Messing With Her? Are You Crazy! novel Chapter 996

Caleb's breathing was heavy and ragged.

He took several deep, shuddering breaths.

Desperately fighting to wrestle his emotions back under control.

He glared at Bianca's infuriatingly smug face, her mocking smile laced with pure provocation.

Vanessa was right.

Bianca was doing this on purpose, waiting for him to make a single mistake and personally destroy whatever chance The Hope Initiative had left.

Caleb squeezed his eyes shut and forced himself back into his seat, his voice scraping out rough and dry. "You're right. We ignore the rabid dogs."

He turned to look at Vanessa and Jasper, his gaze blazing with unwavering determination. "The captain will come back. She'll bring Lydia back with her."

"Until they arrive, we hold the line."

"We have to protect our spot in this competition."

He was saying it to comfort them, but also to convince himself.

Their captain had never let them down.

Whatever she promised, she delivered.

This time would be no different!

Seeing that Caleb had swallowed his anger and chosen to stand firm, Bianca scoffed in sheer boredom.

"Tch. A bunch of cowards. Let's see how long you three last in there."

"Positions, everyone! Positions!"

"All teams, take your seats immediately! The gauntlet is about to begin!"

The arena's PA system suddenly crackled to life with the announcer's booming voice. "All teams return to your zones! The rules for the opening round will now be broadcast!"

The match began exactly on the hour.

The massive circular jumbotron suspended above the center of the stadium flared to life, projecting the grueling parameters of the first trial.

It was a full-scale team operation.

The round required simultaneous high-level programming, cyber defense, and rapid-fire theoretical troubleshooting.

He took a deep breath, his voice turning absolute. "The captain didn't pick us just to be her cheerleaders."

"If we completely fall apart the second she isn't here to hold our hands, we don't deserve to be on her team."

"We lock this down and wait for her to get back!"

Vanessa and Jasper exchanged a loaded look.

They clenched their fists, forcing the terror out of their systems. "Right! Let's give them hell! We can do this!"

As the starting whistle echoed through the arena.

Hundreds of high-performance monitors flickered to life simultaneously.

The deafening, synchronized clatter of mechanical keyboards erupted across the floor.

The sound was a tidal wave of pure, concentrated warfare.

Over at Bianca's booth, her squad was clearly well-prepared.

With an infuriatingly triumphant smirk playing on her lips, she snapped orders at her teammates, instantly launching into the point-scoring puzzles.