The Playboy Superstar Versus The CEO

After assembling his new computer, Blake Thompson gazed at the dark screen and took a deep breath. As a top-tier League of Legends player and , Blake felt the weight of his situation; he was now penniless and alone. His girlfriend of three years, Lisa Lin, had left him, stating that League of Legends was a dying game and that PlayerUnknowns Battlegrounds was where the real action was.

Her words from three days prior still rang in his ears: "Blake, youre such a loser. PUBG is the game now. If you wont even play with me, how can you say you love me? Dont give me that 3D motion sickness excuse. You just dont love me. From now on, Im not your girlfriend."

Just twelve hours after their breakup, Blake saw a new post on Lisas social media: "Thank you, Dan Zhang, for keeping me company all night in PUBG. Meeting you in this life is a dream come true." There were two photos attached: one showing a #1 win in PUBG, and the other of Lisa snuggled up to Dan Zhang.

With a bitter laugh, Blake thought, "Fickle... When League of Legends was hot, Lisa said the same things to me. But now, it seems shes truly replaced me with someone new."

"I dont need a woman like that! PUBG, is it? Im a king in League of Legends, and Ill be a king in any game!" Blake declared to himself.

He booted up his new computer, downloaded the Steam platform, purchased and installed PUBG, and was met with an entirely unfamiliar interface. A lone man stood in the center of the screen, mirroring Blakes own feelings of isolation and refusal to be defeated.

"Forget this 3D motion sickness! Im going to win, and Ill show you who the real genius is!" Blake joined a queue, loaded into the game, and parachuted in...

Ten minutes later, Blake felt dizzy and nauseous from the spinning screen, the very reason he had never touched FPS games before. But he was determined to win.

Just as he was about to give in, a sudden burst of gunfire knocked his character to the ground, and as his avatar fell, Blake collapsed too, hitting his head on a power socket on the floor...

Electricity coursed through Blakes body and into his brain...

"Target meets the conditions... System implantation in the target body... PUBG system initiated..."

"Player Blake Thompson, welcome to the world of PlayerUnknowns Battlegrounds."

Blakes head was a mess, and after a series of strange sounds, he finally opened his eyes... He was on an unfamiliar airplane.

"Since when did I get on a plane? Did my mom throw me onto a plane while I was unconscious? Am I even her real son?" Blake was utterly confused. The events unfolding were surreal, and if not for the gusts of wind blowing through the open cabin door, he would have thought he was dreaming.

The plane was full of people, and Blake wanted to ask a passenger what was happening. It was then that he noticed everyone seemed to be in a training camp of sorts. All the passengers, regardless of gender, wore only vests and plain pants, with dark backpacks on their backs.

"Hey, in my last solo round, it was brutal. I was insta-killed as soon as I landed. You know, land box?" one man said.

"Ha, thats better than being a courier, right?" another replied.

Not far from Blake, a group of men stood by the cabin door, talking loudly. The wind howled into the cabin, but they stood firm, not even holding onto any handrails.

"What the hell... Why arent they being blown out?" Blake was astonished. He hit his thigh to confirm it was real.

"Blown out? Man, you must be new," a man next to Blake said with a laugh.

"What do you mean, new?" Blake asked.

"Do you not even know the name of the game youre playing? Alright, Ill tell you. The game were playing is called PlayerUnknowns Battlegrounds. Once we jump, all hundred of us will land on a deserted island, and whoever survives until the end wins. Got it?" the man patiently explained to Blake.

"Whoa, you mean this is the PUBG game?" Blake felt like his mind was about to short circuit. He couldnt understand how he seemed to haveed, and into PUBG of all places.

"Yeah, why?" the man asked.

"Uh, since were, can you tell me your name and where you are?"

"Me? Im Nightly Seven. Add me after the game, and as for where I am... Im at the internet caf茅, where else?"

Blake finally confirmed that he had indeed arrived in the world of PUBG, and everyone he encountered were players!

At that moment, Blake felt like dying. He didnt understand why he haded into PUBG and not League of Legends, where he might have been able to dominate. But in a shooting game like PUBG...

"I get why the game is called chicken dinner now... Those who get eaten must be us noobs!" Blake said with tears in his eyes, knowing that he would feel the pain, that the bullets would be real!

But no one could see the rich expressions on Blakes face. They were probably staring at the huge plane on their computer screens and the map, looking for a good landing spot.

"Man, dont say that. We all got beaten up along the way," Nightly Seven said again to Blake. "Why dont you jump with me, and Ill take you to win."

"Really? I dont know anything about this game..." Blake hesitated.

"Dont worry, you can ask around. Who doesnt know how awesome Nightly Seven is?" Nightly Seven laughed and said.

But soon other players started to tease, saying Nightly Seven was just relying on his teammates.

"Dont listen to them. Im the captain of our team. Theyre not online yet, so Im playing solo and can take you along," Nightly Seven patted Blakes shoulder and said, getting ready to jump.

This was Blakes first real attempt at parachuting. The unparalleled feeling of weightlessness before the parachute opened was exhilarating, but he didnt shout out because he didnt want others to know he was experiencing a real game.

At the same time, Blake also found that although these players were controlling the characters in the game, for him, they were all real, able to smile, pat shoulders, etc., but they themselves might not see these "actions."

On a hillside, Blake and Nightly Seven landed together.

"Brother Seven, you didnt ask my name yet," Blake ran towards Nightly Seven in this dangerous world.

"No rush, Ill know it soon," At that moment, a sinister smile appeared on Nightly Sevens face, and then his fist swung towards Blake.

"You?!" Blake quickly retreated to avoid the punch, looking at Nightly Seven in shock.

But at this moment, Nightly Sevens face had lost all the kindness from the plane: "Brother, since this is your first time playing chicken dinner, let me teach you a lesson... Dont trust anyone except teammates, got it?"

Blake laughed, no wonder Nightly Seven invited him to jump together, just to get a kill at the beginning of the game.

"Try to kill me with your bare hands? I think youre too happy too soon!" Blake sneered, although he was not very good at fighting, but Nightly Sevens punch was completely the action of the game character... In short, it couldnt hit Blake at all.

"I heard theres a term in this game called land box, I dont know, have you experienced it?"

System message: Player Blake Thompson killed player Nightly Seven with a punch, 99 players remaining.