Chapter 36 – One vs. Three!
At 7:15, the game bell officially rang.
On the massive central screen, the PCL logo spun and froze against a dark blue background, accompanied by a deep, technological soundscape. Every shift of light and shadow drew waves of cheers from the audience.
The players entered the arena to the passionate background music of the commentary.
“Welcome, everyone! You’re watching Day 3 of the PCL Summer Playoffs, and this is the live broadcast of the Grand Finals! I’m commentator Mika!”
“I’m Yamy~”
“And I’m Horse.”
Mi Li had just used up all the hairspray Lao Ma needed for his hairstyle today, so Lao Ma simply blew his hair straight, looking a little more youthful than usual. Facing the camera, he explained: “Tonight there will be six matches. After all the games, the teams will be ranked based on their accumulated playoff points to determine the champion of this Summer Split.”
“The players entering now are UGC, currently ranked first in the standings!”
The arena erupted in screams as KK and his three teammates took their seats amidst the cheers of their fans.
Once all the players had entered, the director cut the feed to the focus of today’s topic—AVG.
Ji Wei had just finished tidying his keyboard when he looked up to see the black lens of the camera aimed at him, his expression still slightly dazed.
That innocent look was captured perfectly, and his flawless face appeared on the giant screen. A small scream rippled through the audience.
Yamy exclaimed in amazement: “Unique is so beautiful! How can his skin look that good even with the camera this close?”
Mika joked, “AVG’s nickname, the Wanyan Team, is well-deserved—especially after Horse’s retirement.”
Lao Ma raised his eyebrows. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Yamy quickly cut in: “Speaking of AVG, for the first time tonight they’re playing without Solve in the lineup. According to the official announcement, Unique will be taking over command for AVG tonight.”
Mika added, “That’s right. AVG has experienced plenty of ups and downs this summer season. I think most fans weren’t too optimistic about them at the start, but they still managed to finish third in the standings. Hopefully, this new lineup can keep up their momentum tonight.”
“Enough talk—let’s switch back to the stage! The players are ready, and the first Erangel plane is about to take off. Everyone, hold your breath—the game is about to begin!”
…
The first round’s flight path stretched from the airport to the northwest shooting range. Near Port G, AVG immediately dropped onto the containers as soon as they landed.
Da Shu: “Unique, did you get the shotgun this time?”
Ji Wei shook his head. “Give it to Mi Li. I’m using the AK. I’m going for kills this time.”
Mi Li: “? You better.”
Ji Wei: “The second circle probably won’t spawn here. After we finish looting, we won’t rotate in right away. Instead, we’ll circle around the ruins and control intel from the north.”
“Hmm?” Da Shu was a bit surprised but didn’t say much. “Okay!”
The first stage went on peacefully, with no collisions or contested jump spots. Unfortunately, the second circle spawned south of the airport, leaving AVG stuck at the edge of the safe zone.
Their car was parked on the outer road, and AVG had yet to enter the circle.
Mika, from the commentary booth, analyzed: “I thought AVG would rush in first and try to block those outside. After all, holding strong positions and shooting from there suits their current state better.”
Entering late meant lower priority and more danger along the way—but also a higher chance of securing elimination points. Teams advancing from the edge of the circle were usually confident in their strength. That had always been Solve’s leadership style.
Yamy was also surprised: “Yeah, with Solve gone, their weapons aren’t strong enough this time. Maybe avoiding early fights is the smarter choice.”
Meanwhile, the official livestream chat was as lively as ever:
[“What’s Unique doing? Why didn’t they enter the circle right away after finally starting the game?”]
[“Playing from the edge is obviously more profitable—they’re still behind in points compared to the others.”]
[“I thought tonight’s game would just be four people hiding in a house…”]
[“Isn’t anyone gonna criticize UGC for their ridiculous circle luck? How do they always end up in the center?”]
