When the GF9 Test Subject Became His Obsession novel Chapter 89

Serena had officially burned her bridge with Building A.

Ten thousand dollars wasn’t much—Jeremy could’ve pulled that out of his own pocket. But raising it through collective funding meant something more. It showed that Building A was united. They were all in.

All eight Building A students in the room reached an unspoken agreement—everyone except for Harry from Class 3.

Serena and Indigo were the only two students from Building B in the top ten. The moment they walked in, seven hostile stares locked onto them.

But neither batted an eye. They silently took seats on opposite sides of the room, pulled out their phones, and started playing mobile games.

The Building A kids were speechless.

All that rage and determination hit nothing but air. The people they’d come here to intimidate treated their presence like it was meaningless.

Quartz finally arrived, slowly and deliberately. “You’ve all seen the district announcement, right?”

The Building A students nodded eagerly.

Kelly was a little breathless. She hadn’t expected Sequoia’s so-called “special selection” to be the Horizon Research Institute’s recruitment program. And now, here she was—selected for their Advanced Research Team. Even though she’d placed second, Serena was widely suspected of cheating. That meant she had a real shot at becoming team captain.

The reaction from Building A was loud and excited—just as Quartz hoped. But when his gaze swept across the room and landed on the two playing games by the door, his head started to ache. He decided to ignore the rotten apples.

“Taylor isn’t here yet?”

As soon as he said it, Taylor stepped through the door, with Celeste trailing behind him—ranked eleventh in the grade.

“I spoke with the board,” he said. “They’ve agreed to make an exception and allow Celeste to join.”

The board? Kelly picked up on that term instantly. Celeste really had friends in high places. Even the Horizon Research Institute’s team couldn’t keep her out if Taylor wanted her in.

Jeremy jumped in immediately. “It’s not an exception! Celeste deserves to be here!”

He shot a glare toward Serena as he said it. Everyone knew what he meant.

Serena didn’t even blink.

Quartz cleared his throat. “Serena, Indigo, come join the group.”

Only then did the two put their phones away and stand.

“I’m sure you all noticed the difficulty of this exam,” Quartz began. “That’s because it was designed by the Horizon Research Institute. They’re assembling a nationwide Advanced Research Team. The board will be assigning special development projects to this group, and anyone who meets the benchmarks may be offered a direct position at the Institute.”

His voice grew more serious.

“Even if you don’t join, you’ll be allowed to request something else—anything within reason. The board made that clear.”

Quartz personally thought that part was unnecessary. Who wouldn’t want to join the Horizon Research Institute? What request could possibly compare?

But orders were orders—he had to deliver the full message, word for word.

She had been maneuvered—hand-picked as the top scorer to lead the team. And now, the Institute wanted her to work for them under the guise of “development projects.”What a joke. They really thought they could just use her?

Every head in the room turned.

Of course it was her.

Quartz’s temple twitched. “Serena, do you understand what it means to join the Advanced Research Team?”

“No,” she said flatly. “I just want to go home.”

She wore the same innocent, harmless expression as always.

Goddammit, she’s going to give me a stroke.

“Mr. Quartz,” she added, “you’ve seen how everyone thinks I cheated. If I join something this important, it’ll cause a public backlash. Better to let me step back.”

Step back, my ass.

Quartz looked back down at the memo from the board. The very first line stated: First place must participate. Without the top scorer, the team is nullified.

This was Haven High’s chance to go down in history. No way he was letting that fall apart.

So he forced out the most sincere voice he could manage.

“Serena, I know you’re upset about the accusations. But now’s your chance to prove everyone wrong. Use your talent. Show them the truth. Do it not just for yourself, but for your country.”