"Hahaha, she brought it on herself. All we can do is respect her choice to fail!"
Bianca was shaking with rage, her teeth grinding together as she screamed, "I said I can rely on myself! I'm not like you, a bunch of dogs begging for attention!"
"Ha! Hahahahaha!"
A sudden, piercing laugh cut through the noise.
The female teammate Bianca had just slapped was laughing hysterically.
She held her red, swollen cheek. Tears were still streaming down her face, but her eyes had turned utterly fierce.
"Rely on yourself?"
She locked eyes with Bianca and sneered. "Bianca Doyle, do you have no shame whatsoever?"
"Since we set foot on this island, besides barking orders and throwing tantrums, have you done a single piece of actual work?"
"You can't process data. You can't build a functional model. You're completely useless, do you realize that?"
"You're incompetent, and you refuse to learn! Yesterday, when the Code Goddess was teaching, you forbade us from going! And for what? For your pathetic, fragile pride! You gambled with our entire futures just to save face!"
"Without her guidance, you think you can figure this out?"
"You couldn't reach the core algorithm if you had a hundred years!"
"And you hit me? What gives you the right to lay a hand on me?"
"You know what, you're right. I am pathetic! I was pathetic enough to believe your bullshit and join your team!"
"You can stay here and keep dreaming, you absolute psycho!"
"I'm dropping out! I'm done serving you!"
With a violent yank, the girl ripped the team badge off her chest and hurled it directly at Bianca's face.
She turned on her heel and sprinted out of the canteen without looking back.
Bianca was completely stunned.
In her entire life, no one had ever pointed a finger in her face and called her a useless psycho.
And to have it come from a teammate who had always been her obedient follower?
"You're revolting. Joining your team is the biggest regret of my life."
"You act like you're untouchable just because you have a rich daddy. But compared to the Code Goddess? You're nothing. You don't even have the right to carry her shoes."
"Understand? You're a psycho, and you're entirely unworthy!"
"I'm done with this competition. Do whatever the hell you want."
He kicked his chair back violently and marched toward the exit.
Just before he walked out, he paused, looking back at Bianca to deliver one final blow.
"And by the way. We're humans, not dogs."
He walked out without a second glance.
In the blink of an eye, The Dreamscape Initiative had shattered.
The only people left at the table were Bianca, Isabella Lancaster, and a single male teammate who had shrunk back in his chair, too terrified to speak.

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