Messing With Her? Are You Crazy! novel Chapter 1063

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The night deepened, pulling a heavy blanket of darkness over the island. The ocean breeze brought a sharp drop in temperature.

By nine o'clock, the pathways were completely deserted. Aside from the patrolling GSTF Security Detail and a few scattered officials, not a single competitor remained outside.

To prevent the elite students from working themselves to death or suffering from severe exhaustion, the Organizing Committee enforced an incredibly strict regulation. At exactly 10:00 PM, every single competitor was required to be inside their assigned rooms for Biometric Presence Verification, followed immediately by The 10 PM Blackout Protocol.

Power to the research sectors was entirely severed to ensure no one snuck back to the labs to grind out extra data in the dark.

Any violation resulted in an immediate deduction of Team Merit Credits.

Each squad started with only three credits. If those credits dropped to zero, the team was instantly eliminated.

They had already witnessed the consequences in the first round when the corrupt official flashed a yellow card, instantly stripping a point away.

At the end of the tournament, the top three teams' accumulated credits would translate directly into individual advantages for the final solo rounds.

The more credits a competitor held, the safer they were from elimination. Naturally, the students guarded their team points with their lives.

By 9:50 PM, the lights in the dormitory blocks were flickering off one by one.

Inside The Spire, Caleb paced back and forth across the luxurious living room, his eyes darting toward the front door every few seconds.

Lydia, Vanessa, and Jasper constantly checked their watches, tension radiating from their postures.

Caleb finally stopped pacing. "It's almost ten. Where is the captain?"

He frowned, turning to Lydia. "Lydia, do you have any idea where she went?"

Lydia shook her head helplessly. "After we checked out the lab, she just vanished."

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