Chapter 11 Eleventh of November, Zero Hour

At the stroke of midnight on November 11th, the fourth round of the S4 Melee began on schedule.

Thirty-two teams were teleported into sixteen different scripts to engage in head-to-head combat.

Unsurprisingly, the four matches with the highest number of online viewers were the aforementioned key battles.

However, a quarter of the audience changed channels less than ten minutes (game time) after the match began. Because… Hell Front only took nine minutes and fifteen seconds to kick the Deities' Second Team out of the game.

This might sound unbelievable, but it really happened. The main reason was simple—the map was too small.

So… how small was this map? Let's just say the map was called "dust2"; or more precisely, "dust2 in the dark". This was a game map adapted from a classic FPS game, and the entire map area was less than 40,000 square meters.

In addition, the basic settings of this script were as follows: First, the map itself (i.e., the ground, walls, doors, boxes, and other facilities) could not be destroyed; second, the map boundary (i.e., the square space forming the map framework) was insurmountable; third, the height that players could reach could not exceed the top edge of the highest wall on this map.

In summary… this was a black-light cage fight. Both sides had to determine the winner in a limited and specific terrain environment.

In this situation, it goes without saying who the MVP of this game was…

Therefore, the various pieces of information about the members of the Deities' Second Team that Feng Bujue analyzed and conveyed before the match… all turned out to be useless. On this mere 40,000-square-meter map, the Blood Corpse God, with [Fear Projection] and perception abilities, was a strategic weapon that transcended all tactics. At Xiao Ling's suggestion, Hell Front invited this "strongest sixth man" out at the first opportunity and quickly won the victory.

…

Meanwhile…

When the news of "Hell Front's lightning elimination of the Deities' Second Team" began to spread, another key battle had only just entered the probing stage.

"Not afraid, huh…" [NameIsReallyHardToTake] muttered, holding a sniper rifle and looking at a figure in the distance, "Walking around in this open area all alone, does he think I'm dead or something…"

At this time, Xiao Ming was hiding in a huge bird's nest on a cliff. His task was to monitor the vast, red grassland below. And the guy he was talking about who was "walking around in the open area" was none other than the vice-captain of Order's First Team—[Sashimi].

"Oh… so he's hiding in that kind of place…" Although Sashimi appeared to be strolling leisurely on the surface, he was mentally on high alert at all times. The reason why he appeared alone in this open area was to test the enemy's location.

"Judging from the voice… it should be [NameIsReallyHardToTake], right…" After using his [Heavenly Hearing] ability to lock onto the enemy's position, Sashimi continued to move forward silently, thinking to himself, "He's unconsciously talking to himself because he's in a relatively safe and hidden sniping spot… this can be considered a common bad habit."

Bang—

Just as he was thinking, a gunshot rang out.

The bullet was faster than the sound.

But Sashimi, who had been prepared, easily dodged the shot.

"That's [Boundless Sniping], right…" Sashimi, who had flashed several meters away in an instant, looked back at the bullet hole on the ground and recalled, "What did the analysis report say… an A-level shooting skill that ignores wind and range, and doesn't decrease in speed or power until it hits."

Bang bang bang bang bang—

The next second, five almost overlapping sounds rang out again, announcing that Xiao Ming's second wave of attacks had arrived.

This time, Sashimi decisively used an item called [Acceleration Scroll] and did his best to evade.

"As expected… after [Boundless Sniping], he immediately followed up with his title ability, [Berserk Firepower]…" Although Sashimi used a one-time item, he still dodged somewhat embarrassingly. "Within 1.5 seconds, the firing interval of the gun is changed to 0.01, and the previous shooting skill is re-triggered, causing it to enter the 'Berserk Firepower' state…" He felt a bit scared just thinking about it, "Well… it's a good thing I was prepared…"

Obviously, Sashimi was very familiar with NameIsReallyHardToTake's skills. Otherwise, even if he had the intention to guard against them, it would have been difficult to avoid those two moves unscathed.