[“UGC must be buying the circle! Shame on you! Ugh—”]
[“If I remember right, this is the first airport circle of the summer season, isn’t it?”]
AVG, choosing to rotate around the northwest, stopped on a hillside. About two hundred meters ahead stood three large warehouses.
Ji Wei zoomed in with his scope and reported: “There’s someone in the warehouse I marked. Most likely an NS player.”
Da Shu: “Wanna fight them?”
Ji Wei thought for two seconds before deciding: “I’ll take a closer look. Jerry, set up position behind us. Da Shu, Mi Li—check if anyone else is lurking nearby.”
With that, he crept toward the outer wall of the warehouse and lay low. From the bird’s-eye view, viewers could clearly see three NS players inside, looting supplies.
But they weren’t alone.
Two more players crouched silently in the corner, motionless and unreadable. From the outside, Ji Wei couldn’t see them at all.
The livestream barrage was already predicting disaster:
[“It’s over… totally over.”]
[“Unique fans crying for the first time tonight.”]
[“The libero isn’t a free hangman! Why’s he running in so close?!”]
Ji Wei stayed prone outside the wall, far enough that the NS players inside couldn’t hear him. Quietly, he calculated his elimination and ranking points. If he wanted to advance, he needed more kills—and to drag those ahead of him back as much as possible.
The player inside the big warehouse was from NS, the team currently ranked second in points.
“Jerry, I’m going in. Mi :i, stay close, just in case there are others.”
Da Shu sounded worried: “How about we all go in? What if there’s more than one in the warehouse?”
Ji Wei replied simply: “We can fight.”
The moment he stood up, he immediately hurled a flashbang into the warehouse!
Three sets of footsteps of different rhythms echoed inside.
Ji Wei’s eyes sharpened. He’d expected more than one opponent—but not three.
No matter. The flash was effective in at least one area. Before it wore off, he rushed inside and gunned down the blinded enemy who stumbled in confusion.
[AVG_Unique] used AKM to knock down [NS_Moon]
It was the NS captain.
From outside, Jerry saw three silhouettes in the warehouse and cursed inwardly: Holy shit!
Without hesitation, he locked onto a moving head, scoped in, and with a flick—bang! The level 2 helmet shattered instantly.
Ji Wei: “Good catch!”
He dodged the returning fire, then unleashed a burst straight into the man’s skull.
[AVG_Unique] used AKM to knock down [NS_Piggy]
Instead of finishing him, Ji Wei immediately pivoted right, ducking to avoid bullets. He aimed low and sprayed at the last enemy’s feet—
[AVG_Unique] used AKM to knock down [NS_Bella]
Ji Wei: “All dead.”
Jerry: “Holy shit!”
Mi Li: “Awesome!”
Da shu: “Three in one!! Mom loves you—if we just hit top five, we’ll surpass NS in points!”
Ji Wei finished the squad, rubbing his fingertips against the mouse as his surging heartbeat finally slowed.
It was so thrilling. So damn cool.
No matter how long he played, he still missed this raw feeling of guns blazing.
“Jerry sniped that headshot, so I had it easier. Come on, loot up! They’ve got tons of gear.”
When the screen replayed Ji Wei taking down the last man, the audience’s screams nearly blew the roof off.
Commentator Mika’s voice was still hoarse from shouting: “A one-versus-three in the finals… I declare, no one’s allowed to call him Lao Liu anymore. I’m Lao Liu!”
Yamy added: “Every time Unique pulled the trigger, I was second-guessing myself. These past two days, he’s been stuck as rearguard, with little chance to shine. But tonight—tonight proved his true strength!”
Mika concluded: “Honestly, at first we didn’t agree with his decision to go in alone. But you can see it—AVG is completely united in their calls. The players trust each other fully. That’s the beauty of teamwork.”
A few minutes earlier, when Unique had stepped outside the fence, the director had already switched the camera focus to AVG.
As the only team in the late season to achieve a triple-double, their internal voice chat was replayed on the big screen alongside the highlight reel.
