The Scorching Waves

"The White-Clad Gang doesn't have much time to catch their breath," said the experienced strategist on the commentary platform. "The Purple Crystal team's encirclement was incredibly fast, their house-searching and reconnaissance efficiency was extremely high, and each member is a seasoned, bold, and meticulous veteran."

"How should we treat the injuries?" Teacher Ke stroked his chin, looking at the big screen with interest. "The Red Team has given all the medical supplies to their captain. Logically speaking, the most vulnerable members of the team are the dribbler and the sentry—but the Red Team's head coach Sharks Chili, didn't give the aerogel spray to JK and Hao. Their captain is currently unable to use his strength. To heal his teammates, he has to break through the Purple Crystal's obstruction."

At this moment, Hao Bro's heart was pounding. He and Kaycee Gerrard had fallen to the second floor of the room as a stepping stone. Both of them were dizzy and disoriented. When they got up, they saw their teammate with a badly injured ankle and were at a loss for what to do.

The period of mental blanking is over, and the adrenaline is slowly subsiding.

The intense pain caused Kaycee to lose some of her senses; anxiety and terror took over, and she began to whimper, clutching her legs and convulsing.

"What do we do?!" A Hao gripped Kaycee's shoulders, his cold sweat pouring down his back.

Rapid footsteps echoed in the spacious office corridor; it was the sound of an adversary running through the fire escape.

Kaycee is unable to fight with a gun and must make the right judgment, or both of them will perish here.

Miracle urgently shouted in the team voice chat, "Take her to the communal kitchen! Hao!"

"Why? Where's the communal kitchen?" A Hao hoisted Kaycee onto his shoulder.

Miracle explained, "There's no why! Listen to me! Breakthrough! Listen to me! Go out of the office, turn right, go through two doors, and you'll find the communal kitchen!"

"Good!" A Hao would never doubt Qi Ji's judgment.

--In their gaming career, he would occasionally get carried away and act recklessly, but he would never disobey Qi Ji's orders, because as long as he listened to Qi Ji, he would inevitably achieve final victory.

Although Hao Bro didn't understand why Qi Ji wanted him to go to the public kitchen, there wasn't much time left to explain or elaborate. It was like the ever-changing game. "[Your mysterious and arrogant top laner keeps asking you to gank top, but won't explain why]." Perhaps while the young master was typing, he had already been mercilessly solo-killed.

"Put me down." Kaycee had her own judgment; she gently patted Hao Bro's back. "Put me down, Hao."

"Kitchen kitchen, kitchen kitchen, kitchen kitchen. Found it!" Hao Bro ignored his teammates' gossip.

Kaycee was completely overwhelmed by the pain. After stopping exercise, her heart rate dropped to normal. The once burning hot wound had sufficient blood supply and hormones to fight the pain, but now it was a cold, piercing ache that was about to completely destroy the girl's fighting spirit.

I said.

"Why don't you put me down? Hmm..."

With just a slight wiggle of her ankle, she felt as if her foot was completely necrotic. It was an illusion caused by pain; often, even when the injury wasn't that serious, the pain could make one mistakenly believe they were in dire straits.

Jiang Xueming's expression also turned serious.

--He stood up holding Shasha, staring intently at the big screen. The drone footage followed Hao Bro almost the entire time, capturing Kaycee Gallard's painful and ugly state.

Shasha's expression turned grave. "It seems she has a very low pain tolerance."

Jiang Xueming said calmly, "Kaycee is a girl who's afraid of pain, and that's nothing shameful for a girl. It's just that she won't get a knight's combat skill credit—judging from her current performance, she's already done a fantastic job."

"Should I throw a towel?" Shasha pointed to the five-colored towels on the coach's worktable, representing players in different positions. Throwing out the towel that belonged to Kaycee Gerrard meant that the sentry had voluntarily surrendered and could receive treatment earlier.

"Don't rush, I gave these instructions when I was preparing their weapons." Jiang Xueming shook his head. "If you feel like you can't go on, give the middle finger to the camera and signal to the instructor. Then you throw the towel—bring the exhausted trainee back."

Shasha yelled, "Is this appropriate? Is this reasonable?"

Xue Ming's silence, leaving the contestants to decide the outcome, was indeed somewhat unreasonable.

--In many combat sports competitions, athletes who shed blood and sweat on the field often have difficulty making a clear assessment of their physical condition. Many injuries and sports-related deaths occur because athletes and coaches fail to stop the competition in time, resulting in tragedies.

It is also Coach Shasha's responsibility to get his team members off the ring in a timely manner.

