Chapter 40: Betting Odds

Inside the competition room, Li Xin sat at the far left, his brows knitted and eyes dark with weighty concern. Within the Dongjia team, he had earned the moniker “King of Snipers,” while Bao Bao remained the perennial runner-up. Though it sounded awkward, no professional sharpshooter in the entire e-sports circle dared underestimate Bao Bao; his sniping skills were also of the highest caliber. In fact, during many internal training sessions, he could best Li Xin.

It was the dual-sniper tactic of Li Xin and Bao Bao that had time and again brought Dongjia unexpected success in demolition matches, leaving their opponents unprepared.

Now that Li Xin had retired, his replacement as Bao Bao’s partner, the new sniper KK, was clearly a cut below. At this moment, Li Xin launched a daring assault from the central hall; KK, stationed at the window, failed to land a shot, leaving only Bao Bao to react swiftly. Risking death at the hands of the rifleman below, Bao Bao shot ahead of time.

The bullet would strike Li Xin in just 0.07 seconds. Bao Bao’s lips curled into a mocking smile—he did not believe Li Xin could evade it.

The two sides battled fiercely, paying no heed to this corner of the match. But within the internet café, the hundreds of spectators had already erupted in excitement.

Both sides were masters of game sense, their skill gap razor-thin; the outcome now depended on that rapidly advancing sniper bullet.

So fast was the projectile that it caught not only Li Xin off guard, but also left the audience no time to react.

To compound matters, Li Xin had been killed earlier and had not yet respawned at full health in the semi-invulnerable state, making it impossible to utilize his high-speed movement to its fullest.

In a split-second decision, he leapt leftward.

Bang!

The bullet struck Li Xin’s left shoulder, taking away 68 points of health. As his character landed, Li Xin swiftly clicked the mouse, sending three rounds flying.

The rifle bullets, blindingly fast, struck Bao Bao’s character directly—a headshot kill!

Though the action seemed lengthy in narration, from the moment he burst from the central hall to the leap and the kill, not even a second had passed. Upon landing, Li Xin’s Night Rose did not pause; he darted off again at speed.

A brief flash—Bao Bao’s character, the Spirit Fox, respawned.

“Damn! How did he pull that off?” Bao Bao spat through gritted teeth, unable to fathom how Li Xin managed the kill.

Yet in the vast viewing hall of the internet café, the crowd was still in uproar.

“Just now… how did he dodge that?”

“You’re asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? I didn’t see clearly either.”

“It was just a simple move to the left.”

“Idiot, do you really think it’s that simple?”

As the crowd buzzed with speculation, it was the long-haired youth in black who spoke up: “This guy’s reaction speed is probably around 0.1 seconds.”

“What?” The crowd was stunned, pressing for answers—since when could humans react so quickly?

The young man in black shook his head with a wry smile. He didn’t really know; 0.1 seconds was just his quick estimate based on the timing of the match.

As the crowd continued to discuss, the match drew their attention once again. Li Xin had leapt onto the corridor railing, killing two with his back turned before KK took him out with a sniper shot.

Single-handedly, he had withstood four professional gunners, achieving a quadruple kill—a feat rare even on the world stage. How could the crowd not be stirred? How could their spirits not soar?

At the defenders’ respawn point, with three seconds left on the cooldown, Yang Yu’s face was grim as he nearly growled, “What’s wrong with you two? You let him get a quad kill!”

Cool and Bao Bao looked ashamed, unable to reply.

The match continued—this was no time for anger or blame—so Yang Yu said nothing more and rushed out, gun in hand.

In the opposite competition room, the morale of the five on the infiltrator side soared. Wang Shuai and the others exchanged glances with Li Xin, eyes filled with admiration and awe.

Earlier, when Liu Ran suggested Li Xin as commander, they were skeptical, thinking Li Xin had only gotten the job through Liu Ran. Now they realized how shortsighted and naive they’d been.

“What are you all spacing out for? Keep playing!” Li Xin called sharply, snapping the three back to attention—though they were still promptly killed.

“All three of you, take the central hall. Two guard the main route; one covers the secondary and the connector.”

“Okay!” they replied in unison and moved swiftly.

Li Xin’s previous performance had indeed been dazzling, but in the face of a huge skill gap, he was outmatched. Six minutes into the match, Dongjia had secured victory with a score of 101:59.

Li Xin no longer went all out as he had before, nor did he shine with a single, stunning display.

At the seven-minute mark, Dongjia claimed victory in the first round of team deathmatch. Both teams set down their headsets for a break. Yang Yu and Bao Bao exchanged quiet laughter, seemingly discussing strategy for the next round. On Li Xin’s side, silence reigned—Li Xin and Liu Ran rested with eyes closed, while Wang Shuai and the others glanced at each other in resignation.

They had clearly dragged the team down—only around ten kills each, with death counts reaching thirty.

The atmosphere was so stifling it was suffocating. Wang Shuai couldn’t hold back any longer and muttered angrily, “It’s not that big a deal. One-on-one, it’s not certain who would win. But the opponents are pros; their coordination is way better than ours.”

“Yeah, their game sense is much stronger too. In team battles, no matter how good the commander is, it still comes down to individual aim,” added another, equally frustrated.

Li Xin took a deep breath and nodded. With teammates who had such courage and spirit, there was still a sliver of hope for victory.

“No matter which map comes up next, you must follow my commands—no freelancing,” Li Xin instructed.

“Understood, absolutely!” Liu Ran replied earnestly, inspiring Wang Shuai and the others.

In the viewing hall, spectators felt a twinge of disappointment, having hoped Liu Ran’s side would turn out to be a dark horse. That formidable infiltrator Night Rose now seemed a fleeting wonder.

The long-haired youth in black ran his left hand through his hair, then pulled a pair of gold-rimmed glasses from his pocket and put them on, puzzling the crowd.

“Heh, I have a feeling the demolition match will be the real highlight. I’m a bit nearsighted—don’t want to miss a single exciting moment,” he said.

His words clicked with the audience, though their doubts only grew. After losing the first round so badly, how exciting could the demolition match possibly be?

The sharp host bounded back onto the stage, beaming with springtime delight, clearly up to something.

Wang Xiaoqian, full of disdain, was just about to scoff when the host announced, “At the request of a certain gentleman, we’re opening betting on the match outcome. Based on the team deathmatch results, we’ve set the following odds—everyone is welcome to participate.”

Ding!

The LCD screen flashed, displaying a typical bookmaker’s betting interface.

Defenders win: 1.4.

Infiltrators win: 8.6.

Whoa! Hundreds of spectators gasped in unison. The odds for the pro team were so low—it meant an 86% chance of victory according to the internet café’s own betting system, which carried weight.

“I’m betting! Put my money on the defenders!”

“Me too—two hundred on the defenders.”

“You’re betting just two hundred? I’ll put a thousand on the defenders!”

With the match now spiced with betting, the atmosphere among the spectators grew even more feverish. Win, and you pocket some cash; lose, and it’s just for fun.

The long-haired youth in black furrowed his brows in thought, then stood and placed a five-thousand bet—on the infiltrators.

For a moment, the crowd was baffled, wondering if he’d lost his mind. Before they could voice their questions, Wang Xiaoqian suddenly shouted, “Out of my way! I’m betting a hundred thousand!”

New book—please add to your favorites, please recommend, please, please, anything at all!