Bab 30: Shocking Results
From afar, the sound coming from the helicopter's blades were heard. The man in front of Master Feng raised an eyebrow but remained silent. Upon hearing the sound, Master Feng straightened his back. He gestured towards his assistant. The assistant approached and bowed respectfully.
"Your orders, Master Feng?"
"Ask the panel if the results are in," he ordered.
The assistant nodded before turning around, pulling his mobile phone from his pocket. After a while, he came back wearing a grim expression.
Master Feng noticed it. "What happened?"
"The Mistress of Phoenix Palace has already submitted her piece but failed to get out of the forest," he informed Master Feng. Failure to get out of the forest means the finalist also failed the competition.
"Oh? You mean she failed to board the helicopter?" Master Feng's inquiry stumped his assistant.
"W-Well—"
Master Feng waved his hand dismissively. "Go back to the entrance gate and receive her."
"Yes, Master Feng," the man bowed before hurrying to leave.
"It seems that Master Feng trusts his disciple so much," the man commented.
Master Feng reached for the cup of tea that long has been cold. "Of course. My chosen disciple is always on top of her game. How can I choose a loser, hmmm?"
The man just smirked and said nothing more.
-@-
The wolf's snout nudged Ria Zhang's face. At that time, she did not care if the wolf would eat her. She just wanted to go home and eat sumptuous meal. Who cares about the prize? She would just rob her brother. Ehe, she meant borrowed. After all, Stanley Co was rich. One million Costa dollars was nothing. Oh wait, make that two.
The wolf didn't stop nudging her until her eyes were directed to the wolf's face. "What do you want now?" Ria Zhang spat towards the wolf. Her voice sounded grumpy. Well, blame her stomach for that. The wolf's body was huge that it can cover three-fourths of her body if it was to lay down on top of her.
The wolf was trying to tell something but Ria Zhang just rolled her eyes. She was no wolf whisperer. Nevertheless, she looked at the wolf intently. Suddenly, it laid down next to her, lowering its neck. Ria Zhang frowned. What now? It wanted to be a dog? Should she pet it?
She extended her hand but stopped right before it touched the wolf's fur. The wolf's eyes were closed but its ears were alert. Ria Zhang took a deep breath as her hand dived into that white fur. She sighed and smiled a little while feeling the fur which was soft like cotton. How adorable, she exclaimed inwardly.
"Who owns you? I want to bring you home, do you know that?" Ria Zhang asked the wolf. Maybe, she was becoming crazy. She was still lying on the ground, watching the sky gradually turned darker. Is she going to die in this forest?
The wolf opened its eyes and nudged her hand, pushing it towards it back. Ria Zhang wrinkled her brows. What was it saying? A moment later, her mouth formed an 'O' as realization dawned on her.
"You want me to ride you?" Ria Zhang shook her head. "Definitely not. You can't stand my weight." But the wolf just continued nudging her, as if begging her. Ria Zhang laughed. "You're such a weird wolf," she said before pushing herself to get up.
Ria Zhang winced. She almost forgot the scratches on her arms. She sighed heavily as her upper body was already up from the ground. All she wanted was to go home. Not thinking anymore, she dropped herself at the back of the wolf, closing her eyes.
The wolf get up from the ground. Ria Zhang opened her eyes abruptly and almost screamed when the wolf took a step. " Oh, my gosh," she exclaimed as she tightened her hold around the wolf's body. As if the wolf sensed her fear, it stopped, waiting for her to acclimatize.
As Ria Zhang took a series of deep breaths, the wolf started moving once again. Gradually, its steps became faster until the wolf leaped. Yes, leaped! Afraid of falling down, Ria Zhang closed her eyes tightly as she stifled a scream.
Damn, what kind of situation was this? She doesn't even know where the wolf was taking her. After a while, the wolf stopped. Ria Zhang opened her eyes. Once she saw where she was, strength deserted her arms. She fell on the ground. She groaned as her butt landed first.
The man standing not far from where she was didn't know what to say. Master Feng was indeed right. His chosen disciple was indeed ingenious. He cleared his throat. "Finalist 1119, you still have two minutes to go inside the Royal Feng Cultural Hall or else, you will not be considered for the finals," he informed Ria Zhang.
Upon hearing what the man has said, Ria Zhang snapped out from daze and stood up, ignoring the pain from her injuries. She glanced at the wolf before petting it. "I'll thank you some other time," she whispered.
"Thank you, Mister," she turned to the man as she walked towards the cultural hall. It was a good thing that the entrance of the forest was not that far from the side door of the cultural hall.
Before pushing the door, Ria Zhang pulled her hoodie lower, hiding half of her face. She pushed the side door and step inside. It seemed that no one was expecting that there was still someone who will arrive. All eyes were on her.
At the far end corner, Master Feng smiled lightly. The host glanced at the huge digital clock on the wall. "Well, Finalist number 1119 arrived before time runs out so she will still be competing for the finals," he informed the audience and the panel. "Please, occupy your seat," he told Ria Zhang, ignoring the fact that her clothes were messy.
Ria Zhang proceeded to her designated seat. It's a good thing that no one noticed the bloodstains on her black jacket.
"As we know, the finals undergo a two-layered judgment. First, the algorithm will choose the best piece. And from that, the panel headed by Master Feng will either affirm or reject the piece," he explained to the four remaining finalists.
The Finals of Literary Olympiad was closed to the public. The media was not allowed to cover it. Only the official statement will be released and finalists and the winner cannot grant interviews.
"Based on the decision of the panel, the winner of Literary Olympiad is Finalist number 0001," the host announced. "Please, come to the center of the stage."
Ria Zhang pressed her lips. So, she didn't win. She almost died but she didn't win? Perfect. It seemed that she needed to 'borrow' from her brother, then.
At the end of seat, Lucia Feng stood up as she slowly made her way to the stage. At that point, too, someone was shaking from anger. His fingers gripped the armrest of the chair.
"Excuse me, gentlemen and ladies," Master Feng stood up from his seat. "Please flash on the screen Finalist number 0001's piece."
Almost everyone widened their eyes. This request of Master Feng was not unreasonable but just unprecedented. Someone from the panel stood up.
"Master Feng, the piece of each finalist is confidential. The public cannot see it," the man argued.
Master Feng shrugged. "As far as I know, there's no public here. Only the finalists and the panel. Is there something wrong?"
Another member of the panel raised her hand. "There's nothing wrong with it. Technical team, please flashed the winning piece," she directed the team.
Lucia Feng smiled tightly but remained calm. Meanwhile, Ria Zhang was still thinking of how to 'borrow' money from her brother. Hence, she didn't see when the winning piece was flashed on the wide screen.
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
Yuinavarro
Yuinavarro Hi, dear readers. Was busy in the office so I hadn’t updated for a week. Please leave a review or comment about the story. I’ll gladly appreciate it. Thank you so much.
Status Power Mingguan
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