A live stream of someone hand-making a giant white robot attracted the attention of the government,

Bai Che silently closed the door again.

The world is quiet now.

The physical urgency, however, grew stronger. He stood frozen in place, his mind racing, trying to find a temporary solution in his little doghouse.

His gaze swept across the desk, finally settling on the empty one-liter Nongfu Spring bottle in the corner.

Never mind, we're all men, there's nothing shameful about it.

Just as he made up his mind to compromise for the sake of freedom and peace of the bladder, the once silent corridor outside the door suddenly erupted into a deafening roar.

It was the shrill scream of an electric drill tearing through the wall, the scraping of heavy objects being roughly dragged, mixed with the panicked shouts of countless students and the desperate attempts of faculty and staff to calm them down.

This commotion was a hundred times more exaggerated than the dormitory supervisor leading the school security team on a surprise inspection of prohibited electrical appliances.

Bai Che's hand, which had just reached for the water bottle, stopped in mid-air.

Come again?

Is this ever going to end? Are you trying to kill us all?

An unnamed anger surged from the depths of his heart, burning away the last trace of sleepiness and patience.

He turned around abruptly, yanked open the dormitory door again, and prepared to see which construction team had the audacity to mess with him.

The two door gods at the entrance still stood upright, but the scene in the corridor had completely overturned his understanding.

The entire floor where dormitory 302 is located has now become a huge, chaotic construction site.

Countless workers wearing hard hats, under the supervision of soldiers, are emptying dormitory room after dormitory in the most brutal yet efficient way. Beds, desks, cabinets, and all personal belongings inside are packed into boxes marked "Military Supplies" and transported out like an assembly line.

Groups of students, dressed in pajamas and still sleepy-eyed, were politely "asked" to leave their dormitories, their faces showing the same bewildered expression.

In the very center of this chaos, the president of the University of Science and Technology of China, a refined elderly man with a receding hairline and gold-rimmed glasses, stood with his hands behind his back, surrounded by a retinue of stars. Beside him was Li Jianguo, and several other important figures who looked like they had been parachuted in from Beijing.

When the principal saw Bai Che open the door, his serious face immediately broke into a chrysanthemum-like smile.

He strode forward and warmly grasped Bai Che's hand, the force of which almost crushed Bai Che's bones.

"Bai Che, you're awake? Did you sleep well?"

Bai Che withdrew his hand expressionlessly, his heart completely unmoved.

Okay? Okay my foot! My bladder's about to burst, tell me, am I okay?

The principal clearly didn't expect him to answer. He cleared his throat, turned to face all the students who had been kicked out of the dormitory and were gathered at the stairwell, and solemnly announced in a loud voice that was strong enough to drown out all the noise.

"Class, quiet down! I have something to announce!"

The noisy scene miraculously quieted down.

"Following directives from the highest national level, in order to support cutting-edge scientific research and ensure the security of core technologies, effective immediately, the entire third floor of this dormitory building will be converted into a 'National Top-Level Confidential Laboratory,' codenamed 'Qiming-1'!"

"Security for the laboratory will be fully taken over by military units!"

boom!

The crowd erupted in uproar.

"Holy crap? Our dorm is going to turn into a lab?"

"National top-level? Or taken over by the military? What level is this?"

"Is it because of Bai Che? That academic genius who published in Nature?"

All eyes were focused on Bai Che, who was wearing a T-shirt and slippers and had a "who am I? Where am I?" expression on his face. In those gazes, there was shock, envy, jealousy, and even pure admiration.

Ignoring the students' comments, the principal turned around and smiled even more kindly.

"Bai Che, Wang Tao, the school has made proper arrangements for your accommodation. Come, I'll personally take you there."

Half an hour later.

Bai Che and Wang Tao stood in a bright and clean luxury single room with a private bathroom, an oversized desk, and a soft bed, falling into two completely different silences.

This is an apartment specifically designed by the university to accommodate academicians and Yangtze River Scholars.

Wang Tao's silence was a mixture of ecstasy and speechlessness. His hands trembled as he stroked the smooth solid wood floor, then he threw himself onto the large bed that could fit three of him and bounced it twice.

Then, like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey, he grabbed Bai Che's leg, tears and snot streaming down his face.

"Brother Che! My dear brother! From today onwards, you are my half-brother! My happiness for the rest of my life, and the money for my future children's milk powder, all depend on you!"

Bai Che tried to shake the giant koala off his lap with a look of disgust, but failed.

His silence stemmed from deep-seated frustration.

The place was too clean, so clean that it lacked any human presence. The air was filled with the smell of disinfectant and fragrance, rather than the familiar "smell of life" that he knew from the fermentation of takeout boxes, instant noodle soup, and socks that hadn't been washed for three days.

This is not a dormitory at all; it's a show flat, a prison, a magnificent cage built with comfort and convenience.

He missed his messy doghouse.

At least there, he could freely throw his smelly socks under the bed, pile up empty drink bottles into a small mountain, and walk around the dormitory without pants at three in the morning.

Here, he even felt that when he went to the toilet, the toilet would automatically analyze his urine routine and generate a health report to send to Li Jianguo.

Just then, a staff member in a black suit knocked on the door and respectfully handed Bai Che a brand new access card.

"Comrade Bai Che, this is the spare key card for President Su Wanqing's office. Her office is right next to yours, so it's convenient for you to communicate about work at any time."

The staff member paused, then added, "Furthermore, Comrade Li Jianguo asked me to convey to you that from now on, a one-kilometer radius around the 'Qiming-1' laboratory has been designated as a temporary control zone. All unauthorized commercial investigations and media interviews will be 'kindly' turned away."

After speaking, the staff member bowed and withdrew.

The whole world seemed to be separated by an invisible wall.

Bai Che and his Zero Boundary Technology were completely enveloped under an airtight protective umbrella forged by the will of the state.

Wang Tao was still clinging to his leg, dreaming of a wonderful future filled with delicious food and drinks.

Bai Che walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window and looked down at the lawn below, where several men in plain clothes, but with upright postures, blended seamlessly into the crowd of people doing their morning exercises.

My phone vibrated.

It was a message from Su Wanqing.

The company's initial account has been opened, and the first R&D support fund has been received.

Below is a screenshot of an online banking transaction.

Bai Che clicked on the picture and saw the string of numbers on it.

A "1" was followed by a string of "0"s that made his eyes dizzy.

He counted silently.

Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands...

His temples began to throb, and a headache worse than a hangover swept over his entire brain.

It's over.

This is even bigger trouble now.