Faster, faster, even faster.
Berry's eyes were serious, all her focus concentrated on the humanoid target boards entering the shooting range from various angles. She continuously pulled the trigger, aiming at them, and black holes exploded on the target paper.
Her hit rate was very high, almost every shot found its mark. Although a revolver only holds six rounds and requires more reloads than an automatic pistol, Berry's movements, too fast for the naked eye to discern, compensated for this.
In fact, her speed was almost the fastest on the field right now, as revolvers don't have jamming issues; they can shoot as fast as you can pull the trigger.
To break through human limits, a revolver is more suitable than an automatic pistol.
This is American traditional martial arts, according to Berry.
In short, Berry now felt the situation wasn't a small win, or a medium win, but a big win.
She felt certain she would win.
"Amazing! Berry, amazing!"
Behind her, Wilson, as the organizer and chief judge of the competition, was cheering for Berry.
"Great momentum, Rudy! Keep it up, keep it up!"
"V is also amazing! Keep going, keep going!"
Wilson waved his fists from behind, his entire face squeezed into a ball with excitement, his beard probably even engorged with blood. His demeanor was more agitated than if he were competing himself.
"Fifteen seconds left, everyone, don't mess up!"
Seeing that time was almost up, Wilson held up his watch, ready to start the countdown.
"Ah, gunpowder and bullets, that's the smell!"
Seeing time nearing its end, all the contestants frantically pulled their triggers. The gunshots almost formed a continuous roar, rising and falling, incredibly dense, like the crackling of firecrackers. In just one or two seconds, at least five magazines' worth of bullets were fired.
And Berry, at this moment, wanted even more to maintain her advantage.
Her clear black and white eyes now only saw the moving targets. The firearm in her hand moved rapidly within a small range, the muzzle flash never stopping, and the bullets she fired blew paper scraps off the targets.
This made Berry's score rise like diarrhea. Berry felt that winning the championship was beyond doubt.
"Alright, currently in the lead is... V! Followed by Berry! The two are only three points apart, very thrilling, but everyone else needs to step up their game, the countdown is almost over!"
What Wilson read out almost made Berry's hand tremble and miss a shot.
What, V is in the lead!
Berry shot while looking at V with disbelief.
And V, right next to Berry, was still shooting seriously.
When Berry looked over, she realized V was not to be underestimated. She was calm and composed, the muzzle of her 'star' gun moved around, and every bullet she fired hit the target without exception, scoring every possible point.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!!!
She was going to lose.
Berry had never expected V to keep up with her speed, and she panicked for a moment, missing a shot that hit the wall behind the target instead of the target itself.
Fuck! Calm down, calm down!
Berry forced herself to calm down, finally realigning her gun and hitting the target again, but in this split-second gun duel, her mistake was fatal, and the score gap between her and V widened again.
Stay calm, stay calm... while continuing to shoot, Berry adjusted her mindset in time.
It's okay, there are still a few seconds left. It's just a few points difference, she can catch up quickly.
As long as she stays calm, everything will be fine.
However, Berry's self-comfort seemed to be useless.
Her shooting frequency was similar to V's. Even if Berry didn't miss a single point afterward, V could still defeat Berry with her accumulated score advantage.
So, in her desperation, Berry's heart began to panic again.
No, no, if this continues, it will be completely useless.
Berry's mind raced, and she started thinking of dirty tricks.
Hey, what dirty tricks? This is called an outside move.
As long as she can win, there's no such thing as being despicable or not.
"Sister V, Sister V, look quickly, there's a UFO outside the window!"
Berry casually used verbal interference on V, completely lacking the sportsmanship of 'friendship first, competition second'.
However, Berry's trick had no effect on V.
In V's eyes, this was just Little Berry's dying struggle; this time, she was sure to win.
Thinking this, a smile already appeared on V's lips.
Little girl, this time I'll have you completely under my thumb.
"V! V! Damn, damn, damn, damn!"
Berry and V were both shooting frantically, but V kept firmly suppressing Berry, not letting her overtake. In this high-speed stalemate, time was running out, and the competition was about to end.
Seeing that she was about to lose, Berry grew more and more anxious, her head covered in sweat, but this didn't stop V from grinning widely beside her, almost laughing out loud.
"Three! Two! One! That's it, cease fire!"
With Wilson's powerful shout, everyone stopped shooting.
"No!"
As soon as the competition ended, Berry threw her head back, covering her head with both hands in agony, looking utterly miserable.
