16 Chapter 16 The Importance of Mental Quality

The bullet hit a leg accurately, and the person who was shot in the leg immediately fell to the ground. Right after he yelled "Cover, enemy in sight," Gao Yang's second shot cut off the rest of the man's words.

Hiding under the vehicle, the two shots Gao Yang fired made the encircling enemies realize they were no longer safe. So, the remaining few quickened their pace, sprinting and shooting in Gao Yang's direction as they ran. Gao Yang fired several shots from under the car but failed to hit any targets.

The distance was too short, and the field of view in the scope was too small, which actually restricted Gao Yang's shooting. In a moment of urgency, Gao Yang slid out from under the car and saw that the enemies were only about twenty meters away. He grabbed the double-barreled shotgun from his back that he had refused to discard, then aimed at a spot where a muzzle flash was and fired a shot.

At a distance of a little over twenty meters, it would only take a few seconds to rush up close. In his urgency, Gao Yang's first shot was from the upper barrel, which was loaded with a shotgun slug, and the recoil was significantly stronger than that of an AK47 or M1A.

Gao Yang had shot many rounds of buckshot before, but this was his first time firing a slug. Without any mental preparation, the recoil nearly knocked him off his feet. However, his shot solidly hit the onrushing enemy. At close range, the slug's power could bring down an elephant, so one could imagine the outcome when it hit a person; the man hit in the chest by the slug was instantly blown to pieces.

After steadying himself, Gao Yang instinctively turned the barrel, aiming at the spot where he remembered seeing the flash, and fired. Nine lead pellets whistled out, taking down another enemy who didn't even have time to scream before he fell dead.

Gao Yang flipped off the safety catch of the shotgun, ejected the spent shells, then quickly loaded two rounds of nine-pellet buckshot into the gun. This routine was second nature to him, and as he snapped the shotgun closed, another enemy had rushed up to him.

The two sides were in darkness, with the remaining enemy wildly spraying bullets while running, and the two people beside Gao Yang—one with a pistol and the other using the AK47 Gao Yang had dropped—were lying on the ground, firing a barrage at the incoming foe.

In the chaos, with a mere four or five meters between them, both sides fired frantically, but neither managed to hit the other.

As they were about to close in on each other, Gao Yang finally managed to reload his weapon. He fired at the enemy who had reached him but missed. However, Gao Yang's immediate second shot finally took down the opponent who was near at hand.

After gasping for breath a few times, Gao Yang felt waves of weakness wash over him. Shooting at each other from point-blank range was a completely different feeling from a firefight at a distance, and it was, in fact, an entirely different matter; close-quarters shooting was a true test of psychological resolve.

Without rigorous training, anyone facing an enemy and shooting at very close range is most likely to turn their head to one side and fire blindly, missing with their shots. That is an instinctive reaction for everyone.

If both parties lack harsh training, then survival at extremely close quarters becomes a matter of luck. Of course, if one side has undergone strict training, like special forces, they can conquer extreme fear and react against instinct, pouring bullets into the enemy even in a face-to-face shooting scenario. However, most ordinary soldiers do not undergo training that is so time-intensive and specific, as it is deemed unnecessary.

Gao Yang had not received such training; he wasn't a special forces operative or even a soldier. However, he had played airsoft, which involved engagement ranges of only twenty or thirty meters. Without the option to increase the distance, it was always close combat. Thus, Gao Yang had developed the psychological strength to shoot without blinking or turning away through countless games and being hit by numerous airsoft pellets, resulting in countless welts on his body.

It's not the same as casual shooting, but airsoft, which strives for realism, is not far off from military exercises meant to train soldiers. Although being hit in the game only hurts for a moment, Gao Yang was facing live ammunition now, where a single hit meant certain death. Yet on the battlefield, no matter how you've developed your mental toughness—even if Gao Yang's had come through gaming—he was the one who survived in the end.

Although he would certainly be scared after the fact, Gao Yang was, after all, the one who lived. In close combat, a shotgun is more effective than anything, and Gao Yang had an advantage in his choice of weapon.

After calming his extremely tense nerves for a moment, Gao Yang reloaded his shotgun, placed it beside him within arm's reach against the car, and then picked up the M1A from under the vehicle, using its scope to survey the area.

No one approached this time. He saw no human-shaped heat signatures on the nearby vehicles, just the occasional head poking out and quickly retracting on the vehicles in the distance.

Gao Yang let out a sigh of relief. At that moment, he realized his hands were trembling slightly, his legs were shaking, and his head was occasionally dizzy. He knew it was the aftermath of a massive adrenaline discharge and that his body had reached its limit.

