Chapter 87: A Coincidence? I Don’t Think So!

After calling for the authorities, Summer left the abandoned bar with the others.

She had been hurt pretty badly, and there was no point in forcing herself to continue the mission in her current condition.

Balian offered to take them back to headquarters by helicopter, while the medical team stayed behind to take care of Clark and escort him back as well.

Once they were inside the helicopter, Julie couldn’t stop staring at the amount of Credits they had earned from the mission.

Although their basic payment would be cut in half because they had only completed half of the mission, they had still managed to earn a ridiculous amount of Credits from livestream gifts and views.

Just the gifts Summer and Saddie received had reached a total of 2,550,000 Credits!

And that wasn’t even counting the 200,000 Credits Julie had received from some of the viewers.

Of course, her gift earnings were nowhere near Summer’s or Saddie’s, but considering this was her very first livestream, it was already an incredible amount of money!

Julie had never imagined she could earn so much from a single mission, especially one they hadn’t even managed to finish.

Still feeling a little overwhelmed, she decided to check their current viewer count and the moment she saw the number displayed on her terminal, she nearly had a heart attack.

[TEAM ANGEL — POLLUTED ZONE POPULATION SUPPRESSION MISSION]

[Location: Zone 33]

[Target: E-Rank Polluted Zone]

[Mission Status: Incomplete]

[Team Livestream: ACTIVE]

[Current Viewers: 2,809,776]

"T-The numbers! The numbers are so high!" Julie finally cried out, her eyes widening in disbelief. "How can something like this even happen?!"

There were almost three million people watching them!

Three million!

Julie stared at the screen for a few more seconds, wondering if she had somehow read the number wrong, then she slowly lifted her head.

Her gaze landed on Balian, who was sitting in the co-pilot’s seat, looking perfectly comfortable as though nothing unusual had happened.

"Oh..." she murmured.

Well, that explained a lot.

Still, she had never imagined that one person could attract so many viewers just by showing up!

"Is something wrong, Miss Marlowe?" Balian suddenly turned his head, catching Julie staring at him.

"N-No!" Julie quickly shook her head, looking a little embarrassed after getting caught. "I’m surprised by how many people are watching our livestream. I’m guessing it’s because they want to see you, Mr. Devereaux."

"Oh?" Balian glanced at the camera floating near the helicopter’s ceiling. "How many?"

"Almost three million!"

"Only three million?"

Julie froze in place the moment she heard that, and even Summer raised one of her eyebrows.

[ONLY THREE MILLION?! BRO, THAT’S MY ENTIRE BLOODLINE GETTING DISRESPECTED.]

[Julie.exe has stopped working.]

[Someone needs to tell this man that three million viewers is not pocket change.]

[To be fair, Balian once had over ten million viewers during a livestream, so he’s probably used to it. And mind you, this man only livestreams FIVE TIMES A YEAR!]

[THIS IS WHY I HATE RICH AND FAMOUS PEOPLE. THEY MAKE ME FEEL BROKE IN EVERY POSSIBLE WAY.]

[You’re broke either way, brother. Your brokenness has already seeped into your bones, body, and soul.]

[You fuckhead!]

[Warning from the mods!]

Balian couldn’t help chuckling when he saw Julie’s shocked expression. "I’m only joking, Miss Marlowe. Three million is a wonderful number, especially for a newly formed team."

Julie finally relaxed, although she still looked a little embarrassed. "I see..."

"Besides, I don’t think they’re all here because of me." He turned his attention toward Summer, who was sitting beside Saddie with her injured arm resting on a small pillow. "Summer has already gained quite a reputation herself."

The corner of Summer’s eye twitched slightly.

She didn’t know why, but hearing him casually call her by her first name sent a strange tingling feeling through her brain.

They had only just met, hadn’t they? Why was he already acting so familiar with her?

"It’s probably because of all of us," Summer replied, deciding not to think too much about it.

Meanwhile, Saddie had been unusually quiet ever since Balian joined them.

Normally, she would have been the first person to laugh at the ridiculous comments or tease Julie about her reaction. However, she had barely said anything throughout the entire flight.

Even her usual cheerful smile was nowhere to be seen and of course, Balian had already noticed her behavior.

"Miss McKay, I can assure you that I’m not here because of your family, nor did I come here to see you," he said calmly. "Everything that happened today was simply a coincidence."

Saddie turned her head toward him, looking far from convinced.

"It’s been three years since we last saw each other. We haven’t even been in the same zone, let alone breathed the same air." She let out a long sigh before continuing, "And now, out of nowhere, I suddenly run into you here? Of course I’m going to be suspicious."

"Are you suspicious that I came here specifically to see you?" Balian asked with a faint smile.

She wasn’t stupid enough to believe that Balian would go through all this trouble just to see her after three years.

After all, if he really wanted to find her, he could have done so a long time ago.

No, something about his sudden appearance simply didn’t sit right with her.

"I feel like you came here for another reason," she said slowly. Then, almost as if something had suddenly occurred to her, she glanced toward Summer. "Do you need a Guide?"

Summer blinked. "Huh?"

Why was she suddenly being dragged into their conversation?!

Balian, on the other hand, simply chuckled. "Miss McKay, as I’ve already told you, I came here by coincidence. That’s all."

His expression remained perfectly calm, and the gentle smile on his face never disappeared.

Unfortunately, that only made Saddie even more suspicious.

[Saddie, girl, what’s the lore here? Why do you look pissed off but also not THAT pissed off?]

[RIGHT?! She looks like she wants to punch him, but she’s also being weirdly polite.]

[Maybe it’s because their families arranged for them to get married so they could produce a high-ranking Sentinel? That’s the rumor I heard.]

[If that rumor came from wealthy families, then I’m pretty sure it’s true!]

[Rich people really be treating marriage like a breeding program.]