Good Bye, TPA.

Lee Joo-young watched Charina and Miyu Sky's match in a complete frenzy.

Especially at the end, when Charina's attack landed successfully, she thought the match was over and even let out a cheer — forgetting she was sitting right in front of her difficult father-in-law.

"Did you enjoy it?"

"Yes. It was so much fun, but it's a shame she lost at the end."

Jang Hee-sung nodded at her words.

"I feel the same. But Charina had already beaten two Japanese wrestlers in a row before this match. So for Japan's sake, this was an unavoidable scenario."

"Ah! I see. I'll have to look those up a little later."

Her enthusiasm made Jang Hee-sung burst out laughing.

"Hahaha. Are you and I starting to share the same hobby now?"

"Oh. Is that so?"

From Lee Joo-young's perspective, this was far better than following her mother-in-law to church. If she shared a hobby with her father-in-law, the awkwardness and formality between them would lessen. And maybe, just maybe, she might even inherit the resort, the advertising agency, or further down the line, the card or capital company…

"Father. I've never seen any articles about Charina. Should I have some written?"

"You're going to talk to your mother about it? Hahaha. No need. You don't have to go that far."

Lee Joo-young's father ran a food company, but her mother and maternal relatives ran a newspaper. Getting articles published would have been trivial.

"You saw her yourself, didn't you? Where is she going to get buried? Becoming a star is just a matter of time. Besides, the commercial shoot starts next week, so the ads will be on air within a month at the latest."

"That makes sense. But Father, how many years is the contract?"

"Two years for a total of four million dollars! Looking at her today, though, that seems like a mistake. We should have locked her in for at least four years."

Jang Hee-sung had snagged Charina cheaply this time, but the re-signing in two years was going to cost a considerable sum.

"Father."

"Hmm?"

"How do I go about learning about pro wrestling?"

"Hmm. Nothing special going on today — shall I teach you a bit?"

"Yes."

"Let's see. Where should I start?"

Jang Hee-sung rubbed his chin, looking like he was deliberating where to begin.

"Father. I'd like to start by watching Charina's debut match."

"Shall we? My commentary is second to none. Hahaha!"

This The Live, we lost 3–6.

WWO's flagship brand was Law, and it wouldn't make sense for the flagship to lose to TPA.

"Alright! Great work today, everyone. Get a good night's sleep."

Our general manager said this with a considerably gloomy face. Not because of the loss — because TPA only had a few days left. He might not even make the transition himself!

After a late dinner at the hotel, Selma and I returned to our room.

"Ugh. I feel gross. I have no idea how much I sweated."

"No kidding. Why did you wear something like that?"

The outfit Selma had worn today was some kind of vinyl-like material. The top was a tank-top ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bra, but the pants were long. Completely airtight like a sweat suit — and for someone who already sweated a lot, it made things even worse.

"I wore it because it looked pretty. I'm never wearing this material again. By the way, you're lucky you barely sweat."

"Whatever! Hurry up and go wash. I need to shower and sleep too."

"Okay."

We had to head back to Orlando tomorrow morning. There wasn't enough space for us to stay here, and on Monday, the fates of the wrestlers, staff, and even executives would be announced.

"I'm going to shower."

"Okay."

After Selma went into the bathroom, I opened the quest window.

When I came out of Gorilla Position, the mission success sound had played. People must have sent a lot of follow requests after watching the match.

But five million!

Charlotte was at about 5.5 million, Alicia around 6.5 million. That meant I needed that level of recognition.

Still, there was plenty of time left. If I shot some commercials and such, it should work out somehow.

Then I checked the items.

I received three types, five total.

Two of the existing Spotlight items, two new Masks, and one Intermediate Scenario Edit Ticket.

It looked just like a common black face mask.

"For going out, I guess? Kind of ambiguous."

Still, I'd gotten one Intermediate Scenario Edit Ticket and two Spotlight items, so it was fine.

What I was really curious about, though, was the wrestler and match quests. I wondered if they were based on the opponent's fame.

But I hadn't gotten one against Asuka, or against Miyu Sky either. Instead, I'd gotten one for the practice match with Lisa Rayple.

What the hell…

There was no standard. No standard at all!

The next day, Sunday.

