The competition was about to begin.

Bu Nana's excited face turned red. If it weren't against the rules to leave his position, and if there weren't referees watching behind each team, he would have stood up on his chair to observe the expressions of the other teams.

As Qi Zui double-checked the game settings, he casually poured cold water on Bu Nana through the team voice chat. "Never mind whether the chair can support you, are you sure you want to stand alone on the gaming chair during the match? We're all sitting, and you're standing... Don't you think it's strange? And can you even reach the mouse like that?"

It had been a while since someone in the team voice chat teased Bu Nana like this, so he felt a bit touched. He sighed, "It's this feeling... I miss it so much."

Compared to Bu Nana, Lao Kai remained quiet. He didn't engage in pre-match banter with Qi Zui and Bu Nana. He had a devout expression and muttered under his breath, "I, Lao Kai, have been in service for three years, diligently and cautiously. I've been in this profession for over a thousand days and have taken less than ten days of leave. I've dedicated my youth to this dream. I haven't returned home in two years. Now I have one wish: I beg the heavens, in recognition of my hard work, to grant us a divine circle. We don't need many, just one. If it can be realized, I'm willing to go ten years without eating coriander..."

"Get lost, you jerk!" Bu Nana sneered, "You don't eat coriander in the first place!"

Qi Zui chuckled.

Lao Kai awkwardly cleared his throat and changed the topic in the team voice chat, "Sitting next to me is my teammate, Bu Nana. He has served for five years without doing anything that would betray his profession. We, as athletes, adhere to self-discipline, uphold the spirit of competition, and don't harbor any luck or laziness. We don't accept gifts from fans, don't mess around with them, don't smoke, don't style our hair, don't have tattoos..."

Yu Yang adjusted his headphones expressionlessly and tapped his microphone absentmindedly.

A piercing noise came through the team voice chat, causing Lao Kai to abruptly end the rhetorical comparison, realizing it wasn't going well. He continued, "We may not have become esports gods like Qi Shen, but we haven't tarnished this profession either. We pray to the heavens, hoping that, considering our long-standing efforts, they will grant us a divine circle. If we have a divine circle today in the match, my teammate Bu Nana pledges to remain a virgin forever. I hope the heavens fulfill this..."

"You son of a b*tch!" Bu Nana was so furious that he wanted to stand up and punch Lao Kai. "Why don't you make the same vow? How about never getting married in your entire life if you get a divine circle?"

"Don't interrupt!" Lao Kai anxiously said, "What about your prayers? Why aren't you sincere?!"

Yu Yang took a deep breath and softly reminded them, "The referees behind us can hear... And the team voice chat during the match will be recorded and archived. The club will have it, and they might even turn it into a video skit..."

"Wow," Qi Zui's mouth curled up as he remembered Yu Yang's desire to fight someone during the Busan Invitational. He chuckled, "Captain Yu has become professional now."

Yu Yang lowered his gaze and pursed his lips. "After all, I've been the team captain for quite a while..."

Qi Zui paused, unable to express the feeling in his heart. After a moment, he whispered, "As planned before, are you going to lead?"

Yu Yang didn't refuse. They had practiced a lot before the match, and Yu Yang was the one leading.

Yu Yang had long been accustomed to the role of shot-caller and wouldn't give up that position just because Qi Zui had returned.

The match began.

All the players' in-game characters were transported to the training ground, and the expressions on the four players' faces gradually faded as they waited for the plane.

The pre-match decompression routine had already ended, and now it was time to see the performance of the Four War Gods.

The plane took off, and the sixth match officially began.

M City-G City route.

Yu Yang quickly marked a spot, "Nuclear Power Plant, let's jump there."

HOG was the first to jump off the plane.

Lao Kai deployed his parachute as usual, while Yu Yang was the first to land. He immediately marked another spot, "There might be a random vehicle here. Lao Kai, get a car and join us."

Lao Kai didn't complain at all. After landing, he didn't search for items but went to find a car. The other three started looting the warehouses for supplies.

