Book 4: The Return of the King


    Chapter 28


    Four red dots appeared on Slide’s life detector.


    They appeared in the southeast.


    There was a short and dull sound.


    Slide and another red dot jumped at it at the same time.


    Both men knelt down on a knee and each took a shot at the man


    standing before them.


    A death notification appear on screen.


    Immediately afterwards, two more shots rang out nearby.


    Another death notification appeared on screen.


    ……


    “I got it now!”  Xiao Mai looked at the death messages.  He recollected


    the last act Slide’s team made before they entered into the smoke,


    “Everybody would subconsciously switch to knives and pistols before


    entering close combat. They make a sound as they switch.  If someone


    switches their weapon, then it must be someone on Buff’s team!”


    “Correct.”  As the team manager, Ai Qing was the most knowledgeable


    of her own team’s training methods. “Before they entered the fray, they’ll


    switch weapons at the same time and won’t switch again until the smoke


    dissipates.”


    Thus, to SP, if they heard someone switch weapons, it was an enemy.


    “If two players from SP jump at a person simultaneously, won’t they kill


    the wrong person?”


    “It won’t happen.  Because…...they’ll all crouch when they attack.”


    When they got close enough, they would be able to see the silhouettes


    of people nearby.


    This would be the last chance for them to distinguish friend from foe.


    They’ve trained over a hundred times for zero visibility combat.  They


    could instantly spot friends. A team kill would never happen for SP.


    Buff shouted,  “55, 89, follow me!”


    His two teammates quickly fell in line.


    Three men, with their backs to each other, stood their ground.


    In Buff’s earphones, he could hear the sound of footsteps all around him.


    The smoke soon dissipated earlier than expected.


    In five different directions, SP’s players began to switch from pistol to


    their preferred weapons.


    “Spread out.  Fight!” Buff shouted.  He rushed at Slide who had just


    switched to a short knife.  He didn’t have a chance to take down Slide since


    his team was in outnumbered 3 to 5 against players all in the top ten.


    But Buff knew that if he could last for one more second, then it meant


    that they could stay in the esports world for one more second.


    Once the match was over-- --


    Everything that was connected to the esports world in his life would be


    completely over.


    All his dreams, which he had given everything for, would soon be


    thoroughly over.


    The three men carried knives.  They spread out. Slide and Buff faced


    each other.  The others were one to two.


    ……


    “Buff, sorry.  I did my best.”  His teammate’s voice had very thick


    A death notification appeared.


    “I can’t hold on anymore, boss.”


    His last teammate fell down and died.


    One more death notification appeared on screen.


    ……


    These men who were in their mid thirties didn’t even cry when they disbanded


    and retired after they lost to Solo’s team two years in a row in the past


    But now on screen, they were covering their eyes with their hands.


    On screen, Buff grew more ruthless and knocked Slide against a tree.


    The second before Slide hit the tree, he jabbed his knife into Buff’s heart.


    The large screen showed their health drop.


    Slide quickly typed three words:


    This is great.