The rules set forth by Shooter were, naturally, different from those of a formal darts match.

Feng Bujue was mentally prepared for this. He never thought anyone would bother with scoring in a darts game played at a bar.

But… Brother Jue had not expected the format proposed by his opponent to be…

“Shoot an apple?” When Shooter spoke those three words, Feng Bujue immediately repeated them, as if to make sure he hadn't misheard.

“That’s right, shoot an apple.” Shooter skillfully rolled himself a cigarette, took a puff, and replied leisurely.

“With darts?” Feng Bujue asked again.

“With darts.” Shooter replied.

“Oh…” Feng Bujue nodded. His "oh" didn't mean he understood anything; he was merely stalling for time.

Brother Jue knew that if Shooter was truly a darts expert, shooting an apple, or even a cherry, would be no problem… So, this turn of events must involve a conspiracy…

“Um… Where is the apple placed?” After thinking for a few seconds, Feng Bujue asked another constructive question.

“On Yang’s head.” Shooter exhaled a smoke ring and calmly replied.

“Huh?” Feng Bujue glanced at Yang. “Is that allowed?”

“Of course.” Yang said with a straight face, giving a definite answer.

“Um… Let me confirm…” Feng Bujue said to Yang, “If I accidentally throw a dart into your head or face, what will you do?”

“Kill you.” Yang replied calmly.

“Okay~ okay~” Feng Bujue wiped a bead of cold sweat from his forehead and turned back to Shooter. “Please, continue…”

Shooter smoked his cigarette as he replied, “During the match, Yang will stand in front of that wall with an apple on his head…” He pointed to a wall on the other side of the bar, “…while the two of us stay on this side of the bar and take turns throwing darts at the apple.”

“Hold on…” Feng Bujue keenly sensed something and interrupted. “Will Yang be moving while we’re throwing?”

Shooter chuckled. “Heh… You’re clever, Dave.” He exhaled another puff of smoke. “Fuuu—of course he’ll move. He can move however he wants, as long as he makes sure the apple doesn't fall off his head.”

“That’s… not very fair…” Feng Bujue said. “If the two of you cooperate even a little bit, I’m bound to lose, aren’t I?”

“Hahaha…” Shooter laughed. “Dave… my friend, you’re overthinking things.” He put a hand on Brother Jue’s shoulder and chuckled, “What reason do I have to cheat? To win your temporary work permit? If I really wanted that thing, I could just point a gun at you and force you to hand it over, couldn’t I?”

“Hmm… that’s true…” Feng Bujue thought about it, and it really did make sense.

“Furthermore, this isn’t an official competition of any sort. There aren't even any spectators. Putting aside the gambling element, do I have any motive to cheat?” Shooter asked again.

“Seems like you don’t.” Feng Bujue replied.

“So…” Shooter stood up and paced beside the bar. “…you don’t need to worry about fairness. I can guarantee that Yang will do everything he can to dodge every dart… no matter who throws it.”

“I understand.” Feng Bujue said in a deep voice, “You just want to find an opponent who is evenly matched with you, but you’re afraid that I’ll be half-hearted.” It took him only a short time to figure out the other man’s intentions. “So, you proposed this bet…” He pointed to his temporary work permit. “This permit is worthless to you; but to me, it’s indispensable. That’s why you’re using it as a wager, to make me go all out.”

“Heh… just as I said, you’re a smart man.” Shooter pointed at Brother Jue with the hand holding his cigarette and smiled.

“Okay, tell me the other rules.” The tone in which Feng Bujue said these words basically indicated that he had accepted the challenge.

“A total of twenty-one rounds.” Shooter continued, “No matter what the final score is, we’ll play until the end.”

Feng Bujue crossed his arms, propped his chin on one hand, and raised an eyebrow. “In other words, even if you win all of the first ten rounds and take my temporary work permit… I’ll still have the chance to ask you questions in the remaining eleven rounds.”

“That’s right.” Shooter replied, “Likewise… even if you win all of the first twelve rounds, eliminating any chance of me winning, I’ll still play all twenty-one rounds with you.”

“I have no reason to refuse such a rule that favors me.” Feng Bujue replied.

“Very good.” Shooter nodded and explained, “Each round, each person has three darts, taking turns throwing. Whoever hits the apple first is considered the winner. If all six darts are thrown and no one hits the apple, the round is considered a draw.”

“What happens with a draw?” Feng Bujue asked.

“A draw is a draw.” Shooter said, “My number of winning rounds doesn’t accumulate, and you can’t ask a question.”

“Okay, very fair.” Feng Bujue replied.

“Fuuu—those are pretty much all the rules. If there are no more questions, let’s begin.” As Shooter spoke, he took the last puff of his cigarette, then he snuffed out the butt and stood up.

“Okay.” Feng Bujue also stood up. As he spoke, he raised his hands and interlocked his fingers, pushing his palms outward, as if he was warming up.

“Wait for me.” Seeing that the two of them had agreed, Yang came out from behind the bar and walked into a room in the corner of the bar.

A minute later, he came out, carrying a whole basket of apples.

“I’m ready.” A few seconds later, Yang put an apple on top of his bald head and stood calmly in front of the far wall.

“Do you want to attack first?” Shooter took six darts from the bar and handed three to Brother Jue.

“I can choose to attack first or second?” Brother Jue asked doubtfully.

“Yes.” Shooter said, “But only for this first round. After that, we’ll alternate first attacks.”

“Then I definitely want to attack first.” Feng Bujue replied.

