Chapter 8 – They Say All Gunmen Hate Lao Liu
Ji Wei watched from the sidelines as Yin Sijue fed the dog.
After Xiao Hei had his fill, he licked the man’s fingers and happily twirled around his feet.
Ji Wei’s heart fluttered at the cuteness. “Can I take it back to the base?”
“No. One of the staff is allergic to dog hair.”
“Okay.”
Yin Sijue stood up and glanced at the somewhat dejected boy. “It’s fine. It won’t have a hard time here. Aren’t you lost? Follow me.”
Ji Wei followed awkwardly. “So you heard everything just now.”
“Yes.”
He had even asked his friend where he lived—he’d thought he’d run into a kid with early-onset dementia.
After sending Ji Wei back, Yin Sijue returned to the base and ran into Xu Shaoqiu, who was opening the door.
“You’re back?” Xu Shaoqiu said. “Team Two is scrimming soon, against UGC’s Team Two. It’s a rare chance. Let’s all go watch.”
Yin Sijue frowned. “What’s so rare about that?”
Xu Shaoqiu choked. “You… you’re not even curious to see your new teammates’ strength? Just two rounds!”
“Fine.” The scrims were fast-paced, and two rounds wouldn’t take long. Yin Sijue said, “I’ll be there after I wash my hands.”
When he came out of the bathroom, Team Two was already in the practice room. Aside from Wolf, who had just turned nineteen, the rest—average age under seventeen—were chatting and laughing.
Wolf put on his headphones, took a seat, and invited everyone to warm up with some shooting practice.
From the spectator room, Mi Li commented, “You know what? Even though Wolf is young, he has the presence of his former captain.”
Da Shu snorted. “Our captain is only twenty-one, okay? What, did time already wear him down?”
Mi Li retorted, “Then ask yourself what you were like a few years ago.”
Yin Sijue, the one singled out, remained unmoved as he flipped through the data Xu Shaoqiu had collected.
The scrimmage lasted thirty minutes, with Team Two ultimately taking two decisive wins in a full four-man sweep.
After the match, Wolf and the others went out for a late-night snack, while Xu Shaoqiu kept the AVG starting four behind to review the footage.
“Wolf had the most kills overall,” Xu Shaoqiu said as he analyzed the results. “But he’s inconsistent. In previous scrims, he’s been picked off right at the start more than once. Tonight was one of his better games.”
Lao Ma nodded. “That’s normal. Sometimes you’re unlucky, don’t pick up a gun, and get killed early.”
Da Shu cut in smugly. “Not necessarily. Look at that match between my brother and Unique—didn’t they still lose?”
Lao Ma side-eyed him. “…I’ve noticed you’ve been following that streamer a lot lately. What’s up with that?”
Da Shu immediately straightened. “No way! I just have a good memory!”
Xu Shaoqiu brought the topic back on track. “But I don’t think Jerry’s stats were very good this time. I’ll have to call him in for a review later.”
Jerry was the second team’s sniper, known for his impressive swinging-sniper skills. During matches, he usually used a sniper rifle for long-range kills.
Mi Li glanced at the supply information. “He didn’t find any good sniper rifles this time, only the VSS. After the circle closed in, he switched to a rifle.”
Xu Shaoqiu shrugged. “So what? The gun is just icing on the cake. The player’s ability matters most.”
Yin Sijue suddenly said, “Around the 12:30 mark, there’s an AWM in the airdrop.”
“What?” Everyone was stunned, unable to react for a moment.
Xu Shaoqiu thought back. “They did pick up an airdrop… but the others were still setting up their weapons farther away. Wolf must have been the only one who went to get it, right? Did you see it?”
“Wolf and Ban went,” Yin Sijue added. “Ban was driving to block with the smokescreen, so Wolf was the one who picked it up. There was an AWM in that airdrop.”
—
The AWM is PUBG’s strongest sniper rifle, capable of knocking out an enemy in a level 3 helmet with a single shot.
Their practice-match viewing screen included not only the global live broadcast but also the perspectives of all four players. To avoid being surrounded, the players looted the airdrop quickly. With other teams closing in, no one in the viewing room had noticed what was inside.
Xu Shaoqiu scrolled the progress bar. “It’s true. At 12 minutes and 36 seconds—there was an AWM in the airdrop, but they didn’t take it.”
Everyone fell silent for a moment, their unspoken thoughts finally slipping out.
Lao Ma spoke first. “Could it be that Wolf went to report the supplies, but Jerry didn’t want to go? After all, he might get criticized by the higher-ups.”
