Era City.
With the A-NO herb in hand, Juniper rushed straight to the research institute.
"The A-NO herb?" The institute''s director pushed his sses up his nose, peering curiously at the utterly unremarkable-looking sprout in the flowerpot. "It was said to have gone extinct over a decade ago. It''s incredible that someone managed to cultivate it."
“Of course it is.” Juniper tossed her backpack to Shanley and proudly tilted her chin up, a smile gracing her wless face. "It all depends on whose sister we''re talking about."
Hearing that, the director''s eyes widened in surprise. "Oh? Your sister was the one who cultivated this herb?" he asked eagerly. "Which giant in the world of pharmacology is she?"
The conditions for cultivating this nt were notoriously strict; even if every requirement was met, sess was never guaranteed. Let alone growing a specimen that looked this healthy.
"Oh," Juniper pursed her pink lips, taking a slow sip of water. "She''s the one I mentioned before. The one with the mental capacity of a six-year-old."
"Huh?" The director''s face was a mask of utter confusion. His mouth moved with difficulty. “The mental capacity of a six-year-old... and she cultivated such a priceless medicinal herb?"
"Yep,” Juniper replied,zily blinking her crystalline eyes as she cradled her cup. The director stood frozen, unable to process what he''d just heard.
Her oldest brother, Jimmie, was a superstar in film, television, and music. Her second brother, Harold, was a member of the Global Medical Alliance. Her third brother, Melvin, was a world-famous race car driver. Ebony Fox was a high-ranking instructor at the Huntsman Institute. And now this sister, whatever number she was, had the mind of a child but could cultivate a rare herb.
And then there was Juniper herself, the ultimate wildcard. Good at everything, a master of anything she tried.
Seriously. What were these siblings made of?
The director found himself growing more and more curious about the kind of parents who could produce such a lineup of extraordinary children.
“Juniper, this herb is precious and difficult to cultivate. To ensure we don''t lose it, the cultivation process will take at least six months," the director said, his tone turning serious.
Six months? Juniper''s brow furrowed. Ebony Fox had a month at most, and that was only with the medication she was using to keep her condition stable.
"No," Juniper said, shaking her head, her voice turning cold. "Five days. I need results within five days."
After cultivating the herb, she still needed to mix it with otherponents to create the antidote And the antidote itself would require testing to ensure it was safe for use. The entire process would take close to a month.
"That''s too short," the director said, shaking his head regretfully. "It''s just not possible."
"I''ll do it myself,” Juniper stated after a pause. She looked at Shanley, her voice firm. "You handle getting me out of school."
She''d been taking so much time offtely that Tucker was already annoyed with her.
If she asked for more, she''d never hear the end of it.
"Done." Shanley nodded, then
nced at Felton. "Donate a new batch of equipment to Professor Tucker''s tab. And tell him there are severat internationalputer science conferencesing up set him to write Juniper a leave request for two weeks."
Juniper''s vision went dark. A direct bribe? That might work on someone else, but not
on Tucker. Not a chance!
Sure enough, Jess Jess than five minutester, Felton ran back, looking miserable He covered the p receiver and whispered, "Boss Tucker said Ms. Payne has taken too much time off. He''s not approving it."
"Give me the phone." Juniper pinched the bridge of her nose and took the phone from him.
"Interested in learning those programming techniques fromst weekend?" she asked casually.
"...Yes,” Tucker finally ground out through clenched teeth.
"Then get me a two-week leave of absence," Juniper said. "When I get back, I''ll teach you whatever you want to learn."