Tiana scowled, seeing that a nobody dared to challenge her before everyone else. But she had no idea that John was coming from an affluent family as well.
And the only reason he wasn't using his influence or family power to get back at her was that he had heard of the rumors about how all the members of the Wildcats team were coming from wealthy and influential families, because of which they wear masks to hide their identities.
He felt that this rumor was not without reason since he knew many powerful families would frown upon the fact that their kids were putting too much time in video games rather than studies or taking up some extracurricular activities that could fatten up their resume.
And he also knew about how many people who had hostility against the Wildcats got shut down when they tried to retaliate though nobody knew how.
However, he wasn't afraid of it because he had good enough backing, and at the same time, he didn't want to get into a fight with them directly but instead decided to do it through the game.
He was quite confident in his, and his team's skills since they had already easily won many local CS:UW tournaments and was a team that was on the rise to glory.
But he had seen the gameplays of the Wildcats and had to grudgingly admit that they were very skilled indeed.
He knew only the Snow Queen was the most troublesome player to deal with among the Wildcats and that if he and his team targeted to finish her off in the game first, then probably they might stand a chance of winning.
But that didn't mean he was completely confident of winning 100%. However, the reason he was this confident was that he had some insider information and was planning to take revenge against the Wildcats for a long time.
He was humiliated by Snow Queen a few years back online, and even to this day, he clearly remembered how she roasted him before his fanbase. And another humiliating part was that she didn't even seem to remember him.
Tiana's friends saw how she was having a heated argument with some guy and decided to see what was going on.
"Snow Queen, what's going on?" The girl with the leopard symbol on her mask asked with a frown.
"Shadow Cat, this guy has the guts to challenge us, putting up a bet to see if our team or theirs would get disqualified first, hmph!"
"Hah, Absolute bullshit! They aren't even worthy enough for us to consider them on the same level as ours. Just ignore this dimwit, Snow Queen," The girl with the symbol of a cheetah on her mask snorted.
"You are right, Hell Cat. Come on, Snow Queen, don't give attention to nobodies like him," The girl with the jaguar symbol on her mask grabbed Tiana's arm to pull her away.
"Wait, Miss Devil. This guy not only tried to pick on my cousin, he even dared to question my and all of your skills as well. No way in hell, I am letting him off just like that," Tiana as she shrugged off her arm and looked at John with a fuming expression.
Tiana's friends glanced at each other and sighed as they whispered to each other,
"Her temper won't let her walk away. I guess we have to do this."
"Yeah, fuck these guys. Hmph, he is gonna regret barking up the wrong tree."
"But did you guys hear her mentioning her cousin? Is it the tall guy with the glasses standing before her? Wow, he looks kinda cute and nice."
"Hey, what are you three whispering about. We have a noob team to crush," Tiana said with a snort and looked at John and asked, "What's the name of your lame-ass team? We will surely keep watch and see how fast that name gets dropped off the brackets."
John's veins twitched as he answered proudly, "The Beast Men."
Tiana had an incredulous look for a moment before she began to burst out in laughter, "Hahaha...oh my god...I can't believe this...did you three hear their team name?" Tiana continued to chortle while her friends also giggled after hearing John's team name.
John's eyes twitched as he heard the people around him snigger and giggle, especially after Tiana began to laugh.
Tiana finally stopped giggling and took in a deep breath as she mockingly asked, "You guys are in middle school or what? I guess the name sounds apt considering how you all look like brutes."
John gritted his teeth, hearing her insult his team name, which he proudly coined during his middle school days. He came up with this name with the idea that he and his team members were strong and relentless as beasts against their enemies in-game.
By now, people had started crowding over, and even all four of John's teammates came over, surprised at seeing the Wildcats having an argument with their team leader.
John quickly explained the situation to them, making the others shocked with signs of nervousness on their faces since they were feeling uneasy about going against the girl gamers who they secretly crushed upon.
In fact, despite how wild the Wildcats were, there was no shortage to the number of boys and men who had crushes on them, fanboying over them.
"Whatever. How about we talk about the stakes now?" John asked with a sly smile.
Tiana had a bad feeling seeing his shifty smile and crossed her arms as she asked in an irked tone, "What is it? Cash is no problem for us."
John, who was already rich enough, was obviously not interested in it and now was sure that these five girls were from hotshot families indeed.
He waved a 'no' with his finger and said with a shifty smile, "We don't need cash since we will already win some by winning this tournament. How about if we win, you all will do a face reveal and go on a short date with us today?"