Chapter Thirty-One: How Marksmanship Is Forged

Chen Hao walked up to Wang Donglai and Ma Chan, smiling as he said to Wang, “Donglai, have you made up your mind yet?” Before Wang could respond, Ma Chan interjected, “Chen Hao, the terms Li Hongbo offered are already very good. I really don’t know what’s gotten into Donglai—he just won’t agree to a five-year contract. Donglai’s family isn’t from Huayang City, and it’s hard to find a job here. He’s passing up such a great opportunity without even realizing it…”

Chen Hao replied coolly to Ma Chan, “Let me talk to Donglai alone.” Ma Chan swayed her slender waist and walked toward the podium, seeking Li Hongbo’s advice on various matters. The two of them chatted enthusiastically.

“Chen Hao, you don’t need to persuade me to join the studio. I understand everything Ma Chan said, but I just can’t make up my mind,” Wang Donglai said, looking troubled.

Chen Hao shook his head, “I’m not here to convince you to join the studio. I believe games should be played however you like. If gaming becomes work and you have to play according to someone else’s rules, it’s exhausting.”

Wang Donglai felt a sense of kinship, nodding, “That’s exactly my worry. I like following a technical path, but I’m afraid if I join the studio, I won’t be able to play my own way.”

Chen Hao smiled, “That’s easy enough to solve. Why not ask Li Hongbo how he plans to arrange things for you once you’re in the game?”

Wang Donglai slapped his forehead, “You’re right—I really have been muddled.”

He walked over to Li Hongbo and cautiously asked, “Class leader, after joining the game studio, do we play according to our own ideas, or do we follow your plan?”

Li Hongbo replied with a smile, “A game studio is a team. Only through division of labor and cooperation can we maximize our strength, so we need all kinds of talents. I’ll make unified arrangements.”

Wang Donglai pressed further, “Then, class leader, which direction do you think I should develop in-game? I’m quite interested in ship design, and I’d like to pursue a technical path…”

Wang Donglai wasn’t the top gamer in the class; Li Hongbo hadn’t paid him much attention and was more interested in Ma Chan. Ma Chan was stunning—a rare beauty—but she had become Wang Donglai’s girlfriend back in high school, something Li Hongbo regretted. Hearing Wang's question, Li Hongbo didn’t mind mocking him in front of Ma Chan. He exaggerated, “Donglai, are you feverish? Why would a liberal arts student take the technical route? We study economics and management, so the best path for us in the game is, without question, the management route.”

Wang Donglai’s face fell, “In that case, I won’t join the studio.”

Li Hongbo didn’t care whether Wang Donglai joined or not. He shrugged, “Suit yourself.”

Ma Chan had been comparing Wang Donglai and Li Hongbo, and was increasingly convinced her choice of Wang had been too impulsive; there were plenty of people with better prospects. Hearing Wang Donglai refuse to join the studio, Ma Chan seized the moment and erupted, “Wang Donglai, if you won’t join the studio, I will. Don’t come looking for me in the future.”

All eyes in the class turned to Wang Donglai. Face burning red, Wang Donglai stood silent as Chen Hao came over, patted his shoulder, and said, “Some choices must be made. Think carefully about what’s best for you.”

Wang Donglai murmured, “I won’t join the studio, but Ma Chan…”

Chen Hao said quietly, “What’s meant for you will always be yours; there’s no sense in forcing what isn’t. If a woman doesn’t love you anymore, everything you do is wrong—no matter how much you compromise, it’s useless.”

Ma Chan believed Wang Donglai always gave in to her, and this time would be no exception. After her outburst, she resumed chatting with Li Hongbo. Hearing Chen Hao’s words, Wang Donglai glanced at Ma Chan in the distance and nodded, “You’re right. Consider this a test of our love. If she leaves me because I won’t join the studio, then she never belonged to me.”

A weight lifted in Chen Hao’s heart; he valued Wang Donglai highly and believed that if Wang didn’t take the wrong path, his achievements in the game would be even greater. With Wang Donglai refusing to join Li Hongbo’s studio, Chen Hao resolved to recruit him into his own camp—the navy would then have a promising future.

Chen Hao inquired about Wang Donglai’s progress in the game, planning to help him level up early on, since even a technical path required a foundation of culture. In the game, every level gained increased minor attributes by one. Early leveling was fast, and attribute points were relatively easy to acquire.

Wang Donglai was born in Minzhou Province, far from Chen Hao’s home in Qilu Province. With precious leveling time, Chen Hao decided to temporarily postpone training him.

They left the classroom before the seminar ended, heading together to the Hyperspace Internet Café to make the most of their leveling time.

Ma Chan kept chatting with Li Hongbo and didn’t notice Wang Donglai’s departure; she didn’t call him after school either. At the Hyperspace Café, Wang Donglai linked his phone to his gaming headset, checking his phone from time to time as he tried to boost his culture attribute. No missed calls appeared, and his heart sank lower.

Chen Hao’s presence changed many things: fewer classmates joined the studio, so Li Hongbo recruited extra members from other classes, finally signing eighty contracts. Originally, Ma Chan only became close to Li Hongbo after some time in the studio, but because Wang Donglai refused to join, she was now enjoying a candlelit dinner with Li Hongbo.

Chen Hao logged into the game, guiding his character out of the room, where he saw White Demon practicing archery. A wooden board had been fashioned into a makeshift target and placed against the east wall. After shooting ten arrows, White Demon would run over, retrieve them, and continue practicing.

In the game, every attribute point had a different way to be increased: leadership required commanding troops in battle, culture meant learning from renowned teachers, physical strength came from proper diet and exercise, and marksmanship was improved through constant target practice.

Marksmanship was forged through bullets; in the game, it mainly referred to firearms. If players had an unlimited supply of bullets, they could consume vast amounts daily, rapidly boosting their marksmanship attribute.

Practicing archery also raised marksmanship, but since arrows could be reused, it could only increase marksmanship by up to five points. The same applied to practicing with throwing knives, blow darts, and plum blossom darts—no more than five points could be gained, and it became increasingly difficult to improve. For example, when first starting archery, players could gain one marksmanship point after five consecutive days of practice; for the second point, ten days might be required.

With bullets, gun training could increase marksmanship by up to thirty points—but reaching thirty consumed a staggering amount of ammunition.

Players who reached level fifty would have fifty marksmanship points; practicing firearms, archery, and hidden weapons could raise it to forty more, totaling ninety. To become a sharpshooter with perfect aim required luck; only guidance from an NPC master marksman or master archer could grant extra attribute points, allowing marksmanship to reach one hundred.

(P.S.: Extra chapters for clicks and recommendations…)