In a medium-sized city, the University of Ontario is nestled along a lakeshore. The lake is mostly frozen over and a brisk wind pushes bits of snow across the landscape. Although it shouldn't be very cold, the wind makes it feel like it is -10 degrees Celsius. 

One of the main lecture halls for undergraduate courses is unimaginatively named Smith Hall. Currently, 418 students are stuffed into the 425-seat auditorium to learn about basic biology. 

It is 10 minutes before class is over and the students' brains are so stuffed with information that they can barely think anymore. The professor is trying and failing to raise student engagement by showing cute pictures of animals. Only a few students in the front can muster the energy to pay attention. 

Sitting in the middle of the hall, Fern just can't bring herself to focus on the lecture. Finals are right around the corner, which means lots of research projects and studying that no one has time for. Realizing that she can't understand anything that the professor is trying to explain, Fern can't help but feel hopeless for herself.   

Drifting off into her own worries, Fern ignores the prof. as he switches to the next slide. 

"Could've studied for the quiz tomorrow. I should've figured out what I want to declare my major to be. What if I just don't declare my major. Maybe I should try my luck at becoming an amazingly rich college drop-out… " 

Emily, Fern's friend, nudges Fern's side and brings her back to the present. 

"Fern wake up. The lecture is over. Do you want to walk home, get coffee, or both?" 

Turning her head to Emily, Fern sighs and says, "Let's get coffee- I need the caffeine." 

After packing up their school supplies, the two ladies navigated through the flood of students and started walking to the closest coffee shop. 

 ... 

The Maple Leaf Cafe has an artificially quaint vibe, but everyone ignores the artificial part. The walls have a fake log texture and all of the decorations are made by the university's alumni.  The quiet acoustic song that is playing over the speakers is only interrupted by the quiet chatter of customers and the espresso machine. In the corner of the store, a small table is occupied by Fern and Emily. 

Emily is attempting to multi-task as shes her hair into a braid and rummages through her bag for her lipgloss. 

"I got this lipgloss yesterday and it is so amazing. It's just flattering on everyone! Maybe I should get you one. Anyways, getting new makeup and getting all dolled up is the perfect reason for you to finally go out with me this weekend." 

With a grimace, Fern sets down her half-chugged coffee, "Okay but we've both come to the conclusion that I suck at partying. If we're going to dress up and go out, let's go to the art gallery that you keep talking about." 

"You came to the conclusion that you suck at parting but, that's a great idea. We can get some cool pictures and I can get material for my article assignment." 

Just as Fern is about to respond, she gets an automated text message on her phone. 

[BIOL 101 - Introduction to Biology (Updated Grade): Your grade for "Project Proposal" has been updated. Your grade is D+]

Immediately Fern's heart starts palpitating faster. Flustered, she quickly types in her phone's password a couple of times before it unlocks. Fern opens up her school's coursework manager and looks up the remarks of the grader.

[Great research question, Fern! However, your proposed hypothesis deals with a fundamentally different question. You will need to pick either your research question or hypothesis and change the other. Also, you supported your hypothesis with outdated evidence. For the final report, you will need stronger evidence. For these reasons, your proposal is rejected. Please submit a new proposal by the due date. I strongly encourage stopping in for my office hours soon. You can find them on the homepage. - Prof. Mike Jameson. ]

A young university student, Fern, is a mess. She has yet to find something that makes her feel passionately excited. 

When Fern receives a bad mark on a research project proposal, she is forced to seek help from a professor and discovers the magic of biology. 

As Fern pursues her fascination with the field, she and her friends will inadvertently revolutionize the world's understanding of the planet and its inhabitants.

The phone call was from Chen Yushan.
The moment the phone connected, Lu Zhou heard a pleasant voice through the phone.
"Hello, what are you up to? I called you before, but you didn't pick up."
"I was eating."
Chen Yushan curiously asked, "Eating? With a guy or a girl?"
"An academician from the Academy of Engineering, he's in his seventies." Lu Zhou coughed and said, "Forget about it, why are you calling me this late?"
Chen Yushan: "Well, the Commission for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense just called our company." 
"Commission for Science?" Lu Zhou raised his eyebrows. He was curious. "What did they say?"
"They asked if Star Sky Technology is interested in the end of year bidding for the manned moon landing project. If we are interested, we should start preparing the proposal and hand it in within two months." 
Lu Zhou thought for a bit before asking, "What's the specific project details? Did they say?"
"The specific project content can be found on the Commission for Science's website. I briefly read through it. Roughly speaking, the first phase of the project requires us to provide a 50-ton low-Earth orbit launch capacity, to be completed within 5 years."
50-ton low-Earth orbit delivery capacity?
Quite ambitious.
One should know that the orbit capacity of the Long March 5 was only 25 tons. None of the Chinese aerospace companies could accomplish this task with their current technology.
As for the Long March 9, no one knew. After all, this thing was expected to be completed in 2026. However, aerospace funding had been increased by a lot. If they tried hard enough, they might be able to make the 5-year cut-off. 
Lu Zhou sat in his chair and thought for a while.
"Okay then, I'll write a proposal in a few days."
"Okay, I'll wait for your news."
After Lu Zhou hung up the phone, he turned on his computer and contemplated it for a bit.
Even though at the beginning of the year he didn't consider bidding for this aerospace project, he didn't expect the sudden breakthrough in miniaturized controllable fusion technology.
Not to mention the scanner gun he won from the lucky draw, which cracked the secrets of the Hall-effect thruster. This greatly reduced his reverse-engineering time on the Debris No.3.
So far, the energy supply problem could be solved by the fusion battery. The most advanced five-axis CNC machine tools and the advanced neural network algorithm could be used to reverse engineer the Hall-effect thruster from the blueprint. It would be a pity not to participate in this project.
After all, he had seen the last moon landing seminar. The budget for this project was around two billion yuan. This kind of money-burning project would hurt his bank account quite a bit, so it would be great if someone could pay for his research.
Also, sending a 50-ton load into orbit wasn't anything too difficult for him.
Lu Zhou opened a document and placed his hands on the keyboard. He typed a title.
[The feasibility of fusion battery technology and ion thruster propulsion in aerospace.]
…
Over the past few days, Lu Zhou spent his time either at the Institute for Advanced Study or the space shuttle assembly center. He had collected the necessary data for his report, so he had very little time to spend at Jin Ling University.
However, this didn't matter too much. He didn't have a lot of classes in the second half of the semester. Only a few lectures on number theory, theoretical physics, and surface chemistry.
Even though occasionally there were a couple of students asking him questions, the PhD students who were residing in his office could deal with it.
As for the other more miscellaneous stuff, his three assistants could handle it. 
Two weeks after the semester began, Lu Zhou had almost completed his entire argument report. He received a call from Luo Wenxuan, who was on a business trip in Europe. 
When the call connected, a familiar voice was heard through the phone.
"It's a shame you can't come in person. The award ceremony is at the famous Institut de France. You have no idea how much preparation the Clay Institute did for this ceremony!"
"Oh really?" Lu Zhou heard how excited Luo Wenxuan was. He smiled and said, "I'm not too envious, I've already been there."
The other end of the phone went silent.
After two seconds, Lu Zhou heard a cough.
"Oh yeah, I forgot, this is the second time you won this prize…"
Jesus Christ, I totally forgot.
I totally got one-upped!
Lu Zhou didn't know what Luo Wenxuan was thinking. He smiled and said, "Remember to thank Professor Carlson, Jaffe, and Witten for me."
Luo Wenxuan was helpless. He sighed and said, "I knew you would say this. I've already said hi to them… Oh yeah, I've mailed the medal and check from the Clay Institute to you. Make sure to check your mail."
Lu Zhou said, "You mailed it? Why couldn't you bring it back yourself?"
Luo Wenxuan: "Traveling with a million-dollar check and a pure gold medal? Do you think I'm crazy?"
Lu Zhou: "Okay then, how long do you plan on staying in France?"
"Haha, uh… I haven't decided yet." Luo Wenxuan looked through his hotel window and yawned. He said, "At least until the end of month, right? I plan on taking a trip to Liechtenstein."
Lu Zhou: "…"
This guy is so unreliable.
Since Luo Wenxuan had done what he had to do, Lu Zhou didn't say much else.
Lu Zhou sighed and said, "Okay then, just come back after your trip."
"No problem! Actually, I'm not totally on holiday, I'm walking around to accumulate inspiration. Do you know who I admire the most?"
Lu Zhou: "Who?"
It's not me, right?
Please don't be me…
Luo Wenxuan: "It's Schrodinger! He discovered the great wave equations in the foothills of the Alps with his lover! I think you know what I mean, just like how you teach undergraduate students for inspiration, my way of being inspired…"
"F*ck's sake!"
Lu Zhou hung up the phone and threw his phone on the table.
He looked at his completed thesis on his computer screen and double-checked the entire thesis. He converted the thesis format and sent it to the relevant China National Space Administration department. 
He was certain that after they saw where the email came from, the department would take his proposal seriously.
As for Luo Wenxuan…
There weren't any physics research projects that Lu Zhou needed Luo Wenxuan's help with, so Lu Zhou decided to just let him be.


