Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 322 Rear

"Still burning the oil lamp?"

An elderly voice came from the gate. The young man, who was busy at work, looked up and saw an unkempt old man. The young man's expression showed a hint of surprise, and he was about to turn off his equipment and go to greet him, but the old man firmly waved his hand to stop him.

"Keep doing your work. You probably won't be able to lie down until you've finished calculating today."

The young man hesitated for a moment between stopping and continuing, but finally sat down and buried himself in his manuscript.

This young man is none other than Prague. Just over half a year ago, he was a laborer imprisoned in a mine in the Snow Country. Now, he is able to conduct experiments in the best research institute in the Snow Country. The contrast is so great that he can truly be called a legendary figure.

Hui placed great emphasis on advancing the technological ladder, attracting a large number of talented individuals from all walks of life. Initially, they faced a severe shortage of talent, and one-on-one assessments were too inefficient. Therefore, they implemented a basic selection mechanism: examinations. Scientific research isn't something that can be done on a whim. Those who reach the top come from all walks of life, but they generally share some common characteristics, such as strong mathematical abilities. Mathematics tests a person's memory, comprehension, logical thinking, and so on—essential skills for almost every researcher.

However, it would be wasteful to go to such lengths to hold an exam only to recruit research talent, so they added a language exam to select people capable of regional management. Later, they discovered that some artisans, who were illiterate their entire lives, were surprisingly fast and efficient at their work, often surpassing literate individuals. This was due to experience, not just a matter of literacy. To adapt to reality, the exam categories gradually increased, and the questions evolved from simple written exams to a combination of written and practical components. Candidates who ranked highly in their respective categories were given priority for suitable positions and received bonuses—a win-win situation, so enthusiasm was generally high.

Prague was among the first batch of candidates selected. The initial mock exams for each region were free, and Prague achieved the highest score in mathematics in the region, reportedly attracting the attention of high-ranking officials because his score was astonishingly high, seemingly even surpassing the all-time high score. Several leading researchers from other regions wanted to recruit him, but the final decision was made by the youngest-looking person in the crowd. After inquiring about his research interests, Tobirama introduced him to a leading researcher in materials science. To this day, Prague still doesn't understand how his research relates to materials science; he was simply curious about why the light passing through gemstones changes.

Because of the problems he developed in the mines, Prague was very sensitive to other people's gazes. With his teacher sitting next to him, he couldn't concentrate at all, and he even wrote down several numbers incorrectly. In the end, he put down his pen and turned to face his teacher, who had basically never appeared since taking him in.

"Good evening, teacher."

"It's almost dawn, and it's still night."

Seeing the teacher's barely suppressed smile, Prague first glanced at the pitch-black sky outside, then at the clock on the wall, its hands all stopped at the number 4. In half an hour, his most diligent senior would be bringing his sleepy junior.

Prague's brain, which usually works incredibly fast when solving math problems, is now completely blank. "Didn't you sleep last night either?"

"I just woke up and got out of bed. As you get older, you can't stay up as long as you young people, but even then, it's hard to sleep soundly, which is quite annoying." The teacher pulled two nearly cold pancakes from under his beard, handing one to him as he said, "I heard you've had a major breakthrough recently?"

Prague didn't mind the still-warm cake at all, and once he started talking about his research, he became quite animated. His theory was relatively simple, but previously, without experimental facilities, he couldn't obtain a large amount of data to summarize the patterns. Now that he had a laboratory, he had almost summarized the formula in just six months. Pure crystal structures are generally quite simple, and he could deduce the structure of a crystal using a beam of light. Even he himself thought the formula was rather useless.

"No, don't underestimate yourself. This formula will play a crucial role in our upcoming research." The teacher patted his shoulder, his face crinkling with laughter. "Haven't you been wondering why you were assigned to the materials science department? Everyone here is clearly researching metallic materials, which doesn't seem to have anything to do with your research on crystals."

Prague nodded, looking at the teacher with anticipation.

The teacher smiled mysteriously, "You'll find out soon enough."

A strange rumor circulates in the lab. It's said that those who pull several all-nighters are captured by a lab monster. But this monster won't kill them; it will only make them disappear for a few days. When they return, everyone will find their eyes glazed over, and they seem to have suffered a severe mental blow. Could this be the monster's doing?

"How come even rumors like this are circulating?"

Tobirama expressed his bewilderment at people's imagination.

Clearly, only the most exceptional individuals are qualified to enter the spaceship and access the most comprehensive research data. They would then be overwhelmed by the vast database and would need some time to process it. However, the spaceship must be kept absolutely secret; those who have entered are not allowed to utter a single word even after leaving. So, as the story has been passed down, it has evolved into these incomprehensible anecdotes.

Actually, this is for the best. At least fewer people are staying up late, and the researchers' medical reports look better. Hui's initial members were all impure beings, having developed a habit of carelessly using their bodies. Once they started absorbing ordinary people, their health became a major, neglected issue. They had spent a lot of effort trying to completely correct these bad habits, but a strange tale had done it.

"Is it really okay to entrust the research of that special crystal used to transfer energy to an inexperienced junior?"

"Heh, as if some of us have experience. Before seeing that thing, I couldn't believe that a solid object could be used for energy conduction."

"That's not right. Didn't we have electrical wires before?"

"That's metal! Have you ever seen a crystal that can conduct electricity? I suspect that thing is just a metal that looks like a crystal!"

"It's not like we haven't researched that area. And what happened? The database says it's not a metal, doesn't it?"

"Is the database absolutely correct? I doubt it."

"We encourage the spirit of asking questions, but only if we truly understand every single word in the database. Has any of you done that?"

Where there are people, there will be endless squabbles. After this pointless meeting, Tobirama started thinking about ways to lighten his workload. He also needed to write down clearer rules for the allocation of research topics and funding; otherwise, wouldn't holding these meetings be a waste of time?