During the intermission between the main courts, the players from both sides stepped off the stage from both sides, and the highlight replays of the first two games began to be played on the big screen.

Almost all the footage was from the perspective of R.H—Cheese’s chilling assassination, and Shine’s every shot on the screen, symbolized by the skull icon, representing death.

The North American Devil, who had a back-and-forth fight with R.H last time, was completely reduced to a background board to highlight the opponents.

Tattler grumbled all the way, still having doubts about Shine’s operation. The irritated Umbra, who had little patience for his Korean teammates, suddenly stopped and turned around, saying, “Shut up. Do you have the qualifications to complain here when you’re dragging your teammates down? Get lost.”

Rattler wasn’t a good-tempered person either. Anyone who could make it to Lawman was among the league’s top players. Those with strength tended to have a bit of arrogance. “You—”

Rattler took a step forward and said aggressively: “What do you want to say?”

Gunner intercepted Rattler, saying sternly, “The cameraman is recording. Both of you, pay attention.”

Paradox held back his fellow countryman, Rattler, and persuaded him in Korean. Rattler refrained from arguing anymore, and said as soon as he returned to the lounge: “Coach, there was definitely something wrong with that game just now, Shine…”

“Enough. Do you think it’s not embarrassing enough? Do you want to know how Shine found you?” Lawman’s Coach with a face red and neck thick from anger, pointed at the screen showing Shine’s first-person view, “Go see for yourself!”

In Shine’s perspective, there was never a sight of the invisible Virus, only the other three members of Lawman. Whenever these three deviated from their original trajectory, Shine would start scanning for Virus—around himself, around Cheese, and on the fastest route to the target point in front of Lawman’s resurrection point.

Shine was predicting the location of the invisible Virus through the actions of the three members.

Rattler’s eyes gradually widened, and his clenched fists loosened weakly.

He fell silent.

Not just him, but everyone from Lawman remained silent. Anxiety and restlessness silently spread among these league players and coaches.

Finally, it was Tide, who became a substitute that broke the silence.

“R.H’s discipline is too strict; every one of them is following Shine’s command.” Tide stared at the screen showing the wanton Big Sister, with complex emotions hidden in his eyes that were hard to understand, “We can’t outplay their strategy.”

Lawman’s coach took a deep breath: “We can’t let R.H get 3:0, absolutely not.”

In a BO7 game, 2:0 is a watershed. If they win the next round, they will only need to make up one point. If they lose the next round, the opponent will have four match points, and they’ll have to play under high pressure in every subsequent round.

Chasing three points from four is extremely rare, something that might not happen even once in a season.

Tide said solemnly, “We can’t let R.H lead us by the nose and give up on what we’re best at.” Lawman excelled in individual plays by players, coordinating focused fire with teammates, quickly killing one, and then outnumbering and controlling the battle. “Let me play, coach.”

The coach looked at Tide and said mockingly: “Have you overcome Shine’s suppression of you?”

Tide was stunned but immediately said, “I’m not afraid of Shine. I can snipe against him.”

The coach shook his head, “I gave you a chance, Tide. And you let me down.”

Tide said unwillingly: “Coach…”

The coach made up his mind, “Stop talking.” He raised his hand, signaling to the referee, “Lawman requests a substitution.”

In R.H’s lounge, everyone had a banana to replenish energy. The atmosphere, while not exactly relaxed and pleasant, was not tense and anxious. Even the one who was most prone to nervousness managed to maintain some composure.

Lu Youshan said: “What Lawman lost, they won’t use again. They won’t play for operation against us.”

Yu Zhaohan pondered: “In the situation of 2:0, Lawman will definitely strive for the third game and they will make substitutions.”

Qi Xian asked: “Changing to Tide?”

Shi Du said after finishing one banana and taking another: “Tide’s data against us last time was terrible. N’s coach might not give him a chance.”

“Who cares who they substitute?” Cheese said arrogantly, “They’re struggling in vain.”

Lu Youshan nodded, “Indeed. Once a team frequently changes players, they’re not far from a complete defeat.”

