Chapter 39 – Lao Liu’s Composure
“Oh my god! I’m so nervous! We actually made it to the last round.”
Jerry wiped his sweaty palms on his pants and took a deep breath.
Da Shu rubbed his hands together, itching to fight. “This result is way better than I expected. Go, go, go!”
In-game, the plane took off along its route. Ji Wei gripped his mouse tightly, too tense to join in the banter.
The final round was on the Rongdu map—the only one where they had to contest another team.
On this map, both AVG and NS had their jump points at Huangshan, guaranteeing a fierce fight as soon as they landed.
Yesterday’s match in Rongdu had been a disaster for Ji Wei, yet here he was again in the final round. He swallowed his nerves and forced his focus back to the screen.
As the plane reached the designated area, the players hit F to parachute. Bodies dropped in a horizontal line through the air. Ji Wei swung his view to the right—sure enough, all four NS players had jumped too.
Accidents always struck in an instant. At 800 meters above the ground, NS’s captain, Moon, pulled his parachute first, landing cleanly on a rooftop. He immediately picked up an M416 assault rifle—and opened fire on the parachutes still drifting in the sky!
[NS_Moon] used an M416 assault rifle to knock out [AVG_Tree]
[Tree eliminated]
Tree was gunned down mid-air, killed before he even touched the ground.
“WTF…”
His annoyed mutter crackled through the headset.
Ji Wei stayed calm. “Don’t panic. Da Shu, spectate from my view. Mi Li, Jerry, spread out and grab weapons fast.”
But the sharp crack of gunfire pierced everyone’s nerves.
[NS_Moon] used an M416 assault rifle to knock out [AVG_Jerry]
Jerry groaned, “Sorry… I landed wrong and didn’t get a gun.”
He could only watch his character drop under Moon’s bullets, a heavy weight sinking in his stomach. His pre-match nightmare had come true in the final round—dead the moment he landed!
Mi Li managed to grab a submachine gun, but had no time to console her fallen teammates. “Come to me! My position’s bad, I could get ambushed any second. I’ll see if I can cover.”
Ji Wei warned, “Be careful—”
[NS_Piggy] used an AKM assault rifle to knock out [AVG_Milly]
[NS_Sun] used a UMP9 submachine gun to kill [AVG_Milly]
The once-boisterous crowd in the stadium fell into stunned silence.
No one expected that in the final playoff match, all three members of AVG would be eliminated so quickly. The off-stage data panel showed that all three players had dealt zero damage.
In the commentary booth, Lao Ma’s face was lit green by the neon lights. “This is truly unlucky! But if Mi Li hadn’t found that opportunity at that moment, he would’ve been dead too. There was really nothing else they could’ve done.”
Mika added, “Although PUBG relies heavily on luck, losing three players right at the start is just unbelievably unfortunate for AVG!”
Yamy stared at the screen with concern. “This is going to be a hellish start for Unique. It all depends on how long he can survive.”
[“How much longer can he last? He’ll definitely die soon.”]
The official livestream was hosting a real-time prediction poll. The moment AVG lost a player, the UGC championship odds shot up by 30%.
[“What a loser! I’ll laugh at anyone who still supports AVG.”]
[“Everyone, relax! Getting wiped right after landing is something that happens to every team. It’s normal in tournaments.”]
[“It might be normal, but it’s probably the first time Unique has had to face it. Now the entire team’s hopes rest on him…”]
[“This is a disastrous start. Supporting such an unlucky team might bring me bad luck—I’m unfollowing.”]
Fortunately, another team nearby heard the gunfire at Huangshan and rushed over to fight NS, drawing their attention away from Unique, who was still alive.
“It’s okay, it’s okay!”
Ji Wei tried to steady his voice as he spoke into the mic, comforting both his teammates and himself.
“It can’t get any worse than this. By the way, if anyone finds a first aid kit, let me take one.”
Mi Li replied gloomily, “I’ve got two in my bag.”
While NS clashed with the other team, Ji Wei looted most of Huangshan’s supplies, crammed his backpack full of first aid kits and painkillers, then crouched down to wait for the circle.
