Ryan pondered momentarily, a hint of disdain appearing on his gentle face. "It seems that Melvern is completely out of the picture. He was originally part of this plan and wanted us to take over the entire project. It seems that this second phase is destined for us."

"Yeah, but these two collaborators are quite different." I smiled meaningfully.

Ryan nodded in agreement. "Melvern really wanted to do this deal but Atticus outsmarted him."

"Melvern was in a hurry to leave because he was afraid of being implicated," I said. "Atticus also took advantage of this. Otherwise, how could he be so confident?"

Ryan nodded in agreement.

"Don't forget that when the designs were released, he told me in advance about his design intentions and asked me to follow suit. This shows that he was confident of winning." I concluded.

"Melvern probably didn't even think about it. Before he came, Atticus had already set him up." Ryan speculated.

"I can't say for sure, but one thing is certain. Atticus kn