Chapter 31 Chapter 31
"Foreign aid?" Wu Yuliang's tone revealed a hint of surprise.
Su Mingzhi and others also looked over curiously.
Chu Xi nodded and walked over to the crowd. "Considering the disparity in numbers between the two teams, the production team has agreed to allow us to request three external players. After this afternoon's training, the three of them will come over to discuss preparations with us."
Wu Yuliang reacted immediately, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Sister Xi, the foreign players you invited... aren't they those great players from the provincial team?"
"The two foreign players for air pistols have both won medals in major competitions. The one for air rifle is Captain Jiang's teammate, and he won the silver medal in the National Shooting Championship last month." Chu Xi explained calmly.
"Of course, don't be too complacent. The production team requires that each of the four artists on the star team must participate in at least one game. We definitely can't win the game just relying on Captain Jiang, me, and the outside players."
Upon hearing this, Su Mingzhi and the others began to feel hopeless again.
No one wants to be a burden on the team.
But in this mixed team competition, the four of them were undoubtedly the biggest drag.
"I think the production team wants to hang the four of us online and torture us to death." Wu Yuliang's eyes went dark again, and he didn't want to live anymore.
Sister Xi and the others have already invited all the top players in the team to serve as foreign aid.
If we lose again, it will definitely be because of these four people who hold us back.
Even though it's just a fun game, who doesn't want to win?
Su Mingzhi was silent for a moment, then raised his head. "Captain, what do you think our chances of winning are?"
"Fifty-fifty. Either you win or you lose."
The program team has not yet decided on the specific events to be arranged.
So, everything is still unknown.
Chu Xi could only answer this way.
A hint of sadness gradually flashed across Su Mingzhi's eyes. He turned around and looked at Wu Yuliang and Jiang Lu.
The three of them sighed.
Xu Qianqian leaned against the side to rest, her mood not affected by the competition at all.
She had no interest in sports or competitive sports.
Naturally, I don’t care that much about winning or losing.
The whole time, she just listened to Chu Xi, Wu Yuliang and the other two communicating and negotiating, while she leaned aside without thinking at all.
Not long after, Jiang Wannan walked into the training hall and announced:
"Considering the team competition, our air rifle and air pistol teams will be training together during this period. After the competition, we will be divided into groups for specialized training."
Wu Yuliang, Su Mingzhi and the other two were obviously not in a good mood. They just answered "I know" and continued to practice hard.
Jiang Wannan walked over to Chu Xi and lowered her voice: "What's going on with them?"
"I'm afraid of being a drag, so I've been sighing all afternoon." Chu Xi explained lightly.
Jiang Wannan was stunned for a moment. "We haven't given up yet, but they gave up on themselves first."
At this time, new viewers have been pouring into the program team's live broadcast room.
[What's going on? Has the competition not even started yet?]
[Why is the atmosphere in the star team so depressing? With Chu Xi and Jiang Wannan leading the team, it should be fine.]
[No matter how good Chu Xi and Jiang Wannan are, they're only good on their own. I saw the competition schedule, and it seems there's a team competition or something. One mistake from an artist can cost them several points. If they make too many mistakes, Chu Xi and Jiang Wannan won't be able to catch up.]
[From what I can see, the program team is saying that the specific events for the competition will still have to be decided through the game. If Chu Xi and the others are lucky and draw a good event, they still have a chance of winning.]
…
The sun gradually sets, and the afterglow of the setting sun falls on the earth.
"Shi Lei, let's go over there and see what's going on." Song Jingbo, who had finished training, picked up a towel from the side and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Shi Lei put down his air pistol and flexed his wrist, "Hmm."
The two came out of the shooting range and went straight to the star team's separate training ground.
At this time, Chu Xi and Jiang Wannan were sitting next to each other discussing something.
The other four artists all stood in front of the shooting position, practicing shooting with great concentration.
"Sister Xi." Song Jingbo smiled and walked towards Chu Xi. "Have you made any specific arrangements for the competition?"
Chu Xi glanced at the two of them, "The director said that the competition will be decided through a shooting game. Shooting games are basically shooting at moving targets. How accurate are you two at shooting at moving targets?"
