Qin Siyang glanced at Li Tianming, "Old Li, you're not thinking of making this public, are you?"
Li Tianming shook his head, "Right now, humanity has already gone too far down the wrong path. People at sequence level six, seven, or even higher completely control the discourse. If you make this public, it's like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. You'll just be labeled as someone who bewilders the masses, and it'll only speed up your own death."
"So, you'd better just develop quietly on your own. Maybe one day, the hope of saving humanity will fall on your shoulders."
Qin Siyang didn't take it seriously, "In this world, everyone just lives their own life. Who needs you to go around saving this or saving that?"
"That makes sense too."
"Old Li, about the Origin Sequence, can you research it? There's zero information on this path. I honestly have no clue where to start."
"I don't even know what the Path of the Believer looks like, so how am I supposed to research it? Old Zhang could definitely give you some advice, but are you willing to tell him the whole story?"
Aside from Li Tianming, Qin Siyang was still holding back from everyone else, so he waved his hand, "Other than you, I'm not planning to tell anyone else for now."
"Then that settles it. To avoid suspicion, I can't go asking around either. I can only keep an eye out for any related information for you. Since you want to keep it secret, you'll have to figure it out yourself."
"Sigh! Alright then."
Qin Siyang shrugged and set the matter aside for now.
He opened the folder containing information on the members of the thesis review committee and started reading carefully.
Li Tianming glanced at the file, "President Zhao gathered this for you?"
"Yeah. I asked him to find me information on all the committee members."
"You kid, you're really sly. You don't care about the research itself at all, just the fights between people."
"Old Li, this is called solving the problem at its root. No matter how dazzling the thesis is, if they don't want to pass it, it won't pass. As long as I deal with the thesis review committee, the trouble will solve itself."
Li Tianming nodded, "You're not wrong. But the people on the thesis review committee aren't simple characters. Are you sure you can handle them?"
Qin Siyang smiled, "If I can't handle them, I'll just find someone who can."
"People who can handle them won't come cheap. Are you sure that's more worth it than compromising with the committee?"
"That's a given. Old Li, don't forget, Xiao Zhigang is backing the committee. That guy is definitely going to skin me alive, grind my bones, and suck out the marrow. So compromise was never an option to begin with."
"Alright, suit yourself. If you run into problems, you can ask me."
Qin Siyang flipped through the list of committee members once, then asked, "Why isn't there a single professor from South Glory on this committee? Is South Glory being targeted?"
"The thesis review committee is organized by the Ministry of Education. South Glory University belongs to the Zhao family's sphere of influence and stands apart from the other Rong factions, so it naturally gets special treatment."
Qin Siyang was curious, "President Zhao doesn't try to fight for it?"
"No need. We're all in the research circle. We see each other all the time, so relations aren't that tense. Even though there's no South Glory professor on the committee, aside from your case this time, South Glory's papers have never been deliberately made difficult."
"President Zhao maintains absolute control over South Glory University, so paying a price is inevitable. If he tries to have everything, he'll end up with nothing."
"President Zhao really doesn't have it easy," Qin Siyang showed some understanding, then asked, "But isn't the committee way too big? How can just anyone get into the thesis review committee? There's no way I can deal with all of them."
"You don't need to deal with all of them. You just need to deal with the first seven on the list."
"The first seven?"
Qin Siyang glanced again and noticed that the first seven names on the list were labeled [Standing Directors], while everyone else was just [Members].
Li Tianming continued, "These seven are basically the most respected figures in the research world. They have the authority to set plans and policies within the thesis review committee. In other words, if these seven approve your paper, the other members can't reject it."
"There's such a rule?"
Qin Siyang stopped paying attention to the others and looked at the seven names on the first page. Every single one of them was a big name with a fierce reputation.
The publicly recognized number one in scientific research, [Spade A] Zhu Haifeng.
President of the Haori Chamber of Commerce, [Heart A] Jiang Hao.
Li Tianming's sworn enemy, professor at Central Glory University, [Club A] Guo Jiuxiao.
Vice president of the Warren Chamber of Commerce, [Heart K] Jerry Warren.
A grandmaster in the study of god-hunting equipment within the safe zone, [Spade Q] Zhong Dingming.
Director of the Heavenly Research Institute under the United Government, [Club Q] Chu Zhongxiong.
Director of the Humanity Research Institute, and the fourth younger brother of Secretary-General Gu Weiyang, [Club J] Gu Weihong.
"Holy shit!"
Qin Siyang looked over the names carefully and realized none of them were easy to deal with.
"These seven people all have deep roots and massive influence. How am I supposed to handle them?"
Li Tianming let out a snort of laughter, "What nonsense. Did you think the thesis review committee was some ragtag group? They control the distribution of research points within the safe zone. That's enormous power. Without real capability, how could they become standing directors?"
"Uh… Old Li, Guo Jiuxiao is a standing director. How come you didn't even make it as a regular member?"
"When he became a standing director, I was still at Central Glory. Both of us were professors there, part of the same faction. It's impossible for the same faction to occupy two seats among the seven standing directors. That's also why President Han, [Spade K], wasn't elected as a standing director."
"Alright…", Qin Siyang looked miserable, "Forget the rest, Guo Jiuxiao definitely won't pass my paper. Doesn't that mean I'm done for right away?"
"Not necessarily."
"What? Old Li, can you deal with Guo Jiuxiao?"
"No. The standing directors have always followed majority rule. Out of the seven, you just need to secure four."
"Four…"
Qin Siyang felt even more helpless, "Forget four, getting even one is going to be hard."
Li Tianming shrugged, "You chose this path yourself, Boss Qin."
"How was I supposed to know it'd be this troublesome! I thought…"
"You thought you could handle the thesis hearing like kicking a stray dog by the roadside, quick and easy?"
"Sigh! I was blindly optimistic."
Li Tianming smiled, "Being optimistic is good. Staying happy every day is the secret to a long life."
Qin Siyang shot him a look, "You're really damn good at comforting people."
Li Tianming held the steering wheel with one hand and pulled out his phone with the other, "I can help you ask Zhong Dingming."
"Really?", Qin Siyang's eyes lit up, "Old Li! I've got nothing to say, this means a lot!"
"I said I can ask him. That doesn't mean I can persuade him."
"..."
The call connected.
"Professor Zhong, it's me, Li Tianming."
A slightly aged voice came from the other end, ["Oh, Tianming. Why are you calling me?"]
"It's like this, I wanted to ask you about the thesis hearing the day after tomorrow. I was wondering if you…"
["Tianming, for that thesis hearing, Haifeng and I won't be attending."]
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