Fangs in the Dark

Just as Sister Guozi had integrated into the team, the preliminary rounds continued in full swing. Putting aside the bumps and bruises with the weaker players in the first half of the competition, the confidence boost from this strong reinforcement alone increased Hao Bro's fighting power by almost 30%.

Aside from the first match, Sharks Chili had a stroke of luck, but their luck ran out in the draw, allowing them to encounter a regional seed like Purple Crystal. By the eighth day of the preliminary rounds, Fairy Tale Kingdom had become a strong contender for the regional representative position.

Every day of the competition was like a massacre. After seven rounds, people finally realized that these outsiders who came from the first district to cause trouble were not so easy to deal with. Compared to the rich young masters who were just playing around, they had stronger resilience and fighting spirit.

The aspect that best demonstrates the fighting prowess of the Fairy Tale Kingdom is their astonishing endurance.

These young men played seven matches in a row, and even on the eighth day, they still showed no intention of replacing their substitutes.

--This is not unique in the preliminary rounds of the Moon God Cup, but it is extremely rare.

JK and Hao, as the team's sharpest weapons, ranked in the top tier in the overall statistics of the Moon God Cup, with their total marching distance and continuous movement time both being among the best, practically turning them into two iron men.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Fairy Tale Kingdom will secure its eighth victory in today's Moon God Cup qualifiers.

Judging from the match footage, this team exudes a strange sense of mystery, just as the strategist and commentator of the Bullfrog Team said—the anonymous team's tactics are highly recognizable.

A Hao, this breakthrough player, can fully utilize his inspiration and creativity in all kinds of room environments. It is clear that he has acquired this extraordinary talent of finding weapons in furniture stores through years of accumulated experience.

In his view, wall building materials, kitchen and bathroom hardware, electrical appliances, motors, and so on, were all usable items that could be used in combat, transformed into armor and weapons.

In the duel with Purple Crystal, Hao Bro's cover was made of PVC fish tanks. He knew exactly what bullets could and couldn't break, all thanks to the gunsmith's generous teaching.

It is precisely because of this method of combat that the competition in the Fairy Tale Kingdom has become wonderful and interesting. Every day, the audience is wondering and looking forward to what new tricks this energetic young man will come up with.

Unlike ordinary spectators, the coaches were wary of this unexpected obstacle from the Fairy Tale Kingdom —its player data sample was simply too small.

The local clubs in Forty-One District have always maintained a training state. In training matches, the coaching staff can collect basic data of the players and identify the elemental composition of strong opponents. However, the way Fairy Tale Kingdom plays has turned A Hao and JK into two goalkeepers.

The three thugs hiding behind the door hadn't revealed much of their true forms yet. The most crucial attacker, the young man with the ID [Duo Hun], seemed to remain lurking in the shadows, only unleashing a fatal shot in rare circumstances.

In just a few days, the local media in Forty-One District and the Daily Morning Post made Fairy Tale Kingdom the headline, and people were laughing at Purple Crystal when they defeated Purple Crystal.

Tauson's old rivals were secretly delighted, believing that Tauson had made a blunder and capsized.

But seventy-two hours later, they must understand Tauson and become Tauson.

Fujiwara Tamami became a bridge, making the entire tactical planning and execution process much smoother.

There was originally an insurmountable gap between Miracle and Sharks Chili, which was the difference in execution. From an experienced coach to a captain who was new to the competition, Qi Ji was not a martial arts genius, and it was impossible for him to talk about strategy on paper.

In the break room, Sister Guozi became Qi Ji's best teacher. She was an experienced veteran who had played the breakthrough player position for four years and could perfectly convey the coach's strategic intentions to Qi Ji, the decision-maker.

The two commentators at the stadium were amazed by the changes that had taken place in the Fairy Tale Kingdom in the past few days.

The match has begun--

--On the big screen, you can see JK and Hao moving forward side by side, and a second line sprinting in coordination behind them.

Li Zhiwen: "A few days ago, their formation was loose, and the players' firing lines didn't support each other. When facing Purple Crystal, they were practically two different teams."

Klein: "Li's guidance, do you mean the players from the Fairy Tale Kingdom were hiding their true strength all along?"

"No, no, no, no." Li Zhiwen shook his head. "Before the Moon God Cup this year started, these young people from the first district hadn't even registered player IDs—they were indeed complete novices who knew nothing, but they evolved very quickly during the competition."

As he said this, Zhiwen tapped the director's prompt button on the commentary desk, turning the camera to A Hao.

"He's getting stronger, and at a rate that's visible to the naked eye."

"On the Red Tower map, the surrounding sandbox environment changes daily. However, the core area's objective remains the same: to seize the high ground and annihilate the enemy's manpower."

"For a breakthrough player, this is the best stage and a fantastic learning opportunity. The unfamiliar terrain and clear objective are like a fortress that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. The battle for control of a stronghold has allowed A Hao and JK to rapidly improve their combat experience."

"Although this is the first time these young people have participated in the Moon God Cup, they have already found their rhythm—they are rapidly transforming."

