Chapter 73 – Bazooka?!
The next day, they faced the winner’s bracket elimination match — their second encounter with SOP.
This year’s format was much faster than in previous years. The top 16 teams from the group stage entered the winner’s bracket, playing only six games. The top eight teams from each group would advance to the finals.
Commentator Mika’s voice, accompanied by the roar of the crowd, rang out: “Dear viewers, you are now watching the first game of the second stage of the PGC group elimination match!”
“After the group stage, the PCL teams currently participating in the winner’s bracket are AVG and UGC,” Yamy said after a short pause. “Both teams have an initial score of -2.”
Due to the recent surge in public criticism, the commentators had been sternly reminded by the organizers before the match that they needed to be cautious with their words and actions during the live broadcast. No matter how angry they were, they still had to bow their heads under someone else’s roof.
On stage, Ji Wei had just connected his keyboard when he heard Da Shu buzzing in his ear.
“Those SOP bastards probably won’t dare cause trouble again this time, right?”
“Keep quiet. We’re being monitored,” Yin Sijue said, taking a sip from his water cup. “They probably won’t. If they do, they’ll get screwed.”
Da Shu had been practicing hard for the past two days and was feeling on fire.
“If they do, I’ll whip them alive. They’re asking for it!”
Ji Wei weakly warned, “The camera seems to be filming us. Be careful of lip reading…”
The camera was indeed pointed at AVG. To be more precise, it was a close-up of Solve.
But the fans in the comments weren’t concerned about lip reading.
[“Oh my god, look at Solve’s collarbone! That’s a tooth mark! It is, right?”]
[“Oh my god, I just opened the stream ready to curse at SOP, but now I just want to say: love and peace.”]
[“Which cat bit you? Can you show me how it bites you live next time? I never thought I’d live to see this, shashasha.”]
[“Innocent and sweet by day, sexy little wildcat by night. Unique just opens her mouth and takes a bite.”]
[“Isn’t it gross that pro players are fooling around the day before a match?”]
[“God, even a nibble is considered fooling around? My biggest task right now is getting into middle school.”]
The commentators also noticed the mark on Solve’s collarbone. They exchanged an ambiguous glance but didn’t dare say anything.
“I can see the AVG players are in great shape today,” Yamy said, trying to cover for him. “The team members are incredibly close.”
You’re obsessed with JueWei too, aren’t you, Sister Yamy?
It’s not iron — it’s copper!
Amid the chatter, the referee came on stage to check the equipment, and the players officially entered the game.
The camera zoomed out, circling the island: lush green mountains and clear waters, layered peaks and ridges — a breathtaking sight rarely seen by the players.
Mika: “The first match is still our Erangel.”
Yamy: “This round’s route is actually a bit northeast. It’ll be hard for teams west of us to get home, and teams in the lower city will need to get to R City and find a car.”
During the game, AVG calmly accepted this incredibly off-the-beaten-path route.
After a quick search in the jungle, the players boarded the bus bound for G Port.
“Being off-center has its advantages…” Da Shu slammed the brakes and stopped sideways inside the warehouse. “At least no one’s coming to jostle us this time.”
Mi Li snorted. “Who’s going to cross half the map to target us?”
“All of Port G is ours!” Da Shu paced the warehouse. “Unique, want a Mini?”
“No — I found a Type 98K.” Ji Wei paused. “I’m using a bolt-action sniper today.”
“…Oh.” Da Shu took two steps forward, still a little bewildered. “Just shoot. Why mention it like you’re filing a report?”
Don’t they decide what guns they use themselves?
A muffled laugh came from Yin Sijue over the headset. “Sure — I’ll be the one using M4s and AKs with this setup.”
Ji Wei: “…Okay.”
Da Shu shrugged but obeyed. “Then I’ll take UMP and MK12.”
Yin Sijue: “Who cares.”
Da Shu: “…”
Da Shu was furious and cursed all the way to the third circle.
Although their route leaned northeast, the safe zone shifted slightly south, so they didn’t encounter any strong opponents en route — a close call.
Mi Li quickly and efficiently wiped out the remaining Vietnamese team members, then took cover in the mock garage at the circle’s edge.
“Stop babbling! They’re just reporting to each other — why are you so worked up? You’re the clown.”
Da Shu snapped, furious. “That’s called forgetting loyalty for the sake of beauty! I never thought I’d say that to a captain!”