Song Jingbo hesitated for a moment, "I'm not very good at this. I haven't practiced shooting moving targets much."
Chu Xi looked at Shi Lei behind him, "How are you?"
Shi Lei cleared his throat and looked up, "Not bad."
Most shooting athletes speak very modestly. When they say "okay", they basically mean "not bad".
Chu Xi had an idea in mind and turned to look at Jiang Wannan, "Then Shi Lei and I will play the mini-game later?"
"Okay." Jiang Wannan nodded, then said to Song Jingbo and the others, "That's perfect. Let's analyze together first to see which projects are beneficial to us."
Chu Xi, leaning against the wall with her legs crossed, was the first to point out, "Women's air pistol and women's air rifle are both what Wan Nan and I are good at. You can choose these two events."
Jiang Wannan then spoke up: "There are also men's double air pistols and men's air pistols. Song Jingbo, you two should be able to do it too."
"Wait a moment." Song Jingbo supported himself on the ground with his hands, bent down and sat cross-legged across from the two of them. "How many events will we be competing in?"
"Five events. The competition system is best of five. As long as we win three events that are favorable to us, we can win." Chu Xi replied.
Shi Lei also temporarily put aside his previous grudge with Chu Xi, sat down cross-legged, and began to analyze carefully: "If we get all of those projects you just mentioned, wouldn't we be sure to win?"
Chu Xi shook her head. "There's another rule. Each of the four artists on the celebrity team must participate in at least one game. If all the competitions are performed by our athletes, it would be a violation."
Song Jingbo stroked his chin and thought, "This arrangement will be difficult."
Wu Yuliang, who was listening attentively, said: "..."
Before the game even started, he already started to feel embarrassed.
Jiang Wannan also pondered for a moment before continuing, "How about this? Let's first strive for two sure-win events. For the other three, we'll adapt to circumstances."
After she finished speaking, she turned her gaze to Chu Xi and said, "The shooting game later will be left to you and Shi Lei to fight for."
"Okay." Chu Xi nodded.
Shi Lei also agreed: "Okay."
[Holy crap! This is getting exciting! Shi Lei, Song Jingbo, Chu Xi, and Jiang Wannan, these four should be the strongest force in the Kyoto Shooting Team right now.]
I heard that one of Jiang Wannan's teammates is coming soon, and he's also a medal-winning veteran. Holy shit, five veterans leading four rookies against a bunch of professionals, this match is going to be quite something.
[Let's take a gamble, the Star Team will definitely win! I simply believe in Sister Xi's ability!]
[It's not a good time to raise flags, don't be so toxic.]
…
After discussing countermeasures, Chu Xi led the team to another larger shooting range.
Yang Ruoxue and Jiang Zhiming had been there for a while. When they saw Chu Xi coming, they immediately stopped talking and turned their eyes to Chu Xi.
Several people nodded and greeted each other.
The director walked to the center of the field, holding a loud speaker, and began to announce the rules: "Today, we're going to use a shooting game to determine the events for the final five games. Please have two players from the Star Team and the Athlete Team each participate in this shooting game."
Chu Xi and Shi Lei looked at each other and walked to the front of the team.
On the other side, the athletes sent by the team were Yang Ruoxue and Jiang Zhiming.
The four of them lined up in a row, with Yang Ruoxue standing next to Chu Xi.
Yang Ruoxue quietly greeted Chu Xi, "Sister Xi, how are your preparations going?"
Chu Xi turned his head and glanced at her, "Keep it a secret."
Of course Yang Ruoxue knew that it was impossible to reveal the other team's arrangements to them.
She sighed softly and didn't ask any further questions, but there was a hint of worry in her expression.
Based on her understanding of Sister Xi, she knew that she would not give up easily.
It will definitely not be easy for their team to win this game.
After a while, the staff of the program team finished setting up the scene.
Chu Xi looked up.
There are a total of ten circular targets that rotate and move five meters away, and each target has a detailed item of the shooting competition on it.
According to the rules, the event that hits the target will be automatically selected as the official competition event.
The staff began to distribute toy guns to Chu Xi and the other three.
Chu Xi weighed the toy gun.
It is very light, and I guess the range is not very far, and the accuracy is not at all comparable to that of professional guns.
