Alfred figured they had better send the troublemaking Magnus off before thetter could cause more trouble.


    "I didn''t get to say goodbye to Noelle! I want to leave a good impression!"


    Cedric kicked him. "Now get lost!"


    "Missed me! You''re getting so worked up!" Magnus yelped. He clutched his backside and ran off with a grin.


    Cedric sighed helplessly.


    Alfred patted him on the shoulder. "Why is Magnus back? Oh right, the finals are being held at the city stadium this weekend."


    It was no wonder Magnus had returned.


    Noelle soon came out of the restroom. She spotted the two men waiting outside and asked, "Where''s Magnus?"


    Cedric''s eyelid twitched slightly at her mention of Magnus. "He had dinner ns with some friends."


    ''Oh, I see. I''m surprised you know someone this talented. Why didn''t you mention anything about him logging into your ount back then?"


    In the face of her questioning, Cedric felt like he was walking into an interrogation room. He feigned calmness and replied, "Talented? I don''t see it."


    His tone carried a hint of arrogance.


    Magnus was a rising star with great potential to join the national team. He was a talented yer with a strong family background and no obstacles in his way.


    Noelle met Cedric''s deep gaze. "Right. You''re pretty good at gaming too."


    Alfred quickly changed the subject. "Oh right. There''s an Al conference tomorrow afternoon, Nelly. Maple Enterprise received an invitation. You should join us; I just got the notice."


    "Sure, I''ll definitely be there."


    Cedric interjected, "I''ll take you home."


    "No need. I grabbed a cab earlier. It should be here now. See you tomorrow!"


    Cedric stood there and watched as Noelle got in the car and drove away.


    Alfred clicked his tongue and remarked, "Do you think Nelly suspects something?" Cedric stared at the cab that drove away. His face was partly obscured by the shadows, and his expression was unreadable.


    Back in the dorm, Noelley in bed and mulled over the situation with Magnus'' ount. Her thoughts were in a chaotic mess.


    Many gamers shared the same usernames in games. Perhaps that wasn''t the ount, and she''d just assumed it was.


    She barely slept that night, and her mind spun with unanswered questions.


    The next day, she arrived at the location Alfred mentioned with herptop. She was the technical lead on the Al project.


    Therge conference room was nearly empty when she got there early.


    After taking a seat, she turned on herptop and began preparing her materials. The confusion from pondering over the ountst night had dyed her progress and left her documentation iplete.


    "Why are you here alone, Noelle? Where''s the team from Maple Enterprise?"


    Noelle looked up to see Xenia entering the room. Her expression remained calm as she replied, "They''re not here yet. Did you bring what I asked for?"


    Xenia lowered her voice. "I''m still working on it. I''m joining the project today just to create an opportunity to ess the data you want."


    "You need to speed up. If I don''t get the data before the bidding, I''ll have no choice but to release the video."


    Xenia''s expression turned grim as Lucas entered the room. She tried to change the subject. "By the way, the finals are at the stadium this weekend. Are you going? Lucas has plenty of tickets!"


    Noelle noticed Lucas and yed along with her. "Of course, but I have tickets. The captain of Team Celestial reserved a VIP seat for me."


    "Are you seriously thinking about joining Team Celestial?"


    Lucas''s expression soured at the mention of his rival team. "That has nothing to do with you."


    When Noelle noticed the team from Maple Enterprise arriving, she got up and left the room.


    Lucas gritted his teeth and ran after her. "Noelle, we need to talk!"


    Xenia was about to leave too but paused when she noticed Noelle had left herptop on the table. The screen was still on.


    Her steps faltered briefly as she stared at theptop.


    Without a second thought, she plopped into Noelle''s seat and pulled out her phone. Then, she began taking pictures of Noelle''s files.


    "What are you doing?"


    Xenia froze and looked up to see Lucas. Fear washed over her and left her face ashen.