565: Chapter 560: The Struggle Between the Champion and the Amateur 565: Chapter 560: The Struggle Between the Champion and the Amateur Jack and Arilan’s complexions were somewhat unsightly, as Dave’s appearance had apparently dealt a considerable blow to both of them, and even those who stood firmly on the side of Allian Mossen Studio fell into silence for a moment.
For a portion of the people taking the side of Gunfire Studio and most of the neutrals, who enjoy spectating without fear of escalation, their mood heightened even more after seeing Dave.
At that moment, Dave Brown, who was facing Gao Yang and wearing a smile, took the initiative to extend his hand towards him.
Dave Brown had an amicable smile, but it somewhat resembled the demeanor of a senior figure offering guidance to a junior.
As a successful man at the pinnacle of his field, extending a hand to someone utterly unknown was an act of magnanimity.
In front of Gao Yang, Dave Brown indeed was a senior figure.
Gao Yang happily shook hands with Dave Brown and smiled, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr.
Brown.”
Dave Brown returned the smile and said, “Do your best, and good luck.”
After shaking hands with Gao Yang casually, Dave Brown waved to the crowd again.
Although everyone present was a professional, there were indeed fans of Dave Brown, and suddenly whistles and applause filled the air.
Arilan’s face turned sour.
He tried to smile at Gao Yang and said, “It’s nothing, I believe in your strength.
Don’t let external factors affect you.
Just perform at your own level.”
Jack also patted Gao Yang’s shoulder and said in a deep voice, “Brother, don’t take anything to heart.
Just relax.
Whether you win or lose, as long as you’ve done your best, that’s enough.
I should be blamed for this; I didn’t expect him to bring Dave Brown here.”
Gao Yang just smiled and said, “I’m really not nervous.
I’m just curious about Dave Brown’s skills, but, well, we’ll know once we start shooting.”
Jack nodded and said, “Don’t worry too much.
Dave Brown is indeed formidable, but the shooting distance in today’s competition is very long, and he has never shot targets this far in his usual competitions, so you definitely have a chance to win.”
Although he was comforting Gao Yang, Jack’s lack of confidence was obvious; he was just putting on an act.
Arilan didn’t say anything more, fearing that saying too much might instead affect Gao Yang.
Dave Brown was still talking to others, and Gao Yang was not in a hurry, simply waiting on the side.
At this time, Dave Buddy sneered at the side, “I’m sorry, Mr.
Mosen, perhaps I should have informed you earlier that our shooter is Mr.
Dave Brown.
That way, you could have found a better marksman, instead of calling in some unknown to disgrace himself.
Although I don’t think anyone can beat Dave, the defeat wouldn’t be too unsightly.”
Arilan’s face turned ashen, but Gao Yang extended his hand, made a shooting gesture at Dave Buddy, blew on his index finger, and then, with a laugh, turned and walked towards the starting point of the competition.
The moment to take the stage had arrived.
However, the three-gun competition didn’t allow for two people to be on stage at once, so one had to follow the other.
The person shooting first, without the pressure, often performed better.
Seeing Gao Yang reach the starting point, Dave Brown, after apologizing to those around him, also stood in front of the starting point.
A large crowd stood behind the two of them, while those too far away moved to the side to clearly see the competition.
Dave Brown gave Gao Yang a gesture of invitation, and then with a smile said, “You go first.”
Gao Yang shook his head and also smiled, “Sorry, I’m a rookie and don’t quite understand the rules.
According to the rules, how do we determine who goes first?”
Dave Brown shrugged and said, “With many people, we draw lots.
With just the two of us, we can flip a coin.”
Gao Yang nodded and asked the crowd of influential people behind him, “Who has a coin?”
The president of the National Rifle Association personally officiated the coin toss.
As a newcomer, Gao Yang got to choose first and he chose heads.
But his luck wasn’t great, as when the coin hit the ground, the upward-facing side showed the figure.
When the president of the National Rifle Association pointed towards Dave Brown, a low sigh emanated from the crowd—undoubtedly from the supporters of Allian Mossen Studio.
Dave Brown offered Gao Yang an apologetic smile and then, after the big shots personally checked his guns, someone placed the three firearms he would use on the shooting position one by one.
Following the sound of the electronic starting signal, Dave Brown quickly ran out, grabbed a gun and a magazine from the table where the pistol and magazines were laid out, loaded the chamber, and immediately began shooting.
Dave Brown was using a 1911 pistol, obviously modified.
His magazine was extended and could hold twelve rounds.
Since this was an inter-studio confrontation, guns could be modified freely, unlike in mass production gun competitions with bullet restrictions.
The fifty-meter target was too far for a pistol, but Dave Brown showed Gao Yang why he had been the best shooter for the past four years.
Sprinting rapidly between obstacles and shooting immediately upon reaching the shooting position, the targets fell as soon as the gun sounded.