When you shoot later, you have to take all these factors into consideration.
After getting familiar with their guns, Chu Xi and the other three decided the shooting order by playing rock-paper-scissors.
Chu Xi was the first to shoot, followed by Yang Ruoxue, Shi Lei the third, and Jiang Zhiming the last.
"The game is simple. Whichever event you hit will be kept. If a player fails to hit any event in that round, the next player will be passed on until all five events are selected, and the game ends."
After digesting the rules of the game from the staff, Chu Xi walked to the shooting position with a toy gun.
After preparing to shoot, the target five meters away also began to move slowly.
Chu Xi still held the gun in one hand, tilting his head to aim forward.
The target is constantly moving, and Chu Xi doesn't have the energy to think about anything else. He can only quickly scan those items that are more beneficial to the star team.
There was a sound of shooting and a "click".
Small pellets coated with red paint hit the target in the Men's Double 10m Air Pistol event.
After checking the information, the staff attached the project label directly to the competition panel next to it and announced:
"The first event of the mixed team shooting competition is the men's double 10-meter air pistol."
At this moment, netizens in the live broadcast room realized how exciting this game was.
[They just picked this event right after hitting it? Those two teams must have been desperately trying to shoot for the event that would be advantageous to them.]
The men's double 10-meter air pistol event is very favorable for the star team. With Shi Lei and Song Jingbo both on the field, isn't this a sure win?
[Don't worry, Yang Ruoxue is right behind Chu Xi. She'll definitely choose an event that's beneficial to their team.]
Netizens quickly quieted down and continued reading.
It was Yang Ruoxue's turn to step forward and shoot.
She stood at the shooting position, took aim for a long time, and then pulled the trigger.
"The second event is the women's doubles 10-meter air pistol," the staff quickly announced.
Jiang Wannan and Song Jingbo, who were watching, frowned.
Among the girls who practice air pistol, Chu Xi is the only one whose strength can rival that of professional athletes.
If Chu Xi was allowed to participate in this competition, she could only bring Xu Qianqian or Su Mingzhi with her.
In this case, the chances of winning this game are slim.
If Chu Xi is not allowed to fight, then Xu Qianqian and Su Mingzhi will definitely lose together.
"I guess they have done some research specifically on our personnel arrangements." Song Jingbo muttered in a low voice.
"It's okay, let's take a look." Jiang Wannan was still calm.
It was Shi Lei's turn to shoot.
Shi Lei kept Chu Xi's instructions in mind in his heart, and when shooting, he aimed directly at the event that would be most beneficial to the star team.
"The third competition is the women's 10-meter air rifle." The staff member put the event label on the competition board.
"This is fine!" Wu Yuliang immediately breathed a sigh of relief and clenched his fists excitedly.
The women's 10-meter air rifle event is Jiang Wannan's specialty.
This project is definitely a must-win.
Su Mingzhi and Jiang Lu's tense expressions also relaxed a little.
But Jiang Wannan and Song Jingbo did not show any sign of relaxation.
Soon, Jiang Zhiming stepped forward and shot.
His aim was very clear, and he shot directly at the "Mixed Air Rifle-Rifle" event.
"The fourth competition is the men's and women's mixed 10-meter air rifle event." The staff immediately announced.
Jiang Wannan lowered her head and rubbed her eyebrows speechlessly.
"On our team, my friend and I are the only ones who use air rifles. If the genders are mixed, my friend will have to randomly lead Jiang Lu or Wu Yuliang in this match."
Song Jingbo nodded and said, "We'll discuss it later."
Now the situation is very clear. The opposing team is targeting the areas where the star team is prone to failure.
They have no way to defend it.
The fifth shooting was carried out by Chu Xi again.
She stepped forward to the firing position.
Just as Chu Xi was about to start shooting, the staff member nearby suddenly received instructions from the director and hurried over to interrupt her, "Teacher Chu, I'm sorry, we may have to temporarily change the rules."
Chu Xi frowned, "What do you mean?"
The staff member looked a little embarrassed. He quickly explained, "The director means that we have to temporarily cancel a few projects."
After saying that, he walked awkwardly towards the target with project labels on it and took off several project labels one by one.
