"Cheers!"
Max raised his glass at Flexy's words. Five similar glasses touched and created clear clanging sounds as the liquid inside moved slightly.
The after-party for OrangeSquash's team started early. The first match had ended. And thanks to a certain trio who harassed many teams, no one from their group advanced to the next match and were eliminated early.
No teams were willing to risk going against the second wave boss onward after the chaos. Most who were hit twice decided it was better to focus on defense, while those who lost team members in the chaos around the first-wave boss were afraid to venture out.
Still, that didn't stop the trio from harassing them. They changed tactics and went together to destroy many other teams, leaving them with only one or two members. Their opponents got used to their tactics and were able to retaliate.
Every time Max got damaged, he immediately fled the scene without second thoughts. The same went for Ferin and Atlas.
Due to their harassment, not many teams could follow their real strategy, and they were forced to improvise. That improvisation ended in the third wave when the group started to pull mobs. Max and Atlas discarded their sniper rifle to run faster, while Ferin was in charge of disturbing other teams.
The crowd gathered by the mob train increased as many bases fell. No team got the extra 500 annihilation points from destroying the base because the roaches destroyed the cores.
Following the increased size of the third wave, all bases fell, leaving the OrangeSquash team to stand alone. However, their accumulated points still fell short compared to the other three groups that managed to survive until the 7th and 8th waves, so they couldn't advance to the next practice.
They have become the center of attention in the barbeque party held on the EDE rooftop. Many players looked at them with intrigued gazes, while some who noticed they were the culprit behind the harassment stared at them with hate.
"Hyaa! We have become the center of attention. I still think we should wear our leader's signature orange space suit for our prank earlier to make it funnier!" Ferin exclaimed loudly without caring about their gazes and sipped the juices in her hand. .net
"Told you so! If we wear an orange, they will recognize us faster and scream our name out loud!" Flexy added and gulped a juice in one go.
Both of them weren't allowed to drink by Lisa after yesterday's commotion. Not to mention, tomorrow was a big day. Atlas was tasked to ensure his girlfriend didn't drink, while Max was trusted to keep Flexy at bay.
Due to that ban, both of them began to collaborate to mess with Max.
Noticing that, Max decided to show off instead, adding more mental damage so they would target their team tomorrow.
"You should eat too, Lily. Here." Max fed Lily a thin cut of beef, and she munched it slowly like a cute hamster. "Good?"
"Un."
It continued until the party ended. Atlas and Ferin also joined to burn the other teams' jealousy for the sake of their strategy.
Some guys tried to feed their friends just to mock the couple, but it only backfired.
"Hahaha! Look at them feeding each other." Ferin laughed loudly while pointing at them, causing these people to turn red in embarrassment. "I have to post this in my Strike account. Ah, please do pose again. I will make you famous in no time! Even if I look like this, I have more than 5 million followers."
After the barbeque party ended, Max left with Lily first. They walked out of the venue, which was sparse of people because it was midnight, and were about to call a taxi when a voice rang from the darkness behind a pillar.
"Took you long enough."
Max turned to the source of the voice while shielding Lily behind him. Who was it? Calling someone in the middle of the night while hiding behind the pillar was only something that a strange or crazy person did.
Still, the voice was slightly familiar to him, that was why he stopped.
"This noble me is hurt that you don't respond, you know? Even a Viscount like me can be sad when his greeting isn't answered."
A figure appeared from the pillar. He was a rather skinny man with unkempt hair and red eyes that somehow glowed in the darkness. His hand was put around his chin as he smirked.
"Aren't you too cold, Breeze?"
"Y-You!" Max pointed at the figure with a trembling finger, "Idiot sucker!" He shouted loudly.