Divorced, But Queen - Chapter 803: Chapter 803

Someone's out. Aria and Cathy were sharing a tent. When Cathy saw Aria was awake, she teased, "The kids this year are even more competitive than last year."
There was no judgment in her voice. Wanting to win wasn't a bad thing.
Meanwhile, Clifford's team, who had just eliminated another team, were left panting from exhaustion.
Zoey Sullivan sat on the ground, clearly annoyed. "We only knocked out two. Five are still standing, and they're definitely going to gang up with the others against us. Honestly, it would've been way easier to just target Aria and Liz."
The team they had just eliminated had seven people. And they only had six—yet they'd nearly won.
Night had fallen over the forbidden zone, and darkness pressed in from all sides.
Clifford didn't respond to Zoey's complaint. His eyes turned toward Mike, who'd taken the hardest hit. "You've got some real moves, Mike."
Mike managed a faint smile. "I've been training since I was a kid."
He was a little banged up, sure, but at least he hadn't slowed them down.
Gerald, as the only one completely unharmed, had already started dismantling the tent and called out without looking up, "Mike."
"On it!" Mike quickly got to his feet.
Clifford raised his hand. "Count me in. The three of us can squeeze together."
Gerald shot him a glance. "Go squeeze with someone else. You're on night watch."
Clifford stood up and brushed the dust off his pants, pretending to be hurt. "Come on, Gerald. We've known each other the longest, and you're ditching me?"
Mike couldn't help but cut in. "Captain, Gerald's my cousin. Blood-related.
Mike thought, 'Honestly, I wouldn't have passed the assessment if it weren't for my cousin helping me out.'
At that, the rest of the team all looked up in surprise.
Hank Steele, their fighter, finally put it together. "No wonder you two kind of look alike."
Zoey, who had been constantly annoyed with Mike throughout the journey, flushed and mumbled awkwardly, "Why didn't you say anything before?"
Zoey thought to herself. 'If I'd known about his connection to Lincoln, I wouldn't have acted so dismissive toward him.
'No wonder Gerald had been ignoring her this whole time.'
Mike shrugged. "It's nothing worth mentioning."
Clifford chuckled and changed the subject. "Alright, let's get this tent up."
Just as he picked up a tent pole, Gerald's comm device started buzzing.
"Hey, Gerald, want to team up?" a man's voice came through the line.
Gerald answered flatly, "You're too late. We've already partnered up."
There was a disappointed pause. "Ah, alright. I'll look for someone else then."
"Did you get a supply station yet?" Gerald asked.
"Not yet," came the reply.
"Here's a little tip for you," Gerald said. "The supply station in Area D is taken by Cathy's team."
"Thanks, Gerald," the guy said.
Once the call ended, Mike shot him a look. "Seriously, Gerald? Aria's my mentor, and you just gave them her location."
Gerald didn't even blink. "She's not your mentor here. You think you won't have to face her eventually in the team round?"
Mike nodded without hesitation. "I won't fight her."
Gerald raised a brow, but Mike added quickly, "It's not like I'd win anyway. I'd just get knocked out and drag the rest of you down."
Clifford laughed. "Hard to argue with that."
"It's not like we're targeting your mentor specifically. We don't even know how strong she really is. Better to let someone else test her first. If she gets eliminated, it's one less threat we have to deal with." He added.
Mike said firmly, "She's not going out that easily. I think she'll make it to the finals."
'Honestly, I think her team has a real shot at winning the championship.' he thought.
"You really believe in her that much?" Clifford said.
"She's really tough. If you guys underestimate her, you'll pay for it," Mike replied.
Clifford patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry. We're not underestimating Aria."
Only Zoey would ever underestimate someone like that.
Meanwhile, the team that had just spoken to Gerald was making their way quickly toward Area D.
"Captain, do you really think Gerald was telling the truth?" one of them asked.
Blake Brooks, their captain, replied calmly, "He had no reason to lie.
"Besides, Gerald doesn't know exactly how strong Aria Saxon is. Sending us to test her works in their favor too, and that's why he fed us that intel.
"It's rest time now. Perfect chance to launch a sneak attack. As long as we can eliminate even one of them, the rest will fall easily."
"Captain's right. We're definitely taking that supply station in Area D tonight," another teammate chimed in.
In the viewing room, Brandon's team didn't hide in shame after getting eliminated. Instead, they joined everyone else to watch the ongoing evaluation.
They had been overconfident and underestimated their opponents. If they still couldn't admit their mistakes, they had no business staying in the State Security Bureau.
"Man, Aria's team just can't catch a break," someone sighed.
It's only day one, and they've already run into Fabian's team, Brandon's team, and Clifford's team. Now Blake's team is gunning for them too.
"Gerald's ruthless," another person said. "He made sure his own team steered clear of Aria, and tricked the other teams into going after her instead."
No matter how things play out, Gerald's team can just sit back and reap the rewards.
They'd be down one more rival team, plus, they'd get to see what Aria was really capable of.
'No wonder they call him Fox Gerald.' Someone thought.
No one was happier than Brandon Hill's crew to see Blake's team heading off to challenge Cathy.
Nothing like someone else sharing the embarrassment.
They were just waiting for Blake's entire team to get wiped out.
"I'll call it a night after watching how this fight ends. Can't stay awake much longer," someone yawned.
Every year, they turn the whole evaluation into highlight reels. The instructors would review them frame by frame and make everyone reflect on their performance.
So no one was worried about missing anything good.
In a penthouse suite, Flynt stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the glowing city lights.
Behind him, a man in black reported respectfully. "Sir, Ms. Saxon is currently with the State Security Bureau. She's participating in the evaluation in the restricted zone. It's expected to last around two weeks."
'She actually went and joined this kind of boring evaluation?' Flynt thought.
He curled his lips into an amused smile. "So, this is the sort of thing you enjoy, huh?"
"Find out exactly what kind of evaluation the Bureau is running," he ordered.
He was going to set up an identical event in Torrenia.
"Yes, Boss," the subordinate replied.
"And find out how to get into the forbidden zone," Flynt added.
"Got it," the subordinate nodded.
Aria opened her eyes and sat up.
Cathy, who had also woken up, whispered, "What's wrong?"
"I've had enough rest. I'll take over the night watch," Aria replied.
Cathy nodded. "A lot of teams know we've got Area D. Tonight's not going to be peaceful. How's your injury?"
"Don't worry, it's nothing serious," Aria said.