At that moment, Zayne didn't notice that a car had driven out of the base.
He carried Kacie anxiously into the hospital and insisted that the doctor conduct a thorough examination of her.
Seeing him so worried for her, Kacie looked pleased.
She even smiled at him, which had barely happened before. "Zayne, thank you for saving me again."
Zayne's eyes lit up, and a blush spread from his cheeks to his ears.
Just then, Kacie looked worried again. "But I've made such a big mistake this time. I'm afraid I might get demoted..."
Zayne's first reaction was to have Joyce take the blame for Kacie. After all, Joyce was capable, and the base wouldn't really punish her.
However, when he recalled Joyce's determined eyes, his heart seemed to be stung, and hesitation struck him for the first time.
"Zayne?" Kacie's voice interrupted his thoughts.
He snapped back to reality. Looking at the troubled expression on his lover's face, he made the decision. "Kacie, don't worry. I am here for you, and you'll be fine."
However, as soon as he finished speaking, the door to the hospital room was pushed open.
The Regulatory Department's people appeared with stern faces. "Kacie, please come with us."
Kacie panicked instantly and instinctively hid behind Zayne for protection.
Zayne was stunned. He had never expected the Regulatory Department to arrive so quickly. He frowned and shielded Kacie behind him. "The incident hasn't been concluded yet. Where are you taking her?"
But no one answered him, and those people bypassed Zayne and forcibly took Kacie away.
They left behind a single sentence. "Zayne, you'd better worry about yourself."
Zayne was shaken. Watching the Regulatory Department's people leave, he had a strong sense of unease.
Suddenly, he realized something and hurried to the base's main building.
But he was stopped by security. They told him that Gerald was in a meeting.
Thinking of Kacie being taken by the Regulatory Department, Zayne disregarded protocol and pushed past the security. Then he rushed inside.
The meeting room door swung open with a bang, and all eyes turned to Zayne.
Zayne scanned the room, and his gaze lingered on Joyce's empty seat. He felt confused, but he quickly forgot about it.
"Gerald, why was Kacie taken away by the Regulatory Department?"
Gerald's face turned instantly dark. Yet, he restrained his anger and said, "Zayne, leave."
Zayne took a deep breath and said decisively, "Gerald, regarding this incident, there's something I must report. When the incident occurred, I heard Kacie say over the radio that there was a problem with the program. I realized immediately that someone had tampered with it."
Zayne glanced at Joyce's chair and blinked his eyes briefly, suppressing the guilt within him.
"The first one I thought of was Joyce, so I went to the old hangar. When I arrived, I saw her operating the computer and altering the program. I stopped her in time and found a way to make her correct the program. So Kacie landed safely. All of this was Joyce's doing."
Zayne wore a righteous expression and seemed to be determined to do the right thing.
Gerald's eyes burned with anger, and he slammed the table fiercely. "Zayne, are you accusing Joyce of everything?"
Gerald's stern rebuke plunged the meeting room into silence.
Everyone turned their gaze to Zayne.
Everyone was well aware that the previous incident was due to Kacie's operational error.
But Zayne's covert actions saved her. But it led to the punishment of Joyce, a brilliant engineer. So she had to work in the old hangar.
"We've already investigated the matter thoroughly. It was Kacie's violation of procedure that caused the problem during the test flight. And you guaranteed that Kacie was capable of leading this project. Now look at the result. The Eagle Project was scrapped. Do you know the losses this will cause the base?"
Gerald grew increasingly agitated. He rubbed his temples and said, "Kacie must bear her mistakes. From now on, she will cease all work and undergo investigation by the Regulatory Department. You take a few days off. We'll talk when you're thinking clearly again."