Aria led n to the Stars Group’s research center.


    Recognizing Aria, the security guard didn’t stop her.


    Just as the two of them were about to head inside, a voice stopped them. “Who are you? What’s your business here?”


    n turned around, a bit surprised to see the speaker. “Carney?”


    They all knew Carney Pierce was at the Stars Group. n had mentally prepared for a possible encounter-he just didn’t expect it to happen this soon.


    Carney was equally shocked to see n. He immediately frowned and demanded, “What are you doing in the Stars Group? Would he even allow this?”


    Apparently, he was referring to Adrian.


    n felt indignant on Adrian’s behalf. “He would never stop us from interning atpanies!”


    Carney sneered and fired off rapid questions: “Did you sign the contract? Are you really interning at the Stars Group? Even if you did, do you think an intern can just waltz into a ce this important?”


    He red. “Who brought you here?”


    n instinctively nced at Aria, only to find her standing there quietly, looking like she was just watching a show unfold.


    Little did n know, before their arrival, Adrian had specifically sought out Aria to talk about Carney. He warned her that Carney would likely make some harsh remarks and advised her not to intervene-just let n handle it himself.


    Aria remained silent, leaving n to answer for himself. “Ms. Saxon brought me here,” he replied.


    Carney eyed Aria suspiciously and asked, “Ms. Saxon? A professor from Mandino University?” Then he turned to the security guard and demanded, “Since when could professors from the Stars Group just bring random people into the research center?”


    The security guard said impassively, “This is Ms. Saxon, the board director.”


    Carney’s expression froze-he clearly hadn’t expected this.


    Of course, he knew the board director surnamed Saxon-thergest shareholder of the Stars Group, who had single- handedly invested a fortune in the quantum superbrain project.


    Carney couldn’t believe it-n actually knew someone this influential.


    Carney forced himself to protest, “Even if she’s the board director, she can’t just bring people in here as she pleases!”


    The security guard was stunned, wondering, ‘Is this guy out of his mind? How dare he talk back to the board director? Is he trying to get himself fired?”


    The security guard immediately retorted, “She’s the one who signs our paychecks, not you. Of course, we follow her orders.”


    Stumped, Carney turned to Aria and insisted, “Ms. Saxon, n cannot enter.”


    “Carney, I’ll take full responsibility for the person I brought with me,” Aria said calmly.


    Seeing that Carney was about to say more, Aria had already lost all patience. She turned on her heel and strode inside, calling over her shoulder, “n, with me.”


    n cast Carney a final nce before hurrying after her.


    Carney scowled in disapproval, convinced Aria was being reckless and unfair to everyone else.


    Grumbling under his breath, Carney followed them inside.


    As the metal doors slid open, n froze in awe.


    The interior featured a honeb structure, with the control room partitioned into several zones. Holographic projections floated and shifted in midair.


    At the very center stood the quantum superbrain’s mainframe, its imposing exterior resembling a high-tech fortress.


    During break time, few researchers were present.


    n didn’t get to see everyone operating the various equipment as he had expected.


    The medical robotics project is nearingpletion, and two researchers who defected from the Cole Group have now joined the quantum superbrain project.


    The two colleagues spotted Aria and greeted her with a grin.


    One of them joked, “Ms. Saxon, where did you poach this one from? Why not recruit a few more female colleagues? We’re really short on women here.”


    Another chimed in, “But this one’s not bad-quite the looker, actually.”


    n stood there, still stunned.


    Aria chuckled and said, “I’ll snap them up when I meet them.”


    Aria chatted with everyone for a bit. Carney stood a short distance away, glowering at them with a stony expression.


    He couldn’t fathom why no one batted an eye when Aria brought an outsider in here.


    Aria snapped her fingers in front of n, pulling him out of his daze. “Come on, let’s check out the Brain-Inspired Computing Team.”


    “Awesome, I can’t wait!” n’s excitement grew.


    Several high-performanceputers were hard at work in theb, their screens aglow with data and calctions.


    The massive disy screen showed the skeletal outlines of a model still taking shape.