Chapter 5: Old Gun

After 10 days of special training, we had basically mastered the movement and tactical coordination for all common match maps. Most players in the internet cafe also knew that in the CS LAN, there was a game server named "LOST" with a maximum of 10 players that one should not enter lightly, because this server always had 5 guys locked on one team, leaving 5 empty spots on the other team. The consequence of becoming their enemy was usually being wiped out inexplicably; even if one luckily survived a bit longer, one often ended up being hacked to pieces... However, the internet cafe was large, so newbies coming in for free sparring practice kept coming in a steady stream, so we completed our tactical coordination training in a relaxed and happy mood.

During breaks in training, I constantly sparred one-on-one with Yang Mo and the others to improve my personal strength, and I was very happy to discover that the three major advantages I relied on to dominate the nation when playing Thief were gradually transforming into advantages for me in CS.

First, I had a first reaction beyond the norm, so I could gain the upper hand in encounters at turns or exits. I even often aimed my gun at where the enemy's head was about to appear before I even saw the enemy, relying on intuition; I always felt this wasn't just a matter of reaction, perhaps my sixth sense...

Second, my dynamic vision was outstanding; I was best at leading shots. After training, I could even throw grenades onto the heads of moving enemies... Finally, I had an unusually steady pair of hands and incredibly precise mouse clicking accuracy. Of course, this was hard-earned skill honed through countless Thief competitions! Although my emotions were sometimes not very calm (Xu Ge: Nothing more to say, tears streaming!), my hands were always dry and steady.

I turned to my teammates who were vomiting violently, sneered: "What? Is anyone dissatisfied?!"

Xu Ge: "Big Brother! I submit! Don't get excited!"

Andy: "Your mid-range shooting isn't even a match for me! Wahahaha, I am the strongest..."

I continued to sneer: "Shall we compare burst fire?"

Andy: "Well... I still prefer close combat..."

Yang Mo turned his face away, pushed up his glasses: "It's enough for me to know in my heart who is the strongest..."

Xiao K: "I'm better at hide-and-seek... What, do you want to compete with me?"

"Sigh," I looked up and sighed deeply, "Finding an opponent is so hard, isn't it?"

All: "..."

Finally, we decided that for the remaining time before the match, everyone would act separately, with the goal of raising personal strength to another level. Although the match requires coordination, it is ultimately individuals who execute these coordinations; if everyone's strength can rise another floor, then the team's strength can have a qualitative improvement.

Yang Mo grabbed Andy, "Fat Brother, let's train together! I'll learn rushing from you!"

Andy: "That's good too; I actually want to practice burst fire. Let's go together!"

Xu Ge: "Boss, it's not that I don't want to accompany you... I want to go back and practice the sniper rifle; our team is also lacking a sniper..."

Xiao K: "I need to find a place to hide and train specially..."

I stretched out my hand, not yet having time to speak, and there was no one left in front of me. I originally wanted to pull someone to spar with me... These heartless and unrighteous things! The fierce north wind blew~~ The long yellow leaves swept past~~ I pulled up my collar~~ Walked alone on the street~~...

>>>>>>

After practicing hard in the internet cafe for a few more days, I felt my skill level had improved again, and I couldn't help but feel an itch to test my firepower. But these guys in the team didn't know where they had hidden themselves, and this internet cafe, because the match was imminent, had its experts playing with their teams, so no one bored enough to play with me...

So I took three stops on a public bus to an internet cafe I had never been to, wanting to test on these unfamiliar opponents exactly what level my skill had reached.

10 minutes later...

"Who on earth is Lucifer? Did he use a cheat? How does he get a headshot every time he meets someone?!" The police leader seemed almost desperate to lose.

"It's Lucifer again! Four police officers were actually all killed by him alone?!" This time it was the terrorists who couldn't kill anyone, screaming hysterically.

While killing another police officer, I secretly felt pleased in my heart: "As the saying goes, Mount Tai isn't piled up, trains aren't pushed, hunchbacks aren't twisted (wei, first tone), and this bragging isn't blown! Someone actually suspects I used a cheat?! Truly, they've never seen a master..."

While I was feeling proud, suddenly the internet cafe door "creaked" and was pushed open.

The biting autumn wind seemed to sneak in through the door crack at that moment; everyone felt a chill on their bodies, then the internet cafe became silent as a grave, only hearing a dry voice: "Boss, start up a machine."

I looked towards the sound. The person who came was thin, with messy hair, dark skin making his age indistinguishable, but the mouse tucked under his arm was very conspicuous, because this mouse was really too big, big enough to be tucked under the arm... I had only heard before when playing StarCraft that the Korean Zerg master Byun-Z-Zone used an extra-large mouse, but it didn't seem to be that ridiculously large...

"TheoldGun..." a player next to me muttered.

"Old Gun?!" I suddenly remembered there was a famous hacker named Old Gun. Could it be?!...

"TheoldGunjointhegame!" After this guy entered, he chose the police; the terrorists sighed lightly, while the police were overjoyed.

In the next round, even I was greatly surprised. Someone threw a sniper rifle to this guy, and as a result, not only did I, who led the charge, die young, but the terrorist brothers behind me were sniped in succession like wheat being cut; I seemed to hear the sound of the opponent gently blowing on his smoking gun barrel...

He is a true master! I got excited.

In the next few rounds, it almost became a duel between just me and Old Gun. Because soon we would kill the other people, then inevitably evolve into a one-on-one. And every time I could hit him, but he would also hit me at the same time. Unfortunately, one bullet he hit me with was enough to decide the result, because he was always using a sniper...

