Chapter 24
After dinner.
The other instructors took Nina and Oliver to the shooting range.
One of them gave a detailed explanation of how to handle the firearms, then chuckled. “First time shooting? Make sure to keep your arm steady, or the recoil might dislocate your shoulder.”
“Got it,” Oliver replied coolly.
With practiced ease, Oliver pulled back the slide, chambered a round, flicked off the safety, and aimed. Withou hesitation, he fired ten consecutive shots.
All ten bullets hit the target without a single break in rhythm.
The instructor hurried to inspect the target. Every shot was on point.
“Not bad,” he said, looking at Oliver with raised eyebrows. “This isn’t your first time, is it? That kind of accuracy is close to special forces level.”
Oliver smirked faintly. “Not my first. I’ve trained on a base before.”
“Impressive skills. Ever think about enlisting?”
“I’ll think about it.”
The truth was, Oliver had always wanted to be a soldier. But his father had other ideas, insisting he prepare to take over the Snee family empire instead.
Just then-
“Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang…”
Nina began firing her rounds.
When she finished, she spun the gun around her finger with a smug grin. “This range is way too close. Where’s the challenge?”
The instructor rushed over to check her target.
There was only one hole–dead center in the bullseye.
北
He froze, holding the target aloft like it was a relic. Turning to Nina, he asked, stunned, “Did you just… hit the bullseye with every shot?”
Nina shrugged. “Shouldn’t you be the one confirming that? Why ask me?”
“What’s going on?” Oliver joined them, curious.
The target had a single, clean hole in the center. No scratches, no deviation.
That left only two possibilities: Nina got lucky and hit the bullseye with a single shot. Or, all ten bullets followed the exact same trajectory, creating one perfect hole.
The first option was plausible. The second? Almost impossible.
Recoil made perfect precision in rapid fire nearly unattainable, even for pros. Even if all shots landed in the bullseye, they’d
1/4
2/4
19:57 Sat, Nov 30 GG
Chapter 24
leave multiple holes.
Yet Nina’s tard just one.
So, what was she? A lucky amateur or a sharpshooting prodigy?
「閱念42%包
“Nina, why are you two staring at me like that?” she asked, frowning as Oliver and the instructor gawked at her as if she’d grown a second head.
“Seriously, staring without saying anything is rude!”
Unable to decide, the instructor called ove
more soldiers to examine the target. After a long debate, they were still baf
0
“Nina,” the instructor finally said with a polite smile, “mind shooting again?”
“Sure,” Nina replied easily.
This time, he brought out a different target, marked with red dots in various positions. “Okay, Nina, this time hit the red dots instead of the bullseye. Think you can manage?”
“No problem.”
Back at the firing line, Nina picked up the gun. Without bothering to aim, she opened fire.
“Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang…”
All ten bullets hit their respective red dots with pinpoint precision.
The soldiers stood there, slack–jawed.
“No way. She hit all of them?”
“And she didn’t even aim!”
“Is she some kind of shooting prodigy?”
“If she’s not a sniper someday, it’ll be a crime against humanity!”
Oliver didn’t join the chorus of gasps, but the flicker of shock in his eyes was unmistakable.
“This girl…Even her shooting is insane, he thought.
“Nina,” he said, stepping closer, “what did you do before this? How the hell are you this good at shooting?”
Before she could respond, he added, “And don’t tell me you learned by messing around with slingshots in the countryside.”
Nina’s eyes sparkled with mischief as her lips curled into a sly grin. “Of course I didn’t learn from slingshots.”
“Then how?” Oliver pressed.
She stuck out her tongue and made a playful face. “Why should tell you? You’re such a disobedient errand boy. Don’t think I’m going to spoil you.”
Oliver could feel his blood pressure spike. ‘Spoil me? When have you ever spoiled me?‘
Seething internally, he began to question his own sanity. ‘Why did I ever think this girl was not bad? Was I out of my mind?
高い
19:57 Sat, Nov 30GG.
Chapter 24
Word of Nina’s arrival spread quickly through the ranks, reaching the top brass in no time.
“Mr. Snee, that girl doesn’t seem ordinary. Who is she, really?”
42%
A few officers circled Clifford, their curiosity barely concealed. They were sure he knew Nina–why else would he let her spar with their soldiers?
+5
Clifford sat in the center of the sofa, one leg casually crossed, exuding an effortless, composed elegance. His smile was faint but assured as he addressed them.
“You don’t need to worry about who she is,” he said smoothly. “Just know she’s one of us. I brought her here to spar with our
troops. I want to see the gap between her and your
“No holding back–bring me your top soldie squad combat.”
, all of them. Use any method you want: one–on–one, tag team, even full-
His words hung in the air like a challenge, and the officers stiffened.
‘Wait, does he mean that Nina’s supposed to go up against all of our best soldiers? And we can use any method to take her down, as long as we win? What kind of confidence–or audacity–did it take to make a request like that?‘ the officers wondered.
A quiet realization crept through the room. This wasn’t about training Nina–it felt like Clifford had brought her to train them.
That night, Nina set her sights on Oliver, her grin mischievous and full of trouble.
“Hey, Oliver, what do you say we sneak out and grab some pizza
Oliver looked up at her, his expression incredulous. “What? Are you kidding me? You wanna sneak out for pizza now? Haven’t you eaten enough today?”
In the military, respect was earned through skill, and Nina had no shortage of it. Her dominance in weighted runs and marksmanship had made her an instant favorite.
Her new admirers, eager to win her favor, started showering her with their secret snack stashes. From morning to night, Nina had been chewing, laughing, and eating her way through the day.
And yet, here she was, still talking about food.
Rubbing her chin thoughtfully, she said, “This is different. On the way to base today, I spotted this pizza place–fresh lamb, big juicy chunks, grilled to perfection. It looked incredible. Sure the base food’s good, but it’s not that. And since I didn’t get to try it, I can’t stop thinking about it.”
Oliver’s face twitched. “I’m not going.” He turned to leave.
“Aw, come on!” Nina grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked. He stumbled, nearly losing his balance.
“Let go!” Oliver snapped, shaking her off. “Nina, are you insane? Do you even understand how tight security is here? If we get caught sneaking out, we’ll be lucky if all we get is a slap on the wrist.”
And with Clifford still on base? No way was he risking it.
“Why are you so scared?” Nina’s eyes gleamed with mischief. “Relax–I’ve already scoped out the entire security system. Follow me, and I promise we won’t get caught.”
Oliver stared at her suspiciously. “When exactly did you ‘scope it out? We’ve been together all day.”
3/4
19:57 Sat, Nov 30
Chapter 24
Nina lifted her chin smugly. “Are you dense? This morning’s weighted run? We circled the entire base. I memorized the perimeter security then. And during the afternoon tour? That’s when I figured out the internal surveillance points.”
Oliver’s eyelid twitched as he tried to process what he’d just heard.
If Nina didn’t have a rock–solid explanation for who she was, the military was definitely going to peg her as a spy.
4/4
