Chapter 268
"Frank says he wants to quit." Rupert skims the foam off the soup, tone casual.
"Give him a raise." Diana doesn't look up.
"What he needs isn't money—it's emotional support." Rupert glances at her. "You declined another nation's highest scientific honor today, incidentally adding a pile of work to his plate."
Diana sets down the knife, looking at him. "'Prologue' is on track. Teddy and the others can handle all future technical updates. They don't need me there anymore."
"What do you want to do next?"
He doesn't ask why she's abandoning honors and positions others would kill for—only asks about her plans.
"When Athena was analyzing cosmic data, she discovered some strange 'noise' current theories can't explain."
Diana's eyes light up with that unique gleam when she finds a new objective. "I want to figure out what it actually is."
From microscopic cells to the vast universe—she always moves toward the frontier of human knowledge.
Rupert falls silent for a moment.
He turns off the heat, washes his hands, walks to her side, and naturally takes the small knife from her hand, continuing to slice the mushrooms.
Diana watches his profile, saying softly, "I always seem to move so fast, so urgently."
Rupert places the cut mushrooms on a plate, not looking up. "It's fine."
"Aren't you afraid..." She pauses. "That one day you won't be able to keep up?"
Only then does he turn to look at her, gaze steady and focused. "I never chase you, Diana. I just wait for you at every place you're going."
He hands her his phone. The screen displays design blueprints for a massive telescope built in a crater valley.
"Solvarra Nation, Lunaris Hollow in the Cindral Barrens. The world's best observation point." He explains calmly. "The land's already purchased. Construction should take about three years. You can design it however you want."
Diana looks at those blueprints, saying nothing for a long time.
He's always like this.
The moment a thought forms in her mind, he's already prepared everything needed to realize it.
She pockets the phone, filled with a solid, warm feeling.
She knows she can venture anywhere without reservation, because no matter how far she travels, when she looks back, he'll always be there.
"Mushroom soup's ready, pairs with fresh-baked focaccia." Rupert pushes olive oil and balsamic vinegar toward her. "Eat first. The universe's noise won't disappear just because you study it an hour later."
Diana picks up warm bread, dips it in the oil and vinegar, eating with satisfaction.
In the world Rupert holds up for her, she's eternally free.
Diana's "retirement ceremony," at Frank's insistence, ultimately happens after all.
The venue isn't external—it's set within World Base.
Though called a ceremony, the scene feels more like a project wrap meeting.
The audience consists entirely of "Prologue" Institute core members—from white-haired professors to fresh young faces.
Frank stands in the backstage shadows, nervously clutching the program rundown.
"Mr. Russell, are you sure we shouldn't add some... more emotional, more publicly appealing language to Dr. York's speech?" Frank makes one last effort.
Rupert sits in the first row's outermost seat.
He's dressed casually today—a dark gray cashmere sweater that makes him look less like a multinational conglomerate controller and more like an ordinary family member at a parent-teacher conference.
He doesn't answer Frank, his gaze settling on the figure about to take the stage.
Teddy, as the new director, takes the stage first with brief remarks.
He thanks Diana, calling her "the person who lit the entire lighthouse for a lost fleet."
Applause erupts.
Then Diana walks onto the platform.
She wears a simple white shirt, no accessories.
Reaching the podium, she doesn't look at notes, her gaze calmly sweeping across every familiar face below.
"My work is complete."
This is her opening line.
No pleasantries, no small talk.
"'Prologue's' theoretical foundation is laid. It's proven to be a stable, iterable system. It no longer needs a definer—it needs countless expanders, practitioners, and maintainers."
Her voice carries clearly throughout the hall.
"Thank you all for serving as efficient computational nodes during this period, working with me to complete the model's construction. Your talent, focus, and execution have been key to the system's efficient operation."
Frank covers his forehead.
First time in his life hearing someone describe team members as "efficient computational nodes"—and mean it as praise.
Yet the young scientists below listen with shining eyes.
To them, this is more precious than any flowery language.
It means that in Diana's eyes, they're components as indispensable as herself.
"Today isn't an ending," Diana continues. "Only a permissions handover for the 'Prologue' project. I'm stepping down from the central processor position to become a background observer. And you, from today forward, gain the system's highest read-write permissions."
Her tone holds no nostalgia—only statements of fact.
"I expect you to build more applications I never envisioned on this foundation. My retirement exists to liberate the system's processing power ceiling. I hope you won't disappoint me."
Finished, she nods slightly, ending her speech.
The hall falls silent for three seconds, then erupts in even more enthusiastic applause.
Teddy takes the stage, carrying a special crystal case.
Inside isn't a paper certificate, but a golden chip resembling leaf veins sealed in transparent crystal—a visualization model of "Prologue's" core code originally written by Diana's own hand.
"Dr. York, this is the retirement commemoration we prepared for you." Teddy's voice trembles slightly.
Diana accepts it, glances at it, then casually holds it one-handed.
The ceremony ends.
Scientists immediately crowd around, wanting to seek technical advice before Diana "steps down."
Diana stands surrounded in the center, face showing no impatience, habitually answering the questions thrown at her.
The scene instantly transforms into an impromptu academic symposium.
Rupert stands, not walking toward the crowd, only quietly waiting at the exit leading backstage.
Several minutes later, Frank "rescues" Diana from the crowd.
"Dr. York, the car's ready."
Diana nods, following him out.
Passing Rupert, she naturally stops.
Rupert says nothing, only extending his hand.
Diana glances at the crystal case in her hand and casually passes it over.
Rupert accepts it, but his movements completely differ from Diana's.
He doesn't immediately put it away. Instead, using his other hand, he gently wipes away barely visible fingerprints from the crystal surface.
Then from his coat's inner pocket, he retrieves a perfectly sized black velvet protective sleeve.
He carefully, solemnly places that "retirement certificate" symbolizing an era inside.
Only after completing this does he look up at Diana, tone flat. "Frank says the last mirror array at the Solvarra Nation telescope completed calibration today."
"Athena's preliminary screening algorithm should be finished running, too." She says.
"Good. After dinner, we can see what kind of new job welcome gift the universe sent you."
Lunaris Hollow, Cindral Barrens, Solvarra Nation.
Night dark as ink, stars brilliant.
In the newly built "Stellar" observation facility's main control room, quantum computers emit low hums.
On the massive curved light screen, a deep space map composed of countless light points and dark matter clouds displays.
Athena's voice calmly reports.
"...Cross-referenced spectral data from over thirty billion stars within the Milky Way, filtering out seven thousand three hundred twenty-one anomalous signal sources that cannot be classified. Preliminary analysis shows these 'noises' exhibit non-natural, regular periodic oscillations."
At the screen's center, an area marked "Cradle Constellation-XN47" magnifies.