A long line had formed outside Rhine Lab's largest conference room. Every laboratory had sent a representative, and they waited outside with their research reports. The massive crowd stretched along the secure passageway and all the way down to the floor below.
Theresica listened to the reports and presentations from the various project teams. He honestly didn't understand much of them, but the problems they revealed left him deeply worried.
Could Kazdel find this many researchers right now? Absolutely not.
At present, Kazdel only possessed a certain degree of industrial production capacity. It had defeated Kazimierz by fighting desperately and relying on luck, but compared with first-tier Terra nations like Columbia and Victoria, it was still far too weak.
Originium Arts could strengthen Kazdel to some extent, but they were primarily military in nature, and using them also carried serious side effects.
A nation's true strength was not measured by its temporary combat ability, but by the combined power of its population, resources, education, healthcare, research and development, and every other aspect of the country.
Kazdel currently had nothing in these areas that it could truly show off.
"Director Theresica... hello."
A new project team entered, and their report pulled Theresica out of his thoughts. The newcomers seemed frightened by his grim expression and stood nervously at the doorway, afraid to come in.
Theresica hurriedly composed his expression, doing his best to look approachable. His position made his youthful face impossible to underestimate.
"Come in. You ought to have confidence in your own achievements."
"...Yes... yes, Director Theresica. My name is Johnny." "I'm Robert." "I'm Bill."
The three men entered. Their research project was an artificial brain.
"Columbians currently use electronic computers only to store and retrieve information. I believe that completely wastes their potential. The human brain can memorize things and recall them, and a computer's functions resemble the brain's in many ways. But our minds can combine and apply knowledge, while computers can only perform rigid input and output. We want to reconstruct them so they can function more like brains."
The three introduced their research project, but after they finished, Theresica remained silent.
Isn't this just a computer?
While the three stood there anxiously, Theresica suddenly asked, "Do you know Moore Joyce?"
The three exchanged glances, as if they had remembered something.
"I vaguely remember him."
"Wasn't he the subject of our teacher's experiment?"
"Ah! That chip was our graduation project."
Theresica had asked casually based only on a vague impression, but he had not expected there to really be a connection. What a small world.
He waved at the three bewildered men. "Come over and sit down. Don't be so tense."
"What do you think of our project?"
The three nervously pinched the corners of their clothes until their knuckles protruded. Their financial situation clearly wasn't good.
"I'll give you the funding you want, and I hope you can produce results for me."
Theresica smiled as he signed the check and pushed it toward them. "However, I have one small request. It has nothing to do with your research."
"May I ask what it is?"
"Would you be interested in changing your workplace? Going to Kazdel? I'll meet all your needs."
The three thin young men did not hesitate at all.
"That's fine. We absolutely can."
"Then please wait for my message."
Theresica smiled and exchanged contact information with them. He had really struck gold this time.
"I've heard of this project too, but no one was willing to invest in it because they thought there would be no returns. Why are you so optimistic about it?"
Saria was somewhat puzzled. She had seen how much money Theresica had given them.
"Well, this thing... I'm just going by instinct, I suppose. Like when I invested in Lady Kristen."
Theresica smiled as he fended off the question. There was no way he could explain that he had seen computers and the network age on Earth. He couldn't exactly say that.
"What about the last one? Environmental ecology. In Columbia, it has been called a major where graduates immediately become unemployed for ten consecutive years. I didn't expect there to be any students left."
Saria looked at the final name on the list and was slightly surprised. "Muelsyse. She just graduated from school with good grades and joined Rhine Lab yesterday."
"Hm? Call her in. I'm very interested."
Theresica smiled happily. This was exactly what he wanted.
The conference room door opened, and a pretty young woman ran in with a smile. Not a trace of fatigue from the dull wait could be seen on her.
"Hi hi! Hello, bosses. My research project is—"
Muelsyse had not finished speaking when Theresica interrupted her.
"How many students are still in this major at your school?"
Muelsyse froze, failing to understand at first. Then she honestly answered, "N-not many. There are a little over twenty left..."
"Good. Go to your school tomorrow and take a look. Help me get in touch with them. I'll take the entire major."
Both Muelsyse and Saria wore stunned expressions.
But the next day, Theresica really did arrive at Trimount Botanical Ecology University. The principal and teachers all looked incredulous.
