Chapter 1047
“I can prove it!” Bianca snapped, her voice trembling with fury as she pointed a shaking finger at the lingering crowd of contestants. “They can all prove it! With so many eyes watching, do you really think you can deny it p>
“Oh?” Serena tilted her head, her gaze sweeping lazily over the onlookers.
Her eyes were entirely devoid of emotion, yet they radiated a suffocating, predatory chill.
“Did you see anything?” she asked, her tone conversational but laced with a lethal edge.
The contestants felt a collective shiver race down their spines. They instinctively shrank back, avoiding her gaze.
It was no secret that the event officials and the island’s security personnel were handpicked elites from federal defense agencies or retired special forces operatives. Chief Graves, with his hulking, muscle-bound frame, was clearly a former tactical operative or a top-tier bodyguard. Yet this man, who could easily break any of them in half, had just been effortlessly pinned beneath the heel of the captain of The Hope Initiative.
They were just a bunch of brilliant but physically helpless academics. Who in their right mind would dare stand up to her?
Besides, Graves had clearly been targeting The Hope Initiative. Seeing him get slammed into the dirt felt like poetic justice. It was deeply satisfying.
If no one put a leash on the Chief Arbiter, he would spend the next five days making their lives a living hell. Anyone who didn’t bow to him would become his next target. Who was to say they wouldn’t end up just like Serena’s team?
Because of this unspoken realization, the moment Serena’s gaze landed on them, everyone abruptly found something else to look at.
“Wow, the ocean breeze is so strong today. I think I got sand in my eyes. I can’t see a thing,” one muttered.
“Huh? I was busy running diagnostic data in my head. Did something happen?” another chimed in.
“Let’s hurry up. We need to familiarize ourselves with the labs before time runs out,” someone else added, briskly walking away.
They lied through their teeth without a second thought. A few even turned on their heels and practically sprinted away, terrified that Bianca would drag them into committing perjury.
“You Bianca stomped her foot, her face flushing with rage as the other
teams abandoned her. “Are you all
u alse
blind? That bitch was actively attacking an event official! That’s
assault p>
She pivoted back to Serena, pointing an accusatory finger. “Serena, you’re intimidating witnesses p>
Serena completely ignored the
pathetic Qutburst. She glanced down
at her foot and casually scraped her
37.
shoe against the pavement, as if trying to wipe off something disgusting she had just stepped in.
Then, slipping her hands into her pockets, she lifted her gaze to Graves. A slow, chilling smile played on her lips-beautiful, arrogant, and utterly vicious.
“Hear that?” she murmured. “The eyes of the masses are sharp p>
She took a slow step forward. “Chief Graves, you really ought to be more careful when you walk. Tripping over flat ground so often… it’s quite embarrassing p>
Graves had barely managed to drag himself upright. His knee had been completely shattered under her heel, and fie didn’t dare put any weight on it. His deg hung suspended, and even the slightest movement sent sharp, agonizing jolts of pain through his nervous system.
Hearing Serena’s taunt, his massive frame swayed.
The movement pulled at his ruined knee, and a fresh wave of cold sweat broke out
across his forehead. His face twisted into a mask of pure agony.
But he didn’t dare say a word. He didn’t even dare utter a single curse.