Annoyed, Sophia Shaw simply blocked the number.

Old Master Sloan saw this but remained impassive.

’But with students,’ he thought, ’the more exceptional they are, the stricter you have to be.’

He grunted. "Don’t think you’re so great just because you can say all that. We’re going to The Vorlan Wastes to conduct an experiment next. Whether or not you can pull it off—that’s what shows real skill!"

"Don’t let a few years of being pampered make you unable to handle a little hardship. I don’t want you getting there only to start crying!"

"Don’t worry. If you don’t cry, I won’t cry," Sophia Shaw promised.

Helpless but fond, Old Master Sloan tapped her on the nose. "You little rascal!"

Only with Old Master Sloan and Mrs. Sawyer did Sophia Shaw naturally let her cute, girlish side show.

Before leaving, Sophia Shaw and Old Master Sloan went to see one of Seraphina Vaughn’s performances.

Having not seen her for a few months, they found Seraphina Vaughn to be much more composed. Although she wasn’t the principal violinist, her every move already carried the air of a master.

Sophia Shaw was especially happy to see Seraphina Vaughn’s tremendous progress.

"Faye."

After coming off stage, Seraphina Vaughn and Sophia Shaw embraced.

"Congratulations! Your progress is astonishing," Sophia Shaw praised her wholeheartedly.

Seraphina Vaughn smiled bashfully. "I have to thank you, and Mrs. Sawyer. The teacher she recommended may be young, but she’s a fantastic instructor."

Seraphina Vaughn pointed to a girl with a cold demeanor standing not far away, wearing a metal mask.

The girl was about the same age as Seraphina Vaughn. She hadn’t been on stage, only doing work behind the scenes.

"Since she’s your teacher, why doesn’t she perform on stage?" Sophia Shaw asked, puzzled.

Seraphina Vaughn shrugged. "I’ve asked her, but she wouldn’t say."

"Anyway, I’m heading back to practice. My teacher is super strict!"

Sophia Shaw and Old Master Sloan were heading to The Vorlan Wastes and wanted to have a meal with Seraphina Vaughn before they left.

The two of them waited at the door of Seraphina Vaughn’s practice room. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

While waiting for Seraphina, they discussed their plans and made quite a few improvements.

Just as they were wrapping up their discussion, a video call came in from Levin Sawyer.

The three of them chatted for a bit.

"Faye." Just as the chat was ending, another face appeared on screen.

It was Jaden Rhodes.

"Brother Jaden."

Although surprised to see Levin Sawyer with Jaden Rhodes, Sophia Shaw still greeted him politely.

Jaden Rhodes just smiled, his eyes curving. "Take good care of yourself out there."

"Okay."

Sophia Shaw didn’t chat long and ended the video call.

When she turned, however, she saw the metal-masked face behind her, her gaze fixed on the screen.

"Hello," Sophia Shaw said, rising to her feet to greet her.

The girl snapped out of her daze and gave an apologetic smile.

She nodded and left.

Still, Sophia Shaw caught the hint of sorrow in her eyes that she couldn’t hide in time.

’Could she have some sort of special relationship with Levin Sawyer?’

Sophia Shaw didn’t know much about Levin Sawyer’s love life, only that he seemed to really like Sylvia Jacobs.

’Next time, I’ll have to properly interrogate my senior,’ she thought.

「Several days later.」

Yellow sand filled the sky. Like a white line being pulled across the horizon, it advanced in layered curtains of sand.

It blotted out the sun and sky wherever it passed, burying what little greenery there was under a layer of grit.

A dozen or so minutes later, the sandstorm slowly subsided, leaving only a whisper of a broken breeze.

The world was a hazy gray expanse between heaven and earth.

A patch of flat sand suddenly shifted, and a moment later, someone pushed themselves up into a sitting position.

Countless grains of sand cascaded off her body, revealing a woman’s long ponytail.

Sophia Shaw casually shook the sand from her head, picked up the pen and intercom from the ground, and said, "Repeat the last set of data."

The few junior colleagues who had come with Sophia Shaw were covered in dust. Seeing her dive back into work so quickly, they didn’t dare to slack off and immediately got to their positions.

Before long, they wrapped up.