And what gave Sashimi this advantage was undoubtedly Order's powerful behind-the-scenes team…

Before each match began, every member of Order would receive a detailed analysis report of the opposing team's members. The content of the report was all calculated by specialized personnel using optical brains, and even if it wasn't 100% accurate, it wouldn't have too much deviation. And those pieces of information that couldn't be calculated or deduced, and had an accuracy rate of less than 65%, would be specially marked.

This… was the actual benefit of the "pre-match intelligence war".

Perhaps many people would scoff at this approach, because competition isn't mathematics, and the essence of competition lies in the unpredictability of the process and the results. But it's undeniable that these pre-match preparations could potentially affect the outcome of the match. As long as these actions were within the rules, there was nothing wrong with them. It could even be said that it was also a part of strength.

Of course, as far as the Peak Melee's match mode was concerned, no matter how good the pre-match intelligence work was, it might not be useful when the real fight began. Just take Hell Front's match not long ago as an example… as long as your team was lucky enough (maybe it was because Brother Jue wasn't around) to randomly get a map that was extremely favorable to your team, then there was no need for any intelligence support…

"Whew… I managed to dodge it…" Sashimi let out a slight sigh of relief after dodging the second round of continuous shots, "Now I can rest assured…"

For a very steady player like him to say the word "assured" naturally had a reason.

In fact… Sashimi's concern for NameIsReallyHardToTake was only focused on those two skills just now. Because the power of [Boundless Sniping] wouldn't decrease due to obstruction, he couldn't "tank" this move; similarly, [Berserk Firepower], which could strengthen and re-trigger Boundless Sniping, also had to be dealt with by dodging.

And when these two moves entered the cooldown phase together, Sashimi had no more worries…

Because… his main ability was "sound". In addition to providing various reconnaissance methods that could be called heaven-defying, another significant effect was that it could provide extremely strong long-range defense capabilities.

If Brother Jue were here today, he would know with a glance… that this vice-captain of Order's First Team could ignore most long-range attacks below A-level with just the two passive skills [Enhanced Sound Barrier] and [Bass Zone]; as for ordinary gunshots… they were practically non-existent to him, and he could even tank an RPG within ten meters.

"Damn it… I didn't kill him…" NameIsReallyHardToTake was already quite annoyed when he reloaded the magazine.

From the perspective of a shooting-type player, or rather, a sniper… on such an excellent sniping spot, shooting at a target in the open, and using his two ultimate combo skills… he was bound to succeed. Even if he didn't kill the opponent, he should at least have dealt some damage, right? But the current result of returning empty-handed really made him feel embarrassed.

"Forget it, calm down… as long as I… what!" Just as Xiao Ming reloaded the magazine and re-aimed, he was surprised to find that the distance between him and the opponent had been reduced by half.

"Damn… he's coming so fast…" Xiao Ming exclaimed in surprise, but didn't forget to take action, "Are you kidding me!"

Bang—

He complained and pulled the trigger, firing a special round—[Incendiary Explosive Bullet].

However, this kind of shot without any skill bonuses was as good as nothing in Sashimi's eyes…

It was seen that when the bullet flew to a range of about ten meters above Sashimi's head, it seemed to suddenly sink into some extremely dense liquid, almost completely stagnating, and self-detonating with minimal power. Before the sparks of the explosion had burned out, Sashimi's figure had already left the range of the explosion.

Upon witnessing this scene, NameIsReallyHardToTake immediately made a very correct judgment—run.

Those three attacks just now had already made Xiao Ming vaguely aware of something… Although he didn't have time to think things through at this moment, his battle instincts had driven him to react.

