The next day rolled around. After her afternoon sses, Mirabe headed straight to theb.


    As soon as she stepped in, she spotted Zane sketching away on some draft paper. He waved her over. "Hey, Mirabe, could you take a look at this cell differentiation method the professor suggested? Something about it seems off."


    Mirabe strolled over casually, and after a quick nce, she picked up a pencil and made a few adjustments on the paper. "Try swapping these two pairs around. It should work better that way."


    Zane leaned in for a closer look and realized she was spot on. He nced up with a smirk. "Nicely done! Looks like you''ve got a knack for cell differentiation."


    Mirabe just blinked, caught off guard by thepliment.


    Kason, who had been listening, chimed in, "That''s not all. Our junior here is pretty sharp with gic data too. She cracked a tough problem for Linden and me just yesterday."


    Mirabe felt her cheeks warm up. "Just a lucky guess," she mumbled.


    Zane arched an eyebrow but didn''t press further. Checking his watch, he asked Kason, "By the way, where''s Linden? Is he tied up today?"


    "He''s helping a sophomore with some data analysis. Shouldn''t take him long," Kason replied.


    Zane nodded, satisfied with the answer. He tidied up his drafts and said, "I''m stepping out for a bit. Keep at it, and if you hit a snag, just drop a message in our group chat. Mr. Ben will be here soon, so you can ask him too."


    With that, he gathered his things and left the room.


    Mirabe took a moment to gather herself, then pulled up a chair and turned on herputer. Not long after, Linden arrived, and shortly after he settled in, Ben walked in.


    Dressed in a sleek dark coat over a deep-colored shirt, Ben''s sharp features carried a certain edge, different from the schrly vibe he''d had when they first met.


    Holding a stack of documents, Ben greeted everyone with a nod and got right down to business, diving into the topic of synthetic life.


    Mirabe leaned back in her chair, resting an elbow on the armrest, twirling a pencil between her fingers. She listened closely to Ben''s insights, quickly understanding why Zane had brought him in.


    This guy knew his stuff.


    Ben reviewed the work of the others for any issues before making his way over to Mirabe.


    He carried a faint scent, nothing like cologne or perfume-more like the lingering smell ofb chemicals. It wasn''t unpleasant, but it made Mirabe wrinkle her nose a bit.


    She opened the first stage of herputational data and pushed the mouse over for Ben to take a look.


    Unfazed by her reaction, Ben took the mouse and navigated through the program''s code with ease. His eyebrows raised slightly as he examined her methods.


    "Your approach is a bit unorthodox, isn''t it?" he remarked after a moment.


    Mirabe tapped her fingers on the armrest and replied, "I mixed in some X-ray arithmetic logic."


    "Ah, that exins it." Ben''s interest deepened as he scrolled through the data. Nearing the end, he suddenly asked, "You''ve got quite a knack for this. Have you been studying math on the side for fun?"