Chapter 4
"...Evil?"
Inside the glass soundproof room, the four IAC players took their seats. While calibrating his microphone, the team's sniper asked with some concern, "You okay?"
In the team voice chat, Shi Luo suppressed his voice. "I'm fine."
All three teammates turned to look at Shi Luo in unison. He absolutely did not look "fine" right now.
Ever since seeing Yu Sui in the hallway, Shi Luo had seemed like a completely different person—face ashen, expression entirely changed. Anyone paying close attention could see his hands were trembling.
Earlier, when his teammates were installing their keyboards, they'd noticed Shi Luo kept failing to get his installed properly because his hands were shaking. The force he was using even made the team medic worry Shi Luo might violently rip out the main unit's USB port in his anger.
This was so different from the usual Shi Luo.
The team's sniper tried to lighten the pre-match atmosphere, but unfortunately his brain wasn't quite up to the task—he picked exactly the wrong topic to broach. "Th-that really was Whisper just now, huh! Wow, he's changed so much! I'm like his half-fan, and I didn't even recognize him just now. Shi Ge, your eyes are sharp as always."
The medic shot the sniper a alarmed look, then tried to smooth things over. "...Of course. Shi Luo was on the same team as Whisper before, so he'd naturally be more familiar than others."
The sniper nodded. "Right, right. Since they were teammates."
Shi Luo's face had been locked in tension, but hearing the teammates' clumsy attempts at probing through his headset, he couldn't help but let out a self-mocking laugh. Others were probably looking at him like he was a complete lunatic right now.
They were just teammates. Just two years apart. Just reunited moments ago.
Pro players transferred teams and switched regions all the time—coming and going was routine. Take today's opponents, NSN, for instance—they were Shi Luo's old team. Running into former teammates on the field? That was just part of the job.
So was falling apart like this really necessary?
Finally, Shi Luo勉强 managed to get his peripherals adjusted. He logged into his account on the client and entered the match server. There were still about ten minutes until the official match started. All the players were warming up, and Shi Luo fired off a magazine of bullets, his aim garbage beyond words.
When emotions spiked and crashed like this, both hands would go cold and stiff from poor blood circulation—it was physiological, unavoidable. Even though Shi Luo was trying his hardest to hold it together.
Shi Luo released the keyboard and gently rubbed his stiff hands, letting out a breath. This wouldn't do.
Shi Luo stared at the screen. After a moment of silence, he spoke quietly into his microphone: "He and I... we're not just teammates."
The few teammates in his ear all startled, unsure what Shi Luo was getting at now. The medic dryly offered, "Um... Zhao Manager mentioned something to us earlier. Something about how Whisper was the one who got you into the scene."
"More than that," Shi Luo said.
The teammates exchanged uncertain glances. Even the referee monitoring IAC's team voice chat glanced Shi Luo's way. None of them understood what was going on with Shi Luo. He always talked little, and about Whisper especially he'd never say a word. What had gotten into him today?
"As for my relationship with Whisper..." Shi Luo tried to keep his tone even. "Let's put it this way—back then, I nearly gave him my life."
The medic choked. He glanced nervously around, then lowered his voice protectively near his mic. "Shi Ge, you should remember that all match voice chat is archived, right? Think about what you can and can't say..."
Shi Luo alternately squeezed his own arms, his voice steady. "Of course I know."
"The first time I learned about this was when Whisper told me, right before my very first pro match." Shi Luo rubbed his hands together as they gradually warmed up, speaking slowly. "Back then I'd just joined the team not long ago. Our team was only one match away from finishing the regular season, and if I wanted to go see the playoffs with the team, I absolutely had to play that one."
FOG League regulations clearly stated that pro players had to play at least one full BO3 for their team during the regular season in order to be eligible to participate in the playoffs as a starter or substitute.
"Our team was ranked first in total points across the entire league—we'd already secured our playoff spot. So letting me play one match was no big deal, just to get me a playoff roster slot." Shi Luo interlaced his fingers and worked his joints. "The team had no pressure, but for me it was like being thrown to the wolves. Completely unprepared, suddenly thrust onto the stage."