I jumped! I circled! I flashed! I bombed! I spared no effort, trying to take him down. But, it seemed that as long as he had one breath left, he could still fire, and once his gun sounded, it had never missed... The people in the internet cafe seemed to forget the experience of being brutally beaten by me just now, and all looked at me, who was grinding my teeth, with kind, pitying eyes.

Damn it! One shot! If he missed one shot, I could kill him! I thought secretly, while turning my head to look at Old Gun himself, sitting four seats away from me. His hand was still so steady on that ridiculously large mouse, as if even if the sky fell, it wouldn't make his shot miss. Impossible, he can't be this accurate forever! I encouraged myself, but in an instant, another round's defeat made me start to feel: Is killing him an impossible task?

>>>>>>

Huf~, another grenade flew over. I clumsily jumped back, but still had over ten points of health blown off. Damn it! Seeing Old Gun's excellent performance, these police seemed to have taken stimulants, one by one becoming agile, while the terrorists seemed all beaten down. With this rise and fall, I fought more and more strenuously, several times almost being beaten to death by a group of police, almost not lasting until Old Gun appeared.

"Tut tut tut," I poked my head out from behind cover with a three-round burst, blowing off another police officer, but I had little health left either, and Old Gun still hadn't appeared. I rallied my spirit, threw out a flashbang, followed by a burst of continuous fire, killing two more, while the remaining 2 police were somewhat timid and retreated. The two terrorists behind me, seeing a chance to profit, jumped out in a rush. Before they even landed, a crisp gunshot rang out, killing two birds with one stone!

Old Gun finally arrived...

I crouched behind cover, poking my head out to the east, showing my ** to the west, trying to lure him into firing, but Old Gun was very steady; he wouldn't fire unless he was sure. The suffocating aura pressed me so hard I dared not move rashly. I flashed again, flung a string of aimless bullets in his general direction, then flashed back. When I subconsciously changed ammo, the "click click" sound reminded me: ammo was exhausted...

I calmly observed my situation: teammates all wiped out, ammo exhausted, no guns nearby to pick up, not even pistol ammo left, while on the other side, besides Old Gun, there were two police holding M4s, watching hungrily...

There was only one path before me, and it was the most miserable one...

The grief and indignation of losing several rounds in a row and being powerless suddenly rushed to my head. Even if I die, I must die like a hero! Holding a dagger, I roared and charged out of cover diagonally, waiting for that crisp sniper shot from Old Gun.

Those two police might have been scared by me and hadn't reacted yet; I had charged out several steps and they still hadn't fired. Strangely, Old Gun hadn't either.

I charged out two more steps. "Bang," the sniper fired. The sound was like a phoenix singing in the nine heavens. That bullet destined for me spun, sneering, whistling through the wind with the sound of the gale. Thus, on the ground by my feet, a faint dust cloud exploded, and a shallow bullet mark appeared.

Didn't hit?!

I suddenly stopped my steps, the tip of the knife in my hand pointing at Old Gun... But just then, the M4 finally fired. The two police who had come to their senses quickly turned me into a colander with a less regular shape...

A new round started again, but I stood still without moving, pondering Old Gun's strange miss just now...

Just now, I sought death wholeheartedly, for the first time not fixing my target on Old Gun, but charging out diagonally and randomly. Could it be that Old Gun missed because he couldn't guess my destination? My intuition told me so. Acting with purpose leaves a trace and falls to a lower level; just now, with no extraneous thoughts, I moved randomly, which instead made Old Gun, who is good at predicting opponent movements to deliver a fatal blow, at a loss!

Having figured this out, my spirit surged greatly. Like a tiger descending the mountain, I pounced on the police group, and for a moment flesh and blood flew everywhere...

When I killed the last police officer, I had no teammates left either...

"How many times is this?" I thought softly, "Only me and him left, for the final struggle?" I loaded my ammo and charged straight up. "But this time, the victor will be me!"

Old Gun watched me on the main road, turning around for a while, then retreating diagonally, my steps light as a dancer's. He delayed firing. Just at the moment he thought he had caught my movement trajectory, I stopped in place. Thus, that cold bullet grazed my leg and coldly hit the ground. I seemed to see Old Gun's steady hand beginning to tremble... Bang, another shot, what a beautiful shot! It hit me, but I didn't fall, because he only hit my foot... I smiled and raised my AK...

This round was the terrorists' victory!

Old Gun took off his headphones and sighed, still with that dry voice: "If it were an ordinary sniper, you would have been dead long ago, when you charged straight..."

"If it were an ordinary sniper, I would have just point-blanked him to death!" I was not polite.

Old Gun slowly removed his large mouse, not looking up. "Who are you?"

"Captain of =LOST=, Li Lin!" I said quickly.

"From the University of Technology, Wang Dong." When he heard my name, he seemed to tremble slightly. "Just call me Old Gun."

"You're a student?!" I was somewhat surprised; I had thought this guy must be in his thirties or forties...

"You know Andy, right? We're in the same class." Old Gun ignored my rudeness.

"What the hell?! You're only a sophomore?" Only then did I realize that the world holds all sorts of wonders...

After calming down, I suddenly reacted. "How did you know I know Andy?"

"Andy mentioned you, L. L!" Old Gun remained expressionless. "Today you only beat me once. We'll see each other again during the competition!"

"You're also participating in that competition?!"

"..." Old Gun said no more, picked up the mouse, and left.

Only then did I feel worried for the first time about the upcoming competition; I never expected such a small contest to truly hide dragons and crouch tigers.

However, my immediate priority is to master the footwork I just used against him. As for this footwork... let's call it "Lost Dance"...

The Lost Dance...

Hehe...

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