Is this destiny?

Because of all spying devices they found in their room, Sarah, Aiden, and Hong couldn't sync up in privacy.

Luckily, the clamor in the canteen during lunchtime provided Sarah, Aiden, and Hong with enough noise to cover up their talk and they decided to use mealtime for discussions that should not be overheard.

"Our rooms are bugged and probably recorded. If we get out of this base and get additional equipment, we might be able to come up with something to fool the cameras but until that happens, we can talk freely here.", Aiden said.

"I don't think that we can smuggle equipment here. They check our things at the entry.", Sarah reminded Aiden.

He agreed with her and added: "We can't communicate with others more than once a day in order not to be suspicious. Today, Sarah hid under the blanket, but she can't use the same method every time. We will need to be more creative…"

Aiden paused when he heard Sarah giggle and he knew that she is thinking about them being more creative than what they did under the blanket. He waited for Sarah to get it out of her system before he continued talking.

"We can't do anything in our rooms without being discovered and going on the roof is out of the question because there are taller buildings in the area. The doors are being watched and the windows are opening only slightly at the top. There is no way we can leave our rooms without being noticed." 

Aiden didn't like the idea of being trapped inside their room, but going outside is risky, considering that at least a few people already expressed their readiness to cause trouble.

"What are your first impressions about this place?", Sarah asked Hong whose head was lowered, and they could only see his nose from under the hoodie.

"The place changed. If you just left me here, I would not know where I am.", Hong responded after swallowing the food from his mouth. "But no matter what they added, this outer layer is useless. If we want to reach anything important we need to go toward the core. Everyone I've seen so far is a guard or participant in the tournament… Sneaking in is not an option. I believe that finalists will get access to the main buildings in the inner circle."

Aiden noticed Igor, Vanya, and several other familiar faces in the canteen. Occasionally they would look their way and he wanted to make sure they are not ready to stir trouble.

He decided to mentally disconnect from the discussion Sarah and Hong had and he used ear stud to listen to conversations around Igor.

Sarah and Aiden can use Eve-lens to control ear studs and specify with whom they are communicating while Hong and Igor have available options 'on', 'off', and 'emergency signal' that connects them to both Sarah and Aiden.

"Any familiar faces?", Sarah asked Hong.

Hong shook his head in response. "I assume that whoever matters will be watching through the video feed, and we can expect important figures to show up officially only for the finale. As much as they enjoy power, they like their lives more and part of them living to old age is to narrow down the people who can recognize them. The rule is that unless they are in their inner circle or official business, they will not use their titles. Many people live here and don't know how Elders look like. That allows them to mix with the crowd. Don't lower your guard, they might be in this canteen, dressed up as guards."

"I am worried about the rule for fighting outside official matches.", Sarah said.

Hong snorted. "You mean, the lack of rules."

"Yeah. If we are facing a fair fight, I would not be concerned, but if they gang on us, it might be a problem."

Hong remembered how when he was young, older kids would gather to give him 'a lesson in humility from seniors', how they called it. The truth was that they were jealous of his position and they only wanted to beat him up and vent their anger. He would come all bruised up, and sometimes bloody, and his father would tell him that is how kids become men. This environment was always vicious.

Hong shared his thoughts with hope to ease Sarah's anxiety. "The regulars from here would not touch potential stars. Fighters are needed and they will not risk the wrath of the Elders by damaging the merchandise. Unless they see us as a threat to their current position, they will leave us alone."

Sarah was not convinced, even though it made sense, but… "What about other competitors? They don't fear the Elders, and they see everyone else as obstacles to reach their prize. Iskra and her gang tried provoking us when fighting was not allowed, and I am positive that they are already picking the best spot to corner us."

"They might.", Hong agreed. "However, keep in mind that they can attack you, but you can do the same. When you fight outside of the ring, your opponent of choice is not necessarily a fighter."

Sarah understood that Hong is talking about base leaders. "They were terrified when they confronted us the last time, but the closer they are to the goal, the more zealous they will become."

"Can't you use the same trick you did with that guy that just dropped dead?"

"I have a few tricks ready, but if they manage to knock me out, those tricks will not perform themselves."

Other than knocking Sarah out, Sarah is worried that this place is out of Eve's reach.

If Eve is available, they would have several drones following each of them, and if anyone approaches them with bad intentions, Eve would handle it. But even if Eve has access here, they can't frequently use drones to knock out (or kill) people. If their opponents mysteriously start falling like flies, it will attract unwanted attention.

Without Eve, drones have several automatic features, like notifying when someone enters a specific perimeter. Unfortunately, without facial recognition that is useless in a crowded place like the canteen because drones can't differentiate friends from foes.

On the bright side, Sarah and Aiden can control the drones with Eve-lens because holding onto a controller would be a dead giveaway that something is going on. On the downside, only Sarah relies on drones. Aiden is here to fight, and he can't fight while selecting options on Eve-lens.

Sarah and Aiden noticed that from their room, they could not get the audio feed from Igor's ear stud while in the canteen, they are getting audio loud and clear. They assumed that is due to the signal jammers, and that means that impacted are also drones and Eve-lens. Sarah and Aiden plan to test the impact of signal jammers after lunch while Hong checks the fight schedule.

"We will take the long way back…", Aiden said.

"Ambush?", Sarah guessed.

Aiden nodded.

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