Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Double Champions? No, Overtime!

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Xu Dong had been waiting by the scorekeeper early on. When the scores were announced, he was the first to find the second contestant, Ling Chengyan, and looked further down: Ten rings, ten rings, ten rings, ten rings, ten rings!

Ling Chengyan, total score: Fifty rings! A perfect score!

Xu Dong didn’t even need to look at the other competitors’ scores. He immediately smiled and waved at Ling Chengyan: “Perfect score, victory!”

Ling Chengyan smiled, put down the competition gun in her hand, and turned to walk towards Zhang Yuyan and Li Huaihua at the edge of the field.

“Ling Chengyan, you’re amazing! A perfect score!” Zhang Yuyan cheered, giving Ling Chengyan a thumbs-up with both hands.

Li Huaihua also smiled and congratulated, “Looks like there’s hope for three first places today.”

Others from Taiping Commune were also happy. Unlike the female militia, they couldn’t be as affectionate, so they just applauded warmly to express their congratulations.

Wu Xiangyang also came over, smiling broadly: “Comrade Ling Chengyan performed very well today. Keep it up; strive to win the championship again in the finals and earn a three-event championship.”

Ling Chengyan smiled, “I’ll do my best.”

The team leader of Fujiao Commune standing not far away had reddened eyes and was muttering quietly: “What kind of luck has Wu Xiangyang stumbled upon these past few years, finding such a female militia member who is even more formidable than a regular soldier!”

Someone else nearby murmured: “Militia members are so skilled, why even have regular troops!”

Zhang Hanchao, who didn’t know when he had walked over, suddenly spoke up: “What are you two talking about? What regular troops?”

The two turned around and saw it was the brigade leader. They quickly smiled sheepishly to cover up, barely managing to smooth things over.

In the following groups of competitions, the best score was 48 rings, achieved by a militia member from Fujiao Commune.

This year’s two-time county-wide shooting competition champion had lost their previous luster due to Ling Chengyan’s 50 rings.

Zheng Weimin glanced over at Taiping Commune from a distance, thinking to himself there’s still the finals. A perfect score in the preliminary means nothing; let’s see who wins in the finals.

Li Huaihua handed over a mug: “Have a sip of water.”

Ling Chengyan waved her hand, “I’m not thirsty.”

After a brief rest, the finals began.

Ling Chengyan, having ranked first in the preliminary, was positioned first, and the one from Fujiao Commune was second, right next to Ling Chengyan.

“You’re very strong!” The man wasn’t very brawny but had a commanding presence. As soon as he got to the field, he stared at Ling Chengyan, squeezing out three words.

“You’re too kind.” Ling Chengyan said calmly.

After speaking, the preparatory command was issued, and Ling Chengyan focused on the weapon in her hand, ignoring the people and things around her.

The whistle blew!

Ling Chengyan aimed at the target, pulling the trigger—bang! Bang! Bang…

In a continuous stream, five bullets were fired almost without pause.

“Report!” Ling Chengyan raised her hand to signal she had finished, got confirmation, then stood up, carried her firearm, and exited the shooting position to wait at the standby area.

With her keen hearing, she could tell that when she called ’report,’ most in the field had only fired twice, and the one beside her had just fired one.

After Ling Chengyan stood up, the person stayed silent for a while, and after a few more people reported their completion, he finally fired his second shot.

Bang—bang—bang!

The last three bullets made the entire shooting range his solo performance.

Finally, he slowly put down the weapon in his hand and raised his hand: “Report!”

“Confirmed, you may leave the shooting position.” With confirmation, the command was given, and the scorekeeper ran over to check each target to confirm hits and scores.

Xu Dong ran over to wait. As soon as the scorekeeper tallied the scores, he saw Ling Chengyan’s score—five tens, a perfect score!

Just as joy welled up and was about to burst out, his peripheral vision caught sight of the score right next to Ling Chengyan—ten rings, ten rings, ten rings, ten rings, ten rings, also fifty rings!

