Chapter 141: Chapter 122: A Truly Revolutionary Paper Is One That Can’t Be Published
Li Quanyuan could only stare. "?!"
The call connected almost instantly. A voice Li Quanyuan knew all too well came from the phone—it was Zhao Shao!
However, compared to the calm, methodical, and intelligent tone Zhao Shao usually had when they spoke, Li Quanyuan could sense his barely suppressed excitement and agitation now.
"Ah Zhu, are you calling to talk about the rest of those algorithms?"
"...I’m working on it, I’m working on it!" Chu Bamboo froze mid-bite. His expression was strained, and the words seemed forced through gritted teeth...
’This is exactly why I didn’t want to contact Zhao!’
Sighing internally, Chu Bamboo looked across at Li Quanyuan. "Senior Zhao, I’m having a meal with Principal Li from our university right now!"
Z Company, President’s Office.
"...Oh?" Zhao Shao paused, his takeout forgotten. His mind raced, and his expression grew serious. ’Does the principal need me for something? No, if he really needed me, he would have called me himself! In other words...’
"Principal Li." After organizing his thoughts, Zhao Shao cleared his throat and shifted his tone. "I’m not exactly sure what Ah Zhu has been discussing with you, but he is truly an incredibly talented and exceptionally gifted person."
Zhao Shao praised him lavishly, "His achievements in artificial intelligence and algorithms are in no way inferior to my own! He might even be better than me! I spoke with Junior Chu previously, and he gave me a tremendous amount of inspiration! It’s been a great help to us at Z Company..."
Even though Zhao Shao had never actually discussed AI with Chu Bamboo, he still chose to hype him up first...
’After all, from what I know, it’s not like Principal Li researches programming or artificial intelligence.’
’Even if Chu Bamboo is actually terrible at this and just plagiarized the algorithm from somewhere... the guy on the other end of the line can’t prove it!’
"Mr. Zhao," Li Quanyuan interrupted, his face grim. "If we were actually discussing artificial intelligence, what you just said would certainly put my mind at ease. But the crucial issue is..."
"He wrote a paper on materials science!" After a brief hesitation, Li Quanyuan’s gaze drifted toward Chu Bamboo. "It is about materials, right?"
Zhao Shao’s stunt had shaken his confidence.
Zhao Shao: "...Huh?!"
’Oh crap, did I hype up the wrong talent?!’
"So, Mr. Chu, just be straight with me. What are you trying to prove?" Li Quanyuan took a deep breath, his eyes locked on Chu Bamboo.
"You think my talents are limited to music and sports because those are the only ones you’ve seen. For instance, I can discuss matters of artificial intelligence with Senior Zhao with ease." Chu Bamboo tapped the table gently, his voice filled with pride and confidence.
He looked Li Quanyuan straight in the eye. "So why would you assume I haven’t accomplished anything in materials science?"
"Let’s be honest, isn’t materials science the field that relies most on luck? Even an amateur scientist, if they get lucky enough, could potentially create a material with a revolutionary impact on all of society."
"My rational mind wants to question you," Li Quanyuan said, his expression unreadable. "But that same rational mind also tells me you aren’t foolish enough to intentionally make a fool of me. Especially not after deliberately calling Zhao Shao..."
Li Quanyuan’s fingers tapped gently on the table as countless thoughts collided in his mind. "I’ve spoken with Xiaozhao before," he said. "He’s a very clever guy, and very good at looking out for himself. After just a few words with him, I knew that not only did the kid have some real substance, he was also a master of bullshitting and bluffing."
"And that’s precisely why I was certain he would go on to do great things," Li Quanyuan declared. "So I made the executive decision to support him!"
"..." Chu Bamboo’s expression grew complicated, and he seemed to want to say something but held back. ’In the original timeline, Principal Li wasn’t wrong. Zhao Shao really was both capable and a great bullshitter... The problem was, he never actually achieved anything great... though that was mainly because he died young.’
’From that perspective, this Principal Li’s ability to judge character is actually frighteningly sharp...’
Zhao Shao: "..."
’Hey, if you’re going to chat, just chat! Why did you have to drag me into it and start criticizing me? And what’s this about being a master of bullshitting and bluffing...?’
Although he was screaming internally, Zhao Shao remained silent and well-behaved on the line. At the same time, a sense of shock washed over him...
’What big trouble has Junior Chu cooked up this time?’
’Listening to the snippets of their conversation... Materials? What kind of materials? Why are they talking about it so seriously? Something about a revolution, something important... Is it for military use?’
"Um, should I maybe hang up now?" Zhao Shao finally couldn’t hold back any longer. He felt a cold sweat breaking out all over.
’If this really involves military-grade stuff, I’ve already heard too much. Are a couple of guys in uniform going to show up out of nowhere and make me sign an NDA?’
Li Quanyuan ignored Zhao Shao and stuffed the stack of papers from the table into his briefcase. "I’ll take a look at it this afternoon... And you, kid!"
Li Quanyuan stared at Chu Bamboo with a complicated expression. He opened his mouth, then finally let out a sigh. "Sometimes I really can’t tell if you’re just naive or something else entirely!"
"If this paper really contains a materials science discovery as monumental as you claim, you’d just hand it over to me like this?" Li Quanyuan’s voice turned stern. "Do you have any proof of your work? Aren’t you afraid I’ll just steal your discovery?"
As an academician, not to mention the teacher and principal of the young man before him, Li Quanyuan would never do something so unscrupulous—
