Don't Mess with the Girl with Candy novel Chapter 691

To make it to the final round, you had to carefully manage how much you revealed. The key was to showcase enough brilliance to beat your group-mates without giving away your core concept too early.

Fifteen minutes later, the competition officially began.

Tucker’s hands trembled slightly as he inserted the USB drive into the port, opened the folder, and located his program. He ran the demo and presented his work all in one smooth motion. It was a flawless execution. Each stage of his program showcased innovation, quickly capturing the judges' attention.

The presentation ended, and the judges began to vote.

Within his group, Tucker’s work received the highest number of votes. However, to ensure fairness, the submissions were anonymous. The audience only knew which entries advanced, not who created them—unless, of course, a piece ranked low enough to be eliminated.

Meanwhile, Byron also finished his presentation, waiting confidently for the results. But when they were announced, his face fell.

What was going on? His entry had the lowest score in his group! Did that mean he was being eliminated in the first round? Impossible.

“Excuse me, sir. Your entry ranked last and will not be advancing to the next round,” a staff member approached him with a polite smile. “Please take your belongings and exit the room now.”

“That’s impossible,” Byron snapped, his face cold with indignation. “My program is perfect. There’s no way it failed to pass the first round. Are you sure you counted all the votes?”

“If you refuse to leave, we will have to call security,” the staff member said, rolling his eyes with a distinct lack of patience. Every year, there were arrogant contestants like him; security was well-practiced in escorting them out.

Seeing the security guards approaching, Byron had no choice but to get up. He grabbed his laptop bag and walked out, feeling completely dejected.

The main hall was filled with all the eliminated contestants. Byron scanned the crowd but didn’t see Tucker. He did, however, spot Juniper, who was watching him with her legs crossed. “Well, well, Byron. Out so soon?”

Byron shot Juniper a venomous glare before quickly looking away, his face flushing crimson.

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