Chapter 493: Gently Waking the Sleeping Heart... |
*Thud—!*
In an instant!
A wave of cold air shot straight from XTT's heels to the top of his head, making his scalp tingle!
[Sledge (Hammer)]!
Even though they hadn't carefully studied the attacking operators' skills before!
For them, this bald, hammer-wielding attacker was not unfamiliar at all!
Because he had appeared in the game's trailer!
In that trailer, his massive hammer was used to breach walls!
Whether it was thick ceiling panels or seemingly impenetrable curtain walls with beam structures!
*Eighty!*
Shatter the wall to pieces!
And now—!
XTT's heart and lungs nearly stopped!
He watched helplessly as Hammer, following Liu Di's terrified screams, walked step by step right up to him.
Then, he saw Hammer twist his waist!
*Whoosh—!*
The enormous hammerhead was lifted high, raised over his head!
His burly figure blocked the fallen Entry Denial Device from the camera's view!
And the next moment!
Accompanied by the desperate wail of the Entry Denial Device, Liu Di: "Don't, nooooooo—!"
*—!!!*
The massive hammer, swung with all its might, came crashing down with a whoosh of wind!
XTT only heard a heavy, dull thud coming from the Basement Level beneath his feet!
*Thump!!!*
*Squelch splatter—!*
On the entire wall of the Spiral Staircase!
A crimson dahlia bloomed!
Immediately after!
It seemed Hammer noticed a camera was watching him. He slowly turned, drew a pistol from his waist, aimed it at XTT who was watching the monitor, and pulled the trigger—
*Bang!!!*
[Signal Lost]
—
The screen instantly turned to static snow.
"Fuuuuuuck you, man!!!"
XTT frantically put away his phone!
His hands were trembling, his body covered in cold sweat!
And in the livestream chat, it was absolute chaos—!
General Di just got hammered offline...
Holy shit... this surveillance footage is way too terrifying...
I've got goosebumps all over...
"You call this a competitive shooter game???"
"Hammer-wielding psycho! I'm done!"
Please don't play like this, man! It's genuinely a bit scary, bro!
I'm breaking out in a cold sweat...
This Hammer guy must be a Butter player, right? This mental state fits perfectly...
You need at least three years of Butter experience to play this twisted...
"I'm completely numb...
Seriously, maybe we should go see a doctor, using a hammer for an execution is just too psycho, bro..."
"Gently waking the sleeping heart (doge)"
"Never eating tofu pudding again..."
"Hahahahaha damn..."
Horrifying!
While it was clearly an Attacker player just messing around.
But without a doubt.
Enhanced by that eerie camera angle, whether it was the long bloodstain trail left by the downed operator being dragged on the ground, the oppressive pressure of Hammer's step-by-step advance, or the brutal visual impact of the final hammer execution.
It was an unforgettable, spine-chilling experience.
"Oh, for fuck's sake!"
As the camera was shot out!
XTT's horrified cry also rang out!
Not just because of the terrifying visual impact!
More importantly, because of his current location!
You have to understand, at this very moment, he was crouched in the flowerbed right next to the Spiral Staircase entrance!
And the location where Hammer executed Liu Di was directly beneath his feet!
That meant, if Hammer came up the stairs now, in just two or three seconds, he'd step out and see XTT immediately!
Thinking of this, XTT didn't dare linger for a second. He quickly switched his view back from the static-filled monitor, just stuffed his phone into his pocket,
and turned around—
Hammer was already standing right behind him.
"Oh shi—!!!"
At that moment, XTT felt like his soul was about to fly right out of his wide-open, screaming mouth.
Watching as Hammer was about to repeat his trick, raising his gun to down him.
Right at this critical moment!
*Rat-a-tat-tat—!!!*
A spray of blood suddenly bloomed on Hammer's body!
*Thud...*
The corpse fell, revealing the panting figure of the doctor who had rushed down from the second floor.
1v2!
Not bad!
Right now, only three people remained on the field!
They were the Defenders: Armor Panel XTT and doctor Qiezi, and the Attacker sniper who hadn't shown himself yet!
That's right. Although Breach's forceful breach of the Armor Panel to plant the defuser had caused significant chaos and successfully planted it.
In that split second, XTT had also tanked a shot from the sniper and managed to take out Breach.
The situation became a 2v1.
On the surface, it seemed the Defenders had a numbers advantage.
But in reality, XTT knew very well they had not even a shred of advantage right now, and couldn't even see a glimmer of hope for a comeback.
"The enemy still has a sniper,"
XTT, having received a healing shot from Qiezi, moved to a sniper blind spot while explaining the situation:
"That Breach was really sneaky. Using the Smoke Grenade as cover, he planted the defuser right at the main entrance,"
"To defuse it, you have to be completely exposed in the middle of the doorway,"
"That sniper is already in the shadows, and his damage is ridiculously high. It only takes him three or four shots to take either of us down..."
Exactly!
Just as XTT described!
The situation they faced now was practically a dead end.
Perhaps part of a pre-planned tactic, Breach had planted the defuser in a place with absolutely no cover, facing directly towards the main door.
Just like a bomb planted on the crate at the A site in Dust2. To defuse it, you'd be completely exposed to the sniper in the A Long pit.
And as Defenders, they didn't have any Smoke Grenades.
"... I even suspect having a smoke wouldn't help. When Breach was planting earlier, that sniper wall-banged me through the smoke,"
XTT analyzed sharply:
"This game has friendly fire. He wasn't worried about hitting his teammate with those shots, and he accurately wall-banged me on the first shot while I was moving,"
"I'm guessing his ability might be some kind of wallhack, at least to see through smoke."