Yin Sijue: “Shut up! The second squad’s vehicle is coming.”
Everyone composed themselves. Ji Wei climbed onto the windowsill and zoomed in. “They’re coming from the airport. Three vehicles, full squads, moving uphill.”
Yin Sijue understood. “It’s UGC.”
Da Shu: “Fight? They probably didn’t see us.”
Yin Sijue watched them park on the hill. “Fight. If we don’t, they’ll be accused of illegally forming a team.”
The monitoring team in the background: “…”
Everyone was about to aim and fire when Ji Wei suddenly said, “Wait a minute.”
“…The airdrop has landed.”
As the plane passed overhead, a black dot slowly descended from the sky. It looked like it was about to land at the foot of the mountain — less than 300 meters from UGC!
Yin Sijue raised an eyebrow, understanding at once. “What are you up to?”
Da Shu was puzzled. “What do you mean? Are we taking it or not? Are we fighting or not?”
Ji Wei said calmly, “Wait a minute.”
UGC was a very cautious team. If an airdrop landed nearby, someone would inevitably come to claim it. If UGC didn’t want the airdrop, they would usually relocate the moment they saw it land, finding a better position to ambush. If they didn’t—
“They’re going to take the airdrop,” Ji Wei said with a sly smile. “Wait until they’ve taken it before we fight.”
On the big screen, the director finally noticed that a battle was about to begin on this side and switched the camera to AVG.
Mika: “UGC’s got a smoke screen! They’re going for the airdrop.”
Yamy: “Danger, danger, danger… Look up at the fake garage!”
It wasn’t that he hadn’t noticed — KK had noticed it while driving.
Unfortunately, Ji Wei had been busy assigning positions, carefully circling around to find the right angles. KK could only blame his poor luck during the search.
“Level 3 suit! AWM!”
Kelly finished looting and quickly jumped back into the driver’s seat of the Jeep. He instinctively aimed toward the jungle, scanning the area — all he saw was rolling grass and a deserted fake garage.
“Let’s go.” Before the smoke had cleared, he handed the AWM to the team’s gunner and prepared to drive off.
Just as the wheels began to roll—
Ji Wei, crouched by the fake garage, had a stern look on his face. “Attack!”
Ding—
Mika’s scream burst from the commentary booth: “Grenades! Solve and Milly are closing in — throw two grenades! Kelly, run!”
Two black dots arced through the air from behind the reverse slope, aiming straight for the narrow path the Jeep was about to pass.
Boom—
A series of explosions echoed through the arena. Thick smoke billowed, and the giant screen at the center of the field flooded with kill notifications.
[AVG_Solve] used a fragmentation grenade to knock out [UGC_Kelly].
[AVG_Milly] used a fragmentation grenade to knock out [UGC_AM].
…
KK, in a dominant position, suddenly realized his mistake and tried to counterattack—but was shot in the head by Ji Wei, who had been keeping an eye on him. Da Shu then eliminated the last remaining member, and UGC ultimately fell in ninth place.
Yin Sijue, carrying his 98K rifle, looted the AWM from Kelly’s box and brought it to Ji Wei, who was setting up his weapon in the fake garage.
“Thanks.”
Ji Wei discarded the unwanted bullets from his bag and, with a flick of his finger, switched to the game’s most powerful sniper rifle.
The barrage began to wail as the two teams clashed—
[“My hands are made of flesh, can we please not fight? qwq”]
[“How can I not fight? We just got called out for illegal teaming and everyone’s watching!”]
[“Enough already! Kelly’s being manipulated by Unique again!”]
[“From now on, no one except UGC can say the word delivery!“]
[“Sent it! Let Unique get the AWM and no one else can play!”]
[“It’s fine. My team’s gone—let everyone else die however they please.”]
Da Shu pulled over to the side of the road. “Unique, are you leaving?”
Ji Wei glanced at the circle. “Let’s go—to where I marked.”
The battle ended there, and the director didn’t linger, switching the broadcast directly to SOP, who were fighting on the other side at the foot of the mine.
SOP wasn’t a weak team to have made it this far. Their steady mechanics rarely left them disadvantaged by the circle, and their luck was excellent—a stark contrast to AVG, the perpetually unlucky team always denied safe zones.
However, tonight, SOP once again reaffirmed their image as the lucky ones.
Mika: “Am I seeing this right… Zone got the bazooka?”
