Zi Ye rubbed her forehead, and upon seeing Bran emerge, hurried to ask, "Bran, do you know..."

Bran gazed thoughtfully at the dark circles under her eyes, frowning. "How long has it been since you slept?"

Zi Ye stiffened for a moment, then slumped. "It's all because of the Mecha Competition. I'm practically incapable of taking care of myself."

Bran shook his head and placed a cup of milk in front of her. "Drink this."

Zi Ye was deeply grateful. "Bran, you're such a good person." Saying that, she lifted the milk and downed it in big gulps, wiping her mouth. "Where's the Teacher?"

Bran smiled faintly. "Sit down for a bit; I'll go fetch him."

Zi Ye nodded and sank onto the sofa, massaging her temples again.

She truly hadn't had a proper night's sleep in days. Whether it was the milk or the sudden relaxation of her nerves, her eyelids grew heavy soon after leaning back, and she drifted off.

A moment later, Bran reappeared, holding a blanket which he gently draped over her. He turned to Tang Wen, who had followed him out, and said, "Perfect. You lost. You're spending the next three days learning piano from me."

Tang Wen shot him a disgruntled side-eye, humming inwardly, and turned his back.

It was because he and Bran had made a bet: Bran said Zi Ye would definitely be asleep by the time he came out. Tang Wen thought that no matter how tired Zi Ye was, she’d maintain some level of alertness outside, but he had miscalculated.

Bran said cheerfully, "Today, let's go meet an old friend, Miss Bai Lanxue. By the time we get back, she should be awake?"

Tang Wen walked over to where Zi Ye was resting, and suddenly, a fluffy little head popped out from the collar of her neck garment. Its round eyes were bright and piercing. Tang Wen reached out a finger to poke its eye, but it nimbly hopped away, glaring at him with cautious eyes.

"This little thing is quite good; I’ll hold onto it for now." Tang Wen struck with lightning speed, snatching up the Little Sprout.

Little Sprout flapped its wings desperately, but he ignored it, squeezing its plump body as if teasing a child, watching it deflate, then letting go, waiting for it to swell back up.

Little Sprout was near tears. Landing in this person's hands was going to be disastrous!

Taking advantage of Tang Wen's inattention, it extended the tiny sprout on its head and covertly zapped a low-level discharge toward Zi Ye, hoping to wake her. But Tang Wen was too quick; with a twist of his hand, Little Sprout's weak electric pulse missed Zi Ye and instead hissed sharply, striking the rose bush in the corner. The rose petals trembled, then floated gently down into the flower pot.

Little Sprout was near tears again.

Tang Wen happily swung it back and forth in his hand before strolling leisurely out the door. /

Zi Ye slept soundly and awoke in the afternoon. After a moment of blank disorientation, she finally recalled where she was. She got up and searched the entire laboratory, finding neither Tang Wen nor Bran. Annoyed, she called Bran’s comms: "Where did you two go? Why didn't you wake me?"

Bran's tone was earnest. "You needed deep rest. Also, Tang Wen said you need to be independent from now on, don't rely on him too much. Oh, and remember to go to class."

Zi Ye paused. "Rely?"

It seemed Tang Wen already knew the purpose of her visit and was deliberately avoiding her.

The engine modifications had progressed so quickly largely due to Tang Wen’s help, and she had intended to thank him today. Hearing Bran say that stung a little.

Bran smiled kindly. "Don't overthink it. Tang Wen isn't rejecting you; it’s just that your foundational knowledge is largely complete. You need to learn independence now."

Zi Ye fell silent.

She had understood this point long ago.

Before, struggling along alone was like being a solitary traveler, constantly stumbling on the road. Then, one day, meeting a traveler with far more experience and knowledge, and receiving his help to smooth the path, made her want to rely on him forever.

But that kind of dependence would only render her incompetent.

She swallowed the bitterness in her mouth, her lips pulling back slightly. "I understand."

Bran nodded. "Your little pet, is it called Little Sprout? A very cute little thing. Tang Wen is quite fond of it and plans to borrow it for a while. Don't worry about it too much for now."

A loud boom echoed in Zi Ye's head. Did Tang Wen know Little Sprout’s secret?

The way he said it, he was clearly intending to keep Little Sprout from helping her.

Tang Wen was frighteningly sharp in this regard!

Zi Ye closed her eyes and thought it over. "Fine. But Little Sprout gets lonely by itself. Could he take care of Dou Zai for me while he’s at it?"

Bran stifled a laugh. "You'll have to ask him that."

Zi Ye wrinkled her nose. "Stingy."

This settled the matter; Zi Ye gave up on finding Tang Wen. She returned to her apartment and remotely checked on the operational status of the Sprout Group’s design department. Jiu Nian was a man of his word; after leaving Cocoa Group, he truly did take the position of designer at Sprout Group and provided her with annual and quarterly plans for review. Black Beard had even hired an assistant for him, and the operation looked quite professional.

