Everyone's playing Red Giant? I, Black Hole, devour everything!

The air in the office was so quiet it felt like it had frozen.

Zhang Changming wanted to say something to ease the tension, but he swallowed the words back.

That's Xinghua University.

Those students also serve as professors.

That was the most valuable resource in the entire Great Xia Kingdom.

Any high school student would probably jump for joy upon hearing these conditions.

But Lin Tian? From beginning to end, he didn't show any obvious expression on his face.

What is he thinking?

Zhang Changming couldn't figure it out.

Chen Wang was also waiting.

After about two minutes, Lin Tian finally raised his head: "Teacher Chen, I accept."

The moment those three words were uttered, the oppressive atmosphere that had been simmering like an undercurrent in the office was suddenly torn open by an invisible hand.

Zhang Changming and Zhao Yan immediately became excited and almost stood up, but after glancing at Chen Wang, they sat down again.

Even then, the smiles in their eyes didn't diminish at all.

Chen Wang let out a long breath, stood up and shook hands with Lin Tian: "Lin Tian, ​​on behalf of the Black Hole Research Institute of Xinghua University, I formally welcome you to join us."

Lin Tian also stood up and shook hands with him.

When their hands clasped together, Chen Wang suddenly felt a strange sensation.

Standing before him was a boy who had just turned eighteen, yet he saw in the boy's eyes a composure that was completely out of character for his age.

Chen Wang had lived for forty years and seen countless geniuses, but he could count the number of people with this kind of gaze on one hand.

"In that case, let's not waste any more time." Chen Wang withdrew his hand.

He took out a palm-sized light screen from his briefcase, and with a casual wave of his hand, a light screen appeared before everyone's eyes.

Pre-admission notice from Xinghua University.

"I'll process your pre-admission now," Chen Wang said, quickly operating the screen.

About five minutes later.

"Alright, this is the pre-admission letter from the Black Hole Research Institute of Xinghua University."

"You can enjoy all the educational resources of Xinghua University and also have independent decision-making power in the field of black hole research."

"At the same time, all research results on black hole routes that you led will be patented and owned by you personally. Xinghua University will not participate in any profit distribution."

"This road will be named after you."

Chen Wang spoke these words with exceptional solemnity.

He knew how important these two documents were.

Xinghua University has been established for over a century, and Lin Tian is the first student the university has offered to meet these criteria.

Lin Tianzai carefully read through the contents of the screen.

I read it from beginning to end without missing a single word.

In his previous life, he worked at an astronomical observatory for over a decade, dealing with data every day, and had long since developed the habit of reading every single word.

Especially when dealing with important documents, any vague or unclear clause could become a ticking time bomb in the future.

However, there is indeed nothing wrong with this agreement.

All terms are clear and unambiguous, without any vague wording or hidden traps.

"No problem, I'll sign," Lin Tian said.

Lin Tian immediately wrote down his name.

[Pre-admission procedures completed. Welcome to Xinghua University]

Zhang Changming, watching from the side, was almost moved to tears.

"Congratulations, Lin Tian!"

"Thank you, Principal." Lin Tianchong nodded.

Instead of immediately closing the light screen, Chen Wang opened a new interface.

"The pre-admission procedures are complete. Next up is the first batch of resources," Chen Wang said while operating the system.

"Your black hole now has a mass of tens of thousands of times that of the sun, and the corresponding observation requirements far exceed the carrying capacity of ordinary observation chambers. The basic model you have at home won't last much longer."

Lin Tian didn't say anything, but he deeply agreed with this point.

When he crawled out of the observation chamber, he was almost completely exhausted.

That basic nutrient solution delivery system was too outdated; even someone like him, who didn't have high physical demands, could only barely last a week.

If he is to use those high-quality accelerator cards next, the performance of the observation module must keep up.

"Therefore, the Black Hole Research Institute has equipped you with an S-class customized observation chamber."

"S-rank?" Zhang Changming gasped in surprise.

Although he was only the principal of Lancheng High School, he still knew what an S-level observation pod meant.

That's the most advanced personal observation equipment; you probably can't find more than a handful in the entire Seventh Sector.

It is said that an observation cabin of this level costs tens of millions of star coins to build, and can only be purchased through special channels.

"What are the features of this S-class observation cabin?" Lin Tian asked.

Chen Wang explained, "Its nutrient solution delivery system is top-of-the-line. You can stay inside for three years without leaving the observation chamber."

"This is very important." Lin Tian nodded.

The process of a black hole swallowing something requires acceleration measured in hundreds of millions of years.

If the observation chamber can't hold up, he'll have to climb out every few days to replenish his energy, just like he is now.

That would be too much of a delay.

"Moreover, this observation chamber is equipped with a holographic gravitational field simulation system."

Chen Wang continued, "You can manipulate every parameter of the gravitational field more precisely, and even adjust the bending angle of the gravitational lens in real time, accurate to six decimal places."

Lin Tian's eyes lit up slightly.

Gravitational lensing is one of his most important skills.

With more precise control, the camouflage effect will be significantly improved.

Previously, when facing the star core bomb, the gravitational lens helped deflect the energy of the explosion, but the precision was far from sufficient.

With the support of the S-class observation chamber, he could even create more deceptive optical illusions using gravitational lensing.

"Next, and this is the most important point," Chen Wang paused slightly, "this observation chamber has a dedicated quantum communication channel built into the Black Hole Research Institute. Through this channel, you can access all the institute's theoretical data and resource reserves at any time."

"The research institute already has theoretical data and resource reserves?" Lin Tian asked in confusion.

Chen Wang nodded, his smile fading slightly, replaced by a more somber expression.

"That's right, Lin Tian. Now that you've officially joined the research institute, there are some things I can no longer hide from you."

"The Great Xia Kingdom's Black Hole Research Institute did not start from scratch."

When he said this, Lin Tian's eyebrows twitched slightly.

He had indeed thought about this question—the fact that the Great Xia Kingdom could establish a black hole research institute in such a short time and offer him such generous terms must have been due to some prior experience.

In retrospect, this accumulation is far greater than he had imagined.

"For the past thirty years, the Great Xia Kingdom has been secretly investing massive resources in researching the Secret Star Route."

"Thirty years ago, the path to becoming a superstar had reached its limit, and the bottlenecks became increasingly apparent."

"At that time, a group of top scientists in China put forward a bold hypothesis—the end point of a star should not be that it becomes bigger and brighter, but rather it should collapse inward, moving towards higher density and stronger gravity."

Lin Tian listened quietly, his expression unchanged, but a ripple of emotion stirred within him.

These people's line of thinking actually coincided with his understanding.

Although they lacked the theoretical foundation laid by the masters of their predecessors, they managed to reach the edge of the Brilliant Star through intuition and experience.

"This research direction encountered enormous resistance at the time," Chen Wang said, a hint of bitterness in his voice. "Almost everyone thought it was a dead end—zero volume, zero brightness, what would sustain the combat power index then?"

"In everyone's mind, brightness and size are the entirety of combat power. If you make a star neither emit light nor expand, what's the difference between it and a dead star?"

"But the people at the research institute did not give up. They withstood the pressure and explored step by step."

"Over the past thirty years, the Great Xia Kingdom has invested massive resources in this path. Although no observer has ever been able to successfully traverse it, the accumulated theoretical data and resource reserves are an extremely valuable legacy."

At this point, Chen Wang paused for a moment, looking directly at Lin Tian.

"And now, all of these legacies are at your disposal."