Xiao Jing held the revolver with some hesitation. Glancing at her teammates, who were practicing diligently, she tried to aim the gun at the target.
"Relax. This gun is slightly heavier than a regular handgun, so you should control your hand strength, so as not to get hurt," Lin Qi coached her from the side, giving her his full attention.
Her eyes blazing like torches, Xiao Jing stared at the gun target that was tens of meters away. Her index finger curled back towards her body, and she was ready to start shooting anytime.
However, before her finger reached the trigger, another hand suddenly appeared and wordlessly took away the weapon in her hands.
"What are you doing?" asked Xiao Jing in bewilderment, as she turned around to look at the owner of the hand.
"Pah!" Shen Chengfeng expressionlessly placed the handgun on the table and looked at Xiao Jing from the corner of his eye. In an even tone, he said, "It is counterproductive to use a weapon that does not suit you."
Xiao Jing quickly swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue. She straightened her posture and greeted him, "I'm back, Sir."
Glancing at her left arm, Shen Chengfeng passed her the handgun next to the M500. "This is a P226, a double-action-slash-single-action semi-automatic pistol manufactured by Country R. Caliber of 9x19mm, unloaded weight of 856 grams, trigger force of 12 pounds for double action, and 5 pounds for a single action. The initial speed is 350 meters per second, and the magazine capacity is 15 rounds. This suits you better."
As soon as the gun was placed before her, Xiao Jing picked it up and fired two shots without a second's hesitation.
The shots hit the orange ring in the center of the target. While her aim was not exactly perfect, it was better than before, and there was a marked improvement.
Satisfied with the results, Xiao Jing put down the pistol. At least she hadn't missed the target this time around, much to her relief.
Jiang Si's brows furrowed when he noticed the gun next to Xiao Jing's hand. Everyone had had their eyes on that gun but had been told by Mu Xichi that they could only practice with the weapon assigned to their station.
"You're satisfied with your results?" Shen Chengqing walked forward, his gloved hand gently brushing over the gun. As usual, he sounded extremely calm and composed, and his cold demeanor reflected a lack of interest in anyone or anything.
Xiao Jing quickly withdrew her expression of joy, and said with a straight face, "I will try to get up to speed as soon as possible."
"You have a lot of catching up to do. I guess Major Mu told you guys that there will be an actual combat drill in a month. This is the last chance I am giving all of you," said Shen Chengfeng, as his eyes swept over everyone present, before settling on Xiao Jing.
Xiao Jing blinked. Why was he looking at her like that?
Was he expecting her to thank him profusely for giving them another opportunity? Was she supposed to be shedding tears of gratitude?
"If everyone fails again in one month, go back where you came from. Steel Eagle has no place for losers," Shen Chengfeng picked up the gun again and pulled the trigger with his index finger. The next second, the bullet came flying out of the gun and hit the bullseye.
"I am your new instructor. You may call me Mr. Qi, or you may call me Demon Qi. I will be teaching you personally for the entire month, and have already pledged to Commander that all of us will share weal and woe, so the next month will be no walk in the park." A man with a cigarette dangling out from the corner of his mouth addressed the recruits. The man, who was leaning against the table right now, looked more like a hooligan than a soldier.
Not many of the people present were familiar with Mr. Qi, but Mu Xichi had retained a profound impression of him. When he had entered Steel Eagle, his group of recruits had come in with inflated egos. Having been chosen to join Steel Eagle, they were proud and arrogant and were overly confident in their abilities.
It took one day, just one day, for them to fall from grace, to fall from heaven to hell and land flat on their faces in the process. They were so terrified that they had not dared to make a single sound of protest.
Qi Yue stubbed out the cigarette with his foot, pointed to the sun, which was high in the sky at the moment, and chucked. "The weather is pretty good today. Let's have a test of speed and passion. How does a load-bearing 100-meter relay sound?"
The corners of Mu Xichi's mouth twitched. The 100-meter relay was the stuff of nightmares. He could still remember how everyone had collapsed on the track after training, after sweating gallons. Their skin was also peeling from the sunburn that they had gotten.
Back to the present, on the drill ground, the glaring sun had absorbed all the moisture in the air. A backpack filled with ten kilograms of metal was placed before the seven of them.
Qi Yue sat in the shade in a relaxed pose and lifted a timer to show the recruits. "I remember Major Mu's batch. Their best result was twelve minutes for seven people. After all, they were all rookies. For all of you, I shall adjust the time limit accordingly. How about thirteen minutes?" he spoke resoundingly.
Xiao Jing was at the end of the line. Just her turn alone could take thirteen minutes. But all seven of them had to complete the relay within thirteen minutes!
It was not hard to imagine that if they ended up exceeding the time limit because of her, the other six would throw their heavy backpacks on her weak and frail body or rain their fists on her as if she were a punching bag until she was beaten beyond recognition.
"Begin!"
As soon as the whistle sounded, Lin Qi, who was the first person in the relay, jumped across the ten-meter-long steeplechase in a single leap. His body was suspended in the air, and he relied solely on the strength of his arms to move forward.
Xiao Jing gritted her teeth. For some reason, her arm, which had barely healed, was now starting to throb with pain again.
"Just this alone will be difficult for you, not to mention the other events. I advise you to withdraw early, so you do not drag the rest of the team down," Mu Xichi shook his head. He had initially had faith in the batch of recruits, but unfortunately for them, they had encountered the worst "black hole" he had ever seen. She was their weakest link.
Xiao Jing did not back down, and instead fixed her gaze on the agile Lin Qi. "Major Mu seems to have formed an opinion about me," she said emphatically.
"I entered the Special Command Unit based on hard work and effort, and am nothing like those from 525, who are from influential families or come from an important background. I feel sorry for those who have entered through their efforts, for they are about to have their future ruined by a black hole."
"How do you know that I didn't get here through my efforts?"
"Your efforts?" Mu Xi snorted, his eyes filled with disdain. "Did you think that I was unaware of what you had said to the Commander? While at the 525 camp, you deliberately got close to him by entering his dwellings on multiple occasions, so that he would notice you and eventually bring you over. You probably told him how much you admired or idolized him. Let me tell you, our Commander is decent and upright, and there is no way he would ever fall for your tricks."