"JIA! NO! DON'T LOSE THIS FOR ME!"

Dakarai even had the guts to tell that to Jia, even though he's on the verge of death. Jia remained quiet, but the angst in her was demonstrated in her eyes that started to water.

"Am I still fooling you?" Ton said.

"Stop this, Ton!" Jia said, as the tears fell from her eyes. "You're not hurting the people I love."

"Then, tell us all that you surrender right now," Ton commanded. "Make sure you do it loud, so everyone here can hear you."

Slowly, Jia's hands are moving towards her pocket. She might be getting those seeds or pollen grains to attack Ton.

"Stop using your seeds to attack me. Remember, the life of your boyfriend lies on my hands," Ton said.

Jia let go of her hands. She grunted as she can't do anything about it.

"Do it, Jia! Fight this asshole!" Dakarai yelled. "I'm willing to give my life to you. I would die for you."

"Are you crazy?" Jia shouted.

"I am crazy for you," Dakarai gently uttered.

"Stop saying that! You must live. We still have a bright future together," Jia said.

Ton scoffed. "Enough with your Romeo and Juliet drama, okay? You can't fool me, Jia. You're just doing this to buy time for your seeds to grow and attack me."

"Or maybe I can attack you!" Dakarai elbowed Ton's chest, making Dakarai be released, but Ton's weird tune played, and that immobilized Dakarai.

"You're getting into my nerves!" Ton yelled. "One note and I can explode your boyfriend's brain, or he can just trip so he will land on a mine. Take your choice."

"No!" Jia cried. "Let's end this."

"Jia, no! You must not lose this battle! I can tell you have a great chance of winning this. I believe in you," Dakarai said.

"But that would mean nothing if I don't have you," Jia argued.

Oh, gosh. The emotions really took over Jia. How would I feel if Fei was in the same situation? Would I give up the battle for his life?

"Aww, what a romantic scene," Furkan said.

"Young, sweet love," Shamil uttered. "As they say, all is fair in love and in war. This is war and this is love. It is just fair."

"Jia, no…" Dakarai sighed.

"I give up," Jia stated.

Ellis and I sighed at the same time. That just confirmed one loss for the Manhattan team.

"Louder, please," Ton requested.

"I surrender to Ton," Jia shouted.

Ton looked at Jang-mi. "Miss Hyeon, please…"

Jang-mi approached the microphone and announced. "The winner of today's second match… Kittichat Watthana of Bangkok Team!"

The dome was filled with a loud noise, but the suspense didn't end there…

"Time to let go of your boyfriend now," Ton said as he played a screeching sound, and it made Dakarai trip over a block… with a bomb.

"Dakarai, no!" Jia shrieked… as right before her, the block exploded loudly and that outburst filled the entire dome!

Then, suddenly…

Ton was playing gentle music, and Jia was standing still. Dakarai was safely standing there at the medic area. Furkan and Shamil were dumbfounded at their table. Ellis and I looked at each other, both surprised. Haru was still reading a book, sucking his teeth, and Fei shrugged, chuckling.

Jang-mi approached the microphone and spoke, "Please watch this."

A video of what happened a few minutes ago appeared on that massive screen. It seemed that with Ton's gift of music, he made an illusion to all of those in the dome, except Jang-mi who he warned with during his musical performance and Beam who knew what happened.

Ton was just playing this soft sound and Jia was like an actress, performing in front of a crowd, but no Dakarai was found there. It was just an illusion.

However, all of her dialogues were recorded and she accepted her defeat. She surrendered in the real moment.

"Jia Xing, I believe you have delivered your concession," Jang-mi stated.

Jia just sighed. "I have."

"Therefore, to officially declare, the winner of today's second match… Kittichat Watthana of Bangkok Team!" Jang-mi announced.

The virtual crowd was filled with mixed noises of praise and disapproval. Technically, what Ton did wasn't really against the rules. He just used his cunning strategy.

"One win, one loss," I said.

"Well, my waffle ain't losing this next round," Ellis uttered with full conviction.

Ton approached Jia and extended his hand. "I apologize, Jia."

"Well, it's all part of the game, but can I check one thing if it's not an illusion?" Jia asked.

"Sure, what is it?" Ton calmly asked.

Right then and there, Jia did an uppercut, making Ton catapult to the other end of the ring.

