Chapter 28 – Congrats, Song!
Half an hour ago.
In the meeting room.
After watching the third game, An Liu sneered.
Without Talk, the so-called rookie was nothing special. In one word, inferior to him.
He initially planned to watch one more game before leaving, but after seeing Sang Ye’s miraculous comeback with the fate zone in the fourth game, his expression completely changed.
“Luck!” An Liu clenched his fists, grinding his teeth. “Just lucky, damn it…”
There were still two games left.
He refused to believe that with one less game score and without Talk’s support, Sang Ye could still break into the top three!
In the livestream, Commentator A was reviewing the previous game: “Actually, PUBG is a game that relies heavily on luck. Sometimes no matter how well the team plays strategically, it’s all about being in the right place at the right time. That’s why you should never give up—who knows, the fate zone might just fall right on you!”
Commentator B: “Exactly. Isn’t luck considered part of skill too? Wow, I’m starting to see Song in a whole new light. So young, yet his mental fortitude is so impressive. His team was right to protect him!”
Ji Feng and Jin Cao had given up hope for this online tournament, but after seeing their rank rise, their spirits suddenly lifted.
“Maybe if we push a little harder, we might actually make it to third place and get a prize.”
As the fifth game began, Ji Feng, excited, asked, “Where are we landing?”
Sang Ye, showing no sign of relinquishing the command position, studied the flight path and replied, “G City.”
Miao Sen smiled wryly, pressed “F,” and jumped.
In the last game, Sang Ye had developed a gambler’s mindset out of desperation. After winning, however, his heart had settled significantly.
He knew when to stop pushing his luck and understood that he couldn’t always rely on getting the “fate zone” right. So this round, he played more cautiously, but he didn’t hesitate when it came to earning kill points. His aggressive engagement kept the coach’s heart pounding, who was clapping and shouting at the TV, “Stay calm! Stay calm! The kid’s acting like he’s in a hurry to get reincarnated!”
Even so, when Sang Ye encountered stronger opponents and realized his team couldn’t hold up, he would strategically take a long detour to avoid conflict.
With this approach, he managed to survive until the seventh phase, and his team was still fully intact.
Unfortunately, this was as far as they could go.
Commentator A: “There are only four teams left on the field. Unless something unexpected happens, the next zone will be the final one. But WLG is in a terrible position. There’s no way out—they’re surrounded on both slopes, and XXY is right in front of them, holding high ground. Any move WLG makes is a death sentence. Oh no! Look, NSN still has a car that could be used as cover…”
Even the broadcast director seemed to think WLG’s chances were over, shifting the camera to the southern slope.
The coach let out a long sigh of relief. “We’ve made it to fourth place in this round. That’s good enough.”
Yu Haotian calculated quickly. “After this round, we’re only one or two points behind XXY. If we push a little harder in the next game, we might catch up.”
There were 30 seconds left until the circle shrank.
The blue toxic zone slowly crept up from behind. Ji Feng, still crouching in the house, asked nervously, “Which way should we charge?”
“Should we head uphill and fight XXY?” Miao Sen suggested. “We won’t get through either way, might as well try to take their spot.”
Sang Ye quickly rolled up his sleeve and spoke at a rapid pace, “Drop all your meds and bandages here. Jin Cao, you stay behind. The rest of us will head south to attack NSN.”
“You’re leaving me behind???” Jin cao was in disbelief. “BroTHER, the zone is closing in! If I stay, I’m dead! Am I just expendable to you…”
Before he could finish, he looked down and saw the med kit dropped at his feet.
“…”
“Holy crap!” Ji Feng finally caught on and quickly dumped all the meds and healing items he had. “You really are a little genius!”
Two seconds later, the toxic zone swallowed the area.
WLG’s team charged out from the small house on the slope, guns in hand, heading straight for NSN.
At that moment, every team on the field was cautiously holding position, afraid to reveal themselves too early. Everyone was waiting for the final chaotic firefight. WLG’s sudden attack completely disrupted the flow of the game.
NSN was the first to be hit, dragged into the fray by WLG’s attack, and were likely cursing their luck.
Commentator A: “WLG is fighting with their backs against the wall! But the terrain isn’t in their favor—NSN can easily reposition and knock them down without even exposing themselves… Oh no! Ji Feng’s been eliminated! Miao Sen is throwing grenades like crazy—wait, what?! Lu Lu’s been knocked down and rolled down the slope… What?! Song hit Lu Lu while they were still rolling! That was a crazy shot! Kay and his teammate are launching a fierce counterattack, but Miao Sen and Song are out of options. Meanwhile, the other two teams heard the noise and are closing in! NSN’s situation just got way worse, thanks to WLG.”
Everyone’s positions were exposed, and now it was all about straight-up firefights. The brawl didn’t last long.
NSN, unable to recover quickly enough, was soon taken out by the remaining two teams working together.
TES, armed with a ton of grenades, blew up the last team and finished them off with a combined attack.
The moment that team was wiped out, the game screen froze for a fraction of a second before displaying the victory screen for the winning team.
The pause was so brief that no one noticed at first—until the match score leaderboard popped up on the screen.
