Chapter 11: The Benefits of Aiming
Just as Xue Heng and Li Ke reached the school gate, Li Ke suddenly patted Xue Heng on the shoulder and solemnly pointed at a student striding towards them.
"Here he comes! That guy is usually by Pei Youguang's side."
The newcomer had semi-long hair and walked with a lazy posture. To showcase his individuality, he wore his uniform in a messy, unkempt manner, leaving the top two buttons of his shirt undone and forgoing a tie. He had rolled up the sleeves of his jacket to his elbows and held a cigarette between his fingers, seemingly believing that this made him look cool. His expression was one of self-satisfied arrogance.
"Xue Heng, right? You know who Brother Pei Youguang is, don't you? He's looking for you. Come with me."
The student stood before Xue Heng, and because he wasn't tall enough, he didn't want to appear weak, so he tilted his head back and looked down his nose at Xue Heng as he spoke.
"..."
Li Ke's expression grew even more solemn. Although he had already decided to stand by Xue Heng out of a sense of righteousness, now that the moment had come, a sense of overwhelming panic filled his heart.
Xue Heng looked down at the other student and smiled, "Let's go."
This calm and collected response caused the student to be taken aback, revealing a hint of surprise.
Usually, when students heard that Brother Pei was looking for them, they would tremble like a sieve. Yet, this guy was actually smiling?
However, seeing Xue Heng's obedient and compliant attitude, he couldn't say much else and merely nodded, leading the way out of the school gate.
Xue Heng and Li Ke followed, and this scene was witnessed by many students. The usually bustling school gate fell into an eerie silence.
It wasn't until the group had walked away that the students began to discuss the situation.
"That guy is Pei Youguang's lackey, Zhou Juncheng. Are they going to bully someone again?"
"Who's the guy following behind them? He's so handsome."
"Xue Heng, don't you know him? Have you been at this school for two years for nothing? He's the acknowledged school heartthrob."
"It looks like Pei Youguang is going to bully him. What should we do?"
"Should we tell a teacher?"
"That won't work. Pei Youguang's family has a lot of influence. Telling a teacher would be useless, and he'd only target us afterward!"
The students at the school gate were in an uproar, discussing the situation endlessly.
...
"Xue Heng, why don't we run away?" Li Ke suggested in a low voice as they followed the student.
"We're taking all these small alleys, and there are fewer and fewer people around. They must be leading us to a secluded place. If something happens, we won't even be able to call for help!"
Xue Heng looked at Li Ke, who was both cowardly and righteous, feeling a bit exasperated that he had still followed him all this way despite his fear.
After thinking for a moment, Xue Heng said, "I have a favor to ask of you."
Li Ke was taken aback, "What is it?"
"With you being like this..." Xue Heng spoke softly for a few moments before taking out his phone and handing it to Li Ke.
Li Ke nodded after listening to Xue Heng's request and taking the phone.
The student leading the way didn't notice what these two 'sheep awaiting slaughter' were up to. He continued smoking, his mind occupied with thoughts of how he would teach Xue Heng a lesson later.
Having the opportunity to bully an elite class student like this usually high and mighty filled him with a twisted sense of excitement.
And so, the three of them walked into a dark alley.
Xue Heng looked up.
It was a very old alley, with brick walls on either side that were dark in color and heavily oxidized, clearly indicating their age.
The ground was littered with garbage, and a strange smell permeated the air. At the end of the alley stood five or six students in the Affiliate Middle School uniform, most of them smoking. The leader among them was a wealthy-looking boy who was striking a pose with his back turned to Xue Heng. The person next to him, however, stared at Xue Heng with ill-intent.
As if they had been waiting for this moment, the wealthy-looking boy, Pei Youguang, slowly turned around. His triangular eyes fixed on Xue Heng, and he took a deep drag on the cigarette between his lips before tossing it to the ground and crushing it underfoot.
"Xue Heng, is it?"
His voice was low and menacing.
As he spoke, his lackeys surrounding him brandished their weapons—baseball bats, wooden clubs, and knives—with malicious grins on their faces.
Chapter: The Tiger Pounces
The group was well-versed in using intimidation to get what they wanted, and by now, the students they called out would usually be begging for mercy, some even wetting themselves in fear.
However, this time felt different.
Xue Jing remained silent. He slowly took off his suit-style uniform jacket and handed it to Li Ke, who was standing behind him.
Then, he unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt, rolled up the sleeves, and exposed his well-defined forearms.
Li Ke swallowed hard, afraid but still following Xue Jing's earlier instructions. He took the jacket and stepped back a few meters, then took out his phone and turned on the video function, aiming it at the group in the dark alley.
"...!"
"Huh? What's this guy up to?"
Before Pei Youguang and the others could figure out what was happening, Xue Jing suddenly crouched down, assuming a running stance.
In that moment, Pei Youguang was inexplicably reminded of a tiger about to pounce in a wildlife documentary he had once seen.
And then, he saw it.
The 'tiger' sprang forward like a cannonball, rushing towards them.
In the blink of an eye, Xue Jing burst into action. Like an arrow released from its bow, he covered the distance of several meters and landed a punch on the face of the student standing at the front. There was a sickening crunch, and the student's upper body was sent into a violent backward arch. He dropped the baseball bat from his hand and fell to the ground, unconscious before he could even utter a sound.
"What the fck! Get him! Teach him a lesson!"
Pei Youguang immediately flew into a rage and shouted at his companions, who reacted and brandished their weapons—baseball bats, wooden clubs, and knives—at Xue Jing.
Xue Jing's eyes remained calm as he watched the 'slow' motion of the weapons coming at him.
With the "Aim" skill activated, Xue Jing discovered that his vision had been greatly enhanced, both in terms of static and dynamic sight.
Especially when he focused his mind, his dynamic vision gave him a capability similar to 'bullet time', allowing him to perceive the world around him in slow motion.
This was the source of his confidence in his combat abilities. While his physical fitness and running had improved his body, they didn't give him much actual fighting power, and he could still be easily taken down by a single knife wound. But with "Aim," his enhanced dynamic vision granted him the insight of a martial arts master, as if he had unlocked the Sharingan.
This was why he dared to face Pei Youguang and his gang alone.
Of course, his greatest advantage was still the "Doppelganger" skill, which gave him an extra life and the freedom to act without fear.
Xue Jing dodged several attacks with agile sidesteps, then seized an opportunity to leap backward while throwing a punch that grazed the chin of one of the students with pinpoint accuracy.
The precision granted by "Aim" could be applied not only to throwing objects but also to hand-to-hand combat.
In fact, fighting was an activity that heavily relied on precision, and while the distance of a punch might be short, it was challenging to land a precise hit on an evasive opponent in the chaos of a brawl.
Thus, the accuracy of one's punches was a critical indicator of their prowess in a fight.
And now, Xue Jing, who had barely any real combat experience, possessed an absurd level of precision thanks to the "Aim" skill.
"Aim," a skill that seemed only useful for throwing and shooting, actually provided an incredibly powerful boost to unarmed combat.
The student whose chin was struck felt his brain rattling inside his skull, and the world spun around him as he collapsed to the ground.
"Chen Hao, what are you doing? Are you putting on a show here?!"
The punch was so fast and subtle that only Xue Jing and Chen Hao, the one who had been hit, noticed it. Pei Youguang only saw Chen Hao swing his baseball bat, which Xue Jing dodged, and then Chen Hao collapsed as if he were acting, which infuriated Pei Youguang.
"Damn it! Get out of the way! I'll take care of this!"
...
(End of Chapter)
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