Chapter 1: The Entropy Reverser

Bang! Bang! Bang! —!

Amid the echoing gunshots inside the shooting range, white clay targets flying through the air were pierced one by one, falling to the ground in succession.

Lin Qing stopped, returned the empty black pistol to its holster, removed his shooting glasses and earplugs, and waited for the shooting instructor to retrieve the targets.

“Lin Qing.”

Soon, a young woman with a high ponytail, wearing a cropped jacket and a crop top, hurried over holding the targets.

Her fiery slender figure, especially her pale, long legs beneath the short pants, drew frequent glances from instructors and students in the nearby rest area.

One major reason this shooting range was popular was precisely these beautiful female instructors.

“An Instructor.” Lin Qing handed her the pistol and gear, smiling. “That’s enough for today. I’m heading home.”

“Lin Qing, you’re incredible.”

An Instructor couldn’t help praising: “In our range, there are hardly anyone who can match your marksmanship. Even Captain Chu from the Criminal Investigation Unit and your cousin, the Patrol Team Captain, aren’t as good as you with a gun.”

“They’re already strong themselves, so they don’t need much practice.” Lin Qing shrugged.

“But you don’t need a gun either, do you?”

An Instructor sighed. “You’re truly a genius—so young, yet how can you shoot so accurately?”

Lin Qing smiled vaguely, then added: “By the way, An Instructor, I’ll come once more tomorrow for my final session. After that, I won’t be coming back.”

“Not coming back?”

An Instructor paused, a hint of disappointment flickering in her eyes, yet she forced a smile. “I suppose so. Your marksmanship reached its limit a few days ago. Unless your physical base improves or your neural reaction speed increases, your shooting won’t get better. Continuing training… really is just wasting time.”

“I don’t shoot for training—I just like it.” Lin Qing took off his shooting jacket, speaking gently. “I have duty tonight. I’ll be going now.”

“Alright. See you tomorrow.”

Watching Lin Qing’s figure vanish at the door, An Instructor turned and began packing up his gear.

“Mu Xi.”

A tall, short-haired female instructor walked over with a smile. “I just heard Lin Qing say this is his last day tomorrow?”

An Instructor nodded, slightly resigned.

“Then you won’t get a chance?”

The short-haired instructor clucked her tongue. “I saw how good his shooting is—he’s been hanging around here every day, wasting so many bullets. I thought this little brother was just trying to get close to you.”

An Instructor fell silent for a moment, then shook her head. “His cousin is the Patrol Team Captain. He’s using her quota—hundred rounds a day, then leaves. He never interacts with me privately.”

“But don’t you find him strange?”

The short-haired instructor said: “Only Patrol Bureau officers have the right to carry guns, right? I heard he’s just a temporary patrol officer who got in through connections—he’s not even a formal patrol officer, and he’s still in high school. What’s the point of practicing shooting?”

“Maybe it’s just a hobby?” An Instructor hesitated. “Besides, maybe he’ll get promoted someday. If he rises to Patrol Bureau level, won’t he need to pass a firearms test?”

“Promoted to Patrol Bureau?”

The short-haired instructor laughed bitterly. “You really see heroes through lover’s eyes. I admit his shooting is good, maybe he can pass the professional exam—but I’ve trained several Patrol Bureau officers myself. I know what it takes.”

“They say the most important requirement to rise to Patrol Bureau is mastering the ‘46 Version Morning Practice Method.’ Think about how few people ever achieve that.”

She shook her head. “If he had any real potential, wouldn’t his cousin have made him a formal patrol officer long ago? At least granting him formal status would be easy.”

“Then it’s just a hobby.” An Instructor shook her head slightly.

“Find another target.”

The short-haired instructor urged. “Though it’s rare to find a handsome guy with such sharp shooting, in this era, just being good with a gun doesn’t mean much.”

“...I just feel he’s different from others.”

An Instructor hesitated, then sighed. “Go ahead and laugh if you want—but I really feel it. He’s only eighteen, yet sometimes I feel he’s more mature and steady than most adults.”

“Oh?” The short-haired instructor thought a moment. “Then try again?”

…

When Lin Qing stepped out of the shooting range, night had fallen, and dim yellow streetlights lined the road.

Not far from the entrance stood a gray-white autonomous vehicle—the license plate matched the one he’d booked online. He walked over quickly, verified his face and iris, and got in.

