Chapter 48: We Agreed on a Banzai Charge, So Why Are You All Napping in the Banana Lane?

"Arrow secures a kill on Keoz from a disadvantaged angle! But he is left with just a sliver of health! Here comes snax! Can he hold the angle? He only has a single bullet's chance!"

"What reflexes! What a flick! A precise headshot! An ACE! Did he turn on an auto-trigger?!"

Mashishi shouted in excitement, completely awed by the sheer extremity of this five-kill play!

Especially given the final moment against snax's crouch-peek, where he was still able to react and execute a secondary target acquisition under such pressure.

"Indeed!" Mo chimed in. "GL's execution in this round was already quite solid, securing an absolute man-advantage early on, yet no one expected Arrow to single-handedly turn it around!"

The viewers in the livestreaming room never imagined the pistol round would conclude with such an outcome.

[What is the difference between this five-kill and a 1v5? I thought he was flanking, but after roaming around for ages, it was all head-on fights.]

[I originally thought Xiao Zhe joined Ninjas in Pyjamas through connections, but now why does it feel like Ninjas in Pyjamas is a bit unworthy of Xiao Zhe?]

[I declare you the new God A!]

[After a whole Bo3 series played by this Xiao Zhe, won't his highlight reel be longer than someone else's entire career?]

[Hoping this form can be maintained, so when people mention your ID's five-kill moments, their first reaction isn't just against GL.]

[Hahahahaha! Snax is completely dumbfounded. You still play like this even with cheats on?]

[......]

The opening five-kill on Inferno immediately ignited the morale of the entire Ninjas in Pyjamas squad.

Snax, having lost the pistol round, opted for a force-buy with Tec-9s rushing up Second Mid, but it yielded no positive results.

They were instantly shredded by k0nfig in Pit and Su Zhe holding the bombsite, with the duo racking up four kills between them. The lone survivor, snax, was eventually cleaned up by headtr1ck from Link.

After securing GL's force-buy round, the early game smoothly transitioned into Ninjas in Pyjamas' scoring rhythm.

When the score reached 3-0, both teams finally welcomed the first full-buy round on Inferno.

It must be said that GL truly understood this map. Es3tag originally intended to immediately deploy a 3-B setup to lock down Banana and seize the initiative in defense.

Little did they expect GL's three HE grenades thrown behind the slabs at the start to completely blast them into oblivion.

REZ died on the spot, blown to pieces, while es3tag was left with half health, forcing Ninjas in Pyjamas' overall defensive formation to pull back.

In the end, GL executed a fast bombsite B take with grenade utility, successfully trading two for two. Su Zhe and k0nfig rotated back together to retake, only to be arrested on the spot by GL's attacking AWP.

This setback in the first full-buy round instantly snapped Ninjas in Pyjamas back to reality. Fortunately, they hadn't heavily invested in new weapons the previous round and still had the economy for a full buy.

"Let's play standard holds this round and observe GL's attacking logic," es3tag said after some thought. Ambushed at the start of the last round, he still hadn't fully figured out snax's offensive patterns.

Once the countdown ended, Su Zhe purchased full armor, an M4, and utility, then skipped Mid to position himself under the porch.

Headtr1ck pulled out an AW P this round, holding an angle from A Second Story to catch any potential loose-peeking default players.

K0nfig acted as a bodyguard for the AWP, covering the VIP angle from which T-side players might jump up.

"REZ, coordinate with me. Use utility to clear Banana," es3tag said, noticing at the start that GL hadn't thrown any offensive utility for Banana.

"OK." REZ replied, tossing a fire into Tree, followed by a grenade coordinated with es3tag to clear the coffin area.

Having successfully controlled Banana with utility, the pair casually dropped a smoke at T-ramp.

Just as es3tag was about to inform his teammates at site A, a Banana flashbang suddenly detonated in mid-air. Unprepared, he took the full flash, and by the time his vision recovered, he was already dead on the ground.

REZ, hiding behind the slabs without precise information on how many opponents were there, didn't dare swing out to trade.

If he went down too, the three players on site A would have to save their weapons.

Giving up the opening kill at the start was highly unfavorable for Ninjas in Pyjamas' defense.

"K0nfig, come over and help reinforce B," es3tag said after brief consideration, feeling that the probability of GL hitting B this round was still high, though he didn't dare commit entirely to a gamble.

With k0nfig's departure, headtr1ck no longer dared to remain alone in Second Story and retreated directly into Pit.

