Linden fiddled with his nose, curious but smart enough not to dig deeper. He left the office shortly after.


    An hourter, Wade showed up at the department. After a brief chat with Zane, he remarked, "I had a look at Calvin''s student''s paper earlier. The first version was all about gic engineering and didn''t really stand out. Then Calvin brought me a revised version, the one focusing on the value of decoding gic codes. The thesis and the differentiation forms were way more polished."


    Wade paused, setting his ss on the coffee table. "So, that second paper was Mirabe''s idea?"


    He''d been puzzled about how a student could whip up such a mature thesis so quickly. It seemed extraordinary. Research papers aren''t like your average essays; they demand lots of time for digging up data and testing theories.


    If she''d borrowed someone else''s ideas, though, it made sense.


    Zane was surprised to learn Wade had read Meg''s paper. If that was true, it strengthened the case that Meg had used Mirabe''s concept, didn''t it?


    Zane gathered his thoughts, nodding, "I mentioned before how Mirabe could whip up a 3D simtion in no time. If I''m right, Meg''s paper must''ve been based on Mirabe''s calctions."


    For someone with a good foundation, writing a paper based on another''s calctions isn''t too tough.


    "Technically, Meg using Mirabe''s calctions isn''t outright theft, but doing it without asking isn''t cool either. If everyone starts ignoring morals, things would get messy, right?"


    Wade tapped his knee, his presencemanding yet calm. After a pause, he said, "Go gather everyone."


    "Got it," Zane replied, quickly leaving the office.


    *


    Meg was still in theb when she got the message. A fellow student hade to fetch her. Hearing she needed to go to the office right away, a wave of panic swept over her. Being called in at this time could only mean one thing: the paper.


    Her teammates felt the same unease, their faces showing mixed emotions. Initially, everyone had second thoughts about using Mirabe''s idea, but the allure of recognition was too strong.


    "Moonlight, I can''t believe they went to the professor. We''re in deep now."


    "It was just using an idea. Mirabe didn''t patent it, so why make a fuss?"


    "Yeah, never seen someone hold a grudge like this."


    Her teammates gathered around Meg, looking worried.


    Meg stayed silent, sitting still for a good five minutes before regaining her


    Afterward, she looked at her teammates. "This idea has to be ours alone."


    They got the message, nodding in agreement.


    "But Mr. Zane was there too. Even if we delete the files, he saw everything," one teammate pointed out.