Chapter 226

Miles Sutton and his two teammates exchanged uneasy glances. None of them had expected Aria Bennett to be this formidable.

Ronan Caldwell adjusted his glasses, his eyes gleaming behind the lenses. "Winning one round isn't enough. Your friends are just terrible."

"Next match, Aria leads her team against all four of us."

As the tactical mind of their squad, Ronan's suggestion was immediately approved by the others.

Miles smirked. "If she lasts half an hour, I'll acknowledge her as a teammate."

The four shared a knowing look—none of them believed Aria stood a chance.

Meanwhile, Tristan Cole and his group were still reeling from their defeat.

"We... lost just like that?" Miles Mercer rubbed the back of his head, bewildered.

Alistair Webb stared at his gun. "I didn't even get to fire a shot."

Tristan's expression darkened. He'd grown up in military training camps, yet a woman had wiped the floor with him.

"This woman..." he ground out between clenched teeth, "plays dirty."

As they wallowed in frustration, Ezra Vaughn approached and announced the new team arrangement.

"No way!" Miles was the first to protest.

Tristan held him back. "Follow orders." His gaze flicked to Aria, conflicted.

Before the second round began, Aria pulled out a sheet of paper and swiftly sketched a detailed map of the entire arena.

"You're cheating?" Tristan blurted.

Aria shot him a withering look. "I memorized the layout from our last round."

"Photographic memory?" Miles gaped.

"Something like that," Aria replied casually.

The other girls stared at her in awe, while Tristan's resentment gave way to curiosity.

Just how many tricks did this woman have up her sleeve?

The battle began. Aria directed the girls to take cover while she slipped unseen toward the enemy base.

Boom!

The explosion rang out while Ezra's team was still searching for targets.

"What the—?" Ronan's face paled.

The radio crackled with a staff member's voice: "Base destroyed. Game over."

Round three. Round four.

No matter how they adjusted their tactics, Aria always found a way to dismantle them.

"Damn it!" Miles threw his helmet down. "Can she read minds or something?"

In the surveillance room, the four rewatched the footage.

Ronan suddenly laughed. "She's not reading minds..."

"She's reading us."