Chapter 49

Chapter 49

"Who the hell did this?" Qi Yanyu frowned. His phone wasn't on him, otherwise he would have used it as a mirror.

Like it wasn’t Gu Jinglan’s fault.

If Gu Jinglan hadn’t captured him, would they have been rolling around fighting like this?

"If you’d just been an obedient captive, you wouldn’t be this dirty."

Qi Yanyu wanted to say, "I’d rather die than take this crap." But instead, he shifted the topic: "You don’t even count me as Blue Team. You didn’t give me any weapons." If Gu Jinglan had handed him a gun, he would’ve taken him down long ago.

"Did you surrender?" Gu Jinglan was still gripping his chin, turning it left and right, inspecting the grime on his face and scrubbing hard.

"I did."

"When?"

"Just now." Play along now, strike back later—fake surrender for now, and soon Gu Jinglan would learn his lesson.

Gu Jinglan snorted. "Sure."

Outside the surveillance room, Wen Ruxu’s chest burned with jealousy.

"Can you get me a weapon now?" Qi Yanyu asked.

"Look at how you behaved earlier. Who’d trust you to make up for it?" Even a fool could tell Qi Yanyu wasn’t genuinely surrendering.

If Gu Jinglan had been a leader in ancient times, he would’ve been responsible for countless deaths.

Qi Yanyu shot back, pissed: "Then what’s the point of taking me prisoner?"

Gu Jinglan chuckled. "What, you don’t like being my trophy?"

Qi Yanyu swore to himself that in the next round, he’d capture Gu Jinglan alive. Or at least humiliate him thoroughly before "killing" him.

After cleaning Qi Yanyu’s face, Gu Jinglan gave it a once-over. "You’re lucky I’m nice to prisoners."

"You’d be my first bullet’s target." Qi Yanyu gritted his teeth, his hands twitching for a fight.

Gu Jinglan only smiled. He zip-tied Qi Yanyu’s left wrist, then looped it around his own waist, wrapping it tightly. Good luck getting out without scissors.

Qi Yanyu had no idea how he came up with this method. This guy must’ve binged too many action flicks.

Outside the surveillance room, Wen Ruxu watched as his high school classmate wiped the face of the person he admired.

His eyes darkened as he tried to convince himself to think positively—maybe Gu Jinglan wasn’t gay. Maybe they were just close—all that bickering and sticking together.

After finishing with Qi Yanyu’s face, Gu Jinglan dragged him toward cover. "Move it, kitty. Legs giving out already? If you’re this weak before the fight, how are you going to take me down next round?"

Gu Jinglan knew how to push his buttons, and it worked—Qi Yanyu found the strength to walk again, though his teeth were still clenched. "Next round, I’m nailing your fat head first!"

"What are you even going to shoot?" Gu Jinglan said lazily, pulling him back to his side. "You ‘shoot’ that easy? No effort at all?"

Qi Yanyu tripped forward, eyes going wide.

Gu Jinglan’s tone was light, but his eyes weren’t. "If you team up with that guy again next round, I’ll take him out, *then* strip you."

Who was he going to kill? Qi Yanyu flushed, stuck on that dirty joke. Did I hear that right? Since when did Mr. Untouchable talk like *that*?

But after saying that, Gu Jinglan didn’t utter another inappropriate word, simply dragging him off to settle things once and for all.

Only a few Red Team members remained outside, and the Blue Army had only Gu Jinglan left.

Seeing the three Red Team members downstairs, Qi Yanyu wanted to head down again, but Gu Jinglan pulled him back, making him stay 'obediently' by his side while he waited for the right moment to act.

Once the others started fighting, he planned to pounce on Gu Jinglan, snatch his gun, and pin him to the ground. Qi Yanyu’s plan was ambitious.

The remaining three Red Team members decided to send two upstairs to deal with them, while the third would take up a sniper position on the neighboring low-rise.

From the rooftop, Gu Jinglan saw them entering the building and yanked Qi Yanyu back. "You think I can wipe out your whole Red Team by myself?"

"Sure," Qi Yanyu answered half-heartedly, thinking, *You focus on the gunfight with them, and I’ll take you down first.*

Gu Jinglan: "..." This wasn’t the back-and-forth he’d expected with Qi Yanyu.

Qi Yanyu showed no interest in bickering with him, which ruined the fun.

Many of Gu Jinglan’s actions stemmed from a desire to tease Qi Yanyu. Watching him hop around like a grasshopper was half the fun.

After watching him for a while, Gu Jinglan spoke again: "Alright, I give up."

