FOG [e-sports]

They signed in, verified their identities, signed the pre-match agreement, went through some simple styling and changed into their team uniform. As the time drew nearer, the referee they had drawn arrived. Before the start of the match, they checked their own peripherals for the last time and signed again to confirm that their peripherals and game accounts were all OK...

While they did all these pre-match procedures, they could hear the earth-shattering, tsunami-like roars of cheering from both sides. The local European players were offended by the omnipresent light cards of the Chinese players. They sought to utilize their home court advantage to reclaim the field. The Chinese players, though, had no intention of giving in.

There was no such things as a home or away game venue. Whoever had more people and whoever had the louder cheers, claimed this as their home game.

From entering the venue to the official start of the match, the fans from both sides kept roaring spiritedly for two hours. The Chinese division players wanted to roar back all the past three years’ worth of cheers. Despite not having the upper hand in terms of number of people, they unexpectedly managed to faintly suppress the other side.

This went on until this year’s first quarterfinals match started.

The details of the practice match with Sacred Sword at the beginning of the season were clear and distinct in their minds.

When Sacred Sword played against strong teams, they were best at playing a defensive game. In the early stages, they wouldn’t clear the fog or strike at anyone. Like ghosts, they would generally lurk behind bunkers on their own map, waiting for the right opportunities. They would wait until the other side begins to clear the map and then they would surround them. They would get a head and then leave. They won’t zealously continue fighting. They weren’t greedy, they won’t scramble for kills and they weren’t sloppy. Once they had the advantage, they would withdraw. Like crocodiles in the quagmire, they would hide back behind bunkers, waiting for the next opportunity, preserving their resources as much as they can.

In the first round of their practice match with the Sacred Sword at the beginning of the season, this was how they had dragged Free to death.

Except for the two games that day, the two teams have never played against each other during this entire season. Even the best data analysts in the league couldn’t say what tactics the two sides would come up with when they meet again.

In the soundproof room, while waiting for the countdown, Free’s players began their usual practice of messing with each other.

“Puppy.” Chen Huo raised his eyebrows, “I just found out that your hands are shaking...A sniper with shaky hands, isn’t that going to be a problem?”

“It can’t be helped. I’m too excited.” Puppy rubbed his hands and waited for the countdown, and his voice coming out a bit louder than usual. “It’s been a long time since I’ve so excited. Don’t be too surprised when I show you my ultra-level performance and win the MVP title, okay?”

Chen Huo gasped lightly, “I feel that I’m the one who’s going to be giving the ultra-level performance...I might even grab that first MVP.”

“With three wins in five games, you can only get three MVPs at most. Whoever can’t get any, sucks...” Yu Sui adjusted his headphones, “Shi Shen, you’re being quiet...Nervous?”

“No.” Shi Luo looked down at his keyboard, “...I was just thinking how many games we’re going to be playing today.”

Chen Huo quickly said, “I had a dream yesterday; 3 to 2, our win.”

Puppy sneered, “3 to 2? Do they even deserve that? Let’s finish it 3:1. I gotta get back to the hotel and start a live broadcast. I’m in a hurry here.”

Yu Sui smiled, “What about you, Shi Shen? What’s your prediction?”

Before Shi Shen could speak, the game started.

The four of them quickly came out of the reincarnation stone.

Having beaten Free before using a defensive strategy, Sacred Sword, naturally, wasn’t about to easily given up this advantage. The first game opened, Sacred Sword once again lay in wait behind the bunkers. The game commentators didn’t know the details of the practice match and only said, “This is a routine that Sacred Sword occasionally uses when fighting a strong team. The “Please Sir, get into the boiling pot.” as they advance gradually and entrench themselves at every step. They let the opponent take the lead in cleaning up fog, sacrificing a little of their map in the early stage in exchange for gaining advantage during the first wave of battle. I don’t know how this strategy will face up against Free. Let’s see&#k2026; Hey? Why is Puppy also charging in?!”

As soon as the game started, Free’s players all charged down the center to press on to the border of the map.

Usually, the two strikers would delay a few seconds in the middle before directly charging towards the frontline. This was to give the medic time to set the initial photon shields.

From the end of the game countdown to when the three front row players rushed to the junction of the map, the route can be optimized during this distance. Being able to set the initial photon shields to the three players in the least time and allowing them to reach the boundary of the map at the same time was a test of the medic’s technique.

