Based on the timeline from her previous life, Martin Studios was in the process of developing an open-world adventure game called Calad Prime, actively seeking investors.
Aubree mused, "Martin Studios already has a full team in place, and poaching their talent like we did with Randall probably isn't an option. But wouldn’t taking an equity stake still mean serious profits?"
Aubree didn’t dwell on this. After consulting with Vincent and the board, they decided to invest in Martin Studios, acquiring a 30% stake in the company. She kept 15% for herself and allocated the rest to others.
Not only that, drawing on her past life insights, Aubree practically poured all her liquid assets into these ventures. "Once they take off, the returns will be staggering," Aubree thought.
While Aubree was thriving, Carmen was on edge.
Last time, Carmen, swayed by Killian’s words, released those recordings, hoping to get to Aubree, or, ideally, even bring down her God’s Fury dub. Little did she expect that, in the end, all the fallout would land squarely on Emery.
Apex Squad got rocked by a massive match-fixing scandal, and their losing streak at the year-end tournament was downright embarrassing. Not only did they fail to reach the finals, but they got eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. It was total humiliation.
As the owner and a key figure in the match-fixing scandal, Emery faced relentless verbal abuse from Apex Squad’s pro gamers.
After his conversation with Ronald, Emery posted a public statement on Twitter announcing that he would be stepping down from Apex Squad, with new management taking over.
What made Carmen even more anxious was that her father had already given her a stern warning. He knew she was the one behind leaking the recording involving the Apex Squad players.
Her status as an adopted daughter left her unsettled.
"No blood relation," Carmen thought. "That means I could be cast aside at any moment."
The worst part is, the one thing I used to be most proud of, the Wilson family’s favor, isn’t what it used to be. Emery turned against the whole family for Aubree. What hope do I, a mere adopted daughter, have? Bryan may not have gone that far, but in his eyes, I’m nothing special. No, worse than that, I’m someone he’d willingly sacrifice if it meant protecting Aubree.
Dad has seen Aubree’s worth now. I bet his once-beloved adopted daughter must pale in comparison to someone who can take the Wilson family to new heights.
Right now, only Daxton and Mom are wholeheartedly on my side. As for Trevor, I could never figure him out. He seems to dote on me, but in truth, it’s only because he loathes Aubree.
"If push comes to shove, Trevor wouldn’t hesitate to throw me under the bus. That man only ever looks out for himself, always has, always will."
Recently, Carmen heard that Aubree secured investment from the Matthews family in Odionland. She recognized the family’s name. Now, Aubree’s net worth had skyrocketed to billions of dollars, which was a fact Carmen couldn’t stomach.
Alone in her room, Carmen glared at her smartphone, seething with rage as news reports lavishing praise on Aubree flooded her screen. "How can everyone be so obsessed with her? It is so unfair!" she turned, abruptly clenching her fists so tightly that her nails dug deep into her palms.
"Live streaming can be profitable," Carmen muttered, "but with no relevant laws to regulate it yet, it’s practically a gray area. Where there are no rules, things get messy. There’s no way Aubree can keep her record spotless forever."
Carmen’s eyes darkened with malice as she plotted to hire someone to dig up dirt on Aubree and Bree Technology. "As long as I can find even a single mistake," she thought viciously, "with Aubree under public scrutiny, even the smallest flaw will be magnified into an unforgivable sin."
"Not only that," Carmen muttered darkly, "with so many powerful backers supporting Aubree now, minor setbacks won’t shake Bree Technology’s foundation for the time being. And if real trouble comes, Dad will step in. He’d never just let Bree Technology collapse."
She couldn’t help but think indignantly, "How could Aubree possibly outshine me? I’m the Wilson family’s meticulously groomed young miss. They’ve put all their heart and soul into me. How could some orphanage bumpkin like Aubree ever hope to compare?"
Carmen gritted her teeth. "I’m gonna outshine Aubree!" she thought. "If Aubree can build a live streaming platform, then so can I! What is live streaming about monetizing traffic in the end? With Wilson Group backing me, developing something better than Playry should be a piece of cake."
Now, everyone was rushing to copy Playry, and the live streaming formula was common knowledge.
Carmen scoffed, "Aubree’s whole streaming platform is just riding on its top streamers to carry the entire operation. How naive! Only competition and pressure drive real progress. You’ll see, Aubree!"
She schemed, "I’ve got everything worked out. Now, all that’s missing is funding. Of course, I don’t have enough cash on hand for this, but I’m sure Daxton will back me up."