“Alright, everyone,” he said with forced nonchalance. “Now it’s time to do what I do best.”
“Let’s survive until the end!”
…
Offstage, the director found his words amusing and immediately cut the team comms to the big screen so the audience could hear AVG’s chat.
Mika chuckled, then said, “Honestly, even if he survives until the finals, AVG’s chances of winning without a full roster are practically zero.”
Yamy nodded. “Exactly. And with so many meds in his bag, he barely has room for ammo. If he has to fight in the late game, he’ll be at a huge disadvantage.”
Horse exclaimed, “Unique just passed by a car! But he doesn’t dare drive it now—looks like he’s going to be running the whole game tonight.”
In-game, NS finished the firefight with two casualties. By then, the safe zone had already shifted, and Huangshan was outside it.
It wasn’t rare for Unique to clutch a 1v2 situation. After thinking for two seconds, Moon decisively ordered his teammates to drive into the circle.
Ji Wei was left alone on Huangshan Mountain, outside the safe zone, waiting for a long time. Only when the blue glow of the poison circle crept up to the nearby buildings did he prepare to move.
For most of the time, he continued to heal and tank the poison, crawling slowly through the grass into the circle. He only dared to stand and walk once he was certain no one was behind him. Until then, his character clung to the ground like a caterpillar.
The Rongdu map was large, but teams were relatively clustered in their own areas. Periodic firefights broke out, and the director selectively cut between them to keep the audience’s excitement high.
AVG, having lost three players at the start, naturally avoided further combat. They hadn’t been shown on screen for over ten minutes.
Five minutes later, the director seemed to suddenly remember the forgotten team and cut to AVG—only to deliver a shock.
No one expected that the overlooked Unique had survived into Stage Three thanks to his meds and poison resistance. With nine players left, no one had even noticed him.
At one point, when KKC and NS were fighting just ahead of him, he even stole a kill at close range, earning himself an elimination point. The two teams were so locked in their fight that they never noticed him.
Commentator Mika watched as Unique slipped into the circle at the last possible moment and sighed:
“Unique’s timing is incredible. He really deserves his spot as the sixth-best player. At this level, being one second late would’ve meant death.”
Yamy added, “By now, UGC and MKBK must realize there’s only one lone wolf left besides the last full squad. Unique’s path forward is going to be brutal.”
In-game, the safe zone shrank to a rugged hillside. Ji Wei crouched in the bushes at the edge of the circle, UGC just a stone’s throw away.
Suddenly, footsteps sounded in front of him—Kelly was moving in to scout.
Ji Wei was already in a bad position at the very edge of the circle. If UGC spotted him now, he’d be finished.
The footsteps came closer. The AVG comms went so quiet that even their breathing disappeared. Everyone’s heart was lodged in their throat, afraid even a sound might jinx Ji Wei’s progress.
100 meters.
80 meters.
50 meters.
Just as Kelly was about to reach Ji Wei’s position, the footsteps stopped—replaced by the pop and fizz of a can opening. Kelly’s character squatted down and started drinking an energy drink.
“Fuck!” Yamy nearly screamed from the commentary booth. “Didn’t he see him? Does he even realize Unique’s there?”
“Probably not,” Mika replied, wiping the sweat from his forehead. “Honestly, even Unique probably doesn’t know if they’ve noticed him hiding there…”
Yamy muttered, “What kind of tongue twister are you even saying?”
Lao Ma, standing at the far end of the booth, leaned on the commentary desk. He looked calm, but his voice carried weight when he finally spoke: “Unique’s play is absolutely terrifying.”
The next moment, Mika screamed in shock: “Kelly went back after applying the medicine! Guys, not searching the site thoroughly is the same as not searching at all!”
Yamy: “UGC just passed through the line of fire countless times, and Unique didn’t fire a single shot. Is this the composure of a player who just wants to stay in the game?”
During the game, Mi Li’s comments flowed right along with the commentary: “If it were me, I’d have rushed out and fired a hundred shots already.”
Da Shu, who had already been eliminated, thought this time they might have a good chance: “Don’t you have a grenade in your bag? You could wipe them all out.”
