Legacy of the Stars

The morning after their victory against Titan Vanguard dawned quiet but tense. There was an invisible weight in the air—a mix of exhaustion from the previous night's battle and unspoken doubts. Liu Cheng sat at the small desk in his section of the suite, scrolling through the files on the USB Lin Mei had brought. His face was illuminated by the bluish glow of the monitor, his eyes red from a sleepless night.

"I found something," he said, breaking the silence.

Lin Mei, sitting on the bed with her tablet in hand, looked up. "What is it?"

"Messages. They're encrypted, but they seem to be communication between someone on the tournament staff and… someone with access to the game's systems."

Lin Mei got up and leaned over his shoulder. "Look here," she pointed at one of the files. "The timestamp of this message matches the glitch during our last match. This isn't a coincidence."

Liu Cheng nodded. "This proves that someone within the system is connected to the sabotage. But why? What would they gain by sabotaging their own tournament?"

Before Lin Mei could answer, the door to their room suddenly swung open. Zhang Wei stood in the doorway, his dark eyes full of suspicion.

"What are you two doing?" he asked, his gaze darting between the USB and the monitor.

Liu Cheng quickly turned off the screen. "Nothing that should concern you."

"That doesn't sound convincing," Zhang Wei replied coldly. "Last night's win was shaky. We don't have the luxury of wasting time on secret projects. If there's something I should know, tell me now."

Lin Mei tried to take control of the situation. "Zhang Wei, we're working on something that could help the team. We just need a little more time."

Zhang Wei stared at her and then at Liu Cheng before speaking. "Do whatever you want, but if this jeopardizes our next match, I won't stay silent. Understood?"

After he left, Lin Mei placed a hand on the desk. "We'll have to be more careful. Suspicion is already following us."

Liu Cheng leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes for a moment. "Time is running out. We need to uncover more before we're forced to stop."

---

Unwelcome Guests

Later that day, while the team was training for their next match, Liu Cheng and Lin Mei decided to continue analyzing the data in a more discreet location. They found an abandoned technical room on the third floor of the arena, far from prying eyes.

"I think I can decrypt the messages," Liu Cheng said as he worked on his laptop. "But I need more time."

"Not too much," Lin Mei warned. "If Phantom discovers what we're doing again, we could be in serious trouble."

As she spoke, the door to the technical room swung open. Two men in black suits, clearly part of the tournament's security team, stepped inside.

"You're not supposed to be here," one of them said, his voice emotionless.

Liu Cheng remained calm. "Apologies, we were looking for a quiet place to work. We'll leave right away."

However, the second man moved closer, his eyes landing on the USB drive on the table. "What's this?"

Lin Mei quickly stepped forward, covering the device with her hand. "Private data. You have no right to touch it."

The man gave her a cold stare, but before he could respond, Liu Cheng intervened. "This is internal team material. If you have questions, take them up with the organizers."

After a moment of tense silence, the men withdrew, but not before issuing a final warning. "This is your last chance. Don't let us catch you here again."

"We have bigger problems than we thought," Lin Mei said after they were alone.

"It only means we're close to something big," Liu Cheng replied, determined not to back down.

---

Facing the Truth

That evening, back in their suite, Liu Cheng finally managed to decrypt most of the messages. What he discovered confirmed their worst fears—the sabotage was no accident. The messages pointed to a network of individuals within the tournament staff working together to manipulate outcomes.

"Their goal is to eliminate the strongest teams," Lin Mei said as they reviewed the messages. "But why?"

Liu Cheng's stomach dropped when he saw one particular message:

"Target: Glory International. Eliminate by semifinals. Procedure: Technical manipulation and psychological pressure."

"We're their next target," he said quietly.

Lin Mei looked at him, her eyes full of concern. "What do we do now? If we report this, we risk being accused of something we didn't do. But if we stay silent, the team will suffer."

Liu Cheng straightened up, his resolve returning. "We can't stay silent. We need to share this with the team, but we have to approach it carefully."

---

Cracks in the Team

The next day, the team was gathered in the suite, preparing for their upcoming match. Liu Cheng decided it was time to share what he'd found.

"We have a problem," he began, drawing everyone's attention.

"More problems?" Zhang Wei immediately reacted, his frustration evident.

"You need to hear this," Liu Cheng said, displaying the decrypted messages on the screen.

As everyone read through the messages, the silence grew heavier. Finally, Chen Rui spoke. "This is serious. If all of this is true, it means we never really had a fair chance."

"What do you propose we do?" Lin Mei asked.

"We fight," Liu Cheng replied. "Not just in the game but against this. We need to endure and find out who's behind it."

Zhang Wei looked at him skeptically. "And what if we get caught? This could destroy everything we've worked for."

"If we don't try, we've already lost," Liu Cheng countered.

The tension between them was palpable, but in the end, the team agreed to stick together—for now.