Thirty minutes later, in the girls' dormitory at Ashford Academy.
Nina sat alone at her terminal, staring at the Great Han Diplomatic Security Insignia that had suddenly appeared on the screen. More than ten seconds passed before she dared to open it.
The first line of the document read, "Firmament Project · Special Talent Acceptance Notice for the Sakuradite High Energy Preliminary Theory Research Group."
The second line read: [Following a joint review by Penglai IS Academy, the Great Han Space Technology Committee, and the Luoyang High-Load KMF Joint Testing Institute, the paper submitted by Nina Einstein has passed Special Grade Review.]
The third line was even more direct: [Appointed special researcher for the Firmament Project and head of the International Student Theory Group, with an initial term of one year.]
Nina read it three times, then enlarged the words "group head" separately.
"I only applied..."
The document was not finished. At the very bottom was a handwritten annotation from the Regent.
[Accept under the standards for Manhattan-Class core theoretical talent. Grant access to all non-weaponized basic data. Major experiments require joint countersignatures from an adult supervisor and the Security Committee.]
Nina's face slowly went pale.
"What does Manhattan-Class core theoretical talent mean? What do they mean, group head? I'm only a high school student..."
A short message from Tabane immediately popped up on the terminal.
[Got your paper figured out! You leave in two days. No homemade high-energy devices allowed, and no building reactors in the dormitory either.]
Nina's fingers hovered over the reply box for a long time. In the end, she typed only one sentence:
[I have never built a reactor in the dormitory.]
Tabane replied in just two seconds.
[Then that last rule is only a precaution for now.]
Nina stared at the screen and suddenly