Running toward the paralyzed UloTai, Max shot Puppeteer with the gun, aiming at the space a meter in front of him by calculating the bullet's speed.
Similarly, Puppeteer also shot his gun. However, he directly aimed at Max instead of the space in front of him.
Both bullets missed by a hair's breadth. Max sped up while Puppeteer slowed down. It gave the former the edge to get closer to UloTai and snatched the card from him.
Naturally, it wasn't as easy as it sounded. Just as Max reached toward the card, an energy bullet flashed before him and hit UloTai again, causing him to step back in reflex.
"Why me?!" The man shouted as he got paralyzed once again.
At that moment, Puppeteer dashed forward and snatched the card before running away. Max looked at what happened in front of him and immediately gave chase, shooting the tranquilizer gun just right behind the man.
Of course, not even Puppeteer could dodge this one. He got shot and paralyzed with an electrical current around his body.
Using this chance, Max took the card. Just as he got the card, suddenly, he felt a shock hit him from behind.
Buzz!
His body suddenly froze and he couldn't move. From the edge of his vision, he saw UloTai take the card from him with a smirk.
"This is mine."
The player immediately ran from the location and went to a small street between houses.
Two seconds until the paralyze ended. He could only see Puppeteer get freed from the paralyzed and chased after UloTai. And before he went to the corner, he pointed his gun toward Max and shot him once again, renewing the paralyze.
"Oh, shit!"
Unable to dodge, Max was forced to wait for 3 seconds. Direct confrontation wasn't a good idea at all. He messed up. But there was still hope.
"Like I will accept my defeat here!"
After 3 seconds, he could move his body again and dashed toward the school immediately. The red dot moved toward a skyscraper.
From the movement, Max judged that Puppeteer had gotten the target and now tried to do the usual strategy, hovering from the height straight toward the pedestal.
"Screw it. I will risk everything in this. I will win."
From his observation before, there were a total of 10 pedestals around the school, which were scattered in a direction of around 50 to 100 meters away. 6 of them were outside, while 4 were inside the buildings.
And from what happened throughout the game, Puppeteer would land near one of those 6 pedestals. Which one he would choose was still a mystery.
Max looked at the sky to try and guess which pedestal Puppeteer chose. The man had hovered in the air already, with a speed similar to when he was running.
It was a gamble. If Max chose the right pedestal and waited for Puppeteer to arrive and shoot him, then it would be his win. But if he chose the wrong one... He would have to settle for second place!
Arriving at the school, Max immediately chose the pedestal and hid himself in a way that Puppeteer wouldn't realize. Now, he had to wait while listening to the duo camping on the school shooting the air.
Colorful confetti appeared from the sky, raining toward the school. Max could only watch it with a wry smile. He should have been happy finishing second place, but all he could feel right now was frustration with his inadequate skill. He was only half-baked.
Only after facing a real pro did he realize that. He wasn't confident; he was only arrogant. And he wanted to punch himself who said he wasn't arrogant.
'Damnit. I should do self-introspection. I am so stupid.' He gritted his teeth.
[Winner:
1st Place: Puppeteer!
2nd Place: Breeze!
3rd Place: Coming soon!]
[3rd Place match will be held soon.]
[Overtime!]
Both Max and Puppeteer were engulfed in a blue flash and teleported away from the map, back to the bar. Meanwhile, the other 3 who scored 0 continued the match to find the 3rd place.
Everything moved pretty fast. UloTai, who was in Midnight Club, managed to get the target once again and scored, ending the match almost instantly.
What followed after was a reward ceremony. Moon Feather appeared once again to congratulate the winner and gave the reward. He gave Puppeteer a golden trophy and a pin.
Next, Moon Feather stopped in front of Max and handed him a silver trophy and a pin similar to Puppeteer's.
"Congratulations on winning second place!"
"Thank you." Max smiled at Moon Feather and nodded, his voice lost the cheerfulness and the confidence he had before.
Noticing it, Moon Feather patted his shoulder.
"Don't be down, Breeze. You're the best Tier 2 player. If you have the same experience as Puppeteer, I believe you would win the previous match." He said.
"Be proud. For someone who had just played this game in less than 2 months, you can compete and score 7 times against the unarguably the best Midnight Heist player in the world."
Hearing the consolation from the man in the feather mask, Max couldn't help but chuckle. Unarguably the best Midnight Heist player? Well... That was fine.
"Thank you, Moon Feather. If he's the best Midnight Heist player in the world, then I'd like to claim the title of the best movement player in the world. I hope that will stick on me soon."
"Hahaha, that's the spirit." Moon Feather laughed and released his hand, "Once again, congratulations."
Moon Feather moved to UloTai and gave him a bronze trophy. Afterward, the award ceremony ended, and all players were allowed to leave the Lobby.
Max immediately returned to his private Lobby and ended his stream after saying goodbye to his viewers.
It was a short tournament, but it certainly opened his eyes. Motivation to become a better player and individual surged out.
Using the remaining time of the day, he decided to just relax and think deeply so he wouldn't become an individual who hated himself.