The dinner that evening was with Mr. Ashcroft, the CEO of Axiom Flux Technologies.


    Earlier that morning, PrimeStar Technologies had finalized a partnership agreement with Axiom Flux Technologies.


    After their meal, Charlene and Stewart headed over to Axiom Flux''s headquarters. They spent hours in deep discussion with the engineering team, only parting ways close to midnight.


    Over the next two days, Charlene made frequent trips to Axiom Flux. She and the engineers worked overtime together, often stayingte into the night.


    Friday marked the date of Axiom Flux''s productunch event, an asion thepany had scheduled over a month ago. The reason for their relentless work ethic was simple—they wanted their coborative ideas to be fine-tuned and, if possible, partially realized before theunch. With the groundworkid, the focus of Axiom Flux''sunch event was about to undergo a drastic shift.


    In the early hours of Friday morning, after finally heading home for a few hours of rest, Charlene and Stewart both made their way to the Axiom Fluxunch event.


    Thepany had invited numerous journalists and industry peers to attend. As fellow professionals in the field, Thorne and Vesta were naturally among those invited.


    Charlene and Stewart, exhausted from their recent marathon ofte nights, arrived a littleter than most. The moment they walked into the main hall, Vesta and Thorne spotted them.


    Vesta paused briefly when she saw them.


    Axiom Flux''s decision to invite so many industry peers was, of course, about more than just showcasing technology; it was also an unspoken invitation for future coborations.


    PrimeStar, with its strong reputation innguage systems, had recently ended its partnership with Neural Nexus Tech, and while they''d since begun working with The Henderson Group, the nature of the new coboration was quite different from before. This meant PrimeStar was still open to working with other autonomous vehiclepanies in the area ofnguage systems.


    It wasn''t hard for Vesta to guess that Ashcroft''s invitation to Stewart was likely about this very opportunity.


    Despite being one of the newer yers in the tech industry, Axiom Flux had developed rapidly over the past few years. Their autonomous vehicles were among the most influential on the domestic market. If they could now join forces with PrimeStar, whose national profile and technical capabilities were undeniable, the partnership would surely give Axiom Flux apetitive edge in the autonomous vehicle sector.


    Still, Vesta wasn''t worried. Neural Nexus Tech''spetitive advantage in autonomous driving didn''t rest solely onnguage systems. Her ownpany had its strengths.


    With that thought, Vesta calmly looked away.


    Noticing Charlene and Stewart''s arrival, Mr. Ashcroft immediately came over, greeting them with a bright, weing smile.


    Seeing how much importance Ashcroft ced on Stewart, Vesta''s suspicions about his intentions to coborate with PrimeStar only grew stronger.


    After exchanging a few words with Stewart and Charlene, Mr. Ashcroft excused himself to finalize preparations. Theunch event was about to begin.


    The Henderson Group held amanding position in the tech world, and Thorne, as their representative, was naturally seated in the front row. Vesta, taking advantage of her association with Thorne, was also seated in the front, right beside him.


    After working closely with Charlene the past few days, Mr. Ashcroft hade to realize that she was, in fact, the technical powerhouse driving this coboration. Her seat was even closer to the center than Stewart''s.


    Stewart, noticing that Charlene had been seated next to Thorne, wasn''t surprised. Without hesitation, he took the seat assigned to Charlene. With a small smile, Charlene simply sat down in Stewart''s own spot.


    Vesta hadn''t expected Charlene''s seat to be ced right next to Thorne, but she didn''t dwell on it. She assumed the staff must have thought Charlene and Stewart were a couple, and wouldn''t mind sitting together.


    Thorne saw Stewart take Charlene''s seat but said nothing. Instead, he greeted Stewart with polite formality. "Mr. Ferguson."


    Stewart responded with a curt nod.


    At that moment, the event began.


    Theunch proceeded smoothly, the first half following the original agenda. Midway through, Mr. Ashcroft took the stage for his address.


    "Ourtest project represents a leap forward in intelligent technology," he announced. "Not only does our autonomous driving system break new ground, but so does our engine technology."


    "Axiom Flux Technologies has remained at the forefront of our industry, earning the respect of our peers. Recently, we''ve established a long-term partnership with PrimeStar Technologies, resulting in significant breakthroughs across multiple fronts. Now, I''d like to invite PrimeStar''s outstanding engineer, Ms. Charlene Ross, to the stage to introduce and exin the advances we''ve made together. Please wee Ms. Ross!"