Chapter 296

The entire arena fell into stunned silence.

Even the live comments froze for a second.

Everyone remembered clearly—after Team China took the box, the shelf had been completely empty.

For another one to suddenly appear could only mean the AI system was playing tricks.

[Aria's insane! She predicted this?!]

[The foreign teams must be feeling that slap across their faces.]

[Queen Aria strikes again! Destroy them!]

None of the teams that made it to the finals were pushovers.

After the initial shock, they quickly regained their composure.

In this virtual world, nothing was ever as it seemed.

Following the instructions on the boxes, each team stepped forward to claim theirs.

Every time one was taken, a new one materialized on the shelf.

Only when the last box was removed did the shelf finally stay empty.

Just as Aria Bennett had said.

The other competitors' expressions shifted.

This seemingly delicate woman from the East was far more dangerous than she appeared.

"Should we unlock them together, or separately?"

Aria smiled innocently, gesturing around. "There are plenty of private labs here. You can work on your own."

Though they knew she was stirring the pot, the suggestion was exactly what they wanted.

Captain Drake of Team One spoke first. "Excellent idea, Miss Bennett. We'll work alone."

He added meaningfully, "Once we crack it, we'll charter a flight straight to the base."

The other teams quickly agreed.

The remaining teams scowled.

They'd planned to piggyback off others' efforts—now that plan was ruined.

This Aria Bennett was a master at disrupting their schemes.

Aria blinked. "These cipher locks are tricky. They'll take at least an hour."

"We'll scout outside for survivors. Meet you at the base."

Captain Drake suddenly interjected, "Could you leave someone behind? In case we... get stuck?"

His pause was heavy with implication.

The other teams caught on immediately.

If Team China left entirely, they might get locked in the lab.

Aria glanced at Ronan Caldwell. "Captain, you stay."

"Since you're good with locks, might as well earn some extra cash."

Ronan smiled warmly. "No problem. Stay safe out there."

With their captain as a hostage, the other teams finally relaxed.

Aria led her three teammates out of the lab.

Outside, zombies caught their scent and swarmed toward them.

Miles Sutton sucked in a breath. "There's too many! We can't fight them all!"

Aria suddenly pulled out a brush and cinnabar ink from her bag. "Let me try a paralysis talisman."

She'd grabbed these from a funeral supplies shop earlier.

In seconds, she finished drawing the sigil and handed it to Miles. "Stick it on a zombie's forehead."

Miles gave her a "you're kidding" look.

But at her serious expression, he reluctantly obeyed.

"Holy—it actually worked?!"

The tagged zombie froze instantly, like someone had hit pause.

The other three gaped.

This defied all logic!

Aria was already mass-producing talismans.

Armed with long poles, Miles and the others started tagging zombies like some bizarre game of whack-a-mole.

The live comments exploded:

[Magic vs. zombies?!]

[Is there anything Aria can't do?!]

[This is next-level ridiculous LOL]