Although the news of Qi Yuan winning the Leader's Medal was concealed, the news of the delayed publication of Truth spread like wildfire.
Truth, which had been published on time for so many years, was delayed all of a sudden. This caused a lot of people to speculate. In addition, the news of a few members of the board of examiners gathering in the Grandmaster's room made some people guess what was going on.
The Leader's Medal, which had been vacant for five years, should have been won by someone!
For a moment, countless people were guessing who had won the award. Unfortunately, the Gate of Truth had blocked the news, so this time, no one had gotten the exact news in advance.
The news of the Leader's Medal being taken had even reached the Mech Dynasty. The soldiers on the frontlines could clearly feel that the Mech Dynasty had increased their lockdown of the wilderness. Their goal was obvious. They wanted to kill the winner of the Leader's Medal while they were going to the Gate of Truth. If they could kill the winner of the Leader's Medal in the wilderness, for the Mech Dynasty, it would be no less than killing an enemy elite.
As the news spread like wildfire and everyone was guessing who the winner was, a piece of news came from the Biological and Mechanical Research Laboratory.
This time, the winner was Feng Qian!
Although Feng Qian didn't come out to admit it, he didn't come out to refute the rumors either. In addition, Feng Qian's laboratory had completed a huge project and released the title of the first author of the subsequent papers. This made many people's imaginations run wild.
Some people speculated that Feng Qian knew that he was about to win the Leader's Medal, so he did this. This was because normal academic papers couldn't bring him anything, so he gave up the title of the first author of the subsequent papers as a reward for the participants of this project.
The news that Mo Lin was about to step down was no longer a secret. Cao Yansheng was only focused on his research and had no intention of pursuing the position of the chief. If Feng Qian won the Leader's Medal at this time, then the position of the next chief would almost certainly fall into his hands. Tanqiu and He Shou wouldn't be a match for Feng Qian, who had won the Leader's Medal.
Under such circumstances, if Tanqiu and He Shou wanted to compete with Feng Qian for the position of the next chief, there was only one possibility, and that was that they also had to win one of the Three Great Prizes. Otherwise, even if they worked together, they wouldn't be able to stop Feng Qian from reaching the top of the Biological and Mechanical Research Laboratory.
No matter how many waves Qi Yuan's rise had brought to Feng Qian, a Leader's Medal was enough to calm all the waves. It was enough to push Feng Qian to an unshakeable position.
This was the honor of the Three Great Prizes!
This was the influence of the Three Great Prizes!
This was the charm of the Three Great Prizes!
As the news spread, the status of the researchers in Feng Qian's laboratory also rose. Many researchers applied to enter Feng Qian's laboratory.
In Cao Yansheng's laboratory, Cao Yansheng, who had just recovered and was still unable to do strenuous activities, also heard these rumors.
"It looks like the Leader's Medal is really going to fall into our hands this time," Cao Yansheng said with a smile.
"I just don't know if the winner will be Qi Yuan or Feng Qian."
"Qi Yuan is more likely," Tan Qiu said.
"If we only look at the value of the projects, Qi Yuan and Feng Qian's projects are only at the threshold of the Leader's Medal. They haven't reached the point where they can definitely win this medal. If it wasn't for the fact that the Leader's Medal has been vacant for five years, the chances of the two of them winning this award are less than one-third.
"Since the Gate of Truth has considered the fact that the Leader's Medal has been vacant for five years, they will definitely consider the needs of the frontline war. Judging from this point, Qi Yuan has the advantage.
"Plus, the Gate of Truth has blocked the news of the winner and delayed the publication of Truth. I can basically confirm that the winner this time will be Qi Yuan."
"Why are you so sure?" Cao Yansheng asked with a smile.
"The Leader's Medal has been vacant for five years. If the winner was Feng Qian, they would have already announced it with great fanfare. The reason why they blocked the news is to protect Qi Yuan. They don't want him to be targeted by the Mech Dynasty in advance. If the Mech Dynasty attacks and kills Qi Yuan, the Leader's Medal that they worked so hard to produce will be lost again," Tan Qiu said.
"If I'm not wrong, the reason why they delayed the publication of Truth should be to make Qi Yuan a Leader's Medal. Qi Yuan is too weak. At this time, they don't dare to let Qi Yuan cross the wilderness and go to the Gate of Truth to receive the award. So, they sent the new issue of Truth and the Leader's Medal to the Black Steel Shelter to give Qi Yuan the award here."
