Chapter 20

“This match, we won’t be decrypting the brick. We’ll take heads, snowball, and build up our advantage.” The soundproof booth blocked out the noisy shouts of the crowd. Jack spoke into his headset, instructing his team, “B7 will definitely go for the brick. They have half as many Haf Coins as we do. Unless they clear the map and extract in the next two rounds while we fail to extract, first place today is ours. So…”

“Stay calm! Don’t take the brick unless necessary. Team up with other squads to surround and kill B7, and ensure extraction!”

The Ban-Pick phase for the match ended, and Jack returned to the lounge. Rose had brewed himself a cup of goji berry tea, holding the mug as he watched the game.

Full of respect, Jack said, “When it comes to health preservation, you’re the man.” He gave a thumbs-up.

“Wanna learn? You’re aging way too fast, Jack Ma. Look at your forehead, it’s covered in wrinkles.” Though Rose was older, he looked very young, around 22 or 23.

Jack immediately checked his forehead using his phone’s camera. He frowned. Sure enough, three fine lines had appeared between his eyebrows.

Jack’s face fell. “Being a coach in the DFL is hard. Being the coach of OLG is even harder!”

Rose and Huarong both felt this deeply.

Whether it was the players, the coach, or even the club’s support staff—if results were good, everything was fine. The moment results slipped, every problem in the world came crashing down.

Rose shuddered, remembering. “The results have been good these past two years, so not many people curse us. But that time three years ago… right after winning the Autumn Split, at the ‘Beacon Cup’ year-end tournament, we didn’t even make the Grand Finals. The haters nearly drove me into depression.”

Huarong remembered that time too. “You had it easy. Danger got doxxed.”

Jack laughed mockingly. “So from then on, everyone knew he was Young Master Bai.”

The match reached the fifth round. Each team had already picked their Operators four times. DFL rules stated that each of the 11 Operators could only be selected twice. By the fifth round, the Operators left for each team were limited.

This round, OLG chose the Operators Gale, Red Wolf, and DeepBlue. Bai Wei played Gale, Yan Xiu played Red Wolf, and Qingbao played DeepBlue.

“How’s Show’s Red Wolf? I haven’t seen him play it.” Rose frowned. “Doesn’t Little Bai normally play Red Wolf?”

Jack explained, “Danger decided to let him play Red Wolf. He said Show’s Red Wolf is actually quite good.”

Rose remembered something. “After lunch, I saw him playing a few matches in the training room. He played Red Wolf in one of them.”

Jack added, “Show is more specialized in the Entry Fragger role. This patch, the double-Entry Fragger lineup is really aggressive. He’s also quite good at Recon, but not great at Engineer, so Qin Baotian is playing Shield Dog.”

“He’s good at Entry Fragger?” Huarong was currently sorting gifts and letters fans had sent from outside the venue. Hearing this, she asked, surprised, “Show seems like such a quiet person, and he actually prefers playing Entry Fragger?”

Rose laughed. “Personality and in-game role don’t have a direct link, Sister Hua. And if I had to say, Show doesn’t seem as easy-going as he looks. He’s a pretty stubborn person.”

“Where are you getting that from?”

“Age and experience.” Liu Jianfeng, holding his thermos, smiled. “Besides Auntie Wang, I’m the oldest person in OLG. Call me brother, Sister Hua.”

Huarong: “…”

Listening to them, Jack asked, surprised, “Show is stubborn? I couldn’t tell. Though his family situation probably isn’t great. I did a background check before he joined. He was working as a game companion at Ushering Wealth’s shop.”

“Yeah, I heard Qin Baotian mention it. He and Show met while working as game companions.” Rose sighed, then mocked himself. “Come to think of it, how many people who go pro come from well-off families? Either they’re poor as hell, or their relationship with their family is strained. What normal parent would let their kid play games all day instead of doing something proper?”

The soundproof booth isolated them from most of the outside noise. Combined with the league-provided noise-cancelling headphones, no stray sounds reached Yan Xiu’s ears. Only the roar of the helicopter from Delta Force’s entry cinematic echoed. His mind was as calm as a lake. The black screen switched, and they officially entered the game.

Bai Wei: “We’re spawning at the Launch Area this round. The bridge isn’t broken, so we take the Bridge straight to the Dark Room.”

“OK.” Yan Xiu and Qingbao said in unison.

Everything went smoothly. The trio entered the Black Market and took the stairs up to the CEO Office. Reaching the fourth floor, all three activated Sneaking.

Yan Xiu heard the faint sound of shuffling footsteps and immediately reported: “Someone sneaking.”

Bai Wei: “Enemy contact. Qin Baotian, take a look.”

“Coming!”

Qingbao was playing the Operator DeepBlue, a shield user. On his own team, he was called Shield Bro. On the enemy team, he was called Shield Dog. Activating his ability, he pulled out a heavy, sturdy shield. Bullets hitting the shield wouldn’t damage the character.

To gather enemy intel, others either used Recon Operators like Luna or Mai Xiaowen to scan with their abilities, or utilized clever movement, peeking enemy sightlines to spot positions.

Not DeepBlue.

Others peeked; he just looked.

The Dark Room corridor had no cover. Qingbao activated his ability, held up the massive shield, and walked directly into the corridor quickly, looking at the opposite side.

