Too Many Obstacles

Kai sat there dumbfounded, his mind fogged as the room slowly filled with murmurs. Every athlete around him stared in wide-eyed disbelief at the elaborate torch-lighting plan.

"What the heck?" someone muttered behind him. "How can they do it?"

"Yeah, who even comes up with this stuff?" another voice chimed in.

Kai blinked, still processing. He looked back at the animated screen, where his animated self had just pulled off the perfect shot, lighting the entire torch in one grand flourish. 

No way was that realistic.

Meanwhile, across the room, Fernando Ching nodded to himself, utterly unfazed. His arms were still crossed, but there was a confidence to him—a belief that he could and would make his part of this work. Kai couldn't help but gulp, his throat dry.

'Maybe if he was that confident,' Kai thought to himself, 'then this wouldn't be so bad.'

"Good luck, kid," Dong teased, drawing laughter from the other athletes.