"You're still so sharp!" Cao Yansheng said with a smile.
"For Qi Yuan, obtaining a Leader's Medal can help him avoid a lot of trouble. Mo Sheng is about to break through to the seventh rank. Those people have been trying to find ways to stop him. If it weren't for the pressure from above, Mo Sheng's injuries would have been detonated by them."
"Now, they can't attack Mo Sheng directly, so they've started to change their methods. They're forcing the people around Mo Sheng and those who were born in the wilderness to force Mo Sheng to make a move. Although Mo Sheng has been suppressing his anger, he might not be able to stop them."
"Fu Qingqing has already suffered once. Qi Yuan might be targeted by them as well. With the protection of the Leader's Medal, at least they won't dare to attack Qi Yuan."
Tan Qiu sighed.
"In the beginning, we nurtured a tiger. Now, with internal and external troubles, the tiger has begun to show its fangs. One day, our laboratory will be involved."
"Now that they're fully fledged, it's too late to regret now."
"Don't worry, in the short term, they won't be able to directly interfere with the laboratory," Cao Yansheng said.
"Although it's easier for Homo Evolutis to break through and have a longer lifespan, they don't have any advantage in terms of intelligence. In terms of experimental research, they even have obvious shortcomings. Unless this flaw can be solved, Homo Evolutis will never be able to replace the old."
"I'm not as optimistic as you," Tan Qiu said.
"After the explosion, they've obviously increased their infiltration of the laboratory. Not only have they sent more Homo Evolutis into the laboratory, they've also tried to bribe the researchers in the laboratory to give them more resources."
Cao Yansheng frowned. He didn't expect something like this to happen while he was unconscious.
"Have they bribed any fourth-rank researchers?" Cao Yansheng asked.
"Not yet," Tan Qiu said.
"Although it's very difficult for them to bribe level four researchers, many level three and level two researchers have already secretly sided with them. When these people are promoted to level four researchers, they should be able to secretly influence the laboratory."
"If I'm not mistaken, they'll also try to bribe Qi Yuan."
Bribing the researchers was an open conspiracy, and even they couldn't stop it.
"Do you think Qi Yuan will be bribed by them?" Cao Yansheng asked.
"I won't!" Tanqiu said resolutely.
"I'm just worried that they'll use the method they used on Mo Sheng on Qi Yuan. Qi Yuan is only third-rank now. His weakness is his own strength. Qi Yuan won't be able to withstand any storms."
Cao Yansheng couldn't help but shake his head.
Although the rules could restrict many underhanded methods, it would be foolish to entrust one's safety to the protection of the rules.
The explosion in the laboratory was the best lesson.
The enemies hiding in the dark would usually follow the rules when they were in disguise. However, when they wanted to kill you, the rules couldn't protect you at all.
"Go and urge him to reach fourth-rank as soon as possible. With his contributions, he should be able to apply for the three-star Glory Trial. Don't fail because he's not strong enough after getting the Leader's Medal."
"I'll tell him. However, Qi Yuan is also a very opinionated person. He must have his own ideas. He might not listen to me," Tan Qiu said.
Cao Yansheng also let out a bitter laugh. He owed Qi Yuan his life, and this was a favor that was not easy to repay.
"The spy Qi Yuan told you about last time. Have you found any clues?"
Tan Qiu shook his head.
"The other party is very vigilant. They've completely cut off contact with the outside world and haven't made any moves. I've set a few traps to lure them out, but they didn't work."
"This is a bit troublesome." Cao Yansheng frowned.
"When Qi Yuan's Annihilation Weapon is released, the Mecha Kingdom will see Qi Yuan as a thorn in their side. Perhaps they'll attack Qi Yuan directly."
Tan Qiu's eyes were deep. If Qi Yuan was assassinated in the laboratory by the Mecha Kingdom's spy, the damage to the laboratory would be worse than the explosion.
"I'll think of a way. No matter what, I won't let them threaten Qi Yuan," Tan Qiu said.
"What an eventful time!"
Cao Yansheng closed his eyes tiredly.
…
In a dark room.
A few hooded figures with faces hidden in the darkness were sitting on high-back chairs around a round table. In the middle of the round table was a ball of blue light that was slowly rotating, emitting a mysterious color.
