"Ladies and gentlemen, the designated time has passed and 997 of you have arrived on time," he announced formally, "Unfortunately, three individuals have not made it: Kejins, Blancher, and Banya. I hereby declare that these three individuals have forfeited their spots."
"That means," he continued, "There are now three vacant spots which the Federation Government will reclaim. We anticipated the possibility of last-minute withdrawals, so we have already prepared backup candidates to fill these spots. I trust there will be no objections from anyone present."
"We have twenty backup candidates prepared. To ensure fairness, I will ask them to come in now, and in the presence of everyone here, we will distribute these three spots."
The man in the black uniform gestured toward the hall's back door and commanded, "Bring them in, please."
The clinking of metal chains followed the command, and as it grew louder, Guding and the others turned their gaze toward the source.