Bang bang bang! Bang bang bang bang!!

The instant he appeared, over a dozen bullets slammed into the Shield Dog’s shield. Qingbao took zero damage. His “look” complete, he pulled back and reported: “Spotted two, one Vyron, one Stinger.”

Bai Wei analyzed, “The only teams besides us that can still play Vyron are VE and Chaoge. Show, use your Hand Cannon to pressure their position.”

“OK.” The next second, three small-ability cannon shots precisely struck the faces of the opposing Vyron and Stinger. Both scrambled to retreat.

“Push!”

This was the moment. The entire OLG squad pushed forward, seizing the corner sightlines in the corridor.

Bai Wei: “This playstyle is VE. Chaoge plays aggressively against Shield Dog teams, they don’t engage in tug-of-war with a Shield Dog.”

Qingbao: “I’m good against VE. Let me hook one back for us.” Shield Dog’s sub-ability used a grappling hook to pull an enemy right to his face.

But Bai Wei said, “No need.” His voice was calm and clear, transmitting steadily through the noise-cancelling headphones. “I’ll try to snipe one. If I die, don’t worry about me; wait for my auto-revive. Show, you and Qin Baotian try to hook another one and kill it.”

Yan Xiu: “Alright.”

Information on the battlefield shifted constantly. At the same moment, gunfire was already erupting at the West Gate and the Dormitory. Match-point team B7 spawned at the Dormitory; Chaoge spawned at the West Gate. The latter launched a swift assault on the Dormitory. The two sides clashed, each losing one player. After a round of 2v2, Chaoge actually managed to wipe B7.

Instantly, OLG was the only match-point team left on the field.

Caster Fers’ voice pierced the venue, charged with excitement: “They did it!!! A team that has never reached the top three in a single day’s points—Chaoge, by wiping B7 and taking their gear, has rocketed from second-to-last to second place! Now they just need one MandelBrick…”

Caster Ideal suddenly interrupted: “Wait! Top right of the screen! Shanghai OLG-Danger kills VE-Sharp!”

The director instantly switched the feed, but it all happened too fast!

【Shanghai OLG-Danger killed VE-Sharp with M7】

【Shanghai OLG-Show killed VE-Little Bo with K437】

【Shanghai OLG-Show killed VE-Mango with K437】

【Team Wipe!】

“AHHHHHHHHHH!!! OLG!!!”

The cheers of OLG fans threatened to lift the roof off the venue.

Caster Ideal: “Shanghai OLG-Show! A beautiful Slide from Red Wolf, interweaving with the enemy Vyron’s Jet Boost! One flying through the air, one sliding across the ground! Both displacement abilities prevent the other from instantly locking on… So, whose aim! Is! More! Stable!!!”

“It’s him! Shanghai OLG-Show!!!”

“Three headshots locked on!”

“OLG’s rookie king Show, with his cheat-like aimlock, tells every viewer—”

“His name is Show, and he! Is! Spectacular!!!” (Xiu/Show means “spectacular”)

In a normal Delta Force match, if a Red Wolf sliding could also headshot-lock and kill a jet-boosting Vyron, there’s no doubt the Vyron player, upon being defeated, would immediately hit the report button, gifting the Red Wolf a ten-year ban.

But this was the DFL professional league.

No tablets, no cheats.

When a move even cheats might struggle to pull off appeared in an esports match, the fans’ sky-piercing screams came even faster than the shock.

– His name is Show.

– He is spectacular!

Qingbao: “Holy shit, you’re way too insane! Are you even human?”

The moment Qingbao saw the enemy Vyron jet-boosting over, he immediately fired his hook, intending to pull the enemy back. He had already mentally prepared himself: the Red Wolf was likely going to die in the Buoyancy Room corridor, leaving just him and Gale against the enemy Vyron.

Thirty seconds earlier, Bai Wei had activated Gale’s ultimate, sniping and killing the enemy Stinger. Terrified, VE immediately retreated, not daring to fight.

Bai Wei ordered them to press the advantage. The three immediately chased. Qingbao, as Shield Dog, had no speed boost or displacement skills, so he fell behind. Yan Xiu, as Red Wolf, activated his ultimate for a speed boost, leading the charge.

The remaining two VE players heard the Red Wolf’s ultimate roar and understood escape was impossible. They chose to fight back directly.

VE-Nameless shattered Yan Xiu’s armor with three shots. Before being killed by Yan Xiu, he roared at his teammate, “Red Wolf’s armor is broken! Kill him and get 200,000 Haf Coins!”

In a match, every enemy Operator killed awarded 200,000 Haf Coins.

Getting team-wiped was destiny. At such close range, using C4 bombs or the Tiger Crouching Cannon was pointless. All that remained was the purest gunfight.

– I am Vyron, the only T0 level Entry Fragger, Red Wolf is inferior to me! I have no reason to lose!

VE-Mango’s mind was completely blank in the second before a headshot locked onto him and killed him, leaving only the conviction of inevitable victory. Until his screen went black. He felt as if struck by lightning, his body stiffening. Only when his consciousness pulled away from the shock did he realize his hand on the mouse was trembling slightly.

Inside the venue, countless OLG fans chanted a single name in unison.

“Show!!!!!!”