hapter 38
The next instant, Shawn appeared.
The soldiers stopped when they saw him. ‘What the hell? Why’s he here?‘
Shawn’s icy voice cut through the silence. “You’ve disgraced the unit. I can’t believe you pulled something like this. If this were a real battlefield, you’d be dead meat before you could even think about an ambush.”
The soldiers hung their heads. They’d been too cocky, missing the ground traps. But they weren’t dead-
-so why couldn’t they fight back? “Give her your tags and get back to your positions. Stay down until training ends. Got it?” Shawn’s command thundered across the field.
The soldiers were stunned–Chase’s earlier message hadn’t mentioned anything like this from Shawn.
They thought, ‘Didn’t Mr. Ludwig ask us to make things harder? To push the students to their limits and eliminate them? So why is he going easy on them now? And doing it so publicly?‘
“What are you waiting for? Move!” Shawn’s voice boomed again.
“Yes, Mr. Ludwig!” Despite feeling frustrated, the soldiers had no choice but to comply.
Just like that, Zoe collected eight number tags, while the soldiers reluctantly returned to their original positions, lying exactly where they’d fallen as they were told.
After stashing the tags, Zoe suddenly held out her hands to Shawn. “I twisted my ankle. Look, it’s swollen. I can’t walk. They’re scoring soon. If I can’t reach the meeting point, will I get disqualified?”
Shawn pressed his lips together and stayed silent.
Zoe squeezed out a few tears. “Mr. Ludwig, just go. Don’t worry about me.”
The sight of her–clearly hurt but forcing herself to stay strong–crushed Shawn’s heart. He’d mistaken her for Firefox, and to test her, he’d pushed her harder than the others. Now that she was seriously hurt, he knew he was responsible.
“I’ll be fine,” Zoe forced a smile, even trying to reassure Shawn. “Worst case, I’ll drop out of the competition. I just wish I could’ve stayed with my
teammates-
Before she could finish, Shawn swept her up in his arms–solid as a rock. “You’ve passed the assessment,” he said flatly.
“But L…
“You got injured because we didn’t plan this properly, which allowed the outside animal to slip through our security. This isn’t on you–it’s on us, the organizers.”
In other words, Shawn was the one to blame.
Zoe was stunned. At that moment, she realized she’d won their intense day–long standoff. Nestled in Shawn’s arms, she flashed a playful, triumphant smile.
By the deadline, participants trickled into the meeting point. They were a mess–exhausted, battered, and some even hurt. Luckily, everyone had made it within the time limit. Maybe they weren’t taking first place, but they’d survived the trial.
As each participant arrived, their score would pop up on the electronic scoreboard.
Eunice and her crew had arrived, with Eunice leading at five points–meaning five soldiers‘ tags collected.
Now, only one pertson wasn’t there, and it was Zoe.
While her brothers reated, Eunice scanned the scoreboard, hunting for Zoe’s name. But it was nowhere to be found.
Instantly, Kasnice’s eyes la up with excitement. “Herbert, Jacob, do you think something might have happened to Zoe? She’s not on the list.”
“Bet she didn’t grab a single tag Cheryl snickered
“No way someone chimed tr, pointing at the last few students with zero scores. “Their names are still on the list.”
The crowd broke into cruel gossip.
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Chapter 38
“That country girl thought she was hot stuff. Now she’s probably lunch for the cheetahs.”
“Totally possible. When the cheetahs showed up, I saw the most vicious one chasing her down. She’s definitely gone!”
“Typical country girl–nothing more than predator food!”
Laughter erupted. No one seemed to care whether Zoe was dead or alive.
0
Listening to the chatter, Eunice felt a rush of joy. ‘Zoe is dead? Perfect! Now I’ll be the only daughter of the Evans family. All their attention will be mine again—like Zoe has never come back.’
Still, Eunice lowered her head, feigning deep sadness.
Assuming Eunice was in grief over Zoe, Cheryl approached and whispered, “Don’t waste another thought on that bitch. Better if she’s dead–saves you the embarrassment.”
This is all my fault, Mandy thought, feeling genuine guilt and concern. After all, it was Zoe drawing the cheetahs away that she could escape in the
chaos.
Seeing everyone mock Zoe, Mandy was upset. She approached a soldier and said, “Excuse me, officer. One of my classmates is still missing. Could you help look for her?”
Mandy, are you trying to start something? Our honors class doesn’t need a loser like Zoe. We’re better off if she’s dead,” Cheryl hissed, glaring at her with a threatening look.
Still, Mandy couldn’t shake her worries.
“Forget her. Let’s celebrate Eunice, the champion of outdoor training!” someone cheered.
Another chimed in, “Could you tell us how you managed to take down those five soldiers?”
The crowd swarmed Eunice, showering her with praise.
Just then, a soldier, who was also one of the instructors, began announcing over the loudspeaker, “One minute left. Everyone, line up and prepare for the final results.”
The room buzzed with laughter.
“That country girl’s totally screwed.”
“Bet she’s hiding somewhere, crying.”
“Country folks just can’t handle our hardcore stuff?”
“She’ll probably get us all laughed out of school.”
Mandy fought back tears. Zoe, where are you?‘
The countdown continued. “Thirty seconds… ten seconds… two seconds—”
“Student Zoe, reporting” A clear voice cut through the tension.
Everyone turned toward the sound. The next moment, jaws dropped–Zoe had arrived, and Shawn was holding her in his arms.
What the hell just happened? the crowd thought, shocked.
“Wait, am I hallucinating? Is that seriously my idol, Mr. Ludwig, carrying some random country girl?” a student muttered. Dude, you’re not seeing things. That’s indeed Mr. Ludwig with Zoe, another confirmed.
What
“Everyone knows how much of a germaphobe Mr. Ludwig is. He never lets any woman near him. How did Zoe manage that?”
“Why the hell does Zor the wretch get this treatment? Cheryl cursed, snapping a twig in pure rage.
kainare locand shell–shocked Mr. Ludwig carrying Zoe? How is this posible?
But the real bomlalarll was yet to drop
The electrosk scoreboard, which had displayed tanier’s five–poin lead, suddenly changed. A new name flashed up–Zoe, eight points.
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11:59 АМ (О
Chapter 38
In other words, she’d snagged eight soldiers‘ tags and won the entire championship.
The revelation hit like a thunderbolt, freezing everyone in place.
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