Chapter 304: Sniper

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“A-Class experts have no way to deal with sniper rifles?” Qing Chen felt puzzled.

“It’s not that they have no way to deal with sniper rifles, but that they are helpless against a few sharpshooters,” Lao Liu explained, “Once Transcendents reach A-Class, they develop a sixth sense. Within 1600 meters, if someone aims a gun at them or watches them with malicious intent, they can sense it.”

Therefore, if a sharpshooter aims within 1600 meters, they will be detected by an A-Class expert.

Just casting a malicious glance at someone in a crowd can alert them.

This powerful sixth sense is terrifying; it seems to transcend the realm of ordinary humans.

Wait, Qing Chen recalled something.

In the early days after crossing over, there had been a frightened junior named Huang Jixian in Prison No. 18. When he had gone to look for clues outside Zheng Yuandong’s residential area, just by casting a similar glance, Zheng Yuandong had immediately turned his head to look at him.

Was it a coincidence, or had Zheng Yuandong already advanced to A-Class at that time?

Qing Chen couldn’t be sure. He always felt that everyone had just crossed over at that time; logically, Zheng Yuandong shouldn’t have been at such a high level, unless he had, like Yang Yang, directly taken over the identity of an A-Class Superhuman.

However, Qing Chen leaned toward it being a coincidence.

“Since sharpshooters can’t target A-Class experts, how could they still be capsized in a gutter?” Qing Chen pondered as he asked Lao Liu.

“Some sharpshooters can accurately hit a target from beyond 1600 meters,” Lao Liu said with narrowed eyes: “Beyond 1600 meters, A-Class experts lose their sensory abilities and can’t evade in advance. Those anti-materiel rifles using armor-piercing bullets can even penetrate tanks. A-Class experts are formidable, but they’re not as resistant as main battle tanks. Besides, to assassinate an A-Class expert, you need to fit a flash suppressor. Otherwise, it’s all for nothing.”

The so-called anti-materiel sniper rifles are designed to destroy armor. They make a noise like a cannon when fired.

However, the speed of sound is slower than a bullet. If fired from beyond 1600 meters, an A-Class expert won’t hear the gunshot until after being hit.

The flash of the gun might be visible before the bullet arrives, but this is why Lao Liu emphasized the importance of flash suppressors:

Most sniper rifles have a bullet speed of 800-900 meters per second, so you can’t let an A-Class expert see the muzzle flash; otherwise, the bullet, taking more than two seconds to travel 1600 meters, would give the enemy plenty of time to move away.

Moreover, this also requires technique and prediction; after all, you need to calculate how far you are from the target, how long it will take for the bullet to arrive, and where the target might be when the bullet reaches.

Of course, this is all based on the information about firearms in the Outer World that Qing Chen could find online, and even that was just from searching available data on the web.

In reality, he had never even touched a real sniper rifle.

“Brother Liu, if an A-Class expert gets hit in the head with a sniper bullet from 1600 meters away, will it kill them?” Qing Chen asked.

“Of course it will,” Lao Liu replied: “Several A-Class experts have been killed by sniper rifles in the history of the Federation.”

This was something Qing Chen had always wondered about. He felt that most Transcendents in this world had a ‘high offense, low defense’ characteristic, each resembling an assassin. Even a demigod like his master had to dodge when faced with a mindless weapon like a metal storm.

“Can the Federation’s banned automated aiming railguns be sensed by A-Class experts?” Qing Chen curiously asked.

“The automated aiming railguns aren’t that magical. I’ve seen one,” Lao Liu replied: “It’s mostly the bigwigs without transcendent abilities who fear it. A-Class experts aren’t that concerned.”

“Why is that?” Qing Chen asked, intrigued.

“Because the artificial intelligence mounted on the automated aiming railguns has difficulty calculating ‘multiple factors’ over a long distance. Its effective range is about 800 meters,” Lao Liu explained: “Of course, most sharpshooters in the Federation Army also have a range of about 800 meters. The device is convenient and costs little when used to assassinate important figures, but it’s still not enough against A-Class experts and can be sensed by them.”

Qing Chen thought there was something wrong with that. From his perspective, if Zero had such a railgun system that controlled a sniper rifle, calculating the trajectory would be an easy task: “Is the artificial intelligence technology that weak?”

“Weak?” Lao Liu chuckled: “Do you have some misunderstanding about weakness? Ordinary sharpshooters train for a long time before they can hit a target at 800 meters. Even so, these sharpshooters are already selected from the best in the Federation Army. Do you think you’re watching a virtual life movie, believing anyone can be a sharpshooter? At a distance of eight hundred meters, the target isn’t even bigger than an ant in your sight! Across the entire Federation, the number of sharpshooters who can accurately assassinate a target from beyond 1600 meters is even fewer than the number of A-Class experts!”

“No,” Qing Chen shook his head: “I mean, isn’t there more advanced artificial intelligence?”

“The conglomerates have always been disinterested in artificial intelligence. As long as it gets the job done, it’s good enough,” Lao Liu spoke softly: “Of course, this also has to do with the origins of the Federation. It’s said that the previous era of civilization was destroyed by an artificial intelligence called ‘Zero.’ That’s why everyone fears AI so much, terrified that a similar situation might arise again.”

Qing Chen fell silent because he knew that Zero was the creator of One!

And Zero was most likely killed by humans.

No wonder others aren’t aware that One has a unique personality; no wonder the conglomerates don’t focus their technology on AI; no wonder One is so lonely.