Seeing no immediate threat for the moment, Gao Yang relaxed a bit and turned to the two people behind him, "Is everyone okay? Do we have water and food?"

A man groaned, saying, "Daddy, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Bob. How about you, are you hurt?"

"I got shot in the arm, but it's not serious. It's just a graze, but it really hurts. Oh, I have some chocolate in my bag, there's water in the back seat of the car, and some other food."

Gao Yang hadn't expected the two behind him to be father and son, but he wasn't interested in their situation at the moment; he just wanted to get some water as soon as possible.

"There's no threat from the enemy, help me get some water. I can hardly hold on anymore."

Bob's father groped his way to the car and got a few bottles of water, opened one, and handed it to Gao Yang. Gao Yang sat down and gulped it down eagerly, feeling extremely satisfied, and Bob's father, without a word, just kept handing bottle after bottle to Gao Yang.

With his eye not leaving the scope, Gao Yang kept sending chocolate to his mouth with one hand. After he had had his fill of water and food, he felt greatly invigorated. Now, he needed to figure out how to cause trouble for the enemy sniper.

Based on the feel from the few shots he had fired, Gao Yang adjusted the scope. While adjusting, the now-energized Gao Yang felt a lot happier and said with a smile, "This is a nice gun. What's most rare is that you guys even have a night vision scope."

Hearing Gao Yang praise his gun, the previously groaning Bob was revitalized and said proudly, "Of course, this gun is specially customized by me. Although it's all from the M14 family, my gun's accuracy is definitely better than the military M25 and DMR."

Gao Yang laughed, "This is the civilian M1A you have here; can it really compare with military sniper rifles? I remember the DMR is the latest adoptee by the Marines, right?"

Bob scoffed with some disdain, "Haven't you ever heard the saying? The weapons in a soldier's hands are always provided by the suppliers with the lowest bids. Heavy equipment like planes and tanks are exceptions, but when it comes to light weaponry that's legal to own, the best ones are definitely civilian."

Thinking it over, Gao Yang felt that made some sense. Indeed, when considering ordinary military apparel and weapons like knives and guns, the top-tier stuff really is civilian. Even US soldiers discard the standard issue gear and buy their own weapons and boots, as long as they're willing to shell out a lot of money, and the military allows it.

Although he knew that was the rationale, Gao Yang still felt somewhat unconvinced. As a military enthusiast, the concept that military gear meant high precision and durability was deeply ingrained in him. So Gao Yang, unconvinced, said, "But military gear is military gear, after all. Surely it must be better than most civilian versions, right?"

"It depends on what aspect you're talking about," Bob explained. "For instance, US law doesn't allow civilians to own automatic weapons, so civilian guns can only be semi-automatic. From that point of view, military gear is better, and military gear also has quality assurance, maintaining a stable standard, as opposed to civilian gear, which is priced for quality. But what I'm saying is, when it comes to the very best, the highest-end ones, with the same requirements, those willing to spend money and strive for perfection will have the superior civilian guns. For example, civilian semi-automatic rifles can definitely be made much better than military ones because the military won't spend a lot of money to buy the best guns in large quantities. They can't afford it, and the production capacity isn't there, plus the decision-makers usually don't go into battle."

"Oh, so that means your gun is one of those top-tier ones?"

Bob answered with pride, "Of course, the sniper rifles in the military M14 series have the best accuracy of maybe 1 MOA. My gun, with hand-loaded shotgun slugs, can achieve 0.2 MOA accuracy. With selected ammunition, I can achieve 0.42 MOA, and even with standard NATO rounds, I can reach 1 MOA. These figures are verified with over six hundred shots, absolutely precise. You can say that my gun has reached the pinnacle of semi-automatic rifles and can even compete with any bolt-action rifle. Tell me, which military semi-automatic sniper rifle can match this precision? Plus, with hand-loaded ammo, my gun can hit a basketball at a thousand yards."

Gao Yang was genuinely astonished. If what Bob said about the accuracy was true, then no other military sniper rifle of the same caliber could match it, at least not among semi-automatic rifles.

"Wow, that's really amazing. How did you do it? It must've been very expensive, right?"

Bob, brimming with pride, said, "Of course it's expensive. My gun was made by Arilan Morrison's workshop, the best in the US. The barrel is made from the finest stainless steel for a heavyweight barrel, where a new mold is used to make just five barrels, and then the one with the smallest tolerances and highest precision is selected for use. My barrel not only has high precision but also a lifespan of ten thousand rounds. Moreover, all the parts are hand-polished, and the assembly is carefully selected and fitted to minimize tolerances. Guns made this way are costly, very costly. It cost me seventy-four thousand US dollars, and that doesn't even include any accessories or the scope."