Chapter 1007:

Her teammate hesitated for only a heartbeat before recognizing the opportunity, then leapt and executed a clean, sharp spike.

The ball struck the open water on the other side—point won.

“Beautiful play!” an officer on their team shouted, his voice full of excitement.

Applause rippled along the poolside, this time celebrating Rylie’s sharp instincts and steady cooperation.

Kristen stood rooted in disbelief. She had never expected Rylie to counter her attack with such precision, let alone convert it into a clean scoring play.

“How did you improve this quickly?” she asked Rylie.

Rylie offered a calm smile. “I have been studying your playing habits. Like I said earlier, I find them quite instructive.”

Kristen could feel heat climbing up her neck, her irritation simmering beneath the surface.

Brad’s tense jaw relaxed slightly, and a quiet gleam of approval surfaced in his eyes.

In the rounds that followed, Rylie fully slipped into her rhythm. She stopped forcing heavy spikes or intricate passes she did not trust. Instead, she relied on her sharp dynamic vision and fast reactions, dedicating herself to solid defense and crisp setups.

𝖳𝘩е 𝘮os𝘵 р𝗈p𝘂𝗹а𝗿 n𝗼𝘃е𝗅𝘴 oո g𝖺𝗹𝗻𝘰𝘃𝗲l𝗌.𝖼𝘰𝘮

Time after time, she absorbed Kristen’s aggressive drives and turned them into flawless opportunities for her teammates. Their coordination grew more fluid with each exchange.

Meanwhile, Kristen played with rising frustration. She noticed that her strongest shots continued to crash into empty water—Rylie consistently anticipated them, neutralizing each one with remarkable efficiency.

As her repeated assaults failed to produce results, mistakes began creeping into her team’s movements.

Once more, Kristen aimed a spike toward what she believed was Rylie’s vulnerable spot, but Rylie slid out of its path and sent the ball upward in a clean, controlled arc to Brad at the net.

Though Brad was new to water volleyball, his explosive jump and natural strength were impossible to miss.

Locking onto the descending ball, he surged upward, his body cutting through the air in a powerful sweep, and his arm drove down with decisive force.

With a sharp bang, the spike crashed into the water on Kristen’s side like a cannonball, sending up a spray that drenched her before she even had the chance to flinch.

For a brief instant, the entire poolside went silent before erupting into even louder cheers and whistles.

“Holy cow! That was incredible!”

“That setup from Rylie was spot on!”

This time, every cheer and shout of praise poured toward the seamless coordination between Brad and Rylie.

Kristen stayed anchored where she was, the cool water swirling around her legs as she stared at Brad. He had just unleashed a powerful spike, and now he exchanged a quick, confident smile with Rylie.

She watched the spectators shift their focus, and a hot wave of embarrassment and resentment rolled through her.

She had earned a long list of points, yet none of her victories drew the crowd’s admiration the way her opponents’ brief bursts of skill and coordination did. That quiet realization fractured her self-control.

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