AWM: PUBG Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Qi Zui entered the lounge. Getting on the treadmill, he set up a very healthy walk mode.

At the same time, Qi Zui browsed Weibo for a while reading comments. The fangirls were still being orderly, tearfully asking why he hasn't live streamed in so long. After Qi Zui picked a cute avatar to reply to, he exited Weibo and opened up the forum.

[What's happening with Drunk recently? I'm not blind, right? Just saw the game records. His number yesterday only hit four hours? The day before yesterday hit three hours? Is he teasing me?]

[The Asia Invitational group compet.i.tion is about to start. The HOG battle team's Yu Qianxi live streams all day, and Captain Drunk only trains a few hours. Are they asking to die?]

[Maybe, possibly the HOG group status is declining. These people honestly want to lower their heads at the invitational tournament to acknowledge South Korea as father?]

[Sit and wait. Your G.o.d Qi will fall at the G.o.d altar in Busan. I'll see how the fans try to defend him this time.]

Just as in the past, Qi Zui was very indifferent. Most of the forum's front page ranted about his battle team.

Fame has its price. These past years, Qi Zui became shameless early on to the verbal abuse from the haters, treating personal attacks as food for consumption and trash talk as signals to the adrenal glands. He scrolled down further, accidentally catching sight of a controversial post on Yu Yang.

[Exciting! Youth joined HOG! The club has yet to officially announce. Currently, G.o.d Yang is still in the youth training team! Bold speculation, Youth might enter Team Two, or as reserve player for Team One, or directly replace that Team One slacker.

Qi Zui's interest piqued. Just as he wanted to enter a bit and see if this slacker spoken of was himself or Yu Qianxi……

"Captain?"

Yu Qianxi knocked on the door to enter. He clearly just woke, hair messy, eyes red, and repeatedly rubbing his eyes.

Qi Zui got off the treadmill, half leaning half sitting on the side. He had yet to speak. Yu Qianxi first forced a smile and said: "Yesterday there was a fan that kept sending gifts, blowing through tens of thousands. I felt embarra.s.sed to exit streaming early and just continued for a while longer."

"Didn't ask you this, we'll talk about that later." Qin Zui gently ma.s.saged his wrist, "How do you and Yu Yang know each other?"

Youth? He……" Yu Qianxi stammered, "He's quite famous, ranking at the top of the leaderboard for two seasons straight…… I saw his ID didn't have a battle team name in front of it. Just added him as a friend, and then we became acquainted."

Qi Zui regarded Yu Qianxi with a smile: "You recruited him to come to our battle team? When did you also take over the manager's duties?"

"No, I haven't. After he knew who I was, he spoke to me himself saying he wanted to come to our battle team." Yu Qianxi revealed his pervasive fear to Qi Zui and avoided his eyesight, "Immediately after the event I spoke with Xiaoxu-Ge, and they connected."

Xiaoxu-Ge [1], He Xiaoxu, is the HOG battle team's manager.

"He……himself requested to come to us……" Qi Zui duplicated the stammer, "OK, there's nothing else."

Yu Qianxi sighed in relief. Just as he was about to leave Qi Zui spoke again: "I have no interest in your live streams, but next time don't arrive late to a regular training during compet.i.tion periods. If you arrive late one more time, it will be dealt with accordingly as a breach of discipline."

Yu Qianxi wrinkled his brows for a moment and immediately laughed awkwardly. Making a promise, he left.

Today's training matches will start soon. Qi Zui picked up the cell phone and also followed out of the lounge.

The lounge on the second floor is public to the entire battle team. While returning to the third floor, Qi Zui's steps paused.

In front of the window sill at the second floor corridor entrance, Yu Yang just happened to be lowering his head to smoke.

The HOG battle team's base is quite expansive. After all, it must accommodate team members, the manager, coaches, data a.n.a.lysts, mental-health counselors, teachers, logistics, cooks, drivers, etc a chain of twenty or so people. Furthermore, Team One and Team Two's training rooms and dormitory are not even on one floor. That's why even within the battle team, people may not meet frequently. It's laughable speaking of it. Yu Yang joined the team for almost one month, yet this is the first time Qi Zui meets him again.

Compared to before, Yu Yang seemed a bit thinner and hair even longer dyed a light gold. Qi Zui didn't know whether it was because he had yet to pa.s.s the rebellion stage. On closer scrutiny, even a few inner locks appeared highlighted in a provocative grandma grey.

Hearing footsteps, Yu Yang turned his head and became dumbfounded by the sight.

Qi Zui looked at Yu Yang, recalling what Yu Qianxi had just said—

He told me that you wanted to come to our battle team.