After suffering from a heat stroke while working under the scorching heat of summer, Lu Zhou, a hardworking but poor university student, somehow becomes the owner of an advanced technological system. With the cheat given by the system, his university life changes overnight. 
  
A Master's degree? Easy. 
  
PhD? Not a problem.   
  
From a nobody, he quickly becomes a huge celebrity in the world of science. With the missions given by the system, he is on his way to winning a Nobel Prize.   

"System, can points be exchanged for money?"
  
"No."
  
"F**k, what use are you then!?"
  
"This system will make you the ultimate scholar, the kind that lords over all of humanity. What use will money be to you?"

Song Jiang Industry University was one of the famous universities of science and engineering in the country. The computer science department of Song Jiang Industry University was a member of many research groups.
At the beginning of this year, led by the state, Song Jiang Industry University was involved in research and development of the Raptor Code wireless protocol. This was also one of the wireless transmission protocols independently developed by China. Xiao Qing was the person in charge of this project which was one of the reasons why she was busy every day.
Because the computer science department didn't have enough manpower, the department would recruit some graduate students as assistants every time there was a research project. Although graduate students were free laborers, and the department wouldn't give them a salary, the graduate students were still eager to do this!
Those who were admitted as graduate students were generally the kind who were comparatively motivated and loved to learn. People who muddled along and just aimed to pass couldn't be admitted as graduate students.
Therefore, in this way, it was a rare opportunity to be able to participate in this important research, whether to improve these people's skills or give them a better future!
With the experience of participating in the key national projects, it would also be an excellent qualification when looking for a job in the future. This was also the reason why many graduate students enrolled after the recruitment notice was sent out.
However, the number of participants was limited. After all, research and development were different from a major course. It was impossible to bring all the people inside.
Zhou Jiajia looked at the latest announcement in the department; she was overjoyed after seeing this news. As a veteran hacker, she well versed in any kind of network protocol. However, that was only a study. If she could become a protocol maker one day, how glorious would that be?
Originally, Zhou Jiajia was indifferent toward the computer courses in the university. After all, the courses at the university were really outdated; a lot of knowledge was no longer useful, and some were even wrong.
However, this didn't mean that she couldn't learn anything in college. Sometimes, some of the extracurricular knowledge that the class teacher imparted was still very interesting. This time was definitely an unexpected opportunity. After Zhou Jiajia saw the notice, she quickly put down the things in her hands and rushed to the computer science faculty building to register.
Although there were not as many computer science graduate students as undergraduates, even so, there were at least one hundred and eighty people. At the moment, a lot of people gathered in front of the computer science teacher faculty building. 
The registration was led by Li Boliang, president of the Computer Science Club of Song Jiang Industry University. Although Li Boliang wasn't a graduate student, he was accepted by the research team because of his position in the club and his knowledge and skills.
(For Li Boliang, see Chapter 1054: I Love Little Ming.)
The admission to the research team was very strict. Everyone had to fill out a form and write out what they were good at, what awards they had won, and what they had achieved.
After completing the form, it was only a preliminary examination. After selecting some potential people from among these, an interview was conducted. The interview was naturally not as simple as being smart in talking. The awards you have won, and the achievements you listed in the application needed to be presented on the spot including, award-winning certificates, achievements, and presentation of the work.
"Hi. Can you give me a form?" Zhou Jiajia got through the crowd with difficulty, squeezed in front of the registration office, and said to Li Boliang who was distributing the registration form.
Zhou Jiajia's voice was like that of an angel's for Li Boliang. In this computer school that was crowded by dinosaurs [1], Li Boliang had not seen a beautiful woman for a long time. It was a rare opportunity for him to meet a pretty girl at the start of the semester. She was a computer science student, and she wanted to join the Computer Science Club, but there was no news from her in the end. This made Li Boliang deeply regret that he didn't ask for a contact number from the pretty girl.
Now, after hearing such a pleasant female voice, Li Boliang raised his head subconsciously. He saw that it was Zhou Jiajia, the girl he saw on the first day of school. He was overjoyed. "Such a coincidence. It's you!"
Zhou Jiajia was slightly stunned. She recognized the person in front of her as the Computer Science Club's president, Li Boliang. She smiled and nodded to him politely. "Yeah, such a coincidence. So you are the one who is responsible for the registration."
"Yeah, this kind of activity is generally organized by the Computer Science Club. After all, the teachers in the department have limited energy," said Li Boliang. However, anyone could see the pride in Li Boliang's discourse. In fact, if the Computer Science Club could be in charge of this registration, this indirectly proved the authority of the Computer Science Club in the school, and it wasn't to be underestimated.
"Can you give me a registration form? I also want to participate in the research of the wireless network protocol." Although Zhou Jiajia was very clear about Li Boliang's intention, she was asking something from him at the moment, so she had to smile and speak to him.
"Of course... Oh, wait. You are not a graduate student..." Just as Li Boliang just wanted to take out a registration form and hand it to Zhou Jiajia, he suddenly remembered that this research project only recruited graduate students, but not undergraduate students, so he quickly said, "This research project only recruits graduate students, not undergraduate students..."
"Ah? Then..." Zhou Jiajia was disappointed as she heard Li Boliang's words. This was the opportunity she had been looking forward to for a long time. A real opportunity was in front of her eyes, but she could not participate because of her current education.
Seeing the beauty's disappointment, Li Boliang suddenly felt a pain in his heart. He thought for a bit and said, "I am also an undergraduate student, but because I am the president of the Computer Science Club, I can also participate in the research and development of this subject! Let me ask the computer science teacher for you and see if you can participate in this research and development project as an exception."
"Thanks for the trouble." Zhou Jiajia thought that there was no hope. But after hearing Li Boliang's words, she was delighted immediately and thanked him.
To please Zhou Jiajia, Li Boliang didn't care about the work at hand; he put down his work and quickly ran to the computer science teacher faculty building.
Li Boliang's Computer Science Club was usually guided by Sun Demao, Deputy Director of the Computer Science Department. Li Boliang and Sun Demao were also familiar with each other. When Li Boliang came to the office of Deputy Director Sun, he knocked on the door, and he heard Sun Demao's voice. "Who is it? Please come in!"
Li Boliang opened the door of the office, but he found that the Chief Director the department, Xiao Qing, was also there. He quickly called respectfully, "Director Xiao, Director Sun!"
"What's the matter?" Sun Demao put his work aside and asked Li Boliang.
"Director Sun..." When Li Boliang saw Xiao Qing, who was the director, was present, he was somewhat awkward to speak. He was familiar with Sun Demao, but he was not familiar with Xiao Qing. Xiao Qing was mainly responsible for the comprehensive work in the department, and she was also the main person in charge of many scientific research projects. Therefore, some trivial matters in the department were managed by Deputy Director Sun.
The Computer Science Club was a non-governmental organization formed by the students, so Xiao Qing naturally did not have much time to manage it, and she handled it to Sun Demao. However, Xiao Qing still knew Li Boliang. He was one of the more famous students in the department and had won the national computer competition award.
"Say it if there is anything. I am discussing wireless research with Director Xiao!" Sun Demao saw that Li Boliang didn't speak after coming in, so he scolded unhappily.
"Director Sun, this is the case. An undergraduate student would like to participate in our research group..." As Li Boliang spoke up to here, he carefully observed Sun Demao's reaction to see if he was angry before he would continue with his remaining words.
