Jing Xi never expected to encounter such a difficult problem on his first time playing this game.

He didn’t want to win, but in front of so many subordinates, he couldn’t lose in an embarrassing way either.

At its core, the military was still a place where might made right. The one who was better at fighting had more authority.

If he lost to Chi Yao with just one shot today, and the other person was an enemy the Flying Dragon had been dealing with for so many years, then his prestige in the military group would take a hit.

But he really didn’t want to eat that all-chicken feast.

At the same time, Chi Yao went through a similar mental process.

For him, this was the enemy camp. If he lost in the enemy camp, how would the Phantom continue to be respected in the underworld?

But a month’s worth of chicken soup was enough to make him shudder just thinking about it.

Since it was a competition between the two leaders, Fang Liang and Jiang Feng prepared the props together, while Li Yuan and Lü Meng, who were about to fight, were in charge of maintaining order.

The enlarged virtual screen on the training ground showed the two people’s names and their records, with several rows of different timers below.

Up in the dormitory building, Chu Xiao and a group of new recruits came out of the bathhouse after showering.

“Sh*t, what are they playing over there? So many people?!”

Someone was leaning out the window to look, and several people gathered around.

“Who’s going at it again? What are they competing in, wrestling or shooting?”

“That area must be for wrestling, right?”

“Anyway, we don’t have to build chicken coops today. Wanna go join in the fun later?”

Chu Xiao stood behind the crowd. He was tall, and he stretched his neck to look outside. He immediately saw Li Yuan in the crowd.

“Brother Li!”

He then grabbed his basin and rushed downstairs.

The others looked at each other.

“Did he mean Li Dazhuang from the next camp?”

“No, no. He must mean that guy from the Phantom named Li something.”

“Li Yuan? Right. He taught old Chu how to shoot during new recruit training.”

“The Phantom teaches shooting?!”

Saying that, they all grabbed their basins and rushed downstairs too.

The other new recruits who had just finished showering and didn’t know what was going on also followed them without thinking, holding their basins.

In a moment, everyone in the new recruit dormitory building had rushed to the training ground.

“What’s happening?!”

The people in the back were panting, their heads full of questions.

They had caught up, but what were they doing here?

“The boss is competing in shooting with the Phantom!”

Just as the back row was asking questions, a shout suddenly came from the front.

“Boss, you got this!”

Jing Xi was thinking of shooting a few times and then losing subtly. He suddenly heard the new recruits’ loud and clear voices.

“…”

Seeing Fang Liang give him an OK gesture, Chi Yao raised his chin at Jing Xi.

“I’ve already taken a shot. It’s your turn.”

Lü Meng handed his gun over at the right time. He glanced at Chi Yao and quietly cheered for his boss.

“Boss, whether our chickens are safe or not depends on you.”

Jing Xi took the gun. “…”

It’s fine even if they all get married off.

The competition system was activated, and the AI’s prompt sounded on the enlarged virtual screen.

[Please prepare to shoot after the beep.]

Beep—

Jiang Feng snatched the basket from Fang Liang’s hand and grabbed a handful of chicken feathers, throwing them into the air.

Jing Xi squinted his eyes and scanned the feathers.

This time, there were three red feathers.

He raised the light sniper rifle and fired three shots in a row.

Everyone only heard the gunshots. The high-definition slow-motion replay was displayed on the virtual screen.

The first bullet hit the topmost red feather. The huge impact shattered the feather.

“Yes!”

“As expected of our boss!”

The crowd cheered loudly.

The second bullet pierced through the wooden stake, leaving only a small red fragment at both ends of the stake.

“Ahhh! Boss, you’re awesome!”

“Boss is amazing!”

The crowd started whistling and cheering.

The third bullet grazed the egg and hit the red feather that had landed on the wooden stake. A shallow mark was left on the eggshell, and due to the impact, it slowly rolled towards the edge.

Everyone’s eyes widened. They gasped and couldn’t help but put their hands together.

“Don’t fall! Don’t fall!! Don’t fall!!!”

