Darcy replied with a calm indifference. "Do I need to tell you?" "Hah, of course you do. Don't forget, you signed a—" Before he could finish the phrase "non-compete agreement," the door to the small conference room opened. The evaluation experts and technical staff emerged. To Darcy's surprise, Eamon also came. An assistant nodded to Eamon. "Mr. Steele." Eamon raised a hand, signaling everyone to go about their business and not stand on ceremony. The host took the final evaluation results from the experts. Then, picking up the microphone, he announced the winning bidder. Zane glanced sideways, exchanging a look with Zora. Both wore expressions of absolute confidence. But then they heard the host raise the paper in his hand and declare loudly, "The winning bidder for this tender is—Stratagem Tech!" Everyone froze. For a moment, the room was so silent you could hear a pin drop. What?! Stratagem Tech? Impossible! Representatives from other companies stared at Zane and Zora in disbelief. This wasn't the inside information they'd heard. Not only were they shocked, but Darcy and her team were also stunned. "Holy— Ms. Gale! We won!" Cade whooped with joy. Cindy excitedly hugged Darcy. "You knew all along, didn't you? No wonder you were so calm!" Darcy was both amused and exasperated.How could she have known? She was just as bewildered. However, thinking of Eamon's appearance earlier, Darcy began to understand. She stepped forward and said softly to him, "Mr. Steele, thank you for your support." She had thought his refusal to meet her privately meant he didn't want to give her false hope. Turns out, that wasn't the case. Eamon chuckled, "You've got it backwards. I should thank you. Your proposal was excellent, perfectly meeting our tender requirements, and the price was very competitive. It was practically a steal. Choosing you was the unanimous vote." Even so, Darcy knew Eamon must have played a significant role. She told him, "Rest assured, we will deliver on all the promises made during the pre-sales phase." "Great. Keep up the good work, young people. We'll collaborate on phases two and three!"With that, Eamon and his assistant left the room. Everyone in the room, except for the SummitCore team, came over to shake hands with Darcy. "Congratulations!" "We've heard the Blackwood Group started a tech subsidiary, but we didn't expect it to be this impressive. Let's get together sometime and exchange ideas!" Facing the praise, Darcy remained as composed as ever. "Thank you. Let's schedule something." Soon, only the teams from Stratagem Tech and SummitCore remained. Six people, divided into two groups. Zane stood dazed for nearly five minutes before the reality sank in. Darcy really had joined another company. His mind flashed to the scene in the private room at the forum banquet, her sitting beside Jethro. Then he recalled her familiarity with Cindy just moments ago. It was so obvious. Why had it taken him so long to realize? Zora's shock was no less than Zane's. Connecting all the clues, she realized she'd made the same mistake of jumping to conclusions. She closed her eyes briefly in frustration, gritting her teeth. I underestimated her! A perennial top salesperson would never lack job offers. That wasn't the main issue now. The most pressing problem was that, since Darcy had joined Stratagem Tech, she would definitely not consider returning to SummitCore anytime soon. But—what about the company's product development? The vets in R&D nagged her all day, this issue, that bug, driving her up the wall.She couldn't even read code. How was she supposed to solve their issues? The thought made Zora deeply agitated. But she remembered her mother's advice: when things get urgent, slow down. This couldn't be rushed. She needed a gradual approach. Taking a calming breath, Zora put on a smile and extended her hand. "Congratulations on winning the bid!" Darcy raised an eyebrow. This woman has more grace than Zane. She was willing to engage with gracious people. She shook Zora's hand. "Thank you." As for Zane... His face was dark as thunderclouds. Darcy didn't look at him again, turning instead to leave with her team. Kaia gritted her teeth, stamping her foot in anger. The bonus that was practically in her hand had flown away, snatched by Darcy! She was furious! Darcy had already quit! Why did she still have to overshadow her at every turn? It was so unfair! She fumed, "Darcy must have pulled strings. Dr. Moss, you saw it too. The way she shook hands and talked with that Mr. Steele just now... it was clearly pre-arranged. We were all just here for show!" Then Kaia suddenly remembered. "Dr. Moss, what about Mr. Stone? Why wasn't he here today?" Hearing this, Zane also looked at Zora. "Did something happen on Mr. Stone's end?" Zora pressed her lips together, silent. When the winning bidder was announced, she had called Bex several times. No answer. Something must have happened on his end. Zora tightened her grip on her phone. "I can't reach him. Let's wait. I'll try contacting him again later."