"As expected of a member of Bing Di (now Bing Di's reputation is no longer what it used to be; the time when the 'Tough to Name Trio' were famous has passed)… he made a very wise response before falling into despair." Sashimi thought to himself as he quickened his pace towards the opponent, "However… it will only slightly delay the time I catch up to him…"

Indeed, it was almost impossible to escape Sashimi's pursuit. It would have been fine if he hadn't been discovered by him in the first place, but once he was "located" by this human-shaped radar, it would be impossible to escape even with wings…

At this moment, Sashimi had already locked the focus of his [Heavenly Hearing] on Xiao Ming; the other party's speech, footsteps, breathing, heartbeat… none of them could escape his auditory positioning. Unless Xiao Ming could shake off the opponent by a distance of more than two kilometers in an extremely short period of time, otherwise Sashimi could chase him to the ends of the earth.

However, there was something that Sashimi didn't know, and that was… he had already fallen into a trap.

Moreover, he had fallen into a rather clever plan.

…

At the same time, in another part of the script, in the "Red Thorns Valley".

"Captain, Drunk Bro, something's not right." After arriving in the depths of this valley, [Devouring Sky Ghost Destroyer] sensed something, and his expression gradually became serious.

This was the first time he had shown this expression since the S2 competition.

"What's wrong?" [Comprehending Death and Contemplating Mystery], who was standing not far away, quickly turned his head and asked.

"This place… no… it should be said that this entire valley…" Ghost Destroyer said, looking around, his eyes wandering, "is all in a 'formation', and… this 'formation' is undoubtedly a trap specially set up for players."

"Trap?" [Drunkenly Lying in Sorrow] interjected, "Who set it up?"

"Of course, it was set up by an NPC." Ghost Destroyer replied, "The three of us went straight here without stopping as soon as we entered the script. Even if the Bing Di team's teleportation point was here, it would be impossible for them to set up a large formation with this kind of power in twenty minutes, right…" He paused, "Besides… how would they know that we would definitely come here?"

"Can't you even figure out such a simple thing?" Suddenly, a voice came from the waterfall behind the three players.

The "person" who spoke hadn't even appeared yet, but the players were already suspicious, because the voice sounded like a boy's childish voice.

A few seconds later, the waterfall seemed to be split in two like a water curtain, and then, a thin figure slowly walked out of the mountain gap behind it.

In that instant, a stream of light flashed in Ghost Destroyer's eyes, and then he immediately lowered his voice and said to his two teammates, "Be careful… don't be fooled by this guy's appearance, he's a complete monster…"

"You can see through the 'Truth Sequence', can you…" The little boy had obviously heard Ghost Destroyer's words, and he replied as he walked on the water, coming forward, "In that case… you're the 'Devouring Sky Ghost Destroyer', right?"

"That's right." Ghost Destroyer replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, and then probed, "But I don't know who you are? And what do you mean by your words just now?"

The little boy sneered and replied, "What I mean is…"

Before he could finish his sentence, another voice suddenly rang out, preemptively saying, "What he means is…" A figure suddenly jumped down from the waterfall along with the words, saying as he fell, "We, Bing Di, really knew that you guys would come here!"

The voice stopped, and the person landed.

It was seen that the person was wearing a white uniform with light blue trim, and the Bing Rose badge on his chest was clearly printed with the word "Bing Di". Looking at his feminine temperament and curly hair, who else could it be but [Atobe Keigo]?

"Oh~" Drunkenly Lying in Sorrow raised an eyebrow, "What's going on… did we really fall into an ambush?"

"But… how is this possible?" Comprehending Death and Contemplating Mystery asked in a deep voice.

"It's very simple." The little boy spread his arms and looked at the three members of Order, "I… have already set up this formation here, waiting for you to walk right into it." He paused for half a second, "Not long ago, when you two groups came to this planet, I immediately contacted Atobe and the others, so they came too."

"Heh… I understand even less now." Drunkenly Lying in Sorrow replied with a smile that wasn't a smile, "How did you know that we would definitely come here? And… who exactly are you?"

"I… am called—Dian He Wang." Dian He Wang took a few more steps forward as he said this, and as he moved away, the separated waterfall behind him slowly merged together.

"The situation that you are involved in today…" As he spoke, Dian He Wang's gaze swept across the faces of the three members of Order's First Team, "…is actually a 'test' for you by someone."