Chapter 24: Face-Slapping in Progress

Perhaps Guo Jing’s prayer had been answered, for two privates approached carrying a bucket of beer bottles, and Doghead Gao raised his rifle, aiming at the two soldiers ahead and shouting: “Alright, throw.”

One soldier hurled the beer bottle he held, and with a gunshot, it shattered; after firing, Doghead Gao shouted again to the two soldiers ahead: “Throw again.”

The other soldier also threw his bottle, which Doghead Gao shattered as well; as one bottle after another was broken,

the bottles in the bucket were quickly exhausted, yet no matter how swiftly they threw their bottles,

no matter the angle from which they hurled them, every bottle was shattered by Doghead Gao.

After finishing, Minister Zhao led the applause; Doghead Gao returned his rifle to Xiao Zhuang and said: “Remember, shooting isn’t about this.”

Doghead Gao put on his stylish sunglasses, then punched his own chest: “It’s about this.”

“What is this? A soldier’s heart. You don’t kill enemies with your eyes and hands—you kill with your heart, your heart.”

“This is merely basic training for every special forces soldier. If you’re interested, feel free to come find me anytime.”

“Report.”

Xiao Zhuang called out.

“What is it?”

Doghead Gao asked with interest.

“I’d like to try shooting the beer bottles too.”

Xiao Zhuang said.

“Fine, go ahead. But shooting with heart isn’t easy.”

Doghead Gao said confidently.

But soon, Doghead Gao’s expression darkened, for Xiao Zhuang had shattered the thrown bottles with his rifle, just as he had.

After shooting, Xiao Zhuang glanced at Doghead Gao with a taunting look—as if to say: “What’s so hard? I can do it too.”

Doghead Gao was about to demonstrate something even harder,

when a voice rang out: “Report.”

Doghead Gao turned to see who had spoken—it was Xiwa.

Xiwa said: “Commander, I’d like to try too.”

Looking at Xiwa’s dull expression, Doghead Gao thought to himself: “He probably can’t do it.”

Doghead Gao immediately agreed—but Xiwa did it just as well.

He had just shown off a brilliant skill in front of the entire company, only to have two men immediately replicate it—it was as if he’d been slapped twice.

But Doghead Gao was wrong—it wasn’t just two slaps, because soon after, two platoons volunteered to try the skill he had demonstrated.

Though a few individuals failed, each platoon had thirty men, two platoons totaled sixty; subtracting the few who missed,

over fifty men successfully replicated Doghead Gao’s feat, leaving even Guo Jing in the back row feeling embarrassed for him.

The real culprits behind Doghead Gao’s humiliation were himself and Zhang Chu’an, for these two platoons’ marksmanship owed everything to them.

As for Doghead Gao himself, his expression beneath the sunglasses was stunned—had new recruits become this powerful?

At this moment, Doghead Gao felt as if he’d gone to challenge someone’s dojo and been slapped over fifty times.

Doghead Gao forced a awkward smile: “Alright, your shooting’s decent—but what I just showed was basic marksmanship. You’re still far from mastering it.”

Doghead Gao realized he had to show his highest level, or else if another fifty men replicated it, he’d be utterly humiliated.

Doghead Gao shouted to the Night Tigers: “Today, I’ll show you what true heart-driven shooting really is.”

It was a skill Guo Jing had once shown him three years ago—he’d managed it then without a single tremor.

Afterward, he’d even told Guo Jing that such a thing was child’s play, nothing difficult.

Doghead Gao drew his sidearm and fired several shots at a tree one hundred and fifty meters away; the men gathered to look—and recognized it instantly.

No one had imagined anyone besides Guo Jing could strike multiple bullets in the exact same spot.

Seeing the Night Tigers’ astonishment, Doghead Gao felt his pride restored somewhat,

“See? You’re still far from shooting with heart.”

Doghead Gao lectured the crowd loudly.

Minister Zhao praised: “Senior Doghead’s marksmanship is truly miraculous.”

“Report.”

Doghead Gao turned to see who had spoken—it was Xiao Zhuang, the first to humiliate him.

Doghead Gao thought inwardly: “This kid won’t be able to do it too, will he? If he can, my face is lost.”

But he couldn’t stop Xiao Zhuang—wouldn’t that make him look afraid of a private?

Xiao Zhuang shouted: “Senior Doghead, you’re the commander of Langya Special Forces, a major—yet you only dare compete with privates? Aren’t you ashamed?”

Hearing Xiao Zhuang’s words, Doghead Gao sneered: “Oh? You say I only dare compete with privates?”

“Fine. If even one man from the Night Tiger Recon Company can match what I just did, I’ll retract every word I’ve said so far.”

Hearing Doghead Gao’s challenge, Lieutenant Miao wore a sly smile and shouted toward the back row:

“Platoon Leader Guo, did you see Senior Doghead’s demonstration?”

Doghead Gao’s heart lurched—he couldn’t possibly be here.

After graduation, Guo Jing had refused Langya’s invitation, saying he wanted to serve at the grassroots level and learn how to train soldiers.

To avoid forcing him to join, he hadn’t even told Doghead Gao which company Guo Jing was in—if it was Guo Jing, he had no chance of winning.

But soon, Guo Jing ran up to them and saluted.

Doghead Gao asked Guo Jing: “Were those shots fired by your men?”

Guo Jing nodded: “They’re my men—and Zhang Chu’an’s. He’s here too.”

Then Guo Jing drew his sidearm and fired several shots at the tree, striking the exact same spot as Doghead Gao—nine bullets in a single cluster.

Minister Zhao immediately praised: “The younger generation is formidable—your marksmanship is unmatched even within the entire Langya Brigade.”

Guo Jing smiled at the commander: “Commander, I just shot at stationary targets—nothing difficult.”

Minister Zhao asked curiously: “Can you do something even harder?”

Guo Jing said: “Alright—my men shot beer bottles. As their platoon leader, I’ll shoot the bottle caps.”

Hearing Guo Jing’s request, everyone was stunned—shooting beer bottles and beer bottle caps were not remotely comparable in difficulty.

Some could hit flying beer bottles, but hitting flying bottle caps? No one could imagine anyone achieving that.

But Guo Jing proved to everyone present that he could.

When the crowd collected the shattered bottle caps, all were stunned.

Minister Zhao patted Doghead Gao on the shoulder and comforted him: “Don’t be down. Losing to him isn’t shameful.”

Doghead Gao looked confused: “Why should I be ashamed? I taught Guo Jing his marksmanship—he’s my student. No matter how good he is, he’s still my student.”

He then pointed at the crowd triumphantly: “In terms of martial lineage, they should all call me their grandmaster.”