Chapter 9: Pure Radiance Like Snow

September 30th. Tomorrow is National Day.

Early in the morning, after hastily eating a bowl of rice, Li Xin turned on his computer and logged into CF. After enduring two agonizing days of cooldown, he spent the next two days playing games at home, gaining a deeper understanding of “King of Games.” He had just created a new account with the ID: Yi Ran!

With deep affection and memories drifting away, he wanted to bid farewell to the past and open his heart to embrace a new beginning.

These past couple of days, he hadn’t gone to the familiar expert camp to practice shooting. The players there were fierce, and his body couldn’t withstand long sessions; playing with them could easily lead to another death and cooldown. So, Li Xin created a 1V1 AK headshot room in team mode, where there were many players of varying skill levels—perfect for his initial stage of exploration and practice.

Indeed, it proved to be the right choice. At least in these two days, Li Xin hadn't met his match and had made great progress, frequently entering the HP100 virtual-real fusion state.

Today, he entered team mode again, created a room, and waited while listening to music. He preferred listening to lyrical songs while practicing, as they helped ease his perpetually tense mind.

Perhaps because tomorrow was National Day, there weren’t many players online today, and even fewer had the courage and ability to challenge someone one-on-one. Nearly ten minutes passed before someone finally joined—a Grand Marshal with the ID: Qinghui Like Snow. Her pink, glowing nickname shimmered softly, carrying an exceedingly rare War Dragon nameplate.

Experience told Li Xin this must be a wealthy girl.

“Ready to start?”

Qinghui Like Snow was crisp and direct, wasting no words.

Li Xin smiled at her decisiveness; such straightforward girls were rare, and she must have some skill. In recent years, more and more girls were playing games—their slender fingers were even more nimble than men's, and their mastery of precision shooting was often superior. Take the female team members of Dongjia, for example; their strength was hardly inferior to their male counterparts.

“Ready, why not?” Li Xin replied quickly, his mouse hovering over Qinghui Like Snow’s Grand V badge.

Wow!

“So extravagant, 21V.” Li Xin smiled with a hint of awe. This girl had filled all seven backpacks with hero-level weapons. By comparison, he felt a bit inferior—a new account with just three Vs: M4, AK, and a sniper rifle.

But in CF, as a competitive game, weapon equipment wasn’t as crucial. In other types of online games, having a powerful weapon would greatly increase the chances of victory, let alone having a backpack full of advanced weapons. In other games, such an arsenal would be an instant overwhelming advantage.

Li Xin had confidence in his own skills but never grew arrogant; his physical condition wasn’t great, and new experts appeared constantly—no one could guarantee being the strongest forever. He finished the cigarette he was holding, focused himself, and entered the game.

Ding!

[Game launched, character fusion in progress, about to enter competitive online game CF.]

Two more system prompts followed, and the screen before Li Xin shifted from the computer display to the familiar King of Games interface. With his HP at full value, the scene changed again—after virtual-real fusion, Li Xin merged with his in-game character, Flying Tiger Squad.

Expertly raising his bayonet AK, Li Xin ran out, having already wasted some time due to two screen transitions. Just as he exited the main gate, he saw Qinghui Like Snow jumping onto the central hall railings. Her character was Avenger, a rare type with flashbang and friendly grenade resistance, and her weapon was the rare King’s Heart.

Qinghui Like Snow reacted swiftly, instantly clicking her mouse and firing a shot.

“Here we go!” Li Xin smiled calmly, leaping high and double-jumping onto the tall crate.

Whoosh—

The bullet whistled through the air, carving a long tail and flashing sparks. Sweat trickled from Li Xin’s brow—close call. Three months away from gaming, and these past two days, he’d only faced ordinary players, with a few strong ones who never made him break a sweat.

But Qinghui Like Snow’s reaction and aim were leagues above regular players. Just that shot alone was nearly on par with professional competitors.

“What a worthy opponent!” Li Xin laughed heartily, seeing Avenger briefly pause, perhaps surprised by his performance.

A moment later, Avenger jumped to the ground and stopped.

Soon, a line of pink VIP text floated up: “You’re strong. Let’s not run around; how about we face off directly in the middle?”

Li Xin agreed instantly: “Sure!”

With mutual understanding, there was no need for reckless shooting; it would be unbefitting of experts. Both characters began running back to their respective base entrances—but Qinghui Like Snow had no idea that the Flying Tiger Squad was controlled by a real person!

In a cozy, warm room somewhere, a young girl with a ponytail gently bit her lip, her eyes dreamy and filled with confusion.

“Just now, I shot as soon as he appeared, yet he dodged it. Such fast reaction—he’s as good as any player in my team.

If only…”

Avenger, now wielding the Dragon Slayer blade, ran back to the diagonal position. The girl’s brows relaxed into a gentle smile as she devoted herself fully to the game. A simple wild match for practice had unexpectedly revealed an expert hidden among the vast sea of players—a truly rare occurrence.

Headshot!

Headshot!

…

Headshot!

After consecutively killing the Avenger goddess six times, Li Xin was quite satisfied with his skills. The experience and prowess of a nine-time gun king weren’t mere bluster—at his peak, he could even repeatedly kill professional players. But now, such excellent form was only temporary; lasting too long would be difficult.

More than his own skill, Li Xin was even more pleased and enamored with “King of Games.” The virtual-real fusion allowed him to fully control the game character consciously, which was like having a cheat. As long as his HP stayed full, his flow and smoothness would keep increasing, making victory ever more attainable.

But Li Xin knew that keeping HP at max was an idealized state; no matter how skilled, no one could guarantee never dying.

Coincidentally, as he pondered this, Qinghui Like Snow had already respawned and, while running out, fired a shot. The bullet, sparking as it flew, sped at 710m/s, and the distance between the two diagonal players on the map was only 330 meters. Li Xin had only 0.46 seconds to react.

A normal person’s reaction time is usually 0.2–0.4 seconds. Li Xin’s dominance in the gun world was not only due to precise timing but also his faster-than-average reflexes. System tests showed his quickest reaction was 0.16 seconds.

With his speed, he should have been able to handle the attack. Earlier, at even closer range, he managed to dodge. But he overlooked one thing: Qinghui Like Snow’s new attack strategy.

Based on the previous six kills, Qinghui Like Snow’s Avenger took about 0.3–0.5 seconds from jumping into the middle to firing. That tiny interval might seem insignificant, but for someone with quick reflexes, it allows for many actions.

Like those who rapidly jab knives or pen tips between their fingers—the tip can cross ten spaces in 0.5 seconds, a remarkably fast speed.

Li Xin, relying on his super-fast reflexes, was still savoring the flow of fusion from the last attack, only focusing on the match at the instant Avenger appeared. Clearly, this time, he miscalculated.

It wasn’t until the bullet had traveled about 200 meters that Li Xin, his Flying Tiger Squad character slightly bowed, noticed it. He instinctively moved left to dodge, but he no longer had his peak 0.16-second reaction and knew he stood no chance.

Bang!

Headshot!

Li Xin watched helplessly as the golden bullet pierced the right side of his skull, blood spurting out with a splatter.

Upon respawning, the game’s notification chimed.

Ding!

[System Message]: Current HP: 94/100, virtual-real fusion state lost.

The robotic screen flashed, and Li Xin dropped out of the Desert TD map, returning to the full attribute panel interface.