Yu Yang gazed blankly at Qi Zui, fingers unconsciously losing their grip, and the cigarette core burned his palm. Qi Zui's brows furrowed. Yu Yang suddenly opened his hand.

As if waking from a dream, Yu Yang quickly crouched to pick up the cigarette in an embarra.s.sed fl.u.s.ter and turned to escape.

Qi Zui stood by the window for a while before heading upstairs into the training room.

"Hurry up, hurry up! Join the squad, join the squad. The first round of the training matches will start after 10 minutes." Bu Nana took off his headphones to shout at Qi Zui, "We're just missing you. Pa.s.sword sent for the group. Quickly join the squad."

Qi Zui rubbed between his brows. Sitting down at his own computer seat, he put on the headphones.

PUBG: PlayersUnknown's Battleground, every game round has a hundred player names partic.i.p.ating together. Initially, each player doesn't have any equipment. Everyone begins simultaneously aboard an airplane following a common flight path. At any point along the path one can parachute off according to one's desired destination.

Guns, bullets, protective gear, and medical item ranks are randomly generated everywhere on the map, and after landing can immediately be picked up. In the SQUAD mode, dispersed over the entire map is altogether 20 squads. Each group fights amongst each other. Of course it's not necessary to be anxious as the map is large enough to not encounter others. The PUBG continent will randomly redraw the safe zone, and outside of the safe zone a poison effect occurs where the player's character will continuously lose health. Following the pa.s.sage of time, the safe zone will constantly shrink [2]. Players will keep shifting positions according to the poison circle, then exchange fire and eliminate players, a non-stop elimination. The game ends when everywhere there are only players of the same squad left on the map.

The last team standing is the victor of the match round.

Today's practice match is a SQUAD game. Because a match of PUBG requires many people, every practice match has more than 10 battle teams. Wealthy and prominent battle teams like HOG with a second team and even a youth training team are all able to join.

"Today is fairly decent, a total of 87 people." The game started. Bu Nana raised his head to peek at the number of people in the match round and asked. "Where are we jumping?"

Qi Zui is Team One's captain and also the commander. At the beginning of each game round he must decide the parachute position based on the flight path.

Qi Zui gave a sweeping glance at the flight path: "The airport (*military base)"

TN: Erangel Map. The “airport” (or Sosnovka Military Base in the US server) is located at the center of the lower island.

Bu Nana clicked his tongue twice: "Not bad my Qi-Ge! You're this fired up today?"

The airport is abundant in supplies but has a complex terrain. A great number of people jumping, upon landing must at once start gunning. Unless it's the fish pond (*lower level players), otherwise very seldom can a team of four individuals walk out of the airport at full roster. Hence, some cautious squads basically will not jump for the airport.

"Jump." Qi Zui casually marked a point on the map, "Watch for the circle after searching. I'm monitoring the observatory. Lao Kai depending on the situation store up on gasoline."

"A few people went to Port N (*Novorepnoye)…… one, two, three people……" Lao Kai landed, "One team, a team also jumped for the airport."

Bu Nana sighed: "Is the flight path to Uptown (*North Georgopol) not good? Insisting on coming to provoke you, Daddy Qi.

"Speed clear the team at the airport." Qi Zui in poor mood lacked energy to play along with Bu Nana's lousy teasing. He speed landed, picked up a shotgun, and on one side loaded a bullet and on the other followed another person around a window, "Watch for the circle after beating this team at the airport. Clean up here and go to the bridge to collect toll (*kill off any pa.s.sers). We'll block the Port N team."

Qi Zui knocked down the person, who was nearly face to face, with the shotgun. The system announced:

[HOG-Drunk knocked out Wolves-Baoliu with S1897]

Wolves, Qi Zui knocked down someone from the Wolves battle team.

Qi Zui didn't kill this person. Loading a bullet, he returned to the hallway.

The game mechanics in the scenario where there are still surviving teammates, a downed player will not immediately die. During a brief window, surviving teammates can revive a downed teammate to resume partic.i.p.ation in the battle.

Qi Zui moved behind a wall to block himself from view, the fish bait and trap method. Indeed it wasn't long before the footsteps of another people could be heard…… the teammate of the person knocked down a moment ago had arrived.

Qi Zui gauged the next moments in advance. When the enemy teammate revives the recently knocked down Baoliu, he'll go around the wall and kill the two people.

[HOG-Drunk killed Wolves-Baoliu with S1897]

[HOG-Drunk killed Wolves-Star with S1897]

The two remaining people of the Wolves battle team were killed by Bu Nana and Lao Kai. Completely clearing the airport, the four people rapidly searched all over for supplies. After splitting the good equipment they looked at the next map. As expected the safe zone was newly drawn over Town Y (*Yasnaya Polyana).