Cheese was shocked to the point that a section of his banana broke off, “You didn’t say we’ve committed the sin of arrogance! You’re not Lu Youshan; who are you?!”

Lu Youshan said loudly: “I’m telling the truth!”

Frequent substitutions when falling behind prove that n cannot grasp the optimal lineup and system, and can only keep trying to find possible ways to break the game. But their problems obviously cannot be solved by changing players or changing systems.

“Brothers, I have an idea.” Shi Du firmly threw the banana peel into the trash can in the corner. “They don’t know how to play double short-guns. Why don’t we teach them?”

In the third game, R.H substituted Cheese and Lawman substituted Rattler.

As soon as the substitution list came out, the commentators hesitated, “Is Lawman hiding some unexpected strategy?”

Both Jiang and Cheese were Supports, so rotation was normal. But Rattler was a short gun, and the tank was, well, a tank—N wanted to play with two tanks, one C, and one Support. Considering the map they chose, Yu Zhaohan drew a conclusion, “They want to play a positional battle.”

Shi Du laughed, “A very retro system.”

Positional battles heavily rely on the map. N would find the most suitable location on the map, set up their formation, and tightly group together. Two massive front-row tanks would staunchly defend, providing shields for the back row without letting up. If one shield was broken by R.H, there was still another.

The responsibility of making damage falls on the shoulders of the only C position.

Umbra chose Fort, the hero with the highest Damage per Second (DPS). Fort possessed a powerful machine gun that could deal astonishing damage per second. However, it had a fatal flaw—Fort’s machine gun couldn’t move and could only output damage from a fixed position. If an assassin tried to engage, he would find it challenging to escape; either he would be killed or counter-attack.

But now, two tanks had erected an impenetrable defense around Fort. The bullets from the sniper could only hit the shields, and if an assassin entered their territory, they would face a collective beating from four players.

The commentator couldn’t help but exclaim, “Umbra is so well protected; even a god wouldn’t be able to take him down! How can R.H break this situation?”

“Shine indeed didn’t choose a sniper. He used Virus, which was useless in Rattler’s hands last round, while Timeless chose his signature hero, the Ninja. It seems these two are going to infiltrate together.”

Fort’s machine gun firepower was just too high. In one or two seconds, he could eliminate a hero. R.H attempted an attack, but under the intense firepower, they had to take cover to replenish their health and prepare for the next attack.

A frontal attack was impossible; they had to rely on the double assassins’ mobility skills to climb walls from the flanks and find opportunities.

Shi Du: “The two shields are a bit annoying. Captain, can you destroy one?”

Yu Zhaohan replied, “Yes. But even if I destroy one shield and create an opportunity for you to enter, you’ll still face a one versus four situation—can you handle it? I don’t need you to get a quad kill; just cut down Fort, and leave the rest to us.”

Shi Du chuckled, “If you believe in me, then I can do it.”

Yu Zhaohan didn’t hesitate, “I believe in you.”

In the second round of the attack, Jiang Di provided healing and partial firepower support from a distance, with Qi Xian protecting him. Shi Du climbed a wall and positioned himself in a discreet location, waiting for the right moment.

Yu Zhaohan’s virus stealthily approached, and Lawman constantly firing in all directions, attempting to reveal Virus. But all they hit was empty air.

Yu Zhaohan waited patiently and counted silently until Fort’s machine gun completed a round of bullets and had to stop to reload. This would take about one second.

In this one second, Yu Zhaohan’s virus voluntarily revealed itself.

Gunner was the first to notice him, “Shine is about to cast his ultimate; scatter!”

To evade the Virus’s ultimate attack, Lawman’s formation showed a slight looseness. Yu Zhaohan reached out his invading hand to the tank nearest to him.

The tank didn’t have time to react— the invasion was successful!

A hero infected by the virus cannot use skills, and the tank’s shield was one of his skills. With the successful invasion, his shield disappeared. Lawman was left with only one shield.

Gunner reacted, his eyes turned red with anger: “Damn it, Shine doesn’t have an ultimate skill at all, he’s just faking it!”