"The Mid smoke is about to fade. I'll go back to Arch and watch Link. You hold the front alone," Su Zhe communicated with headtr1ck.

"Alright, go ahead."

Defending dual-A already carried heavy pressure. Su Zhe stationing himself at Arch could, firstly, protect his B-site teammates' flanks, and secondly, help headtr1ck cover Second Story from Pit.

If the opponents really decided to push B via Banana, he could rotate back at a moment's notice.

"Es3tag chooses to place the team's defensive focus on bombsite B. His calling on Inferno feels completely outclassed by snax!"

"GL's four-man squad is grouping up to retake Mid. They intend to coordinate with their Second Story teammate to pinch A through Link."

"GL chooses to execute with a full grenade wave! Arch smoke dropped, Mid flash popped, and they instantly swing—securing information that A1 is clear."

"Can Ninjas in Pyjamas' dual-A defense withstand this five-man GL pinch?"

Seeing the Arch smoke drop, Su Zhe pushed forward a step, taking a primary duel angle to hold the Link position.

Kaoe, leading the charge, jumped out of Link to create crossfire space for his teammates. Spotting the T-side player, Su Zhe quickly whipped his crosshair over.

"Rat-tat-tat~"

[Arrow killed Keoz with a silenced M4A1]

Keoz was caught and gunned down while still airborne. Snax behind him jiggle-peaked to prevent Su Zhe from pre-firing, but instantly absorbed two bullets.

That gun is fiercely accurate!

However, he still wasn't certain of the CT defensive setup. To prevent CTs from pushing up Banana, he had to accelerate the offensive pace and eliminate the player in Link first.

Thus, snax and the trailing volt opted for a synchronized double-swing.

Seeing the T-side players swing out once more, Su Zhe immediately crouched and controlled his recoil.

"Rat-tat-tat~"

[Arrow headshot and killed snax with a silenced M4A1]

[Arrow headshot and killed voIt with a silenced M4A1]

A double-spray swept them both away instantly!

"Oh my! Arrow's positioning control is so subtle! He constantly moves to make it impossible for the opponents to easily find his head! And those reflexes are too fast! He barely gave either of them a chance to fire back!" Mashishi exclaimed, watching the kills on screen.

Mo chimed in with astonishment: "This is purely a mechanical masterclass! Everyone who wide-peaked got caught, bodies are littering the floor—blame GL for giving Link a second glance."

If GL had directly accelerated alongside isak in Second Story to hit A1, the bomb might have already been planted.

With Su Zhe securing a triple-kill, GL was instantly left with only acoR in Mid holding A1 with an AWP, and isak in Second Story.

It was difficult even for acoR to save his AWP in that position, as REZ had pushed out of Banana and instantly punished the exposed back of the rotating T-player.

The sole remaining isak had an SMG that wasn't worth saving, so he attempted to push up to Link to see if he could salvage a fallen teammate's AK.

Yet under Su Zhe's direct crosshair placement, he found zero opportunity and was picked off as well!

Score: 4-1.

After GL fully bought utility last round and lost again without even planting the bomb, their economy collapsed once more.

Snax opened the scoreboard and felt a hint of despair seeing Arrow's stats at 11-1-1.

It was only the fourth round, and he already had one five-kill and one four-kill. How was anyone supposed to play against this?

Following a semi-buy, snax regained his confidence once they had a full economy again.

He now conceded that he couldn't win aim duels against this rookie head-on, but could he not outsmart the other old-timers?

Keep in mind, during the previous few rounds, es3tag's calling on Inferno had been completely dismantled by him.

Knowing that the ID "Su Zhe" primarily anchored site A, snax directly executed a fast bomb-site B push in the very next round.

As a result, under the second-time 3-B defense, Ninjas in Pyjamas failed to hold the pressure, and Su Zhe was successfully caught in the back while rotating back.

"I've noticed something..." Mashishi analyzed, watching the scoreboard.

"What did you notice?" Mo asked curiously.

Mashishi didn't keep him in suspense, stating directly: "This Arrow has strong mechanical ability, but his game sense is somewhat lacking! Once it enters a post-plant or retake situation, he struggles to win retakes."

Mo reflected on it and realized it was true, joking: "If this Arrow had ZywOo's gamesense, GL would probably just surrender outright."

A pure aimer is just like that—if they had a better brain too, why would they even be pure aimers?

As snax shifted his strategic approach, it actually started yielding sweet results. The next round began with a utility-heavy fake on A, followed by a sudden pivot back to hit B.

