Cassie listened to the dial tone on the phone,pletely bewildered. It wasn''t like


    his sister to hang up without trying to get something out of him first. Scratching his head, he thought for a moment before pulling his suitcase out from under the bed.


    When he unzipped it, he found a stash of bottles tucked at the bottom-at least a dozen of them. With a reluctant sigh, he carefully picked out three that were the least potent. Lining them up on the table, he snapped a photo and sent it to Mirabe via Messenger: "These are the only three I''ve got. If you want them, I can spare you at most two! "


    Mirabe heard the Messenger ping twice. Standing in the cool night breeze, she took a moment before opening the message. A small smile crept onto her lips after reading it. Though most of the time that rascal was full of it, at least he had a tiny shred of decency.


    "Keep them with you, and I''ll hit you up when I need them."


    Cassie shook his head, muttering to himself about how his sister was a master at getting her way. She even wanted him to carry them around all the time!


    Mirabe put away her phone and headed back to her room. After drying her hair, she didn''t go to bed but instead reopened herptop. The group that had been tailing her tonight was nothing special, just the usual hired guns who''d do anything for a paycheck. Clearly, their employer wasn''t one of those big international


    yers.


    Overseas, Summer was leaning against the wall, slowly making her way out of Professor Joen''sb. Her face was ghostly pale, her lipscking any color. Her legs were shaky, barely able to support her. She leaned against the wall for a couple of minutes until the numbness began to fade, and she started to feel human again.


    Behind her, Joen came out of theb with a stack of printouts. Spotting Summer still nearby, he surprisingly offered a rare kind word. "I''ll give you a few days off. Go home, rest up, and take care of yourself."


    Summer looked at Joen, feeling no gratitude. She knew his concern was just for show. No one in thisb was normal, after all. She gave a slight nod, hiding any trace of dissatisfaction, "Thank you, Professor."


    Joen, absorbed in his reports,


    nodded and walked on. After a few steps, something seemed to ur to him, and he turned back to


    Foel.ne


    Summer. "Oh, I forgot to tell you, thetest issue of SCI just came out. A friend sent me a copy. If you want it, you can grab it from my assistant."


    Those words finally brought a glimmer to Summer''s eyes, and she nodded in agreement. Academic papers are like milestones, marking personal growth and strength, especially in a prestigious journal like SCI, which holds international acim.


    Taking a deep breath, Summer felt that her hard work over the past year was finally about to pay off, proving she was just as capable as anyone else. It wasn''t long before she reached Joen''s assistant''s office.


    Joen''s assistant, having received a text from Joen, was prepared for her visit. He handed her the journal with a smile and congratted her, "Summer, you''re really something. It''s no wonder you''re Dr. Joen''s student."


    Hearing hispliment, Summer didn''t immediately look at the journal in her hands. Instead, she offered a humble smile, "You''re too kind. It''s all thanks to my professor''s guidance."


    The assistant smiled back, and after a brief chat, he returned to his work. Summer finally lowered her gaze to the journal. Professor Joen had mentioned that her paper would be featured on the cover of this issue.