Chapter 81: Target Practice
[Chapter 81: Target Practice]
That evening, Naomi arrived at the estate as promised. When she heard about Universal's test screening results and distribution strategy for Step Up, she joyfully hugged Linton and gave him a spontaneous kiss.
"Honey, is our movie going to be a hit?"
"Yes, very soon you'll be the star of a blockbuster, about to become famous."
"It's all thanks to you. Tonight, I want to reward you properly," Naomi said as she began to disarm Linton.
"Wait, there's one more thing I need your opinion on."
"What is it? Hurry, I can hardly wait."
"Universal wants us to stir up some romance rumors to boost the movie's hype. Are you okay with that?"
"Absolutely, I'm on board and will fully cooperate."
"Should we tell your agent?"
"No need, let's not worry about that now. I can't wait any longer."
Given the great news about the movie's imminent success and her upcoming stardom, Naomi was too excited to hold back. She transformed into a bold and energetic knight, launching a passionate advance.
...
The next day, Linton informed Levitt and Robert about the decision to hype a romance rumor. Levitt was delighted and said, "I knew you'd agree. Just wait -- we'll have the media follow up with the hype. Step Up now has an extra buzz and selling point."
...
With Juliet's help, Linton edited two promotional trailers and sent them to Universal.
He also handed over a 3-minute teaser to Robert and Bella to produce 5,000 CDs to mail to Linton fan clubs worldwide.
By now, there were over 200 fan clubs globally, with over 120 in North America alone. Bella had done an outstanding job.
Following the principle of rewarding merit, Linton directly gave her $20,000 plus a 20% raise, which thrilled Bella. She promised to accelerate the establishment of overseas fan clubs.
---
With the movie project temporarily settled and the premiere scheduled for the 25th, Linton had two days free. He decided to ask Danny to take him to a shooting club to practice his marksmanship.
As a major arms consumer country, the US had many shooting ranges, and Los Angeles was no exception.
To avoid causing a fuss, Linton lightly applied some makeup and went with Danny to a shooting club called Wilke.
...
At the reception area, he saw a wall full of guns.
As a professional club, their collection was extensive.
Their shooting range was divided into indoor and outdoor sections.
The indoor range had smaller targets, with the longest lane only 25 meters, suitable mainly for pistols, which limited the full range potential of high-powered handguns.
Danny was a member and familiar with the staff. He brought Linton to the counter and asked an attendant, "Bring a few pistols for my friend here. He's a beginner, so let's start with pistols in the indoor range."
The attendant fist-bumped Danny and pointed to the pistol rack, "We have a full selection. Rental fees range from $10 to $20, and 9mm ammo is $8 for ten rounds."
Linton knew little about pistols and asked, "I'm a newbie. Can you recommend a common pistol for practice?"
"I'd suggest the Glock 17. It's widely used, popular, and has a manageable recoil," Danny said after thinking, and the staff prepared the gun and ammo.
...
Inside the indoor range, they wore noise-canceling earmuffs. The attendant explained pistol shooting basics and standard safety notes.
Linton picked up the Glock 17, aimed carefully at a 10-meter target, and fired.
The bullet hole landed slightly off-center, and Danny said, "Great! Seems like you have strong shooting talent; first shot almost a perfect score."
Linton thought this was just the beginning, a feel for the gun.
The next nine shots all scored perfect tens.
Danny was amazed: "I take back what I said -- you're not just talented, you're a shooting prodigy."
"Try speeding up your shots. In battle, speed matters as much as accuracy."
The attendant handed Linton a fresh magazine. Ignoring careful aiming, Linton fired quickly at the target's center.
Ten bullets flew rapidly, all hitting near the bullseye. Even the furthest shot was within the high scoring zone.
The staff announced loudly, "Fast shooting score: 96 out of 100. Reload and continue."
Linton reloaded, fired another quick ten shots, and left a big hole in the center but no shots outside the high scoring rings.
The staff and Danny exchanged surprised looks. "Danny, do you have such an amazing newbie?"
Danny was equally stunned, staring at Linton thoughtfully. "Try the 25-meter lane."
...
At 25 meters, hitting all shots within the high scoring rings was nearly impossible for most shooters.
Linton took aim and fired. The system reported a perfect high score.
Five consecutive shots all hit tens.
