Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Position six, Ling Chengyan—
Nine rings, ten rings, ten rings, ten rings, ten rings!
Wu Xiangyang’s heart seed to be lifted high and then suddenly dropped, and he instinctively clapped his hands, "Good! Good!"
Xu Dong stood behind Wu Xiangyang, leaned in to see Ling Chengyan’s score, and smiled while giving a thumbs up!
Ling Chengyan’s face was calm, showing no sign of worry, and she nodded slightly at Xu Dong.
"Sister Yan, Sister Yan, just now Political Commissar Xu gave you a thumbs up, does that an you shot well? It must be, Sister Yan, did you score all tens?"
Li Qingqun excitedly squeezed next to Ling Chengyan, chattering away, but before Ling Chengyan could respond, Zhang Wanxiang and Wu Qingyun pulled him back together.
"Stop talking nonsense and don’t cause trouble for Sister Yan with your clamor," Wu Qingyun warned in a low voice.
Ling Chengyan, as an outstanding female militia, had already made many envious and jealous, even attracting resentnt from those with small-mindedness who couldn’t match her. Li Qingqun’s loud boasts about scoring only tens could easily make people feel it was too showy and arrogant, causing dislike.
"I was only telling the truth..." Li Qingqun still wanted to argue, but Zhang Wanxiang subdued him directly with a chokehold.
Li Qingqun quieted down, and there Wu Xiangyang too finished viewing the score sheet as the statistician began announcing scores:
...Twenty-nine rings!
...Twenty-eight rings!
...Thirty-seven rings!
...
Ling Chengyan: nine rings, ten rings, ten rings, ten rings, ten rings, total score: forty-nine rings!
As this exceptionally high score was announced, the dozens to hundreds of onlookers suddenly fell silent, and soon after, Li Qingqun, Zhang Wanxiang, and Wu Qingyun all cheered together, followed by enthusiastic applause like rolling thunder drowning out the subsequent scores.
The score announcer simply paused, waiting for the applause to ebb slightly. Wu Xiangyang smiled as he raised his hand to signal for quiet, letting the announcer continue reporting scores.
A group of ten people, and Ling Chengyan secured first place with an absolute advantage of 49 points. One person scored 40 points, five scored in the thirties, and four had only scores in the twenties.
The first shot was poorly executed, affecting their performance in the subsequent four shots.
Ling Chengyan still had to participate in the assassination event, and after her scores were announced, she hurried to another competition site.
Here, Ling Chengyan was scheduled for the last round, which mainly consisted of people who ca after finishing other events. Ling Chengyan stood on the field, the only female militia, flanked by strong and fit young n, making her appear particularly slender.
People began to whisper or even mock quietly, wondering if such a slender and weak woman was crazy to compete against a group of robust n in assassination.
Ling Chengyan had talent in shooting and was known for her excellent marksmanship. While won might do well in skill-based shootings, few believed she could stand toe-to-toe with n in real combat.
Ling Chengyan heard the whispers and jokes around her, but she paid them no mind, letting them go in one ear and out the other.
In the military, they say the battlefield is where heroes are proven.
Although she was just a militia mber now, unable to fight enemies on the battlefield, she could compete in the arena.
The whistle blew, and the competition began.
Ling Chengyan grasped the gun with one hand and shot forward like an arrow, taking the lead with her speed, piercing and striking targets along the way. Her slender and fragile silhouette was like a steamroller, seemingly carrying with it the sound of thunderous crushing, as she dashed forward, taking down every target before rushing past it!
Anyone with eyes could see her astonishing combat capability and destructive power, absolutely overwhelming everyone present, regardless of gender.
There was a hushed silence in the field, and the examiner’s voice was sowhat stifled, "Ling Chengyan, perfect score."
Ling Chengyan slowly walked back, and from more than ten steps away, her wooden training gun suddenly slipped from her grip, flying toward one militia mber who had been especially vulgar in his mockery. Though it was a wooden gun, the sharpened tip could still hurt soone if thrown.
It was at this mont that squad leader Wu Xiangyang and Political Commissar Xu Dong ca over, witnessing this scene and Xu Dong exclaid, "No!"
