QIU MING finally exhaled as White Marsh dissolved into light particles. That last set of moves hadn''t been part of his plan. He actually had to improvise it on the spot. When the notifications about Duan Yu and Song Liuli''s elimination had popped up, panic had nearly taken over him. But he''d forced himself to stay calm, pushing aside all thoughts and letting his instincts take over - years of gaming experience guiding his movements when his mind went blank.

    He should probably be relieved that White Marsh fell for his act and moved exactly how he predicted. But even with this victory, he could not bring himself to celebrate. How could he, when only he and the captain were left standing on their team?

    Team Celestials wasn''t weak—their string of championship wins proved that much. Yet team Yunyue had taken down three of their core members just by splitting them up. So what did that mean? Had their team been careless during this match? Or was Yunyue actually that strong?

    Qiu Ming figured it was a mix of both. He just hoped his teammates had at least taken down one more member of team Yunyue. It would be downright embarrassing if White Marsh turned out to be the first one on team Yunyue''s side to get eliminated.

    Anyway, his best move right now was simple - stay alive. That was all that mattered. If he could avoid being eliminated until the match timer ran out, their team would win. Or maybe it would end in a draw if the other team''s target also survived. Either way, it would be up to the game company to decide what would happen next. They might call for another round or they could just declare the team with more remaining members the winner.

    He really hoped they wouldn''t go with that second option. The way things stood now, team Yunyue likely had more players left than they did. With his captain probably still locked in battle against YUN, the responsibility fell to Qiu Ming to hunt down the remaining Yunyue members. But if the opposing team still had four players standing? That would make it three against one. And no matter how skilled Qiu Ming was, taking on three top-tier players at once just wasn''t possible.

    So survival was still the smartest plan. But that didn''t mean he had to just hide and wait, did it? There had to be something useful he could do while staying safe.

    Qiu Ming pulled up his inventory screen, fingers scrolling through the list of items as he searched for anything useful. As he found the items he needed, a plan started to slowly form in his mind.

    ***

    Luo Yan and Luo Jin sprinted toward Bai Ze''s last known location on the map. The moment the elimination notification popped up, they''d huddled just long enough to make a decision.

    Team Celestials was down to two members now, one of them being the target. With Shen Ji Yun handling Li Xu Min, it was up to them to handle Azrael. Now they raced through the terrain, hoping against hope that Azrael hadn''t moved far from where he''d taken down their cousin.

    Earlier, Luo Yan hesitated for a moment whether he should stay hidden. With his [Shadow Walk] still on cooldown, playing it safe as the target made sense. Keeping his distance from the fighting would be the smart move. But if he''d chosen to stay put earlier, he wouldn''t have been able to help Luo Jin when it mattered. And if he hadn''t stepped in then, team Yunyue might already be down to just two members by now. They would be the one in team Celestials'' shoes right at this moment. That realization made him quickly abandon the idea of staying put.

    With him and Luo Jin working together, they stood a better chance against Azrael. At least, he hoped so. Besides, there was also the problem of him being the target. If he stayed put, the game might judge that as him indirectly telling Luo Jin that he was, indeed, the target. Luo Yan didn''t want their team to lose on technicality.

    Luo Jin glanced sideways at his brother as they moved. During their quick discussion earlier, he''d fully expected Luo Yan to suggest checking on Shen Ji Yun instead. But surprisingly, his brother hadn''t even brought it up. Luo Jin couldn''t tell if this meant unshakable trust in Shen Ji Yun''s skills, or if Luo Yan simply believed Azrael might be the target and needed to be dealt with immediately.

    His mind raced as he considered the possibilities. Since he knew he wasn''t the target, it had to be either Luo Yan or Shen Ji Yun. His brother''s behavior seemed telling - if Shen Ji Yun were the target, wouldn''t Luo Yan be more concerned about him fighting alone against Li Xu Min? But Luo Yan showed no such worry. That left two possibilities. Either Luo Yan knew Shen Ji Yun wasn''t the target because he himself was, or he''d wrongly assumed Luo Jin was the target this whole time, which would actually make Shen Ji Yun the real one. The mental gymnastics made his temples throb.

    No matter what, since he knew for certain he wasn''t the target, he''d make damn sure nothing happened to Luo Yan. Just in case his brother was the target that needed to be protected for their team to win.

    "We''re near the area," Luo Yan said. "Let''s slow down for a bit and not rush, just in case Azrael prepared a trap for us."

    Luo Jin nodded and matched his brother''s slower pace. Then he noticed Luo Yan pulling the [Invisibility Cloak] from his inventory.

    "Just being careful," Luo Yan said with a quick grin.

    Before Luo Jin could respond, his brother had already yanked him under the cloak''s fabric, their bodies fading from view completely.

    They crept forward, scanning the area where Azrael should have been. Empty. No sign of the archer anywhere. Luo Yan frowned, grip tightening on the cloak. Luo Jin opened his mouth to speak—

    And that''s when it happened.