Chapter 31: 31 Non-Humans and Target Practice

31 Non-Humans and Target Practice

After instructing Hearing Li Ang to be extremely careful about the "loving snuggles" from his male colleagues, Hearing Heishanyang continued:

"If he just wants to use the tape to stick together physical objects — say, a section of railroad track with a missing middle segment, or a stream that's been severed because it dried up — with his stamina, he could probably keep sticking things together continuously for several kilometers.

But if it's conceptual sticking, after maybe fifty or sixty uses, his willpower would give out first, and the stronger the willpower of whatever he's trying to stick, the more terrifying his expenditure becomes.

Like that time last year, when he tried to use the tape to stick that red-haired woman's trust in him so he could grab a suitable mission — he ended up mentally collapsing on the spot, his willpower lost control of his body, and he had to lie in a hospital bed for a good three-plus months before he could get up."

After finishing the briefing on the roll of tape's abilities, Hearing Heishanyang summarized:

"In short, although an anomaly's ability has a limit, it's not completely fixed. Beyond the anomaly's own power, the more physical and mental expenditure your body can bear, the stronger the effect the anomaly can produce.

Take me, for instance. Don't be fooled by how weak I am right now — but if you could shoulder the cost and push my power to its limit, I could still single-handedly stir up the fighting spirit of several thousand people and directly spark a small-scale war! Got it?"

"I think I get it, roughly…"

After nodding thoughtfully, Hearing Li Ang furrowed his brow slightly and pressed further:

"But you still haven't answered my question? What I asked wasn't about the anomaly's ability — it's about what exactly I should do to get a body like everyone else's?"

"Didn't I say so from the start? This is something you can't rush~"

After taking a hard drag on the cigarette in his mouth, Hearing Heishanyang squinted his eyes and said contentedly:

"Take on more missions, collect more anomalies, and then use the anomalies you've collected more often. You'll naturally be influenced and slowly transform from a human into a 'non-human' sort of being. And the crazier and more extreme the powerful anomaly, the faster your 'transformation' will be."

"Take me as an example again. Before, my transformation speed was basically on the same level as that rundown apartment. Even if you used me for many years straight, you'd probably just end up with a physique a bit healthier than a normal person's.

But after you gave me so many good things, my transformation speed jumped by a big chunk — probably three or four times that rundown apartment.

And if you're willing to kill a few bastards and offer their sinful souls to me, this transformation speed can keep climbing!

Probably in less than a year, your physical fitness could reach the level of that tape-wielding Harry! How about it? Interested in giving it a try?"

"…"

This guy really is… always, every single moment, trying to lure me down the path…

Hearing Hearing Heishanyang's unreserved temptation, Hearing Li Ang couldn't help but frown speechlessly, but very quickly, his eyes widened involuntarily!

Hmm… wait! Did it just say that in the past its transformation speed was the same as the Happiness Apartment, but now its transformation speed is three or four times that of the Happiness Apartment?

That's exactly 0.4 versus 0.1? So this "influence" and "transformation" is actually the anomaly's "Corruption Value"?!

After discovering the true meaning of the Corruption Value, Hearing Li Ang hadn't even had time to be happy when he suddenly remembered something and turned his head to look at Hearing Heishanyang, who was taking huge drags on its cigarette.

If I remember correctly, the red-haired director's 【Love Without Memory】 has a Corruption Value of 7! And your original Corruption Value was 0.1! Only one-seventieth of hers?

Good grief, you keep yammering on about being some great big demon, and I actually thought you were badass! Turns out you're this much of a loser?

……

This kid… why's he suddenly looking at me like that?

After receiving Hearing Li Ang's gaze — two parts speechless, three parts shocked, and five parts deeply disdainful —

Hearing Heishanyang couldn't help but shudder violently, then felt its heart go weak with a chill.

He couldn't have figured out that I'm the one holding him back, right?

Hmm… probably not.

The specific transformation speed of each anomaly is only known to the person who's used it. That red-haired woman has used me too, but she's so absurdly strong she probably couldn't feel whether my transformation speed was fast or slow at all, and she wouldn't tell him about it.

Yeah! He won't know! Definitely won't know!

"Ahem!"

Although it thought Hearing Li Ang definitely wouldn't notice the problem, because his gaze was making it a little creeped out, Hearing Heishanyang quickly cleared its throat and tried hard to change the subject:

"Um… well, even though collecting more anomalies can make you get strong a bit faster, don't go too crazy, okay?

After all, not every anomaly is as easy to talk to as me, willing to look out for you just because we get along. A lot of anomalies demand a terrifying price!

Hmm… take Auntie Auntie Ai Ma, for instance! Her immortal body — pretty amazing, right? But do you know what she paid for it?"

Senior Auntie Auntie Ai Ma, huh…

Hearing Hearing Heishanyang's question, Hearing Li Ang's expression couldn't help but shift slightly.