Someone actually came to recruit students from a dead-end major?
"The workplace is rather far away, and the environment is somewhat harsh. But I'll provide room and board, allow holidays according to Columbia's calendar, reimburse round-trip travel expenses for family visits, and provide research funding starting at thirty million Rubles. If that isn't enough, I'll add more..."
Theresica was still reciting the benefits he had prepared, but before he could finish, the students present had already swarmed him.
"When are we leaving?"
"I can start working immediately!"
The graduates' enthusiasm exceeded his expectations. Even the school's teachers crowded around.
"What do you think of me? My knowledge is definitely more solid than theirs..."
By the end of the morning, the school's entire major had emptied out, leaving only the principal standing at the entrance and questioning his life.
During this mass poaching operation, Theresica noticed that Columbians did not seem to have much attachment to their homeland.
This vast country had originally been nearly a wasteland. Victoria had brought in immigrant groups from various places, and that was how Columbia had been established.
Theresica knew perfectly well that constantly borrowing Columbia's chickens to lay Kazdel's eggs was not a long-term solution.
Since he had already poached an entire major, and this was not Earth with all its various restrictions, he hardened his heart and brought out all his Rubles. In Trimount, Columbia's academic city, he began poaching talent on a massive scale.
Compared with the funds Theresica controlled for all of Kazdel, the money that Trimount's companies sponsored to their laboratories was utterly incomparable. Using promises of enormous research grants as his spearhead, he took a bite out of every school in Trimount, covering dozens of fields, including physics, chemistry, mechanics, mechanical engineering, and mobile construction engineering.
The movement of such enormous sums made even Warfarin uneasy.
"Theresica, the people you've recruited could basically be used to rebuild an entire Trimount Institute of Technology! Making such a huge move will draw a lot of attention to the Sarkaz!"
Theresica was unconcerned. "Don't worry, Warfarin. The thing I fear most is becoming famous. I won't let that happen."
Chapter 74: Cooperation with Siracusa ### Siracusa, Gray Hall.
The heads of the twelve families had gathered here today, but the atmosphere was far from pleasant. Their suits could not hide their viciousness, and the troubles they had recently encountered made them unusually restless before Lady Sicilia.
"These Sarkaz have gone too far lately. They cut off the grain trade just like that."
"Exactly. When they need us, they come looking for us. Now that they don't, they kick us aside. That's rather shameless."
"Should we raise the prices of our other exports a little, just to warn the Sarkaz?"
The various families discussed matters noisily around the circular conference table. Lady Sicilia, seated in the most ornately decorated chair, had not spoken a word. She sat quietly, gently inhaling the fragrance of her coffee.
After they had spoken for a long while without receiving any response from Lady Sicilia, the heads gradually fell silent.
"Have you said enough? If you're thirsty, have some coffee."
Hearing Lady Sicilia's voice, the attendant waiting nearby approached with elegant steps and served every family head a cup of coffee.
"Are we really going to give up the grain trade with the Sarkaz?"
One of the heads cautiously questioned Lady Sicilia.
The Sarkaz had originally been importing grain from Siracusa, taking as much as the country could export. This had led many families to enter the agricultural business.
They secretly mocked the foolish Sarkaz king for insisting that everyone receive the same amount of food no matter the circumstances, while counting their banknotes and grinning from ear to ear.
Over the past year, Siracusa's agriculture had developed considerably thanks to the Sarkaz's vigorous purchases. The families involved in agriculture had also made enormous profits. This year, while ensuring that no one in the country went hungry, the Sarkaz had even introduced policies encouraging childbirth. Those in Siracusa's agricultural industry had assumed that Sarkaz grain imports would rise even further.
Reality, however, had played another joke on them. The Sarkaz announced that they would no longer import grain from Siracusa, leaving the various families dumbfounded. They had even been preparing to expand their grain production!
Looking at the grain they could no longer sell, they grew worried. Thus, during this Gray Hall meeting, they had come before Lady Sicilia to complain.
How could Lady Sicilia fail to see through these families' intentions? They simply lacked the courage to act and were unwilling to accept losses, so they wanted to goad her into saying a few words to the Sarkaz and negotiating a restoration of imports.
