Angie's Mini on Soldiers charged past the bewildered Dark Knight, she revealed her alternative strategy. With a wicked grin, she decred, "There's more than one way to win this game, Alex."

  Angie's Mini on Soldiers, now free of immediate threats, began their relentless assault on Alex's Castle. Their fiery projectiles rained down on the castle, causing explosions aru with each hit.

  Frustration g Alex. He watched his Castle e under siege. Without any minio, he was forced to and his Dark Knight to defend the castle. The once-powerful character now had the daunting task of proteg the very structure that marked his potential victory.

  The battlefield was chaotic, with Angie's Mini on Soldiers causing havo the viity of Alex's Castle.

  The Dark Knight, after a moment of extreme fusion, suddenly regais focus. With fideurned, it unched a relentless assault on Angie's Mini on Soldiers. One by ohey fell before the Dark Knight's onsught, their fiery explosions lighting up the battlefield.

  Alex, with a triumphant tone, decred, "I win!"

  However, before he could bask in his victory, someone nearby interrupted, "Not so fast, Alex. It didn’t say ‘You win’ on the s yet."

  Alex shifted from triumph to shock. Angie grinned mischievously, "You thought you had it in the bag, didn't you?"

  Alex growled. “Why? You're out of minions, Angie. My Dark Knight took care of them… but wait… why doesn’t it say I win? Obviously your Main on girl was among them, right?"

  Angie chuckled slyly and replied, "When did I ever say the Main on Girl was on the front lines? All I mentioned was that they switched pces with one of them."

  The Main on Girl emerged from her base, armed with a on designed for long-distaacks. She took aim at Alex's castle.

  Alex's realization hit him like a ton of bricks, "Oh, you’ve got to be shitting me…”

  Angie snapped her fingers, "Guess who takes the cake?"

  With a resounding bst, the Main on Girl fired a shot that struck Alex's castle with pinpoint accuracy. The castle crumbled and disied, leaving Alex with no defehe destru of Alex’s castle was repyed in slow motion on the game s.

  Defeated, Alex knew he had been outwitted, and he sighed in acceptance of his loss. "You win, Angie."

  The crowd erupted into a cacophony of cheers, appuse, aed chatter. Angie's ing and strategic brilliance had left them in awe.

  Some shouted Angie's name in celebration, while others marveled at her calcuted moves and tactical precision. The excitement in the room alpable, and people exged enthusiastients about the ued turn of events.

  "Angie's a gaming genius!"

  "Did you see that move with the Main on Girl? Brilliant!"

  "Alex had no idea what hit him!"

  With a resigned sigh, Alex aowledged Angie's victory. "Well pyed, Angie. If anyone was going to give me a real challe had to be you."

  His admission of defeat, though gracious, couldirely mask the sting of his pride having taken a blow.

  Angie maintained her fident grin. "About those favors...." she began, causing Alex to growl in frustration.

  However, before Roselle and Michigo could make their inquiries, Aerjected. "Hold on a moment, it's not just Alex who owes me a favor. You two as well," she said, turning to Roselle and Michigo, "are also on the hook. Those were the terms."

  The realization that they, too, were obligated to fulfill favors fie seemed to hang in the air like a mysterious shadow.

  Roselle and Michigo exged stunned gnces.

  Angie's fident grin remained in pce. "If you thought I was just going to jump in to save your asses, you've got it all wrong," she decred with an evil smile. “I said if I won, you two would owe me favors as well. We are going to do things my way."

  Angie checked her watoting the time straints. With only 10 minutes left before the annou, she gestured for Alex, Roselle, and Michigo to follow her to a more private setting, away from the bustling crowd and the remnants of their intense gaming battle.

  In ay , Angie leaned against a desk with an air of casual authority. She still held a grin while looking at Roselle and Michigo. Roselle's face was one full of worry.

  "e on, Roselle," Angie said. "Don’t give me that look. I’m giving you a ce to get whatever you came here for out of the way before I start colleg my favors. Alex has agreed to stay here and answer any questions you have with the truth as part of the favor he owes me. Let’s get this over with."

