by R. H. Tang
21
Julian woke up the next day feeling like complete garbage.
After eating so much food, his stomach felt like a freaking brick. On top of that, he was utterly exhausted.
He didn't know how long he'd spent rolling around in bed and worrying about Liefield and Phillips, but it had to have been hours.
Julian had recently convinced himself to stop looking at the time on his phone in the middle of the night. That'd always been the worst. He would tell himself he had to sleep eight hours, then constantly check his phone to see how much sleep time he had left.
Before he knew it, he had six hours. Then four. Then it might have been better not to sleep at all.
But even avoiding that stupid habit, he still hadn't slept a wink.
If Julian had to guess, he'd probably gone to bed around 4.
Now it was 7 and time to get to the Overdrive building. Julian wanted nothing more than to turn the alarm back off, but he had to get ready. Even though he desperately wanted to believe that he could roll back and sleep until 9, he knew the traffic would be terrible.
Julian rolled over and grabbed his phone. Instead of shutting off the alarm, he let it ring in the desperate hope that the obnoxious noise would somehow jerk him further awake.
It still didn't work.
He turned his phone on to maximum brightness, hoping to somehow fry the tiredness out of his eyes.
He had a few texts from Tyler and Felix.
Both of his friends had stayed up trying to unlock the Crafter's Pride, but to no avail. Julian idly wondered if he could figure out the truth by merely asking Phillips. That'd be nice. It was only the two of them who finished the map. Maybe Julian could gain psychic powers too.
He blinked.
His idea didn't make any sense.
If she were an Overdrive Corporation employee, it'd be illegal for her to help him. And if she was a competitor, why would she do anything for him?
Realizing that he was awake as he'd ever be, Julian stepped into the bathroom and prepared for a long day.
Then he entered the hotel restaurant and downed three cups of coffee as fast as he could. When Felix texted him to meet in the front lobby, Julian was finally feeling somewhat alive.
There were a bunch of other competitors hanging out in the lobby. That was an unusual Selection dynamic—everyone stayed the same hotel. If the players wanted to, they could hang out any time they wanted. However, it seemed like most players either stuck to themselves or chatted in small pre-existing friend groups.
Julian recognized about half of the available players. Some were people Felix had introduced to him yesterday. Others were pilots he'd fought alongside or against during his climb to the top.
A few of the players waved at Julian, but most stared blankly. Julian had done most of his climb on the single combat ladder, so he was a relative unknown. Even in team games, he didn't speak very often, a weakness he was still working on.
Julian suspected most players would have recognized him if he wore his usual bright orange and gold pilot suit, but only cosplayers dressed like that in real life.
Felix whispered to Julian under his breath.
"Don't let anyone know we have a car. I don't want to be rude and turn people down who ask for a ride, but I also don't want them to hear our conversation. Hurry up, by the way. I don't want more people approaching us."
Julian carefully eyed the other pros as he and Felix sped through the lobby.
The majority stood silently by themselves, unwilling to give a single hint of their strategies. Julian did not doubt that everyone had special gimmicks prepared for the Selection.
However, a gregarious few eagerly chatted with their fellow contenders. Julian caught spurts of their conversations. Julian noticed several players carefully scouting out the opposition, skillfully mixing idle chitchat with queries about how their earlier games had gone.
The majority of chatters were people like Felix—well-liked players with excellent reputations who people were already happy to talk to—but others were introducing themselves for the first time. Felix's rival Sunshine89 was talking to everyone he could, but the vast majority of players ignored him.
Felix snickered.
"Some last-second buddying up isn't going to save you here. Everyone I know freaking hates that guy!"
Julian laughed.
That explained a lot. It'd been pretty weird for Felix to give that man a death glare when they first met. Every other player they'd seen had been incredibly happy to see Felix. Even superstars like TiggerLuvr888 knew of Felix's reputation as a patient and generous teammate.
Julian also caught some snatches of conversation about today's events.
"Mixed course."
"No, not a mixed course. It'll be a team battle."
"Single battles again. It's single battles. He said they are focusing on individual skill!"
The Selection process changed every time. Predicting the competition type provided an enormous advantage.
"My guy said it'd be a mixed course."
Julian had to snicker at that last night. A lot of people on the server claimed to have inside sources in the Overdrive Corporation. It sort of like the elementary school line about "my dad works for the Pokémon Company!"
Somehow, the ridiculous claim sounded even funnier in person. Of course, some well-connected pros like Tigger really did have friends in the administration, but that was hard even for a Selection candidate.
The only sizeable crowd in the lobby surrounded the man who'd ultimately finished with Lilac's seat. The players around him chattered and chattered. The well-dressed pilot was fairly tall with neatly cropped hair. The shy man answered every question politely, but it mostly looked like he just wanted to be left alone.
Felix murmured.
"Probably just trying to scout him out. I have no idea who he is. It was a total surprise that he ended up holding the table. His Mech was really ordinary too. He wasn't a grinder or anything."
"Do you know how he beat Lilac?"
