"It’s not just about borrowing him!"
Li Jianming’s voice rose.
"A month ago, I took this journal to Alchemist. I begged him to introduce me to this Professor Chen because I wanted to consult him with my data. And you know what Alchemist said?"
Vice Principal Zhou looked at him.
"Alchemist said that Professor Chen is reclusive and doesn’t like to meet people. He also said the man was completely tied up in his lab, tuning a model."
Li Jianming sneered.
"Fine. I accepted it at the time. After all, they were both priority projects, and he was in a critical phase. I couldn’t just go and steal his personnel."
Li Jianming paused, his chest heaving violently.
"But today, Alchemist’s project came to a close! The midterm report is already out! I went to borrow the man again, but Alchemist told me that Professor Chen had suffered from mental exhaustion after deriving matrices, so much so that he couldn’t even stand. He said he sent him back to his hometown to recuperate! And he’d even had his phone line disconnected and was refusing all visitors!"
Hearing this, Vice Principal Zhou’s brow furrowed completely.
Having spent so many years in academia, he understood this kind of excuse the moment he heard it.
"So, you think Alchemist is hoarding him?" Vice Principal Zhou asked.
"He’s not just hoarding him, this is an academic monopoly!"
Li Jianming slammed his hand on the edge of the desk.
"Principal Zhou, a pure math genius of that caliber, an academic titan who can create new rules... and Alchemist actually used him as a mere computational tool to fix some wind tunnel model! And when he was done, just to keep the School of Mathematics from contacting him, he even made up that nonsense about being sick and going back to his hometown!"
Li Jianming stared at Vice Principal Zhou, his eyes bloodshot.
"He is a national resource, a treasure for all of Keda! I’m telling you right now, if Alchemist doesn’t hand him over and my project falls through because of it, then none of us are going to have an easy time."
The office fell silent.
Vice Principal Zhou sat in his chair, reaching up to rub the bridge of his nose.
The nature of the situation had changed.
He had originally thought it was just two old men squabbling in the hallway. But now, it involved two senior professors and even a hidden titan whose name was specifically mentioned in an article by Delian—someone even he, the vice principal, had never heard of.
Alchemist’s actions were indeed out of line.
If this was true, it was a classic case of departmentalism—treating the university’s public talent as his own private property.
"Old Li, calm down first."
Vice Principal Zhou picked up the green tea on his desk, took a sip, and cleared his throat.
"If what you’re saying is true, then Alchemist is indeed in the wrong. These are all Keda’s projects. We have to treat them all as our own. It makes no sense for him to hoard a resource like this."
Vice Principal Zhou set down his teacup, his expression turning serious.
"How about this? Don’t rush to argue with him. Since this Professor Chen is an employee of our university, his transfer or loan can go through normal administrative procedures. I’ll personally handle it and have him assigned to the School of Mathematics to provide guidance for a few days. No matter how protective Alchemist is, he can’t block an official administrative order from the university."
Hearing this, the tension in Li Jianming’s shoulders finally eased.
He let out a long sigh of relief.
"Your word is all I need. My request isn’t big. I don’t need him on loan. I just need Professor Chen to take a look at the boundary conditions for my Laplace Matrix and let me ask him a few questions in person. That’s all."
Vice Principal Zhou nodded.
He reached for the black landline phone on his desk and picked up the receiver.
"I’ll have the HR department look up this Professor Chen’s file right now and see which research office in the Physics Department he’s officially assigned to."
Vice Principal Zhou dialed an extension.
A ringing tone came from the phone.
Li Jianming sat in his chair, picked up the slightly-too-hot paper cup, and took a sip of water.
As the hot water went down, the foul temper that had been building inside him for half a month finally subsided a little.
’Alchemist, oh, Alchemist. Did you really think you could hide him until he died of old age?’
’Faced with the university’s administrative system, you can’t just make a living person disappear.’
The call connected.
"Hello, Director Wang? It’s Old Zhou."
Vice Principal Zhou said into the receiver, his tone calm.
"I need a favor. Could you check the faculty roster in your HR department? In the Physics Department, there’s a Professor Chen. He might be a full professor, an associate professor, or possibly a re-hired senior researcher."
Vice Principal Zhou glanced up at Li Jianming.
"I don’t know his full name, but the pinyin abbreviation is ’C. Zhuo.’ That’s right. Please search for it now. A key project here at the School of Mathematics needs to borrow this comrade for some guidance. It’s urgent. Once you find him, give me his file number and his office extension."
After speaking, Vice Principal Zhou cradled the receiver on his shoulder and picked up a pen, ready to take notes.
The office was very quiet.
Li Jianming clutched the paper cup, his eyes fixed on the black landline, waiting for the name that had haunted his thoughts.
A minute passed.
Two minutes passed.
The sound of keyboard clacking came from the other end of the line, followed by the rustle of someone flipping through paper files.
Vice Principal Zhou’s brow slowly began to furrow.
"Nothing? How can there be nothing?"
Vice Principal Zhou asked into the receiver.
Li Jianming’s hand tightened around the paper cup as he snapped his head up.
"Director Wang, check again, carefully."
Vice Principal Zhou’s tone had become a little more serious.
"Check all the registered faculty in the Physics Department for a name containing the sound ’Zhuo.’ Search every possible character that makes that sound."
Another burst of typing came from the other end of the line.
A moment later, the voice of Director Wang from HR came through the receiver, loud enough for even Li Jianming, sitting opposite, to hear.

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