Marvel: Beginning with the Collection of Shinra Tensei

Upon logging into the game, Han Yu was about to invite his teammates when a message popped up on his screen:

"Your rank difference with friends is too large to queue for ranked matches together."

Han Yu was speechless. He glanced at his own rank—bronze. Meanwhile, Ultron, Wanda, and Quicksilver were already at the gold tier.

In this ranking system, tiers were divided into Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Master, and Gun King, with each tier having five levels—level one being the highest and level five the lowest.

Even though Ultron and the others were only at Gold Tier Level 3, it was impressive considering the mode had just launched. Even with skill, finding opponents at higher tiers was challenging in these early stages.

Since the system didn't use bots to fill in matchmaking gaps, every match was against real players. Low-tier matches were easier, but high-tier ones became increasingly challenging.

At Gold Tier 3, players were already climbing the global leaderboard, visible to players worldwide.

"Sigh, never mind. I'll solo queue for now. You guys play some heist missions. I'll rank up quickly and join you soon," Han Yu said.

For Han Yu, ranking up was easy. A veteran player with exceptional shooting skills, he outperformed 99% of the player base.

However, his proficiency in lower ranks drew complaints from opponents:

"Why isn't someone like you playing in higher tiers instead of bullying newbies?"

"Must be nice to ruin everyone else's game for your own fun."

"Why do people like you exist in online games?"

This mode allowed players to hide their usernames, displaying only their assigned color. Unbeknownst to them, the player they were trash-talking was none other than Joker, the elusive player everyone had been searching for in the global chat.

Their insults made Han Yu chuckle. After a brief pause, he typed back:

"I'm solo-queuing. Want me to carry you?"

Suddenly, the tone changed:

"Big Boss, what's your name?"

"Do you need a top-up for your internet bill? I can send you some cash!"

"Boss, have you eaten yet? Should I order you some food?"

Han Yu laughed at their drastic shift in attitude. It was clear they were passionate about the game—enough to insult over losses and humble themselves the moment help was offered.

"People will do anything to climb ranks," Han Yu muttered with a shake of his head.

He created a party and invited them to join. Having teammates who followed orders made winning easier; otherwise, one stray bullet could cost him the game.

His new teammates were eager, vowing to follow every instruction.

By the end of the session, their match history was a flawless streak of green victories—no red losses in sight.

The players Han Yu carried were completely stunned by his skill. Although he reminded them it was a team game and better cooperation would yield faster victories, in reality, they were nothing more than meat shields.

Every time they hesitated, they lost. Their screens would fade to gray as they watched Han Yu single-handedly dominate the battlefield.

In a series of twelve matches with five players per team, Han Yu alone secured over fifty kills. One of his teammates timidly asked, "Boss, you're not using cheats, are you?"

The others silently shared the same suspicion. GTA's anti-cheat system was notoriously strict—any detected cheater would have their account and IP permanently banned, making it impossible to play even on a new account.

After several players were banned early on, cheating in the game became nearly nonexistent. Many internet cafés even advertised their ability to run GTA flawlessly as a selling point.

The game's popularity had turned internet cafés into bustling hubs, with owners thrilled at the nonstop business. Café managers were so strict about cheating that they would immediately expel and blacklist anyone caught using hacks, further solidifying GTA's dominance in the gaming world.

Han Yu chuckled and replied, "No cheats. With opponents like this, using hacks would just be a waste of effort."

"As expected of the Boss! Straight to the point. Guess I'll relax and let you carry me."

"Boss, are you hungry? Should I order you some food so you don't starve?"

When Han Yu's teammates realized he was a true gaming expert, they felt reassured and continued to rely on him. Every now and then, they would check in to ask if he was hungry or thirsty, offering to order him takeout if needed.

With his skill, they ranked up rapidly. Once Han Yu reached the gold tier where Ultron and the others were waiting, he left the solo queue to join their team.

The players he had carried felt a little down.

"Well, it's fine. Let's just play on our own. Getting to this rank is already something to brag about," one of them said.

They queued for another match but quickly noticed something unusual. On the opposing team, there was a sniper player who was incredibly aggressive.

What should have been a defensive sniper role was being played like a frontal assault. The sniper charged straight down the middle lane, taking out every enemy in sight with pinpoint accuracy.

"Holy crap, the boss is on the other team!"

One of them exclaimed in shock. They recognized the playstyle instantly. This was exactly how Han Yu played—rushing with a sniper rifle and hitting every shot. There was no one else they'd seen who could play like this.

"Boss, is that you?" someone typed in chat.

Shortly after, the opposing player responded:

"Hehehe, hello there. Looks like we're opponents this time."

When they saw the message, it felt like a herd of wild horses trampled through their hearts. The sniper on the other team really was Han Yu. What was the point of even playing now? Who could beat him?

"Let's just quit the match," someone suggested.

"Quit? No way! He's skilled, not a cheater. As long as he's not cheating, we still have a chance to win!" another replied.

On Han Yu's side, Ultron remarked, "Boss, their playstyle suddenly got aggressive. They're not giving up."

Han Yu chuckled. "That's the beauty of competitive games. Even when the odds are against you, you push through. Don't tease them—show them what you've got."

Hearing this, both Ultron and Quicksilver stopped slacking off and got serious. The best way to respect an opponent was to give it their all.

But when Han Yu's team gave it their all, it was overwhelming. They became an unstoppable force, landing headshots as soon as enemies appeared. If Han Yu's team wasn't so familiar with his playstyle, even they might have thought he was cheating.

The match ended with Han Yu's side dominating completely. Han Yu's four-man squad, along with one random teammate, was so terrifyingly effective that the random player was left in awe.

"Are my teammates even human?" the random player thought, completely stunned by their performance.

After that match, Ultron and his team couldn't find opponents anymore. At their rank, they were at the very top, and queue times stretched to nearly ten minutes per match.

"Looks like that's it for today. Let's take a break and wait for more players to climb to this level," Han Yu said with a helpless smile. For the first time, he wasn't logging off because of defeat but because there were no opponents left.

"I'm not staying up all night with you guys. I'm going to get my beauty sleep," Wanda announced, shutting down her system early. Despite having a superhuman body enhanced by the serum derived from Captain America's blood, her habit of going to bed early hadn't changed.

Han Yu followed her lead and turned off his computer.

"Boss, where are you going?" Ultron asked, confused.

"To sleep. Unlike you lonely single dogs, I have better things to do," Han Yu replied.

Ultron and Quicksilver exchanged bewildered looks, their expressions full of disbelief.

"I'm single, and I'm proud. What's wrong with that?"

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