The Mercenary Queen Strikes Back (Lily Hastings) novel Chapter 111

Chapter 111

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件事机构机性内裤oursomeday west very had introduced her to the lab.

The inher make de prated at the K17 party the tape Mod’s methong was sharp, and the remembered every face.

**** *** * the BUT TEAHg, Mena firmerwey in the commperman,” Casey vaid. “Zack Fayne, Rhys Sterling, and

deur and haurgere theyre the ones from the groep chat. Don’t Fall for Me and Bloodforge.”

banger wee metally quiet, but when he backed eyes with Nova, he didn’t hesitate. “Td rather you call me Bloodforge–my

at the any clutching his plone, muttering to himself and shaking it back and forth like he was

b

10:56 am

Chapter III

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Hey, wanna team–up in the game? Stick with nie and you’ll win easy!” Holden said, his eyes practically glowing like he was itching to put his charm on full display.

Holden looked at Nova like I just found the ultimate chance to strut his stuff

He flipped his phone upside–down, eyes filled with obvious excitement.

“Go play by yourself then!” Casey cut in before Nova could answer.

“Nova’s a girl–why would she want to bother with you boys and your shoot–em–up games?”

Casey answered for Nova before she could say anything.

Nova caught a glimpse of the gameplay flashing on Holden’s phone, and her brows lifted, curiosity sparked in her eyes.

“A shooter?” Nova said, her interest clearly piqued.

“Yep, it’s a shooter! Hey girl, wanna duo up with me?” Holden called out, practically buzzing to show off.

He looked like he couldn’t wait to flex every skill he had, voice brimming with swagger.

“Trust me, my aim’s insane! Once I took down twenty players back–to–back–no one could touch me!”

Teenage boys were crazy about anything that went bang–especially guns and military gear.

But in real life, Zoria had a total ban on firearms.

So the only way to scratch that itch was by diving into all sorts of shooter games.

Playing these games gave them a sense of pride–like they were actual action heroes, showing off with real guns.

So how did they usually flaunt that pride?

That’s why some guys would be all about finding girls–just for the chance to show off their killer aim and flashy moves.

They lived for that moment when a girl’s jaw would drop, staring at them like, ‘Whoa, is he for real?‘

And if the girl started hyping him up from the sidelines-“Wow, you’re amazing! It’s just like watching the real deal – nothing pumped their egos harder.

That was how they fed their egos.

Holden was always scoping out girls just so he could show off and feed his vanity.

Nova–a pretty girl–had just walked right into his trap.

He was itching to see her gawk at his skills, hoping she’d look all wide–eyed and clueless, like some rookie who’d never seen real action before.

So he cranked up the swagger.

“He, why don’t you give it a shot? Come play with me!” Holden grinned, practically vibrating with anticipation.

“I’ve never played a shooter before. Nova said, her tone flat, unfazed by Holder’s obvious excitement.

Shooter games never interested hereafter all, she spent her days handling actual gittis not just pixels on a screen.

10:57 am

Chapter III

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k to Hulden, thats not what he heard at all. In his mind, Nova might as well have been saying. I’m such a total newbie- Ive never played a shooter in my life.

Forget real guns, I don’t even know what to do with those toy guns in the game

Just imagine showing off in front of a clueless girl like her–she’d probably be so blown away, she’d start squealing with

excitement!

And with a face that pretty? Man, this was gonna be legendary.

Holden felt like he was riding high, floating on air.

He was practically beaming, convinced he was about to steal the spotlight.

“Never played? Oh, that’s an easy fix!

“Alright, pretty lady, just watch and learn. I’ll walk you through it step by step–just follow my lead and you’ll get the hang of it in no time!” he said.

Without missing a beat, Holden started playing right away, eyes glued to his phone.

“This game’s called Battle. Once you drop in, you’re tossed onto a huge open–world map with a thousand other players— everyone’s fighting for survival, bullets flying everywhere,” he explained.

“Take a single hit and you’re instantly out- -no second chances, game over for that round.

“It’s basically a survival game, really. It’s all about how long you can stay alive–the longer you last, the higher your rank.

“If you manage to outlast everyone and keep from getting killed, that’s how you earn your spot on the leaderboard.

“Most of the time, if you manage to break into the top hundred, that’s pretty sick! And you gotta remember, this is a PvP game–every single player is live, no bots here.

“If you make top fifty, you’re basically a champ.

“Crack the top ten, or even the top five? That’s straight–up elite—the kind that other players worship.”

Holden wasn’t just throwing out facts; he was hyping himself up for a brag fest.

“My sickest game? I once landed thirty–eighth on the leaderboard, no joke!” he boasted, flashing a cocky grin

“Pretty impressive, huh?” Holden grinned, turning to Nova with a smug look.

As he said it, Holden sneaked a glance at Nova, clearly hoping to catch a spark of amazement on her face.

He was totally waiting for her to lose it when she heard his rank

Out of a thousand players, he’d snagged thirty–eighth place–surely that would get her wide–eyed and stunned, right?

Except nothing

She was totally sunfazed, not a fhcker of surprise her expression as blank as a wall.

Did I not hype myself up enough or did I actually blow her mind so hard she’s fragen? Holdes thought to himself, secretly Doping for some jaw dropping reaction

10:57 am

Chapter IIL

pping his phone like it was life or death, Holden started mashing the controls even harder—his moves getting wilder as if that alone might impress her.

Trying to sell the moment eve more, he cranked up his commentary with dramatic sound effects.

“Hey, pew pew pew! Look, I’m shooting! Check it out, I’m firing!

“Bang bang bang! Take that!”

But in the end, Holden’s character instantly got blown up by an enemy grenade right behind a sandbag.

Game over.

His final rank-

99th

“Normally, I could do way better than that!” Holden grumbled, refusing to back down.

Not about to lose face, he instantly started up another round and thrust his phone into Nova’s hands.

“See how I did it? Think you get the gist now?

“Here, you give it a try! Come on!” he said.

‘Once Nova tries Battle for herself, she’ll see for sure how savage this game really is!‘ Holden thought smugly, already picturing her fumbling with the controls.

‘She’ll probably crash out in dead last–or for all I know, get KO’d before she even figures out how to aim, he snickered.

And once she realizes how crazy realistic and hard this shooter is, I bet she’ll be begging me for tips. She’ll totally start worshipping my mad skills!‘ Holden grinned to himself, riding high on the thought.

Holden was straight–up giddy, so sure he was about to blow/Nova’s mind and score some serious bragging rights.

Nova took the phone.

She’d never touched a shooter game like this–naturally, her interest was piqued.

As she glanced at the hyper–realistic graphics, it gave her an uncanny sensation–like she’d stepped right back onto an actual international battlefield.

1

So, under the watchful eyes of Holden, Casey, Zane, Rhys, and everyone else. Nova simply stepped up.

Everyone had their eyes glued to her, waiting to see what this girl would do next

She’d only watched Holden play once, but within seconds was pulling moves straight out of a go instinctively fluid, her reactions ice cold.

playbook

at matter where her ever tried re In just ten minutes, she controlled her character with pinpoint precision hide, Nova sniffed them out from every shadow and dead zone on the map

She finished them off, either with flawless headshots or perfectly med grenades, kung nothay

Even in a video game, Nova’s shooting was next level–her accuracy was breakishly s unstoppable legend.

1057 am

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hey the01e had ever seen arrything this en Nora never ell mention, gunning straight through every highst and dominating

dend warrior in acon–she wasnit just pressing buttons, she wa

cold all just like the real deal.

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