"Undergraduate student? Undergraduate student also wants to participate?" Sun Demao frowned, but he felt a bit amused. Generally speaking, the school stated that it was recruiting graduate students, so the undergraduates wouldn't join in the fun. Besides, the undergraduates' level of knowledge was limited; it was useless for them to participate. Therefore, even if there were research recruitments over the years, no undergraduates would sign up.
"Yes, this undergraduate is a computer science enthusiast and a member of our Computer Science Club!" said Li Boliang quickly. Zhou Jiajia originally intended to join the Computer Science Club, but she didn't report in later, so Li Boliang wasn't lying by saying this.
"Hehe, is there really an undergraduate student interested in this? Which semester is he?" Xiao Qing also came to interest; she interrupted and asked.
"Freshman." As Li Boliang heard Xiao Qing's question, he replied respectfully, "She is a very quiet girl named Zhou Jiajia."
"What? Freshman?" Sun Demao listened to Li Boliang's answer, and he was astounded immediately, then he frowned slightly. "Is she just joining for fun? This can't be done. This is a key national project; it shouldn't be taken lightly! Is it that you, kid, are fond of her, so you want to show your diligence?"
After Sun Demao said this, he suddenly remembered that Xiao Qing was listening by the side. He suddenly had a cold sweat on his forehead. He was very familiar with Li Boliang, so it was normal to make jokes, but, today the leader of the department was here. It was a bit too much for him to joke with the student.
Li Boliang's face turned red from Sun Demao's words. He replied, embarrassed, "How can that be, Director Sun? Look at what you said. I just noticed that she is very interested in this topic, so I'm here to ask you now. Besides, an undergraduate wants to sign up for the research. How many times has this happened in so many years?"
"Okay, go back. I still have something to do!" Sun Demao had just made a slip of the tongue; he afraid that Xiao Qing had an opinion of him, so he quickly sent Li Boliang away.
"Then, I am leaving, Director Sun." Li Boliang left the office dejectedly as soon as he noticed his request wouldn't work, but he did not forget to say when he left, "Director Xiao, see you again."
Xiao Qing didn't really care about Sun Demao's jokes, but she was familiar with the name Zhou Jiajia. It seemed familiar to her; she heard it somewhere, but she forgot where. She was busy recently, so this thought only flashed through her mind. She did not take it seriously, so she put it aside for the time being.
Li Boliang's plan had failed. He couldn't show off his capability in front of the beauty. This made Li Boliang very upset. I am the Computer Science Club president, but I can't even handle such a small matter. How can I make Zhou Jiajia fall in love with me?
It's my fault that I picked the wrong time. Director Xia is in Deputy Director Sun Demao's office too. Sun Demao probably didn't dare to make a claim. If it were another time, the Deputy Director might have agreed with it because Deputy Director Sun is relatively more understanding. He once cared about my private life, asking whether I had a girlfriend.
When he learned that Li Boliang had no girlfriend, Deputy Director Sun also urged him to hurry and find one. He could not delay his private life because of studying technology. But today, he obviously took the wrong opportunity.
Seeing Li Boliang's face, Zhou Jiajia's anticipating gaze suddenly turned dark. It seemed that there was no hope at all. In fact, after Li Boliang left, Zhou Jiajia also guessed that her chances weren't high after seeing a huge crowd of graduate students at the registration counter.
Although Zhou Jiajia could proudly say that she wasn't inferior to these people present, the school wouldn't bother about this. The school only looked at the degree; Zhou Jiajia was a freshman. How was she capable of participating in this research?
"I'm sorry, pretty girl. I tried my best." Li Boliang threw up his hands helplessly. "The director in the department said that there is no such precedent."
"Oh, really. Then thank you for that." Although Zhou Jiajia knew that Li Boliang seemed to have an intention, he did help her to ask. Zhou Jiajia could not just keep quiet. At the very least, Li Boliang didn't pursue her in a very obvious way, so Zhou Jiajia just pretended that she didn't know.
"I have a good relationship with the deputy director of the department, but today, Director Xiao Qing was working in the office of Deputy Director Sun. Therefore, Deputy Director Sun rejected me due to this reason." Li Boliang defended himself. He didn't want to lose face in front of the beauty, so he pushed the responsibility away.
"Director Xiao Qing? Our department head is called Xiao Qing?" As Zhou Jiajia listened to Li Boliang's words, she suddenly asked.
"Yeah, we only have one Director Xiao in our department. Who else could it be?" Li Boliang smiled, "Director Xiao is young, but her knowledge isn't simple! She participates in many of the key topics in China; she is a strong woman! Her research is also very rigorous!"
After the general students went to college, they were less familiar with the department director's and headmaster's names in the school. Because the university was so big, these high-level leaders had nothing to do with them. The most common ones they come into contact with were the mentors and teachers.
So, Li Boliang wasn't surprised that Zhou Jiajia did not know the name of the department director, especially with her as a freshman.
The reason why Li Boliang said that Xiao Qing was very powerful was to show that Xiao Qing was an academic master. Therefore, she was stricter in screening her assistants. Zhou Jiajia couldn't blame him for not being selected.
"So, that's why!" Zhou Jiajia nodded thoughtfully, remembering Yang Ming's godsister seemed to be called Xiao Qing. Zhou Jiajia also faintly heard Yang Ming speak about it, but she wasn't sure whether it was true. Xiao Qing seemed to be the beautiful woman she saw the last time she went for a meal with Yang Ming.
She just didn't know yet whether this Xiao Qing and the department director, Xiao Qing, were the same person. Zhou Jiajia planned to ask Yang Ming after going back.
"It doesn't matter. The wireless project is only at a preliminary data collection stage. It has not been officially started. It will take a while to start, so there is still a chance. When I have time, I will talk to Deputy Director Sun privately; maybe that will work."
"Yes, then you can help me to make this request from time to time." Zhou Jiajia was not sure if Yang Ming's godsister was the department director, so she could only pin her hopes on Li Boliang.
"Do not worry; I'll make it work. Right, what is your phone number? If I have news here, I will call you." To establish a long-term relationship with Zhou Jiajia, Li Boliang had to beat around the bush to get Zhou Jiajia's phone number.
Zhou Jiajia hesitated but gave Li Boliang her phone number. A phone number was something open to others and not considered private, so telling Li Boliang was fine.
After getting Zhou Jiajia's phone number, Li Boliang was ecstatic. However, he was afraid that Zhou Jiajia would be disgusted by him, so he still pretended to be calm and saved her phone number.
Zhou Jiajia didn't say much more to Li Boliang. Since Zhou Jiajia couldn't sign up, she could only leave. She didn't have time to chat with Li Boliang. Yang Ming came back yesterday. Zhou Jiajia's thoughts were thinking about the scene of meeting with Yang Ming tonight.
Her father had returned to Donghai safely. Although he hadn't met her, they still called each other. It was said that he was going to do some business with her mother in Donghai.
It was all thanks to Yang Ming that her father could come back safely. Zhou Jiajia still didn't know how to thank him. However, when chatting with Chen Mengyan and Lin Zhiyun, Chen Mengyan made a joke suggesting that Zhou Jiajia should devote her life to Yang Ming for saving her father! It would be a good story if it happened during ancient times.
It made Zhou Jiajia blush, but she also somewhat agreed with Chen Mengyan psychologically. It was just that she was a girl, and she didn't dare to say it. Sometimes, Zhou Jiajia felt that she was a little funny. She actually became timid!
She was so bold when she was pursuing Yang Ming previously. She even dared to send such a hot message, but now she would blush just talking to Yang Ming.
Perhaps, Zhou Jiajia only restored the unique reserve of a girl now.
The phone rang. Zhou Jiajia glanced at the caller ID; it was Chen Mengyan, so she picked up the phone. "Sister Mengyan, where are you?"
It happened to be noontime. At this time, Chen Mengyan usually called Zhou Jiajia to ask her to eat lunch together.
"Jiajia, Zhiyun and I are in the cafeteria. Where are you? Didn't we say to meet here?" asked Chen Mengyan.
Zhou Jiajia looked at the time on her watch and found that it was already 11:30 a.m. Registering in the computer science teacher faculty building had taken quite some time, so Chen Mengyan and Lin Zhiyun were waiting anxiously.