The gunsmith instructor wanted these young men and women to decide their own fate, and that's what Sharks Chili was bothered by.

"The first lesson I taught them was how to protect themselves," Jiang Xueming said with utmost seriousness. "Therefore, I request that you, leader, temporarily grant Kaycee Gerrard the freedom to surrender—unless she gives you the middle finger, begins to vent her dissatisfaction, and prepares herself mentally for defeat. Otherwise, do not throw the towel prematurely."

Shasha nodded.

"I see."

"Just leave me here, Hao."

Kaycee clung to Hao Bro's shoulder, her face ashen. She repeatedly opened and closed her hands, finally realizing that her body coordination was slowly slipping away, possibly due to severe inflammation in her lower leg caused by her ankle.

Every part of the human body is important. Even if only the arm is shot, it will affect the coordination of the whole body. After the arm is injured, you will not be able to run fast.

Kaycee's foot joints remained swollen and tight, and a series of complications were a fatal blow to her shooting accuracy.

She was convinced that the outcome of this match was probably no longer her concern.

And--

"--What are you looking for, Hao? Stop looking around."

"Put me down, and I might be able to buy them some time. I can use the gun to scare them, fire intimidating shots at the door, and waste their bullets."

"Without aerogel spray and White Lady products, I wouldn't have recovered. This leg is useless now—I can't run anymore."

A Hao placed his younger sister, Kaycee, next to the kitchen counter, then blocked the front door, bolting the lock. As if that wasn't enough, he pushed in a cabinet to completely block the entrance.

His mind was still stuck on the previous question—

--Stuck in the midst of the question, "Why did Qi Ji know this place was the communal kitchen?"

When he saw the ventilation duct outside the window, he was overjoyed, convinced that Miracle Bro's observation skills were extraordinary, and he felt more confident.

"The captain is amazing! He only glanced at it briefly in the lounge, but he seems to have memorized the architectural structure near the Red Tower!"

"I said," Kaycee said weakly, pulling out her gun and loading it. As she pulled the slide, she could feel her left hand losing strength. "Are you even listening to me, Howe?"

"What's wrong!" Hao Bro was still observing the situation outside the window next to the seafood tank, taking out his P99 to stay alert.

"The enemy will be here soon; they can find the pheromones I left behind." Kaycee glanced at the door of the communal kitchen. "They can't stop them. There's absolutely no way they can stop such a small amount."

"I need to buy you some time. With Daniel and Xiao Min by your side, there might still be a chance of success."

"I can't hold on much longer, I feel so tired."

"There are so many people here, so many people! But not a single one of them expects us to win this game; they're all just waiting to see us fail!"

A Hao pulled the trigger and ejected three explosive charges, his face filled with disbelief. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Kaycee watched as Hao Bro caught the bullet steadily, unscrewed the cartridge case, and removed the bullet.

Immediately afterwards, the young man seemed to return to his own home, put the kettle on the boiler, threw in three bullets, and prepared to use boiling water to activate the medicinal properties of White Lady's freeze-dried powder.

When the propellant is fired, the thin layer of iron can activate the White Lady product inside through frictional heat.

The same applies to Hao Bro's actions of boiling water and preparing medicine. He couldn't possibly shoot Kaycee in the ankle, and to completely heal the girl's leg, he would need to cut open the flesh, straighten the tendons, and clear away the blood stasis.

All of this was Qi Ji's idea, but Kaycee Gerrard's mind was completely controlled by the pain, and for a moment her brain automatically ignored the team's voice messages.

"Give her the knife." Qi Ji quickly ordered over the team radio, "Hao, cover her while she tries to escape. We're some distance from Purple Crystal's attack formation, you have to protect her. Is there any cover?"

"That's what I think!" A Hao squatted down next to the water tank, surrounded by rows of steel tables and chairs that were connected to the floor, offering no cover whatsoever.

He wanted to separate from Kaycee, and while Kaycee was being treated for her injuries, he wanted to get the sentry out of the enemy's first line of fire. He quickly scanned the indoor environment and it seemed there was no cover available.

The water tank was made of polymer plastic, and a piece could be easily crushed by hand, making it seem unsuitable as cover. Hao Bro handed the knife for cutting fish to Kaycee and immediately began setting up the defenses.

Kaycee stared blankly at the dagger, momentarily at a loss, until she heard the kettle on the boiler start whistling, which snapped her out of her pain.

"Can I? Can I?"

She had never performed such an emergency surgery on herself before. This young girl came from a wealthy family, and even in the course of knightly combat skills, she rarely suffered from minor abrasions. A delicate flower that had never experienced the trials of life was naturally afraid of pain.

