just a concept, it was a fully realized blueprint, complete with material specifications

n his feet, his eyes wide with disbelief, his pa

nd his gut, along with the stunned silence of the industry titans around him,

' s speakers. "The design is original, unpublished, and theore

a whoop of pure joy. He had jus

impossible! Where did she get that? That' s Vance

athed in shadows, her voice cut through the ai

t the statement hung in the air with the weight

r Mark limb from limb. But she held back. Lily needed this. After the humiliation, the betrayal, she needed to prove, on her own terms, that she was not a victim. Sh

ede. He recovered quickly, his manip

ly. "That design was developed in a Vance lab, using Vance resou

t schematic belongs to me! If you try

l. He looked from Mark' s furious

came again from the shadows, still quiet

accepted. A prize was offered and authenticated. The tra

e was absolute. He also had a professional reputation to maintain. He felt

"The bid was for a creation from Lily Thorne, not from the Vance Corporati

, sir. The schematic is yours. As per the agreement, y

from Jake, who was now terrified of the mysterious woman' s disapproval, made them hesitate. The man walked past them, a

rm wa

e playing on her lips. She looked at Mark, her ey

ely transformed. They were no longer watching a publi

"The prize is the removal of the left restraint! The price, ano

e room. The initial skepticism had v

outed a tech C

offering in principle!" scr

ntensity was the same. It was a battle of

industrialist won the second

scle pulsed in his cheek. This wasn' t happe

"System, execute Protocol P

ace, a neural link that allowed for seamless, instantaneous data transfer between the human brain

hall was stunn

m confirmed its auth

lottery. He approached the stage, a look of awe on his

do

in her lap. She looked small and fragile on the lar

ublic crucifixion into a