Everyone's expressions were incredibly comical and bizarre.
They stood with their mouths hanging open, their eyes glued unblinkingly to Serena,
or to the whiteboard behind her that was completely covered in dense, complex formulas.
They were utterly stunned.
They actually understood it!
The logical gaps that had plagued them for days, the core problems that made them want to tear their hair out and completely halted their progress—they finally made
sense.
Under Serena's guidance, a wave of profound clarity washed over everyone in the
room.
Moments later, the entire area erupted into thunderous applause and shocked gasps.
"Ahhh! I get it! I completely understand now!"
"My god, was it really this simple? Was I completely brain-dead before? I couldn't make an inch of progress for days, but now... now it all makes perfect sense!"
"Code Goddess, you're an absolute genius!"
"Code Goddess! Code Goddess! Code Goddess!"
The competitors were flushed with excitement, their eyes filled with a feverish reverence as they looked at Serena, treating her like a scientific deity.
One person stood up and bowed deeply to Serena out of respect.
Then a second, a third, a fourth...
More and more people rose to their feet.
One by one, they turned toward Serena and offered solemn, deeply moved bows of gratitude.
Some of their voices even trembled, thick with emotion.
Serena simply stood there, calmly accepting their expressions of gratitude, her beautiful features composed and unbothered by the sudden adoration. "Go back and write down the process. Judging by the time, the power should be restored soon."
The crowd nodded eagerly, overwhelmed with thanks. "Yes! The Code Goddess is right, we need to hurry back and manually write out the derivations."
"Let's go, let's go! We have to strike while the iron is hot and the logic is fresh in our minds!"
"Code Goddess, we'll head back now!"
Everyone was racing against the clock.
They needed to get back and write out every formula they had just grasped before the power grid came back online.
That way, they could instantly enter battle mode.
The research sector, which had been a depressing, lifeless void just moments ago, was entirely revitalized by Serena.
"Captain, you're incredible!"
Lydia Brooks happily trotted over, handing Serena her thermos. "Did you see the way they were looking at you? They're practically ready to build a shrine in your honor"
She looked at Serena with absolute awe, her eyes shining. "You're the island's sovereign now Let's see if Bianca Doyle dares to pull any more of her dirty tricks behind our backs."
If Bianca tried anything now, the other competitors would tear her apart.
Bianca's days of throwing her weight around the island were officially over.
Serena took the water and took a slow sip.
Caleb Sommers adjusted his
glasses, staring at the whiteboard
filled with calculations. "Captain, you
just handed them the core
algorithm. You gave away our trump card. Everyone's experimental progress is going to skyrocket now."
"Are you... not worried that our team might actually lose?"
After all, this was a high-stakes tournament.
There could only be one champion.
Serena set down her water bottle, raised a brow, and asked, "Are you worried?"
The team exchanged a smile and shook their heads in unison. "Not at all."
With their captain leading them?
Lose?
They didn't even know the meaning of the word anymore.
In their hearts, their captain was an unbeatable, unsurpassable force of nature.
Caleb had only asked because he was curious as to why she made that specific choice.