Ambergris Locakboxes Traveled Salt Routes by Hugh Calder 70

Chapter Seventy: Did You Have Fun?

There, at the entrance of the cafeteria, stood Tina.

A tablet was clutched in her hand, pressed tightly against her chest. The moment her eyes landed on Cassienne, something dark flickered across her face.

Cassienne noticed her at the entrance.

She looked away almost immediately and calmly placed her order, keeping her expression unreadable. Garry, on the other hand, didn’t notice Tina at all. His attention was fully on Cassienne, his body angled slightly toward her

as if the rest of the room didn’t exist.

Tina waited until the waitress finished taking their orders and walked away. That was when she moved.

Earlier, she had gone to Cassienne’s office, only to be told by the assistant that Cassienne was at lunch. Tina hadn’t needed further explanation. If Cassienne was eating in the building, it would be the executive cafeteria.

So she came straight here. Her steps were slow but measured as she approached their table.

“Garry?” she called.

Garry turned at once and smiled. It was warm and casual. “Hey, Tina. Long time no see.”

The greeting stung more than Tina expected.

Once upon a time, she had been the favorite among Dreston’s circle of friends and they all adored her.

Before that, it had been Cassienne, but the moment Cassienne introduced Tina into their lives, everything switched.

One by one, they drifted away from Cassienne and gathered around Tina instead.

And now…now Garry was sitting with Cassienne. Since when?

The realization unsettled her deeply. Worse still, Garry spoke to her as though she were just another acquaintance.

“You didn’t come to check on me?” Tina asked, forcing a smile that wasn’t exactly genuine.

Garry glanced at her again, keeping his expression polite but distant. “I’m sorry. I came to see Cassienne as soon as Dreston told me about her appointment. I thought it would be nice to congratulate her in person.”

Tina’s fingers tightened around the tablet making her knuckles turn pale. Anger boiled beneath the surface, but she held on to her smile, even as it strained.

“I’m sure you came here to see me,” Cassienne said calmly, breaking the silence between them.

Tina turned her attention to her, nodding quickly. “Yes. I wanted you to review the changes I made to the report you asked me to modify. It’s done now.”

“Send it to my email,” Cassienne replied. “I’ll get back to you once I’ve reviewed it.” She then turned fully toward Garry, effectively ending the conversation.

Tina remained standing and after a brief pause, Cassienne tilted her head and looked up again. “Is there anything else?”

Tina stiffened and shook her head. “No, that will be all. Excuse me.”

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She cast a brief glance at Garry, hoping and expecting him to look at her but of course be didn’t

Her jaw shifted, side to side. Without another word, she turned and walked away, her steps fast yet controlled, even as jealousy pounded quietly in her chest.

It was late at night, and the silence was just enough to make anyone’s thoughts grow louder.

Cassienne lay awake, staring at the ceiling, her body tired but her mind restless.

Sleep refused to come. After several minutes of turning from one side of the bed to the other, she gave up

‘Maybe a game will help,‘ she thought. Playing always helped her relax her muscles, bet mind, everything

She got out of bed and moved to her desk, the glow of her monitor making a way in the darkness of the room. With ease, she powered on her computer and logged into the game server.

Almost immediately, she noticed something amusing

Everyone is online tonight.

A faint smirk curved her lips as she selected a ranked match and logged in under her long–known username.

NULLWRAITH.

The moment her avatar appeared in the lobby, the comment box exploded

“Wait, NULLWRAITH is online??”

“No way. I’m not missing this match.”

“Forget sleep. This is better.”

“Can someone please tell me who this player really is?”

Messages kept pouring in, scrolling so fast they almost blurred together. Some were obsessed with her identity, others simply thrilled to watch her play. NULLWRAITH had become a legend.

Azura was online too. Cassienne noticed the familiar username almost instantly. But unlike usual, Azura was silent. No taunts, no greetings. No challenge request. That was strange.

The match loaded, the battlefield forming piece by piece. Cassienne’s fingers rested lightly on the keyboard, her eyes sharp as the countdown began.

Three. Two. One and the game started.

At first, everything felt normal. NULLWRAITH moved with her usual efficiency, throwing clean dodges, calculated attacks, flawless timing, but along the line, something changed.

Her opponent, Mayday, didn’t press forward the way weaker players usually did. He didn’t rush, didn’t make mistakes. Instead, he adjusted.

He mirrored her movements, tested her reactions. Gave up clear opportunities to strike, only to reposition and

observe.

The comment box reacted immediately.

“What kind of strategy is that?”

Chapter Seventy Did You Have funt

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“Is he baiting her?”

“LOL, this is weird.”

“He’s not trying to win.”

Frowning, Cassienne shifted tactics, switched patterns, deliberately created openings meant to trap careless opponents.

Mayday didn’t fall for any of them.

Instead, he countered, not aggressively, but intelligently. As if he was learning her rhythm, like he already knew it.

It felt less like a battle and more like a dance. Two players circling each other, trading moves, reading intent instead of chasing points.

Cassienne slowed her play, her eyes narrowing as she studied him more carefully.

‘He’s not fighting to win,‘ she realized.

‘He’s fighting to understand me.‘

Her irritation grew.

“What are you doing?” she muttered under her breath.

Under normal circumstances, this match would have been over already. She could tell he was technically weaker. But his playstyle was familiar…way too familiar.

Not a second longer, it finally clicked. That hesitation before attacking, that habit of retreating two steps before countering. That subtle way of blocking instead of dodging.

Her lips curved into a knowing smile. This was Dreston. Only he played like this. He’s the type to always analyze, always trying to get inside her head instead of dominating the board.

Annoyed, Cassienne did something no one expected. She paused the game, leaving the screen frozen.

“What are you doing?” Mayday typed almost instantly as the chat box went wild.

“Why did it stop?”

“Did the server crash?”

“NULLWRAITH paused??”

“This has never happened before.”

Cassienne watched the comments scroll, then calmly typed into the chat. “Stop playing with me.”

For half a second, the chat box went completely silent.

Then-

“WAIT–NULLWRAITH TYPED??”

“She talks???”

“This confirms it’s not an AI.”

Chapter Seventy, Did You Have Tun?

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“Who is Mayday?? Who got NULLWRAITH talking??”

Cassienne resumed the match and this time, there were no tricks.

Mayday stopped circling. He stopped testing and now he played seriously. So did she.

Their movements became intense, decisive, relentless. Attacks clashed, counters landed.

The match accelerated into a fierce, thrilling exchange that had spectators glued to their screens.

In the end, it lasted less than two minutes.

NULLWRAITH won.

The comment section exploded with cheers, theories, arguments, and disbelief, but Cassienne didn’t read a single one. She logged out immediately.

Without hesitation, she reached for her phone and dialed a number she knew by heart. The call connected immediately.

“Did you have fun?” Cassienne kept her voice cool the moment the line opened.

A soft chuckle came through the speaker. “I guess you caught me,” Dreston admitted.

Cassienne leaned back in her chair, eyes closing briefly. “You always did play too carefully,”

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