159: Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Eight: Can You Win?
159: Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Eight: Can You Win?
As Hill left with a tragic sense of bravery that’d never return to find the clay pigeon thrower, Destin made several phone calls in a hurry, inviting more people to watch Gao Yang and Simon’s competition.
Before Hill returned, Gao Yang discovered that the camp had neither competition shotguns nor special ammunition for clay pigeon shooting, and the multiple direction clay pigeon shooting seemed too complicated as it required up to fifteen throwers, with three throwing clays in different angles and directions in a set.
He felt that it was unlikely for Hill to find enough throwers for a professional-level multiple direction clay pigeon competition.
After Gao Yang reported his oversight to Destin and expressed his apologies, all Destin could do was to regretfully tell Hill to borrow two shotguns and ammunition for clay pigeon shooting on his way back.
However, more throwers were obviously non-returnable.
Given the change in the competition, Destin felt that Gao Yang’s odds of winning had significantly decreased.
That made him hesitate, and after pondering, he let go of the urge to continue making calls.
It would be good to win in front of many old friends, giving them a chance to vent their spleen.
But if Gao Yang lost, he and his many old friends would have to watch Simon triumph again after so many years of bitterness.
Many seemed eager to see Simon defeated.
An old sedan pulled up in front of the office building, and a handsome middle-aged man burst out of the car enthusiastically.
“Hey everyone, I rushed over as fast as I could.
Did we miss anything?”
With the handsome guy’s shout, a lean, small man got out from the passenger seat, but he simply nodded at Simon and then waved at Destin and the others before standing quietly aside, not uttering a word.
Destin waved back at the thin man and then muttered to the handsome guy driving, “Damn it, Jacklan, you’re everywhere.
I hope you’re not here to borrow money; I don’t want to see you waste it on those strippers again.”
Being called Jacklan, the man spread his hands helplessly and said, “I can’t help being too popular with the ladies.
But seriously can’t you lend me some money?
Or perhaps you’ve got a job for me—I know it’s hard to find work these days.”
Simon gave the handsome guy a curious look and then warmly said to the lean man, “Hey Frank, it’s been ages.
Who’s this, a friend of yours?”
The man Simon called Frank replied softly, “Simon, long time no see.
This is my friend, Jacklan King, from the Air Force.
You may not know him, but he has worked with us before.
How’s Moses?
I miss him.”
Simon’s expression darkened.
“Moses is dead, didn’t you know?”
Destin let out a sigh.
“Simon, Frank just got out of prison.”
Frank clenched his lips, and after a moment of silence, he said softly, “How did he die?”
Before Simon could answer, Morgan said somberly, “You were Moses’ friend?
I’m sorry to inform you, Moses was killed while protecting me.
But those who killed Moses are dead too, taken out by him.”
Morgan pointed at Gao Yang and then continued, “Of course, it’s not over yet.
Sooner or later, I’ll find the mastermind behind it all and take him out.”
After nodding at Gao Yang, Frank replied calmly to Simon, “If you’re out for revenge for Moses, I hope you’ll let me join.
Simon, we’ll talk more about this later.”
After Frank’s abrupt interjection, he stood aside in silence.
Simon spoke sternly, “Sure, Frank.
Let’s not discuss these sad matters now.
It’s rare for us to get together, so let’s save those for later.”
The handsome guy called Jacklan struck up a conversation with Gao Yang enthusiastically, but after exchanging a few pleasantries, they saw Hill finally returning.
Along with bringing back two clay pigeon throwers and a pile of clays, Hill had also rented two Beretta shotguns designed for clay shooting competitions and a large stack of Premay steel shot from the shooting club.
Seeing Gao Yang, Hill said excitedly, “They said these are specifically for shooting in multiple directions.
Simon isn’t familiar with these, Ram, take him down.”
Simon responded, resigned, “It seems you’re going all out for revenge, but you’ll be disappointed.
Even with unfamiliar guns and rules, the ultimate winner will be me.
Sorry, Hill, looks like you’re about to streak naked.”
Suddenly, Frank said, “You guys are betting?
That’s great.
Simon, if you lose, give me back the pistol you won from me.
It was my first creation.”
Simon shrugged and replied, “Sorry, Frank, your gun’s long gone.
And just to let you know, I’m not taking any more bets.”
After his declaration, Simon casually picked up a shotgun and said, “Can we start now?
I can hardly wait.”
Gao Yang picked up the remaining double-barreled shotgun, checked the chamber, and said, “Of course, we can start at any time.
Don’t you want to test the gun first?”
Hill rushed and said, “To the shooting range, let’s talk at the shooting range first.”
