The man who had been standing beside her just moments ago vanished into the shadows the moment the lights went out, taking his faint pine scent with him.
She lifted her gaze, her cool eyes sweeping the distance.
Brianna was standing next to Old Mr. Blackwood, covering her mouth and giggling, her eyes sparkling, her shoulders shaking slightly as she tried to hold back her laughter.
Then she looked at Old Mr. Blackwood.
He was pretending to sip his tea, but the corners of his mouth were clearly turned up, impossible to suppress.
He even threw Old Mr. Lancaster a highly theatrical side-eye.
The look in his eyes was smug beyond belief.
Seeing his expression, Old Mr. Lancaster immediately realized something was off. "Old Blackwood, what's with that face?"
Old Mr. Blackwood slowly took another sip of tea. "This is my calm and collected face."
Old Mr. Lancaster had a very bad feeling about this; he knew this old bastard far too well. "Do you know something?"
Old Mr. Blackwood looked entirely serious. "I do not."
Old Mr. Lancaster scoffed. "You're grinning from ear to ear."
Old Mr. Blackwood replied, "I'm naturally a cheerful person."
"Bullshit," Old Mr. Lancaster snapped.
Looking at the expressions of the grandfather and granddaughter, Serena had already guessed roughly what was going on.
Sure enough, the massive panoramic screen in the center of the banquet hall slowly lit up.
It wasn't a glaring light, nor was it an exaggerated, over-the-top opening.
Instead, it was a river of stars slowly unfolding from the darkness.
Like stars falling into the night, or like... the countless dark paths Serena had once walked alone.
Everyone's attention was involuntarily drawn to it.
The first thing to appear on the screen was a very short video clip.
It showed Blackwood Creek, under an ancient oak tree. The girl, wearing a simple
white t-shirt and jeans, stood there looking up at the tree.
Her striking, unadorned face was unimaginably beautiful.
A line of text slowly faded in: [This was where she started.]
Then, the scenes shifted bit by bit.
Country dirt roads.
The Marington College campus.
Finally, a dimly lit laboratory where the girl, in a simple white lab coat,
stood with her eyes slightly lowered,
her fingers moving lover an instrument console.
Immediately after, the scene transitioned again.
To the venue of the Global Elite Challenge.
Under the spotlights, the girl stood at the very front of the Elyndor team, her expression cool, her back straight.
Faced with the siege from international competitors, the organizers' attempts to make things difficult, and the pressure of the cameras.
She merely kept a cool expression, calmly handling every obstacle thrown her way.
Steadying the Elyndor team's morale, and steadying Elyndor's dignity.
Another line of text slowly appeared.
[She stood amidst the doubts and never bowed her head.]
Then, the scene shifted once more.
It was the live broadcast footage from Severia.
Inside Cabin Ten, the girl faced poisonous gas and Mutated Augments. Amidst the chaotic screams and the breaking down of the crowd, she exuded a chilling aura that commanded the entire room.
[She never waits to be saved.]
[She herself is the way out.]
Next came a small edited segment of the live broadcast that had never been aired
domestically, circulating only on the international dark web.
It was the rubble after the explosion.
The chaotic crowds.
The temporary intensive care zone set up by Elyndor, where
international medical experts looked ona despairing helplessness at the
top-tier professors they had
rescued.
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The girl, with a calm expression, stood before all their doubts and said simply, "Who says they can't be saved?"
"Just because you can't, doesn't mean I can't."
Then followed footage of the countless international experts and professors, who had been declared essentially dead, stabilizing and showing vital signs.
This sequence of scenes felt like a heavy blow to the chest for everyone watching.