The facts unfolded just as Li Hongyu had anticipated.
Ten seconds after the bullets were fired, Qin Xuan's shot hit the target again.
However, to her disappointment, she couldn't discern any difference in Qin Xuan's movements compared to her own.
The same observation scope, the same held breath for aiming.
Only one aspect made Li Hongyu feel something was slightly off, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was.
Fortunately, Qin Xuan still had two bullets left.
This meant she could at least witness him fire two more shots with her own eyes.
After these two shots, with her observational skills, she should be able to figure out what that subtle difference was.
Mentally blocking out the noisy crowd behind her, Li Hongyu proactively asked Qin Xuan for the location of the next target.
Qin Xuan glanced at the young lady with a hint of amusement, highly appreciating her composed demeanor.
If Qin Hu had been as steady as her from the beginning, his achievements in sniping would undoubtedly have been much greater than they were now.
"I've set the last target at a distance of 4000 meters."
"If you're ready, you can start reporting the data."
With that, Qin Xuan returned to a state of waiting.
Li Hongyu, however, paused for a moment before picking up her binoculars to search for the extremely distant target.
The process of finding the target was relatively smooth, as the targets they were using were almost half the height of a person.
However, due to the immense distance, the ultra-high zoom of the binoculars made her vision extremely unstable.
Even though Li Hongyu held the binoculars steady with her hands, she still felt a very noticeable tremor.
The half-person-sized target never seemed to stay still within the scope of the lens.
Wait, tremor?!
Midway through observing the target, Li Hongyu suddenly stopped.
She had finally grasped that sliver of doubt in her mind.
Why was Qin Xuan completely still when he fired his shots?!
This applied to his aiming posture before firing, as well as when he compensated for recoil after firing!
He remained there, as still as a stone, until the shot was completed, after which he would roll over and sit up.
With this thought, Li Hongyu quickly turned her head to look at Qin Xuan, who was idly waiting for the data.
Sensing her gaze, Qin Xuan also turned to look at her, then smiled gently and adopted his pre-shot aiming posture.
Li Hongyu: !!!
Just as she thought!
Qin Xuan, as she had suspected, became completely still once he entered the aiming state, without a trace of tremor.
No wonder he dared to challenge targets at 3500 meters, and even 4000 meters!
With this realization, the knowledge points taught to her by Instructor Zeng when she first became a sniper resurfaced in Li Hongyu's mind.
During close-range sniping, a sniper could afford to breathe slightly.
Because the scope was similar to binoculars, at lower magnifications, the tremor wouldn't be very noticeable.
However, during long-range shooting, the magnification of the scope would become extremely high.
Take the high-powered scope Qin Xuan was using, for instance, with a maximum magnification of up to 25 times.
At such high magnifications, when observing objects, the phenomenon Li Hongyu had just experienced would occur.
Even the slightest tremor would be magnified many times over in the scope.
Therefore, during the aiming process of long-range sniping, snipers would generally hold their breath to prevent any slight movements caused by breathing from affecting the accuracy of their shots.
But even when holding their breath, under such high magnification, there would still be varying degrees of tremor.
After all, the human body itself is constantly trembling, but the amplitude is usually so small that no one notices.
To achieve complete stillness like Qin Xuan, there was only one way: cultivation.
Only through cultivation, by controlling one's body, could one achieve absolute stillness, akin to a turtle's breath.
And as special forces soldiers, Li Hongyu and her comrades did practice such techniques.
Furthermore, as the eldest daughter of the Li family in the capital, she not only practiced external martial arts but also internal cultivation.
No wonder Instructor Zeng had asked her to observe Qin Xuan's shooting techniques.
It turned out she knew that Qin Xuan also possessed cultivation.
"So this is how internal martial arts can be applied. Hongyu has learned a great deal."
It was evident that Qin Xuan had intentionally demonstrated this for her. Li Hongyu bowed respectfully to Qin Xuan.
In the past, she had only thought about how to escape her cursed Li family identity.
She had always rejected the cultivation she had acquired within the Li family.
Looking back years later, she realized how young she had been then.
If she had integrated internal martial arts into her daily training earlier, her capabilities would undoubtedly have improved by leaps and bounds.
"It seems it's time to pick up my internal arts again..."
Muttering to herself, Li Hongyu quickly picked up her binoculars again.
She had wasted quite a bit of time thinking, and now everyone was intently watching Qin Xuan, waiting for the next shot to be fired.
She couldn't afford to delay any further because of herself.
"Final target, 4000-meter target ahead, terrain is plains."
"Target is a new steel plate half-body target..."
After confirming the target's location, Li Hongyu began to slowly report the information.
However, as soon as she finished the first item, the people behind her were filled with question marks.
"Doesn't General Qin Xuan still have two shots left?"
"What are they talking about!"
"I'm also very confused...
But did you hear the target distance Li Hongyu reported?
4000 meters!
I don't even know if the TAC can shoot that far!"
"It should be able to...
General Qin is so knowledgeable about firearms, how could he not know its maximum range?
Besides, the official specifications for the TAC don't mention its maximum range, so 4000 meters isn't impossible."
Amidst the discussion, Qin Xuan's gunshot was still absent.
Seeing this, Li Hongyu immediately understood his intention.
She had explicitly stated her desire to learn how to shoot, and he was waiting for her!
She cast a grateful glance at Qin Xuan before intently watching his movements.
Seeing this, Qin Xuan nodded slightly, then instantly entered his zone and pulled the trigger.
*Pop!*
The first shot rang out.
Just as everyone was preparing to wait for the target spotters to report the results from afar, a second gunshot immediately reached their ears.
"Why two shots?
Did the first one miss?"
Seeing this, Qin Hu couldn't help but look at Fu Guo'an beside him.
Fu Guo'an shook his head slightly; he didn't know what was happening until the target spotters sent their report.
Half a minute later, there was still no movement from the target spotters.
This made everyone puzzled.
The speed of a bullet decreases as it travels.
However, even with an initial velocity of 850 meters per second, a bullet traveling 4000 meters shouldn't take this long.
Unless the target spotters were delayed by something, it was impossible for there to be no activity at all.