"Huh?"

The chat immediately exploded.

"Sober Tiger Big Shot, if we lose this round, we’re out of the tournament. What do you mean you’ll deal with it in the next round?"

"Boss, you’re joking, right?"

"Please tell me this is some kind of strategy."

Even Naomi was confused.

She stared at Luca’s message, trying to understand what he meant. Did he not know how the tournament’s elimination system worked?

Still, she didn’t question him.

Whatever decision Luca made, she trusted him completely.

Meanwhile, several viewers from KingLux’s stream had been lurking inside Naomi’s room, monitoring every development. The moment they saw Sober Tiger openly declare that he wouldn’t spend a single dollar this round, they nearly burst with excitement.

So what if he was rich?

The guy was obviously an idiot.

If he wanted to advance, he could wait until next year’s tournament.

News spread quickly.

Within moments, KingLux’s moderators had already relayed the information to him.

KingLux was delighted.

In his eyes, the match was already over.

Leaning back in his chair, he adjusted his microphone and flashed Naomi a confident smile.

"Beautiful lady, it seems the big shot supporting you isn’t quite as impressive when things get serious."

He chuckled.

"Why don’t you consider joining my guild instead? We have real whales over here. If you sign with us, I can personally introduce you to some of them."

His smile widened.

"In fact, I’ve already sent you a private message."

"Why don’t you come over to my place later tonight? We can discuss your future in detail."

His tone sounded professional on the surface, but the look in his eyes gave away his true intentions.

He was already imagining what it would be like to have Naomi all to himself.

The moment Luca read those messages, his expression turned cold.

Very cold.

Without hesitation, he opened the platform’s public announcement channel and typed a single message.

[Sober Tiger: Who is currently in charge of operations at Twist Streaming? Contact me immediately.]

Thousands of viewers saw the message.

Nobody understood what was happening.

But far away in New Orleans, someone certainly did.

At Twist Streaming headquarters, Romero Dennis’s executive assistant had been monitoring Naomi’s stream throughout the tournament.

After all, Naomi was the streamer connected to Luca Hale, one of the company’s largest shareholders.

The instant the assistant saw Luca’s message, he immediately informed Romero Dennis.

Romero didn’t waste a second.

"Get Operations on the line. Now."

Less than two minutes later, Luca’s phone vibrated.

"Hello?"

"Good afternoon, Mr. Hale. This is Olivia Grant, Director of Global Operations for Twist Streaming. Chairman Dennis instructed me to contact you immediately."

"Good."

Luca’s voice was calm.

"I have two directives."

"Understood, Mr. Hale."

"First, permanently ban KingLux’s account and freeze all associated platform assets."

"Second, I want Naomi Monroe guaranteed first place in this tournament. Arrange whatever traffic support and promotional resources are necessary. Calculate the cost and send me the number."

Olivia didn’t hesitate.

"Understood. Everything will be completed immediately."

How could she hesitate?

The orders had come from two of the platform’s most powerful shareholders.

Refusing wasn’t even a consideration.

Back in the live broadcast room, KingLux was still smiling confidently while attempting to coax Naomi into giving him her contact information.

Then his screen went black.

Instantly.

His smile froze.

A notification appeared across his monitor.

[Account Terminated Due to Severe Platform Violations]

His stream disconnected.

His account vanished.

Before he could even process what had happened, he found himself locked out of the platform entirely.

KingLux’s face turned pale.

Cold sweat began running down his back.

"What the hell happened?!"

This wasn’t a temporary suspension.

This wasn’t a warning.

This was complete annihilation.

The worst part was that he had signed an extremely restrictive contract with his guild. If he failed to secure the agreed tournament placement, the compensation penalties would be devastating.

His guild wasn’t spared either.

When senior managers frantically contacted Twist Streaming demanding an explanation, they received only a single response.

"Your streamer offended someone he never should have offended."

That sentence was enough.

The guild director immediately understood.

His face went white.

Their guild might control millions in assets, but compared to the people who actually owned the platform, they were insignificant.

Thinking back on KingLux’s behavior during the match, the answer became obvious.

The idiot had openly flirted with Naomi Monroe on a livestream.

The guild director nearly exploded with rage.

They had spent enormous amounts of money promoting KingLux and building his reputation.

Now everything was gone.

Every dollar.

Every resource.

Every opportunity.

All wasted.

There was only one way to recover some of their losses.

A lawsuit.

The director immediately pulled up KingLux’s contract.

The clause demanding five million dollars in breach compensation suddenly looked very attractive.

Meanwhile, Naomi couldn’t help smiling when KingLux’s screen abruptly went dark.

The man had spent the last ten minutes bragging nonstop.

If she hadn’t been livestreaming, she would have left the conversation long ago.

The chat was losing its mind.

"Wait... did he just get banned?"

"Not suspended. BANNED."

"The official announcement is already on the platform homepage!"

"Oh my god, he’s really gone."

"This happened way too fast."

"Hold on..."

One viewer suddenly remembered something.

"Didn’t Sober Tiger post that message right before this happened?"

The room fell silent.

A second later, the theories began flying.

"Are you telling me he knew beforehand?"

"No way."

"Think about it."

"He contacts platform management."

"Two minutes later, KingLux disappears."

"Guys... Sober Tiger didn’t predict this."

"He CAUSED this."

The chat exploded.

"This is terrifying."

"I finally understand."

"Other whales spend money."

"Sober Tiger owns the ocean."

Even Naomi couldn’t ignore the timing anymore.

Picking up her phone, she quickly sent Luca a message.

Naomi Monroe: Was that you?

Luca Hale: What do you think?

Naomi Monroe: How did you do it so quickly?!

A few seconds later, Luca replied.

Luca Hale: I own a significant share of Twist Streaming.

Luca Hale: It’s hard to stop someone when they’re one of the owners.

Naomi stared at the screen.

Her eyes widened. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Twist Streaming was worth billions.

She had known Luca was wealthy.

She had never imagined he was one of the people who actually owned the platform.

And judging by how quickly management obeyed him, he wasn’t some passive investor.

He had real power.

Naomi Monroe: You really never stop surprising me.

Luca Hale: Do you like surprises?

A faint blush appeared on Naomi’s cheeks.

Naomi Monroe: ...Yes.

Luca grinned.

His mood instantly improved.

After chatting with Naomi a little longer, he opened another conversation and began teasing Sophie through text messages.

Several playful exchanges later, Sophie was blushing furiously on the other side of the province.

Luca, naturally, felt it was his responsibility to give equal attention to every beautiful woman in his life.

As the tournament continued, the effects of Luca’s orders became increasingly obvious.

Without drawing attention to themselves, numerous platform managers and high-level employees entered Naomi’s stream using alternate accounts.

Luxury gifts poured in from every direction.

Round after round.

Opponent after opponent.

No matter how hard other streamers fought, Naomi’s numbers remained untouchable.

Soon, viewers across the platform reached the same conclusion.

Sober Tiger had moved behind the scenes.

And once he did, nobody stood a chance.

At last, after hours of competition, the final championship match of the grand promotional tournament arrived.

The entire platform held its breath.