Wen Shu didn't refuse again and accepted the library access card.
Her eyes shimmered with a gentle, sweet light as she said meaningfully, "Qin Siyang, I'll find a chance to thank you properly."
Qin Siyang knew exactly what Wen Shu meant by "thank."
It probably referred to things like killing Zhou Yang and warning the assassin.
In other words, once Wen Shu had a chance to thank him, it meant he'd gotten himself into trouble again.
"To be honest, I'd rather you never have a reason to thank me in your whole life. Anyway, I've got some other stuff to do. I'm off, see you."
"See you."
After Qin Siyang left, Wen Shu lowered her head with a faint smile, "How could there be no chance for a whole lifetime?"
———
Qin Siyang wandered around and somehow ended up at the Miracle Building. Suddenly, he remembered he needed to talk to Li Tianming about something.
Sure enough, Qin Siyang's self-awareness was spot on, even just wandering the streets, he somehow managed to run into things.
He had two corpses whose memories he needed to read: one was Zhang Yingrui, borrowed by Hu Chan, and the other was Yamamoto Taro, whom he'd killed himself.
As a Protector, Zhang Yingrui's mind was sure to hold plenty of useful information. As for Yamamoto Taro, being a wanted criminal of the Serpent Order, his head must be full of valuable intel.
Might as well make use of waste.
Li Tianming had once had a friend read the memory of Zhou Xing, the director of the Education Bureau in Region 14121.
Since that friend knew about Zhou Xing's matters, it meant he was trustworthy.
So Qin Siyang planned to have Li Tianming contact that friend again to help him with this memory reading.
When he reached the sixth floor of the Miracle Building, Qin Siyang found all of Li Tianming's labs closed, he hadn't come in for research today.
Just as Qin Siyang was about to leave, Zhang Kuang walked out of a lab in the corner, yawning and stretching.
"Eh, Little Qin?"
Looking at Zhang Kuang's messy hair, dark circles, and patchy stubble, Qin Siyang asked worriedly, "Director Zhang, you didn't stay up all night in the lab, did you? You look awful, don't drop dead in there someday. You really should get some rest!"
Zhang Kuang chuckled, "Thanks for your concern. I'm always this tired, it's because of my own sequence, not because I'm about to drop dead."
"Oh, alright then."
"You came to see Old Li?"
"Yeah, I wanted him to help me read the memories from two corpses. Where is he?"
Zhang Kuang yawned again, "It's Father's Day today. Old Li took the day off, he's gone to the amusement park with Director Chen and Li Pengfei."
"Not just Old Li, Chang Da, Chang Er, and Old Hao, all those with kids didn't come today. The whole Miracle Building's just me, Old Lu, and Old Wu."
Hearing that, Qin Siyang knew he'd come for nothing and turned to leave, "Alright then, I'll go wander somewhere else."
"Oh, by the way," Zhang Kuang said, "about those papers published under your name, every single one of them is stuck in the review stage."
"Stuck in review? Meaning they can't be published?"
"Right. You'll have to resolve the issue with the Academic Review Association first."
"What issue?"
"Someone's questioning your contribution to those papers."
Qin Siyang frowned, "Targeting me? Director Zhang, do you know which bastard's reviewing them? Guo Jiuxiao? Ren Changyu? Ma Shi?"
Zhang Kuang gave a helpless smile, "This time, it really has nothing to do with Guo Jiuxiao. As for the others, from the Three Glories and Central Pillar Universities, and the Sanxing and Wude Research Institutes, anyone reviewing your papers, the moment they see your name, they all submit the same sort of comments."
"All of them blocking the review? Why?"
"Because, naturally, they're after something you have."
Qin Siyang's eyes shifted, "You mean, they're trying to hold my papers hostage to trade for the materials I have?"
"Something like that," Zhang Kuang sighed, "I've heard the Science and Technology Department of the United Government, the very one that oversees academic publishing, is organizing a public hearing for your papers. Word is, more than fifty professors have already signed up to attend."
"Over fifty?"
"That's right. When the time comes, all of us professors involved in the publication will have to attend. Of course, so will you."
"What, a whole mob ganging up on a junior like me? They've got no shame!"
Zhang Kuang laughed lightly, "Shame? What's that good for? Look around the entire Safe Zone, aside from you, whose 'face' is worth as much as Crimson Crystal or the Vine Core, those rare materials?"
"So they're using the paper reviews to force me to hand over my materials?"
"Little Qin, a man of talent is often envied. You're holding treasures beyond what your current status and influence can protect. Naturally, others will seize the chance, like starving wolves, to strip you clean."
Qin Siyang clenched his fists, "But how do they know I'll even go to this hearing? What if I decide I don't care about publishing?"
Zhang Kuang shrugged, "Your special recruitment agreement, everyone in the Safe Zone knows about it. The special privilege granted to you depends on being first among new students in both God-Hunting Points and Research Points."
"And to surpass Chu Baxing's God-Hunting Points, you sold off remains of rare mid-level gods like the Thunder Snow Wolf and Corrosive Black Centipede to the Administration. Anyone with half a brain can see you care a lot about this privilege. So naturally, these professors will target your research points."
"Of course, if you think that privilege isn't worth much, then all their scheming is wasted. What, you thinking of giving up?"
After hearing that, Qin Siyang gazed deeply at the starry sky beyond the anti-air glass above.
After a moment, he spoke, "People change."
"Maybe before, I was interested in that privilege Principal Zhao offered because I lacked a sense of security."
"But now, I no longer rely on it to change my fate."
"However—"
"As long as I'm not the strongest in the Safe Zone, I'll always face these kinds of oppressive tactics."
"If I back down today, they'll just push harder tomorrow, until they've drained me of everything I have. Their threat to me is worse than Xiao Zhigang or Guo Jiuxiao's."
"Drive the sheep against the tiger, if I can't beat them, I'll step aside for now. But when I grow stronger, I'll strike back."
"To yield without resistance is to serve the Qin with your land; if I don't act, I'll never rise again."
A strange glint flashed in Zhang Kuang's eyes as he looked at the resolute Qin Siyang.
"From the moment I awakened my sequence, I've climbed step by step, from a nobody, an orphan scraping to survive, to chatting easily with the Zhao and Gu elites, to becoming friends with professors like you. Everything I've achieved was built on one thing, momentum!"
"The unstoppable momentum born from charging forward through blood and death!"
"And now you want me to bow to these snakes and rats? Dream on!"
Qin Siyang's brows were like twin blades drawn from their sheath, "The materials, I won't hand over. The papers, I will publish!"
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