Chapter 1063
The night deepened, pulling a heavy blanket of darkness over the island. The ocean breeze brought a sharp drop in temperature.
By nine o’clock, the pathways were completely deserted. Aside from the patrolling GSTF Security Detail and a few scattered officials, not a single competitor remained outside.
To prevent the elite students from working themselves to death or suffering from severe exhaustion, the Organizing Committee enforced an incredibly strict regulation. At exactly 10:00 PM, every single competitor was required to be inside their assigned rooms for Biometric Presence Verification, followed immediately by The 10 PM Blackout Protocol.
Power to the research sectors was entirely severed to ensure no one snuck back to the labs to grind out extra data in the dark.
Any violation resulted in an immediate deduction of Team Merit Credits.
Each squad started with only three credits. If those credits dropped to zero, the team was instantly eliminated.
They had already witnessed the consequences in the first round when the corrupt official flashed a yellow card, instantly stripping a point away.
At the end of the tournament, the top three teams’ accumulated credits would
translate directly into individual advantages for the final solo rounds.
The more credits a competitor held, the safer they were from elimination. Naturally,
the students guarded their team points with their lives.
By 9:50 PM, the lights in the dormitory blocks were flickering off one by one.
Inside The Spire, Caleb paced back and forth across the luxurious living room, his eyes darting toward the front door every few seconds.
Lydia, Vanessa, and Jasper constantly checked their watches, tension radiating from their postures.
Caleb finally stopped pacing. “It’s almost ten. Where is the captain p>
He frowned, turning to Lydia. “Lydia, do you have any idea where she went p>
Lydia shook her head helplessly. “After we checked out the lab, she just vanished p>
Vanessa bit her lip. “It’s pitch black out there, and the island is huge and completely isolated. Do you think she got lost p>
“Doubtful,” Caleb said, his brow deeply furrowed. “We all memorized the topographical maps before we even boarded the transport. We have the layout locked in our heads There’s no way the captain would
forget the routes p>
Someone with Serena’s terrifying intellect wouldn’t make such a juvenile mistake.
“The captain always calculates her
moves perfectly,” Caleb said,
glancing at his watch again and taking a deep breath. She knows the rules of The 10 PM Blackout Protocol. She’ll be back in time p>
They weren’t necessarily worried about losing the points. Thanks to their ten-round winning streak, they had a massive buffer of thirty Team Merit Credits. They could afford a penalty.
What they were actually terrified of was Bianca using a curfew violation to launch another administrative assault against them.
Just as the tension hit a breaking point, the heavy front door swung open.
Serena strolled inside, hands casually tucked into her pockets, her pace completely unhurried. The biometric scanner chimed in confirmation.
The time flashed exactly 21:59.
“Captain, you made it!” Lydia shot up from the sofa, practically sprinting toward her.
As she got closer, Lydia paused. Clinging to Serena was the damp, salty scent of the sea breeze, but mixed beneath it was a faint, unmistakable trace of earthy soil.
Lydia blinked in confusion. Where exactly had the captain been all night?
“Go to sleep,” Serena commanded softly. Her radiant complexion showed absolutely no signs of fatigue, her posture as effortlessly relaxed as always. “I want everyone up and ready for the lab at 600 AM sharp. If any of you drag your feet tomorrow because you didn’t get enough rest, I will personally make you regret it p>
With that, she walked straight toward her private bedroom, offering zero explanation for her disappearance.
“Yes, Captain p>
None of them dared push for details. They scrambled to their rooms, hitting the light switches right as the clock struck ten. There was no way they were going to hold their captain back tomorrow!