Jing Xi put down the gun, watching the egg roll to the edge of the stake on the screen. It suddenly stopped right before it was about to fall.

“Beautiful!” Lü Meng started the jeering.

A group of soldiers behind him followed suit, shouting loudly.

He suddenly heard a soft sigh. Chi Yao glanced at Jing Xi and saw that he was standing there expressionlessly, looking a little unhappy.

[Contestant one’s time: 2.3 seconds. Three feathers hit.]

[Contestant two, please shoot after the beep.]

Beep—

Fang Liang grabbed a handful of chicken feathers and threw them into the air.

Among the feathers flying all over the sky, there were also three red feathers.

Chi Yao fired two shots in a row, and after a brief pause, he fired one more.

The soldiers nervously looked at the big screen.

The first two bullets directly shattered the red feathers. The last one happened to graze the top of the egg that had rolled to the edge of the stake.

Another shallow mark was left on the eggshell, and due to the impact, it rolled back.

The soldiers watching: “Fall! Fall! Fall!”

But the egg rolled to the other edge and stopped again.

It still didn’t fall?!

The AI announced—

[Contestant one’s time: 2.3 seconds. Three feathers hit.]

[Round one: a tie.]

Wow!

A gasp rippled through the crowd.

Hitting the same number of feathers could be considered good luck, but having the time be exactly the same down to a tenth of a second? What kind of tacit understanding was this?

Chi Yao unhurriedly put away his gun, looking at Jing Xi with a smile. “What a coincidence.”

Jing Xi frowned.

This guy did it on purpose. The third shot was clearly a beat late.

He was timing it and deliberately using his move. Was he hinting that he knew his plan?

In the second round, Jiang Feng threw four red feathers.

Jing Xi raised his gun. The first three bullets were clean and crisp. The last one grazed the egg again.

A dent was left on the eggshell that was hanging on the edge, but the thin membrane inside didn’t break.

The soldiers were so shocked they couldn’t speak when they saw the magnified egg on the big screen.

He must have grazed the egg by accident, right?

If he intentionally shot it like that, then the boss’s accuracy was too terrifying!

The AI announced—

[Contestant one’s time: 2.5 seconds. Four feathers hit.]

Jing Xi put away his gun, his expression calm. “Chicken soup is for guests.”

After the beep, Chi Yao raised his gun and hit four red feathers.

He smiled. “Guests only like beautiful people, not chicken soup.”

One of the shots grazed the egg that Jing Xi had hit again, leaving a dent on the other side and making the egg roll to the other end.

The AI announced—

[Contestant two’s time: 2.5 seconds. Four feathers hit.]

[A tie.]

Jing Xi frowned.

It looked like the chicken soup was going to be forced on him.

“Is the AI broken? Why is the result the same every time?” Lü Meng was confused.

If they kept tying, who would get to eat the all-chicken feast?

Li Yuan leaned against the metal fence and sneered, “That’s skill!”

But why did the boss always follow suit? Chickens were delicious.

Chu Xiao squeezed into the front row outside the metal fence. Seeing that there were too many people, he was too shy to say much to his idol. His eyes were sparkling as he watched the two leaders duel.

Hearing the new recruits talking about the tie, Chu Xiao explained, “Our boss’s shooting is undeniably brilliant, but for him to be able to tie every time and get the time exactly right, the Phantom’s boss is also very impressive.”

Although the new recruits had only been in the military group for a short time, they had long heard of the Phantom. They also knew that Chi Yao was a very powerful person, who was very overbearing in both personality and ability.

But hearing about it was one thing, seeing it with their own eyes was another.

“He’s so strong!”

“If it weren’t for the Flying Dragon, which military group could contend with the Phantom for so many years?”

“The commander’s personal combat power is ranked first in the military, and Chi Yao can actually tie with him!”

“Why are they so outstanding at twenty-five, while I’m still a useless noob at twenty-five, boohoo—”

Two consecutive ties.

The competition was forced to change from best of three to best of five.

