Inside the Computer Science Department laboratory.
This laboratory had not originally belonged to Professor Luo. It had only become his territory after the end of last semester.
The significance of that went without saying.
Both were associate professors on the rise; whoever secured more resources would find their academic path far smoother.
In this day and age, academia was no longer simply a contest of intellect. It was more about social connections and background—and in the end, both of those came down to resources.
Professor Luo had connections in academic circles, but the senior professor above him supported three associate professors, and he had merely been the least favored of them... formerly.
Now, however, he was his mentor's prized student.
The reason was simple: he could bring in money.
White Night Ventures' funding was far more important than it appeared on the surface.
These days, research funding faced increasingly strict scrutiny, competition for national grants was growing fiercer, and seeking corporate partnerships through normal channels came with even more restrictions and requirements.
Su Bai's sponsorship was different. In almost every respect, it was as flexible as possible. He gave generously, and even at the initial investment stage, he had considered the research group's share of the profits. Of course, at its core, he was still having his girlfriend join the group with funding attached. Since he had done everything properly, Professor Luo returned the favor by giving Chen Yusheng the best treatment possible.
Chen Yusheng lived up to expectations as well. Before the end of her first semester, she had produced several excellent papers... Strictly speaking, they had been accepted near the end of the term and formally published during winter break.
In truth, if a student was talented enough, undergraduates publishing papers was no longer major news these days.