CHAPTER 66: INTER-SQUAD EXPOSURE TRIAL

At 6:30 AM, the schedule was announced:

"Trial Match – Squad Aegis vs. Squad Vanta

Format: T20

Location: National Arena, Grid West

Match Visibility: Open – Analysts & Scouts Present

Captains: Unofficial

Leadership Evaluation In Effect."

No coin toss.

No pre-match introductions.

Just a blunt system reminder: Leadership will be judged by visibility, performance, and team alignment — not by voice alone.

Raj read the message once.

Then laced his boots with silent precision.

This wasn’t about securing a role anymore.

It was about securing presence — without needing to prove it.

Squad Vanta was infamous.Three flamboyant players who competed for screen time.

An alpha wicketkeeper with a chip on his shoulder.

And their unofficial lead: Veer Bhardwaj — a power-hitter known for breaking bowling lines and locker room decorum.

He thrived on tension.

And Raj?

He disappeared into it.

The match began sharp at 10:00.

Crowds were restricted to media and league guests, but drones flew high and wide — broadcasting clips live to private networks.

Raj’s team fielded first.

Veer strutted in with a flashy bat, silver grip glowing under morning light.

He cracked the first boundary and smirked toward the Aegis field.

"Wake up, ghosts. It’s a match, not meditation."

Some of Raj’s squad chuckled nervously.

Rahul flinched at mid-on.

Lavit rolled his eyes.

Raj?

He stood between square and point — just outside Veer’s line of ego.

Watching.

Breathing.

Stitching.

⟐ SYSTEM UPDATE: EXPOSURE TRIAL ACTIVE ⟐

- Match Mode: Leadership Shadow Evaluation

- Your Official Role: Undeclared

- Squad Sync: 76%

- Ego Risk: 41% – Moderate

- Objective: Guide the field without calling positions

- Scouts Monitoring: 5

- Evaluation Criteria: Influence, Timing, Team Harmony, Match Balance

First over — boundary, dot, single, two, dot, single.

Second over — edges creeping.

Third ball in, Veer overstepped for a second run.

Throw came in from Lavit — wild, too wide.

Keeper fumbled.

Tension rose.

Raj walked in slowly from his position.

Didn’t say a word.

But he picked up the ball himself, handed it back, and patted the keeper’s shoulder once.

On the very next delivery?

Perfect dive.

Clean stop.

Dot ball.

And that?

Was how Raj opened the match.

Not with drama.

Not with orders.

But with weightless gravity.

By the fourth over, Squad Vanta had gathered momentum.

Veer was dangerous — unorthodox footwork, quick wrists, and a habit of reading field patterns before they shifted.

He thrived on anticipation.

But Raj wasn’t here to follow patterns.

He was here to interrupt them without permission.

Without signaling, Raj drifted one step deeper at cover.

Then another half-step wider.

Veer didn’t notice.

Not until the fifth ball came slower off the pitch and he punched it hard — aiming for the same gap he’d used twice before.

This time?

Raj was there.

One clean pickup.

Bullet throw.

Direct hit at the striker’s end.

Run-out.

Veer’s partner — their #3 was gone.

The stadium monitors lit up.

Even Veer paused.

Not because it was an extraordinary fielding play.

But because it had no cue.

It was silent.

Perfectly placed.

And totally unwarned.

⟐ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: TACTICAL SHIFT DETECTED ⟐

- Manual Positioning Override – Executed

- Run-Out Caused – Yes

- Field Read Success: 94%

- Analyst Alert: Triggered

- Commentator Tagline Queued: "Silent Setup"

- Bonus: Player Trust Sync Increased

Back in the commentary box, one of the observers leaned forward.

"Did anyone tell him to move there?"

The analyst smirked.

"No one tells that kid anything. He just knows."

Veer raised an eyebrow.

He wasn’t laughing anymore.

He tapped his gloves, walked back toward his crease, and said aloud:

"Alright. Guess we play real cricket now."

But even that line fell flat.

Because Squad Aegis had stopped reacting to Veer’s noise.

They weren’t ignoring him.

They were simply following someone else.

And that someone... hadn’t spoken a word.

Sixth over.

Veer tried again — shuffled stance, scooped attempt.

Raj had moved long-off two steps inward two overs earlier without permission.

Catch taken at chest height.

Veer gone.

Lavit blinked at Raj.

"You read that two overs ago?"

Raj didn’t respond.

He just walked back to point.

—

⟐ SYSTEM UPDATE: MAJOR IMPACT TRIGGERED ⟐

- Veer Bhardwaj – Out

- Field Setup: Predicted

- Analyst Feedback: Top Tactical Read

-System Reward: +1 Passive Fan Awareness Skill – Crowd Threading

Effect: Crowd pressure now boosts your clarity instead of reducing it

- Next Objective: Maintain Squad Sync During Batting Phase

—

By the tenth over, Squad Vanta had collapsed to 68/5.

And Squad Aegis?

They hadn’t shouted once.

Not even during the fall of the biggest name in the trial camp.

Because when silence starts leading from the front...

Even noise forgets how to fight back.

