Location: LuTech Compound – Observation Deck
High above the main tournament floor, behind tinted glass and biometric doors, the Spectator Room buzzed quietly with muted tension.
Rows of analysts, sponsors, and silent investors watched every player's POV on a wall of monitors.
The average viewer only saw highlights.
But here?Every hesitation. Every micro-flick. Every hot mic moment… was stored, tagged, and analyzed.
And today, Shen Wanqing's file was being dissected like a suspect's case folder.
Admin Room – Behind Closed Doors
One sponsor leaned forward. "She's clearly emotionally volatile. First, the snipe incident, now the team kill."
An older woman in a red blazer, Madam Ji, head of the EastNet Telecom esports division, responded coolly, "She's also one of the few pulling record-breaking female viewership."
Another voice chimed in. "We don't need viewership. We need control."
The head analyst tapped on Wanqing's footage, highlighting the moment she turned after eliminating Dagger.
"She didn't flinch. Didn't look away. Like she expected to be punished."
"Guilt?"
"No.""Experience."
Elsewhere – Training Dorms
Reign scrolled through his private terminal, combing every backend feed he had access to. There was one hidden thread marked "Spec-Track_Q7," a tag created only for internal player surveillance.
It had only one active profile.
QingQingSnipes.
Someone in the upper tower was watching her more than anyone else.
Why?
He needed answers.
And there was only one person left from his past who might know.
Scene Cut – Han Yi (Dagger's Real Identity)
Dagger sat outside the compound, bruised from the earlier match but still smug.
His punishment? Suspended for 3 matches.
His reward? Still undisclosed.
Someone from the shadows approached.
A woman in a fitted trench coat.
"Payment received," she said.
He nodded. "So it was a test."
She handed him a black envelope.
"Next time, don't improvise. She wasn't supposed to shoot you in the head."
He smiled. "Didn't think the girl had it in her."
The woman didn't smile back.
"She has more than that. And that's what they're afraid of."
Wanqing – Gymnasium Scene
That night, unable to sleep, Wanqing headed to the training gym. She ran drills until her hands ached. Focused on the rhythm of recoil patterns and flick shots.
But she couldn't shake the feeling of being watched.
Not paranoia.Not fear.Something colder.
Surveillance.
At the far end of the gym, a motion camera blinked red.
She walked up to it, stared directly into the lens, and whispered:
"You'll need more than a bird's eye view to break me."
Flashback – Wanqing's Childhood (Short Interlude)
Twelve-year-old Wanqing sat in a tiny internet café in a back alley of Chengdu. Her father, a delivery driver, had given her a single coin to play with while waiting for him.
She chose PUBG Lite because the boy next to her said, "Girls can't shoot."
By the end of the hour, she had three headshots, two assists, and a chicken dinner.
She didn't say anything.
She just clicked Ready again.
She learned young that silence was louder than protest.
Final Scene – Reign & Wanqing, Underground Parking Lot
He waited for her near the stairwell.
"I found something," he said.
She leaned against the concrete wall, sweat-drenched from training.
"Another map?"
"No. A thread. You're being tracked. Spec-tagged."
She looked down. "Why me?"
"Because someone thinks you're dangerous."
"To whom?"
He looked at her then, serious and soft all at once.
"To the system. And maybe... to me too."
There was a beat of silence.
Then she smirked. "You're more dramatic than I thought."
He chuckled once. But his hand brushed against hers, slow and deliberate.
And this time, she didn't pull away.
Not in the shadows.Not under the cameras.
Because some connections were worth the risk,even in Spectator Mode.