Regarding Senior Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's immortal body, he really had been curious about it for a long time, but she seemed to have seen the file in the director's hands and knew that his ability was to gather information through touch, so she'd been avoiding physical contact with him the whole time.

And she'd been so good to him — not only saving his sister, but even giving him her sidearm. No matter how curious he was, he had to show some restraint; it really wouldn't be appropriate to deliberately pry into her privacy… but he still did want to know just a little bit…

Heh, easy little virgin to coax! Last time you ran into her in the hallway, your eyes were practically glued to her! I knew you'd be interested in her!

Watching the curiosity he couldn't hide in Hearing Li Ang's eyes, Hearing Heishanyang couldn't help but let out a sly chuckle, swallowed down the seven or eight cigarette butts that were almost burning its lips, then chewed on the still-smoking butts while saying with a grin:

"How about this — you go kill a heinous bastard, vent some of that pent-up anger, and toss me a sinful soul while you're at it, and I'll tell you what Auntie Auntie Ai Ma paid~ How about it?"

"…"

(╬￣皿￣)

"Huh? If you don't agree, then don't agree — why are you stealing my cigarettes?

Wait — you dare to throw hands? Damn! You really think I have no temper? I freaking… have the guts, don't use your feet! Let's be fair — both of us use our mouths to gnaw, deal? F*ck!"

……

"Bang!"

Looking at the target that had been blasted through with a thunderous hole five hundred meters away, Hearing Li Ang's face didn't show any joy at having hit it — instead, his expression looked rather solemn.

After giving the mouthy but weak Hearing Heishanyang a beating and tossing it back into the Cleanup Bureau's office, Hearing Li Ang didn't head straight home. Instead, he took his big sniper rifle to the police department next door, used his Cleanup Bureau credentials to borrow a secluded shooting range, and started grinding his shooting badge.

However, in order to maximize his hit rate in future missions, Hearing Li Ang didn't simply grind live-fire count. Instead, he set the targets at maximum effective range and methodically trained his shooting feel shot after shot — except…

The hit rate was heartbreaking.

Facing a fixed target at five hundred meters, even with the accumulated hit rate of 【Materialist Soul】, Hearing Li Ang still needed an average of four to five shots to hit once — out of ten rounds, an average of seven to eight missed the target entirely.

Looks like that one-shot hit at the hospital really was mostly luck… and Senior Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's help, adjusting the gun's sights in advance. His real shooting skill is still just that of a fresh beginner.

Looking through the scope at the bullet holes on the human-shaped paper target and finding they were basically all in Some Are Not Heavy spots, Hearing Li Ang couldn't help but shake his head, then blew hard on the whistle in his mouth, picked up the little red flag beside him, and waved it toward the range attendant.

Shooting at the five-hundred-meter extreme range had already exceeded the limits of his current ability. That kind of hit rate would be basically meaningless in an actual mission, so rather than chasing kills at maximum distance, it would be better to pull in to around three hundred meters and quickly develop shooting skills with more practical combat value.

Heh heh, sure enough, he switched targets.

Hearing Li Ang, the administrator who looked over at the whistle sound saw the little red flag in his hand representing three hundred meters, and could not help raising an eyebrow, then turned his head to look at the colleague beside him, the two of them almost simultaneously curling the corners of their mouths, exchanging a knowing series of winks and nudges.

Earlier this young fellow had come in carrying a gun, opened his mouth and asked for the five-hundred-meter target, the two of them had even tried to advise him, suggesting he start by shooting at half of the maximum range.

After all, the drop arc of a nail becomes harder and harder to control the farther out it goes, and once it roughly reaches the limit of lethal distance, sometimes it will even tumble sideways in midair, making predicting the point of impact no ordinary difficulty.

So the difficulty of a full-range five-hundred-meter target is far, far greater than a half-range target at two or three hundred meters; for a young fellow like him who has barely handled a gun, the difficulty of a half-range target is more than enough.

But the thing is, despite his young age, he is already at the very top of the miscellaneous-affairs grade of public office, and can even faintly touch the hem of the assistant grade of public office, so his ambitions are probably quite high, and he simply disdained listening to the suggestions of two range administrators.

Facing the two of them's well-meaning advice, he insisted he wanted to try and see how far he could shoot, stubbornly demanding the five-hundred-meter target... So? Found out you just can't hit it no matter what, and now you know to switch targets, right? A gun is a fair thing, it won't give you any extra care just because you have a good father!

The administrator in charge of switching targets grinned and pulled the control lever on the console; amid a series of meshing gears, the half-range target at three hundred meters slowly rose up, and the full-range target at five hundred meters was laid flat and retracted.

And just as the other administrator was about to leave his seat to go swap out the target paper and target, he was pulled back by the arm.

"Where are you going?"

"Huh? What did you say? Hey, don't pull me! I need to go change the new target!"

"Change what new target?"

