WildZone arrived early.
Not by minutes.
By an hour.
Zhou noticed first, glancing at the security feed on his phone while finishing his coffee.
"He's been sitting outside since seven," Zhou said. "Didn't knock."
Daniel didn't look up from his screen. "Good."
CrystalFeather paused mid–warm-up. "Why good?"
"People who wait without being told usually aren't here to impress," Daniel replied. "They're here to prove something to themselves."
When Zhou finally opened the door, WildZone stepped in as if he had been invited the whole time.
"Morning," he said.
Zhou raised an eyebrow. "You sleep at all?"
WildZone shrugged. "Enough."
Daniel stood and gestured toward the training room.
"No customs today," he said. "Scrims."
WildZone's expression sharpened. "Against who?"
Daniel smiled faintly. "People who won't go easy."
The first scrim started ugly.
Not because of mistakes.
Because of conflict.
WildZone invaded on instinct. CrystalFeather rotated late. The timing clashed. A fight broke out without alignment.
They lost it.
Hard.
No one spoke.
They reset.
The second attempt was worse.
WildZone hesitated, trying to wait for CrystalFeather's signal.
That delay cost them tempo.
They lost again.
Zhou leaned against the wall, arms crossed, eyes narrowing.
This was the moment teams cracked.
Daniel paused the replay.
He didn't rewind.
He didn't explain.
He simply asked, "What changed?"
WildZone frowned. "I slowed down."
"Why?"
"Because I didn't want to ruin her lane."
Daniel turned to CrystalFeather. "Did he?"
She shook her head immediately. "No."
Daniel looked back at WildZone.
"Your instinct wasn't wrong," he said. "Your timing wasn't wrong. Your doubt was."
WildZone stared at the screen.
"So I just… go?"
Daniel nodded. "But announce it with action, not words."
The third scrim began.
WildZone invaded again.
No hesitation.
CrystalFeather saw it.
This time, she moved first.
They collided with the enemy jungler in perfect overlap.
The fight swung.
They won.
The map opened.
Daniel covered the rotation without needing to intervene.
Zhou straightened slightly.
By the fifth scrim, they weren't talking.
They didn't need to.
WildZone invaded when pressure aligned.
CrystalFeather stepped forward when windows opened.
Daniel filled gaps like he'd always been there.
They still lost fights.
But they learned from them.
That mattered more.
After the final match, WildZone leaned back, sweat visible at his temples.
"That," he said, "was exhausting."
Zhou laughed. "Welcome to real teams."
Daniel closed the client.
"Tomorrow," he said, "we add one more variable."
WildZone looked up. "Which one?"
Daniel glanced at the empty support station.
"The voice," he said. "Not the damage."
As if summoned by the words, Daniel's phone vibrated.
A message from an ID he hadn't seen in years.
Ironwall:Heard you're building something.Still room?
Zhou leaned forward. "No way."
CrystalFeather's eyes widened slightly.
WildZone blinked. "Wait. Ironwall?"
Daniel stared at the name for a long moment.
Then replied.
Nightwalker:Come see for yourself.
Daniel set the phone down.
The pressure wasn't easing.
It was escalating.
And tomorrow, it would have a voice.