?Chapter 466:


    No one was allowed to steal what he had marked as his prey.


    The afternoon sun beat down like a hammer, and the city simmered under its relentless gaze.


    Just moments earlier, the entire gaming world had erupted in a frenzy over a bombshell announcement. Ark Technology, a gaming branch under the Cooper Group, had officially dered that it would be hosting the offline tournament for Genius at Wront’s tech museum. To sweeten the pot, they had raised the prize money from a modest hundred thousand dors to a jaw-dropping one million.


    A million dors — ten times the original bounty!


    The news ignited gamers from every corner of the country. Downloads of the game skyrocketed, as if touched by lightning. Everyone and their neighbor rushed to register for thepetition. Game forums exploded with posts, and the game’s poprity surged like a river after the storm.


    The wave of interest grew so fast that organizers had to scramble and revise the tournament structure on the fly. An online preliminary round was added, narrowing the flood of participants. Only the top ten yers in each region would make it to the grand offline showdown.


    The buzz made its way even into the three sses of the elite preparatory program. Students who had never touched a game controller in their lives now found themselves feverishly downloading Genius.


    Ethan stood frozen, dumbfounded by the announcement. A million-dor prize? From gaming?


    He had never imagined that chasing pixels could fill a bank ount.


    If he could just win… he could finally give Maia a proper gift — and more than that, he could help lift the weight off her shoulders, maybe even ease the burden she quietly carried for their family.


    With this thought burning bright in his heart, Ethan vowed silently — he would win this championship, no matter what.


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    Elsewhere, Marisa had already caught wind of the news. With deliberate steps, she strolled up to Mnie andmented casually, “Well, who would’ve thought the Cooper Group had such deep pockets? A million dors. Might be worth giving it a try.”


    Mnie’s temper red like a match to dry leaves. She could see right through Marisa’s sweetened sarcasm.


    Grinding her teeth, Mnie hissed beneath her breath, “Delusional. As if you could actually win.”


    Thepetition was shaping up to be a battlefield, with elite yers pouring in from every direction. It wasn’t going to be a walk in the park.


    But for Mnie, money wasn’t the goal.


    All she wanted was to crush Marisa beneath her heel.


    Marisa gave a slow blink, pulled a lollipop from her mouth, and grinned. “I heard that, Mnie. Losing your nerve already? A true gamer doesn’t y just to y — they y to win. Better make sure you survive the preliminaries.”


    She turned on her heel, tossing a final remark over her shoulder like a dart. “Don’t disappoint me.”


    Mnie stood frozen, seething, her face twisted in silent fury. Marisa’s words cut like a knife, as they always did — sharp, smug, and impossible to ignore.


    Mnie had never hated anyone with such intensity.


    Now, there were two names etched into her wrath — Ethan and Marisa. Her fists clenched, and she made a silent vow. “Just wait. I’ll make you both regret ever crossing me.”


    The offline finals for Genius were just one day away. Both Marisa and Mnie had clinched their spots in the tournament.


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