The academic advisor stared at Zane''s figure for a while, shaking her head in disbelief. "No wonder his department''s struggling," she thought. "It''s not just the students; some of the faculty are part of the problem too."


    **


    Mirabe picked out a couple of books on gic engineering, nced briefly at the physics section next door, and then headed over to the reading area.


    The library was usually quiet around noon, with most students choosing to rest in their dorms.


    Finding a cozy corner, Mirabe settled in and began flipping through her chosen books.


    Gic engineering was a cornerstone in informatics since the databases were primarily filled with gic data.


    The massive chains of data were impossible to remember, so they needed to be stored inputers and analyzed with specialized software. Research into human evolution and gics was crucial.


    Zane grabbed a few books from the shelf and, before leaving, noticed two books on gics and heredity were missing.


    Usually, those borrowing such books were either students from his department or faculty members needing them for research.


    Looking towards the reading area, Zane paused for a moment before heading over with his books.


    Soon, he pulled up a chair opposite Mirabe. Noticing what she was reading, his eyebrows shot up in surprise.


    Seeing how quickly Mirabe was flipping through the book, he couldn''t help but ask, "Do you really get what you''re reading from these books already?"


    Generally, this material would be tough even for a sophomore to grasp.


    Mirabe''s fingers paused on the page she was turning, and she looked up at Zane, "Yeah, it''s fine. was actually looking for a


    upa


    past research topics, but it seems like there isn''t one."


    Zane''s surprise was evident, "You''re interested in past research topics? You like research?"


    Mirabe responded steadily, "Life sciences research relies heavily on data. With billions of people worldwide, identifying the extraordinary from existing gic sequences is the direction of research."


    It was Zane''s first time hearing such insight from a freshman, and he was genuinely shocked. However, recalling something, he smiled wryly, "To be honest, our division hasn''t organized any research projects in over three years."


    "Why?" Mirabe''s eyebrows twitched, "Is it because it''s a niche field, or due tock of funding?"


    Zane shook his head, "It''s not entirely that. Mainly, there''s been ack of students interested in research projects."


    Even though he was eager to mentor students, the academy wouldn''t approve without talented students, as forming a research group would just be a waste of time and money.


    Mirabe fell silent.


    Zane nced at her, thinking she must be genuinely passionate about biological research to switch froma humanities to a science major. After a pause, he tried to offer somefort, "Don''t worry, you''ll have opportunities to participate research eventually."


    Mirabe hummed in acknowledgment and didn''t pursue the topic further.


    "If you''re interested in past research topics, I have some materials in my office.


    You cane byter to pick them up," Zane added.


    "Thank you, Professor," Mirabe nodded.


    Zane nodded back, then stood up, "You keep reading. I''ll be going now."