One arrow hits seven targets

  Walking on the city streets, recalling the cities of past lives and the present city, a huge contrast is born.

  Our city is called Songjiang City, the second largest city in Jilin Province. It is said that during the First Five-Year Plan period, our city and several other cities were among the major heavy industrial cities at that time. The main industries of this city are chemical industry and machinery manufacturing.

  In the past thirteen years, Songjiang has undergone earth-shaking changes. Unlike other cities that have made rapid progress, this city has surprisingly regressed to become a shadow of its former self, which was well-equipped with infrastructure and industry thirteen years ago.

  Everywhere are laid-off workers, countless once brilliant enterprises have gone bankrupt. Although it is still a high-rise building, almost everyone knows that the city's brilliance is no longer there.

  The street where our house is located has basically undergone no changes in thirteen years.

  Looking at all of this, I couldn't help but sigh with emotion about the wonders of life. If I hadn't been reborn, I probably wouldn't have had such a state of mind.

  Now I've been reborn, perhaps it's time to change all of this.

  What I need most now is to complete the original accumulation of capital at the fastest speed. As for the subsequent plans, they are not so important to me anymore. I believe that as long as I have a certain amount of capital, with my experience surpassing this era by 13 years, I will definitely have the ability to accumulate wealth that makes the whole world stunned in the shortest time.

  ☆☆☆

  I and Zhang Rui arrived at a billiard hall located on a street corner outside of school.

  In '94, snooker wasn't popular yet, and everywhere on the streets were those 15-ball games called "16 Colors".

  Those with high skills can get a hole-in-one, while those like me who are not so skilled may also be able to hit two or three balls in one stroke, depending on the luck of the draw.

  In my high school days, billiards and video games were my two main hobbies. After I went to college, this hobby was surprisingly carried forward by one of my classmates.

  That old brother's surname is Cui, everyone calls him Old Cui. His idol is Hendry and he strives to be like him. Classes can be skipped but playing pool is a must. And every time he plays pool, he invites me along.

  Old Cui's level of pool skills in my memory is really not covered, the feeling he gives me is that his accuracy is not like a human! He can leave the cue ball in place and stop accurately between two balls! Playing a game of 16 colors, I can only hit the cue twice on average, including the opening shot!

  To be honest, there was a period of time when I almost collapsed. Every time I played with him, I felt extremely nervous because I knew that if I made one mistake, I would have to start all over again! In our sophomore year, we became buddies and went out drinking many times. I asked him to teach me how to improve my skills.

  He told me a few things: 1. Be serious with every shot, 2. Keep the cue stick straight, 3. Stare at the striking point before hitting, and 4. When shooting long shots, you must believe in yourself that you can pocket the ball.

  In my third-rate university, I had a lot of free time. With that and Coach Cui's guidance, my billiards skills improved rapidly.

  It wasn't until after graduation that I gradually drifted away from this thing.

  The table tennis hall is very large, with huge windows that bring in sunlight. The terrazzo floor is polished to a high shine. Inside, there's also a small bar selling everything from stationery for students to soda and bread, all at prices even cheaper than some small shops.

  What a great place, naturally popular among students. In my previous life, this was one of the strongholds of Erzhong students, of course, for bad students like me. Good students probably don't even know what billiards are.

  Inside, there were eight or nine billiard tables lined up. The ones playing here were all students from the Second High School. Now it was half empty; it wouldn't get crowded until afternoon. Of course, by then, Zhang Rui and I would have already moved on to the computer room. This was my high school life.

  At this moment, around a billiard table in the center of the billiard hall, there is a crowd of tall and handsome students, carefully looking at them are all from No. 2 High School, some are third-year students, some are our second-year students, most are first-year freshmen, they are all focused on watching the person play billiards in the middle, occasionally bursting into applause.

  Zhang Rui and I stood there watching for a while, it turned out that the people playing on that pool table were also from our school, and they played quite well.

