Seventy-two hours later.
Only a day and a half had passed on Antuakh.
The days and nights here were different from Earth's.
During the day, there was only one sun in the sky, which looked somewhat different from Earth's yellow dwarf star. Its light was softer and its spectrum skewed red, characteristic of a red giant.
At night, the moon here was terrifyingly large—a colossal rocky planet.
Perhaps it shouldn't even be called a moon, because on Earth, the moon is Earth's satellite, but here, it might be that the Altos Dimension itself was the satellite.
The planet's mass, orbit, and rotation were all different from Earth's, so naturally, a day here was also different from a day on Earth.
"Tsk, it's a shame. With so much stuff, we can only bring back a small portion of valuable cellular samples."
Tony toyed with a jade-like horn he'd taken from an unknown creature, then tossed it far away.
"It is a bit of a shame, but we've gained so much more, haven't we?"
Qingshui squatted down, picked up a leaf, and casually drew a simple Rune on it.
Scattered energy spontaneously converged towards the Rune, causing several arcs of electricity to flicker on the leaf, scorching it.
This was the Rune representing "electricity."
The amount of items Tony could bring back depended on the price he paid to Vishanti for dimensional travel.
The same applied to Qingshui; Yggdrasil couldn't just supply him limitlessly.
So, besides the most important Book of Altos, Qingshui only brought a few other significant items.
Four Rune Stones, suspected to have been personally crafted by Altos, ten Uru Metal claw blades obtained from a Prowler, and categorized samples containing cells and fungi from hundreds of different plants and animals.
These creatures were ones Qingshui found interesting, whose biological outputs might possess some value.
He planned to set up a completely isolated culture dish upon his return to attempt cloning these species and see if any could adapt to Earth's environment.
Of course, to prevent biological invasion, any successfully cloned and surviving organisms would be confined to a limited space.
Qingshui planned to place these items on the private island where Banner used to live, implementing triple supervision through magic, technology, and Sealing Jutsu to prevent any accidents.
Since they were only partial tissue cells, the weight of these items wasn't significant.
As for the Book of Altos, the four Rune Stones, and the small quantity of Uru Metal claw blades, these highly valuable items were worth bringing back, even if it meant paying a bit more energy.
"Alright, the vacation's pretty much over. Time to get down to business. The flow of time in higher-dimensional space operates differently from our universe, but it's intricately linked, just like how 3D space is composed of 2D space, but 1D also exists within 3D.
If we delay any longer, Vishanti might be fine, but Yggdrasil isn't a true multiversal deity. It's just a plant with a simple consciousness, existing at the junction of higher dimensions and reality. It might not like waiting for you that long."
Tony yawned and gestured to Qingshui.
"Remember to give the book to Vishanti a year from now; it will then pass it on to me."
With that, Tony patted a Magic Tool connected to his suit on his arm.
"Hoggoth?"
A ball of golden energy enveloped Tony, and he flew off towards the outer heavens.
Qingshui also activated the leaf mark Yggdrasil had left on him, beginning his return to his own universe.
...
...
Current Fortune Value: 47.73%
In the World of One Person, Kyoto University.
Zhuo Qingshui, the newly appointed associate professor of both the School of Physics and the School of Mathematics, stood on the podium, outlining final exam key points to a group of freshmen who had been enrolled for less than half a year.
As his position rose, his Fortune Value increased again.
Originally, he was only an associate professor in the School of Physics, but the School of Mathematics next door was very eager to have someone with such a high probability of winning a Fields Medal.
If a professor from our department wins the Fields Medal, it will bring a huge boost to the reputation of the entire Jingda University School of Mathematics.
But he's from the School of Physics!
But that was no problem. After a discussion, several leaders of the School of Mathematics decided to simply follow procedure and also grant Qingshui the title of associate professor in the School of Mathematics.
Having dual titles wasn't common in academia, but a few outstanding individuals spanning multiple fields had achieved it.
