The atmosphere spun out of control the instant Sylvie spoke up.


    No one had expected it. In apetition this tightly regted, the idea of demanding aplete re-evaluation was almost unthinkable.


    Even Elodie turned her head in surprise.


    Sylvie''s gaze was ice-cold, her face rigid with disbelief. No matter how she tried to rationalize it, she couldn''t ept that Elodie had outscored her.


    It was impossible. Uneptable.


    Alexander''s eyes moved to the massive screen at the front of the stadium.


    This wasn''t your average remote-controlled toy. The drones in y were top-of- the-line, including some of the most advanced models the military had publicly released. Each one ran on its own unique system code, and every aspect of their performance was being tested in real time.


    Only now did Alexander really look at Sylvie''s results.


    Second ce? Tied with Watts?


    Since when was Sylvie this formidable?


    "She''s that good?" Even Esmeralda sounded skeptical. Alexander and the others


    had always told her Sylvie was talented, but never on this level.


    "I''m not sure. At least, based on these numbers, her drone''s performance is practically wless," Alexander murmured, squinting at the data.


    Had Sylvie suddenly be superhuman?


    No wonder she couldn''t ept the oue.


    Because-Elodie had outperformed her by a mile.


    "This is insane..." Maurice breathed. "This is a sh of titans and Elodie just blew everyone away in every single test."


    Joseph, who understood at least the basics, was even more stunned. He knew exactly what the data meant. That Elodie had achieved these results was simply astonishing.


    Naylor said nothing, but he could feel his heart pounding hard in his chest.


    He''d always suspected Elodie was special, but this... This was on a whole different level.


    "Jarrod?" Maurice leaned in, voice low. "If Sylvie''s challenging the results, isn''t that a mess for you?"


    Jarrod, still loungingfortably in his chair, shot a nce at Sylvie onstage before replying, "Then let''s do as she asks. Run the tests again."


    Maurice''s heart skipped. Was Jarrod really siding with Sylvie against his own wife? Or...


    Elodie herself was caught off guard by Sylvie''s sudden challenge. Butherposure never wavered. She looked calmly toward the judge''s panel. "Fine. Let''s do as Ms, Fielding suggests."


    Charlie, the head judge, didn''t so much as flinch. He leaned in to whisper something to the others beside him.


    "If there are doubts, we settle them. People deserve to be convinced," he said coolly, voice echoing in the silent stadium.


    Sylvie sat ramrod straight, shooting a frosty nce at Elodie.


    She refused to believe that her meticulously crafted code could be bested.


    If Elodie''s score was stolen, then what could be fairer than a rematch?


    Even Watts, usually unppable, narrowed his eyes at Sylvie. Had he underestimated her all along?


    But Elodie''s numbers were equally staggering-almost wless.


    Suddenly, the entire event had taken a dramatic, unpredictable turn.


    The audience was loving it. Who wouldn''t want to watch two geniuses go head-to-


    head, especially given the... intriguing tension between them?


    Elodie didn''t mind the repeat, not even a flicker of annoyance crossing her face.


    The two drones lifted off again.


    This time, every aspect was tested from scratch.


    When Charlie received the results, he shot Sylvie a cold look. "Ms. Fielding, do you have anything to add?"


    He signaled for the results to be shown on the big screen.


    No discrepancy. The data was identical to the first round.


    Elodie was still ahead by a wide margin.


    Sylvie''s body went numb, a wave of panic threatening to take over.


    She couldn''t ept it.


    She was sure her code was superior this time...


    But she forced herself to recover. just


    result something about these


    results is suspicious. If we need to settle this with a tiebreaker, Km willing to go again."


    One thing was clear-she refused to concede.


    From the VIP seats just behind the judges'' table, Grady stood up, frowning. His voice easily carried across the short distance. "I think Ms. Fielding has a point. Besides..."


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!