Chapter 31 Part 2

“Bro, wanna play?”

Yan Zhun typed in his password to turn on the computer. “No training?”

“It’s Friday, we’re on a break,” Lin Xuhuan said. “Wanna join? We just finished hotpot and are almost at the Base.”

Yan Zhun asked, “How many people?”

“Two of us, just me and Ah Yu. The other two went to see their girlfriends…” Lin Xuhuan paused. “What’s up, bro? You got someone with you?”

Yan Zhun didn't answer him. Instead, he held the phone away and asked, “They’re asking to play, want to join?”

Pei Ran asked, “Can you play with your hand?”

“It won’t affect it.”

Pei Ran said, “Okay, then.”

Lin Xuhuan asked a few more questions, to which Yan Zhun gave noncommittal replies. He turned his head and saw that Pei Ran had already logged in and started a round in the training grounds.

He hung up the phone and asked, “Why did you start the training grounds?”

Pei Ran stared intently at the target on the screen. “I’m not very good… I want to practice.”

Even though it's just a game, I can't always be dragging my teammates down..

After watching for a moment, Yan Zhun said, “Go change the grip, switch to a lightweight one.”

Pei Ran: “Huh?”

“Change the muzzle to a compensator, too.” The wheels of his chair scraped faintly on the floor as Yan Zhun stood up and said, “I’ll teach you recoil control.”

Pei Ran was wearing headphones and concentrating on shooting the target. Only after emptying a magazine did he belatedly ask, “How are you going to teach…”

Before he could finish speaking, Pei Ran’s back stiffened, and his entire body instantly froze, not daring to move.

Yan Zhun was encircling him from behind and to the side. He asked in a calm voice, “How far of a target do you want to practice recoil on first?”

Both of them had taken off their overcoats after entering the room and were wearing thin long-sleeved T-shirts underneath. Due to their position, a spot behind his shoulder was unavoidably pressed against Yan Zhun, and a scorching heat radiated through the soft fabric.

Pei Ran’s breathing stopped for a few seconds.

Yan Zhun asked, “Hm?”

“…Anything is fine,” Pei Ran said. “Teach me whatever you want.”

Yan Zhun picked a target that was neither too far nor too close and said, “You try controlling the recoil once.”

Pei Ran obediently opened fire. After forty rounds, there were only a few bullet holes on the target. If it had been a moving enemy, he wouldn't have landed a single shot.

Pei Ran was silent for a moment, then explained, “I didn’t perform well.”

Yan Zhun let out a soft laugh. His breath brushed against the tip of Pei Ran's ear, and Pei Ran instantly fell silent.

“Got it,” Yan Zhun said. “Reload.”

Pei Ran reloaded and was about to try again when his hand was gripped from above.

Yan Zhun’s palm was very hot and his grip was firm. He said, “Every gun’s recoil has a pattern. The M4 doesn’t shake that much, so you don’t need to pull down so hard when you’re controlling it…”

Pei Ran's mouse was guided entirely by his strength. The bullets left the chamber, and the target was instantly riddled with bullet holes.

“If it’s still too hard, you can crouch or go prone. The recoil will be less. Give it a try.” As Yan Zhun spoke, he reached over with his other hand to press the crouch key on Pei Ran’s keyboard. His arm brushed against Pei Ran’s neck, and both of them felt scorching hot.

“Leaning while shooting also reduces recoil.”

“When you shoot, try to aim for the head.”

With each sentence spoken in that deep voice, Pei Ran held his breath and let him take control, reloading the magazine again and again.

“Got it now?”

Pei Ran opened his mouth, but only said after several seconds, “…I think so.”

I think so?

Yan Zhun raised an eyebrow and was about to ask again when the phone on the desk suddenly rang. It was Lin Xuhuan.

Yan Zhun let go of his hand and turned to answer the phone.

“What is it?”

Lin Xuhuan said, “Bro, we’re home. You guys should log on.”

Yan Zhun said, “We are. Can’t you see for yourself?”

“But I’ve been trying to invite you forever, and you haven’t responded. Baby Ran is in the game too.”

Yan Zhun glanced at the screen and saw the invitation message. “I was teaching him recoil control. We’ll be right there.”

Pei Ran let out a long sigh of relief. While Yan Zhun was on the phone, he quietly and slowly let go of the mouse.

His fingers were completely numb and his palm was sweaty. The back of his hand had been held for so long that when it was suddenly released, he could feel a faint coolness, and he could still feel the trembling in his palm from his racing heart.

Once in the game, his headphones were quickly filled with Lin Xuhuan’s chattering.

“Come on, Baby Ran, come over here and fire a few rounds into that tree,” Lin Xuhuan said half-jokingly. “Let me see how well my bro taught you. If he’s a good teacher, I might sign up for a class with him too.”

With no other choice under Lin Xuhuan’s urging, Pei Ran emptied a magazine into the tree.

The bullet holes were crooked, drifting from the center up to the branches.

Lin Xuhuan: “…”

Lin Xuhuan walked up and took a close look. “Baby Ran, what on earth did my bro teach you…”

Pei Ran choked, at a loss for words. He put away his gun and turned back to look for Yan Zhun.

In truth, Yan Zhun’s instructions had been very detailed, but he hadn’t been able to process a single word. His only thought at the time was that his heart seemed to be beating faster than the gunshots.

Lin Xuhuan said, “Bro, you should stop leading students astray in the future. Baby Ran, come to the Base sometime, and I’ll teach you recoil control. Let’s aim a little higher—we’ll go straight for 4x AK recoil control.”

Before Pei Ran had a chance to refuse...

“Shut up,” Yan Zhun cut off his rambling. “It’s not your turn.”