Rising from the Ashes (Andrew and Lauren) novel Chapter 1340

On the VIP platform, Preston and Clifford glanced over at Derek, asking, "Mr. McCormick, is there any particular contestant you have your eye on?"

Derek chuckled. "Our Gabo Creek Province is full of talented individuals. Of course, I'm keeping an eye on a few."

The two elders straightened their backs, their expressions turning smug. "We imagine the contestant you have in mind must be one of our Advanced Medical Institute students, right?"

Derek shook his head. "No, actually. The one I'm interested in is that contestant from earlier—his name is Andrew Lloyd."

Preston and Clifford's faces immediately darkened. They scoffed and replied, "Then I'm afraid you might be mistaken, Mr. McCormick. That boy has no right to stand alongside our Advanced Medical Institute students, much less challenge someone like Mosby.

Just watch—you'll see soon enough."

They had only brought it up to confirm whether Derek's attention was focused on their side. Hearing that his interest lay elsewhere, their disdain was obvious.

Derek just continued smiling, unbothered. "Of course, your students have been trained from a young age and are exceptional in their own right. But there's always a bigger fish, and Andrew might just be the dark horse of this tournament."

Preston and Clifford snorted in unison. "A dark horse? Our institute has crushed countless so-called 'dark horses' over the years. We'll see how long this one lasts."

…

On the competition platform, the first round had started. It was on herbal identification.

"Ghostwhiskers!"

"Bride's Bane!"

Jared and Francesca both called out their answers almost simultaneously, identifying the herbs placed in front of them without hesitation. The other contestants quickly followed, each offering their own responses as they examined their herbs.

Jared's face twisted into an icy sneer. "Keep talking, Andrew. The second round is about to begin, and the difficulty is about to spike. We'll see who gets kicked off the stage first."

Andrew just smirked. "Don't worry. The only one getting kicked off will be you."

At that moment, the announcer's voice rang out again. "The second round of the Grand Medical Summit will now begin!"

The second test also involved herbs, but with a twist. "Each contestant has six herbs in front of them, each with a similar appearance. Your task is to identify the one herb that appears the least frequently among them."

Andrew only needed a single glance to solve the problem. He immediately noticed that three of the herbs were of the same type, two were another type, and only one was unique. Without a moment's hesitation, he picked up the lone herb and handed it to the examiner.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Francesca doing the same, her round face breaking into a relieved, satisfied smile. A few feet away, Jared was frowning, his brows deeply furrowed as he struggled to find the correct herb.

After a few tense seconds, he finally selected the right one, but it was clear he needed more effort.