What was happening? Juniper had walked onto the stage brimming with confidence, dering she would take first ce. And her first shot was aplete miss?!
An stunned silence fell over the students of Company 22, their faces a mixture of disbelief and dismay. What they had thought was their moment of hope had turned into one of despair.
Meanwhile, students from the otherpanies began to whisper among
themselves. The top-rankedpany even started shouting for Juniper to get off the stage and stop wasting everyone''s time.
Observing the scene, a mocking smile touched Farrell''s lips. He had to admit, her earlier bravado had almost fooled him into thinking she was some kind of prodigy. But it turned out she was even worse than Ynda. What an embarrassment!
She''d sworn she''d leave Era University if she lost. He couldn''t wait to see her try to talk her way out of this one.
...
In the administration building, the subordinate''s smile froze on his face as he watched Juniper miss her first shot. His jaw nearly hit the floor. "What in the world? Her movements when loading the rifle were so smooth, I thought she was an
expert!"
"What a shame," he continued, shaking his head with a soft sigh. "She broke the record on the obstacle course. I really thought she''d excel in shooting, too."
"She missed on purpose." Ebony Fox, holding a pair of binocrs, let a small, appreciative smile grace her lips.
"On purpose?" the subordinate asked, confused. "You mean she intentionally shot wide?"
"That''s right."
As if on cue, just as Ebony Fox finished speaking, they watched Juniper disassemble the rifle and then expertly put it back together.
"These types of rifles are mainly for training ranges or demonstrations; their precision isn''t the best," Ebony Fox exined calmly. "She took it apart and reassembled it to get a better feel for it, to make it handle more smoothly."
This youngdy, she thought, was far from simple.
...
"What is Juniper doing?" the surrounding students murmured, baffled by her actions.
"If you can''t shoot, just get down. What''s the point of taking the gun apart?"
"Is she trying to sabotage thepetition? If she breaks the gun, no one else canpete in the third round."
"What? No way, she''s the top scorer on the entrance exam! Her mind won''t be that petty."
Just then, a rumor rippled through the crowd.
"I just heard from thepany next to us that the great Juniper made a bet with their instructor. If she doesn''t get first ce, she''ll voluntarily drop out of school."
The students'' eyes widened in shock. Based on her performance so far... well, even with twenty more chances, it didn''t seem likely she''d win.
Amid the confusion, Juniper finished reassembling the rifle, presenting the perfectly whole firearm once more.
"The previous calibration was off. I''ve readjusted it," she said calmly, handing the rifle to the stunned instructor beside her. "To ensure fairness, please inspect it again
"Alright," the instructor agreed. He examined it carefully and found nothing wrong.
"If there are no issues, I''ll begin my second shot," Juniper announced, raising the rifle and aiming at the distant target.
"BANG "
The shot not only hit the ten-point ring butnded dead center in the bullseye.
"Ten points!" the instructor called out. At the announcement, the slumped shoulders
of Company 22 straightened, their heads snapping up.
"How many? What did Juniper score?"
"A perfect ten."
"Aplete miss on the first shot, and a bullseye on the second. Is this heaven and hell?"
"What a massive difference. You don''t think it was just a lucky shot, do you?"
Hearing the score, the smile on
Farrell''s face began to stiffen. How
could Juniper possibly hit a
bullseye? Even soldiers with years of
training couldn''t always hit dead
center. It had to be luck, right?
"BANG="
Before anyone could process it, a third shot rang out. Another perfect bullseye.
"She''s made it to the third round!"
Hattie cheered, "Even with the first miss her next two shots add up to twenty points, putting her in fifth ce for the second round!