Chapter 2Reborn with a Vengeance

"Leo, we can still modify it! We still have time!" Matt insisted, his face pale but determined. "This competition isn't just about the two million bucks. The winner gets mentored by Dr. Aris Thorne himself! We can't give up."

The organizers had already replied to our initial complaint, stating they found no evidence of wrongdoing on Greg's part.

"I'll handle the modifications myself," I said, my voice low and steady. "Matt, you keep hounding the event staff. Don't let them off the hook."

I took a deep breath. A second chance meant I couldn't trust anyone, not even my closest friend.

In my last life, Seraphina had been by my side the entire time I was building and modifying my robots. The memory of seeing her, after my death, tucked into the crook of Greg’s arm… there was no doubt. She was the one who leaked my designs.

But she didn't understand the complex mechanics or the code. Even if she gave him the physical blueprints, she couldn't have accessed the core operational programming.

And Greg and I... we'd been rivals since freshman year. I was his shadow. Every brilliant idea I had, he somehow produced it first, leaving me to be mocked as a copycat. We avoided each other like the plague on campus; there was no way he could have ever gotten a direct look at my work.

So how? How did his robot’s programming mirror mine down to the last line of code?

Even with the gift of foresight, the question gnawed at me.

A sharp, stabbing pain lanced through my chest at the thought of Seraphina. Why would she betray me? We were childhood sweethearts, practically engaged. She was supposed to be my partner, yet at the most critical moment of my life, she'd been the one to push me into the abyss.

Shaking my head, I slapped my own cheek, hard. Focus. The robot was all that mattered now.

My fingers flew across the keyboard as I began disassembling the code and the machine. I'd already conceptualized an upgraded version of this robot, but I'd held back, opting for a more stable, conservative build for the competition. I was confident even the base model could win. I was always good at this, with a natural intuition for mechanics and programming that felt like a sixth sense.

But caution was a luxury I could no longer afford. It was time to go all in.

An hour later, I leaned back, letting out a ragged breath as I stared at the upgraded machine. This time, I had worked completely alone. Unless Greg Croft was literally a god, there was no way he could know the new specifications.

Wiping the sweat from my brow, I was about to submit the new data to the organizers when Matt burst back into the lab.

"Dude, you need to see this! Greg just posted an update!"

My blood ran cold. I snatched the laptop from him and stared at the video. I couldn't breathe.

"No… it's not possible!"

The robot in Greg's new video, the one he was showcasing with a smug grin, was my upgrade. Every last detail, every new line of code, was there on the screen.

I scrolled down to see his post. His fans were already lavishing him with praise.

Greg had written: "I felt my initial design was a winner, but in a competition of this caliber, you have to be willing to innovate. So, I decided to push the envelope with a significant upgrade. The performance isn't perfectly stable yet, but if I can get some feedback from the judges, it'll be worth the risk…"

A cold dread washed over me. The core of the upgrade was a piece of programming that had come to me in a dream, a flash of pure inspiration. I treasured it like a divine gift, telling no one.

Could he have hired a top-tier hacker? Was my workshop bugged? A terrifying theory began to form in my mind.

"Leo, what do we do now?" Matt's voice was a desperate whisper. "The forums… they're tearing you apart."