On the perimeter of the stadium.
The officials from The Severian Syndicate Council immediately leaped to their feet. Some grabbed their walkie-talkies and began shouting, putting on a grand show: "Critical failure in Apex Simulation Pod 10!"
"Hurry! Activate emergency protocols immediately! Security, cut the power and force the pod open to save her!"
Others grabbed security personnel and rushed toward the simulation pods, yelling loudly, "Major malfunction in Pod 10! The organizers have initiated maximum-level emergency procedures. Commencing rescue immediately!"
The host hastily grabbed the microphone, speaking at a rapid-fire pace to calm the audience. "Please do not panic! Please maintain order! The organizers are intervening immediately. To avoid causing further alarm, we will temporarily cut the broadcast from Pod 10 until the malfunction is resolved!"
As soon as the words fell, the split-screen feed for Pod 10 abruptly cut to black on the stadium's main broadcast.
A prompt flashed across the screen.
[Technical Interruption. Emergency Repairs in Progress.]
The audience held their breath, genuinely believing the organizers were racing against time to save the competitor.
Even the lower-level staff, unaware of the actual plot, assumed rescue operations for Pod 10 were in full swing.
But the reality was entirely different.
The door to Pod 10 hadn't budged. Internally, no rescue mechanisms had been activated.
The pod remained exactly what it was meant to be—an inescapable death trap.
...
Inside the VIP suite.
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