Chapter 155

"Right?"

Upon hearing Ai Yue's praise, Einstein immediately straightened his back. "I think so too! It's very interesting to bring together scholars from different fields through a specific symbol, so that they can exchange ideas, grow together, and for knowledge to be constantly improved and evolved in the process!"

Einstein initially did not intend to establish any sect. However, as the biggest beneficiary of Ai Yue's participation in the science and technology exchange conference, she couldn't help but want to promote Ai Yue's greatness to others. As a result, she attracted many like-minded people in the process.

Many of them were scholars who had made breakthrough progress in the project after being inspired by those three questions. They were very grateful for Ai Yue's incredibly generous behavior. They gathered together and imitated Ai Yue's actions, sharing the experiences and knowledge they had learned in the project and thus making continuous progress.

This is why the statues in the hall do not have specific images, because what they believe in is not a specific person, but the spirit embodied by Ai Yue. In this way, they will not fall into fanatical faith.

Therefore, Ai Yue does not intend to punish Einstein for this, because objectively speaking, it is not a bad thing.

Seeing Einstein's eloquent speech, Ai Yue couldn't help but laugh, "Then I'll trouble our Founder 001, to issue me a serial number."

"Ah?"

Einstein looked stunned. "You... you really want to join?"

"Is that not allowed?"

Ai Yue shrugged. "Am I not qualified?"

"Of course you are qualified!"

Einstein quickly shook his head, but still showed a subtle expression. "But, uh... how should I put it, it just feels a bit strange."

Ai Yue's decision to join the "Seeker's Cult" is as awkward as the guy on the cross suddenly coming down and asking, "Can I join you?" while believers are praying.

This is why the "Seeker's Cult" cannot be considered a religious organization in the true sense; otherwise, wouldn't things be chaotic?

"Just treat me like a complete newbie, okay?"

Ai Yue waved his hand dismissively, "Anyway, none of us know each other, so how could I possibly be exposed by the serial number?"

Einstein glanced at him, then muttered under his breath, "I think it's very likely."

Ai Yue's eyes widened immediately. "Then let's talk about the punishment?"

In the end, Einstein was in the wrong, chose to compromise, and then held a simple welcoming ceremony in front of many like-minded people.

Incidentally, Ai Yue received number 198, while Mobius received number 199.

It was called a welcome ceremony, but it was really just Einstein putting numbered badges on the two new members and then a group of people clapped around them. It just goes to show that these people really don't understand the concept of ceremony; they just do whatever is simple.

"Alright, that concludes the welcoming ceremony. Everyone, please continue with your own tasks."

After distributing the serial numbers, Einstein couldn't wait to interrupt the crowd, "I'll show the two newcomers around..."

"What's the rush, 001?"

A male scholar with the serial number 029 stepped forward and said enthusiastically, "Come on, newcomer, three questions."

As one of the original thirty members of the "Seeker's Cult," 029, though a middle-aged man, is no less enthusiastic than young people; in fact, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he is the most enthusiastic person in the entire cult.

Whenever a new member joins the sect, he would offer his blessing in his usual way—that is, to answer as many of the three problems that the new member is currently struggling with as possible, so as to help the other person overcome the difficulties and quickly experience the joy of sharing knowledge.

But clearly, perhaps because his words were too concise, some misunderstanding arose.

Is it finally my turn to be the one who gets humiliated for showing off?

Ai Yue, who had thought the other party was there to cause trouble, immediately perked up. "Okay, then ask away."

Twenty two

Chapter Twenty-Two: Who Else Has Dreams?

The scene fell silent immediately after Ai Yue's response.

Immediately afterwards, a burst of good-natured laughter erupted.

"Wrong, Ai...198, you've got it wrong,"

Einstein quickly whispered a reminder, "029 means he can help you solve three problems, not that he wants to make things difficult for you with three problems!"

"Young people are so energetic!"

Although her meaning was misunderstood, 029 didn't dwell on it. Instead, she said, "But this is fine too. Then I won't be polite."

As an expert in mechanical engineering materials science, 029 had indeed encountered some problems recently. Although he did not think that the young man in front of him, who was a bit too young, could answer his questions, he thought that with so many people around, discussing it together might spark some inspiration.