"The Purple Crystal was like a powerful tonic; together with the blazing fire of the Sharp Shooter Guozi, it fully awakened the inner potential of the Fairy Tale Kingdom. After adapting to the rhythm and rules of the competition, what we saw was the true level of the students from the First District's Knight Combat Specialization."

Back on the field--

--The competition process was strikingly similar to that of the previous days.

As you traverse the sandbox terrain, you'll find distinct seams between the layers of bricks, resembling small polygonal cubes. JK can use these seam boundaries to determine his exact location.

If you use the Red Tower as a reference point, it is difficult to accurately perceive the relative distance. The naked eye may be able to see clearly ten or twenty meters away, but reference points that are more than a hundred meters away cannot be used as landmarks.

It is ultimately a sport, and where there are rules, there are opportunities to utilize those rules.

After becoming familiar with the rules, JK was almost a completely different person during the sentry's route planning segment.

--Guiding A Hao and the other team members toward the Red Tower, their pace was now completely different from when they first appeared.

"Found it!" A Hao sprinted through the building area, leaping over the third-floor balcony towards the yellow box while keeping an eye on the enemy team's movements.

Li Zhiwen cast an approving glance. "He's nothing like a dribbler; he's the team's second sentry."

"He's flying!" Klein exclaimed in surprise.

On the rooftop, the agile figure of a JK (high school girl) climbs water pipes and scales railings.

A Hao was charging and leaping back and forth in the corridor, advancing almost in sync with the sentries. Few teams could demonstrate such powerful mobility. The rapid reaction force of Guangling Zhixi only uses this firefighter-like rapid marching method when carrying out special missions and has a clear operational plan.

The three members of the second formation were also running wildly, traversing the flatter alleyways and roads.

From the team voice chat in the Fairy Tale Kingdom, A Hao and JK had already located the enemy's position.

JK: "Two might emerge from the apartment building between the second and third buildings, at the three o'clock position of the blue box; one is on the second floor."

Duo Hun: "What does 'lower two covers' mean?"

A Hao: "It's the sewer, one of the three manhole covers on a main road, the one in the middle."

JK: "There are at least two on the second floor, one of them was hiding in the toilet, I almost missed it."

Duo Hun: "Men's room or women's room?"

JK: "In the women's restroom, you can see your reflection in the mirror when you look through the window."

Miracle: "What about the remaining two?"

A Hao: "They're all in the apartment building, about to make contact, ten seconds to enter the P99's effective range, catch them— Daniel! It's your turn! I'm flying over!"

Before the words had even finished --

--A figure rushed out from the rooftop flowerbed of the yellow-box housing area.

A Hao leaped into the air, his arms tucked in, one hand pressing down on the gun pocket on his team uniform, the other covering his face, and crashed straight into the women's restroom window.

The opposing team was caught off guard from the first moment of the attack. From multiple camera angles in the commentary booth, the skill gap between the two sides' sentries and dribblers was simply too great.

A barrage of gunfire erupted. The second squad had just arrived at the central alleyway when Daniel raised his gun, tilted his head back, and cleared his mind. The drone's flag lit up, and two "Out" sounds signaled that A Hao had scored twelve points, but it was also the signal that he had run out of ammunition.

JK, the sentry, ran a little slower than Hao Bro. She hesitated for a moment during her jump, seemingly traumatized by the tarantula's web. However, she mustered her courage and followed closely behind, only to regret it mid-air.

"--Soul Duo Hun!"

She could only shout out this code name, placing her hopes on the attacker.

The enemies who had been hiding in the apartment finally revealed themselves. The moment A Hao made his breakthrough, the remaining three players peeked out to finish him off, and JK happened to run into the worst timing.

The enemy was in the building behind her. Even if she rolled away in time to get back into position and fight back, she would still get a solid blow from behind.

The sound of gunfire rang out again. After landing, Kaycee fell more than five meters away and crashed hard against the wall. There she saw A Hao's magazine, which had just hit the ground after he emptied his ammunition.

Let's take a closer look at the results of Daniel's firefight with the enemy.

In the next building, a reckless shooter leaned his arm close to the window. For Duo Hun, that tiny angle of fire was enough to pinpoint the location. His teammates in the second formation were knocking on the windows and breaking the glass, but Daniel quickly went up to the roof, stepping on the iron mesh staircase and swiftly climbing to the third floor.

He charged forward, rifle at the ready, leaning forward, his peripheral vision catching glimpses of gunfire erupting from the building windows, locking onto the position of the enemy's second flank.

The drone followed him closely, nearly crashing into a narrow, cramped corner of the apartment as he entered the complex complex. This tiny, miniature complex was extremely dangerous and an ideal hiding place; his opponent had chosen a perfect ambush position.

In just a few breaths, a bright red flashed through the dimly lit stairwell.

The door to the apartment where the remaining three enemies were located was suddenly kicked open.

They turned around simultaneously, turned their guns around, and used their remaining ammunition to launch a counterattack.

The oncoming dry powder fire extinguisher caused the team leader to lose his temper; when the bullet struck the bright red steel sheet, the entire room turned gray.

Daniel squatted down by the stairwell, took off the P99's gun light, set it to maximum brightness, and silently counted.

