In the blink of an eye, Chen Zhao had reached the Final Circle.
There were four players left in the Final Circle. Besides him, there were three others.
Chen Zhao was crafty. He had hidden in a bathroom near the center of the Final Circle, silently keeping watch on the activity outside. He planned to let the others fight it out.
He had learned this strategy from countless Winner Winner Chicken Dinners: staying hidden was the way to win, and bathrooms were sacred ground!
The little bathroom was airtight and inconspicuous. Chances were, nobody would go inside. As long as he shut the door and stayed quiet, he could wait for the player count to dwindle.
Gunfire suddenly rang out to the southeast!
After a brief exchange of fire, the number of players left dropped to three.
Suddenly, another AWM shot rang out, and the number of players left dropped to two.
In the blink of an eye, only one enemy remained.
Chen Zhao was startled. He hadn't expected an AWM to show up in the Final Circle. This fearsome sniper rifle could only be found in an airdrop, and it was powerful enough to take down just about anyone with a single shot, no matter what armor or helmet they wore! A Level 3 Helmet was no better than cardboard against an AWM. Only a Level 3 Vest had a chance of stopping it.
Unfortunately, Chen Zhao's Level 3 Helmet and Level 3 Vest were both at half durability. If he got hit, he'd immediately become a Loot Crate Spirit!
He had to be careful!
All he could tell was that the enemy was to the southeast, since that was where the AWM's shot had come from. Chen Zhao hadn't spotted the enemy's exact location, though. There were plenty of rolling hills in that direction, along with seven or eight trees and two boulders. The enemy had an AWM and might even be wearing a Ghillie Suit. So far, Chen Zhao hadn't found where they were hiding.
Chen Zhao was a little nervous. Whether he got a Winner Winner Chicken Dinner came down to who survived: him or the enemy with the AWM.
Or, rather, which of them spotted the other first.
After a brief wait, the Blue Zone shrank again.
Chen Zhao was delighted. He was right at the edge of the new circle.
The Blue Zone in the Final Circle dealt a lot of damage. Even if you kept using healing items, your health would drop faster than you could restore it. So if the enemy was outside the circle, they'd have to rush in soon. Then Chen Zhao could dart out and take them down with a single shot!
Sure enough, after a dozen seconds, the enemy couldn't hold back any longer and threw out several Smoke Grenades in a row.
A vast cloud of white smoke spread out. Chen Zhao crouched, opened the bathroom door, and stepped outside. He nervously scanned the smoke ahead, his M24 in hand, itching to fire!
Now it came down to whose sniper shot was faster!
The slower shooter died!
Chen Zhao could clearly feel that his mind was working differently than before. Maybe it was a combination of his increased intelligence and intense nerves, but at that moment, his sight and hearing were sharper than ever. Every blade of grass on the screen was crystal clear. He was just waiting for the enemy to appear so he could fire at once!
At last, the smoke cleared, and Chen Zhao suddenly spotted a Ghillie Suit on the grass!
The enemy spotted Chen Zhao too and quickly aimed down the sights!
Bang!
A bullet burst from the M24 and instantly blew the Ghillie Suit's head apart!
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!
Chen Zhao let out a long breath, his spirits soaring!
Sure enough, his improved intelligence had rapidly raised his skill at getting Winner Winner Chicken Dinners, especially his aim and eyesight. He was a completely different player from before. In the past, it took him a dozen or so matches to get a chance at a win, and if he had bad luck, he might go a whole day without one. But now, with his intelligence boosted, he'd won his very first match!
It was getting late. Time for bed.
Chen Zhao suddenly remembered that he was still livestreaming, so he exited the game and switched to his stream to check.
He'd thought that maybe one or two viewers had dropped by while he was playing and would cheer him on after seeing him win.
But when he returned to the livestream page, Chen Zhao was stunned!
There weren't just one or two people in his stream. There were more than ten thousand!
The flood of comments was so intense he could barely read them!
Chen Zhao's first reaction was delight. As expected, a streamer with good skills could quickly attract viewers. But when he read the comments, his face stiffened—
Don't Eat Bunnies: "Cheating streamer!"
I Want to Pick Han Xin: "Reported. Just wait for your ban, streamer!"
Deep Into Enemy Fountain: "Cheats these days are really something else!"
Wolf Brother I Want to Have Your Babies: "You actually used cheats to instantly kill Wolf God? That's disgusting! If you're going to cheat, do it in private. Why livestream it?"
Wolf Brother Wolf Brother I Love You: "Wolf Brother finally streamed for an extra half hour tonight, and you ruined it with your cheating! I'm reporting you!"
After watching for a while and searching online on his phone, Chen Zhao more or less understood. He had killed a famous Winner Winner Chicken Dinner streamer, and the streamer's fans weren't happy. They were accusing him of cheating and had come to his stream to insult him and vent their anger.
When Chen Zhao hadn't understood what was going on, he'd been confused, but not especially angry.
Now that he knew, anger flared in his chest!
How ridiculous!
Your streamer loses to me, so you accuse me of using an aimbot?
You haven't even checked the facts, yet tens of thousands of you have flooded into my stream to flame me?
This was too much!
His computer didn't have a webcam, so he couldn't show his face, but he could use his headset mic.
Chen Zhao took a deep breath, switched on his microphone, and began speaking to his viewers:
"Hello, everyone. I'm the streamer Chen Zhao. This is my first time streaming."
"I had a sniper duel with Wolf God partway through the match and took him down. I did it entirely through my own skill. I'm a fast, accurate sniper, and I'm confident in that."
"A lot of people think I'm using an aimbot. I'm both angry and pleased. I'm angry because you're framing me. I, Chen Zhao, never cheat! I'm pleased because it means my skills have reached an incredible level, almost like a cheater's."
"Feel free to follow me. Unless something unexpected happens, I'll be streaming every night. A lot of people have reported me, but I won't be banned, because I haven't cheated. If you don't believe me, just wait and see."
After that, Chen Zhao couldn't be bothered to argue with the trolls in his stream. He simply ended the broadcast.
And surprisingly, his words really did have an effect. His follower count soared, climbing straight past 9,000!
Plenty of gaming streamers worked hard for years without reaching 9,000 followers. Chen Zhao had gained that many in half an hour. It was a pretty impressive feat!
Of course... most of his new followers were there to watch him get banned for cheating.
But Chen Zhao believed that once the report was investigated and the results came out, people would realize he hadn't cheated. Many of them would surely go from being angry at him to feeling surprised and impressed, and maybe they'd keep following him.
Mm, this was great.
All he had to do was wait for the results.
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