"It seems like no one landed here." Bu Nana was the first to find an 8x scope, which he quickly attached to his gun as a makeshift telescope. He stood at a high vantage point and surveyed the area, saying, "The team Lao Kai saw in the sky earlier should have gone to L City."

"You go search for items." Lao Kai had already returned with a car, and he switched places with Bu Nana. "That's probably it. Let's see how the safe zone refreshes. Be careful if they try to block us."

As they were talking, the safe zone refreshed.

Surprisingly, it was indeed a divine circle.

The safe zone refreshed at M City.

Yu Yang was accustomed to being cursed by fate and found it somewhat uncomfortable.

In his mind, Yu Yang quickly went through the scores of the top three teams. His heart started beating faster... Did the heavens finally show them some mercy and grant HOG a bit of good luck?

"Don't let your guard down." Qi Zui quickly looted supplies and was already well-equipped. He marked a spot, "The red-marked location hasn't been searched. Bu Nana, go there. Lao Kai, bring all the nearby cars here for a quick getaway."

They were in the safe zone, so there was no need to rush. Their position was already at the edge of the map, and they couldn't camp the poison circle for airdrops. They could only quietly wait for the next safe zone to refresh.

Unexpectedly, after the second circle refreshed, HOG was still in the safe zone.

Qi Zui chuckled, "What's happening today?"

Lao Kai diligently brought back the three cars near the Nuclear Power Plant. He looked at the map with confusion, "Do we... still need these cars?"

"If we don't need them, let's blow them up," Bu Nana replied, feeling a bit uneasy. They were used to chasing the Safe Zone all over the map, but today the Safe Zone kept refreshing on their heads, which made them a little anxious. "Why am I feeling a bit flustered? How many people will come for us?"

"It's still early," Yu Yang glanced at the number of survivors in the top right corner of the screen. "There are a total of eighty people, and now there are sixty-nine left... They are all stuck inside and outside the Safe Zone."

"Let's defend the tower," Qi Zui marked a spot on the map. "I suspect there's a team here, probably not a full squad, so they'll be very cautious. Pay attention to this location and don't let them approach. The rest of us continue to watch our own directions."

Yu Yang nodded and quickly assigned cover and directions to each person. The four of them lay in wait, patiently waiting for the next Safe Zone.

Three minutes later, the next Safe Zone refreshed—

The center point of the Safe Zone was still at the Nuclear Power Plant.

"Damn!" Bu Nana was moved to the point of tears. "Captain Yu's choice for this spot has some significance! Can our HOG really make it this far? I don't believe it!"

In the backstage lounge, He Xiaoxu and Xinba were almost leaning on the display screen. He Xiaoxu pushed Xinba's shoulder in disbelief, "Am I developing cataracts from Qi Zui's gas? Did I see it wrong? Did we get trapped by the divine circles?"

Xinba nervously swallowed. "It seems... so."

They were watching from a god's-eye view, with a clear view of the positions of various teams on the map. He Xiaoxu was perplexed, "It's been over ten minutes since the match started, right? They haven't encountered anyone yet?"

"No," Lai Hua stared intently at the screen. "Let's see the next circle. They're in the central area, probably still inside the circle, but the teams outside the circle are about to move in. Look... there are people all around, it's about to be a zombie siege."

He Xiaoxu hurriedly asked, "Is that good or bad? Will they die if they get surrounded?"

"For other teams, it's hard to say whether it's good or bad, but for us..." Lai Hua murmured, "Youth and Bu Nana love face-to-face confrontations the most."

Before Lai Hua finished speaking, in the game, Yu Yang had already fired the first shot.

This was what they were waiting for.

The four of them had been trapped inside the Safe Zone at the Nuclear Power Plant for more than ten minutes, a major loot location where their backpacks were overflowing with items. They were itching for action!

Yu Yang quickly eliminated a player, inevitably exposing his position. He threw a grenade to divert the enemy's attention and, taking advantage of the explosion's cover, broke through a window and silently changed to another cover.

Three teams approached.

Qi Zui aimed his gun from a high window, remaining silent for a while. Suddenly, he fired a shot, accurately blowing off the enemy's level three helmet, leaving them with just a sliver of health.

