December 30, 2023, Saturday, 6:00 a.m.
Yan City Normal University's athletic field was still shrouded in deep, inky darkness.
A few towering streetlamps cast dim yellow halos, barely illuminating the rubber track.
A handful of students who had risen just as early ran through the crisp air.
"Huff... huff..."
As usual, Qian Lele appeared on the track right on time.
She wore a clean gray tracksuit beneath a thick down vest.
Her stride was steady and powerful.
Her curvy figure, wrapped in fitted athletic wear, brimmed with the full vitality unique to youth.
All she could hear were her own clear, rhythmic breaths and the sound of her soles striking the cold ground.
By late December, Yancheng's morning temperatures had already fallen below zero. Every breath condensed into fleeting clouds of white mist in the frigid air.
The cold cut to the bone.
As she ran, her thoughts drifted away with those wisps of vapor.
Recently, her life had become exceptionally full and fulfilling.
Professor Jiang You Rong had officially taken leave from the university and thrown herself wholeheartedly into the work of [Xuanji Light Realm].
She had heard that Professor Jiang had only just returned from an inspection trip to Quancheng before immediately flying off to Shencheng, where the work apparently had made a breakthrough.
Although Teacher Jiang had entrusted the laboratory's project management and daily affairs to an outstanding senior student before leaving.
The laboratory continued to run in perfect order.
But Qian Lele still took the initiative to shoulder more work.
She also studied harder and devoted herself more fully than before.
Worth mentioning, through her work in the laboratory, she had been able to encounter and participate in cutting-edge AI technology projects.
Rather than keeping that knowledge on the shelf, she cleverly applied ideas from automation