"Yaaaaas, bitch, yaaaaas!" Ellis yelled, clicking his fingers.

"Oh, Jia," I sighed, doing a facepalm.

"Oops. I guess, it's real," Jia giggled. "Well, you don't need to do the last part of your illusion. The one after I conceded."

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," Haru said, then he returned to reading his book.

"You! We're gonna talk, or you'll have that as well," Jia said to Haru as she went closer to him.

"You're in trouble, buddy," Fei giggled.

"Ladies and gentlemen, as of the moment, it's one all for both teams. The last round will determine the fate of both teams. Who will win between Haru Hoshino of Manhattan and Channarong Chaisongkhram of Bangkok? We'll find out in the next two hours. Thank you very much for watching," Jang-mi announced. Then, all of the screens in the audience area turned off.

We all left the Orkatta dome and we went straight to our hotel room. We then discussed what happened there. It was really interesting, but at the same time, it was like a warning to all of us.

"You said the Bangkok team can change into animals?" Jia said to Haru. She didn't even tell us that we're about to have the conversation, but since she mentioned that, I think that's the beginning of it. I haven't even reached my bed, though.

"Well, they can. You've seen Ploy," Haru uttered.

"Ton didn't change into a Siamese fireback," Jia argued.

"Did he have to?" Haru asked.

"How about his instrument? You mentioned that he used to play a traditional gong-like instrument when he was in high school? Why was he using that thin violin-like instrument before?" Jia asked.

Haru sighed. "Jia, I can't control Ton's mind. Maybe he chose not to change into a bird or not to use gongs in battles. Wait a minute. Why does it sound as if I'm the one to blame here? I'm not the one who [lost]."

"And you have the nerve to stress the word [lost], huh?" Jia growled.

"Hey, hey, hey," Ellis went between the two of them. "Please stop fighting. It's over and done. Let's move on." Then, Ellis faced Haru. "So, can we really trust your connections, also known as the Dutch girl?"

Haru scoffed. "You're at it again?"

"I'm just making sure who are the people you trust," Ellis said. "Are you sure you trust your connections?"

"Fenna made it clear that the information she had is credible. Talk to that Thai if he really transforms into a bird," Haru strongly stated.

"I knew it was from that girl," Ellis hissed. "Don't. Trust. The. Dutch. Bitch!" He even clapped his hand for every word he said.

"Stop calling her a bitch," Haru grunted.

"Okay. Don't. Trust. The. Dutch. Slut. Who. Broke. Your. Heart," Ellis unapologetically said, with clapping of his hands, of course.

"Slut? You're so mean, Ellis. You're not making it easy for people to like you," Haru then stood and walked out of the room.

"I'm getting you upset because you still trust that hoe," Ellis shouted.

Fei turned to Ellis. "Ellis, I suggest you give Haru some space in the meantime. He needs to focus on his battle later."

Ellis did something non-committal. By the looks of it, he must be thinking some more things on how to upset Haru. Ooh, this bitch…

"How are you feeling now, Jia?" I asked her.

She just shrugged her shoulders. "As Ellis said, it's over and done. Haru has a point. What he knew doesn't give me a guarantee to win the match. It's just like when you review for an exam and the test questions were totally not the ones you've read the night before."

"But there's really something odd about that Dutch girl," Ellis seriously mentioned.

I looked at him, straight to his eyes, then I slapped him.

"Bitch! Why did you do that?" Ellis yelled.

I grinned. "I get it, you hoe. You're jealous of Fenna."

Ellis sarcastically laughed. "What? Stop bluffing, you bitch."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I said. "You're jealous because your waffle is about to be devoured by that Dutch girl. Ooh, I bet she's gonna lick the cream cheese soon. You snooze, you lose, bitch."

Fei and Jia were giggling. I was sarcastically grinning. Fenna might have or might have not given the correct information of the opponents, but why does Ellis take a big deal out of it? He wasn't involved in the matches in the first place.

Ellis stood up and raised his left eyebrow at me. "If I see that hoe, I will make sure she tells the truth and if she's lying, I'm gonna slam her face on a pan and heat it like a French toast."

"She's Dutch, though. Not French," I joked.

"Whatever. Where the hell is that bitch?" Ellis walked out of the room as well.

Wow, he's serious…