“What’s wrong?” Chad noticed the sudden change in Ariel’s expression. His gaze locked onto her.


    It took Ariel a moment to shake off her shock. She looked up at Chad and handed him the document. “Is this for real?”


    Chad was genuinely curious. What could possibly shake Ariel, who was usually so calm and steady, to show this kind of expression?


    As he scanned the document Ariel pointed out, his expression instantly grew serious. He double–checked several times, hesitated for a moment, then looked back at Ariel again.


    “What’s Jayson ying at?” he asked, stunned.


    Ariel’s face slowly clouded with aplicated mix of emotions. “I don’t know.”


    After a long pause, she frowned and tucked the document away.


    Back at Faye Technologies, Ariel sat deep in thought. The sudden discovery of such a huge problem at Nexura Solutions left her baffled. 1


    Just as she was heading upstairs, her phone rang. It was Gary.


    Although they had each other’s numbers, Ariel and Gary hardly ever spoke.


    She nced at Chad, then answered.


    Gary’s voice was full of energy. “Ariel, are you busy right now?”


    Once seated, Ariel replied, “Not really. Is there something you need?”


    Gary smiled and put on a mysterious tone. “I’ve got some good news that should seriously help with your future ns.”


    Ariel’s brow lifted a little.


    Gary didn’t keep her waiting long. “The higher–ups areunching a nationwide talent recruitment to promote some top–tier talents. To support this, multiple departments have joined forces to organize an aerospace flight techpetition starting in two weeks


    “This isn’t an average contest. It’s high–stakes. In the end, they’ll pick three people nationwide to join the national research engineering team. That means these three will earn further assessment opportunities. If they keep seeding, they might even get to participate in the development of the sixth–generation fighter jet,”


    The national research engineering team?


    Ariel was genuinely surprised. This meant three people would have a chance to join the national research engineering team. That would no longer be just somemercial side project.


    But she already had a direct path into sixth–generation fighter jet development. Why would she need topete in this?


    Gary seemed to read her thoughts and said, “Even though you’re already qualified and an important part of the development team for the sixth–generation fighter jet, thepetition is open to everyone nationwide.


    “Your starting line is different from everyone else’s. If you end up taking first ce, with your U.N2 experience, once the sixth–generation fighter jet project wraps up, you’ll have the option to directly join any department you want. For the next three years, you can choose whichever research projects you want to work on!”


    Ariel was no ordinarypetitor.


    Other top talents would earn a preliminary qualification for the sixth–generation fighter jet development through thispetition. It was basically just the entry stage, and whether they got in wasn’t guaranteed.


    But for Ariel, she could freely choose which department to join.


    The government ced great importance on this talent recruitment. After all, this was an important part of the future technology n.


    Gary admitted he had some personal interest in pushing Ariel onto a broader stage, where she could fully unleash her talents.


    Ariel was stunned.


    Free entry into any department or research role?


    The offer was enough to make anyone’s skin crawl. This was basically having…


    Gary beamed with pride. “So, what do you think? This should be more than enough to repay your favor, right?”


    Back then, he had to personally approach Ariel because of Zach. Now that this opportunity was set, he was letting her know early so she could prepare.