He then wrote an unfinished formula on the blackboard next to him, "This is a new material I've been trying to use recently, but I always get stuck at a key point where it can't be fused properly, causing failure. I've tried many methods, but I haven't been able to solve it. I wonder if this friend has any suggestions?"

After Einstein, Ai Yue naturally realized that he had been overthinking things. However, since he had come here, he couldn't just ignore the problem, could he?

"Are you optimizing Soulium?"

Ai Yue immediately saw the source of the formula, then stroked his chin and said, "The new material you found won't work. Its density is too high, so it can't be integrated with the existing material structure. No matter how many methods you use, it won't work."

As he spoke, he picked up a pen and wrote on the blackboard, "You can try this, using a mediator to harmonize the materials. However, you need to be careful that this process is carried out in a sufficiently low temperature environment, otherwise the over-activated mediator will destroy the original material structure."

As he finished speaking, the previously incomplete formula was completed. Ai Yue even filled in the details that 029 had not written down before, and made minor adjustments to the parts that he had already derived. In the end, the entire formula had changed.

029 looked at the unrecognizable formula with a strange gaze, then glanced at Ai Yue and Einstein beside him. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he just nodded and hurriedly pushed the movable blackboard to the corner to verify it.

"Why did it run away?"

Ai Yue wanted to say a few more words, but found that the person had already disappeared. He could only shrug regretfully, "Never mind, the remaining problems shouldn't be anything serious."

He was talking to himself, completely unaware that the way people around him were looking at him was undergoing a subtle change.

Although the Seeker's Cult does not emphasize identity and addresses each other only by the number they were assigned when they joined the church, the academic circle in Atra City is actually quite small. Even if they have never met before, they have all heard of each other through various channels. Therefore, once they have a brief contact, it is easy for them to guess each other's identities.

For example, 029's true identity is that of a veteran member of the Second Research Institute of the Moth to Fire. He joined the Moth to Fire almost a month later than the legendary owner of the First Research Institute, Mobius. He was a pioneer in the research of anti- Honkai materials, Moth to Fire's previous weapons and equipment were based on his research.

Such a person would never have joined such a strange sect if he hadn't been completely convinced by the Soulium created by Ai Yue. Even though he considered himself inferior to Doctor Ai Yue, his position in the field of mechanical engineering materials remained unshakable.

In other words, the problem that troubles 029 can be seen as a problem that humanity cannot solve at present, and the person who can come up with a solution in an instant, even if the solution is ultimately proven to be flawed, is definitely not an ordinary scholar.

When did such a person appear in Atra City? Or did he come from outside Atra City?

The members looked at each other, their breathing becoming heavy.

Because a highly probable answer is already on the verge of being revealed at this moment.

"1..."

Just as Einstein was about to speak, realizing that Ai Yue's identity had likely been exposed, she was pulled by Mobius beside her. She turned her head and saw Mobius shaking his head at her. "Let him be."

"But,"

Einstein said softly, "Won't this cause problems?"

"What problems could possibly arise?"

Mobius said with a smile, "On the contrary, this might be the scene that guy was hoping for."

At this moment, Ai Yue was still unaware of the problem, or rather, he hadn't even thought in that direction. Having just solved a problem, he was thinking about whether to pose some less difficult questions to inspire others when he saw someone walk up to him.

"Hello, 1,198, Doctor."

The other person sounded a little agitated, even stumbling over his words, but then he calmed down, pulled over the blackboard, and started writing. "I also have a question. I wonder if I could ask you?"

Before Ai Yue could even nod, he saw the other person already writing impatiently.

His actions also alerted more people, and everyone started to move around, looking for blackboards they could use to write down their questions in advance—if the person in front of them was really the one they imagined, then every second of the night was precious and absolutely could not be wasted!

"Well, I've been researching energy decay lately and I've encountered a tricky phenomenon,"

The other person wrote on almost two-thirds of the blackboard before turning around to look at Ai Yue. "It's this part. The energy decay value here changes unexpectedly every time. Sometimes it's too high, sometimes it's too low. What's going on?"

"Let me see..."

Ai Yue walked over and glanced at it, then circled a node in a formula. "The problem must be here. The metal in the experimental equipment has been activated, which has affected the energy decay. But it might be a good thing. If we can add the relevant metal factor to the experiment, we can reduce the magnitude of energy decay."

In this way, Ai Yue successfully got the second person to drag the blackboard to the corner as well.

