The entrance doors were pushed open.

Windwalker appeared, wearing a black mask and a red-and-black DAF uniform, leading a large group of people in with great fanfare.

Seth Sterling was so shocked he shot to his feet, completely forgetting about his phone.

A series of familiar faces drew closer and closer. The figure at the very back, hands in their pockets, wearing a hat and mask, made him so excited that he cried out, "Master Rory—!"

Flynn Morgan hadn’t expected someone to already be in their seats. He paused, stunned, and looked back at his teammates. "Whose friend is this?"

"He’s my classmate," Aurora Sinclair, who was at the back, replied before striding past everyone to walk over.

The excitement on Seth Sterling’s face gradually turned to pleasant surprise, then to shock, and finally to a stupefied daze...

"Sin... Sin..."

Aurora Sinclair stopped two steps away from him, took the pen and autograph book from his hands, and smoothly signed her name. Then, she made a shushing gesture and turned to walk toward the front row.

Seeing this, Elias Lennox’s interest was piqued. He also ran over to sign for him. Then, as if they had planned it, the DAF members lined up to give Seth Sterling their autographs.

Meanwhile, Seth Sterling just stood there like a wooden post, dumbly watching everyone leave. His stunned face was even captured in a close-up by the camera.

Soon enough, Seth Sterling, the fan who was collectively doted on by DAF, instantly became a meme that spread like wildfire throughout the DAF fandom.

"Dude, relax. And keep this a secret." Glenn Lockwood, sitting next to him, patted his shoulder with a hint of resignation.

’This classmate of Aurora Sinclair’s seems a little slow.’

Seth Sterling nodded blankly. His brain seemed to have stopped working.

He didn’t snap out of it until after the match started. Then came a wave of ecstasy mixed with frustration, like he’d just won fifty million dollars but couldn’t share the news with anyone.

Just as he took out his phone, intending to covertly share his joy, he found it had been blown up with messages.

Especially the 157 missed calls?

Seth Sterling’s heart tightened. ’Could they all know I’m watching the match from the DAF VIP section?’

Just as he was thinking this, Danny Archer called again. He immediately answered, a happy grin spreading across his face, only to be met with a roar from the other end:

"Seth Sterling, you son of a bitch! You’ve got some serious balls, huh?! Making a move on the campus belle? Where the hell are you? I’m gonna come over there and beat the shit out of you—"

Seth Sterling was completely baffled. He glanced uncertainly at his phone; the screen did indeed show Danny Archer’s name.

Danny Archer cursed him out for a full minute without letting him get a word in.

’Damn it, who lit his fuse?’

Seth Sterling hung up the phone, his brow furrowed tightly.

But soon, another call came in. He answered several more angry calls in a row, and his mood completely soured.

’Did they all decide to lose their minds today?’

Just then, a large, imposing shadow fell over him. Seth Sterling shivered involuntarily and shakily looked up to see a stern, expressionless face looking down at him. "My master wants to see you..."

Seth Sterling was "invited" out of the competition venue by Dean Morgan and brought to the DAF lounge, where he saw a familiar face.

"Pro... Professor Morgan..."

Alvin Morgan was looking at the laptop on the table. When he heard the voice, he looked up and regarded him without expression.

"What is this?" Alvin Morgan turned the laptop screen toward him.

Seth Sterling leaned over to look and saw a line of text at the top of the Arcadian University forum, bolded and in red:

[Winter Break Gossip: Never Thought the Campus Belle’s Man Would Be Him...]

Below it was a screenshot of the status he had posted on his social media, uploaded to the forum.

Seth Sterling was instantly dumbfounded. He shook his head frantically, as if his life depended on it. "No, no, no... that’s not it... You’ve misunderstood..."

He immediately pulled out his phone and opened his social media feed. To his surprise, there were over 300 replies—a flood of angry comments, but also a good number of likes from classmates praising him for being a badass.

Just then, his phone rang again. This time, it was his dad.

With a pained expression, Seth Sterling answered the call, only to hear a powerful, booming voice yell from the other end:

"You brat, have you lost your mind?! How could you post something like that? Hurry up and bring her home—"

"Dad, it’s not like that..."

"You still won’t admit it? Let me tell you, do you know how many other great guys are eyeing that girl? Since you made the first move, you’d better treat her right! Hurry up and take her to get a marriage license!"

"Dad... it’s not..."

Alvin Morgan suddenly stood up, snatched the phone from his hand, and said grimly, "Director Sterling, what’s the standard compensation for slander and defamation of someone’s reputation?"

Wayne Sterling was stunned for a moment. It took him a while to realize who was speaking on the phone.

