bChapter 820 /b

    “Sure,” Cathy said with a grin. “Oh, by the way, we’ve already eaten. Everything here was prepared for you guys.”

    When Clifford ryed the message to his team, some were genuinely moved, almost on the verge of tears. They immediately promised to handle all cooking duties for the next day in return.

    Gerald turned to Cathy. “You’re seriously just sitting here rxing? Don’t you want to win the championship anymore?”

    Cathy took a bite of some wild fruit, her face scrunching up from the sourness. “Whoever wants it can go get it. Right now, I just want to enjoy myself and

    eat well.

    “It’s rare to have a chance for an outdoor cookout like this with so many people around–if only the resource packs had fruits, coffee, and snacks.”

    Gerald said dryly, “I still remember how desperate you were before, practically begging me to join your team so you could win the championship”

    Cathy shrugged. “I had a revtion. What’s the point of winning the championship? This is much more fun. You guys work hard and win it–just make sure to treat us to dinner afterwards.”

    Cathy grabbed a few wild fruits and walked over to Aria, eating one dramatically in front of her. “Aria, you should try these fruits that William’s team found. They’re super sweet.”

    Aria didn’t think twice. She picked one up and bit into it with her usual calm expression. “You’re right–definitely sweet.”

    Cathy turned to Allison next. “Allison, want one?”

    “I’ll take one,” Allison replied.

    And just like that, it spread like a chain reaction–with everyone in Cathy’s group trying the fruit until thest person couldn’t take it anymore and spat

    one out.

    Gerald, having witnessed the entire scene from start to finish, felt utterly speechless.

    It was clear that Cathy’s team truly had zero interest in chasing the championship, and they had somehow managed to rub off on William’s team, too.

    Gerald nced over at his teammates, who were all enthusiastically tearing into roasted meat, faces shining with grease and grins of satisfaction. He let out a resigned sigh and leaned down to take a bite of his own rabbit leg. It really was delicious.

    Zoey found a moment to approach Aria. “Aria, thank you for saving me.”

    Aria noticed Zoey’s pale face. “Still in pain?”

    Zoey gave an embarrassed smile. “A bit. I took those herbs again, but they don’t seem to be working anymore.”

    “They’re mainly for reducing fever, so of course they won’t help much now,” Aria said as she walked further inside. “Come in, I’ll bcheck /byour pulseb./bb” /b

    After checking her pulse, Aria wrote out a prescription/“Estimate the timing and start taking this three days before your period. You can also make it into pills.

    “Your training intensity is too high; your body is overloaded. Don’t push yourself so hard; just focus on one strength.“.

    Zoey was surprised. “You can tell all that?”

    Aria nodded. “Yes.”

    Zoey said, “I’ll be more careful from now on.”

    Aria’s tone was calm, “You really should. Don’t mess around with your health. You are Zoey firstb, /band a member bof /bbthe /bbState /bbSecurity /bbBureau /bbsecond/b, bthe /b

    b1/2 /b

    b13:53 /bbTue/b, b19 /bbAug /bO

    Bureau doesn’t see you as expendable; there’s no need to work yourself to the bone.”

    bZoey /bsuddenly understood why Cathy’s team didn’t want to win the championship. “I get it now.”

    In the control room, a leader stapped the table. “This Aria must be an infiltrator. She’s obviously spreading negativity, telling everyone to leave the State Security Bureau. Cancel her participation immediately and get her out of here!”

    Tessa rolled her eyes.

    Fillip chuckled. “Weston, if you don’t want to do your job, you can join the resource department head in leaving.

    “Fix the issues at hand, make necessary reforms and apologies, and cut it with the meaningless talk. Otherwise, it’s our State Security Bureau that bwill /b

    suffer.

    “What did Aria say that was wrong? We shouldn’t target these young women just because we have fewer female leaders. If we do, we might as well bonly /brecruit men and kick out all the female members.

    “If you kick Aria out, do you think others won’t make a fuss about leaving too? You can try it—but be ready with a solution, Weston.”

    Weston frowned. “I say one thing, and you rebut with ten. I’m just venting here.”

    Fillip rolled his eyes, too.

    Other people tried to smooth things over. “Even though there were some slip–ups, identifying these issues ahead of time is beneficial.”

    “It’s just one bigpetition; we can always hold more like itter. Let’s inot /ilet something small ruin our camaraderie.”

    Suddenly, an rm red loudly. Someone rushed into the meeting room. “Someone has infiltrated the restricted zone!”

    bAD /b

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