"Really?"

"Let your Red Team win. You’ve got the numbers—no way I can win."

Qi Yanyu was skeptical. Had Gu Jinglan figured out his plan to team up with his allies against him?

His teammate’s green figure darting around downstairs gave Gu Jinglan the chance to pull Qi Yanyu in front of him like a human shield. The red laser from his teammate’s gun aimed right at Qi Yanyu’s face. "The hell? You’re betraying us?"

From behind, safely hidden, Gu Jinglan chuckled leisurely. "He didn’t betray you. He’s just caught in a tough spot."

They wanted to tag the sensor on Gu Jinglan’s cap behind Qi Yanyu or circle around to shoot the signal receiver on his left back. But they couldn’t get behind him.

"Hurry, finish him!" Qi Yanyu tried to duck, but Gu Jinglan held him firmly against his chest.

Gu Jinglan rested his gun on Qi Yanyu’s shoulder and fired a red laser.

With no cover, one of the opponents was "hit," red smoke puffing from their vest.

The second opponent thought, *Might as well eliminate Qi Yanyu first*, but Gu Jinglan dragged him up to the rooftop for cover.

Knowing someone was sniping from the adjacent building, Gu Jinglan clutched Qi Yanyu, using him as cover while pressing against the wall. "Since when does Red Team friendly-fire?" he called out to the neighboring building.

Then, right in front of Qi Yanyu, using him as both a natural "hostage" and human shield, Gu Jinglan eliminated the Red Team member charging up to the rooftop.

The sniper in the adjacent building couldn’t find a clear shot, so Gu Jinglan pulled Qi Yanyu along. "Let’s go. We’ll take him down together."

"Dream on," Qi Yanyu retorted, lunging for his gun while shouting, "Quick, I’m holding him down—"

Even then, Gu Jinglan didn’t shoot Qi Yanyu. Meanwhile, the sniper, unable to get a clear angle, descended and rushed up to their rooftop, only to find the two of them wrestling on the ground. He aimed his gun at Gu Jinglan’s cap.

Gu Jinglan’s shots missed several times before finally hitting the sniper dead center in the chest.

In the end, only Qi Yanyu remained, panting. "Didn’t you say it’d be a one-on-one? Untie me," he demanded, knowing Gu Jinglan had a knife on him.

Gu Jinglan smirked, slightly bending down to look down at Qi Yanyu, whose right hand was still bound high as he lay on the ground.

"I said you have to ‘die’ by my hand."

He aimed at Qi Yanyu's chest and fired a shot. Red smoke erupted from Qi Yanyu’s backpack.

Qi Yanyu was fuming—ready to spit blood. He’d been a prisoner the whole round, only to get taken out like *this* at the last second.

Unable to get up, Gu Jinglan even considerately helped him. Qi Yanyu was so angry he could vomit blood.

Gu Jinglan then said to him, "Sportsmanship over winning."

"Screw you. Next round, you’re *mine*," Qi Yanyu threatened.

In the second round, Gu Jinglan, Qi Yanyu, and Wen Ruxu were on the same team, all dressed in yellow-gray camouflage.

Gu Jinglan took a cheap shot and picked off Wen Ruxu.

At the time, Qi Yanyu was right beside Gu Jinglan, stunned speechless. After a long pause, he finally said, "What’s your *damage*? What kind of grudge do you have?"

Gu Jinglan replied airily, "Oops—didn’t spot the colors. My bad."

That excuse was *bullshit*.

Only after capping him did he drop that weak excuse.

Right then, Qi Yanyu *got* it: Gu Jinglan played *dirty*.

Shoot first, ask never.

This was *personal*, not a mistake.

Qi Yanyu was still hung up on Wen Ruxu’s death. "Why did you kill him? His gear was *bright yellow*!"

"Mistakes happen. You gonna cry about it?"

He wasn’t *mad*—just baffled. Last round, Gu Jinglan hadn’t "shot" a single teammate, so why such a huge blunder right at the start this time?

He needed to yank Gu Jinglan’s gun and rub his face in it.

He wanted to give Gu Jinglan a taste of his own medicine.

So he trailed behind Gu Jinglan, plotting in his mind.

Gu Jinglan was lining up a shot on the enemy sniper across the way.

Turning back, he noticed Qi Yanyu dragging ass and grew suspicious. "Why you dragging ass?"

Qi Yanyu had his MP5 *locked* on Gu Jinglan’s chest, stuck in a standoff on the stairs—

"Oh," Gu Jinglan grinned, like he’d expected this.

