Chapter 131 - 54: "Rumor Protocol

Chapter 131: Chapter 54: "Rumor Protocol

The afternoon class was a complete daze.

Up on the lecture platform, Dr. Chen was probably teaching undergraduates for the first time. He stumbled through the PowerPoint slides, utterly lacking Professor Shu’s effortless composure.

The rain outside pattered against the glass, fine as silk, leaving winding trails of water.

Yu Xian stared at those trails of water, the scene he had witnessed at noon on the road by the School of Physics replaying in his mind.

The blue box trucks, the workers in gray jumpsuits, and the crates of precision instruments being carried out so carefully.

’Could they have been moving the equipment from Professor Shu’s research group?’

But for a normal academic exchange abroad, you’d just bring hard drives with the core data, and at most, a few specific samples and small pieces of equipment.

Using a specialized logistics company would surely be more reliable than a standard moving company, too.

What kind of academic exchange requires you to empty out an entire laboratory building?

It was like watching the great migration of animals across the plains of Africa.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. It was a message from Senior Sister Yiyi.

"First day back to class. How’s it going? Is everything going smoothly?"

Yu Xian typed his reply:

"Everything’s going smoothly."

After a moment, he added another question:

"Senior Sister, what’s the situation at the lab? Has Professor Mo been looking for you?"

Yang Yiyi replied quickly:

"No. I heard the first floor of the School of Life Sciences is like a construction site right now, full of repair crews and a total mess. Everyone is busy salvaging data now that work has resumed, so they probably won’t have time to bother with something as minor as checking backend logs. We’re safe for now."

Reading this, Yu Xian breathed a small sigh of relief.

’Chaos has its advantages. In the aftermath of the catastrophe that targeted the scientific community, everyone’s attention was focused on the visible damage. As a result, they were overlooking many details they might have otherwise discovered.’

’If I can just get through this month, the logs will be automatically overwritten, and that time bomb will finally be defused.’

"That’s good. Do you need anything for the apartment? I can bring it over."

"No need! Food delivery is back to normal, so I’ve already bought everything. It’s super convenient." She replied almost instantly.

But after she sent that message, her status changed to "typing..."

Yu Xian wondered if there was something she wanted him to buy but was too embarrassed to ask. Just as he was about to ask, another message came through:

"If you have time, could you bring me a mouse?"

He then remembered that the laptop he’d brought her was his cousin’s; she was probably finding the trackpad awkward to use.

"How about I order one and have it delivered? That way you won’t have to wait," Yu Xian replied.

It seemed Yang Yiyi wasn’t looking at her phone. A while passed before a new message popped up:

"Don’t buy a new one; I won’t be using it for that long, it’d be a waste. If you have an old mouse you’re not using, just bring it over on your way after class."

Yu Xian stared at the screen, another wave of guilt washing over him. It was all because of him that she was in her current predicament.

"Okay. I don’t use a mouse, so I’ll bring you mine later."

After he finished typing, Yu Xian noticed Dr. Chen on the platform looking his way. ’I was probably being a little too obvious,’ he thought, then quickly typed another message:

"By the way, Senior Sister, has your research group gotten any notices recently? Like about going abroad for an exchange or relocating the lab?"

The reply came quickly this time:

"No notices. Why do you ask all of a sudden?"

"It’s too complicated to explain in a few words. I’ll tell you the details when we meet."

Under Dr. Chen’s pointed stare, Yu Xian slowly locked his phone and put it in his pocket.

Yu Xian pondered. The School of Life Sciences wasn’t making any moves.

’If the research environment had soured because of the recent rumor-fueled turmoil, and people wanted to get away to "weather the storm," then why wasn’t the School of Life Sciences—which was also hit hard—making a move?’

’Even though it wasn’t damaged as badly as the School of Physics, if the university was organizing this, you’d expect some of the other key labs to be taking precautions or relocating as well.’

"Class dismissed." The voice from the lecture platform shattered Yu Xian’s train of thought.

Looking as if he’d been granted amnesty, Dr. Chen snapped his laptop shut, tucked his bag under his arm, and hurried out of the classroom.

The classroom instantly grew noisy, filled with a rising tide of complaints and speculation about Professor Shu.

"What the hell was that? If he can be a lecturer, so can I."

"You? You have trouble just climbing into bed."

Shi Zuozhou stretched as he packed his bag.

"Let’s go, Old Yu. What do you want to eat? We still have that evening class later."

The two followed the crowd out of the classroom. Downstairs, the incessant RUMBLE of engines filled the air.

Yu Xian didn’t answer. Instead, he walked to the window at the landing and looked down.

Outside, the dreary rain continued. In the open area in front of the main School of Physics building, several box trucks were parked. Judging by their colors, they weren’t the same ones from noon.

Workers in raincoats moved like a silent colony of ants, tirelessly hauling one black crate after another.

"Old Shi," Yu Xian said softly, his eyes fixed on the deep tire tracks in the ground.

"Do you really think Professor Shu and his team are going abroad for an academic exchange?"

Shi Zuozhou paused, then followed his gaze down below.

"Honestly? I don’t believe it. I heard people saying Professor Shu’s lab has been completely cleared out."

He paused, then lowered his voice.

"You think maybe the university administration was scared witless by that riot? I mean, look at the mess in our building’s lobby. The old professors are... well, old. They’re probably worried troublemakers will come back, so what if they’re just moving the expensive equipment somewhere safe? You know, like some base deep in the mountains or something."