Chapter 409

Hannah Morse stared blankly at the screen.

"How could this be?"

Marcus Lawrence scrolled through the list again, his brow furrowed. "Don't panic. Let's check the first, second, and third prizes."

"...Okay."

Ten minutes later—

Hannah Morse was even more confused. "I've gone through the entire list five times. We're not on it."

This meant—

They hadn't won anything from the Grand Prize down to the third prize.

Marcus Lawrence fell silent, his frown deepening.

Suddenly, Miao shot to her feet. "Impossible! There must be a mistake!"

Marcus Lawrence analyzed calmly. "I know luck plays a role. No one can guarantee a win. But... this is too extreme."

Even if they didn't get the Grand Prize, they should have at least received an Honorable Mention.

How could their names be completely absent from the list?

"Sophia, what do you think?"

They both turned to look at Sophia Sullivan.

She had remained silent since Miao opened the list.

"...It is very strange."

Hannah Morse clapped her hands, suddenly feeling vindicated. "See! Sophia thinks so too!"

"But... the list is already published. What can we do? We can't just go to the organizers and say we don't accept the results, right?"

She was just venting. Common sense said it was impossible.

If every team that didn't win made a fuss, it would be chaos.

Sophia said, "Here's what we'll do. I'll contact the school administration first. Ideally, we get our project report back. We need to review it ourselves for any fundamental issues."

"Like data fabrication or deviation from the topic."

A competition rule stated that certain violations would result in an automatic zero.

A zero score naturally meant no award.

...

Although it was winter break, someone was on duty at the school's administrative office.

The staff member listened to Sophia's request and replied bluntly, "That's correct. The reports were submitted to the school first. But the school has no authority over them."

"Simply put, the school just collected the reports and forwarded them, untouched, to the competition judging panel."

She emphasized four words—

Untouched!

Sophia asked, "Can we apply to have the report returned?"

"I'm not sure about that. But if you want your report back, you should contact the organizers, not trouble the school."

Trouble...

The word was deliberately rude.

Sophia smiled. "First, I asked about the application process, not demanded the report directly from the school."

"Second, I came to the school first because the reports were originally submitted here. To get them back, shouldn't we go through the school as the intermediary?"

"Considering this, I asked. Is there a problem?"

"How did that become me 'troubling' the school?"

"Is asking about the procedure not allowed?"

"The school collected and submitted the reports. Now, to retrieve them, I shouldn't contact the school?"

"Even shopping has customer service. Does the school start things and not finish them? Isn't that irresponsible?"

At this point, Sophia knew further questions were useless.

Before the other person could respond, she said coolly, "Then I won't disturb your streaming. Goodbye."

The staff member stiffened, instinctively checking her computer screen.

It was minimized and hidden. How did she...?

A colleague watching nearby muttered, "Why did you have to provoke her? Her logic, debate skills, and eloquence are top-tier."

"That student has a sharp tongue. Who is she? Do you know her?"

"Everyone in the School of Life Sciences knows Sophia Sullivan. The powerhouse who built her own smart lab with two partners."

"She's published in 'Science' and 'Nature' sub-journals. The school's entire academic output for next year is riding on her. How do you not know her?!"

"I've heard the name Sophia Sullivan... but I didn't know she looked like that..."

This was just great!

"But, she's not that amazing, is she? Published all those impressive papers, but can't handle a small-time student competition?"

"She said it herself just now. Her team didn't win any awards."

The colleague gave her a sidelong glance, his tone chilly. "Why do you think she came to the administration?"

"W-why?"

"She said she wants the project report back. Think about the deeper reason! She must want to investigate why they didn't win."

"Didn't win, so what? Why investigate?! Maybe she just can't accept losing!"

"That's possible. But another possibility is more likely."

"What possibility?"

"She wants the report back because she suspects it was tampered with! She wants to get to the bottom of this!"

"Pfft— who has time to mess with her report? That's ridiculous!"

"Yeah, who would tamper with her report? The problem is either with the judging or the submission process."

"If I were you, I wouldn't be laughing right now."

Because if the investigation revealed the problem occurred during submission, the school would be responsible.

Further investigation would implicate everyone who handled the reports.

Which happened to include their administrative office!

So, was it still funny?

The staff member's face paled. "This... this is a false accusation!"

"Whether it's false or not will be clear once she investigates."

...

Back at the lab—

Hannah Morse immediately approached her. "Sophia, what did the school say?"

"Useless."

Hannah Morse 's smile vanished, her eyes dimming.

Marcus Lawrence asked, "Can we get the report back?"

Sophia replied, "The school said contacting them is pointless. We need to go to the organizers."

"What do we do next?"

Sophia said, "The trip wasn't wasted. It at least strengthened my resolve to get that report back."

Perhaps the answer lay within it!

Hannah Morse busied herself on the computer. "Sophia! I found the organizers' contact number on the official website!"

"Try calling it."

"Okay."

Marcus Lawrence immediately took out his phone and dialed the number.

After a series of rings—

"Sorry, the number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later..."

Sophia said, "Try again later."

Marcus Lawrence nodded. "Okay."

Afternoon—

"Any luck? Did they answer?" Hannah Morse came down from the lab bench, asking eagerly.

Marcus Lawrence's gaze turned cold.