The training camp had two large shooting ranges that could accommodate all types of guns, including large-caliber sniper rifles and machine guns.
While Hill and the others hurriedly set up the clay target launchers, Gao Yang and Simon each fired a few test shots.
The shotgun performed very well, and Gao Yang was satisfied with the test.
After finishing, he slung the opened shotgun over his shoulder and said, “Simon, looks like you’re getting a bargain.
It seems we can’t do professional skeet shooting, so I have a proposal, two targets launched at a time, two shots each.
One finishes and the next one shoots, sixty rounds per person.
Any objections?”
“Sixty is too many, twenty shots.
I’ll shoot first.”
“Forty rounds, can’t be less.
We’ll flip a coin to decide who shoots first.”
The reason they argued was that Gao Yang was more familiar with clay pigeon shooting, so the more he shot, the better.
Moreover, in a shooting competition, the person who shoots later often faces greater psychological pressure, so Gao Yang preferred to shoot first.
However, Simon also understood this principle, so after they compromised on forty rounds, a coin toss decided who would shoot first.
Gao Yang wasn’t lucky and lost the coin toss to Simon.
He could only shoot second.
When the clay target launcher was properly installed and after testing by throwing a few targets, an impatient Hill shouted, “We can start now.”
Simon took his place at the shooting position and yelled out loud after which, the voice-activated launcher released two orange clay targets.
Simon quickly raised his gun and fired.
After two bangs, one target dispersed into a cloud of red mist, while the other landed intact on the ground.
Simon hit one out of two shots, and everyone present immediately became excited.
When Arthur started clapping, the rest followed suit, and soon, there was a steady round of applause.
Gao Yang laughed heartily and, after getting to the shooting position, said loudly, “Simon, you must be so disliked.
Watch me, today is your downfall.
I’m really looking forward to seeing you go streaking.”
After Gao Yang finished speaking, Li Jinfang and Cui Bo shouted in Chinese, “Brother Yang, come on!”
Surrounded by the cheering and support of the crowd, Gao Yang gestured with his hand, and after everyone had quieted down, he called out and then shot at the two rising clay targets.
After the two shots, both targets landed on the ground unbroken.
Gao Yang’s first two shots missed completely, and the scene was too tragic to watch.
For a moment, everyone was silent, making Simon’s smug laughter particularly grating.
“Hahaha, seems like someone’s gonna have a tough time,” Simon gloated.
Gao Yang walked away from the shooting position, looking dismissive, “Don’t get too proud.
I’m giving you a two-shot lead to keep your defeat from looking too bad.”
“Come on, kid.
My reputation isn’t just hot air.
Wait for Destin and the others’ wrath,” Simon retorted.
Each trying to exert psychological pressure on the other, Simon and Gao Yang bantered as they returned to the shooting positions.
After calling out again, another two shots rang out, resulting in the same outcome as the first time—one hit, one miss.
“Haha, Gao, be careful not to end up empty-handed,” taunted Simon.
After giving Simon a disdainful look, Gao Yang ignored him and went straight to his shooting position.
This time, no one cheered him on, not because they had lost all faith in Gao Yang, but because shooting competitions required extreme calm rather than heated enthusiasm.
Everyone present was an expert in shooting and knew not to add any psychological pressure at that moment.
After a shout, Gao Yang took his place, shot at the two rising targets, and instantly two clouds of red mist burst into the air.
With the gun bore open, he blew into the barrel and then, all smiles, stretched out two fingers towards Simon, “Yeah, just to let you know, it’s tied at two apiece.”
Amidst the crowd’s cheers, it was now Simon’s turn to feel the pressure.
Blowing on his hands after rubbing them together, Simon had a stroke of good luck and also nailed both shots.
It had to be said that Simon’s use of the shotgun was impressive.
Though he hadn’t had much experience with skeet shooting, after two rounds, Simon was almost always hitting both targets with two shots, except for one mistake.
But just as if he’d made a deal with Gao Yang, following Simon’s error, he too scored one out of two.
Both performed at an exceptional level and quickly reached the last round, but they were still tied, with Simon not managing to pull ahead.
At this point, the psychological pressure weighed more heavily on Simon, who shot first.
The atmosphere on the site was intense.
No one dared to breathe loudly, though they could have distracted Simon with noise; they chose not to.
After Simon took several deep breaths and took his stand at the shooting position, he shot and hit one final time.
The crowd initially erupted into brief cheers, but seeing the person with a chance for victory, they quickly suppressed their celebratory impulses, holding their breath and fixing hopeful gazes on Gao Yang.