Reever settled into his old sniper lane the way a musician sits at an instrument he mastered long ago. Every angle of Nuketown's bus lane was carved into his bones. He didn't need to think. His instincts knew where footsteps would echo, where players hesitated, and where the reckless ones rushed without checking corners.
B hummed inside his mind like a commentator waiting for drama. " The legendary lane of doom. Your old throne. I want to see if the past you can still make you sweat."
Reever didn't respond. He already spotted movement.
An enemy soldier sprinted behind the yellow bus, aiming to flank Tash.
Reever fired.
One clean headshot.
Past Reever fired at the exact same time from the second floor of the blue house. His bullet hit another enemy trying to flank the flank.
For a moment, both Reevers paused, noticing each other's simultaneous precision.
Mandarin whistled. " What kind of psychic link did you two develop? Those shots were in harmony."
Tash giggled. " Reever is just showing off because someone joined the match with a matching aim."
Past Reever replied, " I do not get shown up in my own lobby."
And he proved it.
He leaped out of the window, perfectly timed, landed with a slide, and shot two players rushing mid. His movements were clean, aggressive, sharp. The Reever of that era had pride, skill, and the ego of a young man who refused to lose.
B laughed. " He is you without depression and old age trauma. Look at him go."
Reever smirked faintly and dashed to the opposite side of the bus lane. Three enemies respawned at once. They weren't moving carefully anymore. They wanted revenge.
Shotgun. SMG. Sniper.
Reever dodged the sniper bullet by leaning slightly. The shotgun blast hit him harmlessly. The SMG sprayed like angry rain.
He planted one shot into the sniper. Swapped shoulders. A shot into the SMG user. Then he flicked upward and erased the shotgunner.
" Triple. Again. This bot needs nerfing," Mandarin muttered.
The score climbed fast.
Reever:31
Past Reever: 30
The two of them were accelerating like engines racing on fumes of pride. Neither addressed the scoreboard. They felt it. Every kill was a challenge. Every shot carried a silent declaration.
Past Reever broke left, sliding behind the green car.
Reever broke right, climbing onto the balcony with a single vault.
They both fired at the same time. Two enemies dropped. Their kills rose in parallel.
Tash watched in confusion. " Why are the both of you turning this into a civil war? You're supposed to be on the same team."
Mandarin replied, " This is a duel disguised as teamwork."
B started clapping again. " I love humans. You people turn even friendly matches into honor battles." " Are you not human too?" Reever mentally asked, but B ignored him and continued to focus n the game.
The enemy team, frustrated, deployed everything.
Counter UAV.
Shock RC.
Cluster strike.
The sky filled with explosions.
Reever slid through smoke, shooting shapes he barely saw. Past Reever sprinted through flames, leaping over obstacles like a man possessed.
The cluster strike destroyed their cover, but past Reever didn't hesitate. He dive-rolled and sniped someone midair.
Reever felt something like admiration. " He used to be this good?"
B answered, " You forgot. But I never forget your embarrassing levels of pride."
Reever leaned forward, exhaled, and emptied the lane with brutal accuracy. Five enemies tried to push together. Bad plan.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
" Bot 067 cleared the lane again," Tash shouted. " Reever you should…"
Past Reever suddenly erased two enemies behind her, saving her life.
She changed mid-sentence. " Never mind. Both of you are monsters."
The score tightened.
Reever: 33
Past Reever: 33
Mandarin was losing his mind. " Stop. Stop both of you. I feel useless. Let me kill at least someone."
Tash laughed. " Good luck."
The final seconds of the match began ticking down.
Reever spotted one last enemy sprinting toward the greenhouse. Past Reever spotted another climbing the balcony.
Two shots. Two deaths.
Reever: 34
Past Reever: 34
Ten seconds left.
Smoke filled the map. Gunfire echoed. Footsteps raced across pavement.
Both Reevers emerged from opposite sides, crossing lines of movement without noticing each other. Their scopes locked on their last targets.
Reever fired a millisecond before past Reever. Past Reever fired a millisecond before Reever.
Two enemies collapsed.
The match ended.
Final score:
Reever: 35
Past Reever: 35
Silence fell for a moment.
Tash finally spoke. " You two tied… perfectly. What are the odds?"
Mandarin groaned. " My ego is shattered. I barely reached their level"
Past Reever laughed. " Whoever you are, 067… you are the first player to match my kills."
Reever replied calmly, " I learned from the best."
B whispered with a smug grin, " A cute little compliment to your younger self. Disgusting. I love it."
The lobby screen faded out, but the feeling lingered:
Two eras of Reever had clashed. Neither won. Neither lost.
And somehow, that felt right for Reever.