19 A Newbie?

One of the organizers looked at the participants while his index finger placed in between his lips. "Shhh... Please listen to big sister Fen." He stated and gestured to the lady behind him to step forward.

"Hello, everyone! To all participants for this competition, attention! Squad leaders, get your assigned booth numbers here," the lady staff whom was called big sister Fen enthusiastically announced to the participants. The smile in her face also reflected how much she looked forward on watching the participants play the game as well.

Every squad leader immediately formed a line and take turns to get a number.

"Please wear them anywhere that our fellow staff could see it easily." the smiling staff instructed each time she would provide an item to the squad leaders.

Upon receiving their numbers, all squad leaders were directly amazed. At first, they were expecting to receive the usual paper. That it would be in the form of a typical paper folded or placed in an envelope where their designated numbers would be written on it.

But, the staff actually gave them a cute object! If flipped on the backside, there was a bar pin attached on it. It did not take long for them to realized that the accessory was a brooch!

Their number was inscribed on a brooch with beautiful gaming calligraphy.

Most of them were instantly impressed by the amount of preparation that the organizers poured into the tournament. Normally, a district competition like this would only use a piece of paper with a written number. However, right now, the organizers had stepped up their level and paid much attention even to the tiny details!

At that moment, they could feel the dedication of the people behind the tournament!

On the top part of the brooch were tiny letters that state: 1st Online Tournament Squad Leader. Below this was the name of their squad. And then, written in bigger size font was the number of their booth.

Even Sofia who had experienced a sheer amount of sophistication in her past was impressed by the preparation! She could not help but admire this sophisticated idea!

She glanced at her brooch with a tiny yet warm smile on her face. Somehow, there was a glimmer of pride swelled up within her. This was the passion of the original Sofia. To play games and joined the pro-scene. To win and continue winning!

As for the 24-year old soul within her, her instinctive desire was obtaining profits.

Both their goals have blended perfectly into one: Sofia's first step of earning profits is by winning tournaments. But she knew that playing in the pro scene is but a fleeting career. When she gets older, she would be replaced by the younger generations. Yet, this fact did not make her worry. With her capability in business, everything would eventually fall into the right places.

She stared at the scribbled brooch for a while.

1st Online Tournament Squad Leader

The Chronos Squad

3

NO, in fact, it was not just Sofia. All of the squad leaders took a momentary time to pause and look at their brooches. With just this tiny object, it was already enough token to burst their self-esteem.

With the hundreds of participants in the game, the organizers were able to devise a strategy and assigned each participating squad in a match with a booth. Every booth was wide enough to accommodate eight squads. The arrangement of allocating participants to one booth was that all opponents for a single match would share the space.

As Sofia's squad was placed in 3rd booth, it also implied that they would be playing on the third round of the elimination match.

"Third match. Let's go!" Sofia said after she returned to her group. She also showed them the number.

"Awww, that is so cute! Are you going to wear it? Though, these accessories are kind of not modern." Claire pouted and quickly muttered her opinion after seeing the brooch.

"Hmmn, help me pin this on my left chest. It's not really outdated to wear a brooch. It feels kind of royalty. Hehe, Maybe we can also personalize a brooch for our squad," Sofia smiled. She used to own several brooches with unique designs when she was still a CEO. Wearing this kind of accessory was common in business meetings and attending galas.

"That is also a good idea. Some squad has personalized pendants and necklace. Others are bracelets or jackets. Ours could be a brooch!" Joey joined their conversation. The idea was sudden but when Joey heard Sofia said that wearing a brooch gives a royal feeling, he quickly agreed.

"This event has been well thought by the organizers." Stephen casually said while walking next to Joey.

"It is. Job well done to the organizers for their creativity!" Sofia easily replied a compliment and guided her group directly into the third booth.

One staff who happened to pass near their group quickly grinned after hearing her praise and recognition. Such simple appreciation could actually give bigger impact.

"You can actually recognize creativity? I thought your mind is only focused on your tank!" Claire playfully said while her eyes were still on the brooch that was pinned on Sofia's left chest.

Her remarks struck Sofia with a sudden realization. Yes, the old Sofia who had lost her soul would never think of complimenting a staff. The original Sofia would never pay attention to this kind of detail!

"Hahaha, sometimes there are DIY ads. It can't be helped. After seeing them so many times, I am probably influenced!" Sofia laughed and used an alibi. Fortunately, Claire did not think too much about her response also.

As they arrived inside the third booth, Joey was busy on his phone contacting Clark. He was the only member that had not arrived yet. But knowing him, they could already identify the reason behind it.

"This Clark is still asleep for sure! If he comes late, I will really strangle that kid!" Joey grumbled as few wrinkled lines were shown on his forehead.

"Why are you so anxious? We have time. It had just been 7 am. I'm sure his driver will bring him here on time." Stephen yawned and directly sat on one of the sofas.

"Ahh, you are right! Heh! Perhaps, I am just a bit nervous!" Joey scratched his head and also sat beside him.

"Haha, I am not nervous," Stephen smirked. Then, his eyes darted on the next booth, "Now, I see why you are nervous!" he teased.