"Have you heard the rumor about Feng Qian receiving the Leader's Medal?" A hoarse voice spoke slowly.
"The entire shelter is buzzing. Of course, we've all heard about it. We just don't know if it's true or not."
"It should be true. Feng Qian recently sent a thesis to the Gate of Truth. It's no secret. According to the news from the Gate of Truth, they've already started making the Leader's Medal."
"I heard that a total of two theses were sent to the Gate of Truth recently. Other than Feng Qian, Qi Yuan also sent a thesis."
"What are you trying to say? Are you suspecting that Qi Yuan will be the one to receive the Leader's Medal?"
"Why can't I be suspicious?
Qi Yuan has already published three theses in Hope, and he's been personally reviewed by Ai Xin. His research ability can't be worse than any third-level researcher. "
"It's true that Qi Yuan sent a thesis to the Door of Truth, and he's indeed very capable, but he's only a level two researcher, and a level three ability user at that. The distance between him and the Leader's Medal is too far. He doesn't have the qualifications to touch this medal that all researchers crazily chase after!"
"Hmph!
Don't forget, Feng Qian has already been tricked by Qi Yuan a few times! "
"Don't compare those little tricks to the Leader's Medal. Once Feng Qian receives the Leader's Medal, he'll be able to take over the leader's position. Qi Yuan still has a long way to go to catch up with Feng Qian!"
"I don't think so. When Feng Qian was at Qi Yuan's age, he was far inferior to Qi Yuan."
…
"Enough!" The hoarse voice that spoke first interrupted the argument. The room became quiet again.
"How's Tanqiu's test going?"
"Tanqiu refuses to contact us. We can't get her to join us."
"This is expected. Tanqiu has that person behind her. She won't choose us in a short period of time."
"How's Feng Qian's test going?"
"We've already offered him generous terms, but he still hasn't accepted or rejected," a slightly sharp voice said.
"He's waiting for the best offer!" Another person snorted.
"A Rank 4 researcher does indeed have the capital to wait for the best offer. Once he receives the Leader's Medal, his value will only increase."
"Since Feng Qian didn't reject us directly, there's hope to rope him in. Continue to increase the price. If we can take him down, the entire Biological and Mechanical Research Laboratory will become our laboratory!"
"How's Mo Sheng's progress?"
"It's not very smooth. Although we made Fu Qingqing step into the trap last time, we underestimated her strength. We paid the price of a life and only heavily injured her. Now that Mo Sheng's side is on guard, it'll be very difficult to find another opportunity."
"We can't delay Mo Sheng's side any longer. He could awaken Fate Power at any time. We have to increase the pressure. Even if we can't kill him, we have to stop him outside the door of the higher ranks!"
"Mo Sheng is a Rank 6 powerhouse after all. We can't directly make a move. If we want to stop him, we have to start from the people around him."
"Then continue to pressure the people around him. Fu Qingqing, Kong Yi, and that Qi Yuan, all of them put pressure on me. As long as we have something to use against him, I don't believe that Mo Sheng won't make a move!"
"You have to remember, because of the increase in our strength, we've already attracted the attention of some higher-ups. They've already started to secretly take action to restrict our development. Mo Sheng is a knife they're using to restrict us. Now isn't the time to shed all pretense of cordiality, so we can't break this knife. However, we have to guarantee that this knife won't be sharp enough to threaten us!"
"I'll request a 'Life Source' from the headquarters. I don't believe that they can resist the temptation of the 'Life Source'!"
"Isn't it too risky to use the 'Life Source' as bait? If it falls into Mo Sheng's hands, I'm afraid …"
"What's there to be afraid of?
Afraid that he'll rely on the 'Life Source' to awaken Fate Power?
Don't forget, even without the 'Life Source', Mo Sheng is about to awaken Fate Power!
If our plan fails, whether or not we have this' Life Source ', we'll still have to face the Rank 7 Mo Sheng! "
"Some costs are unavoidable if you want to deal with an enemy about to reach the Rank 7. What you need to do now is to use this' Life Source 'to lure the people around Mo Sheng into making a mistake. Mo Sheng might be able to restrain himself, but that might not be the case for the people around him. As long as we can seize the opportunity to cripple Mo Sheng, it doesn't matter even if we waste a' Life Source '!"