"I hadn't even watched a match before, and suddenly I had to start. My mind was blank. Whatever Whisper told me to do, I did." Shi Luo placed his hands back on the keyboard and mouse. "He told me to test my mic before the match, so I tested it. He told me the best way to test it was to sing, so I sang. I thought it was incredibly stupid, but figured the captain knew best, so I did it. I really sang two lines, and the next day, that song ended up in the match voice highlights reel."
The three teammates inhaled sharply, looking at Shi Luo with sympathy. They couldn't imagine what kind of nightmare that must have been.
"I was too young back then, a year younger than Wawa. Just seventeen, knew nothing..." Shi Luo snorted. "Completely clueless."
The medic managed, "N-no, no—it wasn't you being stupid. You were a rookie. Whisper shouldn't have taken advantage of you like that."
"Take advantage?" Shi Luo reloaded his weapon, speaking unhurriedly. "It was a regular season match that couldn't affect the rankings anymore. They could've plugged in a dog and it would've been fine. Nobody cared about me, nobody was paying attention to that match."
"He was the medic, and I was also a medic at the time. Actually, I could've just filled in his position and gone up there randomly, but..."
Shi Luo finished loading and pre-aimed before continuing. "But he specifically didn't trust me to do it alone. Worried I had no experience. Worried I'd freeze up. Worried no one would look after me. Worried the team's flanker would see me as a rookie and not cooperate with me properly. So this medic, for that one match, switched to flanker for the first time."
The teammates stared at Shi Luo in shock. "Whisper played flanker?!"
The team's other flanker asked weakly, "I think I remember reading an interview where Whisper explicitly said he didn't like playing other classes."
Yu Sui had only ever played medic since his debut. Even during casual streams he never played other classes. Back when he attended events and organizers personally asked him to demonstrate another class, Yu Sui would always decline. He'd also said in many interviews that he didn't like operating other classes.
Shi Luo nodded. "He didn't like it. But if he didn't play flanker, how could he be my teammate and go into the match with me?"
The team's medic's expression grew complicated. "From this perspective, Whisper was... really good to you back then..."
"Very good."
"He accompanied me for my debut match. Taught me everything I didn't know, handled every detail." Shi Luo's expression recovered, his voice finally平稳 as usual. "Like right now—maintaining composure when emotions run high, not avoiding the problem, speaking about what causes you pain, using conversation to quickly calm yourself down—those are things he taught me too."
The medic couldn't help but ask further, "He was so good to you before. How did things end up like this between you two?"
"That's exactly the problem—because he was so good to me before." Shi Luo gripped his mouse, saying flatly. "So when he later pushed me away so easily, that's what I've been bitter about until now."
Shi Luo smiled slightly, murmuring to himself: "If I had never seen the light..."
He didn't continue. Taking a deep breath, with a burst of gunshots, Shi Luo steadily fired an entire magazine into the same bullet hole.
His teammates nearly had their jaws drop.
"Running into a senior with this kind of past, and unfortunately the scene of him sending Wawa onto the field reminded me of him sending me out for my first match. Couldn't control my emotions—sorry for the display." Shi Luo released the mouse and rolled his shoulder, his expression already back to normal. "Alright, I'm good now."
The teammates watched Shi Luo's fluid display and sighed. "...This emotional recovery is insane."
The match was about to start. The sniper asked, "They didn't change their roster. Should we still use our old strategy against NSN, focusing the entire thing on their two flankers?"
"No. Today we target the medic."
The sniper looked surprised. "Today we're targeting Wawa? Don't you have a good relationship with him?"
"Exactly because we have a good relationship, I can give him extra attention." Shi Luo adjusted his microphone. "Focus relentlessly on their medic. Best if he can't even show his head without dying. No room for any plays."
The flanker grinned. "You're playing this game? But Wawa usually doesn't push early, right? Can't really target him."
"I think he will."
The flanker raised an eyebrow. "Alright then! I love dumb-focusing one person anyway."
The team medic shivered. "You guys are so mean!"
The match began.
As Shi Luo had predicted, Wawa indeed came rushing out with the flankers to the map's edge right at the start. That movement route was all too familiar to Shi Luo. He didn't even let the sniper scope in to confirm—just fired a burst and secured Wawa's first blood.
First blood acquired. Shi Luo could upgrade his gear now.
IAC's medic was dumbfounded. "The poison fog isn't even cleared yet. How did you see him?"
"Didn't see him. Heard him." Shi Luo held his breath. "He's going to flank around. Heading west to apply photon shield for the flanker. Watch the sniper position."