During the mid-innings break, Squad Aegis gathered in the shade behind the dugout.

Water bottles passed around.

Stretch bands pulled.

But no one shouted orders.

Because no one needed to.

They all glanced toward the same person.

And Raj?

He didn’t take the center.

He sat at the edge.

Knee raised, glove on thigh, eyes watching the scoreboard calmly.

Rahul finally said it out loud.

"Let’s just do what we practiced. Clean starts. No rush."

Everyone nodded.

Even Lavit, who usually threw in a sarcastic line, simply said, "I’ll play anchor."

Raj smiled faintly — not because he was acknowledged.

But because the flame had finally stitched itself into steel.

⟐ SYSTEM NOTICE: MID-TRIAL LEADERSHIP STATUS ⟐

- Unofficial Role: Active Field Leader

- Squad Trust: 91%

- Ego Resistance: Low

- Tactical Recognition: National Level – Flagged for Post-Trial Evaluation

- Media Pulse: "Echoflame Leading Without Voice" – Top Trend

As Squad Aegis began their chase of 112, Raj walked in to bat at #3.

The opening pair held steady.

Rahul on strike.

Lavit rotating.But the real pressure started when the first wicket fell in the 5th over.

Entered Raj.

He didn’t flex his shoulders.

Didn’t tap the bat theatrically.

He just checked the wind once and nodded at Rahul.That was enough.

First ball: single.

Second over: two quick runs.

Third: dot, dot, boundary — paddle sweep through a collapsing mid-leg.

The commentary booth buzzed again.

"Do you notice how his positioning shifts after every single delivery?"

"He’s reading fielders like code. No flash. Just execution."

One scout scribbled into his notes:

"Plays like a tailor stitching shots between field patterns.

Doesn’t bat for stats. Bats to move the field."

By the 11th over, the score was 73/2.

Veer stood at mid-off, arms folded, chewing gum with a twisted grin.

"You ain’t that special, ghost boy," he muttered toward Raj.

Raj didn’t respond.

Next ball?

Inside-out loft over extra cover.

Four.

Clean.

Textbook.

No celebration.

Just a walk to the other end as if he’d simply completed a sentence in a conversation only he understood.

⟐ SYSTEM NOTICE: CROWD THREADING ACTIVE ⟐

- Viewer Impressions: 42,300

- Fan Alignment: 73% to Squad Aegis

- Squad Morale: Stable

- Opponent Disruption: Veer – Emotionally Agitated

- Analyst Feedback: "Silence Swagger"

And just like that, the match slipped further into Squad Aegis’s grip.

Because their fire didn’t scream.

It burned clean.

By the 16th over, only 14 runs were needed.

The field tightened.

Squad Vanta’s bowlers threw everything they had — yorkers, slow bouncers, cutters with awkward angles.

But Raj didn’t panic.

He adapted.

Adjusted grip.

Shifted stance.

And played each ball not as an attack — but as a stitch in the victory pattern.

One by one, the fielders began folding inward, pulled not by orders... but by the inevitable rhythm of the match’s final Chapter.

At 102/2, Rahul nicked one and walked.

No disappointment.

Just trust passed like a torch.

Next batter padded up — young, nervous, first exposure match.

He looked at Raj.

Mouth dry.

Hands shaky.

Raj didn’t speak.

He just walked over, placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder, and gave him one firm nod.

Then tapped the toe of his own bat once on the crease.

Signal clear:

"I’ll finish this.You enjoy it."

Two overs later, it was done.

Raj pulled the final delivery clean through midwicket for four.

Didn’t raise his bat.

Didn’t look at the camera.

He simply walked back to the pavilion — helmet under one arm, gloves tucked in hand — as the system bloomed softly inside his interface.

⟐ SYSTEM RECORD – EXPOSURE TRIAL COMPLETE ⟐

- Result: Victory – Squad Aegis

- Personal Score: 42* (Not Out)

- Field Impact: 2 Critical Placements, 1 Run-Out, 1 Catch

- Fan Impressions: 53,100

- Analyst Ranking: Top 3

- Squad Vote: 12 of 14 Recommend Leadership Role

- Title Progress: Silent Flame → Steelheart Commander (Pending)

- Bonus Achievement: Defeated Highest-Ego Squad with No Verbal Commands

Later that night, while other players shared selfies and upload highlights, Raj sat outside under the training dome lights.

The stadium behind him was quiet.

Only the soft glow of his bracelet reflected in his eyes.

The system pulsed again.

⟐ SYSTEM ARC COMPLETE – Where Flame Meets Steel ⟐

- New Arc Unlocked: The Steelheart Stage

- Feature Unlocked: National Scout Trials – Top 24 Shortlist Phase

- Preparation Countdown: 5 Days

-Reward: Personal Gear Enhancement – Custom Tactical Glove Upgrade Approved

- Optional Quest Available: Shadow Leadership Trials

He exhaled slowly, the night wrapping around him like a cloak.

This journey hadn’t been about proving noise wrong.

It had been about making silence undeniable.

And now?

Even the steel around him had begun to bend.

Not through force.

But through faith stitched silently into action.

To be continued....