“Mr. Lewis?” a patroller said tentatively.

    Sean snapped, “What are you waiting for? Come untie me.”

    They rushed over to untie him.

    A patroller asked nervously, “Was it Aria again? Mr. Lewis, you lost again?”

    Sean snorted, “What if I lost? You think you could do any better?”

    The observation room instantly burst intoughter.

    “He cracks me up. Sean, it serves you right.”

    “Aria is quite something. Humiliate Sean publicly.”

    At the same time, Aria was using themunicator to talk with Cathy.

    “Did you get rid of them?” asked Cathy.

    “Yeah, I’lle find you,” said Aria.

    After ending the call, Cathy said, “Let’s move on.”

    They had only walked a few minutes when they ran into an allied team led by Fabian.

    All the teams were heading this way. The chances of running into other teams were high.

    Cathy and William lookedposed and walked in front of others.

    When Weyne saw them again, the contempt in his eyes was gone, reced by wariness.

    Not seeing Aria, Fabian’s eyes sharpened with fighting intent.

    )

    Bruce lowered his voice, “Fabian, only Aria’s absent. She’s probably hiding somewhere, waiting to strike.”

    Bruce thought, ‘If we made a move, we’d be wiped out in seconds.’

    After a brief standoff, Cathy broke the silence. “Fight or move. Your choice.”

    Weyne’s face darkened. “There are more of us. You sure you want to act tough?”

    Allison snorted. “We’ve got Aria. Of course we can act tough.”

    She turned to the other two teams, her voiceced with sarcasm. “You guys are clueless. Fabian’s team is the strongest, but they’re hiding in the middle and using you as their shields.”

    “This is a team round. It’s about speed, not brute force. Your real opponent should be Gerald.”

    The leader of the other two teams replied coldly, “Save your breath. If you get to go, then hurry up.”

    The others went ahead. Cathy and Caroline stayed at the back, watching Fabian’s team.

    Once they disappeared, William couldn’t help but mutter, “They’re weird. Teaming up with Fabian won’t help them.”

    Cathy smiled. “Not necessarily. Maybe they’re after something else.”

    Fabian might want to use others, but maybe others were on the same page.

    The oue remained uncertain.

    While Cathy’s group ran into Fabian’s team, Aria also bumped into another team.

    Mike was the first to spot Aria and said in shock, “Aria, why are you out here all by yourself?”

    Aria said calmly, “I ran into some patrollers, and I lured them away. I’m on my way to meeting up with my team.”

    Clifford grinned. “Aria, what a coincidence. Where are you going? Wanna go with us?”

    Aria said. “Nah, I fear you’ll set me up, but even more, I feel I might eliminate Gerald quietly.”

    Aria thought, ‘The greatest threat to us is Gerald.’

    Clifford was speechless. “Thanks for your honesty.”

    Zoey chimed in, “She’s right. If Gerald was eliminated, we’re all screwed.”

    But Gerald said, “We’re going the same way. We might as well walk together, on the condition we don’t try to eliminate each other.”

    Clifford immediately raised his hand and said seriously, “We’d never secretly eliminate you, I swear.”

    Clifford assured Aria earnestly.

    Aria smiled and said, “Alright, let’s go together.”

    I’m a part of the team, but everyone ignored me,’ Zoey thought. She felt upset and remained silent. ‘To win, I joined Clifford’s team. As long as they win, nothing else matters.

    As they moved forward, Mike said, “Aria, are you heading back to school after thepetition?”

    “Yeah. And you?” said Aria.

    “Me too. Can Ie with you?” asked Mike cautiously.

    “Sure,” said Aria.

    Within minutes, their talk turned to experimental data that didn’t make a lot of sense.

    Clifford scratched his head and asked in confusion, “Can we change the topic?”

    Mike shot him a sideways nce at Clifford and said, “It’s interesting, isn’t it?”

    “I don’t think so,” said Clifford.

    “Idiot,” said Mike.