Chapter 24: You come well, I perform well (2)

··· — MooGun (Internet Broadcaster) Gallery — — — — — ···  

[But who is Signal Flare? They’ve been mentioned in the chat nonstop since earlier.]  

I heard they’re a notorious troll from another channel.  

I don’t watch VTubers, so I have no idea.  

[Comments]  

– MooGun815: You don’t know?  

– MooGun914: Hmm, I guess that’s the case…  

– MooGun861: So that’s how it is.  

– MooGun351: You’ll find out when the time comes…  

– MooGun734: Let’s stop talking about this.  

– MooGun613 (Original Poster): Seriously, if you’re all just gonna spew nonsense, stop blowing up my notifications!  

ᄂMooGun762: Are you getting annoyed?  

ᄂMooGun125: Is that so…  

ᄂMooGun613 (Original Poster): (Visibly fuming emoji)  

··· — — — — — — — — — ···  

··· — MooGun (Internet Broadcaster) Gallery — — — — — ···  

[But there’s no way that’s Signal Flare.]  

It might seem like it because of the crazy shots, but look at the weapons.  

A pistol and a sniper rifle.  

There’s no way that’s Signal Flare.  

Why? Because every time I get bored, I check Signal Flare’s records, and that guy has never once played without dual-wielding shotguns.  

[Comments]  

– MooGun651: Seriously, what is it? Just a suspicious foreigner?  

– MooGun712: Either way, it’s funny. Let’s have a drink!  

– MooGun125: If it really is Signal Flare, that’s legendary lol.  

··· — — — — — — — — — ···  

*     *    *  

To be honest, kill bets were practically MooGun’s specialty though it might be an unfortunate reality for a lucky foreign viewer who got into the match.  

– Wow, you picked up the sniper.  

– Going serious mode.  

– Time for a viewer voice reveal!  

The thing was, when MooGun picked up a sniper rifle, his kill-catching ability went absolutely berserk.  

Even though he was no longer a pro, wasn’t he once a professional sniper?  

:: An anonymous donor has donated 1,000 clouds! ::  

:: Honestly, it’s a shame you didn’t choose Hawkeye. ::  

– lololollol  

– If it was Hawkeye, you’d rack up kills every time the ult charged.  

Hawkeye’s ultimate allows you to summon a railgun every five minutes.  

This sniper rifle, loaded with five shots, severely slows the target if hit, leaving them vulnerable to follow-up attacks or even instant confirmation kills.  

For sniper-specialized pros like MooGun, having a railgun guaranteed at least one knockdown—sometimes two.  

Choosing Hawkeye was practically a declaration: “I’ll kill at least one guy no matter what.”  

“It’s fine. This is just a kill bet against viewers. No need to go full tryhard, right?”  

– LOLOLOL 

– The Great MooGun.  

– Passive trait: ‘I’m always at an advantage,’ lol.  

– True lol. It’s just a viewer match, no need to take it that seriously.  

But as he said, wasn’t this just a casual match?  

Unless someone of pro-level skill had deliberately prepared to mess with MooGun, which seemed unlikely at this hour.  

“Well then, let’s start with a quick kill.”  

A target appeared, oblivious to MooGun’s intent, strolling slowly across open ground.  

It looked like they’d messed up their loot path and were rushing to catch up with their teammates.  

CRASH!  

The sound of a shield breaking echoed, and the unfortunate player collapsed to the ground.  

{{MovGun >> (Headshot) This game is insanely hard}}  

Although the game’s mechanics made it impossible to land a one-shot kill even with a heavy sniper rifle and double-barrel shotgun this only applied if the shield level exceeded 2.  

The wandering player, lacking even a common Level 2 shield, had no chance and was downed immediately.  

– Clean shot.  

– RIP 😢.

– Of all people to run into!

While the chat lamented the poor player’s fate, MooGun loaded his next shot. He aimed for the finisher, ready to pull the trigger—  

POP!  

Suddenly, a smoke grenade burst, enveloping the downed player in a protective cloud.  

MooGun fired into the smoke, guessing the target’s location, but no kill notification appeared.  

– ?  

– ROFL!  

– Looks like they’ve got a babysitter!  

– Damn, that smoke grenade was fast.  

