"Little Jiang, hurry up and run from the Blue Zone! What are you standing there for?"
"Fing hell, Jiang Siming, did you disconnect? Why are you running into the Blue Zone?"
"Forget about that noob, I'll take Manager Wang and run from the Blue Zone first. Manager Wang, sit behind me, I'll shield you from bullets!"
...
Listening to the chatter coming through his cheap headphones, Jiang Siming sat in the internet cafe, staring blankly at his computer screen.
Jiang Siming had graduated three years ago and was working in sales at a real estate company. Today, he was playing games with two colleagues and their team manager, Manager Wang.
Compared to his colleagues, Jiang Siming was a complete noob—just there to be the medic and carry ammo.
In fact, his skills were lacking, and he wasn't good at flattery, so his presence in the game was minimal, almost negligible...
At this moment, Jiang Siming's computer screen wasn't frozen, and the game hadn't disconnected.
But in Jiang Siming's eyes, there was something different on his game screen.
While running from the Blue Zone, Jiang Siming noticed a white light flashing as he passed through Pochinki.
At first, he thought he was seeing things or that his computer was glitching, but after confirming multiple times, Jiang Siming was sure he saw it.
"Hey buddy, do you see this light?"
Jiang Siming pointed at the computer and asked the buddy next to him who was also playing Chicken Dinner, but the guy shook his head and said, "No, what light?"
"This white light right here, can't you see it? It's really bright."
Jiang Siming couldn’t believe it—was something wrong with his eyes? Cataracts at his age? Maybe he needed some eyedrops from those dodgy TV ads?
"There's no light, I think you're possessed. Hurry up and run from the Blue Zone, buddy, you're about to die from it."
The buddy next to him kindly reminded him, denying it once more.
Jiang Siming was puzzled. To confirm he wasn't seeing things, he changed direction and headed into Pochinki, quickly locating the source of the light, which was in a three-story building.
It was already the third wave of the Blue Zone, and there wasn't a soul in Pochinki; everyone had run from the Blue Zone. Jiang Siming wasn't worried about anyone being in the city and rushed into the glowing three-story house.
On the top floor, Jiang Siming was stunned.
A white, musical note-shaped fragment was quietly floating in the corner, glowing brightly, very conspicuous.
But this wasn't something that belonged in the game PUBG!
"Hey, hey, hey, buddy, look! Is this fragment a new item in the game?"
Jiang Siming shouted, and the buddy next to him impatiently came over to take a closer look, then said speechlessly:
"What fragment? There's nothing in this room, are you messing with me?"
"This big fragment, it's so bright, can't you see it? It's right here!"
Jiang Siming pointed at the white musical note fragment on the computer screen, which looked quite nice.
"Fragment my ass! You’re delusional!" The guy ignored Jiang Siming, thinking he was a fool.
"How can it be? Why can't he see it?" Jiang Siming said incredulously. Could it be that only he could see this thing?
Curious, Jiang Siming decided to see what this fragment was all about.
He walked over and pressed the pickup key, hearing a ding in his mind.
"Picked up [98k Mastery] Fragment *1 (1/1), fragment count full, can be used directly."
"Use!"
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Without time to be shocked, Jiang Siming already had a vague idea that something was off.
The moment Jiang Siming chose to use the fragment, it felt like a stream of energy surged into his mind.
Then, to his astonishment, Jiang Siming found that his brain was filled with many tips on using the 98k sniper rifle, like Quick Scope, Prefire, moving target, aim elevation... a whole bunch of information about this in-game sniper rifle.
And he happened to be carrying a 98k. He wanted to find a tree to test it out, but Wang Jun and the others were already impatiently urging him.
"Little Jiang, what the hell are you doing? Are you an idiot? Hurry up and get your ass here with those med kits!"
Hearing the manager curse at him, Jiang Siming suppressed his displeasure and grumbled a response, choosing to comply and run from the Blue Zone.
He was no longer the 'talented student' Jiang Siming from his school days, admired by all the girls for his charisma and righteousness.
The harshness of the workplace was beyond his imagination.
Although he wanted to retort, the lessons from previous instances of defying the boss had taught Jiang Siming a hard lesson.
Otherwise, as a graduate from a prestigious university, he wouldn't have ended up as a lowly sales rep.
Barely making it out of the Blue Zone, Jiang Siming hadn't even had time to heal before his colleagues urged him to hand over all his medical supplies.
"There's no use for you to have meds, Little Jiang. Just aim down sights next to us, and if anyone goes down, revive them quickly, got it?" Wang Jun commanded.
"Okay," Jiang Siming replied casually and said no more.
Having given them all the meds, Jiang Siming knew he could only maintain half health, but he didn't hand over the 98k, not because they didn't want it, but because they all had one.
So Jiang Siming was lucky to have a sniper rifle he didn't have to hand over. Previously, whenever he managed to find a Mini14, they’d always snatch it from him immediately.
Unfortunately, his 98k only had a red dot sight, which was practically useless.
In the past, Jiang Siming’s shots with the 98k were like fireworks at a wedding — plenty of noise, no damage done.
But now, Jiang Siming was full of confidence; even with a red dot sight, he could kill!
"I see someone! Southeast, heading our way!" Colleague Zhou Qiang shouted.
"Block them, Manager Wang, your shooting is the best. I'll go ahead and draw fire, and you finish them off." Another colleague, Yuan Bing, started flattering again.
Jiang Siming was speechless inside, not understanding how they could flatter so much, turning someone who couldn't hit a close target into a sharpshooter.
But with the enemy approaching, Jiang Siming couldn't be bothered to mock them, holding his 98k and quietly waiting for his prey.
Soon, a full squad approached from the southeast, but they were still a bit far.
Zhou Qiang and the others turned serious when they saw the enemy's loadout; the opponents were all wearing Level 3 Vests!
One even had a striking black helmet, a Level 3 Helmet!
"Damn! Their gear is too good, this is going to be tough."
Level 3 Vests could take a lot of bullets, making it hard to take them down instantly.
Bang!
A shot broke the silence; it was Wang Jun who fired.
Unable to hold back, Wang Jun thought he could take one out and fired first, exposing their position.
Zhou Qiang and Yuan Bing were internally cursing but naturally didn't say it out loud. They could only shout to start shooting and followed up with their own shots.
The hasty shooting had little effect; the three of them didn't even manage to take down one person, allowing the enemy team to react and take cover.
It was clear this team knew what they were doing. They were calm and composed, throwing smoke and grenades with precision.
On the other hand, Wang Jun and his team were thrown into chaos by the precise grenades, with Wang Jun nearly getting blown up.
"Should we retreat, Manager Wang? We can't beat them..." Zhou Qiang said, trembling on the ground, frantically using meds while speaking to Wang Jun.
"Fine... this team just got lucky with all those Level 3 Vests. We’ll get them next time." Wang Jun said, leaving this 'tough talk' before turning to run.
Proofreader&Editor: Howard Wong