In the gentle embrace of moonlight, Lena Smith lounged on her luxurious sofa, cradling a crystal-clear glass of red wine. She swirled it gently, as if dancing with the red liquid within. The light cast a warm glow, and Lena let out a soft chuckle, a sound tinged with self-mockery and pride.

"I must have been blind," she murmured to herself, her voice laced with a playful tone. "I thought Jamie Smith, ranked seventh in the early days of the virtual game, was young and full of potential. I thought he'd shine brightly in the Fireseed Cup tournament." Her smile was sly, "I was hoping to latch onto a strong teammate and make a hefty profit. But it turns out, he's more of a paper tiger!"

Her eyes gleamed with a sense of accomplishment, "Now, I've made it into the top ten archers of Xia Country, even if I'm at the tail end. But in this era where close combat is all the rage, archers like me are rare and much sought after." Her gaze drifted through the window, as if she could see the figures battling in the virtual world.

"Nowadays, big corporations are diving into the virtual world, forming professional teams." There was an anticipatory note in her voice, "The Golden Roc team I've joined is led by Lily Steel, a three-time world champion in martial arts. Nowadays, only Ray Willow, Ray Cloud, and Yvonne Archer can claim to be stronger than him."

A sense of exhilaration filled her, as if she could already envision her triumphant performance in the Fireseed Cup tournament. She knew that fighting alongside such teammates would only make her shine brighter.

The vibration of her phone interrupted her thoughts. She set down her wine glass and answered the video call.

"Lena Smith," the silver-haired young man on the other end said with a smile, "The money has arrived, hasn't it?"

"Received," she replied with a smile.

"The Fireseed Cup tournament is up to you now," the silver-haired young man said, "This is Golden Roc Group's first foray into the gaming industry. As an archer, you are a crucial part of our team."

"Don't worry, Mr. Tian, my four teammates are incredibly strong. With their cooperation, I'm confident I can perform even better," she said with conviction.

The silver-haired young man nodded, "But there's one thing I need to remind you of. The team is still trying to recruit 'Emily Johnson'. If Emily Johnson agrees to join our Golden Roc team, you'll have to be a substitute. Rest assured, you'll still be paid in full!"

"Mr. Tian, I understand," she said with a smile, "If the great Emily Johnson comes, I'll gladly be a substitute. I'm very aware of the gap between us."

The silver-haired young man nodded in approval, "Alright, get ready. Training starts in an hour."

"Will do," she nodded with a smile.

After hanging up, her expression darkened, and she let out a sneer, "The great Emily Johnson? She was a divine archer from the very first day the virtual world opened, and she must be even more terrifying now. Among today's archers, Yvonne Archer is in a league of her own, followed by Emily Johnson and Zhuang Ziyu. Emily Johnson is also a beautiful archer and a super popular live streamer. I know of several large corporate teams vying for her, is she that easy to compete for?"

She sighed with envy, "I really envy them. Yvonne Archer has built his own team and disdains to cooperate with any corporation. A group of experts joined him voluntarily! The great Emily Johnson, the strongest goddess archer, with extremely high popularity, is pursued by major corporations. Zhuang Ziyu, Tianyin Group cooperates with him, building a team entirely around him."

Lena lamented, "Among archers, only the three of them are so special." She knew that in the hierarchy of archers, the three of them were significantly stronger than the rest.

For a long time, there were only three super archers in Xia Country: Yvonne Archer, Emily Johnson, and Zhuang Ziyu. All three were divine archers from the first day of the ranking competition, and their archery skills in reality were already terrifying, having long been on Xia Country's key training list. After a month of hard training in the virtual world, their archery skills naturally became even more extraordinary.

...

In the living room, after Jamie Smith finished the call with Lena Smith, he opened the light screen and blocked Lena Smith.

"Don't be angry, Jamie," May Lee said softly.

Jamie Smith said, "Actually, I should have expected it. Lena Smith joined my team because of the high potential and strength I showed. It's not surprising that he left now."

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

May Lee comforted, "Don't blame yourself. Lena Smith is a petty person. You judge others by yourself, how could you know the thoughts of a petty person? It's better for him to leave early. Today is the 25th, and it's the end of the month! The masters who want to join the Fireseed Cup tournament have already formed teams. It's really harmful to quit the team at this time!"

Jamie Smith nodded, "He did it on purpose, and he didn't even bother to say hello to the three teammates! We have trained and cooperated for so long, and he left without saying a word of apology."

May Lee said, "Such a petty person, just don't associate with him in the future, it's not worth getting angry. In fact, when we formed the team, everyone signed a contract, and there was a contract to restrain him, and he wouldn't be able to quit."

"Our team was just a verbal agreement, and there was no signed salary, so it's not easy to restrain him with a contract," Jamie Smith said, "Since we are not of the same mind, it's better to leave!"

May Lee nodded, "What we need most urgently now is the last teammate! At the beginning of the month, there were many people who were willing to join your team. But now, those who are determined to join the Fireseed Cup tournament are afraid to have formed teams early. Where can we find someone now? Or find an archer."