Yu Zhaohan said, “Shi Du, now. Qi Xian, Jiang Di, charge from the front.”

Shi Du’s Ninja rolled down from the wall, smoothly landing in the middle of the enemy’s territory.

The damage from the tool hero Virus in the C position was nothing to fear, and Lawman immediately changed their focus. Breaking the shield from the front would take time, and as expected, Shi Du found himself in a one versus four situation.

He had a skill that could reflect enemy damage, but it had a cooldown of ten seconds. He also had a pillar on the field that could be used to dodge some damage.

But Lawman had four people, and the numerical difference could outweigh everything.

The firepower of Lawman’s four players poured onto Shi Du. The ninja himself was a vulnerable hero, and a barrage from Fort’s machine gun was enough to send him back to the resurrection point.

The commentator anxiously remarked, “Can Timeless wait for his teammates’ support? His deflect skill is on cooldown, and now he has to rely on his agility and positioning to delay as much as possible.”

“Timeless only has a third of his health left; he should be done for. But it’s okay; Timeless successfully opened up the situation for R.H. The rest can be left to his teammates.”

“Wait a moment—Timeless dodged Paradox’s sleep gun, and then avoided Gunner’s charge… his movement is too fast and elusive; Umbra’s machine gun crosshair can’t keep up!”

On the big screen, the movements of the young ninja were smooth and fluid. He constantly utilized the cover of the bunker to shield himself from the entire firepower of Lawman’s team.

“He didn’t die, he didn’t die! Timeless just won’t die! Lawman must be getting anxious!”

“Timeless still hasn’t died! He can still show off!”

“Timeless’s health bar is almost empty—his deflect skill is off cooldown, and he’s still showing off!”

Shi Du went deep into the enemy’s territory alone. Despite the strict defense of the two tanks and a support, he directly took down Fort and, with the damage from his deflects, eliminated the support as well.

[R.H.Timeless killed Lawman.Umbra]

[R.H.Timeless killed Lawman.Paradox]

“Took two out in a one versus four situation and came out alive!” The commentator, seemingly forgetting he was on the commentary desk, screamed like a fan, “Ah ah ah ah, Timeless! The most handsome little brother!”

R.H broke through Lawman’s least desired scenario of a 3-0 victory.

[[All] R.HTimeless: Want to learn how to play double short-gun? We’ll teach you.]

No one could resist the top assassin’s maneuvers. The entire arena was cheering for this eighteen-year-old boy. Regardless of which team’s fans they were, no matter whom they supported, they were all swept into the ecstasy of esports by Timeless in this moment.

“Timeless, Timeless, Timeless—”

Timeless couldn’t hear the fans’ screams; he just wanted to hear his dear Yu Yu’s praises, “Captain, isn’t my double kill look cool?”

Extremely cool, so cool that Yu Zhaohan wished he could rush up and kiss Timeless: “Hmm.”

Shi Du chuckled softly, “So cold.”

Yu Zhaohan thought for a while and said, “Jiang Di, Qi Xian, please take off your headphones first.”

Qi Xian smiled and said, “Oh my, is there anything that Xiao Jiang and I can’t listen to?”

Yu Zhaohan: “Take it off.”

The two of them did as they were told.

Yu Zhaohan raised his head, covered his lips, and softly blew a kiss, “Muah.”

Shi Du’s heart skipped a beat, and he felt warmer than when he made the exquisite double kill just now. He was about to speak when Lu Youshan’s voice interjected, “I’m here! Any thoughts for the next round, Shine?”

Yu Zhaohan’s goldfish mouth flattened back. He motioned Jiang Di and Qi Xian to put on their earphones and said, “Take advantage of the situation and adapt accordingly.”

The choice of maps always belonged to Lawman, the team that issued the challenge.

They have tried it one by one regarding support, operational battle, and positional battle. If he were Lawman’s coach, when he was behind by a big score of 0:3, he would choose to fight back with his most proficient system.

In Lawman’s lounge, Tide once again took the initiative to volunteer.

“Coach, at a time like this, do we really need to play those unverified lineups? Give me another chance; I’ll prove it to you.”