It seemed a skilled player had joined this match with the newbie, covering for them.  

Left with no choice, MooGun decided to reposition.  

As a seasoned player, he knew staying in one spot too long made him an easy target.

Even though his character, Beepul, had a passive skill that provided a scan every minute, it wasn’t precise enough to pinpoint exact locations.

Staying mobile was always the safer bet.  

He moved to lower ground near some rocks and peeked out cautiously. That’s when the unexpected happened.  

{{MoogunisafamousMomoanti >> (Kill) This game is insanely hard}}  

Suddenly, the kill notification appeared.  

But it wasn’t MooGun’s name.  

The kill had been secured by MomoAnti with a pistol.  

– ?  

– ??  

– What just happened?  

– Since when!?  

And just like that, MomoAnti scored a kill, while MooGun earned an assist.  

In ranked matches, the game calculates points proportionally based on total damage dealt, assigning kills and assists with decimal precision.  

That’s when he started to suspect otherwise.

With the first victim of the day in his sights, MooGun pulled the trigger without mercy.  

Even though his character, Beepul, had a passive skill that provided a scan every minute, it wasn’t precise enough to pinpoint exact locations. Staying mobile was always the safer bet.  

He moved to lower ground near some rocks and peeked out cautiously. That’s when the unexpected happened.  

And just like that, MomoAnti scored a kill, while MooGun earned an assist.  

In casual games, however, it’s simply whoever lands the final blow.  

“Hmm… Viewer? How did you get there so fast? You’re incredibly quick.”  

Technically, it was kill-stealing.  

Even in kill bets, this kind of blatant theft was rare.  

Still, MooGun assumed they must have rushed in to help and gotten lucky with the kill amidst the smoke.  

That’s when he started to suspect otherwise.

Momoanti said in a polite TTS voice.

[I am a diabolical. life-sucking delight].

-What are you saying? -What are you saying? -What?

– I don’t understand…

-Doesn’t that mean you take pleasure in killing? lol

– ugh LOLOL

– ten LOLOL

According to the viewers, he might be enjoying the kill.

Momoanti suddenly starts dancing, as if she knows MooGun is watching her through the scope.

He stops after a few shots from the distance, but it’s a clear taunt.

“Aha, this is how you come out.”

-LOL

-Well, you provoke, you get what you pay for. Mm-hmm.

– This is gonna get messy, this is gonna get messy.

But Momoanti had just made a huge mistake.

With his strategy completely exposed, how could MooGun make a mistake?

[dpckddlstod13 has left the squad]

A random squad member leaves, leaving only MooGun and Momoanti in the squad.

In this situation, the bet is over as soon as one of them dies.

He can resurrect the dead, but resurrecting someone because of a wager? No way.

If it were a normal wager, I don’t know, but I don’t see the point in reviving someone who’s stealing kills and taunting you like that.

Bang! Bang! BANG!

MooGun let out a loud boom and leapt toward Momoanti, who was still a few feet away.

As soon as he saw it, the chat window flipped upside down.

-Is that a signal bomb? LOL

– What a genius idea LMAOOO

-I’m going to lose LOLOLOL This is the least I can do.

Even though it’s similar to what Zhengtan did to Momo, there’s no better way to attract enemies than this.

Or so MooGun declares.

“I’m going to open up the Coliseum, as the game says, and let’s have a good fight. Whoever dies first loses the bet.

But not so fast, as the enemies on the nearest high ground opened fire on MooGun and Momoanti.

MooGun immediately slid down.

Sliding, jumping, dashing, and flipping in three dimensions, he was soon behind a rock.

As soon as he was under cover, he scoped out the likely hostile spot and saw the enemy perched on the cliff, not even bothering to take cover.

Immediately, MooGun squeezed the trigger.

Bang! Bang!

Why the echo of gunfire?

The mystery was solved thanks to an updated display.

{{MovGun >> (Head) What the hell, turn my spine around}}

{{MooGun is the famous Momo Anti >> (Kill) What is it, please give me back my spine}}

This enemy also has a level 1 shield.

Momoanti’s bullets were the ones that took out the downed enemy with a single shot to the head.

To put it simply, MomoAnti pulled the trigger at almost the same speed as MooGun when aiming at the enemy.  

“Their reflexes aren’t just average, are they…?”  

