In the Boundless World, Tyler had once studied both Arrays and Engineering during his academy years. At the time, many students considered those subjects tedious compared to combat or alchemy, but Tyler had always found practical systems more useful than flashy techniques. Because of that background, even in a world like Libria—where spiritual arrays did not exist—his mind still adapted quickly whenever he saw circuits, current flow, and machine logic.

That was why, hidden within the crowd of Sector 11, Tyler was now holding a rough device built entirely from scrap parts taken from Old Lady Veena’s house.

It looked crude.

A cracked handheld screen taken from one of Veena’s discarded gadgets had been tied to a metal frame using wire. A stripped signal plate sat exposed on the back, connected to thin copper strands wrapped around a battery no larger than his palm. Several salvaged chips and broken communication parts had been forced together into a shape that looked unreliable enough to fall apart if dropped.

Yet despite its appearance, it worked.

Not perfectly.

But enough.

It was only a prototype, but Tyler had successfully forced it into functioning like a rough mobile interference unit.

The device could disturb short-range network transmissions.

More importantly, after studying the signal frequency used by the Capital drones and Aruna’s tablet, he had managed to push a weak intrusion into her speaker and microphone line.

The range was unstable.

The signal fragile.

But still enough for one attempt.

Tyler lowered his head slightly inside the crowd, keeping the device hidden beneath his sleeve while his thumb pressed one side of the improvised circuit.

"What about her sister?" he whispered.

The signal carried.

Inside the chamber behind the stage, the voice emerged directly from Aruna’s own device speaker.

Aruna froze.

She looked sharply left.

Then right.

There was no one unfamiliar inside.

Only her attendants.

"Who spoke?" she demanded.

Both attendants looked confused.

"We heard nothing, Host Aruna."

For a moment, Aruna frowned.

Then she dismissed it and returned her attention to the tablet.

Rose’s profile remained open.

A linked file appeared beneath it.

Sibling: Tansy.

Her finger paused.

Then slowly, a smile returned.

"Nah..." she murmured lazily while scrolling further. "I will still choose her mother."

Tyler barely caught the words through the weak hacked microphone.

His expression tightened.

"Seriously... this btch..."

The signal crackled violently in his hand.

He immediately understood he had no choice.

If Aruna selected their mother next, then Rose would lose both protection and emotional support at once.

And whatever the Capital Games truly were, Tyler already understood one thing clearly—

If anyone could keep Rose alive there, it would be Tansy.

So he forced the device again.

This time not only disturbing voice transmission.

He pushed interference directly into the tablet’s linked selection line.

The small screen in his hand flickered dangerously. One wire began heating beneath his fingers.

Tyler adjusted the copper strand and forced another burst through.

The prototype nearly failed.

Inside Aruna’s chamber, the tablet glitched.

A profile shifted.

Data lines rearranged.

The highlighted choice changed.

A few minutes later, Aruna returned to the stage.

Her expression remained controlled, but her eyes carried faint confusion.

The crowd watched in complete silence.

Then the second participant was announced.

"Tansy of Sector 11."

The name hit the square like a stone thrown into still water.

Tansy herself froze.

Her mother immediately broke into tears.

Her father’s face tightened so sharply that for a moment Tyler genuinely thought the man might collapse from shock.

Even Tyler’s own mouth twitched slightly.

He had barely succeeded.

Barely.

The rugged device hidden in his sleeve now smelled faintly burnt.

On stage, Aruna’s smile had become thinner.

Inside her own mind, suspicion had already formed.

This... I selected the mother. Why did the sister appear?

For the first time, she scanned the crowd more carefully.

Her eyes moved across faces.

Searching.

But Tyler had already lowered the ruined device and shifted deeper between taller miners.

She found nothing.

After several silent seconds, Aruna decided not to risk another direct choice.

This time she turned toward the machine again.

If something strange was happening, she would let the visible system choose instead.

Or at least appear to.

"For the male participants..." she announced, forcing cheer back into her tone, "let us proceed."

Tyler looked down at the device.

Smoke rose from one corner.

The screen flickered once, then died completely.

His thumb tapped it twice.

Nothing.

"Oh... should I wait for my abnormal luck to work automatically now?" he muttered under his breath.

The machine glowed.

The sphere rose.

A projection formed.

And immediately—

His own face appeared.

For a second even Tyler blinked.

Then several voices rose around him.

"That new boy?"

"Who is he?"

"When did he come here?"

People of Sector 11 were visibly confused because unlike Tansy’s family, Tyler still remained unfamiliar to most of them.

To many, he was simply that new young man seen moving through sector recently.

Aruna herself looked at the projection, then at Tyler, then smiled because this at least felt normal again.

"Third male participant," she declared, "Tyler."

Tyler exhaled quietly.

Relief came first.

If he entered, then staying near Tansy and Rose became possible.

