No one in this institute cares.
Whether people within the institute, including himself, believe in Zhao Yi or not, he has already been given the treatment he deserves. If he does well, it will be a successful ending. If he doesn't, it's equivalent to the institute investing in a genius.
Does it matter if a castrated project is dropped? Especially when it's not coming out of your pocket?
The money is research funding. It's meaningless to keep it in the institute. Even if Zhao Yi wastes it all on continuing the project, no one from above will say anything.
Because...
That's Zhao Yi!
No one will question a report bearing Zhao Yi's name.
Indeed.
Zhao Yi is not a regular researcher. Even for a regular researcher, squandering two or three million in research funding would certainly be questioned or held accountable by the authorities.
But Zhao Yi is different.
Who would hold a national treasure-level genius in mathematics and computer science accountable?