042 Unable to Assemble a Gun

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Once the troublesome man in the suit was dragged out by security, a deputy general manager of the shooting club finally made his appearance.

“Oh my, Miss Fang, what wind has blown you here today? Our humble club is truly honored by your presence!”

As expected from the deputy general manager of such a large private club, his speech was a touch glib, yet he skillfully avoided the awkward address of “Miss Fang,” earning a silent thumbs-up from Yang Tang standing nearby.

“Chen Jin, cut the nonsense. Where’s the gun I asked for?” Fang Yuhua’s tone was sharp, making Deputy General Manager Chen pause for a moment before replying, “It’s all ready. Please, this way!” With that, he struck a welcoming pose and indicated the direction.

“If you’ve got the guts, follow me!” Fang Yuhua said to Yang Tang, grabbing He Jiani as she strode off.

Yang Tang shrugged and followed at a leisurely pace.

Once Yang Tang walked past, Deputy General Manager Chen dropped his polite stance and sidled up behind Yang Tang, muttering quietly, “Brother, what did you do to offend the Great Witch Fang? From the looks of it, she’s out to settle scores with you!”

“Settle scores? How bad can it be?” Yang Tang replied indifferently.

“Heh, you’ll find out soon enough. Even if you don’t die, you’ll lose a layer of skin. Good luck, you’ll need it!” With that, Chen Jin hurried ahead to attend to Fang Yuhua.

Yang Tang didn’t dawdle, following the three around several twists and turns until, at last, the view opened up before him.

It was a small mountain valley.

Though the valley was petite, Yang Tang could tell it was a naturally formed hollow. He couldn’t help but think: for a shooting club in Shenhai to have a natural forested valley within its grounds, the club’s founder must wield considerable influence.

The four came to a terrace at the valley’s edge.

“Clap, clap!” Chen Jin clapped his hands. “Bring up the weapons!” Immediately, men in black, hidden among the trees, sped off.

Soon, two electric carts arrived, each with two men in tight black attire. The first cart carried folding tables and chairs, the second several black cases.

The carts pulled up beneath the terrace, and the men swiftly set up three tables and six chairs. Two tables each received three black cases; the last was laid with desserts, coffee, tea, and other refreshments.

“Yang Tang, since you’ve got the nerve to follow, let’s compete in a hundred-point match!” Fang Yuhua said coldly.

He Jiani looked utterly bewildered, but Deputy General Manager Chen Jin’s expression changed dramatically. He immediately tried to dissuade her, “Miss Fang, three stages should be enough, shouldn’t it? If something goes wrong in the fourth round, I won’t be able to explain it to Earl Fang!”

Titles of nobility—since the Ming royal family’s titles were preserved by the current government—came in five ranks: Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, and Baron, and only military merit could earn them. The Viscount and Baron ranks had once been abolished, but were restored as purely honorary after the founding of the new government. They carried no real power or benefit and were not hereditary. The top three, Duke, Marquis, and Earl, were of two types: life peerages and ordinary hereditary titles. In either case, these ranks conferred no real authority in modern China, though certain state privileges remained.

So when “Earl Fang” was mentioned, Yang Tang couldn’t help but turn grave. According to his research, fewer than a thousand people in China had even the honorary Viscount or Baron rank, most being military elites. For the rank of Earl, there were fewer than thirty. Even among the highest officials in Yujing’s inner circle, few bore the title of Earl—not for lack of status, but for want of military merit.

Military merit, any recognized by the present government and sufficient to earn a title, was an intangible honor that commanded respect everywhere.

While Yang Tang was mulling over these noble titles, Fang Yuhua said, “Relax, Chen Jin. My marksmanship is excellent. I won’t shoot Yang Tang dead.”

He Jiani nearly leaped from her seat. “Yuhua, what are you saying? Shoot Yang Tang?”

“Don’t worry, no one’s dying today!” Fang Yuhua patted He Jiani’s chest in reassurance.

He Jiani relaxed a little, but Chen Jin was still deeply uneasy. He thought, Miss, I know your aim is good, and usually nobody gets killed, but if this Yang Tang happens to shoot first in the fourth round and misses, your own life might be at risk. The thought made Chen Jin shudder. “Miss Fang, I really think you should reconsider. If anything goes wrong, neither of us wants that, right?”

“No need to think it over. I know what I’m doing. Yang Tang, do you dare face me?” Fang Yuhua brushed off Chen Jin’s earnest appeals and threw down the gauntlet.

“Fine, let’s compete!” Yang Tang agreed at once. Not that he was eager to “fight a woman,” but Fang Yuhua was a woman who really needed someone to put her in her place. Besides, if he didn’t want to compete, he could’ve just left earlier—no need to follow her here.