They both vaguely understood that rare female militias might be subjected to exclusion and ridicule by male militias, especially Ling Chengyan, whose excellent scores and superior skills evoked dissatisfaction and envy among many. There were bound to be people saying bad things about her.
Ling Chengyan’s calm deanor these days didn’t an the pressure she faced was insignificant; accumulating stress finally resulted in a burst of rage... understandable, but legally unacceptable.
If Ling Chengyan accidentally injured soone, she would at least not be able to participate in this county competition. Moreover, injuring soone is against the law, and she could face imprisonnt, potentially ruining her life.
But Xu Dong’s shout was unfortunately too late, as everyone watched the wooden gun being thrown toward the crowd, their faces changing.
The group of n, who had been gossiping monts ago, were now scared to death and scattered, leaving just the one militia mber directly stunned or perhaps petrified, as if his legs had gone numb, preventing him from moving while the sharp wooden gun flew toward him...
Xu Dong and Wu Xiangyang sprinted toward him, then watched as the wooden gun landed a few ters before them—
It landed less than a ter in front of that man, with the gun’s tip piercing the ground and the stock trembling slightly.
"Mother..." the man called softly, his legs giving way as he sat down on the ground. Then, soone sharp-eyed noticed his pants darkened between his legs, turning a deeper grey-blue and quite apparent!
—This coward had peed himself out of fear!
The scores were tallied and announced, and Ling Chengyan achieved an undisputed first place in both categories with outstanding results, securing a spot in the county competition.
Surprisingly, another female militia mber, Li Huaihua, also secured a spot with a fifth-place finish in assassination.
Li Huaihua’s advancent and Zhang Yuyan’s unsuccessful bid were unsurprising to Ling Chengyan. Li Huaihua possessed good physical qualities, speed, and impact strength, and after Ling Chengyan’s guidance, her skills improved naturally, leading to better performance. However, Zhang Yuyan lacked standout skills, and despite Ling Chengyan’s selection and training optimization, she ultimately couldn’t break through.
Zhang Yuyan had beco much more cheerful in these days, and instead of feeling too upset upon receiving the results, she smiled and ca over to congratulate Ling Chengyan and Li Huaihua.
On the contrary, Li Huaihua instantly cried when she saw Zhang Yuyan, with Zhang Yuyan offering comfort in return. A while later, Li Huaihua’s eyes were swollen from crying, and Zhang Yuyan and Ling Chengyan’s eyes also showed so redness.
The commune’s won’s director, Liao Junzhi, ca over to award Zhang Yuyan. She received the victory award and the excellent won’s role model award, with prizes being a beautiful peony face wash basin and two enal mugs.
Ling Chengyan and Li Huaihua were genuinely happy for her. Ling Chengyan gave Zhang Yuyan an unused notebook and a ballpoint pen as a keepsake, "Learn more words at ho, who knows, there might be job posts one day." She said this with a wink.
Zhang Yuyan’s eyes brightened; rural people have an aspiration for life in the city, to earn a salary and eat commodity grain—a dream for many in the countryside. Ling Chengyan’s subtle hint fueled Zhang Yuyan’s motivation to learn, determined to keep up with her nephew’s literacy, hoping there might indeed be an employnt opportunity, as suggested by Ling Chengyan, where being literate and able would give her an advantage.
Li Huaihua gifted Zhang Yuyan with a finely embroidered handkerchief she made herself, not available for sale at the supply and marketing cooperative.
Zhang Yuyan, occupied with training, hadn’t prepared a gift but promised to enter the city to cheer for them when they competed at the county level.
The three chatted for a long ti, with fellow villagers urging them repeatedly until they reluctantly parted ways and went ho with their luggage.
Ling Chengyan and Li Huaihua had two days to rest at ho. Two days later, they were to gather at the commune, which would provide transportation for the 15 militia mbers participating in the city competition.
Zhang Wanxiang and Wu Qingyun both were selected, while Wang Lianqi and Jiang Shenglin had slightly lower scores, failing to secure spots in the county competition.
Zhang Wanxiang helped Ling Chengyan with her luggage, and as they were about to leave, Commissar Xu Dong called Ling Chengyan to the office.
About ten minutes later, Ling Chengyan returned, showing no apparent change.
Zhang Wanxiang asked bluntly, "Sister-in-law, what did the commissar say to you?"
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