Mirabe''s eyshes fluttered slightly as she softly replied, "No."


    Despite not having formal training, she possessed an impressiveputational ability. Ben caught a flicker of something in his eyes, put down his mouse, and stood up straight. Instead of probing further, he simply remarked, "Your data is spot on, really thorough."


    Mirabe acknowledged with a slight nod, unsurprised by thepliment.


    "When are you thinking of starting the next phase?" Ben inquired.


    Mirabe rubbed her temples, "Not quite there yet. I''ll kick off once I''ve got a solid n."


    Ben gave her a reassuring look, "Take your time. If you hit a snag, just ping me on Messenger."


    Mirabe nodded casually, her temples pounding. She got up, mentioned she needed a bathroom break, and left theb.


    Once outside, she paused in the hallway, feeling a tad better, then ambled towards the restroom.


    By the time she got back, Ben was gone. Standing at the door, she called over to Jessie nearby, "Did Ben leave?"


    Jessie, finishing up a piece of code in French, looked up and, ignoring Mirabe''s informal tone, said, "Yeah, got a call and had to run."


    Mirabe nodded and leanedzily against the door frame.


    Seeing this, Jessie asked with curiosity, "Why aren''t youing in, Mira?"


    Mirabe leaned her head back, gazing at the ceiling, "Maybe this gives me more inspiration?"


    Jessie smirked, busy with the first phase of her project and not wanting to engage in banter. She waved a hand, "Alright, take your time."


    Mirabe hummed in agreement.


    Once theb felt less stifling, she went back in, pulled out a chair, and settled in front of theputer again.


    Opposite her, Linden was distracted, caught up in dataparisons for a client. His mood was already off, and after Ben''s departure, he found it hard to focus.


    After zoning out for a bit, Linden suddenly straightened up and nudged Kason''s arm, "I''ve got a question about gics."


    "Huh?" Kason looked up, "What about it?"


    Linden, careful not to spill any secrets from Meg''s research team, scratched his head and whispered, "Have you ever looked into cracking gic codes?"


    Mirabe, with her sharp ears, nced over at Linden.


    Kason shook his head, "I''ve skimmed some books, but never really got into it. Not my cup of tea."


    "Okay." Linden sighed, his shoulders sagging.


    "You''re not nning to dive into this, are you?" Kason asked, curious.


    Linden shook his head, eyes back on hisputer, "Nah, just curious."


    Kason didn''t pry further but after a pause said, "You could ask Mr. Zane; he might know a thing or two."


    Linden thought for a moment, then nodded, "Good idea, I''ll check with himter."


    "Cool."


    Around five, everyone began wrapping up for the day.


    Linden had some questions for Zane, so he followed him to his office to chat about gic code algorithms.


    Zane locked up his files, turned around, and eyed Linden with suspicion, "Why the sudden interest in this?"