You can’t just return fire immediately when the enemy shoots.  

Anyone who’s played a few games knows that doing so will only turn you into a sitting duck for a waiting opponent.  

Momo is a prime example of this kind of mistake.  

Known for her aggressive style, she often died pulling the same stunts, and MooGun had already nagged her about it at least a hundred times.  

Experienced players, especially pros, would typically dodge first, let the enemy empty their magazine, and then take cover.  

Of course, MooGun did exactly that.  

But surprisingly, so did MomoAnti, who MooGun had dismissed as just a toxic random teammate.  

Not only that, but their cover choice was flawless—positioned so that bullets couldn’t come from behind, letting them focus solely on the front.  

And yet, they couldn’t resist bragging mid-battle, as if savoring their kills.  

[“Two down. Big difference. You face danger.”]  

In short, this annoying teammate stealing MooGun’s kills and showing off was at least Diamond rank possibly even a pro trainee.  

– “Agh, lololol.”  

– “Am I the only one dying of laughter? LOL.”  

– “Who even is this crazy person? Hahaha.”  

– “It’s been ages since I’ve seen someone mock MooGun like this, seriously lol.”  

– “How are they taunting this well just with TTS?”  

MooGun, though keeping his cool, couldn’t deny he’d been slightly irked just now.  

Whoever this rookie trainee was, they seemed overly cocky.  

Still, MooGun wasn’t worried about losing.  

It was only the early game, and a two-kill difference could easily be overturned.  

Especially since his ultimate was almost ready.  

From the squad firing from the cliff earlier, three enemies had been present.  

One was down, leaving two. For a player of MooGun’s caliber, this was the perfect chance to charge in and clean up.  

Conveniently, the legend he’d chosen this round was “Beeple,” a scout class specialized in detection and tracking.  

Ping!  

Ultimate ready.  

Beeple clutched her head, letting out a small cry as a shockwave rippled outward in a spherical pattern.  

Markers soon flashed on the minimap.  

One of the two remaining enemies from the earlier squad appeared, their location revealed.  

They were at a mountain lodge perched on high ground, out of MooGun’s line of sight due to the cliff’s angle.  

The silver lining? Despite being marked, the enemy wasn’t moving.  

Losing their teammate’s head earlier seemed to have rattled them, pushing them into a defensive “camping” state.  

With no reason to hesitate, MooGun sprang into action.  

MomoAnti was still recovering shields from the earlier fight, so it was up to him.  

Grabbing a thermite grenade, he charged up the slope toward the cliff’s edge.  

– Ready~  

– Fire!

The grenade flew through the air, smashing through the lodge’s glass windows and flooding the interior with flames.  

After a brief scramble of footsteps inside, the two remaining enemies burst out of the building simultaneously.  

The MooGun’s sniper rifle, which had been waiting at the entrance, opens fire once more.

Bang———!

An enemy lay on the ground, scorched by the fire and despite his high shield level.

MooGun reloads and rushes forward.

The enemy is still alive, but he’s a kill bet now.

Dodging bullets from panicked enemies is easy enough anyway, so I’d better make sure the crawling enemy is dead first.

Bang!

{{MovGun >> (Kill) Rirororirorikami Descent}}

MooGun immediately draws his pistol from the second slot.

I finally found MooGun and took down the last enemy who was spinning his muzzle.

All that practice paid off, as three of the four shots were heads.

Since I was the last man in the squad, I didn’t lay down, but went straight for the kill.

{{MovGun >> (Kill) Bang Bang Bang}}

And just like that, a 2:2 tie.

MooGun wiped a small bead of sweat from his brow, relieved.

….But what’s Momoanti doing?

MooGun looked at the map, and Momoanti’s position was ahead of him.

He must have followed him, farming the corpse.

MooGun rummages through the corpse’s loot, but oh no.

The shield restoration items were already gone.

It’s a sneaky sabotage tactic that shows MooGun’s determination to make sure he never recovers, and that he survives to the end.

[Your dedication is admirable].

At this point, MooGun was dumbfounded.

I’ve met many snipers, but I’ve never met one with such skill and repertoire.

For the first time in a long time, hexagrams popped out of his mouth, as he always tried to use only the right words during the trial.

“What the fuck….”