The next day.
They were still in Tiangong's laboratory module.
Standing before the researchers, Professor Stephen, dark circles under his eyes, gave a light cough. He raised the printed paper in his hand and continued in a listless voice.
"I trust you've all finished reading it... I won't repeat what's in the paper. But to satisfy my own curiosity, I still have to ask—who exactly is this Dr. Z?"
Looking at the six blank, unmoved faces before him, Professor Stephen added in a certain tone.
"Don't be shy. Dr. Z must be among the seven of us... No, six of you. I know it definitely isn't me. Ian, old friend, was it you?"
Faced with his old friend's question, Ian glanced at the paper in his hand and shook his head blankly. "Of course not. If it were me, why would I use a pseudonym? This could very well be a Nobel Prize-level discovery. Would anyone think they had too much honor?"
The X-0172 bacterial invasion counted as a global ecosystem crisis. If they could solve this problem, it would undoubtedly be a contribution to all humanity. Whether it could win a Nobel Prize was hard to say, considering how many people were already waiting in line, but it would certainly qualify for a Nobel Prize nomination.
Professor Leslie glanced at Professor Zhao Shuxuan beside him and found that Zhao was looking at him too.
"Z... seems to be the first letter of your surname?"
"Stop guessing," Professor Zhao said, shaking his head. "It wasn't me... Why would I stay anonymous if it were?"
It was one thing not to fight to put one's own name down as first author, but actively hiding it entirely was simply baffling. What exactly had this guy been thinking?
The seven people in the