of the laser gun—aim, kill.
Finishing all this, he casually brushed the messy stray hairs from his forehead, displaying himself unashamedly to the crowd. His energy was spent, and his collar was slightly open, revealing a small patch of reddened collarbone. He was panting, his chest rising and falling slightly.
Jiang Chenyan slowly raised his eyes. His black uniform was stained with dust from the dead leaves, and his exposed neck was strikingly white. His obsidian-like eyes still held a lingering ruthlessness. Behind him were the sea of fire, the charred and swaying branches, smoke, and flying dust. The embers reflected on his profile, making him look stunningly beautiful, like a magnificent ghost crawled out of hell.
Everyone’s breath hitched at the sight. Someone even recalled the photos that had been spreading in the group earlier. How was Jiang Chenyan any different from a poison?
The challenge was completely over. The kill count on the screen froze at exactly 69.
He won.
When Jiang Chenyan walked out of the simulation area, he was completely clean. Everything in the simulation area was fictional; a person came out exactly as they went in.
He stood before Xie Huaijin. “I won.”
Everyone waited for Xie Huaijin’s reaction.
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