Yang Ming is an underachiever in high school. Unmotivated, he skips class to shoot pool, cheats on his exams and gets into fights. However, by an act of goodwill and fate, he obtains some high-tech contact lenses that give him superpowers. Together with his gangster street-smarts and ruthless fighting skills, it doesn't take long for him dramatically change his life for the better.
As his journey unfolds, he battles against society's big guns and attempts to bring justice into an unjust world. Along the way, he has many interesting and romantic encounters with the ladies who are charmed by his shameless flirting.
How will he use his superpowers?
Will he be able to overcome evil and bring justice to the world?
Who will he choose to be with at the end? 
--------------------
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Azalea Johnson's POV
I have two labs today to assist and it was in the afternoon, around 2 PM. I don't think that I would be late for that. But it was a challenge to find my car. I cursed Alex for letting me go on my own. I sighed before I went to the receptionist and asked for my parking spot, A1.
 "Hi, I was looking for my car on a parking spot A1. I don't know where it was and I was lost," I said to her but she ignored me. I cursed at her inwardly before I used my sweet voice.
 "Hello, hello, hi, can you hear me?" I asked her as I waved my hands in front of her. she rolled her eyes before she looked at me bored. 
 "what can I help you?" She said lazily. I was trying to control my anger before I smiled saccharinely.
 "yes, I would like to know where I can find parking spot A1 if you don't mind I'm asking," I said as I looked at her. She eyed me up and down like I was not the owner of that spot.
 "I think you're mistaken, lady. That spot was for Mr. Alexander MacWatters and I am sure that you are not him," she said as she pointed at me. I smiled again.
 "well, as you can see," I hold out the keys that Alex gave to me, "I think I am also the owner of that spot now," I said as I was looking at her. She paled instantly.
 "Oh, I'm so, so sorry ma'am. Please forgive. I don't know that Mr. Alex was—"
 "having someone other than himself, well, I think he did now," I said as I took my keys back.
 "so, can you show me that spot or should I call for him?" I threatened her. She must be desperate for me not to call him.
 "yes, of course, this way," she said before she took me as she instructed her colleague to look for her spot.

After that encounter with that snob receptionist, I headed out of the condo and I used GPS for finding the campus. It was only 20 minutes drive but the traffic of New York was killing me. Why do I even bother to get to campus on a car, it beats me?
 I was looking outside the window when I saw a familiar figure and was walking with someone else. I was in a trace before someone was honking at me. I looked ahead and saw the green light and everyone kept on honking before I went on.
 "Okay, okay, hold on. Jeez," I said as I make a turn like the GPS told me to. I was heading for the main gate but I got to stop because I usually don't go by car.
 "ID please," I looked at the guard that was stopping Alex with me that he claimed I was to be his niece. great.
 "here," I said as I went to give him a smile and my student ID. He looked at me before shrugging. He pulled up the gate and I went inside after he gave me my ID.
 "Thanks, Hank," I said before I went inside the gate.
 "wait, how did you—oh you're the one that is Mr. MacWatters seeing, aren't you?" He said as he looked at me. I was blushing but I just shrugged at his comment. 
 "well, I wonder how you manage to tame him but you're lucky Ms. Johnson," he said before I put my stick into D. 
 "well, I hope it will last," I said before I drove inside. He arched his eyebrow before he smiled. I waved at him and I went to my department.
 I parked my car at the student parking but it was hard to find one. Not only that, I don't know why I even agreed to drive myself. I can just take Lyft or Uber for Christ's sake.
 after a while searching, I found one. It was a long walk between my car and the building but I think it will do me good for my legs. I took my stuff and I went out of the car. I locked my car before someone was calling out for me.
 "Lea!"
I turned around to look at the direction of the voice. It was Barbara or Barb as I liked to call her. She was wearing her usual sneakers, jeans, and a blouse. It was summer so she would not be wearing a sweater like she usually did.
 "Hey, barb. Where have you been? oops, sorry, how are you? It's been long I saw you around the building," I said as I walked with her. She laughed. I smiled at her. How I missed my best friend.
 "well, you know. Here and there. And last week I was in the Bay Area for a conference about new research that will be conducted by world re-known scientists. I think I might apply for that," she said as she slings her arms around me. 
 I laughed before we went inside the building. I went to the east wing where my labs will be conducted and Barbara has to catch up with her advisor. I told her that we should hang out after my classes and she was up for it. I nodded before I went inside the lab. 
 I put my stuff on the table that I will be using and I went to pull out some sample of the Aquatic life of the ancient ocean. They have ammonites, belemnites, and many more but it was all about the shell creatures tonight. I smiled as I know that I had first in love with this was when I first took Paleobiology Lab. 
 I smiled as I put the samples on the table for each section of the lab. I went to take a seat at the table and opened my laptop. I opened my emails and I saw that there were some emails that I needed to reply and one from my advisor.
 Hey, Azalea. 
I was wondering if you have done your proposal and you would like to set a meeting with me to go over it together.
 -Professor Smith
I looked at the email as I have to blink a few times to make sure that I read the correct one. Prof. Smith has sent me an email that I would never think she was interested to talk about. She had dumped the first idea which meant my second proposal might need to make it better than before. 
 I sighed as I looked at my writing up the proposal. It was lame and unprofessional. I wonder maybe that's why NSF rejected me and called me imposter on other people's projects when those were not being conducted ever before.
 I looked at the email and my proposal alternatively as I tried to make up some excuse before I need to meet with Prof. Smith. Then, my mind immediately popped up at the thought of Alex helping me to get the proposal done. 
 I bit my lips before I searched for my phone. I already saved his number after that date that we met at Carl's cafe. I pulled out his contact and I bit my cheeks. Shouldn't I be able to do this on my own, without his help? Surely with the marriage contract was convenient enough but do I need to stretch it like I was depending on him?
 I shook my head before I put my phone down and I was trying to make some excuse for my proposal not being done and primed ready for NSF. I sent out the email and I sighed a relief. At least one of the burden has been lifted from my shoulder. I looked at the clock and it stated that only 10 more minutes before my lab started. 
 I looked around the lab and there were a few students that were already here. I was smiling at them when one of them approached me to ask about the last lab that we had last week. I explained to her and she nodded. I looked at the clock and it was 2:10 PM. Time to get started.
 "Okay, well, hello everyone. How's your holiday?" I asked as I pulled out my presentation for today.

