Chapter 87: The Last Shot Hits
After a moment of thought, she decided she wasn't at a loss, so she reluctantly agreed, "Okay! I accept the conditions you've offered."
"Do you even have any other options?" An Qi sneered contemptuously, then picked up the gun and took careful aim at the small red ball.
"You..." The woman in red was angered again.
Watching this scene, Lin Yifan murmured to himself, "Truly domineering, she has my style."
Following the technique Lin Yifan had just suggested, An Qi first adjusted her breathing, calmed her emotions, and relaxed her body and mind; then she took careful aim at the target and began to shoot.
"Bang!"
The first bullet was fired, and she missed, veering about ten centimeters off target, which was quite significant; but for someone who had never shot before, it was already a good result.
An Qi wasn't discouraged, she continued to adjust her breathing, calm her emotions, and aim at the target.
"Bang!"
The next moment, another bullet was fired; however, it still didn't hit the target.
This time, the bullet was only about eight centimeters off target—within a controllable range.
As long as there was improvement, there was a chance. There were still plenty of bullets, so An Qi wasn't in a hurry.
After that, she aimed again and shot again.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Several shots were fired in succession; she still didn't hit the target, but the bullets were getting closer and closer.
Learning from her mistakes, An Qi moved the gun just a little bit, then started shooting again.
"Bang!"
After that shot, her arms began to ache and she couldn't maintain the shooting position any longer. She put the gun down, loosened her hands, and stretched her muscles.
Holding the gun for so long had exhausted her; she needed a break.
However, this rest meant that all the effort she had just made was wasted; because she had to aim again, find the feeling again, and adjust the position again.
"No one to help you, you're just trash." At this point, the woman in red was bad-mouthing again.
An Qi fired seven shots in a row, and having missed with all seven gave the woman in red hope of winning.
"Hmph! What are you happy about, there are ten bullets left, wait until you kneel and bow your head to apologize," An Qi snorted coldly, ignoring her.
"We'll talk after you hit it! Psh," the woman in red scorned; in her heart, An Qi had already lost.
Recalling the feeling from a moment ago, An Qi breathed a sigh of relief, then picked up the gun again and seriously faced that small red ball.
"Bang!"
She fired a shot, feeling it out, then adjusted her position and shot again.
"Bang!"
Another shot, and this time only three centimeters from the small red ball; she was very close.
This shot genuinely startled the woman in red; if An Qi had hit, she would have had to kneel and apologize. Luckily, it was just a false alarm, otherwise, she couldn't even imagine the ridicule she would have faced.
Meanwhile, An Qi was undisturbed by external distractions; she continued to clear her mind and shoot seriously.
"Bang! Bang!"
Two more shots and now the bullets were only one centimeter from the small red ball, narrowly missing the mark.
The woman in red's eyes widened, she held her breath, praying that the next shot wouldn't hit.
With this shot, An Qi had found her groove; she felt certain it would hit the little red ball.
Behind her, Lin Yifan also sensed she was close to winning; however, a light breeze began to blow, giving him a bad feeling; he desperately wanted to tell An Qi not to shoot, but it was too late—the shot had already been fired.
"Bang!"
The bullet's trajectory deviated due to the wind, missing the target, causing An Qi immense regret. Nevertheless, she didn't budge, maintaining her stance, waiting for the wind to pass before shooting again.
However, the breeze blew for half a minute, leaving her arms aching from the strain, forcing her to rest once more.
"The weather is not on my side!" An Qi sighed with extreme disappointment; she was so close to success.
Seeing An Qi lower her gun to stretch her limbs, the woman in red let out a sigh of relief; thankfully, the breeze arrived in the nick of time, saving her from punishment.
After a long pause to catch her breath, An Qi picked up the toy gun and began shooting again.
"Bang! Bang!"
Another two bullets, another miss, and panic started to set in her heart.
With only the last four bullets remaining, the chances of success were diminishing; it all hinged on these four bullets now.
"Relax! Relax! I can definitely do this." An Qi cheered herself on inwardly while continuously regulating her breathing to relax her tense emotions.
After a while, another gunshot rang out—An Qi had fired again. But once more, she missed.
The atmosphere grew tenser, with many spectators eagerly awaiting the outcome of the last three shots.
"Please don't hit! Please don't hit!..." the woman in red whispered a prayer, her nerves on edge as it concerned whether she'd have to kneel and apologize as punishment.
"Don't be nervous! Calm down! Believe that you can do it!" Seeing An Qi's hands shaking slightly, Lin Yifan encouraged her from behind.
In shooting, once nerves set in, hitting the target becomes much harder, so he hoped An Qi could overcome her anxiety and shoot with focus.
Reassured by Lin Yifan, An Qi seemed to gain more confidence; she cleared her mind and aimed at the little red ball.
"Bang! Bang!"
Two more bullets fired, still a miss; but she was very close to the target now.
At this point, An Qi's confidence surged, for she had rediscovered that sweet spot; this time, without hesitation, she pulled the trigger.
"Bang!"
The final bullet shot out, and everyone held their breath, eyes wide watching for the outcome.
The three shots were nearly consecutive, without pause. Lin Yifan knew An Qi had succeeded, for he saw that the final bullet's trajectory ended right at a little red ball on the balloon wall.
As the shot was followed by another light breeze, it was too late to stop the bullet; the next moment, a "pop" sound announced the shattering of a little red ball.
"I did it! I did it! Oh yeah!" An Qi jumped up in excitement; she had proven herself with her own ability.
"You're amazing, An Qi!" At that moment, Zhou Jiajia came over to embrace An Qi as well.
While there was joy and laughter on one side, on the other side, there was dismay and uncertainty about what to do next.
"Ah Yang! What should we do? I don't want to kneel and apologize; you have to help me, don't let me be bullied." The woman in red tugged at her sturdy boyfriend's clothes and pleaded with a sense of grievance.
"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you," the woman in red's boyfriend assured her.
Comforted by his words, the woman in red felt much relieved; since her boyfriend was an ex-soldier with some background, she believed the other party wouldn't dare to do anything to her.
"Hey! It's time to fulfill your promise! Come here and kneel to apologize!" An Qi called out to the woman in red.
"You expect me to kneel and apologize to you? Dream on! Even my parents haven't had that luxury," the woman in red refused the punishment, with an attitude that was somewhat arrogant.