Chapter 62

Chapter Sixty-Two

The map loads, the countdown ends, and the TWG team leaves the respawn point.

Through the headphones, there was the sound of waves crashing against the rocks, the cries of seagulls overhead, and the rustling of leaves. Everything was so real and peaceful, as if you could smell the salty scent of the sea just by sniffing it.

“At the start of the round, KW will definitely want to hold point A in the villa. The terrain inside the house isn't good for snipers, so their sniper will probably be lurking outside,” Xu Ziyan said. “Seamy, you go flank, Chen will come with me, captain…”

He paused for a moment before continuing, "Go up first and keep an eye on the enemy's position for the team."

Morgan Hill Lodge has a very unique topography. The villa itself is the highest point, and there is a small, unobstructed gazebo standing next to it. Apart from that, there are no other high places.

Therefore, snipers cannot, like in other maps, climb to a high place at the start of the game to observe the enemy's movements using their scopes.

Xie Wei agreed, spotted a rock nearby, left the main road, jumped up, and quickly climbed the cliff. Clutching his sniper rifle, he lay prone on the ground, using the bushes for cover. He opened the scope: "The medical team and Alice are on the first floor of the villa. The sniper and the other assault team's whereabouts are unknown..."

Before he could finish speaking, he sensed danger and subtly rolled over.

"Bang!"

The sniper bullet grazed his face, leaving a smoking bullet hole in the grass.

"...Sniping from the coconut tree at a 270-degree angle."

Xu Ziyan, who was below, also heard the noise: "Are you alright?"

"It's alright," Xie Wei said, no longer hiding since his position had been spotted. He stood up and raised his gun to snipe back. The shot didn't headshot, but it took away most of KW's health. He frowned and subtly moved his wrist, which was holding the mouse, again: "But my position might have been exposed a little too early."

Xu Ziyan asked, "Seamy?"

Shen Xiao said, "I'm in position."

Xu Ziyan said, "Then let's start the operation ahead of schedule."

--

"This should be the first time we've watched a TWG match since the new version update," commentator B said. "I originally thought that Ice would choose the currently popular healing sniper rifle in this game, but in this match, he still used the old healing rifle."

Commentator A said, "It's really a bit disappointing! Not only that, Ice's secondary weapon is still a healing bottle and an armor pack, but there's no stun gun. Although it may not be the best way to put it, the stun gun-wielding backline tactic of a medic taking on the enemy is something Ice pioneered. This version buffed the stun gun, but we haven't seen Ice use it. It feels like we haven't seen the show we're most looking forward to."

Narrator B: "This is not surprising. The living conditions in the medical field are indeed worrying, and there are very few occasions where stun guns can be used."

Commentator A nodded: "That's right. Oh? We can see that after Xie Shen repelled Bee, who was lurking in the tree, Seamy immediately came up from behind. That's quite a roundabout way!"

"However, it's clear that this journey was worthwhile. Seamy has reached a point where he can see Bee. If this continues, Bee will be in danger. Thankfully, Pride appeared at this moment! He used a stun gun to immobilize Seamy—wait, when did he appear in the woods? Wasn't he just at the villa?!"

With a crisp sniper shot, Shen Xiao, who was under the control of the stun gun, was helpless and was taken down by Bee with a single sniper shot.

Shen Xiao stared in disbelief: "What's going on with this medical procedure? It's like something out of a ghost story! It scared me half to death!"

Xie Wei had already figured out the cause of the matter in a short time: he saw Pride in the villa and told the team, and then Bee launched a sneak attack. Naturally, his attention shifted from inside the villa to the sniper duel in front of him, and he stopped paying attention to Pride's movements.

Although Bee was later recalled, Xie Wei was worried about being ambushed, so he found a relatively safe hiding place, held up his sniper rifle and kept a close eye on Bee's direction, waiting for Seamy to flank him from both sides.

So, taking advantage of this gap, Pride quietly moved from the villa to the woods and successfully ambushed Shen Xiao, who arrived later.

From the initial baiting and diverting attention to the subsequent counter-ambush, it's fair to say that KW completely saw through and exploited all of their tactics.

but……

If his shot had hit Bee's head instead of his shoulder, none of the mess that followed would have happened.

Xie Wei closed his eyes, trying his best to banish these distracting thoughts from his mind. He pulled the bolt to reload and moved to a different position to avoid being caught by the KW team members who were coming from behind.

“Mine,” Xu Ziyan said with annoyance, “I should have known it was a trap when Alice didn’t come out to chase the captain.”

While waiting to be resurrected, Shen Xiao took a sip of water and said nonchalantly, "Hey, it's normal! The other side is a cut above the rest, and we're a step behind. This is just the beginning, we'll catch up later."

Xu Ziyan said, "Mm."

Shen Xiao said, "If all else fails, we'll just have to confront them head-on."

Indeed, KW is clearly very wary of flanking maneuvers; it's more efficient to engage head-on than to take a roundabout approach.

That being said, to enter the villa, besides having to withstand a hail of bullets from the front, Bee's sniper position must be taken out.