Chi Yao sat on the rest chair and took the water that Li Yuan brought him.

“Major General is busy with work. You should drink more chicken soup to replenish your energy.”

Jing Xi didn’t say anything. He went and nailed the third round, then put away his gun and sat down to rest.

“With so many lovers, Boss Chi should replenish himself more, lest his body be emptied out.”

Chi Yao almost choked on his water.

“…”

He has many lovers? Since when?

A gasp rippled through the crowd.

Chi Yao looked up at the big screen.

Half of an egg was suspended in the air, with a dent across its middle. It looked like it could crack at any moment.

If the egg were to be hit again, it wouldn’t take a very deep dent to make it shatter.

Although he could lose, it didn’t fit his aesthetic.

Chi Yao glanced at Jing Xi from the corner of his eye and smirked.

Is this his challenge?

Lü Meng and Li Yuan finally understood what was going on after watching the competition.

The two of them were competing, but neither of them wanted to win.

They were competing to see who could lose with more style.

After realizing this, Lü Meng: “…”

His mood was a little complicated.

After the AI’s prompt sounded.

Chi Yao raised his gun, his eyes slightly narrowed.

He was calculating the time in his mind, his gaze following the red feathers. He had already predicted the feathers’ trajectory.

Bang—

When one of the red feathers flew near the egg, Chi Yao pulled the trigger.

The bullet hit the red feather. The shockwave changed the trajectory of the other feathers around it.

One of the feathers brushed against the eggshell. The angle and force were just right to fan the egg back to the center of the stake’s cross-section, where it stopped perfectly.

The AI announced yet another tie.

The crowd went wild.

Not only did he have to be precise, but he also had to calculate the time perfectly every time. Chi Yao’s skill was too terrifying!

How strong would he be if he didn’t deliberately try to match the time?!

Chi Yao put away his gun, shook his head, and sighed, but there was a smug smile on his lips.

“I really can’t beat Major General. I think I’ll just surrender.”

Jing Xi: “…”

Dream on.

All three rounds were ties. The two of them were even.

“The guest should be the one to surrender,” Jing Xi said, handing his gun to Lü Meng. He told him, “Prepare an all-chicken feast tonight to entertain the honored guest.”

Lü Meng’s heart ached. “Yes.”

His mom’s chickens, which were raised on grain every day, were going to be used to nourish the enemy!

Chi Yao: “…”

He’s forcing a reward on me?

“It’s not right for me to eat alone, is it?” Chi Yao’s voice was icy. “Such a good thing. You should at least have half.”

“No—”

“That’s right!”

Before Jing Xi could finish, Lü Meng said in a hurry, “You two tied! According to the rules, you both get to enjoy it! I’ll go have the boys downstairs prepare it now!”

Jing Xi tried to stop him, but the person had already run away. “…”

In the evening, Chi Yao sat at the dining table, his head hurting from looking at the table full of chicken dishes.

Even the most delicious food would get tiring if you ate it every day.

Jing Xi expressionlessly poured a generous amount of vinegar into his plate. He picked up a piece of steamed chicken, swirled it in the vinegar, and then put it in his mouth.

Seeing that Chi Yao wasn’t moving, he asked, “What’s wrong? Are you already tired of it?”

“I’ve been eating it for so many days,” Chi Yao said, calling Yin Wei over. He casually tore some chicken meat and fed it to him. “I didn’t even like this stuff much to begin with.”

Jing Xi took the opportunity to ask nonchalantly, “Then what do you like to eat?”

Chi Yao glanced at him and smiled. “If I told you, would you switch it out for what I like?”

Jing Xi: “This meal is a reward today. I don’t have a say in it.”

Chi Yao: “…”

Jing Xi said expressionlessly, “You get tired of eating anything too much.”

His voice was cool and calm. It wasn’t a very obvious attempt at comfort.

Chi Yao patted the dog’s head, feeding it chicken. He said casually, “As for you, I’ll never get tired of eating you, no matter how long it takes.”

Jing Xi: “…”