Chapter 126: Chapter 126: Are You Civilized?
The headset is eerily quiet. Still connected, you can hear faint, shallow breaths.
Jay Monroe closes his eyes, lets sweat roll down, and waits, quietly, as time ticks by.
One second, two, three...
Footsteps grow closer. Jay grips his sniper rifle, ready to spring up when—
"Bang."
Jay’s eyes fly wide open, barely able to process before three more "Bang, bang, bang."
As a sniper, Jay knows the sound of sniper rifles by heart.
Was it Hugh?
He must’ve found Renee Morgan’s position...
Before Jay can guess any further, a flat mechanical voice rings in his headset, right on cue.
"Team Blue sniper, Renee Morgan scores one point. Total: 77 points."
"..."
"..."
"Team Blue sniper, Renee Morgan scores one point. Total: 80 points."
Jay: "!"
Still prone, he quietly lifts his rifle, stares through the scope, and surveys the situation below.
Just as he expected. The four Team Red members charging at him, hadn’t even scaled the cliff yet—they got headshotted midway.
The gunfire burst out suddenly. They’re stuck in place, dumbfounded, wisps of blue smoke floating above their heads.
Hugh pinpoints the direction of the shots, temporarily abandons Jay, shoulders his sniper rifle, moves forward in a crouched cross-step, inching towards Renee Morgan’s location.
Jay swings his rifle around, sights on Hugh. If Hugh exposes any of the three kill zones on his helmet, Jay will pull the trigger without a moment’s hesitation.
The air grows hotter. The crackling sizzle sounds almost audible. Everyone’s nerves stretched tight—a single pluck is all it takes to snap.
"Whoosh!" A covert dart shoots for Hugh’s arm...
Hugh, holding his gun, reacts purely by instinct, dropping down and rolling over, still gripping the sniper rifle.
"Whoosh!" Another dart slices the air—targets Hugh again.
Hugh twists at the waist, dodging, but exposes the three kill lines on his helmet.
"Bang." Jay’s sniper rifle fires.
Louis, alert to any sound, springs into action and tackles Hugh, shielding him below.
"Whoosh!" Another dart flies out, sharp and fast, stabbing into a Team Red member’s arm.
"Whoosh!" Yet another dart streaks into the crowd—this time aimed right at someone’s face!
Even the steadiest Red team members, in the face of deadly danger, can’t keep their cool.
"She’s out for blood! That’s a foul, nearly blinded me—" The Team Red guy jumps up, shouting furiously.
"Bang!" A sniper shot rings out.
"Team Blue sniper, Jay Monroe scores one point. Total: 29 points."
His ranting cuts off abruptly. He rolls his eyes toward the smoky haze above, head throbbing as if hammered.
As if it couldn’t get worse, his headset announces Blue’s headshot score, plus a reminder he’s out of the game—leave immediately or risk breaking rules and suffering the consequences.
For hell’s sake, Blue team gets off scot-free, yet I get a warning?
Hugh, tackled to the ground, struggles up, barely ready before he sees someone suddenly atop the hill.
It’s Dane, holding a submachine gun. He aims down, pulls the trigger—gunfire erupts.
The people below instantly swing their pistols toward him, firing back.
Dane shoots a few wild rounds, turns and bolts. Bullets pepper his back, but do nothing.
Worse, they’ve exposed their helmet kill zones, making themselves sniper bait.
"Bang..."
"Bang..."
"Team Blue sniper, Jay Monroe scores one point. Total: 30 points."
"Team Blue sniper, Jay Monroe scores one point. Total: 31 points."
"Team Blue sniper, Renee Morgan scores one point. Total: 81 points."
"..."
"..."
"Team Blue sniper, Renee Morgan scores one point. Total: 84 points."
Hugh listens to gunfire, closes his eyes, lets the burning sweat blur his face. Annoyance boils up—he nearly chucks his rifle just to drag that hidden shooter out.
But he knows one thing: If he can’t win outright, if he lets them land headshots, he’s finished.
He forces himself calm, then suddenly speaks: "Louis, take your gun—I’ll cover you up the hill."
Louis stares, lost—not sure what Hugh means.
It isn’t clear until Hugh steps in front, advancing in a crouched cross-step for cover, signaling Louis to follow with his gun—using himself as a shield against darts, while Louis lines up to shoot from behind.
"I’m the assault, you’re the sniper. I go in the open, you hang back." Louis shoves up beside him, knocks him: "Step back, follow me."
The rest of Team Red quickly follow—with numbers on their side, they plan to rush in, finish the fight as fast as possible.
They’ve got the advantage. Even with casualties, knocking out Blue’s two strongest snipers is worth it.
Just as their blood’s pumping and they’re about to charge, they see the missing Dane return atop the hill—this time, not with a gun, but two "rocks"?
"Ah!" Dane swings his arms, hurls the "rocks," yelling, "Die already!"
Team Red: "..."
This is a civilized game, right?
Why the hell is he cursing us out?
When someone finally sees what he’s holding, they scream, "Those are... grenades? Get down!"
Team Red is totally confused—Blue can make weapons, even grenades?
How are we supposed to win?
Might as well just get wiped out.
Team Red, half-believing, half-fearing, suddenly hears a deafening "Bang." So loud you can’t hear anything else, like you’ve gone deaf.
They don’t have time to curse Blue for being monsters—just duck and cover.
Some are so scared, their pants shake, muttering final words under their breath.
"..."
Jay Monroe seizes the opportunity—springs up from the gully, slings his sniper rifle behind, pushes off the cliff wall, climbs up halfway in seconds.
Renee Morgan slings her rifle, hooks her handmade miniature bow to her belt, gets up fast, ready to retreat.
Hugh—still unclear what that thing was—is tackled by Louis, who turns and pins him down.
"..."
Hugh’s sharp—instantly realizing Jay and Renee plan to use this to pull off an escape. He shoves aside Louis, just in time to see Renee rising, reaches out and yanks Jay up with her. The two stand side by side, looking back down at the others.
Hugh clenches his sniper rifle, aims at them.
Renee’s dark clear eyes flick him a glance, then she turns away, leaps down, vanishes from sight.
Jay curls his lips, gives that familiar grin—brilliant and full of swagger.