The competition soon resumed, and the teams switched sides in the arena.As Flashfocus won the first round, they had an advantage. Everyone could see the frown on Blue Mushroom's face when the camera panned to him. It was because he had insulted the other teams on Twitter before the competition started. That was why many people shouted when the cameras focused on him.There were still many fans cheering for him. Numerous fans were seen waving his team's flag when the camera focused on the auditorium. Needless to say, there was a significant difference between watching the competition in person and through the live broadcast. The cheers made it clear to Rebecca why armies let out war cries before rushing into battle. Those cheers could make one's blood rush with motivation.It was a pity that Rebecca wasn't one to get influenced by her environment. Not to mention, the main focus was on Blindstrike now, so it was unnecessary to get excited over them. Rebecca wouldn't have minded
Caleb cocked a brow. "How would you know if you haven't even told me?"Rebecca leaned against the chair and looked up at the post-match scores on the big screen. She didn't know much about the gaming industry. Yet, she could still tell how talented SUN was from her scores. SUN could ditch her team and shoot for the top with her incredibly superior scores. Rebecca felt sad when she thought about that and the information she found earlier.SUN was a player with outstanding skills and sharp senses. Yet, because she was a girl, she needed to stand out at the top for others to notice her. Only then could she secure a position in the starting lineup.Meanwhile, clubs preferred to sign random lazy men with average skills. That was indeed something to be sad about.As Rebecca stayed silent, Caleb grabbed their water and snacks without saying anything. He simultaneously said, "Some things are indeed upsetting. Still, we should trust the gaming industry's methods. Not every boss is willi
The competition resumed.At the moment, Flashfocus had the advantage of a higher score and had made enough points to advance to the next round. Blindstrike would automatically place third if they failed to score points this round and let Flashfocus win. They would return home and leave Flashfocus to compete against CalX in tomorrow's finals. That was why this round meant a lot to Blindstrike. They needed to win and couldn't afford to draw.If they won, they'd secure a chance at a fifth round. They'd have a chance of turning the tides if they also scored well in the fifth round. On the other hand, they'd lose if they lost or tied in this fourth round.That was why this round was crucial.The atmosphere in the arena grew tense. Fans for both teams became excited when the players returned to the stage. Both fanbases yelled at the top of their lungs, trying to outcheer the other team's fans and prove their Esports team was better.They even waved both team's flags, which made the
It was a fight to decide the winner, yet everyone in Blindstrike played conventional moves. They were in the fourth round. With every round advancement, the teams had to choose from fewer in-game characters during the pick-and-ban process. So, the teams had a balanced range of characters.It was normal for the teams to draw if they made no mistakes during the game.Still, Blindstrike couldn't afford to draw. What angered the fans more was that Blindstrike didn't put much effort into competing. The audience would understand it if a player sacrificed his teammates to win. After all, it was a cut-throat round. That way, the team would still feel proud for trying their best even if they lost.Yet, Blindstrike wasn't even fighting for a chance to win. They had given up entirely and accepted they'd lose. It felt like they were content enough with getting third place.Rebecca didn't need to check her phone to know the fan chat she joined was blowing up with angry texts. She clicked
Caleb smirked. "Do you really want to know?"Rebecca nodded like a chicken pecking the ground for food."If you want to know that badly, why don't you ask Alex about it instead? Let's see whether he's up to telling you. There's no use asking me since I'm not him. How would I know about his relationship status?" Caleb said in a measured tone while reversing the car and driving out of the parking lot.Rebecca's eager expression crumbled at once. She huffed lightly but didn't insist on knowing. She knew gossiping about Alex's love life behind his back was disrespectful. Not to mention, it was also rude to her favorite player.Still, she muttered a few complaints since Caleb had cruelly extinguished her excitement.Luckily, Rebecca was great at moving on. She wouldn't dwell on the issue as long as she occupied her attention with other things.She was exhausted. Yet, tomorrow's competition excited her so much that she couldn't sleep. Her mind raced with millions of thoughts.Likewise
Meanwhile, at Crechester, Rebecca and Caleb sat in the car for a while before eventually entering the hotel."Caleb’s team will be having dinner later at night. Do you want to join us, Becca?" Caleb asked when they entered the lift.She was shocked. She looked up from her phone at the person next to her and said, "Isn’t it already late?"It was already dark outside. The team usually had some random food as dinner inside the venue. Rebecca was just grateful that SUN had played a marvelous game and didn’t drag the game on for too long. If they had played all five matches and even gone into overtime, she wouldn't want to stay on even if she was a fan. Seeing that she wasn't interested, Caleb naturally didn't force her. He said, "If you're tired, you can just rest in the room. It doesn’t matter whether you join the dinner or not." Judging from the messages from Alex, it seemed that he didn't really want her to join the dinner either. Caleb must have felt the same as well. He