The staff couldn't believe it. "Are you sure he's a newbie?"
Danny eyed Linton like a rare creature and said, "Try rapid fire next."
Linton emptied four rounds rapidly with impressive accuracy -- three perfect tens and one nine.
Danny was astonished, "You've outdone my expectations. Now try your fastest speed."
Linton fired all ten rounds at full speed. The target remained almost perfect, with a huge central hole but all within the top scoring rings.
Danny sighed and said, "You must be a real shooting genius -- or you're hiding some secret training. Even special forces rarely hit your level."
Linton smiled but didn't answer. Instead, he asked, "Do you have more powerful pistols?"
"Sure, try the Desert Eagle. It has an effective range of 100 meters."
...
After firing three magazines with the Desert Eagle, Linton still only hit high scoring rings.
The power was greater; each five-shot burst tore into the paper, creating a large central hole.
The lethality felt comparable to using his power to hurl tiny stones.
"Any more powerful pistols?" Linton asked.
"We have the M500. It shoots up to 250 meters and is the most powerful handgun. One shot will tear the target apart. But it has huge recoil -- two hands are recommended."
...
The M500 was loaded and placed before Linton.
He held it one-handed, aimed at a distant target, and fired. The recoil was strong, but his exceptional stamina made it manageable.
The shot blew the target to bits, and the loud blast was still clear through ear protection.
Danny and the staff were impressed. "That's powerful and you handle it easily? Incredible."
After five shots, Linton stopped. The staff prepared more giant bullets, but Linton stopped him. "Five shots are enough. Any more powerful guns?"
"Nope, this is the most powerful handgun available. For more power, you'd need a rifle. Also, I suggest trying the M500 at the outdoor range for full effect."
...
Linton switched to the outdoor range, which had lanes up to 1000 meters.
He chose a 200-meter lane and fired the M500, pulverizing the target. The scoring system confirmed a high ranking shot.
He rapidly fired four more shots, all scoring above eight. The staff and Danny were left speechless.
"Try moving and shooting," Danny suggested. "Use the Glock 17 in the obstacle zone."
Gunfire echoed continuously as Linton sprinted through obstacles, hitting targets precisely in the head.
After emptying four magazines, he finished in 1 minute 4 seconds with a total score of 381.
"Excellent! You could compete in shooting contests," the staff cheered.
...
Next, Linton tried rifles, starting with the AK-47, known for reliability and popularity worldwide.
Its effective range was 300 meters, max 1500 meters, with a 30-round magazine.
He shot a 250-meter lane, pierced the target, and scored a perfect ten.
He then emptied the magazine rapidly, leaving a big central hole but no shots outside the seven ring.
Finally, Linton tried the M2 machine gun, with an effective range of 1800 meters and bullet speed of 930 m/s.
Its lethality was amazing; using armor-piercing rounds, steel plates were like paper.
He tested the longest lane, achieving consistent hits above six rings in rapid fire.
Beyond this were sniper rifles, but those were not available at civilian ranges.
To practice those, Linton would have to go to LAPD's or military's internal ranges.
...
After this detailed gun session, Linton had a clearer understanding of pistol and rifle lethality.
Ordinary pistols posed little threat if he was prepared; he could track bullet trajectories and evade easily.
Close-range stealth shots could still injure him seriously.
Desert Eagle posed a slightly higher risk but was manageable at distance. Close shots could cause significant harm but not fatal.
The M500 handgun was much more dangerous; even prepared, he could not avoid all hits, and close shots threatened his life.
Rifles posed less threat than the M500 handgun at distance, but within 100 meters, machine guns could be deadly.
He also noted that military equipment like sniper rifles, rocket launchers, grenades, and missiles were even more lethal.
He heard that a standard military 155mm howitzer shell had a lethal radius up to 60 meters, with a maximum destructive radius of 350-360 meters.
A shell landing in the center of a football field could wipe out everything, alive or not.
Specialized shells and guided rounds were even deadlier, and missiles more so.
He wondered if his senses would warn him of such attacks. If so, that might improve his survival chances.
If not, he would be in grave danger, but such threats were impossible to test.
Even Danny pointing a gun at him without intent to harm couldn't trigger his senses.
After learning all this, Linton felt a new respect for the firearms and realized that despite his powers, he was still relatively weak and should keep a low profile.
*****
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