Chapter 158: Press Conference

Max was deeply satisfied by the contract agreement’s contents.

Although it was difficult to see his expression through his poker face, the moment he grabbed the pen beside the paper, it was obvious that Max agreed by the terms and conditions.

All cameras incessantly flashed, capturing the moment of the first player finally becoming the face of Aethernova.

Max signed every page and when he was finished, he turned towards the CEO, who stood up and extended his hand.

Max smiled and stood up, shaking his hand.

June 26, 2028. The day the first player finally became the Executive Player Ambassador of Aethernova.

Ceo grabbed the stack of papers and passed them to the head of Legal Affairs Department, while other CEO’s of other departments and head of minor departments left with him, leaving behind the head of public relations department, responsible for public announcements.

Now that the first player finished signing the contract, a press conference was held right away.

The round white table was replaced by a rectangle table while the media was preparing their equipments to record the press conference live.

The public was already informed by the press conference from Aethernova a few days ago, but as for the reason, most of them were not yet aware.

However the Lewis brother already caught the news yesterday and was now waiting for the press conference to start, including Spencer himself.

Spencer was supposedly working for his guild to be established in Apocalypse Online, but he has yet to accumulate merits enough to establish his own guild.

In Apocalypse Online, there was only one guild established by NPCs, known as Adventurer’s Guild, mostly responsible for various quests they posted from their sponsors.

Most of the time, it was to subjugate bandits, investigate raiders or monster’s activities within the Empire’s territory, or simply collect materials of monsters.

For Spencer to establish a guild, he must also convey his guild’s responsibilities, gathered sponsorship, and accumulate merits for Empire.

Spencer had been working hard. Thankfully, he had already recruited a lot of players across the province, while constantly ordering them to make a name for their guild that has yet to be established, gaining the recognition of the Empire.

While they were waiting for the press conference by Aethernova to begin, watching in the huge TV in the living room, Julian glanced at his brother and asked, "How is the guild establishment going, brother?"

Spencer didn’t even bother staring at his brother as he continued to stare at the TV, seemingly lost in thoughts.

After a while, he replied, "It’s going well."

Julian nodded vigorously. "Yes. Not only I’m doing quests to accumulate merits for the guild, I’m also trying to gain the sponsorship of the chief village of Greyfen Village. Establishing the guild’s branch in the Greyfen Village will help our members in Mirefall Province to gain access for grinding spots and various quests from high-value NPC."

Spencer did not reply.

Once the TV finally showed the images of the commencement of the press conference, Spencer’s eyes were glued to Max.

So, that’s his actual face, huh? I don’t know him.

Spencer were very familiar to every professional players from different virtual games before apocalypse online descended.

Yet, Max’s face was totally unfamiliar, making him understand that Max might have only become the leading player out of luck.

Luck alone is insufficient. Apocalypse Online is a hyper-realistic game, with a high difficulty. I wonder how long can he keep this facade up?

While Spencer was calmly staring at Max’s face, Julian was grinding his teeth while staring at Max with blood red eyes.

He was infuriated. He could remember the face who humiliated him during his first local quest, which was snatched by Max.

Although he kept his composure at that time, it was completely different now.

No matter how much he worked hard, Lieutenant Garrick would always compare them to Max.

Julian also felt like the main reason he could not increase his relationship status with Lieutenant Garrick was primarily because of Max, who set the standard high.

Furthermore, he thought Max’s arrogance would deplete as time passed by. He believed that Max was simply an ignorant, prideful player who didn’t know how complex gaming was, when social connections were involved.

He at first believed that the hate they spread towards Max would slow his progress.

On the contrary, Max’s popularity only soared despite not making any world-wide achievements, such as global achievements for the past two months.

It appeared that the global achievements he attained two months ago remained to be unforgettable into the eyes of other players, cementing him as the leading player, despite his elder brother’s achievements.

In the hearts of the players, they admired Spencer for his public show of strength, leadership, and connections, but deep inside, their admiration for Max’s enigmatic charisma and unforgettable public achievements made them recognized him as the leading player without a doubt.

No one knows his current strength yet, as he did not appear in the eyes of the players anymore, but one thing was certain... Max’s achievements based on Imperial Merits alone was something that any other player could not compare even combined.

Spencer noticed his brother’s expression and didn’t bother.

For him, his brother was simply a pawn he could use.

He placed his whole attention to the press conference.

As the head of Aethernova’s legal affairs department introduced Max and explained his current relationship with them, he finally allowed the reporters to question Max.

The head of the legal affairs department already knew what to do, after pointing to one of the reporters, the reporters questioned Max’s about the reason behind the undying hatred of players, particularly originating from players of the Greyfen Village.

Julian’s heart skipped a beat when he heard the question. He broke into sweats.

Watching Max answered, his worst nightmare came true.

Max explained in full detail, not twisting the words or leaving behind the factual event.

He mentioned how his conflicts with Julian escalated, as far as the latter bringing his family and elder brother to their conflicts to threaten him...

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