“What is that?”

“Looks like some kind of lab equipment! And it’s being delivered by foreign engineers!”

“Do you think they’re just delivering it? After it’s installed, they’ll need to test it as well.”

“I remember this lab wasn’t used before. How did such expensive equipment show up all of a sudden?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Someone must be using it now!”

“Wow, they must be loaded. That thing looks super expensive!”

As he listened to the discussions around him, Hank’s expression grew darker and darker. Yasmine pushed her way to the front, staring at the equipment in disbelief.

It was definitely a CPRT, but not quite the same. This one was half the size of the two the academy already had, and… She quickly glanced it over. All the buttons were touch sensitive. Plus, the display screen was nearly twice as big.

“Is… isn’t this the latest CPRT model?” Hank’s voice almost cracked. It wasn’t just more advanced than what they had–it was more refined and fully equipped. He rushed forward and demanded, “Where did you get this?”

Miranda replied calmly. “And what does that have to do with you?”

Hank stood there, speechless.

Madison, who was munching on a cookie, smiled cheerfully. “Didn’t you tell us to buy one ourselves yesterday? Well, we bought it! Surprised? Unexpected? You must be happy for us, right?”

Hank still couldn’t speak. He couldn’t even fake a smile.

Yasmine shook her head, muttering, “Impossible… Even if they wanted to buy it, there’s no way it could’ve arrived this fast!”

Sebastian chimed in, “Haven’t you heard of something called pre-ordering?”

“No… it can’t be…” Yasmine couldn’t believe it. It was such an expensive piece of equipment. How could they just buy it like that?

But the real blow came later that afternoon when a notice titled “Disciplinary Announcement” was posted on the academy’s homepage.

The content read:

“Upon investigation, final-year graduate student Joli Clifford was found to have deliberately monopolized the lab, severely wasting academic resources. As a result, a formal reprimand has been issued. Let this serve as a warning to all students and faculty.”

Sophie slammed her cup down after reading the announcement. Furious, she stormed into Joseph’s office, towering over him.

“Mr. Banks, shouldn’t you have told me in advance before punishing one of my students?”

Joseph remained unfazed, as though he had anticipated this confrontation. “The academy made its decision according to the proper procedures,” he said. “There’s no obligation to inform the mentor of the student.”

Sophie scoffed. “Now you’re talking to me about procedures? How hypocritical can you be?”

“Sophie Xander, watch your tone!” Joseph narrowed his eyes. “I’m still the associate dean. Just because you’ve produced a few minor academic achievements in recent years doesn’t mean you can walk all over me!”

His voice turned cold. “Let me ask you this–if Joli wasn’t punished, who should’ve been punished instead? Have you thought about that?”

Sophie stiffened.

‘Don’t think the administration hasn’t noticed your little tricks. They’ve just been turning a blind eye because of your hard work over the years. Now that this has been exposed, sacrificing Joli so you can walk away unscathed is a pretty fair deal, don’t you think?”

With just a few sentences, Sophie was forced into silence.

Back in the dorm room, Joli was reading through the announcement with a blank expression.

Theodore stood by nervously as his fists clenched tightly. He wanted to say something but didn’t dare to. He opened his mouth several times only to close it again.

Suddenly, Joli asked, “Did Miranda’s group really buy the CPRT themselves? The latest model?”

“Huh?” Theodore blinked. He was caught off guard. This wasn’t the reaction he expected.

Joli’s face lit up with excitement. “Come on. Let’s go check it out.”

“Wait, what?” But… you were just reprimanded.

Outside the lab, the crowd had already dispersed, Miranda and the others were nowhere to be seen. Inside, a few foreign engineers were still adjusting the equipment.

The door was open, so Joli politely asked if they could enter. After getting permission, he walked in with Theodore. As they approached the machine, Joli’s eyes filled with admiration.

“It really is the latest generation… I didn’t expect it to have so many improvements…”

He instinctively reached out to touch it but quickly restrained himself, pulling his hand back at the last moment.