I was exhausted beyond reason. I don't know why. Because of the email that I received from Prof. Smith, or because I was beyond ready to give my proposal for the funding or the fact that Alex was standing in my lab after all of my students were gone.
 "hey," he said as he was leaning against the doorframe. I was cleaning up the samples that I brought that I did not notice that he was there. I turned to look at him over my shoulder.
 "oh, hey, sorry, have you been waiting long?" I asked him as I pulled some of the drawers and I put the samples inside it according to their labels. I heard some shuffling from the door before the door closed.
 "no, I just come to check on my fiancée who has been excellent at teaching her labs," he complimented me. I smiled as I tried to hide it under my hair.
 "really? And how do you know that?" I asked him as I was pushing the drawer to close it. I tucked my hair behind my ears and I looked at Alex. He was simply standing in front of me with his hands in pockets of his pants.
 "Your advisor emailed me," he said after I went to the table and took my stuff to put it into my bag. I stopped as I turned to look at him. His eyes were training on my face.
 "oh," I said as I don't know what to reply yo him.
 "I thought you were ready as we will be married in 3 days," he said as he walked toward the table. I arched my eyebrows.
 "3 days? Are you insane? My sister is not getting married until Saturday," I said to him as I put my stuff and zipped my bag. He shrugged. 
 "Not that I care but if we need to follow the contract, you have to tell me if you were not near ready for the proposal," he said. I bit my lips.
 "I don't want to burden you with it," I whispered as I was playing with the zipper. somehow, it seems more interesting that our conversation now. Alex sighed.
 "it's not and I have promised to provide for you, financially and academically. you can always come to me, darling," he said as he tipped my chin to look at his face.
 "shall we work on that?" He asked me, arching his eyebrow. I nodded as I just got lost in his eyes forever.
 "Good, now let's do that, but not here," he said as he took my bag and we were out of the door.

These were the compilation of short stories of sisterhood and struggles that they went through when they were viewed as women in men's world. It was hard to make a living in this world, especially when your mother owned a nightclub that was viewed as a place that was not suitable for those women to stay and live in.
But the men that they have trapped in their web was much more than that. They were desperate enough to get these women to get involved with them and do something that was not always welcomed by others. 
Can they surpass the views that the men had on these women or will they finally see for who they really are, despite what society said about them?

A beam of light appeared over the Alamanda teleportation station. After the light faded, Hao Ren and his team appeared on the portal's platform. They were just in time for sunset on the planet, as the sun was already about to fall completely below the horizon. The last rays of light were dispersed throughout the ruins of the City of Gold as the entire city was enveloped in a dim golden glow.
Vivian looked up to the sky. There was an irregular silver light in the dim sky, which was becoming clearer as the sunlight subsided. The size of the light was slightly smaller than the moon on Earth and the edge of the light was jagged like a mountain. She looked at it carefully, and began to notice the neat structure upon that silver light. "Oh, that's the research station?"
Lily looked up and saw that the moon was out. She immediately squatted back on the ground, stretched her neck happily. She then tilted her head up towards the "moon" and howled. "I wonder why it feels a little different."
Hao Ren grabbed the naive maiden by her ear and held her up. "That's not the moon, idiot!"
"Actually, I've been curious. Why are werewolves so excited about the moon?" Y'zaks scratched his chin quizzically. "I don't feel any special energy in moonlight. It's just a normal reflection of the sunlight."
Vivian shrugged her shoulders. "God knows why. I haven't it figured out even though I've known werewolves for more than 10,000 years."
At this time, a buzzing sound suddenly came from the eastern part of the sky. It turned out that the Petrachelys had received the command to come down from its orbit. Hao Ren led everyone on board, and they soon arrived near the crystal-like space facility. Everyone was amazed once they saw the spectacular behemoth at close range. Lily looked at it regretfully and said, "I should've followed you here earlier! I've missed the chance to witness its construction…"
Hao Ren ignored her, waiting for the spaceship to slowly approach the space facility's docking bay. He could visualize the structural layout of this "Crystal City" in his mind, knowing that the docking bay was located in the middle section of the station. The building was a compact structure, the huge control center was right in the middle section, where there were compartments for spacecraft docking, material transfer, accommodation as well as much more. Connected to this middle section were many crystal domes, which had containers within them. They were the main working units of the research station.
Two of the units of work had been activated, but only one First Born had been stuffed into the container. Not only that, the First Borns were very troublesome and bulky. They also brought along with them a large amount of "impurities", which needed to be cleaned out. Besides, the "lullaby" system had to always be online during the transfer journey, so the process was time-consuming.
The contained one was the First Born from the Volcano of Dusk. It was placed in Container No. 1. The other First Born entangled with the Giant Tree of Life had not been settled.
As the crystal bridge in the docking bay appeared on the ship's screen, Hao Ren got the MDT to slow down the spacecraft and switch on an external monitor. "Look! Sample No. 2 is undergoing containment now."
Everyone gathered in front of the holographic projection and looked at the spectacular space working site with interest.
One hundred kilometers away from the Petrachelys was the entrance to Sealed Container No. 2, where Sample No. 2 was undergoing its final stage of containment. The massive First Born was still tangled with the Giant Tree of Life, but the huge rocks and other impurities had been cleaned up. Lumps of amorphous gel with faint glows were moving among the tentacles and roots, cleaning up the remaining impurities as well as completing a full-body scan of the First Born. The light lumps were the "workers" of the research station. As Hao Ren did not have a large enough research team at his disposal, the research facility was inbuilt with its own crew.
The debris that was cleaned up mainly consisted of rock and soil. However, it also contained some of the First Born's discharged chemicals and shed epidermis from its slow physiological activities for the past 10,000 years. These things were equally valuable, so they were sent to another workshop on the lower deck of the research station for further decomposing. Useful substances would be extracted, after which they would be dropped into Tannogost's atmosphere to combust.
"The Giant Tree of Life and Sample No. 2 are tangled together. There's no way to separate them now, so I'm going to stuff them into the container." Hao Ren pointed at Container No. 2 on the screen, and its shell-shaped crystal dome slowly opened, revealing a huge space within. "Before putting it in, all connection points between the tentacles and the Giant Tree of Life have been fitted with sensors as well as nerve blockers. It will be a lot easier to conduct tests later on."
The dome of Container No. 2 was fully opened now, and the entangled First Born as well as the Giant Tree of Life were slowly pushed into it under the shroud of light. As the sample was completely immersed inside the container, a layer of nearly transparent light film appeared in the gap between the inner wall of the container and the sample, wrapping the sample like a cocoon before a thin, cloud-like liquid was injected and submerged the First Born in it.
After this last step was completed, the crystal dome slowly began to close.
The Petrachelys received a report from the research station. "Operation for Container No. 2 confirmed... The main barrier has been closed, and inert liquid has been injected. Signal transmission test… normal. Secondary safety barrier and the external dome are closed. All safety components have passed testing. Signals are connected to the central control zone, the host has taken over control of the containers. The containment operation is completed."
Lily sullenly listened to the report and nodded. "Okay, report confirmed."
Hao Ren smacked her on the head and scoffed, "Stop messing around!"
Lily hit the back of a chair with her tail as she said, "It suits the occasion!"
After observing the mega-container's containment process, the Petrachelys docked at the berth. Everyone alighted from the spacecraft and walked across a gorgeous, rainbow-crystal bridge. Overhead, there was a near-transparent shield. Space was visible outside the shield, and on both sides of the bridge, there were crystal building facilities. Lily was overjoyed as she saw the glittering things around her. "Awesome! This place looks beautiful! Way better than Kuiper Station!"
Vivian also scratched her chin and said, "Look how normal everything here looks! I wonder why you were given coffin-looking equipment."
Hao Ren twitched his mouth and said, "Looks like the goddess has finally done something normal: at least her aesthetic sense in building houses is normal."
As they walked across the crystal bridge, Lily began to go astray. Her eyes were full of excitement and curiosity. Hao Ren had been keeping an eye on the husky, so he managed to stop her. "What are you doing, Lily?"
Lily's tail puffed up at once and she jumped back. "I just wanted to check if the bridge has rail—"
Hao Ren rolled his eyes. "No digging here. I know you want to add two more pieces of crystal to your collection!"
Lily's ears dropped. "Just one piece, okay?"
Hao Ren was amused by her look. "Don't mess around, this is a new building—and I don't think you can knock any stone off this place. This is a prison for holding the First Born."
"You can go home and check out the glass market. After all, those stones are just ornamental. They look the same..." Vivian said jokingly.
Lily swished her tail and ignored them both.
As everyone came to the central area, something suddenly crossed Hao Ren's mind. "Oh, I haven't named this research station..."
As Hao Ren's voice trailed off, everyone came to a halt. Vivian and Lily spoke in unison, "Please think again!"
Hao Ren scratched his head. "I haven't even said anything! I think it should be named—"
Vivian placed her hand on Hao Ren's mouth and spoke bluntly, "Don't say it out yet. Think harder."
Hao Ren was speechless.
"What great name do you expect from him when he named his daughter 'Lil Pea', and his cat 'Rollie'? The MDT hovered into the air. "You can save it. The research station already has a name. It's called 'CARS'—just floating over your head."
Hao Ren looked up and saw an idle screen of some kind of control center floating on the crystal dome. The name of the research station was at the center of the screen. He was astonished. "How did Raven come up with such a fantastic, normal name this time?"
"Normal my foot." The MDT hooked up to the research station's host computer and quickly learned the truth. "Don't you think this research station looks like an apple core from afar?"
Hao Ren was stunned. 
"So, its full name is 'Crapple Research Station'—the fusion between Crystal and Apple."
"...I shouldn't have asked in the first place!" Hao Ren exclaimed.


