Chapter 606 - 602: Team Training Base

Solara Tower.

On its north side, Concord Street.

Even though it was afternoon, the street was bustling. All sorts of vendors hawked their wares, and food stalls from every corner of the country lined the sidewalks.

This was because Solara Tower housed an e-sports training hub. Within this single building, dozens of professional teams rented space for their training bases.

At a grilled sausage stand.

"Hey boss, how much for the sausages?"

Golden Blade and his two friends stared at the fragrant, grilling sausages, swallowing hard as they asked the vendor.

"Five for two cents!"

There were only three of them, so Golden Blade instinctively asked, "How much for three?"

"Three for a cent!"

Monkey quickly chimed in, "Boss, let’s just get three. One for each of us."

Golden Blade thought so too, but just then, a voice suddenly spoke up from behind them. "If it’s one cent for three, then how much for six?"

The vendor blurted out, "Six for two cents!"

"But didn’t you just say it was two cents for *five*?"

That one question completely stumped the vendor. He stopped what he was doing, looked up, and blinked. "Huh? Something doesn’t seem right here."

Golden Blade and his friends were baffled too; they hadn’t caught it either.

They turned their heads and saw him—Ethan Sterling!

"Ethan!" the three of them exclaimed, excited. They never expected to run into him here of all places.

"Lorcain is such a big city, and we still managed to run into each other!" Golden Blade said with a happy grin.

Ethan scanned the QR code and paid directly. "Six for two cents, right, boss? The payment went through."

Only then did he turn to his friends, looking amused. "Five for two cents, three for one cent... did you guys really not hear anything wrong with that?"

The three of them just chuckled foolishly. Golden Blade said, "This is why you’re the top university student."

Ethan was speechless. ’Even an elementary schooler would know something’s wrong with that math.’

As he spoke, his gaze fell on their hands. Each of them was holding a stack of flyers.

He frowned slightly. "Handing out flyers?"

There was no hiding it now. The three of them looked a bit embarrassed.

They were an entire district away from their pool hall, precisely because they were afraid of losing face. And yet, Ethan had stumbled right upon them.

"Nothing to be embarrassed about. Are you short on cash?" Ethan asked.

Golden Blade nodded lightly.

Business at the pool hall was slow, and with so many of them, they couldn’t just rely on Kai to support them forever.

"Haven’t had lunch yet?"

Just then, the vendor handed over the bagged sausages. Golden Blade took them, waved them in front of Ethan, and said with a smile, "This is lunch."

Two sausages each. If he hadn’t run into them, their lunch would have been reduced to just one each.

But he had something to attend to. Ethan glanced at the time and said to them, "You guys hand out your flyers around here. Don’t go far. I have some business in Solara Tower. Let’s meet at the main entrance at 2:30. I’ll take you to get something to eat. Just sausages won’t be filling enough."

"No need, Ethan. We still have some money on us."

They were just reluctant to spend it.

"Do you not see me as a friend?" Ethan asked, his expression turning serious.

Golden Blade quickly nodded. "Of course we do!"

"Then do as I say. If I come down later and don’t see you guys, I’m deleting all your contacts." As Ethan spoke, he was already turning to leave. "I really have to go up. I’m running late."

Before Golden Blade and the others could respond, Ethan was already jogging away, quickly covering some distance.

At the tower’s entrance, he happened to run into Jameson Stone, who had arrived just in the nick of time.

"You just got here?" Jameson asked, a little surprised. Before he could finish his sentence, Ethan grabbed him and dashed toward the elevators inside.

Inside the elevator, Ethan explained breathlessly, "I just ran into a few friends and chatted for a bit."

Floor 27, Room 2708.

The Lorcain U E-sports Team training base was located here. It was a facility fully funded by their sponsor, and it was quite spacious. It had a training room, a dining area, a lounge, a reception room, and dedicated restrooms.

Most of the training bases in this building had a similar setup. Regardless of a team’s actual skill, as long as they had a willing sponsor, the amenities wouldn’t be lacking.

Although the Lorcain U E-sports Team’s performance was quite average, the influence of "Lorcain U" as Cathay’s top university was undeniable. The school’s prestigious name meant they never had a shortage of sponsors.

Their current sponsor was the well-known domestic brand "Wa-Cha-Cha"—that’s right, the one that makes mineral water and soft drinks.

The entrance was a set of double glass doors. Ethan pushed but found they wouldn’t open. Jameson pointed to the fingerprint scanner on the side. "Ethan, looks like it’s fingerprint-locked."

Seeing this, Ethan had no choice but to knock on the door and call out, "Hello, is anyone there?"

"Who’s going to hear that?" Jameson said. He pounded on the glass door and yelled, "IS ANYONE THERE!"

This time, it worked. A tall, skinny young man with messy hair came out from inside and opened the door. He looked at the two of them with a puzzled expression. "Who are you looking for?"

"Hi, I’m Ethan Sterling. I’m the substitute player for the school e-sports team’s fall season."

"A substitute?" The guy gave Ethan a surprised look, then turned and shouted back into the room, "Captain, how come we’ve got another sub?"

Seeing his tone and attitude, Jameson looked displeased. "What? Didn’t the club president tell you?"

"You guys wait a minute."

The guy ignored Jameson’s question, shut the door directly in their faces, and headed back inside, leaving them outside again.

Jameson pushed on the glass door and found it was locked again.

"What kind of attitude is that?" Jameson was getting annoyed.

Ethan also felt the guy’s attitude was out of line. No matter what, after he had stated his identity, they should have at least been invited inside. There was a sofa right there in the reception area, but instead, they were just shut out.

"Whatever, let’s just wait," Ethan said with a sigh.

After about ten minutes, someone finally came out again. It was the same guy, this time with two others, and he opened the door once more.

"Which one of you is Ethan Sterling?"

The slightly chubby young man with short hair in the middle spoke, his tone cold and hard. There were no greetings, no polite preamble.

Ethan’s friendly expression vanished as well. "I am," he said.

The guy stared at him for a few seconds before saying, "You can come in. Your friend can’t."

Jameson was taken aback, but then another person explained, "The team’s training base is completely closed and confidential. It’s a matter of responsibility to the entire team, we’re not targeting you personally."

After all, different teams have different strategies and playstyles, as well as unique training methods. Therefore, every team’s training base is completely private. Other than team members and coaches, no one else is allowed inside.

"Ethan, I’ll wait for you downstairs." Having received a reasonable explanation, Jameson didn’t make a fuss and immediately decided to cooperate.

Ethan nodded. "Why don’t you just head back? No need to wait."

"I’ll wait," Jameson insisted, then turned and left.

Seeing this, the other guys finally stepped aside to make room and said to Ethan, "Come on in."