Chapter 1: The Entropy Reverser

"Bang-bang-bang—!"

Accompanying the gunshots echoing inside the shooting range, white clay pigeons flying in midair were pierced one by one, falling to the ground in quick succession.

Lin Qing stopped, holstered the empty black pistol in his hand, removed his shooting glasses and earplugs, and waited for the shooting instructor to retrieve those clay pigeons.

"Lin Qing."

A moment later, a young woman with a high ponytail, wearing a small jacket and a crop top, walked over quickly holding the clay pigeons.

That fiery, slender figure, especially the Bai Xi, long legs beneath her shorts, made the instructors and trainees in the nearby rest area unable to help but glance repeatedly.

One important reason this shooting range was popular was these beautiful instructors.

"Instructor An." Lin Qing handed the pistol and shooting gear to her, smiling, "That's all for today's training; I'm going back."

"Lin Qing, you are too amazing."

Instructor An couldn't help but exclaim, "In our shooting range, few can match your marksmanship; even Chu, the captain of the Criminal Police Team, and your cousin, the captain of the Patrol Team, are inferior to you in marksmanship."

"After all, they are already very strong themselves and don't need to practice shooting much." Lin Qing shrugged.

"Don't you also not need to use a gun?"

Instructor An sighed, "You are truly a genius, and so young; how can you shoot so accurately?"

Lin Qing smiled noncommittally and added, "By the way, Instructor An, I will come to practice one last time tomorrow; after that, I won't come anymore."

"Won't come anymore?"

Instructor An was slightly stunned, a trace of disappointment revealing itself in her eyes, but she still forced a smile, "Indeed, your marksmanship reached its limit a few days ago; unless your physical foundation improves and your neural reaction speed strengthens, your shooting level won't improve either; continuing training... is indeed a waste of time."

"I shoot not for training, but as a hobby." Lin Qing took off the shooting jacket, speaking softly, "I have a duty tonight, so I'll leave first."

"Okay, see you tomorrow."

Watching Lin Qing's back disappear at the door, Instructor An finally turned around and began to pack up Lin Qing's shooting gear.

"Mu Xi."

A tall, short-haired female instructor walked over with a smile, "I just heard Lin Qing say that tomorrow will be his last time coming?"

Instructor An nodded somewhat helplessly.

"Then don't you have no chance?"

The short-haired female instructor clicked her tongue, "I saw his marksmanship is so amazing, yet he still hangs out in this shooting range all day, wasting so many bullets; I thought this little brother was just trying to get close to you."

Instructor An fell silent for a moment, then shook her head, "His cousin is the captain of the Patrol Team; he uses his cousin's shooting training quota; he finishes one hundred bullets a day and leaves, never contacting me privately."

"However, don't you think this person is a bit strange?"

The short-haired female instructor said, "At least only those at the Patrol Bureau level have the right to carry guns? I heard he is a temporary patrol officer who got in through the back door to kill time, not even a formal patrol officer, and he is still in Gao San; what's the use of practicing shooting?"

"Maybe it's a hobby?" Instructor An hesitated, "And perhaps one day he will become a formal officer; if he gets promoted to the Patrol Bureau level, won't he have to be tested on marksmanship?"

"Promoted to Patrol Bureau?"

The short-haired female instructor laughed helplessly, "You really see a hero in the eyes of a lover; I admit his marksmanship is excellent, and perhaps he can pass the professional exam, but I have also taught several Patrol Bureau officers, so I know a bit."

"It is said that the most important requirement to be promoted to Patrol Bureau is mastering the '46-Version Chaoyang Practice Method'; just think, how many people have managed to master that?"

She shook her head, "If he really had hope, wouldn't his cousin have let him become a formal officer to kill time? At least becoming formal would be very easy."

"Then it is just a hobby." Instructor An shook her head slightly.

"Change your target."

The short-haired female instructor advised, "Although such a handsome little brother with excellent marksmanship is rare, in this era, having good marksmanship alone is not very useful."

"... I just feel he is a bit different from others."

Instructor An hesitated for a moment, then said helplessly, "Laugh if you want, but I really have this feeling; he is clearly only eighteen, but sometimes I feel he is more mature and steady than most people."

"Oh?" The short-haired female instructor thought for a moment and said, "Then try again?"

When Lin Qing walked out of the shooting range's main door, night had already fallen, and dim yellow streetlights lit up along the roadside.

Not far outside the gate, a gray-white autonomous vehicle was parked; seeing the license plate, he realized it was the one he had just booked online, so he walked over quickly, and after facial and iris recognition, he got in.