Lawman’s coach frowned and remained silent.

“I was once Shine’s teammate; I understand him.” Tide paused, and his tone became poignant, “Even if I can’t beat him, I can guess some of his layouts.”

Back at R.H, he lived in the shadow of Shine, always looking up to that cold, beautiful, distant, and reticent captain.

Why, even after joining Lawman he still couldn’t escape Shine’s suppression? Even in last year’s playoffs, even though R.H lost to Lawman, Shine’s statistic still overwhelmingly surpassed his.

Clearly, when he faced others, he could achieve a headshot rate almost on par with Shine’s and he had always been the top sniper in the Western Division.

It was just a psychological obstacle. His skills were not weaker than Shine’s. Just give him one more chance… just one chance would be enough.

Every map Lawman plays could be their last.

“Tide is right.”

Umbra said gruffly. “We’re 0:3 down, and we’re still playing what kind of strange lineup? Play whatever works, and focus on individual skills. Are we going to lose to R.H? Well, long-range positions might be an exception. Damn, Shine… Can we buy Shine next season?”

Gunner said coolly, “You think the management hasn’t tried? He, like Timeless, only plays in an all-Chinese lineup.”

Tide held his breath: “But apart from me, is there anyone else in the team who is worthy of playing against Shine?”

At a time like this, even if the coach had other tactical arrangements, players under high pressure might not be able to absorb them, let alone execute them. The coach had to admit they had no other choice; they could only take a desperate gamble.

The coach said, “Let Tide substitute the tank.”

Tide straightened up, “Coach, rest assured. I’m not afraid of Shine—I can handle it.”

“That’s better be the case. If you still can’t perform at your level…” The coach snorted, pointing and gesturing on Tide’s shoulder. “Next season, roll back to the Eastern Division.”

In the fourth round, R.H’s first match point, the map shifted to the Temple of Egypt.

Golden deserts, mysterious statues, the devout murmurs of believers, and an unknown and powerful deity. This was a map with an ancient Egyptian style, relatively simple terrain, and not too many covers. It all boiled down to the fundamental skills of a shooting game—marksmanship.

R.H’s Cheese returned to the stage, and Lawman switched the tank. Yu Zhaohan knew he guessed it right.

“They want to contest us in matchups and kills,” Yu Zhaohan said. “Bring out your best heroes.”

Cheese: “Copy that! Here I come, Little Spirit Magpie—”

After the hero selection was completed, the four R.H. troops went out in their most comfortable postures.

Cheese, The Winged Spirit Magpie

Clown, The Girl in a Mecha Suit

Timeless, The Masked Teenage Ninja

Shine, The Black Widow With Flaming Red Lips

The commentator excitedly said, “Suddenly, both teams are ‘returning to their roots,’ not using any so-called lineups or systems! They’re showing their hands, no more pretense. I love watching this kind of straightforward brawl!”

“Every player Lawman singled out is from the Western Division. In fact, this is the playstyle that suits them best! If they played like this in the first three rounds, maybe they wouldn’t have been forced into a 3:0 situation.”

“But R.H has the best ninja and black swan in the league, and the Magpie is a harmless Support. Should they target Timeless or Shine?”

Yu Zhaohan: “Cheese with Timeless.”

Shi Du indicated he didn’t need it, “Do I still need a support to follow me when facing Umbra?”

Yu Zhaohan: “Then what do you think I need him against Tide?”

Cheese was hurt: “Wow, I’m disgusted by my own double C! Do you all not want me?”

Qi Xian smiled and said, “Cheese, follow me.”

Cheese smiled for a second: “Yes!”

When Yu Zhaohan pulled the hook and flew into the sky, he keenly detected something strange. He instinctively controlled the black swan to lower its head slightly in mid-air and didn’t fly to the originally intended height.

A bullet was shot from Lawman’s resurrection point and hit his body. This shot took away one-third of his health.

Hearing the sound effect of the sniper rifle hitting the enemy, Tide’s eyes seemed to emit flames—he hit Shine, but unfortunately, it wasn’t a headshot.

