Jude stared at them expressionlessly before raising a hand. "Take them away. Dump them on the beach and leave a detail to watch them. If they try to wander off again, expel them from the island immediately."
A few security guards marched over and roughly hauled the two women up by their
arms.
Right in front of the massive crowd, they were practically dragged away, kicking and stumbling back toward the shoreline.
Even as they were hauled off, they could hear the relentless mockery of the competitors.
"Tsk, crying about bugs. They're just guilty as hell."
"Sneaking around the Apex Research Hub in the middle of the night... obviously they were trying to steal Serena's data."
"Serena, you should seriously go check your systems. Make sure none of your files were tampered with."
"Yeah, you can never be too careful. Those two are definitely disgusting enough to pull something like that..."
Bianca was so furious she felt like she might cough up blood.
But at the same time, her heart was pounding out of her chest.
If Serena actually listened to them and checked her experimental files...
Wouldn't she immediately spot the virus?
Just before the security guards dragged them out of earshot.
Bianca heard Serena's cool, indifferent voice float through the air. "No need. My things aren't something just anyone can easily walk away with."
It was a profoundly arrogant statement.
But it was exactly what Bianca and Isabella needed to finally breathe a sigh of relief.
And so.
The two of them were forced to huddle on the freezing beach for the rest of the night.
They finally got a firsthand taste of true human suffering.
Along with their single, miserably unlucky male teammate.
The ocean winds howled relentlessly.
Their thin sleeping bags did absolutely nothing to block the biting cold.
The two women curled into tight balls, shivering violently, their minds plagued by the image of that swarming mass of insects.
Every time they closed their eyes, they felt centipedes, scorpions, and venomous spiders crawling over their faces.
Every time they opened their eyes, there was only pitch-black darkness.
The midnight sea breeze was a deep, agonizing chill that sank straight into their bones, pushing them to the brink of insanity.
Their male teammate looked like he was about to cry, deeply regretting his life choices. Why couldn't he just stand up f
up for himself yesterday? Why didn't he just grow a spine
By early the next morning.
Unsurprisingly, both Bianca and Isabella were running dangerousty high fevers. They were dizzy, their bodies rachating heat, entirely drained of the strength to even stand up.
Bianca's face was flushed red. Her legs wobbled precariously with every step.
Isabella didn't look much better. Her lips were deathly pale, and thick, bruised bags hung under her eyes.
They had hoped they could use their sickness to garner some sympathy and beg their way back into the dorms.
Instead, the island's on-call physician didn't even bother looking at them.
He unceremoniously tossed three basic fever reducers onto the counter and waved them off.
He couldn't even be bothered to give them a glass of water.
Standing outside the desolate medical tent, shivering in the cold morning air...
The two women's eyes burned with angry tears.
Right now, they couldn't even find a single person willing to hand them a warm cup
of water.
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Left with no other options, they dragged themselves toward the cafeteria, hoping to scrounge up some hot oatmeal or soup towarm their freezing bodies.
But as soon as they approached...
They realized the cafeteria was booming like a massive victory parade.
Laughter and cheers echoed through the air.
The two women hovered by the entrance, peering inside.
There sat Serena, completely surrounded like a queen holding court.
Then they looked at their own pathetic, isolated reality.
The agonizing contrast made Bianca want to vomit blood.
Serena was lounging at the largest, most central table in the entire mess hall.
A lavish breakfast was spread out in front of her.
And surrounding her were competitors from dozens of different teams.
"Serena! Is it true your team already finished the physicals?"
"You're a legend! The absolute first team to finalize the report!"
One of the guys sighed in pure envy. "That's insane. We're still scrambling to finish
the loose ends, and your whole team is already on vacation mode!"
The very first team on the island to finalize their submission!