Dai Mubai lay on the ground, gasping for breath, his sinister eyes filled with defiance.
He opened his mouth to say something, only to find that no words would come.
He had lost.
He had lost.
As captain, he had lost when his team needed him most.
The referee drew a deep breath, his booming voice carrying across the entire parade ground:
"Dai Mubai, eliminated! Ailuo wins!"
"Plant Academy wins the match!"
The instant those words fell, thunderous cheers erupted from Plant Academy's waiting area.
The team members rushed onto the platform and surrounded Ailuo, who was already swaying on her feet, laughing and jumping with joy.
"We won! We won!"
Meanwhile, Shrek Academy's waiting area was as silent as the grave.
Holding Cinderella in his arms, Tang San stared fixedly at the pale-gold figure surrounded by the crowd onstage, the murderous intent in his eyes almost taking solid form.
But there was nothing he could do.
They had lost.
Shrek had lost.
They had lost their very first match of the promotion tournament.
Zhu Zhuqing leaned against the wall, her face pale, without saying a word.
Ma Hongjun sat slumped on the ground, sighing endlessly.
Oscar stood to one side, forgetting to eat the sausage in his hand.
Huang Yuan, Tai Long, Lin An, and Jiang Zhu all kept their heads lowered, not daring to look at the scene onstage.
Flender sat in his chair and sighed.
Liu Erlong walked over to him and gently patted his shoulder without a word.
At a time like this, nothing they said would help.
Yu Xiaogang stood where he was with his head lowered, his expression hidden.
In the spectator stands, Ning Fengzhi reclined in his spacious seat, watching the pale-gold figure surrounded by her teammates on the platform, his eyes full