No longer a pushover (Noelle and Cedric)

Noelle looked up and saw Samantha, but Xenia was nowhere near. She sat down and calmly said, "I didn't expect you to like being my shadow so much. Wherever I go, you follow."

She arrived first, and Samantha arrived right after. It seemed Jessica had done a good job spreading the word.

"Noelle, stop flattering yourself. My father funds Team Yole. I'm just here to see what's going on." Samantha sneered.

"As for you, you want to join Team Yole, right? But this isn't a place where anyone can just walk in. With your skills, don't even dream about it."

"Isn't Team Yole all about skill? Or are you saying it's about connections now?" Noelle wasn't backing down and looked straight at Samantha.

Samantha was enraged. "Do you even have the skill?"

"Whether I have the skill or not is none of your business."

Noelle ignored Samantha, leaving her fuming.

Soon, the captain of Team Yole arrived. "Welcome everyone to our club, but not everyone can join the team and become a formal member.

"You'll need to go through a selection process. Those who pass will become reserve players, and later, they'll be tested to become official members."

The base had computers, and each person had to go through a human vs. Al match. Samantha sneered from the side. "I bet some people won't even make it past the reserve player stage."

Some newcomers were immediately eliminated in the human vs. Al matches, but a few won. When it was Noelle's turn, it was already the last batch. She sat down at the computer, preparing for the match with ease.

Samantha glanced at the nearby team member and secretly increased the difficulty of Noelle's Al opponent. As soon as the game started, Noelle noticed the difficulty had increased, but it made no difference to her. She defeated the Al in three moves.

The spectators around her were stunned. "She's amazing! She took down the Al that fast!"

"Wow! Impressive! She can't be a new player, right?"

Seeing this, Samantha was incredulous as she turned to the team member. "I told you to increase the difficulty, didn't I? Did you mess it up?"

"Ms. Merlock, I did increase the difficulty. She's really that good."

Clearly, Noelle was an experienced player! Noelle gave Samantha a half-smile.

At this moment, Samuel Crosby walked over and stepped in. "Looks like we have another talented recruit! Noelle, congratulations on becoming a reserve player. You'll need to come to the base for training when you don't have classes!"

"Alright. I understand," Noelle replied calmly.

Samantha, however, was not happy at all.

5

She pulled Samuel aside and whispered, "I don't care. We can't let that bitch Noelle join Team Yole!"

"Ms. Merlock, Noelle passed the test, fair and square. We can't break the rules in front of so many people. If you want to deal with her later, there will always be chances."

"You're right," she said, grudgingly accepting the situation. She wouldn't let Noelle have it easy.

Noelle walked around the base and noticed the wall of honor. She found that the silhouette at the front wasn't a real photo but a shadow of

someone wearing a hoodie. As she got closer, she realized it was King.

She didn't expect King to come from Team Yole. Did that mean King was also a former student here? There was very little information about

King, and Noelle only learned about this now.

Her phone rang. It was Michael.

"Noelle, I assume you've arrived at Yole University. Have you thought aboutnoveldrama

joining our team? We can discuss favorable terms."

"No thanks. I'm not planning to sign with any team."

Noelle rejected the offer. Then, she looked at the silhouette on the wall. "By the

way, was King also from Yole University?"