Without wasting any time, less than a second after Qi Zui's headshot, Yu Yang, who was positioned below, unleashed a barrage of bullets, swiftly harvesting the enemy's heads.

"Nice."

Qi Zui and Yu Yang executed two perfectly coordinated moves, efficiently taking down an entire reorganized Korean team.

Yu Yang quickly looted the Korean team's supplies and returned to his cover. Less than a hundred meters away, two other teams had already started fighting, causing the eyes of the HOG squad to light up.

Two teams scratching at each other's doorstep—it was impossible not to join the fray.

Outside the arena, one of the Chinese commentators was speechless. "I never thought I would witness this scene in my lifetime... HOG is truly surprising today!"

The other commentator, being a partial fan of the HOG team, looked at the screen with mixed emotions and said, "It's about time HOG had their moment in the spotlight."

The first commentator reviewed HOG's performance in previous matches and recalled the various experiences the team had gone through in the past few months, nodding with emotion. "Yes... it's about time HOG had some good luck."

Suddenly, the second commentator thought of something and opened the leaderboard. "What's the current headcount for the Avengers team, who currently ranks third? They have already lost two members, so..."

"Yes!" The first commentator quickly calculated and said, "That's right! After this match, our HOG team from the Chinese region has a chance to enter the top three!"

In the game, six teams had already approached HOG.

In the major tournament, most casualties occurred in the final few circles. With the changing of the Safe Zone, teams could be wiped out at any moment. Yu Yang was accustomed to seeking victory in dangerous situations and wasn't nervous. Even if they didn't win this match, their kill count would be enough.

There were two minutes left until the next Safe Zone refreshed. The remaining eight teams took cover and remained still, waiting for the circle.

Qi Zui played some dirty tactics, frequently exposing himself at the window. Finally, a player from another team couldn't resist and engaged in a gunfight with Qi Zui.

Qi Zui's lips curled slightly as he took down the opponent with a single shot.

"Fighting Qi Zui in a gunfight..." Bu Nana shook his head gently. "Isn't it better to stay alive?"

Yu Yang crouched behind a car, continuously opening and closing the map. This round was crucial as they were about to enter the final circle. HOG was still a full squad, giving them a great chance.

The Safe Zone refreshed once again.

The special treatment they received in the first twenty minutes was finally taken back by fate. The second-to-last Safe Zone was the true divine retribution circle for HOG.

HOG was currently at the Steel Factory¹, and the Safe Zone refreshed near the Lumber Yard², covering the entire diagonal distance.

In the backstage lounge, at the commentator's desk, and among countless HOG fans, sighs of frustration couldn't be contained. How could it end up like this again?!

Lao Kai had been mentally calculating the points and seeing the situation, his temperament was on the verge of exploding. Bu Nana couldn't help but curse a few dirty words.

"What's there to curse about?" Yu Yang interrupted Bu Nana's rant while doing a final check of their supplies. He asked in response, "Isn't facing the divine retribution circle what we excel at?"

Qi Zui chuckled.

Lao Kai fell silent for a moment and then laughed as well.

After Yu Yang finished distributing the supplies among the team, he calmly said, "HOG doesn't rely on the circle to win chicken dinners."

If luck wasn't on their side, they had to get used to it.

If they weren't in the Safe Zone, they would fight their way into it.

In the final circle, there were currently eight teams remaining.

Several teams started getting closer, and the final battle began.

Knights team was the first to be eliminated, leaving seven teams alive.

Ares was eliminated, leaving six teams.

Wotan was eliminated, leaving five teams.

Avengers was eliminated, leaving four teams.

FREE was eliminated, leaving three teams.

TGC was eliminated, leaving two teams.

Only one member of the Gem team remained and was inevitably surrounded and eliminated by the three surviving HOG members.

HOG successfully won the chicken dinner, and their total points instantly jumped to third place.

During halftime, Qi Zui opened the overall leaderboard and smiled. "FREE is currently in second place."

The competition had only gone through six rounds, and HOG's reckoning was just beginning.