RankNovelChapter 142 "Let's go," Citrine said, already heading for the door.
Halfway there, she suddenly glanced back over her shoulder at Sylvan and the others. "You all should come, too." With that, Citrine strode out of the classroom, not looking back.
Sylvan and the rest stared at her retreating figure, convinced they'd somehow upset her. They shot Travis a series of desperate looks, silently pleading, *What do we do now?* Travis didn't say a word he simply followed Citrine out, answering their question with action.
The group exchanged nervous glances, then hurried after him.
It wasn't until Citrine led them into a gaming café that Travis realized she was completely serious.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Find a seat. Let's play a round," Citrine said, already sliding into a chair in front of one of the computers. She looked at them expectantly.
Travis' eyes widened in surprise, a little hesitation in his voice. "Citrine, the games we play aren't exactly beginner-friendly." The main thing was, the rest of them had been playing for ages. If they accidentally crushed Citrine and made her upset, none of them would feel good about it.
"I know how to play," Citrine replied, fingers already flying over the keyboard as she logged in.
Travis happened to catch a glimpse of her screen-it was the familiar loading screen for "Final Showdown," their favorite 5-on-5 shooter. He froze.
"How did you know we play this game?" he asked.
"I heard the soundtrack earlier when you guys all got wiped out," Citrine said, not missing a beat.
Travis scratched his head, a little sheepish. "We just lost because we got careless, that's all," he tried to explain. Before he could say more, Sylvan suddenly let out a loud exclamation. "No way! Sis, you're ranked at our level?" The rest of the group crowded around to peek at Citrine's screen. Right next to her usernwas the "Champion" badge-just one star shy of their own ranking.
Citrine caught their stunned looks, a hint of pride glimmering in her eyes. "Believenow? Let's play." Gaming was one of Citrine's few real passions. Getting a little recognition for it felt pretty great.
Truthfully, they were all itching for a match anyway, and seeing Citrine so confident, they quickly found their own computers and logged in.
They added each other as friends, and Travis promptly started up a match.
Final Showdown was a fast-paced team shooter-five players per side, taking down bosses and battling another five-person squad. Win, and bragging rights were yours.
As the only girl on the team, Citrine was used to the guys being extra careful with her—at least until they ran into the first big boss.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmThe moment they saw it was an L8-level boss, Travis and the others tensed, preparing to coordinate their attack. But before anyone could even call out a plan, a single gunshot echoed through their headphones. The L8 boss went down with a perfect headshot.
Every one of them just stared, stunned by what they'd witnessed.
Normally, taking down a boss of that level meant at least a few of them would get hit-lose shealth, maybe even go down. But Citrine had pulled it off with one shot and hadn't taken a scratch. Sylvan let out a low whistle. "Wow. That was fast, sis. Incredible." Carney grinned. "With headshots like that, you're going to carry us to victory." Springer nodded. "Your aim is unreal." They clustered around their screens, firing off compliments in genuine awe.
Travis pressed his lips together, not saying much, but a quiet pride sparked in his eyes. *Of course she's amazing, he thought. *She's my sister, after all.* And Citrine only kept surprising them-match after match, she carried the whole team.
They tried a few more rounds, hoping to prove themselves, but the results were always the same: e ssof them were wiped out, others barely hanging on, and in the end it was Citrine who pulled them through every time.
After the fifth round, Sylvan tore off his headset, slumping into his gaming chair in mook defeat. "I'm done. Sis, you're just too good. The rest of us don't even get to play anymore!"
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