Qiu Chengtong from the "Bathhouse University" next door had once simultaneously held positions as a mathematics professor and physics professor at Harvard. John Bardeen, the only person in human history to win two Nobel Prizes in Physics, also served as a professor of both physics and electrical engineering at the University of Illinois.
The School of Mathematics didn't require much of Qingshui's time; he just needed to teach one low-credit course here. In the future, if he had time, he could publish a few papers in mathematics journals. As long as he met the promotion requirements, they would directly promote him to professor.
With Fortune Value to gain and an extra salary, Qingshui was happy to accept.
Teaching wouldn't be too tiring, and papers were easy to handle, as he had two modern worlds to plagiarize from.
With so much black technology, these two worlds were definitely far ahead of normal modern worlds in basic sciences, especially in theoretical aspects.
Several months had passed, and he had already copied several papers, half from Lex Luthor and half from Tony.
Although these two wouldn't truly publicize their best work, what they did publish was by no means simple.
To publish flimsy, low-value papers would be too shameful for geniuses whose intelligence was almost akin to superpowers.
"Anyway, most of what I covered in class was important. Chapters eight and ten won't be on the exam, but you still need to have some understanding of them. The exam content will be similar to the exercises in the courseware and textbook, but slightly more difficult. As long as you paid attention in class, most of it should be easy points…"
Qingshui stood at the podium, a blackboard densely covered in writing behind him.
The bell rang, signaling the end of class. Qingshui glanced at the students below, who were still jotting down key exam points, then exited the PPT and removed his teaching USB drive.
"I've already arranged for the class monitor to send the courseware to your group chat. If you have any questions, feel free to ask now."
Qingshui picked up his lesson plan, looked at the students, and spoke.
Soon, a group of students, after finishing their notes, came forward with questions.
Some were related to the course, while others were random inquiries or gossip.
It was normal for young teachers to have such a relationship with their university students. Even the top students at a TOP2 university like Jingda University were, in fact, just ordinary people with human emotions.
Leaving the classroom with his courseware, Qingshui headed to the computational physics department office.
Meng Xuan sat at his desk, deep dark circles under his eyes, reviewing Qingshui's new paper, which he had co-authored with several doctoral students, on his computer.
"Class is over?"
"Yeah, no more classes after this semester. I should have almost two months of vacation now, and I plan to relax properly."
"You plan to relax? What about me?"
Meng Xuan took off his silver-rimmed glasses, looking at Qingshui with bloodshot eyes.
"All those constructive projects you proposed earlier, are we not doing them anymore? These are top-tier publications just waiting to happen!"
Meng Xuan lowered his voice, whispering, as if afraid of being overheard by other faculty members working in the office.
So, they moved their conversation to the window at the end of the corridor.
"As long as you and I complete these projects, forget about becoming academicians—a Fields Medal won't even be a problem! We'll become the pioneers of the artificial intelligence era!"
Old Meng scratched his head, looking very excited.
"Oh, a Fields Medal, a Fields Medal. Didn't you say it wouldn't be a problem? Why are you so excited?"
Qingshui patted Old Meng's shoulder, turning the tables on him.
If I just brought out strong AI now, I'd probably become the Maxwell of the IT world.
"Exactly! That's why we need to hurry!"
"But you're here, aren't you! I design feasible projects based on inspiration, and you perfect them with your professional expertise, extensive knowledge, and rich experience. Isn't that the most reasonable and perfect combination?"
Qingshui looked at Meng Xuan's increasingly receding hairline and spoke earnestly.
This was his most useful tool now!
He couldn't possibly do everything himself, could he?
Necessary experimental records, necessary paper writing, the code to be written, the IT data to be trained—these all required someone with a certain level of skill to assist and oversee.
Otherwise, where would he find the time to research Qi Cultivation, Divine Mechanism Art, and the various strange abilities of the Anomalous Humans in this world?
And here was a scholar in his prime, with sufficient knowledge and research capabilities, the potential to become a top-tier scientist, an Anomalous Human from the Mohist Sect, a Changjiang Scholar, whose mentor was both an academic titan and the Mohist Grandmaster, capable of mobilizing a considerable amount of research resources.
