160: Chapter 160 Target

"Li Ming? Li Ming?"

"...Hmm? What is it?"

"You were spacing out all morning, and you're still doing it this afternoon."

"Ah, I'm fine..."

"See, you're drifting off again."

"Am I?"

Cliff glanced at the shooting range, where waves of gunfire were ringing out. "You can still space out with all this noise? You're really something else."

"Ahaha, yeah..."

"So, what's up?" Cliff walked over, leaning on his rifle.

"It's really nothing." Li Ming stood up, still reminiscing about being forcibly kissed by Z23 last night; it was her first time being so proactive.

They were really just one step away from going all the way. It was only because they were in a public place that he couldn't be so aggressive...

"Look, you're spacing out again."

"No, I'm not." Li Ming snapped back to reality. "Did the instructor want us to do something?"

"Not exactly." Cliff tossed the rifle in his hand to Li Ming. "Instructor Lauren wants you to try this one out individually."

"This is..."

"The Republic of Kano Arsenal Type 992 rifle, an old-timer," Cliff said. "Unlike the current Type 1005, the Type 992 is a... widely criticized rifle. Although it has extremely high penetration and lethality, its ammunition type is quite... deadly."

"The ammunition is..." Li Ming toyed with the rifle and opened the bolt. The sight of the long chamber made him pause. The Federation's standard rifle caliber was 12.7, but this length...

"12.7*54mm rifle rounds."

Li Ming looked at the extra bipod under the rifle, then looked up at Cliff. "Is the Instructor trying to kill me?"

"Uh... probably not..."

Following Cliff to the firing line, Li Ming watched as the thirty-meter target was raised. He chose a half-kneeling position to hold the gun, avoiding being knocked flat on the ground by the recoil.

"You're here?"

Lauren walked over carrying an ammo box. "These are old rounds I found in the academy warehouse. They should still be usable."

Taking the ammo box, Li Ming placed it on a low table within reach and opened it, taking out the heavy ammunition.

Opening the bolt-action mechanism, Li Ming used a stripper clip to load five rifle rounds into the magazine and pushed the bolt back into place.

He then pressed the stock against his shoulder, lined up the sights, and tried to maintain as much distance as possible so the recoil wouldn't slam the rifle into his face.

"I suggest you don't use a kneeling position," Lauren warned. "The recoil of this gun is very high."

Li Ming froze for a moment, then promptly chose a prone position, deployed the bipod, and aimed again.

Lauren narrowed her eyes, and Cliff covered his ears ahead of time.

*Thump—Boom!*

The surrounding gunfire seemed to fade away compared to this massive blast.

Li Ming let go of the gun and rolled over, his facial expression completely distorted from the shock.

Just as Lauren was about to lean down to check on him, Li Ming sat up, his expression relaxing as he shook his head and rubbed his right shoulder.

"This gun has some kick..." Li Ming said. "Scared me a bit. Luckily, I didn't lose my grip."

"It would have been worse without the bipod," Lauren replied. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm alright... This thing should be quite effective against light vehicles." Li Ming stood up and looked at Cliff. "Want to give it a try?"

Cliff quickly raised his hands in surrender. "The rest of us are still playing with pistols. How can we be as fierce as you, jumping straight into something like this?"

Li Ming shook his head and looked at the distant target.

The one-centimeter-thick target had been shattered.

As they shooed away the other students who had come to watch the commotion, several veterans looked at the gun in Li Ming's hand and the shattered wooden target in the distance with looks of surprise.

"How does it feel?" Lauren asked. "This rifle is essentially a semi-retired old-timer, something from over thirty years ago."

"12.7 isn't a caliber meant for humans to play with..." Li Ming smiled as he stood up, ejected the empty casing, and handed the gun back to Lauren. "No wonder it's semi-retired, though it would be good for hitting long-range targets."

"Naturally." Lauren took the gun back into her rigging space. "Currently, this rifle is mainly sold to the civilian market after modification, or equipped to special forces with upgraded accessories."

"That's not bad then." Li Ming laughed. "I'm definitely not suited for playing with this kind of thing."

"Then what do you think you're suited for?"

"Small-caliber automatic weapons, I suppose," Li Ming answered. Why bother with precision when you can have fire superiority?

"An expected answer."

Lauren wasn't too surprised. "Want to try again?"

"Sure?" Li Ming thought about it.

She gave the rifle back to him, watching as he found his position again and fired once more.

This time he was smarter and put on earmuffs beforehand.

"And you, Cliff, are you finished?" Lauren asked.

"Uh, no."

"Then why aren't you going back to it?"

"Yes, Instructor!"

*Thump—Boom!... Thump—Boom!...*

Watching Li Ming fire off the remaining four rounds, he seemed to be in much better shape this time.

After firing the four rounds, Li Ming finally climbed back up.

"I finally see why this gun is so criticized. The recoil is too much, and the noise is deafening."

He handed the gun back to Lauren. If today was just target practice, it would be a bit too boring.

However, out of the corner of his eye, Li Ming saw a girl with golden twin-tails suddenly appear on the coast, waving at him.

"Instructor, I have something to take care of, I'll be back in a bit."

"Make it quick." Lauren glanced toward the shore. Was that... a child she hadn't seen before?

This kid really has good luck, having so many Ship Girls around him.

Li Ming walked over.

"Commander Li Ming~ Do you still remember me?"

Aussie trotted up to Li Ming.

Li Ming took a subtle step back, making her enthusiastic hug miss its mark.

Aussie wasn't annoyed; she just giggled and reached out her hand to him.

Li Ming pursed his lips and put his hands on his hips, his expression saying, "What are you doing?"

"Hehe..." Aussie put her hands behind her back and looked up at him. "So, Commander Li Ming, what is your answer?"

Li Ming recalled the contents of the file envelope she had given him yesterday.

"First, regarding the agreement reached between Verres and Fujian, I personally agree to let it pass. However, I also demand that you conduct strict vetting," Li Ming said, dropping his hands. "But I demand the right to expel or even execute unstable personnel at necessary moments, and Ship Girl Bureau staff must not interfere."

Aussie nodded with a smile.

"Secondly, regarding the patent issues, I still agree to your plan for the aircraft patents—open-sourcing the basic designs. But this time, I also demand that the Academy and Andrine Brooke participate together."

"No problem."

"Finally..." Li Ming sighed. "I don't think our relationship has reached the stage of exchanging love letters yet."

"Eh, why like this?"

"No means no... Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing with those?"

She leaned in, looking at him tearfully.

"I said no means no!"

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