The Scent of 377

Sunday was Mother’s Day.

Jordyn was driven over to the Rodriguez residence on Saturday by Trevor’s driver.

Her Mother’s Day gift for Celeste was a handmade card, on which she had written, “Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. Love you.” in six words.

“Pretty, right? The teacher said I could ask Dad to help, but he’s been too busy lately. I did everything myself- from the layout, drawing the patterns, to sticking on the little hearts.”

It had been a while since Celeste last saw Jordyn doing homework. Her handwriting had become noticeably more beautiful.

Upon hearing this, Celeste looked at the card in her hands and suddenly remembered something from last year. She had flown all the way to Andostan to spend her birthday with Jordyn and Trevor, only to find that Jordyn was busy polishing a bracelet for Wynn.

And from what Jordyn said, that bracelet had been a collaborative effort between her and Trevor.

Celeste thought about all of this, but her expression didn’t change. 2

She slowly closed the card and said calmly, “It’s very pretty. Thank you.”

The next day, Celeste received a call from Zachary, and that same evening, she went to the military base again.

When Caleb walked into the data center, he paused as soon as he spotted Celeste hard at work.

She didn’t notice him right away.

A while later, when she picked up her cup and took a sip of water, she finally noticed Caleb standing not far away, facing her.

She paused briefly, nodded at him, and then continued working.

Caleb had come to the data center for something specific.

After finishing his discussion with others, he noticed Celeste was still at her desk and walked over to her.

“It’s late. Aren’t you going to grab something to eat?”

Celeste looked up and saw it was him. “I will–in a bit.”

Caleb nodded and didn’t bother her further.

Later, when Celeste finally left the data center to get food, she saw Caleb waiting outside. It looked li‘ e had been waiting for someone.

Upon hearing footsteps, Caleb turned and saw her. He smiled. “All done? Heading to the cafeteria?”

“Yes. You?”

“Shall we go together?”

Celeste paused, only then realizing–he’d been waiting for her. He must’ve been worried about interrupting her work, so he’d waited outside instead.

Chapter 377

+25 BONUS

Looking at her, Caleb said, “You probably already saw the footage from my mission last week. In a way, it was you who saved me.”

Every pilot had their own unique flight patterns and habits,

These habits were based on accumulated experience and instinct, but in today’s age of highly advanced Al, such patterns could easily be digitized and targeted by the enemy

Based on his previous combat behavior and collected enemy data, Celeste’s system had flagged his intended action as predictable and offered a counter–strategy.

It accurately predicted the enemy’s position, movement path, and offered the optimal strike route.

It was thanks to that system’s guidance that Caleb had avoided danger.

Celeste instantly understood what he meant.

She replied, “It was our duty to provide that support. Besides, you stayed calm and made the right call in the end. You saved yourself.”

Maybe it was her duty, but ever since that mission, Caleb had heard plenty of praise around the base about her- especially about her data processing and analytical skills.

She also had an incredibly sharp intuition for tactical situations.

Just as Caleb was about to say something else, Zachary came walking over.

“Come with me,” he said to Celeste.