>>22495666When you put it like that it sounds pretty wonky, true. I'm guessing the author was trying to combine the game mechanic with the fact that logically you would be able to see whether the gun pointed at you was rusted to the point of being structurally unsound.
On the second point though I'd have to disagree, an unsafe gun is far more dangerous to the shooter than the shootee. If a gun is going to fail it usually does so through a single weak point, not just all over like a hand grenade. And even if the shootee was hit by gun shrapnel they'd still be better off than being hit by the load of shot aimed for them.
It doesn't really make sense either way though since the game mechanic deals with damage dealt instead of the the gun itself failing, so it's hard to translate that into a believable narrative. Overall though the author does a good job of combining the fic's video game inspiration with competent worldbuilding and an interesting narrative; it turned out to be a good story and I would recommend it. I even bought a printing.
Pic related, concentrated autism