A wave of panic began to rise in Gianna, threatening to drown out her focus.


    The first round passed in a blur, over almost before it began. Once submissions closed, the judges immediately began reviewing every entry. Momentster, the results shed across the screen.


    As a leading sponsor, Adrian was called onstage to reveal the results together with the host.


    Holding the microphone, Adrian smiled as he spoke, "First ce goes to Anneliese ude. She recorded the fastest submission time, and herpletion score is the highest overall. Her routing strategy is exceptionally clean. All 100 drones rotated efficiently andpleted 1,000 orders without a single error. An undisputed first ce. Congrattions."


    Adrian nced in Anneliese''s direction.


    She offered a faint, polite smile in return, her calm soplete it bordered on serene. No hint of excitement or nerves showed. That unwavering poise sparked a glimmer of respect in Adrian''s eyes.


    "Second ce goes to Gianna Malone," Adrian continued. "Her submission time is only one minute and twenty-seven seconds behind first."


    His smile softened as he looked toward Gianna, pride clearly showing.


    That look was exactly what Gianna had been waiting for.


    Yet when their eyes finally met, the weight of his gaze felt weighty and unrelenting, not uplifting her mood. She swore she could not-would not let herself lose to Anneliese again.


    However, reality refused to cooperate.


    The second round brought another loss for Gianna, the gap this time shrinking to less than two minutes.


    All color vanished from her face, and this time, she could not mask her shock.


    Fortunately, thepetition took a scheduled break after the second round. The third, most demanding round would also be the longest.


    Gianna trudged away, defeat etched into every step. Pepper stood waiting, ready to catch her.


    "Mom..." The word slipped out before Gianna could stop herself.


    Pepper swiftly grasped her hand and gently patted it tofort her. "It''s okay. Take a few sips and get a moment."


    She pressed a cup of water into Gianna''s hand. One look at her daughter''s face revealed a mind in turmoil.


    This was not the oue Pepper had so carefully orchestrated. Every detail had been nned for Gianna''s sess.


    It should have been as simple as filling in answers on a multiple-choice test she had already memorized. All Gianna needed to do was show up.


    Yet somehow, Anneliese still finished ahead.


    Pepper had never considered that possibility.


    Now wasn''t the moment to add pressure, so she deliberately kept her tone gentle. "The first two rounds are only eliminations This isn''t a best-of-three format. The rankings don''t really matter yet. Anneliese might be showing off too much early on. That isn''t always a good thing."


    The reassurance helped. Gianna quickly drank half the cup before frowning. "Mom...


    do you think Anneliese knew the questions beforehand?"


    She couldn''t bring herself to ept that Anneliese''s raw ability alone could be this frightening.


    Pepper nodded. "It''s possible. She''s Jonathan''s wife now. If he wanted to help her ess the questions, it wouldn''t be hard."


    AeroAir wasn''t participating in thispetition, but thepany worked closely with numerous logistics firms. Their connections ran deep.


    Obtaining the questions in advance would be all too easy.


    Relief washed over Gianna. If Anneliese knew the questions as well, then this loss isn''t really on me.


    "If that''s the case," Gianna started, anxiety rising again, "then what advantage do I even have in the third round? I—"


    Pepper squeezed her hand again, ready to reply.


    Adrian walked over at that moment.


    Pepper stopped right away, turned to him, and smiled. "Adrian, tell her she did great. Our Gianna is so nervous, her hands are cold and sweaty."


    The words "our Gianna" painted a picture of the three of them as a family, Gianna at the center as their shared child.


    Adrian had never thought much of it before. In his heart, Gianna had always been the daughter he shared with Wendy.


    Back then, Pepper hadn''t wanted to raise her. Yet the first time Wendy met Gianna; she held her and broke down in tears. That moment shook Adrian deeply as Gianna felt like the daughter they had lost and finally found again.


    As long as Gianna served as the link between them, Wendy was bound toe


    back to him eventually—at least, that had always been his belief.


    Then his mind drifted to what had happened just outside the venue.


    Wendy had clearly asked Gianna to stop calling her "Mom." Because of that,


    hearing Pepper refer to her as "our Gianna" now felt off.


    Adrian nced at Pepper. Her face


    was dram


    tight with worry, every bit


    of it aimed at Granna. After a


    moment, he decided he was overthinking it.