death of hope

Chapter 973 "Psionic Storm" (49) Entrusted with an important task

A week later,

The research institute under the giant corporation Sakura Corporation is the Shin-Sapporo Psychic Research Institute.

Deep underground within the main building complex of the research institute, in the top-secret research facility area B14...

The mysterious "Project Zero" team works here. The floor is heavily guarded, and only company executives and project team researchers are allowed to enter.

Just past lunchtime, the corridors of area B14 were deserted. Corporate soldiers, dressed in polymer armor, wearing company badges, and carrying fully automatic assault rifles, were on guard duty outside the conference room.

The door panels provided excellent sound insulation. Inside the conference room, the monthly summary meeting of Project Zero was held on time.

Dozens of psionicists wearing thick glasses and white coats sat around a rectangular table. They were all academic elites, industry leaders, and high-paid successful people, but they dared not put on airs in this place.

Everyone sat upright, their advisors disliked students whispering to each other, and this rule continued from the university classroom to the master's and doctoral programs, and naturally extended to post-graduation work meetings.

The mentor of these bigwigs at the table was even more of a heavyweight: Dr. Joseph H.D. Dane, a leading figure in the field of psychic science and the director of the New Sapporo Psychic Research Institute, who sat at the head of the round table directly opposite the door.

In the second seat next to him, Ryan Elson, the leader of Project Zero, was respectfully bowing his head, glancing sideways at the teacher's spittle spraying onto the touchscreen embedded in the table.

·
Joseph, who is not young and has age spots on the back of his hands, has been sickly in recent years due to stress. But today, he is radiant, his long, thin face crinkled with laughter, and his tone is relaxed and cheerful.
"They spent a fortune purchasing the most advanced anti-psychic equipment, performed a partial frontotemporal lobe resection on Zero, implanted a chip for a brain-computer interface, and injected him with a near-lethal dose of sedatives..."

Regardless of cost, they tried everything, worked tirelessly for over a year, and sacrificed more than a dozen researchers, all to no avail. They still couldn't control Zero's explosive psionic energy.
Project Zero stalled, and some senior executives proposed a vote of no confidence against me, criticizing me in front of the chairman for spending too much without achieving results. At that moment, my face... I really... wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear... sigh..."

At this point, Joseph frowned, but his dejection lasted only a moment before he broke into a smile:

"Thanks to the new recruit, they're a lifesaver!"

As he spoke, the old man patted the young man's shoulder with a look of doting affection, as if he wanted to kiss him.
"Psychotherapy, a genius problem-solving approach, is truly a cure-all, better than two hundred million anti-psychic devices, thirty million brain-computer interfaces, and even a truckload of sedatives!"

In his excitement, the old man actually swore, which surprised the students present. Joseph was known for his sharp tongue at the university, and they had never seen the old man praise someone so lavishly as they did today.

·
Seeing that the atmosphere in the meeting was a bit dull, Ryan whispered a reminder: "Classmates, what are you all standing there for? Let's clap!"

At first it was sparse, but it gradually became more enthusiastic, and the entire conference room stood up and applauded:

"Awesome! They have potential!"

"Well done, Xiao Li!"

"Tell everyone, how did you come up with this idea?"

After everyone was seated, Li Ang scratched his head and grinned foolishly as he spoke:
"Thank you all for your kind words, but it's really nothing... just good luck."

At the time, I was at a loss. I had absolutely no confidence, but I gritted my teeth and tried, pretending to be someone she knew... What was his name again, Tetsuya-kun?
I thought this girl was blind and her memory was confused, so I tried pretending to be her and maybe it would calm her down. So I kissed her... thankfully it worked..." Li Ang said this to his colleagues with a slightly embarrassed expression.

The youngest researcher present was forty, and most of them were married. Li Ang's shy, boyish demeanor was endearing and made everyone burst into laughter.

A female researcher winked teasingly: "Oh my, young man, are you shy? Never been in a relationship before? Let me teach you!"

Another middle-aged man with a lewd look chuckled, "If I'd known that kissing Zero could break the deadlock, I should have tried it sooner!"

"Come on, Li was doing this for work, to save the day. You're just a naive lecher."

·
The meeting room erupted in laughter. Joseph, unusually, didn't bother to maintain order; he even covered his mouth and laughed along. The old man was in a great mood, and everyone on the project team was happy too.

"Thanks to Xiao Li's decisiveness, otherwise only half the people would have been there at today's meeting. He's a great savior."

Li Ang was worried that praising him too highly would arouse jealousy, so he waved his hands repeatedly and said, "I don't deserve it... I was just lucky. Without everyone's guidance, I wouldn't have made it through the first week... You are all my teachers... I still have a lot to learn..."

"Don't be nervous, we're all on the same side~" Project team leader Ryan nodded repeatedly: "The young man has high emotional intelligence and is well-liked, but being too humble can just be arrogant~"
So-called luck is all illusory; only strength reveals the truth. Xiao Li, you survived and saved everyone, not because of luck, but because of your genetic anti-psychic talent, rich imagination, and extraordinary courage—all of which are indispensable.

The day the accident happened, I was upstairs with my teacher, receiving an inspection team from head office. Those bastards were so arrogant, acting like imperial envoys. It was really close.
If we had lost Zero that day, and half of the entire project team had died, we would have been walking right into their trap.

"Those bastards within the company have been eyeing our company for a long time. They'll definitely take this opportunity to kick us while we're down. They'll go back to the chairman and complain. If the company doesn't invest any more money, all of us hundreds of people will have to pack our bags and leave."

"The team leader is right, this was really close! It's all thanks to Xiao Li!" Everyone echoed, looking at Li Ang with gratitude.

·
"Let's get back to the main topic. Look over here," Ryan said, controlling the holographic projection to display the psionic data the project team had collected from Zero over the past month. All the charts showed a thriving trend.
The researchers discussed the topic using psychic terminology, which left Li Ang feeling completely bewildered, as if he were listening to gibberish.

Half an hour later, as the meeting was about to end, Dr. Lane turned off the projector and began his summary:

"This month's success is comparable to the combined success of the previous two years!"
In the past, Zero's awakening meant disaster. She was beautiful, but unfortunately, she was insane. Once she regained consciousness, she went berserk, her psionic energy surging.
The equipment is crackling and sparking, the monitor is exploding, and in severe cases, your brains could explode out. But if you give too much sedative, you're afraid the zero-level might not be able to handle it. It's a double-edged sword, and nothing works.

Now look what's happened! All that psychological counseling Xiao Li has done; that little witch has him completely bewitched and swayed.

Even without sedatives, the little witch stopped acting crazy and became as quiet as a lady, cooperating with our research more smoothly than ever before.

If this momentum continues, within six months, those idiot executives in the company will surely shut up, and all the students will be rolling in bonuses, reaping both fame and fortune!

Everyone in the conference room wore a pleased expression, and Joseph listened with great pleasure, as if the Nobel Prize in psionics were beckoning to him.

"I hereby announce that anti-pseudoscience expert Mr. Leon Vilnius has been promoted to deputy leader of Project Zero."
All members of the project team need to fully cooperate with Xiao Li to keep this charade going. If Zero's mental state is stable, then our research will be stable as well.

Meeting adjourned. Get back to work!