"Aren’t you going?" Teddy turned to Patricia, noticing that Hayley and Shawn had done a good job convincing the guests to return to the second floor.
Patricia slowly turned to him and shook her head. "I’ll stay here," she muttered, snapping her gaze to the stage where Penny stood. "I think I’ll stay... in case she needs soone."
Soone who could help her—was what Teddy wanted to say. But seeing the look in Patricia’s eyes, he simply nodded.
"What are you doing?" she asked, turning to him as he took the spot beside her. "You should go and make sure those people don’t lose hope in her."
"Hayley and Shawn are already there," he replied, eyes still on the stage. "I don’t know what kind of help I can offer right now, but... just in case."
Patricia pursed her lips, watching his side profile. The corners of her lips curled up slightly before she turned her gaze back to the stage.
If they couldn’t offer any technical support, at the very least, they could give so moral support. It might not an much, but staying on standby and studying Penny’s every move might give them an idea of what to do—or what she needed.
As Patricia and Teddy stayed, Atlas—just a few steps away—glanced at the two of them. His brows rose slightly, clearly surprised by Penny’s assistants.
Surely, having four wasn’t overkill. With how his sister’s life was going, she probably needed more than two assistants.
---
[On the Stage]
"Miss Penny." Soone from Team D called out, his expression almost aghast. "I don’t think we can defend against him."
"You haven’t even matched with him, and yet you’re already sure you can’t fight?"
"But he’s X!" another exclaid. "Even with all five of us together, we’re like kids fighting a giant!"
"Miss Penny, I’m not sure if you really understand who X is, but in our world, he’s a legend. He might not be a role model, but the guy’s skills are insane!"
"He’s not soone to ss with!"
"Uh..." Nathaniel, seated among his teammates, tried to wave at Penny to get her attention. However, he flinched when she glanced at him. She didn’t pay him any more attention.
Damn it!
Nathaniel clenched his teeth and fumbled with his fingers under the table. Looking around nervously, his shoulders tensed.
He couldn’t just talk to Penny and reveal the enemy’s plan!
’Goodness.’ A shallow breath slipped past his lips. ’This isn’t going to work.’
And he was certain of it.
Penny smirked at Team D. "Are you saying you’re not going to defend this ga?"
"Miss Penny, this isn’t just a ga anymore! That’s why we’re reacting like this!" soone exclaid in exasperation.
"It’s not that we don’t want to—but we know we can’t."
"Miss Penny, you don’t understand this from soone who’s never coded in her life. I don’t an to insult you, but it’s not that simple."
"The experts from Pri Group can’t make it in ti," Penny said. "Either you do this, or you don’t. But know this—Team A will do their best. Whether they succeed or not, they’ll earn the extra point. They might not even need to win the last round if they do well here."
Team A, who shared the sa concerns as Team D, exchanged glances.
"Win or lose," soone from Team A whispered, "we’re gaining that extra point."
"Do your best! It’s X. Just going head-to-head with him is sothing."
"It’s an honor," another muttered, eyes gleaming with determination. "Let’s do this, team! Let’s not let him ruin our night—this is our stage!"
"Yeah!"
With Team A’s morale rising, Penny smirked and glanced at Team D. "If you don’t want to participate, no one’s forcing you."
"Miss Bennet, I can help!" soone suddenly called from the audience. The man stepped forward—and both teams instantly recognized him. He was one of the players who had nearly made it to the finals.
"Our team can take care of it if they don’t want to participate!"
"Yes. We don’t mind not getting any prize or points."
"We just want to go up against X."
"Are you insane?" soone from Team D roared. "We already crushed you guys! What makes you think you’re better than us?"
The audience team mber frowned. "You got in by a fluke. If you’d been delayed just two seconds, we’d be the ones sitting there."
"What did you say?!"
"That’s enough," Penny interjected sharply, casting a glare at Team D and a sharp, cool glance at the audience. "I appreciate your offer. But Team D made it here. Unless they choose to back out, I won’t consider replacents."
The team in the audience nodded in understanding, but their gazes sharpened as they looked at Team D. Clearly, sothing had struck a nerve when a team mber said what he said.
As for Team A, they wisely stayed silent, realizing how lucky they were not to have spoken out carelessly.
Not everyone in the audience was cheering for their victory. So were just waiting for a chance to take the spotlight.
---
[HAHAHA!]
As the hall fell into a montary silence, the sa laughter echoed once again. Everyone instinctively turned to the big screen.
[I have given you enough ti to prepare. Are you ready now, Penelope?]
Slowly, Penny turned around to face the screen behind her. Standing in the center of the stage with both teams flanking her, her eyes glinted.
The teams tensed, readying themselves for any incoming attacks.
"No, you’ve given plenty, Mister X," Penny replied with a smirk. "I hope you won’t regret underestimating us."
[HAHAHA! What an amusing little kitten you are, Miss Bennet.]
[Very well. I hope you won’t regret sending such oblivious children to face . Tonight, I’ll show you the difference between them and I.]
[HAHAHA!]
"It’s coming!" soone from Team A shouted as the laughter faded. "Ah, shit! There’s a lot of them!"
"Fuck! How did he get into the second line so fast?!" another gasped, followed by more of that eerie, mocking laughter.
[Oh, Penelope. Struggle all you want, but your future is already dood.]
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