"He didn't. Someone else got lucky and beat her—they ended up on Maze—and the table eventually passed to him."
The complex Maze stage was a horrible fit for Lilac's bulky machines, which couldn't move through the narrow corridors. The cramped map had a less than .1% spawn rate, which meant most pros didn't account for it. There'd been numerous calls to remove it, but The Mechanical King insisted it remain.
Julian slapped his cheeks and shook his head.
"Right."
Felix shot him a bemused look.
"You okay?"
"Just trying to wake myself up. I remembered looking at the match history yesterday. I just totally forgot."
"You didn't sleep at all, did you?"
Julian sighed.
"Nope."
Julian suddenly frowned as they passed by the excited crowd. Slapping himself in the face had woken him up, at least a little bit.
"Wait."
"What?"
"If he didn't beat Lilac, why are people so excited about him? Nobody's too excited about me."
Everyone—including Julian himself—thought that Phillips threw the match on purpose. If anyone grabbed attention from their table, it was the seemingly psychic pilot. In the same way, nobody should be freaking out over a lucky finisher.
There'd been a ton of turnover at Lilac's table. If Julian remembered correctly, the muscular man had only won a single game. Why was he getting so much attention?
"Huh."
Felix shrugged.
"Yeah. You're right. That's pretty weird. It's probably just the stakes of the Selection. Everyone's on edge. People might start coming after you too."
The two friends walked even faster, exiting the door. They only spoke again after getting into the car.
"Did you watch my match yesterday?"
"I didn't catch it, but I heard what happened. Everyone's talking about her. Some people think she's actually psychic. Others think she's chea
ting somehow."
Felix shrugged.
"I bet it has to do with the Crafter's Pride. I hope we can figure that out soon."
Like Tigger, Felix thought there was an in-game solution.
"You know, Emma said that Phillips might be working for the company. It'd explain how she knows everyone's items. It'd explain how she cleared the map so many times too. She could have been some kind of tester."
Felix nodded thoughtfully.
"Yeah, maybe. I wouldn't put it past The Mechanical King to have someone there to weed out other players. Last Selection, some star players went through the whole event undefeated, but they didn't get chosen. I heard some rumors that they were hired guns."
"Interesting."
Julian tsked.
"The weirdest thing was how she threw outmatch. Her Mech was loaded up with needle missiles. It felt like she was letting me win."
"Yeah, that's what everyone said, but why would she do that? Maybe you just figured her out. Her Mech had terrible stats. It's only benefit was hiding her weapons."
"I don't know. I don't think so."
"To be honest, I don't think so either. It does seem suspicious. I wouldn't be surprised if she has another trick up her sleeve. But the Minesweeper was still a brilliant adaptation, and it got you the win. Don't short sell yourself."
Julian smiled. Felix was right. Even if Phillips had another trick up her sleeve, at least he'd beaten her first trick.
Felix pulled into the lot.
"HELL."
"HELL."
"HELL."
"HELL."
The two friends shook their heads, parked their care, and made their way to the dome.
This time, they were some of the first to arrive.
It sounded like The Mechanical King had another lecture in him. He stood at the center of the stage, gesturing his hands dramatically as he paced back and forth.
To Julian's surprise, Phillips was still hunched over the same monitor where he'd last left her. Had she simply stayed there all night?
She pushed back away from the corner and stumbled towards a seat. She looked exhausted.
The twin possibilities swirled around his head again.
Was she an employee pulling a late night?
Or was she a serious grinder trying to win?
The possibility that she was the hacker still nagged the back of his mind, but something about that didn't feel quite right.
If she was the hacker, why would she just use it to beat people? She could just blackmail them out of the Selection. For that matter, Julian didn't even know if the hacker was even a Selection candidate. The hired gun story made sense too.
The rest of the crowd slowly filed in. Once again, the majority surrounded the obscure pilot who'd taken Lilac's seat. Julian just didn't get it. The pilot was a total nobody who'd gotten lucky. Julian couldn't even remember his in-game name.
Julian ignored them and went back to trying to figure out the source of Phillips's powers.
What was going on?
Would he have to fight her again today?
Then the Mechanical King opened his mouth. The Overdrive CEO's first sentence immediately shoved all thoughts of Phillips out of Julian's mind.
"It's come to my attention that a cheating scandal is afoot!"
22
“It’s come to my attention that a cheating scandal is afoot!”
He cleared his throat.
“Per my private sources, some of you are trying to pull a fast one on me! The following players are immediately dismissed from the Selection for violating the Overdrive terms of service. Account sharing is illegal!”
The room was completely quiet.
Julian could taste the tension in the air.
His mind whirled uncontrollably towards the worst-case possibility. Had someone seen him with TiggerLuvr? Did anyone know about his plans with the Heaven’s Boxer?
But that was impossible. Only he, Tigger, and Emma knew about it. He hadn’t even told Tyler or Felix.
What if he’d been reported inaccurately?
The Mechanical King started reading out a long list of names. With each announced screenname, it became harder and harder to breathe.
