Number One Is Not One Person

Ten minutes before midnight, Spark displayed the challenge rules. [MODE: MIRROR ARENA. EACH SIDE FIELDS FIVE AVATARS. NO RESPAWNS.] [THE LOSER PERMANENTLY FORFEITS THEIR HIGHEST-GRADE PROJECTION.] Xu Cheng held Lin Zhou’s mouse down. “We can’t play this. OBSIDIAN-K hasn’t lost in ten years. They know the map, and they know who you are.” “That’s why we play.” Lin Zhou opened the records she had copied. “Look.” K had 1,274 wins, but its habits fell into seven distinct patterns. One operator checked corners from the left. Another switched weapons a tenth of a second too slowly. A third never watched his back. K was not a genius. It was a glove worn by many hands. At midnight, Mirror Arena opened.