Actually, it would be acceptable for Xie Wei to keep an eye on Bee and put pressure on her.

Xu Ziyan said, "No, Seamy, go around to the back one more time."

Shen Xiao was puzzled, but he wouldn't actually question the team's command during the match. He said with some doubt, "OK."

Xu Ziyan added unhurriedly, "This time, I'll be with you."

--

“Seamy is flanking again!” Commentator A exclaimed in surprise. “I thought that after this failed flank attempt, TWG would give up and instead try a frontal assault. After all, everyone knows that TWG’s style is to never fall twice in the same place.”

Commentator B: "Today is obviously different. Seamy flanked... Oh? Not only that, Ice followed too."

"TWG only left Shining and Chen on the front line. Shining still took the side mountain path, while Chen waited for support behind the front. This was the right choice, since without medical support from behind, rushing in would only result in death."

"Seamy and Ice are in position, and Shining has found a hiding spot on the side to set up his gun. Obviously, KW has the same idea as us this time, thinking that they will rush forward head-on. The two assault teams are waiting at the intersection directly in front. Pride brought a sniper rifle, probably just to be safe. He still chose to go to the back to protect Bee."

"But to his utter surprise, TWG's target this time wasn't Bee, but himself!"

--

Around the corner not far away, Pride's figure appeared on the screen. He moved very carefully, always hiding in the blind spot behind the woods. If Xu Ziyan and Shen Xiao hadn't intentionally been lying in ambush there, they probably wouldn't have noticed him at all.

"Here it comes." Xu Ziyan took out a healing bottle and, without the slightest hesitation, smashed it at Pride the moment she stepped into range.

A crisp, shattering sound exploded in the headphones. Pride was startled and reacted by quickly rolling to the side, but Xu Ziyan and Shen Xiao's gunfire caught up with him even faster.

Bee turned around and raised his gun to provide support, hitting Xu Ziyan in the head cleanly and decisively. However, the kill he had anticipated did not happen.

It's an armor pack.

Pride was killed, and Bee, who peeked out to snipe Xu Ziyan, was also taken down by Xie Wei.

The two assault operatives inside the villa turned to provide support, but Xu Ziyan calmly moved around, using the woods as cover to replenish his health.

Meanwhile, Bai Chen provided timely support from the front, leaving KW vulnerable from both sides and without the support of Pride and Bee. Point A was successfully captured by TWG.

"Pride's move was a classic case of being too clever for his own good," commentator B said. "Although Bee's strategic position is important, if he hadn't been killed, he might have been able to buy some more time."

Commentator A joked, "There's no way around it. Since the playoffs, Pride has been using all sorts of tricks to make his opponents dizzy. But this time, his opponent is none other than Ice, the originator of the sneaky style. I still remember that flanking and fixed-point sniping match in Harbor, which stunned everyone. His sense of flanking is definitely more acute than the average person."

Commentator B chuckled: "The root of all evil."

TWG successfully captured point A, while point B was a close battle with KW due to the terrain. The struggle continued until the last ten seconds when Xie Wei made a brilliant double sniper shot, finally giving his team the opportunity to go down the hill and capture the point.

TWG took the first game.

The word "Victory" appeared on the screen. Xie Wei breathed a sigh of relief, released the mouse, and his wrist was already aching slightly. He stood up and followed the team back to the lounge. On the way, Xu Ziyan quickened his pace to catch up.

"Captain," the young man lowered his voice, "I have something I want to say to you."

Xu Ziyan rarely acted so mysteriously. Xie Wei was taken aback, but calmly reviewed his own performance in the previous game. He believed there were no flaws, and the last move was quite brilliant. So he suppressed his doubts and followed.

The room next to the lounge was originally used to store miscellaneous items and props, but it was empty at the moment.

Xie Wei followed him inside, quietly closed the door, and looked up at the Omega in front of him: "What's wrong?"

Xu Ziyan bit her lip and said, "I won the first game I directed."

Xie Wei wondered if this was a reward he wanted. He said, "Yes, you're great."

"Could I take the lead in the next game as well?"

Xie Wei was taken aback. Looking at the young man in front of him, he knew that the man probably knew something. He remained calm and smiled lightly: "What's wrong? You want to play the 'power struggle' so early? I haven't retired yet."

Xu Ziyan stepped forward, grabbed Xie Wei's right wrist, lowered his head and eyes, and massaged his sore spot with his fingers in circles.

He didn't respond to Xie Wei's joking teasing, but only said, "If we win the next game, then I'll take charge of the game after that, which is also match point."

"If they win the match point, TWG will successfully advance to the finals..."

"So I guess I can be considered a reliable player with some ability?"

Xie Wei sensed something was off about his tone and frowned slightly: "Yan Yan..."

"When the time comes, could you grant me a request?" Xu Ziyan looked up and met his eyes: "If anything happens in the future, tell me first and don't hide anything from me."

Xie Wei felt as if she had been pricked by a needle, neither too hard nor too soft.

He grasped Xu Ziyan's hand in return, a thousand words swirling in his mind, but in the end he simply nodded and said, "Okay."