Chapter 30 – The Art of Running Away
The ever-changing tides of the battlefield sparked wave after wave of cheers from the audience.
The commentator excitedly said, “Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. We can see that, instead of using the standard rifle tactics during close combat, the two players are exchanging grenades as a sign of mutual respect.”
The playful remark drew hearty laughter from the crowd, easing the tension in an instant.
Pleased with the joyful atmosphere he’d created, the commentator joked, “These top-tier players really go all out—every move is deadly. If this were a palace drama, it would be the final showdown between the Empress and the Noble Consort. As for someone like me, I probably wouldn’t even make it past the opening credits…”
After being eliminated, Yang Sa didn’t immediately spectate his teammates. Instead, he let the screen in front of him slowly fade to grayscale.
In the same scene, Shao Zhan remained motionless as well. He stared at the loot box in front of him, his expression unreadable.
In the ruins, another duel was still ongoing, but even before the outcome was clear, the moment the kill announcement came up, everyone knew that LAP had no chance of winning this round.
With only two members left, there was no way they could beat Starcraft, a three-person team—especially with Mars, known as the number one player in the league, still in the game.
Given the situation, the two foreigners, Blue and Black, didn’t try to fight it out. They tossed every throwable weapon they had, then jumped out of the building and drove off at lightning speed—without a single moment of hesitation, as if they had practiced this exact escape a hundred times.
The spectators outside the game burst into laughter at the two foreigners’ smooth and skillful escape, practically doubling over. Only the commentator, holding his microphone and blinking dramatically with tearful eyes, said: “Teammates, teammates, are you really just going to leave like that? Aren’t you going to avenge your captain? Couldn’t you at least pretend to hesitate a little…?”
The players in the match, of course, couldn’t hear the jokes being made outside the game. Blue, who was driving, took his low-health teammate to an empty house to rest. Just as he was about to catch his breath, he heard the sound of Little Black patting his chest beside him: “Oh my god, that was intense!”
Blue rolled his eyes dramatically and turned to him in exasperation. “You died at the start of the game.”
“I know,” said Black. “I was spectating Sa and keeping an eye on your screen too. One heart wasn’t enough to handle it all—I felt like mine was shattered into eight pieces.”
Blue didn’t even bother to respond. After resupplying some basic resources with Black, he started driving again, heading out ahead of the shrinking play zone.
Strictly speaking, they weren’t exactly escaping the zone—it was more like taking a scenic drive. Wherever the view looked nice, that’s where they went.
If they ran into anyone, they’d fire a couple of shots—just enough to knock someone down—but they didn’t stick around to fight. What was supposed to be a tactical shooter had basically turned into a parkour adventure for the two of them.
But they had their reasons. Their team’s main combat power, Yang Sa, was already eliminated. There was no way the remaining two could win a gunfight against Xinghai’s professional players, so they figured they might as well stay far away.
As long as they didn’t die, the match wouldn’t end.
Driving around enjoying the scenery, warming up their aim with a few random encounters, and easing the tension a bit—all while discussing future tactics.
By leaving the battlefield to the stronger teams, they were hoping that Xinghai might get whittled down by others. Maybe then, they could swoop in and pick up an easy win.
Of course, Xinghai was far too experienced and tactically sharp to fall for that. Under Shao Zhan’s leadership, they dominated the map, wiping out their opponents with overwhelming force.
LAP’s remaining players didn’t make it to the final circle—they were wiped out beforehand. Starcraft, unsurprisingly, claimed the victory.
When the post-match results screen popped up, Tangyuan actually felt a little emotional. Patting his chubby paw, he said, “Wow, it’s finally over.”
Zhuang Bai, sitting beside him, felt the same. Even though Xinghai had won in the end, it had been anything but an easy match.
They’d both played a full round, but the amount of effort each team had to put in was clearly very different.
While Xinghai was conquering cities and expanding their territory, they also had to constantly be on guard against sneak attacks from all directions.
The two remaining LAP members weren’t easy opponents either. They often appeared at unexpected moments, hit and ran, never giving Xinghai the chance to counterattack or surround them.
Even so, they still managed to cause significant trouble for the players on the Starcraft team.
Little Blue—who looked like a cross between a Smurf and an Avatar—snuck up from behind during the chaos of Xinghai’s push on P City and managed to finish off Zhuang Bai. He even nearly took down Tangyuan.
At the foot of G Town’s mountain, LAP was finally wiped out, but Starcraft paid the price of losing all their armor in the process. Only the Starcraft members truly understood how hard-fought that victory was.
The second match began with everyone geared up and ready.
As they soared through the air, Tangyuan stretched his fingers and cracked his neck loudly. “LAP brats, your Fat Grandpa is coming!”
Whether by coincidence or design, the flight path happened to cut horizontally across the bottom of the map.
Shao Zhan marked the Nuclear Power Plant—this location had the richest loot along the flight path and was also the first landing point.
A bloody fight was guaranteed upon landing. As the team’s assaulter, Tangyuan’s eyes gleamed with bloodlust.
But not everyone shared the same fate. Little Black, with his obsessive need for symmetry, twisted his neck as if trying to physically move the map. Slamming the table in frustration, he shouted, “Sa, when are we jumping?!”
Black glanced at him with surprise and admiration. “Whoa, when did you start speaking with a northeastern accent? That was pure Dàchǎzi flavor!”
Little Black grinned smugly. “I found a tutor online—specifically for northeastern dialect.”
“For real?” Little Blue’s usual cool-guy persona instantly cracked. He leaned over and asked, “Where’d you find that teacher?”
“In-game,” Xiao Black replied. “60 yuan an hour, on-call anytime, great service, and the dialect is spot on.”
Little Blue instantly slumped back into his seat and typed up a post on Zhihu: [I really don’t get it—why would anyone learn spoken language with a game tutor?]
Within seconds, dozens of replies popped up:
[Thanks for the invite. Currently in New York, just got off the plane…]
[Thanks for the invite. Currently in the Taklamakan Desert, just got out of a tank…]
[Thanks for the invite. Currently on Mars, just landed from a shuttle…]