Chapter 1290: Warnings and Support

"I have something to attend to, so I'm heading out. I've looked over the project proposal; there are no issues. Go ahead and apply for project initiation at the Project Center yourself!"

After saying this, Xia Duo left the Laboratory one step ahead of Hake.

Yilisi mentioned in her Sending that she had brought news from the outside, which was undoubtedly something Xia Duo was quite concerned about.

Now that the Laboratory was on the right track and various projects were proceeding in an orderly manner, he did not want this state to be disrupted by a sudden attack.

While passing through the negative fourth floor, Xia Duo slowed his pace slightly. Maikade had once worked desperately to save up points just so that one day he could return here to see his past friends, classmates, and his two children who had yet to grow up.

However, for Xia Duo, all of this was just a virtual scenario.

While organizing the memories, he could deeply empathize with Maikade's feelings, but now, having long since purged the contamination of Maikade's memories, he could completely manage to turn a blind eye.

Slowing his pace was merely to get a few more looks at the scene of the negative fourth floor. Maikade's memories were filled with his subjective judgments, which was something Xia Duo had to remove while organizing the memories; thus, the scene of the negative fourth floor in the Maikade memories he was recalling now was incomparably incomplete.

It was like looking at one colorless panoramic photo after another, hollow and dull.

If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't get away from the Laboratory for a while, Xia Duo would have long wanted to wander around the Judgment Division base.

For a trip to a Projection Plane, acquiring Knowledge was the primary goal, but other sights and experiences were also important. When there was an opportunity to choose, taking a few more looks was not a fault.

The negative fifth floor.

This was a floor that had never appeared in Maikade's memories. Xia Duo still had to grab a child running around to ask for the location of the Academy Square.

Just not far from the entrance connecting this floor to the negative fourth floor, after turning about two corridors, one could see a square covering an area of nearly ten thousand square meters.

The dome above looked very high, with a layer of hazy white light screen that made it impossible to see clearly.

Around the square were mostly residential buildings; through those buildings, Xia Duo realized that the dome of the square was actually only four or five stories high.

Besides residential buildings, the Academy Square, as the name implied, was located next to an academy, or rather, at the entrance of an academy.

Just as Xia Duo walked to the square, he saw the figure of Yilisi talking to a group of children at the edge of the square. He hurried forward and greeted her:

"Yilisi, long time no see!"

Hearing the voice, Yilisi turned her head and looked at Xia Duo in surprise, an expression of disbelief appearing in her eyes, "Maikade? It's only been ten-odd days, and I feel like I can't even recognize you!"

Xia Duo was, of course, well aware of this. Entering the Research Institute, where there were strangers everywhere, he could gradually and more openly express the "Xia Duo" side of himself, rather than constantly simulating "Maikade."

Over these ten-odd days, the people around Xia Duo might have noticed that "Maikade" had become more like a true Level 1 Researcher, but they would not over-investigate, as this transformation had happened bit by bit.

It was just that for Yilisi, it was a bit sudden.

Xia Duo did not explain anything, but instead asked: "Yilisi, what did you want to see me for? And you said you brought news from the outside; what is it?"

"Ahem—"

Yilisi realized her reaction was a bit too exaggerated. Anyone would change after going through a major life transformation; it was just that Maikade had changed more.

Even as a Senior Arcanist, it was impossible for Yilisi to imagine that Maikade's inner self had actually been replaced by another person. She waved her hand to let the group of children surrounding her leave, to cover up her embarrassment.

After the children had walked far away, Yilisi adjusted her mindset and looked directly at Xia Duo, her expression gradually becoming serious:

"Maikade, do you know? I've heard about what you've been doing lately on the outside."

"What things? That I hired a few more people for my Laboratory? Or that I completed several projects all at once?" Xia Duo said half-jokingly.

"Hired a few more people? Other Level 1 Researchers usually only hire three Assistant Researchers. You just joined the Research Institute, and you hired over ten at once. What are you trying to do?"

Seeming to realize her tone was wrong, Yilisi hurriedly softened her voice and explained:

"I received news that quite a few Level 1 Researchers at the Research Institute are preparing to jointly petition the higher-ups to review your rank Permission Level. Vice Dean Samuel asked me to remind you that some things can be done, but you cannot go too far."

Upon hearing this, Xia Duo was silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice: "I understand. When I go back, I will have Luo Zi release the news that Maikade Laboratory will not be hiring any more Assistant Researchers in the short term."

In fact, Xia Duo had not released the news to the outside before because he was waiting for the Demon-Slaying Amulet project to wrap up, and then he would hire a few more batches of people to complete some of his private projects.

He had already obtained the Resurrection Spell. Although he was still missing the soul summoning and soul traction parts, he already knew how to perform the most critical repair of the link between the physical body and the Soul.

As long as the Demon-Slaying Amulet project was completed, his trip to this Projection Plane would be basically complete.

Besides these two, everything else he obtained in this Projection Plane counted as extra gains. Since he didn't plan to live here for a long time, he naturally had to pursue the maximization of benefits in a short period.

But now, the higher-ups had already warned him through Yilisi, which meant that hiring more people was almost impossible.

If he were to act willfully, he might really face a review of his rank Permission Level. One had to know that his current Level 1 Researcher Permission Level was actually a reward for the previous intelligence on the underground passage, plus Samuel's leniency.

If they really wanted to be strict, this permission would likely be revoked, and just being an Assistant Researcher was not what Xia Duo wanted.

But, did the big shots above compromise just because those Level 1 Researchers below joined forces to make a fuss? Could it be that they really had no temper at all?

Thinking of this, Xia Duo asked again: "Yilisi, besides what you just said, does Vice Dean Samuel have any other words for you to pass on to me?"

"Hmm?"

Yilisi showed a surprised expression again, "There is indeed more. Vice Dean Samuel said that if you didn't ask, I didn't need to say it, but since you asked now, then I naturally won't hide anything."

"Vice Dean Samuel asked me to tell you: advance to Advanced Arcanist as soon as possible. By then, with true Level 1 Researcher Permission Level, you can go ahead and do whatever you want!"

"Really?"

Xia Duo was very skeptical about the reliability of such a promise. If it were Maikade, perhaps the higher-ups wouldn't mind, but if it were him, Xia Duo, if they really let him go ahead and do whatever he wanted, how could a mere Vice Dean possibly cover for him?

If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't advance to Advanced Arcanist in the Projection Plane now, Xia Duo would really want to advance immediately and then cause a big incident to see Samuel's expression!