Chapter
She knew the of four against five were slimâand one against nine was downright Sisyphean
In the lower leagues a miracle might occur, but this was the big leaguesâthe domain of champions. Here, every opponent was a gladiator, and Cordelia, despite her skills, was hopelessly outnumbered.
The match ended, and Cordelia paused, her heart pounding, before queuing up for another round. She was met again with targeted hostility, but this time, one of her teammates couldnât stand by and watch the bullying. They fought valiantly, yet even their two against five was futile.
Cordelia wasnât playing for fun; she was playing for glory. Her , once a dazzling 18 stars, had now plummeted to 16 following her defeats. Frustration seethed within her.
She queued again, her resolve unwavering, only to be singled out once more. Insults peppered the game chat as the match concluded:
âShameless bitch, did you seduce the Jungler to boost your rank?â
âYou donât belong in this game.
âEasy money!â
Cordelia brushed off the vitriol, though another star slipped from her grasp. But she refused to concede.
As she entered the next round, was instantly recognized. A voice cut through the gameâs voice chat, dripping with sarcasm, âHey, lady, Sweetheart paid us with a hundred bucks each, how about you double it? Then maybe weâll stop targeting you!
Another chimed in with mock sympathy, âSweetheart pays off both enemy teams and your teammatesâ900 bucks just to tank a match! Who can compete with that kind of cash? And that Learner, I bet they havenât spent a dime on the game. Not everyoneâs rolling in it like Sweetheart, who rakes in thousands each month on streams. And her boyfriend, the Jungler? Heâs on another levelâearning millions!â
Cordeliaâs brow furrowed. Since when did gaming become a contest of wealth?
The game ended predictablyâwith another loss. But Cordelia played on, determined. Even when her teammates gave up, she fought on. One match, as she cleverly attempted to push a tower, a teammate exposed her strategy, ensuring yet another defeat.
After a string of losses, Cordeliaâs phone hit the table with a thud.
Merry had been watching since the fifth match. She tuned into Sweetheartâs stream just in time to catch an earful, âLia, this girl is outrageous! I reported her, but the platform is doing nothing. Sheâs using you to boost her stream popularity, and now her channel is blowing up!â
Merry ranted about Sweetheartâs artificial stream appearance and her blatant , accusing Cordelia of being a homewrecker despite having parted ways with Jungler long before.
Cordelia sighed. It was just a game, but now it was personal.
Sweetheart continued her on stream, sharing Cordeliaâs contact info to her audience and painting her as a deceitful backstabber who had used Jungler to climb the rank
Cordeliaâs phone nearly crashed under the barrage of hateful messages.
[Get lost, bitch!]
[How much for a night, whore
Iâm going to kill you in this game]
Chapter 185
A series of harsh words made Cordelia furrow her brows.
Merry was livid, accusing Sweetheart of doxxing and demanding action.
Cordelia took a deep breath and messaged Jungler, âCan you keep your girlfriend in line?â
Jungler replied, âEvery time I try to speak up for you, she flips out. How about this, Iâll get you a new account.
you stop using your old one?â
Cordelia frowned. She hadnât done anything wrong to deserve this. Why should she be the one to back down? She texted Jungler back, âIf you donât control her, donât blame me for taking action.â
Jungler replied, âWhat are you planning to do? Donât do anything drastic. What if you just step back? Iâl compensate you.â
Cordelia didnât reply. Initially, out of affection for Jungler as a gaming friend, she planned to step back. As long as Jungler kept his girlfriend in line and avoided any further trouble, the five lost games wouldnât
matter.
But nowâ¦
Cordeliaâs expression turned icy, a serious glint appearing in her normally indifferent eyes. Without hesitation, she located the friend request from Sweetheart and accepted it.
In her live streaming room, Sweetheart spoke up, âWow, finally got a bite! She accepted my friend request. Is this some kind of apology? Psh, let me tell you guys, her username is âLearnLover, and her profile pic is a math test â sheâs masquerading as a student, deceiving Jungler to boost her rank. Such people are just repulsive! Even if she apologizes, Iâm not letting her off the hook. She can kiss her account goodbye; I wonât let her get away with this!â
As soon as Sweetheart finished ranting, Cordeliaâs prepared message was sent.
Chapter 186