E-Sports Boss Wants To Post Messages With New Players Every Day Chapter 63

Chapter 62

The map loaded, and as the countdown ended, the TWG members left the spawn point.

In their headsets, the sound of waves crashing against the reefs, the cries of seagulls overhead, and the rustling of leaves were all so real and peaceful. It was as if a simple sniff could bring the salty, damp scent of the ocean.

“Right at the start, KW will definitely want to occupy the A-point position in the villa. The indoor terrain is unfavorable for a sniper, so their sniper must be lurking outside,” Xu Ziyan said. “Seamy, you go flank. Chen and I will go together. Captain…”

He paused before continuing, “Go up first and help the team spot the enemy positions.”

The terrain of Morgan Manor was too unique. The villa was the highest point, and there was a small, uncovered pavilion next to it. Other than that, there were no other high vantage points.

Therefore, the sniper couldn’t climb to a high spot at the start of the match to observe enemy movements through their scope, unlike on other maps.

Xie Wei acknowledged this and, spotting a rock formation nearby, left the main road and jumped up. He quickly scaled the cliff, lay prone with his sniper rifle, and used the cover of the grass to open his scope. “The Medic and Alice are on the first floor of the villa. I don’t know the movements of the sniper and the other Assault Player…”

Before he finished speaking, he sensed danger keenly. With a slight movement of his finger, he executed a roll.

“Bang!”

The sniper bullet grazed past his face, leaving a smoking bullet hole in the grass.

“…The sniper is on the coconut tree at the 270-degree mark.”

Xu Ziyan, below, also heard the shot. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Xie Wei replied. Since his position had been spotted, he stopped hiding, stood up, and returned fire. The shot didn’t land a headshot, but it took out a large chunk of the KW sniper’s health. He frowned, subtly flexing the wrist holding his mouse. “But my position might have been exposed a bit too early.”

Xu Ziyan said, “Seamy?”

Shen Xiao replied, “I’m in position.”

Xu Ziyan said, “Then let’s start the action early.”

“This should be the first time we’ve seen TWG play since the new version update,” said Commentator B. “I originally thought that Player Ice would choose the currently popular healing sniper rifle in this game, but he’s still carrying his old healing rifle.”

Commentator A said, “It is a bit disappointing! Not only that, Ice’s secondary weapon is still a healing bottle and armor pack; there’s no stun gun. Although it might sound bad to say this, the flashy tactic of a Medic carrying a stun gun to flank and take out the backline was pioneered by Player Ice. Now that the stun gun has been buffed in this version, not seeing Ice use it feels like missing the most anticipated part of the show.”

Commentator B: “That’s not surprising. The Medic’s survival environment is indeed worrying. There are too few situations where they can effectively use a stun gun.”

Commentator A nodded. “That’s true. Oh? We can see that after Xie Shen repelled Bee, who was lurking in the tree, Seamy immediately snuck up from behind. That was a very long detour!”

“But clearly, the detour was worth it. Seamy has reached a range where he can see Bee. If this continues, Bee will be in danger. Fortunately, Pride appears at this moment! He uses a stun gun to freeze Seamy in place—wait, when did he appear in the woods? Wasn’t he just in the villa?!”

A crisp sniper shot rang out, and Shen Xiao, immobilized by the stun gun, was taken out by Bee’s sniper rifle without any chance to fight back.

Shen Xiao was dumbfounded. “What’s up with this Medic? He’s like a ghost! Scared me!”

Xie Wei, however, had quickly pieced together what happened: He saw Pride in the villa and informed the team. Then came Bee’s sneak attack, naturally shifting their attention from inside the villa to the sniper duel in front of them, causing them to stop tracking Pride’s movements.

Although Bee was forced back, Xie Wei, worried about being ambushed, found a relatively safe hiding spot and kept his scope trained on Bee’s direction, waiting for Seamy’s pincer attack.

Pride took advantage of this window of time to quietly move from the villa to the woods, successfully ambushing Shen Xiao, who arrived moments later.

From the initial lure and distraction to the subsequent counter-ambush, it could be said that all of their tactics were completely seen through and exploited by KW.

But…

If his shot had hit Bee’s head instead of his shoulder, none of these messy subsequent events would have occurred.

Xie Wei closed his eyes, trying his best to drive these distracting thoughts out of his mind. He racked the bolt to reload and shifted his position to avoid being caught by the approaching KW members.

“My fault,” Xu Ziyan said, his voice laced with annoyance. “When Alice didn’t come out to chase the Captain, I should have known it was a trap.”

Shen Xiao took a sip of water while waiting to respawn, sounding unconcerned. “Hey, it’s normal! The opponent was better, we were one step behind. It’s just the beginning; we’ll get them back later.”

Xu Ziyan said, “Mhm.”

Shen Xiao added, “If worst comes to worst, let’s just go head-to-head.”

That was true. KW was clearly well-prepared for flanking maneuvers. Instead of complicated detours, a direct frontal assault might be cleaner.

But even so, to enter the villa, they would have to endure a hail of bullets from the front, and Bee’s sniper position absolutely had to be dealt with.

