The tension was thick in the underground internet café. Neon lights flickered across rows of monitors as Shen Wanqing adjusted her headset, heart pounding like the recoil of a sniper rifle.
"Zone shrinking in five… four…" her teammate's voice crackled through comms, but she barely heard him. Her entire focus was locked on the scope in front of her - a perfect headshot opportunity, 150 meters out, across the ridge.
It was a final circle. Two teams left. Her team has two players down. Only she and a newbie streamer named BeanCurdBoy remained.
The enemy team? All four are alive.
"Don't peek, Wanwan! You're surrounded!" BeanCurdBoy panicked.
Wanqing exhaled slowly. Calm. Steady.
She wasn't going down without a fight.
A flick of her wrist. The Kar98k's crosshair aligned.
Bang. Knock. Headshot.
The crowd behind her gasped, not virtual viewers, but real ones. They had gathered for a local PUBG show match at this dingy Chengdu café, expecting pros and influencers to shine.
Instead, a girl in a hoodie and worn-out sneakers was stealing the entire spotlight.
Bang. Knock. Bang. Knock.
Three down. One left.
The last enemy player tried to flank her.
Rushing me. Smart.But not smart enough.
She bunny-hopped, flicked 180 degrees mid-jump, and... Bang. Dead.
"WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!"
Silence. Then the café exploded in screams and applause.
Wanqing removed her headset, face flushed. She turned toward the stage MC, still stunned.
"Who… who is this girl?" he mumbled, eyes wide.
Someone shouted from the crowd, "That's QingQingSnipes! She's just a small streamer! Holy crap, she just 1v4'd Team Titan!"
Backstage, in a private lounge, a tall man silently watched the livestream on his phone.
His sharp suit did little to hide the steel in his gaze. Clean-cut jaw. Cold, elegant fingers wrapped around a crystal glass of water. A small insignia gleamed on his cuff, the LuTech crest.
He didn't blink as the replay played again. One shot. One knock.Two. Three. Four.
The final headshot had been on him or rather, his in-game persona: Reign, China's top-ranked PUBG sniper and the anonymous star of Team Titan.
He leaned back, eyes narrowing.
"QingQingSnipes, huh?" he murmured, the ghost of a smile brushing his lips. "Interesting."