Familiar faces were occupying the 2nd booth. Clark's brother, James and his other friends were there. Of course, Joey's ex was among them!

"Tsk!" Joey clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes. "Now, look at that. Clark's brother is here but Clark is not!" Joey continued to complain.

"Should we asked him if where his brother is?" Stephen continued to bother Joey.

"Should I tell this certain amazing girl that you have a crush on her?" Joey finally found a way to fight back Stephen. A glimmer of light sparked in his eyes that was enough to tell his friend that it was game on! Stephen slumped his shoulder in defeat.

"Now, you become silent? That's all you got, bro?" Joey joked. He could see the ears of Stephen turning red. It was enough to confirm everything.

"HAHAHA..." Stephen loudly laugh to mask his feelings and quickly stood from his seat. "Want me to get you dark coffee, Sof?" he moved towards Sofia who was also focused on her phone.

"No need, I ordered our breakfast online. Are you hungry? Just wait for about 15 minutes. It will be here soon." She looked up and met Stephen's gaze.

"Errr 15 minutes is fine." Stephen looked away and decided to go back to his seat.

Not long after, a huge number of people entered in the same booth as them.

Claire looked at Sofia intently as if she was using telepathy to relay her message on Sofia's head. But Sofia was not paying attention to the new arrivals. She was busy typing something on her phone.

After realizing that Sofia won't look in her direction, Claire took her phone and sent a message.

To: Sofia

You have predicted it correctly. We may really face 7 squads in one time. I'm kinda nervous!

Sofia did not make any movements other than typing on her phone. But Claire did receive a reply from her.

From: Sofia

Don't worry, Claire. It would still be fake alliances. Even if they agree not to attack themselves in the early minutes, the game rules will not change. These 7 squads, if they cast their skills, they won't have immunity from their other fake ally squads.

Claire took a deep breath. Somehow, she felt at ease, 'Sofia is right. They can join together to attack our squad but, the rules inside the game are still absolute. They have no protection against other squads.'

Stephen also stared at the group of people. There were exactly 35 of them! It was too easy to distinguish their numbers as every squad usually wore the same jacket. And that's exactly what the 7 squads did.

Stephen also wanted to speak to his group that Sofia was right. It may be more than just a coincidence that the 7 squads entered together.

But, he did not want to cause a fight. Even with his reputation, at least he felt like avoiding any conflict between players. They can fight inside the game but they could be friends outside. So, he decided to stay silent.

"Wow, this is so considerate of the organizers!" they heard a man exclaimed.

The booth was average but there were 8 mini sofas and tables on it. There is also a hot and cold vending machine for drinks on the corner which gave every squad the convenience they need while waiting for their turn to play.

With the arrival of the 7 squads, almost all of the 40-player map participants were already complete. Well, almost. Because up until that moment, even Clark's shadow had not yet shown up!

"Just the four of you?" one female eyed Stephen and asked. She completely ignored the identity of Sofia as the squad leader. Perhaps, an intentional action to create some psychological warfare to the Chronos squad members.

Stephen glanced at the female and saw a brooch on the hem of her jacket. It indicated that she was a squad leader.

Just as she expected Stephen to respond to her question, the boy turned his head and looked away. He completely ignored her!

Stephen was also smart to notice the girl's action. Since she was a squad leader, she should have known better. If she wanted to speak to her opponent, the professional thing to do was to approach their leader first rather than a member. Sofia was just sitting in front of her also!

"Are you a mute?" the female pressed further and urged Stephen for an answer. She crossed her arms on her chest and looked displeased for being ignored.

Out of a sudden, Sofia stood from the sofa and copied her action. She also crossed her arms on her chest and look at the female at the same eye level.

The air around them suddenly became tense! But most of the other squads feign ignorance of the brewing conflict. They just secretly observe the two out of the corner of their eyes.

As soon as the two squad leaders made eye contact, both of their faces revealed a challenging gaze but, Sofia's eyes showed nothing but a blank emotion, devoid of anything other than the look of a deep bottomless pit. It was the kind of expression that one could sense the darkness ready to engulfed its prey!

The female subconsciously rubbed her elbow. The sight of Sofia's eyes somehow made her felt uncomfortable.

"Do you need anything from my squad?" Sofia asked. Her tone was cautious yet it was laced with coldness causing the female to slightly move her high heels backward.

To mask her discomfort, the lady smirked and examined Sofia's outfit from head to toe. Her eyes traveled from Sofia's short hair to the casual blouse, unbranded skinny jeans, and cheap sandals.

"You are really a newbie." the female declared. But as she looked up, she found herself struggling to maintain composure. She could feel that the air became suffocating.

Sofia shrugged and smiled sweetly at her. The kind of sweet smile that the movies portrayed to be poisonous. Deadly.

In a very low tone, Sofia spoke her response that made the girl stood frozen.

"A newbie? Heh! We are the newbie that would bring home the victory." Sofia made sure that no one could hear what she just spoke other than the female before she casually returned to her seat.

Although she was not looking, she could tell the female meant to insult her position as the squad leader of the Chronos squad. Too bad for her, she had picked a wrong target.