By the second half, Elias got greedy. He turned the FOV up to 20.0. He wanted the lobby to see his "skill."

The software finished. A small, transparent menu overlay appeared on his screen. It looked professional, almost innocent. He adjusted the settings: 5.0 (Keep it tight, keep it subtle).

He was standing in the middle of A-Site, spinning. Every time a pixel of an enemy appeared, his screen jerked violently, instantly locking onto skulls through smoke and walls. The "humanized smoothing" couldn't keep up with his bloodlust. "Reported," the enemy Reyna messaged. "Nice hacks, loser."

As the progress bar crawled across the screen, Elias felt a prickle of sweat. He knew the risks—Vanguard, Riot’s anti-cheat, was legendary for its ruthlessness. But the forum promised "kernel-level masking" and "humanized smoothing."

The screen froze. A massive red box filled his monitor—a screen he had only seen in nightmares and YouTube videos.

The match point was seconds away. Elias pushed through a smoke, ready to claim his 40th kill. He saw the enemy. He clicked. But the shot never fired.