"Passenger with last four digits 1585 confirmed; destination 'Iron Stone Street – Jun Garden – West Gate'; route planned; departing now; total distance 7.9 kilometers; estimated arrival in 3 minutes 45 seconds; please sit steady and fasten your seatbelt."

After the autonomous vehicle accelerated onto the road, Lin Qing glanced at his phone and found he had just received a WeChat message from Instructor An.

【There is a shooting competition next month; do you want to participate? I can help you register; recently I will help you familiarize yourself with the rules; once you win a rank, just treat me to a meal (playful)】

Lin Qing thought for a moment and replied to her with one sentence.

【No need, I am busy recently, thank you】

Although he is only eighteen in this life, he lived for more than twenty years in his previous life, so naturally he could not fail to see that this female instructor wanted to eat young grass.

After all, his looks in this life are still quite on point, and he happens to be the type she likes—young and skilled with a bow and arrow—so even without money, it doesn't affect anything. Regarding this quite beautiful, long-legged female instructor, he was not uninterested, but simply guarding against her.

Women cannot affect his speed of drawing a gun, but they might open their hearts to him and teach him how to be a person.

And then chop him up, stew him, and make soup.

—This was the conclusion he drew from the lessons of blood in his previous life.

"Shooting one more time tomorrow should be enough to pay off the debt of 'Gun Master'."

Lin Qing pondered for a short while and silently called out in his heart, "Order."

The next moment, rows of glowing small characters appeared before his eyes.

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

【When you hold Order in your hand, the future is clearly visible; you can reverse cause and effect, pluck the fruit, and draw on the future】

【The Entropy Reverser is activating...】

The next moment, a massive amount of symbols, text, and other information that he could not clearly see rushed past his eyes like a waterfall.

Finally, it condensed into a panel-like light curtain.

————

【Current Order Level: 0.3】

【Number of Pre-claimed Items: 0/1】

【Pre-claimed Item: Gun Master (99.7% Completed)】

【Available Pre-claimed Items: Four-Six Version Sunrise Cultivation Method, Military Hand-to-Hand Combat, Sketching, Calligraphy, Cooking, Street Dance, Bedroom Arts...】

【Mastered Items (Hidden)】

————

"99.7%... that's about enough..."

Lin Qing muttered to himself.

This interface, named "Entropy Reverser," was a cheat he awakened in his past life—perhaps his own innate talent—but it was truly useless, insignificant.

He relied mostly on his own efforts.

The usage was simple.

——Any skill or ability he could theoretically master in the future could be instantly acquired, achieving the goal directly.

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

In one sentence: board the train first, then buy the ticket.

One word: pre-claiming the future.

A lifestyle: Huabei.

Others spend ten years backstage, one minute on stage.

He could choose to take the one minute on stage first, then make up the ten years backstage.

The skill "Gun Master" came about this way.

In his past life, years after the apocalypse began, while fleeing from enemies, he found a pistol and a small box of bullets in an abandoned police car; to fight back, he pre-claimed "Gun Master" using the Entropy Reverser.

With his past-life shooting talent, according to the Entropy Reverser's calculation, he needed at least 4,700 precise shots to reach Gun Master level and achieve divine accuracy.

So after pre-claiming Gun Master, he still had to make up 4,700 precise shots.

Although at Gun Master level, he could achieve perfect accuracy with each shot, theoretically requiring only the minimum 4,700 rounds.

But after years in the apocalypse, where could he find so many bullets to practice with?

Skills like fist techniques and fitness didn't require external resources—he could make up those later—but bullets for gun training were truly beyond his reach.

Until the moment he died in the apocalypse, he still hadn't found enough bullets—he was nearly 2,800 rounds short.

The number of pre-claimed items seemed tied to "Order Level," but his Order Level never rose, so he could only pre-claim one skill at a time, permanently occupied by Gun Master, preventing him from ever pre-claming any other item.

Now that he had been reincarnated into the future era, his first priority was to complete Gun Master.

Luckily, his cousin was a Patrol Team Captain; using her quota, he could practice for free at the shooting range, with a daily allowance of one hundred free bullets.

After twenty-seven days, Gun Master was nearly complete.

"Indeed, it's all thanks to my own effort..."

Lin Qing grew hopeful, "Once I finish Gun Master tomorrow, I can immediately master the Four-Six Version Sunrise Cultivation Method."

After all, he'd reach it eventually anyway—he was just enjoying the results early; how wasn't that his own effort?

(End of Chapter)