We returned to Orlando, and I watched NEXT and Smash Down's matches from home.

The glass ceiling!

It felt like they were wrestling with the resolve that this was their only shot — only one or two people a year got called up to Law and Smash Down.

These were NEXT wrestlers with a desperation different from ours.

This time Smash Down won 6–3 again, but a few of them definitely stood out more than the Smash Down wrestlers.

I was so, so curious about who would come to the new brand.

I'd asked Jane, but she said she didn't know the list either. Only Paul, Stacey, and John Michaels would know, she'd said.

The fateful day dawned.

Monday morning, the atmosphere at TPA was considerably heavy.

And Natasha Blancherd, who hadn't been seen in a while, was here today too.

About twenty minutes past the announced time, John Michaels came in with a few people.

What was unexpected was that General Manager Karl Overdia hadn't come — from TPA's side, it was Harry Thompson, the Head of Talent Development, and Haley Kingsley, the Head of Finance.

"We're short on time, so I'll keep this brief.

As of this moment, General Manager Karl Overdia has resigned from TPA.

For the time being, training-related matters go to Team Leader Thompson, and everything else to Team Leader Kingsley."

Karl had been sighing every time he saw me lately, saying it was a shame — so maybe he'd quit on his own.

John said that aside from a very small number of staff, he was taking everyone with him.

My assigned staff member, Clint — he'd be coming along, right? Managing StarStar for me had been so convenient.

"That's enough about the staff. Moving on to the wrestlers.

First: every wrestler who participated in The Live two days ago is going to WWO. Brand assignments are still being sorted out."

"I have something to sa—"

Someone tried to speak, but John cut them off firmly.

"I'll take questions at the end, so wait.

Those of you in that group will move to the WWO Performance Center starting this afternoon to receive the education every WWO wrestler needs to know.

We'll also redo basic health checkups and evaluations, so be aware of that!

It'll vary by wrestler, but education will run anywhere from about a week to as long as three weeks."

WWO had stricter regulations than TPA, and the schedule was so tight — so of course they'd do this kind of thing.

"And those of you who didn't participate will re-test in one week, so start preparing from today."

With John's words, the man and woman behind him stepped forward.

"These two coaches will oversee everything from the training process onward."

After that, he also mentioned contract issues and the like.

"Anyone with questions?"

As if she'd been waiting, Natasha raised her hand.

"Natasha. I'll talk to you separately later. Anyone else?"

A few people twitched like they might raise their hands, but crushed under John's charisma — not just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠anyone's — they couldn't.

"If you have questions later, ask your respective contacts!

And make sure to watch today's Law if at all possible.

Alright! Wrestlers heading to the WWO Performance Center, move out by 2 o'clock.

Natasha, come with me. Dismissed!"

With that, John left, leaving only the two coaches behind.

"Alright! Wrestlers going to the Performance Center, completely clear out your personal lockers.

Some of you may come back here, but some of you won't."

At the coach's words, we headed straight to the locker room.

Selma and I didn't have much to pack, but Dorothy, Olivia, and the others had been around longer and had a lot of miscellaneous stuff.

Selma and I gathered our own things and tried to help a few of the others.

"No. Just go."

"Yeah. Don't stick around here — hurry and go."

Dorothy and Anne told us to just leave.

"Natasha! Something feels off.

We're fine, but you two are easy targets — she might pick a fight for no reason.

See you at the Performance Center."

Even Olivia told us to leave quickly, so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Selma and I just headed out to the parking lot.

"Was there something we don't know about?"

"Who knows. When Natasha's eyes go crazy, who ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠knows what she'll do…"

Selma answered while making a gun-shooting gesture.

"I'm fine since I live with family, but you're alone — so even without Natasha, I'm a little worried about you."

"I've been sleeping with a shotgun in my arms anyway."

Selma got mad at that.

"You crazy bitch! What if it goes off by accident?!"

"It's just a figure of speech. You think I'd actually sleep hugging it? I just keep it by the head of the bed."

"I thought you were serious. You really seem like the type who would…"

What kind of image did I have, exactly?

We agreed to meet at the Performance Center and parted ways.

After arriving home, I checked the window locks first thing.

If the house were mediocre, I'd just move — but this place was too good for that.

America. It's not just the good things, you know!