LuTech Arena – Tournament Day 4
The stage lights beamed like a warzone sky, all sharp whites and flickering reds. Shen Wanqing adjusted her headset, trying to steady her breathing.
The brackets were now at Top 24. The rules had changed again... solo format, randomized drops, live commentary. Every action was broadcast. Every mistake, magnified.
But what really turned the players cold was the twist announced this morning:
"Friendly fire enabled."
A collective chill had gone through the remaining players.
Reign, in particular, said nothing.
But Wanqing had seen the twitch in his jaw.
Friendly fire wasn't just a rule change.
It was a message.
The Drop – Vikendi Map
As the plane flew over Vikendi's snow-covered terrain, Wanqing's eyes narrowed. It was a narrow flight path. With 24 players and limited buildings, clashes were inevitable.
She pinged a solo drop near the Castle Ruins, aiming to play long and cautiously.
But five minutes into the game, she wasn't alone.
Footsteps. Boots crunching over snow.
Her breath caught.
Dagger.
He emerged from the left flank, AK in hand, smiling beneath a fresh skin.
"Miss me?"
Wanqing backed into cover.
"You're not on my team."
"That never stopped me before," he said smoothly. "Besides… they said we can kill anyone now. Isn't that fun?"
Broadcast Booth
The commentators were silent for a beat.
Then:
"Looks like VnX.Dagger and QingQingSnipes have crossed paths again, folks. And with friendly fire on the table, this isn't just gameplay… It's personal."
The Duel
Wanqing darted into a broken wall, switched to her DMR.Dagger fired first, a deliberate spray too far left, to rattle her. He didn't want to kill her fast.
He wanted to humiliate her. Live.
"You still hesitate," he whispered into proximity chat.
Wanqing didn't answer.
She rolled right, baiting his reload. Waited...
And fired.
Headshot.
He dropped instantly.
A cheer erupted from the viewers outside.
But inside her chest, her heart didn't lift.Because the moment he fell, the kill feed flashed red:
QingQingSnipes eliminated teammate: VnX.Dagger
The system still flagged him as her former duo.
The penalty would follow.
Reign – Observing From High Ground
From a ridge near Podvosto, Reign saw the kill feed.
His heart sank.
He knew what it meant: auto-penalty. Point deduction. Reputational damage.
And worse?
It made her look unstable.
The same way they'd made him look two years ago.
Admin Room – 15 Minutes Later
Wanqing stood in front of the committee panel. Screens looped her kill. Sponsors watched from the glass on the side.
A gray-suited admin clicked through the kill review.
"You had a clear route to disengage."
"I knew he'd follow me."
"Still, the system flagged it as a 'Team Kill.' That breaks code 5.7 under the tournament charter."
She said nothing.
Because it didn't matter what she said.
This wasn't about rules.
It was about control.
Meanwhile – Shadow Room
Somewhere beyond the compound, the observer one behind the "map" watched it all unfold.
A younger man approached him. "She survived. The bait failed."
The shadowed figure didn't blink.
"She's not the target."
"Then who is?"
He turned to the monitor showing Reign's live cam.
"Lu Zeyan."
Closing Scene – Rooftop, Night
Later that night, Reign found Wanqing alone on the rooftop, sitting in the cold with an unopened can of Red Bull in her hand.
He sat beside her. Silent.
After a minute, she whispered, "They want to break me."
"They can't," he said.
"I killed him."
"You survived."
Her hands trembled. "They'll use this to paint me as toxic. Same thing they did to you."
He looked out into the night. "Then we'll fight it. Together."
She turned to him. "You still trust me?"
"I trust you more than anyone else."
Their fingers touched barely.
But in a world where bullets were currency and trust was poison…
That small touch meant more than any confession.