Chapter 9: Live Ammunition Shooting!

“Ten rounds. Remember, the bullets must be firmly seated. Sign here!”
Su Yang took the bullets from the ammunition officer, signed his name, and, following the safety officer’s command, loaded the bullets into the magazine.

“All present, right turn!”
“Advance to the firing line!”

With the commander’s orders, the soldiers of the first squad swiftly moved to their designated firing positions, awaiting the next command.

“Stand at attention!”

Standing at firing position number ten, Su Yang glanced at the rifle at the safety officer’s feet, feeling a surge of excitement. During this shooting practice, he had repeatedly disassembled and reassembled the weapon, aimed, and practiced carrying it—now all that training was about to pay off.

“Load rounds in the prone position!” the commander ordered again.

Su Yang stepped forward swiftly, dropped into a textbook prone position, then turned to the side. Under the watchful eye of the safety officer, he fitted the magazine onto the rifle.

“Everyone, attention! On my command: chamber the round, disengage the safety, aim at the center of the target!”

He adjusted his stance, flipped off the safety, set the rifle to single-shot mode, and meticulously completed the final preparations.

“Remember the essentials of shooting: deliberate aiming, accidental firing is not allowed! Don’t be too nervous!” the safety officer kindly reminded them once more.

“Understood!” Su Yang nodded, took a deep breath, and cleared the excited thoughts from his mind. He then sighted downrange at the human-shaped target, waiting for the signal to fire.

“Beep!”
“Bang!”

The whistle sounded, and Su Yang’s finger inadvertently squeezed the trigger, firing the first shot. Nearby, Zhuang Yan and Xi Wa were quick to follow, and gunfire erupted in rapid succession.

Su Yang remained unaffected by the flurry around him, maintaining a steady pace and rhythm. He fired again deliberately, avoiding any trigger-happy bursts that would waste ammunition.

“Bang, bang, bang!”

Ten rounds were quickly expended. Among the squad, Xi Wa finished first, followed closely by Zhuang Yan, who wore a smile that betrayed his skill.

Su Yang finished shooting and remained prone, adhering to protocol—no one could move without the commander’s order.

“Unload rounds, stand up!”

Upon the command, Su Yang removed the magazine and waited as the safety officer thoroughly checked the rifle to ensure it was empty before standing.

Just as Su Yang stood, he noticed Yu Wei scowling, drawing curious glances from everyone around.

“What’s wrong with Yu Wei?” Su Yang wondered, having been too focused on his own shooting to notice earlier.

“Looks like he shot all his rounds in one breath!” Zhuang Yan laughed.

Su Yang chuckled, as he had expected such over-excitement from some recruits, mistaking single shots for rapid fire.

Fortunately, no one like the notorious Xu Sanduo was in the squad to cause real trouble.

“Report scores!” the commander quickly ordered an experienced soldier hiding in the firing pit.

“Target one: seventy-eight points.”
“Target two: sixty-nine points.”
“Target three: missed the target.”
...
“Target seven: ninety-nine points!”

When Zhuang Yan’s score was announced, even the veterans looked astonished. Xi Wa couldn’t believe it either and stared in disbelief. The attention made Zhuang Yan quietly pleased.

“Xiao Zhuang, how did you train?” Xi Wa asked in awe.

Zhuang Yan was about to explain his shooting technique when a number stunned him into silence.

“Target eight: fifty-six points!”
“Target nine: seventy-three points!”

“Target ten: one hundred points!”

When Su Yang’s score was announced, everyone in the rookie company who had just been impressed by Zhuang Yan’s score instantly forgot about him and erupted in cheers.

“Quick, bring the targets over!” the rookie company commander urgently called through the radio to the veteran soldier still in the pit.

Standing behind, Zheng Sanpao glanced at Su Yang and Zhuang Yan before briskly approaching the squad. He took the targets from the veteran soldier, and upon confirming the perfect score of one hundred points, his composed expression broke into disbelief.

Although he knew Su Yang trained hard, this was live ammunition shooting, and no matter how well one practiced, various factors usually reduced accuracy.

Zheng Sanpao had been ready to console Su Yang if the results were average, telling him not to be disappointed, since shooting ultimately depended on the bullets themselves.

But unexpectedly, Su Yang had achieved a perfect score—something many veterans themselves rarely managed with ten shots.

“Well done, excellent shooting, Su Yang! Someone, replace this target with a new one and keep this one carefully—I’m going to recommend Su Yang for a commendation!”

Captain Song came over, glanced at the target, and happily patted Su Yang on the shoulder, lavishly praising him in front of everyone.

Veterans and rookies alike looked at Su Yang with admiration and envy.

As veterans, they understood the immense value of scoring perfect tens on the first try; they knew the commendation was well-deserved—something even many veterans hadn’t achieved.

The rookies admired Su Yang even more, having witnessed his relentless extra training every day.

While everyone was still amazed, Zheng Sanpao quietly whispered something into the rookie company commander’s ear. The commander nodded, and Zheng Sanpao signaled a veteran to leave.

Soon after, the veteran returned carrying a sniper rifle.

Zheng Sanpao took the rifle and approached Su Yang, looking at him seriously. “Do you know what this is?”

Su Yang glanced at it and nodded. “Sir, yes. It’s the Type 85 sniper rifle, with an effective range of 1,000 meters and a maximum range of 1,200 meters.”

“Good. Confident enough to try it?” Zheng Sanpao’s stern expression softened into a smile upon seeing Su Yang’s recognition.

“Yes, sir! I’m confident!” Su Yang answered eagerly.

He knew the specs but hadn’t handled the rifle before. Since Zheng Sanpao had offered, he was eager to give it a try. As for embarrassment—he wasn’t afraid at all.