These small preparations at the beginning of the game were almost a personal show of skill by each team’s medics. Which striker could reach the boundary line first was not a test to see which team’s striker could run the fastest, but to see which team’s medics were the most skilled and adept.

Even if they only arrived half a second earlier, it meant that the team’s striker also had half a second head start over their opponents. This was very important for professional players.

So far, no medic has managed to grab this opening advantage from Yu Sui’s hands.

This was an important consideration that led Sacred Sword to play defensively against Free during their match before.

When a medic’s micromanagement techniques were obviously inferior to the opponent’s, if you want to win, you must use your strengths and avoid your weaknesses. During this portion of the game that was heavily reliant on the medic’s skills, Sacred Sword decided to avoid a frontal confrontation with Free.

The overall strength of Sacred Sword was very strong and they were also confident. To them, giving Free one or two seconds during the opening of the game was not such a great disadvantage. As long as they have a good overall performance in the later stage, they can reclaim this advantage.

But when the first game started, Free changed their usual opening routine of absolutely gaining the dominant position. All members flew towards the junction of the map. No one stopped in the middle. Yu Sui didn’t set a shield for anyone. The moment Shi Luo and Chen Huo arrived at the junction line of the map started putting down purification dishes at the same time — one, two, three...

Shi Luo and Chen Huo, these two strikers who found each other displeasing to the eyes, who when the coach asked to team up for games were so filled with grief as to wish they were dead, performed so neatly and uniformly, as if only one person was operating. Each put down three purification dishes and then in the middle of the first shot, quickly retreated back behind the bunker.

At the same moment, Puppy and Yu Sui were in a bunker less than five meters away from the border of the map. Yu Sui used these precious seconds to set the initial photon shields for Puppy and himself and to get them at perfect condition at the same time. He was finished exactly as Shi Luo and Chen Huo retreated to the bunker.

Puppy opened his scope for the first time and took a shot towards the fog where Sacred Sword’s shots had just come from.

At such a close distance and with the sound of the gunshots just now, it was impossible for a sniper like Puppy to miss.

With one shot, the photon shield of one of Sacred Sword’s players shattered.

Puppy reloaded and shot once again. Once again, one of their opponent’s photon shattered.

During this interval, Yu Sui had already placed a photon shield on Shi Luo and Chen Huo. In the next second, the all six purification dishes that Shi Luo and Chen Huo had put down had cleared the fog. There was no longer any cover in front of the bunker where three of Sacred Sword’s players were hiding behind. Before their opponents could reacted, Yu Sui, who was at perfect condition, took the initiative to rush out. He relied on extreme maneuvering to avoid the shots and rushed directly in front of Sacred Sword’s bunker. One of his signature spin kicks caused one of Sacred Sword’s strikers to tumble out of the bunker. Puppy sent out a shot and took first blood. Yu Sui, who was now in the bunker, used a long dagger to eliminate Sacred Sword’s medic. Shi Luo and Chen Huo, now back at full health, fired off two cartridges of bullets and took down Sacred Sword’s last striker.

Three kills were completed. The commentators took a look at how much time had passed since the start of the game and was dumbfounded.

It has just been 37 seconds since the start of the game.

During the first 37 seconds of the game, Free didn’t waste a single second. They set blade to flesh, and set the record not only for the fastest first blood for this year’s World Championship but also the record for the fast three kills.

Every second was used to its most utmost that the staff couldn’t conduct any commentary without using slow motion.

“This isn’t the usual way Free opens a game.” The commentator was dumbfounded, “What kind of cooperation was that just now? What was with Yu Sui’s operation? How could he put shields on all four players and kill someone on top of that? What kind of time utilization is this?”

Backstage, faint pleasure appeared in the eyes of Old Qiao and Free’s data analysts. They said not a single word.

Zhou Huo also stared intently at the live broadcast screen. He couldn’t understand their subtle operations. He only remembered how after his team lost to Saint in the domestic regular season, when faced with how the domestic players began to question Free’s strength, none of their players were the least bit anxious.

When Saint revealed all of their tactics, choosing not to hold any back, Old Qiao, Yu Sui and the others questioned what else were they going to play after if they were to enter the World Championships.

He remembered when they began to play practice matches after confirming their ticket to the World Championship, Free’s players let out relaxed sighs, saying how much better it felt to play practice matches without having to hide anything.

He still remembered how between practice matches, Angel Sword had told Yu Sui jokingly, “You’ve really kept things well hidden.”

