This Robot Wants to Harm Me!

Chapter 23: This Robot Wants to Harm Me!

After reviewing the test papers for a total of half an hour, all three had received high marks. Professor Wang Zhong became increasingly satisfied with this grand-student of his, and the sternness on his face had long since vanished.

Talented young people... is that really called pulling strings?

That is what they deserve!

He asked kindly, "What was your undergraduate major?"

"Space Mechanical Engineering."

"Why that major? What a waste!"

In this major, one learns a little bit of everything—biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, mechanics—all under the guise of better understanding the entire space industry. But human energy is limited; learning everything means mastering nothing, and few people can truly excel in it during their undergraduate years.

"A good seedling should study pure mathematics, not space mechanics! Maintaining a spaceship is something others can do!"

Wang Zhong shook his head and sighed, then felt that his own thought was unrealistic.

There are only 500,000 people on the spaceship, and everyone has to be put to use. Pure theorists are a luxury only Earth civilization could afford.

He said, "Once you're on the ship, research conditions aren't actually that great. Most people are mainly geared toward administrative work, responsible for maintaining the existing systems."

"...Administrative work is indeed important, but it is too time-consuming. It's only suitable for an old retiree like me. With so many trivial matters to manage from morning till night, I can't even mentor doctoral students anymore, only master's students..."

Xu Yunjing rolled her eyes, not knowing what to say, as if mentoring master's students were simple. Perhaps, in the eyes of such a big shot, it really was simple.

"However, even if the conditions on the ship are poor, you must still conduct research diligently. Because humans are creatures who, once they become lazy, find it very difficult to regain their diligence," Wang Zhong instructed. "You must pay attention to this yourself!"

Zhang Yuan nodded.

Wang Zhong asked again, "Did you have any good papers during your undergraduate years?"

"No."

Wang Zhong frowned, subconsciously attributing this to Zhang Yuan's poor major.

Besides, with only an undergraduate degree, it was normal not to have any particularly good papers.

"It doesn't matter, you're still young anyway. As for your advisor, you must decide based on your research direction. Be very cautious, very cautious."

At nine o'clock in the evening, Zhang Yuan walked out of the office, feeling wonderful. Professor Wang Zhong had agreed to write him a letter of recommendation. A letter of recommendation is sometimes just the icing on the cake, but at other times, it is very important.

As long as I have the strength, why would I be afraid of not finding an advisor? He wasn't worried about that aspect at all.

He also had a temporary student ID card tucked in his pocket.

This meant he could stay at Xisha University temporarily for a few days and borrow books from the library for free.

This was excellent.

The Xisha University campus was brightly lit at night. During the summer vacation, a small number of students remained on campus to participate in summer camp activities. Teams for competitions like mathematical modeling and robotics were all undergoing intensive training during the summer.

Pairs of lovers were having a great time on the beach, with rolling waves accompanied by various screams and cheers.

A university by the sea is just that joyful.

The tide would be coming in soon, and some patrol robots were honking their horns, warning everyone that the tide was approaching and not to go swimming. If anyone drowned, it would be their own fault, and the school couldn't be blamed.

"So hungry!"

Zhang Yuan suddenly remembered that he hadn't eaten dinner yet, and he trotted impatiently toward the east gate.

The late-night snack shops at the east gate were extremely popular, and one could smell a rich aroma of seafood from far away.

Zhang Yuan swallowed, "One order of seafood mixed noodles, and two skewers of grilled octopus."

"Reservation successful, please wait a moment."

"Hey, student, student!"

Turning his head, a blonde, blue-eyed girl grabbed him.

A foreigner?

It wasn't surprising; as an international metropolis, Xisha City was full of foreigners. Over 35% of the students at Xisha University were recruited from all over the world.

"Uh... what do you need?" Zhang Yuan asked with a frown.

"Did you see Professor Wang Zhong? Prof. Wang!" Her fluent Xia language was quite rare.

Nowadays, intelligent translation systems are very popular; a mobile phone can flexibly translate various languages, which leads to very few people willing to spend the energy to learn other languages.

In the Xia Kingdom's college entrance examination, English teaching had also become an elective course rather than a compulsory one.

Zhang Yuan replied, "I saw him, why?"

"Can you take me to see him? I am Angelica, a reporter for the Humanist Association of the Lan Kingdom. I want to interview Professor Wang, the scientific advisor of the Deep Space Foundation..."

"What... Humanist Association?"

Upon hearing those last few words, Zhang Yuan felt a chill run through his body.

He pretended he hadn't heard her and kept walking on his own.

"Student, please help me, I have some things I want to ask him, really, I beg you."

Angelica grabbed him, her eyes sparkling.

"What do you want?"

"I want to interview him, and while I'm at it, apply for a share of the electricity aid for impoverished nations..."

Zhang Yuan thought about it for a moment, still unwilling to get involved in such a bizarre matter.

You didn't need to be a genius to figure out that the foundation itself was short on funds, and Professor Wang certainly wouldn't want to see her. Besides, these Humanist Association types usually got tangled up in politics, which was actually quite annoying.

Some Western nations were still immersed in the dream that they were traditional great powers, always pointing fingers at the internal affairs and human rights of the Xia Kingdom in the name of freedom and democracy.

Give me a break, the world has changed a long time ago!

Zhang Yuan didn't want to help, so he had a sudden flash of inspiration and said, "I'm sorry, our philosophies differ, so I cannot help you. I am a member of the Animal Protection Association, and if you want to apply for aid funds, we are competitors..."

The blonde beauty widened her eyes: "Animal... Protection Association?"

"Animal-Protection, you know?" Zhang Yuan feigned a serious expression: "We should love animals, love them just as we love ourselves. We shouldn't eat animal meat; we should eat more eco-friendly synthetic meat and plants..."

The blonde beauty agreed: "So you are also a person of universal love. Synthetic meat can indeed replace natural meat; we can reduce killing and protect the environment in the future..."

"Customer number 719, your grilled octopus and seafood mixed noodles are packed."

Zhang Yuan felt awkward inside, cursing that damn robot for trying to ruin him!

The blonde girl looked at Zhang Yuan and that skewer of steaming grilled octopus with great disdain, her expression turning strange.

Zhang Yuan's face flushed red, and he put on a sanctimonious expression: "Actually... my association is mainly the Cat and Dog Protection Association; we don't eat cat or dog meat. I believe that cats and dogs should be raised as one's own children."

"Cats and dogs under one year old should be placed in cradles, fed milk powder, and allowed to enjoy the greatest care and love that humans can provide!"

"Ah?!" The blonde reporter Angelica couldn't help but shiver.

In the split second she was stunned, Zhang Yuan had already slipped away into the distance.

Only then did she realize she had been teased, and she couldn't help but stomp her foot hard, cursing in fluent Xia language: "Scumbag!"