Rebecca not wanting to join the dinner was within Alex's expectations. Similar to Caleb, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Therefore, when he received the messages from both Caleb and Rebecca at almost the same time, he was relieved and turned to his team members and said, "Is everyone here? Let's go. I'll treat you tonight." Rebecca didn't come, and Caleb also declined the invitation. As long as all members of the club were here, they could go ahead. Most of the members of the team had seen Caleb and knew that the club had another owner who looked exactly like Alex. However, they have only met a few times, so they haven’t talked to each other much. Since Rebecca didn’t join, Caleb didn’t want to come either. So, it actually worked out just right. It would avoid a lot of trouble during dinner. It might be difficult to distinguish between Alex and Caleb.Alex was very satisfied with the current setup. "Captain, didn't you say your little sister will come along? Why do
"What I'm about to say is something I've mentioned to everyone in previous years as well. This year, I won't be playing as a team with all of you, but I hope you all remember why we train so hard. "As for the prize money, CalX would not take any commission. It will be distributed to everyone based on each person's contribution to the game, just like in previous years. The after-tax income will be shared among everyone. I hope you show your best and give it your all tomorrow." Unlike other leaders who liked to give long-winded speeches, Alex briefly stated the main purpose of this gathering, raised his glass, and cheered with everyone.Even though they were just drinking beverages, it didn't dampen the joy.All who were seated at the table were peers. Although Alex was the leader, he didn't act like one. They usually lived together, so even though there was a minor disagreement like just now, it was quickly resolved, and everyone was back to being friendly.This was why Alex and
Penny didn't have much free time over the past three years.As she had envisioned, during the first year, she honed her acting skills amidst criticism while also working as a translator.Later on, she felt that acting didn't hold much appeal anymore. Moreover, realizing that there weren't any roles left for her, she gradually gave up and moved toward working behind the scenes.She had some work during this period.It seemed that a daring reality show, not caring about potential risks, decided to capitalize on her controversial popularity and invited her to participate in one of their programs.The reason Penny agreed to participate was because the show's first season had a good reputation, and the payment offered was reasonable.Continuously doing translations could be quite tiring. After discussing with Cecilia and weighing the pros and cons, she eventually signed up for this TV show.Unfortunately, she had underestimated the darker side of human nature.The show's production
"Really?" Zane blurted out, staring incredulously at Sam, who nodded calmly. His unruly and carefree demeanor was restrained, and his composed attitude showed that he wasn't joking.Zane fell silent again, furrowing his brow as he intently observed Sam.It was as if he thought everything through in an instant, giving up without hesitation. He didn't even remind Zane of the request from years ago to take care of Penny. Instead, he said this would be the last time he would help out.Logically speaking, this should be a satisfactory outcome for Zane. After all, from any perspective, the Lowe family's scion would only be a burden to Sam.Looking again at Sam's attitude, it seemed he didn't want Penny to know he was the one quietly spending money to handle things behind the scenes.Since there was no plan to meet her, he didn't need to worry about anything after that. If that was the case, it would be better to just end it early.That way, if Sam saw Penny falling in love, getting mar
All those old scoundrels from the Lowe family undoubtedly ranked the highest. Then there was Jessica, the entertainment industry's national goddess, who also played a significant role.Besides them, there were a few minor celebrities who didn't really make the cut.However, as Sam's partner and someone who watched him grow up, Zane privately hoped Sam could find a better girl.So, he advised, "There are plenty of socialites in Riverwood, and Amdale has no shortage of beautiful young ladies, either, and Rookfort isn't much different."You and the Lowe family's daughter haven't even officially met…""Who said I haven't met her?" Sam interrupted him without a second thought.He had even seen her twice. How could Zane say they hadn't even met yet?The first time, she gave him all the money she had. The second time, he spoke up to help her get that role.After these interactions, they could be considered acquaintances.Zane choked up and couldn't find the words to refute.He was s
