In fact, before going to Jin Ling University, Lu Zhou planned to go back to the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study.
On one hand, he was looking for the key, and on the other hand, it was because he missed that place.
Although the bricks and tiles of the past had withered, and the old buildings could no longer support the scholars of the new era, the precious academic heritage he left for future generations had been passed down very well.
Today, the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study was still the most desirable academic institution in China, Asia, and even the world.
The former site of the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study had not been abandoned. Instead, it had been transformed into a tourist attraction for science and education. It had become the main attraction among public primary and secondary school tours in the Yangtze River Delta city group area.
“… I need to make an appointment in advance?”
Lu Zhou looked at the sign hanging at the door. He thought for a while, reached out his hand, and tapped gently on his neck.
The light and shadow quickly faded along the contour of the face. After the face modification by the holographic projection system was removed, Lu Zhou walked straight towards the front door.
Lu Zhou walked towards the front yard. A young lady guide who was standing at the door with a sign was about to step forward to check his e-ticket, but after seeing his face, she was shocked.
“You! Are you Academician Lu?”
“Yeah.” Lu Zhou said with a smile as he looked at the surprised lady tour guide, “It’s me. I haven’t been back for so many years. I just want to go back to the place where I used to work. It won’t bother you guys, right?”
“Of course not!” After she snapped back to reality, the young lady guide immediately said with an enthusiastic smile, “Our job is to provide assistance to all types of tourists. Besides, this is where you worked before.”
After the triumphant ceremony held in the Heart of Asia, the entire Pan-Asia knew the news of his return.
There might be some people who doubted the authenticity of his identity before, but now, except for some conspiracy theorists, almost no one doubted that he was Academician Lu.
“Are you a staff member here?”
“Yeah! My name is Yang Lu, and I am currently working as a tour guide!”
Lu Zhou looked inside the institute and asked curiously, “I heard that the tour guides here are all robots?”
“It was true before, but some bad things have happened recently.” The tour guide lady made a helpless expression on her face and said, “The mascot in the yard is missing, and the robot company suspected that a back door was installed by hackers. For safety, our dean sent the remaining guided robots back to the factory for renovation. In order not to affect the children’s school tours, we have been using human guides instead.”
Mascot is missing…
Lu Zhou could easily guess what had happened.
Realizing that his little buddy had caused them so much trouble, Lu Zhou spoke.
“… Thank you all for the hard work.”
“It’s not hard, in fact, this job is quite interesting… Especially when taking the kids around here.” Yang Lu sighed and muttered, “If only we can get her back… It feels like it was stolen by some pervert, so I am worried that it is being used for some naughty things.”
Lu Zhou: “…”
She noticed the speechless expression on Lu Zhou’s face. Thinking that he was not interested in this topic, Yang Lu suddenly smiled embarrassedly and continued, “Speaking of which, where do you want to go? I happen to be free right now, so I can take you in.”
“Does someone have to be accompanied to go in?”
“Um, after all, a lot of things here are historical relics. I am just an ordinary staff member… Ah, of course, if you want to stroll around on your own, it should be okay. After all, this is where you worked before. I’ll ask the dean for instructions, but it should be fine.”
“No, forget it if it’s troublesome.”
He just came back to take a look, there was really no need to alert so many people.
Also, how was he supposed to go to the underground laboratory if everyone was watching him?
It’d be better to follow her around first, then find a chance to slip away.
Yang Lu thought Lu Zhou was sympathetic towards her. A grateful expression appeared on her face.
Although she could ask the dean for instructions, it would obviously be troublesome.
“Thank you for understanding. I can take you to wherever you want to go!”
“Let’s go to my previous office.” Lu Zhou looked at the main building of the research institute. He said with some nostalgia, “I haven’t come back for a while and I wonder what it looks like now.”
