Professor Lane was stunned.

He couldn’t understand why Chester Stone was insisting he look at the application materials of someone who hadn’t even finished her undergraduate degree.

No matter how you spun it, someone like that could only handle minor, peripheral tasks. They were completely unqualified to enter the core of rocket manufacturing, let alone take on something as crucial as sending a satellite into space.

But he still pulled out Sophia Shaw’s file.

Sophia Shaw’s file was much thinner than Joanna Sherman’s. He could imagine how simple and uninteresting her resume was without even looking.

Feeling wronged, Professor Lane was unwilling to look at it himself. He tossed it to Professor Yellen beside him. "You look at it and give Mr. Stone a report!"

’That man, Stone, is deliberately putting on airs!’

What Professor Lane didn’t know was that Chester Stone was not someone who put on airs. If he hadn’t been absolutely furious, he never would have spoken so bluntly to people!

Professor Yellen slowly opened the file, intending only to glance at it.

But with the very first glance, his pupils dilated. "Professor Lane... this..."

"Nothing to write home about, is it?"

Professor Lane wore an "I-told-you-so" expression.

Professor Yellen was speechless. He passed the file to Professor Lawson next to him, and they looked at it together.

The more they read, the darker their expressions became.

’What have we done?’

’Treated such an important person like she was worthless?’

’Sophia Shaw...’ 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

They both turned to look at Sophia Shaw in unison.

My god, was this the person who co-founded Lead Aerospace with Levin Sawyer? The true pioneer of private enterprise rocket launches?

It was widely rumored she was a foreigner, but it turns out... she wasn’t!

And Sophia Shaw was so young!

To have accomplished so much at such a young age...

And she hadn’t dropped out of her undergraduate program; she had been personally selected by Old Master Sloan!

Seeing the two of them silent for a long time, the other professors gathered around.

Before they could get a clear look, a hand snatched the file and slapped it down in front of Professor Lane.

"See for yourself!"

Professor Lane: "..."

Though displeased with Shane Grant’s attitude, he put on his glasses and began to read.

The moment he started reading... Professor Lane froze as if his pressure points had been hit.

His eyes were wide with disbelief.

’How is this possible!’

’Sophia Shaw is the founder of Lead Aerospace, a direct disciple of Old Master Sloan, and the pioneer of rocket launches!’

’And he had looked down on such a person!’

Professor Lane remembered their first meeting. He had dismissed her the moment he heard she hadn’t finished her degree. His face burned as if he had just been viciously slapped.

It was scorching hot!

She had completed the entire four-year curriculum in just one year of college. The only reason she didn’t have a diploma was because Old Master Sloan had been in a hurry to recruit her, and besides, she didn’t need one!

’And what had he said about her?’

’Lacking in ability? Not meeting professional standards?’

’With her abilities, he couldn’t hope to catch up even if he lived ten more lifetimes!’

’The shame! The utter shame of it all!’

The more Professor Lane read, the redder his face became. Sensing Jacobs’s gaze from across the room, he wished he could dig a hole and hide in it.

Jacobs walked over, collected the resume, and said softly, yet deliberately, "A moment ago, I heard someone say that choosing Joanna Sherman would reduce losses for Cathan."

"What a huge loss was averted indeed."

Professor Lane: "..."

’Compared to Sophia Shaw, how could Joanna Sherman possibly be considered a talent? A mediocrity, maybe.’

’He had praised a mediocrity to the skies while belittling a true genius as worthless!’

Professor Lane was filled with regret and humiliation, wishing he could just go die of shame.

’A lifetime of prestige, utterly ruined!’

Joanna Sherman only saw Jacobs murmuring something to Professor Lane, whose face had turned grim, but she didn’t know what was happening.

She looked at Professor Yellen and Professor Lawson.

Professor Yellen and Professor Lawson just shook their heads.

They couldn’t bring themselves to say anything.

’It was shameful. Utterly shameful.’

If this were revealed in public, the eight of them—the "experts"—would instantly become jokes.

