Max died.
That was the conclusion of the first match. Going against the 7th wave boss without any backup was indeed not possible. His SMG couldn't even pierce its outer shell and his bullet just bounced back without dealing any damage.
"As expected, SMG isn't going to work." He shrugged his shoulders as he walked down the dark corridor with Lily and the others, "We do need MG or SR to kill the 6th wave boss or onward. SMG can only damage it after its outer shell is destroyed."
"It's not worth it," Flexy commented, his hands behind his head. "Besides, we will change strategy in the final as a team in our group will surely advance with us. I think team RH4, which survived until the end of the 8th wave, will also advance. They get 12.4K total points."
"They are the most cautious," Atlas added with a nod. "But they aren't a team we need to worry about. MiceMice is more dangerous than them."
"Un, you should destroy them first." Lily agreed.
They kept sharing ideas on how to approach the final match. Before long, they reached their waiting room and were greeted by Lisa and Ferin. They had prepared drinks and towels to wipe their sweat.
Because they were in the first match that started in the morning, they had time to wait until the final, which was held in the night. The team decided to rest instead of training with other ranked teams.
The strategy meeting was also held off until later. Replenishing energy was the most important thing now.
"With that said, I am going to watch with Lisa. You guys go have fun." Flexy said so before he left the waiting room with Lisa, who wore a cold expression.
She asked for a 3-day leave but still had to work to support her boyfriend. It looked unfair. But she actually rested enough, as she didn't need to deal with external talk.
"At, let's get something from outside. I want that roach hat merchandise!"
Following Flexy and Lisa, Ferin pulled Atlas' hand, and they disappeared from the waiting room, leaving only Max and Lily.
Looking at them, Max could only laugh wryly.
"They are too carefree." He commented as he leaned his back against the couch.
"Our team is so fun." Lily added with a small giggle, "Yesterday, I saw other team coaches trying their best, racking their heads. While Lisa and I only noted something like their weapons and danger level. It shows how serious they are in this competition."
"Yeah, I can feel that. It's fun but suffocating. I might refrain from the e-sport scene for a while and focus on my streaming. There are also two ad offers that need a bit of time to finish."
"Ad offers?" Lily inquired curiously, her hair fell as she tilted her head. "Another filming? Or just a simple endorsement?"
"Hmm, maybe you can call it endorsement?" Max hummed, unsure how to explain it. "Like... There is this brand that wants me to shout out its name at the start of my stream. And the other one... Well, they want to use me as a model for their product. It's a sports clothing brand."
"Ah! Like Ferin." She nodded in understanding. Then, she smiled brightly and clapped her hands, "Does that mean I will be able to see you in a magazine?"
"Hahaha, I don't know. I might just be in the inconspicuous corner."
'I will work him to the bones later. I got some good footage that he could edit earlier.'
Huffing coldly, he patted Lily's head and pulled her closer.
"Feel free to sleep. I will be here when you wake up. No vampire will chase after you in your dream."
"Un, I know. You will... protect me."
"Yeah, I will."
He kept stroking her head until she fell asleep.
This kind of time was precious to him. Calm and accompanied by his loved one without any kind of problem.
'I hope we can enjoy time like this more often.'
***
The second to fourth preliminary matches went as expected. The team's average total points was 13K, which is still way less than what the OrangeSquash managed to get.
10 teams that advanced to the final had been decided.
1. MiceMice
2. OrangeSquash
3. bigSACK
4. Jokegon
5. MWRifle
...
9. RH4
10. MoMaMi
Team RH4 was barely able to enter with 12.4K points. And just as everyone had expected, the favorite to win, team MiceMice was able to advance with a slight point difference from team OrangeSquash.
More than half of the teams that advanced to the final were those joining the Scrim. The hosts, Nature and Grand, hyped it up pretty well and promoted the idea of the Scrim for all competitive e-sport.