Yamy was dumbfounded. “Oh my god, no one’s used a bazooka in PGC for two years, right?”
The bazooka was a high-powered, wide-area explosive weapon that only spawned in airdrops. It took up a gun slot and dealt incredible damage — a single shot could easily wipe out an entire team, no matter where they hid.
Once, a team had been hit by a bazooka four times in a single round. After the match, they petitioned the league to ban this unbalanced weapon from competition, but the request was rejected.
However, the bazooka’s appearance in airdrops had decreased, and people gradually stopped mentioning it. Unexpectedly, it reappeared tonight — against SOP.
In the video, SOP easily defeated the Thai team. Zone didn’t use his precious single bullet but instead drove toward the safe zone.
From a bird’s-eye view, viewers could see SOP driving toward AVG, the distance between the two teams gradually closing.
Mika: “Zone came prepared this time.”
Yamy: “AVG’s going to have a tough time.”
In the game, Yin Sijue also guessed that they were about to collide with SOP.
He spoke to Da Shu, who was also stuck on the hillside at the edge of the circle. “See if there are any other cars on the road. Drive over and use them as cover. One car’s too passive.”
The team had lost a vehicle in the battle with UGC. They hadn’t found any good replacements along the way, so the four of them had to squeeze into a single sedan.
Da Shu: “No more. I’ve been keeping an eye out. If I could’ve found one, I’d have been there earlier.”
“That’s tragic,” Mi Li joked. “Wait until SOP comes over — one bomb and they’ll all blow up.”
Perhaps sensing that this team was doomed, the director affectionately cut to AVG’s feed and played their team voice chat.
[“I’m speechless. I’m turning off the stream now, 88.”]
[“Call me again when the second round starts. I can’t stand this.”]
[“They even picked up the bazooka, and you still say there’s nothing fishy going on? Are the organizers SOP’s real dad?”]
[“Mi Li’s really teasing me. I thought they were going to throw a grenade.”]
[“Bad luck’s coming for me too. Fun fact: the team wiped out by the bazooka a few years ago? Four people in one car.”]
[“Damn, I finally saw Unique with an AWM, and he died before he could even warm up to it.”]
The comments were filled with pessimism. No one thought AVG could survive the bazooka’s power.
But those on the field clearly couldn’t predict it. The four AVG players stared intently ahead, waiting for the enemy to appear.
A moment later, a jeep appeared in Ji Wei’s 8x scope.
“Here they come.”
Da Shu also saw it. “Two cars — one passenger in each back seat. The one in the sedan’s rear should be Zone.”
Yin Sijue didn’t hesitate. “Fight.”
The 4v4 match began instantly.
Mika: “Solve hit Flanker, who was driving the car! The jeep’s been stopped, but Mi Li’s been mowed down by Hunter!”
Yamy: “Zone’s sitting in the back seat and hasn’t switched weapons. AVG didn’t see the bazooka on him!”
Mika: “Hunter’s been knocked down by Unique!”
The barrage chat exploded—
[“Why aren’t you killing anyone?!”]
[“Two teammates are down — desperate dogs bite hardest! Zone’s gonna use the big gun!”]
[“AVG will regret not pulling back for the rest of their lives.”]
[“Zone switches weapons.”]
In the game, after Ji Wei knocked down Hunter, he saw Zone suddenly lean out of the car’s back seat, pull something out from behind, and hoist it onto his shoulder.
The next moment, when he saw the weapon clearly, his face went pale and his heart sank like a stone.
Da Shu’s panicked screams echoed through the mic.
“F*ck you! He’s got a bazooka! Run, d*mn it!”
The camera instantly switched to a close-up of Zone — his expression twisted with a ferocious focus, the black muzzle of the weapon aimed directly at AVG’s position.
Mika shook her head. “That one shot will take down at least three members of AVG.”
Yamy: “There’s nothing they can do… It’s a bug in this version. I hope the audience won’t criticize them for it. AVG’s already suffered enough.”
In the game, Ji Wei’s blood froze — all his attention locked on the massive weapon poised on Zone’s shoulder.
What should I do!
What should I do!
Am I just going to get blown up like this?
Time seemed to flow in slow motion. Zone didn’t hesitate — he pressed the fire button decisively. The bazooka traced a straight orange-red line, hurtling toward AVG.
At that moment, time stretched infinitely, and the audience’s hearts leapt into their throats.
