Chapter Four: On Map One, the Future Kills the Future

He Chuan was waiting beyond the check-in gate. Electrodes clung behind his left ear. He looked pale, but his new medical report granted limited clearance. The neural suppression was fading; he could hear only half the world, yet the league had no grounds to keep him offstage. “I’m late,” he said. Lin Mo handed him a wristband marked with their silent cadence. “Right on time. Our fifth player just came home.” The final was best of seven. Map one, Skyharbor, was Emberstar’s strongest ground—and the map TIDE had sampled most completely. When they took the stage, a hundred thousand voices crashed over them. The instant Lin Mo put on his headset, gunfire poured in from three seconds ahead.