Chapter Three: The Abandoned Fall Back Into Formation

Lin Mo went still. That loss had turned the team against him and cost him his starting position. “Why didn’t you tell us?” “Because Black Tide showed me every person they could reach.” Xu Duo glanced at the photograph. “I thought cutting you would preserve one substitute their model hadn’t fully learned. Tonight they erased the sound profiles and used directed frequencies to force roster changes. That was when I understood: they won’t permit a single variable.” Tang Ye released him but kept his hostile stare. “A threat doesn’t wash you clean.” “It doesn’t,” Xu Duo said. “I’ll turn myself in after the final. Before the final, you have to survive long enough to reach the stage.”