“Please rest assured about this! All the objects here are laid out as they were a hundred years ago. In order to restore the scene of your office, our courtyard specially invited a modern historian who specializes in you.” The tour guide said confidently, “I can guarantee that the things here are the same as when you left!”
Lu Zhou smiled casually.
Same as when I left?
Where have I heard this before…
…
Lu Zhou followed in the footsteps of Miss Yang Lu and came to the top floor of the main building of the research institute.
Sure enough, she took him to Yang Xu’s office.
“This is Yang Xu’s office. Before I left, he was the director of the Institute of Computational Materials. Later I heard that he became the dean.” Lu Zhou looked at the desk and the pictures on the wall. He sighed and continued, “Besides, I would never hang a picture of myself in the office.”
After hearing Lu Zhou’s words, Yang Lu was completely stunned. After blinking for a long time, she said with surprise.
“Huh? Dean Yang’s office? But… When he was the director of the Institute of Computational Materials, wasn’t his office at the computational materials building?”
“My office is next door, come with me.”
Lu Zhou didn’t explain much. He turned around and walked outside the door, then came to a neatly packed office.
Since he was either at home or in the laboratory most of the time, his office looked quite clean; there was not much stuff inside.
There was no obvious difference in appearance from his own office to the other offices. It was understandable that people made this mistake.
Lu Zhou stood in the dean’s office. Looking at the place where he had worked, he couldn’t help but feel nostalgic.
It was really the same as when he left, nothing had changed at all.
He realized that Yang Xu wanted to commemorate himself, so he kept the office the same this whole time.
When he walked to his desk, a key suddenly appeared in front of Lu Zhou.
Lu Zhou looked at this key. He was stunned for a moment. He then reached out his right hand and held the key that only he could see.
“… Speaking of which, are the toilets in this building still usable?”
“Toilets? Of course, do you want me to take you there?”
Lu Zhou coughed lightly and said, “I’m going to the men’s room, are you sure you want to come?”
Her face flushed, Miss Yang suddenly touched the back of her head awkwardly and quickly explained, “I didn’t mean that, I meant—”
“You can wait for me here, I’ll be back soon.”
Lu Zhou turned and walked out of the office. However, he did not go to the toilet. Instead, he walked along the corridor. He turned a corner at the intersection and stood on the elevator that had been waiting for him for a long time.
Lu Zhou took a deep breath. He looked up at the monitor in the elevator and spoke.
“Go to 3rd floor underground.”
As if the elevator had understood his words, the elevator did not stop after reaching the first floor. It continued to move down to the ground floor of the Institute for Advanced Study.
There was a laboratory entrance disguised as a sample library. Behind the sample cabinet was an alloy door with a triple identification mechanism of iris scan, password, and fingerprint.
Behind that door stored the biggest secret that Lu Zhou left in this world…
“Finally back here again.”
Lu Zhou looked at the quietly running quantum computer case in the computer room, the robotic arms connected to the wall, and the wreckage of the Hall effect thruster in the corner. He couldn’t help but feel emotional.
Especially at the wreckage of the Hall effect thruster.
When he first got this stuff in the lucky draw, he never thought that it came from the old universe.
He walked up to the quantum computer. He then reached out his hand and gently placed it on the case, patting off the dust.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
The signal light of the case flickered. Xiao Ai, who lived in it, probably heard his voice. Because the screen next to it had worn out and couldn’t turn on, Xiao Ai could only express its happiness through the signal lights.
Lu Zhou smiled. He was about to withdraw his hand from the case.
But at this moment, a transparent key suddenly floated in front of him from the outer shell of the case.
The moment Lu Zhou saw this key, he was stunned.
The third key…
He originally thought that the key would be in Princeton or the lecture hall at the old CERN site, he didn’t expect it to appear here.
There was no need for him to reach out to touch it. The moment the key floated out of the case, it turned into starlight and swayed in front of his eyes.
A light blue holographic screen also appeared before his eyes.
[Congratulations, User, for mission completion!]