Just as he prepared to move toward the stage, two hands suddenly grabbed him.

Tansy’s father on one side.

Tansy’s mother on the other.

Both were trembling.

"Please take care of our daughters," her father said, voice low but urgent.

"Make sure to keep them safe," her mother added, tears still flowing freely.

Tyler looked at both of them.

Then nodded.

He placed one hand against his own chest.

"Don’t worry," he said seriously. "I will protect your daughters well."

The moment the sentence left his mouth, all three felt the strange awkwardness immediately.

Tansy’s parents looked at him.

Tyler looked at them.

For one absurd second, the atmosphere felt less like a life-threatening selection and more like a bride’s family speaking to a groom before marriage.

Even Tyler’s mouth twitched.

Without adding anything further, he gently pulled free and began walking toward the stage while the square remained frozen between curious, confusion, and the beginning of something none of Sector 11 yet understood.

---

The final two names were announced after several more turns of the machine.

The fourth participant was a boy almost the same age as Rose.

His name was Victor.

Thin, nervous, and visibly terrified, he walked onto the stage with stiff legs as though every step had to be forced out of fear.

The fifth and final participant was a man in his forties named Kennedy.

Unlike Victor, Kennedy carried himself with a miner’s natural steadiness, though even he could not hide the tension in his jaw after hearing his own name called before the entire sector.

Now all five chosen participants stood in a line upon the stage.

Rose.

Tansy.

Tyler.

Victor.

Kennedy.

The drones hovered above them, capturing every expression while the giant screen displayed their faces one after another.

From below, Sector 11 watched in uneasy silence.

Some looked hopeful.

Some looked mournful.

Some already looked as though they were watching people leave forever.

Aruna returned to the center of the stage with her practiced smile.

"These," she announced grandly, extending both arms toward the five participants, "are the chosen representatives of Sector 11 who will participate in the Capital Games."

The drones moved closer.

Her voice became even brighter.

"If any of them become victorious, they will earn permanent residence in the Capital."

A murmur spread instantly through the square.

Even now, despite fear, the promise still had power.

"They will live in their own house," Aruna continued, "and receive one thousand Solaris every month for the rest of their lives."

That number struck the crowd harder than the earlier promise.

One thousand Solaris.

Even people who had never touched Capital currency understood how absurdly large that amount was.

Aruna clapped her hands elegantly.

The crowd followed immediately.

Not because they wished to celebrate, but because hesitation under drone cameras still felt dangerous.

"Let us hope," she said with a wide smile, "that one chosen from this sector becomes champion... and earns the right to become one of us."

The sentence lingered heavily in the air.

Then the guards stepped forward.

Each carried a small metallic device shaped like a bracelet.

One by one, the devices were locked around the wrists of the five participants.

When Tyler’s turn came, he examined it carefully the moment it clicked shut.

It was a Smooth band, with no visible lock and A small blinking light.

The design was simple, but he understood immediately.

It’s probably A tracker.

A restraint disguised as privilege.

The Capital clearly had no intention of trusting selected contestants to remain obedient.

"Wear these," Aruna said casually while stepping away from the line. "Chosen participants are free to return home for now. We leave in three days."

She smiled again.

"Say goodbye properly to all your loved ones."

With that, she turned and began leaving the stage, followed by her attendants and guards.

The drones slowly lifted higher.

The tension in the square broke immediately.

Families rushed forward.

Rose ran first.

The moment she reached her mother, both of them broke into tears.

Tansy followed, though she held herself longer before finally embracing her father as well.

Victor’s parents were already crying openly.

Kennedy simply stood still while his wife held his arm tightly.

Tyler stepped down more calmly.

Instead of moving toward the family, he walked directly toward Old Lady Veena.

Veena was still holding her restored drone, though now it floated lower near her shoulder.

She looked up the moment he approached.

"Is there any way to learn how Carbonyx is refined within three days?" Tyler asked quietly.

Veena gave him a long look before patting his shoulder lightly.

"Do you still need to learn that?" she asked, both confused and curious.

Most people standing where Tyler stood would already be thinking only about survival.

But Tyler nodded without hesitation.

He still had his own task And that task remained unfinished.

"I’m not sure how much more I can help," Veena admitted.

"There is," Tyler said. "I need to know more about Sector 2."

That made Veena’s expression change slightly.

After a moment, she gave a slow nod.

Meanwhile, behind the stage inside her private chamber, Aruna sat comfortably while scrolling through newly selected participant profiles on her tablet.

When Tyler’s file appeared, her eyes paused. She zoomed slightly closer. Then she swiped it to Victor. A faint smile appeared.

"This boy looks cute," she murmured.

Then she glanced toward one almost naked attendant.

"Bring him to my room tonight."

Her smile deepened, "Make sure to Clean him properly."

And without shame, she slowly licked her lips.