They never could have imagined that Li Tianming, a man who had just cleared his name and returned to the scientific research field, could suddenly attract five professors.
And these weren't just any professors.
They were from top universities and research institutes.
No benefits were promised, no conditions were laid out, and no unnecessary words were exchanged.
They simply stated that they would continue following Li Tianming in his research.
From Li Tianming's expression, it was clear that even he was surprised.
This proved that he truly had not contacted Wu Yu and the others in advance.
'This... What is this supposed to mean?'
Other than friendship, they couldn't think of any other explanation.
Even Harrison, who was attending the meeting, muttered to himself: "They always say that Chinese people value relationships more than money. I never quite believed it before. But now, it seems... it might be true."
Silence and emotions filled Li Tianming's heart.
He realized that he had been wrong.
Ye Hongqing was just Ye Hongqing.
She did not represent everyone else.
He was wrong.
He had misjudged human nature.
But he was happily wrong—deeply, overwhelmingly happy.
If every mistake in life was like this, he would rather be wrong forever.
At this moment, Li Tianming's heart surged with waves of emotion.
However, the other attendees of the meeting were now facing a new problem.
One Vine Core.
One leading figure in top-tier sequence research.
Plus, five highly skilled professors.
Since the establishment of the Safe Zone, the strongest unaffiliated research team in the scientific community had just emerged.
In an instant, everyone attending the meeting shifted restlessly in their seats.
Li Tianming was not just an ordinary professor.
He represented hidden technologies.
With six interconnected professors working together, no one knew what kind of groundbreaking sequence abilities they might develop in this post-apocalyptic Safe Zone.
Whoever could recruit them would gain the greatest advantage—getting the first access to their scientific breakthroughs.
The landscape of this apocalyptic sequence race might very well change completely because of these individuals' choices today.
Plans had changed.
Everyone had the same thought in their minds.
They must secure them.
There was no time to waste.
On the video screens, some people immediately picked up their phones, others scribbled frantically on paper, and some even rushed out of the conference room.
All of them were scrambling to win over this team.
The ones in the most awkward position? That would be the representatives from Central Pillar University.
Because Professor Hao Liang, who had chosen to follow Li Tianming, was from Central Pillar University.
Not only that—he was a leading researcher in a key sequence field.
The competition for the ownership of Li Tianming's team was bound to be intense.
Most likely, they were about to lose one of their core figures.
This problem... was better left unspoken.
While everyone was busy, Li Tianming finally spoke.
"Thank you."
"Thank you all."
A simple expression of gratitude.
He lowered his head slightly, his lips curved upward, and his eyes were red.
["Professor Li, to avoid disrupting the meeting, let's discuss this in detail after it concludes."]
"Mm, I agree."
["Alright, let's talk later."]
Just then, another microphone in a different conference room switched on.
Due to poor sound quality, there was a crackling static noise mixed in.
Qin Siyang scanned the screen, searching for the highlighted video frame where someone was speaking.
The lighting in the video was dim, and the image quality was bad.
All he could see was a middle-aged man with an unkempt beard and messy hair, holding a phone and attending the meeting through the front camera.
Qin Siyang was puzzled.
'How could there still be someone in this meeting with such poor conditions?'
'Not even a decent conference room to use?'
A deep voice echoed in the room:
["My internet isn't great. I tried turning on my mic several times, but it kept failing. Old Li, can you hear me?"]
Li Tianming's expression froze for a moment, then suddenly turned slightly emotional.
"I can hear you. I can hear you."
["That's good. The principal of Yucai Kindergarten, Zhang Kuang, also wants to continue doing research with you."]
Li Tianming did not say much in response.
His overlapping fingers clenched tightly together.
He kept nodding repeatedly.
Muttering over and over again: "Good. Good, good..."
He was grinning widely, but at the corner of his eyes, a faint glimmer of tears could be seen.
Qin Siyang had never seen Li Tianming so emotional before.
He had never even heard of the name Zhang Kuang.
But Zhang Kuang's title certainly caught his attention.
Kindergarten Principal.
Among a group of university professors, there was suddenly an odd identity mixed in.
It sounded even more pitiful than Old Li's position as the Ju'an School principal.
He was probably someone deeply connected to Old Li—someone who had suffered severe consequences due to the false accusations against him.
Moreover, when Zhang Kuang stated his name, all the video conference rooms went silent for two whole seconds.
Then, the chaos resumed—more frantic and intense than before.
Like a pack of hungry wolves spotting fresh meat.
Their eyes gleamed with greed.
At that moment, Qin Siyang grasped Zhang Kuang's significance.
'This Zhang Kuang's research capabilities are likely on par with Old Li's.'
Li Tianming was still smiling.
And so was Zhang Kuang, who appeared on the screen.
Wu Yu, Chang Tianxiang, Chang Tianxiong, Lu Daoxing, Hao Liang—
They were all smiling.
In stark contrast to the frenzied conference screens, these middle-aged men, seemingly in their late thirties or forties, were laughing heartily, like friends gathering over drinks, releasing all their pent-up frustrations from the past.
At this moment, Qin Siyang finally understood why Li Tianming had never revealed that he possessed one-fourth of the Vine Core.
Because he did not trust these people.
After being betrayed by Ye Hongqing, he no longer trusted anyone from his past.
He wanted to rebuild a team—
A team he could truly trust.
However—
Things had unfolded beyond his expectations.
Even in his wildest dreams, he never imagined that people would be willing to give up their current positions and follow him, without any promise of personal gain.
Things were turning out well.
With these additional members, Qin Siyang now had even greater leverage for negotiations.
The bigger his bargaining chip, the more benefits he could secure for himself.
But then—
Qin Siyang tilted his head.
Looking at Li Tianming, who was beaming with joy, something felt... off.
After a long pause, it finally hit him.
'This meeting is organized by me.'
'Where am I in all of this?'
In everyone else's eyes, it seemed like all the attention was focused on the Vine Core, Li Tianming, and his research team.
No one was paying attention to him.
'Li Tianming and his people are really pushing it.'
'Have they completely stolen the spotlight?'
'I, the host of the meeting, have absolutely zero presence now.'
What was supposed to be a special recruitment for him had somehow turned into a massive job fair for professors.
'Ridiculous.'
But after thinking about it for a moment, he decided to let it slide.
He had never seen Li Tianming so out of character before.
Touched, overjoyed, sorrowful, and relieved—
It was as if all his bottled-up emotions had suddenly burst out at once, blending into a complex whirlwind.
Li Tianming had never complained.
But that didn't mean he wasn't resentful.
Just like he had once told Qin Siyang: ("If something is pointless to say, why bother saying it?")
Qin Siyang glanced at Li Tianming, whose eyes were shimmering with unshed tears.
'Perhaps—'
'That baseless accusation—'
'Weighed on him far more than anyone realized.'
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