Chapter 11: The Ingenious Use of Aiming

Xue Jing and his companion had just reached the school gates when Li Ge suddenly patted Xue Jing's shoulder with a solemn expression, pointing to a student heading straight toward them.

"Here he comes! That guy is one of Pei Youguang's underlings."

The newcomer sported semi-long hair and walked with a sloppy gait. To emphasize his individuality, he wore his uniform in a haphazard fashion, with the top two buttons of his shirt undone, his tie loose, and the sleeves of his jacket rolled up to his elbows. He also held a cigarette in his hand as though he believed it made him look really cool, his face exuding an air of smug satisfaction.

"You're Xue Jing, right? Pei Youguang, knows about you, he's got something to discuss, come with me."

As the student faced Xue Jing, he had to tilt his head back to compensate for his lack of height, not wanting to diminish his own presence, thus he spoke as if he were looking down his nose at others.

"..."

Li Ge's expression grew even more grave. Although he had resolved to follow his heart and back up Xue Jing, a deep sense of panic echoed within him as the moment approached.

Xue Jing looked down slightly at the other and said with a smile, "Let's go."

This unexpectedly calm demeanor caused a flicker of surprise to pass across the student's face.

Which student wouldn't tremble like a sieve when they heard that Pei wanted to see them?

And yet this guy could still smile?

But seeing that Xue Jing was playing along so smoothly, he didn't say much. He simply grunted affirmatively and led the way out of the school gate.

Xue Jing and his companion followed, and this scene was witnessed by many students. The usually bustling area near the school gates suddenly fell into an eerie silence.

It wasn't until the group had moved some distance away that people slowly began to talk again.

"Isn't that Pei Youguang's underling, Zhou Juncheng? Are they going to bully someone again?"

"Who's the guy following him? He's really good-looking."

"You don't recognize senior Xue Jing? Have you been attending Affiliated Middle School for two years for nothing? He's the recognized school hunk."

"It looks like Pei Youguang is going to bully him, what should we do?"

"Tell a teacher?"

"No way, Pei Youguang's family is so powerful, telling a teacher won't help, and you'll get marked by him!"

The discussion at the school gate grew louder and incessant.

...

"Lord Jing, maybe we should run for it," Li Ge whispered to Xue Jing, his voice low as they followed the student.

"We're taking a back route, and there's fewer and fewer people around. They must be leading us to a secluded place. If something happens there, we won't even be able to shout for help!"

Xue Jing looked helplessly at Li Ge, who was both cowardly and loyal; it was hard to believe he was still following along despite his fear.

After pondering for a moment, he said, "I have a favor to ask you."

Li Ge was taken aback, "Tell me."

"You do this..." Xue Jing whispered a few words and then handed over his cell phone from his pocket.

Li Ge took the phone and nodded.

The student leading the way hadn't noticed the two 'lambs to the slaughter' quietly scheming behind him, puffing on his cigarette and thinking about how to deal with Xue Jing later.

Having the chance to bully a student from the Elite Class, who was usually out of reach, brought a twisted thrill to his heart.

And so, the three of them walked into a dark alley.

Xue Jing looked up.

It was an old alley, its walls built with bricks and tiles, dark in color and severely oxidized, clearly of great age.

Trash littered the ground, and an odd stench lingered. At the end of the alley stood five or six students dressed in uniforms from Affiliated Middle School, mostly smoking, and the portly teenager who was leading the group had his back to them, striking a pose. His companions looked on with ill intent in their eyes.

It seemed the moment Xue Jing walked in was the one Pei Youguang, a portly youth, had been waiting for. He slowly turned his body around, his triangular eyes fixated on Xue Jing, took a fierce drag on the cigarette in his mouth, and then immediately threw it to the ground and stomped it out.

"Xue Jing... right."

His voice was deep as he spoke.

As he began to speak, the younger students around him wickedly smiled and pulled out weapons such as baseball bats, wooden sticks, and knives.

They were masters of this intimidation tactic; by this time, the students they summoned would typically start begging for mercy, some even wetting themselves on the spot out of fear.

However, they realized something was different this time.

Xue Jing didn't speak. He methodically took off the suit-like school blazer he was wearing and handed it to Li Ge, who stood behind him.

He then slowly unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt on both sides and rolled up his sleeves to reveal his well-defined forearm muscles.

Li Ge swallowed hard, quite afraid, but still did as Xue Jing had previously instructed: taking the blazer and retreating several meters away, then taking out his phone, turning on the camera, and aiming it at the group in the dark alley.

"..."

"Huh? What's this kid trying to do?"

Before Pei Youguang and the others could unravel their confusion, Xue Jing suddenly crouched slightly, adopting a runner's starting position.

In that instant, Pei Youguang was inexplicably reminded of a nature documentary he had watched, where a tiger ready to hunt crouched on the ground, gathering strength for the pounce.

Then, he saw it.

The 'tiger' shot out like a cannonball towards them.

In the blink of an eye, Xue Jing sprang forward like an arrow released from its bow, covering the distance to confront Pei Youguang and his crew. He swung a punch, hitting the student at the forefront squarely in the face with a thud. The victim's upper body jerked violently backward, dropping the baseball bat from his hands and collapsing to the ground, passing out without making a sound.

"Damn it, get him, mess him up!"

Pei Youguang cursed in anger upon seeing this, and those around him reacted as well, moving towards Xue Jing with their weapons in hand.

Xue Jing's gaze was cool as he observed the 'slow' moving sticks and knives coming at him.

Once the skill "Aiming" was activated, Xue Jing found that his vision had greatly enhanced, both static and dynamic.

Especially when he concentrated, his dynamic vision, far superior to before, even granted him an ability similar to 'bullet time.'

This was the source of his confidence in his fighting ability; physical fitness and running could not give him much combat strength, and facing an armed opponent, getting stabbed would still promptly take him out. But with Aiming, his sense of slowed-down dynamic vision allowed him to possess Insight like that of a martial world expert, as if he had activated the Sharingan.

This was why he dared to face Pei Youguang and his gang alone.

Of course, his greatest reliance was "Twin Lifes"; having an extra life gave him the capital to take risks recklessly, without any fear whatsoever.

Dodging several armed attacks in quick succession, Xue Jing found a gap, his eyes flashed, and while jumping back to evade, he threw a punch, grazing past the chin of one of the students with precision.

The accuracy brought by Aiming is not only useful in throwing objects but also in fighting.

In fact, fighting is a sport that requires a great deal of precision. Although the distance of a punch is very short, hitting a dodging target accurately in the chaos of a fight is not an easy task.

Therefore, the precision of a punch is also an important indicator of a fighter's combat strength.

And now, Xue Jing, who had virtually no real combat experience, reached an outrageous level of punch precision under the enhancement of the Aiming skill.

Aiming, a skill that seems only useful for throwing and shooting at a glance, is actually extremely terrifying in boosting unarmed combat strength.

The student who was hit in the chin immediately felt his brain shake back and forth in his skull, the world turned upside down, and he fell to the ground limply.

"Chen Hao, what the hell are you doing, putting on a show here!?"

The punch was so fast and covert that no one noticed it except for Xue Jing, who threw it, and Chen Hao, who took it. Pei Youguang only saw one student swing a bat and miss Xue Jing, then immediately fall to the ground as if it were an act, leading him to curse loudly.

"Damn it, all of you back off, I'll do it!"

...