Chapter 118

Losing a report was a major mistake.

Lillian's face paled.

Her voice shot up an octave.

"Sophia Sullivan, how dare you say that? All our group's reports were entered into the system! Not a single one is missing!"

She pointed at the computer screen.

"If you don't believe me, check the entry log. The computer might be infected, but this list is still here."

She spoke with deliberate slowness.

"Don't you dare try to pin this on me."

Sophia let out a soft, indifferent "Oh."

"They weren't lost because when I picked them up, I flipped through them. I noticed the date was from that day, so I put them back."

Lillian sneered.

"Then what gives you the right to say I lost them? You saw them on the floor, picked them up, and put them back. You're trying to have it both ways!"

"First," Sophia said, her tone even. "I only stated the fact that I found the reports. I didn't say who lost them. No one else jumped to that conclusion either. Your reaction is excessive."

"You implied it between the lines!"

"Second," Sophia's voice rose slightly. "If you think I'm lying, you can find that specific report and check if there's a footprint on the cover."

Lillian lifted her chin defiantly.

"Paper reports are destroyed after entry. Didn't you know that?"

"It's fine," Sophia replied calmly. "The lab has surveillance. Pull the footage from between 11 AM and 12 PM the day before yesterday. Everything will be clear."

Lillian's expression froze.

She did indeed see a report with a footprint on it on the desk that day.

She had just finished entering data and was relieved to have found that missing report in time, promptly entering it as well.

Professor Quincy Evans took one look at Lillian's face and knew Sophia was telling the truth.

He quickly stepped in to mediate.

"It's all a minor misunderstanding. There's no need to argue about who's right or wrong. The most urgent thing right now is to recover the lost data. Let's focus on solving the problem, alright?"

He cleared his throat gently.

"Sophia, you mentioned earlier that the AI search requires a large number of keywords? And about a tenth of them? This... this…"

Professor Evans trailed off, unable to continue.

Who could possibly remember that many?

Alexander Laurent, however, looked directly at Sophia.

"You looked at the contents when you picked up the report?"

"Yes," Sophia nodded.

"How much do you remember?"

"All of it."

A collective gasp went through the room.

Alexander's expression remained calm.

"The data from this report can serve as keywords for the AI search, correct?"

"Correct."

"Alright," Alexander opened his laptop. "Recite them. I'll take notes."

Sophia began.

"Thickness, unit um, spec value 25.0-26.0, test method…"

"MD tear resistance, unit g, spec value 62, test method…"

Professor Quincy Evans and Dr. Zoe Langley exchanged a look.

She can actually recite it?!

Professor Evans' expression shifted from doubt to shock, finally settling on sheer admiration.

Her memory is unbelievable!

Sophia spoke for nearly twenty minutes.

Alexander recorded one thousand, one hundred, and ninety-two individual data points.

He imported them all into the AI cloud system.

He hit enter, initiating the precise search.

In less than ten seconds, a massive amount of correlated data populated the screen.

Dr. Langley excitedly called over the IT technician.

"Sir! Come quick, look! Is this it…"

The technician sat down at the computer and worked for a moment.

"Data is definitely recovering, but I can't be sure if it's exactly what you need. Someone will have to verify it."

Lillian immediately walked to the computer.

The technician stood up and yielded his seat.

Time ticked by.

Dr. Langley asked anxiously, "How is it? How much has been recovered?"

"...Almost all of it," Lillian bit her lower lip, no trace of joy on her face.

Dr. Langley, unable to stand it, checked herself and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank heavens! We recovered ninety-nine percent!"

She linked her arm with Sophia's.

"We owe you big time this round! Otherwise, we'd be looking at two weeks of overtime! This data was a nightmare to compile."

"Truly an MIT student. Impressive brainpower," the IT technician gave a thumbs-up.

Professor Evans nodded repeatedly, his eyes full of approval.

"Absolutely, absolutely! Little Sophia saved the day this time!"

He suddenly sighed, a hint of teasing in his tone.

"No wonder they say Professor Laurent has a sharp eye. Snatching up such a promising seedling ahead of time. Truly impressive!"

His words were serious, but his gaze was meaningful.

Alexander's expression didn't change, as if he hadn't caught the subtext.

But the hand at his side unconsciously clenched.

A second later, startled by his own loss of composure, he took a deep breath and slowly relaxed his hand.

Yet some things, once stirred, were already in disarray…

Professor Evans clicked his tongue in amazement, staring at Sophia's head as if it were an alien artifact.

After a long moment, he blurted out,

"...Sophia, have you ever competed on 'Brain Games'?"

Sophia: "..."

Dr. Langley and Professor Evans: "Hahahaha—" Just laughter!

Only Lillian's gaze towards Sophia was icy and gloomy, like two bottomless black holes.

Dr. Langley observed Sophia's speechless expression, noticed Alexander's resigned look, saw Professor Evans scrutinizing Lillian, and caught the hostility in Lillian's eyes…

It seemed things wouldn't be boring from now on.

Tomorrow, she'd bring two bags of sunflower seeds from home.

...

The lab computer virus was an incident that could be interpreted lightly or seriously.

At best, it was an accident. At worst, it was espionage.

Alexander stated, "The source must be identified."

The IT technician replied, "Don't worry, the university will investigate too."

From the incident's start to the data recovery, the entire day was spent dealing with it.

By the time all the details were handled, it was already dark outside.

With the matter resolved, everyone headed home.

Alexander had to stay behind in the lab to tie up loose ends.

Sophia went back alone.

Fortunately, it was close, just a few minutes' walk.

She walked in the door and flopped onto the sofa.

She lay flat, stretched luxuriously, and let out a contented sigh.

"Ding-dong—"

Her WeChat chimed.

Sophia forced her eyes open, unlocked her phone, and checked.

It was a message from Alexander.

[Thank you for today. The virus source has been identified.]

Sophia rolled over and sat up abruptly, typing a reply:

[That fast?]