  Zhang Rui squeezed inside to take a look, then came out and said to me: "It's Qin Meng and some kid I don't know playing together. This kid has guts to play with Brother Meng."

  "Is it Qin Meng?" I was somewhat surprised: "The college entrance exam is approaching, and he's still..."

  "Cut!" Zhang Rui said with a mix of admiration and jealousy: "Who doesn't know that this little thing in high school is too easy for Meng Ge? Others study for a semester, but Meng Ge can rank among the top five in the whole grade in just one month. I really don't know how his brain works."

  I took a deep breath, what Zhang Rui said was one of the many legends about Qin Meng. In my previous life, I didn't quite believe in such things, but now I do, having experienced high school myself and knowing that kind of exceptionally heavy atmosphere, under which Qin Meng could still come out to play basketball is enough to prove that all the legends about him are true! I even suspect that he might also be a reincarnate. Of course, it's highly possible that there really are people as smart as him in this world.

  We opened one in a corner.

  After graduating from college, I gradually drifted away from billiards and video games, the internet became my favorite, so in the first few rounds, I was not a match for Zhang Rui.

  This kid saw that I was in a slump and went all out to take advantage of it, and before I knew it, five or six rounds had passed, and I hadn't won a single game.

  I sat in the corner with Zhang Rui smoking, he said proudly: "Boss, your hands were really bad today, it was so cool."

  "Don't think you can get a cheap win." I flicked away the cigarette ash and said, "Let's start again, I'll definitely beat you this time."

  After the gasp just now, I have gradually regained my senses.

  "Just come."

  We walked back to the billiard table again.

  "You come first!" Zhang Rui said with a pleased expression, puffing on the cigarette butt that was almost burning his hand.

  I held the cue stick, gazing at the balls on the billiard table, and a long-forgotten feeling rose to my mind. I touched my nose, remembering that this was a habit formed when playing pool with Old Cui in college.

  Bend down, with chin pressed on the cue stick, eyes and cue stick in a straight line, right hand gently pushes forward.

  Crack! The cue ball had already been placed and the other balls scattered in all directions.

  "Full color!" Without waiting for all the balls to stop, I've already chosen my ball. This is a master's style. Ordinary low-level players always wait until the balls are completely still before carefully selecting which one to hit next.

  "Awesome!" Zhang Rui flicked away his cigarette butt and stood beside me.

  The corner of my mouth rose, and at this moment I was exceptionally confident. I walked smoothly to the position where the white ball was, pressed the rod and aimed.

  In the midst of crackling sounds, I suddenly threw five punches, and Zhang Rui's mouth beside me was already wide enough to stuff an egg in.

  "Look who's here......" Zhang Rui looked at me in surprise, thinking about why Liu Ming, who was normally humble and obedient, had a domineering look in his eyes today.

  I'm aiming for the sixth ball, which is a super long pole, and in order to hit the seventh ball this one has to be a rebound, otherwise it's hard to play.

  "If you can get in, I'll admire you..." Zhang Rui was whispering beside him, he didn't believe his friend could hit such a ball, he knew his friend's skills too well.

  I was just about to send the cue, when suddenly there was a burst of cheers around the billiard table in the middle, I lost my focus, and the cue sent the ball askew, the white ball went off in an unknown direction.

  "I'm going to take revenge!" Zhang Rui rushed up, but in less than two shots, the white ball went into the middle pocket, and he scratched his head and sat down on one side.

  "It should be me who takes revenge." The moment I picked up the pole again, I decided not to give him another chance.

  "In the hole." I first hugged out the ball's drop bag, and almost at the same time a ball was gently sent into the hole by me, and the white ball rolled to the other side along the edge.

  "Bottom hole." Another ball was neatly sent in.

  "Black 8 to hook!"

  Bang! The black eight symbolizing victory was sent into the pocket by me.

  "Master!" Zhang Rui said: "Boss! Master is possessed!"

  I was already on a roll, so I continued to play, with curves, bounces and jump shots. By the time the ball boy came to arrange the balls, I had cleared everything off the table, including the cue ball...