The administrator who had pulled the control lever snickered, reached over and lifted his colleague's soundproof earmuff a little, and shouted loudly amid the dense gunfire of the range:

"Sit down and rest! I recognize the gun he brought — its effective range is only about four hundred seventy-something meters, shooting at a five-hundred-meter target counts as over-range shooting, it'd be a miracle if he could hit it!

Although our bureau does have people who can shoot over-range targets, those few are basically old hands who've been handling guns for nearly twenty years. Look at that kid — he's at most sixteen or seventeen, how could he possibly shoot an over-range target? Could it be that he started handling guns while still in his mother's womb?"

"Ahahaha, fair enough, then I'll rest a bit longer~"

……

Not knowing that the reason for his low hit rate was not that his shooting skill was too poor, but rather the limitation of the gun's own range, Li Ang was still lying on the ground, shot after shot grinding up the shooting count on the Shooting Badge.

After adjusting the target to three hundred meters, his hit rate indeed rose by a great deal — not only did he no longer have a single miss, but every shot could hit a vital area of the human-shaped target paper; only about once every twenty-something shots would there be a slight deviation from the target.

And by the time the sun began to sink in the west, Li Ang, who could fire two nails per minute on average, finally completed 200 rounds of live-fire shooting, and grinded the Shooting Badge up from Black Iron to Bronze.

【Shooter: Although your time handling firearms has not been long, through exceptional talent and grueling training, you have already become a qualified shooter.】

【Equip Effect: Through extensive practice, you have become familiar with the distribution rules of nail impact points; when consciously correcting your muzzle aim, your shooting accuracy will receive a substantial boost.】

【Advancement Path: Complete 5000 rounds of live-fire shooting, or complete 30000 simulated trigger pulls, and this badge will automatically advance to the Bai Yin badge "Shooting Expert." Current progress: 0/5000, 0/30000】

【Hidden Trait (No Equip Required): As a firearm enthusiast, when shooting with a familiar sidearm, your shooting stability will be slightly increased.】

To keep improving, do I need to fire another five thousand rounds?

After reading the badge system's prompt, Li Ang estimated his own firing speed and found that earnestly firing off these five thousand bullets would take roughly forty-something hours.

And if the number of shots required for Bai Yin to Gold later also grew in the same proportion as 200 to 5000, the time needed would probably reach over a thousand hours.

Although earnestly practicing shot by shot can also improve one's basic technique, it's probably far less than the boost brought by a high-tier badge, so... should I try to find a loophole?

Think it, do it!

With the pure intention of grinding the badge, Li Ang this time did not hold his breath and focus as he did every time, but after loading the air reservoir, directly picked an approximate position and fired off a shot.

And after switching from careful aiming to blind shooting, his speed indeed shot up by a huge margin — aside from the time spent changing air and reloading, he fired off more than a dozen nails in a single minute, and thanks to the hits provided by 【Materialist Soul】, these blind shots actually landed five or six times.

However, when Li Ang stopped shooting and looked at the 【Shooter】 badge's panel, he helplessly found that the "proficiency" for advancement from those dozen-plus nails just fired was still 0/5000 — not even a single bit had gone up.

So as expected, you can only practice earnestly step by step, huh...

After shaking his head, Li Ang extinguished the little thought of taking a shortcut, looked up at the color of the sky, then disassembled the big sniper in his hands into parts, bundled them up and packed them into a large canvas bag, and lugging the bag, laboriously left the range.

And not long after he walked out, a female police officer wearing a black police uniform, with wheat-colored skin, strode in. After looking at a few empty spots, she finally chose the range that had just been vacated in the corner.

She, whose expression seemed slightly weary, seemed to have something on her mind. After hoarsely greeting the two administrators, she took the firearm she had selected to the firing position and waved the little yellow flag representing five hundred meters.

After the distant target gradually rose, the female police officer took a deep breath, then bit down hard on her lip, brought her eye to the observation position behind the scope, and her slender fingers steadily settled onto the trigger...

Hm?

Looking at the target in the scope, which had fully five or six big holes in it, the female police officer could not help furrowing her brow, then raised a little black flag and waved it, summoning the range administrator.

"This target hasn't been changed."

After pointing at the distant wooden target, the female police officer said expressionlessly:

"You can take a look — there are still bullet holes from the previous person on it."

"Ah? Sorry, sorry!"

Hearing the female police officer's words, the range administrator could not help but apologize repeatedly, then explained with an apologetic smile:

"Just now an unfamiliar face came in, and from his prep movements he looked pretty green. After firing a few times he took the initiative to switch to a half-range target, so we thought he hadn't hit the full-range target and didn't rush to change a new one. Sorry."

"No problem."

After waving her hand to indicate it didn't matter, the female police officer squinted at the target paper in the scope, then frowned and asked coldly:

"I see the holes on the target are all not small — these were made by nails that lost control and tumbled sideways after exceeding the firearm's maximum range by over thirty meters, right?

Hasn't the bureau recently been emphasizing control-first, trying to reduce unnecessary lethality? How is someone still practicing this kind of thing where if you hit, the target is bound to die?"