Shanley Schwartz?

He actually came to the competition?

"Miss Payne is dealing with an urgent matter," Shanley informed the camera, his sharp lips curving slightly, his voice deep and commanding. "She'll need about ten seconds."

"...Of course."

When the absolute kingpin of the corporate world spoke, the host nearly choked on his breath, managing to squeeze out two words.

Rush him?

He didn't have a death wish!

Exactly ten seconds later.

Juniper's match concluded. She carried her team to a championship victory, smoothly unlocking the next competitive tier.

"The Wi-Fi in here is garbage, or I would've been done five minutes ago," she muttered in annoyance. She glanced up, realizing her face was plastered across the massive monitors.

Thousands of eyes were staring dead at her.

"Hold this."

She tossed her phone into Shanley's lap, stood up, and looked directly into the lens.

"I borrowed Jenna's case files directly from Dr. Nocturne. Is there a problem?"

The judges at the front leaned forward, scrutinizing her.

Jenna had claimed this girl was a classmate?

"Professor Dawson, is this one of your third-year grad students?" a judge turned around to ask, keeping his voice low.

"She is my student, yes, but..." Dawson put on his most serious face. "She's actually

a freshman. Her aptitude for medicine is so extraordinary that she audits my advanced graduate courses."

"Excuse me?"

Though the judge was originally from Orient Country, he worked at a prestigious overseas university and didn't follow local news. The name Juniper Payne meant nothing to him.

A freshman auditing third-year graduate seminars?

At the most elite university in the country?

Did Dawson mispeak?

"It's the truth." Dawson's chest puffed out with undeniable pride. He looked straight at Professor Peter, his tone dead serious. "She is the most gifted student I have ever encountered. Once the competition concludes, I'd be honored to introduce her to the panel. You'll be astounded."

"An eighteen-year-old freshman, no matter how clever, isn't redefining medical science."

Professor Peter set his water bottle down, a dismissive smirk tugging at his lips.

If she were a third-year grad student, he might have entertained a conversation.

A freshman?

Peter squinted at the girl on the screen. The baseball cap shadowed her features but she clearly looked like akid. Could she even pronounce the medical jargon correctly?

What a colossal waste of time.

He just wanted this to end so he could track down his infuriating arch-nemesis of a colleague.

Word was, she was currently in Eclara City.

Once he found her, he fully intended to dump her entire stash of snacks into the ocean to feed the sharks.

"She..."

Dawson tried to argue on Juniper's

behalf, but Peter cut him off coldly.

"Didn't she claim to know Dr.

Nocturne? If so, she should be

getting tutored by the legend herself."

"Speaking of which, a close friend of mine knows Dr. Nocturne intimately," Peter added. "And I've never once heard that the doctor takes on university students."

He had pulled every string imaginable to secure a meeting with the legendary surgeon, only to be rejected every time.

If Nocturne wouldn't even see him, why would she help some college kid?

He wasn't buying a word of it.

Dawson was rendered speechless.

It was a fair point. Why hadn't Juniper ever mentioned that detail?

"Miss Payne, the competition requires the raw data. Are you able to provide it?" the host asked, his tone noticeably more respectful now.

"Obviously."

Juniper nodded casually. "Let me make a call. I'll have someone email it to Jenna right now."

If she'd known they needed a mountain of paperwork, she would have had Michael prep it all beforehand.

All the original files were sitting in the encrypted servers down at the Subterra Vanguard labs.

"Forward all the raw files for the

in-utero balloon dilation case to the email address I just sent you," Juniper instructed over the phone, completely unfazed by the audience. "Don't drag your feet. They need it now."

Everyone else: "???"

Was she literally on the phone with Dr. Nocturne just now?

Who did she think she was?

That was a medical deity on the line, and she was barking orders like a mob boss!