Xu Shaoqiu frowned. “That’s probably it. I’ll check the in-game voice chat later.”
The little episode didn’t take much time. After a few words, everyone went back to practice, leaving the coaching staff to continue reviewing the footage in detail.
…
“Let me tell you, there’s a super cute puppy at the entrance of the community.”
Ji Wei returned from his outing, his earlier bad mood completely gone, and excitedly shared his discovery with Lin Tao and the others.
“Really?” Lin Tao said. “I’ll go check it out next time! We have a dog at home too—a golden retriever—and my mom keeps him super fat.”
Xuan Feng also came over. “Why is it at the entrance? Is it the security guard’s pet?”
Ji Wei shook his head. “No, it must be a stray. I took a picture, look.”
“So cute! I wonder what breed it is. I didn’t think there would be strays in such a fancy community.”
“Then let’s go check on it more often,” Xing Zi said. “There used to be a lot of stray dogs in my village, but now they’re all gone. I asked around and found out they were all taken away by those idiots at the dog meat restaurant.”
Hearing those three words, Ji Wei was completely stunned.
Xing Zi thought he was frightened and patted Ji Wei on the shoulder. “It’s okay. Those people shouldn’t be able to get into the community. Next time, we can ask the coach if we’re allowed to bring it home. If not, I’ll take it myself.”
Ji Wei was silent for a moment before saying, “When I was in school, I often fed a stray dog. I wanted to bring it home too.”
It was a brown Bichon Frise that lived in the alley leading from the internet café to the school. Sometimes it would run to the school gate to beg classmates for food and drinks. It was very well-behaved—never biting anyone—and always cheerful with everyone it met.
Every day, after coming back from the internet cafe, Ji Wei would leave some food for the dog before returning to class. Over time, the dog grew close to him, always running over, wagging its tail, and licking him.
Whenever Ji Wei failed a test, his mother would ask the teacher to change his seat, or even transfer him to another class. With no friends at school, this dog became his best playmate during adolescence.
Lin Tao asked, “And then what? Did you take the puppy home?”
“No.” Ji Wei abruptly cut off the memory and forced a casual look toward his teammates. “Then the puppy got lost. I don’t know where it went.”
“Oh, what a pity,” Lin Tao said with disappointment. “I hope it found a good home.”
…
That evening, Ji Wei had some free time, so he logged into his main account to try ranking up.
He casually checked his messages and discovered that Solve still hadn’t added him.
Ji Wei stared at the unanswered friend request, feeling a little frustrated. Undeterred, he sent it again.
He sat at the computer with a sullen expression, like a mushroom caught in the rain.
He’d joined the tryouts precisely to win the championship with Yin Sijue, yet now he couldn’t even add him as a friend.
Turning to Lin Tao, he asked, “I have a friend…”
“Yeah, tell me.” The boy next to him caught on immediately, eyes gleaming with curiosity.
Seeing nothing wrong, Ji Wei continued, “He wants to add a gamer as a friend, but he hasn’t been able to. My friend’s pretty good, right? So why can’t he even add him?”
“Who do you want to add?” Xing Zi asked from the side.
“Oh my god!” Ji Wei jumped. “How could you eavesdrop? And it’s not me—it’s my friend!”
Lin Tao chuckled. “Is that gamer a good player?”
Ji Wei nodded firmly. “Very good—he averages twenty kills per game.”
“Oh, so he’s a gunslinger.” Lin Tao understood, then explained to Ji Wei: “Those players who love close combat don’t really like Lao Liu. It’s normal that you can’t add him.”
Ji Wei: ?
…Shit, so that’s how it is.
Thinking it over, Ji Wei realized Yin Sijue’s softened attitude and the gifts he gave him were truly only because of his good gaming skills.
“Thank you.” Ji Wei looked at Lin Tao and Xingzi gratefully. “I understand.”
He opened the training camp, determined to practice all night.
If playing well were enough to add friends, then things would be far too easy.
…
The next day after lunch, Xu Shaoqiu stopped Yin Sijue.
“Do you have plans this afternoon? Wolf just arrived and hasn’t settled in yet. Can you duo with him for two games?”
“Rex asked me out yesterday.”
Rex was the former captain of the UGC team. He and Yin Sijue had known each other before their pro careers, and Rex was now a popular streamer on Aurora TV.
“Really? You’re not just lying so you don’t have to play with them, right?”
Yin Sijue was speechless. He unlocked his phone and showed him yesterday’s chat log, where Rex had invited him out.