Ji Wei held his breath. The high-speed trajectory, the fall angle, the bullet’s flight time — everything slowed in his eyes. Muscle memory overrode thought as he locked the AWM’s crosshairs firmly on the bazooka mid-air.
Can he do it?
He didn’t have time to think. The instant the bazooka came within fifty meters of Solve on the front line, a slender, sharp Magnum bullet shot from Ji Wei’s AWM, piercing straight into the warhead.
A split second later—
Boom!
A deafening explosion burst in mid-air. An orange-red fireball bloomed above the battlefield.
Then, in the next second, the flames vanished — the bazooka’s residual force dissipating into the air.
Standing on open ground were the four unharmed AVG players.
The bazooka had exploded mid-air!
The moment the bazooka exploded, the entire venue fell silent. Only a few Chinese fans stood up and shouted, followed by the two commentators, who had practically devolved into ancient apes.
“Ahhh—holy crap!!!”
On stage, Mika’s voice trembled. “Intercepted… intercepted?!”
“Unique used the AWM to blow up the bazooka mid-air?!”
Yamy, standing beside her, had just finished yelling but didn’t even have the strength to remind Mika that swearing would result in a penalty. She croaked,
“That’s gotta be computer-level, right? No one’s ever pulled that off before.”
Mika: “Yeah, the game’s physics engine has just been proven again—by him. He’s truly the god of bolt-action snipers! Faced with absolute danger, Unique changed the outcome with a single bullet!”
In the game, Yin Sijue watched the bazooka explode before his eyes, his expression flashing with surprise. “Beautiful!”
Da Shu: “Awesome! This is the first time I’ve ever seen a bazooka shell actually explode!”
Mi Li: “That’s incredible.”
Before they could savor their narrow escape, two SOP players were still alive.
Zone, clutching the last few bazooka in his inventory, fired wildly into nothingness. He stared at the screen with bloodshot eyes, jaw clenched, and roared, “Hurry up! Attack!”
SOP’s remaining player didn’t dare breathe, following orders and firing.
But they couldn’t withstand AVG’s blistering form. Yin Sijue dodged and hip-fired, cutting Zone’s health to near zero. Mi Li delivered the finishing shot, and Da Shu tossed a grenade forward—
[AVG_Milly] used an AKM assault rifle to eliminate [SOP_Zone].
[AVG_Solve] used a M416 assault rifle to eliminate [SOP_Hunter].
……
[Team wiped]
….
The first game was a clean win, a comfortable start. In the lounge, everyone sat relaxed, discussing strategy.
Ji Wei munched on chocolate to refuel; he hadn’t eaten much the night before, and hunger had been gnawing at him all day.
“In the next game, Miramar, you’ll be facing a French team. But honestly, there’s nothing to worry about. Just keep an eye on SOP and UGC.”
Ji Wei had never seen any footage of the French team, so he asked uncertainly, “Why not worry?”
“Let me put it this way.” Da Shu yawned from the sofa. “I don’t know how they got into the upper bracket, but I remember last year’s Intercontinental Championship. My computer was lagging so badly it felt like teleporting. Even when I ran into them in P City, they didn’t kill me.”
Mi Li added, “Another time, they blocked a bridge to clear cars. The cars were on fire, but none of us in the vehicles lost a single drop of health.”
Ji Wei: “…”
He finished the last piece of chocolate in disbelief and got up to rinse his mouth.
As he walked out, he noticed someone following closely behind him.
Yin Sijue had been holding back the entire game.
Before this, he could never understand why those two European players would kiss passionately on stage. Couldn’t they do that in private? Why did they have to do it in front of everyone?
But just now, the moment he saw that Magnum bullet pierce through the bazooka, there was an instant—just a split second—when he truly wanted to kiss Ji Wei.
Such an incredible person—
He’s my boyfriend.
Mine.
The game was still ongoing. Yin Sijue forced down the surge of emotion in his chest, wiped out the remaining enemies, and buried that thought deep inside.
In front of the washbasin stood a large mirror. Ji Wei had already noticed Yin Sijue coming in. He turned his head, staring blankly at him.
“Do you need to use the restroom?”
Click—
The sound of the door locking was his only reply.
Yin Sijue turned the lock, lifted Ji Wei up by the thighs, and set him on the counter, his eyes filled with deep longing.
“Let me use you for a bit, okay?”
“I didn’t eat much today either… let me have a bite of chocolate?”