Free was very strong. All the clubs paid close attention to this team that they had built and all their play styles were imitated and studied.

It’s only during a battle of life and death that they can reveal all the weapons they hold.

The biggest surprise for Free in this year’s World Championships was that they were going to face Sacred Sword in the quarterfinals.

They were going to be forced to reveal in advance the weapons they’ve been sharpening all season to be used for the finals.

“It doesn’t matter.”

Old Qiao stared at the live screen and said to the data analysts, “...For us, this is the finals.”

“It’s fine even if they do analyze our tactics in advance.” The data analyst whispered, “You can thoroughly study this tactic; you can find a way to deal with it, but can you keep up?”

Sacred Sword could already be considered as a team who had full stats in all aspects, capable of responding to various emergencies. They had also anticipated that Free would come up with some fresh tactics for the quarterfinals. They weren’t unprepared.

But even if they were prepared, they couldn’t keep up.

In the game, Puppy suppressed Sacred Sword’s sniper. He fired shot after shot through the poisonous fog and they whizzed past the ears of the opponent. As the only remaining Sacred Sword player on the field, the sniper didn’t dare do anything rashly. Once he died as well, Sacred Sword would really be done for.”

“It doesn’t matter if he stays. Puppy, hold him down. F*ck him up for me.” Yu Sui quickly commanded, “Set down the purification dishes.”

Free completely gave up on the sides of the map and occupied the center. Shi Luo and Chen Huo, the two strikers’ fingers never left the keyboard since the start of the game. Their play was tight. Their fingers smashed against their keyboards with crackling sounds. They set purification dishes one after the other. This was the first time Shi Luo and Chen Huo had such a tacit understanding in a game. Their positioning was precise. No inch of space was wasted. No fraction of a second was wasted.

Sacred Sword’s striker was the first to resurrect. Yu Sui’s ability to countdown times was second only to Shi Luo’s. Without any need to be reminded, he said, “I know. He’s resurrected, let’s go.”

Shi Luo and Chen Huo didn’t return to hide behind the bunker. They continued to put down purification dishes.

The pressure on Puppy doubled. While suppressing Sacred Sword’s snipers, he also harassed their resurrected striker’s path. Beads of sweat started dripping from his forehead.

A bullet from Sacred Sword’s striker hit Shi Luo’s chest and his photon shield shattered. As though Yu Sui was completely unaware, he ordered, “Go.”

Shi Luo had no expression on his face. In the game, Evil’s game character still had traces of blood on his face. He kept moving, frantically setting down purification dishes.

Sacred Sword’s striker was still hiding in their own poisonous fog. Free’s strikers were still laying down the purification dishes. Yu Sui didn’t have any long-range combat weapons and had to rely on Puppy to keep it up. Yu Sui’s expression was calm. He utilized the longest possible distance and set a photon for Chen Huo. Shi Luo’s current position was unusual. There was no bunker to hide behind around him, so he could only give up.

Shi Luo was shot and his blood bar fell below half.

Yu Sui said, “Go.”

Puppy’s photon shield was shattered by the opposing sniper and was beaten to residual blood. He had no choice but to return to hide behind the bunker. The pressure on Shi Luo and Chen Huo on the frontline doubled instantly. The next second, Sacred Sword’s medic and their second striker were resurrected in turn.

Yu Sui healed Puppy. “Go.”

Shi Luo and Chen Huo each put down another purification dish. At the same time, Yu Sui restored Puppy back to perfect condition. Sacred Sword’s three frontline players were fast closing in to the center of the map.

Following Yu Sui’s reluctant order to “withdraw”, Shi Luo returned to hide behind their bunker with a sliver of blood left. Yu Sui was stuck in a tricky position. In the game, Yu Sui hit Shi Luo’s elbow and managed to precisely squeeze Shi Luo within the scope of his medical treatment.

In the game, the photon shield on Whisper’s right hand gradually solidified and Shi Luo was tightly wrapped behind it.

In the game chat, Shi Luo sighed, “...amazing.”

Chen Huo spit out a curse, “I’m going to have cramps!!!”

Sacred Sword’s three frontline players finally rushed to the center of the map. What greeted them were a total of 22 still desperately screaming purification dishes and their own bare map that had gradually been cleaned up.

The game director gave a close-up of game time——

Total elapsed time: five minutes and twenty-three seconds.

Within the first five minutes of the first round of BO5 quarterfinal match, the winner was already determined.