As a person who is down-to-earth as well as a good Samaritan, Hao Ren desires to live the rest of his life as a benevolent landlord. Stumbling into a curious yet mysterious lady, he began his journey of “collecting” abnormal and supernatural tenants. 
His life only became more chaotic when he receives a labor contract from “God”. Discover the many races, myths and worlds that lie beyond what humans define as normal! This bizzare fantasy full of fun is sure to bring you on a crazy rollercoaster of emotions!

I was appeased, due to certain limitations of printing, I wasn't able to create Epic and Legendary grade Body Arts and Weapon Arts books, otherwise, it would have been a great loss. Imagine the perfection brought by the ASSIST, all the benefits from it would have also been gone just like that. Calming my thoughts, I begin to introduce the sample products of communication channels and demonstrated its live working.

"I have achieved what I had declared previously. You have seen the sample products. We have also verified its working. Now, Let's proceed to the contract part."
"I have a few contact proposal for you.

My first proposal is I will sell these products in the same quantity every six months and I get 1,000 EC each time.

My second proposal is I will share part of the blueprints of the Products, and you can bring me the semi-finished artifacts and I will finish the artifacts. In return, I want 5,000 EC, 10 Epic High-grade flames, 15 Epic Middle-grade Flames & 25  Epic Low-grade Flames.

My third and final proposal is I will share the complete blueprint and entire crafting process of the Products, in return, I want  10,000 EC, and the same amount of flames as the previous one.

Or you all can propose your own, what I get in return, must include flames."

I needed those flames for my servants at Prithvi Island. This can boost their cultivation and also their professional-grade faster. After that, I can begin the mass production of weapons, pills, and alike.

Looking at their faces on, I guess they are having quite amazed with my products and my proposals. And the bomb I dropped about giving up the blueprints, they would have never seen that coming. Well, I don't wanna work all the time, if people can do all or even half of the work for me, I will be very thankful. I hope they would go with my last proposal.

The discussion started again on my products and my deals. A few minutes later, Ancestors asked their question to point out a few flaws they could think, like if some else could listen to their conversation? or what happens if someone could steal the artifact?

Well, for privacy purposes, I had done encryption, signal masking, and everything I achieve in this world with the materials and theories derived similarly to earth. If one can steal the artifact, then it can be turned off later. 

Aside from these small matters, the most matter was the working of the communication channel. I was asked if one could replicate my artifacts. Well to answer that I answered, "Go ahead and try. Surely among you, there would some Supreme Master Artificer. Ask him/her if he/she can replicate the artifact or even understand the internal working of my artifact?" 

I don't think people here will ever achieve the complexity of the earth's people have achieved. What can I say, all world has its own unique features. Earth's people didn't have power like cultivators but they did have the power of knowledge. You can also say vice-versa for this world's people. 

In the end, the deal was finalized with 10,000 EC, 5 Rare Peak-grade, 10 Rare High-grade, 15 Rare Middle-grade, and 25 Rare Low-grade flames. It was much much lower than my expectation. 

I did not give any detail on how it works, only how to craft it and its blueprint and other stuff. Next, I passed on the method verbally to the ancestor of finishing the product. The method of crating was complex and very precise compared to current standards. Also, I had to disclose some of my own developed crafting techniques. In the end, I will be the one most benefited with this, so I can endure some losses. I purposely did not mention location tracking, health tracking and other potentials of the token.

It took me quite an effort to minimize the size of the initial samples of 1 meter cube-sized to reduce it to palm-size tokens. I had to re-calculate all the specifications, again and again, to keep the basic functioning and reduce its size. I also developed a new way to use inscribing by adding two same size inscribed plates together by using a melted compound to fill the gaps. Later I improved this compound composition and now it can withstand heat and spiritual prob. So, once the melted compound is glued cover up the inscribed plate, all thing inside is secured and even if you tore it apart, you will never get the whole design.

Moved here
https://assist-rxn036.blogspot.com/

Early next morning.

[Servant 1: Ancestor Baashir would like to meet you in meeting hall.]

[Ling Tian: Sure, lead the way.]