Qi Xian said: “Tide is finally not shaking when facing the captain.”

Yu Zhaohan smiled faintly, “Good.”

He also looked forward to a true showdown in terms of strength with the Western Division’s top sniper, his former teammate.

Yu Zhaohan consumed a health pack on the map, and his health bar was full again.

Shi Du: “Shall I go after Tide?”

Yu Zhaohan set up a sniper rifle on a high platform and pointed it at a path that Tide would most likely take: “No need.”

Five seconds later.

[R.H.Shine killed Lawman.Tide]

Shi Du smiled and said, “Indeed, no need.”

Tide was stunned. This scene was so familiar to him that he couldn’t get rid of it even in his sleep.

From R.H to Lawman, from him looking up to Shine to becoming Shine’s opponent.

He lost to Shine again.

Tide bit his lip fiercely, using the pain to ensure his composure.

No problem, the game has just begun.

The sniper duel is always the soul of a shooting game. The Black Swan hidden in the shadows, like a ghost, watches you from countless possible angles. Once she coldly casts her gaze towards you, it means the threat from the Grim Reaper has arrived.

You might not even feel anything; one moment you’re communicating with your teammates, and the next moment you’re killed by a single shot. And when you try to tell your teammates where she is, she elegantly lowers her rifle, turns around, and disappears again into the unseen, silent darkness.

The director spared no expense in giving Shine and Tide the most screen time. The task of these two snipers is to find each other in the scope and watch over each other. Every shot they take is accompanied by exclamations or regretful shouts from the live audience, stirring the hearts of hundreds of millions of players worldwide.

“Tide seems to have gotten rid of Shine’s ‘suppression’ on him. He has exerted his due strength as the number one sniper in the West Division. Even against Shine, he can bring out his true marksmanship! Fighting between gods!”

“Let me give you a real-time update. So far, Tide’s hit rate is 77.5%, while Shine’s hit rate… remains a stable 80.”

“How can Shine’s hands be so steady? Is this a hit rate that humans can achieve?”

In the tense atmosphere, the commentator made a harmless joke, “Actually, Shine doesn’t look very much like a real person. I’ve always suspected that he was crafted—Nuwa’s¹Nuwa, also spelled as Nüwa or Nu Gua, is a figure in Chinese mythology and one of the most important deities in Chinese folk religion. She is often considered a goddess and is associated with the creation of humanity. most proud show-off.”

Black Swan, elusive with her spider silk-like grappling hook, is constantly appearing and disappearing on the battlefield, mostly judged by her rifle’s trajectory.

Yu Zhaohan, a sniper player, has a habit of not exposing his rifle line. He rarely fires uncertain shots, significantly below the league average.

Having not revealed his rifle line for a long time, Tide lost sight of him. He temporarily aimed the sniper rifle at the front battlefield.

A slender spider silk dropped from the eaves into Tide’s field of view. In the scope, he locked eyes with a pair of cold eyes, and a flash of gorgeous crimson passed before him.

On the edge of the window, black high heels gently stepped, and a deep and sexy female voice in Italian said, “Ciao.”

Tide’s spine chilled, as if this Italian “hello” didn’t come through the headset but was ringing in his ears for real.

—Yu Zhaohan came to find him.

Black Swan was close to Tide, aiming at his forehead—bang.

[R.H.Shine killed Lawman.Tide]

This was a murder scene worthy of a blockbuster movie.

“Here it comes, the assassin-style gameplay of the Black Swan—Who says snipers must output from a distance?”

“Sorry, I have to say this! I know Shine is an all-around free spirit, and his second game’s big sister act was impressive. But only the Black Swan—I prefer to call it ‘Black Widow’—only Black Widow is the hero engraved deep in Shine’s soul!”

“Please, there must be a Black Widow skin that belongs to Shine—okay, the director reminded me to be objective, apologies brothers and sisters, I got too excited and lost my composure. Let me bow to you all, and let’s continue watching the game.”
Tide fell in battle, and R.H, having more players, smoothly took control of target point A, bringing the battle to point B.