Xie Wei could actually focus on Bee and apply pressure.

Yet, Xu Ziyan said, “No, Seamy, flank one more time.”

Shen Xiao was confused, but he wouldn’t actually question the in-game commander. He replied with doubt, “OK.”

Xu Ziyan calmly added, “This time, I’ll go with you.”

“Seamy is flanking again!” Commentator A exclaimed in surprise. “I thought TWG would abandon the flanking strategy after the setback and opt for a frontal breakthrough. After all, everyone knows TWG’s style is never to stumble in the same place twice.”

Commentator B: “Today is clearly different. Seamy is flanking… Oh? Not only that, Ice is following him.”

“TWG only left Shining and Chen at the front. Shining still took the side mountain path, and Chen is still waiting in the rear for support. This is the correct choice, as a rash push without a Medic for support would only feed kills.”

“Seamy and Ice are in position. Shining has also found a hiding spot on the side to hold the line. Clearly, KW’s thinking is the same as ours; they expected a frontal push. Both Assault Players are waiting at the front intersection, ready for battle. Pride is carrying a sniper rifle, perhaps as a precaution. He still chose to go to the backfield to protect Bee.”

“But what he never expected was that TWG’s target this time wasn’t Bee, but himself!”

Around the corner not far away, Pride’s figure appeared on the screen. He was moving very cautiously, staying entirely within the blind spots behind the trees. If Xu Ziyan and Shen Xiao hadn’t deliberately been lying in wait here, they might not have noticed him at all.

“He’s here,” Xu Ziyan said, pulling out a healing bottle. Without any unnecessary hesitation, the moment Pride walked into range, he immediately threw the bottle.

The crisp sound of shattering glass exploded in the headsets. Pride was startled and reacted quickly with a side roll, but Xu Ziyan and Shen Xiao’s firing lines followed his movement even faster.

Bee turned around to provide sniper support, landing a clean shot directly on Xu Ziyan’s head. However, the expected kill didn’t pop up.

It was the armor pack.

Pride was eliminated, and Bee, who had exposed himself to snipe Xu Ziyan, was taken out by Xie Wei.

The two Assault Players in the villa turned back to support. Xu Ziyan calmly moved, using the trees for cover, and fully replenished his health bar.

At the same time, Bai Chen provided timely support from the front. KW was caught between two fires, and having lost the support of Pride and Bee, A-point was successfully taken by TWG.

“This wave by Pride is a classic example of being too clever for his own good,” Commentator B said. “Although Bee’s strategic position was important, if Pride hadn’t been killed, they might have been able to stall for a bit longer.”

Commentator A joked, “No choice. Since the playoffs, Pride has been dazzling opponents with all sorts of tricks, but the person opposite him in this game is none other than Ice, the originator of the ambush style. I still remember that fixed-point sniper kill during the Harbor map that stunned everyone. His nose for flanking maneuvers must be sharper than the average person’s.”

Commentator B chuckled. “The root of all evil.”

TWG successfully captured A-point. Due to the terrain, B-point saw a back-and-forth struggle with KW that dragged on until the last ten seconds, when Xie Wei landed a beautiful double-tap with his sniper, finally earning the team a chance to descend and capture the point.

TWG took the first small round.

As the word “Victory” appeared on the screen, Xie Wei let out a breath and released his mouse. His wrist was faintly aching. He stood up and walked back to the lounge with the team. Along the way, Xu Ziyan quickened his pace to catch up.

“Captain,” the young man lowered his voice, “I have something I want to talk to you about.”

Xu Ziyan was rarely so secretive. Xie Wei paused, subtly reviewing his actions in the previous round. He felt he hadn’t made any mistakes, and his final play was quite brilliant, so he suppressed his curiosity and followed along.

The room next to the lounge was originally used for storage and props, but it was currently empty.

Xie Wei followed him in, quietly closed the door, and looked at the Omega in front of him. “What is it?”

Xu Ziyan bit his lip and said, “The first game I commanded, we won.”

Xie Wei wondered if he was looking for a reward. He said, “Yes, you were excellent.”

“Then, can I also command the next game?”

Xie Wei was taken aback. He looked at the young man, knowing he likely understood something. He kept his expression neutral and smiled lightly. “What’s this? Trying to play ‘power struggle’ so soon? I haven’t retired yet.”

Xu Ziyan stepped forward, grabbed Xie Wei’s right wrist, lowered his head, and massaged the sore spot with his fingers.

He didn’t answer Xie Wei’s teasing remark, only saying, “If we win the next game too, then let me command the match point game after that.”

“If we win the match point game too, and TWG successfully enters the finals…”

“Then I should count as a reliable player with some skill, right?”

Xie Wei sensed the change in his tone and frowned slightly. “Yanyan…”

“At that time, can you grant me one request?” Xu Ziyan looked up, meeting his eyes. “In the future, whatever happens, tell me first. Don’t hide anything from me.”

Xie Wei felt as if a needle had lightly pricked his heart.

He turned his hand to grip Xu Ziyan’s, a thousand words rushing through his mind, but in the end, he only nodded and said, “Okay.”