His expression changed slightly. "Professor Morgan?"

"It’s me."

"What is the meaning of this?"

Alvin Morgan handed the phone back to Seth Sterling and told him to explain.

With a miserable expression, Seth Sterling explained the whole mix-up. Wayne Sterling was so angry he almost smashed his phone.

"Delete it right now and post a public apology—!"

Seth Sterling trembled, quickly deleted the social media post, and, under Alvin Morgan’s watchful eye, wrote an 800-word apology letter, which he then posted to his feed.

Immediately after, at Alvin Morgan’s direction, the pinned post on the Arcadian University forum was replaced with Seth Sterling’s public apology.

Only then did the storm begin to subside.

This time, Seth Sterling had truly become famous at Arcadian University.

He had lost all interest in watching the match. With a long face, like a timid new bride, he followed Dean Morgan back to the VIP section.

The match had now reached the team battle phase. Master Rory and the King of Night had just completed a combo attack. Master Rory drew the heavy fire at the front while the King of Night launched a sneak attack—a beautiful surprise double kill. Two members of the Spark team had their health bars emptied simultaneously.

"HOLY SHIT! Master Rory, God of Night, you’re incredible—!"

To Dean Morgan’s astonishment, the figure behind him had already dashed to the front.

Dean Morgan looked at the carefree, foolish boy clinging to the edge of the stands and suddenly felt a little pity for his master. He had almost ended up as a love rival to this idiot.

***

DAF’s performance in this match was absolutely brilliant. They completely dominated the Spark team, winning with a clean 10-0 score.

After their triumphant first victory, the members of DAF went out for a celebratory team dinner.

And Seth Sterling, as the "pampered fan," was also brought along.

"Grand Uncle-Master, are you really not coming to the dinner?" Leigh Miles asked, her eyes filled with reluctance to see him go.

Hector Lennox reached out and patted her head. "Leigh, Grand Uncle-Master has a flight this afternoon, so I have to leave early. When you have time in the future, have Elias bring you all to visit Unoria."

Then he glanced at his nephew, his tone turning slightly stern. "Take good care of your junior sister-in-training. If anything at all happens to her, I’ll hold you responsible!"

Elias Lennox ducked his head slightly, touched his nose, and gave Aurora Sinclair and Leigh Miles a pitiful look.

After Hector Lennox left, the group headed to a high-end private restaurant.

The restaurant was located on a private beach in Harbor City. It was a specialty establishment where a five-star chef would cook for the guests on-site.

The restaurant’s exterior was built to look like an aquarium. Inside the entrance was a long, fixed table with a dozen or so chairs.

Once everyone was seated, a conveyor belt underneath started to move, and the table and chairs slowly moved inward.

After rounding a corner, they truly entered an aquarium. They were surrounded by transparent glass walls, with all sorts of marine life swimming inside.

Just then, a school of colorful tropical clownfish swam by, and Faye Hughes’s and Joanna Monroe’s eyes lit up.

"It’s so beautiful..."

It seemed girls were always powerless against places like aquariums. Especially Leigh Miles, who, upon seeing a large sea crab, practically drooled. "Lockwood, can we eat that one?"

Faye Hughes’s face darkened instantly. "Leigh, in such a beautiful place, how could you have the heart to eat it?"

Leigh Miles asked, confused, "So we can’t eat it?"

Faye Hughes sighed in resignation. "You can eat it."

"Lockwood, I want the golden crab pot."

"Make it two."

"..."

’As expected of the two of them.’

***

Elsewhere, a man walked briskly into a luxurious suite.

He bowed respectfully to the man sitting on the sofa.

"Young Master, everything is ready."

"Remember to be quick and clean. Don’t leave any loose ends."

"Yes—"

After the subordinate left, the man in the room was embraced from behind, a pair of slender arms wrapping around his neck.

A coquettish voice purred, "What a pity. I was hoping to get a taste of him! Remember, don’t let your men hurt my precious Yi."

Hearing this, a dark glint flashed in the man’s eyes. He immediately smiled, turned, and pulled the woman into his arms, leaning down to kiss her on the lips. "Isn’t having me enough?"

The woman raised a hand to stroke his face and replied with a smile, "I am a free woman. But tonight, I’m all yours..."

"Then I won’t hold back..."

But the woman raised a hand to cover his mouth, saying with a look of distaste, "Go take a shower..."

The man paused, then stood up with a hint of resignation.

But after closing the bathroom door, his expression immediately darkened. He took out his phone and sent a message to his subordinate:

[Aside from the main target, cripple Elias Lennox.]