Trust Me!

"They didn't plant the bomb or get any kills last round, so they should have around 2,900 each this round." ALEX watched the screen. "ForZe will probably have to half-buy again."

While they waited for the game to start, Qin Feng flipped his Butterfly Knife again. "I'm closer to VIP. I'll grab the Sniper Rifle and jump to B Small to hold the angle."

ALEX nodded. By now, he had a good idea of the role Aether, their sniper, should play on the team.

The reason for forZe's two consecutive wins at the start was that they tailored their tactics to their opponents before every match.

But if Aether's Sniper Rifle could pick someone off first, it would likely throw forZe's attack completely off rhythm.

Thinking of this, ALEX couldn't help but reflect.

Back when he was calling for The Hornets, Vitality, he often had their star player, ZywOo, drop him a gun and draw the enemy's fire.

Looking back, having ZywOo draw fire for him had undoubtedly been the biggest mistake he'd made as an IGL.

That was the main reason he'd agreed to make Qin Feng the core of the team after seeing how well he played.

If he'd let ZywOo be the core while he played support back at Vitality, would the team have achieved even more?

In the fifth round, the Terrorists had half armor and Desert Eagles and TEC-9s. They opted for an A Site Execute.

But speeding up with pistols was easier said than done.

With their superior weapons, Fnatic traded one M4 for all five Terrorists, winning the fifth round.

Jerry, forZe's IGL, grew cautious too.

After Fnatic took a 5–0 lead, he quickly called the first timeout of the match.

Besides interrupting Aether's hot streak, forZe's first timeout also gave Jerry a chance to calmly lay out their next round's strategy over voice chat.

Fnatic had clearly come prepared today. The tactics they'd worked out yesterday to avoid Aether's Sniper Rifle might need a complete overhaul.

"Guys, yesterday we studied Aether's favorite spots on Mirage, but Fnatic has clearly adjusted his playstyle too."

"zorte, you can look for a kill, even if it means taking a duel with Aether, but don't just peek straight into his Sniper Rifle."

"Aether's great at holding angles, and he seemed to be reading our setup just now, so we need to change our usual approach."

"Either use an Execute to smoke off the Sniper Rifle's angle, or use Flashbangs to give us the advantage in a straight-up peek. Got it?"

zorte, forZe's main sniper, nodded.

Though he was one of the star players on forZe, zorte understood that helping the team win was the most important thing he could do as a player.

The timeout ended quickly.

The players returned to the game, and the match continued.

Since Qin Feng hadn't revealed his position the previous round, he once again set up at VIP and jumped over to B Small to defend.

But before he'd even spotted anyone mid, his teammates' voices were already turning chaotic.

"They're Executing A! Jump Smoke's blocking me, I can't help you."

"It's fine. I'll stay tucked in my spot."

"We're screwed, they're looking right at me. A's lost."

This time, forZe's A Site Execute finally showed how well all five players could coordinate.

ALEX, tucked into the corner of A Site, was killed without getting a shot off. ForZe's smokes were already in place, leaving Fnatic with an incredibly difficult retake.

"We can still play this. We have lots of utility, and if it comes to it, we can Save Guns," ALEX said hesitantly.

"We can retake. We control Jump Platform and VIP. Just watch CT Base," pozion added from Jump Platform.

"Mm." Qin Feng nodded, planning to retake through Arch.

But as Qin Feng jumped from B Small into mid, KENSI, who'd been waiting at mid-long to catch anyone coming through T Spawn, found a perfect timing.

The CT model was still in midair. Qin Feng tried to turn around, but it was already too late.

Under Mirage's blazing sun, AK casings glinted as they poured from the rifle's ejection port. The AK's muzzle spat a stream of fire toward Qin Feng.

"Rat-a-tat-tat..."

[ForZe.KENSI killed Fnatic.Aether with an AK-47]

All that remained of Fnatic were two CTs who'd fallen back to CT Base and poizon, still on Jump Platform.

"Save the guns," ALEX sighed helplessly.

He'd assumed all five forZe players would be on A Site for the Execute. He hadn't expected them to leave one Terrorist in mid to cut off the rotation.

The remaining CTs could only fall back to B and save their guns.

"Beep, beep, beep."

As the warning grew more urgent, the C4 finally detonated at Fnatic's A Site, engulfing the bomb site in a huge blaze.

The score became 5–1.

Fortunately for Fnatic, every player still had enough money to buy rifles in consecutive rounds.

After that, forZe seemed to find their rhythm and started taking rounds in a row.

A series of fast attacks pushed their score up to four and completely wiped out the economic advantage Fnatic had built with their earlier streak.

Even Qin Feng's Sniper Rifle couldn't hit every shot.

And whenever he missed with the Sniper Rifle while holding an aggressive position, the Terrorists would swing out and gun him down.

At 5–4, Fnatic could buy rifles next round, so ALEX called the team's first timeout.

ALEX looked conflicted. "Aether, should we change how we're defending?"

"Otherwise, if you go down first, we'll lose control of the map completely."

"You could hold from the back. We could play default if we have to."

Qin Feng's expression was remarkably calm.

Even though his missed Sniper Rifle shots had cost them the opening kill in two consecutive rounds, his gaze remained as steady as ever.

"It's fine."

"Trust me."

"Didn't we work out a strategy yesterday? I'll roam around with my Sniper Rifle and catch them off guard."

ALEX gritted his teeth. "All right. But if you're still missing your shots, we'll hold from the back."

The match continued.

This time, Qin Feng, the player closest to A Site, bunny-hopped all the way to A2 and held the angle on the Terrorists crossing through the second floor.

In QUQU's Livestream Room 52327 on the Douya platform, watching Qin Feng's position made him tense up.

"My god, Aether's already given up the opening kill twice by pushing forward, and now he's taking a Sniper Rifle to A2 again?"

"If he misses from there, the Terrorists' AK bullets could lock onto him and take him down instantly."

"What's forZe doing? They're going for an Underpass split onto A."

"Two going A1, two going Underpass, and one going A2."

"The Underpass players aren't in position yet. The Terrorists at A1 and A2 are holding from the back."

"The CTs have gone three B. Two are Double-peeking at B Small, planning to catch someone coming through mid."

"ForZe isn't sending anyone through mid. poizon, you're not going to find anyone there!"

"The Terrorists in Underpass have thrown a VIP Smoke and an incendiary at B Small. It's over! poizon and KRIMZ at B Small have been forced back."

"The Terrorists are going straight for A. Aether and ALEX are left in a local two-versus-five."

"They need to take out three players. Only then will the remaining CTs have a chance to retake."

"..."

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