Chapter 645

As she got closer, Willow noticed that their senior lab member Tanner looked rather disheveled. His stubble suggested he hadn't shaved in quite some time. Dark circles shadowed his weary eyes, and the knitted collar peeking out from his white lab coat was frayed at the edges. She recalled what her senior labmate Winston Owen had mentioned—Tanner, despite being Professor Grant's earliest student, lacked natural talent. Years had passed without any significant breakthroughs to his name. Meanwhile, his peers, the second and third disciples who joined around the same time, had long since left the lab to establish their own research teams and careers. Only Tanner remained, struggling to support his large family on the lab's modest salary. Professor Grant treated him almost like a son, occasionally offering financial help. After hearing this, Willow had made a habit of discreetly giving him slightly larger portions whenever she shared food with the lab members. Tanner's face flushed with emb