When Academician Zhao Hongyun mentioned the spy incident, the wrinkles on Li Yanhuang's face immediately seemed much more pronounced.
His pair of eyes, gleaming with brilliant golden light, were filled with sinister gloom.
"We really do need to strengthen ideological education!"
That Ye Aida had been a China citizen through and through for three generations. In fact, not a single one of her relatives had gone abroad in nearly a century.
Yet she had become an American spy.
The more Old Li thought about it, the angrier he became. He wished he could skin Ye Aida alive and strip her bones right now, so she would understand the consequences of betraying her country's interests.
There were always people online saying, "Life is precious. We must fully respect criminals' human rights and protect their lawful rights and interests."
Li Yanhuang truly had no patience for such idiots.
Life was precious?
Precious my ass!
Old Li, who had lived from the wartime era into the twenty-first century, had every right to speak on this subject.
Back then, across all those battles, how many of his comrades had died?
A few bullets, and a life was gone.
China's current development, prosperity, flourishing, and secure position in the world—its return as a superpower standing tall upon the globe—had all been bought with the lives countless martyrs gave on the battlefield!
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got!
"All right, all right. Don't think too much about it."
Seeing Li Yanhuang's face turn livid, looking as though he wanted to grab a blade and start chopping people himself, Zhao Hongyun quickly changed the subject. "Speaking of which, Yan Anqing really was lucky. That spy's lipstick gun happened to jam at the critical moment and couldn't fire. Otherwise... the consequences would have been unimaginable!"
Old Li found it irritating that Academician Zhao was always talking about "luck."
He immediately bristled and snapped, "That brat loves running all over the place whenever he has nothing better to do. If something really happened to him, who knows how many people would have to take the blame."
Hearing this, Zhao Hongyun grew a little angry as well. "A hardworking, dependable, extraordinarily talented, blessedly lucky, and unpretentious honest man like Yan—how many can you find if you look across the entire world?"
Li Yanhuang could not be bothered to argue with him. He merely snorted coldly. "When the Duke of Zhou feared the day of rumors, Wang Mang had not yet usurped the throne while still humble and courteous."
"Even taking ten thousand steps back, the higher one stands, the harder one falls. You're ruining him!"
"How many people out there are saying Yan Anqing is chasing fame and reputation?"
"If he produces no results for a month or two, everyone can wait. But after one or two years, see whether they curse him or not. Do you think he can bear those insults?"
At those words, Zhao Hongyun fell silent.
How could it be as simple as getting cursed?
Zhao Hongyun understood the power of public opinion better than anyone.
Who knew how many genuine geniuses had been ruined by unscrupulous online mobs?
But...
He still held expectations for Yan Anqing, and for the nation's fortune as well.
This time, hadn't spy Ye Aida's handgun jamming at the critical moment also served as evidence?
A refined young man wearing gold-rimmed glasses appeared beside the two of them without them noticing.
"Qu, what is it?" Zhao Hongyun asked.
Qu Li adjusted the frame on the bridge of his nose, his expression extremely complicated. "Yan Anqing has made another breakthrough."
"He found humanity's exclusive superpower cells in test subject Ma Ran."
As he said this, Qu Li felt deeply aggrieved.
Clearly, he had higher academic qualifications, more experience, and worked just as hard. Why was Yan Anqing always one step ahead of him?
Could it really just be luck?
The more one experienced, the more one believed in fate.
At first, Qu Li had regarded Zhao Hongyun's obsession with "good fortune" as a stepping stone for advancement, a weakness of his, and a private joke.
Now, he had no choice but to admit that cruel reality had convinced him.
Still, he would not give up trying.
Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but...
One day.
One day!
He would surpass Yan Anqing and produce research results that would make him ashamed of himself!
"..."
After standing frozen for a long while, Li Yanhuang and Zhao Hongyun finally processed Qu Li's words.
The two old men looked at each other.
Was that not too much of a coincidence?
They had just been talking about shifts in public opinion, and Yan Anqing had immediately produced results.
Li Yanhuang instantly put on a stern face and returned to the Tangting Section, ordering his assistant to bring him Shen Kuo's Dream Pool Essays.
He had always believed Zhao Hongyun's faith in fortune was the superstition of an old fossil.
Since Old Li saw that the man merely believed in a concept rather than a specific idol, he had turned a blind eye and never taken it seriously.
But the recent events surrounding Yan Anqing made Li Yanhuang begin to doubt himself.
Could he really have been wrong?
Without conducting any investigation, he had arbitrarily concluded that "fortune" was heretical nonsense rather than some phenomenon that science might explain in the future...
Li Yanhuang resolved to properly study what exactly "fortune" was!
With Jiang Xinyue's help, Yan Anqing padded out his papers on the "Limitless Cell" until there were a full twenty of them.
About two weeks later, after all the procedures had been completed, Yan Anqing's professional rank was upgraded again, becoming "Level 5 Researcher."
A promotion at light speed.
It was practically faster than riding a rocket!
No one had anything to say or gossip about it.
After all, everything Yan Anqing produced was groundbreaking research.
Once the theory behind the superpower cell system was complete, everyone would benefit from it!
"Cells possessing a 'Superpower Cavity,' whether Fuxi or Limitless, improve relatively little through physical training..."
In the laboratory, Yan Anqing fiddled with bottles and jars while explaining to Yu Hongyi and Ma Ran beside him, "The data suggests that under stable nutrition and caloric intake, with identical levels of exercise, their proliferation rates are influenced more by subjective will."
After being promoted to Level 5 Researcher, Yan Anqing remained very calm.
Until one became an academician, one was no more than dust.
He looked up to Academician Deng, Elder Mr. Yuan, and Academician Qian.
He wanted to be like those predecessors too: to witness the scenery from the mountaintop and still be remembered tens of millions of years later.
"Wait... you said that too fast! Let me think it over..."
Ma Ran blinked, his golden eyes rolling several times in their sockets. "You mean our cultivation aptitude... ahem... the proliferation speed of the Limitless Cells in our bodies mainly depends on willpower?"
After saying that, he could not help casting a look of envy, jealousy, and resentment at Yu Hongyi beside him.
Both were Golden-Eyed Ones, yet the proliferation rates of the Limitless Cells in their bodies were worlds apart.
According to Yan Anqing's earlier calculations, if the proliferation rate of the superpower cells in Ma Ran's body was one baseline unit, then...
Yu Hongyi's proliferation rate was exactly five units, no more and no less.
"You can understand it that way."
Yan Anqing said expressionlessly, "Based on the experimental data, Yu Hongyi's willpower, when quantified numerically, is five times yours."
Ma Ran covered half his face and let out the mournful cry of a defeated dog.
"The gap is huge!"
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