"How would I know!? JK!" Hao Bro was still busy by the water tank, keeping a close eye on the kettle. Once the whistling sound of boiling water rang out, the enemy would arrive as expected, following the loud whistle.

"There's only one thing on my mind! I mean what I say—I will never let Fiego touch your ass!"

Before the battle whistle blew, Fiego had already arrived at the kitchen door. He rushed back to the office building and finally found the enemy's location by following the strong pheromones in the air—the fear, tension, and anxiety emanating from Kaycee when she was injured, along with her sweat, became the best tracer.

The door bolt was gently lifted, Hao Bro immediately fell silent, his pupils suddenly contracting as he entered a state of 100% focused combat readiness.

In that instant, it seemed as if everything had lost its sound.

--Kaycee gripped the dagger, her mind still in turmoil. At that moment, she thought of her gunsmith teacher.

In various harsh environments, the nameless warriors had to remove steel bars from their bodies, bleed to expel toxins, causing secondary damage to their flesh, enduring intense pain, and then drinking Universal Elixir. They then maintained a high fighting spirit to face the terrifying blood-giving units.

When she first heard about these deeds, she felt as if the words themselves were bleeding, and she just let them float through her mind. It wasn't until today, when she had to witness this suffering herself, that she realized how terrifying yet respectable the Gunsmith Teacher and Meteor Teaching Assistant were—they were like steel.

The bolt couldn't stop the warriors of Purple Crystal.

Even the lock cylinders of the double doors were skillfully unlocked by Fiego using his ingenious silk threads.

A Hao's breathing slowed down until it stopped completely, as if he had sunk to the bottom of the sea.

When Fiego's injured hand was first exposed, cold sweat beaded on his forehead. Realizing that this hand was no longer reliable, he quickly switched to holding the gun with his left hand. As he gently pushed open the door with his shoulder, he was immediately stopped by the heavy table and chairs—at this moment, he changed his mind.

Pushing the door open was ineffective, so they had to forcefully break it down. The side that took the initiative to scout and search the house would inevitably face enemy fire. Fiego's mind was racing, but he showed no sign of backing down.

Time is running out. If we dawdle here, the enemy will catch us off guard. In such a narrow and cramped environment, it will be difficult to turn the front and back of the formation around. A three-on-three duel may not be advantageous for us.

The sharp whistle of the kettle rang out from the kitchen.

This gave Fiego a boost of spirits.

"Tarantulas! They're healing themselves. They're boiling water to heal their wounds!"

The sentinel tarantula, arriving a step too late, peered into the doorway. Unable to see clearly what was inside, he knew he couldn't miss this opportunity. So, after a few quick hand signals, the two decided to work together to break down the door.

At that moment, the previously noisy and bustling audience fell silent.

The only sound at the Blue Eagle Stadium's west end seemed to be the whistling of kettles. The two commentators slightly raised their heads and looked at the large screen on the main stage— Hao Bro remained motionless, like a cast-iron statue.

Fiego looked down at his fractured right arm, hoping that Lady Luck would smile upon the hero.

In the second formation of both red and black teams, the remaining six players Mercedes-Benz through the corridor, and it would take about twenty seconds to catch up with the gap between them.

Kaycee Gerrard clutched her injured leg; the knife had just cut through the flesh of her ankle, revealing dark pus and blood. She didn't cry out in pain, but simply stared intently at her injured leg, the blood slowly sliding down her wheat-colored skin onto the white tiles.

The door was kicked open by Tarantula and Fiego together, and the cabinet blocking the door left two dark rubber marks on the floor!

At the same time, Fiego's first reaction was to see Howe, bathed in the stadium's bright lights, completely exposed!

For a moment he was somewhat dazed, the scene completely different from what he had imagined, plus his left hand was a fraction too slow in drawing the gun.

Tarantula was also stunned for a moment. He didn't expect the White-Clad Gang's breakthrough point to be standing in the middle of the room, directly facing the door's firing line. This guy had played too many training matches, and he hadn't used any of the conventional shooting positions that he had rehearsed in his mind.

The two didn't even fire their guns. They simply located each other and hid behind the door, staring at each other in confusion.

"What's up with this kid?"

"He didn't fire?"

"Why?"

Is he bluffing?

"I don't know!"

After a swift and pointless exchange of words, the two had already located the target. Just seconds later, Fiego, steeling himself, quickly reached for his gun to empty the magazine.

"--Whatever you're thinking, you amateur, this little trick won't scare me."

