Linden cleared his throat and said, "You might not realize it yet, but the Tech


    Institute is packed with tech geniuses. Even though our proposal got selected, it feels pretty humble next to these experts."


    He paused, then added with a hint of awe, "Still, just getting a foot in the Tech Institute is a badge of honor in itself."


    Mirabe raised an eyebrow, pulled up a chair, and sat down. "Why not set our sights even higher?"


    Linden chuckled and shook his head, knowing his own boundaries. "You, my dear freshman, are truly the shining star of our department."


    Linden, along with Kason and Jessie, knew all too well that their project caught the Tech Institute''s eye solely because of Mirabe''s groundbreaking calctions. Without her, they, along with Mr. Zane, wouldn''t have been able to whip up the artificial life system framework so swiftly.


    "Everyone''s got their own strengths; you''re being too humble," Mirabe said truthfully.


    Linden was a whiz at biomimetic big data analysis, Kason excelled in gic sequencing, and Jessie had a knack for gic molecr structures. Sess wasn''t about being the strongest but about blending everyone''s talents seamlessly.


    After a bit more chatting, Zane walked in from his office and said, "Alright, team, let''s hit the road. The car''s waiting downstairs."


    They all followed Zane downstairs.


    Once the Tech Institute epted their proposal, Zane filed a report with the university. The unexpected attention from the Tech Institute had put the usually quiet Bioinformatics Department in the spotlight.


    To ensure smooth coboration, the university had the head of the International Affairs Office tag along to the Tech Institute.


    Besides Zane, Mr. Belcher had appointed others from the Biology Department to lead the team.


    When Linden spotted the person in the passenger seat of the business car, he frowned deeply. Before hopping in, he shot a nce at Mirabe.


    Because the person Mr. Belcher chose was none other than Mr. Calvin.


    Linden remembered the tension between Mr. Calvin, Mirabe, and Mr. Zane over some previous issue with Meg, making Mr. Calvin''s role in leading the team potentially tricky.


    Mirabe noticed Linden''s worried look but just smiled calmly and got in the car, unfazed by Mr. Calvin''s presence.


    Seeing her unbothered demeanor, Linden rxed a bit.


    Soon, the car was on its way from Prestige College to the Tech Institute''s base.


    The trip wasn''t short, taking about an hour and a half. Once in the car, Mirabe pulled up her hoodie, leaned back, and closed her eyes for some rest.


    Meanwhile, Linden was busy venting about Mr. Calvin to Jessie and Kason in their Messenger group chat, not paying much attention to his phone otherwise.


    By around eleven, they finally reached the Tech Institute''s base.


    At the entrance stood a towering three-meter robot, its sleek ck surface crafted from special metallic materials, and a metal sphere floating in its palm. The sphere slowly rotated, driven by a maic field.


    It was a stunning piece of high-tech marvel at first nce.


    Linden and the group, seeing such a robot for the first time, couldn''t help but be amazed.


    "I heard this robot''s got an intelligent system and can even go into attack mode," Kason remarked, peering out the car window.