Let the Rejected Win One

“Data doesn’t remember why you shoot.” Lin Zhou fired a marker into the ice at Xu Cheng’s feet. “Energy conduit underneath.” Xu Cheng understood. She exposed herself deliberately, baiting CLEAR’s third shot. The bullet cracked the thin ice. At the same instant, Lin Zhou detonated the conduit. Steam erupted and blinded the ridge. Xu Cheng did not aim at a player. She aimed at the only ice crystal spinning against the steam. Bang. CLEAR fell from the ridge. The score tightened: two-four, three-four, four-four. Before the deciding resource spawned, all five Obsidian players suddenly accelerated. In a backend the audience could not see, OBSIDIAN-K had taken first place, activating five projections. “They turned on the quotas,” Xu Cheng said.