Chapter 555 - 551: Lorcain U Esports Club (2)

Hearing this, Ethan Sterling turned to look at Jameson Stone.

"What?" Jameson Stone blinked. "Can’t I join with you?"

"Do you even play video games?" Ethan Sterling asked, a bit unsure. He’d known Jameson Stone for a long time and had never once heard him talk about gaming.

Jameson Stone’s eyes widened at Ethan Sterling’s tone. "Who are you looking down on? I might not be as good as you, but I’m at least... a little better than that upperclassman."

He lowered his voice for the last few words, but the room was small and there were only a few of them there, so of course, Brandon Marshall could hear him.

But he didn’t get angry. He was well aware of his own skill level. Even if no one said anything, his in-game rank was proof enough.

He really was pretty bad at the game.

Riley Kent took out another application form and handed it to Jameson Stone. "Don’t worry about it. Esports represents a certain spirit; it has nothing to do with how good or bad you are. As long as you want to join, you’re welcome here."

"Thanks, Riley." Jameson Stone grinned, took the application, snatched the pen from Ethan Sterling’s hand, and leaned over the table with his butt sticking out as he started to fill out the form.

Just then, Brandon Marshall walked over to Ethan Sterling, slung an arm around his shoulders, and asked excitedly, "Hey, man, do you know any other friends who are good at gaming? Bring them over, and you could form your own team."

Ethan Sterling shook his head. He’d already asked Rabbit and Wayne before he came, and neither of them was interested.

"Doesn’t the club already have teams?" Ethan Sterling asked.

Brandon Marshall scratched his head. "The teams in our club were also formed by groups of friends who are pretty skilled. Since you’re new, it’d probably be hard to squeeze in. Personally, I think it’s better if you start your own."

Ethan Sterling nodded in understanding. Teams in university esports clubs like this were usually formed spontaneously by the members, not through formal tryouts like professional teams.

To put it bluntly, the structure wasn’t that formal, and everyone had a lot of freedom.

"I’ll see after a while. I just got here and don’t really know anyone yet," Ethan Sterling said hesitantly.

Just then, Riley Kent looked at Brandon Marshall and said, "Brandon, you should introduce Ethan Sterling to some of the more skilled players in the club later. See if anyone is interested in forming a team with him."

"No problem!" Brandon Marshall made an OK sign and patted Ethan Sterling’s shoulder. "You got this, man. I’ve got a good feeling about you!"

Ethan Sterling gave a slightly awkward smile.

After the two of them finished their forms, Riley Kent and Brandon Marshall gave them a brief introduction to the Esports Club.

Lorcain U’s Esports Club was founded in 2016, making it one of the first of its kind to be established at a university in the country.

However, even though Lorcain U was one of the nation’s top universities and its students were all academic elites, its performance and standing in the national collegiate esports league were less than ideal—in fact, they were rather disappointing.

The Esports Club’s glory days were in 2019. That year, Lorcain U’s team won second place in the National Collegiate Esports League and was also named the university’s "Outstanding Club of the Year."

These were the achievements represented by the only two banners hanging on the wall.

Now, in 2025, six years had passed, and the Esports Club hadn’t achieved any notable results since, effectively becoming just a casual hobby group.

Therefore, the Esports Club’s management and rules were currently quite lax. Everyone just gathered to party up and play for fun, which was why the club had nearly a hundred members but only a single internal team.

Because everyone’s skill levels were so varied, and most people’s skills were in the lower to middle range, it was impossible to form multiple official university teams.

After explaining all this, Riley Kent added, "The Esports Club is currently open to members all day. But if you want to come into the club to play after 10 p.m., you’ll need to provide your class schedule for the following two days. It has to be reviewed by management to make sure it won’t affect your coursework before you’re approved."

"The club dues are paid per semester and are mainly used for daily equipment maintenance, hardware replacement, and group activities. Our maintenance costs are obviously a bit higher than other clubs, so the dues are ten cents per person, per semester."

Jameson Stone’s eyes widened. He was starting to regret his decision; that was about how much he had for his monthly living expenses.

Riley Kent added, "If any students have financial difficulties, they can apply for volunteer work. It just means coming in according to a schedule to clean the club, wipe down keyboards and mice, and so on, in order to have the fee waived."

Hearing this, Jameson Stone’s eyes lit up again. ’How considerate! I’ll be the janitor!’

"You two should add Brandon on WhatsApp, and he’ll add you to our Esports Club group chat. If you need anything going forward, you can ask him or just come directly to me."

Ethan and Jameson both nodded, and they left after adding Brandon Marshall on WhatsApp.

"Ethan, if you’re going to make a team, you have to include me," Jameson Stone said. "I only joined to keep you company."

"You don’t have to stick with me if you’re not actually interested. I’m really okay now. I’ve completely moved on from what happened before."

Ethan Sterling thought Jameson Stone was only forcing himself to join because he was worried about him.

But in reality, he truly didn’t care about it anymore.

"I am interested! Gaming is awesome, who doesn’t love video games?"

Ethan Sterling stared at him for two seconds, then finally smiled. "Alright, then. Come if you want. I’ll cover your club fee."

"I don’t need you to; I’ll be the janitor," Jameson Stone said. "Just add me to the team when you make it. I’m actually pretty decent—way better than that upperclassman, Brandon, and his clumsy skills."

"Of course I’ll include you. I’d leave anyone else behind before I left you," Ethan Sterling said, happily slinging an arm around Jameson Stone’s shoulders. "You’re my best friend!"

Jameson Stone raised an eyebrow and asked with a grin, "Then what about Renee Reid?"

"You both are!"

But as the two of them were walking and laughing on campus, a sudden commotion erupted nearby. Many Lorcain U students suddenly started running in one direction.

Ethan Sterling and Jameson Stone both froze, then exchanged a look.

"What’s going on?" Jameson Stone asked, puzzled.

Ethan Sterling shook his head; he didn’t know either.

Just then, his phone began to vibrate violently. He pulled it out and saw it was a direct voice call from Wayne.

The moment he answered, Wayne’s terrified and frantic shout came through the phone: "Ethan, someone’s been murdered!"

Ethan Sterling froze. He didn’t hear him clearly at first, or maybe he thought he’d misheard. "Huh? What was that?"

"Someone’s been murdered! Vince killed someone!"

In an instant, a chill shot up from the soles of Ethan Sterling’s feet to the crown of his head, and his skin broke out in goosebumps.

Looking again at the agitated crowd of students running in the distance, Ethan Sterling finally snapped back to reality, grabbed Jameson Stone by the wrist, and broke into a run.

Jameson Stone still had no idea what was happening. "Ethan, where are we going? What’s going on?"

Ethan Sterling didn’t know how to explain it, but hearing Wayne say over the phone that Victor Tucker had killed someone made his heart clench violently.

Even though the guy had backstabbed him before, compared to that, murder was something of a completely different nature, and far, far more serious.