"Yeah, I happened to spot a medicinal nt at his ce that was exactly what Dean''s been searching for," Presley admitted without hesitation.


    He paused for a second before adding, "I''ve already snapped a photo and sent it over to his secretary. I''m expecting a reply soon."


    Hearing this, David frowned. He recalled Paul mentioning that his nt wasn''t something just anyone could handle, and the way he cared for it suggested it was no ordinary nt. Presley''s decision to take pictures and send them without permission was bound to upset Paul.


    "You should''ve run this by me first. That nt is Paul''s private property," David said, clearly annoyed. How was this any different from stealing?


    Presley just shrugged off David''s words with a smirk, "How can a nt at the botanical base be considered his private property? Besides, we did pay him."


    Was it really worth all this fuss over a single nt? David seemed to be losing sight of what mattered.


    Not wanting to get into a squabble, Presley suggested, "He got paid, so he should do his part. Mr. President, you should really reach out to him and get him back here soon."


    David''s face darkened as he reluctantly replied, "Paul''s headed back to his hometown for some urgent stuff. He won''t be back anytime soon."


    Presley frowned, "Te can''t wait around forever."


    "Got it, I''ll handle it," David replied curtly before ending the call.


    Presley heard the click of the call ending and scoffed to himself. He pondered the situation with Paul for a moment, then dialed another number from his contacts.


    ...


    Meanwhile, David wasn''t looking too pleased. After holding his phone for ages, he finally tried calling Paul, only to get the ''out of service area'' message multiple times.


    Remembering Paul lived in a remote vige with spottymunication, David gave up on the calls and sent a text and a Messenger message exining everything.


    It was evening before he got a reply via Messenger.


    "I''m not selling that medicinal nt, and the base''s soil can''t grow another," Paul had written.


    David, who had been checking his phone constantly, called Paul back immediately upon receiving the message, but the line was still out of service. So, he sent a few voice messages through Messenger, but this time, no reply came.


    *


    A week quickly slipped by.


    At school, Mirabe had a free afternoon and was holed up in theb with Linden and the others, working on the next phase of the artificial life system project. Ben had been dropping by theb regrly, and Mirabe seemed to have gotten used to him, no longer feeling the need to hide.


    Ben would check her work every now and then, always amazed by her unique way of thinking. His interest in her was bing more apparent.


    "I swear, the way Mr. Ben looks at you is like... a wolf, yeah, that''s it, like a wolf," Jessie whispered to Mirabe, sliding her chair closer after Ben left theb, sharing her observation.


    Mirabe paused her typing, then nced up at Jessie, "So, you noticed it too, huh?"