This includes the women's 10-meter air pistol.
This was Chu Xi's must-win event, but now it has to be cancelled at the last minute.
Chu Xi felt a little unhappy and frowned at the staff, "Why didn't you tell me in advance if you wanted to cancel the project?"
The staff member's expression became even more awkward. "Well... I also received a last-minute notice from the director."
Originally, the director had no intention of interfering with the guests' competition.
But when it came to the fifth round of selecting the competition events, the director suddenly discovered that among the remaining events, there was actually a women's 10-meter air pistol, which was Chu Xi's must-win event.
Among the events that have been confirmed so far, in the first men's double air pistol event, Shi Lei and Song Jingbo are basically sure to win.
In the third match, the women's 10-meter air step-gun event, Jiang Wannan also won with ease.
If Chu Xi was given the women's 10-meter air pistol event in the fifth game, the star team would not have lost at all.
The interest of this game is gone.
So the director had no choice but to shamelessly change the rules temporarily and cancel Chu Xi's specialty.
Jiang Wannan was also a little angry, and her face turned dark.
But in front of the camera, she couldn't say anything and could only hold back her anger.
Song Jingbo also frowned, with the word "unhappy" written all over his face.
"Why didn't you tell us about the rule changes in advance? Changing them now at the last minute is just bullying us! If that's the way you want to do things, why don't you just assign us the events? Why let us choose? You cancel an event that benefits us. Even our shooting team wouldn't do such an unfair thing!"
Shi Lei never tolerated anyone and exploded on the spot, his tone and attitude were as hot as before.
On the other side, in Yang Ruoxue's team, the players also looked a little embarrassed.
It’s not that they can’t afford to lose. If they were defeated by Chu Xi and the others in a fair and open manner, no one would say anything.
However, the program team changed the rules at the last minute and directly cancelled Chu Xi's project.
Even if their team won in the end, it would not be a glorious victory.
"I'm speechless. What are the production team doing? If you were worried about Chu Xi's team winning, why not just arrange the events privately? Why did you have to do this, letting them choose freely? Then, when they finally chose a favorable event, you canceled it at the last minute."
[…There's nothing much to say. I just feel a little sorry for Chu Xi right now. The production team didn't say anything about the favorable projects for Shi Lei, Song Jingbo, and Jiang Wannan, but when it came to Chu Xi's turn, it was directly canceled. It was really targeting Chu Xi.]
[If you have to do this, why not just start over? Let everyone vote again.]
[Goodbye, if it were to happen again, the production team would have to cancel Chu Xi's favorable project again.]
The situation in the stadium came to a stalemate.
Shi Lei obviously did not accept the arrangement of the program team and acted as if he was not cooperating.
Jiang Wannan and the others didn't say anything, but their attitude was the same as Shi Lei's.
Finally, Chu Xi spoke up to break the deadlock. She looked at the staff and said, "Then just tell me directly, what project did the production team agree to arrange for us?"
The staff are also really difficult to deal with.
This decision was made by the director. He was just a messenger, and now he is being targeted by the whole audience.
He smiled awkwardly and pointed to the few items on the board behind him. "These are all possible."
Chu Xi's eyes swept through those projects one by one.
These were all events where the star team had little chance of winning. She pursed her lips and her eyes fell on the "Mixed 10-meter Air Pistol" event.
"We'll choose the mixed 10-meter air pistol for men and women," Chu Xi said to the staff.
If the fifth game is about this event, it is indeed difficult to predict who will win or lose between the star team and the athlete team.
The staff member immediately breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Chu Xi with gratitude, "Okay! Thank you, Teacher Chu, for your understanding."
The staff quickly put the label of the last competition event on the competition board.
"But your program team changed the rules at the last minute, which is very unfair to us. I think the program team should give us compensation for this matter." Chu Xi continued.
"Let her talk. If her request is not too outrageous, satisfy her completely." The director's voice came from the headset.
In just a short while, the comments in the live broadcast room were almost cursing the director's ancestors for eighteen generations.
He wished Chu Xi would ask for more compensation.
The staff member cleared his throat, bent down and looked at Chu Xi with a smile, "Go ahead."
