Chapter 66: You should become such a Crab!
The hundredth headshot, the hundredth drawing and holstering, the hundredth victory without any suspense was followed by the 101th time of hearing the system say, “Player IChooseDogLeading is ready. Do you want to begin the match?”
OneHeadShotWithoutExplanation was tired, but he had also eased up.
“You have used a hundred defeats to win my respect.”
OneHeadShotWithoutExplanation gave a wry laugh. As he looked at the figure moving around using his ridiculous Crab Steps in an attempt to dodge his bullets, he did not immediately lift his Explosive Spirit Rifle. Instead, he said loudly, “Are you an idiot? Don’t you know how to use fake moves? By using Crab Steps every time in such a habitual manner, are you afraid others can’t anticipate your motion’s trajectory? Can you be any more dumb?”
The harsh diatribe caused Shi Xiaobai’s figure to pause for a moment, but it only paused for half a second before he carried on using his Crab Steps. This time, Shi Xiaobai’s motions were clearly extremely stiff, as though he was attempting to resist moving in a habitual manner and fake his motions, but it ended up looking inept and appeared rather jerky.
OneHeadShotWithoutExplanation shook his head and then lifted the gun in his hand.
A gunshot rang, and Shi Xiaobai fell to the ground as though it was in response to it. The system’s announcing the end of the match rang immediately after that.
Accompanying that was OneHeadShotWithoutExplanation’s fury abuse.
“Use your left foot as your right foot, understand? Do not keep reminding yourself to make fake moves. If you can’t even fool yourself, how can you fool others? Fake moves are not moves that you deliberately do. You must fool your opponent, making him think that your fake move is a real move. If you can’t even create confusion by passing off the spurious as genuine, how do you become stronger?”
OneHeadShotWithoutExplanation sneered, “Claims of weaklings always sound good, but the reason why weaklings are weaklings is because they only know how to talk.”
Shi Xiaobai did not retort, he only shouted, “Again!”
…
The 133rd battle.
This was the first time OneHeadShotWithoutExplanation did something different when he pulled the trigger. It was because Shi Xiaobai’s fake move nearly fooled him.
Although it was the same headshot as before, he took six seconds to end this battle.
OneHeadShotWithoutExplanation was stunned for a few moments before he shouted loudly once again, “Crab Steps is not just simple jumping from left to right. It’s not some exercise for the masses! The key is to constantly vary your speed. Do you understand? Accelerate, decelerate, the variability in speed. You are not dancing, there is no rhythm, nor should there be one. You must trust your heartbeat. When your heart beats faster, you must change your speed, doing a sudden explosive move, or suddenly stop. From the fastest to the slowest, you must become an emotionally irritable but calm crab, do you understand? You idiot!”
Shi Xiaobai dazed for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and said loudly, “Again!”
…
The 212nd battle.
This time, OneHeadShotWithoutExplanation took more than ten seconds to lock onto Shi Xiaobai’s figure. The crab’s constant fake moves and its variable speed made him hesitate for the first time.
This was because when Shi Xiaobai made an action to jump to the left, his body could very well move to the right. When he retracted his right foot, his left foot would tap the ground in the opposite direction, finally succeeding in the stiff motion of moving in the opposite direction.
When his movement speed was extremely fast, he could suddenly stop the very next second, surprising his opponent. When he was jumping at a slow and relaxed pace, his opponent might think that he had locked onto his trajectory, but Shi Xiaobai would suddenly burst forward with an astounding acceleration. It was like a loach that fled from one’s grasp.
Without a doubt, Shi Xiaobai’s improvement was progressing at an extremely fast pace.
However OneHeadShotWithoutExplanation still felt that it was far from enough.
“Compared to that man, it’s still a great distance away.”
Comparing this guy who was at the third level of the Psionic Mortal Realm with that god-like man was itself a ridiculous matter, but for some reason, OneHeadShotWithoutExplanation found it a natural comparison.
Perhaps it was because they used the same Crab Steps, or perhaps it was because they said the same words?
OneHeadShotWithoutExplanation did not know the answer because the answer was buried deep in his heart, so deep that he could not see it for himself. He only knew…that he had to do it this way!
“Peng!”
After he caught the instance of regularity, and judged the stiffness at the next moment, he made his shot.
Once again, Shi Xiaobai had his head exploded.
OneHeadShotWithoutExplanation immediately said loudly, “You must become a twisted crab. It’s not only footwork. Your body, your bones, your every cell needs to know how to twist and change. The essence of Crab Steps is not to repeat lateral jumps or lateral movement. It is about its freedom, how it is completely unrestricted! Do not be afraid of its funny and ridiculous moves because Crab Steps itself is ridiculous enough! Discard all your emotions of embarrassment. As long as you can dodge an attack, do that humiliating action for me!”
Once again, Shi Xiaobai fell into a moment of silence before he said solemnly, “Again!”
…
The 356th time.
OneHeadShotWithoutExplanation said, “Create an illusion of step distance and movement distance, do you understand? Only an idiot would maintain a fixed distance between their footsteps! True Crab Steps might take a small step, but can travel dozens of meters. Maybe the legs might open widely, but the body would only move a few centimeters! You must know how to use your Psionic Power. Your movement is not reliant on your feet but your Psionic Power. The timing of the release of your Psionic Power, the magnitude and the duration of it determines the distance you travel. And your body should not do an instinctive response to this distance. Discard that darn instinct of yours, you pig!”
