Professor Bryce Was Cruelly Humiliated

The carriage stopped in front of Puxiu Academy's main gate.

"Wayne, go scout ahead."

Li Mo was always using Wayne like Teemo.

Wayne understood at once and hurried toward the main teaching building.

A few minutes later, he ran back and said, panting:

"Li, I checked. Matthew didn't come to class today."

Li Mo frowned slightly.

"Then we need to hurry... Anna, Wayne, find somewhere to wait for me. I'm going to speak with Professor Bryce alone."

Anna nodded. "Understood."

Top floor, the observatory.

A huge refracting telescope stood silently beneath the dome, its lens pointed at the sky.

Professor Bryce turned and saw Li Mo. Smiling, he said, "Li, you're here."

"Good morning, Professor."

Li Mo greeted him as he approached, taking the opportunity to glance at the professor's desk.

The desk was still covered in charts and graphs of tidal fluctuations.

The professor was repeating his verification.

Was he really that worried about making a mistake?

This gave Li Mo an opening. "Professor, you seem to care a great deal about this subject."

Professor Bryce rubbed his eyes. "Yes, Li. It's important."

He had indeed been working for a long time, so he decided to get up and move around.

He walked to the window, where he could see Mondel Town's coastline in the distance.

"This subject is even more important than you imagine," Professor Bryce said. "I submitted our findings to Her Majesty the Empress's envoy overnight. Don't worry, Li. I made a point of emphasizing your contribution in my report. Her Majesty is very interested in you. She even asked for your name specifically in her reply."

The Empress?

Li Mo frowned.

He had thought it was just a straightforward study of tidal data, yet it had somehow become directly connected to the kingdom's supreme ruler. That was a bit much.

This made him even more determined to get to the bottom of things.

From a broader perspective, he currently had two main things to accomplish: first, advance the progress of the age, and second, improve his social standing.

As for his academic ambitions, once he reached the Royal Academy of Sciences, he could publish papers like crazy and keep pushing progress forward.

But for now, Mondel Town was shrouded in shadow. He had to improve his social standing immediately and gain a say, so that others would listen to him and trust his judgment.

Otherwise... who knew whether the shadow might fall on him one day?

Li Mo looked at the professor's back and said, "Professor, how much do you know about the complete lockdown of the docks?"

Professor Bryce said, "It's just routine military control. The war in the north is getting serious, and the safety of the shipping lanes is crucial. It's only natural to seal off the docks."

The professor's answer was very official. He seemed to have no desire to discuss the subject further.

Probing had gotten him nowhere.

Li Mo decided to be more direct. "Professor, my good friend Helen is missing. Someone saw her running toward the docks, crying all the way, before she disappeared. So I have to get to the bottom of this. The more time passes, the more danger Helen is in."

Professor Bryce froze.

He thought back for a moment, then asked hesitantly, "Helen... Is that the rather introverted girl in class?"

"Yes."

"Why would she run to the docks?"

"She had a fierce argument with her father."

Professor Bryce fell silent.

His hesitation made it clear that he knew something.

After a long while,

Professor Bryce sighed and said, "Li, all I can tell you is that the people inside the docks definitely wouldn't hurt Helen. If something really did happen to her, it must have been on the way there."

Li Mo knew the professor was definitely unwilling to tell him the truth.

Since he couldn't obtain information through normal means, he could only use a cheat.

Li Mo quietly adjusted his breathing.

He naturally pressed his palms together and rested them lightly in front of his mouth. The movement was so discreet that no one else could have noticed anything unusual.

Then he silently said to himself, Quiet-

Focus mode activated.

"So, Professor." Li Mo opened his eyes and stared intently at him. "You know what the people inside the docks are doing. They're all good people, right?"

Professor Bryce closed his mouth and refused to answer.

But his microexpressions had already given him away.

The professor's breathing was normal, his pupils remained their usual size, and he showed no other reaction.

Li Mo immediately came to a conclusion: the statement was correct. The people at the docks really wouldn't hurt civilians.

He immediately followed up with a second question. "Are the people at the docks from Matthew's family?"

Professor Bryce frowned slightly, his eyes puzzled.

Li Mo understood.

They had nothing to do with Matthew's family.

He asked again, "Were they sent by the Empress?"

This time, Professor Bryce's pupils contracted, his breathing paused, and the corners of his mouth turned down slightly.

Li Mo understood.

So it had to do with the Empress.

Li Mo continued guessing, speaking faster. "The Empress sent people to seal off the docks because she wants to make a big move on the autumn equinox, right?"

Professor Bryce took half a step back, his Adam's apple bobbing.

Li Mo silently thought, Right again.

He continued thinking.

What big move could the Empress make?

In this era, the kingdom was at war with the north.

It involved the royal family's supreme ruler, the tides, and a top-secret port lockdown.

There seemed to be only one big move the Empress could make.

Li Mo said, "The Empress plans to send an ocean freighter to launch a surprise attack on the northern kingdom on the autumn equinox, right?"

Professor Bryce's eyes widened. "???"

Li Mo continued reasoning aloud. "I haven't seen any large numbers of troops enter Mondel Town recently. Without an army, an ocean freighter wouldn't be an effective fighting force even if it went there. So she isn't sending troops. Then what is it?"

A second later,

Li Mo said, "There's a Mystical Artifact on board, right?"

Professor Bryce: "?!!"

Li Mo spoke even faster. "It's a very powerful Mystical Artifact. As long as they can use the greatest tidal range on the autumn equinox to leave the port and successfully deliver it to the northern kingdom, they can bypass the conventional army and directly inflict enormous material damage on them, right? And someone in the northern kingdom might know the Empress has a means like that, so they sealed off the shipping lanes in advance to try to stop the freighter. That directly caused the cotton shortage in town and triggered the factory crisis, right?"

Professor Bryce: "!!!"

He finally came to his senses and hurriedly said, "Li Mo, stop talking... stop talking..."

The professor wasn't stupid either. He guessed that his expressions might have given the information away.

So he covered his face and said in grief and indignation, "You're not allowed to observe me anymore!"

Honestly, Professor Bryce was truly a little frightened by Li Mo.

This guy was too smart, frighteningly smart.

The professor felt like a naked child in front of Li Mo, all his secrets seen through at a glance.

How could this happen?! Where the hell had my composure gone?!

Li Mo was still in Focus mode. He pondered:

So Helen really had disappeared on her way to the docks.

The person who had taken Helen hadn't done so because she went to the docks, but because... Helen had seen them near the docks?

Li Mo came to a realization.

He was certainly not the only one who wanted to know the docks' secret.

If someone had been secretly gathering information near the docks and Helen had stumbled upon them, it really could have led to an accident.

By that reasoning, Helen might be in great danger now.

Li Mo hurried to leave. "Thank you, Professor. I'll be going now."

Professor Bryce, like a humiliated, resentful little wife, helplessly admonished him, "I didn't say anything about this! And don't tell anyone about your own guesses either, understood?!"

Li Mo nodded. "Don't worry, Professor."