From point A to point B, the confrontation between Yu Zhaohan and Tide never stops. Although Tide was at a disadvantage, he was enough to make Yu Zhaohan pay half of his attention to him. Even if he couldn’t kill Yu Zhaohan, he could reduce the pressure on his teammates by half.

Shi Du and Qi Xian’s tank-C combination helped R.H occupy point B. It will take a certain amount of time for the occupation progress to go from 0 to 100. Lawman must organize an effective attack within this period of time.

Yu Zhaohan estimated the ultimate abilities of the four N players and said, “Umbra and Paradox both have their ultimate moves, be careful.”

Cheese was a bit uneasy, “My ultimate isn’t ready yet. Can we engage as a team?”

As soon as he spoke, a bullet grazed past Yu Zhaohan—Tide hadn’t given up on keeping him in check. The hit rate was there, but it wasn’t enough.

Shi Du: “As long as the captain is here, it’s okay.”

Cheese: “But isn’t the captain supposed to focus on Tide…”

The battle situation did not give them much time to discuss. Before Cheese finished speaking, Umbra took the hormone healing from the Support, which can increase damage and defense, and used his ultimate move to point directly at the backline of R.H. Pradox and Gunner followed behind him to ensure that he had shields and healing, trying to maximize burst damage.

At this critical moment, Tide sniper’s sights were still looking for Shine. He found it.

Yu Zhaohan also found Tide in his sniper scope.

“Tide is too focused on Shine; in his eyes, there’s only Shine. He almost forgot this is a team game.”

“But Shine didn’t forget! He didn’t forget!”

Shi Du lured the enemy into Yu Zhaohan’s gun line. Yu Zhaohan turned his sniper rifle around without any hesitation and fired three shots in the completely opposite direction from Tide. At the same time, he also exposed the back of his head to Tide.

[R.H.Shine killed Lawman.Gunner]

[R.H.Shine killed Lawman.Paradox]

[R.H.Shine killed Lawman.Umbra]

“Triple kill! Shine got a triple kill! Lawman only has Tide left, and R.H’s progress has reached 90!”

“Lawman won’t make it back in time; R.H is close to victory, close to their first global championship, and only 10% away from the $11,00 prize!”

“But Shine won’t survive either!”

“What’s the point? R.H is already going to win!”

After Black Swan scored three kills, she was shot in the head by an enemy from behind.

She was holding a sniper rifle and wearing goggles, kneeling on one knee on the ground, her head lowered and her eyes closed, her long hair covering her face, as if she was just sleeping quietly.

[Lawman.Tide killed R.H.Shine]

Tide stared blankly at the avatars of all his teammates turning gray, his mind in chaos. He couldn’t hear his teammates’ curses, sobbing, or roaring anymore.

He finally defeated Shine in a sniper match, but what next?

Cheese’s spiritual magpie flapped its small wings and flew to Shine’s body. With a devout expression as if serving a deity, Cheese raised his healing gun.

“Heros never die!”

In a splendid golden effect, the figure of a tall, long-haired woman appeared, emitting a faint glow.

[R.H.Cheese resurrected R.H.Shine]

She shouldered the sniper rifle and slowly closed one eye. Her ice-blue eyes were pressed against the sniper scope. Her fiery red lips were slightly opened. The blue earrings on her earlobes shone in the afterglow of the desert sunset. Hui.

Yu Zhaohan locked onto the target’s head in 0.3 seconds.

In front of the screen, he decisively pressed the mouse.

In the game, she gently pulled the trigger.

—Ding.

[R.H.Shine killed Lawman.Tide]

[R.H.Shine with a quadruple kill]

[Lawman wiped out]

[Point B occupation progress: 97, 98, 99…]

On the big screen, the scores of both sides were displayed throughout [3:0], and at the same moment the occupation progress reached 100, the “3” transformed:

—4:0.

A pink wave swept through the entire arena in an instant.

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  Nuwa, also spelled as Nüwa or Nu Gua, is a figure in Chinese mythology and one of the most important deities in Chinese folk religion. She is often considered a goddess and is associated with the creation of humanity.