Su Hao temporarily settled in Yuling Village.
On the fifth day after the Yuling Cup ended, he finally finished writing his thesis.
He uploaded it to the Alliance intranet.
"Feels like I've finally finished my homework..."
He stretched and looked at the Dream Butterfly.
The little one had been very diligent in practicing the secret technique over the past few days.
It kept constructing spiritual orbs.
At first, even without external interference, the orbs it built could only last an hour or two.
This showed its mastery of the solidification method was still lacking.
But by today...
"Gu nuo~"
Before Die Xiaodie, a white, translucent, crystal-clear orb spun round and round.
Under its control, the glass bead bumped against the floor, making a crisp clink.
But the orb remained intact.
"Gu nuo~!"
Su Hao crouched down, reached out with two fingers, and pinched it.
The touch was icy cold.
"How does it feel?"
"Gu nuo~"
"At most, it can store twenty percent of your mental power, boost illusion-type moves by ten percent, slightly enhance psychic moves, and slightly increase mental strength...
"Not bad, very good!"
Su Hao stroked his chin.
One spiritual orb wasn't the little one's limit; once it got the hang of it, it could stabilize three orbs.
That would store sixty percent of its mental power and boost illusion techniques by thirty percent... the improvement would be massive.
"Spiritual orbs can also be used as weapons to attack, and even... in critical moments, they can self-destruct."
So many functions!
"Want to try it?" He looked at the Dream Butterfly.
It controlled the orb to fly around the room, swoosh swoosh swoosh, much faster than before.
But when it was about to hit a wall, the orb stopped.
"Gu nuo~"
It said it couldn't bear to crash it directly.
It felt like it would break, gu nuo~!
"Alright, you can try once you've fully stabilized the orb later.
"Experimenting in the hotel isn't a good idea either; if it breaks, we'd have to pay for damages."
"Gu nuo~"
Die Xiaodie nodded.
Su Hao could teach it.
...
Five days later, most school teams had already gone back.
Only a few people remained in Yuling Village.
Su Hao was one of them.
At lunch,
Master Yao strode over and told him the news he most wanted to hear.
"The personal lab matter is settled. You fully meet the requirements and can apply for an interest-free loan.
"But you need a plan, or the annual maintenance costs for a lab alone won't be cheap.
"Besides that, you need to understand the land, equipment, personnel, and other upfront costs for a lab. Only after calculating everything clearly can you get the loan.
"Also, when choosing a location, you should seek local policy incentives... I'll give you my assistant's number later; you can ask him anything you don't understand."
"Thank you, mentor."
Su Hao really didn't know all these ins and outs, and he felt a bit dizzy.
"Also..." Master Yao added, "The school is interested in investing in your lab. The bank funds can only be used for lab construction, but subsequent maintenance and experimental expenses are still considerable.
"Beyond that, the school can provide you with some resources and connections.
"You can think it over."
Su Hao said he would consider it.
These days, quite a few masters and experts had extended olive branches to him.
Many people wanted to invest in his lab.
But...
He couldn't agree.
"Connections can be built up slowly.
"As for experiments, it seems I don't lack them much..."
For example, the evolution research on the Wood Mantis required experiments.
But others were exploring in the dark, while he was working backward from the answer, collecting relevant data to provide solid theoretical support for the paper.
It was quite different.
So, he had to have full control over the lab to pull off certain operations.
No matter how poor or tough it got, he couldn't let others invest.
But some friendly sponsorships...
Like if a certain Yuling master said he'd give him ten Wood Mantises, that was fine.
"Once the lab is built, I can first finish the evolution paper on the Prayer Mantis, and then conduct some experiments on the Jade Powder Set to make it into a suitable product for sale."
Su Hao mused, "I won't lack money or resources, but I lack people."
A lab, even a small one, needed at least one senior Yuling master and a few assistants.
Since it was his personal lab, he'd need to hire security.
If he wanted to register a company, he'd need a professional manager to handle things, which was even more troublesome.
And all of this...
He had no clue about!
"I'm too stressed."
Beside him,
Lin Xueguang was shocked that Su Hao, so young, was about to have his own personal lab.
Now, a big question mark popped up on his forehead.
"What are you stressed about?"
...
For the sake of setting up his personal lab, Su Hao was busy nonstop.
In the end, the lab's location was set in a county under Yunhua City, very close to Ancheng.
Next came...
Lab construction planning!
Scheme design!
Selection of construction units!
Floor plan layout!
Design of power distribution, air conditioning, fire protection, drainage, and other systems!
Equipment procurement!
Renovation!
And so on, and so forth... all the planning.
He made a list.
Half a month later...
"Finally done!"
Su Hao felt like he was about to collapse.
He looked at the list in his hand.
Well, about two hundred million.
Many spirit-related devices cost tens of millions each.
"Way too damn expensive..."
For a moment, he doubted whether he could even recoup the costs.
...
After applying for the loan, it would take some time for the funds to be released and construction to start.
Fortunately, he wasn't the first young and promising person to start building a lab during college.
There were already procedures to follow.
Su Hao didn't need to oversee it himself; he flew back to Jingdao University.
"Finally back."
"Gu nuo~"
Die Xiaodie nodded frantically.
Sticking with Su Hao for so long had been too hard for it.
It should have known to leave the task to the Dull Crow, gu nuo~!
"I'm giving you a break. Go call the Fire Wool Crow and the others."
"Gu nuo~"
"Oh right, I forgot about the summoning."
"Gu nuo→_→"
He didn't see the Fire Wool Crow and the other two spirits in the villa, which he was pleased about.
Su Hao rested for a bit.
About an hour or two later, he went to the training area and opened up a space.
He spread his five fingers, and with a buzz, summoned the Fire Wool Crow, Water Scale Beast, and Electric Light Bear.
"Caw?"
The Fire Wool Crow appeared in midair, its feathers ablaze.
The Water Scale Beast chirped "xilu xilu."
The Electric Light Bear... was stuffing food into its mouth.
"Ow? Ee ee ee~"
Su Hao: "..."
He observed the Electric Light Bear; compared to a few weeks ago, it had gotten two sizes rounder.
Its strength had also improved a lot.
"Have you mastered the Meatball Thunderball?"
"Ow ow~!"
Alright.
He could already see it from the panel info, but he felt he had to ask in person.
Like checking homework.
He then directed the three spirits to show off their signature moves and secret techniques.
Watching the fire shadows dance freely in the air,
Su Hao nodded slightly.
"Fire Wool Crow, it's about time to arrange its evolution. After evolving, it'll enter a rapid growth phase.
"The only thing missing is the Blazing Heart..."
He had already gotten his hands on it during the Yuling Cup.