TN: Example of a safe zone circle over Yasnaya Polyana. The circle first appears a few minutes into the game. Players will eventually want to be close or in it when the circle shrinks or risk the health loss effect. The percentage of health lost over time increases with each successive shrink.

Bu Nana: "Hurry, quickly speed up. Find a car to go to the Eastern bridge and block off the team in Port N."

Lao Kai drove the car. After reaching the East bridge, he parked the car properly. The four people used the abandoned cars on the bridge as bunkers and with guns waited for the Port N people to arrive.

"Nana keep watch over the bridge base. Port N also has boat sp.a.w.ns, and they might sail over." Drunk opened the scope and took a look, "I'll keep watch of the bridgehead."

Bu Nana agreed lazily. After two minutes he was bored to death: "Why are the people at Port N so slow? How about we go in first?"

"Camping for so long, going now will just make us be targets for Port N." Actually, Qi Zui felt even more vexed than Bu Nana. From before until now his heart was just not on the game. Again and again…… Yu Yang filled his entire head.

Qi Zui never smoked a cigarette and lacked knowledge of how hot a cigarette stub could be.

Just like a few moments ago…… being grazed by the cigarette stub briefly, would there be a burn injury?

If he burned the palm of his right hand, which happens to be the place where the mouse is held.

Then at this moment he……

"Ah!" Bu Nana suddenly spoke loudly, "Qi-Ge! Didn't you agree to watch the bridgehead?

Qi Zui quickly scanned the bridgehead. The Port N team didn't drive a car or sail, they had already reached the bunker rear at the bridgehead!

"Mine." Qi Zui took the initiative to be a scapegoat. Wanting to evacuate toward the right side and search for a bunker, he quickly looked in the scope, "S direction 1…… F*ck."

In the brief moment Qi Zui looked in the scope, it allowed the opposing side to seize an opening. The person caused three gunshot explosions to the head.

System Announcement: [HOG-Youth knocked out HOG-Drunk with mini14]

The stunned Qi Zui could not help but laugh.

One could not avoid their enemy.

The team that jumped for Port N was unexpectedly Yu Yang's team.

In the game, when a player knocks down or is knocked down by an enemy player, only then is it possible to know the other's ID through the system announcement.

No bunkers near Qi Zui and a single error already allowed Yu Yang a stranglehold on the position.

However, the error was apparently not limited to only Qi Zui. A golden opportunity for the opposing side's Yu Yang who actually collected a gun [3]. Yet living in a daze over there, several seconds pa.s.sed without him firing the gun to kill off Qi Zui.

"Qi-Ge lean a bit toward the right"

Lao Kai released the smoke grenade. He drove the car out in front of Qi Zui as a bunker for blocking. Getting off, he revived him.

Qi Zui stood up and shot a med to regenerate health. Bu Nana could not understand: "In this long period, why didn't he kill you? What was the other side waiting for?

"Don't know." Qi Zui indifferently said: "Waiting to die, maybe."

A moment ago was a period of absent-mindedness, and Qi Zui in a normal state facing the gun, Yu Yang still wouldn't be able to overcome him.

Qi Zui in full fight mode did not even open the scope. He stood holding the Scar-L towards Yu Yang's position and hip fired [4]. Just as expected, Yu Yang went behind a bunker to hide a while. Qi Zui stopped a second to switch to a sniper rifle. Opening the scope to adjust the aim, a single shot struck Yu Yang's head.

[HOG-Drunk knocked out HOG-Youth with 98k]

Without the slightest hesitation Qi Zui neatly and deftly reloaded a bullet into the gun.

[HOG-Drunk killed HOG-Youth with 98k]

In the training room of the base's first floor, Yu Yang's game interface flashed into black and white. He looked at the computer screen blankly for a moment before letting go of the mouse and removing the headphones.

Yu Yang lowered his head over his right palm and gently blew air. He could not tell whether the burn felt extremely painful. Yu Yang blew a few times, his eyes gradually reddening.

Translator's Notes: Thanks again yudun for letting me continue this translation and for hosting. Most of the gaming terminology are translated based on the English server when appropriate, while the location names are left in Chinese shorthand.

[1] Ge: Brother or bro

[2] The circle appearance and time duration:

[3] 枪 gun: The author often uses the generic term "gun" rather than the specific name. According to the system announcement Yu Yang had a Mini 14, a Tier 1 weapon, which is considered pretty good for this stage.

[4] hip fired: taking a shot without looking down a gun's scope or sight