"Forty-three, forty-four, forty-five."

Are there any bullets left?

"It seems the two team members left in the toilet were bait; they were out of ammunition and left all their firepower to their teammates in the second formation."

"Forty-seven, forty-eight"

"Fifty-two shots, are you not planning to fire any more?"

In the white and gray smoke beside the gate, there were fist-sized craters, the eyelets of the explosive charges pointing directly at the path Daniel had come from.

The instant the gunfire ceased—

--The flashlight slid in through the door, spinning like a top, illuminating three shadows in the thick smoke.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Six sharp gunshots rang out, and the sports watch left on the enemy emitted a high-frequency beeping alarm.

This means the bullet hits the heart twice, a single shot to the Gate of Death, a single, decisive blow.

Shasha, standing in the audience, raised his arms and roared, grabbing Gunsmith's arm and shouting loudly.

"Pop the champagne!"

As the smoke cleared from the battlefield, Daniel waved away the dust in the air, dragged the opposing players out of their messy apartment, and checked their chest and heart wounds and scars one by one. The medical team was rushing towards the competition venue—this was the first time so many vital kills had occurred simultaneously during the qualifiers, and the medical staff were as anxious as ants on a hot plate, fearing that someone might die.

The commentary booth and the audience were completely silent; the lethal efficiency displayed by the Fairy Tale Kingdom's attackers was unfamiliar to them.

Two of the three opposing players are girls.

Daniel became nervous, unsure of what to do. He could only tear open the shirt of the older brother in the opposing team's rescue team to make sure that the shrapnel and wire hadn't interfered with the ventricles' pumping of blood and that there wasn't any serious blood clot. But he couldn't bring himself to help the remaining two girls and could only anxiously wait for the medical staff.

He ignored the final whistle of the match; this fierce shooter was sweating profusely and looked like a little girl in front of the camera.

On the other side, A Hao stood with his arms crossed in front of JK, his body bearing thirteen bullet wounds. As Daniel launched his attack, Ah Hao was eliminated by his opponent.

JK fell onto the bathroom floor, staring at the big boy in surprise.

"Oh my god, does it hurt?"

A Hao's face turned ashen, but he stubbornly replied, "So-so."

Meanwhile, in the players' lounge at the Blue Eagle Stadium, the Purple Crystal team was about to begin their qualifying rounds.

--Fiego Sebasti looked tense as he saw the kill plan for Duo Hun Stealer, a plan almost identical to Gunsmith's. His heart began to feel inexplicably restless.

The Tauson coach sat down next to the little guy.

"Impressive, huh? Feeling the pressure?"

Fiego: "Yeah, he's really strong. Both in terms of positioning and his offensive capabilities."

Tauson: "You're better than him."

Fiego: "Really? Coach, don't try to hypnotize me, that trick won't work on me."

"Hahahaha!" Tauson explained, "Seriously, when this kid fired, he was worried about his opponent's injury. That's his weakness—the gunsmith you admire never cares about his opponent and pulls the trigger without any hesitation or doubt."

"Fairy Tale Kingdom has crushed its opponents once again." Li's guidance stood in the commentary booth for a long time, finally managing to stammer out a few words: "In this match, we can see the growth of this team—the fangs hidden in the darkness have finally revealed their ferocious face. Their attacker, this player with the ID [Duo Hun], has a killing efficiency that is on par with his teacher, Gunsmith."

"We still need to differentiate!" Teacher Ke immediately corrected, "You've gone too far! You know perfectly well what level the anonymous person is at, yet you keep praising them!"

"He's only twenty years old, his future is bright!" Li's guidance continued, "Faced with the enemy's ambush, the Fairy Tale Kingdom's breakthrough player seemed completely unprepared, like an innocent fish biting the hook, leading the sentry into the enemy's pre-designed firing range."

"Faced with this predicament, A Hao's strategy was to preserve his teammates' lives, using himself as a shield to block the sentry and taking all the damage."

"They're all improving. Coaches from Forty-One District, you need to study this opponent carefully."

Jiang Xueming sat on the sidelines, applauding the students with genuine joy.

The Garfield cat clapped its hands, looking quite endearing. Shasha had been clinging to it, immediately asked when it saw the gunsmith so happy.

"You seem quite satisfied with these two students?"

Xue Ming replied, "I'm satisfied with all of them. I'm satisfied with every single one of my students."

Shasha: "Where are Hasben and Tang Ning?"

Xue Ming: "They're all shameful, but I'm satisfied. They're all hardworking and have a lot of personality."

Shasha: "Duo Hun looks most like you. His skills and enemy-killing strategies are exactly like yours. He's a very diligent and good student in the Knight Combat course."

"No, the difference is quite significant." Xue Ming stated bluntly, "He's a very gentle person, too gentle towards his enemies."

Shasha agreed that it made sense.

--After all, the enemies the gunsmith had faced in the past were mostly heinous villains, the cream of the crop destined for the deepest hell.

Daniel Fragerak didn't have that strong a desire to kill, and he couldn't transform that desire into a bold and fierce fighting spirit because he hadn't mastered the mental techniques of unrestricted combat.