Meeting Hall.

When I arrived many people where sitting in circle around the meeting table. Teresa was standing with other servants and butlers. Many ancestors are sitting along with the Clan Head. Grand Elders from Kai Palace were also there. But distance away from Ancestors at the back.

[Ancestor 1: So, you came, Ling Tian, sit.]

I sit on the chair. then Ancestor Baashir who I have known from previous Ling Tian memory begin to speak.

[Ancestor Baashir: You are now a Grand Master Artificer. The youngest one at that. As the only son of my Brother Talwaar, you have right to be the master of Kai Palace that your father left behind after he ascended. We have come to an agreement that from today on, you will be the Kai Palace Master, masters position cannot be left for empty for long, it's not a good sign.]

Then he passed me Kai Palace Master's Medallion and a space ring. Accepting the Medallion and space ring, I replied.

[Ling Tian: Yes, Ancestor.]

[Ancestor : Alright, the next thing is some general knowledge you must know. This world we live in is called Kadam World, there are other worlds as well with living beings on it. All this group of worlds is collectively known as Inner Realm. The highest cultivation one can have, in this realm, is True Soul Stage. Higher and you will be forced into Outer Realm. Every Clan Household is a major force in the Outer Realm. Your parents are alive and no longer in the Inner Realm. If you wish to know more, other than knowledge of Inner Realm, then first achieve True Soul Stage. Then you can come and ask me.]

[Ling Tian: Sure, Ancestor.]

[Ancestor Baashir: Now, Teresa Clint will be relieved from the managing duty of Kai Palace, and from here on, her only duty is to be your Protector. This is in agreement with your Mother, when she left her behind. Oh! I guess I can tell you this, she is most powerful person currently in the Ling Clan.]

I felt like, what? Teresa is the most powerful person? Then what are you are guys, Group of Old fogies.

After 5 minutes of pause, he spoke again.

[Ancestor Baashir: Next is the matter of your Proposals.]

Gathering my thoughts, I begin to introduce the sample products.

[Ling Tian: I have achieved what I have promised earlier to the Clan Head, here are the sample products. Let me introduce you how it works and then we will look into each artifact one at a time.]

***

[Ling Tian: Now, that everyone is clear of the products and its working. Let's proceed to the contract part.]

[Ling Tian: I have few contact proposal for you.

First Proposal is I will share the whole blue print and whole crafting process of the Products, in return, I want 5000 high grade stones every month and 1 heaven low grade flame every 3 month for next 3 years.

My second proposal is share the blue prints of the Products, and you can bring me semi-finished product and I do the engraving and finish the product. In return I want 5000 high grade stones every 3 month and 1 heaven low grade flame every 4 month for next 3 years.

Or you all can propose your own, what I want in return are high grade spirit stones and flames.]

Looking at their awestruck faces on, I guess they are having quite amazed with my products and my proposals. Well I need to boost my cultivation as fast I can, and the bomb I dropped about giving up the blue prints, they would have never seen that coming, well I don't wanna work all the time, if people can do half of the work for me, I will be very thankful. Hope they would go for my first proposal.

The proposal was quite an amicable settlement, and Leona accepted without much questioning: she actually much appreciated the Prince didn't use any method to compel her to choose sides. And of course Prince LaCroix himself had confessed his own intentions of doing so: she could be the force he'd been waiting for that could familiarize them with the Anarch community, and for her to do that he must maintain her neutral, independent position—at least in theory.

Right now Leona was still a normal, freelancer Neonate in name, but she had a regular major working with Mercurio, as his partner…though sometimes he would still use that secretary joke.

It was, however, literally the only thing she could complain about this occupation: she got to take the night shift for Mercurio's job, so he could spare some time to rest and focus missions that could be only done in daylight—that's his greatest advantage compared to vampires, after all. It took almost a month for Mercurio to teach Leona everything, for his role was pretty much involved with every aspect…in a management view.

The most basic ones would be watching over the blood van schedules and blood banks storages across the states, the selections of new premises and their purposes, and the most complex task among them, maybe, was to monitor the trades of everything that was needed for the functioning of Kindred society, ranging from orders of clothes and furniture to vehicles and high-tech products. They are Masters of the Households of Camarilla, North America, as Mercurio put it.

Certainly there would be time for actions, of course, for the business deals they dabbled in sometimes required "violent enforcements", especially when it came to the weaponry: they were dealing with dangerous gangs, and some fools always thought they could take some advantages because there were often only two people—and one of them was a woman—they were facing, so lessons must be taught to these sneaky villains.

It was a position that allowed you to give favors to expect worthy reciprocity, and to build up relationships in a more equal condition…at least, Leona didn't need to run around, ask for quick-cash errands to just get by; on the contrary, now she had a special arsenal consisting of all her customized weapons and two full sets of battle outfits from the courtesy of Issac Abraham, one was the promise he made her on their way to San Antonio Mountain, the other was his gratitude for her help of getting rid of the nasty Gargoyle in his favorite theater: one was all black, and the other was snowy white, both were made of advanced, military-use nano materials, and apart from the practical designs, they were well decorated just like what fashion idols would wear on the street, so she could pass the crowd in them fully-equipped effortlessly without being suspected to be armed and dangerous.

Leona enjoyed the feeling—of climbing up on the social ladder. It gave her a feeling of safety, even with the deeply buried concern of hers about being noticed by the Sabbat: right now she did have a higher profile than before, but also all the first-hand information on Sabbat movements. Instead of passively hiding and hoping she wouldn't be found, now she could take some control and make arrangements to avoid her direct contact with them.

So she had learned: even if she had to stay out of sight, it would be much easier to do so when she had the advantage.

"No update on the Sabbat epidemic?" Leona got herself ready for tonight's special, talking to Mercurio on the phone, who was on his way to pick her up.

"Nope. According to Kanker and the cannon folder you guys caught last time, their plan was to just do a zombie attack in LA and raised hell, and every Sabbat we can get by the intel we squeezed out of them confirmed the story…but well,  we blew up more operations of theirs anyway, so whatever they are planning, we can at least slow them down. What about the vaccine thing, Strauss has worked it out?"

"Yes, once injected, it will permanently prevent infection...Don't ask me what's the theory, that's far beyond my knowledge, but he told me he already sent the sample to Nossies, and they will figure out how to put it in production."

"Nice, so we only get to shoot zombies in video games. Big win."

What Leona didn't know, though, was that Regent Strauss owed her big on this first sample: he took a piece of Leona's String of Curse secretly on their first private meeting to learn what Garrett had done in her Embrace, but it turned out to be the key of success in making the vaccine, and it somewhat in return helped him understand what was really special about her strings: they were like…some sort of comburent, though the comburent of what, he hadn't found out yet.

He had just made contacts with the Pontiffs, who were both his superiors and the guardians of all the secret knowledge held by Tremere clan—which was massive beyond mortal imagination—to search for any record of similar cases in history. Of course he hid the part about Leona, simply told them it was for the vaccine. He didn't want such a…prodigy and important specimen to be taken away to Europe, becoming the fruitful research under the names of others.

Just as Strauss put down the phone and walked up to the ground floor, Leona came down, wearing a black jumpsuit with puff sleeves and feathery collar, hiding guns and blades under her coat and even in her boots. Simply looking at how equipped she was, the Regent knew it would be a big night:

"What's your mission?" He asked.

"You know Velvet Velour, the Toreador girl who runs two nightclubs in LA—she went to talk to Tong's people about buying their place in Chinatown yesterday, and didn't come back, so we suspect the Tong had her." And Leona reported briefly about her task tonight, "Don't know what these human gangsters are up to, but we will see soon enough."