Was there a more suitable tool than this?
"So, you're planning to do something else this winter break?"
"That's right. Research every day is exhausting. Coincidentally, I recently sold an image recognition algorithm patent to Tencent, earning a bit of pocket money. So I bought a car and plan to take a road trip across the country this winter break."
As Qingshui spoke, he jingled the car keys at his waist.
The road trip was real, but the destination had another purpose.
Qingshui also planned to use the remaining "pocket money" to create a Puppet with decent combat power.
Selling the patent was just a temporary measure.
Throughout history, those with technology that aligned with the times could make money. If only a few people possessed that technology, you could earn much more than others. And if the technology was only held by you and far surpassed its era, then it was even more remarkable.
Qingshui's plan was to register a company during the winter break to manage his future patent fees and perhaps dabble in other businesses.
Many university professors owned their own companies; it wasn't unusual.
Qingshui's plan was quite carefree, but Meng Xuan had a headache.
You bought a car, kid?
"How much?"
"Just over a hundred mantou. It's just a small patent; its current commercial application prospects are decent, but similar technology will appear on the market in another year or two."
"Alright."
Meng Xuan felt a headache when it came to this genius student.
But he couldn't control him either.
"Then what about that paper you sent me this morning? When did you go off to research electron beam lithography again? It's not that it's bad—it's somewhat related to our field—but why are you dabbling in so many different things, especially a technology that stagnated in the 1980s? Shouldn't you prioritize getting results from things that can yield them quickly?"
Meng Xuan clutched his hair in distress, speaking earnestly.
In his opinion, this was a common problem among young people: easily prioritizing minor gains and missing out on major opportunities, or taking unnecessary detours.
Someone as exceptionally gifted as Qingshui, Meng Xuan naturally didn't want him to be distracted from his development by other matters.
"Oh, uh... Professor Meng, did you not finish reading the paper just now?"
"I spent the whole morning reading other papers to understand yours."
After all, electron beams are a technology whose development stalled last century. Few people understand them now, only using them as a supplement to modern lithography.
Even though its theoretical precision can reach below ten nanometers, in the face of technical bottlenecks, the later-developed optical lithography technology is more advanced.
"This paper has already solved the proximity effect problem caused by electron scattering and backscattering in resist and substrates," Qingshui said to Meng Xuan.
"So you mean..."
"The technical hurdle that has plagued the academic community for thirty years has been half-solved. The remaining half will be significantly less difficult."
Meng Xuan: ...
The old man's expression was complicated at this moment.
Is this what genius is?
As long as they're truly unleashed, no matter what they research, they'll achieve results.
Forget it, let him do whatever he wants.
Anyway, it doesn't make much difference. With me staying at the university to oversee things and ensure the results are successfully incubated, it's all the same.
"Do whatever you want," Meng Xuan said, waving his hand, feeling defeated.
"Oh, right, Professor Meng, one more thing."
"What is it?"
"I want to research Divine Mechanism Art during the winter break. I was wondering about the materials..."
"I have some here. If you see anything you like, take it and use it. Later, just give me a list, and I'll submit it to the Mohist Grandmaster."
"Great!" Qingshui immediately beamed with joy.
Another freebie, folks!
A few minutes later, Qingshui walked out of Jingda University's gates, tossing a small spherical pouch slightly larger than a ping-pong ball.
This item was called a Devouring Pouch, originally invented by an Artificer from the Heavenly Craft Hall. It could store unconscious objects.
This meant it could be used to knock someone out and transport them inside, similar to the storage rings in xianxia novels.
To understand its principles, the Mohist Sect had made some technical exchanges with the Heavenly Craft Hall and obtained the manufacturing method.
However, the difficulty of creation was very high. Ordinary Artificers couldn't make it, though more skilled ones could. But refining one Magic Tool took a very long time, so aside from personal use, Artificers would at most share a little with their own sect members.
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