Chapter 53: The Imitation

“David, although there aren’t many people here, there are truly some good things to be found!” Myron explained to David with a grin while Jim went to fetch the equipment.

David naturally understood; backed by the City Defense Unit, in a small city like this, as long as Jim only dealt in light firearms and didn’t touch the heavy weaponry, no one would interfere.

On a warzone administrative planet like Rock Star, weapon control was never too strict. Sometimes, the military even encouraged civilians to practice with various firearms, hoping they’d be useful in times of need.

In truth, the military wasn’t concerned about firearms—the real need for regulation was with Armored Warriors. The destructive power of civilian Armored Warriors was far more terrifying than that of light firearms.

“Here’s what you asked for!” Jim returned, carrying a rectangular box in one hand and an ammunition case in the other.

From the way he handled the box, it was clear it wasn’t light. When he set it down, it landed with a heavy thud.

“David, let me try it out first. You can have a go in a bit!” Myron said as he opened the box.

David nodded and looked toward the box as well.

Once Myron opened it, the body of a sniper rifle was revealed. He took out its barrel and stock from the box and began assembling the parts.

“What’s this?” David asked, uncertain. The sniper rifle looked very familiar to him. If it were any longer or larger, he would have thought it was a sniper rifle designed for Armored Warriors.

“This is a replica of the ‘Death’s Eye.’ While it’s not as powerful as the real thing, it’s a proportionally scaled-down version. Many Armored Warrior snipers use this replica for training!” Jim introduced the rifle proudly.

David was astonished. In the vision he’d seen from the Knowledge Sphere, the specialized sniper rifle had been called ‘Death’s Eye.’ Jim truly had wide connections. Information about ‘Death’s Eye’ wasn’t available anywhere on the Net, yet here was a replica.

As for Armored Warrior snipers using a replica for practice, that was understandable. Given the terrifying recoil of the real ‘Death’s Eye,’ using it regularly for training would be inefficient and exhausting.

By now, Myron had already loaded a set of rounds from the ammunition case into the sniper rifle.

David noticed that this replica didn’t have the dual-ammo switch of the true ‘Death’s Eye.’ That made sense—since the replica wasn’t designed to fire high-grade ammunition, there was no need for a switch.

“Jim, set up some fixed targets!” Myron lay prone on the ground and called out.

Jim operated his ID bracelet, and at over three hundred meters, a row of ten fixed targets descended from above.

“David, watch my marksmanship!” Myron signaled David to pay attention.

Then the replica ‘Death’s Eye’ in his hand fired. With an average firing speed of one shot every five seconds, it was evident he’d practiced with sniper rifles before. Even if it wasn’t this exact replica, the weapon in his hands was more precise than most, and so his results were naturally better.

As the shots rang out, the five people practicing with pistols nearby paused and came over.

“Jim, how’d I do?” Myron asked, caressing the rifle.

“Ninety-nine rings!” Jim glanced at his ID bracelet and announced the result.

“Haha, I must have a sniper’s talent, right?” Myron asked, his face full of pride.

“Myron, in a windless indoor range, at three hundred meters, using a Death’s Eye replica, and you still missed a ring? You call that talent?” Jim mocked.

“I think that’s a decent score!” Myron didn’t press further. Though the replica wasn’t the real thing, the recoil felt quite strong. He needed to rest.

“Wait until you can hit the target a hundred percent of the time. Then I’ll increase the difficulty and you’ll see how hard it gets!” Jim didn’t let up.

“David, your turn!” Myron wasn’t bothered by Jim’s words. His only goal was to outperform David.

David was eager to try. As he approached the replica, the moment he touched the sniper rifle, it felt almost fused with his body.

His fingers brushed the ammunition case, deftly extracting a set of rounds, and with a gentle press, he loaded them into the rifle.

The only imperfection was that the replica lacked the ‘T3 Sniper Assist Device,’ featuring only a regular scope.

But the environment wasn’t complex, and as David loaded the rounds and peered through the scope, he didn’t even take time to aim—he fired immediately.

Ten shots rang out in rapid succession, blending into one continuous sound.

“Jim, what’s David’s score?” Myron, thinking David had fired wildly, was inwardly pleased and turned to ask.

But he saw only a strange expression on Jim’s face.

“One hundred rings. David, have you trained with sniper rifles before?” Jim asked, curious after announcing the perfect score.

“What? A hundred rings, with all those wild shots?” Before David could answer, Myron exclaimed in disbelief.

He grabbed Jim’s hand to check the result—no mistakes at all.

“I knew I shouldn’t challenge you!” he said to David, a touch of resentment in his voice, then turned to Jim. “David’s never handled a sniper rifle before. He’s just quick to learn anything.”

“How is that possible?” Not only Jim, but the five bystanders were equally incredulous.

“David, interested in a harder challenge?” Jim asked.

“No problem,” David replied nonchalantly.

He was eager to spend more time with the replica, because if given the chance, he could use his mini-scanner to scan the Death’s Eye replica.

Then, at home using his medium server’s virtual world, he could reconstruct the replica, and with time and memory, even adjust it to recreate the real Death’s Eye.

“David, you have twenty seconds to prepare. The next round will be harder, so get ready.” Jim didn’t specify the requirements; he knew simply hitting the target the first time was already impressive enough.

David loaded five sets of rounds, filling the replica’s magazine.

When the twenty seconds were up, Jim operated his ID bracelet. Ten fixed targets appeared at the farthest wall of the range, and wind began to blow across the field.

David’s eyes flickered. Drawing on his accumulated experience, he instantly judged the farthest targets were six hundred meters away, wind speed was 3.7, and he assessed the temperature and humidity as well. After just two seconds, the replica in his hands began firing once more.

Ten shots rang out again in quick succession, and as David finished, his body trembled slightly under his loose clothing, dissipating all the recoil.

“One hundred rings!” Jim checked the results again, his voice now full of disbelief.

In such conditions, he himself could score a hundred rings if he fired slowly, but to fire as rapidly as David had, the recoil alone would have thrown off his aim after the first shot.

“David, if you complete the next challenge, I’ll personally give you this Death’s Eye replica!” Jim’s eyes gleamed as he spoke.

“Jim, you’re both my friends. Don’t let your pride get you into trouble!” Myron quickly cautioned.

“Relax, Myron, I know what I’m doing!” Jim waved him off, his eyes fixed on David, waiting for his answer.

“All right!” David replied, his heart surging with excitement.

Before becoming an Armored Warrior sniper, this was probably his only chance to get a Death’s Eye replica. He didn’t know why Jim was willing to make such an offer, but he wasn’t about to refuse.

Jim was the son of Pellan City’s top military commander. To have set up such an elaborate shooting range, he was no fool. If he made such an offer, he must have his reasons.