A perfect score, there were actually two!

In terms of probability, this had never happened in the Fucheng County competitions, and it’s hardly been heard of even across the province or nation, right?!

The overwhelming joy in Xu Dong’s heart felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over it, and the joy dissipated significantly. After a brief hesitation, he immediately rushed to find Zhang Hanchao and the organizing committee to ask how to handle this situation—should it be a tie, dual champions, or have a rematch… After all, as they say, there’s no first place in literature, and there’s no second in martial arts. In a competition, if you can’t distinguish between winners and losers, what’s the point?

Anyway, he had great confidence in Ling Chengyan’s shooting skills!

For a rematch, he also believed Ling Chengyan could still achieve a great score.

Instead, it was that so-called sharpshooter from Fujiao Commune who hadn’t scored a perfect score in previous years, right?

This year, likely holding in a breath, took a long time aiming with each bullet; with great difficulty, he achieved five tens. If there’s another rematch, can he still shoot all tens? …Heh, heh, at worst, there would be another rematch!

In terms of shooting skills and consistent performance, Ling Chengyan surely surpassed that guy, right!

Xu Dong, running swiftly, found Zhang Hanchao, and as luck would have it, Zhang was just with the organizing committee and several county leaders.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Xu Dong succinctly explained the situation. The leaders were also astonished.

Having one perfect score of ten rings is already a rarity, but having two in this final alone could be considered a minor miracle.

“Oh, Captain Zhang, your militia training work is excellent. You’ve launched two satellites at once!”

Zhang Hanchao smiled, waving his hand, “Let’s not praise just yet, leaders. Let’s discuss what to do with the competition. Do we keep two first places and have dual champions?”

Director Jin clearly disliked the title of dual champions, smiling and waving his hand: “Competition is about determining winners and losers on the field. If one match doesn’t decide it, add another! Like basketball or football, they have overtime, don’t they? We should have an extra match!”

Someone immediately endorsed, “Yes, such exciting shooting is rare. An overtime match between two perfect scorers—an epic showdown! Thrilling!”

Zhang Hanchao nearly rolled his eyes but resisted while glancing at Xu Dong. He instructed the staff behind him, “Inform the organizing committee, there will be an extra match. Still five shots?”

In the last sentence, he looked at Director Jin with a hint of inquiry.

Director Jin nodded, “Just five shots.”

Xu Dong didn’t stay to chat with the leaders this time; he turned and left, rushing back to the edge of the field to find Ling Chengyan and tell her about the extra match so she could prepare.

“How about it? Are you okay with it? Should I go to the organizing committee and request a break for you?” Xu Dong inquired.

If it were just the two reported events, it would be fine. But Ling Chengyan had also stepped in to help out with an urgent match, meaning she participated in three events, totaling six rounds in one day. Adding another match was now the seventh round.

Competing at such a high frequency in one day not only takes a heavy toll physically but is also a significant mental and emotional strain and test.

Ling Chengyan shook her head, her voice calm and measured, “No need for a break, I can do it.”

Xu Dong felt a slight pang in his heart, instinctively stretching out his hand to pat her shoulder to encourage her, but switched to a handshake: “Comrade Ling Chengyan, good luck! I wish you victory in the end!”

Ling Chengyan responded with a handshake, her eyes and mouth hinting with a smile: “Thank you, sir. Rest assured, I will complete the task.”

The organizing committee came over to notify about the extra match and asked if the contenders needed a break. Ling Chengyan declined the offer of a break.

The committee then went to inquire with the sharpshooter from Fujiao Commune, who appeared exhausted as if he hadn’t slept well in days. When his gaze turned towards Ling Chengyan, he ultimately shook his head slowly: “No need.”

“Very well, since neither contestant needs a break, the overtime match begins. Both contestants take your positions and prepare.” After confirmation by the committee members, the rounds were given.

The overtime match began—

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep