They fell into traps, hanging upside down. "Hahaha, you're not as powerful as I thought," a voice sneered. "They lost to you because they overestimated you and allowed you to take advantage. Haha, you're unlucky to have fallen into our hands. You looked down on all of us from the start, and now you're captured. Are you ashamed?"
"Should we ask Jeffrey what he'll do with her?"
"Let's teach her a lesson before asking Jeffrey!"
They also saw the rewarding tasks: completing them earned a high bonus. One million dollars was offered for removing a single piece of Evangeline's clothing. Another task involved taming her—putting a rope around her neck and walking her through the forest like a dog; she had to crawl on all fours. The base bounty was two million dollars, with additional tips from the big shots if they were pleased.
"How despicable and insidious you are!" Marian yelled. "We're contestants here to compete, not fight! How can you set us up? Let go of us now!"
"Don't pretend to be ignorant," someone replied sarcastically. "The rules of the game allow us to do this to reduce the number of competitors."
"You're welcome to deal with us if you're capable enough!"
"You losers from a fragile state! Even working together, you're still losers! Hahaha!"
Marian and the others were furious, but Evangeline remained calm. She glanced at their clothing; the flags of each contestant's country were sewn on. She identified Freedonia, Andgre, Avalon, and Eastasia—all Atharia's lackeys.
[They're over the line. The game rules require trekking through the forest; why target others?] [They used the same old trick. Whenever Clusians participate, other countries' contestants target them. They can't afford to lose, so they cheat!] [Clusians shouldn't participate in this show!] [Alas, Evangeline is in trouble this time.] [I warned Evangeline's fans not to get ahead of themselves. Now they're embarrassed!] [This is her first day, and she'll be eliminated. A loser is a loser. Evangeline's fans, don't help her; she doesn't deserve it. She's trash!] [Clusians are smaller and weaker. We only argue. Why fool ourselves? We shouldn't go abroad to embarrass ourselves.] [Are you all spies? Undermining your fellow citizens? Shouldn't we fight discrimination?] [Advise the cyber police to check their IP addresses.]
In the forest, the men began tying ropes to a tree. Evangeline drew her bow and arrow. Hanging upside down didn't faze her.
Seeing her action, the Andgre men shouted, "She's going to shoot an arrow! Hide!" They stopped tying, gripped the ropes, and hid behind trees.
With a whoosh, Evangeline shot the rope binding her foot. The rope snapped, and she fell. Before hitting the ground, she used her hands to break her fall, leaping upright. She crawled on all fours into the dense weeds, closing in on the four men.