The sound of Victoria’s heels clicking on the floor had just disappeared when one of the NPCs broke the silence.

"What the hell?" he blurted out.

Mac whirled around so fast he almost tripped over his own feet, glaring at Drex like he wanted to strangle him right there.

"You happy now? You actually did it, you fucking moron!"

And just like that, panic became the main character. The guys started yelling over each other, voices rough like they’d been gargling rocks. A few of them turned toward Nash, eyes burning like they wanted to set him on fire.

"This is your fault!" one of the NPCs growled, jabbing a finger at Nash. "You pushed him until he snapped!"

Jaz stepped forward without hesitation.

"His... his fault?" she said, rubbing her arm. "Drex is the one who quit. He said it himself. Don’t put this on Nash..."

Alicia crossed her arms beside her.

"Exactly. He made his own choice. Don’t try to blame Nash just because you’re stupid."

The guys’ faces darkened like storm clouds.

Nia tilted her head, smirking in that way that always made people want to punch her.

"Funny how you only get mad at Nash when this guy blamed you for being useless."

And that was it, that set everything off.

"Oh, of course you’re defending him!" Mac shouted, waving his hands between Nash and the girls like he was swatting flies. "He’s the only reason you three even get to play! You’re just protecting the guy who screws you every night, so he’ll keep covering for you!"

The words landed perfectly, igniting the rest of the fuel. Jaz stepped even closer to Nash, so close she was almost chest-to-chest with Mac now... or rather chest to head.

"Could you stop this? This isn’t the time for..."

Before she could continue, Nia slid up beside her and placed a firm hand on Jaz’s shoulder, squeezing gently.

"You’re cute, Jaz," Nia said. "But these moments need smoke." She turned her gaze toward Mac, eyes narrowing like a cat.

"Nash is the only reason we play? And what other choice do we have here? Please, don’t overestimate your social value. We’ve just whipped the floor with your sorry asses, even when you forced Nash not to play. You’re so lame, you always try to get seduced, but no one wants to bother seducing your dusty, big-headed, fucked-up looking ass horse-face, even the cheapest hoes in the Red Zone wouldn’t want you."

A collective gasp rolled through the court. Even Nash’s eyebrows raised so high they nearly disappeared into his hairline. Alicia’s mouth fell open.

"Wow, Nia?!" she whispered, half-shocked, half-admiring.

The boys froze like statues, completely speechless.

Mac made this weird sound, like a high-pitched squeak, the kind a dying mouse might make if you stepped on it.

Jaz slapped a hand over her mouth, shoulders shaking as she tried not to laugh. The other girls weren’t doing much better. Aiko turned away, her whole body trembling, while Alicia bit her lip so hard it looked like it might bleed.

This was supposed to be a serious, tense moment, but Nia’s brutal roast had completely wrecked the mood.

"And of course you bitches think this is funny!" Mac exploded.

Then, one of the NPCs lost it. A muffled snort slipped out as he tried to cover his mouth.

Mac spun around instantly, eyes wild.

"Fuck you!"

The NPC looked away, but his shoulders kept betraying him, twitching. Another NPC stepped in nervously, raising his hands like he was trying to calm down a rabid dog. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"Mac, chill, man, come on..."

"I see your stupid ass shaking too, you bastard!" Mac snarled.

The only one who couldn’t react was the one who had lost everything that day. Drex stood in the middle, shaking like a leaf in a storm. Finally, his eyes locked onto Nash, voice trembling with rage or close to desperation.

"Are you happy now?" he spat. "Is this what you wanted? You finally got rid of me. You win, Blaze. Congrats."

"Happy?" Nash raised his eyebrows. "You quit the team, and now you’re whining that it’s my fault?" He tilted his head slightly, eyes narrowing. "You did this to yourself. Don’t stand there blaming people like a little bitch who can’t handle his own mess."

Drex’s eyes went wide.

"W-what...?"

For a split second, he looked completely stunned, mouth hanging open like a fish out of water. Maybe he expected a little apology? Some compassion? But what he found was complete indifference to his fate.

Then his face twisted into something ugly. His arms shook as he clenched his fists, teeth grinding.

Nash’s words were hard, horrible. He wanted to scream, to deny it, to swing... but he couldn’t. Because deep down, he knew Nash was right.

Nash wasn’t even looking at him anymore. His gaze was fixed on the empty hallway where Victoria had disappeared.

After a long pause, he slowly raised an eyebrow and glanced back at Drex.

"If you’re not sure of yourself," he said, "why the hell did you even start something in the first place?"

He turned away, like this whole thing wasn’t worth another second of his time.

"You’re a three-point monster, right?" Nash added without looking back. "That’s already better than most people scraping by down here. Hope it helps you."

