Chapter Four: The Sixth Teammate

【Only one enemy team is genuine. Killing a false reflection transfers damage to a real-world viewer.】 Iron Curtain and three Midnight teams appeared across the market. Commentators praised the “new battle-royale effects,” unaware that every decoy was linked to someone watching the stream. “The audience are hostages,” Wanqing said. Shadows charged from the windows. Lin Yao saw their trajectories but did not shoot. “Four will shatter. One will bleed. I can't tell which is real.” Zhou pressed his amplifier cane to the ground. Millions of broadcast signals drilled into his ears like bees. “The reflections have copied heart-rate feeds. Perfectly.” “Data can copy data, not choices,” Gu Chen said. “Weapons down. Move into the open.”