Chu Xi looked down at the sneakers on her feet, then raised her head and continued, "The rules for the final mixed team competition will be decided by us."
The staff was stunned, "This..."
Chu Xi continued, "The rules must be within a reasonable range. Moreover, when changing the rules, we will consult with the other team. Once both parties agree, we will implement the rule."
The staff looked at Yang Ruoxue and the other person, giving them inquiring glances.
Yang Ruoxue and Jiang Zhiming looked at each other and nodded, "We have no objection to this."
Chu Xi has said that if the rules are changed, their opinions will be sought, so the changes will definitely not be too outrageous.
They certainly won't have any problems.
A few seconds later, the staff member received a response from the director and quickly nodded to Chu Xi, "Okay! For the final mixed team air pistol competition, the rules will be set by your team."
[I have a feeling this rule change won't be easy.]
[However, any rule changes require the other team's opinion. If the changes are too favorable to Chu Xi and the others, the athletes' team will probably not agree.]
[Then it depends on how capable Chu Xi is.]
While netizens were still discussing how Chu Xi might change the rules, she had already brought Wu Yuliang and four others into the shooting training ground.
"Captain, are we going to start training right now?" Wu Yuliang was still a little dumbfounded, probably still not recovering from what happened just now.
"Yes, but what you need to practice is not your shooting ability, but your mentality during the competition. The main reason why your performance is unstable now is that you are too nervous. So in the next few days, all of you need to practice your competition mentality." Chu Xi explained.
"But...how do I train my mindset for a competition?" Su Mingzhi looked at Chu Xi puzzled.
Chu Xi turned around and looked at Jiang Wannan before answering, "You'll know in the afternoon."
…
Soon, it was afternoon.
After lunch break, Wu Yuliang and his three companions came to the training ground curiously.
Not long after, Jiang Wannan led four unfamiliar athletes in. With a smile on her face, she said, "Thank you for your help in training."
The leading young athlete waved his hand. "It's no big deal. We'll take care of your team's sparring partners for a few days before the competition officially begins!"
"Thank you very much." Jiang Wannan bent down and raised her hand to invite the four people to enter the training ground.
Wu Yuliang and Su Mingzhi looked at Jiang Wannan in surprise.
Jiang Lu asked, "Captain Jiang, what is this?"
Jiang Wannan began to introduce them, "These four are professional athletes in our team's air pistol and air rifle events. They've come here specifically to practice with you. Captain Chu Xi said that what you four lack is experience and mentality for competition. This is what they're mainly training with you. Don't waste this opportunity."
If you want to develop a competitive mindset, you can only do so through competition.
Chu Xi and the others are too familiar with Wu Yuliang and the others, so the effectiveness of Chu Xi coming as a sparring partner for the competition will only be greatly reduced.
In competitive games, competing with unfamiliar players whose strength is unknown is always the best way to unleash one’s potential.
Of course, we were able to invite these sparring partners thanks to the good popularity of Jiang Wannan and Shi Lei in the team.
Otherwise, who among the professional athletes would be willing to practice with a group of amateur players?
"Come on, don't waste time, let's start practicing."
At the same time, Chu Xi and Jiang Wannan also seized the time and started personal training.
Both sides proceed simultaneously without delaying each other.
Over the course of two days, Wu Yuliang and the other three began practicing with the provincial team athletes in a series of competitions with vastly different strengths.
At first, when Wu Yuliang first competed with the opponent, his results were indeed very unstable.
But as he practiced with his sparring partner in one match after another, Wu Yuliang suddenly found that he was no longer so nervous.
Not only did he have this change, Su Mingzhi, Xu Qianqian and Jiang Lu also gradually became more stable in their mentality after practicing with each other.
Being nervous means being afraid of failure, but after failing too many times, you will become numb.
Soon, it was time for the two teams to submit their team members' competition forms.
"Let Shi Lei and Song Jingbo compete in the first men's doubles 10-meter air pistol match." An imperceptible fighting spirit rose in Chu Xi's eyes.
Having a project canceled is no big deal.
In other projects, just win it back.
Moreover, the rules of the fifth game were set by their team, and the initiative was completely in their hands.
The loss suffered by the program crew was not in vain.
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