Exactly as if following Shi Luo's orders, two minutes later, Wawa was eliminated again by IAC's sniper on the map's west side.
The sniper laughed in disbelief. "He snuck all the way to the west side, and you could still hear him?"
"Didn't hear him. Guessed."
"Lost two kills now—he won't dare go clear the fog alone anymore. He's going to stick with the flanker for assist points." Shi Luo spoke quickly. "Medic, stay with me. We're pushing front."
Upon hearing this, the team medic first applied a photon shield to the sniper, then followed closely behind Shi Luo. Sure enough, three seconds later, NSN—unable to bear the pressure after losing two kills—rushed straight at Shi Luo's position.
Shi Luo had anticipated this. Plus his gear was better than Gu Qian's, so he wasn't afraid of pushing front early. Shi Luo opened fire immediately, ordering his medic to dodge behind cover. Using the first-mover advantage, he landed two shots on Gu Qian. Gu Qian didn't force a trade, though. Once he realized Shi Luo had pre-aimed his position, he immediately retreated into his team's poison fog, not losing a kill. Before ducking into cover, he still managed to land one shot on Shi Luo. Unfortunately, NSN's other flanker, Xin Ran, didn't have such good instincts. He didn't dodge in time and was directly picked off by Shi Luo. Wawa, trying to rescue Xin Ran, carelessly showed his head and was eliminated by Shi Luo's flanker teammate.
"Nice!"
Less than five minutes into the match, IAC's flanker and sniper both had eliminations, and the medic had gotten assist points. The whole team's gear upgraded.
The team's sniper looked completely baffled. "How do you know their movements like that?"
Shi Luo opened the upgrade interface to purchase ammunition. "Nothing special. This strategy is way too familiar to me."
Early game using the medic as bait, giving the flankers and sniper space to operate, letting them safely hunt kills during the first five minutes. As long as the medic didn't die, they could build a massive early advantage.
This was Yu Sui's strategy.
But unfortunately, Wawa's skill wasn't enough to execute this strategy.
NSN noticed it too. They were an experienced team, after all. Even after being overwhelmed early, their mentality didn't crack. They immediately adjusted tactics back to their usual flanker-heavy style, not letting IAC continue to snowball the advantage. But that early-game collapse still happened. Even though their mid and late game play remained normal, they were pressured the entire match by IAC. Thirty-two minutes later, IAC wiped out all of NSN's players, destroyed their resurrection stone, and secured the match victory.
When the results screen came up, Shi Luo glanced at it—Wawa's death count: 13.
The team medic was packing up peripherals while looking at the results and clicked his tongue. "I feel bad for Wawa, getting focused the whole match. If I were him, I'd be tilted to oblivion."
Shi Luo packed up his own peripherals. "Thirteen kills is nothing."
The medic's mouth twitched. "Shi Shen, in a shonen anime, your personality type becomes the villain."
Shi Luo didn't care. "Good. I'm not a good person anyway."
The winning team was scheduled for the usual post-match interview. The IAC team was called to the front stage. Fearing that certain people might start drama about Shi Luo, Zhao Feng had contacted the host in advance. So the interviewer didn't ask anything sensitive—just a few mild questions, then IAC's four members bowed to thank the fans who'd come to watch in person, then turned to head back to their private lounge.
Having just won the match, the teammates were pretty hyped. They bumped shoulders playfully while discussing where to eat dinner. Shi Luo's steps felt heavy. As he passed by NSN's lounge, he glanced over.
"Shi Luo? Shi Ge?"
The medic looked at him curiously. "What's wrong?"
Shi Luo snapped back. "What?"
The medic smiled. "We're planning to go eat crayfish tonight. You coming?"
"Going now means waiting in line. I'm not going." Shi Luo tossed his peripheral bag to the medic. "You guys go ahead. I've got something to do."
The medic caught the bag, confused. "Interview's over. What else do you have to do?"
Shi Luo turned around. In his teammates' horrified gazes, he shoved open the door of NSN's lounge.
The lounge door swung wide open. The room was completely empty.
Only a cleaning staff member inside looked at Shi Luo in bewilderment. "Can I help you? The NSN team already left."
The breath Shi Luo had been gathering散掉了. He closed his eyes, shook his head. "Sorry. Nothing."