The morning sun was bright and the sky looked all clear in Manaus, Brazil. It was a perfect day for the grand finale in the Amazon forests which was now the destination where the final demo was to be done.

Raymond woke up and the first thing that he did was to call Akira up.

"Hello".

"Hello, My love".

"Are you ok? Did you sleep ok?"

"Yes, I did. Why are you panicking?"

"Ah, nothing, I just asked", Akira said, hiding away all the concern that was creeping inside of her head by the virtue of the weird vibes that felt yesterday, because she wanted him to start the day without any negativity or burden lying on his shoulders.

After a cheerful talk with her, Raymond got ready and went to the breakfast point of the hotel.

Mike and Simon were also ready and they had breakfast together. They saw a couple of familiar faces who were the participants from MetaFile and Gamma Corp, the other two fighting companies.

The contest was unique in itself because there was no second place in it. There was just one spot and that was the winner spot and that was it. No runners up titles, no consolation prizes. So the fight was going to be bloody because everyone wanted that spot.

That spot meant, it would be the game of the year and would be advertised and promoted by GCG itself and that meant a direct reach to millions of people instantly. It was the sure shot ticket for the success of the product. So every team was itching to get a hand on that trophy.

After completing their breakfast, they got all their equipment ready and went to the hotel lobby to meet the GCG representatives.

There they were each provided with a kit containing waterproof covers, medicines and some essentials in case they needed them amidst the dense demanding forest. Once ready, they sat in their allotted range rovers and started for the jungle trip.

Mike looked a bit nervous as he sat in the car.

He was hit by the reality that if he messed even a bit, it could cost Raymond everything of his life. Raymond could sense his uneasiness and raised his brow and looked at Simon who understood what he meant. So he tried to strike up a casual conversation with him.

"Hey Mike, you never told me about your girlfriend?"

"Because I don't have one".

"Ooh, are you interested in guys then, ha ha ha", Simon joked.

"Yes", Mike said curtly and all the laugh from Simon's face vanished in an instant.

"What shall I say now?", Simon asked Raymond looking in his direction with panic written all over his face.

Raymond couldn't control his laugh and looked at Mike and they both started laughing.

Unable to understand anything Simon asked,

"What, what, what happened?"

"Nothing Simon, even a kid can mess with your head", Raymond said and chuckled.

"So you are not gay?", Simon craned his neck and asked Mike.

"Nope", Mike answered.

"Aahhh, so you played with me?"

"Well yeah, you looked more nervous than me, so why not?", said Mike and continued laughing.

This friendly banter livened up their mood and they continued discussing the various strategies to be taken next.

---

[Meanwhile At BridgeRoad Residency]

Sebastian Walker was pacing up and down in his study. A clear hint of impatience was seen on his face. He was impatiently waiting for a call from his assistant Victor.

And just two minutes later, his phone rang.

He legit sprang to answer the phone on the first ring itself.

"Hello".

"Hello, Mr. Sebastian".

"Status".

"All our drones have been deployed and they are completely identical to the ones to be used in the competition and two of our choppers are on standby".

"And what about the other thing that I asked you for?"

"It's been taken care of".