Chapter 143 *
Angelina’s POV
Felix turned back to his tablet. The large screen behind him changed to show individual scores.
“Now for Team Seven’s individual evaluations.”
My body tensed slightly. This was it.
The screen displayed our names in a list. Five rows. Empty score columns waiting to be filled.
Felix read from his tablet. His voice was completely neutral.
“Rodriguez, Saffron: Zero out of one hundred.”
The number appeared on screen. Bright red. Zero.
“Leadership failure. Deliberate sabotage of team member. Premature retreat decision without tactical justification.”
Saffron made a choking sound. Like someone had punched her in the stomach.
Felix continued without pausing.
“Morris, Vanessa: Ten out of one hundred.”
Vanessa’s score appeared. Also red.
“Providing false intelligence. Failure to support team member in combat situation.”
“Tucker, Jason: Ten out of one hundred.”
Jason’s face went pale.
*Ignoring support requests. Abandoning tactical position without justification.”
“Cross, Ethan: Ten out of one hundred.”
Ethan stared at the ground.
‘Communication interference. Improper equipment handling.”
Felix looked up from his tablet. His eyes found me in the crowd.
*Sterling, Aria: Ninety-eight out of one hundred.”
The number appeared on screen. Green. 98.
The entire assembly area went silent.
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Chapter 143 *
I could feel hundreds of eyes turning toward me. Staring.
I didn’t look away. Didn’t show embarrassment or pride. Just maintained eye contact with Felix briefly. A polite acknowledgment.
He nodded slightly. Then continued speaking.
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“Sterling lost two points for not identifying team dysfunction earlier and reporting to command. In a real operation, she should have flagged
the communication issues and false intelligence before proceeding solo.”
He paused. Let that sink in.
“However, considering she successfully completed the mission objective, demonstrated outstanding tactical skill, adaptability, and judgment
under extreme pressure, her score is well deserved.”
Felix gestured at the screen. “In fact, Sterling’s solo performance was more efficient than most full teams’ coordinated efforts. She eliminated fourteen hostiles and extracted three hostages in thirty-two minutes. The average team completion time for this scenario is forty-one minutes.”
Someone in the crowd whispered. “Holy shit.”
Felix tapped his tablet again. The screen changed.
“Cumulative rankings update.”
A new list appeared. Names and total scores scrolling past.
I found my name quickly.
Before today: 341 points. Rank 18.
After adding 98: 439 points.
The ranking shifted. Numbers rearranging themselves on screen.
New position: Rank 11.
I looked for Saffron’s name.
Before today: 340 points. Rank 17.
After adding zero: 340 points.
New position: Rank 47.
The screen showed our names side by side for comparison.
1.Sterling, Aria: 439
2.Rodriguez, Saffron: 340
I glanced at Saffron. She was staring at the screen. Her face had gone from confident to completely blank.
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Chapter 143 *
Her mouth was slightly open. Eyes wide. Like she couldn’t process what she was seeing
“This can’t be right,” she said quietly. Then louder. “This can’t be right!*
Vanessa grabbed her arm. “Saffron, calm down.”
“No!” Saffron yanked her arm away. This is wrong! The numbers are wrong!
She started walking toward the platform. Her steps were unsteady.
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“Sir! There’s a problem with the scoring! Sterling violated direct orders from her team leader! She should be penalized, not rewarded!*
Felix’s expression didn’t change. “Rodriguez, are you challenging this evaluation?”
“Yes! I’m challenging it! This is completely unfair!”
“Very well.” Felix’s voice was ice cold. “We can submit a formal appeal to the Chief Director. That will trigger a full review of the entire exercise.
Including detailed analysis of every action you took. Every order you gave. Every piece of communication.”
He paused. “If the review finds evidence of deliberate sabotage, you will be permanently expelled from this program and banned from all future
selections. Is that what you want?”
Saffron stopped walking. Her face went even paler.
“I… that’s not…”
“Then I suggest you accept the evaluation results.”
Saffron’s breathing got faster. Heavier. Her face was turning red now. Flushed.
Her hands started shaking. She clenched them into fists but they kept trembling.
Vanessa moved closer. “Saffron, your face…”
“I can’t… Saffron’s voice was weak. Strained. “I can’t lose to her. I can’t…
Her eyes were unfocused. Staring at nothing.
Then her body swayed. Once. Twice.
“Saffron!” Vanessa reached for her.
But Saffron’s legs gave out. She started falling backward.
Ethan caught her. His arms wrapped around her shoulders just before she hit the ground.
“Medical! We need medical here!” someone shouted.
I felt a flash of surprise. I hadn’t expected this. Hadn’t expected Saffron to be this… fragile.
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Chapter 143 *
Mentally, I mean. Her body was strong. She’d performed well physically throughout the selection.
But her mind couldn’t handle failure.
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I let out a quiet sigh. This was unfortunate.
Two paramedics ran over. They must have been on standby nearby. They always were during training exercises.
One paramedic knelt beside Saffron. Checked her pulse. Looked at her eyes with a small flashlight.
“Pupils dilated. Pulse is rapid and irregular.” He pulled out a blood pressure cuff. Wrapped it around Saffron’s arm.
The other paramedic was getting equipment from a nearby medical bag.
“BP is one-seventy over one-ten,” the first paramedic said. “Heart rate one-thirty.”
“Stress-induced hypertensive crisis,” the second paramedic said. “Get the oxygen.”
They worked quickly. Put an oxygen mask on Saffron’s face. Prepared a stretcher that someone had brought over.
Saffron was semi-conscious. Her eyes were open but unfocused. She wasn really seeing anything.
The paramedics lifted her onto the stretcher. Started carrying her toward the parking area where an ambulance was waiting.
Vanessa, Jason, and Ethan followed quickly. All three of them looked shaken. Scared.
The ambulance doors closed. The siren started. Red and white lights flashing.
Then it drove away. The sound gradually fading.
The assembly area was completely silent. Nobody moved. Nobody spoke.
This had stopped being a training exercise. This was a real medical emergency.
Felix watched the ambulance disappear. His expression was stern. No sympathy. No concern.
He turned back to face the remaining candidates.
“This is why we test your mental fortitude,” he said. His voice was cold. Hard. “Field operatives face incredible pressure. Life-or-death
situations. Mission failures. Team losses.”
He let his gaze sweep across everyone.
“If you cannot handle setbacks, if you cannot control your emotions under stress, you will endanger yourself and your team. You will get people
killed.”
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