Chapter 237: The Official Test
Emily remained unfazed and began tackling the trickiest problem—the scope. She used a precision screwdriver to carefully adjust the loose screws, pressing her eye close to the lens as she calibrated it bit by bit.
"Three minutes!" the examiner announced.
The mocking voices around her grew louder: "Give it up, Emily! There's no way you'll finish in time!"
"Exactly! Some rookie actually thinks she's hot stuff."
Even the examiner shook his head, clearly doubting Emily could repair such severe malfunctions in such a short time.
"Two minutes!"
Suddenly, Emily stopped what she was doing and let out a soft breath. Everyone assumed she'd given up, and Kismet's face broke into a triumphant grin.
But then Emily raised her handgun and smoothly pulled the bolt—it worked perfectly! She aimed at the distant target through the scope—the alignment was flawless!
Just then, the examiner announced, "Time's up!"
He walked over to Emily, ready to disqualify her from the test, but was stunned by what he saw. The gun that had been severely damaged just moments ago was now in perfect working condition!
"How is this possible?" The examiner took the gun in disbelief and inspected it. Every component was flawless, and even calibrated to perfection!
The entire training ground fell dead silent. Everyone stared at Emily in shock.
Kismet's smile froze on her face.
Emily smiled faintly. "Sir, weapon repair complete. Requesting permission to proceed with the test!"
The examiner looked at her in amazement. "How did you do that? This level of malfunction would take even a professional gunsmith at least half an hour to fix!"
Emily blinked and gave him a mysterious smile. "Maybe I'm just naturally gifted?"
The examiner took a deep breath and solemnly handed the gun back to her. "Permission granted to proceed with the test!"
"Thank you, sir." Emily took the gun and confidently walked toward the shooting position. Her gaze briefly swept toward Kismet's direction, and where only Kismet could see, she mouthed the word: "Bitch."
Next time you want to sabotage me, remember to make it more challenging. This level of trouble poses no threat whatsoever.
Kismet's face turned livid with rage, but there was nothing she could do except watch helplessly as Emily strutted toward the shooting position.
Kaida stood on the other side of the formation, her expression neutral but her eyes sharp as a hawk's. She had watched Emily's entire gun repair process, from the initial skepticism to the stunning reversal. Her grip on her own weapon tightened almost imperceptibly.
This Emily was... interesting.
When Kaida had reconciled with Emily earlier, it was purely out of respect for Emily's character and regret for her own carelessness in believing lies. But she had always harbored doubts about Emily's actual abilities.
She was just some rookie here to polish her reputation, who had gotten lucky beating her once. Kaida had just had bad luck; that was all.
But that defeat had taught Kaida an important lesson: never again make judgments based on others' one-sided words, and never underestimate an opponent based on appearance.
What Kaida had learned from Emily was valuable, but that was all it had been.
However, today's shooting test forced Kaida to truly acknowledge Emily's capabilities.
All those so-called "prodigies" had seemed like clowns in her eyes, but today, Emily's unshakeable composure under pressure and almost supernatural repair speed made Kaida consider her as a real opponent for the first time. She nodded slightly—a silent acknowledgment of Emily's performance.
The shooting test officially began.
The first event was stationary target shooting, with each participant getting ten rounds, scored by points. The trainees took turns according to their numbers, gunshots rang out continuously, and the scorer's voice followed. Some performances were mediocre, drawing sighs; others excelled, earning quiet applause.
When Kaida's turn came, she moved with almost no wasted motion—raise, aim, fire—all in one fluid sequence. Her movements were clean and precise, textbook perfect.
After ten shots, the scorer announced loudly: "Kaida, 98 points!" The entire venue erupted. This was nearly one of the best scores in the academy's history. Kaida lowered her gun expressionlessly and returned to formation, as if she'd just completed something effortless.
Finally, it was Emily's turn to shoot. The moment she stepped up to the firing line, murmurs rippled through the crowd.
"Watch this—I bet she'll score seventy at most!"
"Don't be so harsh. What if she really is talented? That gun repair was pretty amazing."
"Gun repair and marksmanship are two different things!"
Two completely different voices intertwined, filled with doubt and anticipation.
Emily ignored them all. She took a deep breath and raised her weapon. Her grip wasn't as textbook-perfect as Kaida's, but it carried a unique sense of relaxed confidence. She didn't rush to shoot. Instead, she closed her eyes and, after a few seconds, opened them suddenly. Her gaze became razor-sharp, as if she had merged with the gun itself.
The gunshots were steady and rhythmic, each trigger pull executed with perfect timing. Her movements weren't fast, but they were extraordinarily precise.
When the final shot rang out, everyone held their breath, staring intently at the scorer.
The scorer looked through his binoculars, double and triple-checking before shouting with an incredulous expression: "Emily, 95 points!"
Gasps echoed throughout the range.
Ninety-five points! This score was second only to Kaida's 98! And this was from a rookie who'd barely been at the academy, someone others had dismissed as just a pretty face!
Those who had mocked Emily earlier now looked green around the gills, unable to utter another sarcastic word. Meanwhile, those who had held even a sliver of hope for her were flushed with excitement.
"I knew she had it in her!"
"My God, 95 points! That's incredible!"
"Second only to Kaida! And Kaida's our academy's shooting legend!"
The way everyone looked at Emily completely changed—shock, awe, curiosity... complex emotions played across every face. They began to truly recognize this newcomer named Emily. To score so close to Kaida wasn't a coincidence, and it certainly wasn't luck!
In the crowd, Kate's eyes widened. She clearly remembered her own first shooting score when she'd entered the academy—90 points—which had been hailed as limitless potential at the time.
But Emily had scored 95 points right out of the gate. This made Kate reassess the seemingly delicate woman. What kind of power was hidden inside Emily's body?
Kate's earlier concerns had completely evaporated, replaced by great surprise and admiration.