Then he walked off toward the corridor, back straight, steps unhurried.

Everyone watched him go.

Mac grabbed Drex’s arm, yanking him around like a ragdoll.

"Are you stupid?!" he hissed. "What the hell is wrong with you, man? You just screwed up everything!"

Drex ripped his arm free, but he had nothing to say. His mouth opened and closed uselessly, eyes glazed over, already sinking in like quicksand.

Nash walked down the hallway, slow, like he had nowhere to be.

The mess he’d just left behind on the court? Already fading, like a bad dream. Honestly, it went way differently than he thought it would, but hey, it worked out fine.

Better than fine, actually. The team split right down the middle, clear as day. On one side stood the girls accompanying him, already stronger, itching to wreak havoc, and now, thanks to his passives, capable of demolishing any team.

And on the other? Those who radiated that heavy, dark energy.

Was it fun being the guy who lit the fuse? No, not really. But being closer to the team he actually wanted? Yeah, that was worth it.

Now, though... Now the real problem was Victoria.

Nash stopped outside her office. The door looked normal, but man, it felt like standing in front of a dragon’s cave. He inhaled deeply, then let it out.

Time to see if the game had really changed. 50% chance of cooperation; please don’t fail me now.

His hand wrapped around the doorknob, turned it, and he stepped inside.

The room wasn’t bright. Just one desk lamp and the weird blue light from her computer screen. Victoria sat behind her big black desk, one leg crossed over the other, her gold fingers pressed together under her chin.

Dahlia stood next to her, stiff as a board, holding her notebook against her chest like it could protect her. Her eyes darted between them, nervous.

Nobody said anything.

The silence stretched. It wasn’t just quiet, it was the kind of quiet where you could hear someone breathing too loudly. Nash could feel Victoria watching him, judging every tiny move he made.

He walked forward slowly until he stood right in front of her desk. Didn’t look away.

Victoria leaned back in her chair, that expensive leather one, and it made this little creak.

"I’m glad the weed is gone," she said. "It was getting messy. Loud. Emotional. A total liability. The kind of liability that makes a perfect sacrifice. You got rid of him pretty clean today."

Nash tilted his head just a little.

"Clean? He kind of got rid of himself."

A tiny smile touched her lips, not a nice one.

"Did he? Or did you make sure he had no choice but to leave?" She tapped one gold finger against her cheek. "I wouldn’t be surprised. You’re getting good at forcing people’s hands, Blaze. First, getting the girls on your side, then getting rid of the boys? And since I’ve refused your little scheme with Baby-Boom, you threw one of them into the middle of my team today. Made it so that having them would help me more than rejecting the idea. And with the weed leaving the team, I will really need new pawns. Clever boy."

Nash shrugged.

"I didn’t plan to trap you. I wanted them on the team because they’re good. They fit. And they get really well with our girls." He paused. "But yeah. It worked just as I wanted. Sometimes you gotta push."

Victoria’s smile got bigger.

"I see I’ve underestimated you. You know your subject, that’s how things work down here," she said. "You don’t ask. You don’t force. You make it so saying no hurts more than saying yes. You picked that up faster than most." She studied him. "But there’s another rule. You see, in movies, did you ever notice how the idiot always lasts the longest? While the main cast, with all those heroes, put their lives on the line and make sacrifices, there’s always that idiot, the public favorite, who keeps making mistakes, annoying calls, but just because he’s that stupid, he will last longer than many. Did you ever wonder why?"

She leaned forward just a little, her gold fingers glinting under the lamp.

"The idiot is not important in the red thread, so the red thread ignores him. The thing is... death is part of the red thread, so by being out of it, the idiot survives. Do you think a murderer would suspect an idiot of having found his identity? Why bother silencing him? This is why it’s really important to learn how to be an idiot in this life. And you... You played that part perfectly with me, Nash. For so long. The cocky, selfish brat who only cared about power and getting laid. You acted so well that even I started to believe it. You made sure everyone saw it, including me." Her voice dropped. "Now here you are, dropping the act, bringing me problems I never asked for." She tilted her head. "So tell me, Blaze. What do you actually want?"

Nash didn’t blink. Here was finally the main event, the culmination of everything he had set for so long.

What did he want? Knowing Victoria’s secret? Her real situation? Why was the Quest about helping her? There were so many questions, but with him knowing her and not knowing her trigger, it was too easy to tickle the wrong button.

One wrong word, and he would fail again. But then, he thought about something, one little piece of information that would mean to her that he knows maybe too much, or at least enough to be taken seriously.

He stepped right up to her desk, put both hands flat on it, and leaned in.

"I want to know everything about Harlan Reiss," he said. "And I want to know what’s really going on between you and Apex Record."