"In that case... let’s have Mr. Stone make the final decision on this matter,"

Professor Lane said in a low voice, like a defeated rooster.

The company bosses sitting in the lower seats looked at one another, completely baffled about what was going on.

They had no idea what was written in that file.

Just what kind of powerhouse was this Sophia Shaw, to make all the professors look like defeated roosters after reading her file?

Although Joanna Sherman didn’t know what had happened, when she saw the other seven professors remain silent after Professor Lane spoke, her heart dropped.

Her icy gaze fell on Sophia Shaw for a moment.

The look was fleeting, and she quickly reverted to her usual aloof and unbothered expression.

As if she had no interest in such worldly affairs.

She could remain calm, but the bosses could not.

They had just pledged their loyalty to Joanna Sherman. What were they supposed to do if things suddenly changed?

"Hasn’t the project leader already been decided? Why are we letting Mr. Stone make the call now?" The head of Interlink was the first to lose his patience, demanding loudly.

The head of SwiftLink quickly chimed in, "Exactly! This isn’t a game. For you experts to casually hand over your authority to an outsider is irresponsible!"

The two of them had the sharpest noses and had already smelled that something was amiss.

No matter what decision Chester Stone made, they had to seize the initiative first.

At the head of the table, Shane Grant shook his head, speechless.

’Letting Chester Stone decide *is* the responsible thing to do.’

’These people only ever see the surface of things. They don’t even realize their own money is about to go down the drain!’

"How about this? We split the project into two groups. You all value Miss Sherman, so let her help you send your satellites to space."

"We favor Miss Shaw, so we’ll have Lead Aerospace handle our group. How does that sound?"

Shane Grant proposed.

A collective THUD went through the minds of all the bosses present.

’The military really does favor Sophia Shaw!’

"Th-that’s not going to work!"

The two bosses weren’t fools.

Zenith was just an assisting unit; sending the satellites into space still relied on Lead Aerospace’s technology.

If the project was split into two groups, what would Joanna Sherman do if Lead Aerospace wouldn’t support her?

"Miss Sherman, please say something."

Joanna Sherman was secretly digging her nails into her palms.

’Who the hell does Sophia Shaw think she is? She only got this chance today because she’s good at sucking up to people and managed to please Old Master Grant!’

But she refused to yield.

Joanna Sherman said with deliberate indifference, "What do you want me to say? I can only blame myself for my ordinary background. I wasn’t born into a family that can make these kinds of decisions, nor did I marry into one. With no backing, I can only let those with power and influence dictate my fate!"

Joanna Sherman’s words were not the least bit subtle, and everyone understood her implication.

Sophia Shaw had powerful backing!

She hadn’t won over the expert team and changed their minds with her abilities, but had used power to force their hand!

’Unacceptable.’

’Completely unacceptable!’

Except for the head of Zenith Mobile, who had previously given Sophia Shaw his business card and remained calm, the other bosses were in an uproar. A heated discussion broke out, with all sorts of comments flying around.

"We brought our money here to send satellites into space, not to pay tribute to certain people."

"How can the world be so corrupt? Even the military’s representatives are playing the nepotism game!"

"Even if you’re from the military, you can’t just mess with our money!"

The bosses were going all out!

"Since the leader has been decided, it can’t be changed!"

"Not unless the other party has made a major mistake or is morally corrupt!"

Chester Stone was rendered speechless by these blockheads.

’They’re here to send satellites into space. Does the military look like it’s trying to send pumpkins into space?’

’The military’s satellites are far more important than their civilian ones. Who would dare treat such a crucial matter like a game!’

’If these people were in the military, their heads would have been kicked around like soccer balls long ago!’

"Everyone, please don’t be upset," Joanna Sherman said in a placating tone. "Since things have come to this, I don’t want to make things difficult for anyone. I will voluntarily step back into an auxiliary role and let Miss Shaw be the overall project leader."

"But rest assured, everyone. If I’m needed, I will still step up to help."