Chapter 30 - 26: This is Amateur Level?

With so many eyes on him, Chen Jue wasn’t the least bit flustered.

He activated his panel, and everything within a three-meter radius—making no distinction between man or beast—was covered in a mosaic blur.

For someone with social anxiety, this hidden feature was an absolute lifesaver.

"Coach Lin, you’re too kind. Just call me by my name, Chen Jue."

"Besides, what ’amateur master’? I’m just a regular darts enthusiast, same as you." Chen Jue waved his hand dismissively, trying to clear the air.

If it were just a normal day practicing darts at the gym, he wouldn’t mind the "amateur master" label.

But here at the Jingtang Club, experts were everywhere. Insisting on such a lofty title would just be painting a target on his back and making everyone hate him.

Add to that the two beauties, one of them Lin Ling, greeting him, and the aggro he was drawing instantly doubled and maxed out.

If the crowd of pervs on the side could throw darts with their eyes, they would have turned Chen Jue into a human pincushion by now.

"Chen Jue?"

"You look a bit older than me, so I’ll call you Brother Jue!"

"This is my bestie, Hu Feifei. You should get to know each other. We were hoping you could give us some pointers on our practice later, Brother Jue!" Lin Ling’s eyes darted. She was already sick of the pervs in the club.

Instead of practicing, they just spent all day hanging around the club trying to hit on the female members.

She could put up with it once or twice, but it was getting incredibly annoying.

So when she saw Chen Jue arrive, Lin Ling decided to use him as an opportunity to escape the creeps.

In Lin Ling’s eyes, Chen Jue was the quiet, nerdy, stay-at-home type—a man of few words, whose gaze was polite and respectful.

Unlike the pervs nearby; they might have come to throw darts, but their leering eyes seemed to be aiming for places that would need to be bleeped out.

’Were they really here to play proper darts?’

Hu Feifei, who was equally fed up, went along with it and struck up a conversation with Chen Jue.

During their chat, he learned that both women were coaches at Yi Lian Fitness, though they worked at different locations.

’So they’re both coaches!’

’Don’t tell me they’re rich girls, too?’ Chen Jue mused.

No wonder the pervs nearby couldn’t contain themselves. Two coaches with killer figures standing together—they were definitely an eye-catching pair.

But as they were chatting, a heavyset middle-aged man cut in. "Hey buddy, you’re a new face! You just join the club? Since you’re new, how about a game to test your skills?"

"Brother Liu, you’re at the amateur level already. Isn’t it bullying to compete with a new member?"

"How about I go instead!" another tall, skinny young man chimed in.

Both of them were club members who had designs on Lin Ling and Hu Feifei. They’d been wondering how to show off in front of the two women. When Chen Jue appeared and drew all the attention, they naturally saw a chance to put him in his place and flaunt their own skills.

Chen Jue didn’t want to bother with these two. After all, it was their first meeting and they were strangers.

’Who challenges a stranger to a match the moment they meet?’

But seeing Lin Ling and Hu Feifei both looking expectant, Chen Jue had no choice but to nod. "Perfect. I just became a member today and haven’t had a chance to meet everyone. Let’s make friends through darts!"

What could he do?

He was a perv, too!

...

When Chen Jue agreed to the match, the crowd of pervy members started whooping and hollering.

Others in the venue who were also practicing with steel-tip darts looked over, wanting to watch the excitement.

Seeing this, the young woman from the front desk started giving Chen Jue an Introduction as she led the group to the official competition area.

The practice area was all electronic dartboards with magnetic darts, meant for promoting the sport to novices and enthusiasts.

Real professional competitions wouldn’t use this kind of entry-level equipment.

They all used traditional dartboards made of sisal fiber or cork, which could be hit tens of thousands of times without breaking.

Of course, on the way to the competition area, Chen Jue also learned the identities of the two members who planned to compete with him through small talk.

The heavyset middle-aged man was Liu Songfu, a construction boss in his forties.

The tall, skinny young man was Wei Jinseng, a 29-year-old who owned a small e-commerce business.

’So they’re both rich bosses with time on their hands!’

"No wonder they’d set their sights on Lin Ling and Hu Feifei," Chen Jue thought to himself.

Both were long-time club members who had been practicing with steel-tip darts for several years. They had even followed Zhu Hongbin to a number of competitions. Chen Jue had seen them in the club’s group photos; they were considered some of the better amateur players there.

As for Chen Jue, the new member, everyone was extremely curious since it was his first appearance.

When they heard he also seemed to have amateur-level skills, even more people came to watch the match.

...

The whole procession of people swarmed over to the competition area.

Liu Songfu planned to play in the second round, so he temporarily acted as the referee.

"Are you two playing traditional 501, or a nine-dart bullseye challenge?" Liu Songfu asked, grabbing a set of competition-grade steel-tip darts from the rack.

is the most common game in international darts. Players start with 501 points and subtract their score with each throw.

Players take turns throwing three darts each. To win, the final dart must land in a double-score segment that reduces the score to exactly zero. Missing or scoring too many points—a "bust"—forfeits the turn.

The first player to reduce their score from 501 to zero is the winner.

As for the other, the nine-dart bullseye challenge, the rules were much simpler.

You just aim for the bullseye, and the winner is determined by accumulating points. Both players throw nine darts, and whoever has the higher score at the end wins.

"You’re the new member, you choose! I’m fine with either," Wei Jinseng said magnanimously, ceding the decision.

