Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed
Chapter 402

In the lab's control room, Roseanne didn't beat around the bush. Direct as always, she confronted her mentor, "Ms. Payne, I think there's an issue with the direction of our research." Before Madeleine could respond, Roseanne handed over a document and continued, "Over the weekend, the three of us took a deep dive into the current status of our project."

"We revisited the research background, our experimental methods, the raw data, and the conclusions of the previous phases. And we realized-"

Looking Madeleine straight in the eye, Roseanne delivered the hard truth, "The stagnation of phase three may not be the problem itself but a symptom. The project might have been off-track from the get-go." It was a discovery made by the trio, but Mamie and Scales were too timid to speak up.

So, it fell upon Roseanne to play the villain.

Seeing Madeleine fall silent, Roseanne didn't hold back. "I know you, Ms. Payne. You're all in or not in at all. Once you commit, you see it through, even if it means gathering enough data to prove we were wrong."

"As a scholar, your drive for perfection is admirable. But have you considered the finite nature of human life and energy? Spending vast amounts of time proving a mistake that could have been corrected early on, is it really worth it?"

It was like foreseeing a car crash. If the driver senses the speed is too high, a simple tap on the brakes could avert disaster. Why crash just to confirm the fatal outcome?

Madeleine sighed deeply.

"I had wondered how long it would take you to spot the flaws- a semester, a year, maybe two? But I never thought you'd catch on so fast." There was a mix of melancholy, surprise, and pride in her eyes.

Not only had they identified the problem, but they'd also prepared the evidence.

She patted the document Roseanne had given her, not needing to look inside to know it contained undeniable truths.

Roseanne, taken aback, asked, "Ms. Payne, you knew?"

Perhaps initially, the deviation wasn't clear, but as the research progressed, the issues became evident.

With Madeleine's expertise, how could she not notice?

"Then why didn't you...?"

"Stop the project sooner?" Roseanne nodded.

Madeleine's gaze darkened, "Because I failed as a mentor..."

The project had started four years ago. Back then, Madeleine's health was already declining, and the blow from Roseanne deciding against a direct Ph.D. path only worsened her condition, leading to an eight month hiatus from work.

Despite her absence, the project couldn't be paused.

"Because it directly affected whether students could graduate on time and earn their degrees." Graduate students, by definition, are expected to engage in research with a scholarly mindset.

But how is "research" quantified?

Primarily through publications,

ket veli

followed by the number and quality of projects completed with a

mentor, which also ties directly to their academic output.

Madeleine fell ill, but the project had to go on, leaving the initial phases in the hands of the students.

By the time she fully recovered and returned to the lab, the first two phases were already completed.

Those phases had successfully seen two cohorts through to graduation.

If everything had gone smoothly, the current third phase would also ensure this year's graduates could move on.

Madeleine admitted, "You think I

didn't want to pull back, to turn

things around? It's too late. We've invested too much into this ship, , and even knowing it's doomed, we have no choice but to keep betting on it."