“Polygon…”
“Darklord21…”
“Ringer…”
“Triple Kick…”
Julian frowned as he noticed a disturbing trend. Most of the players were those who’d battled Phillips. Had she given them up to The Mechanical King?
Julian couldn’t stop thinking about Emma’s theory that she was an Overdrive employee. It just tied everything too neatly together.
The named players protested, but The Mechanical King immediately shut them up.
“We have documented proof of your cheating. If you want to prove your innocence, you must submit all personal electronics for an in-depth examination.”
Julian gulped as ice pierced his stomach.
Two of the accused players—one a brown-haired woman with a long ponytail and the other a skinny teenager in glasses—threw their hands up.
“You can’t do that!”
“Isn’t that illegal? That’s an unwarranted search!”
Julian frowned.
He wasn’t sure if they were right. Did The Mechanical King need warrants? Wasn’t that just for the police? At the same time, it did sound pretty suspicious for your boss to just look through your personal belongings.
Murmurs quickly spread through the rest of the accused crowd.
A few of the accused players latched onto the idea like drowning men grabbing for logs.
“Yes, yes.”
“You can’t do that, sir! It’s unconstitutional!”
The Mechanical King’s mouth was a thin white line. He was furious.
“I know you’re guilty. You were ratted out. Every named player is a booster. Besides, the Selection procedure says I can dismiss whoever I want. So get out of here. And next time, don’t cheat!”
The company’s security quickly moved in, escorting the still-protesting players out of the lobby. Even if they were innocent, there was nothing they could do.
The atmosphere had changed entirely as The Mechanical King continued listing the disqualified players.
“Juliet…”
Julian’s heart had almost dropped out of his body until The Mechanical King pronounced the last syllable.
“Tinker…”
Fear welled in Julian’s throat. Would he get eliminated without even a chance to defend himself? He hadn’t done anything, but how could he prove his innocence?
“Nummi…”
“Sunflower…”
Those were the two players who’d battled right before Julian.
His heart froze again.
He feared that he’d be next, but The Mechanical King didn’t call his name.
Julian stared at Phillips, who was slouched over in her chair. She looked exhausted, but it was clear that she wasn’t nervous in the slightest.
Did that mean she was an employee?
Or that she’d just never boosted anyone?
A skilled grinder could make great money selling loot. She wouldn’t have to turn to boosting.
She yawned and looked in Julian’s direction. He hastily turned away, busying himself with his fingernails.
A low murmur went through the crowd. It was clear that Julian wasn’t the only person who suspected Philips.
Several players around him were whispering about what had happened.
Her performance yesterday had drawn a lot of attention. Now, almost all the players who’d battled her had been removed from the competition. In all, The Mechanical King listed out thirty-one names. Twenty-six of them had battled Phillips. It couldn’t just be a coincidence. Julian couldn’t do the math in his head that quickly, but it sounded like it was north of 70%.
“It was that Phillips girl…”
“She scouted them out…somehow she found out that they were boosting.”
“It
was her psychic powers!”
“No, she’s hacking somehow.”
“Yeah, I saw her talking to The Mechanical King.”
Yet none of the players around her said anything, so it seemed like she didn’t notice.
“And last of all, Edgar.”
A gasp went through the crowd. As a top ten ranked player, Edgar was a well-known name in the world of Overdrive. Every high-ranking player knew him.
His newfound friend Darren inadvertently yelped in protest.
The big man stood, completely shellshocked.
“What? Me?”
The Mechanical King pointed at him from the podium, his weasel-esque face twisted in a look of complete shock.
“Yes, you!”
He scoffed.
“There’s pages of evidence! I’ve seen all of it! You’re lucky this isn’t a permanent ban!”
Edgar threw up his hands in shock.
“I was trying my best! I wasn’t playing around!”
The Mechanical King just shook his head and waved him off.
“What are you talking about?”
Pangs of sympathy shot through Julian as he remembered his conversations with Tigger and Emma. Being a pro was hard. Money was money.
Someone like Edgar—a skilled but imperfect player—was unlikely to win the World Championship. Gambling on just a Fortress Master position was also risky. He’d certainly had a good shot this time around, but there was no guarantee.
If you wanted to make money playing Overdrive, boosting was the best way.
At the same time, Julian understood The Mechanical King’s thinking. The Fortress Masters and biggest streamers had to be models for the community. Almost all players were against boosting—they logged onto Overdrive to have fun, and playing against a superstar player when you were a beginner definitely wasn’t fun. Even players who’d paid for boosts usually pretended that they’d earned their ranking themselves.
In a way, there was a trade-off. Julian understood why players would turn to boosting, but they shouldn’t expect to get the best opportunities like becoming a Fortress Master.
Of course, Julian also noticed another frightening trend. Tigger’s warning echoed in his ears. The Mechanical King would never ban an established pro, but he’d be happy to make an example out of a minor player. Even Edgar was only well-known to elite players. The slovenly pilot lacked the charisma to be a popular streamer.