  In the next game, Zhang Rui took the lead and this kid also had two moves. After starting, he studied for half a day with his butt up and chose the flower bud.

  Then he shot three balls in a row. The fourth ball seemed impossible to get in, and he made a trick shot that was hidden from me.

  "Awesome! This is what you're capable of when you win. You're a super master."

  It's already 10 o'clock in the morning, and all nine billiard tables in the billiard room are full. Moreover, there are also many students gathered around our billiard table.

  Many students of this age have a hobby: watching others play ball, and I was once one of them. Those students who watched the game kept commenting:

  "Unexpectedly, apart from Meng Ge, there is also someone who plays basketball so well." A short boy said while watching.

  "It's a good shot, but I just can't get this kind of ball in." A bespectacled kid next to him said, "He seems to be from our No. 2 Middle School too."

  "Really? I don't recall seeing it before..."

  "I just saw it too..."

  Then they kept pointing at me.

  My face is slightly red, I am relying on the experience of my previous life to fight to this extent, unlike Qin Meng, that's a real expert.

  I picked up the cue stick, aiming at the balls on the table. Zhang Rui's remaining balls weren't that hard to hit, but the key was that my arm wasn't long enough, and it would be better to use a bridge. People who play billiards know that once you start using a bridge, it's harder to control your strength.

  I picked up the cue, half-crawled on the billiard table, and gently sent the cue out with my hand. The white ball lightly hit the front ball, sending it into the bottom pocket. The white ball continued to move forward, stopping in front of a ball at the hole.

  "What a ball!" The surrounding students exclaimed in admiration.

  "Humbug!" Zhang Rui stamped his foot in discontent.

  The rest of the balls were easy to handle. Under the surprised gaze of the surrounding students, I cleared the table in one breath and didn't give Zhang Rui any chance.

  "Awesome!" Zhang Rui gave a thumbs up and said: "Liu Ming, you win this time, I'm out of the game, okay?"

  "Scared then say a word of surrender." I put the cue aside and prepared to settle the bill, at this time students had already occupied our pool table.

  "Big brother of the whole department." Zhang Rui said with a smile.

  We were just about to leave the billiard hall when someone behind us shouted: "Liu Ming, wait a minute?"

  I turned around to see a boy standing by the pool table in the middle, about 1.8 meters tall, wearing a black jacket and cowboy pants, surrounded by countless students, all of whom cast curious glances at me.

  It's Qin Meng!

  It was Qin Meng, also known as the "Second High Brother". Most students only knew to call him Brother Meng, and didn't even know his name. I remembered his name solely because when you reverse the order of his name, it sounds like "Meng Ying" (Fierce Eagle).

  In the 21st century, Raptor is the codename for America's most advanced fighter jet F-22. And I'm a die-hard military enthusiast.

  Qin Meng put down his golf club and walked up to me with a confident stride, extending his hand: "Let's get acquainted, I'm Qin Meng, from Class 6 of the third year. And you are...?"

  "Brother Meng..." Zhang Rui beside me hastily greeted him.

  My heart skipped a beat as I stretched out my hand and shook hands with him, my voice trembling slightly as I said, "Liu Ming from Class 3 of High School Year 2."

  Qin Meng looked me up and down and said: "You are Liu Ming?"

  I was shocked, and Qin Meng seemed to know me, I said: "What?"

  Qin Meng smiled harmlessly and said: "Just now I heard a friend of mine say that your billiards skills are quite good."

  "It's just a wild guess." I hastily replied.

  Qin Meng let go of my hand and said, "Those who understand me know that I have a bad habit - whenever I see an expert, I get itchy hands. How about this: you and I will have a match, and whether we win or lose, it's all on me."

  Qin Meng knew that in this part of Er Gao, almost all opponents had been intimidated by him, otherwise no one would accept the challenge.

  He carefully looked at the somewhat frail student in front of him, wondering if he would be intimidated?

  He smiled at this thought.