Can't block it! Can't find him! Can't defuse it!
Watching the timer tick down second by second.
For a moment, both Qiezi and XTT's faces showed grave expressions.
And in the livestream chat, sighs filled the screen—
The enemy is just holding the angle, there's no way around it.
"It's over, this round is probably lost..."
This is literally unsolvable...
Yeah, and the enemy is a sniper. He just needs to hold the angle; whoever tries to defuse dies.
This tactic is so cowardly.
Meaning, you just need to plant from the main entrance, then camp at the back and watch the defuser for a guaranteed win.
This is impossible to fight...
Can't defuse it, just can't...
......
Absolutely no chance!
At the same time!
The final Attacker operator, the Russian, hiding behind a police car in the front alley, also wore an expression of certain victory!
[GLAZ (Glaz)]
Just as XTT had guessed, this operator's ability was to switch to a magnified scope on his sniper rifle, using complex imaging sensors to mark distant targets, even through smoke.
Basically, target highlighting plus smoke penetration.
Right now, his position was directly facing the main hall entrance. The defuser was within the scope of his sights.
And!
No matter how the Defenders positioned themselves, they couldn't defuse the bomb while remaining completely hidden.
Victory was assured.
Watching the timer on the UI interface pass the one-quarter mark!
Glaz couldn't help but laugh heartily, even provocatively firing several shots at the counting-down defuser!
*Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!*
A series of crisp gunshots rang out in the front alley, sparks flying around the defuser site, as if mocking on Glaz's behalf—
Well? Dare to defuse? Any brave souls not afraid to die want to give it a try?
And Glaz's arrogant shooting would later be jokingly referred to as "issuing a duel invitation."
XTT had a UMP with a 1x sight, and its fire rate was sluggish. At long range against Glaz's sniper, saying he had no advantage would be an understatement; it was pure suicide.
Qiezi on the other side wasn't much better off, with a P90, also a 1x sight, fast fire rate but low damage. Going out would be suicide too.
Glaz was completely unrestrained, issuing duel invitations while waiting for the final victory.
Right at this moment!
[You have been spotted]
Suddenly!
A continuous stream of red warnings appeared repeatedly on his UI interface!
And the next second!
*Bang bang! Bang bang bang—!!!*
Gunfire erupted violently from within the main hall. Dense bullets rained down like hail, *ding-ding-dang-dang* embedding themselves into the car's hood, sending sparks flying everywhere!
"Damn it!"
Cursing under his breath!
Glaz hurriedly ducked back behind the car!
Looking back, he saw a camera mounted high on a lamppost not far from him, flashing with a blue light!
Son of a bitch!
The enemy is using cameras to pinpoint my location!
Glaz immediately realized and couldn't help but fly into a rage. He raised his hand and fired a shot!
*Bang—!*
The camera was blasted to pieces by the shot, and that annoying spotting warning disappeared.
Immediately after!
To prevent his position from being compromised again, Glaz pulled a Smoke Grenade from his back and tossed it towards the entrance!
*Clang!*
*Roll roll roll—!*
Thick smoke instantly billowed out.
And Glaz seized the chance to slip away from behind this police car, moving to hide behind another van!
*Click—*
The bolt cycled again!
Glaz's face, covered in camo paint, pressed close to the sniper scope, his lips curling downward in a slight sneer.
A futile last stand.
Just some cheap tricks, that's all. Let's see what you can do now that I've thrown this "one-way smoke"... Huh???
However, before he could even finish his internal monologue!
A notification abruptly appeared on his UI!
[Enemy detected outside]
As the scope's thermal vision gradually penetrated the smoke, Glaz let out a confused exclamation!
"Huh? This is... giving up?"
He saw!
At this moment!
Along with the warning prompts!
The round-bodied doctor from the Defenders, showing not a shred of fear, was boldly walking out of the Consulate!
You have to understand, in this game, Defenders who recklessly leave the building area will be marked on the map!
And this doctor was deliberately walking outside, completely exposing himself on the wide-open ground with no cover, raising his P90 and unleashing a spray of bullets towards the police car where Glaz had been!
*Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat—!*
Sparks flew as bullets instantly riddled the police car's body with holes.
Glaz, who had already moved behind the small van, sneered contemptuously:
"A final act of defiance?"
As he spoke!
A sniper rifle's report thundered from the outer area of the map!!!!!!
A series of gunshots rang out!
Clusters of crimson blood sprayed from the doctor's body, knocking him to the ground.
However, the doctor jabbed himself with a syringe in return!
*—!*
A self-revive injection pulled him back up from the ground, and he still relentlessly continued firing towards the back of the police car!
Hey—! What the hell!
This time!
Glaz finally couldn't take it anymore, losing all desire to toy with them!
He steadied his crosshairs right on the doctor's forehead, then decisively pulled the trigger!
*—!!!*
The bullet, spinning with force, accurately nailed itself into the center of the doctor's brow!
*Thump—!*
A spray of blood bloomed on the doctor's forehead. His heavy body fell to the ground, quickly losing all signs of life.
And the next moment!
*Thump—!!*
Suddenly!
A heavy, dull pounding sound came from the direction of the main hall's front entrance, snapping Glaz out of his annoyance and making him swiftly swing his sniper scope towards the hall. He focused his gaze and saw—!
PS: Bonus chapter at 10 PM.