Chapter 470: The Art Of Dying...

The next match began almost immediately, and Zack leaned forward in his seat with renewed determination. His earlier defeat seemed to have been completely erased from his memory, as though the previous several deaths had never happened. He tightened his grip on the controller and stared intently at the screen, his expression unusually serious.

"This time, nobody does anything stupid," he declared.

Zoey turned her head and looked at him with an expression of mild disbelief. "You’re included in that rule, right?"

"Obviously," Zack replied without hesitation.

Camilla adjusted her headset and settled more comfortably into her chair. Stan glanced in her direction, noticing how calm she remained despite the increasingly competitive atmosphere around them.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Yes," Camilla answered simply.

Zack scoffed from beside them. "She says that like she’s going into an actual battle."

Camilla looked at the screen for a moment before calmly replying, "Isn’t that what you called it?"

Zack opened his mouth, but nothing immediately came out. After a brief pause, he nodded reluctantly.

"...Fair."

The countdown appeared across the screen, and the atmosphere inside their small gaming station changed almost instantly. The casual laughter disappeared as everyone’s attention focused on the match.

Three.

Two.

One.

Their characters launched into the battlefield.

"MARK A LOCATION!" Zack shouted at once.

Zoey turned toward him. "Why are you shouting?"

"COMMUNICATION!"

"We’re sitting next to each other!"

"THE ENEMY CAN’T HEAR US!"

Stan shook his head, unable to suppress a laugh. Zack had somehow managed to turn sitting in a gaming station with his friends into a military operation.

They landed near a cluster of buildings, and Zack immediately sprinted toward the nearest structure without waiting for anyone else. The moment his character crossed through the doorway, he began searching through the rooms.

"Loot!" he announced excitedly.

Zoey followed behind him, while Stan landed slightly farther away and began searching another building. Camilla, meanwhile, landed on a rooftop and immediately began surveying the surrounding area.

After a few seconds, she asked, "Where are you?"

"I’m in the building!" Zack answered.

Camilla looked across the collection of structures surrounding them. "Which one?"

"The building!"

"There are twelve buildings."

Zack stopped moving for a moment and looked around.

"Okay, that’s a problem."

Zoey sighed as she opened the map. "Mark your location."

"I’m marking it."

Zack pressed the wrong button and placed a marker several hundred meters away from his actual position. Zoey stared at the map in silence.

"That isn’t you."

"I know."

"Then why did you mark it?"

"I was distracted."

"By what?"

"I found a gun."

Zoey slowly turned toward him. "You’ve been playing for hours."

"I still get excited."

Before Zoey could respond, Stan finished looting his building and joined them. He had already equipped a decent weapon and armor, while Camilla had descended from the rooftop and was making her way toward their position.

For a few minutes, everything went surprisingly smoothly. They moved through the buildings, collected equipment, and gradually made their way toward the center of the map. Zack even managed to avoid doing anything catastrophically reckless, which Zoey privately considered an achievement in itself.

Then a burst of gunfire suddenly echoed through the building.

Zack froze.

"Enemy."

Zoey immediately crouched. "Where?"

"North."

"How do you know?"

"I heard them."

Camilla, who had been moving through another entrance, suddenly stopped. Her eyes remained fixed on the screen.

"Two."

Zack looked at her. "Two what?"

"Two enemies."

"Where?"

Camilla calmly replied, "Behind you."

Zack’s character spun around.

A player appeared through the doorway.

"WHY ARE THEY HERE?"

Zack immediately opened fire, spraying bullets in every direction with considerably more enthusiasm than accuracy. Somehow, however, he managed to eliminate the first opponent.

"YES!" he shouted, throwing one hand into the air in celebration.

Zoey was barely able to react before another enemy entered through the same doorway.

Zack died.

His character collapsed, and the screen turned gray.

For several seconds, Zack remained completely silent.

Zoey slowly turned toward him.

"You celebrated too early."

"I was celebrating the first one."

"You died during the celebration."

"That was tactical overconfidence."

Camilla entered the room a moment later and eliminated the second opponent with almost insulting efficiency.

Zack stared at the screen.

"She saved me."

Zoey nodded. "Again."

"I wasn’t actually in danger."

"You were dead."

"I was temporarily unavailable."

Stan burst out laughing.

Despite Zack’s repeated disasters, the match continued. Surprisingly, the team managed to survive long enough to reach the final circle. By then, even Zack had become somewhat more cautious, although everyone knew it was only a matter of time before his instincts betrayed him again.

Zoey had also begun getting the hang of the game. Her movements were no longer as hesitant as they had been during their earlier matches, and she was beginning to understand positioning and timing.

Camilla, however, had become something entirely different.

She seemed to be learning the game at an absurd speed. She had started out unfamiliar with the controls, yet she was now moving with increasing confidence. She knew when to advance, when to stay behind cover, when to avoid unnecessary fights, and when an enemy had left themselves exposed.

Stan watched as she eliminated another player from a considerable distance.

"You’re getting good," he said.

Camilla didn’t take her eyes from the screen. "I am learning."

Zack shook his head. "No. You’re evolving."

The final circle began closing around them, leaving only three squads alive. Stan checked the surroundings and spoke in a more serious tone.

"Okay. Nobody rushes."

Zack nodded firmly. "Understood."

Three seconds passed.

Then Zack rushed forward.

"Zack!"

"I saw an opening!" he protested.

"You saw a death certificate!" Zoey shouted.

Gunfire erupted from several directions. Zack’s character barely survived a few seconds before collapsing.

Zoey stared at his character lying motionless on the ground.

"Impressive."

"What?" Zack asked defensively.

"You’ve somehow made the same mistake in a different location."

"I was being aggressive."

"You were being stupid."

"There’s a difference."

***

A/N:

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