This was a very simple calculation… First of all, attacking first definitely has an advantage. As long as the first dart hits, the second attacker won’t even have a chance to move and will lose the round. Secondly, the person who chooses to attack first in the odd-numbered rounds can have one more chance to attack first than his opponent, because this darts game has a total of twenty-one rounds.

“Then please go ahead.” Shooter made a “please” gesture and sat down casually, acting like a spectator.

“Hehehe…” Feng Bujue sneered inwardly. “You think you’re so good, huh? Underestimating me… Humph… I’m at least a shooting specialization C-level guy. Even in the real world… I can easily hit an apple with a dart…”

At this moment, Brother Jue was full of confidence and assured of success. He was at least eighty percent certain that he could hit the target.

Although the fact that Yang "could move his body" seemed to be a variable, it was not worth worrying about, considering the prerequisite that he had to "ensure that the apple didn't fall from his head." With an apple on his head, how much could he move? At most, he could shrink his neck or move a few centimeters to the side.

“Alright! Watch my first dart!” Feng Bujue raised his elbow high, used his wrist to generate force, and threw a dart…

For a moment, he felt as if he had already won a round.

However…

“Ha!” Just as Brother Jue threw the dart, Yang, with the apple on his head, shouted and stretched and retracted his neck.

In an instant… the apple flew straight up into the air, while Yang’s body sank down as he pulled his neck back, assuming a low stance.

A second later, Feng Bujue’s dart passed between the apple and Yang’s head, hitting nothing.

After the dart passed, Yang straightened up again and caught the apple with his head.

Of course, we all know… the surface of an apple is uneven, and the top of a person’s head is not a flat surface. So when the surfaces of these two objects come into contact, the apple will inevitably roll in a certain direction. Normally… the apple would still fall to the ground.

But… Yang could use his springy neck, combined with strange footwork and subtle, sharp head adjustments… to stabilize the apple again within two seconds.

“Hmph, you think you can hit the apple on my head with that?” After steadying himself, Yang shot Feng Bujue a contemptuous look and muttered in a disdainful tone.

“Hey…” Brother Jue was deeply shocked. He felt that his heart had suffered a great blow and injury. “Are you kidding me? Are you for real? This is unscientific…”

“This is indeed not science.” Yang said with a profound look, and gravely continued, “This is a skill, a skill that has been tempered through countless trials and constant research.”

“You’ve been focusing on topping apples for thirty years!” Feng Bujue shouted, “Where’s the most basic trust between people?!”

“Heh… now you know the profundity of the dart-apple world, young man.” At this time, Shooter walked over from the side, tilted his head back, and looked down at Brother Jue as he spoke.

“Why did the way you address me suddenly become Japanese-like… Didn’t you call me ‘young man’ before…” Feng Bujue really couldn’t suppress his urge to complain. “What is this ‘dart-apple world’? Is it some forbidden domain that only the two of you know about…”

“Never mind…” Shooter ignored Brother Jue’s words and picked up his first dart. “I’ll just have to show you… what makes a real 'Dart Master' different from you.”

Feng Bujue heard another chuuni-filled term. He replied with a squinted gaze, “Are you sure you didn’t just make up this crazy setting on the spot…”

“Watch the dart!” Shooter shouted, took a false step with a set of old ladies' Yangge steps, and flicked his wrist.

Whoosh—chi chi chi—

In that instant, the small dart seemed to transform into a nimble viper, and faint bronze rays bloomed around it.

Accompanied by the sound of rushing wind, the dart drew an arc in the air and flew towards the apple on Yang’s head.

Yang… was not to be outdone. He spun around at an ultra-high speed, giving the apple a spin, then contracted his body and supported himself with one hand on the ground. As the apple began to fall due to gravity, he used his head to push it back up.

Thus… the apple also flew out in an arc, and a very high parabola at that, as if drawing a "0" in the sky, before flying back to Yang’s head.

Pa—

Two seconds later, the dart stuck into the wall. But the apple was still not on the ground.

It turned out… that although this dart didn’t hit the apple directly, the tip of the dart had brushed against the skin, which changed the apple’s rotation frequency and angle. Therefore, its falling trajectory also changed accordingly.

Seeing this, Yang’s reaction was lightning fast…

He immediately supported himself with both hands on the ground, performing a neat Thomas Flair, forcibly shifting his center of gravity. The next second, after shifting sideways by half a meter, he once again successfully caught the apple with his head.

However… this time, a trickle of cold sweat ran down his bald head.

“Hehehe…” Shooter did not show any disappointment at missing the shot. On the contrary, he smiled. “Old buddy, have you become so relaxed in the face of my 'Whirlwind Serpent Dart'…”

Yang responded with an eye-for-an-eye look, replying with a straight face, “Likewise, you’re the only one who can force me to use the ‘Thomas Flair Apple Catching Technique’…”

“Are these two guys messing with me…” Feng Bujue’s mouth twitched as he roared inwardly, “What the hell is ‘Whirlwind Serpent Dart’… Please go back to the Prince of Tennis set! And don’t say things like ‘Thomas Flair Apple Catching Technique’… This kind of term is simply an insult to all ultimate technique names… It’s mental pollution, isn't it?”

“Alright, Dave, it’s your turn again.” Shooter finished throwing a dart and sat back down on the stool by the bar. “You should already know how to play this game, right? Show us some real skill.”

“Show you my old mother…” Feng Bujue was cursing in his heart, “I really want to find eighteen bald strong men to hit your ass with folding chairs…”

Depressing as it was, the game had already begun, and he had to finish it.

So, he silently raised his second dart…