"Apologize to me."

"Sorry, Qi Yanyu," Gu Jinglan said lightly, with a smirk in his tone.

Now it was Qi Yanyu’s turn to grab a "captive," and he was gonna double the payback:

"Beg *properly*."

"Have mercy, *Qi-ge*!"

"That’s it? Did you *bribe* your way into Kan Med? How did you even pass the college entrance exam?" He threw Gu Jinglan’s *own words* back at him.

It seemed Qi Yanyu was still seething with anger from the last round, his resentment palpable.

"Brother Qi, you know I’m slow-witted and clumsy with words. If I ever offended you, I wouldn’t even realize it," Gu Jinglan played dumb.

This guy was still acting like he didn't know what was going on. Qi Yanyu wanted to blow his head off right then and there.

"You sneaky bastard," Qi Yanyu shoved the barrel of his submachine gun harder into Gu Jinglan’s chest. "You call that sweet talk?"

"Don’t ‘kill’ me. I’ll carry you to a win."

"I don’t wanna win today."

Gu Jinglan laughed. Had he gotten under his skin that badly? "Why so mad? Is it because you accidentally shot your friend?"

"How did you humiliate me last round?" Qi Yanyu remembered—it was revenge for the last game.

Not about killing Wen Ruxu. That put Gu Jinglan more at ease.

Was that humiliation? Gu Jinglan’s tone was dripping with sarcasm. "If Brother Qi hadn’t gone easy on me last round, how could I have popped off like that?"

"You mother—" Gu Jinglan’s mouth was as foul as ever. Qi Yanyu was about to spray.

Seeing him ready to unload, Gu Jinglan switched to buttering him up. "Brother Qi, you’re magnanimous. I was just acting up earlier. Give me another chance—I’ll be your bodyguard the whole game."

"I don’t need a bodyguard. Keep talking."

"About what?"

"Begging for your life."

"Then let’s talk this out properly, Brother Qi. Lower the gun first." Gu Jinglan still held onto a glimmer of hope.

"Lower it? Who had a gun pointed at me the entire last round?"

"Last round, I carried the team. Our luck was great—Brother Qi’s my lucky charm." Half-sincere, half-mocking.

"Lucky my ass…" He sounded like a rabbit who got his nest raided.

"Brother Qi’s temper is a bit short-fused." Gu Jinglan couldn’t help but laugh.

"Let’s see how ‘short-fused’ you’d be after being treated like a damn pet the whole game."

Gu Jinglan studied him—genuinely furious, absolutely livid.

Only now did he realize how fun it was to mess with Qi Yanyu.

"Then consider this round my apology round. I’ll make things right." Gu Jinglan tried to nudge the MP5 away from his chest.

But Qi Yanyu started squeezing the trigger. "Tell that to your ‘dead’ teammates. See if they’ll let you redeem yourself."

"If I ‘die,’ who’ll protect you?" Gu Jinglan faked a mournful sigh.

"Like hell you protected—since when was that protection…?"

A few moments later, Qi Yanyu’s arms were wrenched behind his back, the gun now in Gu Jinglan’s hands.

Two guns were too dangerous, so he tossed one aside and had Qi Yanyu pinned, but the latter wasn't going anywhere.

Fine, if he wasn’t going anywhere, Gu Jinglan pressed the gun against Qi Yanyu’s kidney area. "Brother Qi, just like last round—captured right at the start. Do you have a thing for getting captured or something?"

"......"

"Get moving, or I'll 'take you out.'" Gu Jinglan nudged him with the gun.

"I won't move. Go ahead, 'waste me.'"

"Have you forgotten our army's tradition of treating prisoners well?" Gu Jinglan chuckled, wrenched Qi Yanyu's arms behind his back, and tied them up.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

Amid Qi Yanyu's curses, Gu Jinglan manhandled him toward the basement they had visited in the previous round.

Once inside, Gu Jinglan flicked on a light and closed the heavy cellar door.

Staring at Qi Yanyu, who was glaring daggers at him, Gu Jinglan spoke softly, "Let’s just chill here for a bit. You’re so trigger-happy with teammates—letting you out isn't safe."

"The only one I want to 'kill' is you."

"Isn't that still killing a teammate? Look at the color of your own clothes," Gu Jinglan retorted, watching as Qi Yanyu's face scrunched up like a pissed-off kitten again.

Qi Yanyu was now wearing gray-yellow camouflage—his original hat, clothes, and backpack had been discarded after his earlier "death," forcing him into a new outfit. His beef with Gu Jinglan was next-level.