Darius smiled and led Thora to the other side of the room. At the center sat a circular treadmill nearly 10 feet in diameter. Next to it were a head-mounted display, haptic gloves, and full-body motion tracking gear. "Wanna try it?" he asked, voice laced with temptation. Thora nodded. "Of course," she said, already stepping forward to gear up. But Darius was quicker. He picked up the equipment first, unboxing it as he spoke casually, "VR, or virtual reality, was developed over a century ago. Originally built for gaming, it's evolved into something much more advanced by now, spanning multiple industries. Full tactile feedback, scent simulation, neural syncing, complete sensory immersion, and perfectly tracked body movement. It's designed to feel real—down to the last breath." While talking, Darius stepped closer and gently placed the headset on Thora's head."The military and other specialized professions now rely heavily on VR for simulation training. Saves space, cuts down on personnel costs. But none of their systems are as streamlined or sophisticated as the one you built." Watching her calmly let him adjust the gear, Darius barely managed to resist the sudden urge to pinch her cheek. "The heart of any product isn't just the tech behind it, it's the mind behind the design. Technical skills can be taught, studied, developed. But vision—creative thinking? That's what makes something irreplaceable." Thora didn't react much, but she had clearly been listening. When Darius was actually being serious, he was capable of holding a normal conversation. She replied with a simple, serious, "Mm." Darius twitched. Seriously? After all that setup—he was trying to compliment her—and all he got was "Mm"? Mildly annoyed, he grabbed one of the motion suits and helped her into it. As his arm reached across her chest to zip her up, he suddenly leaned down and whispered in her ear, voice low and teasing, "Still haven't grown, huh?" Thora didn't get it at first. But two seconds later, her expression turned ice cold, and she whipped her elbow straight at Darius. Thora's reaction didn't surprise Darius in the slightest. He easily sidestepped her strike, and just like that, the two of them started sparring in the middle of the R&D center like no one else was in the room. Carl instantly turned around and pretended he saw nothing. Even with the headset still strapped over her eyes, blocking her vision, Thora's movements were sharp and completely unaffected.Darius didn't fight back, he just kept dodging, his face lit up with a bright grin. Yep, this is the Thora I know. She's only fun when she's pissed. Way cuter that way, too. "Thora, if you keep this up, you're gonna miss the test window," Darius said as he ducked under a kick and grabbed her forearm mid-motion. Thora froze, her expression turning icy. She yanked her arm back hard, so hard that Darius almost lost his balance. "Hmph." She let out a cold snort, then turned on her heel and strode toward the treadmill, her long legs covering ground fast. The tech staff quickly stepped in to brief her on the controls and safety notes before retreating to their monitoring stations, ready to log the data. Thora immediately launched into motion—squats, sprinting, high jumps, close-combat strikes—all fluid, powerful, and perfectly measured.Then, with explosive force, she leapt six feet straight off the treadmill, flipped mid-air, and landed in a roll—like she was dodging and countering an invisible opponent. "She's entered combat simulation mode," Darius said under his breath, eyes narrowed, completely focused on her. Moments later, Thora's pace slowed slightly, but her hand movements got even faster. Then, in one swift motion, she rolled again, shifting into a more advanced attack-defense sequence. "The sim adapts in real time to the user's reflexes. Depending on how she reacts, it could throw in anything—explosions, gunfights, ambushes ... " Darius's lips curled into a small smile. I knew it. Thora really is the perfect person to test this system. The tech team couldn't take their eyes off the data stream—monitoring, logging, analyzing at full speed. Thora's performance was pushing every preset metric to its limits. She was unlocking the system's full potential just by being herself.The system had originally been configured with expanded parameters, optimized for special operations forces, with a buffer between standard and max values. But Thora's data had blown straight through to the top. And that was without using her wolf power. She hadn't even shifted. "Increase the maximum threshold," Darius ordered. "Yes, Alpha," the techs responded in unison. They didn't even need further instruction—already pulling up her test feedback and diving into the data analysis. An hour later, Thora finally stepped out of the simulator, removing the equipment piece by piece. She looked at Darius. "Better than I expected, but I want it more streamlined. Can all the components be compressed into a single unit?" Darius thought for a second. "Possible, but the impulse sensors will lose a bit of strength." "How much?" Thora asked, brow slightly furrowed. "Three to three-point-five percent," Darius answered immediately, dead precise. Thora nodded. "Acceptable." She looked him straight in the eye. "I need five full units delivered to base in three days. Ten of the streamlined ones in a month. Can you do it?" Darius stared at her. That last "Can you do it?" brushed past his nerves like a feather, light but sharp. His mouth curled slightly, just at the corners. "Thora, this system and gear, outside of me, you won't find a second set like it anywhere in Blue Star. You know what it's worth on the open market?" Thora raised an eyebrow. Was he asking for money? She pulled a card from her pocket and handed it over. "Here. Swipe whatever you want." Darius froze the moment he saw the card.