Chapter 105

Alaric felt his mind had been put through a blender. All those secret strategies—Lemira's brainchild. He hadn't taken them seriously before, but with the finals looming and no suitable gunner in sight, he'd decided to try Lemira's suggestions to avoid mistakes.

Staring at the computer screen in disbelief, he couldn't believe SweetLemon was Lemira. His character bolted from the room, shouting, "Who are you, really?" He'd been in denial, but now he had to face the truth. Why had Lemira hidden her identity, played him for a fool, and refused to rejoin his team?

Lemira dodged Alaric's confrontation. "Better save those moves," she said, "they won't work on me!"

"Lemira, is that you? Answer me!"

Her response was cool. "I told you before, your moves are full of defects, and it seems nothing's changed." With that, Lemira's character launched into a counterattack, leaving Alaric defeated and collapsing on the ground. Lemira had won, advancing to the top 90! The chat exploded with excitement.

“[Wow, Ms. Lemon, you just took down a pro!]” “[Sure, the SkyBlaze captain might be a bit of a jerk, but he’s got skills. Can’t believe you beat him, goddess!]”

Footage of their match spread like wildfire across gaming forums. Evelina, who had been playing the sympathy card and bad-mouthing SweetLemon on her stream to gain followers, was shocked by the news of Alaric's defeat. "Impossible! How could Alaric lose?"

Evelina ended her stream and sought out Alaric. "Where's Alaric?" she asked.

"Right after the match, he wandered off and didn't talk to anyone."

Evelina stomped her foot in frustration. How could he lose? Such embarrassment!

After the match, Lemira broke down the gameplay, pinpointing Alaric's weaknesses and strategic flaws stemming from his personality—flaws she had always pointed out to him, but he'd never listened. Lemira signed off after her analysis. Checking her phone, she found a message from Lucian: “[SweetLemon, that's you, isn't it?]” She pondered before replying: “[Does it matter if it's me?]”

Lucian replied with a weary smile: “[It’s not what you think. Streaming isn’t easy; it’s a mixed bag. It’s tough out there for a young woman.]”

“[I know.]”

“[If you insist on streaming, I’d recommend signing with Alaric’s company. If you’re seen as family, he’ll look out for you.]” Lemira found the idea amusing. Alaric looking out for her? She had escaped the Langston family's clutches; why would she put herself under anyone's thumb again?

She ignored the message. Soon, another arrived: “[Lemmy, you can join any group. But I ask only one thing, stay away from the Reapers.]”

Lemira scoffed. “[Which team I join is my choice.]”

“[I know, but anywhere but the Reapers. Otherwise, Alaric wouldn’t handle it.]”

Lemira knew of the feud. The Reapers' captain, Matthew, was Alaric's nemesis. But her team choices were none of the Langstons' business. She left the message unanswered.

Meanwhile, Evelina's stream had twisted the narrative, accusing Lemira of disloyalty for switching to PixelStage, sparking online debates among anti-fans. Lemira paid it little mind. Then, the head of PixelStage called: “Ms. Lemon, have you made up your mind? We can negotiate any terms.”

11:51

“I’ll have to start school in two months and can’t commit to a fixed daily streaming schedule.”

“That’s easy, we can adjust your contract to weekends only, no requests for weekdays. How does that sound?”

Lemira was surprised by the flexibility. “I’ll think it over,” she replied.