As the match progressed, there was little tolerance for hesitation and indecisiveness.
All the other teams except Liu Zilang’s and Vivian’s were outside the safe zone.
Their number one priority was to move into the circle before it started shrinking.
It would have been better if the safe zone was a hilly or forested one.
If that were the case, they each could have looked for the perfect opportunity to eliminate those who were in their way of advancing and found haven within the safe zone.
The current circle they were in was different. The only object that provided cover within the safe zone was the guard tower. Everywhere else was flat empty land.
Moreover, two teams respectively occupied the two floors of the guard tower. That meant a gunner was positioned in each cardinal direction. Even if one managed to enter the safe zone, no haven could be found!
Under such circumstances, the five teams inside and outside Factory came to a mutual understanding.
That was, smokescreens!
A true smokescreen!
On the tournament screen, multiple smoke grenades were seen being thrown one after another around the periphery of the guard tower.
Pssht pssht pssht~!
The smoke grenades emitted smoke, and a patch of white smoke enveloped the safe zone. It was as if it was the beginning of the end of the universe.
The two teams who were prepared to shoot at moving targets were surprised when they saw the scene!
The corner of Liu Zilang’s eye twitched. He had expected someone to start throwing smoke grenades, and he had also expected his line of fire to be obscured, but he had not expected all the enemy teams to throw so many smoke grenades.
It made sense if one thought about it.
The biggest obstacle they had to overcome when entering the safe zone was not Liu Zilang.
Rather, they posed a threat to each of themselves.
Blocking Liu Zilang’s line of fire was not enough. Since that was the case, they might as well exhaust their supply of smoke grenades so that they could not see each other.
One minute later…
The radioactive blue circle that was dormant shuddered once more. Then, it began to converge upon the last ‘holy land’ on the map.
The blue circle moved very fast, and it would finish shrinking in fifteen seconds. Not to mention, its damage was tremendous.
The commentators on the platform thought that Liu Zilang and Vivian’s teams had the advantage in terms of terrain when it came to shooting moving targets. With that being said, they had predicted that there would only be two to three teams left after the blue circle had finished shrinking.
The reality was that everyone was looking for the perfect opportunity to enter the safe zone from all directions within the patch of smoke.
Throughout the process, gunfire was scarcely heard. No violent fights broke out.
Even after the blue circle had coincided with the boundaries of the safe zone once again, all seven teams and twelve players were still in the match. Not one of them had been eliminated.
The live audience was shocked when they saw this scene!
However, when they saw the position of the final circle… they were even more shocked!
They were so shocked that their jaws were nearly dislocated!
The final circle had refreshed to the exact location of the guard tower!
Five consecutive destiny circles!
Not only had he used up all his luck for the rest of his life, but he might have even taken some of his luck from his next life!
Not only was the live audience shocked. Even the players in the match felt like they were f*cked.
‘Are we really that unlucky?’
‘Why can’t the circle spare us some mercy?’
‘That hurt, you know!’
No matter what they said, they still had to converge toward the guard tower.
They had to!
The amount of time left before the final circle began shrinking was three minutes and fifteen seconds. However, in the blink of an eye, there were only three minutes left.
The amount of time it took the final circle to finish shrinking was 15 seconds. Each second outside the safe zone was equivalent to twelve points of damage.
The players decided that it was impossible for them to enter the circle directly, so they went as close as they could get.
On the commentary platform.
“Heheh, these circles confer one truth: Whoever ends up with Menhera-chan will rule the world!” Lord Rong joked.
Su Changming smiled as he nodded in agreement. “Yup, that’s the truth. With Liu Zilang’s amount of bad luck, he wouldn’t have been able to trade the past five destiny circles even with two lives’ worth of luck.”
“I have a question,” Ruo Feng said as he furrowed his brows. He was looking at the tournament screen. “If Vic who’s at the guard tower is inside the destiny circle, does that mean Vivian downstairs is just as lucky?”
“That’s right.” Su Changming nodded. “It’s still too early to take that into consideration. We can still see the five teams within the smoke trying to converge toward the guard tower. Luck might be on their side when it comes to circles, but they’ll also need the skills to defend themselves.”
On the caster’s camera, from God’s perspective.
As the seconds ticked by, the players knew that they could not afford to wait anymore.
If they were to wait until the blue circle had begun shrinking before they moved, they would face danger from all sides, and their options would be even more limited.
Like a swarm of devils, players rushed toward the guard tower from all directions.
Amidst all of this, two teams happened to encounter each other within the smokescreen.
Tut tut tut!
Tatatat!
The number of players left in the game dropped from twelve to ten.
However…
That was only the beginning.
Like a powder keg that had been ignited, gunfire erupted from all around, and a continuous cacophony was heard.
On the upper right corner of the screen, the number of survivors decreased at a rate visible to the naked eye. It was as if the Grim Reaper had unleashed his scythe upon the battlefield.
On the second floor of the guard tower.
“Shifu, Shifu! I think someone is coming from under us!” Misaka Mikoto said nervously, “What do we do?”
She was hugging her gun while staring at a white opaque patch outside the window.
Liu Zilang pondered for a moment after hearing Misaka Mikoto’s report. Then, he said, “Keep your gun, swap to your pan.”
“Pan?” Misaka Mikoto replied, evidently confused.
“Yup,” Liu Zilang explained, “Someone will lob a grenade at us later. Do you think you can help me hit it back?”
“Hit it back?” Misaka Mikoto repeated his words. Shortly after, her face turned serious. “Don’t worry, Shifu! I will complete my mission!”
‘Hey, hey!
‘I can practically taste the dramatic irony there!
‘I’m even more worried now after having heard you say that!’
Liu Zilang’s eyelid twitched. “Don’t bother waiting for one. Just keep flailing the pan about,” he instructed.
“Flail the pan about?” Misaka Mikoto understood his instructions clearly.
Next, her pan began to whoosh around the air. She looked like an electric fan that had been set to max speed. One’s armpits felt cold when they looked at her.
As for Liu Zilang, he guarded the entrance with an M16.
Duang!
A short while later, a crisp sound was heard from the window.
Misaka Mikoto was taken aback for a split second. She then cheerfully exclaimed, “Shifu, Shifu! I hit one! I hit one!”
She had just finished speaking when a loud explosion was heard from outside the window among the smoke!
“TSM-Break killed himself with frag grenade!”