Trolls

Chapter 29 The Troll (Please continue reading)

Big 5 Sporting Goods, often shortened to Big 5, is a sports goods chain store founded in 1955.

From Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour to Ferrero Rocher, New Balance, and other sports brands, almost all of them have set up counters here.

Ethan used to frequent this place often because he could put together a tracksuit for just a couple hundred dollars.

Evelyn brought him here today, but not to buy him clothes or shoes.

Upon entering the store, the girl headed straight for the hunting display case.

Then, the dazzling array of firearms displayed in the shop window came into Ethan's view.

The next second, he heard the girl say, "Hello? Is anyone there? I need to take the Firearm Safety Certification test."

Before he finished speaking, a burly, middle-aged white man stood up from behind the counter.

"Who's taking the test?" He glanced at Evelyn first, then shifted his gaze to Ethan. "The test fee is ten dollars. You can take it twice, and if you fail, you can retake it after 24 hours."

"Okay." Evelyn took out ten dollars from her handbag, handed it to the other person, and then pointed at Ethan, "Takk."

The Firearm Safety Certification (FSC) is a California law-based gun safety certificate. Anyone who buys or owns a firearm must pass this test. You can get the certificate by answering 23 out of 30 questions correctly, and it is valid for five years.

In fact, when Ethan saw Evelyn run towards the gun area of ​​the Big Five as soon as she got out of the car, he already guessed what the girl wanted to do. And when Evelyn called out "Coach" and shouted "I want to play basketball, oh no, I want to take the gun test," a smile appeared on Ethan's face.

"Oh, Evelyn..." Ethan called out his sister's name.

However, before he could finish speaking, Evelyn interrupted him, saying, "Don't refuse."

"Didn't you say before that you were threatened when you bought the materials?"

"Although California has strict gun control, to be honest, San Francisco is still too chaotic. Having a gun in this godforsaken place is pretty good, so... consider it a gift from me to celebrate the game's sales?"

"Wow~ I love this gift!"

Ethan chuckled and nodded, saying, "Besides, you misunderstood. I didn't mean to refuse just now."

"I'm just...very happy."

Indeed, when Ethan saw the various guns on display, his mouth practically stretched to his ears!

Because he wanted to touch a gun in his past life!

However, he had a long-term visa at the time, and it was very troublesome to get a gun license with a visa in that godforsaken place, New York.

So I never got the chance.

But things are different now. Although California's gun laws are ridiculously strict, right now, he's wearing the old Washington flag, right?

Without the restrictions of identity, touching a gun becomes very easy!

The FSC exam is also very simple, consisting only of true/false and multiple-choice questions, and the content of the questions can be measured by the intelligence of a third-grade elementary school student.

Because the basic structure of firearms is easy to understand as long as you can read the words, and their usage is incredibly simple. The only potentially challenging safety questions are things like, "Is a gun with a safety device 100% safe?" and "Is it legal to fire into the air?"—questions that are as obvious as they can be.

Anyone with a modicum of normal logic, and not like some deity who insists the Earth is flat, will know that nothing in this world is absolute, so safety devices are not 100% reliable.

Since the examiner asked you whether shooting into the air is legal, then this matter is definitely illegal.

Hey, the main theme is rebellion!

No, wait, it's illogical!

Therefore, after receiving half an hour of written training, Ethan finished the exam with a perfect score in just ten minutes and received his FSC certificate on the spot.

Then, I showed my driver's license and vehicle registration card, and filled out a questionnaire at the counter at the request of the staff.

After checking off a series of questions, such as whether he had a criminal record, whether he had a drunk driving record, whether he had been arrested by law enforcement, and whether he had used psychotropic drugs or narcotics, Ethan finally chose a Remington 870 shotgun worth $350.

Then, Ethan and Evelyn returned home empty-handed.

That's right, in California, the first legitimate gun purchase requires a background check.

The gun store staff will submit the information to the California Department of Justice and Verbena to ensure that your information meets the standards and is true and valid. This process takes ten days, so at the earliest, you can pick up the gun on the eleventh day.

But that's not important, right?

With the FSC exam already passed, the ten-day countdown will fly by!

Uh... okay...

Ethan admitted that the past ten days had been extremely difficult.

The thought of having a gun made him so happy that he couldn't sleep.

So much so that on the morning of the tenth day, when he went to the Fifth Division to pick up his gun, he had a black eye.

But once he got his hands on that heavy shotgun, he felt that the wait was worthwhile.

I couldn't wait to get to the shooting range in San Jose and slapped a twenty-dollar bill on the boss's table.

He hired a private instructor to teach him shooting.

Although the Remington 870 shotgun has no crosshair or ruler, it is really easy to use.

Whether it's shoulder-fired or hip-fired, using 18.4mm ammunition, aiming is very simple: just aim at the approximate location of the target and pull the trigger.

With a loud crash, the wooden plank ten meters away flew off! The watermelon twenty meters away rotted instantly! The plastic bucket thirty meters away cracked immediately! There were bullet holes in the steel plate forty meters away!

With such power, Ethan truly loved it.

Touching the dark gun barrel, Ethan decided that from now on, he would take this thing with him whenever he went out.

"Damn it! If anyone threatens me again, I'll pull this thing out and ask those idiots if they want to be the Yongle Emperor or the Crown Prince!"

However, considering that he had only been shooting at targets and was still far from actual combat, when he returned home, he discussed with Thomas whether they should organize a family gathering.

For example, go hunting in the nearby hunting grounds?

Thomas could understand Ethan's joy at getting a new toy, but at the same time—

"Ethan, I have to go to the orchard every day, I really can't find the time. Why don't you guys go have fun by yourselves?" Thomas suggested, a little pained.

"Oh Thomas! What are you saying! This house can't do without you!" Ethan continued to invite.

Evelyn nodded in agreement. "Dad, I think Ethan is right."

"Aren't you tired of going to the orchard every day? Take a day off and give yourself a break."

"Yes, you're busy every day, you should take a break." Linda agreed. "Our domestic workers all follow an eight-hour workday, why do you, as the boss, work year-round without a break?"

Seeing that his wife, daughter, and nephew had formed a united front, Thomas could no longer find an excuse.

"Alright, let me think about it. Give me some time, I'll go and talk to the Fisheries and Hunting Bureau to see where there are suitable hunting spots recently."

"Wild boars and black bears are too fierce, so... deer and antelopes will do..."

"Yay!" Ethan cheered first. "Thomas, I love you!"

"Okay, okay~" Thomas nodded slightly, accepting Ethan's affection. He then said to his wife, "Linda, if you're going hunting, make sure you get your hunting license. Although you only need to answer 80 out of 100 questions to pass, you'll have to complete the offline training sessions yourself."

"Okay, okay, I'll go." Linda nodded with a smile.

With the matter confirmed, a happy atmosphere filled the house.

However, just as Ethan was getting all excited and preparing for the upcoming family gathering, Steve Jobs suddenly showed up at the door on the evening of April 30.

His arrival also delayed the Jensen family's planned gathering.

After Steve Jobs dismounted from his motorcycle, he smiled and said to Ethan, "Ethan, tomorrow morning at ten o'clock, Nolan will be at the Atari factory to introduce 'Snake Game' to the invited merchants."

"After I fought for it, he agreed to let me be the main speaker and introduce the product on stage."

(End of this chapter)