The Double or more Life of the Fake Heiress (Mirabella) novel Chapter 1196

"Hey, Hank."nDr. King and Calvin both nodded, giving a polite nod as well.nWeiyong skipped the small talk and didn't bother introducing Zane and the students. Instead, he led everyone straight to the lab.n"That guy's pretty standoffish, didn't even give us a glance," Jessie whispered to Mirabella as they walked.nMirabella, almost at the back with Jessie, raised an eyebrow and glanced ahead. "It's normal," she said casually, "he's not here to chat with us."nResearchers often think they're a cut above.nJessie pouted, "Still feels a bit off, since we're here with a project."n"If it's our project, they'll have to change their tune eventually," Mirabella replied calmly, giving Jessie a reassuring pat on the shoulder.nJessie caught Mirabella's drift, shooting her a knowing look. "You’ve got a point, sis."nMirabella smiled.nBefore long, they were led into a sprawling lab.nInside, researchers in lab coats were busy, surrounded by cutting-edge biomimetic computing gear, way more advanced than anything Mirabella's team had. The huge crystalline screen on the wall was downright impressive.nMirabella took it all in, slightly taken aback.nHank quickly laid out the lab rules, then got right to the point. He turned to Dr. King, the school's liaison, and asked, "Got the detailed proposal from your school? Hand it over."nDr. King nodded and signaled to Zane to pass it over.nThe proposal, penned by Linden and fine-tuned by Zane, was neatly tucked in Zane’s folder. He handed it to Hank with a respectful nod.nHank, heading up this branch project, started flipping through it right there. It wasn't long, so he finished it quickly.nBut by the end, he frowned, closed the folder, and looked straight at Zane. "Didn't I ask for a detailed proposal? This just skims the surface and leaves out the system core."nMirabella glanced up at him.nZane paused, then quickly said, "This is as detailed as we can get for now since we've only wrapped up the first phase. Naturally, it's just a broad outline."n"I need a step-by-step breakdown," Hank explained, "so our researchers can sync up efficiently and not waste time."nFor researchers, time is precious.nThey don't want to squander it on endless adjustments, which could slow down the whole project.nZane looked at the proposal in Hank's hands, but before he could speak, Calvin stepped in, "Sorry, Hank. If the proposal's not up to scratch, we'll tweak it again and try to meet your needs."nHank saw Calvin's sincere approach and nodded, "No problem, we can revise it after today's experiment."nCalvin grinned slightly, "Yeah, these kids are new to this kind of project. They're still finding their feet, so it's understandable if it's a bit rough."