"Just you and the ghoul?"

"Yes, Regent. I will be back before the sunrise."

"I see. Tread carefully."

Leona took off and got into Mercurio's car, and he was piling up bags of heavy firearms on the backseat. Admiring this finely-tailored outfit Leona was wearing, Mercurio sighed: "Ugh…when it will be my turn to be Issac's super model…"

"Drive." In case there would be something more inappropriate coming out of his mouth, Leona just interrupted him and commanded.

"Come desidera, signora."

Their destination was a Tong-owned stripper club named Lotus, where entrance door could only be opened by a password known to people who were invited, and it changed every day…but certainly they've got that handled. The club itself seemed just a mundane concrete building with a neon sign of lotus flower above the door, yet once they walked inside, the lax…wantonness of sensational entertainment completely astounded Leona, who was doing her first visit to such places.

"Wow…" Whistled at the giggling, bikini girls with mermaid tails in the swimming pool, Mercurio couldn't help but feel pity, "If only we are not here for business…"

Which was Leona determined to do. She walked up to the thug who was guarding the stairs, did a little bit Dominate work and easily went past him—their leader, a guy went by the name Johnny was on the first floor, so she and Mercurio could talk to him about what they wanted with Velvet. Since they came upstairs peacefully, the bodyguards around assumed their boss was expecting them, and they made it into Johnny's VIP room without firing a single shot.

Johnny, this buff Chinese guy, was talking to someone on his laptop in Cantonese, and when the two unexpected visitors came in, he immediately stood up in panic and tried to draw out his gun with his shivering hands. It was quite an abnormal reaction for a Tong leader, even taking Leona and Mercurio's sudden appearance into consideration: he was a Tong leader after all, which should give him some composure in situations like this, but the way his face was pale and sweating…it was as if he knew the nature of what he saw—that Leona wasn't human.

"Back off! Monster!" 

He shouted, but someone he was conversing with on the computer said otherwise: "Shoot her, Johnny, then you will see what I'm saying."

"No, stop, Johnny, put down the gun…"

Leona used her Dominate discipline instinctively, but strangely enough she felt some kind of invisible protection shell around Johnny, formed by the power of a jade he was wearing as a pendant. Seeing him about to pull the trigger, Leona quickly threw a poisonous dart into his head and killed him silently, without disturbing the gangsters outside.

And then, the mysterious figure on the laptop screen spoke to Leona in Mandarin, with a slight accent from the Southern China: "Miss Lee, I understand you are here to save Miss Velour, yes?"

Mercurio couldn't understand Chinese at all, so Leona walked in front of the computer, looked at the old man in white, laboratory uniform on the screen and took over the talking: "And who are you?"

"You can call me Doctor Lu, I have had Miss Velour in custody and if you want to save her, come to Fu Syndicate Building with your…human friend over there."

"Wait, what are you…"

Doctor Lu ended the video call before Leona could ask him for more information. With Johnny now dead, this strange Doctor and the location he gave them were the best clues they had right now. They took away the jade pendant on Johnny's neck, then snuck out of the club before anyone noticed anything.

*A rewrite based on the White Wolf video game Vampire: the Masquerade Bloodline, but with major adaptations and is intended for readers who don't know the series, be advised to treat it as a brand-new work instead of Fan Fiction.

Chasing after a shadow from her past, Leona entered the world of the mystical blood-thirsty undead, but the awaiting danger is far greater than she could ever imagine: the grand game of politics, the battling sides of humanity and beast in their nature, and the brutal Jyhad in the modern nights...Lost and afraid in this chaos, she has to continue on this path--because there is no going back.

*Violent and Sexual Contents.

*Cover Painting and Design by 2cyan, All Copyrights Belong to the Artist.

"Like in the picture, the meal is best eaten with your hands, but you can use your cutlery also. The dishes you ordered are specialties from West Africa, the western part of Nigeria to be precise. Enjoy your meal and let us know if you need anything by pressing the bell to your left," the server explained before leaving.
The dishes were delicious. Although it was quite odd eating with bare hands, the couple adapted quickly and enjoyed their meal. 
After exiting the restaurant, they strolled by on the sidewalks and stopped to take pictures underneath the streetlights. 

"Yogurt, icecream, and milk. Maybe some vegetables for coleslaw and egg." I hardly ever cooked so stocking my fridge was pretty meaningless. 
Quincy on the other hand bought everything.
"Green onions, leeks, garlic, 3lb tomato and red bell peppers, lean meat and chicken breast, mayo, bacon strips, bread, peanut butter, strawberry jam, naked green juice, and what else do I need?" 
I stared at him in shock. You'd think he was going for a cooking competition. That or he was a chef. 
On our way to the self-checkout station, I noticed a figure in the Organic section, and my face darkened immediately. 

"Who's that?" Quincy asked above my head, probably noticing my change in emotions.
"A professor I used to work with. I'll tell you about it when we get home," I quickly replied while trying to stabilize my mood.

Quincy carried most of the groceries, I mean, he bought most of it anyway. Once we were done stocking up his refrigerator, we snuggled on the couch with Yoplait in our hands.
"That was Professor Hank. When I started my undergraduate research, he was my mentor." It felt comfortable talking to Quincy. Being able to smell him calmed me down without even realizing it.
"I helped him with few of his papers but never got credit for it. Having a lot of scientific reviews under your belt increases one's credibility in the science field. As an undergrad student then, the guidance of the mentor is still the most important, and grad schools were definitely on the lookout for that."
Recalling the evil look on Prof. Hanks face when he told me "get over it. You're not the first, neither will you be the last," made me feel goosebumps. 
"It's all better now. My independent research continues in the Fall. I just don't like seeing that person. His face puts me in a bad mood," I complained in a childish way.
"Just look at me from now on. Only me," he pacified as he rest his chin on my head.
"So cheesy," I said between my huge smile. 
We talked about his family, his upcoming trip, and lots more. The more we shared, the closer our relationship got.

"Quincy"
"Yes darling"
"I'm not yours yet"
"You were mine the moment I laid eyes on you"
"Quincy"
"Yes darling"
"You're too old"
"I heard older guys are spicier. The spicier, the better. I wouldn't say old, I'd say mature"
"Quincy, go home"
Quincy Davis shamelessly claimed Seraphina Jacob as his. He liked her at first sight, but he fell for her at the first "hello". 

"Sera"
"Yes Quincy?"
"My eyes are up here"
"Oh My. I prefer the two dangling eyes between your thighs. The nose in between is saying hello to me. Hi little Quincy. Let's get to know each other well in the future"
"Sera, eyes up here not down there"
Seraphina Jacob shamelessly claimed Quincy Davis as hers. She liked him at first "naked" sight, but fell for him at the first "kiss".

This is a fluttering story about Quincy and Seraphina, and how their love blossomed in the Summer.

Updates at least 2 chapters a day. Currently updates 5-6 chapters per day.

Cover photo is from Niña on Pinterest titled "The time that you know the love will never end."(https://www.pinterest.com/pin/784189353842863640/)

undergraduate research proposal sample

sample

Queen of Science

Scholar's Advanced Technological System

So Pure, So Flirtatious

The Sinner's Temptation [Coming Soon]

The Record of Unusual Creatures

A.S.S.I.S.T.

Deleted Novel DN001

Vampire: the Masquerade - Nirvana

Discovering Something Special (Edit in process)

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