Chapter 6: Love Doesn’t Protect Against Bullets!

In the corner of the usual café, Franco sat quietly sipping his coffee… or rather, he was trying to sit quietly. But it's hard to be quiet when a group of thugs are sitting around you, each one laughing at you like you're the joke of the week.

"Franco the lover!" Marco shouted as he slapped the table. "Tell us, when are you going to propose to your mysterious lover?"

Franco put his head in his hands as he muttered:

"Why didn't the bullet kill me that night? It would have been more merciful than this insult…"

But Marco wasn't ready to leave him alone. "I heard you were practicing shooting yesterday? How was it?"

Salvo, who usually barely spoke, said with a sarcastic smile:

"I heard he killed the street lantern with a stray bullet."

Everyone burst out laughing, while Franco sighed deeply.

"At least the lantern didn't make fun of me…"

But the laughter didn't last long, because Marco suddenly stood up and said:

"Since we're talking about shooting, we have a special training for you today!"

Franco raised his head cautiously. "Training?"

"Yes, you need to develop your skills, otherwise you'll become the first hired killer in the world to be killed by his target instead of the other way around!"

"Wait, no one said I was a hired killer!"

But Marco wasn't listening. "Come on, we have a date with Rocco."

Franco had never heard that name before, but from the way Salvo's eyebrows rose, he knew that it didn't bode well…

Rocco… and the Laws of Survival

They arrived at an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city. Inside the warehouse, there were a number of men practicing shooting, but the one who caught Franco's attention was a huge man, wearing black glasses, and his muscles were the size of pieces of furniture.

Marco approached him and said, "Franco, meet Rocco, our weapons trainer."

Franco swallowed. "This is not a weapons trainer… This is a human cannon!"

Rocco didn't say anything, just walked up to Franco and looked him from head to toe, then said in his deep voice:

"Have you ever shot a gun before?"

Franco, trying to maintain his dignity, said with false confidence: "Of course! I've been playing shooting games all my life!"

Then he received a strong slap that almost made him see his childhood again.

"Games mean nothing here, smartass!"

Franco rubbed his cheek and said angrily: "Is this how you train?!"

Rocco didn't answer, but threw him a gun. "Here. Aim at the target."

Franco took the stance of a professional sniper, closed one eye, focused… then fired.

"BANG!"

The shot missed the target. It didn't even hit the wall near him. Instead, it hit a flower pot that was standing on a wooden shelf, causing the pot to fall on the head of one of the men who was quietly training.

"Who is this—?!" the man shouted angrily, while Marco and Salvo were crying with laughter.

"Great, Franco!" Marco said, trying to catch his breath. "You've made history as the first man to use a gun for farming!"

Rocco sighed and said, "I guess we'll need to use the hard way."

Franco didn't like the tone of his voice. "What do you mean the hard way?"

Rocco didn't answer. Instead, he pulled out a gun loaded with rubber bullets, and then…

"BANG!"

"AAAAAAH!"

Franco jumped up, grabbing his arm, while Marco and Salvo were laughing like crazy.

"W-w-what are you doing?!"

Rocco said coldly: "I'm teaching you an important lesson: aim… and run!"

Then he fired another shot.

"Aaaah! Okay, I got it! I'll run!"

Franco started running around the warehouse, while Rocco was chasing him with rubber bullets, amidst everyone's laughter.

Marco, who could barely stand from laughing so hard, turned to Salvo and said:

"I think he'll learn faster this way!"

The final test… and the impossible miracle

After three hours of running and screaming, Franco sat on the ground, exhausted.

Marco approached him and said with a sarcastic smile:

"So? Have you become a professional sniper?"

Franco barely raised his head and said:

"Yes… a professional at just avoiding bullets!"

Rocco walked up to him and said:

"You have one last test. If you fail it, I'll keep shooting you all week."

Franco looked at him in panic. "Okay, okay, what's the test?"

Rocco threw the gun back to him, then pointed to a wooden target on the opposite side of the warehouse.

"Shoot him. On the first try."

Franco, who was about to give up hope, took a deep breath, concentrated with all his energy, then pulled the trigger.

"BANG!"

The shot hit the target right in the middle.

Marco gasped. Salvo raised an eyebrow in surprise. Even Rocco smiled for the first time.

"Impossible…" Marco muttered.

Rocco nodded and said, "Well done, Franco the lover."

Franco smiled proudly, then muttered to himself,

"Well… I may not be a professional killer yet… But at least I didn't kill any lamps this time!"