“Okay then,” Xu Shaoqiu said. “Are you playing until tonight? If you finish early, come with me to watch the new players’ training?”
Yin Sijue didn’t answer right away. “I heard someone already performed exceptionally well on the first day.”
“What can you tell from just one game?” Xu Shaoqiu retorted. “They’re playing Sanhok today. Aren’t you familiar with that map? Give me some advice—don’t turn me down again.”
“Alright.”
…
That evening, after Yin Sijue finished his game, he followed Xu Shaoqiu to the second team’s base.
“I didn’t tell them you were coming. They were still training, and I was afraid they’d lose focus if they knew you were on the way.”
“That’s not an exaggeration?”
“Of course not. Face your own popularity, okay? Who in esports isn’t a fan of yours?”
The training room faced the corridor with floor-to-ceiling windows. Yin Sijue saw four new tryout players sitting in a row, their backs to him.
To see the screens more clearly, he took a few steps to the side.
The group was in the second stage of the match, combing through the jungle in the rainforest.
Sanhok, also known as Lao Liu’s Paradise, boasts vast expanses of rainforest and grassland that provide excellent cover.
The green glow of the vegetation reflected on Ji Wei’s face. He focused intently on his character, crouched in front of a fence.
“There’s a team in the residential area ahead,” he informed his teammates.
Xing Zi said, “This area’s tricky. Let’s just avoid them.”
“Okay.”
After the circle shrank, the four decided to block the bridge with their vehicles.
Ji Wei lay on the grass, observing. “The team ahead will definitely try to cross this bridge. Let’s drive over and block them.”
With that, he jumped into the driver’s seat and led his teammates across.
As the SUV reached the middle section, the team behind them—just as Ji Wei had predicted—prepared to enter the bridge.
Seeing the car ahead, the enemy immediately opened fire. After a burst of concentrated shots, Xuan Feng and Lin Tao were the first to fall.
“Here they come!” Xing Zi shouted, staring at the other end of the bridge where another car came speeding toward them.
Ji Wei drifted his car sideways at the bridgehead, landed, and lobbed a grenade, cutting off the enemy’s advance. He then whipped out his M762, braced it against the side of the vehicle, and trained it on the incoming car.
The grenade forced the vehicle to swerve left. Ji Wei leapt onto the roof of his own car, fired accurately, and—together with Xing Zi’s support—took down the driver.
Out of control, the enemy vehicle slammed into the guardrail. Xing Zi and Ji Wei quickly finished off the rest.
Lin Tao, who had been knocked out earlier, was indignant. “Why was I the only one who died…”
Xuan Feng, helped up by Ji Wei and leaning against cover to heal, grinned. “Maybe your skins are too expensive.”
“This guy’s targeting the rich! I’ll swap into a free skin next time… Damn it, I missed claiming them from so many promotions already—next time—ahhh!!”
While ranting after his death, Lin Tao suddenly spotted Solve standing outside the door out of the corner of his eye.
Startled by his outburst, the other three thought another enemy was approaching and instantly drew their guns, ready to fight.
Finding no one around, Xingzi snapped, “What are you screaming for!”
Lin Tao caught sight of Xu Shaoqiu outside the door, desperately signaling him to shut up. “Uh… I was just venting about Ma Qiang.”
Xuan Feng rolled his eyes. “Scared me half to death! I thought another car was coming.”
…
After they won the game, Xu Shaoqiu and Yin Sijue finally pushed the door open and came inside.
Xuan Feng froze when he saw them and tugged frantically at Xing Zi’s sleeve. For a moment, neither dared say a word.
Lin Tao turned to Ji Wei, who was still focused on the match stats, and tried to make his new roommate look good in front of Solve.
“Unique, that bridge play was incredible! Perfect timing—I thought we were done for.”
Ji Wei took off his headphones and shook his head. “No, it was a driving mistake on their side. I—”
“It was a driving mistake,” a deep voice cut in from behind him. “If I had been driving, you’d all be dead the moment you threw that grenade.”
Ji Wei’s breath caught, his heart pounding uncontrollably.
Sensing the approaching footsteps behind him growing closer, he finally turned his head—only to meet Yin Sijue’s eyes.
Once again, it was from that same towering angle. But this time, the man’s back was not lit by the blinding sun; instead, it was the bright ceiling light of the training room.
The other only glanced at him once before shifting his gaze to the data panel on the computer.
Yin Sijue’s eyes moved to the MVP stats of the match, where he noticed Ji Wei’s damage output was even higher than he had expected.
“Start the next round. Don’t mind me.”