"It's a deal!"
Duke calibrated his sight, gently hooked the trigger, rotated it once, and pointed at the scoreboard not far away, saying, "The person who hits the most targets with the fewest paintballs wins. How does that sound?"
"Of course!"
Powder, having finished loading paintballs into her toy gun, seemed exceptionally excited. Who would want to leave if they could stay?
"Then…" Duke stepped aside, "Ladies first!"
"Hmph, don't underestimate me!"
Powder stood in front of the counter, her right hand held level, her left hand at her side, her eyes wide, staring at the constantly moving targets ahead.
"Begin!"
Duke spoke softly in a coaxing tone, and Powder immediately pulled the trigger. Paintballs flew out, landing on the targets, making the iron plates spin endlessly.
In just a few blinks, Powder had hit all the targets.
Looking at her score, a rather proud Powder slung the toy gun over her shoulder and provocatively looked at Duke. Duke, leaning against the counter, smiled slightly, "Nice shot, little one!"
"It's your turn. Don't forget your promise!"
"Of course!"
Duke's eyes narrowed slightly. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
All the targets in front of him came into his view, whether fixed or moving. He constructed a geometric plane map of all the targets in his mind, feeling the flow of the wind and savoring the changes in air humidity.
When all the data was in his mind, Duke pulled the trigger three times in succession.
Paintballs flew out, instantly hitting the first iron plate. As the iron plate rotated, the other two paintballs converged in the air, Ricocheted off each other, and hit the other targets again.
In a blink, all the targets were spinning. Duke only used three paintballs to hit all the targets.
Clang!
Powder's toy gun fell to the ground. She pointed at the spinning targets in front of her in shock, and stammered, "How did you do that?"
"Draw a Bead, pull the trigger, and then hit every single one!"
Duke placed the toy gun on the counter, then propped himself up with his hands and sat on it. He patted the spot next to him, motioning for Powder to come over and sit.
Powder hesitated, then slowly climbed onto the counter and sat beside Duke. They both turned to face all the targets.
"Do you want to learn?"
Powder swallowed hard when Duke asked her, and nodded.
"What do you see from this angle?"
Duke pointed out a tricky angle and motioned for Powder to look. Powder followed his gaze and noticed that several moving targets aligned into a single line as they moved.
"They're in a line?"
Powder asked uncertainly. Duke stroked her hair approvingly and said, "Exactly, but you still haven't fully understood!"
"Let me explain it to you!"
"To do what I just did, you only need to calculate the trajectory and direction of the projectiles, control the flow of wind speed, understand the movement paths of all targets, and then use your calculation ability to encompass all paths in your mind, choosing the optimal shooting angle!"
Duke pointed to where the toy gun's muzzle had been aimed when he pulled the trigger, "Look here. From this angle, select the right position, anticipate the flexibility of the projectiles, and then use data analysis from geometry and statistics, and you can do what I can do!"
"This skill, I call it Gun Kata!"
"But how is that possible? Just simple calculations can achieve such an effect?"
"That's the charm of knowledge!"
Duke handed the toy gun back to Powder and told her to pull the trigger according to the angle he had just indicated. Powder tried it and found that she actually achieved what Duke had described.
"This is too incredible!"
"That's why learning leads to progress, Powder!"
Duke took the toy gun from her hand and put it aside, saying softly, "You need to look at problems from a macroscopic perspective; don't think about them in a one-sided, narrow way!"
"Take this instance, for example. Vander wants me to take you to Upcity. Is that really a bad thing?"
"But they don't want me anymore, they dislike me!!"
"If you come to Upcity with me, does that mean you can't come back?"
Duke countered. Powder blinked and smiled awkwardly, "I didn't think of that."
"That's why you shouldn't let the illusions before your eyes blind your vision. You must learn to see through to the truth!"
Duke put his arm around Powder's slender shoulders and pointed at the targets in front of them, saying, "You have a very strong talent. At your age, to be able to do this much without any training, relying solely on instinct and intuition—there aren't many in the entire Twin Cities who can do that!"
"You are a genius, Powder!"
"But I always mess everything up—Fugen Tavern, the old cannery, everything from before, I messed it all up!"
Powder hugged her knees, feeling down. Duke shook his head when he heard this, and stroking her hair, he said, "Because you're just blindly pushing forward with your little brain. That won't work!"
"Everyone can achieve success through their own efforts. Everyone needs help, you are like this, and so am I!"
"You have talent, you have ability, you cannot waste it!" Duke earnestly tried to persuade Powder: "When Vander and Vi sent you to Piltover, weren't they trying to prevent you from wasting your talent?"
"But... but... but..."
Powder wanted to retort but found herself speechless. Duke's palm rested on Powder's head: "What you need to do is come with me to Upcity, to absorb knowledge, to hone your abilities, and then return to Zaun as a different you!"
"Protect your family!"
"What do you think?"
Duke stopped speaking, leaving the decision to Powder. He subtly glanced back out of the corner of his eye and saw a flash of pink, clearly Vi eavesdropping.
"If I go to Upcity, can I protect Vi and them?"
"That depends on you!"
Duke showed a meaningful expression. "No one can determine a person's future. I can't, you can't, Janna can't either. It can only depend on your own choices!"
"Alright, I know what to do!"
"That's good!"
Duke got down from the counter. "Then go pack your things!"
"And I need to give you a new name!"
"A new name?" Powder tilted her head, confused. "I already have a name!"
"The nickname your family calls you can't be registered on the academy's roster!"
Duke patted Powder's head, then lowered his voice, pretending to ponder, "So, what name should I give you?"
Powder looked at Duke expectantly. "Can I choose it myself?"
"I'm sorry, I prefer to decide myself!"
Duke, with his hand held like a blade, lightly tapped Powder's head: "Ah, I've got it!"
"How do you like the name Jinx?"
"Jinx?" Powder shook her head, clearly displeased. Jinx means disaster, bad luck, calamity—it's not good at all!
"No, I don't want it!"
Powder refused!
"I think it suits you quite well!"
"Jinx will become the bane of all who mock her, and she will bring protection and safety to her family and friends!"
"Do you think that's not good?" Duke looked at the wavering Powder, bent down, and slowly said to the little girl in front of him: "Jinx!"
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