In the male-dominated jungle of esports, her gun is the only law. Xia Shi huddles in a smoke-filled corner of an internet cafe, fingers flying over the keyboard as she plays Nightingale, an obscure sniper. When one bullet pierces three heads and turns the game around against all odds, the trending topics explode: Thorny Rose tears through the Korean server, shaking the country's top esports powerhouse, Star Team.
Three thousand yuan a month, a substitute for the substitute. The manager shoves a contract at her. Her father's roar rings in her ears: Xia Shi! If you dare leave, don't ever come back! The day she steps into the team base, taunts cut like knives: A woman playing professionally? Just wait till you cry! Her rival, Shen Che, smashes a keyboard. “Let's see your reaction speed. Now.” The captain, Jiang Lin, speaks with an icy voice, while his trembling right hand stays hidden behind his back. At the World Championship finals, gunfire rings out and fate bares its fangs: Jiang Lin's hand injury tears open, sending him crashing from the heights. Suddenly, a bloodstained fan sign rises in the stands: Xia Shi, shoot! Her father's scream pierces the sky. In the virtual battlefield, wind and snow howl. The enemy's ace taunts her in all chat: Surrender. Roses belong in vases. Xia Shi pulls the trigger, and her bullet shatters the starry sky. “Look closely. My thorns grow on the throne.”