When he turned around, he found that others had already formed a long line, each holding a blackboard covered with questions.

Ai Yue scratched his head, feeling that something seemed off about tonight's events.

But he didn't have time to think about it, because the next person was already dragging a blackboard up to him. "Hello, Doctor, I also have a question..."

Twenty three

Chapter Twenty-Three really thrilled him.

It wasn't until late at night that Ai Yue left the church of the Seeker's Cult, yawning.

"Wow, what a fulfilling night!"

After yawning, Ai Yue stretched and said, "You know what, these people's ideas are actually quite interesting."

"I'm sorry, Doctor Ai Yue,"

Einstein walked on his left, his face full of apology, "You came here for tourism, but I still troubled you so much..."

"It's nothing to worry about; this level of exertion is practically the same as rest for him."

Mobius interrupted Einstein's apology, "Right, Ai Yue?"

"That's not entirely true. Some of the questions are indeed quite profound, representing directions I've never considered before, and they've been very useful to me."

Ai Yue said with a smile, "But there's really no need to apologize. On the contrary, this kind of event is actually quite good."

At this point, he revealed a smug expression. "It's a good thing I didn't choose to appear in my true form, otherwise I probably wouldn't have been able to experience this kind of fun, right?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed that the two people next to him were looking at him with very strange eyes. He couldn't help but scratch his head and ask, "What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"

"Um, Doctor Ai Yue,"

Seeing that Mobius had no intention of answering the question, Einstein had no choice but to say, "You probably already gave yourself away from the beginning."

"What?"

Ai Yue was shocked. "How could this be? My disguise was flawless!"

"You certainly didn't give yourself away from your appearance,"

Mobius sighed. "But being able to solve so many difficult problems involving different fields, even an idiot should realize you're no ordinary person, right?"

Sometimes Mobius really wondered if Ai Yue was acting, but after spending a long time together, she realized that this guy was indeed a bit slow at times.

"That seems to make sense,"

Ai Yue finally realized what was happening and couldn't help but show a somewhat embarrassed expression. "Thank goodness, I was just thinking about whether I should take off my mask at the end and perform a miracle in front of everyone. Luckily, I didn't do that."

"But you'll have to put in a lot of effort after this, Einstein."

Mobius ignored the guy and instead looked at the red-streaked doctor beside him, "After what happened tonight, there will probably be a lot more people who want to join the Seeker's Cult."

"Huh?"

Einstein blinked, finally realizing, "Oh right, if everyone knew they might run into Doctor Ai Yue at the Seeker's Cult, they'd definitely be eager to come and see! But Doctor Ai Yue is leaving soon..."

She glanced awkwardly at Ai Yue beside her—without Ai Yue, the Seeker's Cult would essentially just be an ordinary organization for everyone to exchange and discuss ideas. But Ai Yue was usually so busy that he certainly couldn't stay here all the time. What if other people joined the Seeker's Cult and found that they couldn't see Ai Yue at all...

Although it wouldn't actually have any bad consequences, Einstein was still worried that such an incident might affect Ai Yue's reputation.

After all, the very existence of this sect was somewhat influenced by Ai Yue's reputation.

"It's alright, as I said, this sect isn't a bad thing,"

Ai Yue noticed Einstein's worries and said with a smile, "Besides, although I can't be there often, it doesn't mean I can't solve your problems."

Einstein paused for a moment, then realized what he meant. "You mean?"

"If you encounter a problem that you can't find inspiration for even when you discuss it with everyone, feel free to contact me anytime."

Ai Yue snapped his fingers, Einstein's phone immediately received a message from an unknown source. "I'm giving you new permissions. With these permissions, you can contact me in most situations."

"Really?"

Einstein hurriedly saved the new message on his phone, then looked at Ai Yue and asked, "But won't this cause you trouble?"

"Don't worry, I'm also very interested in everyone's research topics."

Ai Yue said with a smile, "Although it's impossible to participate in every project from start to finish, this way I can also come into contact with many issues that I never thought about before, which is actually a good thing."

He paused for a moment, then added, "Besides, since you believe in me, I should naturally reciprocate that belief."

After saying Einstein, the two got into the car waiting at the door, and this time, Eden himself was the one driving.

"How are you, my friend?"

Seeing Ai Yue's beaming face, Eden couldn't help but smile faintly as well. "Looks like you guys are having a lot of fun?"