Shi Xiaobai shouted once again, “Again!”
…
The 510th time.
OneHeadShotWithoutExplanation said, “Turning, moving laterally, moving backwards, moving forwards, these motions are your most important weapons, but they should not be abused. You must use it at the most critical moment. Crab Steps are not rigid left and right motions. Also, what about your shield? Are you dumb? Dodging isn’t the complete avoidance of an attack. At times, grasping the weakest point of an attack and defending against it is also considered dodging! Do you understand? True defense is shielding as well as dodging! It has already been more than 500 rounds, yet you haven’t realized this. You hopeless fool!”
Shi Xiaobai shouted once again, “Again!”
…
The…umpteenth time.
Perhaps it was the 800th time or it might have exceeded a thousand, or maybe…
OneHeadShotWithoutExplanation was already too lazy to count. He had also turned silent for a very long time. This was because he no longer had anything he could teach Shi Xiaobai. He had previously analyzed that god-like man’s Crab Steps like a madman, but all he had was theorycraft. And today, Shi Xiaobai had managed to put his theorycraft into action after failure after failure. However, he was still tender and weak.
But many of OneHeadShotWithoutExplanation’s firsts had been claimed by Shi Xiaobai.
The first time he took more than 20 seconds to end a battle.
The first time he ended the battle after a gap of 100 meters was achieved.
The first time he could not be bothered to holster his rifle after winning.
The first time he was forced to use gun offensive skills by a child at the third level of the Psionic Mortal Realm.
The first time…
The first time OneHeadShotWithoutExplanation learned that this world truly had such a fool. The fool endured more than a thousand times of failure, accepting relentless diatribes, so as to resolutely march towards his goal.
The fool was constantly changing, constantly becoming stronger and constantly surpassing himself.
“This is their answer. From the beginning to the end, that firm and resolute answer.”
OneHeadShotWithoutExplanation had this thought in mind as he lifted his arm, prepared to end this match.
Suddenly, he was surprised. This was because he actually failed to completely lock onto the crab’s trajectory.
A small step traversed more than a dozen meters.
A big step was taken but he retreated by a few centimeters.
Acceleration, deceleration, the fake movements of jumping left and right, his body moving forward and backwards, even to the point of his body twisting into distorted postures.
And the most surprising thing was that extremely solid Wavelet Shield that was the size of a small medal. The shield would occasionally appear, materializing and dissipating, as though it could appear in front of the bullet at any time.
OneHeadShotWithoutExplanation hesitated.
Shi Xiaobai’s figure suddenly moved to a distance just dozens of meters away from him during his moment of hesitation.
This distance was very dangerous.
For OneHeadShotWithoutExplanation, it was very dangerous.
But for Shi Xiaobai, it was even more dangerous!
This was because the closer the distance, the harder it was to dodge. He was facing an assault rifle that was adept at shooting in close range!
“Peng!”
A gunshot rang.
The bullet finally managed to catch the fleeing Shi Xiaobai, and followed closely behind his figure like a maggot in a tarsal bone.
“Pu!”
The bullet was blocked by a thick Wavelet Shield, but the bullet was a C Class offensive skill “Wraith Bullet”. It instantly pierced through the shield, penetrating Shi Xiaobai’s head.
“You are improving very fast, but you are still somewhat lacking.”
OneHeadShotWithoutExplanation sighed. Suddenly his pupils constricted violently. This was because he did not hear the system announcing the end of the match!
The battle was not over!
Upon realizing this, OneHeadShotWithoutExplanation immediately looked up. He saw the Shi Xiaobai with the headshot melt away under the sunlight, while the sound of a series of quickened footsteps came from his right. He turned to see Shi Xiaobai using Crab Steps about to reach his side.
“Phantom image!?”
OneHeadShotWithoutExplanation exclaimed in surprise. This guy actually managed to figure out Crab Phantom Image himself!? He subconsciously raised his hand to shoot again. At this distance, even if Shi Xiaobai had grasped phantom image evasion, it was impossible for him to dodge his Wraith bullet.
This AK Explosive Spirit Rifle was an assault rifle best for closed quarters combat.
“Some people are destined to succeed because they can tolerate the countless failures. They are able to endure hardship to obtain success amidst failure.”
OneHeadShotWithoutExplanation sighed. Against a young guy who was at the third level of the Psionic Mortal Realm, not being able to shoot him in the head with a single shot was his failure. That was a thorough and irrefutable defeat.
“Perhaps, an occasional failure is also extremely good.”
OneHeadShotWithoutExplanation silently holstered his Explosive Spirit Rifle.
With a sudden burst of speed, Shi Xiaobai instantly appeared to the right of OneHeadShotWithoutExplanation. His fist was pulled back to his chest and his eyes were blazing!
OneHeadShotWithoutExplanation slowly closed his eyes, waiting silently for Shi Xiaobai’s punch.
He was waiting for the failure he had always resisted.
Author’s Note: Hmph, even if it’s Crab Steps, This King will produce some sparks!