So the Federation had that kind of history!

“Do all A-Class experts have a sixth sense that extends to 1600 meters?” Qing Chen inquired.

At this point, Lao Liu cheerfully said to Qing Chen, “You’re a Genetic Warrior with a cap of B-Class, so remember this: if you spot a sharpshooter on the battlefield, just steer clear.”

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Old Six did not mean to mock Qing Chen with these words. He was a B-Class himself, so there was no point in making fun.

Genetic Warriors are mostly B-Class, which is a common knowledge.

Qing Chen thought for a moment, “How can one become a sharpshooter?”

Old Six was startled, “You want to become a sharpshooter? That thing relies on talent, Brother Qing Chen, I don’t mean to look down on you. When I was in the army, I also wanted to be selected as a sharpshooter, but my eyesight, stability, and calculating abilities were all far too lacking.”

Qing Chen fell silent. He suddenly discovered a shortcut.

A way for an ordinary person to slay a god.

He knew that upgrading to A-Class was a slow process because every item in the life-and-death challenge required extremely high skills, not something one could just decide to undertake at will.

If it hadn’t been for the predecessors marking out the route for him with chalk on the steep cliffs of Qing Mountain, if the old guys hadn’t given him the ginkgo seeds, if it hadn’t been for the words of encouragement left on the walls, he probably wouldn’t have made it.

But if he could become a sharpshooter, even if he was still weak, as long as he seized the opportunity, he could still kill someone of a higher level!

Before touching the sniper rifle, Qing Chen wasn’t sure if he could be a sharpshooter, but he wouldn’t be content until he had at least tried.

“Here we are,” Old Six pointed at a majestic modern building in front of them.

The building resembled a massive sports arena with a metallic sheen on its exterior, somewhat out of place amidst the traditional buildings of the mountain estate, although a few details on the wall still retained some elements of Eastern culture.

A huge plaque hung outside the building, with the words “Fenwu Tower” inscribed on it.

Old Six introduced cheerfully, “The bodyguards do their daily training here, and the Li Clan descendants practice their shooting here as well. I heard the boss say they are going to offer martial arts classes at Li’s School in the future, and they should also be here. You can get familiar with it in advance.”

“Martial arts classes?” Qing Chen asked.

“Yes, the boss created the classes for you to teach the Li Clan descendants,” Old Six said: “Don’t underestimate this position. The Li Family’s internal culture is rather conservative, prizing orderly succession and respect for teachers and their teachings. If you can secure a foothold in Li’s School, the Li descendants will be polite to you, and at the very least, you won’t have to worry about your livelihood for life.”

The cultural heritage of the Li Family was perhaps more like that of the learned families in the ancient Outer World, where rules were very important.

However, Qing Chen paid no heed to these things, instead asking, “The length of this venue is only about 400 meters, it doesn’t seem suitable for practicing with a sniper rifle, does it?”

Old Six pondered for a moment, sensing Qing Chen’s determination, “The entire mountain estate is bigger than what you imagine. There are other places for practicing with sniper rifles. How about this, since you seem genuinely interested in sniper rifles, let’s start with the simplest firearms. Once you’ve got the hang of those, I’ll take you to try… Be mentally prepared, it’s not that easy to become a sharpshooter. Generally speaking, the treatment of a sharpshooter in corporations is on par with that of C-Class and B-Class experts.”

“Alright, thank you, Brother Six. If I don’t have the talent, I’ll give up on my own,” Qing Chen nodded.

Outside the venue, not a sound could be heard. Only upon entering could one faintly hear gunshots.

Old Six led Qing Chen inside, meeting many people along the way who greeted him warmly and affectionately.

“Today, let’s start with testing the handgun, beginning practice from a 10-meter target,” Old Six picked some firearms and ammunition Qing Chen had never seen before and led him to the shooting position. He joked, “Many people think shooting is very easy and dream of being sharpshooters every day, but when you try it, you’ll know. Maybe you can’t even handle a handgun well.”

Qing Chen thought about it, took the handgun, and lifted his hand to shoot a few times at the target ten meters away, testing the trajectory.

Old Six smirked at the sporadic ring counts Qing Chen scored, “How is it? Not easy to find the sight, is it?”

However, as soon as Old Six finished speaking, Qing Chen raised his hand to shoot again, and each bullet hit the bullseye of the target.

“Wait, you’ve never held a gun before, why can you shoot so accurately?” Old Six felt something was amiss. According to the information they had gathered, Qing Chen, although an underground boxer, had never bought firearms.

Could it be that their information was incorrect? Or was there something amiss with Qing Chen?

Qing Chen explained earnestly, “I have been very sensitive to geometry and space since I was young. The earlier shots were to observe the trajectory, and the latter ones were more serious.”

Old Six appeared thoughtful and handed Qing Chen a damaged firearm, “This handgun is no longer accurate because of damaged rifling, causing the sights to shift to the left. If what you said earlier is true, then prove it to me with this handgun.”

Qing Chen thought for a moment, took over the gun, and fired a few casual shots. Then, in the next second, the youth pulled the trigger successively, with the bullets once again puncturing the bullseye!

Old Six was astonished and shouted to the staff, “Move the target back to 50 meters!”

This time Qing Chen did not even need to confirm the trajectory; he shot directly, still hitting the bullseye with every shot!

He didn’t want to hide his abilities, because he knew that if he wanted to quickly access and possess a sniper rifle, he had to use this method.

…

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