The office door opened again.
Ren Feng and Zhang Zhengqing walked out of the office, one after the other.
"Academician Zhang!"
A call came from nearby.
Zhang Zhengqing and Ren Feng both halted their somewhat hurried steps and turned toward the voice.
The speaker was a researcher in a white lab coat whose face still looked rather youthful.
Perhaps because of Ren Feng's presence, the young researcher seemed incredibly nervous.
"A-Academician Zhang."
He stammered, "The-the results of the third survey and comparison of the target star region are in."
"Hmm?" Zhang Zhengqing raised an eyebrow and asked softly, "Did you find anything?"
"No." The young researcher began speaking more smoothly. "We made a detailed comparison of all the data in the database."
"Apart from Ross 154, we found no anomalies."
Although he had expected this result, Zhang Zhengqing still felt his heart sink.
He nodded and waved a hand lightly. "All right, understood."
With that, he turned and headed toward the elevator.
The Superluminal Communication Device was installed on the fourth floor of the Academy of Sciences.
"Academician Zhang, sh-should we continue the search?" the young researcher called out again. "Repairs to the Radio Telescope are only just past the halfway mark. Relying solely on the Optical Telescope for the search could easily lead to mistaken judgments."
Zhang Zhengqing took a deep breath and nodded firmly.
"Keep searching!"
"Keep watch on Ross 154 at all times. Report any anomalies immediately!"
Watching the young researcher walk away, Ren Feng nodded thoughtfully. "A newcomer to the Academy of Sciences?"
Zhang Zhengqing paused for a moment, then smiled and nodded. "Yes! You could tell?"
Ren Feng shrugged. "Of course."
"He practically had 'rookie' written across his forehead."
As he spoke, Ren Feng started walking forward. "Speaking of which, there seem to be