The arena loaded in a flash of red and steel. A sleek, battle-worn jungle battlefield materialized on the screens before the ten players. Each team was a five-member squad, made up of defined roles: Marksman, Healer, Assassin, Fighter, and Tank. The match was ranked, timed, and watched by hundreds in the gaming lounge's open lobby display.
Lina adjusted her headset, eyes narrowing as the countdown began.
"Ten seconds to deploy."
The team comms buzzed to life.
"Marksman, you're our carry. Stick behind Tank and rotate mid-lane. Healer will cover you. Assassin and I will pressure jungle and bot lane," the Fighter barked confidently.
"Copy that," Lina replied, her voice calm and flat.
To the boys who had dragged her into this, her composure was unexpected. But there was no time to dwell.
The match began.
They spawned at base and immediately scattered to their lanes. The Tank took the lead down mid, drawing early minion waves. The Assassin disappeared into the shadows, cutting through jungle mobs. The Healer kept the party's health steady with precise buffs.
Lina, as the Marksman, held position just behind the Tank, targeting enemy creeps and turrets from a safe distance. At first, the enemy team tried to push aggressively. Their own Marksman was skilled, and their Fighter went for an early dive.
But Lina didn't flinch.
Her fingers moved with uncanny precision. Her character—a swift, silver-armored hunter with a plasma bow—launched arrows at blinding speed. Her shots never missed.
The kill feed lit up.
"First Blood."
"Double Kill."
Her teammates were stunned into silence. Lina wasn't just good—she was decisive, cold, and calculating. Every time an enemy lunged, she repositioned like she had eyes on the entire map. Her spacing was flawless. Her aim, unrelenting.
The crowd in the lounge started to gather behind her screen. Whispering turned to murmurs of disbelief.
The enemy Assassin attempted a gank from the side bush. Lina anticipated it, laid a stun trap in the exact spot, and let loose a charged arrow the moment he revealed himself. Dead before he got a second move.
"Triple Kill."
Her Healer teammate gasped. "Where did you found this girl?"
But then came the climax.
Their Tank overextended, lured into a bait trap, and was taken down. The enemy team capitalized on the opportunity and began a full-lane push with a buffed jungle lord. Their Fighter and Assassin charged down mid with the enemy Healer behind them, sustaining the momentum. Their Marksman had Lina in his sights.
"Fall back!" the Fighter shouted.
Lina didn't retreat.
She pivoted. Her character dashed sideways, unleashed her ultimate—a barrage of blazing arrows that rained from the sky. The enemy Assassin leapt toward her.
Too slow.
She triggered her blink skill, reappeared behind him, and landed a critical shot.
"Mega Kill."
The enemy Fighter charged.
Lina's Healer dropped a shield on her at the last second. Lina hit her passive—an empowered shot that pierced through both the Fighter and their Healer.
"Savage."
Only the enemy Marksman remained.
A duel.
They danced around each other in the center lane, both nearly out of health. One mistake would end it. The enemy fired first.
Lina sidestepped.
Shot. Direct hit.
"Wiped Out."
The lounge exploded in cheers. The massive screen flashed "Victory" as fireworks lit up the digital battlefield.
Final score: 32-25. Lina was MVP.
She removed her headset slowly, her expression thoughtful. No excitement. No smugness. Just a quiet, unreadable calm.
The two boys who recruited her were still processing what had just happened.
"What... what's your real rank?" one asked, still in awe.
Lina gave a half-smile. "First time playing."
Her teammates did not believe.
"Hello, Iamyourfather, I am Ron." A cheerful voice came in from her headset. She recognized the voice who played the healer.
"I am Ben. Nice to meet you." Another voice spoke up. His voice a bit heavier than the healer. He had played the tank.
"Oh, shoot! I forgot to introduce ourselves." The tall guy and short guy spoke in unison.
"I am Dante." The tall guy introduced himself.
"And I am Hex." The short guy followed.
"Lina." She replied casually. As long as they could help her earn some money she would keep them on her be friendly list.
"Damn, you are a genius. We will win if we have you." Ron said as if already imagining their team winning in the tournament.
"Can we share contacts?" Dante asked cautiously. He was a bit scared of this new teammate now that he had seen what she is capable of.
"Sure." Lina then took out her phone and gave them her QR code to scan.
Everyone quickly scanned Lina's WeChat and, without missing a beat, added her to a newly created group chat.
'Team Death.'
Messages began pouring in instantly:
"Welcome, God-tier Marksman!" "Bro that aim... insane." "Carry us again next time, please!" "You're the real MVP!"
Dozens of animated stickers and emojis flooded the chat. Dante and Hex, now quietly seated on the edge of their chairs, stared at their phones like they'd just been handed lottery tickets. The team, formed on a whim, had just found its core.
Lina, however, gave the chat only a passing glance. She didn't type a word.
Instead, her eyes drifted to the upper corner of her screen.
The time.
Her lips curled into a faint smirk. "Time to move from the kids' zone."
She stood up, brushed her dress, and headed for the exit without so much as a backward glance.
Dante and Hex remained frozen in place, their gazes locked on the last glimpse of her silhouette disappearing into the sunlight outside. A minute passed in silence.
Hex nudged Dante. "We really just played with a legend."
Dante exhaled slowly, the glint in his eyes sharpening. "Nah, bro... we teamed up with one. This changes everything."
They looked at each other—and for the first time in years, the future didn't seem so out of reach.
Far away, in the heart of the Capital, the atmosphere was vastly different.
A sleek, high-tech room basked in ambient blue light. Dozens of holographic screens floated mid-air, cycling through surveillance feeds, tournament replays, and elite player stats. On one particularly large screen, a frozen frame captured Lina's in-game profile. The username: Iamyourfather.
A soft chime echoed.
"New anomaly flagged. Region: Tang province."
An anonymous observer in a long coat leaned forward in their chair. Gloved fingers tapped the screen, enlarging her final match stats: kill ratio, accuracy, movement patterns. A second later, her video feed played in real-time replay—smooth, tactical, unflinching.
"Where did you come from?" the figure muttered under their breath, tone both intrigued and suspicious.
He tapped a few times and a notification popped up.
"Team Death: Registration successful."
"Let's see what the little ghost does next." The man's eyes lit up as if he had finally found his long lost precious thing.
Outside, a neon billboard flickered across the skyline: National E-Arena Championship Qualifiers: Registration Now Open.
The game had only just begun.