Victor glanced at ten lines and quickly read the outline of Lina's thesis.

According to the review process, he needs to exchange "answer sheets" with Jess. After each reading the outlines of Lina and Kaya's papers, they will give their opinions together.

So, Kaya came to Victor with her paper.

Lina nervously walked to Jace and handed over the open notebook:

"Professor Jess, this is my thesis project."

"Hmm." Jace took the notebook. Like Victor just now, he asked Lina smoothly:

"May I have your name?"

"Lena."

"Where's the last name?"

"I don't have a surname." Lina secretly glanced at Victor who was standing aside, and said in a more confident tone: "My name is Lina."

"Oh?" Jace really understood: "Are you from Zaun?"

"Yes." Lina nodded magnanimously.

"You are really from Zaan..." Jace looked at her delicate and frail face and couldn't help but praise: "Classmate Lina, you look nothing like her."

Lina: "..."

You don't look like a Zaun—

If it were in the past, she would have thought this was a compliment from the people of Piltover.

But after reading Levi's article, and now hearing such praise, she felt uncomfortable for some reason.

And Jace didn't notice this at all.

He just picked up the notebook step by step and reviewed Lina's thesis design.

After a while...

"Victor, what do you think?" Jace frowned slightly and turned to exchange opinions with Victor.

The final result was finally coming out, and Lina and Kaya couldn't help but hold their breath nervously.

But Victor's answer was: "Each has its own problems, it's hard to distinguish between them."

"Well..." Jace nodded: "I think so too."

"Their thesis outlines are almost at the same level, and they were completed almost at the same time. It's really difficult to distinguish one from the other."

There is only one member quota for the research team.

"That?" Miss Kaya asked with concern.

She, Lina, and even Victor all subconsciously looked at Jace.

Because everyone knows that Jace is the leader of the research team, and the final decision rests with Jace.

"I think..."

Jace's eyes passed over Lina and Kaya one by one.

The scene was so quiet that you could hear your heartbeat.

Those students who had given up the assessment also looked over with concern.

Finally, Jess gave his answer:

"I think Kaya is more suitable for our research group."

"If no other student can submit an outline design, then she will be the winner this time."

The scene was quiet, no one came on stage anymore.

Clearly, the outcome has been decided.

Lina's face turned pale instantly.

She muttered what she wanted to say, but looking at the high-spirited Kaya Feros beside her, she finally closed her mouth reluctantly.

What's there to say?

If her thesis design can be significantly better than Kaya's, there might be a glimmer of hope.

Now that the performance of the two is almost the same, is there any need to think about who Professor Jess will choose?

The eldest lady in Piltover, the local girl in Zaun, everyone knows how to choose.

Not only Lina, but also everyone else present, especially the foreign students from Zaun, seemed to have expected Kaya's victory, and no one was surprised.

No one questioned Jace's judgment.

Everyone accepted it naturally.

Only Victor frowned slightly. But he hesitated for a long time, but in the end he didn't say anything.

It was Jess who took the initiative to explain his own judgment:

"I chose Kaya mainly because... although her thesis design and Lina's thesis design are indistinguishable, if we have to compare, I think Lina's design has greater flaws."

"She only thought of determining the operating point of the engine and generator based on the optimal braking fuel consumption rate curve of the steam robot, but this operating point only means that the engine has the highest fuel/effective output mechanical power conversion efficiency at this point. And

For the energy-enhancing device discussed in this topic, it is usually hoped that the engine and generator will operate at the operating point with the highest fuel-to-electrical energy conversion efficiency..."

Jess's clear and detailed analysis convinced all the students present.

Unconsciously, the strange look in his eyes disappeared.

The students were all listening to the lectures carefully, and the subtle atmosphere also changed.

Even Lina herself was helpless, but she accepted this failure with conviction.

She believed that it was because of her lack of strength that Professor Jace made such a judgment.

"Kaya-kun...congratulations."

Lina lost her mind and surrendered to her nemesis.

As for how proud Kaya's smile was, and how she followed Professor Jess in high spirits and left the classroom with her new teacher...

Lina no longer had the energy to look.

She just sat dejectedly under the podium, constantly reflecting on her previous mistakes.

If she could think more carefully and not make the mistake pointed out by Professor Jess... maybe, maybe she would still have a chance... But why didn't she consider it?

"Don't blame yourself too much, Lina-san."

Suddenly, a deep male voice sounded in my ears.

Lina raised her head and saw Victor holding a cane:

"Professor Victor, you...you haven't left yet?"

"I left, but I came back." Victor put down his cane and slowly sat down in front of her: "I want to tell you something. I think you should know this."

"What's up?"

"You are not to blame for this failure." Victor said in a complicated tone, "Although the mistakes that Jace pointed out to you do exist."

"But the same level of errors is not absent from Kaya's thesis design."

"Her experimental design of optimization strategies to reduce engine transient conditions can be said to be a disaster... If you have to compare design flaws, I don't think you are necessarily worse off."

"This..." Lina's body was trembling slightly.

Although Victor spoke very implicitly, she still heard it:

Her thesis design is no worse than Kaya’s!

She didn't lose...at least, she didn't lose in terms of strength.

"Then why is Professor Jace..." Lina hesitated. She still didn't dare to say it. It would be useless to say it.

But Victor pointedly said it for her:

"Jace is a pure scientist and a fair and good man."

"But...he grew up in Piltover after all."

Victor sighed helplessly and stopped here.

The Jess Tallis he knew was certainly not the kind of person who would give up his principles in order to cling to power.

At least not now.

Jace definitely didn't choose Kaya because of the reputation of the Feros family, but because of his interest in the relationship with the Feros family.

But he...for some reason, subconsciously excluded Lina.

And this reason is something that Jace himself doesn't realize at all.

But Victor knows it - he has experienced it many times in the past few years of working with Jace.

"It's because..." Lina reluctantly realized something: "Am I from Zaun?"
To be continued...