章 22: Grand Finals

Vince and his friends didn't have much to do as the bodyguards unloaded the luggage off the jets.

"I never would have imagined flying on a private plane before. It's the same for you guys, right?" Kyle said.

Jessica, Rick, and Sarah agreed with a look of pride and satisfaction on their faces.

Vince's friends understood that they held unique positions within Future Tech, working fewer hours than the rest of the company but always working hard to prove their worth.

"The Arena Pro League Finals will be your first public appearance. Do you feel worried or anything?" Price asked.

Unless Price was busy with his departmental duties, he still preferred guarding Vince whenever in public.

"I feel confident and excited. I hate to say it, but I'm rich now, and money can solve most of my problems." Vince replied honestly.

"Price, You do know that another bodyguard in the security team can accompany me. You're practically an executive in the company now.", Vince said.

"You gave me my biggest break outside the military community, Vince. You hired me to protect you at first, and I am proud to perform my duty, especially during an important occasion like the Finals." Price declared.

"Alright. Then I hope you can drive a dual-clutch seven-speed manual", Vince replied with a grin.

A local exotic car dealership parked an unusual yet fast-looking car next to a stretch limousine at the hangar.

"Is that a Koenigsegg Agera?" Price surprisingly asked.

"No, Price, it's the new Agera R that just came out this month. The first and only one in the States." Vince replied excitedly.

One of the Swedish Future Tech engineers Hudson recently hired was acquainted with Christian Von Koenigsegg.

Vince ordered an Agera R as soon as he learned about it from his staff manager. He was always a big fan of Koenigsegg vehicles because of the technological innovations anyone can find in their cars.

Koenigsegg was also interested in AI drone manufacturing and ordered one of the first batches that Future Tech would lease in the future.

"I'm going to love driving this. I can already feel it.", Price stated confidently.

"Just get in the car and drive, Price," Vince replied.

The group arrived at the hotel half an hour later. They enjoyed their luxury suites for a day before the grand opening ceremony the following day.

Future Studios provided the Arena Pro League playoff teams with rooms at the same hotel, including their travel expenses.

Vince wanted to make sure the professional players felt appreciated while competing for his new entertainment spectacle.

The organizers also prepared practice rooms for the teams at the hotel's multi-purpose halls.

The Grand Finals utterly sold out the Staples Center for the event. In addition, the live broadcasts for the qualifiers had been an enormous success on all the live stream platforms.

Future Studios decided to incorporate traditional broadcasts like ESPN on television for the playoffs and finals for more potential viewers.

There was too much buzz on the internet, and the giant sports entities were curious how the APL would pan out in viewership and engagement.

The finals will have 20,000 live audiences and an estimated 300 million viewers on all platforms. Sponsorships were fighting each other for a chance to be advertised on the broadcast.

Vince decided to advertise the companies like Epic and PayPal that have collaborated with Future Tech for a long time aside from promoting BitCash and the new AI manufacturing suite.

The APL was holding the semi-finals Saturday and the finals on Sunday,

Price drove the Agera R towards the red carpet, waiting for Vince and his friends at the Staples Center entrance.

Security operators drove the team limousines towards the back of the convoy on the way to the Staples Center.

Crowds surrounded the entrance and were cheering for their beloved professional players as the convoy came closer.

"Hey, Look at the sweet-looking car towards the front of the convoy. I wonder who's in it?" an audience member asked.

"I heard the owner of Future Tech and Future Studios will be at the opening ceremony. So it's probably him.", one of the companions replied.

Everyone familiar with Wingin' Chicken and War Online was aware of the teenage prodigy that created their beloved games. Still, civilians knew not much publicly about Vince Dalton.

The Agera R stopped at the entrance, and two people exited the vehicle after the two doors opened upwards.

One was a robust yet clever-looking man wearing a tailored suit.

The other was a young man wearing semi-casual attire and a few expensive accessories in his teens.

[I've had no chance to ball out like this in my past life, but better late than never.] Vince thought.

Vince gave a brief speech in the middle of the arena, hyping up the teams and viewers.

After the loud cheers from 20,000 fans, seven jets piloted by the Blue Angels performed an airshow above the stadium for the viewers watching outside the arena.

Future Studios treated viewers inside the arena to a drone airshow designed and implemented by Patel and his department.

LEDs covered the drones and danced in unison, forming images of War Online battles.

The show was Patel's idea to showcase their advanced AI technology after much investment from Future Tech.

After a few hours, the APL concluded the playoffs, and the finalists were decided.

Prime Alliance from North America versus Clear Sky from South Korea.

The Korean and local fans were ecstatic to watch the finals on Sunday.

Fortis performed two "BitCash Play of the Match" and was awarded a $10,000 cash prize for each. In contrast, Charlatan from Clear Sky performed one during the playoffs.

Vince's group spent some time enjoying the hotel's amenities while the finalists were preparing for the last match.

Fans highly anticipated the final match of the record-breaking season of a new esport. Whales placed enormous bets in Las Vegas, Macao, and other casino cities worldwide.

An intricate show depicting pro player characters fighting through the qualifiers and the playoffs served as an introduction for the finals. Then, both teams walked towards the two booths at the center of the arena.

The match started with Fortis performing his infamous [Shield Crush] from stealth provided by his team's support player character.

The opposing Clear Sky support was stunned and was about to die, but Charlatan performed [Blinding Cloud] to save his teammate.

Both teams fought a close series as they exchanged game wins, tit for tat.

The best of seven matches went the entire distance, and the intensity grew to a climax.

Prime Alliance's fortifications were crumbling against Clear Sky's assault.

Clear Sky was ferocious in their attempts to destroy Prime Alliance's core to win the game.

Prime Alliance took a final stand as Fortis controlled his domineering player character and led the defense.

Fortis initiated the last team fight and caught Charlatan off guard by flanking across the forest in the middle of the map.

He used [Divine Shout] and forcibly took aggro from the entire Clear Sky lineup.

Fortis sacrificed himself to give his teammate, HeavenlyLight, the chance to hit [Blackhole] on all their enemies.

Fortis died as [Blackhole] was cast. Yet, his team's offensive players were able to team wipe Clear Sky a few seconds later, essentially winning the game and the match.

The crowd erupted in cries and cheers as their local team won the APL Season 1. The game broadcasters were going insane, as were everybody else in the arena.

Vince awarded Prime Alliance 5 million Bitcash and a bonus of $1 million in cash for the spectacular comeback during the last game.

Future Studios awarded the rest of the other teams in the top 32 with portions of the 10 million Bitcash prize pot.

Future Studios also announced the formation of the Arena Pro League, as a series, instead of a one-time event.

Vince awarded the top 16 teams a franchise spot worth at least $10 million each for blazing the trail in War Online Arena.

The team organizations within the top 16 were elated with this sudden news and were much happier than they were previously.

Vince was about to leave the venue until a familiar man he had never met before approached him.

"I didn't expect to meet you here, Mr. Musk.", Vince stated respectfully.

"It was a riveting final match, Vince. But, don't be so modest, and please call me Elon." the man replied.

"Price and I are getting something to eat. Care to join us?" Vince asked.

"Gladly," Elon replied.

Stats last time checked:

13 million BTC (currently trades at $80)

$1.25 billion cash in Future Tech

115+ employees (Future Studios, BitCash)

5+ operators under Future Security

Personal Vehicles: Klassen Phantom, Agera R

Collaborators (Epic)

EDITED

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