Zane couldn''t help but feel a bit uneasy after hearing thement, but he knew there was no point in arguing. Everyone had heard Hank''s earlier remarks. After a moment''s pause, he simply said, "Crafting a proposal isn''t something you can rush. We can work on it once we''re back."


    Calvin shrugged, "Do what you want. Just a heads-up, don''t let a weak proposal cost us a chance with the Tech Institute."


    "No need for Mr. Calvin to fret. Even if we miss out, it won''t be us taking the hit," Zane replied coolly.


    Calvin just chuckled softly, letting it go without pressing further.


    He doesn''t appreciate a good suggestion when it''s right in front of him.


    For a while, the lounge was dead quiet, everyone keeping to themselves.


    About thirty minutester, Hank''s assistant came in, friendly as ever, and said, "Hank''s still tied up, but how about we head to the cafeteria for lunch?"


    That''s the thing with experiments; sometimes they wrap up quick, other times they drag on for hours.


    Dr. King nced at his watch and said, "Looks like that''s our best bet for now." The assistant nodded, motioning for everyone to follow him as he led the way. Meanwhile, Hank was still busy at hisputer, running fusion tests. Their project was all about the third generation of underwater exploration robots. They were working on blending life systems with intelligent systems to make exploration a whole lot easier and hopefully achieve a significant breakthrough.


    Hank had poured his heart into the artificial life system. Even though the fusion tests were moving at a snail''s pace, the results were surprisingly promising.


    Artificial life systems had been a focus of research for years, with even the big- name international scientists struggling to make headway in Al. But these Prestige College students were showing some serious promise.


    Hank''s eyes lit up with excitement at the progress, thinking this could really shake things up in academia if patented.


    By 1 PM, Hank and his colleagues wrapped up the testing.


    "The system''s integration level hit seventy percent just in the first phase. Imagine what we can achieve with the next two phases," one colleague noted.


    "Let''s just go ahead and sign the coboration deal with Prestige College," another suggested.


    Hank looked around, thought it over, and nodded, "Looks like we''re all on the same page. I''ll go sort out the details now."


    "Hey, what about that proposal? We should have another look," a colleague asked.


    Hank nced at a nearby table, only to find it empty. He paused and said, "Looks like they took it. I''ll track it downter."


    With that, he quickly made his way out of theb.


    By then, Mirabe and the gang had already had their fill at the cafeteria. Calvin and Dr. King, meanwhile, had bumped into some friends and were chatting outside instead of heading back to the lounge.


    When Hank saw Calvin and Dr. King, he knew they were the key contacts, so he invited them straight to his office.


    In the office, Hank poured them each a ss of water and said, "Your system is impressive. We''d love to finalize the coboration as soon as possible."


    Calvin''s fingers tightened slightly around his cup. Even though he had kind of expected this, it was hard not to feel a mix of emotions.