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"Alex, you were incredible! Tonight was practically your personal showcase!" Emma walked over and praised him generously.
What she said was absolutely true—Alex had been somewhat overexposed tonight. During the awards ceremony, he'd practically swept half the awards single-handedly. The new project reveal had directly stunned the entire audience. If one were to look back at this carnival ceremony, the memorable highlights would probably be Alex winning so many awards his legs went soft, and the stunning appearance of Transformers.
"You're too kind. Are you interested in the new project?" Alex said modestly.
"Of course! I'm totally a fan now! I was genuinely stunned when I saw those cars transform. I think everyone felt the same way I did. It was truly spectacular!"
Alex smiled. As they were talking, Jake, Danny, Isabella, and Morgan also walked over. They looked curiously at Emma and immediately recognized her.
"Emma, you're here too?" Morgan spoke first. She and Emma were distant relatives, having grown up in overlapping social circles, and their relationship was quite good.
Jake and Danny also knew of Emma, though Emma didn't really know them well. As for Isabella, her expression wasn't very natural, especially hearing the other person's name.
She'd heard about Emma and Alex from her brother. Though she'd heard they weren't romantically interested in each other, her female intuition told her this woman could still become her most formidable competitor.
What's more, she was beautiful, came from a better family background, and was even more academically accomplished. Most importantly, both sets of parents were interested in setting them up—so Isabella felt genuinely threatened.
Of course, the most fundamental problem was that Alex, this complete blockhead, seemed totally unaware of her affection for him. He hadn't expressed or shown any desire to date her, which made her genuinely sad.
Just as Alex and the others were talking, a striking young woman with elegant features walked over, looked at Alex with a slight smile, and greeted him: "Hello, Guild Leader!"
Alex was stunned for a moment, looking at her in surprise. For a moment he didn't recognize her, but hearing her call him "Guild Leader," he wondered if she was a friend from his guild.
"You are..." Alex was about to speak when he saw her smile and greet Emma.
"Sophia, you're here too?" Emma spoke first.
"Yeah, I was in the audience just now. Came over to say hello to Mr. Morrison!" Sophia said with a smile, then looked at Alex.
Before she could speak, Alex guessed who she was.
"You're Sophia?" Alex asked.
Seeing Sophia's charming smile, Alex confirmed his guess. He truly hadn't expected his in-game friend Sophia to be Sophia Park, heiress of the Park family tech empire.
Alex and Sophia had met once before as children, but that was years ago—in reality, they didn't really know each other well, only aware of each other's existence through family connections.
Seeing Sophia's appearance, Isabella's expression worsened. What was happening? One Emma was already making her feel threatened, and now another wealthy heiress—not much less impressive than Emma—had appeared.
The Park family was undoubtedly a leader in America's tech industry, controlling major social media platforms, having built the largest e-commerce infrastructure, streaming services, and other digital products, forming an unparalleled tech business empire.
Not only that, the Park family also had considerable achievements in finance, real estate, electronics, communications, artificial intelligence, gaming, and other sectors. Their family power and wealth consistently ranked among the top tier nationally.
And Sophia, as the youngest daughter of the Park family, was also highly accomplished. Though she rarely appeared publicly, she was quite well-known in America's elite circles.
So Isabella, Danny, and Jake all knew of her existence, but if Emma hadn't called out her name, they wouldn't have recognized her.
"I really didn't expect it to be Miss Park! Haha, weren't you studying abroad all this time?" Alex asked.
"Yeah, I was!"
"Then how did you usually run dungeons and participate in guild wars with us? Don't you ever sleep?" Alex asked with a smile. Due to time zones, sometimes Sophia's online time might have been three or four AM for her.
"Well, I'd stay up late to play. But if I really didn't have time to log on, I'd always ask my cousin to play for me!" Sophia said with a smile.
"I KNEW it! Why did I feel like you had a split personality? Sometimes you'd be so quiet I wouldn't hear a word for ages, you'd lurk in group chat. Other times, during dungeons, you'd talk nonstop, and the character designs you made for us were wildly inconsistent too, haha!" Alex teased. Though he and Sophia didn't really know each other in real life, they were genuinely close friends in-game. They knew each other's personalities, so no need to be too formal.
Sophia burst out laughing: "If my cousin heard you evaluate her like that, she probably wouldn't make character models for you anymore!"
"Wait, WHAT? It was your cousin who made the character models for us all this time?" Alex was bewildered.
"Yeah, I study finance. How would I know how to design character models? My cousin, Hannah Park, on the other hand, is definitely a design genius!" Sophia said with a smile.
Alex was completely confused. He truly didn't know which person—the Sophia he knew and was familiar with in his mind—was really her versus her cousin. Which one was the person he used to chat and joke with, occasionally saying ridiculous things to?
"Ugh, I'm genuinely confused!" Alex said with a wry smile.
Sophia laughed heartily. "Anyway, the edgy humor and the chaotic energy you sensed were basically all my cousin, haha. I'm the one who usually talks less! Alright, don't overthink it. I haven't congratulated you yet!"
Sophia extended her hand and shook Alex's.
"Thank you!" Alex chatted with Sophia for a while. She was about to leave, but Alex suggested they all go out for dinner together.
Sophia didn't refuse, and Emma also thought it was a good idea. Jake and Danny heartily agreed with Alex's suggestion, echoing enthusiastically. They naturally wouldn't miss such an opportunity to network.
As second-generation wealth, they understood the value of building connections—not to mention both were beautiful, accomplished women.
However, Isabella wasn't too happy internally, but with her high emotional intelligence, she naturally wouldn't show her true feelings. She interacted with everyone naturally and gracefully, neither appearing to lack presence nor overshadowing the hosts. Her conversational balance was perfect.
After Dinner
After dinner, the group decided to head back and rest. Danny and Jake offered to drive the two women back, but Sophia's hotel had a car service available, and Emma had her own driver in San Francisco.
"I'll take you, Sophia. Your hotel isn't far from mine. I'll drive you back!" Emma suggested, as it would take time to wait for the hotel car.
"Sure, alright. Thanks for the trouble then!"
"No need to be so formal with me!"
"See you tomorrow!" After Emma and Sophia bid farewell to everyone, they left together.
"See? THAT'S what you call prioritizing new connections over friendship. When I was leaving, why weren't you two so eager to see me off?" Morgan complained, patting Jake and Danny on the chest.
"You won't encounter danger, so why would you need an escort!"
"Why wouldn't I encounter danger?"
"The person who encounters YOU is in danger!"
"I'm gonna hit you!"
The friend group's familiar banter continued as they headed back to their hotels, the successful night winding down.
Tomorrow would bring the full carnival experience—and even more attention on Transformers.
Alex had successfully shocked the industry once again. But the real test would come when Transformers actually launched.
For now though, he could enjoy the moment—surrounded by friends, having just unveiled his most ambitious project yet, with the entire gaming world buzzing about what he'd created.
Not bad for a 24-year-old who'd transmigrated into this world just over a year ago.
Not bad at all.
Plz THROW POWER STONES.