Chapter 6: The First Harvest

Ding!
[Game launch. Character fusion in progress. Entering competitive online game CF.]
Ding!
[Character fusion initialization and binding successful. Player has successfully entered the game. Initial fusion fluency: Level 3.]
Ding!
[Please complete this game carefully. The system will evaluate the process and results of the match.]

As the notification sounds echoed in his mind, Li Xin seemed petrified, frozen for a long time. Zhang Yufan blinked his big eyes at the strange young man, wanting to remind him but not daring to disturb him.

Headshot!

The familiar sound of an AK47 headshot snapped Li Xin out of his stupor, bringing him back to his senses. He finally understood that the so-called “King of Games” system would only activate when he personally played the game. Whether he could actively summon the game system after leveling up remained uncertain, but Li Xin didn’t dwell on it.

All that mattered was to do his best in the moment.

Of course, the flood of notifications contained so much information—Li Xin grasped some of it, but much remained a blur. He would have to explore and figure things out as the game progressed, but he was confident he would master it all. It was just like when he first started playing CF—painstakingly testing every shortcut key until he had learned all the commands and movement combos. Those were the purest, happiest days.

The “Robot Eyes” (as Li Xin had named his attribute panel) still displayed the same stats on the left and right as before. The central blank area, however, now showed a map—and a small figure.

The map was the Headshot Battle on the Transport Ship from CF. The character, once a SEAL, was now himself.

“How do I command or attack?” Li Xin frowned, just as his in-game figure took another headshot and collapsed.

Ding!

After a crisp chime, a red bar below the figure noticeably shortened. The number changed to 23/100.

Li Xin instantly understood—this must be the HP indicator, his health in the game. With five consecutive headshot deaths, his HP had plummeted. At this moment, the figure representing him on screen had grown so faint it seemed he wouldn’t last much longer.

In the game, a SEAL was just data—dying meant instant respawn at full health. But for his own sake, if HP hit zero, it would surely be a different story.

What would happen then?

Li Xin dared neither imagine nor dwell on it. Instinct told him the consequences would be agonizing, perhaps even suffocating.

“Hey, big brother, what are you spacing out for? Are you still playing? If you’re not confident, you can just admit defeat.”

Li Lai turned and sneered at Li Xin, a look of disdain far beyond his years on his young face. This wasn’t just a simple AK headshot battle—it was about the steadfast belief and determination of young CFers. So what if you’re young? You can still dominate this virtual world.

Zhang Yufan frowned in concern. “Brother, um…”

Li Xin was a little touched. This little guy was a loyal fan. Truthfully, he had no interest in playing against Li Lai—a former nine-time champion, even after a steep decline, was not someone a rookie could challenge.

“It’s alright. Let me teach you a few tricks—watch closely.”

With a calm smile, Li Xin finally moved his hands from their stillness on the keyboard and mouse.

No fancy or complicated maneuvers; the large SEAL character simply ran out of the respawn room and paused beside the cargo box. In the next instant, Li Xin jerked the mouse upward and tapped the left button—a crisp shot rang out.

A bullet swept across the screen like a meteor, appearing directly in front of the busty Lynx, who was leaping high. Blood blossomed, headshot achieved.

“Damn! So accurate!” Li Lai spat in irritation, chalking it up to outrageous luck on his opponent’s part.

“Not bad, old man, but I won’t give you another chance!”

With a cold laugh, Li Lai slid his mouse rapidly, left hand dancing on the keys. He was brimming with confidence and fighting spirit—a stranger might have mistaken him for a professional.

Zhang Yufan frowned and leaned in to whisper, “Brother, Li Lai can use the ‘Triple Tap’—it’s really strong.”

“Triple Tap?” Li Xin was a little surprised. His nine consecutive titles had been won by all-round skill—any gun in his hands was formidable. But recently, the dark horse Yang Chen had repeatedly challenged his reign as the nine-time champion with that dazzling, almost magical AK headshot technique.

No matter if it was a clutch round or a chaotic free-for-all, Yang Chen’s AK was always the most dazzling sight on the battlefield. The Triple Tap—three bullets fired in a rapid triangle—locked down the opponent’s movement, guaranteeing a headshot.

Such a formidable attack sparked a craze of imitation, but even top professionals rarely mastered it—the key sequence was too bizarre.

That’s why, when Zhang Yufan mentioned it, Li Xin instinctively doubted Li Lai. How could a fourteen-year-old boy have mastered such an elite technique?

Besides, this was his first time systematically understanding and learning the King of Games, so Li Xin didn’t want to be distracted.

Rat-a-tat-tat!

Lost in thought, he saw Lynx burst out and leap onto the cargo box, firing three quick shots. Li Xin observed—it wasn’t the genuine Triple Tap, just faster-than-average tapping. But either way, Li Lai was destined to lose.

Nimbly dodging the bullets, the SEAL fired another shot—another headshot.

Li Lai, usually so confident, was now agitated. He was only a middling expert, but in Wujiang’s CF scene, he’d won the North City Outskirts Internet Café championship twice in a row. Now, his proud Triple Tap had been defeated by a stranger from the market—Li Lai was rattled, his frustration mounting rapidly.

“Damn it, you’re actually this good!” Li Lai shouted, hands moving even faster as he desperately tried to score a kill. Years in the chaotic market had left him with some choice local curses.

But Li Xin showed no mercy, thoroughly trouncing him. In the online world, there was no such thing as bullying the weak.

A gentle smile began to curve Li Xin’s lips. This so-called fusion of illusion and reality—he seemed to understand a little now.

The figure on the Robot Eyes panel was the embodiment of his own spirit. The fusion of spirit and in-game character didn’t mean total replacement and control—it was about the player’s own competitive state. The most direct evidence was the HP value rising and falling.

In traditional 2D CF, the higher the spirit figure’s HP, the better the competitive state. Every command conceived in the brain could be executed quickly and fluidly. After comparing these recent jumps and shots, Li Xin realized that jumps that once took him 1.2 seconds at his peak were now getting faster. His shooting speed and bullet velocity had also improved notably.

When HP dropped, the spirit figure grew fainter, integration with the game weakened, and his competitive state declined. Even if Li Xin gave his all to execute a command, his hands slowed dramatically.

In competitive gaming, even a tenth of a second can change everything—catching the opponent off guard and altering the entire match.

This was what surprised and confused Li Xin most.

Even when his skills had declined before, his mouse always went wherever he aimed—he’d never experienced this kind of delay in his spirit avatar. Now, bound to this new game, everything seemed to have been redistributed; his only advantage was experience.

He breathed a sigh of relief, feeling lucky. This time, his opponent was just a kid. If it had been a professional, he’d have been overwhelmed and had no chance to carefully study the “King of Games” system.

Li Lai was sweating and cursing under his breath, but Li Xin could not suppress his smile. He was now filled with curiosity and a desire to grow within this “King of Games.” He hadn’t thought too far ahead, nor entertained thoughts of using this as a stepping stone back to the pro circuit.

For now, he was an almost-certified owner of a traditional medicine shop.

“Zhang Yufan, now I’ll teach you how to control the AK’s recoil for precise headshots while on the move…”

Attentive Zhang Yufan could never have imagined that the young man teaching him how to play—helping him save face—was none other than his idol, the nine-time Gun King, Dawn!