He thought to himself that if the tarantulas could provide support fire in the second instance, even if it resulted in a one-for-one exchange, the remaining sentry who was healing would be trapped, and the numerical disadvantage would become four to three.

Purple Crystal's breakthrough hand drew his gun again and stood still. When his eyes met A Hao's, sparks seemed to fly between them.

The sound of the bullets drowned out all other noises. Fiego quickly pulled the trigger and saw the fish tanks explode all at once, splashing water everywhere—at that moment, his heart sank into an ice cave, and he finally understood why Howe hadn't fired immediately.

Was there a water tank in between? The lights are too bright.

I didn't notice it at all! Even the Tarantula senior didn't notice it?

This guy! He's been standing behind the water tank the whole time?!

The ammunition struck the hard and brittle PVC sheet. The steel sheet broke into scattered shreds and iron fragments upon contact with the hard object. The powder encased in the ammunition was poured into the water tank and tumbled along with the iron fragments, traveling a distance of about twenty centimeters before turning into a murky white mist in the water!

According to the tactical plan, almost the instant the gunshot rang out, Tarantula and Fiego coordinated to provide follow-up fire. At that precise moment, as he aimed and positioned his weapon, he saw the water tank burst and the enemy's breacher take a step and move sideways with his gun at the last second!

The white waves and scattered plastic and iron pellets obscured Hao's figure. He took a crucial step out of the dazzling light. The loud bangs of bullets continued. The moment he left the cover, his bare hands pressed tightly against the grip patch.

As the gunsmith instructor once said, the first trigger travel of the P99 is relatively long, requiring continuous wrist pressure; a firm press followed by a light touch ensures accuracy.

These were the only things on Hao's mind; he had no other thoughts.

In the next second, Tarantula felt excruciating pain in his hands and chest! Blood, mixed with milky-white freeze-dried powder from the medicinal bullet, gushed from his body! He was beaten so badly by A Hao that his body trembled and he collapsed to the ground!

[Out!]

The drone dropped the white flag, and six points were secured.

Fiego did his best to fire in short bursts, his spirit and body working together to subdue this overly safe weapon. When his right hand, with its fractured bone, touched the gun, he felt a gust of wind hit his face and his nose felt hot.

Did you hit it?

Fiego's mind was still stuck a second earlier, on the image of A Hao being shot in the shoulder and neck.

At this moment, the bones in his right hand twisted, and the metal of the bullet tore open the team emblem on his chest, leaving a horrific scar. At the same time, the White Lady's products were healing the damage to his heart, lungs, and blood vessels.

"Check Mate! General!"

As the sound of the empty magazine going off rang out, Hao Bro emptied the P99's magazine. Its magazine capacity was fifteen rounds. He took three rounds to use for brewing medicine, and the remaining twelve rounds were used up exactly, leaving six shameful marks on Tarantula and Fiego.

Without missing a single shot, scoring a perfect twelve points, Purple Crystal's dribbler and sentry were eliminated on the spot!

Fiego fired with all his might, but the first four bullets were intercepted by the water tank in the high-speed camera's view, leaving only one effective hit on A Hao's shoulder and neck near his chin.

Tarantula, A Hao's primary target, didn't even have a chance to fire. The moment he raised his weapon, because the first shot of the P99 safety pistol had a trigger travel of 14 millimeters, Hao Bro disarmed him and took him away.

Instructor Klein screamed in shock, "How could this be! The Red Team's sniper's marksmanship is amazing! In such a chaotic firefight, all twelve shots hit their mark! Is Lady Luck on his side?!"

"This breakthrough fighter took down Fiego Sebasti! He thoroughly humiliated the keen-nosed Tarantula!" Staff Officer Li Zhiwen stood up from the commentary booth, his emotions running high. He had been holding his breath ever since A Hao started setting up the water tank—it was a flash of inspiration in combat. A body of water deeper than thirty centimeters could render most light weapons ineffective; it was an ingenious idea.

"He proved the team's decision with his skill; a miracle truly happened! This breakthrough player decisively broke through the cage created by the spiderweb!"

"From the moment they entered the public kitchen! These young people's fighting style is just like our old friends! They are the saviors who help the team overcome difficulties. Even when they're sitting in the coach's seat eating potato chips, they have to take off their masks!"

Brother Zhiwen laughed heartily, and the director then switched the camera back to the entrance of the lounge where the White-Clad Gang was located.

"Gunsmith!"

Xue Ming sat on the stone embankment, unaware of what had happened.

He seemed a little reserved. When he looked at the camera, he coughed awkwardly twice, still showing no intention of taking off his mask. Finally, he made a peace sign at the camera.

"Yeah?"