Yamy nodded in agreement: “Four players working together is crucial in this game. I’m so happy to see AVG’s transformation and progress during both the regular season and the playoffs.”
Lao Ma glanced at the two commentators in shock, silently thinking: Why don’t you just mention Wolf’s name?
You two don’t even know what he did today, and you dare to make such a fuss.
When the director cut to UGC, Lao Ma quickly changed the subject: “We can see UGC has moved all their supplies to the center point. The four of them are driving to secure the position and block the bridge. MKBK, AVG, and KKC, who are rotating in from the north, must be feeling the pressure right now.”
Although the game feed had shifted, Wolf’s livestream chat was still stuck on the earlier battle.
The streamer’s face darkened as he watched Unique pull off a three-man wipe. A moment later, his expression soured even more when he heard the commentators’ praise. He immediately muted the broadcast and rasped:
“These commentators are so tasteless! Why would the League allow someone who insults players to cast the finals just to stir up attention?”
Most of the chat was already disgusted with his reaction:
[“Was that really an insult? Honestly, he’s not wrong.”]
[“I really need to rethink how much truth there is in your bullying claims.”]
[“And you’re saying they insulted the players? Are you still even a player yourself?]
[“Why are we watching this if you muted the match? You gonna do a stand-up routine with gunshots for me?”]
“Is the property management not doing their job? Forget it, I’ll handle it myself.”
Wolf scowled and kicked out all the hecklers. Then he set a new filter for the stream: only Level 5 viewers could post comments.
Although his popularity dropped significantly, at least the remaining chat was easier on the eyes.
He stared at the game screen and said firmly:
“Just wait and see! AVG will have to cross that bridge to enter the circle. With UGC blocking it, there’s no way they can break through. This is AVG’s only chance to show off tonight.”
…
In the game, Ji Wei also felt that crossing the bridge was far too risky.
Jerry asked over the mic: “How about we get out of the car and run across the bridge? It’s a bit cowardly, but at least we’d reach the circle with a full squad.”
Ji Wei shook his head: “No. We can’t go without a car—we’ll be at a disadvantage in the finals.”
If they ran across now, the car they’d spawned at the airport would almost certainly be destroyed by UGC, and finding a second one would be unlikely.
He turned his camera and spotted two boats parked near the bridge. An idea suddenly struck him.
…
Outside the stadium, the big screen was broadcasting UGC’s battle against MKBK. MKBK had driven straight across the bridge to face UGC head-on, and the two sides were locked in a fierce fight.
Mika: “MKBK tossed a grenade at UGC—Kelly’s health is down to the wire!”
Yamy: “Beautiful! KK killed Solo, who was trying to break through, opening up a gap in the front!”
Lao Ma: “Kelly was well-equipped, and he managed to take out Lemon, who was hiding behind a container!”
Mika: “Lemon’s down, but MKBK’s grenade knocked AM again!”
Just as everyone was bracing themselves to watch the climax of this teamfight, the director suddenly cut to another scene.
About 300 meters from the overpass, out on the water, a jeep was… floating in the river.
The screen zoomed in. The director switched to a close-up, as if to confirm for the audience: Yes, you saw that right. There’s a car floating on the water.
Commentary: ?
Audience: ?
Lao Ma squinted at the screen for a few seconds before finally making sense of it: “Uh… well, it looks like AVG drove the jeep onto a speedboat. Unique is driving the boat, while the other three are… sitting in the car on top of it…”
Even as he said it, Lao Ma was completely bewildered. What did I just say? This is ridiculous.
Mika: “That’s so weird! They didn’t even take the driver’s seat—I thought it was just an empty car drifting along…”
Yamy: “…Well, it’s not actually a bad way to cross the bridge. Everyone watching, you might want to take notes.”
Whether anyone in the audience would actually “take notes” was another story.
Meanwhile, on stream, Wolf was practically fuming