Zi Ye pulled up the first design submission he had handed in and suddenly felt the urge to vomit blood.

In an instant, she seemed to grasp the feelings of the CEO of Cocoa Group.

The current work not only retained its previous bizarre style but amplified it. Why did this destroyer, named the "Hungry Wolf," look like a ridiculously cute husky?

Zi Ye ran a system test on the data; thankfully, it was barely classified as a weapon of war.

But who would willingly pilot a destroyer entirely covered in fur that looked like a husky?

What was even more infuriating was the note he specifically added: It can utilize the perverted dyeing technology to implant fur in bulk; it only takes five minutes. Please do not worry.

Damn it, was that what she was worried about?

She was worried about his brain!

Did implanting this much fur in bulk not cost money?

And it was completely impractical!

Jiu Nian whined pathetically, "Don't you think a destroyer with fur is cuter?"

Zi Ye: ...

So, he was another fluff enthusiast?

Seeing her silence, Jiu Nian continued, "And a furred destroyer looks warmer, doesn't it? Don't you think space is too cold?"

At that moment, Zi Ye had only one thought: Great Designer Jiu Nian, thank you for your consideration!

But why did this touching consideration evoke no warmth in her, but rather an urge to kill?

Her violent impulses seemed to be resurging lately.

She closed her optical computer and instinctively asked, "Doudou?"

After a long silence with no response, she remembered: Little Sprout had been borrowed by Tang Wen.

She grabbed a throw pillow, pretending it was Tang Wen, and squeezed it fiercely. "Annoying ghost! If you won't help me, fine, but you took my Little Sprout too! I hate you!"

Just then, Bobo messaged her: "Got time? Meet us at Kaga's Ling Si Mecha Exhibition Hall in ten minutes. I found the bastard who stole our engine!"

Zi Ye jumped up instantly. "Who?"

Bobo didn't answer, just sent back: "We'll talk when you get here."

Zi Ye frantically tidied herself up and rushed to the Ling Si Exhibition Hall at top speed. Bobo and Ling Yin were already at the entrance. The twins had arrived, but Li Chunyu was still missing.

Zi Ye asked urgently, "Who is it? Damn it, I'll go hack him to pieces!"

Ling Yin held her back. "Don't rush. This situation is not favorable to us. Let's wait until Brother Chun’er gets here before discussing it."

Zi Ye let out a heavy breath, then suddenly realized something. "You found out, didn't you?"

Ling Yin grinned sheepishly, looking roguish. "Of course. Bozai is still too naive about these things. I’ve been around the block a few years, ahem."

The twins spoke in unison: "Hmph—"

Ling Yin looked up. "Are you dissatisfied with me?"

At this moment, she was the great benefactor; who dared be dissatisfied?

The twins immediately changed their tune. "No, Big Sister, you're amazing!"

Ling Yin's forehead broke out in black lines.

After a bit of roughhousing, the atmosphere finally felt less heavy. Only Bobo, who understood the situation best, looked as dark as the bottom of a pot, saying nothing.

Li Chunyu had been far away working on a project. After they waited a while, he finally returned and immediately asked, "What's the situation?"

Bobo said grimly, "That team is called Philerus. I checked their results; they barely passed the semi-finals. There are ten people on the team, and the captain is a boy named Arles."

Except for Ling Yin, the other four exchanged bewildered glances—Arles? They had never even heard the name.

Ling Yin explained, "That's why I think this isn't about them having a grudge against you, but about them coveting your team's capabilities. After the Out-of-Sheath semi-finals, the officials recognized you as one of the top ten excellent teams."

Zi Ye clenched her fists, her knuckles clicking. These people were utterly shameless!

Especially that damned Bai Wenton, whom she had recruited!

They must have approached other teams, and when the others rejected him, she had let him in, leading to this grave consequence.

Zi Ye again had the urge to drag Bai Wenton out and give him a severe beating.

How could she have trusted him!

This incident served as a stark warning: one must never let down their guard against others.

Otherwise, in this world where the strong prey on the weak, dying a few times wouldn't be enough.

The more she thought about it, the more terrifying it became.

But for now, she could only apologize. "I'm sorry; this theft is entirely my fault."

The twins quickly interjected, "It's not your fault. We all agreed to let him join. Even if you hadn't agreed then, they would have stolen it some other way."

"That might be true," Bobo walked over to Philerus's showcased mecha. "Look at the submission time on the plaque—it was exactly five minutes before ours. I suspect they were fully prepared and timed their submission perfectly."

Zi Ye anxiously urged, "Let's go complain to the organizers! How can they get away with this!"

Bobo shook his head. "This is tricky."

Li Chunyu countered, "Why is it tricky? We built that engine; it has the Out-of-Sheath mark on it, and we know the data inside out. We have all the evidence."

Bobo’s face was as dark as deep water. "He stole all of our data!"

All their data!!!

Everyone on the Out-of-Sheath team was stunned silent!

Bai Wenton had given all of their data to Philerus?