“All right. There’s a target at 600 meters downrange. Find your feel for it.” Zheng Sanpao pointed toward the open field.

“Yes, sir!”

Su Yang nodded and, under the admiring gaze of the rookies, took the sniper rifle, lay prone, loaded the magazine handed by the veteran, selected the 600-meter target, and aimed.

“Bang.”

The shot rang out. The rifle’s recoil jolted Su Yang’s shoulder slightly. He quickly opened his eyes, looked through the scope, and breathed a sigh of relief—the shot hit the target, slightly off-center but still a hit at 600 meters.

“Good!”

The rookies erupted into applause and cheers.

“Adjust the rifle, and fire another shot at 600 meters,” Zheng Sanpao said, lowering his binoculars.

“Understood!” Su Yang took a deep breath and began aiming again.

Generally, rifles need calibration for each shooter, as previous adjustments may not suit the new user. At 100 meters, the squad leader’s calibration sufficed, but the sniper rifle at this distance required ballistic adjustments.

The first shot had veered left, so he adjusted the sight slightly to the right.

Holding his breath, Su Yang squeezed the trigger again.

“Bang!”

Instantly, the bullet left the barrel, piercing the target at 600 meters and kicking up dust on the distant earthen mound.

“Good, very good. Wait a moment.” Zheng Sanpao nodded, put down his binoculars, and spoke to someone nearby. Soon, a bright red balloon appeared, floating conspicuously at 800 meters.

“Old Pao, I doubt this one’s doable; the balloon’s moving,” the second squad leader remarked, watching the balloon sway in the wind, tied to a thin line.

Zheng Sanpao said nothing but looked at Su Yang. “What do you say, Su Yang?”

“Sir, no problem. I can hit it!” Su Yang responded and began preparations.

Su Yang fixed his gaze on the drifting balloon, his breathing growing heavier.

The balloon was not a fixed target; its movement varied with wind speed and was somewhat unpredictable. But this posed no great challenge to Su Yang, who had read plenty of military manuals and discussed shooting factors with Old Pao.

After some time, Su Yang steadied his nerves and found his rhythm. He gently squeezed the trigger, and with the rifle’s recoil, the bullet flew out.

“Bang!”

“The shot hit! Su Yang is amazing! Amazing!”

As the balloon disappeared, the rookies erupted in noise. Even Zhuang Yan was stunned.

He had been a bit resentful of Su Yang’s surpassing him, especially hitting the 600-meter target with a sniper rifle, something he believed he could also achieve.

But now he was convinced—while he might gamble on a stationary target, he had no confidence in hitting a moving one.

“That’s awesome!” Su Yang pounded the ground excitedly. If he weren’t lying prone on the firing line, he would have jumped up and shouted.

...

“That soldier’s impressive—a natural sniper in the making,”

Miao Lian, standing on a small hill behind the range, looked through binoculars at the noisy rookies and praised him in surprise.

“So, Miao Lian, you’d better get over to the regiment soon. Don’t let other companies poach him,” Chen Guotao urged anxiously nearby, watching the training ground.

“What? You don’t call me a soldier fanatic anymore? Looks like you’re the same now,” Miao Lian laughed heartily at Chen Guotao’s urgency.

“Miao Lian, I have to be anxious. If it were just Su Yang, our reconnaissance company could definitely recruit him. After all, he’s willing to join us. With his current effort and results, even if he’s not first in the rookie competition, he’ll surely be top three. When he joins the company, the regiment leadership will consider his preferences.”

Chen Guotao continued, “But that soldier named Zhuang Yan is also quite good—he’s a university graduate, the first in our regiment. The regiment, perhaps even the division headquarters, has their eye on him.”

Miao Lian’s expression turned serious. He nodded. “Xiao Chen, you’re right. We should settle this soon. I’ll visit the regiment commander tomorrow. This old bone of mine is all I’ve got left.”

...

Back at the training grounds, suppressing his excitement, Zheng Sanpao approached Su Yang and firmly patted him on the shoulder. “Very good, keep it up!”

Su Yang’s earlier excitement had faded, and he calmly replied, “Yes, squad leader!”

Zheng Sanpao was not surprised. He had noticed that Su Yang’s emotions were steadier than Zhuang Yan’s. He glanced at Zhuang Yan, who was eyeing the sniper rifle eagerly.

Remembering this, Zheng Sanpao walked over to Zhuang Yan with a serious face. “What, you want to try it?”

Zhuang Yan, who had been joking around moments before, frowned. “Sir, no interest!”

Zheng Sanpao immediately challenged him, “If you want to try, say so loud and clear. Don’t pretend you’re not interested. With this attitude, even if you score ninety-nine, you’re still a rookie!”

Zhuang Yan looked annoyed but said nothing. He wasn’t about to be provoked so easily.

Seeing Zhuang Yan unmoved, Zheng Sanpao pulled out a coin and said to Xi Wa’s lane, “Put it on the 100-meter target!”

Xi Wa went to do so, and Zheng Sanpao looked at Zhuang Yan. “Dare to shoot? If not, just admit you’re a rookie.”

Zhuang Yan scoffed, “What’s there to be afraid of?”

Though he hadn’t performed as well as Su Yang, he didn’t think he was that much worse.

“All right, then! If you miss, I’ll make you do two hundred push-ups!” Zheng Sanpao said, not altering his attitude toward Zhuang Yan despite Su Yang’s performance.

“And if I hit it?” Zhuang Yan wasn’t about to be led by the nose and challenged Zheng Sanpao.

“If you hit it, I’ll do push-ups!” Zheng Sanpao agreed without hesitation.