  Roselle took a deep breath. Her gaze shifted between Angie and Alex. "Alright…"

  Angie checked her watd then said, “We’ve got ten minutes. So, let’s get moving."

  Roselle sighed, her eyes narrowing as she focused on Alex. “Alex, I o ask you about Tina. What do you know about her?”

  Alex's demeanor shifted instantly and became guarded. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Roselle’s eyes narrowed in suspi. “Earlier, when you found out I knew about Tina, you seemed surprised. It looked like you were hiding something. Are you lying?”

  Angie’s grin faded slightly. She casted an intense, pierg gre that veyed both irritation and a promise of sequences. “Answer her, Alex,” Angie said, with a dangerous edge appearing ione. “You’re already on thin ice. Lying to us now won’t do you any favors.”

  Alex hesitated for a moment, then sighed. "Alright, I've seen her around, but I don't know her personally. She's not a part of my circle."

  Roselle could sehat Alex might be holding something back, but for now, she had to accept his response.

  Angie leaned forward and reminded Alex of his promise. "You said you'd answer any question with the truth, remember?"

  Alex raised an eyebrow at Angie's persistehen turned his attention to Michigo and Roselle. "Well, I have to be cautious about what I say. The truth be a lot to handle, especially when it es to certain matters."

  Michigo, ever the fiery oook offeo his ent. She shot back, "You think we 't ha? Try us. We've e a long way for answers!"

  Angie, alractical, chimed in, "We're not here to py games. These 'babies,' as you call them, deserve to know the truth. So, spill it."

  Alex, realizing that Angie was not going to let him off the hook, sighed once more. "Alright, if you really want to know, I've heard some rumors about Tina. There's talk of her getting involved in some... questioivities. But that's all I know, and I 't vouch for the accuracy of those rumors."

  Roselle's eyes widened with upon hearing this. "Questioivities? What kind of activities are we talking about here?"

  Alex, looking rather serious, cautioned, "Look, I've said what I . But holy, you might be better off not digging too deep into this. Sometimes the truth be more dangerous than you think. I suggest you stop your search for Tina if you know what’s good for you.”

  Alex handed Roselle the small envelope, he gave her a look of and said, "If you look at what's in there and still want to pursue this, then fine. But I'm telling you, sometimes ignorance is bliss."

  With that, Alex turned and walked away, leaving Angie and the others behind. Aried to stop him, but he had already disappeared into the hallway.

  Roselle clutched the envelope in her hand.

  Roselle hesitated, a heavy feeling of forebodiled in the room. She khat opening that envelope might expose her to something she wasn't prepared for, something dark and uling. The seds seemed to stretch with her trying to prepare herself for this moment.

  Michigo, standing beside her, pced a reassuring hand on her shoulder and whispered, "Roselle, you don't have to do this if you're not ready.”

  Roselle interrupted Michigo and decred, "No, Michigo. We 't afford to waste any more time. This is the only lead we have. I have to do it, no matter what's ihis envelope. If it help us find out where Tina is, then I have to see it."

  She carefully opehe small envelope, unfolding the tents to reveal what secrets it held.

  As Roselle opehe envelope and glimpsed the tents, her heart sank. The images were unmistakably Tina, her distinctive pink hair tied in the photos. But the nature of the pictures was something she couldn't bear to see. They were dark, dirty, and clearly inappropriate.

  Tears welled up in Roselle's eyes. She closed the envelope with her hands trembling. Michigo ched her fists in anger. She hissed through gritted teeth, "They will pay for this, Roselle."

  Angie, uo bear the heavy atmosphere, quietly left the room.

  Roselle dashed out of the room and into the hallway. Ign the "no running" sign, she frantically looked around, searg for any sign of Alex.

  But despite her efforts, Alex was o be found in the eg halls. It seemed he had disappeared. She then remembered ‘Big annou’. With that in mind, she rushed to the Gamer's club. Angie was already in front of the door. She caught the distress in Roselle.

