Chapter 1383: Consumables and Lou Yu

Consumables and Lou Yu

Just as Lou Yu was halfway through his meal, a child skipped over to his side.

"Big Brother Lou Yu! I'm on vacation. When are you going on vacation?"

Lou Yu put down the pickled mustard greens in his hand and smiled bitterly, rubbing the child's head. "Little Six, Big Brother isn't a student in school. I don't have winter or summer vacations."

"But my mom and the others all have vacations..."

"Well... Auntie Xu's job is different from mine. I'm... considered a scientist. Scientists have to do scientific research, so we don't have vacations."

"Big Brother Lou Yu, teach me. I want to be a scientist when I grow up too!" Little Six's eyes were bright. "I told my classmates and teachers at school that I know a big brother who's a scientist at the research institute, and they were all so envious!"

Lou Yu was stunned. Just as he was helplessly about to say something, a phone ringtone suddenly rang out.

"Hello, Dean?"

But you know, all the articles published in the 'Science News' are 'solely authored,' meaning only the first author's name can be listed... So this time, I'll have to ask you to bear with it for a bit and temporarily remove your name.

But regardless, the fact that your paper can be published in the 'Science News' is already incredibly impressive. You are contributing to the progress of human civilization! Compared to the significance of the matter itself, a mere title isn't that important.

Next time. I'll definitely put your name on it next time..."

Lou Yu was no longer in the mood to listen to whatever the Dean said next.

He silently hung up the phone, shoveled a few mouthfuls of pickled mustard greens into his mouth, and suddenly looked at Little Six beside him... For some reason, when Little Six saw Lou Yu's gaze, his heart trembled slightly.

"Little Six, does your family have any connections in academia?"

"Ah... My mom cooks at your research institute, does that count?"

"It doesn't." Lou Yu said slowly. "If you don't have connections, don't enter academia. Otherwise, no matter how talented you are, you'll just be a high-end consumable... This circle isn't as glamorous as you think, and this world has never been fair."

Little Six couldn't understand Lou Yu's words, and Lou Yu didn't say anything more. He silently finished the lunch on his plate, then got up and headed back to the lab.

Walking to the cafeteria entrance, he hesitated for a moment before taking out his phone and sending a message to the Dean:

— Understood, Dean.

Just as the Dean had said, surviving in academia required more than just the ability to write papers and conduct experiments... He had navigated through it like this all these years. No matter how unwilling he was, he still had to swallow his pride...

Just like always.

Just as he was about to reach the entrance of his lab, his phone suddenly received a message.

Lou Yu initially thought it was from the Dean, but upon opening it, he saw the sender was Qi Muyun.

— Dr. Yang called you too, right? How are you getting to Shennongjia? If you're taking the high-speed rail, we could probably take the same train?

Seeing this baffling message, Lou Yu was slightly stunned.

Qi Muyun was a friend he had met two years ago. He was also a scientist and lived in the same city. However, since they had exchanged contact information last time, they hadn't really chatted much and weren't familiar with each other at all.

Why would he suddenly send him a message? What was this about going to Shennongjia?

Did he send it to the wrong person?

Lou Yu didn't know anything about Shennongjia. His phone had been stolen a while ago, and he had just recovered his number a couple of days prior. During this time, he had been peacefully conducting experiments in the research institute and hadn't gone out at all.

After a moment of thought, Lou Yu didn't reply. He put his phone back in his pocket and pushed open the lab door.

But the next second, he froze in place...

Inside the empty lab sat a person.

Although Lou Yu had worked on many projects, he had absolutely no assistants to help him. For the past few years, he had been working here alone day and night conducting experiments. No one else from the research institute would usually come here... Even the only key was in Lou Yu's own hands.

"Hello, is there something you need?" Lou Yu asked in confusion.

The person was wearing a loose black cloak, sitting at the experimental bench with his back to the door. His gaze swept over the familiar equipment, the rustling branches outside the window, and the ticking clock on the wall, as if reminiscing about something...

Looking at his back, Lou Yu felt a vague sense of familiarity, but he couldn't remember where he had seen him before.

"Hello...?"

Lou Yu hesitantly stepped forward.

The figure in the black cloak slowly stood up from the seat. A gentle breeze blew into the lab from the window, and he pulled back the hood over his head.

It was a face almost identical to Lou Yu's.

"You..." Seeing this scene, Lou Yu was completely dumbfounded.

The next moment, six scarlet gems slowly surfaced on the person's forehead. He looked at the youth before him, whose eyes still held traces of greenness and cowardice, a hint of complexity flashing in his own eyes.

"Long time no see, Lou Yu."

...

"Damn it..."

"Where exactly did that guy hide?"

High above the clouds, the Lord of Hanging Jade looked down at the city below, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Ever since leaving Shennongjia, he had been relentlessly hounding the Lord of Wuji. Fortunately, the Lord of Wuji didn't seem to want to fight him within the city, so he had been speeding along the equator, trying to shake off his pursuit.

They fought from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, tangling with each other all the way from Indonesia to Singapore. They had clashed at least seven or eight times, but the immortal Lord of Wuji's combat power was truly astonishing. The Lord of Hanging Jade couldn't keep him pinned down each time. Once the global nuclear war broke out, the Lord of Wuji turned around without hesitation and headed toward the homeland.

The Lord of Hanging Jade didn't have the Philosopher's Stone, and his Spiritual Power was limited. Therefore, he couldn't maintain a lock on the Lord of Wuji's figure at all times. Half an hour ago, he had lost track of him and could only roughly pinpoint his destination—somewhere within the city below.

"What exactly are you planning?" The Lord of Hanging Jade closed his eyes, carefully sensing the fluctuations of aura within the city.

Suddenly, he keenly caught a trace of an anomalous fluctuation.

The Lord of Hanging Jade snapped his eyes open, instantly locking onto a certain direction. His body transformed into a streak of lightning and vanished into thin air.

By the time he reappeared, he had already arrived in the airspace above a research institute.

"He's here!"

His speed was too fast, and since it was daytime, hardly anyone noticed his presence. He flashed to the entrance of a certain lab and forcefully pushed open the doors...

The aura fluctuation from just now had come from here.

But the next moment, he froze in place.

"This is..."

The Lord of Hanging Jade's pupils contracted in disbelief.