Ji Wei looked at the four players ahead of him. After Kelly finished searching, UGC grew more confident that no one was behind them and began to push forward. From UGC’s perspective, there were not only MKBK’s full squad ahead, but also Unique—the lone wolf.
If he used a grenade now, he could indeed deal a heavy blow to UGC. Their positioning was bad, and a quad kill with one grenade wasn’t impossible. But after that, MKBK would still be waiting.
Ji Wei figured the best-case scenario was to let the two teams clash first, so he could swoop in and reap the benefits.
Suddenly, he noticed movement in the brush to his right.
From the spectator’s view, it was easy to see MKBK’s assaulter, Lemon, crouching close to UGC, gathering intel.
Ji Wei hatched a plan. With a sly grin, he lobbed a grenade at the crouching man.
Ding!
With the fuse pulled, UGC had no time to figure out who had thrown it before spotting Lemon hiding in the brush. Without hesitation, they opened fire, dragging the rest of MKBK into the fight.
The firefight between two full squads had been sparked by Ji Wei’s single grenade. Positioning himself behind UGC, he took advantage of the chaos and happily snatched two kills.
Jerry: “…”
Da Shu: “High! Really high!”
Mi Li: “How many points do we have now? If we win this game, do we win overall?”
Ji Wei recalled the elimination tally: “UGC has about 8 elimination points. I estimate we need two more points. Add the placement points from winning, and that should secure it.”
Da Shu: “God bless Unique. If he can get those two points, I swear I’ll eat a balanced diet for the rest of my life. Please, please.”
…
“Please, please.” Back in the hospital, Xu Shaoqiu clasped his hands together and bowed three times to Yin Sijue: “Let these two teams kill each other, please.”
“?” Yin Sijue glanced at him like he was an idiot. “Why are you bowing to me?”
“You just escaped death today. Pass a little of that luck on to Unique.”
“What’s the point now?” Xu Xingchen, a total gaming idiot, had been watching most of the match without understanding a thing. “Wouldn’t he have won if he just stayed there until the end?”
“No,” Xu Shaoqiu explained patiently to his clueless brother. “The competition is based on points. AVG’s current total plus the Chicken Dinner placement points aren’t enough. They also need elimination points.”
“Oh…” Xu Xingchen nodded in sudden realization. “That’s definitely unlucky. If he had more teammates, he could’ve won already.”
“Yeah.” Yin Sijue lowered his gaze to the game character named Unique crouching behind a tree, a trace of pity flickering in his eyes.
Ji Wei had always felt short on luck.
The chance to go pro had once been right within his grasp, yet he missed it, wasting three years. He had the skills but ended up as a slacker streamer, criticized endlessly day after day.
When the official announcement finally came, Ji Wei wasn’t worried about the criticism he’d face. He worried instead about the team being trolled because of him, about Wolf’s inevitable mischief, and about Unique—the newcomer—being ridiculed even more. Even his own initial attitude toward Ji Wei hadn’t exactly been kind.
Yin Sijue watched the survivor count drop, fists clenched as his heartbeat quickened.
If only luck would favor him this time.
The numbers kept falling. After UGC killed Lemon, MKBK eliminated KK. Both teams were bleeding players, and Ji Wei quietly became the strongest contender on the field.
Six. Five. Four.
With only three players left, Unique stood up and fired several clean shots at the two still fighting in front of him—
[WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!]
Three seconds later, the arena erupted. The audience’s screams surged like a tsunami, engulfing everything in their wake.
Mika: “A stunning comeback!! The Lone Wolf wins the match!! Unique becomes a god tonight!”
“Three whole minutes! UGC had their backs turned to him for three whole minutes! How did Unique hold back from firing even once?!” Yamy’s voice cracked. “Was he on something?!”
Mika: “As a newcomer, he’s shown the composure and map awareness of a veteran. AVG will only get stronger with Unique on board this year! I’m truly happy for them.”
Lao Ma swallowed the burning lump in his throat and dredged up one of the few old poems he still remembered: “There will always be a time to ride the wind and break the waves.”
“Congratulations to AVG on winning this year’s PCL Summer Championship!”