  Angie approached her and said, "Hey, you ’t walk in there like that!”

  Roselle skidded to a halt. "I o find Alex! He has to expin these photos!"

  Angie shook her head, pulling out a gamer-themed cloth from her bag. She unfolded it and held it up with a sigh. “I ’t believe I’m doing this…Here, use this to yourself up. Yoing to cause a se if you walk in there like that.”

  Roselle blinked in surprise as Angie handed her the cloth. “Wait, why are you helping me?”

  “Because I don’t want you to make things worse. Calm down before you go in there. You don’t o turn this into a big spectacle.”

  Roselle took the cloth and wiped her face, trying to steady her nerves. She could feel Angie's eyes on her, but she knew Angie was right. If she stormed in there without a pn, she might end up making things worse.

  After a few moments of deep breathing and using the cloth to herself up, Roselle nodded.

  Angie looked at her with a critical eye. “You good now?”

  Roselle took a deep breath and answered, “Yes, I think so.”

  Angie’s face softened slightly. “Alright, the big annou about ‘Epic Quest: Realm of Shadows Online’ is about to happen. It’s a huge deal for the gamers, so you might want to see what’s going on.”

  She gestured towards the main area of the Gamer's Club, where the excitement was. “You join them inside now that you’re calm. But remember, if you see Alex, don’t sh out. We don’t o cause a se, especially not with everything going on.”

  Roselle took o steadying breath and nodded. “Uood. I’ll try to keep it together.”

  “Ladies alemen, gamers, and adventurers from across the virtual realm, wele to the annou of the highly-anticipated online MMO based on the iic game, "Epic Quest: Realm of Shadows"!

  The room darkened as an epic orchestral music begins to py, setting the stage for the unveiling.

  "Prepare yourselves for a journey into a world like no other, a world where heroes and vilins, legends and mysteries, csh iimate battle for supremacy!"

  The s behind the stage lights up, revealing stunning visuals of the game's immersive world, from lush forests to t cities to dungeons with different types of monsters.

  "Epic Quest: Realm of Shadows Online is not just a game; it's an adventure. Craft your own story, fe your destiny, and make your mark on this ever-expanding universe."

  The s transitions to show epic battles, heroic characters, and treacherous dungeons, all rendered with breathtakiail.

  "Engage in intense pyer vs. enviro enters or test your skills against pyers from around the globe in thrilling pyer vs. pyer battles. The choices are yours to make, and the stakes are higher than ever! With a multitude of csses, races, and abilities to choose from, you create a character that truly reflects your unique pystyle. Form alliances, join guilds, and embark on epic quests with friends o solo in your quest flory."

  The visuals transition to illustrate cooperative py, as groups of pyers tackle powerful bosses.

  "Cooperative py is at the heart of ame. Team up with friends and allies to challenge formidable foes and uncendary treasures. The bonds you form on this in-game journey will be just as important as the battles you win!"

  The s now presented a tdown to the game's release.

  "Thank you for joining us in this momentous occasion. We 't wait to see you all in the world of Epic Quest: Realm of Shadows Online!"

  The s dispys the game's logo, and the event es to a close amidst cheers aement from the audience.

  The appuse resouhrough the room. Everyone was excited for the uping MMO based on their beloved game, "Epic Quest: Realm of Shadows." Roselle made some cps while making her way through the crowd to blend in, but her eyes were locked on the front row, where she spotted Alex.

  Angie’s words echoed in her mind, a remio stay calm. Roselle took deep, measured breaths, fog on the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest to keep her emotions in check. But each breath from Roselle grew shorter and more frantic. Her attempts to trol her anger were in vain. The images from the envelope and Alex's dismissive attitude fueled a burning fury within her.

  “Alex!” Roselle's shouted.

  Before he could react, she tackled him to the ground. The audience fell silent, and all eyes turoward the ued spectacle.

  To be tinued...