Spitting sand out of her mouth, Sophia Shaw spoke with Old Master Sloan. "The new model detector is functioning normally, the spacesuit is undamaged, and communications equipment is clear. However, considering the differences between desert conditions and those on another planet, I recommend upgrading the detector’s performance by another order of magnitude..."

She and Old Master Sloan discussed several improvement plans for the new detector.

On the other end, Old Master Sloan asked, "Do you still have the stamina for more? If you do, I’ll contact a few experts, and we can hold a meeting."

This kind of meeting wasn’t something that would end in an hour or two; it could very well last for over ten hours.

Sophia Shaw’s eyes lit up. "No problem."

A Mi-171 helicopter was parked on The Vorlan Wastes. Sophia Shaw gestured for her junior colleagues to board it while she walked toward a Dongfeng Mengshi 4698 parked nearby.

"Senior Shaw, let me ride with you," her junior colleague Lance Abbott said, running after her.

After spending a few days together, Lance Abbott had developed a profound admiration for Sophia Shaw.

But he was still worried about her traveling in the vehicle alone.

"No need." Sophia Shaw shook her head and stepped up into the vehicle.

She closed the door.

Opened her laptop.

Connected to the signal.

Opened the meeting software.

All in one smooth sequence.

Lance Abbott saw the intense focus on her profile and quietly stepped aside.

’When Senior Shaw works, she even forgets about herself.’

’It’s hard not to worry.’

But he also knew Sophia Shaw disliked being disturbed, so he could only walk over to the driver’s seat and give the driver detailed instructions.

Still worried, he took out a piece of paper filled with reminders and handed it to the driver.

Old Master Sloan had given it to him before they left, telling him to follow every instruction to the letter.

Old Master Sloan’s standards for Senior Shaw were terrifyingly high, but his affection for her was just as genuine.

He was afraid she would get too absorbed in her work, so he had given him instructions again and again.

After the helicopter took off, the Dongfeng Mengshi also began to drive slowly and steadily out into the vast wasteland.

When the meeting ended more than ten hours later, the vibrant energy on Sophia Shaw’s face was even more radiant.

She ate a simple meal, wrote up a summary, and then finally lay down to sleep in the space at the back of the vehicle.

By the time she returned to the temporary base on the outskirts of The Vorlan Wastes, Old Master Sloan was already waiting there with a group of students.

"Professor." Sophia Shaw leaped from the vehicle, her expression triumphant. "See? I didn’t lie. No crying from me."

Old Master Sloan’s eyes bulged playfully. "No one saw you! Who knows if you cried or not!"

The two of them bickered for a while.

Even though they had grown accustomed to their back-and-forth over the past few days, the junior colleagues still couldn’t quite accept Old Master Sloan’s attitude toward Sophia Shaw.

They had followed Old Master Sloan for so many years and had never seen him be so approachable with anyone.

In their memory, the professor had always been incredibly serious, to the point of being severe.

Forget joking with people; he had never even cracked a smile.

He always had a stern look on his face that was enough to make one’s heart pound.

Eager to further optimize the ideas she’d developed on the road, Sophia Shaw grabbed Old Master Sloan and started pulling him toward the base’s laboratory.

Old Master Sloan pulled her back. "Don’t be in such a hurry to work on the project. Someone’s here to see you. If we don’t send him on his way soon, he’s going to turn to stone from waiting."

He jutted his chin toward a figure in the distance.

Sophia Shaw initially thought he was talking about Levin Sawyer, but when she looked up, she saw a chiseled face completely different from his.

Vincent Grant.

Seeing Vincent Grant, Sophia Shaw was visibly stunned.

She was surprised he had managed to find her here.

Old Master Sloan gave her a meaningful pat on the shoulder and led the other students away.

Only then did Vincent Grant slowly walk over.

The dust and harsh weather had etched lines of hardship onto his face, masking some of his noble air and making him look slightly disheveled.

"You came all the way out here... why didn’t you tell me?" he asked in a low voice, a rare note of grievance in his tone. "I’ve been looking for you."

"Is something wrong?"

If Vincent Grant hadn’t shown up, Sophia Shaw would have almost forgotten he had even called her.

"Did something happen to Cedric or Grandma?"

At the mention of those two, concern finally showed on Sophia Shaw’s face.

Cedric Grant was her son, after all. Annoyed as she might get with him, Sophia Shaw still had a fundamental affection for him.

As for Grandma, she was even more important to her.