After hanging up the phone, Alex turned to his former teammates with a smile. "I won't be able to have lunch with you guys. I need to pick up my little sister first. And going back and forth is too troublesome. You guys go ahead and have your meal. Remember to analyze the games in the afternoon.""Picking up your little sister? Are there still people who call their girlfriend that in such a cliché way in this day and age?" Before anyone from the CalX responded, a sarcastic remark came from behind.Alex followed the sound and met the gaze of none other than the person he had bumped into in the hotel corridor last night–BlueMushroom.The smile on Alex's face faded into a cold expression. Ignoring the meddling person, he nodded at his friends from the CalX. "I'll be taking my leave."The CalX members nodded and ignored BlueMushroom's comment. "See you tonight, Alex."Although they also wanted to meet Alex's sister, Alex had already made it clear that he found it troublesome to fetch
The semi-final matches started at 2 p.m. They began with the resurrection round, where the winner faced the team from the winner's bracket. The team that lost in the match against the winner's bracket would then play the winner of the resurrection round. The team that won this second match would advance to the finals against CalX tomorrow.In other words, one team from the afternoon's matches would have to play two consecutive games.Blue Mushroom's Blindstrike was the first to play. Their club ranked sixth in the points round this time, and they fought their way through the matches until today. With no chance for resurrection, they represented the disadvantage of having fewer points.However, just making it to this stage had already surprised many people. After all, the teams in the winner's bracket had an extra chance for resurrection, but they had nothing.If they managed to win these two matches today, Blindstrike would create an impressive story, which was a comeback from the
Rebecca chuckled at Alex's defeated expression before she elegantly continued with her meal. She refrained from bringing up the topic again. She only planned to playfully tease him. Naturally, she wouldn't press further and make things awkward.Alex also figured it out. The cheeky Rebecca would go to great lengths to gain an advantage even if she suffered a little setback. He reckoned that she still had the subway station incident from yesterday on her mind.Not wanting to continue the banter with her, Alex chuckled helplessly and continued to grill the meat for her.When they had eaten enough, Alex said to Rebecca, "Are you planning to go to the venue to watch the match in the afternoon, or do you want to go out for some fun?"Rebecca was almost full. But she was getting tired of the meat and decided to have some fruits provided by the restaurant instead. Hearing Alex's words, she looked up and asked, "You aren't staying with me this afternoon?"If they went out together, she wou
Unlike Alex's casualness, Caleb's actions and tone were much gentler in contrast. He gently patted Rebecca's head and lowered his gaze to look at Rebecca's surprised face. Amusement appeared in his eyes. "I saw your message online. Knowing that you and Alex are together, I thought I'd come and take a look. I've just finished my recent projects, and I can relax and have some fun.""What a coincidence!" Rebecca's eyes widened with excitement. She was thrilled and couldn't stop talking. She sneakily complained to Caleb, "Perfect! Alex said he had something to do this afternoon, so let's go have fun! You can even take his work ID. The security at the entrance won't be able to tell. Maybe some fans will even ask you for a photo and an autograph!"Rebecca found it amusing just by thinking about it.Caleb observed Rebecca's sparkling eyes. He whispered, "We'll see about that. But since we're impersonating Alex, we might need to go back to the hotel to change clothes. And Rebecca, please
Rebecca woke up half an hour later. After quickly putting on makeup and changing clothes, she sent a message to Caleb. Three minutes later, she appeared fully dressed with her bag and walked out of the hotel room.As soon as she raised her gaze, she froze in place.In front of her were clear eyes that were accompanied by a tall figure standing opposite her. However, his attire was quite flashy, yet it somehow complemented the handsome face.Rebecca was momentarily unsure whether the person in front of her was Alex, who was trying to act cool, or Caleb, who was trying to act wild.After a long while, she hesitated and approached him. She carefully tested the waters. "Cal ... Caleb?""What's wrong? You didn't recognize me?" Caleb smiled faintly as he looked down at Rebecca adoringly.Rebecca felt a bit embarrassed and awkwardly scratched her head. "It's not that, it's just that I was afraid ..."Caleb cocked an eyebrow.Rebecca quickly added, "It's because you took off your glass
The second half of the first match began, and new players entered the competition area. The crowd cheered loudly. The atmosphere in the competition area intensified.Unfortunately, the team facing Blindstrike wasn't in good shape. Despite their effort, their hard work didn't pay off as expected.They aimed for points, but a series of mistakes occurred. It was likely due to nerves or other factors, and not just because of one player. As anticipated, the match wrapped up quickly, with Blindstrike claiming a 3-0 victory.Rebecca didn't feel much about it. She was fairly new to watching these matches and wasn't deeply invested. Compared to yesterday's balanced play, this one seemed very one-sided.Blindstrike's fans might have enjoyed it, but for the other team's supporters, it felt quite unsatisfying and even disgusting.Seated among the opposing team's fans, she heard a lot of harsh words being thrown around. She could even faintly hear some crying without turning around. Was the ma
"Thanks, you two. Good luck with the competition tomorrow!" The pretty woman retracted her handheld tripod. Then, she shook hands with Caleb and Rebecca while thanking them. Then, she handed a fan-made postcard to Caleb and asked for his autograph.Several people lined up behind her then.Rebecca leaned in for a closer look when Caleb accepted the postcard. She glanced up to see Caleb staring down at her. She giggled and said, "Don't mind me. I'll just take a peek from here."Caleb didn't call her out. Instead, he lightly chuckled before signing the postcard. Naturally, Caleb didn't sign with Alex's name or his own. The autograph he left on the postcard was Alex's username, AlmightyAlex.He signed the initials with speed and familiarity. It was like he had lived through all the past competitions. Caleb acted like he was Alex and had experienced the latter's highs and lows.After signing several postcards, Caleb politely declined the other fans' autograph requests.The fans didn't
Alex and Caleb had a more successful start than most Esports athletes. At the very least, their parents didn't think being a professional gamer was a waste of time or an improper job. Their parents, Felicia and Dante, sometimes also joined the two in playing games.Still, Alex and Caleb were proud young men who refused to rely on their parents' help. So, they chose to start their careers from the ground up. They hid their real names and used the money from their part-time jobs to travel to a city with Esports clubs.There weren't any rules stating that teenagers couldn't compete in Esports back then. So, the rebellious Alex brought Caleb along as they signed up for training camp.Alex, the older brother, was overjoyed that he was selected to join a decently famous Esports club. He didn't even read the contract in detail before signing it. The brothers only learned the truth after getting fooled. It turned out that the club was an unrecognized one. The club's boss had paid money to