After conceding two consecutive rounds, Ninjas in Pyjamas' economy hit rock bottom.

Es3tag looked at the meager funds remaining on his teammates and felt a headache coming on: "Let's semi-buy this round, we'll gamble with a 4-B setup."

K0nfig volunteered: "I'll anchor A solo as a safeguard!"

Es3tag rolled his eyes at him: "Can't you tell why snax has attacked B two rounds in a row?"

Tossing an M4A4 to Su Zhe's feet, he instructed: "You solo A this round. If snax uses the same strategy as the previous few rounds..."

"We'll just try to trade out their rifles on B. Find a spot yourself and try your best to save that rifle. If they hit A this round, then it's up to your individual freelance performance."

Su Zhe didn't refuse, picking up the rifle from the ground. In his view, since he topped the leaderboard, wasn't it only natural for him to hold the team's sole rifle?

Once the countdown began, Su Zhe—wielding the finest sword in the village, full armor, a smoke, and a flash—walked toward bombsite A.

Planting himself in the rat-corner position of Small Pit, looking at the empty and undefended A-site, he felt no tension whatsoever; instead, he caught a whiff of freedom.

It felt like moving from a shared dormitory into a single room in a school—no fear of impacting teammates.

"The opponents smoked Pit." Watching the utility drop, Su Zhe reported to his teammates expressionlessly, as GL had already run this exact setup for two rounds.

Standing his ground and holding an angle for a few seconds without seeing any intent from GL to push A1, he stepped up onto the cart and crept toward Second Story.

"Snax intends to repeat his old trick. REZ dropped a defensive smoke in B-short, but GL isn't rushing; they know Ninjas in Pyjamas has no economy this round."

"Wait, what on earth is Arrow's position?! He's already sneaked all the way to T-Second Story!"

Su Zhe crept all the way down T-Second Story, holding an angle toward T-ramp to see if he could catch anyone moving carelessly.

At this moment, the second defensive smoke in B-long was about to fade. Es3tag, waiting for GL's push, glanced at the minimap.

Huh? Was his eyesight failing him? Why was he almost running into the T-spawn?

He suddenly conceived a bold idea: "Arrow! Check if anyone is in Mid first. If clear, hug the close angle at T-ramp. I'll tell you when to swing!"

Hearing this, Su Zhe peeked Mid with a tight angle from T-ramp, and finding no one, followed instructions and hugged the close angle.

Yet he failed to notice a T-player standing flush against the right-side wall in Mid.

Under these circumstances, how could GL possibly leave Mid unmonitored? But snax never expected the Second Story player to push out so aggressively.

Su Zhe and isak were separated by only a single wall, yet neither could see the other.

As the defensive smoke gradually dissipated and snax saw the CTs didn't refresh the smoke, he immediately gave the order to execute.

Isak, positioned in Mid, slowly faced Mid and retreated toward Banana.

"You can swing now!" es3tag yelled the moment rain began to fall on the bombsite.

Su Zhe wide-peaked instantly. Though he felt his movement get slightly clipped for a split second, upon seeing three backs turned to him, he immediately chose to control his spray and transfer targets.

"Rat-tat-tat~"

[Arrow headshot and killed acoR with an M4A4]

[Arrow killed voIt with an M4A4]

Isak, retreating backward, was startled by the sudden gunfire echoing right beside his ear—the entire enemy team had AKs this round!

Panicking, he whipped his crosshair around. No sooner had he turned than Su Zhe caught a glimpse of a gun barrel protruding from the right side of his screen.

Acting almost on reflex, without lifting his finger from the fire button, he whipped his crosshair and shoved the barrel directly into isak's mouth.

"Rat-tat-tat!"

[Arrow headshot and killed isak with an M4A4]

Securing the kill, Su Zhe instantly transferred his crosshair once more. By now, snax in Banana realized the rear was compromised.

He rapidly executed a 180-degree turn, only to be greeted by a stream of flying bullets.

"Rat-tat-tat!"

[Arrow headshot and killed snax with an M4A4]

Keoz, leading the charge in Banana, swung out immediately upon snax's execution order.

Yet his teammates hadn't provided him with a flashbang. Facing Ninjas in Pyjamas' crossfire of Desert Eagles, he managed to trade one before falling.

Dying, he froze at the round defeat prompt, hearing only chaotic noise through his headset.

Weren't you guys supposed to execute the bomb site? Why are you all lying down sleeping in Banana?