Hitting half-size human targets at a distance of fifty meters was very difficult, but Dave Brown didn’t waste a single bullet, taking out ten targets with ten rounds.
After Dave Brown finished shooting at the pistol target, Jack pressed the stopwatch in his hand and said with a pale face to his father, “Seventeen seconds, almost the same as his ten-meter target shooting time.
Gao’s moving speed can’t compete with him.”
There’s no need to run an obstacle course when shooting a shotgun; instead, one stands and fires all the rounds, then runs to the table with the shotgun, places the pistol down, and starts shooting with the shotgun.
Dave Brown used nine rounds to hit seven targets.
Because the shotgun has a limited magazine capacity, there are only seven targets for shotgun shooting instead of ten.
However, the shotgun’s strong recoil means that re-aiming and firing takes longer than with a pistol.
Seeing Dave finish, Jack’s face looked even uglier as he said quietly, “Fifteen seconds!
About the same time as Gao’s, but Gao doesn’t move as quickly as Dave.”
Finally, it was time for the rifle shooting at six hundred meters.
Dave being a sniper by trade, this distance certainly would not pose a challenge for him, even though it wasn’t a competition distance.
Lying prone and firing ten rounds, all shots hit the mark; Dave performed very well at long distances.
After pressing the stopwatch again, Jack’s face finally looked a lot better as he said, “Rifle shooting time twenty-six seconds; Gao could leave him streets behind, but Dave’s total time is 58 seconds, while Gao’s best training time is a full minute.”
A score of 58 seconds isn’t too good, but it’s not bad either.
It would also qualify for a spot in an ordinary competition.
But considering the shooting distances, Dave’s competition this time was ten times harder than any he had participated in before.
The audience was full of experts, so when the judge loudly announced Dave’s time, a sudden gasp arose.
Dave raised his rifle, prompting even more cheers and whistles.
Once Dave returned to the starting point, he smiled at Gao Yang and said, “Good luck to you.”
Gao Yang handed his gun over to the person setting it up and smiled back at Dave, saying, “Thanks, I’ve always been quite lucky.”
Watching Dave’s performance, it would be a lie to say Gao Yang wasn’t nervous, but his nerves wouldn’t affect his performance; rather, they would make him perform even better.
Gao Yang was the type of competitor who excelled under pressure on the field, the kind of warrior who could find a glimmer of hope in the direst situations on the battlefield.
Gao Yang quietly waited, and as soon as the electronic sound went off, he dashed out like an arrow.
Although Gao Yang moved quickly, he was still much slower compared to Dave Brown.
Gao Yang had only undergone half a month of training with half-day sessions each time, whereas Dave Brown?
This sport was his livelihood; he had been training hard for nearly ten years.
The three-gun competition is all about time, including the time spent moving.
The pistol segment, which involves shooting on the move, is the biggest time drainer.
With every obstacle he crossed, Gao Yang would be a notch slower than Dave Brown.
By the time ten targets were down, the time difference had accumulated to a disheartening extent.
Gao Yang took twelve bullets to knock down ten targets.
His marksmanship wasn’t bad, but overall, Gao Yang was simply an amateur—and indeed, that’s what he was.
In the three-gun competition, good marksmanship alone is not enough; that’s the consensus of everyone.
After Gao Yang finished with the pistol targets, Jack pressed the stopwatch with a ghastly pale face and said gravely, “Twenty-seven seconds, slow movement, and his pistol accuracy isn’t enough.
I modified it with reliability in mind.”
His expression changed drastically.
Looking at Jack, he ultimately said nothing, as Gao Yang had begun shotgun shooting.
Although shooting a shotgun is done standing without movement, Gao Yang took his Da Vinci Shotgun, took a deep breath, and began to continuously pull the trigger.
After firing his shotgun, Gao Yang didn’t even bother to check with his peripheral vision whether he had hit the targets; he had absolute confidence in his shotgun.
This put him a full ten seconds behind, an irretrievable gap in a three-gun match.
Sighs were heard; overtaking defeat was impossible, not even a miracle could help.
That was what most people were thinking.
Arilan’s confidence was almost shattered, he started thinking the same, but after watching Gao Yang finish with the shotgun, Arilan’s rapidly beating heart began to race even faster, especially after Jack announced the time.
“Eleven seconds!
He’s made up four seconds!”
Arilan gasped for breath, his hopes now hinged on Gao Yang’s astonishingly quick rifle shooting.
Yet, watching the speed at which Gao Yang was running to the rifle shooting position, he felt Gao Yang would be a second slower than Dave.
Gao Yang’s Blade of Satan finally roared to life; the gunfire rang out continuously with barely a pause, sounding more like an automatic rifle than a semi-automatic one, and upon hearing it, the entire audience was astounded.
Even the experienced shooting authorities began to exclaim in shock.
(To be continued.
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