She Quit Her Family and Found Herself novel Chapter 227

Zane and the others bowed again too, prompting a panicked Abby and the team to rush forward and pull them back up.

"Oh, please don't do this... We were just doing our jobs," Abby stammered, flustered.

Hulda nodded, helping Mr. Miller stand straight again. Seeing his exhausted, disheveled state softened her heart. "She's right. We were sent here specifically to predict and prevent disasters like this. We were only doing what we're paid to do. You don't need to thank us like this."

Mr. Miller straightened up and wiped his face roughly with the back of his hand, finally steadying his emotions. "Be that as it may, you saved their lives. I, Desmond Miller, am forever in your debt. From now on, whatever you need, I will fully cooperate. No more dragging our feet! I apologize for my previous attitude. I judged a book by its cover, and that was ignorant of me. I am so sorry."

She accepted his apology gracefully. She didn't actually care about who was right or wrong. To her, it was just two sides operating from completely different perspectives.

But their end goal was the same: making this Tech for Uplift Initiative a success.

"You must have a lot on your plate with the relief efforts. Don't worry about us, go handle your work. If there's anything we can do to help, just let us know," she offered.

Moved, Desmond nodded. "You don't need to be so formal. Just call me Desmond. Everyone around here does."

"Alright, Desmond. And you can just call me Hulda."

Since he was roughly the same age as Brandon Lowe, and they’d be working closely together, it was only natural to drop the formalities.

Although a disaster had just struck, fortunately, there were no casualties or trapped victims. Now they just had to wait for the mountain to stabilize before beginning reconstruction.

For Hulda's team, the work had to continue.

"These are portable monitoring devices developed entirely by our Institute. Unlike the massive machines we had airlifted in, these are compact and easy to carry." She pulled one out and turned it on for the crowd to see. "The interface is very user-friendly. Even a standard forest ranger can master it after a brief training session."

She handed the device to Zane, who was standing closest. "If we distribute these across different sectors, we can monitor the data in real-time, drastically improving our early warning capabilities."

Zane stared at the machine in his hands. It was the exact same one she had been holding during the hike yesterday.

He looked back at the giant suitcases, overwhelmed by guilt.

He hadn't known a thing, yet he had assumed her bags were stuffed with luxury clothes for a glamorous getaway.

He never imagined they were filled with cutting-edge, life-saving tech specifically meant for them.