Blake's voice carried just the right amount of concern, as if he were truly a reliable ally.

Austin merely let out a cold chuckle、 He took the phone from Ella's hand.not even bothering with a polite greeting.

"Blake, drop that pretentious act of yours. Derek couldn't have bypassed the bidding process without your family's influence behind him."

A deep laugh came from the other end of the line. Blake wasn't at all surprised that his facade had been so easily exposed.

"Austin, you're as unromantic as ever. I just thought this game would be too boring with only two players. I've set the table for you. As for who becomes the final winner, that's up to your own abilities. I've given you your entry ticket to the game. Don't disappoint me."

He hung up, quick and decisive.

Ella pulled her blanket tighter around herself. The sea breeze felt like knives against her face.

"In Willowvale Heights, there are no permanent allies, only permanent interests," Austin said, slipping his phone back into his pocket.

"What Blake wants to see is two tigers fighting while he reaps the benefits."

"He helped Derek escalate the situation, forcing the government to upgrade this bid into a top-level national security hearing."

"Because only then, as a congressman, can he legitimately take a seat at the table and become the dealer."

"We have no choice but to walk into the trap he's set."

"We can enter his game." Ella turned to face him. "But who gets to be the banker isn't up to him."

The next day, a private jet with no markings carried Ella and Austin directly to Willowvale Heights.

Robert stayed at the DeepSea Laboratory, saying that was where his battlefield lay.

On the plane, Austin handed Ella a tablet containing detailed profiles on all the key senators involved in the hearing.

"Senate Armed Services Committee. Seven people need four votes to pass."

Ella quickly scrolled through the profiles. The backgrounds and political stances of these people were more complex than any technical specifications.

"What's your strategy?" She asked.

"My strategy is to make you the option that none of them can refuse." He replied.

The plane landed at a private airstrip at Willowvale Heights Airport.

Waiting to meet them wasn't one of Austin's subordinates, but someone Ella never expected to see.

A man in a gray casual suit wearing gold-rimmed glasses, looking refined and cultured, was leaning against a Bentley.

When he saw Austin, his face broke into a somewhat resigned smile. "I swoar, can't you ever let me enjoy a peaceful vacation?"

"Let me introduce you," Austin gestured toward the man.

"Zachariah McCarthy, Willowvale Heights's most expensive political lobbyist and my college roommate for four years."

Zachariah extended his hand to Ella, his eyes behind those glasses carrying a hint of scrutiny and curiosity.

"Ms. Brooks, I've heard so much about you. What you're doing is far more interesting than the shouting matches we have in Congress."

He carried himself with the confidence of someone accustomed to power.

Instead of driving to a hotel, he took them directly to a private estate.

"This is my safe house," Zachariah explained as he drove.

"From now until the end of the hearing, you'd better not appear in any public places. Derek's paparazzi are more dedicated than agents."

Inside the estate, a temporary team consisting of lawyers, technical advisors,and former congressional aides was already waiting for them.

Over the next seventy-two hours, Ella underwent training more grueling than cracking the Sprout Initiative.

She was no longer the technical genius who could control everything,but a rookie stepping onto an entirely new battlefield.

"Wrong," Zachariah interrupted Ella's mock presentation without mercy.

"Your data is too cold. Daniel won't understand it. He only wants to know if your system can help him sink a few more aireraft carriers on the battlefield."

"Let's try again."

"Ms. Brooks, remember, this is Willowvale Heights. The truth doesn't matter. What matters is whether thestory you tell satisfies them."

Austin sat to the side throughout, never interrupting.He simply watched.

Watched as the Ella who had always been brilliant and uncompromising in his memory absorbed the rules of this new field like a sponge,swallowing her pride through repeated rejections.

There was no defeat in her eyes, only an increasingly bright light that belonged to a top predator.

On the evening of the third day, the final simulation was held before the hearing.

Ella stood alone in the center of the spacious conference room, facing a row of team members playing the roles of the most demanding senators.

"Ms. Brooks, why should we believe that an artificial intelligence with self-awareness, privately controlled by you, won't pose a threat to humanity itself?" Asked the lawyer playing the role of Independent Senator Kieran.throwing out the sharpest question.

Ella didn't answer immediately.

She remained silent for a few seconds, then looked up, scanning everyone present.

"Because from beginning to end, what threatens humanity has never been technology. It's unchecked human nature. What makes the Sprout Initiative terrifying isn't how powerful it is, but that if the person controlling it harbors ill intentions, it becomes the greatest evil in the world.

And my responsibility isn't to destroy it, nor to mythologize it."