Chapter 39: Four Consecutive Holographic TT—The Most Powerful "R8 Revolver" in History
With his wealth of experience activating the “CF Mall,” Xing Xiaolong found the activation process for the CS:GO Armory to be a breeze. His left hand was useless and couldn’t input a nickname, and his right hand was locked in a deadly struggle with a wolf’s jaws, unable to break free.
No problem!
Xing Xiaolong still had his nimble tongue.
“Blah blah blah blah…”
His soft, dexterous tongue darted quickly, and in less than ten seconds, five characters appeared in the nickname field—
“Sniper God of Red Star Street!”
Once the codename was entered, the interface instantly shifted to a new page.
Unlike the CF Mall, which started off as a blur until the special training mission was completed, the CS:GO Armory was refreshingly direct, dropping him right into the main menu from the start.
Xing Xiaolong was unfamiliar with this main page, but anyone who had played the game would find it strikingly familiar.
The background was a desert.
On the left stood a column of functional icons, arranged from top to bottom: Start Game, Find Teammates, Inventory Warehouse, Shop.
On the right was Xing Xiaolong’s personal profile panel, which seemed to be “glitching out”—sometimes it slid out and unfolded into a small panel, sometimes it shrank into a slender vertical bar to the far right, flickering back and forth like a glitchy UI.
He didn’t understand why it was acting up, but whenever it opened, plenty of information was visible.
At the top left was the avatar frame, with a large question mark inside—it appeared he hadn’t chosen an image yet. Next to it was the codename he’d just entered with his tongue—
“Sniper God of Red Star Street.”
The second row featured a silver chevron insignia on the left, and on the right, the words “Silver Division Private.” Below that was an experience bar, to be filled for future upgrades.
The description read:
“Your current experience value is 0!
Ways to increase experience: 1. Purchase points in the shop to gain large amounts of experience; 2. Start a game and eliminate non-civilian enemies for a small, random amount of points.”
A textbook “pay-to-win” model.
The third row held three small function icons from left to right: Friends List, Previous Teammates, and Friends Inbox.
All these side icons likely led to secondary menus.
Since Xing Xiaolong hadn’t operated anything yet, none of these menus were open, and their contents remained a mystery.
The central area, taking up the most space, was much simpler.
On the left was a single hexagonal frame with four strange little labels: New Map, More Tools, Respawn System, and Special Training.
What purpose these unclickable labels served remained unknown.
The “Respawn System” in particular seemed to hint at some great secret.
Dominating the right half of the screen stood a burly “3D” male character.
He wore a tattered casual suit; his left hand was bloodied to the bone, bound with a tourniquet and hanging limply at his side. His right leg was twisted with a clear fracture. His features were exactly like Xing Xiaolong’s own, and above his head floated the conspicuous codename—
Sniper God of Red Star Street!
Evidently, the character in the CS:GO Armory reflected Xing Xiaolong’s real condition in real time.
That was all there was on the main page of the CS:GO Armory—everything visible, yet nothing he could control.
Because at the very top of the interface, a small overlay blocked him. Anyone who’d played the game knew: until you closed this top menu, you couldn’t click anything underneath.
It was a sort of new player tutorial!
“Congratulations, Soldier ‘Sniper God of Red Star Street,’ on successfully activating the CS:GO Armory! Reward: New Recruit Big Gift Pack*1. Open now?”
Xing Xiaolong was in a hurry—an extreme hurry! Unfamiliar with CS:GO, every element on the page was a puzzle, and his current situation gave him no time to investigate.
His goal was simple:
Anything that might help him—confirm! He had no time to hesitate.
“New Recruit Gift Pack opened! Congratulations, you have received: Basic Weapon—R8 Revolver; 5x Miscellaneous Collectibles; 5x Spectrum Case #2; 5x Glove Cases; 1x Castle Clash Collectible.
Unique activation reward: Sticker | Titan (Holo) | Katowice 2014 *4.”
“Collection weapon cases require corresponding keys. No keys available—unable to open. Stickers can be used. They can be applied to the only weapon in your inventory—the R8 Revolver (Basic). Increases range and lethality. Would you like to use them?”
Increase damage?
Xing Xiaolong had no time to inspect the stickers, nor to use his tongue to click and examine. Time was the one thing he lacked most, and the dialogue box said it would increase damage—meaning it was useful right now.
No need to think—he flicked his tongue to select: “Yes!”
“Detected four identical stickers. Applying all four will double the effect. Proceed with quadruple application?”
Double effect for quadruple application?
The R8 Revolver was a large-caliber revolver, hailed as the world’s top tactical sidearm. Its range was a pitiful fifty meters or less.
But Xing Xiaolong knew its power.
Small-caliber bullets lacked penetration, but their stopping power was terrifying, inflicting tremendous trauma on the human body.
A single shot could easily punch a hole through someone.
Even if you wore a Level III vest capable of stopping submachine gun rounds, the impact alone could break your ribs.
If the firepower doubled, the result would be unimaginable…
With just this revolver, one shot could drop a bull with ease. If a person took a bullet to the thigh, their leg would be shattered.
Even wearing a Level IV vest with front and back ballistic plates, capable of stopping 7.62 rifle rounds—
There would be only one outcome!
Man and armor, plates and all, would be blown to bits. The force would rival a direct hit from a sniper’s heavy round.
Xing Xiaolong still didn’t know how the CS:GO Armory differed from the CF Mall.
But he was certain that the CS:GO Armory had its own overpowered abilities, and this seemingly absurd weapon upgrade was probably just one of its many functions.
If it could double damage, what was there to consider?
Xing Xiaolong chose “Yes” again.
“Sticker tutorial complete. Weapon has been placed in the inventory. Next, you will learn how to use the basic functions of the CS:GO Armory. Soldier ‘Sniper God of Red Star Street,’ would you like to begin now?”
Learning the basics was important, but Xing Xiaolong simply didn’t have the time.
He could barely hold on!
“No!”
Xing Xiaolong rejected the offer. The dialogue box didn’t force him—instead, it switched to a reminder:
“Tutorial paused. ‘Sniper God of Red Star Street’ can resume from the central question mark at any time. Click the X at the top right to close this window.”
Xing Xiaolong hurriedly closed the window and started searching the interface frantically.
“I remember there’s a gun, should be in the weapon inventory—yes, that’s it, haha! I’m finally saved! Ha!”
He found the weapon icon on the left, and his eyes shone with excitement as he burst into laughter.
——
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Special thanks to “Xin Ying” for the 2000 reward, and to “Lao Dangdangdang” for the 100 reward. Thank you both so much for your support.
Sending you all a chest-bump, mwah!