"Hahaha, Berry, I definitely won!"
V, on the other hand, laughed mercilessly, feeling extremely happy at Berry's painful expression.
"The competition is over. V is first with sixty points, Berry is second with fifty-seven points, and Rudy is third with forty-five points."
Wilson, with his arms crossed, read out the top three names, his tone impatient when speaking of the others.
"The rest of you second-rate nobodies, learn how to shoot properly! Alright, get out of here quickly!"
Waving his hand dismissively, some of the other contestants left indignantly, while others left dejectedly.
As for V and Berry, the first and second place winners, they were still bickering.
No! The system misled me!
Berry felt her heart was shattered. The boasting she did before the competition now turned into slaps on her face, making her disheartened and so embarrassed she wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it.
And V, heartlessly, was mercilessly mocking her little girlfriend.
"Berry~, Berry~, guess who's first place, woohoo, your big sister, me! Guess who didn't win, it's you, Little Berry~"
With the pride of a victor, V assertively ruffled Berry's head, messing up her beautiful black hair, which perfectly matched Berry's current tear-streaked face.
System, oh system, in the end, it was all for naught.
Berry felt very wronged. With a respectable fifteen points in reaction and most pistol perks unlocked, she still lost to V.
This V, she must be a BUG.
Berry lowered her head, her small eyes widened as she glared discontentedly at V who was assertively patting her head, feeling utterly aggrieved, with tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.
But in contrast to Berry's indignation, V was overjoyed. Surpassing Berry in marksmanship made her very happy; couldn't you see her eyes were narrowed with joy?
Hmph, little sister is just a little sister, she should just obediently lie in her big sister's arms and act spoiled.
V was already delivering her victory speech.
"Come on, V, here's your prize."
When the competition ended, Wilson's face was downcast, but he still pulled out the prize, handing V a Lexington pistol with a yellow and white camouflage paint job.
If there was anything more pleasing than subduing her disobedient little girlfriend, it was an additional prize.
V satisfiedly accepted the pistol from Wilson's hand, holding it up specifically to show Berry.
"Hmm, not bad, not bad."
V held the gun, inspecting it meticulously—racking the slide, taking out the magazine to look and touch it—as if afraid Berry wouldn't notice.
As for Berry, her face was puffed up with indignation, holding back from speaking.
The best revenge against the victor was not letting them see the defeated expression they wanted.
Well, although she said that, judging by the look V shot toward Berry, V was already quite satisfied with Berry's expression.
How should one put it? The strong must thoroughly humiliate the weak.
"Yeah, this is my best gun."
Leaving aside the couple who had just settled their score, Wilson, the host of the competition and the gun shop owner, currently had a dark expression and wasn't in the mood to talk.
"Hey, Wilson, are you alright? What's wrong?"
Seeing his appearance, V temporarily put aside her desire to tease her little woman.
"Of course something big happened."
Seeing V ask, Wilson sighed, speaking helplessly.
"The competition was useless! I didn't sell a damn thing! Not a single one!"
Wilson shook his head, clearly dissatisfied with the terrible competition. Not only did it fail to boost sales, but he also lost a good gun. His mood was extremely foul.
"Maybe you shouldn't call your customers 'second-rate'."
V shrugged and said casually.
"That's true, but I... damn it! Guns demand respect. If you can't even shoot straight, don't touch them!"
"Hmph!" Wilson angrily shook his head.
Money in Night City is truly hard to earn. Even the gun shop, which should be the most popular, currently isn't making much profit.
"Yeah, life is tough."
V spread her hands, also speaking helplessly.
"Forget it, Wilson, grab me a pack of smokes. We're about to leave."
"Ah, alright. The usual, right? I'll go to the counter and get it for you."
Wilson sighed, preparing to step out.
"Hey, Wilson, does your gun shop sell cigarettes too?"
At this moment, Berry, despite her dejection, curiously raised her head.
"Yeah, I sell everything. Forget cigarettes, I even sell condoms."
Wilson was truly pulling out all the stops to reverse the gun shop's deficit. Opening a shooting range was one thing, but now he was even stealing business from convenience stores. Berry could only express her admiration.
"Ah, I say..."
Just as the three of them were about to leave, a low voice suddenly came from the corner.
The three turned to look, only to see a man wearing sunglasses standing like an iron tower against the wall, seemingly merging with it.
They heard him speak quietly.
"I said, where is my prize?"
"Damn it!" Wilson slapped his forehead. He had almost forgotten the third-place winner who had been left waiting.
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