"Let’s do the nine-dart bullseye challenge then!"

"Best two out of three."

"But wouldn’t it be more interesting with some stakes?"

"How about this: the loser buys afternoon tea for everyone," Chen Jue suggested, not giving it much thought as he finalized the game type.

Compared to the complexity of 501, the nine-dart bullseye challenge was much simpler.

Plus, the [Darts] skill Chen Jue practiced wasn’t exactly orthodox steel-tip darts; he mostly practiced hitting the bullseye, so this type of match suited him better.

Of course, his suggestion for the stakes was met with approval and cheers from the crowd of onlookers.

"Coffee for everyone, then!"

"For the stakes of the second round with me later, let’s make it dessert cakes," Liu Songfu added, and then went ahead and placed an order with the front desk girl.

The club had a restaurant and a drink bar, so both items could be made on the spot.

It was just a large order. With dozens of people in the club, treating everyone would cost at least two or three thousand yuan.

Of course, steel-tip darts are a Western sport, and coffee and cake are also imported goods, so they were very fitting stakes for the match.

"Brother Jue, you can do it!" Lin Ling cheered from the side, pulling Hu Feifei along.

Seeing this, Wei Jinseng felt a surge of anger. He grabbed his three steel-tip darts and stepped up to the throwing line to warm up.

Chen Jue also went up, grabbed some darts, and started warming up to get a feel for them.

International darts competitions always start with a few warm-up throws. This is to help the players find their rhythm and achieve impressive, crowd-pleasing results.

Since this was Chen Jue’s first time competing against someone, and with so many people watching, his heart couldn’t help but race and his breathing grew short.

’Am I nervous?’ Chen Jue thought to himself.

This was just a private match, and the pressure was already this intense.

If he were really on an international stage, with the spotlights on him and cameras from every angle shoved in his face...

Plus a massive audience cheering and jeering below, being the focus of so many strangers’ gazes... wouldn’t a socially anxious person like him just spontaneously combust?

’No wonder they say it’s not easy being an athlete.’

’During practice, you can have all sorts of god-like performances.’

’But once you’re in a real competition, you’re lucky if you can perform at 70 or 80 percent of your full potential.’ Chen Jue had never competed before; he’d always just been a spectator.

Now, experiencing it firsthand, he felt like he was submerged in water, wanting to struggle but unable to move. It was extremely uncomfortable.

Wei Jinseng, on the other hand, was used to it. During his warm-up, he frequently hit the bullseye and the adjacent green ring. He had clearly competed with others in the club many times and wasn’t fazed by the scene.

Chen Jue threw a few times, but his form was off.

But he adjusted quickly. He activated his panel and glanced around.

The manual mosaic blocked the gazes of the onlookers, and his nervousness gradually subsided.

...

"Warm-up’s over. Xiaowei, you go first!" Liu Songfu announced.

Wei Jinseng nodded, took a deep breath, and stepped up to the 2.44-meter line.

He raised his right hand, his forearm and upper arm forming a right angle. Then, pinching the dart between two fingers, he aimed at the board and with a gentle flick, the dart traced a parabola through the air and THUDDED into the board.

At that moment, the number 25 lit up on the electronic scoreboard above.

On an international dartboard, each colored section corresponds to a different score value (Note: An illustrated guide will be attached in a later bonus Chapter).

The red dot in the very center is worth 50 points, and the green ring around it is worth 25. The scores for the other segments are calculated based on the number marked on the outer edge, sometimes with a multiplier (though multipliers don’t apply in a nine-dart bullseye challenge, only in official 501 games).

For instance, Wei Jinseng’s first dart hit the green outer ring of the bullseye, scoring 25 points.

’He uses a lobbing throw. His technique is on the gentler side; he’s not a power player,’ Chen Jue observed.

In steel-tip darts, because the distance is relatively short, players adopt various throwing techniques.

When Chen Jue first started practicing, he used the same lobbing throw as Wei Jinseng.

This throwing method is less tiring and is more suitable for players with weaker arm strength. Many female players use this lobbing technique.

But later, at the Jingtang Club, he met Zhu Hongbin. After receiving his guidance, Chen Jue switched to an explosive, straight-line throw.

The explosive throw was similar to the traditional Hidden Weapon Technique of Hua Country.

Although it was more strenuous, the dart flew faster, was more accurate, and had greater impact.

...

While he was thinking, Wei Jinseng had finished his three throws, scoring a total of 67 points.

In an official match, a player throws a set of three darts per turn.

Too many darts on the board can obstruct subsequent throws, so after the first person finishes their three throws, they have to go up and retrieve their darts before the next turn.

"My turn!"

Chen Jue adjusted his mindset and stepped to the line. His focus and gaze locked on, and with a simultaneous burst of power from his forearm, wrist, and fingers, the red dart shot forward at extreme speed and hit the bullseye.

Besides the [Skill Level +5] that popped up on his panel, the scoreboard above also lit up with 50.

"A bullseye on the first throw?"

"This newcomer’s got some skill!"

"Is he just showing off for the crowd? Probably a lucky shot," the onlookers chattered among themselves.

Chen Jue, for his part, simply threw his second and third darts.

THWACK! THWACK! One landed dead center in the bullseye, while the other hit the outer green ring for 25 points.

He had scored 125 points with three darts.

Seeing this result, Wei Jinseng’s face turned green!

"This is fucking ’amateur level’?"

"That’s obviously pro-level skill!"