"What happened Vikram? You look so pale", Akira asked and handed him a bottle of water.

Then with her gaze still fixated on him, she said,

"Keep yourself hydrated. Maybe you can go back in shade in the central arena. Maybe the heat here in this non-air conditioned booth is not suiting you".

Vikram looked at her for a while, unable to understand if that was her real concern or mockery. Nevertheless, he took the water bottle and gulped the entire content because the results had rendered his soul and hurt and parched.

All his plans were getting foiled one after the other.

Raymond seemed to be one step ahead of him always and he wasn't able to understand how that was happening. It was the second time that he had been tricked. But he wasn't going to let that happen the third time.

He was brandished with her words and his ego had been trampled upon. He had turned into a wounded lion who was desperate to kill its prey and Raymond had no idea that he was going to go all in. So picked up his wounded self-esteem and dusted it and turning towards Akira he said,

"You guys prepare for the next round and let me know if any help is required from my side".

Saying that he left towards the arena without waiting for their response.

He sat back on the chair and tried to recollect everything that just happened.

He was unable to understand why in the first place Akira would show him the rejected images. He wasn't sure if she did that knowingly or she was actually adhering to the company policies.

His thought process was halted when he got a call from Peter,

"Please tell me there is some good news".

"Unfortunately not. Things aren't looking good Mr.Vikram".

"What now?", Vikram asked all irritated.

"Mr. Mitiyoushi seems to be very miffed with your decision for using the other game in the round instead of the original one that they had developed. So his team is pulling back and he called me to tell that he is going to send his lawyer to our office tomorrow regarding this whole episode".

Vikram heard him and pinched the space between his brows and said,

"How much will be needed to silence him?"

"Umm... that part I am not sure sir. He is a Japanese guy and his ethics and morals are very strong. I don't think he will budge for just money. He is more affected with the name of the company going down becasue of the first round. They have already switched off their setup from here and are packing up. No matter how much I requested them to participate in the second round, they just didn't listen".

Vikram sighed. As if life was not giving him enough lemons.

"Fine then let the legal department deal with it. Inform them to do anything in their control to silence them. Tell them that money won't be an issue. And file a petition back at them for quitting from the game in the middle. Slap a lawsuit with heavy penalty money".

Saying that Vikram took a deep breath and then asked Peter.

"Is there any possibility that any of the GCG council members is in contact with Raymond anyhow? I am not able to understand how everything is turning against me".

"I can try to find out sir, but the chances are bleak. He doesn't possess that amount of money or resource to have this sort of information or connection".

"That's what I thought as well. But all this cannot be a mere coincidence. It just doesn't add up."

"Even I think the same but the odds are heavy".

"Anyways what about the change of the venue for the final round?"

"Yes, that has been done. They will announce at the end of the second round".

"Ok keep me posted".

Now his eyes were fixed on the scoreboard as the second round had started.

The second round was a fight between two players where both the players had to be from the same company and the pitted against each other.

The whole purpose was to check the weaponry and cheat sheet deployment in the games when two players using the same game played against each other.

Now it was Raymond's turn to showcase his skills and he played against Simon. They both played their best but since Simon was more adapted to the game, he won against Raymond and he amassed a total of 580 points while Raymond got 520. It was a close match and they played their best using every possible weapon against each other because that was the whole purpose of this exercise. To showcase the detailing of the game level.

Once the timer was up, all the three fighting teams submitted their game and waited for the result screen to light up.

Raymond hugged Simon after the duel and said,

"You played really well, better than I ever expected under so much pressure".

"There isn't so much pressure on me Raymond. There is just only one pressure an that is not to disappoint you or my team and all our effort. It's not just your dream, it has become our dream as well".

Raymond stayed silent after hearing him. He looked at every member who was present there and they all pronounced the same vibe to him. He just nodded and appreciated their effort and turned back because his heart was simmering with warm emotions.

Akira knew that he was all emotional. She wanted to go and hug him, but she couldn't do so as they had not told about themselves to the team. So she picked up her phone and texted him.

"Your dream has become bigger Raymond. It's no more just your dream. It's ours. So cherish this because no matter if we win or we lose, this feeling, this bonding, this team spirit is something that we will win back home".

Raymond read the message and his heart just swelled.

He was a winner already in the heart of his people.