“Very well. First round: gun assembly. Each assembles three guns. Whoever completes all three first wins the round, and points are awarded proportionally for a total of ten points!”

“Gun assembly?”

In all his lives, Yang Tang had never faced this challenge head-on.

Meanwhile, Fang Yuhua casually opened the three cases before her. “Chen Jin, give the starting call. Yang Tang, why aren’t you moving?”

“Moving! Moving!” Yang Tang fumbled awkwardly, struggling to open the three cases before him. As expected, each held disassembled parts: one for a pistol, one for a semi-automatic rifle, and one for a sniper rifle.

Gun assembly—Yang Tang had seen it in movies and TV shows, but confronted with the actual parts, he was at a complete loss.

At the same time, under Fang Yuhua’s intense gaze, Chen Jin decided to let the fourth round be the cutoff if he needed to intervene. He announced, “Ready positions! Gun assembly begins!”

Fang Yuhua focused as soon as Chen Jin said “ready.” When “begin” was called, she started with the easiest, grabbing pistol parts for assembly.

Yang Tang, momentarily flustered, grabbed two random pistol parts and stared blankly, clueless about how to fit them together.

He Jiani sighed at the sight, a bit resentful toward Fang Yuhua for choosing guns—archery would have been much better! She recalled Yang Tang’s heroic feat of taking down a robber with an arrow and felt a surge of excitement.

Fang Yuhua was clearly holding back, glancing at Yang Tang from the corner of her eye as she worked. Seeing him fumble clumsily with the pistol parts, she felt a surge of satisfaction. Ni Ni was right; this guy really was a rookie with guns. She’d picked the wrong opponent, but since the match had started, she’d at least finish three rounds to teach him a lesson.

Meanwhile, Yang Tang cursed inwardly. Sure enough, just holding gun parts offered no “shooting stance” insight. Damn, looks like I’ll score zero on this first round—wait, could my super memory capture Fang Yuhua’s assembly techniques? If it could—well!

He activated his “Eagle Eye,” fixing a burning gaze on Fang Yuhua.

Yes, it worked!

Unfortunately, he’d realized too late—he could only trail in her wake. As for the pistol, he had no hope of assembling it in time.

His mind racing, Yang Tang separated the rifle and sniper parts onto the table, tossed the cases aside, and clumsily loaded bullets into a magazine, all the while keeping his eyes glued to Fang Yuhua.

Fang Yuhua noticed his odd behavior, unable to fathom why he was still “struggling to the last.” But her hands didn’t slow, and she soon finished assembling the pistol.

At that moment, Yang Tang set aside the unfinished pistol magazine.

Eagle Eye!

Super memory!

In an instant, Yang Tang’s perception and recall sped up to more than five times Fang Yuhua’s, and his hands moved two or three times faster as well. Almost keeping pace with Fang Yuhua, he assembled the semi-automatic rifle, loading the magazine well ahead of her.

So, under the astonished gazes of Fang Yuhua, Chen Jin, and He Jiani, Yang Tang was the first to snap the magazine into the rifle, completing the second assembly. While Fang Yuhua was still loading bullets, he even took up the unfinished pistol magazine to continue loading rounds.

Fang Yuhua’s hands went through the motions mechanically, but inside she was stunned. How had that guy suddenly become so good at gun assembly? And faster than her? Impossible!

But the truth was plain to see.

Chen Jin and He Jiani were equally bewildered, staring in disbelief at the assembled semi-automatic rifle before Yang Tang.

At last, Fang Yuhua snapped the magazine into her rifle, but did not immediately start on the sniper rifle. Instead, she watched Yang Tang, noting that after finishing the semi-auto, he made no further moves—neither assembling the sniper nor returning to the pistol. How strange!

“No, there must be something I haven’t figured out yet. Yang Tang really doesn’t know how to assemble guns!” To confirm her suspicion, Fang Yuhua began slowly loading the sniper rifle’s magazine.

Yang Tang couldn’t help but smile wryly. Fang Yuhua was not to be underestimated.

She calmly finished loading the magazine and, seeing that Yang Tang hadn’t rushed ahead to assemble the sniper rifle, finally understood. “Yang Tang, did you just mimic my moves to assemble the semi-automatic rifle?”

At this, Chen Jin and He Jiani were shocked.

Hereditary titles came in two forms: one, perpetual hereditary succession, where the title could be passed down indefinitely with no reduction in rank; and two, ordinary hereditary succession, where the title could be inherited only a limited number of times, with each succession reducing the rank by one.

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