Chapter 221
Chapter 222 The Research Project on Pause
Inside the laboratory, several students were packing up equipment.
One senior suddenly glared at Joanna, anger clear on his face.
“You’re the one who sent the professor to the Divine Battlefield to lift your curse, right? Now the professor is dying. The research project is suspended, and my graduate thesis is stuck. Are you happy now p>
Joanna shot back coldly. “So what? Are you worried about your thesis or the professor? If it’s your thesis, you still have time. You can switch advisors right now. The academy has plenty of professors p>
She stared him down.
So what if he was a fourth-year student? She would still curse him out.
Summoner was a strong early-game class, but it was extremely hard to develop later on. Even though this guy was a senior, his real combat power might be weaker than Dax’s.
And she had fought Dax before. Compared to that, this guy meant nothing.
The senior was furious, but his thoughts were racing.
As an elite, he couldn’t gamble his future. Joanna’s words gave him an easy excuse to back out.
“Fine, I’m leaving. With someone like you around, this project can’t continue anyway p>
He stormed out in fury.
The others shook their heads and began to leave as well.
Joanna stopped someone she had met a few times before-Beatrice.
“Beatrice, what exactly happened? Can you tell me p>
Beatrice’s eyes were red. She nodded and opened her communicator, playing a video.
In the video, Helen stood in the middle of a massive sea of beasts.
Her entire body had turned into stone. Beneath her feet, Hastor spread countless tentacles, shredding enemies apart. The suckers absorbed their blood as they fell.
The video was only ten seconds long.
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It was clearly recorded in an extremely dangerous situation.
Joanna frowned deeply. “Professor Carpenter should have an item like a Substitute Scarecrow. Just this video alone shouldn’t be enough for the academy to shut down our lab p>
Beatrice took a deep breath. “Professor is completely petrified, but she’s alive. Her body is incredibly hard. No external force can break it. Also, Hastor was never very obedient to begin with. He didn’t care when the professor turned to stone. But if anyone tries to attack her, he won’t allow it p>
She continued, her voice tight. “The Substitute Scarecrow isn’t high-level enough to revive someone like Professor Carpenter. You’d need a Soul Gem or a Rebirth Gem. But their contract is a deathbound contract. If the professor dies, Hastor dies too. That’s the core contradiction p>
Joanna stayed silent, listening.
“Secondly,” Beatrice went on, “She’s frozen on the Divine Battlefield. She can’t be moved. Because of that, the entire battlefront has advanced about 1,900 miles.
“High-level pastors have gone to try to cleanse the petrification. Even if they work on it every day, it will take about 30 years for professor to recover p>
She paused, then added, “There is another way. If Professor Carpenter levels up once more, the Space Alliance System’s level-up reward could remove the status effect. But the battlefield has moved forward. There are fewer evil gods and cultists nearby now. That makes it harder for the professor to gain experience. Her level was already very high. To level up, it might take ten years p>
Beatrice clenched her fists. “Our research team needs a huge number of test subjects. Just recruiting people, running trials, and signing safety contracts costs a massive amount of money. 100 million is too little. We probably need ten billion. Projects like this need funding measured in the trillions p>
She shook her head. “Without the professor leading it, the academy can’t approve that kind of budget. Funds are limited. Without results, we can’t file patents. If that happens, the project collapses.
“The academy has paused everything. They said we can restart after Professor Carpenter returns. Until then, there’s nothing we can do. Unless …
She hesitated.
“Unless what?” Joanna looked up.
Beatrice met her gaze.
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“Unless we have results. Unless we fund it ourselves. Joanna, you’re the professor’s student.
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You’re also one of the very few people who have summoned Mythic-level contract beasts. Three of them, all Mythic-level p>
Her voice grew faster and more excited. “We can tell the academy the project will continue without requesting any funding. We cut costs and focus only on research centered on you. You’re about to reach Level 30. If you form another Mythic-level contract, we can use that as a selling point to attract venture capital and keep the project alive p>
At that moment, Beatrice’s eyes burned with pure research obsession. When she looked at Joanna, she wasn’t just seeing a lifeline. She was seeing rows and rows of data.
Now it all depended on Joanna’s answer. And clearly, she agreed.
In her mind, a clear goal had already formed.
No one understood the Bloodcall Circle better than she did.
“Then for this project,” Joanna said calmly, “I take 51% of the technical shares and 30% of the investment shares p>
The remaining 19% would naturally belong to Helen.
“Joanna,” Beatrice said helplessly, “at a time like this, you’re still thinking about making money? It would be lucky enough to keep the project alive p>
Joanna shook her head.
“I don’t see it that way,” she said evenly. “I think this project might bring me unimaginable wealth p>
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