Lady Sicilia felt both helpless and relieved. These people still had enough self-awareness to understand that, with the few thugs their families possessed, using force to cause trouble for the Sarkaz would truly be courting death.
"The Sarkaz have already treated us very well. I remember clearly that they said they would finish this year's transactions before ending the grain trade with us. Have all of you forgotten?"
Lady Sicilia's gaze swept across everyone. "Do you think I'm easy to fool, or have I already become so old and senile?"
Gray Hall immediately fell silent. At that moment, however, an attendant rushed in and whispered several words into Lady Sicilia's ear.
At the same theater they had visited last time, Theresica met Lady Sicilia once again.
"It's been a long time, Lady Sicilia. I'm sorry for coming to visit so abruptly."
"How could that be? The King of the Sarkaz is not someone one gets to meet easily."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, they went straight to the matter at hand. Theresica said, "I want to buy a plot of land in Volscian, or perhaps purchase a building."
"That will be easy to arrange." Lady Sicilia smiled. "Did you come here just for something like that? I don't think so."
"Yes. This place may be somewhat special. People who aren't from Siracusa will be coming and going frequently."
At those words, Lady Sicilia's expression shifted slightly.
"May I ask what you intend to use this area for?"
Theresica replied, "To build a school. An institution of higher learning."
That was why he had come. He knew that his actions in Columbia had caused quite a stir. If he sent all the people he had recruited to Kazdel, the nations of Terra would have to reassess Kazdel, and might even regard it as a threat.
But what if he sent them to a country like Siracusa, which, like Laterano, did not interfere in Terra's conflicts? Who would care? Siracusa might gain some benefits, but Kazdel's security would receive powerful protection.
"Lady Sicilia, you know that Kazdel's conditions are poor. People with knowledge and ability tend to have their own tempers, and I'm afraid they won't be able to stay in Kazdel and will all leave. So I want to establish a university in Siracusa."
Theresica looked at Lady Sicilia. "The teachers are already on their way. I'll provide the funding and personnel. We'll build a first-rate university here. Apart from Sarkaz students, I'll only accept Siracusans selected by you. The ratio of Sarkaz to Siracusan students will remain one to one. All you need to do is provide some convenience with entry and exit."
"I'll handle the school grounds and the entry and exit arrangements."
Lady Sicilia did not hesitate for even a moment. She offered proactively, "Send the teachers and students over. I'll handle everything."
Siracusa had little industrial technology. Aside from its abundant supplies, it was fundamentally a backward nation. As long as Lady Sicilia was a normal leader, she would never give up such an excellent opportunity.
Theresica could not think of any reason Lady Sicilia would reject him. Instead, she would probably do everything possible to conceal his secrets.
"I'm somewhat concerned about security. I want to send a small force to protect the school, perhaps a company."
Theresica continued, "You can register all these armed personnel with the immigration authorities. Would that be acceptable?"
"No problem."
Lady Sicilia agreed immediately. She had always wanted the Sarkaz to send troops to help deal with Leithanien's pressure. Now, not only were they sending soldiers, they were also sending a team of first-rate Columbian university teachers.
My God! Am I dreaming? If Siracusa can one day reach Columbia's level of technology, combined with its own abundant resources, it might even become a powerful nation on Terra!
"There's one more thing I hope you won't explain in detail to Father Agniel. With Sarkaz students there, I'm afraid he won't be comfortable."
"Understood. I'll handle it."
Lady Sicilia did not voice a single objection throughout the entire discussion. That very day, she converted a newly built hotel into a school.
Kazdel Polytechnic University was thus established in Siracusa. However, the people of Siracusa did not know that name. They only knew that everything in the area was Lady Sicilia's cherished possession.
That very evening, Lady Sicilia specifically notified every family and gang that anyone who caused trouble near the school or disturbed its students would make an enemy of her.
Chapter 75: Factory Upgrade ### Aside from the ecology major and the computer trio, Theresica settled all the other teachers in Volscian, Siracusa. None of the teachers objected to coming to Siracusa, and they were extremely satisfied to be housed in the finest hotel.
At the same time, a company of Kazdel's army entered Volscian, and the substantial research funds prepared for the teachers also entered Siracusa. With Kazdel's arrangements, various laboratories meeting Columbia's first-rate standards began construction here.
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