“Passenger with last digits 1585 confirmed. Destination: ‘Tieshi Street – Junyuan – West Gate.’ Route planned. Departing now. Total distance: 7.9 kilometers. Estimated arrival: 3 minutes 45 seconds. Please remain seated and fasten your seatbelt.”

As the autonomous car accelerated onto the road, Lin Qing checked his phone and saw a WeChat message from An Instructor.

【There’s a shooting competition next month. Want to enter? I can sign you up. I’ll help you get familiar with the rules. When you win a prize, treat me to dinner (wink).】

Lin Qing thought for a moment, then replied.

【No thanks. Busy lately. Appreciate it.】

Though he was only eighteen in this life, he had lived over twenty years in his past life—he could easily see that this female instructor was after a young man.

After all, his looks were still quite good, and he fit her type—young and skilled with a gun—so even without money, it didn’t matter. He wasn’t uninterested in this attractive, long-legged instructor, but he simply kept his guard up.

Women couldn’t slow his draw, but they might open his heart, teach him lessons.

Then chop him up and stew him for soup.

—That was the lesson he’d learned through blood in his past life.

“One more shooting session tomorrow should be enough to repay the debt of ‘Master of Firearms.’”

Lin Qing pondered for a moment, then silently called: “Order.”

The next instant, lines of luminous text appeared before his eyes.

【All things tend toward chaos; only Order is eternal】

【When you hold Order, the future becomes clear—you may reverse cause and effect, harvest results, and prepay the future】

【The Entropy Reverser is activating…】

The next moment, torrents of unreadable symbols, characters, and data surged past him like a waterfall.

Finally, they coalesced into a panel-like light screen.

————

【Current Order Level: 0.3】

【Available Prepaid Items: 0/1】

【Prepaid Item: Master of Firearms (99.7% completed)】

【Available Prepaid Items: 46 Version Morning Practice Method, Military Hand-to-Hand Combat, Sketching, Calligraphy, Cooking, Street Dance, Bedroom Arts…】

【Mastered Items (Hidden)】

————

“99.7%… that’s close enough…”

Lin Qing muttered to himself.

This panel, named “Entropy Reverser,” was a power he awakened in his past life—perhaps his innate talent—but it was useless, insignificant.

He relied mostly on his own effort.

The method was simple.

—Any skill he could theoretically master in the future, he could instantly acquire and achieve.

But the cost was that after achieving the goal, he had to make up the process required to reach it.

In one sentence: Ride first, pay later.

One word: Prepay the future.

One lifestyle: Huabei.

Others train for ten years offstage, perform for one minute onstage.

He could choose to perform for one minute first, then make up the ten years of training later.

The “Master of Firearms” skill came this way.

In his past life, years after the apocalypse, while fleeing enemies, he found a pistol and a small box of bullets in an abandoned police car. To fight back, he used the Entropy Reverser to prepay “Master of Firearms.”

Based on his past-life shooting talent, the Entropy Reverser calculated he needed precisely 4,700 accurate shots to reach “Master” level—gunfire as if guided by divine will.

So after prepaying “Master of Firearms,” he still had to make up 4,700 accurate shots.

Though at Master level, he could achieve perfect accuracy, theoretically requiring only the minimum 4,700 rounds.

But after years of apocalypse, where could he find so many bullets to practice?

Martial arts and fitness skills didn’t require external resources—he could make up those later. But bullets for shooting? He simply couldn’t get them.

Until his death in the apocalypse, he still hadn’t found enough—still short nearly 2,800 rounds.

The number of prepaid items seemed tied to “Order Level,” but his Order Level wouldn’t rise, so he could only prepay one skill at a time—always locked by “Master of Firearms,” preventing him from prepaying anything else.

Now that he’d been reborn into this future era, he immediately sought to complete “Master of Firearms.”

Luckily, his cousin was Patrol Team Captain—he could borrow her quota to practice for free at the range, with a daily allowance of one hundred rounds.

After twenty-seven days, “Master of Firearms” was nearly complete.

“Indeed, it’s all thanks to my own effort…”

Lin Qing felt anticipation rising. “Once I complete ‘Master of Firearms’ tomorrow, I can immediately master the ‘46 Version Morning Practice Method.’”

Since he’d reach it eventually anyway, he was just enjoying the results early—how wasn’t that still his own effort?

(End of Chapter)