Commentator A: “Wait! Wait a second! WLG is in second place??!! WLG actually got second! Director, please replay the final moments of the match…”
Upon reviewing the footage, everyone saw that while the other teams were fighting it out, Jin Cao had been crouched alone inside the small house, healing.
Surrounded by the toxic zone, Jin Cao’s health was steadily dropping. But he was furiously using med kits, and as soon as he finished with one, he started bandaging up again—enduring the zone’s damage while healing himself, determined to hold on until the end.
According to the game mechanics, the longer you stay in the toxic zone, the faster your health depletes. With the final gunshot outside, Jin Cao could no longer endure the poison and finally went down, completing his mission.
“Six! Just incredible!” Commentator A burst out laughing. “Grass hid in the poison zone with all the team’s meds to hold onto their ranking. WLG really played this match unpredictably!”
Commentator B added, “Grass was practically invisible! I was so focused on Song and Miao Sen that I didn’t even notice he hadn’t left the house. The team probably banked on that, sending the others out to draw attention while leaving Grass to tank the poison.”
In the medical room, the coach chuckled and cursed, “That kid is always full of tricks! He doesn’t let even the smallest points slip away!”
Fourth place would have earned them 4 points, but second place gave them 6. Thanks to Song’s final strategy and the kill points from Lu Lu, the team squeezed out an extra 3 points.
At that moment, the director zoomed in on Song.
The white-haired boy’s face was flushed, and beads of sweat trickled down as he scratched the back of his ear from the heat. He grabbed a bottle of water, took a few big gulps, and turned to talk to his teammates.
Watching the boy’s focused and serious expression, Tan Mo allowed a barely noticeable smile to curve his lips.
And then…
Song casually grabbed the hem of his T-shirt, wiped his face with it, revealing his smooth, pale stomach—glistening with sweat, almost shimmering in the light.
Tan Mo’s gaze momentarily froze, and the rare smile disappeared from his face.
Meanwhile, Yu Haotian was calculating with his fingers: “We’re fourth overall now, and we’ve overtaken XXY by one point. Let’s hope we can hold steady in the next match.”
Over at NSN, Lu Qikai slammed his keyboard and cursed, “D*mn it!”
He thought his team had secured a top-three finish, but when the results came in, they dropped to fourth—completely outplayed by WLG.
First Talk leaves, and now there’s a Song. That bitter feeling was so frustrating, he couldn’t even find the words to describe it.
In the practice room, Ji Feng enthusiastically called out to Sang Ye, “Hey! You really provoked NSN when you hit them earlier. Was that payback for what they did in the first round?”
“No.” Sang Ye lifted the hem of his T-shirt to wipe his face and said, “Because they’re ranked first overall.”
The others were momentarily stunned but quickly understood Sang Ye’s ambition.
—In the final stages, don’t let the leading teams score. That’s the only way to close the gap.
Ji Feng asked, “Wait… are you actually aiming for first place?”
“Aiming for first place?” Sang Ye closed the bottle cap and looked at the leaderboard on the screen, speaking rationally. “First place was always mine.”
His teammates: “……”
Bandit. That’s definitely you.
The final match began.
WLG’s focus was still on Sang Ye, with all the best resources going to him. But this time, luck wasn’t on their side. The first two zones shrank to unexpected locations.
At the seven-minute mark, a team fight led to a two-for-four trade, with Ji Feng and Jin Cao going down.
By the ten-minute mark, Miao Sen, who had gone to scout the bridgehead, was sniped by another team.
So, before the match was even halfway through, with seven or eight fully-staffed teams still in play, WLG was down to a lone wolf—Song—trapped by a squad along the riverbank. His chances of survival were slim.
Commentator A: “Song doesn’t seem to hear any footsteps, but he’s hesitating… not sure if he should cross… Wait? He’s swimming across the river! That team probably didn’t expect anyone to be in the water. Song’s awareness is impressive, very cautious.”
Commentator B: “Yes, but with so many full teams in Y City, it’s almost impossible for a lone wolf to make it out of here.”
Commentator A: “At this point, all we can do is wish Song luck. Meanwhile, there’s a fight breaking out near the courthouse…”
After that, the director’s camera followed the more action-packed teams, and Sang Ye’s figure didn’t reappear on screen.
Since the scoreboard wasn’t always displayed, it was impossible to keep track of how many players each team had left.
Yu Haotian was worried he might have missed a kill notification and anxiously asked, “What’s happening? What’s happening? Is Song still in the game?”
The coach frowned and replied, “Yes.”
At the twelve-minute mark.
“Now? Now? Is he still alive?” Yu Haotian grew impatient.
The coach frowned deeper. “Yes, still alive.”
Fifteen minutes passed.
Yu Haotian asked again, “Is he there?”
The coach nodded, “Yeah.”
At eighteen minutes.
Yu Haotian asked once more, “Still alive?”
This time, the coach hesitated. “Probably…”
At the twenty-minute mark, the final circle refreshed.
Tan Mo suddenly spoke up, “He’s made it to the final round.”
“I knew it!” Yu Haotian slapped his leg, sitting up straight, eyes glued to the TV.
