"The announcer is back on stage.” Just as the audience was buzzing with spection, someone shouted out.


    Instantly, all eyes turned to the stage, a mix of tension and anticipation in the air. Forfeit or continue they would soon have their answer.


    “Neverfall Navigators has decided to use their substitution," the announcer''s voice boomed through the arena. “The yer from position 3 will be reced by a new team member."


    A new team member? The announcement surprised not only the audience but also the yers from Digital Sabers. Neverfall Navigators had a tiny roster. Weren''t their two designated substitutes being maliciously detained by the Batonian authorities? Could it be one of the team''s rookies?


    A rookie wouldn''t be much help; they''d probably just mess up the team''s rhythm. What was Neverfall Navigators thinking?


    "A desperate,st-ditch effort," a yer from Digital Sabers sneered, clearly unconcerned by the substitution.


    The crowd below seemed to agree. There was no major shift in the downcast mood.


    "Hasn''t Junipere back yet?" Qadir looked around but couldn''t see her, wondering aloud, “Did the match upset her so much that she ran off to the bathroom to cry?"


    They all knew how much Juniper loved this game.


    "I''ll gofort her." Qadir pulled out his phone, opened WhatsApp, and started


    typing a message to Juniper, mustering all theforting words he knew.


    Before he could finish, a wave of gasps and shouts erupted from the crowd.


    "Whoa-"


    Qadir was too busy typing to look up at the stage.


    "Whoa-"


    It wasn''t until he heard Queenie, Dolce, and Hattie all gasp in unison that he finally raised his head, curious.


    "Holy crap!"


    When he saw the new yer for Neverfall Navigators, Qadir''s jaw dropped, and the phone in his hand ttered to the floor.


    How could the new yer be Juniper?


    "Queenie, pinch me," Qadir said to Queenie, still in a daze. "This feels too surreal. I must be dreaming."


    “Okay.” Queenie rolled up her sleeves and gave his arm a sharp, vicious pinch.


    "Ow!" Qadir yelped, clutching his arm and wincing in pain. It was real. As real as it gets. Juniper had somehow be a professional gamer?


    Meanwhile, in the tumultuous audience, Miranda dramatically ripped off her sunsses, raised a pair of binocrs to her eyes, and eximed, floney, it really is Juniper!"


    "Yes," Hayden said, quickly using a jacket to shield her face. "It really is."


    “But she''s not a member of Neverfall Navigators," Miranda said with a frown,pletely baffled. "I know their entire roster."


    "Maybe they were out of time and just grabbed someone at random to be a substitute?” Hayden offered casually.


    "Impossible." Miranda kept the binocrs trained on the stage, muttering as she watched With Demon gone, Neverfall Navigators would never do something that ridiculous."


    “Maybe Juniper is just that good," Miranda guessed, feeling an inexplicable fondness for the girl.


    ...


    At Schwartz Group Headquarters, CEO''s Office.


    “Sir, Demon has agreed to y," Felton reported respectfully. “He requested ten


    times the prize money, which we agreed to.”


    "Please wee Neverfall Navigators back to the stage!"


    Just as Felton finished speaking, the announcer''s voice came through therge screen.


    Could the new yer be Demon?


    Shanley sat on the sofa, his long legs crossed, elegantly holding a cup of coffee. His


    deep eyes were fixed on the screen.


    A few secondster, the broadcast


    camera focused on Neverfall Navigators. The captain and the other


    er veteran yers walked out one by one. But when he saw the person following behind them...


    "Crash!"


    Shanley''s hand trembled violently. The coffee cup slipped from his grasp and shattered on the marble table.


    Juniper? What was she doing there?