"Let's think of a way slowly, I'll go to find Quincy Shawn and tell them about this," Jamie Smith got up and walked towards the bedroom.

May Lee watched this scene and opened her work group: "Lucini, Ben, hurry up and check the information of all archers, whether they have joined the team? Is there a possibility of invitation?"

"Received!"

"Received!" The two assistants immediately went to collect information and intelligence.

******

In the virtual world, in his personal space.

"What's the sudden call for?" Finn Brown was lying on the sofa, holding grapes, looking at the snow mountain top and ice lake scenery outside the window.

"Why isn't Lena Smith here?" Chase Ron and Quincy Shawn also sat aside, eating casually.

They get along casually.

Jamie Smith sat there: "He quit the team."

Finn Brown, Chase Ron, and Quincy Shawn were all stunned.

"Are you kidding?" Chase Ron couldn't believe it, "Today is the 25th, and the registration is in three days. He quit the team? How many times have we trained and cooperated as a team?"

"He had a video call with me, and I saved it. You can watch it," Jamie Smith sent out the video.

"...You tell them for me, there's no way, I also need to make money." In the video, Lena Smith said very simply and hung up.

"A man's word is his bond! What he said in the past is like farting?" Finn Brown had a murderous look, "Even if you want to leave, can't you say it earlier?"

Quincy Shawn, no matter how good his temper is, is also a bit angry: "The virtual world has only been open for a month, and we have trained and cooperated for twenty days! Now he suddenly quits the team and wastes our training time."

"We are his free training partner! We besieged him and trained his close combat archery." Chase Ron was also angry, "His archery has improved so much, but he suddenly quit the team! He didn't even bother to say a word to us!"

"Without our free training partners, could his close combat archery improve so quickly? Could he enter the top ten archers?" Finn Brown scolded, "It's about to start the competition, and he quit the team, not even an apology, what a white-eyed wolf!"

"This is a petty person." Jamie Smith said, "What's most urgent now is to find the last teammate."

"Now it's too difficult to find an archer." Chase Ron shook his head.

"It's almost time to register, and now find an archer?" Finn Brown also had a headache, "Nymph Fairy's top one hundred masters, only ten archers. The strongest is Yvonne Archer, the second echelon is Zhuang Ziyu and Emily Johnson. There are also two in the third echelon."

"As far as I know, the ones who haven't determined their teammates now are only the second echelon 'Emily Johnson' and the fourth

echelon 'Fang Sheng'." Finn Brown said, "Fang Sheng also has several teams inviting him, and Emily Johnson is even more sought after. The previous Tianlan Group directly quoted a signing bonus of 100 million to sign Emily Johnson, and Emily Johnson didn't care. There are several well-known large groups competing for her."

"Everyone knows the importance of the virtual world, and the popularity of Emily Johnson, the strongest beautiful archer, is what those large groups value." Quincy Shawn said.

"We can't

"Money paves the way, the possibility of inviting Emily Johnson and Fang Sheng is very low." Chase Ron said.

"Brother Xu, don't you know Emily Johnson?" Quincy Shawn said.

"I've only fought against her a few times, and I don't have a deep friendship." Jamie Smith shook his head, "Let's think of a way first, if we can't find an archer, then find another warrior, it's the same rush."

"Having an archer is a qualitative change." Finn Brown said, "If we can't find the top ten archers, then even the weaker archers, it doesn't make much sense to invite."

"Let's think of a way separately, and we'll meet again in three days. After all, the registration deadline is the evening of the 31st." Jamie Smith said.

"Okay, let's think of a way separately."

The four temporarily dispersed.

...

"Boss, this is all the information of the well-known divine archers we have collected, a total of twenty-seven. The top ten famous archers, and the following seventeen... Their strength is also very close to Lena Smith who quit the team, but their close combat is not as good as Lena Smith." Lucini said.

May Lee looked at the name on the information in front of her: "Emily Johnson?"

"Emily Johnson is the archer second only to Yvonne Archer. On the Nymph Fairy's top expert list, she is also in the second echelon." Lucini said, "Among the archers in the second echelon, there are only Emily Johnson and Zhuang Ziyu. She is also a beautiful woman with very high popularity, and now many large groups are competing for her."

"Have we met Emily Johnson?" May Lee said.

"It was Daisy Young who brought Emily Johnson, and Emily Johnson is also your fan, she likes your songs very much." Ben said.

"Xiaoqing and Emily Johnson are good friends." May Lee thought for a while, "You guys leave first, I'll talk to Xiaoqing."

"Okay." Lucini, Ben left.

May Lee directly invited Daisy Young.

Soon...

"Whoosh."

A young girl with an upright posture and a bit of heroism came to May Lee's personal space.

"What's up, sister-in-law?" Daisy Young said with a smile, she is Dane Tony's daughter and Jamie Smith's junior sister.

(To be continued)