Chapter Four: The Sixth Teammate

“And let them kill us?” Pei Jin asked. “Let the real players see that we won't hurt viewers.” The five entered the central square unarmed. Reflections attacked mechanically, but the Midnight teams hesitated. One silver-armored marksman fired into the sky, and a strange woman joined their channel. “Gray Whale, North America. We won't shoot reflections either.” A second team withdrew. Only Iron Curtain kept attacking. They could not hear the Midnight channel and thought Echo had disconnected. “The genuine enemy isn't necessarily a Midnight team,” Gu Chen said. “It's the public team that doesn't know the rules.” They could neither kill Iron Curtain nor lose the scrimmage.