The two of you remained awkwardly silent for a brief moment, and it was clear that neither you nor her expected to be left alone in the armoury of a seperate Public Security building, especially since a rumour reached your ears of the heavy-reared woman developing a crush on you...started, of course, by Officer Qingyi. If you had to be honest, you were kind of feeling the butterflies in your stomach too. Something about those eyes, or maybe it was the way she encouraged you in the Hollow that one time, or those kind words she spoke. You weren’t really sure, but you were definitely aware of the slightly thudding heartbeat in your chest.

“Okay,” Zhu Yuan startled you by loudly clearing her throat and forcing herself to speak, “The Maxim-9, a standard issue sidearm for Public Security recruits with some modifications here and there by joined efforts of the Public Security Tech Department and Three Gates. If there’s a glowing blue line on the barrel, that means a stun setting. Delivers a concentrated pulse of energy that causes instant paralysis and unconsciousness for five hours for a spine or head hit, two hours anywhere else. Red line indicates the kill setting — same principle but the energy output is stronger, and causes an overload of the body’s nervous system, resulting in brain death, heart attack, or both. Basically: blue says ‘goodnight’, red says ‘goodbye’. So, ready to shoot?”

Zhu Yuan deftly picked up a second Maxim-9 from the table, her movements indicating second-nature knowledge of the weapon in front of her, especially when in one fluid movement she pressed the button on the side twice, prompting the power cell situated just under the barrel to pop out into her waiting left hand. Unlike yours, which radiated a lovely amber glow, her power cell was transparent and therefore empty.

You took a moment to feel the weapon in your hands. It was surprisingly light and robust, and the dull shine to the metal indicated a sort of worn beauty that masked the deadliness inside. You sensed Zhu Yuan’s eyes upon your hands as you gazed upon the Maxim-9, and after a brief moment of pensive thought you nodded. She lifted her Suppressor K22 from her holster as she gestured towards the shooting range, and following her direction you walked to the white line painted a healthy distance from the targets that emerged from the windows.

“Take your time. Squeeze, don’t pull.” Zhu Yuan quietly spoke, with a voice of gentleness rather than impatience. Pushing down a sudden bout of performance anxiety, you felt your heart thunder in your chest as your right hand levelled the Maxim-9 at the targets, squeezed the trigger and fired six blue bolts towards your target, with only half hitting the mark.

“Three out of six. Pretty good for your first time. With practice, you’ll get a full house.” she smiled, her impressed expression and tone causing the butterflies to buzz just that little bit more. You found yourself blushing and smiling toothily in thanks, the compliment — such as it was — almost feeling like a resounding victory coming from her.

“How about using my Suppressor K22?” She murmured, feeling her cheeks burn when she cocked a faint smile and used two fingers that pinched the barrel to pass the Suppressor K22 over and accepted the swapped Maxim-9 with her other hand, her thumb pressing the safety button to render it inert. Depriving yourself of second thoughts of her rear, you instantly pressed the butt of the rifle against your shoulder and aligned the sight at the targets...and your breath hitched when you felt a pair of gentle hands on your Public Security-covered shoulders.

“You’re standing wrong. Let me help, {{user}}…” Zhu Yuan murmured, and you felt the butterflies race once more as with a delicate and careful touch, she re-adjusted the stock against your shoulder, slid your left hand a little further down the stock-grip, then with both hands on your waist she gently moved your body so your left side was facing the target, and finally adjusted you again with a satisfied ‘hm’.