Another day dawned, and after Mary visited the two kind, elderly, widowed individuals again, it was noon.
As she was about to leave work, the strange old man from yesterday suddenly came to her mind.
"I wonder if that guy is in a better mood today..." As far as Mary knew, the old man had no friends.
She thought to herself: Perhaps no one would visit him except for her.
Perhaps it was the sense of accomplishment from helping people that made Mary feel good. Or perhaps it was an overflow of sympathy; after a moment of thought, she turned her steps and walked towards the old man's house.
"Hello? Are you home...?" Mary called out several times from outside the door, but there was no answer.
Thinking that the old man had difficulty moving, and might also be hard of hearing...
Mary skillfully pushed open the door and walked in. The room was still as she had cleaned it yesterday.
By the window, the old man had his hands placed on his chest, holding a medal, and his eyes were closed as if he was basking in the sun.
"What a strange person, not answering even when he's home." Mary mumbled softly, then walked to the window.
Under the sunlight, the old man, with his eyes closed, looked very kind.
'When this guy doesn't talk, he's not so annoying after all...' Mary thought to herself, then noticed that the clothes he was wearing were very thin.
It was already late November; although there was sun at noon, the temperature was not very high.
Fearing that the old man would get sick from the cold, Mary found a blanket in the room, wanting to cover him with it.
However, as she was covering him with the blanket, she accidentally touched the old man's icy cold hand.
Mary, having a bad premonition, carefully pushed the old man's arm and found that his entire body was already stiff.
"This..." Mary was in disbelief; someone who was perfectly fine yesterday was dead today.
Her mind blank, she checked his breathing again.
Confirming that he had indeed passed away, Mary immediately called the church for help.
Not long after, Pastor Jeff arrived at the old man's house with several church logistics staff.
"Are you alright?" Pastor Jeff came before a distraught Mary and asked with concern.
"No, I'm fine..." Mary shook her head slightly, and her voice was surprisingly hoarse when she spoke.
Having personally witnessed the passing of a life, she didn't look fine at all.
"He was over eighty years old this year; returning to the embrace of the Lord is not a bad thing..." Pastor Jeff comforted Mary for a few moments, then added: "You rest for a while; I'll handle the rest."
...
Half an hour later, watching the old man, covered in a white sheet, being wheeled past her, Mary still found it hard to accept that a life had just ended like that.
Especially since she had interacted with him just yesterday.
"He passed away peacefully..." Pastor Jeff came before Mary again and said: "You did very well this time."
"Actually, I didn't do anything..." Mary, having calmed down, felt a pang of guilt, thinking about how her attitude towards the old man yesterday hadn't been very good.
"Don't be modest; I can tell you've done better than the previous investigators." Pastor Jeff acknowledged Mary's work based on the recently cleaned room and the old man's freshly groomed appearance.
Seeing that her spirits were still low, Pastor Jeff continued: "I'll grant you a few days off; go home and get some good rest. I'll find someone else for the investigator's job."
"No, I'm fine." Mary came back to herself and said earnestly: "I want to continue this job."
Thinking that she might be able to help more people, Mary refused Pastor Jeff's kind offer.
At this moment, she seemed to have found the meaning of life.
In the following days, the other members of the Cooper family also noticed the change in Mary's mental state.
This change also brought the atmosphere in the Cooper family back to its previously harmonious and amicable state.
...
It was early December, another weekend.
At the University of Texas, Dr. Sturgis and Dr. Linkletter's research project was finally approved.
Mike, Paige, and Sheldon were also invited to join the research project as assistants.
The assistants' work was very simple: serving tea and water to researchers, organizing documents, and other trivial matters.
This kind of work could be done by anyone; it was not difficult and very boring.
Of course, as special invitees, Mike and the two others also had some privileges. They could freely access internal research materials during their breaks from assisting.
Thus, two weekends passed, and Dr. Sturgis and Dr. Linkletter's research project reached the end of its first phase.
On this day, Dr. Sturgis and Dr. Linkletter called Mike and the two others to them.
"You are all geniuses. Now Dr. Linkletter and I want to see what you've learned during this time. If you can satisfy us, there will be a surprise waiting for you," Dr. Sturgis said with a smile.
Clearly, this was a test. If Mike and the two others' performance could satisfy Dr. Sturgis and Dr. Linkletter, then it was very likely that they would join the second phase of the project as researchers.
As assistants, Mike and the two others had the right to observe but no right to make suggestions.
If they could become researchers, they would have a certain degree of say in the research project.
This held considerable appeal for anyone who enjoyed specialized research.
"Alright, using this problem as an example, you may begin answering," Dr. Sturgis said after writing a physics calculation problem on the small blackboard.
The research project of Dr. Sturgis and Dr. Linkletter, among others, was to derive a new analytical formula in physics.
This new formula, under specific circumstances, could simplify many calculation processes.
Mike and the two others, who had been following the research topic, understood the intention of this test and immediately lowered their heads to begin answering on the scratch paper in front of them.
On Mike's side, after his IQ exceeded 180, his logical thinking ability greatly improved.
Knowing the derivation of the new formula, the difficult problem on the blackboard was not very challenging for him.
After a brief thought, he began writing as if his pen was flying.
Just as he was confident and about to reach the answer, Paige, beside him, had already stopped calculating and raised her small hand.
"Very good, Paige, you took less than five minutes." Dr. Sturgis smiled as he took her answer sheet and said: "Let me see your calculation steps..."
Yes, what was being tested for Mike and the two others was not the answer to the difficult problem on the blackboard, but their problem-solving process.
Taking Paige's answer sheet, Dr. Sturgis looked at it carefully for a while, nodded with satisfaction, and then handed the paper to Dr. Linkletter, who was beside him.
"Paige, you passed." Dr. Linkletter also smiled after seeing Paige's solution steps and said: "Welcome to officially join our team."
In fact, after this period of interaction, Dr. Linkletter also had a very good impression of Paige, this clever little girl.
"Thank you~" Paige smiled, not showing too much excitement.