The Chronos squad stayed in their booth while discussing the overall progress of the game.

"Ohh my gosh! There is a betting site for this tournament! Amazing!!!" Claire exclaimed while raising the screen of her phone towards Sofia.

"Is it possible if we can we join the betting pool and place a bet for our squad? I just looked at the betting status, it had an admission for the patrons of this tournament. The stakes of Lee Gaming Squad and ours are very high." Stephen asked while scrolling down on the online site.

"Nah, bro... not possible. I have seen the bet too. It's impossible for us to join," Joey shook his head and waved his hand as he discouraged the idea of joining online gambling.

"Why not? Are they banning the participants from taking the online bet?" Clark asked curiously.

"Yes, it's in the rules. Only the patrons of the games are allowed to join the betting. And the participating players have a percentage share of the profit in the bet if we become the champion of the tournament. So, we will earn the prize money plus the percentage of the bet." Joey discussed while glancing at the rules of the bet.

"Let me see," Sofia muttered and held Claire's phone.

'I have never gambled in my past life but this time... these amounts are good profits!' Sofia pondered as her eyes observed the digits on the screen as it rises every minute.

"What do you think, Sof?" Claire excitedly asked Sofia but the lady remained silent for another minute. Sofia was still exploring the rules of the betting in the tournament.

"This is a good number," Sofia finally mumbled while reading the conditions of the activity thoroughly.

"Yes, it is! What about we ask someone to bet for our group!? This way, we can also earn another extra. Do you know anyone who can do that for us?" Claire suggested right after she heard Sofia's response.

"No, let's not gamble. We cannot afford to risk our integrity in exchange for this money," Sofia said as she returned the phone to Claire. Her voice was full of certainty as if the amount of money does not sway her.

"But you said that this is a good number? If we ask someone to bet on us, nobody would know that we joined the betting, yeah?" Claire looked at her in the eye.

"It's a good number if those patrons who bet under our squad would support us. But for the money, let's follow the game rules. There are many ways to earn money in a legal way," Sofia answered. She looked around carefully and made sure that no staff would overhear their conversation as it was a sensitive topic.

In her past life, she had seen way bigger amounts of money than what was reflected on the betting pool. How can just six digits sway her when her net worth in the past had reached billions?

"Woah? Really? So, this number of betters placed in our squad, this is how many patrons we have? This is crazy!" Stephen's eyes widened in shock.

"We might gain more later," Sofia said in a meaningful tone. Her face revealed a deep comprehension as her eyes darted towards the large screen that displayed the sponsors of the game.

She mentally applauded the organizers of the event as she also understood why her squad had to play after lunch. With her past life experience, she somehow knew how events earned profits. It's not just about tickets and sponsorship. This kind of patronage would also give a lot of benefits!

Hence, she quickly comprehended that the tournament wanted to earn more on the bet by placing their match schedule after lunchtime!

'No wonder they did not give in to the request of the audience earlier,' she mentally said as she remembered how the audience requested their squad to be rearranged and placed in the first battle!

Unlike the other players who went out to have their lunch breaks, their squad was just chitchatting on their booths.

"Guys, I am not yet hungry. But, do you want to take your lunch?" Sofia asked her members.

"I'm good," Joey mumbled but his attention was already on his phone.

"I'm not also hungry," Clark simply replied.

The two other members, Claire and Stephen shook their heads and responded that they were also not hungry like her.

"Okay, just relax. We will play beautifully on the next match," Sofia took her phone and read all the messages in her inbox.

"Yes, we will! By the way Clark, don't get distracted. Your brother is one of our opponents," Joey reminded Clark.

"Heh! You should be the one who must focus! Your ex is one of our opponents!" Clark grinned.

"Ohh yes! Speaking of ex, indeed! Joey, you will face your ex later," Stephen playfully nudged Joey after hearing Clark's reply.

"Don't even start with me, bro. Or you will regret it," Joey threatened while his eyes secretly gestured at Sofia.

"Hahaha, I am just telling you. What are you saying about regret!?" Stephen slumped his back on the sofa and glanced at Sofia. However, the lady was already scrolling her phone and did not pay attention to them.

~

On the audience side, WINS noticed that his members were sulking beside him. 'These boys are acting like kids?! If I don't agree to what they want, they would resort to being cold and silent!' he shook his head and glared at his two companions.

"Let's have our lunch! Stop sulking on your seats. We will meet the Chronos squad later," WINS finally announced and stood from his seat. He could not stand the awkward atmosphere around them.

He typed and sent a quick message to Sofia and invited her squad for a dinner meet-up.

"Yes boss," His members replied while they silently walked behind him.

As they left the bleachers, WINS received a text message from Sofia inviting them for lunch instead!

"Hah! The wheel of luck has spun on our side. They are inviting us for lunch. Come on!" WINS announced and changed their direction towards the booth where Sofia's team was.

~~

On the side of the Chronos squad, Sofia quickly informed her team that they will be eating together with three other FAB_Gamers squad for their lunch. They may not be hungry, but they must show courtesy to the FAB_Gamers as the group had agreed to practice with them.

"They are here on District 7!?" Clark jumped out of his seat. He had almost forgotten about the match as his mind focused on the fact that the FAB_Gamers would eat lunch with them.

"Calm down, Clark," Claire mused at the sudden burst of emotion from the man.

"Yes, hehe sorry. I just got really excited!" Clark stated and returned to his seat.