Just as the audience waspletely engrossed, the program came to an abrupt halt. Everyone was confused. This was only the fourth round, which meant the contestant was deliberately holding back for the final. But they wanted to see more!


    And so did the judges. In recent years, the submissions had be somewhat conventional,cking true originality. But "Glimmer" was incredibly creative and had built up an immense sense of anticipation.


    In the end, “Glimmer” secured first ce in the voting, effortlessly advancing to the final round.


    The five eliminated contestants left the stage one by one.


    By this point, Byron waspletely crushed, constantly wiping the sweat from his brow. Tucker hadn''t emerged, which meant he was in the top three. Even if he only took third ce, it was an honor that would make him a star in Orient Country''s techmunity. If that happened, wouldn''t he have to give up his position as head of theputer science department to Tucker?


    Byron swallowed hard, a knot of panic tightening in his stomach.


    As the final round began, Juniper put her phone away and focused her full attention on therge screen. The further a program progressed, the more demanding it became. One small mistake could render all the previous work useless.


    By now, most of the audience''s attention was fixated on "Glimmer." The program flickered with a blinding light, and then tiny fragments rapidly converged at the center, forming a distorted, sci-fi-esque face. Just as everyone wondered why it had stopped again, the face suddenly shattered. Countless tiny dots scattered across the screen, each one beginning to disy different data, with billions of processes running simultaneously.


    "Wow!" A wave of awe washed over the crowd.


    The judges'' jaws dropped, their eyes wide with disbelief. This technique... it looked familiar. They felt like they had seen it somewhere before.


    Two minutester, the presentation concluded, and the voting began. During the tallying, a buzz of excited discussion filled the hall, with "Glimmer” being the main topic. Anyone with half a brain could see that it hadpletely outssed the other entries.


    Tucker had spent five years on this, working so hard his hair had turned white. It had been worth it.


    A few minutester, the host returned to the stage to announce the results. Everyone''s heart was in their throat.


    Juniper, however, remained calm. She coolly popped a candy into her mouth, though her expression was serious. If these foreigners dared to cheat, she would blow this ce to smithereens.


    The results were posted. "Glimmer" was the clear winner, holding the top spot by a significant margin.


    Juniper''s eyebrow arched slightly, a faint smile ying on her lips. Good. Just as expected.


    With the results out, the crowd was


    even more curious about the


    creator. Most of the audience members were locals and their inherent sense of superiority m them assume that only a master from their own country could create such a brilliant program.


    from


    "The champions for thest few years have all been from Moralia Country. I doubt this time will be any different."


    "I heard there''s someone from Orient Country in the top three. Probably got third ce."


    "His program was so outdated. All sh and no substance, just showing off technical skill without any real innovation. So tacky."


    "The fact that someone from Orient Country even made it to the finals is a charity case from themittee If you ask me they should bex banned frompeting next year."


    "Moralia Country''s ''Glimmer'' is the real deal. A well-deserved champion."


    Sitting nearby, Juniper crossed her arms and legs, a mocking smile on her face as she listened.