Chapter 712 Focus on the Competition
Catherine had just finished her meal when she received a call from Marshall, asking them to gather in the hotel’s second-floor meeting room in ten minutes to discuss the details of the upcoming competition.
“Shall we go?” Catherine looked up at Amelia.
After taking the last bite of the pizza, Amelia mumbled, “Sure, coming right up!” She was too full from eating but could not waste the delicious food. Having such perks while sharing a dorm with Catherine was fantastic.
After getting ready, Catherine and Amelia headed towards the meeting room. The third floor of the hotel was a conference hall with various meeting rooms.
This hotel was the closest to the competition venue. Since the competition hadn’t started yet, the early-arriving teams had to rest in nearby hotels. Several teams from seven or eight countries were staying in this hotel.
Catherine and Amelia made their way through the crowd towards their meeting room. Catherine’s beautiful face immediately drew the attention of many.
Unlike the reserved nature of Eskana, people from Ocraolia were more direct in expressing their emotions. Seeing the beautiful girls pass by, a few men couldn’t help but whistle and tease in a foreign language.
Catherine remained indifferent, not even bothering to look at them. The members of Marshall’s experimental team felt extremely embarrassed seeing Catherine being teased.
Paddy scorned. “She’s always acting wanton anywhere to attract attention. This kind of behavior is really embarrassing.”
“Paddy McLaughlin, you stupid asshole!” said Eamon, glaring at Paddy disapprovingly. “What the hell did you say?”
When Catherine’s seniors overheard Paddy’s comment, they immediately confronted Paddy.
Paddy backed down and stopped talking, but he felt very aggrieved. In his view, these people were bullying him because there were more of them.
After Catherine and Amelia approached, their seniors surrounded them, using their bodies to shield the two from the intense gazes of those men.
There were few female students in the laboratory. Before Catherine arrived, there had been only one female student. Now that two good-looking juniors had come, their seniors were determined to protect them.
Marshall had said that success or failure in the experiment was common, but it was a sign of incompetence if they couldn’t protect their teammates.
Amelia felt a little nervous when she first went abroad and saw so many foreigners. Facing different races always made her feel a little uneasy. But being protected by her seniors made her feel a little moved, and she couldn’t help but chat with Catherine. ” Catherine, I feel so safe with them. I was so nervous, but now I feel relaxed!” she said.
Before Catherine could respond, a commotion nearby drew everyone’s attention. Someone gave an exclamation of surprise, and all eyes followed that direction.
A group of people in uniform appeared, exuding a powerful aura. With their heads held high, they looked like top- notch elites.
“Who are they? They don’t look like ordinary people,” Amelia said, curious.
Catherine remained calm, not even bothering to take a look, as she didn’t care.
Upon hearing Amelia’s question, Eamon calmly responded, “It’s the Johnville Optical Team from Theisia.”
Amelia looked even more shocked.” The team that has won numerous international awards and three consecutive Nobel Prizes?”
“Exactly,” Eamon said.
This team was well-known internationally, and even Amelia, a freshman, was aware of their strength, not to mention other long-term competition participants.
This team was a strong contender for the championship in this competition, with their popularity second only to Alton’s team.
As the host country’s team, Alton’s team had a dedicated training laboratory and didn’t need to stay in a hotel.
“That’s why we need to work harder!” Marshall’s voice suddenly sounded, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Professor Hartley!” they all said in unison with great admiration in their eyes.
Marshall’s research project was the most advanced at Styre University, leading globally. Even Alton’s research speed couldn’t match Marshall’s.
Marshall nodded at everyone and gave them a pep talk. “We all know how strong our opponents are, and the only thing we can do is work harder to surpass ourselves. We will defeat all of them. Do you all understand?”
Marshall’s serious tone made everyone straighten up. They unanimously responded, “Yes, Professor Hartley!”
“Hah…”
Mocking laughter sounded. Everyone turned their head, only to see that the source of the mockery was the team from Decrine.
Decrine had always been a rival of Eskana. For many years, they had been deadlocked in their competition. However, Decrine always saw themselves as a longstanding power from Euphosean and looked down on Eskana. In recent years, Eskana had surpassed Decrine in some areas of research, which made Decrine even more unwilling to accept it.
The one who had just burst into grating, mocking laughter was the infamous researcher Jason Perez from the Decrinean Team. He was pretty well -known in the research field, with several of his papers published in prestigious international journals. However, he was extremely arrogant and held strong racial prejudices, particularly against Eskanese people.
Seeing the team from Styre University turn to look at him, Jason began to taunt them instead of feeling afraid. ” Hey, you bunch of idiots, how dare you participate in the competition? It’s ridiculous. I advise you to go back. Don’t waste your time!” He then shifted his gaze to Catherine and Amelia. “Humph, I heard you even brought two freshmen this time. What? You already knew you would lose, so you brought two pretty girls for a vacation?”
This speech sparked public outrage. It was usual for these teams to know about each other before the competition. However, no one on Marshall’s team expected Jason to use it to mock and ridicule them.
Eamon and the others looked extremely displeased at Jason’s words, their anger rising. They were about to rush forward when Marshall and a few other mentors quickly intervened to stop them. “Calm down! Focus on the competition!”
