Chapter 21 – Scared?
They had tried all kinds of weapons—every gun imaginable, even close-combat weapons like bows, crossbows, and frying pans. It really felt like the kind of crazy thing the LAP crew would come up with.
Still, jokes aside, the four members of the Jiao’ao team remained alert, each guarding a different direction on separate floors. No matter where the enemy tried to climb up from, they would spot it immediately and provide cover fire for their teammates.
With the battle having reached this point, even Jie Ao’s team couldn’t help but feel a bit envious of their opponent’s carefree attitude.
He secretly watched the other team’s gameplay through the live-stream camera feed. Just like in the previous round, they played with joy and abandon. You could see everything in their performance—everything except the seriousness one would expect when facing a powerful enemy.
Jiang Ge suddenly found himself envying the guys sitting in the sparring zone, casually cursing at each other in several different languages. Ever since becoming a professional player, his life had been filled with nonstop tactical research and strategy. He could spend days holding the same posture just to correct a tiny flaw in how he controlled recoil. All of that effort was just for better and more precise performance in matches.
Everything he and his teammates did was for one goal: to win, and only to win.
In the world of esports, being weak is the original sin. Every player strives for more precision, more professionalism. But in doing so, they drift further and further from the original reason they started playing.
That was a heart that played for joy—for the game itself. Sadly, that kind of mindset had no place in the life of a pro player, at least not on the battlefield.
He was starting to understand why LAP had managed to win the last round. It was probably this kind of reckless, free-spirited mentality that gave them more room to perform at their best.
But this time, the fully-prepared Jiao’ao team wasn’t going to give them any more chances.
“They’re coming,” Zhou Heng’s voice sounded in the team voice chat. The safe zone had nearly shrunk to its limit, and aside from their full squad and LAP’s, only two scattered players remained alive.
Moments later, an announcement lit up on the screen.
[LAP—Killer has eliminated Misscrazy using a vehicle.]
With a few scattered gunshots, the last solo player was also sent to the afterlife by LAP.
The poison fog continued to spread, the safe zone kept shrinking, and the roar of car engines echoed wildly—but LAP’s figures were nowhere to be seen.
These guys, who never looked all that reliable to begin with, seemed to have completely forgotten this was a competition. Instead, they were indulging in high-speed joyrides, refusing to show themselves as they circled the outer edges of the safe zone.
“What the hell… again?” Chen Shen, who had already suffered at their hands before, grumbled. But this time, he wasn’t going to make any reckless moves.
With the advantage of high ground and good positioning, Jiao’ao had no reason to take the risk of going out to hunt. As the safe zone kept shrinking, LAP would be forced to come to them eventually—there was no need to repeat the mistakes of the last round.
Sure enough, while there was still some space left in the circle, LAP’s convoy finally rolled out—four rugged steel-plated jeeps, rumbling along the edge of the safe zone. They weaved in and out like a tail-chasing serpent, racing each other along the perimeter, seemingly unaware that their most dangerous enemies were lying in wait, perfectly still, guns trained on them.
“What the hell are they doing?” The livestream host couldn’t help but glance back at the players wildly drifting their jeeps, itching to grab the baton from Captain Zhou Heng’s hand and chase those reckless players back into line.
It was hard to explain, but playing against LAP always came with the lurking risk of being driven to a brain hemorrhage out of sheer frustration.
Captain Zhou Heng, long used to their bizarre antics, calmly took aim at one of the drivers through a window and fired a precise shot as they began their second lap.
The target was clearly well-prepared—Level 3 armor and helmet, plus the jeep’s steel frame meant the shot only shaved off a sliver of health. But the captain of Jieo Ao was confident that next time they crossed paths, the outcome wouldn’t be so lucky for the other side.
Just when everyone thought the endless circling would go on forever, the four steel-plated jeeps suddenly charged straight toward the direction Chen Shen was guarding.
“You’ve got to be kidding me—me again?” Chen Shen raised his Thompson submachine gun, aiming down sights just as the jeeps began weaving in a serpentine pattern.
Teammates stationed in the surrounding directions heard the vehicles approaching and quickly got into position. Guns were mounted, sights were adjusted—but just as a vehicle peeked into view, it disappeared again.
Chen Shen aimed at the lead vehicle, but the driver in the rear jeep would switch seats to return fire. After a few rounds of this cat-and-mouse, Chen simply gave up on the scope and started spraying with iron sights.
[Arrogance—CHEN has knocked down LAP—White with a Thompson SMG.]
Yet, despite the achievement, Chen Shen felt no excitement—because none of the enemies showed the slightest intention of reviving their teammate. The three remaining jeeps simply swerved around their downed comrade, continuing their flamboyant maneuvers as if nothing had happened.
While Chen was reloading, his field of vision was suddenly filled with smoke, leaving only a few narrow gaps through which he could glimpse the mischievous antics of the LAP players.
Helpless, Chen resorted to lobbing grenades and blind-firing. He managed to knock one down, but no kill notification appeared—most likely the teammate behind them had already revived them.
If LAP managed to make it up the building, the fight would turn into close-quarters combat, and all the positional advantage Jiao’ao had gained by securing the high ground would be lost.
The tide of battle was shifting rapidly. The jeeps surged forward with unstoppable momentum. Captain Zhou Heng had to act fast.
“Luan Feng, Jiang Ge—support the north side!”
The north was Chen Shen’s sector. Just as the three machine guns opened fire in full force, one of the jeeps burst out of the smoke, executed a sharp drift out of their line of fire, and floored the gas, circling around to their unguarded flank. The driver was about to jump out and throw a grenade when, from somewhere long silent, a Kar98k suddenly roared.
[Arrogance—ZHOU has killed LAP—BLUE with a Kar98k.]
But at that exact moment, two faint landing sounds behind Zhou Heng sent alarm bells ringing in his mind.
Those two grenades had been thrown through the window behind him. While he was focused on eliminating the jeep that broke through the smoke, another vehicle had flanked from the opposite side at an even greater speed—rushing straight into the blind spot of their defenses.
By the time Luan Feng and Jiang Ge tried to retreat from Chen Shen’s defense zone, it was already too late. Their legs couldn’t outrun the wheels of speeding jeeps.
Two grenades upstairs, two downstairs—Jie Ao’s players were forced to vault out of the building…
“It’s over,” Shao Zhan spoke up, signaling Jiang Ranran to turn off the livestream.
“What?” Jiang Ranran blinked her round eyes. “It’s not over yet.”
Unable to bear it any longer, Qin Chuan reached over and turned off the stream himself, muttering under his breath, “Blockhead.”
On the other side of the restaurant, Captain Mu Chen of Team Weiguang also forbade his teammates from continuing to watch. The final shot in the stream was frozen on a Jie Ao player being knocked over by a vehicle as he tried to jump from the second floor.
Shao Zhan and Mu Chen, both captains, tacitly agreed to shut down the stream—out of respect, giving their fellow team a little dignity.
With the stream turned off, the lively energy around the dining table quickly faded. A dozen eyes stared at each other in awkward silence.
Five minutes later, Xinghai and Weiguang pushed their tables together, munching skewers and gnawing on spicy chicken necks.
Not even the dark cloud cast by LAP could overshadow the joy of barbecue. The two teams, who had just fought tooth and nail on the battlefield, were now laughing and eating together in harmony.
Mu Chen made a show of pouring a drink for Shao Zhan, only to be firmly rejected by the man who never touched alcohol.
“What’s the matter? Scared?” Mu Chen asked, with a pointed undertone.
“Scared of what?” Shao Zhan shot back, slouching lazily in his chair with a weary, nonchalant air.