"Once the targets are released, the time limit for hitting as many as possible will also be five minutes," said Lijing, "though I will be very disappointed if there are any standing after that long. Two minutes left in the preparation stage!"
I zeroed in on the large box one of the elders was standing near, almost exactly 500 feet away. I extended my senses—and felt many others doing the same. Apparently a large portion of the audience was doing so as well, to better discern when any targets were successfully hit. I had just about managed to push the feeling of all the "prying eyes" into the background when Lijing called, "begin!"