Because Penny declined his offer, Zane didn't insist. After a bit of small talk, he ended the call.He politely mentioned that if she needed any help, she could call this number again. If he could assist in any way, he certainly would.However, Zanw knew very well that, given Penny's temperament, she would rather give up what she had than actively seek help from a stranger.Yes, to Penny, Zane was just a stranger. He was a person she had met once but didn't really know.This time, Penny didn't respond as coldly as she did when she was 18. Instead, she exchanged a couple of polite pleasantries, mentioned that she would reach out if needed, and then hung up the phone.After that, she let out a long sigh of relief and lay on the lounge chair on the balcony, gazing at the view outside the window.There were fluffy white clouds in the azure sky and the greenery visible in the neighborhood. Sparrows were chirping persistently as they darted through the forest, and the cicadas loudly bu
Although the other person said only one word, Penny could still tell he didn't have any ill intentions.Because of that faint sense of familiarity, Penny didn't hang up the phone immediately. "Hello? May I ask what this is about?"The unfamiliar and distant tone probably made the man on the other end of the phone pause for a moment. It was only after a brief silence that he responded."Young lady, don't you remember me? It's Zane Moran."His voice carried a laugh, with a hint of teasing.Only then did Penny remember who he was, but she wasn't happy at all.Zane meant no harm when that incident happened back then. But despite that, over the years that had passed, he became one of the people and things Penny would rather not recall.Whether it was the exam she missed, the incident where Spencer took her to the hotel against her will, or Zane, who gave her 30 dollars for a taxi ride.She just wanted to hide all of them deep in her memories.The recent events had particularly made
"I'm fine. You all don't have to look so worried. You're making it seem as if something bad is going to happen to me."Penny looked at the two people at the door who were showing a range of expressions, feeling speechless.Cecilia was provoked by her words, and her eyes turned red."We're worried about you. You have no idea what you look like right now. You're almost like one of those disheartened protagonists in novels who hated the world."Penny clicked her tongue twice and said, "Aren't you exaggerating?"She didn't believe it. She was just worried about money. It wasn't like she had become disillusioned with life.Besides, she didn't dislike this world at all. On the contrary, she really liked it.Whenever Penny came across posts online suggesting that all humans should just die, she always felt like rolling her eyes. If they wanted to die, they shouldn't drag others with them.When searching for her own role in movies, TV dramas, and novels, Penny particularly preferred re
Penny's way of clarifying things was to simply tell the truth.Sometimes, trying to cover things up would just lead to needing 100 more lies to continue the cover-up. That would often end up making things worse and more ridiculous.It was better to tell the truth about the situation.To answer the question of why she lashed out at the Lowe family, she briefly explained her experiences over the years.Why didn't she attend the final paper of the college entrance examinations? She personally reopened that old wound.As for that man in the hotel, Penny didn't have much of an impression of him anymore. She only remembered not taking his business card and accepting 30 dollars from him.Why did she show up at that man's hotel room? She wrote it down truthfully—it was her father who personally took her and left her at the hotel, wanting to trade her like a commodity.Every single word was carefully considered and written by Penny.She didn't share much of these things with Cecilia. Th
Once the official statements were released, Penny's career being ruined became a certainty.The only surprising thing was probably that after the film crew issued their statement, the largest investor also requested to withdraw.The film crew was completely shocked, but there was nothing they could do. The scion was willing to lose money just to withdraw his investment, so what could they do?The amount of money in the compensation was nothing compared to the amount that the scion planned to invest. The production team would incur a significant loss.With one less investor, the project's status was essentially downgraded. They had much less room to manipulate their gains now, too.One would understand why the scion was doing this if they used their brain a little.However, the protests from the audience couldn't be ignored, and compared to the investors, it was clearly more important to keep the show going.After all, they could always attract more sponsors, even if the amount o
In addition to the widespread backlash caused by the phone recording, Penny's academic credentials were also scrutinized and exposed.Before the college entrance exam, she had always been the top student in her school and had never ranked anything else.However, in the college entrance exam, she barely passed the minimum mark for key institutions, far below her usual performance.Some people speculated that she had been cheating during regular exams and that her actual abilities were much worse.However, the exam results could be checked online, and the fact that Penny scored zero on the last exam was surprising.It was even more shocking that she was admitted to a top-tier university despite missing an exam. It was truly exceptional.But few people paid attention to this information.After all, the achievements attained through hard work couldn't be faked. Even if the results weren't as expected, it was undeniable that she was stronger than many others.Regarding this topic, t