The name Reign echoed across China's PUBG leaderboards like a ghost, feared, respected, untouchable. And yet, tonight, a girl with secondhand peripherals and a quiet glare had humiliated him in front of a thousand livestream viewers and an entire offline audience.
Lu Zeyan didn't feel anger. He never wasted energy on emotion. Instead, he felt something much rarer. Curiosity.
He rewound the clip.
Sniper. Cover. Circle shrinks. Her reading was perfect. No panic in her hands, no hesitation. Each shot, precise. Like a scalpel.
She didn't win by chance. She outplayed him.
His phone buzzed. A message from his manager, Tao:
"That girl from Chengdu, QingQingSnipes. You want us to reach out?"
Zeyan tapped the screen once.
"No. I'll handle it myself."
Meanwhile, across town…
Shen Wanqing was nursing a warm bowl of spicy noodles in her tiny apartment kitchen, legs propped on a rickety plastic chair. Her inbox was already exploding with follow requests, stream subscriptions, and… interview requests?
She blinked.
Gaming News China (GNC):"Rising Sniper Queen?"Stream Wars:"PUBG's Next Goddess: QingQingSnipes?"Team Titan Coach:"Interested in talking?"
Her spoon froze mid-air.
"Team Titan?"
She clicked on the message.
"Hi Wanqing, Coach Duan here. Would love to chat about training opportunities. Are you free for a call tomorrow?"
Her heart somersaulted. Titan? The same team that dominated every national PUBG tournament? She'd just crushed them hours ago.
She didn't reply immediately. Instead, she opened a new tab. Her hands moved instinctively, typing in the one name she'd never forget.
"Reign PUBG face reveal?"
Of course, nothing. No leaks. No livestreams. No selfies. The legendary player was a ghost.
But his playstyle… she'd memorized it. Cold. Lethal. Elegant. Tonight, she'd taken him down.
And it felt so damn good.
The Next Day — LuTech Headquarters, Shenzhen
The LuTech building rose like a blade through the skyline. Floor 38 belonged to Lu Zeyan, the heir, strategist, and puppet master behind more than just hardware innovation.
As he walked into the glass conference room, two men stood waiting. One, his father, Lu Haoxuan. The other, a suited man with a hawkish face: Team Titan's sponsor representative.
"Zeyan," his father said curtly, "the numbers are dropping. Titan's last match was embarrassing."
Zeyan didn't flinch.
"Then we fix it."
"Coach Duan wants to bring in fresh blood. Someone who just... dismantled you."
Zeyan's brow twitched ever so slightly.
"She's untrained."
"She's trending."
Zeyan sat, folding his hands calmly."Then let's test her."
Two Days Later — Anonymous Message to QingQingSnipes
FROM: Unknown SUBJECT: Elite Invitational – Entry Code"You've drawn blood. Now prove you belong.Private scrim. Tomorrow. 7PM. Password: HEADSHOT."
Wanqing read the message three times. No team name. No sponsor. Just a time, a challenge... and a target.
Her lips curved.
"Reign, huh? You want round two?"
She cracked her knuckles and opened PUBG.