The coach’s furrowed brow finally relaxed.
From the shrinking blue circle, a motorcycle emerged, and someone jumped off, darting behind a rock.
Commentator A: “Oh! Look who we have here!”
Commentator B: “It’s our boy Song! It’s been a while. Turns out he’s been alive this whole time.”
Commentator A: “Right now, NSN has a full squad, LYT has three players, and WLG is down to one—Song. His position entering the zone is decent, so he shouldn’t be spotted right away… But, oh no, his gear looks severely lacking. I wonder if he’s running out of bullets.”
As they spoke, NSN and LYT started throwing grenades at each other, testing each other’s positions.
Sang Ye crawled through the grass, stealthily inching toward the edge of the battlefield.
Though he appeared calm on the surface, his heart was racing with nerves.
He had been hiding for too long in the early stages, constantly avoiding other teams, so he didn’t have much room to gather supplies. Right now, besides the gun in his hand and a single grenade, he had nothing else to use.
At that moment, a faint sound came through his headset. Sang Ye immediately sprang to the side. A second later, a crater exploded less than five meters from where he had just been.
Commentator A: “That was close! Right on the edge of life and death!”
The final circle was already small, so it was normal to get caught in grenade blasts. But Sang Ye’s sudden movement also caught the attention of the two remaining teams.
LYT had two players left, while NSN still had Shine.
LYT shifted their focus, deciding to deal with Sang Ye first.
Sang Ye’s hands trembled slightly—he was nervous.
One wrong move and he would lose everything. If he didn’t win this round, all his earlier efforts would be in vain.
He had to win first place.
For Talk, he had to win.
Sang Ye leaned against a tree, took a deep breath, and whispered to himself, “Give it everything you’ve got… everything. I can take on three… no, five.”
His teammates, who were all still wearing their headsets and heard every word clearly: “…”
Sang Ye took out his only grenade and, relying on his instincts, threw it toward the sound of footsteps.
LYT scrambled to dodge it, and Sang Ye seized the opportunity to step out, taking down one player with two shots. He quickly shifted his aim and engaged in a gunfight with the other.
The kill notification popped up.
Two kills secured.
Sang Ye himself was left with half health and quickly ducked back behind the tree.
Commentator A was amazed: “That aim was so clean! Song is unstoppable in close combat!”
Commentator B added, “Now, only Shine is left. There’s something poetic about this, in a way. If Shine were still on WLG, he would be Song’s senior. Now, these two meet on the battlefield, both as assault players. This is going to be a showdown.”
The battleground fell silent.
There were twenty seconds left before the next circle shrank further, at which point there would be no more cover.
Shine made the first move, spraying bullets in Sang Ye’s direction, hitting his exposed arm as he leaned out from behind the tree.
Sang Ye quickly ducked back, frowning.
His health was almost gone, and he had no more healing supplies.
Commentator A: “Wait, Song only has four bullets left! Why hasn’t he reloaded yet?”
Commentator B: “He’s out of bullets!”
Commentator A: “That’s it, that’s it, it’s over! How is he going to fight like this?”
Commentator B: “Indeed, Song’s current condition and equipment are no match for Shine. His chances of winning are slim, and the blue zone is closing in. Once the next circle forms, Shine can stay put, but with Song’s low health, even a touch from the blue zone would kill him.”
Sang Ye could already see the blue zone creeping closer. Timing his move perfectly, even with only four bullets left, he fired a preemptive shot and dashed out.
At the same time, Shine’s scope locked onto Sang Ye.
A few sharp, quick gunshots echoed across the open field.
[Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!]
The commentary booth erupted with excitement:
Commentator A: “Congratulations to Song for securing the final round! And congrats to WLG for winning the online championship!!!”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, what just happened?”
Ji Feng and Jin Cao were completely floored by what they’d just witnessed, gripping each other’s hands so tightly their knuckles turned white.
In the conference room, An Liu slammed the table in frustration.
He was upset.
But there was no denying it.
Sang Ye hadn’t had any luck in the final round; he’d been given the worst resources and still won purely on skill, proving everyone wrong.
In the med room, Yu Haotian punched numbers into his calculator furiously and exclaimed, “Song just won us nine hundred thousand!”
The coach didn’t say a word, but his smile was so wide that his crow’s feet showed. Clearly, he couldn’t be happier with the result.
At that moment, the broadcast director split the screen to show the four members of the championship team.
But Sang Ye’s face flashed on the screen only for a moment.
He tossed his headset aside and walked out without a word.
…
Sang Ye ran downstairs, his chest heaving as if his heart were about to jump out. He couldn’t wait to find someone.
It was raining outside. Just as he was about to dash into the rain, he stopped in his tracks.
Sang Ye frowned, realizing he had no idea where to find Talk.
Just then, a droopy-headed Golden Retriever came stumbling toward him.
Sang Ye dashed over, grabbed the dog’s ear, and lifted it up, asking, “Where’s your dad?”
Tan Chunshan glared at him sideways, “???”
Author’s note:
Tan Chunshan: I have a buddy named Erha. You guys smell quite similar.