The heavy rain hit the glass windows like countless tiny blades. Li Xiao was sitting on the sofa, and the slow motion of the last round was still playing back in his headphones - his operation was delayed by 0.3 Seconds, and a movement that should have been accurately cut was stuck in the corner. The voice of the commentator was like a blunt instrument digging into the eardrums: "Li Xiao... Is old. This finals is his final performance."
He didn't move. His fingers were still on the keyboard, and his fingertips were white, as if they were still holding on to the long-broken headphone cable. On the screen, his ID "Reaper" was ranked as the most searched, and underneath were dense taunts: "Retired waste", "Living fossil in the e-sports circle", "He doesn't deserve that championship uniform".
Thunder exploded outside the window, and a bolt of lightning split the night, instantly illuminating his pale face. He closed his eyes, and the training gym three years ago seemed to be right in front of him - the sweat, the sound of the keyboard, the shouts of his teammates, and... The substitute who was always quietly adjusting the equipment in the corner.
He opened his eyes suddenly and grabbed the phone on the table. The screen lights up and an anonymous private message pops up.
There is no sender, no notes, just a 17-second video.
He clicked it.
The picture was of an arena in the Age of Storms, with black shadows shuttling between the three roads like ghosts. There were no conventional combos, no pre-judged moves - it was a set of stunts that he personally designed three years ago, had never been announced to the public, and was even sealed in an encrypted folder by himself: counter-pulse combos.
Three teleports, two reverse E flashes, and finally a Q+R back-swing connection that was officially judged to be "impossible to trigger" to complete the kill.
The operation is accurate to milliseconds and as smooth as breathing.
